Chapter 7 #2
“Adventurers come to camp,” the chief said, stopping about ten feet away, his voice deeper than the guide’s. “Why you come? We make no trouble. We have no treasure. We worth nothing.”
Alsen stepped forward, pointing towards the cage. “I can hardly agree that you make no trouble, given you’ve kidnapped the archivist. We are here to retrieve him.”
The chief laughed. A genuine laugh, head thrown back, gut shaking. “Bold words. Chief like bold. But humans only two. Goblins many.”
Luna stepped to Alsen’s side. “Why are you talking to them? Just wipe them out with a couple of spells, we loot the corpses, and we’re done. This entire discussion is an absolute waste of time.”
Alsen got the point. He smirked faintly, in spite of trying not to. He turned towards her. “Just because we’ve already annihilated two goblin villages doesn’t mean we have to erase this one as well. Maybe these goblins are smarter than the past two hundred. They even have two that can talk.”
“Waste of time,” Luna said with an exaggerated shrug. “It’s just goblins. Plus, the necklace on the chief looks nice. We aren’t leaving without it, are we?”
Alsen threw a glance at the chief. He had detected a faintly magical item, and the necklace was that, most likely. Though the collection of painted wood, skulls, and crystals that hung around the chief’s neck was hardly something he could call nice.
The chief’s laughter had died. He studied Alsen with his yellow eyes. The other goblins stood around a lot more nervously now. Their primal instincts most likely clashed with how Luna talked. Something about the carefree way in which she spoke of annihilating the village sounded terrifying.
It also gave Alsen all the confidence he needed. He smiled. “We need the archivist and that necklace of yours. Hand them over, and you might just live to see another day. Otherwise, I will wipe the village out, down to the last soul, and take what I want from whatever corpses you leave behind.”
“The old man useful. His donkey delicious. Found a vault among trees. He opened it for us, eventually.” The chief scratched at its scars. “The necklace heritage too. But we talk. We let old man go. You leave. Never come back.”
Alsen felt a flicker of interest despite himself. A vault. That sounded interesting. A swift glance at Luna’s beaming eyes told him all he needed to know about his companion’s opinion. “Hand him over then.”
“But,” the chief said. “You open the vault for us first.”
Luna glanced at Alsen. “What did I tell you? Waste of time. Just meteor shower them into oblivion.”
Alsen sighed, theatrically. “You hand over the old man. Once he walks away, we will look at the vault. Otherwise, well, my companion is growing rather restless over your existence, as you can hear.” His voice dropped lower. “And there isn’t even a hundred of you.”
The goblin chief wavered. “Yes. Yes. After.” He waved around. A bunch of goblins ran to the cage, hastily undoing the ropes that tied it closed.
“Good,” the chief said finally. “Old man free. Human leave. Everyone happy.”
While they waited, Alsen pulled on his power, sending out another scanning spell, just a much more subtle one. The magic scan pinged its results back into his mind.
Again, he detected a seed of the void energies on every goblin. Tiny, barely perceptible, but present even on the smallest ones.
They weren’t marked. They were born with it.
Void-animated statue, now void-touched goblins, and before, Dreamwalker. Yes, he helped Luna, but he looked a lot like how Alsen would imagine the devil.
Also, he found no marks of void anywhere in the village or on other adventurers. If it were normal, they would have had them or in their magical items.
The goblins brought Corwin forward. The old man looked battered but intact, with bruises on his face and his robes torn, but he was walking under his own power. His eyes found Alsen and Luna with desperate hope.
“Thank the stars,” Corwin breathed. “I thought I was going to die in that cage.”
“You’re safe now,” Alsen said. “Come.” He turned, helping the old man.
Luna glared at Alsen, almost surprisingly silent.
Alsen softly shook his head. He led Corwin a few steps away and then turned. The goblins had already started returning to what they were doing. Goblins were no use to the world. No benefit they brought. No natural place in its ecosystem.
Yes, they could speak, and yes, he could somehow reason with them. But some degree of intelligence didn’t mean much. Not to him, at least.
Even without the seeds of the void, they were monsters, a purely negative element of existence.
With the void marks, they were a danger. A risk that could spread.
He pulled on his power.
Indirect missile. Times five.
Five missiles fired from him. Before they even landed, he continued.
Indirect missile. Times twenty.
The first five missiles landed, tearing apart the goblin chief and his bodyguards.
Indirect missile. Times one hundred.
He felt the cold of overdrawing magical power through his body.
But the barrage of missiles already started descending on the goblin village. In a screaming massacre of small, chain explosions, the village turned into a mess of shards, debris, and blood.
Once the last missile landed, Alsen pushed out a life scan. Eight survivors.
Indirect missile. Times twenty.
Twenty more missiles burst from around him. A strong pull of chill flooded through him. He over-drained himself.
But no survivors remained.
Luna watched the carnage with a pleased smile, eyes full of nostalgia. She had seen worse, Alsen was sure, and as he expected, she didn’t mind the tiniest bit.
Corwin, on the other hand, looked pale as death. He hadn’t moved. His eyes swept across the devastation, the shattered huts, the scorched earth, the blood splattered everywhere. “You... all of them... they were going to let me go.”
“They were monsters,” Alsen said. “They would have only kidnapped and possibly killed more people. Now, they won’t bother anyone anymore. Let us help you get back to the road.”
Corwin stared at him. “Monsters?” The old man’s voice cracked. “They were just goblins! Stupid, yes, but they fed me! They weren’t—” He stopped, swallowed. “This is... this is a massacre.”
Obviously. A hint of guilt passed through him. He dismissed that emotion. His reasoning had no flaws, and that was all that mattered. “When locusts swarm in to eat a farmer’s crop, do you not protect the crop so as not to harm the locusts?”
“These aren’t insects. Goblins think, speak, and are almost human.”
Alsen shrugged. “But they are not. I fail to see the difference between exterminating goblins and locusts. Not all living beings can exist in harmony.”
Corwin’s words died in his mouth. Alsen didn’t budge. The silence stretched between them. Corwin looked away first, something in his expression closing off.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: ENEMIES DEFEATED – GOBLIN VILLAGE (67)]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 1005]
[LEVEL UP!]
[CURRENT LEVEL: 5]
Luna raised her hands. “Woo hoo!” she shouted. “Ehm, sorry,” she added.
Corwin only slowly turned. “I will find my way.” He stepped away, stumbling forward into the forest.
They watched him leave. He looked like he could walk, and, well, there weren’t any goblins around to be a risk, not anymore.
“So,” Luna said, clapping her hands together. “Do you have a cleaning spell? The chief’s necklace is still magical, and you blew up two fat goblins all over it.”
Alsen shook his head. “No, and I have exhausted myself. I’ll need a few hours before I can cast spells again. Sorry.”
“Ah, well. I’m not leaving loot behind.” Luna pulled off her shoes and started rolling up her pants to her knees. Afterward, she put down her backpack, took off her blouse, and pulled off the undershirt from beneath, leaving only a leather bra on her upper torso.
Alsen turned halfway through the procedure, giving her a bit of privacy.
“I hope there’s water nearby.” Luna walked into the massacre, blood squelching underneath her feet.
As carefully as possible, she got to the corpse of the goblin chief and searched the mess for the necklace. She did her best to get as little blood on herself as possible.
She still ended up with blood splashed over herself, her arms covered in blood up to the elbows. “Of course, he fell on the necklace.”
“Sorry,” Alsen said awkwardly.
She returned, putting the necklace on the forest grass. She ducked into a thick patch of grass, trying to clean herself up a bit using the grass.
Alsen took the necklace. The tingle of magical power passed through his fingers as he held it. Definitely magical.
Copying Luna, he used forest grass to clean the necklace a bit. He had to figure out how to identify it later.
“All right,” Luna said as she started dressing up again. “Let’s find and open that vault.”