"Hold the door! Do not let them in!"
He hammered the wood that held the great doors of the castle. Around him were other adventurers who pushed themselves against the doors.
Foul liquid crept under the doors as Demons pushed themselves against the castle doors. They could hear the cries of cultists and Demons as their weapons battered the doors. He heaved as the thick plank of wood was finally locked in place, but it would not hold for long. He was about to walk away from the door when he an audible snap was heard. He immediately covered his head as splinters rained down on the poor adventurers in their futile struggle.
Above them is a large hole, pierced by a large claw with flesh that pulsed with black blood. He watched helplessly as it moved rapidly, impaling the man unfortunate enough to find himself standing beneath it. Weapons flew yet it did little against the thick bone. The arm that held the claw pulled back quickly and dragged the body along with it. The white-haired woman cried out for them to hold, and hold they did. Yet as he pushed his small body against the large frame of the door, he thought silently.
Why the hell is he here?
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His magic began to fade. Stone. There was stone beneath his feet. The magic failed, and shadows were replaced by the sensation of thin air and hot stone. His yellow eyes blinked. They were here, right here in the spot he stood at. The heat from that blast still clung onto the air and he could smell something strange and the scent of sweat. He looked around and found not a single trace of life, yet he knew that they were here. His head darted to the side. There was fighting over there, near that building.
Cautiously, he approached while he used the shadows and rubble as cover. Liquid sloshed around his boot as he dashed from shadow to shadow in an effort to hide from whatever Demon that prowled the streets. His ears perked as a desperate cry for help reached him. Somewhere beyond the buildings, he saw a small group of people as they struggled to pull something from beneath a large pile of rubble. He hesitated for a moment, then his feet moved quickly.
"G-Gods! Somebody! Help us!"
He stayed back in the shadows and observed the situation.
Two people struggled to lift the bloody wall with the help of a fallen beam from one of the houses. Beneath the debris is a blonde woman, her eyes blank and her arms limp yet the man in front of the clearly dead body struggled in pulling out what remained of her. He watched in silence as they were finally able to drag out the mangled body. He winced slightly at the ghastly sight. The lower half was crushed and he could tell that the bones in her legs were nothing more but powder at this point. Still, the man clung onto the deceased with a mad look on his face as he cried.
The dead are gone. The woman will not wake up, and if she did, she will never be able to walk again even with the help of the strongest Healing Magic. Yet the three cried over their fallen comrade. Goblins wouldn't have bothered with retrieving the body. They would've left it as it were or took pieces they could eat for later. Yet rarely do Goblins grieve for those they have lost. He was about to leave them be when his foot slipped.
Loose rubble gave way and he felt his weight shift from underneath him. He tried to grab at whatever is near him but it was all in vain. Rocks, bricks, and wood crumbled and fell forwards and dragged him along with it. He jumped off of it, only to lose his footing after he landed on more unstable ground. He rolled and landed flat on his face. He pulled himself off of the ground quickly and stared at the arrow, and the hammer pointed at him.
"A-An adventurer? What are you doing here?"
A man, a Dwarf man, spoke in a gruff voice.
He didn't know what to say. He blinked at them blankly and they back at him as the man behind them wiped away the tears on his face. There was an awkward silence between them as he struggled to find the words to say to them. A girl, one dressed in thick robes, approached him and extended out a hand. He did what normal Goblins would do in such a situation. With a grunt, he lifted himself off of the ground and patted the dirt on his clothes away as he finally found the right words he could tell these adventurers to avoid being killed.
"Lost... I am lost. Are you adventurers also?"
The pair sighed and lowered their weapons. The girl wiped away the trail of tears on her cheeks and took a closer look at him.
"W-Well, we could take you with us, but..."
The Dwarf glanced at the silent man as he hugged the body tightly.
"We need to get this civilian out of here."
"That might be a problem for- W-What are you doing?"
"Oi!"
The Goblin ignored their cries as he walked towards the grieving man. He did not understand what they were thinking, yet he knew what he should do.
He stopped just before the man, his arms crossed and his face a blank slate devoid of any emotions. The custom for humans is to bury the dead, and that is not possible with the man tightly holding the dead body. The man paid him no attention. Perhaps his grief nulled his senses since the young man made no effort to stop him from what he was about to do. His raised his arm over the man's head, dagger in hand and a scowl on his face. He heard a gasp from the girl as he brought down the dagger's hilt onto the man's head. It knocked him out instantly, and he immediately set to work.
He pulled the man away from the dead body and set him down behind him. The Dwarf and the girl came up to him, their faces livid with shock, horror, and anger as he racked his mind with the few Earth Spells he knew. He ignored the angry shouts of the Dwarf as he watched the earth slowly swallow the body of the woman. [Earth Manipulation] is a good spell, he thought, but it was on the weaker side of things when it came to offense. Still, it beats having to dig up the hard soil in front of him.
"W-What are you doing?! W-W-What kind of adventurer treats- Oh Gods, please have mercy on this poor soul."
The girl stammered as she watched helplessly while the body was finally swallowed up by the earth. The Dwarf, who lifted the man over his shoulder, shook his head and shuddered.
"To treat such a body like this... Still, we needed to get out of here. So it did the job."
"But the Goddess won't like this..."
The Dwarf grunted as the girl offered a prayer to where the body was. The Dwarf rolled his eyes and stuck a thick piece of wood onto the earth and huffed.
"The city will handle that later. Let's go."
They walked in silence as the Dwarf led the way. He muttered silently to himself as he looked around them for any signs of immediate danger while the girl walked beside him. He could tell that she wanted to strike up a conversation with him, but all he heard was incomprehensible stammers and soft mutterings. She wasn't a Stefan when it came to conversation, but it was nice. In an awkward way. It was nice to finally be the calm one in such situations.
"What's your name, Young Master?"
Young Master? He was young by people standards, but he wasn't a master at anything. And a name! His Goblin name would be a dead give away and he's not really good at people names.
"Hm... S-Siryues. My name is Siryues."
"A strange way of saying "Sirius" but I can't blame you. I myself possess a bit of an eastern accent. Master Siryues, I am Rolf of Aeirm."
The Dwarf spoke clearly and without a smile. He was curt with his introduction, and he was a man of few words.
"I'm Elair. I'm Rolf's companion."
He nodded at Elair. Another eastern name, he thought.
Rolf was right in saying that he had an eastern accent. After all, he hailed from the east and roamed the vast plains and rolling hills of the land on the other side of the mountains. He learned the Common Tongue from the villages he stayed, or rather, hid at during the first years of his exile. His time in the company of people, while he hid beneath their rotting floorboards, made him smarter than most Goblins. But he took after them when it came to speech. The only reason he didn't speak a thick eastern accent is thanks to that strange girl he met during his time in the Droli Woods.
"By the way, are you Mage?"
"Mage? N-Not really."
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
To be honest, he didn't know what he was either. Goblins can't be Mages. They can't use regular magic since their bodies aren't built for it, supposedly.
"I'm... just adventurer. Looking for money and food."
"Ah. Well, can't say that's a bad thing. The two of us were in the same cart as you a few years back."
Rold sighed while Elair shook her head.
"It's hard being broke as an adventurer. Especially when you're travelling with a Dwarf."
"Funny. I could say the same to the woman who eats more than a family of Dwarves. Anyway, what is your story, Master Siryues? What brought you to Arenhein?"
The question caught him off guard. For a moment, he thought of an excuse. Then with a confident tone that befitted an adventurer, he said only one word;
"Money."
"..."
"..."
The two sighed and shook their heads once more.
"I guess we're all in the same cart... I would've raised my drink to that but my hands are full at the moment and I am out of drink at the moment."
Elair chuckled as he scratched his head. They are a strange pair, they are.
As they made their way past empty houses and buildings, the pair divulged more information about themselves. Rolf was currently on a journey towards Iligfor, a Dwarf Fort-City, on the other side of the continent and Elair is a childhood friend of his. He didn't understand what a "Fort-City" is or why Elair wanted to go with him to this place but he did not question them. He simply nodded and listened to them. It was during that long talk when he noticed a familiar sight.
By now, they made their way to a large road with many tents all around them. Adventurers buzzed around and he saw what looked like a giant barricade of stone and rubble as Archers fired their arrows onto the things behind the barricade. In fact, he noticed that there were scattered fighting and battles in buildings and streets all around them. Yet they continued to walk towards one of the tents.
"Excuse me! We have an unconscious civilian here!"
A Guardsman immediately looked towards their direction and rushed towards them. The Goblin noticed the dishevelled and haggard look the Guardswoman possessed as Rolf handed her the unconscious man. Another Guardsman came to assist her as she wrapped the man's arm around her shoulders.
"A-Are you one of the scouting parties? E-Err, what's the name-"
"No, we aren't. We came from the Guild to offer our services and we ran into a lone adventurer on our way here."
"Hello."
The Guardswoman looked at them for a moment, then shrugged.
"Well, Miss Katherine might have some tasks for you."
The Guardswoman said with a groan as she and her companion dragged the man off into one of the tents.
The three of them sighed. The three of them approached the white-haired woman as she barked orders from atop the ruined fountain. She had beads on sweat on her forehead as she tasked a group of men in robes towards the large, make-shift wall that blocked the wide street to head there. Rolf approached the girl cautiously while he and Elair watched the men lift their arms and stir the earth around the wall. They were near the fighting, but far enough to not be affected by the Demons' strange aura. The white-haired girl paid him little attention as her eyes narrowed on a rather noisy spot along the wall.
"More of them... Looks like I'll need more hands on that-"
"Outta' da' way! [Blazing Comet]!"
The Goblin felt the heat in the air rise as a familiar blonde man hurled something across the air.
A spear streaked through the air, engulfed with flames that slowly consumed the weapon. Like its name, it blazed like a comet before it found its mark on a man clad with simple clothes and a sword. The man could only scream in agony as the flames quickly consumed him along with the spear. The man clicked his tongue as he walked over towards the white-haired woman with a spear that looked as of to was hastily repaired. Behind him were four girls and a group of wounded people dug up from the rubble of some building.
"There's a group of Demons, a dozen or so, movin' towards here from the east."
Katherine clicked her tongue as she glanced east with a worried look in her eyes.
"Damn it. We're getting surrounded... And those Mages are focusing their attacks around their library."
"If I were you, I'd pull back to the castle right now."
"We can't. A number of teams are still out there and we still need to clear the tunnels under the walls."
Katherine said as she finally cast a brief glance at Rolf.
"There's a shortage of men over the-"
Crap. She made eye contact with him. And what's worse, she definitely recognized him.
"I see. Me and my partner shall get to work then."
"W-Wait! That man over there, who is he?"
Rolf glanced at the Goblin, he desperately hid his face under his hood. The Dwarf stroked his braided beard and harrumphed.
"A lone adventurer that accompanied us here. He goes by the name of "Siryeus" and he is of no renown."
"I-I see... Carry on then."
Rolf nodded and gestured for Elair to follow him.
Quickly, the two of them caught up to Rolf as they passed by Jared and Katherine. The Goblin could feel the unmistakable stares of both adventurers as well as the quiet disbelief among Jared's party. As he passed them by, Katherine leapt down from her vantage point. He gulped as the adventurer walked past him, her hand firmly on her rapier's handle. He was about to dash for it when she tugged on his shoulder discreetly. He did not turn to face her, yet he stopped in his tracks as he heard the soft gasp of air before her words.
"They're doing fine, don't worry."
There was only silence from his end. After a moment of relief, he nodded and walked away to follow his companions.
He was about to walk beside them when his ears rung with high-pitched noise. A bright flash engulfed his vision. The unmistakable flash of an explosion and it was quickly followed by a boom that rattled his head and his ears. Rolf and Elair quickly ducked as debris flew past them or fell on them. He heard Katherine shouting behind him while he looked at the source of the explosion that just occurred.
It was gone. The wall that held back their enemies was gone. In its place is a crater and the remains of a large Demon. He rushed towards Katherine while she barked for Guardsmen and adventurers to form up in a line. She and Jared watched as a Mage whose left sleeve is covered with blood ran towards them with a pale face. Jared caught the man and immediately pressed him for answers. After a moment, the man finally stopped stammering and gave him a coherent answer.
"A-A Demon... One they stuffed with explosives, managed to sneak close to the wall and-and..."
"And fuckin' destroy it. Shit! They're here!"
Jared shoved the man towards one of his teammates. His eyes were locked onto the shapes that clamoured towards them through the smoke and dust.
"Everyone! Those who are Bronze Rank or are members of the City Watch, get the wounded and the civilians and take them to the guild! Those who can fight, gather at the keep and ready yourselves! Those who want to die, fight with me and delay the Demons for as long as you can!"
Katherine's words steeled most of the people there. Yet his eyes spotted a handful of people who slipped away in the confusion. Still, there was a handful of them who picked up their weapons and stood with her.
"Idiot! Moron! You'd be no use to us if yer dead! All of you who wants to fight, pick up yer asses and make a run for it towards the castle!"
Jared shouted as he waved his spear around. Katherine fumed at him, but it was short-lived.
Men and Demon rushed towards them, but Holy Sigils left around in a last-ditch effort to delay them activated and burnt a few of the Demons' limbs. Katherine sheathed her rapier and nodded. Jared was right, there would be no last stand upon this spot. Katherine shouted for the men to follow Jared's orders to rush to the castle, but a few would still remain to guard the rear. But Jared smiled as Katherine struggled to find a team that could hold the rear.
The Healer in his party handed him two spears from a Guardsman. He aimed one towards a building, then threw it with such force that air blew all around him. He did the same with the other spear, although he aimed this one at the house opposite the building. As the spears crashed onto the brick walls of each structure, an explosion tore both buildings and brought the walls down onto the unsuspecting band of Demons. Amused with himself, he chuckled and turned towards Katherine.
"Had someone set that up earlier."
Katherine made no replay other than a nod and signalled to the other adventurers to move.
And move they did. Rolf and Elair ran beside him as they followed Katherine and Jared's mad dash towards the castle. Through the main street of Arenhein ran a hundred or so adventurers and guardsmen as they threw whatever attack they could manage behind them. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, and he felt his heart soar as he saw the mangled remains of the castle walls. Bodies clogged the fallen gates as the adventurers sent to guard the castle earlier opened the doors for them. As the last of the adventurers scrambled into the confines of the keep itself, men rushed to shut the doors just as the Demons came into view.
"Grab whatever the fuck you can! Block the damn windows and bar that damn door!"
Jared's words were matched by the loud slam of a table being slammed down in front of the door.
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They watched the door anxiously as more cracks appeared. With each finger or hand that tried to reach in, a brave soul would strike at it desperately as adventurers struggled to dump whatever they could in front of the doors. The Demons roared outside, but a Priest managed to carve a sigil unto the doors' frame. It wasn't a powerful sigil, but it bought them time to prepare and rest. Still, they were all restless as the Demons continued their assault while they waited for the dawn. He sat near Rolf and Elair as they tended to the wounded with the bandages they have.
"Thank you..."
A young Guardsman said while Rolf moved on to a familiar-looking face.
"It's fine. We've got a Healer in our party so don't bother wasting any bandages on me."
"A Healer that can't use Healing Magic right now. Master Dwarf, please go on and don't mind my companion."
The girl smiled at the Dwarf as he looked at the shallow gash on the tanned girl's arm.
As Rolf cleaned the wound, the Healer approached him and sat down beside him. He did not mind her presence. In fact, he found it calming as she quietly tried to sneak a glance of his face underneath his hood. Of course, he didn't make it easy for her but he found it fun to try and avoid her attempts. Finally, the girl gave up and sighed.
"Mister Goblin, I know that it's you under that cloak of yours."
"Really? Thought my disguise is good. Many people know it's me."
"Ahaha... Well, I think it's those eyes of yours that give it away."
The Goblin blinked and rubbed his eyes. Are they really that strange?
"I didn't really have a chance to thank you for saving Jared down there... So I'm-"
"It's ok. Don't need thanks."
The Goblin didn't mean to be rude, but he needed her to be quiet for a moment.
Quiet. It was quiet. The Goblin's ears twitched as he tried to listen to what the Demons were doing outside but he heard only faint hisses and roars. A few of the adventurers around the door noticed this as well, and they all had hopeful yet cautious looks on their faces. The sun peeked its head over the mountains and many took it as a sign of victory over the long night. But he didn't. Jared and Katherine were on edge as well while the girl wondered what was wrong.
His instinct moved him. He pounced on the Healer and tackled her to the ground. A surprised yelp came from her and a shout came from Jared's lips, but he didn't care. There was a flash of bright light, and he found wood, stone and the sky intermingle. A second later, his back crashed against a wall and he found himself sandwiched between the wall, the Healer, and Elair as the ceiling and the doors of the keep was blown apart by the Demons. He watched as a winged Demon and a tall man approach the keep as Demons and men gathered around them, their eyes filled with bloodlust yet they did not kill right away.
He saw Jared and Katherine as they raised their weapons. He saw the fluttering of white hair just before his vision blurred and darkened. The Healer's words now messy garbles as he slipped into unconsciousness. The wet sensation of blood on his face the final sensation he felt just before he closed his eyes.