“Who put this guy in charge?” a goblin whispered.

“You’re right why should we listen to him?” another goblin mumbled.

“I think we should go our own way once we get to the surface!” A third goblin murmured.

“Who’s to say this guy's way is any safer than forging our own path?” a fourth goblin said in a hushed tone.

A slight smile crept onto my face as I heard their secret whispers, unfazed I continued my back and forth with Hujarin. They have the right to think about what they want, but they are wrong if they think they are better off on their own. Oh well, I won’t stop them if they want to leave. My focus was drawn back to Hujarin as something he had just said broke my internal monologue.

“I just wish I could help you on your quest directly. Once upon a time I was quite the warrior, some even might say I was a warrior of renown. Hujarin the Hardy is what the lads used to call me. Once a mighty warrior, now reduced to a useless old cripple. I’ve pledged myself to your cause, but I fear I will be of little use.” Hujarin said in despair.

“That’s bullshit! Utter nonsense, you should not speak like that Hujarin. You may not be able to wage war anymore but you are far from useless. You may not see it but I can assure you that you have way more to offer than a warm body and a sword. You have one of the most powerful weapons in the world, my disciple. Knowledge. Knowledge from a lifetime of survival. A wealth of experience that these young goblins know nothing about. The lessons you can teach the younglings of today and the future are worth more than a thousand goblins. So pick yourself up and help me teach our people not only how to survive but how to thrive!” I pleaded.

Hujarin was dumbfounded after what I said sank in. His eyes glistened as he stared at me. He tried sputtering a few words, mouth agape, as tears started flowing down his face. He fell to his knees overwhelmed with emotion. I walked to Hujarin, grabbed his hands, and pulled him to his feet.

“On your feet Hujarin. All goblins have worth. Please keep it in your mind, War isn’t everything. We will create something that will last through the ages!” I rejoiced.

“Sorry for my weakness and doubt. I will do the best I can. For Chooftoof and all Goblinkind.” Hujarin shouted through tears of joy.

“We will do what we can. Speak no more of worthiness it is unnecessary.” I replied.

After this exchange, the murmurs died down and we walked in silence. The journey to the surface was completed without a peep. It was quite a difference from the arguing and secretive whispers. Much like every other moment of my life since reincarnating into this world, it was entirely too peaceful. Which means that something very odd or bad is about to interrupt the quiet.

The army of skeletons had stopped a short distance outside the entrance of the cave and were milling about waiting for new orders. As the goblins and I stepped foot into the bright sky of the surface, the ground around us started to tremble.

The trembling of the earth beneath our feet intensified as more and more dirt piled in a circle leading out. It reminded me of an anthill but on a much larger scale. The dirt continued to spew out of the center, forming small hills on the outskirts. The earth suddenly stopped trembling and the center of the event exploded into the sky. Dirt and debris rained from the sky as a cloud of thick dust obscured the skyline. Creatures started climbing out of the broken earth as the dust blew away slowly with the wind.

A multitude of diminutive skeletons stood before me, hauntingly empty stares directed at me. Soon the skeletons stopped clawing their way out of the earth and I thought the spectacle was over. Immediately after I was proven wrong when two creatures that weren’t skeletons pulled themselves out of the ground. They stood apart from the skeleton horde, as if they were above them, better than them.

These two creatures, although diminutive and grotesque, carried themselves with a certain poise. Long white hair flowed elegantly from their scalps. Taut alabaster skin covered deceptively muscular physiques. Slightly sunken eyes adorned with a scarlet glow peered into my soul. The aura of death I sensed from them was unbelievable compared to the auras of the skeletons. I’m not quite sure what they are, but I’ll be damned if I don’t try to find out!

They simultaneously walked forward out of the loose dirt before stopping a short distance from me. In unison, they hastily brushed the dirt from themselves before extending their hands in what could be taken as a friendly gesture, albeit barely. They both then spoke at the same time.

“Burwil, at your service!” Burwil said.

“Illeorv, at your service!” Illeorv said.

I was quite shocked, rendered speechless for a time. They spoke! Directly to me, not through telepathy. Imagine yourself in my shoes and tell me you wouldn’t be shocked as well. Two undead beings of an unknown type claw their way from the depths of who knows where, and then quite politely introduced themselves to you. Right? That’s insane!

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“N... Nice to meet you. My name is Karloc. It’s a pleasure meeting you both. But how and where did you come from?” I replied.

“Well about that. Through no fault of ours, your magic was hijacked. We can’t be blamed for the hijacking because until very recently we were quite thoroughly dead. ” Burwil answered.

“Quite right old chap. We were very dead. Minding our own business in our eternal slumber. All of a sudden we were ripped from our well-earned rest. Peace after a life of fighting, and then knock knock came your magic. Now here we are!” Illeorv added.

“Now you see we’re not like these little skeletons over here. We’ve been dead for much longer than they have. They are skeletons because they were lesser beings compared to us. They are new, relatively speaking, while my brother and I are ancient. You see this cave lair that these humans happened to be hiding in once belonged to Goblinkind. This was our ancestral home ages ago.” Burwil revealed.

“Yes. Ages ago we were heroes among goblins. We were at the pinnacle of the world, living mightily, we stood strong among the tall ones. We grew bold and in our hubris, we thought we were undefeatable. We were proven wrong and it became our downfall. We were mercilessly slaughtered and reduced to a race of slaves for the other races.” Illeorv said.

“Treachery. One who was once a Goblin became frustrated with the way of the world. He began to doubt and eventually forgo his faith. Which in itself isn’t a bad thing. Chooftoof didn’t require absolute worship. But this disgusting little cretin took it too far. He denied his belief in Chooftoof, spat in his face, and aligned himself with another deity. He then began preaching the faith of a filthy human deity.” Burwil said.

“Few goblins listened to his words at the start, but some did. A religious coup ensued. It snowballed from that point and many young goblins were lured away with charming speech and false promises. We were foolish and banished them from our home. We should have killed them all then and there. We did not and it proved to be a fatal mistake. The betrayer and his ilk fled from our homeland and ran to the greedy embrace of a bastard of a God. I dare not speak his name, for Chooftoof has no power here.” Illeorv said.

“This God happily welcomed the goblins to his flock. On one condition, they lead the humans to our secret ancestral home. Without even sparing a thought the traitor agreed. He lead the human soldiers straight to our home, he even went as far as participating in the slaughter and subjugation of our people himself. We fought as well as we could but with the strength of their army and the knowledge they received from the Goblin betrayer, we were no match. All of our warriors were decimated, they spared only the women and children. Forcing them into slavery.” Burwil said with disgust.

“With the Goblin race divided and tattered, Chooftoof weakened as faith in him was nearly eliminated. The traitors pledged their faith to one another and with that increased strength Chooftoof was soon defeated. Locked up and cast out of the In-Between wherein the Deities resided. Chooftoof was long forgotten by most goblins. Only a few stubbornly kept their faith alive in secret. No one knew if it would make a difference in the end, but they had to try.” Illeorv said bitterly.

“It seems our unfulfilled rage hijacked a chunk of your magical output and directed it to the earth we rested in. The residual magic left over after we were given renewed life poured into those skeletons. So here we are. We will serve you unquestionably, we just hope that you will help us bring our spirits peace. We desire vengeance and justice for what was done.” Burwil said vehemently.

“I will help you topple this traitorous bastard. Not just for you but for Chooftoof and all Goblinkind. This is my crusade, the holy charge handed to me by Chooftoof himself. Today our quest for justice begins in earnest. But first, we must turn our situation around. We must turn our ragtag race of freed slaves into a civilization. To destroy our enemies we must become strong.” I declared.

The brothers smiled enthusiastically and clapped their alabaster hands together, nodding in agreement. Hujarin grimaced bitterly, briefly at the thought of what he could possibly provide before shaking his head ruefully. Hujarin then sighed and smiled, realizing that he may not be able to fight, but he could still help bring the goblins into a new age. The rest of the goblins shrugged and followed Hujarin who in turn followed me. Steeling my mind I resolutely promised myself that I would see goblins as one of the dominant species of this world.

No more being a race of slaves, but a race of strength. A race to be respected. A budding civilization like that will take time and a lot of resources. Luckily for me, I have a large undead army to assist with every step of creating a new beginning for my people. On top of that, this world seems to have dungeons that randomly spawn throughout the world. Some of these dungeons even generate loot and respawn monsters indefinitely. It’s great for me though. With my Necromancy, I potentially have an army of an infinite number ready and willing to constantly farm an infinitely renewable resource. I might be the only person in this world with an infinite money cheat. That’s fucking crazy. Ugh, it’s just like those cheesy web novels that build new societies. So boring, let’s just get through this alright guys?

We marched to the surface and left this terrible nightmare pit behind forever. The horde of skeletons leading the way we started traveling across the land. We only stopped to rest and eat when needed. It was hard work for a majority of the goblins to traverse so far so quickly. Their young bodies of weak constitutions coupled with their short legs made for a pace slower than I’d like but nothing could be done about it. The winded goblins persevered and to my amazement, kept up with the pace.

Traveling far and wide. To be the best… Stop it or you’re going to get a lawsuit. Wait do lawyers even exist in this world? Shrugging my shoulders I shook all potential detrimental thoughts out of my head. I need to find us a nice place to settle down in. Some place relatively safe, defensible, and able to provide a steady source of food. We also are going to need a lot of lumber. I’ll have to figure out how to make the land fertile enough for various crops, we’ll need access to water, and preferably access to a body of water that is fishable. Nah I’m not asking for way too much, right? Haha!