“Is killing the goblins that important?” asked Marina, looking up the slope that she, Friedrich and Teleri stood at the base.
“It is not the goblins, is it?” asked Teleri.
“No,” said Friedrich, taking the fox mask in his hands. “It’s Kitt. He’s telling me that this is where he wants to go. I don’t know what it is he wants to see or what he’s after, but I’m certain that it’s up there.”
“Everyone, keep your wits about you,” said Teleri, nocking an arrow. “If there is the faintest movement, we attack. Do not trust that the goblins are too frightened to lie in wait for us.”
The trio trepidatiously ascended the slope, watching for any sign of the goblins, but they never appeared. Upon reaching the top of the cliff, Teleri pointed out a small cave opening up ahead. Outside were a number of fox-skin tents that were badly stitched together and propped up by sticks.
“They must have retreated into their pit,” said Marina.
“Then that’s where we’re going too,” said Friedrich, the pull of the mask growing stronger. “I reckon if I dropped Kitt’s mask in the sand, it would find a way to slide over by itself.”
“And are you sure that you can trust the spirit within the mask?” asked Teleri. “Soul magic in all forms is something that I am uneasy with. You know how I feel about the minotaur mask.”
Friedrich shook his head. “I’m not certain of anything, but I’ve never felt any temptation to commit any sort of atrocities as a fox. But Kitt said he would pledge himself to me if I did as he asked, and I’m going to take him at his word.”
“And you are sure that the shaman was not deceiving you?”
“Branric the Isolated? He couldn’t have been much more accommodating. He shares all of our distaste for goblins.”
“A distaste for goblins is not difficult to find across the world. I assure you that the people of Alauria despise goblins as much as any in Mercia or Kai’roh.”
“Marina, tell her,” said Friedrich, growing weary of the doubt.
“Branric appeared truthful to me,” she shrugged, “but he could have deceived us somehow. For what purpose, I could not say. If you want my thoughts on the matter as a whole…I believe Kitt is at the very least a non-hostile spirit. I do not fear him the way that I fear the minotaur.”
“Then let us hunt the goblins and see what it is that we are supposed to see,” said Teleri, keeping a firm hold on both her bow and her arrow.
Friedrich led the way with his shield up, checking each of the tents along the way. The goblins were not here and it was reassuring in a sense, but then he considered that they were all going to be hiding down below. He opted to remain in his human form as he crept into the opening of the cave, knowing that it would be harder to see, but leave him more capable of defending himself.
“Fear not, for I will warn you should anything come,” said Teleri, having little issue seeing in the poor light of the cave.
Plink. Came the sound of an arrow as it bounced off Friedrich’s shield.
“They’re scurrying away,” said Teleri. “I did not hear them approach, they must have been waiting to ambush us.”
“They’re trying to draw us in deeper, aren’t they?” asked Marina.
Friedrich nodded. “They must be, but they’re going to regret it.”
He pushed ahead, following Teleri’s directions through the tight cave as it descended downwards. Kitt’s pull was stronger than ever; an uncomfortable feeling that Friedrich couldn’t shake, but he held off on running so recklessly into danger. If he was going to follow the fox’s will, he was going to make sure he lived to see it through.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“There’s daylight ahead,” whispered Teleri.
“I see it,” said Friedrich. “I would bet my entire portal vault that there are goblins outside ready to ambush us.”
“We’ve been going so far down that we must be in an opening between the cliffs,” said Marina. “They’re trying to surround us.”
“I would say so,” agreed Teleri, looking over her shoulder. “If they were not such stupid little beasts, they would have sent more of their ilk behind us to force us into the open.”
“Something about this does not feel right,” said Friedrich, also looking over his shoulder. “Not to overstate a goblin’s intelligence, but perhaps they think we’re more likely to wander outside if they don’t send something after us.”
“Then what should we do?” asked Marina, her staff already crackling with electricity.
Friedrich glanced at the staff. “Throw some bait to the dogs. Draw them to us, not the other way around. If they want to fight us, they’ll be forced through the funnel.”
“It is worth a shot,” said Teleri as Marina nodded.
The trio crept up towards the opening of the tunnel. Friedrich could see a little part of the clearing where there were large stone tiles covering the ground, which were themselves largely covered in dustings of sand, all while being surrounded by large cliff walls as they had expected.
He held his shield up in front of Marina and she placed her staff above it. Taking careful aim at the far cliff, she unleashed a bolt that smashed a portion of the rockface and sent it plummeting to the ground amidst the squeals and screeches of the goblins.
“Another,” said Friedrich.
Marina did as he said and shot another lightning bolt, which was quickly followed by more wails from the angry goblins whose home was being attacked by the tall invaders.
Marina stepped back and Friedrich remained with his shield raised and sword at the ready. At a tap from the shoulder upon Teleri pinpointing the approaching footsteps of the goblins, he swung his sword around the corner and cleaved an arm from one of the goblins as it charged into the tunnel. Marina grabbed its head and sent a surge of electricity through the beast, killing it instantly.
More goblins stampeded towards them and the three fought with sword, staff and arrow, laying waste to the rotten goblins as they tried to get the upper hand, but the humans and the elf were besting them. As each goblin fell, they grew more and more aggressive, but after a while they began to flee once again. The only problem was that there was nowhere for them to flee to except to the cliffs.
Friedrich could see them sinking their claws into the stone and dragging themselves upwards, desperate to escape from the trio. Marina and Teleri stepped out, launching arrows and lightning bolts at the goblins, knocking them back to the ground. Friedrich ran ahead, skewering the ones who were still alive upon hitting the stone tiles.
No more than a couple of minutes later and there were nearly five dozen dead goblins dead, their corpses spreading from the tunnel to the walls. The three adventurers breathed sighs of relief, confident that there was not a single goblin left alive.
Friedrich looked into the centre of the clearing where there was a raised platform up a small set of stairs. In each of the three corners, there was a pillar around thirty feet tall, that was casting a long shadow from the setting sun. Sitting in the centre of the platform was what Kitt had wanted to see; Friedrich was certain of it. There was a large statue of a fox atop a sturdy pedestal and, at the base, was an empty offering bowl.
The party walked up the steps and approached the weathered statue that bore many cracks, but remained otherwise intact. They stared at it, each admiring its remarkable similarity to Friedrich’s fox form, but the pattern of the fur was noticeable different, especially around the tail. This statue was not of Kitt, but of another fox of his kind.
“Tomba,” said Friedrich, raising a hand and touching the statue. He did not know this name until the moment he said it, the words being passed through him by the spirit of the fox mask.
“Excuse me?” asked Marina.
“The statue.”
“Is this what the fox in the mask wanted to see?” asked Teleri. “Are we finished here?”
Friedrich did not answer her; he took Kitt’s mask in his hands. He kneeled before the statue, placing the gold wooden mask in the offering bowl. The turquoise gem started to glow and the mask began to vibrate and crack, alarming the trio. It rumbled more and more vigorously before suddenly shattering into pieces, leaving only the gem behind which continued to glow brightly. An ethereal vapour rose from within it and the wispy form of a fox formed from the vapour; it was Kitt.
The spectral fox said nothing, it simply held out a paw to Friedrich. Without hesitation, Friedrich reached out with his left hand and took hold of Kitt’s paw, upon which the vapour flowed up his arm and spread across his entire body.
“Friedrich?” asked Marina, looking worried, but Friedrich smiled at her.
He breathed deeply and felt Kitt’s soul be drawn into his body. As the vapour faded, the gem in the stone rose through the air and placed itself upon Friedrich’s forehead before vanishing. No longer housed by the mask, the golden fox had become one with Friedrich.