Chapter 8
Gob's Revenge
I don't own WA3. And isn't this chapter's title quote-tastic?
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He may have looked like a short, stout man, were it not for the oversized, beastly head that labeled him as a demi-human. He gazed at the world as it rolled past and he decided it wasn't rolling by fast enough. Grabbing a metal can, he chucked it at the minion pulling his cart. "Pick up the pace, gob!"
The cup ricocheted off of the gob, who immediately stopped and turned to glare at the gob responsible. In response he merely hefted his axe in a menacing manner. Grumbling, the gob resumed pulling the cart.
Hobgob was not having a good day. He had lost a third of his men in the battle against the humans in the mansion. His perfect new base of operations had been burnt to the ground. And on top of all that, he lost his favorite hat in the blaze. He hated this week. In fact, he could see no way as to how it could be worse. He needed to let his aggression out, and he decided that the human settlement to the north should be on the receiving end.
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"Humans are weak, gob. Yet the have all good stuff! We gobs are strong, and here we shuffle around this forsaken dust-ball, scrounging for an existence! I believe, gob, that as the stronger people, gob, we should take what we desire, gob! Today we march on the humans, gob!"
Yells and grunts of agreement echoed throughout the plains, and the gobs quickly gathered all of their supplies. As the horde prepared, Hobgob stepped off the high boulder. Scanning the crowd, he took deep breaths to calm himself. As he did, he found who he was looking for.
"Gretyl, gob!" he called to a female gob.
She turned at the sound of his voice, then ran and leaped into his short, stubby arms. "Hob, gob! You're going to war?"
"Yes, me love. It is something that we, as gobs, must do."
"But what if something happens to you, gob?"
He took her gnarled, course face in his hairy, rough hands, and looked into her yellow eyes. "You truly are the most beautiful gob, gob," he whispered.
From his eyes, she could tell that there was nothing she could grunt or do to change his mind. As he marched off with his horde, she started to sob, gob.
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Hobgob remembered well the tears of his love. But, he had to fight for his honor, as well as hers. The humans would not get away with their interference any longer. He smiled at the thought. He enjoyed smashing those creatures. He enjoyed it because he felt, no, he knew that they deserved it. Any un-smashed human was an injustice to the world.
While Hobgob sat lost in thought, an eager young gob approached the commander's cart. "Hobgob, sir!"
Hobgob turned, slightly annoyed, and answered "What is it, gob?"
"My name isn't Gob, and we're approaching the human settlement."
"I never called you Gob, gob. How close are we?"
"The humans have seen us, gob."
"That's 'Hobgob', and thank you. Now, get into position."
The young gob ran back to his company, and Hobgob stood up from his seat.
"Men! Today is a day different from the rest of days! For too long we have accommodated the humans on land that should be ours! This ends today!"
Shouts, grunts, murmurs, and cheers rang out in reply.
Hobgob continued, "The human settlement knows that we are approaching, and can undoubtedly smell our ferocious scent of war!"
As if on cue, there was a cry from the city. "Dear guardians, what a horrible stench!"
Unfazed, he went on. "Get into formations! We fight! Charge!!" Thrusting his axe forward, the entire gob army broke into a headlong rush for the gates of the human settlement, Boot Hill.
The ground shook as eight-hundred stout, stocky, and irate demi-humans charged forward, leaving Hobgob feeling a rush of adrenaline course through his system.
He felt filled with power, and his spirit trembled in joy. The energy of his forefathers flowed through him; he felt the courage of Gar Roughback, he could hear the thundering voice of Chief Gobzar, he became the strength of Ironbeard. For a moment, he toyed with the idea of hearing his own name passed down through legends. From this day forward, I will be known as Stone Goblin. Yeah, that's a good, strong name, he thought.
With this new fire burning within his essence, he leapt from his cart and charged with the rest of his men. At the gates of the settlement he could see six humans holding their cowardly ARMs. He could also see his men being torn apart by these same weapons. He knew them all. Shor Gumwood took a shell to his knee, and as hi fell, he took another in the chest, killing him instantly. Argor Gram stopped to look at his fallen cousin, but a bullet to his head ended that and brought him down as well. But this did not stop Hobgob or his men. They pressed forward, determined to taste victory, desiring the honor of the gob race that had long been forgotten.
Hobgob, now Stone Goblin in his mind, chose his target; the man who the survivors of the mansion incident had described as the attacker. With his weapon poised, the man had lowered his stance, making himself appear no taller than Stone Goblin. His lavender eyes were as fierce as a demon's.* A true warrior, thought the gob. As his warriors were felled before they could even swing their pick-axes, he ran forward, shielding himself with the broad face of his battle axe.
The man with silver hair realized that he was the target of Stone Goblin's advance, so he turned his focus to the gob dressed in red. Stone Goblin smiled; he and his worthy opponent were about to engage in battle.
He took a chance and leapt as high as he could towards the human, and drove his axe down with as much force as he could muster. Such an attack could have easily split a man in half; however, the man had rolled to the side. Stone Goblin tried to pull his axe out of the ground, but his efforts were wasted. The human fired three shots, and Stone Goblin fell to the ground, facing the sky. He could hear the shouts of pain from his troops, and he could feel the ground rumble as they began their retreat. A single gob ran up to him and tried to pick him up.
Gathering his remaining breath, Stone Goblin rasped, "No…go on, get out of here, gob…and tell my wife….I love her, gob…"
The single gob displayed no signs of acknowledging his leader, and continued to try to lift Stone Goblin, an impossible task due to his bulky armor and massive battle axe.
Stone Goblin was about to rebuke his underling, when suddenly he felt another pair of hands grasp him by his feet. Oddly enough, they felt tiny. He lifted his head to see who had grabbed him, and was surprised once again upon viewing the one responsible. While the gob at his shoulders tried to lift him, a small human female, probably a young child, attempted to lift his legs. Through their combined efforts, Stone Goblin soon found himself in the back of his cart, fleeing the city. Before he left, he heard the little girl say, "Go back to your wife, and tell her yourself."
Stone Goblin was stunned. Here, he had been trying to drive these creatures out of their homes, and upon being defeated, they still show him kindness? He raised his head a bit to see the little girl, who seemed conflicted about her decision to help the enemy. He felt the urge to make her choice seem like the right one, so he smiled a weak smile at her. She stood still for a moment, then nodded and smiled back. Satisfied, Stone Goblin rested his head back down, and stared into the sky.
Not only did I underestimate their strength, I may have also misjudged their spirits. Perhaps they should have the blessings of the planet.
And with that, all conscious thought left his mind as he drifted off to sleep.
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* No, not the metal demons. Just demons in general. No metal demons in this fic. Sorry, Quarter Knight fans…
A/N: Well,
that was interesting. I don't really
have much to say tonight…odd…
Trina: Well, might as well get it
over with. Shoots the author
A/N: Right, right…..Dies
CRRS:
JayJay-Sawada: You know someone like Maya? This person doesn't hang out with talking cats and guys stuck in the wrong decade, do they? ^_^
Teefa85: Not as much of a battle chapter as I thought it would be… More like a goblin version of Braveheart. With less violence. And not a single human mentioned by name!
Skylark Starflower: …….Who let the gobs out?! (Grunt, grunt, grunt, grunt) Who let the gobs out?! Bleeds from ears
Hypes: Honestly, the mute thing was originally just a joke to make it easier to write her, but then I realized it'd probably be a good and original idea, so here it is!
Black Waltz 0: More gobs than any human can tolerate, today, on HawkPerch!
Gob: You slept with
my sister!
Hobgob: But she's my auntie!
Gob: Well, I was sleeping with her first, gob!
Hobgob: I'm gunna kill yoo! Lunges for Gob
Heh heh heh……
aya-yahiko: Let's just say that Maya will get her revenge, someday….. ^_^
Thanks for the reviews, guys! And I apologize for taking so long on this chapter…..
Stay tuned for Chapter 9!