"I…I can't shake this feeling that something terrible has happened to him."
In the guild hall, both Cow Girl and Guild Girl sat at a nearby table, both had saddened and worried looks about their faces as they discussed Goblin Slayer. In the middle of them was a letter Guild Girl had received from the Sword Maiden, within the letter were the same concerns over Goblin Slayer's wellbeing. Cow Girl took up the letter, she had already read it before, but felt the need to reread the information within.
"I write this letter with a heavy heart. I have had a vision of Goblin Slayer, and what I fear may be his passing. This feeling of dread will not leave me, I had hoped to come and visit during the New Year Celebration, but I fear I may be coming sooner if the worst has come to pass. As those who see him far more than I am able to, though it may be painful, could you please inform me of Goblin Slayer's status? If…if he has truly left us, I would wish to seek solace with those who also cared for him."
"Your friend…Sword Maiden." Cow Girl set the letter down and closed her eyes worried that she might start crying again.
"I know…I feel the same way too." Guild Girl weakly smiled as she placed her hand over Cow Girl's
In truth, this feeling of hopelessness was affecting their duties, Cow Girl found herself unfocused in her tasks on the farm and Guild Girl was no longer smiling as she greeted adventurers who approached her desk. Cow Girl's uncle conversed with the guild manager, both were worried about the young women and could not think of any way to break them out of their depression. They heard what had transpired to set them off, and at first chalked it up to mere superstition, but upon hearing of the Sword Maiden also sensing something, now they themselves weren't so sure.
"The snow is finally collecting around us, probably not as cold as what he's been dealing with up in the mountains?" Guild Girl tried to lighten the mood with small talk, but found that just mentioning him made her feel upset.
"I…I just wish we could get some news. I've never felt this bad before, even when he came home from the quest last year and collapsed in front of me, I knew he'd eventually be okay."
The girls sighed once again, the dining area in the guild would soon be filling up by the lunch rush as adventurer returned from the excursions, both big and small, but for these two that was not cause for any form of celebration. Cow Girl lay her head down upon the table, his table, hoping that he would return soon, that all these signs were just mere silliness on their part. As she sighed she suddenly heard something that got her attention, the sound of a dog barking, but this bark sounded far deeper than a normal dog. She picked her head up and looked around the Guild trying her best to determine from which direction the noise had come from, this action instantly caught Guild Girl's attention.
"What is it?"
"Shhh, I thought I heard something."
Both girls paused as they strained to listen for the noises outside the guild hall and once again heard the sound of a dog barking, what's more they heard what sounded like two large dogs barking. Both girls looked toward the doors, the muffled sounds of voices could be heard as they drew closer, for them they dared to hope that he would enter. The doors to the guild hall opened as the bell above the doorway jingled and in stepped a man in dirty leather armor, a small shield attached to his left arm, this man walked in with a bold stride and paused as he looked toward the front desk as if he was looking for someone. The figure then turned toward its left and looked toward the two girls, who looked back at him with wide eyes. Both Uncle and Guild Manager were also shocked to see this familiar adventurer walked into the guild hall.
"Gob…Goblin Slayer?" Guild Girl slowly started to rise from her seat.
"Is it really you?" Cow Girl also stood clutching her hands close to her chest.
"I've returned."
Both girls rushed forward and embraced him as tears ran down their faces, the other adventurers soon entered the guild hall and saw the sight. For Spearman, he growled in frustration, but could at least let it slide considering Goblin Slayer had nearly died and they were happy to see him back safely.
"Is everything okay?" Goblin Slayer was confused by their sudden actions.
"It…it doesn't matter, you're back safely." Cow Girl squeezed her friend tighter.
"Yes…I'm so relieved to have you back Goblin Slayer."
Goblin Slayer was still confused by their actions, but would not deny them their hug. Soon the two girls soon released their grip on Goblin Slayer and said their hellos to the other returning adventurers. Uncle and Guild Manager smiled at the knowledge that the two young girls would be alright and went about their own business.
"Welcome back, you okay?" Uncle stopped by Goblin Slayer and placed a hand on the young man's shoulder.
"I am sir, thank you."
"You need to stop making my niece worry so much."
"I will try sir."
Uncle sighed before exiting the guild hall, he would allow his niece to continue conversing with her friends. Cow Girl and Guild Girl explained their worry to the others girls, and soon they could understand why both young women acted the way they had.
"Truth be told, there was a time where we all feared the same thing." Priestess explained as she thought back to the almost traumatic experience of thinking he was really gone.
"What happened?" Cow Girl was both curious and terrified to hear what had transpired.
"Evidently Orcbolg had helped out his comrades when surrounded by the undead but was caught by them. We feared he had been consumed by those monsters, but his armor kept him from being bitten."
"Thank the gods he is alright." Guild Girl closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief then thought back to her broken tea cup. "When he was caught by those monsters and thought to be lost, that must have been the reason for the cup breaking."
"I'm sorry, it was my fault."
Both Cow Girl and Guild Girl looked toward the new voice, to see the young woman with light blue skin, short pink hair and bright yellow eyes nodding toward them. Cow Girl and Guild Girl were immediately suspicious, not because this young woman was a demon, but because Goblin Slayer had brought back another beautiful woman with his party.
"How do you all do?" Half-Demon Thief lightly smiled as she looked over these two young woman but her mind immediately went elsewhere. "Look at these two, they're so…well balanced, maybe that dwarf cook was on to something."
"How nice to meet you." Guild Girl gave her usual smile as she looked over this young woman but her tone indicated something more ominous. "What did you mean it was your fault?"
"Is this Goblin Slayer's lover? She seems pretty intense." Half-Demon Thief gulped as she felt intimidated before Guild Girl. "He and his party recused me from my pursuers, when we separated into groups to deal with the…deal with the undead, our group was trapped he helped get us all out to safety. A party member dropped their weapon and I went to retrieve it, wasting precious time, Goblin Slayer got me to safety, but could not get himself out. I too thought he had been lost."
"So…he helped you? I see." Cow Girl sighed before smiling and taking the young girls hands into her own. "I'm glad you both made it back safely."
"I…thank you."
"I apologize for my earlier tone, I was wondering what you had meant when you claimed you were at fault for what happened to Goblin Slayer. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise. I'll be honest and not try to hide my race, I am a Half-Demon, a thief and assassin by trade."
"A Half-Demon?" Guild Girl was slightly surprised to hear this, she had figured this young woman was a dark elf given her appearance.
"So…does that mean you are affiliated with the Demon Lord's minions?" Cow Girl was also curious as to why this young demon would be following with Goblin Slayer.
"I am not a Demon Lord worshiper, just someone looking to repay the favor provided by this brave adventurers. Also…I'd like to apply to be an adventurer?"
Both girls were surprised by these comments, never before had a demon come to work as an adventurer. They had always been seen as chaotic evil, looking to spread misery everywhere they went in an attempt to resurrect the Demon Lord.
"Welcome to the guild, in a moment we'll get your paperwork filled out, even though I can tell you are an experienced individual, you'll have to start at the rank of porcelain." Guild Girl smiled as she nodded toward Half-Demon Thief.
"Porcelain? You mean as a beginner?"
"You are just starting with us. Even Wolf is still a porcelain, although he should be moving up to obsidian after I submit the quest details."
"Oh speaking of Wolf…this young demoness isn't the only new face Orcbolg brought back with him."
The girls looked around to see the rest of the party to see Wolf enter but was now followed by a large white dire wolf. Instantly both Cow Girl and Guild Girl were shocked and delighted to see this new wolf enter the guild hall.
"On my goodness, how pretty!" Guild Girl's eyes sparkled at the sight of the white dire wolf.
"A white wolf! Is it a boy or a girl?" Cow Girl too was happy to see this massive beast.
"A female." Priestess smiled as she watched the two dire wolves examining the guild hall.
Cow Girl and Guild Girl maneuvered around the rest and slowly approached the two dire wolves. Wolf's tail starting wagging the moment he saw the two girls and approached while Snow was cautious. Snow slowly approached the women, watching as they pet Wolf, then tensed as they moved to touch her. Like the others before, they happily pet the massive wolf, and in turn, she too started to wag her tail at the attention she was getting. These humans were far different from what she had been used to dealing with and could now understand why Wolf was so friendly and trusting of them.
"What's her name?" Cow Girl turned toward Goblin Slayer wondering what he would call this one.
"Her name is Snow."
"Snow…I'm glad to see you came up with a bit of a more creative name than just Wolf." Guild Girl remarked though she had a sneaking suspicion that he only called her that because of her white fur. "I'm just relieved to see that you have all made it…"
As Guild Girl approached Goblin Slayer something unusual happened, Snow moved forward between the two of them and used her body to push Goblin Slayer away from Guild Girl, she was not growling but made sure to keep her eyes on Guild Girl.
"Did…she just push Goblin Slayer away?" Guild Girl was shocked by this but quickly dismissed this as a nothing more than a silly idea. "As I was saying, I glad that you are okay Goblin Slayer. Both you and Wolf over he…"
Guild Girl turned to pet Wolf once again, and as before Snow walked with purpose and put herself between the two, pushing Wolf away from this woman with her body. Cow Girl and the others saw this were shocked by what they were seeing, save Goblin Slayer who was oblivious to the situation.
"She did it again! That's not fair, you hog both of them to yourself." Guild Girl turned toward High Elf Archer with a disbelieving expression upon her face. "I'm not imaging things am I?"
"No, we noticed it too on the way back. The moment any individual girl gets too close to either Wolf or Orcbolg she gets between them?"
Dwarf Shaman and Lizard Priest chuckled to themselves as they saw this sight, while for Priestess, Cow Girl, Guild Girl, High Elf Archer and Half-Demon Thief there was one collected thought going through their heads.
"Great…another rival to deal with."
The groups happily laughed and conversed as they moved from the guild entrance to the dining hall to enjoy a large lunch together. The Dwarven Blacksmith heard the commotion and came up to investigate, the moment he saw Goblin Slayer his first thought was to discover how all of his items faired on this most recent of quests.
"So you finally came back! Tell me lad how did everything turn out?"
"All the items were very useful! Wolf's armor protected him quite well, he seemed to be able to move about with no trouble."
"Good to hear! And what's this, you found another wolf too huh?" Dwarven Blacksmith looked over the white dire wolf and smirked. "I'll get to work on a set of armor for her too then? I'll give it a silver and blue pattern to match her eyes."
"Thank you."
"Oh that reminds me, tell me about your quest. How did it go with the undead?" Guild Girl was curious to know what had happened on a quest that was so different from his usual goblins.
The party members immediately were silent as they recalled what had been told to them before leaving the dwarven fortress. For the younger adventurers there was the look of defeat on their faces, which deeply concerned Guild Girl and Cow Girl.
"We…we can't go into detail here. Let's just say we were successful!" Dwarf Shaman had a solemn look about his face as he said this.
"Was…was it that bad?" Cow Girl too was curious what had happened that they could not openly discuss the quest.
"When we get home, I'll explain." Goblin Slayer was calm in his delivery as he ate his meal then looked back toward Guild Girl. "Tomorrow, in the private offices we will explain everything."
Guild Girl and Cow Girl were silent as thought about what had been said, they each had their own ideas in their head, but settled on not prying any further.
"Then I shall wait until tomorrow to hear about your quest. Before you leave though, we'll need to get both of your new comrades registered with the guild." Guild smiled as she nodded toward Snow and Half-demon Thief.
The large group went about finishing their meal before going back to the guild entrance to register both new party members. Once that was done, Cow Girl, Goblin Slayer, and the two dire wolves made their way home while High Elf Archer and the others showed Half-Demon Thief to her new room. For Half-Demon Thief it was a new experience to find her own quarters, not having to look over her back to watch for others who would be trying to kill her, and was thrilled to find her friends were nearby.
"I think I'm going to enjoy being an adventurer rather than just an assassin."
xxxx
As promised, Goblin Slayer did explain the situation to Cow Girl, though he himself was not concern with receiving any credit, Cow Girl felt frustrated for him.
"He worked so hard, protected the Hero and he can't get any credit for it…it's not fair!" She sighed angrily but soon let it pass as she smiled and was able to pet Snow and Wolf. "I'm really glad your home both of…no wait now it will be all of you."
"Your uncle doesn't mind?"
"I think he finally got used to seeing Wolf that Snow isn't going to be that much of a shock to him."
The next day, Goblin Slayer and the others who had accompanied him, met with Guild Girl to discuss the quest with the undead. Like Cow Girl she was not happy about what was told to her, but would keep quiet about the affair as the others had been asked to by Human Commander. She looked to the three young adventurers and sympathized with them, from what she had been told they all should have been able to move up a rank, but for now they would have to wait until their next adventure.
Later that day, Heavy Warrior and his party returned eager to relay their story of the large wolf stalking his home village and the odd individual who came to capture the massive beast. While Heavy Warrior spoke of his quest, and Female Knight spoke of her injury, Guild Girl got to work writing a letter to respond to Sword maiden's concerns, once finished, she had one of the adventurers deliver the correspondence to Water Town.
The weeks were short and uneventful for most as they finally reached the New Year's celebration. Goblin Slayer was ready to keep watch outside the town as he had last year, but this time he was instructed to spend this evening with his friends. The moment he tried to protest, High Elf Archer reminded him of all the worry he put everyone through, not just on the battlefield but those back home and in Water Town, and how he needed to make it up to them all; he was silent at first, then reluctantly agreed to join the festivities in the guild hall. What surprised everyone the most was not Goblin Slayer joining them, but the appearance of the Sword Maiden at their New Year Celebration. Joined by her attendants, Sword Maiden made sure to say her hellos to everyone, like the others was surprised by the appearance of Half-Demon Thief and Snow, but happily accepted them as part of Goblin Slayer's party.
The guild hall was alive with noise, not since the defeat of the goblin lord's army, had there been so many adventurers laughing and celebrating. For High Elf Archer and the others, they truly enjoyed the festivities as they had to miss out on the Fall Festival this year due to their time dealing with the Beast Master. Cow Girl's uncle opted to converse and drink with the dwarven blacksmith and guild manager while his niece happily enjoyed herself with the others, as of last year, her new friends, she even managed to convince Goblin Slayer to remove his helmet. Half-Demon Thief gasped at the sight of the helmetless Goblin Slayer, a blush present on her face, to which Witch happily teased her.
Guild Girl, slightly drunk, spoke to the women of a plant that people would hang over doorways and those underneath it would have to kiss one another. Everyone, especially Sword Maiden, were surprised by this and quickly looked around to see if this magical plant was around and more importantly how to get Goblin Slayer under it. Everyone laughed and celebrated their successes as the night carried on, but soon enough the alcohol began to take its toll as little by little the guild patriots started to fall asleep. That night, as the fire place crackled, all slept in chairs and sofas or with their heads upon the tables.
Goblin Slayer was the last one awake, a small smile on his face as he did enjoy himself that evening and was happy to see his friends sleeping soundly. Lizard Priest slept on one of the tables near the fire place while Dwarf Shaman slept on the floor cradling his jug of fire wine. Spearman slept in one of the large couches with Witch happily sleeping beside him, nearby Heavy Warrior and Female Knight were mirroring the same image by one of the tables. Near one of the windows was Rookie Warrior and leaning by him was Apprentice Cleric, a smile on her face as she gripped his hand in hers.
The women all slept by one of the large tables, smiles on their faces, though he could not guess what was making them smile so. The last ones he saw were the two dire wolves curled up beside one another near the fire place. Goblin Slayer walked toward the windows and looked out to see the light snow fall that evening, all was peaceful that night.
"Beloved."
Goblin Slayer turned around, looking to see who was calling him but the rest were asleep, he turned his gaze back toward the windows, dismissing the voice as him being tired.
"Did you enjoy yourself beloved?"
Goblin Slayer got hold of his sword handle as he looked around the guild hall, he had not imagined the voice, but before he woke the others, he would check to see where the enemy was hiding, for some reason this female's voice was familiar to him.
"Where are you?"
"Come now beloved, don't you remember, I was slain in my castle."
Goblin Slayer's eyes narrowed as he recalled this voice belonging to the Lich Queen.
"How?"
"Didn't I say that you would never be rid of me? I did more than stab you my love, I formed a blood contract with you and bound myself to you."
Goblin Slayer grunted as released his grip on his sword and placed his right hand upon his left shoulder, the spot where she had stabbed him.
"I am a part of you…and soon you shall be like me. My blood courses in you, little by little you will lose yourself and become a wraith. You can try to fight my influence, but I must warn you that it will be very painful. Give in to the darkness and be mine. I shall be with you now and always…I love you beloved."
Goblin Slayer clenched his fists tightly, the Lich's final attack was slowly killing him and he did not know how stop it.
"Are you okay?"
Goblin Slayer turned to see Cow Girl walking toward him, she stretched before joining him by the windows. He could see the concerned look on her face, then thought back to what her uncle said, how he needed to stop making her worry so much.
"Fine…just couldn't sleep."
"Is it the goblins again?"
"Yes."
"I know you are always concerned about it, but you need to remember that you aren't alone anymore. You have your friends and you have me, so please try to be more open with what's bothering you."
Goblin Slayer looked toward his friend, perhaps he should follow her advice and tell her the truth, but that would only worry her and make her cry.
"You mustn't make those smaller than you cry."
"You need to stop making my niece worry so much."
"I will try. Thank you." He decided against it, he would even keep this from his party members. "I will solve this on my own."
Author's Note: That should do it for Lich Queen Arc, although we can see that things are far from concluded. The start of the New Year will bring with it new challenges for our adventurers as well now two adventurers who will have to deal with their curses.
Just in time for Christmas, a little story to bring everyone together and hint at what is in store for the future of this story. I managed to get the previous chapters updated already which means I can push ahead with the new material. I did add a little bit of extra dialogue in the previous chapters here and there, but they should be better spelling-wise (though I'm still finding a couple I missed).
For a couple of my readers who probably figured it out, Female Knight will indeed have to deal with her own curse, but her story will not be the next direct Arc. Assuming the story can keep going, here are the next Arcs I'm thinking (names pending): Priestess/Half-Demon Thief Arc, Dragon Daughter Arc, Werewolf Arc, and Wraith Arc. I'm also thinking of throwing in some cameos as the story progresses, not directly involving themselves with our main characters but just a couple characters here and there (see if you can figure out who is who, especially since I won't be directly using their names.)
Thanks again for all the support, I'm going to do my best to keep to a once a week update, but at the same time avoid burning out both myself and you guys. A Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from GreyH to everyone, be safe and hope you all get what you wanted this holiday season.