Chapter 5
When we woke up and put on our gear one of the generals came to our room. He requested that we go to the front lines and lead the charge. After about an hour of traveling to the battlements we finally got to the front line, and we were just in time to see the enemy come to the top of the hill. They were looking at us and shouting insults, and I mean some really rude insults. I heard "Demon" a couple of times, and "midget" but I think that was directed to Bodo or Drakak. The lead general came up next to us; I guess he wanted to lead the front line too.
"Well, are you sons of dogs ready? This fight probably won't last very long." As he finished that sentence, the goblins reinforcements arrived. Now, the fight was two-thousand vs. two-thousand. You could hear the sound of shaking armor behind us, and when we turned around some of the men were fleeing. We didn't know what to do; when all of a sudden I heard the most terrifying war cry ever, and when I turned around I saw Drakak charging straight towards the goblins. The rest of us followed him, even if it was just going be the six of us verses an entire army; too many lives were at stake for us to retreat with the other cowards. When we we're half way there I heard something on my right, and when I looked I saw the old general charging alongside us; he also brought half the army with him. When I checked my left I saw the other half, but when I looked forward to the goblins I saw they we're charging us. We pointed our weapons at an unlucky goblin and destroyed their front line, and chaos ensued.
One Hour Later
"Hey Mythrik, how about a hand!" I yelled towards Mythrik and Aireon who were fighting off four blackblades. I was using my quarter staff to fight three by myself, and I was losing.
"Here!" Bodo yelled, but I couldn't see him.
Then, one of the goblins screamed into the air and fell with a very large gash across his back. I then figured out that he was invisible, but the other ones didn't. They were so frightened by it that they fled deeper into the battlefield, so we turned towards Aireon and Mythrik. But they had already slain the other blackblades.
"Where's Drakak and Bhar?" asked Aireon
We looked around for them but couldn't see them anywhere, but we figured out very quickly. All of a sudden we saw a lightning bolt shoot through a whole squad of goblin cutters, and a loud thunderclap followed and we saw a dozen goblins fly through the air. We pushed through with some other solders and met up with Bhar and Drakak in a small clearing, and that's when we saw him. The underboss was a lot smaller than I thought, but then again I thought he would be huge. He was the size of a goblin blackblade but had significantly more armor than the other ones, and he was carrying a sword that he used to cut down all that came across him. So, we charged him; and then the real battle commenced.
He saw us, except for Bodo who had gone invisible, and charged us too. Mythrik and Drakak were deflected and Aireon's arrow missed its mark, and when I tried to attack him he knocked my staff aside. Bodo's bolt missed just barely but he was still hidden, and Bhar's sword was dodged. He then swiped at Mythrik, and he only barely deflected it; Mythrik however recovered extremely quickly and attacked back at him. He hit the underbosses shoulder with a lunge and damaged him a little, but it must have thrown off his game when Mythrik hit him because we all got hits in. Aireon planted an arrow in his other shoulder and Bodo sneaked up next to him and wounded his leg. Finally, Drakak slammed thunderhammer into his chest and he was tossed backwards about twelve feet. But, when he got up he called five warriors to cover his escape; I noticed him fleeing deeper into the battle and refused to let him get away. Bodo made an entrance for me and I bolted, and when I started to feel winded my ki filled my body with new energy and speed.
The underboss was fast; he stayed about fifty feet in front of my almost the entire time I chased him. While I was trying to catch him, a goblin with a spear tried to trip me; but I reacted with a hurdle right over him and kept running. Shortly after that two blackblades tried to kill me, but I deflected them and knocked them out with a spin of my staff. I finally almost got within ten feet of him, and then I saw what he was heading to. There was a dock on their side of the hill with a ship waiting for him, so if he got to it before we stopped him we would never be able to find him again. So I tried to use every ounce of my energy to catch him, when I heard a familiar voice behind me.
"GO MORGUKIA YOU CAN DO IT!" I turned briefly to see the rest of my companions running behind me.
We got to the docks but were too late; he shot passed the goblin guards who were wielding shields and they closed in on the entrance. With determination fueling me now I charged the goblins. Bad move. They bashed me with their shields like it was nothing and sent me hurling back towards my friends. But, without missing a beat, Mythrik and Drakak sent me flying back to the dock with all their strength; while in the air I prepared to use the rest of my ki for thunderwave. When I started to approach the ground again I struck it with my staff, and willed the rest my ki within me into the staff; the blast was complete devastation and almost sent my friends flying back with the other goblins. I instantly grew exhausted, but Bhar ran by and picked me up by my arm and I continued to run for his ship.
But we were too late; he had boarded his ship and started sailing ahead of us. There was almost no way to catch up to him; that was until the half-orc captain arrived. He was sailing at almost a blinding speed, so fast we almost missed it.
"Get on! Let's go get the Grock!" he yelled from the wheel.
We all had to make a pretty long jump; it was probably ten to fifteen feet away. Although everyone made the jump intact we were too far behind them, and Drakak started to get sea sick again. He grabbed his stomach and ran to the edge of the boat, where he let out a surprised scream. We all ran to him and what we saw was quite shocking, but also mesmerizing. It was a water spirit, or nymph. It looked curiously at us and dived back into the water, and at that same instant the boat shot forward at incredible speeds. We caught back up with the underbosses ship in a matter of minutes, but the nymphs weren't done. As we were getting prepared to board a massive wave came over the ship; sending over fifty goblins over board and killing most that stayed on the ship. Those who survived the nymphs immediately made a protective formation around the underboss that was injured in the wave, but we were able to dispatch them very quickly. We surrounded the underboss ready to execute him, but I had a better idea.
"Let's take him in for interrogation and find out what he knows; it's been a long day so it shouldn't take long."
The Following Morning
When we took him to the royal dungeon, we found out just how much of a coward he really was.
"PLEASE DON'T HURT ME I'LL TELL YOU ANYTHING, ANYTHING!" Mythrik punched him in the gut to quiet him,
"Alright, what is Marfedelom planning? What's his next move?" he questioned
"Please, he never told me much; just that he had shikordian's putting his plans in motion."
Aireon approached, puzzled but intrigued.
"What are those?" he asked
"They're a highly trained unit that specializes in deception. He has three of them, but I only know of one. He's in a kingdom about a three months' worth of travel from here. I've told you all I know please let me go!"
I looked to Drakak and Mythrik, and nodded for them to execute. They nodded back and Mythrik stabbed him in his stomach, and as the goblin started throwing up blood Drakak forced his hammer down on his head. It blew up like a watermelon; just as the king walked in and got covered in his blood.
"Well, other than me having to go change clothes, you have my many thanks and the kingdoms. You may choose one item from my treasury or my royal armory. But please refrain from exploding anymore heads, my staff would very much appreciate it." He said while one of his servants wiped his face of blood.
I didn't really need any weapons or armor, so I just went to the treasury. The master of the treasury was very delighted to have a visitor, so the transaction took a little longer than I needed it to. But it was nice to have a normal conversation with someone that didn't consist of goblins or evil sorcerers. He gave me eight diamonds and I went on my way to meet everyone; they were waiting at the beginning of the road that leads to the next kingdom called Disktock. When I arrived we began our journey, and hopefully we'll put a stop to Marfedelom's plans.
…..
After traveling for three months, helping Mythrik with his dual-wield training, listening to Bodo's stories, and keeping Bhar's stupid ideas in check; we finally got to the kingdom's main road. While we traveled down the road we saw a couple of bounty hunters, and they started walking closer and closer towards us. When they got into earshot they yelled,
"Now don't take another step! We know who you are and we intend on collecting your bounty! Come along quietly and we won't have to kill ya, but dead or alive I don't care." Both of them were lightly armed and even less armored.
"Hey, maybe instead of crushing these fools we should just continue. It's not worth it, and besides we have more important things to do." I whispered to my friends, it would be a shame to spill unnecessary blood.
"Don't worry mister demon man; I got this," said Drakak, "Move aside worms, we don't want to splatter your entrails all over this nice road. Even though it's what I would prefer to do, but mister demon man doesn't want to."
They looked a little worried, but weren't discouraged. "Try it and we'll open you up and play with your intestines." Said the lead one, he had unsheathed his shortsword and pointed it at us. So I decided to chime in,
"Wait, you know who we are right?" I asked him
"Well yeah if I didn't I wouldn't be trying to take a bounty off of you. What's your point?" he said, not sure of what I was trying to point out.
I could see that he was about as oblivious as he was stupid, not only is he trying to fight six very deadly adventurers, but he's also horribly outmatched. We've killed many goblins and even an underboss, and the only thing these two had probably accomplished was stealing a pie off a window. Mythrik saw what I was trying to do so he pitched in, and intimidated them to the point where I was sure they'd start running in terror.
"His point is that if you don't comply the six of us will tear you limb from limb, and stomp you into the ground until there's nothing left to recognize! NOW MOVE!" he yelled, the other cutthroat dropped his blade and tried to pick it back up, but his hands were quivering.
"Yeah, you're aware of what we're capable of so you know that's exactly what will happen. Just get out of the way, and maybe we won't sick the dwarf on you." Said Aireon
They looked at each other and decided to move out of the way, and even though they gave us hateful (and fearful) glances they didn't attack us. We traveled a few more days down the road and finally reached the main gate; the guards let us in without question, so they're either expecting us or don't care what we did. We even got all the way to the King's castle without opposition, and it confused us. I was prepared to start trying to negotiate my way out of this, but turns out I didn't have to. When we got to the king he waved his hand and everyone left, leaving us in a room alone with the king. He stood up and started walking down towards us,
"So, what brings a few wanted criminals to my throne?" he asked, but he didn't seem to be concerned with Drakak's crime.
I approached him and explained the situation,
"We've gained some information from an underboss we defeated at Rivian, he said that Marfedelom sent a Shikordian here for something but we're not sure why. We believe he means to assassinate you or do something else nefarious. Can you help us catch him before his completes his task?"
"Only if you help me complete something first," he said, "I believe there're people conspiring against me, and mean to overthrow me. Three noblemen, Korvo, Alfred, and Corvin; I need you to uncover the traitor or dispose of all three of them. Korvo frequently visits the fight club in the sewers, Alfred stays home and usually doesn't leave, and Corvin has been seen walking around the poorer area and sneaking to the forest. You have three days to complete this, and if you do I'll gladly help you."
Something inside me didn't think this was a good idea, but we didn't have any other options. So we accepted the arrangement and left the building; we decided to discuss the mission over a pint in the tavern. As the barmaid brought us the pint she looked at me confused,
"Aren't you like some monk or something? Why are you drinking?" she asked
"I can drink, but I am forbidden to overindulge in alcohol. There's a difference in drinking and being a drunk, but I don't think the dwarf has figured that out. Bring us another pint before he and Mythrik drink it all." I said, Drakak didn't care for a single word I just said until "Bring us another"
"Ok guys, who's going where?" I asked.
We all sat there discussing where we were going to go for about an hour. Until we all came to an agreement,
"Ok, me and Bodo will follow Corvin to the woods and kill him." Said Aireon
"Try not to kill him if you can; we shouldn't shed blood if there's no reason to. So please try to avoid it." I asked; senseless violence doesn't bother me as much as it should, but I want to avoid it as much as possible.
"I'll go see Alfred and try to use my noble blood to gain an audience. Bhar and Mythrik will go with me disguised as my body guards, and I promise not to rob anymore banks." Drakak said, he was a little sad about the bank robbing thing but he understands the mission at least.
"I'll go to the fight club and try to find out what I can about Korvo, let's meet back here at sundown alright." I said, and we all left to our objectives.
It wasn't hard to find the fight club; they had a man standing above a manhole quietly announcing tonight's fights in the poor district. I went down there and saw a tunnel dimly lit with a few torches, so I started to go down there when an old beggar stopped me.
"You here for the fight? You got to pay the toll sonny, or I can't show you the way." He said
I gave his two gold pieces and his eyes lit up,
"Oh bless you sir! This is way more than needed to entry, go right on ahead."
As I continued down the tunnel the lights got brighter, and so did the yelling. All I could hear was the yelling and shouting of betting men, and there was so many that I couldn't see the fighting. So, I trudged and pushed my way to the front and saw two men beating the tar out of each other; I turned to a man next to me and asked about Korvo,
"Excuse me! Do you know where I can find Korvo?" I asked, well more like yelled; I almost couldn't hear myself think let alone talk.
"You mean the champion? Yeah that's him in the middle winning!"
Just as he said that; the skinnier one of the two men gave an uppercut to the other and sent him falling to the ground like a tree, I almost yelled "Timber!"
"No one else will fight or bet against him! He's undefeated!" the man yelled
Then someone came up, I guess the one that organized the fights, and said
"Is there anyone out there that wants to challenge the champion now?"
Three men came and dragged off the beaten one and Korvo stood there, basking in the glory. That is, until I stepped forward,
"I do."
Total silence, everyone looked at me like I just spit in their pints. I walked in the ring and set my weapons and robes down on a bench, I walked in with only my pants and shoes. And then uproar started; they were calling me a looser and demon, but they started anyways.
"I have a condition for you Korvo, if I win you'll tell me what I want to kn-"he swung at me, but it was almost too easy to block. He had good footwork but he lacked technique, and this made him easy to predict.
"Shut up demon!" he yelled
I struck him in the chest with a palm strike and knocked the wind out of him, and then I tripped him. I gave him a moment to get back up and regain his bearings; I thought he was going for a left hook but he tricked me and elbowed me in the head with his right. That is a mistake I won't make again, so I kicked him in the face after breaking his defense. He staggered back a few feet into the crowd, and when they pushed him forward I noticed that he was dazed.
Excellent, I thought, He's right where I want him, but for a champion he's not that difficult. He tried to punch me, but I quickly countered him and hit him twice in the face with my fist. I then took my tail and tripped him, and as he was on his back he tried to get up; only to meet his face to my fist. He was out, and I heard people yelling out in frustration. I re-equipped my gear and picked Korvo up and put him over my shoulder; I carried him over to a bench and treated him with my medical kit. When he woke up I asked him,
"So, tell me what you know about anyone who is conspiring against the king."
"Who isn't? All the taxes he's putting down on us poor, middle, or rich he doesn't care." He said
"Ok, I'll make you a deal. If I find out who's leading the conspiracy to overthrow him and it's not you I won't kill you. Please don't make me have to do that, I'll see you in a few more days unless I find him."
He understood and we went our separate ways, and I headed back to the tavern to wait for my friends.
Night was almost upon us, and we needed to regroup and discuss further plans; hopefully they listened to me.