How can Goblins be here? That is the sole thought that have passed through my mind on repeat since we landed on Brynhildr 565 and it has repeated itself for hours. At first I had tried to deny what I saw as we were greeted by representatives of Shieldmaiden, to my surprise they were all males and not women as I had expected. The mostly human assembly of men had explained that the local indigenous people worked for the company here on a "volunteer" basis, but so far that none of them had climbed far up the "corporate ladder". My first impression of these so-called shieldmaidens was indeed that they were nothing but petty merchants, as the others had told me previously. But I struggled to see the evil which my compatriots elaborated on.
These "shieldmaidens" were certainly annoying as they spoke with a barrage of vagueries about the facility and our future work on this planet. But that was mostly because I wanted to investigate the goblin presence and try to confirm what I deep down knew to be true. I did not have to expend any effort to confirm it, however, as we passed a hallway with two goblins washing the floor and speaking to each other. Goblinspeak was unmistakable to my ears, even if this dialect seemed strange to me. What I also noticed in the periphery was that none of my crew members seemed to understand the language at all.
The entire process of integrating us into the shieldmaiden facility took far too much time in my opinion. As all I wanted was to find the nearest goblins and dissect them to find answers as to their presence here, or at least explore the planet outside of the massive complex of metal. My mystical senses made it very clear that there would be no answers about the deeper questions here, only about mundane affairs regarding the mission. Which I did not care about in any way expect as a means to secure my place in the crew.
But as distracted as I were by the presence of Goblins here, even I started to pay attention as we went from the landing platform and the area reserved for menial labour to the upper tiers of the facility. This being the part reserved for the off-planet Shieldmaiden employees. Grey metallic walls and floors that could be barely described as clean, made way for a white and sterile environment. Tight rooms and corridors became spacious lounges and offices with plants and even a whole river decorating the interior. This area seemed to mostly house humans, but with a smattering of other species as well. I noted one man sitting in front of a computer that seemed to be some kind of massive humanoid creature with the head of a fish, clearly it was only an aesthetic fishhead as the worker seemed capable of breathing air.
We were moved to a separate wing of the spire-like building which seemed to be reserved for non-Shieldmaiden guests. It was at this point that Namatha and Torran, who had both disguised themselves very effectively for the mission wandered of with our guides to a meeting of some sort. Namatha had somehow manage to colour her skin to being almost as pale as a vampire and changed her hair to a shorter and blonde variety, while Torran had added several layers of facial hair, an eye patch, and several cosmetic scars to his face.
The rest of us were directed to sleeping quarters where Tlokbur was given her own separate room, while Mary and I were directed to share our quarters. This was inconvenient but at least she would be tolerable compared to certain others in the crew. A few hours later Namatha and Torran, who went by Rose and Jack while on this planet, came to inform the rest of the crew sans Morgera about the mission briefing.
It had been decided that Morgera would be best served remaining on the ship and playing the role of the automata, while there he could guard our ship and serve as an additional set of eyes. The second reason was that besides Tlokbur he is the crew member with the most technical knowledge, therefore he would be the only one besides her who could handle a digital intrusion attempt upon the ship.
What they had learned from Shieldmaiden made it clear that our role here would be not to defend the actual facilities, as they had so tersley informed us and the other mercenaries who had come here. They had actual employees of Shieldmaiden to defend the premises, we are here to remove problems and that is it. Currently, the main problem that Shieldmaiden is facing here are attacks upon personell and facilities by local wildlife. Specifically, wildlife that had been enhanced with "cybernetics", the way Shieldmaiden explained these monsters must be remnants from galactic intrusions before Shieldmaidens legal appropriation of the planet.
The consensus among my collegues was that this was a complete lie of course, the animals were probably some failed experiment that had come free recently. Shieldmaiden wanted them to be removed to stop any source of embarassment, but also ensure that the company can operate here freely. All this information passed through me as I focused on the far deeper questions.
Now, that the night has come to Brynhildr and the rest of the crew are done with their deliberations, it is time for me to investigate the current state of affairs. I walk out of the rather luxurious room I share with Mary, while she busies herself by polishing her knife collection. Investigating the Goblins directly without getting caught would be impossible and idiotic, as it was clear to me that none of the people here trusted the hired mercenaries. As such I needed someone else to investigate on my behalf, but to call upon that help I would need to be in a private location. The best way to seek out a private space in an area like this was to talk to those who know all.
I found the janitorial automata washing a hallway with a strange looking mop, the machines that served Tlokbur proved to me that while these were not truly sapient they could respond to questions. "Machine, tell me are there any rooms where a religious man might practice his faith in peace?" The humanoid machine swept it's head around to look at me, it started down the corridor without a word, but not before it gave me a wave to follow.
We walk in complete silence through the pristine hallways of the building until we reach a door with a large "R" carved into it. The machine points to the door before leaving me behind and I enter the chamber. The room is white and almost completely featureless with a tiny bookcase, some pillows, a table and four chairs being the sole exceptions. I persued the bookcase at first and they all seemed to be various religious texts, this room was also notable in being the sole place here where the standards of cleanliness were not perfect. This was by no means dirty, but the white floor did not practically glow like they did elsewhere.
"This is not a perfect location for this, but this must suffice." I crack my neck and glance about the room before emptying the contents of my pockets. Various bits of plant matter along with a ceramic bowl and other items, that I had "acquired" during our tour of the upper tier spilled out onto the floor. The step forward even back then had been clear to me and I had been able to procure items that would help me with what comes now. To investigate the cause of Goblins being here while maintaining my disguise, I would have to summon someone that could search for answers on my behalf. It had been easy to determine what sort of creature I would now summon.
Demons, Old Ones, Abyssals, Voidlings, and Spirits were all dimissed instantly. Demons are too risky considering my last interactions with them, Old Ones are creatures of incomprihensible madness and therefore not ideal to subtle investigations, Abyssal creatures understand only darkness and as such are too limited to be useful here, Voidlings are dangerous to the fabric of reality itself, and spirits were just not sustainable without more natural magic to fuel them here. Since I doubt this universe contains much if any natural sources of magic, summoning Spirits would just be a way to kill them through starvation.
That left only one relevant option that I knew about and that is the one I am pursuing now. The fae are ideal for missions such as this, the Goblins must have been here a long time and whatever magic brought them here must be almost fully faded. Even the least among the Fae know more about deep magic than most living magicians, and they love unraveling complex riddles. Lastly there must be so much iron in a place like this that they would not even have to be compelled with a binding ritual to obey my will. As long as I would not contain them in this place of iron they would rejoice.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
I sigh and then let my knowledge of ritual magic guide me through this long familiar process, I weave the various bits of plants together to form a circle on the floor. Each plant I carefully imbue with trickles of my mana to make up for their rather shoddy state. When I complete the circle I gingerly place the ceramic bowl on the floor in the middle of the circle and I pour milk along with a black beverage known as "coffee" into it. The process then becomes far more tedious as I kneel down and begin to draw glyphs onto the floor around the circle, each Glyph being painstakingly drawn to ensure that there are no mistakes made.
In my days of yore such a lesser summoning ritual would have been unnecessary, I would have simply willed the lesser fae to appear before me. That was technically an option now but weakened as I am, using principles rather than the established formulae would be incredibly risky. Rituals and spells are like the established recipies for a cook, they can be done almost effortlessly and carry little risk of failure. Principles are the ability to freely cook whatever meal you want in that category, and that process can just as easily make a horrible meal as an excellent one.
Therefore, I set up the lesser ritual of summoning using the long established recipie for summoning eldritch creatures of all sorts. A circle, glyphs, and an offering, some idiots only used the latter two as they argued that offerings aren't technically necessary. Usually these moronic summoners are young and don't understand that to interact with the eldritch one needs a certain: flair. As well as a respect of the ancient etiquette that had been established by generations of Magic-Users and eldritch creatures before us.
With the glyphs finished I add a final little enticement to the fae, I cut into my ring finger with one of my talons and let drops of blood fall into the bowl of offering. "I call through the void to the lands of the Fated, I beseech ye through this lesser pact of summoning to bring before me a fated one. A faerie who can unravel the most convoluted of riddles and seek the most faded an ancient of deep magic." As I finish my incantation silence spreads through the room and I can hear my heart beat as I ensure the mask is firmly in place over my face.
The silence lasts to the point that I would call it oppresive, until finally something starts to happen. The plants that I had carefully woven into a circle begin to sizzle and pop, but rather than smoke clear mist is what floats up through the air. Soon enough the plants have been completely consumed by the invisble fire, leaving only a swirling mist which eventually coalesces into a floating white triangle. The thick mist stays in place there for a few seconds until I can feel a breeze flow into the room, the warm breeze carries with it the scent of gardens. That is at least until the scent goes from warm to cold and the smell goes from blooming flowers to rotting plants and raw meat.
A tiny bit of the floating triangle extends down to the floor with the bowl, in the form of a misty little staircase. Suddenly a small feline head pops through the white triangle and sticks out into the room. Crimson and intelligent eyes shine in the dimly lit room and the head is followed up by a feline body that elegantly steps down the misty stairs to the floor. The fae cat seems natural at a first glance, but my experienced eyes see through this facade. The cat's fur is so dark that it can seemingly absorb light itself and interspersed in it there are tiny glowing pricks like stars, the tiny frame seems light but I can feel the hidden weight the fae carries with it.
It begins to lap up the mixture of beverages from the bowl without as much as glancing at me. That means that this fae is one of the openly arrogant ones, I suspect it is from one of the smaller fae courts and is overcompensating for it's low stature. "I am glad that thou hast come before me oh Fated one, may our bargain be struck in good form." This prompts the cat to twitch one of it's ears and look up at me. "Ahhh Glyphnax the former Warlock of Heights, thou are certainly wise for calling upon the fated rather than the infernal since your fall." It's voice is deep, alien and carries with it the underlying feeling of dread and disgust.
I merely arch my eyebrow in response to this rather pedestrian opening statement, as far as traditions go it is customary for the summoned to reveal hidden knowledge about the summoner. I would have expected something a bit more refined than that I had lost my old powers. "Fated one ye powers of observation are lauded by the most ancient of my kind, but thine sight seems faded as your knowledge me must truly not be that great. My name has been whispered in the halls of power for a time respectable to even the venerable Queens of the Fae. To impress me thou must put in greater effort than that." I bare my teeth at the cat in a knowing smile and I watch it tense up.
Ahhhhh this must be a youngling among the fae, it is not experienced in these matters at all. I see it now, the way the cat has moved and spoken since coming here: stilted and to the point. The way the cat practically rushed to the milkbowl first and only adressing me when spoken to. It could even be so young and inexperienced that it might not have even been named yet. "Dark one let me assure thee of this, thou have little profit to gain from challenging even a fallen Glyphnax. Unnamed as thou art and with less experience than even a youngling among my people. I have come to bargain but not as a bargain between equals."
The cat hisses at that and with the hiss the ancient chaos of the fae can be heard under the animalistc sound. I absently feel the dreamborn beast inside me stirr and roar in challenge to the hiss. The Fae rises up on both of it's feet and looks into my eye. "Speak of your wishes then, you who believed yourself equal to the eldest of us and fell so far when learning you did not suffice." I snort derisively in response to the cat's outrage and instead of saying anything I just gesture to the room we are in. The fae looks about and truly seems to notice the strange surroundings for the first time. It looks puzzled at this and goes silent while seemingly forgetting about the outrage.
"You are very far from home, you who lack a name." I drop the archaic words that traditional warlocks use at this point as the time for politeness have come and gone very quickly. "This is a world that is almost untouched by all magic and all of those who are of it. A world of machines, metal, and strange automata that creates ephemeral boxes that people use to gain power. It is also a world where countless sapients have been able to enter the very void of night itself and travel between the stars. My offered task is simple, there are goblins on this planet and they are not of this cold world. They are from where I was born and they should not be here, the magic to bring goblins into this world must be ancient and powerful. Seek out that magic for me and learn more about this strange place, in return I shall give you a name that will make your courtiers tremble."
The cat turns to look at me and the meaning of it's expression is clear enough. "What if I refuse you?" It seems to radiate with each passing second of silence, I chuckle and gesture to the room again. "There is enough iron here to slaughter thousands of your kind, I have mastery over the Principle of Containment. I will contain you into the most concentrated spec of iron here and leave you to rot if you refuse my wish." The cat stays still at that until it finally speaks up. "Then the bargain has been struck, I of the Court of Night will do as you have asked of me." I grin at it and let the pleasure of victory pass over as I state. "Then you should start your investigation as soon as possible." I say as I turn to leave the circle with my summoned assistant, while absently summoning an eldritch servant to clean and dispose of the traces of the ritual.