The Chosen Commander is one of the most epic quests released so far. The finale of the Cave Goblin quest line, it pits you and Zanik against an avatar of the war god himself. In this story, I will explore what could have happened if Zanik had traveled together with the player character as her fellow adventurer and guide. But first, there will be an introduction, taking place shortly before the final battle.
Prologue: But we can fight
"We cannot run, we cannot hide, we cannot reason with him. But we can fight." Zanik spoke. The council fell quiet.
"Zanik, do you know what that means?" Ur-tag asked. "Our entire race is facing destruction at the hands of Bandos. A god is waging war against us. How do we fight the god of war itself?"
"No. We're not fighting Bandos, we're fighting his avatar. I think that the amulet that I took from the throne room is the source of its power. If I destroy it, it might break the avatar as well." She argued.
"You didn't see the size of that thing." Ur-meg spoke. "It was almost three times the size of a goblin, with a mace as big as a human! It will kill you in a single blow!"
"Honored elder, I know that I'll risking my life by this, but if I don't do this, our entire race will be enslaved to the War God. It is my fault we got his attention, and I have to stop him for the sake of Dorgesh-Kaan, and our people." Zanik pleaded.
Ur-vass raised a hand. "Zanik, please, we do not blame anything on you. What happened has happened, and we need to find a solution to the problem we have now."
"It is not a matter of blame, but guilt." The man listening to the conversation spoke. He was a human, clean-shaven with short black hair, dressed in simple attire. He was leaning against a wall, his arms crossed. "Zanik took the amulet from Yu'biusk, causing the avalanche of events that brought us to today. She will defend the city, whatever it takes. And, to be honest, she is right." He stood up straight, his arms still crossed. "What are the options? One: Bandos will kill the Dorgeshuun. Who says he'll stop there? If an entire city of goblins won't stop him, will the guard of the cities above? How many would die to stop the war god? Would he even be stoppable? Allowing the city to be slaughtered is not an option."
He began to walk slowly around the council table. "Two: the Dorgeshuun surrender to Bandos. He is likely to kill some of you, quite possibly the council, and enslave the survivors. Within three generation, all your culture and technology will be gone, wiped out by the war machine of Bandos. He will then use you against the surface to see what you are capable of, and if you are loyal. The humans and the dwarves will be forced to send their armies against you, to stop a massacre amongst their populations. An all-out war is likely to result."
Ur-pal interrupted. "Won't the Edicts of Guthix prevent a war? Surely not even Bandos will risk the wrath of Guthix?"
"No. the Edicts only apply when going to war against another god and his servants. If Bandos merely uses you to see how loyal you are, he is not going to war with intending to defeat another god. I am rather sure that the Edicts won't apply to that situation." Stopping in front of the open doorway, he looked out over the city as he continued.
"The third option is that we defeat that avatar, break the amulet and the might it has. If what Zanik says is true, destroying the amulet will break the might of Bandos and save the Dorgeshuun. It is the best, if most difficult, option we have. Yet, I have to disagree with Zanik on one thing." He turned around, and looked Zanik in the eyes.
"Who was it that made the first contact with the Dorgeshuun in thousands of years? Who brought the first of them to walk above ground since the God Wars? Who saved them from a deadly flood and war with the Dwarves? Who brought the first goblin to Yu'biusk since Bandos kidnapped them from their home? Who has, this week nonetheless, saved the children of Dorgesh-Kaan from being poisoned? I did. If there is anyone guilty of this situation, I am. Without me, you would still be oblivious of the surface world, still living in the darkness below. If there is anyone who should clean up this mess, it should be me."
Ur-tag shifted in his chair. "Byon, we appreciate what you have done for us so far, but we cannot ask of you to fight an avatar of the war god himself. Even one of you skill cannot hope to stand against Bandos."
"Actually, it's going to be simpler than you think. I've talked to a few witnesses, and they all tell me the same thing. The avatar is a goblin infused with the power of Bandos. Though armored, he is not sealed shut, having openings in his chest plate. The avatar is, on a basic level, just a servant of Bandos, empowered by his patron. If we kill him, the avatar will be stopped." Byon explained.
"What if the amulet captures that goblin's soul or something? Won't the avatar just continue with that as its host?" Zanik asked.
"No. Bandos works by making his servants more powerful. Binding souls is not his domain. Still, the avatar will fiercely defend its host, and the amulet. The idea is simple, execution will be not." The man walked at the goblin explorer, continuing his speech. "As an adventurer, I do three things: I deliver important goods, I slay monsters, and help those in need. I see an overlap between those last two points here. Your entire race is at danger here, so I will help you. In my career, I've fought demons, dragons, vampires, trolls, ogres, undead, apes, mummies, evil flora, malevolent pastry… an avatar of the war god is new to me, and I'm sure that I won't fall to something like that. Though, in this case I also have a personal reason." He kneeled down in front of Zanik, lowering himself to her eye level.
"I like you, Zanik. In quite a few ways, you remind me of myself. Brave, willing to do the right thing, eager to explore new places… we're not so different, you and I. We've been on quite some travels together; we've fought HAM, saved the city two times, escaped from a cave-in, and more. The thing is you tend to get into things way over your head. I have saved your life quite a few times now; I've even needed to bring you back to life once. I have a feeling that if I don't go with you, you won't come back."
Zanik looked at her friend with appreciation. "Byon?"
"Like Ur-vass said, what happened has happened. We caused this. It's time to clean up our mess. So, what do you say, we're in this together?" he hold up his hand to her.
She grabbed it surprisingly firm. "We're in this together." She acknowledged.
"Very well then. Zanik, Byon, I think I speak for the entire council, and all of the Dorgeshuun, when I say thank you. For what you've already done, and are about to do." Ur-tag spoke. The council members all nodded. "Now all I can ask for you is to prepare yourselves, and head to the gate when you are ready."
Byon stood up. "I will. Strength through-" he smirked. "Sorry, that's not really appropriate here." He left the council room, Zanik following him close behind.
"Byon… I don't know what to say. That was truly moving." She said as he walked away from the council chambers.
"Hey, the fact that I impale monsters on pointy sticks for a living doesn't mean I'm stupid." He shrugged.
"Before we go into that portal… could you please come over to my place?" she asked quietly.
"Well, I need to gear up, sort out some potions and things like that. I'll be taking much longer than you will so…" Zanik grabbed his hand. It was cold and clammy, unlike their previous touch. When Byon looked around, he saw that the goblin was looking at him with a terrified look on her face.
"Please?" her voice was very thin, as if she would almost begin to cry.
Byon was startled. This was unlike the Zanik he knew. "I'll just go pack up my stuff, I'll be right there.
"Zanik?" Byon slowly opened the door to his friend's house.
"I'm upstairs." A voice spoke. Taking off his hefty backpack, he climbed up the ladder to the second floor. He saw Zanik sitting on her bed, with a sad look on her face. She was holding her crossbow, modified by Oldak to be supposedly effective against the avatar. Byon sat down next to her, worried about his friend.
"I'm scared." She whispered.
"I understand. What we're going to do will decide the fate of an entire race." Byon answered.
"No, it's more than that. Bandos has kidnapped my entire species from our home world and enslaved us, made us fight his war for the sake of war, and caused the death of over half of our tribes. If we fail, that will be the fate of the Dorgeshuun as well. This god is the bane of my entire kind. If we don't destroy that avatar, the goblins will rally behind the war god and plunge the world into war. If we fail to destroy it, the entire world will be destroyed." Zanik shook her head. "How do you do it? You've had fights like this before, right? How do you keep standing against such monsters?"
Thinking, Byon leaned back. "A few months back, I fought a demon. Agrith Naar. After being banished by Guthix, it went and manipulated natural disasters into making as many casualties as possible. With the aid of a few others, I managed to summon it to Gielinor. Then, I killed it."
Zanik raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you summoned a demon? Isn't that what evil wizards normally do, to wreak havoc?"
He smiled. "It's a long story. The thing is, Agrith Naar has slain Guthix knows how many people over the thousands of years he has been banished. It had become the fear of natural disasters. I've lived through some pretty nasty storms myself, though there are plenty who would have been absolutely terrified of the demon. The thing is I was scared as well. This thing had killed an untold number of people and creatures, and I knew I could not let it survive."
Byon continued with his gaze fixed on the wall opposed to him. "When I fight, I do not think about consequences. They're quite simple though: if you win, you live. If you lose, you die. That is what it comes down to in every fight. Not about cause, but survival. If you apply that to every fight you get in, all the fights are the same. Sure, your opponent will differ, fight in different ways, but at the end of the day, a fight is a fight."
He turned to look at the goblin. "I know this case is a lot different from what I've faced so far. But if you think of this fight as just another hunt or a fight with a member of HAM, you will not be as afraid. If it's just another fight, you won't fear your enemy any more than you would fear a big bug, or a fanatic, even when you're facing the embodiment of disaster or the avatar of the god that enslaved your race. If you see your enemy as just an enemy, if you think only of the fight, fear will not be able to take hold of you."
Byon put his hand on her shoulder. "You're brave, Zanik. Possibly the bravest person I've ever met. This burden is heavier than anything that has ever weighted on any Dorgeshuun, possibly since the last Chosen Commander lead his people from the rule of Bandos. I, and all the goblins here, know that you will give it everything you got. And I know that if I'm going with you, we will win. No matter how strong you are, sometimes everyone needs a friend to stand at their side. I will be that friend for you, Zanik."
Quiet, she put her arms around him. She was shaking, but didn't feel cold. He placed her hands on her back, holding her carefully. "Thank you. For everything." Zanik whispered, holding onto her friend.
Byon ran a hand over her head. "Hey… that's what friends are for, right? Though, I'm not here to help you by just giving you a pep speech, I've got something for you as well." Letting go of her, he got up. "I also need to suit up; can you help me with that?"
"Yes, of course." After taking the ladder downstairs, she saw him unpacking, removing several pieces of a red metal armor. Her eyes went out to the weapon he had brought. It was a spear, with a five-bladed head of the same metal as the armor. "That's a rather light weapon you brought." She remarked, weighting the pole arm in her hands.
"From the description of our enemy, it seemed like a good choice. It was not very expensive, yet the armor has cost me a small fortune." Byon told her while fastening his chest plate. "Still, the spear is not ready for battle yet. Could you do something for me?" he handed her a bundle of smooth leather. "Be very careful when you open this; don't get anything on your skin."
"What is it?" Zanik asked, carefully untying the band around it. Before it was fully open, a pungent fish smell came from the wrapping. When she fully opened it, she saw that the wrap contained a small dose of green paste.
"Karambwan poison; the deadliest poison known to man. If a weapon tip covered in this poison hits you, you are done for. Since it's a fish based product, it will not stay fresh for very long, and stay nauseatingly smelly all the time. If I manage to stab that goblin with this, the fight will just be a matter of time." He explained, standing up to adjust the greaves of his armor. "Could you apply it to the tip of the spear, please? Just smear the paste directly onto the spear, just so that it covers the main spike. Don't be too generous either; just put it all onto the weapon. The more on it, the more will stay on the target when hitting it."
"Sure thing." Carefully pulling the tip of the weapon through the paste, Zanik smeared the poison over the end of the weapon. With the weapon poisoned, she rolled the wrapping back up and handed it back to Byon. He took it as he strapped on a second shin plate.
"Thank you. Now, could you help me with my pauldrons?" She took one of the spiky pieces of armor, and held it to his upper arm, beginning to tie one of its belts.
"You could almost win a fight armed with these things alone." She commented, looking at the bony spikes sticking from it.
"Arming myself with my armor might work, but it would mean that I would have to dress myself in weapons. Swords do not make for comfortable shirts." Byon joked, while attaching metal bracer to his arm. Zanik shook her head with a smile as she finished. After attaching the second pauldron and bracer, he stepped into a pair of spiked red metal boots.
"Now, for what I promised you…" he searched his backpack, pulling out a roll of obsidian. Rolling it out, Zanik saw that it was a cape, with a few items rolled into it. Byon grabbed one of them, and showed it to her.
"Many years ago, when I first started my adventures, I encountered a wizard. In exchange for a small fetch quest, he gave me this. This is an amulet of accuracy; it works great to improve your aim when dealing with any target, though traditionally I've always worn it while training my ranged skills. It helped me on my way to become the good shot that I'm today. But now, I want to give it to you." He reached out and put the string around her neck. "I hope it will serve you as well as it did for me."
Zanik ran the orange and white amulet through her fingers. "Byon, this helped you become who you are. I don't know if I can accept this."
"Of course you can. We both need all we can get to strengthen ourselves for the coming fight. That's why I prepared these." From a leather pouch he took two small vials. One had an olive green liquid in it; the other's content was jet black.
"I'll try to stay modest, but the truth is I'm a very good herbalist. Possibly one of the best. I have recently learned to make potions beyond what I've ever done before. They will serve as the edge we will have in our fight." He handed Zanik the olive colored vial. "That vial contains a potion that will sharpen your senses above any goblin you know. If you drank it, then I'd ask you to shoot a bug in the eye on the other side of the city, you'd ask 'which one?', and hit it in a single shot."
She turned the vial in her fingers. "Before I drink this, I want to know what's in it. I don't want to hear afterwards that this contains ground horns and nail clippings or other nasty stuff."
Byon laughed. "No, though I do know a recipe for something like that. That potion is nothing special, just an herb, some fermented berries, and shavings of the spikes of a small woodland creature." Zanik made a face. "Don't worry, it tastes sweet. This one on the other hand…" he raised the other vial. "Drinking this is like stopping an anvil in mid-air with your face. Like having someone beat you over the head with a bar of gold, it's expensive and gives you a splitting headache. This is pain in liquid form."
"But… why would you make something like that, let alone drink it?" the goblin asked. The potion was so dark, it almost looked like ink.
"Because this makes you strong enough to dig through solid rock with your bare hands by punching your way through. It will make your skin tough as a dragon's hide, and attack so fast that it would make an elf look like a drunken dwarf. It will make your mind as sharp as your weapon, and have the same effect as the potion you're holding. This potion is potent enough to kill a lesser man than I. This is the Overload, the last potion you will ever need… or drink." Byon explained ominously.
"Okay… I'd propose a toast, but that sounds not like something you'd drink for your health." Zanik said, as she watched the man grab the last item, a black-jeweled amulet and putting it around his neck, then tying the cape that bound it all together around his neck.
"A toast is fine." The warrior pulled the cork from the vial in his hand. As the goblin did the same, she held it under her nose. Though it had a sweet herbal scent, an unknown smell was woven into it. "To two heroes about to decide the fate of an entire race, and possibly the world. To two mortals about to face with an avatar of the war god. To two people who want to make the world a better place to live. To two beings who have been on a number of adventures together, and have through a lot already. To us." Byon raised his vial.
"To us." Zanik agreed, putting the vial to her mouth and drinking the content in a single swig. Like Byon said, the potion tasted sweet, though a bit sharp of taste.
"See, it's not that bad." He told her after lowering the empty vial. His face then turned to a grimace; he grabbed his chest and leaned over. Byon let out an uncomfortable groan, almost dropping his vial.
Zanik jumped up. "Byon, what's wrong?" she asked in surprise.
"Nothing… it's just starting." Crying out in pain, his spine curled backwards into an almost impossible angle, almost falling off the stool he was on.
The goblin ran up to her friend and grabbed his arm. "What did you do? I told you drinking that stuff was a bad idea!"
Slowly leaning back forward, Byon put his face in his hands, his elbows leaning on his legs. "Ugh, and that's why I don't use that stuff more often. Sorry I scared you like that." Sitting up, he saw that the worried Zanik was still holding his arm. "Really, I'm okay. Are you ready to go?
Letting her friend go, she looked for her crossbow. "Yes, I think I'm ready." As she fastened a few pouches of bolts to her belt, the warrior put on a pair of gauntlets on made of the same metal as his armor, and fastened his face-revealing helmet.
Grabbing his weapon and inspecting its poisoned tip, he got up. "Is it okay if I leave my backpack here, so we don't have to detour to the bank, and I can remove my armor here when we return?"
Zanik looked at the now empty backpack, lying on the ground besides her desk. "Okay, but if we return, we really need to look for a better place for you to gear up."
"When we return, Zanik, not if." Byon corrected her. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he kneeled down next to her. "Zanik, for what it's worth, I'm glad we get to fight side to side here. If I'd have anyone giving me cover, it'd be you. I know you won't let me down, and I certainly won't let you down. I won't allow you get hurt, I'll bring you home safely."
Shaking her head with a smile, she gave him a little push. "Don't get all sentimental on me, Byon. I know you'll not mess this up. We'd better get going."
Standing up, Byon swung his spear over his shoulder. As they left her house, he looked at Zanik as she shut the door, and hesitated for a moment. "Don't worry, we will be back." He assured her, and with a nod she walked away, to the portal that would lead her to her fate, the man close behind.
The city was quiet. Few goblins were on the streets, and if they were, they were in groups of at least three. There were a couple of guards spread around, comforting the citizens were they could. They were scared. All of them. A few looked at the duo hopefully, but nobody dared to speak. As they descended the final flight of stairs, they were greeted by captain Undak.
"Ah, good that you are here. We're almost done with fortifying the city, and have the defenses at the portal almost closed. We're ready; all we're waiting for now is for you to begin the attack." He looked at the weapon Byon had brought, and thought for a moment. "The thing makes wide swings. If you're quick enough, you can strike it without it hitting you. It also seems to prefer horizontal swings, so try to step back when you can't parry an attack." Turning to Zanik, he continued. "Its body is rather unarmored. Shoot when you see an opening, though its limbs are capable of shielding it from bolts. That is all I can tell you, the rest is up to you."
"Thank you, captain." The man nodded. The goblin lead them to the fortification: a crude stone ramp with a number of guards behind them, armed with a combination of halberds and crossbows. They looked with admiration at the two heroes, especially at Byon dressed in his imposing armor.
"Do you think the defenses will hold?" Zanik asked the captain, looking at the improvised defense.
"It doesn't have to." Byon interrupted. "We're going to go in, destroy the avatar and get out. It won't set another step into the city, and nobody will have to fight or get hurt." He put a hand on Zanik's shoulder. "You really need to start thinking positively. We're going to fight, win, and survive. The Dorgeshuun will be free from Bandos, and will live in peace for generations to come." Some of the goblin guards began to cheer.
"Oh come on, it wasn't that good." Zanik told the guards, then looked up at her friend. "Speeches aren't really your thing, are they?"
The man lifted an eyebrow. "Who said anything about a speech? I just told them how it is." He approached the gate in front of the line of guards. It was about as tall and wide as he; a circle of grey nothingness. Tipping his spear and pushing the head into the gate carefully, it trembled a little. Pulling the weapon back, he saw that it was untouched.
"Getting cold feet?" Zanik asked, looking at the portal. "I think it's best if I go in first: I've been there before and know what to expect. Jump in close behind, but be careful where you point that weapon."
"Alright. Oh, and Zanik? Good luck." Byon said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Zanik took it, and gave it a squeeze. "You too. See you on the other side." Letting go, she stepped into the portal and vanished. Byon took a deep breath, waited a moment, and jumped in after his friend.
And so ends the prologue, and starts the story itself. Reviews and criticism are appreciated and welcome.