The void was dark, a pitch-black expanse of nothing. Thoughts, pain, and anguish traveled like lines of light; they coalesced into a pale blue spark. The spark grew to a roaring flame that formed the shape of a human. John's eyes snapped open, and he gasped deeply. Hitting his knees, he fell into the fetal position and relived the last moments of his life. Unlike his first death, there was no slow build-up, no casual recollection; everything hit him at once. The pain of his innards being shredded by those awful teeth radiated through his midsection. The cracking of his ribs, spine, and skull being crushed replayed through his head. John didn’t know how long he lay there embracing the pain, but it felt like days. Suddenly a warm glow washed over his body, fading his pain, and he slowly sat up from where he lay. A brilliant golden light chased away the void; the warmth brought him comfort and the sensation of safety.
I’m so disappointed. I feel like I’ve wasted every opportunity to succeed that comes around. Everything I do is so sub-par.
John slammed his flame-covered fist into the floor.
“What have I done?” He screamed at the light. “Why can’t I accomplish anything? These tribulations are too much.”
I'm dead, again. Rayne, Bugsy, and Keller are probably dead. What's the point of throwing this fit? It’s over.
He brought his knees to his chest and rested his forehead on them.
“I’m done,” he muttered.
Sometime later, John raised his head and slowly got to his feet. He ambled forward towards the blazing light. As his mind churned with regret and sorrow, he walked straight into an invisible barrier. Staggering backward, he looked up; a ripple cascaded through the barrier, followed by the appearance of a giant infinity rune circled by black script. John’s eyes narrowed as he inherently knew this rune was identical to his curse mark. A portal zapped to life behind him, and his regret and sorrow were consumed by hatred and hope. He punched the barrier and turned to the swirling vortex.
That mother fucker thinks I’ll just take this. He has got another thing coming. I’m getting the system; I don't care how, and I will use it to kill that guy if it’s the last thing I damn well do.
He seethed to himself as he approached the portal. “Third times the fuckin’ charm.” He shouted, walking through without a second thought.
John froze as he found himself inside a hide tent. A pile of sleeping goblins was in the middle of the room. The smell hit him like a train; he gagged quietly and made to pull his shirt up over his nose. His hand touched his bare chest, and he silently stamped his foot and shook his fists. John looked down to find himself once again completely naked. He quickly looked around for something to cover himself with. Rather than any article of clothing, he saw a stack of rusted knives, axes, and swords piled by the tent flap. John slowly tip-toed his way to the weapons; squatting down, he untangled two hand axes and slid silently through the tent flap. It was very early morning, and the sun was just starting to paint the horizon.
Several tents and hastily constructed defenses lay strewn across a familiar hilltop. John looked closer at the protections as he quietly crept through the goblin encampment. He wiggled a spear that jutted from the ground, and it fell from where it stood. They were just sharpened sticks. A humor-filled scoff escaped as John looked at the primitive weapon. Something suddenly bumped into his backside, and he turned to investigate. Looking up at him was a small female goblin sitting where she had fallen; her eyes widened in horror as she looked at the naked man holding two axes. Her mouth opened, and John desperately dropped an axe to clamp a hand over her mouth.
“Please, please don't scream. I am leaving. I don't want any trouble.” John begged the goblin. Not wanting to be caught by the dozens of little green and gray-skinned monsters, he considered killing the small goblin. John shook his head; this tiny creature was of no threat. Looking back into the central area of the camp, he saw several goblins groggily leaving their tents. A set of teeth closed on his hand, and he jerked it away from the girl's mouth. His hiss of pain was drowned out by the shriek of terror that split the early morning air. As John looked back at the goblins who had been milling about, they had been replaced by dozens of rabid little monsters who swarmed from the tents carrying their crude and rusted weapons. All he had time to do was collect the other axe from the ground, and the goblins were bearing down on him. He swung, connecting the flat of the axe head with the upper arm of a leaping goblin. It hit with a satisfying crack, and the surprisingly light goblin veered off to the left, missing its mark. John swung his axes clumsily; the fear of pain and death drove him onward. His mind seemed to go numb to the blood and viscera. He had just dispatched the fifth goblin when he took his first wound, a knife stuck in his thigh, left discarded by its wielder. John roared and continued stepping backward as he swung the axes furiously. He jumped back, trying to create space from the swarm of knives, blades, and teeth aimed at him.
In his brief respite, John found the clarity of mind to look behind him. Two tents that sat close together caught his eye, and he turned and ran. His leg hot with pain, he jumped over two of the ropes that held the tents erect and turned to face the horde again. The first four goblins that reached the tents clothes-lined themselves on the ropes in their fervor to catch and kill him. John smirked as his plan began to take shape. The goblins that found themselves on the ground tripped up the next inline causing the whole herd of goblins to pile up and trip over themselves. Nothing could be so simple; the back line of goblins used their fallen tribesmen and women as stepping stones and launched themselves at John from above. Even though they had the intellect not to trip into the pile, only two came anywhere close to John; several lept into the top of the tents, and one soared entirely overhead. John swung upward in a vicious diagonal slash, trying to take out the goblin wielding a nasty jagged-edged sword. To his utter astonishment, the hand axe bit deeply into the goblin's midsection and tore through, creating a wicked tear in the goblin's stomach. The goblin screamed as it fell to the ground, its guts spilling onto the dirt. The second goblin came in fast, and John swung the other axe to intercept but missed as the goblin ducked under, swinging wildly with the knife it held. He jerked his torso to the side as he saw the blade approaching his neck. The goblin cheered as its knife cut a line into the side of John's forehead; it landed heavily on the ground rolling several times. John dropped an axe to wipe away the blood that would soon obscure his vision. The pile of goblins had untangled themselves and were begging to make their way through the gap in the tents when a shrill, graveled voice roared.
“Stop, halt, minions.”
The crowd of goblins parted, and the largest goblin John had seen yet walked through, pushing smaller goblins out of his way. He wore a crusty loincloth and a piece of rusty iron tied with a rope around his neck that draped over his chest and stomach. The most pristine sword John had seen hung from the strap of the big goblins loincloth. The goblin stopped before him; it drew the sword and slapped it against his ironclad chest.
“I am Graow-luk: boss, chieftain of this tribe, clan. You naked man, kill, murder my minions. For this crime, outrage, you will die, perish.”
The goblins cheered at their leader's words, and Graow-luk stalked forward, holding the sword low. John groaned, wiping the blood from his eye again, and readied himself for the fight. Graow-luk charged, raising his sword and bringing it down in a vertical chop. John turned his body, allowing the blade to pass by. He stepped back and delivered an overhead strike aimed at the goblin's neck. The swing had him dead to rights, exposed, and off balance. An impact on the back of John’s head sent him reeling, and his swing hit nothing but air as he fell, tripping over himself. One of the goblins had thrown a rock the size of his fist. It rolled past John as he lay there dazed. With a massive swing of the gleaming sword, John’s head rolled, stopping next to the rock that had been the cause of his third death.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Back in the void, John came into existence, the blue fire flaring in indignation as he gasped great lungfuls of air. He hit his knees and caught his breath, eyes furiously trained on the floor. Pressing down the pain as best he could, John stood and walked away from the beckoning light that shined behind the cursed barrier.
“Number four, and fuck you!” He screamed as he stepped back through the portal, flipping up the double bird towards the curse. The tent was empty; there were no goblins in sight. John stood heaving great lungfuls of air, trying the quash the pain. Gritting his teeth, he strode from the tent into the camp, picking up a sword that lay to the original goblins that had fallen to his assault. Following his blood trail, he returned to where he had died. Unsurprisingly the whole tribe still milled about as Graow-luk laughed and tossed John’s head up and down. Red flooded his vision: with both hands, he slammed his blade through the back of a goblin in his way. He lifted the goblin up and walked into the crowd holding the screaming creature impaled on his sword. All of the goblins turned to look at the commotion; John let his sword drop in a lazy arc discarding the pitiful goblin on the ground. He pointed his sword at Graow-luk and spat.
“I am John, killer, murderer of goblins, green skins. You killed me; prepare to die.”
“Naked man!” Graow-luk shouted, incensed and looking at the head in his hand.”
John looked around at the goblins; many were cowering in fear. It made sense to him, they had all just seen him die, and now he was standing here again, wholly unharmed. Grow-luk dropped his head and drew his sword.
“Come to die, perish for two times? Is fine with Graow-luk; naked man is puny, weak.”
John roared at the insult; dashing forward, he lept and brought down the sword with all the force he could bring to bear. Graow-luk responded by quickly bringing his blade up to the counter, but the strength and weight of the blow were too great. Graow-luck’s arms folded under pressure, and a red line opened across his eye. The goblin jumped back and slung out his sword; it sank into John’s hip as he landed. John felt the blade meet bone and grunted, trying to resist the pain. John growled and slapped away Graow-luk’s sword with the flat of his blade and thrust out, trying to gouge the goblin's eye. His aim was off, and he scored a deep gash across Graow-luks cheekbone. The goblin leader fell backward shrieking.
“Kill, muder the naked man! Minions attack, ambush!”
John looked around to see the smaller goblins running at him. They came from every direction screeching warcries and gnashing teeth. John readied himself to accept their charge and take as many with him as he could. The first of the goblins to reach him received a slash across the chest and a missing hand. Its fell away, screeching and flailing its stump as blood fountained from the wound. He had a thought as he slapped the second across the face with the flat of his blade.
These things hold a ridiculous amount of blood for such little creatures, and why does the blood always spray from their wounds like I’ve just popped a balloon?
The third goblin jumping on his back and biting at his shoulder tore him away from his musings. He simultaneously reached over his right shoulder with his left hand and stabbed out clumsily with his right. Grabbing the little green demon by the oily clump of hair on his shoulder, he tore it and a strip of flesh away.
“Ahhck fuckin’ little carnivore,” he yelled as he threw it at the goblin he had just stabbed in the thigh. The pair collided with a meaty thunk and hit the ground. John’s face was filled with pain and determination as the horde fell upon him. He tried to move, but the wound at his hip nagged at his left leg, making any dance or escape futile. He hacked at the incoming goblins wildly. He dished out as much carnag as he could in the tight space, but he was soon buried in biting teeth and poking weapons. Screams could be heard from the undulating green murder ball, they were rapidly silenced as John was torn to shreds.
John once again appeared in a flash of blue fire and pain. He groaned loudly and lay down. If only for a brief moment, John would rest and let the discomfort fade. Lying there looking at the curse, he began to laugh; it started as a giggle but soon grew to hysteria.
“You got me, Kelldar, I’ll give you that,” he said as the laughter finally quieted, and he climbed to his feet.
“Five”
He stepped through the portal and began to walk to where he knew the monsters would be; as he came between the tents for the third time that day, he was greeted with a surprise. Graow-luk sat on his ankles in the clearing, and the entire tribe sat behind him, fidgeting, picking grass, and eating bugs.
“Graow-luk does not want wish for more of his people, minions to die. You John goblin killer have many much lives. You keep come back, return so we no want fight, attack any more. Spread kindness mercy on Graow-luk’s people, minions. Kill Grao-Luk if you want, wish, but no more fight.”
John studied Graow-luk intensely for a moment, then walked forward and sat in front of the goblin.
“Alright Graow-luk, let's have a chat. Why did your people attack me?”
“Graow-luk’s people, minions see intruder, attacker, hear loud scream, yell from other minion. Graow-luk’s people go to save, help.”
“I can see your perspective, but you must know I did not want to harm your people. I only defended myself.”
“But, why naked man? Errr, John goblin killer in camp, home? John goblin killer, want steal, theif Graow-luk’s treasure, riches? Take Graow-luk’s women, ladies?”
John suppressed a grin and replied, “No, no, I show up here after I die. When I return to being alive, I show up on this hill.”
“This hill John goblin killer camp, home?”
“No, I don’t have a home,” John said morosely.
“Graow-luk stay here? People, minions like hill. Hill safe, quiet.”
“You can stay here, but please don't be alarmed if I reappear here again. I don’t want to kill you or your people.”
The goblin chief sighed and looked up at John, his eyes brightening. “Graow-luk keep John goblin killer’s hill safe, quiet. No monsters, fiends bother you when show up, return.”
John laughed and stood up. “First things first, I need some clothes.”
Grow-luk shot off some orders, and a few of the goblins wordlessly ran off into the camp. A few minutes later, the same tiny goblin female brought him a newly made loin cloth. He took it and tied it around his waist. It was a bit tight and a bit odd, but he was just happy to conceal his exposure.
“I want to show you some things. Come with me.”
The chief and his people began to follow John. He walked to the pikes that were terribly placed in the ground around the outskirts of the camp.
“Look,” he said, nudging one of the poles. It promptly fell over, and Graow-luk looked blankly from him to the pike. John sighed, “This won’t protect you from anything.” He looked around and found a small goblin holding an axe and staring at him. “You,” he pointed. “Give me that axe for a moment.” The goblin snapped its teeth and held the axe close to his chest. The rebellion was quickly quelled as Graow-luk cuffed the unruly little goblin on the back of the head and took the axe. John took the axe and began to dig at the ground. He tore up a three-foot deep hole and placed the fallen pike into it. He filled the gap in with soft dirt and pressed it down with his foot a few times. He slapped the pike, which hardly moved, and asked, “See the difference?”
Graow-luk nodded sagely; John spent another three hours showing the chief and his people how to do things that could increase their survivability and hygiene. As the sun hung overhead, signaling mid-day, John left the camp with a small sack of food and a skin of water that Graow-luck had provided him. He reflected on the day as he headed toward the forest.
I’m going to head back to Valorwood to see if Rayne and Bugsy are still alive. Ugh, what a brutal time that was. Am I up to five deaths now? Jeez, what a crazy tangle of shit I’m caught up in. I have to get stronger I hate the pain of dying.
The goblins stood waving at John’s back until he disappeared into the forest.