Underground Passageway of Gorz
Deep beneath Gorz was a massive network of tunnels that reached nearly every part of the city, with both public and private access points at each of the main city's districts and settlements such as Troville and Randale. Of course, Castle Penfenics, Le Fay School of magic, and the Ovis Estate all had their own way into the underground that was heavily guarded.
The Underground Passageway was built as a safety measure if an attacking force ever overcame the city's walls or the city was befallen by natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes. It would be used to guide Gorz's citizen to emergency bunkers that were built and maintained by the best of Gorz's craftsmen and further enforced by magic.
And it in this labyrinth that a party made up by Blake at the front equipped with Risabeel and Saffire with a fireball in hand next was Lu with Rena flying about and at the back was Nathan with a ball of mana being used as a light, were matching on through.
"UGGGGGH! I AM BOOOOOORED!" Rena groaned into the stone tunnels surrounding them with her voice's echo groaning back. "Why are we here again?" She asked, drifting down to Lu's head.
"We're on a quest, remember?" Lu answered Rena while bushing under her chin.
"I get that, but it's all we've been doing for a while." Rena continued to nag, pushing Lu's finger away and rolled around on his head.
The new guild had been doing well for the past week and a half, granted both Blake and Nathan were balancing their guild lives with blacksmithing and studying at Le Fay respectively. So. most of the quests were left in the care of the other members such as Mordecai, Lu with Rena, Gram with someone, and finally Saffire and Baba passing as mages. Mari, Os, and Bread were left at the Guild House with someone watching them currently Baba and Gram.
"Hey, at least we're all here together, right?" Blake turned around to the two and nodded over to Nathan in the back. "Just like when we were in that dungeon."
"You mean the one that guy left us in for dead?" Rena countered by reminding everyone of how Nathan took off after finding a rare tome.
"I have said my apologizes a thousand times over!" Nathan yelled at the Fairy and Blake who was giving him glares, forcing him to grab a hold on the spellbook he got from the dungeon kept at his side by a metal chain. "And mind you, I acquired this powerful Iron's Call tome bettering our guild as a whole, so would you just let that go already!"
"No..." Rena, Blake, and Saffire answered in unison as the group stopped and turned to Nathan, who was trying to hide behind one of his Iron's Call tome.
"...and, besides we're one short, that thief isn't here," Rena added turning to Blake for him to explain.
"He's off doing his own thing, and why do you care anyhow?" Blake shrugged it off and went back to walking, followed by the rest.
"Because I don't trust a random person who just forces people into doing something they don't want to do, that's my job! Babaha!" Rena bashfully laughed atop Lu's head, throwing her head to the ceiling. "Wah!" Until Lu shook his head, almost knocking her down. "Hey! Tell me when you're going to do that!"
"But we followed Blake around for no good reason other than our quest and the fact that he asked." Lu pointed out, letting Rena get her footing.
"That's because he's simple and puts everything out in the open," Rena pointed at Blake with the smith have a blank look on his face. "But the other guy, he's hiding something...I know, I can feel it in my wings..." She added in a serious tone, rubbing her chin.
"Well, if we're on the topic of people who have things to hide, why did you change your look at that Elf guild?" Blake asked with a finger wiggling around the fireball. "After all you said that I could ask the 'awesome' you about anything, right?"
"So, why are we again?" Rena ignored Blake's question. In fact, by the look on her face, it was like he didn't even say a thing. "Or are you that simple that you forgot and we've been walking for nothing."
"Shot down again, huh?" Blake thought, he'd been trying to figure out why Rena did that just to hide from a few Elves that weren't Lu, but each time the question got dodged by no only Rena but Lu as well. "And for your information, I have it right here in my pocket." He stabbed Risabeel into the ground and dug his now free hand into his pockets. "There!" And pulled out a quest.
----------------------------------------
Terrors Of The Underground
Quest Giver: Head caretaker of the Underground Passageway.
Info: While doing their routine rounds of the underground, some of my people were attacked by a group of Goblins. They were able to get out with only minor injuries. However, things may not go so well the next time. I ask that someone handle this threat and quickly as it is slowing our work, which is of great importance to the city as a whole.
Time limit: 5 days (After this time period the quest shall be handled by the City Watch)
Requirements: A Party of at least three or more
Reward: 3 gold per Goblin
----------------------------------------
"This is some easy coin!" Blake cheered, stuffing the quest back into his pocket then picked Risabeel up swinging her to his shoulder as he marched onwards. "I don't get why they added that requirement bit what can bunch of pest do?!"
"I would hold my tongue, smith, in my past time, I have done some reading on the other races and every time Goblins came up they were always described as being quite resourceful and resilient at the worst of times..." Nathan spoke up from the back. "...and I have also read fables of how entire kingdoms were fell by these 'pests' as you call them."
"Pfft! Come on, man!" Blake tried to hold back a laugh, wheeling around to Nathan with a smile that went from ear to ear. "A whole kingdom, really!? I get that some of them can be smart, hell me and Reiner did a job of one back in Fairmaw one time, but take out a kingdom!? Yeah right! Next, you're going to tell me that there's some guy who only hunts Goblins for a living!"
"There is...and as I said those were fables, but every fable has some truth to it. All I can tell you is to be careful," Nathan warned, sensing around for any of the small targets that they were after.
"Whatever, I beat a Dragon, this going to ea-ngh!" Blake groaned in pain as his chest got crushed by the tightening of Saffire around him. "Hey, what gives!" He yelled at her looking down at the blue gem on his armor.
"You didn't beat me! You got me to drop a cliff face on my head!" Saffire growled, sneezing Blake a bit more as if she were an iron corset.
"That is true, Sir Blake, you did not defeat Saffire perse? It would be better to say that she defeated herself." Risabeel pointed out much to the groans of Saffire and Blake. "Am I mistaken?"
"Hmm? The item is able to change its size at will, interesting, very interesting indeed." Nathan suddenly came up to Blake with a small notebook that he was writing on with a feather pen since he started living at the Guild House he often took some time to study the Smith-knight power, writing down everything that happened with Blake and his items.
"Hey! Get back in formation! And you stop trying to kill me!" Blake ordered at Nathan and Saffire. "Ugh!" Only for both of them to bear down on him more.
"Shh!" Until a sharp cut of air came from Lu's lips as he stepped between Blake and Nathan. "..." Then he pointed at his ears currently flicking about before pointing to the right of an intersection ahead of them.
"..." Blake and Nathan nodded to each other and got back into formation.
"How many?" Blake whispered to Lu as he took the lead, slowly coming up to the intersection.
"5 or 6 I think? And they're moving something horse-drawn..." Lu answered, closing his eyes to get a better idea of what was coming. "The steps are too short for humans and too quick for Dwarfs," He added, drawing an arrow on his bow.
"I can confirm that they are all Goblins plus one donkey...and only a few moments away." Nathan at the back was holding his Advance Mana Control spellbook while diming his mana ball. "It'd best if they think we were simply another group of workers."
"Do we even need to trick these things?" Blake muttered as he got ready, holding Risabeel and tried to make his fireball look like he was holding a torch.
From there they waited and only for a few moments later came the sound of hooves clopping on the hard stone floor, wheels of a cart rolling around and most importantly the talking or screaming as it were of sheer madness from high-pitched voices
"Gaaack!" One of the voices belonged to a long-eared, big-nosed, beady-eyed 3-foot tall green Goblin with a potbelly, wearing nothing but random stitched up cloth garb with a map in hand.
"Kzzzz!" A yellow one hissed having a silver dagger in hand which to it was a short sword. "Daaa!" It stabbed a finger of its free hand at the map and put a hole in it. "Ooooh?" It looked shocked for a moment then stabbed another hole through the map along with the one holding it.
"Kekeke!" Riding on the head of a donkey was a naked green Goblin twisting and turning the poor beast's ears as a large wagon came into view on top of it were two more yellow Goblins having some kind of game where they pulled at each other's faces.
----------------------------------------
Humanoid Monster, Goblin: Small, grotesque, and greedy for anything they can get their hands on, mainly coin or food. Goblins are indeed the riff-raff of the world, hiding in dark, damp places, shuffling about as a small group, using traps and tricks and maybe a bit of magic to take out anything bigger than themselves.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
While most can bearly pass at being civilized like anything, there are exceptions to the norms, granted those are only Goblins who have lived long enough to gain a bit of smarts.
Goblins also have a sub-race known as Hobgoblins which are bigger, smarter and stronger than their cousins and are usually in command of a clan of their lesser brothers and sisters.
Items forged from the Ore of this monster are mostly useless and are better off used as toys.
----------------------------------------
"..." Silences befell the party as they stood there watching on as these things didn't even pay them any attention and went about with whatever they were doing.
"Keke-ERK!" The one holding the map was on a mad giggling fit until it snapped its head at Blake and Lu not seeing Nathan due to its height. "Ooooh!?" But that didn't stop its eyes from bulging out of its skull. "Gag-!" It tried to get word to its friend standing next to it but got slashed in half by Blake the moment it turned around.
"Kzzz!" The dagger-wielding one hissed striking at Blake. "Ggha!" But both its dagger and arm were sent into the air with an upward slash of Risabeel.
"One more is a bit too much for you but!" Blake swung at it from the side while it was staggered from losing an arm and cleaved its head clean off.
"Baggaga!" The donkey riding Goblin yelled to the two on top of the wagon before cutting the donkey loose with its teeth and tried to ran Blake over with it. "EK!" Until an arrow pinned it to a wall and let the donkey run down one of the many dark paths.
"HGMM!!" One of the Goblins on the roof turned to see what was going on, pulling out the front tooth of the one it was playing with. "Baggaga!" It screamed, picking up a small bow it had next to it and shot at Blake and Lu, making them back up. "Hihihih!" It giggled, grabbing another arrow to shoot. "Ooooh?" When it was about to fire a blue of light was right in its face.
"ERK!" Which blasted it into chunky bits of green in front of the last Goblin. "..." It froze for a second, looking at the charred headless body before it. "Vasha! Vasha! Baggaga! Baggaga!" Then started banging on the wagon's roof calling out to someone on the inside. "Ba-Foowish! Foowish!" Then it took a fireball to the chest, rolling around on the roof in pain until let out one last grunt as a pile of ash.
"Hah! 'Be careful,' he says." Blake chuckled at how smooth things went for them.
"Do not mock me, smith," Nathan warned as he came up from the back. "But it is a bit of irony that we took them by surprise a tactic they often use against others, Hmm, hmm, hm-Ugh! That smell is disgusting!" He was laughing at first until he took a whiff of the burning corpse on top of the wagon. "What is this?" While covering his nose and month, Nathan noticed something odd about the wagon's side and took a closer look.
"Burning Goblin meat will do that, my bad." Blake shrugged as he went over the bodies of the ones on the floor. "Where did you get this?" The only thing of note besides the Goblin Ore was the silver dagger held by the arm of its owner. "Hmm?" Giving it a look over the weapon looked like it was made for someone bigger and with a lot more money. "But they attacked a bunch of workers, right?" He muttered before putting the dagger on his belt.
"That's 15 gold, yea?" Rena asked after flying up at the two piles of meat on the wagon. "Let's do another round just in ~case~" She offered, rubbing her fingers together as she went back to Lu. "Like Blake said, this is an easy coin, hehe!"
"That's right, and from the way the last one screamed, I'm guessing there's one more in there." Blake came up to Lu and pointed at the wagon with Risabeel, from the look of it there was only one way in and out of it which was covered by a blue tarp.
"You're right. I can hear some breathing in there." Lu nodded, drawing an arrow on his bow. "!" Then quickly aimed at the tarp. "And its rustling about in there."
"You think it might jump out swinging or has its ass in the air?" Blake joked a little but still took the lead as they neared the wagon with Risabeel held up to strike down the little monster inside. "Ready?" He looked at Lu about to push the tarp open with Risabeel.
That is if wasn't for the tarp itself getting tossed open by a pair of dark green childlike arms belonging to a 4-foot tall female Goblin by her softer features and her 'fuller' figure if one were to use the right words. She had messy chin-length black hair, large bright yellow eyes, a wart-covered nose and blacken lips where two small tusks stuck out from her bottom lip.
The Goblin's clothing was a simple black tunic stretched thin by her buxom body and black straps on her arms and legs. Going up her left ear were silver earrings and between her black lips was a six-inch long iron smoking pipe with a gold fitting near the end that held up a small silver pipe-bowl burning with some kind of strong smelling substance.
"!?" Goblin's widened eyes went to Blake, then Lu then back to Blake, .and she slowly brought a hand to her pipe. "!" But stopped when Blake held Risabeel to her hand. "...I come in peace..." She finally spoke up in a raspy voice with puffs of smoke coming out of her mouth.
"It speaks? Now, mind giving me a reason not to make those your last words?" Blake ordered, tapping at Goblin's pipe with Risabeel. "Cause, I don't take kindly when someone tries to shoot me with a needle." He added, making the Goblin click her teeth on her pipe. "Might as well give it or I can take it with your head."
"Grmm..." After a moment of hesitation, the Goblin let Blake take her pipe with a small puff of smoke leaving her lips. "How'd you know?"
"I've made one of these before," Blake answered, shaking the pipe a little to put it out then twisted the gold fitting on it and with a *click* a hole appeared at the end of it. "Let's see here." He shook it again, and a small needle fell to the floor. "Crafty, I think I'll keep it." He smirked at the Goblin, putting the pipe next to the dagger he picked up. "Now, since you're being so good, I'll let you pick how you go, we got a sword, fire, arrows, magic and a few planets? Don't take your time cause I get bored fast!"
"I would hold the execution, for now, smith. There is something you should see over here," Nathan informed Blake waving a hand for him to take a look at something on the side of the wagon.
"Huh? Lu, watch the green potato." Blake went over to Nathan, finding him with his mana ball held up to the wagon. "What is it?" He looked at the wagon and painted on its side was a white ram head identical to the one the House Ovis uses. "These things robbed from the Ovis? You think we'll get a bigger reward for this?" Blake's mind was only on money at the moment, leaving Nathan to bring a hand to his face. "What? Something I'm missing here?"
"Yes, you are, something very important, anything owned by the Ovis, be it a mansion or a simple wagon such as this is always guarded by the Ram Force," Nathan explained, leaving the smith to look back at the dead Goblins. "Now, enlighten me as to how a group of simple-minded Goblins was able to defeat at the least four of those men?"
"Tch! Even if they took 'em by surprise, they wouldn't be moving around so cheerfully which means..." Blake trailed off as he and Nathan went back to Lu and the Goblin woman who was swinging her arms around, causing her chest jiggle and shake. "Alright, we know you couldn't get this thing on your own so tells us where you're friends are."
"Sorry, this green potato isn't in the mood to talk." The Goblin smirked Blake's way as she crossed her arms under her chest. "Hey!" She spat out when Blake suddenly picked her up by the scruff of her tunic. "Put me down!" She tried kicking him but only got her legs swinging in the air.
"How big are they?" Blake continued to question the Goblin.
"Bigger than whatever you got in your pants, friend!" The Goblin answered, snapping her teeth at Blake's face.
"Hobgoblins, huh? And with these many little ones off on their own, it's either 2 or 3 of them." Blake muttered to himself as he held the Goblin to the side like a cat. "Hey, Lu, see what's inside there."
Lu nodded, taking a look at what was inside of the Ovis wagon for a second until he came back out. "Weapons, armor, and food."
"Scaring people off without killing them and they're going after equipment? This is not a few rats trying to live...hmm?" Nathan began theorizing what a bunch of Hobgoblins and their lackeys could be up to and nothing good came to mind. "This may turn out to be a bigger problem than the client thought. What's your word, smtih? We can either continue roaming for them or head back up to get more people on this."
"If we got a Hob with these, then we would, but they were bringing this stuff somewhere which means someone is waiting for their loot and if they don't get it, then that tells them something's up, and I doubt they'd be willing to come to check." Blake threw out his thoughts on the matter.
"And they might pack up and move somewhere next, right?" Lu wondered with his ears trying to pick out any movement coming towards them. "By the time we got more people down here, they could either be on the other side of the city or out of it for that matter."
"Yeah, but right now I think they're still waiting in their hole which gives us a chance to get the jump on them and make out with a bigger reward for our taking, and we got ourselves a talking map right to them!" Blake held up their new plump Goblin friend.
"What!?" She had given up on trying to kick Blake a while ago, but at the smith's words her ears shot up straight and she twisted her head around to him. "And why would I help you!? You killed my friends, remember!? And now you're going after the rest of them!"
"Oh? You mean the friends you didn't bother to come help even when one was banging on the wagon while screaming your name, eh Vasha?" Blake asked the Goblin using what he thought was her name and watched her grit her teeth confirming it for him. "Or is it Foowish? But I think that means fire."
"And you think I'll trust you any better?" Vasha asked, with her lips curling into a small smile.
"As far as the mage can toss you," Blake answered, pointing a thumb at Nathan who hmphed back then dropped Vasha letting her stumble to her feet. "But I like my chances of finding them with you around then not and if you lead us to a dead end? You die, and I can get 2 gold for my time."
"Heh, you'd make a good Hob with that kind of thinking, bubby," Vasha giggled, finding out how much Blake valved her life while dusting herself off.
"Coming from a little devil like you that's a compliment," Blake took the stab at him with a cheeky smirk then turned to Nathan. "Now tie her up."
"Why me!" Nathan yelled at Blake with his hands to his chest.
"Cause you have that chain with you?" Blake pointed at the chain Nathan had around his waist holding that Iron's Call tome.
"Huh? This chain happens to be a key component in my usage of my Iron's Call tome!" Nathan answered with the chain starting to rattle on his person without him some much as moving. "It shouldn't be used on such a wasteful task as binding a Goblin!"
"Fine, fine, I was just asking, I've got some rope here with me anyhow." Blake waved a hand at Nathan as he pulled out some rope from his belt. "Hey, Lu, mind holding her down while I tie her up."
"Excuse my words, Sir Blake, but why would it be necessary to restrict her movements if she is not able to harm us in any way?" Risabeel asked as Blake stabbed her into the ground causing Vasha to stare at the now talking sword then at Blake when the black horns he had disappeared.
"Because she could run away when we're distracted by something," Blake answered while rolling the around Vasha's body unintentionally making her already noticeable perks stick out more. "Not that you could get anywhere with those stumpy legs of yours." He added, giving the rope a good pull to tighten it up.
"Hey! Take it easy with the ropes are you trying to get me going here?" Vasha winked at Blake once he was done with her and held a bit of the rope in his left hand.
"Is that so? That gives me a few ideas if you're going to be a bad gir-ngh!" Blake was going along with Vasha until he started getting choked by Saffire warping around his neck. "I was joking!" He yelled at her after using all of his strength to get out of that.
"Then think about it in your head, not out loud!" Saffrie growled about to shift back to herself to slap Blake with a fireball but stopped when he patted the gem in her. "Don't pat me! I am not some kid!"
"The armor talks too?" Vasha whispered to herself, part of her wanted to know what was going on with the female voices coming out of Blake's items but another part of her the smarter part that wanted to keep herself alive told her not to get any ideas.
"Geez! I was trying to catch my breath!" Blake insisted, holding his hand away from Saffire before anything else got done to him and picked Risabeel up regaining his horns. "Huh?" Which was when he noticed Vasha looking up at him trying to guess what was up with him. "Hey, eyes forward and lead the way, potato."
"Fine, but don't get mad if I take my time." Vasha turned around and started waddling on ahead swaying her hips and rump from left to right and in perfect view for Blake, who may have or may not have taken a few glances at her.
"Sir Blake? Before we head out should we not do something about the wagon?" Risabeel pointed out before they got really moving cause the others to stop and turn to the now donkey-less wagon.
"Ugh, I think we should leave it here, for now, it's too much of a hassle to bring it with us like that," Blake muttered, deciding to leave the wagon where it was, the best thing that could happen to it would be a worker finding it and take it top side.
And with that decision, the party now plus one Goblin named Vasha began wandering the Underground Passageway in search of a growing Goblin horde preparing for something at the very least.
To be continued