Trident’s main streets were colorful and decently lit. There were countless shops advertising their wares, water parks in every neighborhood, and even a theater in the northern part of the city.
However, most of these streets did not go through the center of Trident. People found the large tower and the huge crystal on top almost as eerie and disturbing as the monsters it protected them from.
The buildings around the tower were old, decrepit, and inhabited by the poor and the city’s shadier characters. They had numerous broken windows and holes in the walls, and their placement was such that there were few streets and a myriad of alleyways going through each block.
It was here that a lone goblin was struggling to find its way. Shrouded in darkness and trapped inside a labyrinth of buildings, it was being pursued by enemies it could not see.
Seeing an end to the alley it was running through, the goblin sent two black fireballs ahead and another to his back. The fireballs that went ahead split at the alley's bifurcation and disappeared into the distance.
“Show yourselves, humans!” Its venomous voice echoed between the buildings. “Is this all your species is capable of?”
The goblin reached the bifurcation and checked both ways. The coast was clear.
Suddenly, a pebble flew towards its back, and the goblin turned and smashed it with its fist. An arrow flew towards its shoulder and it caught it midair. Finally, someone tried to kick the goblin from the side.
With a grin as large as its face the creature turned to capture its prey. However, the kick was fast, ridiculously fast, so fast in fact that the goblin’s stomach bent before it could even identify the assailant.
All it could see was long, red hair disappearing into the darkness while its body smashed into a wall, bending its armor.
The goblin then fell to the ground and coughed a mouthful of blood. “Ha, you fool! You could have cut me.”
“No, I could not,” Natalie’s voice echoed right as a long blade descended on top of the goblin’s head.
Immediately, the black barrier activated, and several fireballs shot through the goblin’s armor. Branson's longsword was melted to the hilt, and while he backed off, Michael appeared from the opposite direction. The teen combo punched the goblin three times in the head and ribs before the black barrier extended and he had to retreat.
“Inferior bipeds!” the goblin spit out a tooth while releasing fireballs in the direction Michael had retreated in. Its armor was now so damaged and full of holes that it broke apart, revealing its body.
The goblin had deep green skin and a square jaw, long bony fingers, and long, sharp nails. The crystal it held in its hands was blacker than the night, although a bit oval and with a small, purple streak.
“Hey Finn,” Luca’s voice echoed between the buildings. “Who the hell is that?”
The goblin started running, and the teens chased after it.
“Change of plans,” said Finn. “Luca, take Kyle’s bow and send him to the city to notify the police. Branson, go to the tower, and let the guards know: Trident has been infiltrated by goblins.”
“Why us?” Branson complained, but he ran off anyway.
‘Because you’re weak,’ thought Finn as he readjusted his position on the third floor of a nearby building. Across from him, clinging to a small broken window while those inside watched in horror, Annie ripped pieces out of the brick wall and sent them flying at the goblin below.
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The pebbles flew straight down towards the pavement and then shot the goblin from the sides right as Tommy appeared and tried to strike its head with the flat of his sword. However, this time the barrier activated in time and covered the goblin in an impenetrable black ball.
“Your little tricks will fail,” it grunted from within. “Nothing can stop Trident’s fall.”
“I doubt that.” The goblin heard several people falling from a great height. Immediately, it released a flurry of fireballs breaking their bodies into bits.
“This city is not so weak as to be conquered by someone like you.” Something heavy suddenly smashed into the goblin's bubble.
“Die!” shouted it while releasing another flurry of flames. Small holes appeared in all of the nearby buildings as if a mass shooting was underway.
Again, the goblin felt a thud on its barrier. It even heard footsteps where his enemies had been previously shot down.
“We will defeat you, and you will be punished for your crimes.”
It was Tommy that threatened the goblin while hiding behind a nearby building. The people who had fallen in front of it were nothing but stone legs shaped out of bricks which Annie had shot into the ground. The attacks the goblin felt on his barrier were also bricks in various forms meant to keep it paranoid and hiding within its bubble.
Annie kept it busy, Tommy threatened it from afar, and Luca leered from above, waiting for his chance to shoot it dead. As for the remaining three, they were running on top of the buildings, jumping from rooftop to rooftop with a clear destination in mind.
“If the tower is well guarded, we’ll return with reinforcements and help,” said Finn. ‘And if there are no guards... There isn’t enough time to run out of the city.’ Finn bit his lips and kept these thoughts to himself.
Fortunately, the buildings ended a full 150 meters away from the tower. Barbed wire and two platoons armed to the teeth guarded the black crystal from every direction. There were countless dwarf axemen in full suits of armor patrolling the perimeter, and mages were stationed right next to the tower, along with 2 buff axemen in front of the only door.
From the nearest building top, the teens saw Branson talking to the guards at the permitter's entrance. One of the guards shouted something, and all the armored dwarves took off their helmets. There was a tense moment followed by relief.
“Phew, there’s no goblin here,” said Michael. “What now?”
“We should get a few guards to follow us back to the others,” said Natalie. “They have plenty to spare and...”
Suddenly, Finn turned to the side and took out Trent’s bow. He locked an arrow and released it towards a rooftop to the east. The arrow flew above the barb wire catching the attention of several mages before lodging itself into a green creature’s shoulder.
The goblin saw the arrow coming but did not bother dodging. It ran across the rooftop with a mad grin before jumping off the four-story building and throwing his pitch-black crystal at the tower.
“For Princess Caroline!” it shouted. “May you all drown in hell!”
[Name: ???
Age: ???
Race: Goblin
Titles: None.
Abilities:
* Internal mana manipulation,
* Command over monsters,
Achievements: ???
Relationships:
* Caroline.
Comments: Who’s Caroline?]
…...............
[Name: Caroline
Age: ???
Race: ???
Titles: Princess, ???
Abilities: ???
Achievements: ???
Relationships:
* Goblin terrorist.
* Weird Voice.
* ???
Comments: Angry tapping noises]