"The goblins…attacked our village…many injured…please..." The young boy, now covered in bandages, continued to thrash about in his bed despite being asleep.
Guild Girl, Noble Fencer and Cow Girl looked on from the doorway as the acolytes continued to tend to the two boys; evidently, they had run the entire night despite all the injuries they received. From what they were able to gather from the young boy before he finally fell asleep was a large group of goblins, more than twenty had attacked the village but left before they finished razing the village. The two boys lost their father in the initial attack and their mother instructed them to run and find help for the village.
"It seems they had been running all through the night." Guild Girl frowned as she looked toward the two injured figures.
"To run for almost an entire day with all those injuries…those boys must have endured so much." Cow Girl too was upset to think about this, instantly thinking back to what happened to her own village.
"Those wretched goblins need to be destroyed." Noble Fencer clenched her fists tightly as she recalled at the goblins had taken from her.
The goblins had attacked and would attack again, there was no way to create a quest form with these two still incapacitated. Guild Girl was at a loss for what she could do given the circumstances when she and the heard others commotion coming from their left. The three girls stepped back to see what was happening and to their surprise saw Half-Dragon Daughter quickly step back with arms stretched out in an attempt to stop someone from leaving the room, that someone was Goblin Slayer.
"You need to stop this, you're in no condition to be moving around." Half-Dragon Mother followed behind Goblin Slayer struggling to keep him from leaving as well.
Goblin Slayer grunted as he sheathed his sword and attached his mace to his right side before checking his armor. He proceeded to walk down the hall but stopped when he caught sight of Cow Girl and Guild Girl standing before him each with angry expressions on their faces.
"And where do you think you're going?" Guild Girl crossed her arms as she stared at Goblin Slayer though she already knew the answer.
"The village those two came from…to deal with the goblins."
"Don't be ridiculous! Given your condition do you really think you'll be able to properly deal with the goblins?" Cow Girl tightly clenched her fists, angry that he would continue to think about the goblins even with his injuries.
"She's right Goblin Slayer, just leave this to other adventurers while my husband and the others deal with the curse."
"Yeah, papa will help you! He and the rest of the family will beat this curse!"
"It…it has to be me to deal with them." Goblin Slayer painfully sighed as he could feel the pulsing in his shoulder.
As he attempted to take another step, Half-Dragon Daughter once again stood in front of her with arms and wings outstretched to block him from moving any further, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she angrily looked up toward her big brother.
"Papa…papa said to make sure you didn't do anything foolish!" Half-Dragon Daughter could feel the tears running down her face, but she continued to hold her ground. "I don't want to lose anyone in my family! Please…don't go! Just wait for papa and the others!"
The others in the hall could not help but feel teary-eyed as they heard the young girl's impassioned plea for Goblin Slayer to remain where he was. Goblin Slayer was silent for a moment as he looked down at the young girl then slowly reached out with his right hand towards her.
"That's right boy, give in to the bloodlust. Just like with the slavers, just like with the Mistress, kill them all! There's goblins that need slaying, but first, this thing is in your way…kill her!"
Goblin Slayer gently placed his hand upon the young girl's head, struggling with every fiber of his being to fight the dark influence. Half-Dragon Daughter continued to cry even as her big brother gently patted her head.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go."
Half-Dragon Daughter could no longer control herself and rushed forward to hug her brother, bawling as if she were a young child. Goblin Slayer embraced the young girl with his right arm as he looked down at her, the others were also moved to tears.
"I do believe in my friends, but there is no guarantee they'll be able to stop the curse in time. If I do lose control…I may not be able to stop myself." Goblin Slayer then looked toward Guild Girl and Cow Girl. "I won't hurt those I wish to protect. If it's against the goblins, at least they will be slain and I won't be able to harm anyone else."
Cow Girl and Guild Girl walked forward towards Goblin Slayer, still hugging the small dragon, and embraced him as well. Goblin Slayer was a bit surprised by this then felt someone embrace him from behind, he turned his helmet and found Half-Dragon Mother also hugging him.
"Remember, you have to protect those smaller than you. There are many that care for you and look to you for support, don't lose yourself."
Goblin Slayer paused as he heard this voice, it was not the Lich Queen or the Slayer entity; this one sounded very familiar and had also stopped him from hurting Priestess…one he would never forget.
"Sister." Goblin Slayer calmly looked around in hopes of seeing her yet knew she would not be there.
The girls finally broke their embrace to allow Goblin Slayer the freedom to move on.
"Listen, you better come back from this." Cow Girl though crying had a small smile on her face. "I don't want to lose you again."
"She's right Goblin Slayer. I will be very upset if you don't come back from this quest." Guild Girl smiled as she wiped her eyes. "Alright, let's see if we can get some of the others to help…"
"No, this must be done alone."
"But you can't…"
Cow Girl raised her hands in protest but stopped as he gently took her hand in his.
"I'm sorry, but it has to be this way." Goblin Slayer looked past the others towards Noble Fencer. "It will take too long by foot, can you get me there by wagon?"
"Absolutely. I'll get the horses ready immediately." Noble Fencer turned and rushed to ready the wagon.
Goblin Slayer readied to gather the rest of his supplies when he felt something grip his right wrist; he looked down to see Wolf gently, yet firmly, grip his wrist in its jaws and pull back. Wolf soon released his grip and he and Snow both looked toward him whining as their tails wagged ever so slightly.
"Sorry, I need you both to stay here and look after them." Goblin Slayer reached out to pet the dire wolves atop their heads.
"You be careful, Wolf and Snow want you to return too, so you better come back from this." Cow Girl brought her hands to her chest wanting to rush and stop him but managed to hold herself back.
"I can't promise anything but…I'll do my best."
xxxx
"Oh no." Lich Queen suddenly gasped as they approached the base of the mountainous stronghold.
"What, do you sense something? The Slayer?" Priestess carefully looked around the area but could see nothing.
"No, Beloved is leaving the temple."
"What? Why would Orcbolg leave, what the hell is he thinking?"
"Goblins. A horde attacked a nearby village and he's gone to deal with them."
"That damn fool, what is he thinking?" Dwarf Shaman sighed in frustration while shaking his head.
"He wishes to keep the others in the temple safe from his darker persona." Lich Queen replied with a solemn expression. "The strain he'll put on his body will push him closer, we must hurry if we are to save him. The Slayer must be destroyed."
"Then a word of caution before we fight, though time does move differently here, our abilities have not changed." The Hero was quick to warn her comrades in arms before the battle began. "The amount times you can use your spells and quantity of your weapons remains unchanged. This will be a long fight ahead of us so use craft wisely."
"If we are to aid Milord Goblin Slayer then we must make haste. We will focus on the whatever minions the Slayer has for us to contend with, you focus on the Slayer."
With a nod, the adventurers rushed into the stronghold while high above Slayer looked towards the sky with anticipation.
"My Lord."
Slayer turned to see five figures in in dark red robes near him, these five humanoid figures had purplish skin and four clawed fingers upon each hand, the most startling thing about them was their head. Their head resembled that of an octopus with four tentacles that moved about their face, these tentacles helped in hiding lamprey-like mouth. Their white pupil less eyes focused directly on the armored creature of darkness which called itself Slayer.
"The vessel I seek to use in the Physical World is nearing its end. Those fools that are attempting to invade this fortress only need to be held at bay until I've crossed over. You are free to kill and feed upon their flesh but do what you must to stop them."
"At once master."
The five figures quickly turned and proceeded to move down towards a lower level to engage their opponents.
"These Mind Flayers will prove most adequate once I've crossed into the Physical World. All the denizens of this Astral Plain will serve me and my conquest to wipe out the mortal races from existence. All I need now if for that boy to die, how fitting he should fall against the goblins he so despises and…in the one place where his title was born. The gods above are quite cruel when they wish to be."
In the bottom level of the stronghold, the group of adventurers came face to face with a couple dozen armed individuals. The figure appeared to be emaciated humanoids with yellowish skin, these figures were quite tall, some nearly seven feet. Their heads were long and angular, with flat noses, deep set eyes and long pointed ears, some had black hair while others had red hair, but they all focused their attention on the group that entered.
"These are Gith, slaves of the Mind Flayers, we must break through their ranks if we are to defeat the Slayer." Lich Queen hissed before she launched herself forward to attack.
The others followed, and although they did not enjoy the idea of having to slay these creatures who were themselves slaves to another, they were not given much of a choice. Sage, Priestess and Sword Maiden held themselves back while the rest of the party engaged the soldiers. They knew they would need to leave their spells for the unknown horrors that lay ahead of them and watched as their comrades dealt with the Gith. Lizard Priest himself had limited himself to just summoning his Dragontooth blade to engage the monstrous humanoids, saving his Dragontooth Warriors for when they were truly needed. The Lich Queen created her two large curved swords to battle alongside the others, though she was not limited to the number of spells she could create, she could not afford to tire her body out with multiple castings.
"That's the last one for this floor." Hero grunted as she pushed the body of her blade and looked around the room.
The figures put up a good fight but were not capable of bringing down the determined adventurers.
"Forgive us, but we must save our comrade." Lizard Priest closed his eyes and bowed his head toward remains of their opponents.
Priestess and Sword Maiden went about their prayers for the fallen while High Elf Archer retrieved her arrows, there was no guarantee that she would be able to find more as they traveled further into the stronghold. Upon further investigation of the level, the group could see that despite being built inside a mountain, the inside had been brilliantly sculpted, it almost seemed like a dark version of the Temple of Law in Water town, though the white stone was now replaced with black rock.
"This place is massive, how many floors does this stronghold have?" Half-Demon Thief curiously looked over the area.
"I haven't seen the entire fortress myself, but if I remember correctly it was somewhere around 30 levels, it's more of a tower built in the mountain." Lich Queen commented with a rather neutral voice.
"Thirty levels? And we're going to have to fight through each of them?" Female Swordmaster was distressed with the thought of having to face numerous enemies up this tower.
"Though it means we'll be fighting enemies on every level, remember that time flows differently here. hours and days in the Astral Plane are like minutes and hours in the Physical World." Sword Maiden calmly replied as she finished her prayers and smiled toward the group. "We need only focus on defeating the Slayer."
"I will continue to guide Beloved as best I can, though my connection to him feels weaker the closer he is to being consumed by the Slayer."
"Goblin Slayer."
Lich Queen and the others turned their attention towards Hero who had a scowl on her face as she continued to glare at the Lich Queen.
"He is not your Beloved. He is Goblin Slayer and none of us have forgotten who has put him in this predicament."
The Lich Queen was silent for a moment before she smiled towards the young woman.
"Your jealousy is adorable. Now though is not the time for such childishness."
The group charged forward for the stairwell, up they went the spiraling staircase until they came to the next floor. There on the next floor, there was a massive creature that towered over all of them over thirty feet tall. This massive creature had the lower body similar to a slug, it had two massive arms and on each end was a massive pincer like that of a scorpion. In each of these pincers were the lifeless bodies of two Gith, the monster brought the bodies to its massive mouth and proceeded to eat them, the crunching of the bones heard by all; it then its wide head towards the party, it's large red eyes hungrily staring at its next meal.
"By the gods, what in the world is this monstrosity?" Dwarf Shaman looked up at this creature with shock, being the shortest of the party this already massive beast seemed even larger.
"A Dreadnought." The Lich Queen too was surprised that the Slayer would have brought in such a monstrosity for them to contend with.
The Dreadnought roar as it moved its massive body toward them much the way a snake would move its body, with the movement dust fell from the ceiling. The creature raised its right claw and prepared to strike the group, killing them in one fell swoop.
"O Earth Mother, abounding in mercy, by the power of the land, grant safety to we who are weak…Protection!"
The massive claw struck the barrier, but unlike with the fireball launched by the ogre some time ago, this barrier did not fracture. With her recent rise in rank, her number of spells she could cast had not only increased by one, but the strength of each spell had greatly increased.
"While it is stalled, go for the eye! Bring this monster down!" Hero shouted as she rushed past the barrier to go for the creature's claw.
xxxx
Noble Fencer cracked the reins on the wagon to get the horse to move as quickly as possible, though she had now gone by the title of Purveyor Girl. She still kept her rapier by her side and continued her training but had not had the thought of returning to the adventurer lifestyle ever since the encounter with the goblins. She spared a quick glance to the back of the wagon to find Goblin Slayer still sitting, at first it seemed as though he was dead, but she knew to think better than that.
"That man will not die, he's defeated the Goblin Paladin and aided the Hero against the Lich Queen, this won't be the end of him. Though it may be just the two of us, I'll help him with all the skill I've acquired since that battle."
Purveyor Girl turned her attention back to the road, at full speed they would easily reach the village in a few short hours versus the full day of running as those two young boys had to endure. They would be there by late afternoon which would still leave them plenty of time to prepare for the goblin horde. Within the back of the wagon, Goblin Slayer tried to steady his breathing, prior to leaving he had taken a stamina and healing potion, anything he felt would help stall the curse from consuming him any further.
"Have to focus…deal with the goblins…the others…they will deal with the cruse. The pain is getting worse and…I can barely her the voice of the Lich."
"Then I will step in for her."
Goblin Slayer was once again surprised to hear this familiar voice and as he turned his head to his left saw a young woman in a long white and green dress sitting beside him. Her light brown hair normally tied in a pony tail that would rest on her right shoulder was now loose, yet she kept her usual smile on her face.
"Sister." Goblin Slayer was at a loss for now he was able to see his sister once again. "Is this…a trick of the curse?"
His sister calmly reached out and gently squeezed her brother's hand as she continued to smile.
"I am not part of the curse. Did I not say that in my letter I would be with you?" She then pointed to her long hair. "You still have it don't you?"
Goblin Slayer was silent for a moment then calmly reached behind his back to pull out a small dagger with a hawk-shaped head for the handle and a black string tied around it.
"Am…am I able to see you because I am near death?" Goblin Slayer tightened his grip around the dagger.
"That may be part of the reason, but I am also here as part of the magic of the Earth Mother." Elder Sister took his hand, still holding the dagger, in both of her hands. "What matters is I am here to help you, even if it only to support you, I will do what the Lich cannot while she aids the others."
"The Lich…she fights with the others?"
"Yes, the dark persona known as the Slayer has evidently set himself up in some sort of tower and has countless entities for your friends to fight. All to buy time until he is able to consume you." Elder Sister had a sadden expression on her. "You must be careful. The Slayer's goal is for you to fall in battle so he can take your body. This battle with those monsters, given your condition, will be a difficult one."
Goblin Slayer stared at his sister for a moment, within his helmet he frowned as he saw the sad expression on her face, he sighed and nodded his head toward his sister.
"I must not make those smaller than me cry…I will do my best."
Elder Sister though surprised by this smiled as she looked toward her brother and nodded as she tightened her grip on her brother's hand.
"For now, let us not speak of the goblins, I wish to take your mind off what ails you so you can fight to your best. I'm not surprised to see that my little brother has become so popular with the women, there are so many pining for your attention. I also have noticed that you are now an elder brother to that precious child, I am so proud."
The journey to the village proved to be rather enjoyable for Goblin Slayer; those few hours, though brief, had taken his mind off his curse and the pain her felt in his shoulder, he even found himself chuckling as he spoke with his sister. Purveyor Girl pulled back on the reins to bring the wagon to a halt and surveyed the village as did Goblin Slayer who had disembarked. Much of the village showed burns along the tops and sides of the buildings, near the fields they could the villagers finishing their burial of the dead.
"This village…something about it…" Goblin Slayer looked around the village, in his mind he was sure he had been here before but could not quite place it.
The villagers took notice of the two figures and graciously rushed towards them, thankful someone had heard their cry for assistance. An elderly woman dressed in the garb of a sister calmly walked passed the crowd of people to approach the two adventurers.
"I am so thankful you arrived. Did our two young ones manage to reach you?" The elderly sister was worried for the two she sent off to fetch help despite their injuries.
"They are both recuperating in Frontier Town at the Temple of the Earth Mother." Purveyor Girl smiled as she calmly nodded toward the sister.
"Thank the gods above, how many more of you are coming?"
The crowd of people anxiously looked towards the large wagon hoping many other adventurers would be descending, but as time moved on those hopes began to fade.
"It is just us." Purveyor Girl responded with a solemn expression.
The crowd of people broke into a mixture of anger, fear, and sorrow. What would become of their village now? Why had the gods abandoned them, even after one of their own had gone and become a great adventurer? Purveyor Girl was at a loss for what to do or say to calm these people, her mind going back to the people in the mountain village more than a year ago who had the same expression when her requested food and supplies from them. Goblin Slayer remained stoic even amongst the cries of the people, his eyes only focused on the village and what needed to be done in the few short hours that remained.
"I will deal with the goblins."
The dispassionate voice caught many off guard as they looked toward this one adventurer as if he were crazy yet looking at this man strangely calmed them down.
"Just like before, there was only one who came to save our village. He sort of resembles the…no it couldn't be." The elderly sister carefully looked toward the armored man, paying close attention to his helmet. "Are you…have you come to this village before?"
"I can't say, but I will deal with the horde that threatens this village."
The elderly sister continued to stare at the armored man, had to be too much of a coincidence for the same man to come back and save the village from goblins once again but she would not turn down the assistance.
"We are in your debt. Is there anything that you require from us?" The elderly sister smiled as she bowed her head towards the adventurers.
Goblin Slayer was calm as he once again examined the village, then turned his attention back to the people, many bore the injuries of having driven back the goblins from the previous battle while others were either too young or too old to fight. Given his own condition, it would be too difficult a task to try and protect them all while worrying about the horde that would be coming this night, a decision needed to be made. Little did he or the others know that as he and Purveyor Girl had arrived in the village, a small figure happened to be passing by when he caught sight of the people tending to the damaged village and the armored man who disembarked and spoke of the goblins.
"Well, well, who would have thought I'd get to see him here." The small figure, though missing man teeth, had a smirk on his face as he continued to watch.
"Gather the people in wagons or carts, it does not matter, head to Frontier Town until the matter is dealt with." Goblin Slayer replied in his flat tone as always.
Once again the crowd was both shocked and angry to hear that they should abandon their homes.
"You, you wish for us to leave?" The elderly sister was also shocked by this.
"Until the task is completed. The horde attacking will be large and there are too many who not be able to defend themselves. We must minimize the possible deaths. I will return to Frontier Town to let you know when the task is complete, you can pay me then with whatever you wish."
The moment he finished, Goblin Slayer went towards the wagon to begin retrieving what few supplies he had brought with him. The villagers were at a loss for what to say and all eyes fell upon the elderly sister who calmly examined the young man before her.
"It really may be him. If it is…then I have faith that he can do this task." The elderly sister turned her attention toward the rest of the villagers. "Gather only what you need, we don't need to get in his way."
"But…we are really going to abandon this village?"
"Not abandon. We are going to allow this fine adventurer to deal with the goblins without worry of us, we will return when the task is complete."
The villagers begrudgingly agreed and went about gathering the wagons and carts they could to load up all the villagers who were unable to travel on foot. Purveyor Girl was shocked by all of this and wondered if she and Goblin Slayer would really be able to handle this task on their own.
"Goblin Slayer…what should I do?" Purveyor Girl was ready to do what was needed to help him.
"Lead the villagers to Frontier Town."
"You…you want me to leave? But then you'll be here by yourself, you'll have no aid!"
"You know of my condition…I won't endanger the others if I'm alone. Please lead them back to safety."
Purveyor Girl was at a loss for what to say, she had wished to be of some use to him for all her had done to aid her and the others, but now…all she could do was lead the villagers to safety.
"Very well." Purveyor Girl clenched her fists and held her head down feeling ashamed that she would not be able to do anything in this fight.
"This is not cowardice." Goblin Slayer calmly placed a hand on her shoulder. "I am entrusting you to deliver them to safety, it is a task that only you are capable of. If they are attacked on the road, you can defend them."
Purveyor Girl raised her head, surprised by his words of confidence in her, and nodded her head.
"I…I won't let you down but…you have to return safely! The others will be there for you!"
Goblin Slayer was silent as he stood motionless for a few moments before he nodding his head and moving towards the village. Within an hour, the villagers had arranged themselves in various wagons and carts and followed Purveyor Girl out in her lead wagon. She and the elderly sister gave one look back towards the village to see the lone adventurer standing there watching as the villagers departed. With the final wagon out of the way, Goblin Slayer estimated he had roughly three hours to prepare for the horde, above the village he could see the dark clouds rolling in and could hear the thunder in the distance.
"Rain. This means they won't be able to use fire then." Goblin Slayer carefully returned his attention back to his work yet paused he as he once again looked to the sky and then the village. "This village…and the rain…it feels very familiar."
Suddenly something flew forward and struck Goblin Slayer in the side of his helmet. The metallic ping rung out as Goblin Slayer turned his attention to the direction the object came from yet saw nothing. Then as before another object flew forward and once again struck him along the side of his head. Goblin Slayer grunted in annoyance as he looked down as saw two small stones lying on the ground at his feet.
"Still far too slow to react. Had that been a goblin throwing it you would have died fool!"
Goblin Slayer raised his head and observed a small hooded figure slowly approaching the village.
"That is why I wear a helmet, to prevent being struck in the head."
"You talentless fool, always taking things far too seriously for your own good." The figure spat as he drew closer towards Goblin Slayer. "It's been almost seven years…and still the goblins live. I thought you were going to destroy them all. Did you give up in your quest?"
"I have not abandoned my quest…I will slay all the goblins." Goblin Slayer calmly looked down at the figure who stood before him.
The small figure removed his hood to carefully examine the Goblin Slayer. The figure was a rhea with uneven teeth that were clearly visible as he smirked at Goblin Slayer, his eyes were milky white and upon his face as a long goats patch under his chin.
"Master." Goblin Slayer calmly nodded toward the rhea.
"Well look at that…a silver ranked adventurer? You get that from just hunting goblins?"
"The guild felt fit to award me with the rise in rank over the years. If there is nothing else, I need to prepare for the horde that is coming tonight."
"Is that all you have to say to the person who trained you for five long years? You ungrateful whelp, were it not for me you'd be dead along with your sister!"
"That is true, but it doesn't change the fact that the goblins will be here tonight." Turned around to continue to get ready for the horde that would be coming.
"Well listen to you, planning ahead to protect the village, perhaps you have improved a bit since I left you. Though there's something different about you…like the sickening stench of death clings to your very person."
"I have been cursed." Goblin Slayer stopped though he kept his back to his master. "My body is in constant pain and when the curse consumes me…I shall become a wraith to slay the mortals. That is why I am alone here so even if I die…only the goblins will be harmed."
"You sound as if there are others you are partnered with. I thought only the goblins mattered to you." Burglar paused as he carefully looked over Goblin Slayer.
"I…have a party that is dealing with the curse and…my friends and little sister I do not wish to hurt."
"Little sister? I thought he was the only survivor from that village? My how much has changed over these seven years." Burglar frowned as he though about what Goblin Slayer was saying then sneered. "It sounds as if you found something else to fight for other than the destruction of the goblins."
"I have."
"Then what are we wasting time for? Show me how far you've come since our last meeting as we prepare for the goblins."