The swarm, lead by the General, and now escorted by the two Goblin fungus hopper riders, made their way through the caverns of the underworld.

Gob was amazed at how large an underground fungus forest could be for a while, and then he got bored.

During a short break that the swarm took, he started fidgeting with the Cloak of Night that The Count had gifted him as they left the Eternal Preservation. The Cloak was a powerful but ancient magical garment with a mind of it's own and had, frustratingly, not seemed to want to have anything to do with it's new wearer at first. Gob had now had it on for a while in the underworld however, and the cloak had sat around his shoulders quite comfortably, possibly much more attuned to his Shadow Troll affinities.

The Count had told him that to activate the Cloak's ability, he just needed to pull it closed at the front. He had tried it many times before with no result. He tried it again.

SSCCCCRREEEEEEEEEEEEECCH!

SCREEEEECH! SCREEEECH!

Suddenly Gob's consciousness exploded. He wasn't anywhere anymore, he was in many places.

i iz flyin! he realised, once his mind came to terms with being spread across multiple creatures.

Gob and the Cloak had transformed into a flock of bats, that screeched and wheeled wildly around the space above the fungus forest. He could see, but it was very different to either his normal vision or his darksight. The world as a bat, or rather as a flock of bats, wasn't really anything like vision at all. It was like... seeing with sounds.

Every time his flock screeched, almost instantly he received new information that showed him where everything around and below him was in great detail. His screeches were like a light that lit everything up; they 'pinged' off everything around them, and the feedback he got allowed him to hear the shape of the terrain and the creatures moving around in it.

i iz a batty... an i LIKE it! he thought.

It was almost better than any sort of sight because he could...

see around cornas? he thought.

Because of the way the soundwaves travelled around the cavern, it felt as though he could see around things... or maybe through things was a better way to describe it. If he had to compare it to sight, he would have said it was like a continuously changing drawing made up of a million squiggly lines on a black background, but a drawing made by someone who already knew where everything was, and could see it from nearly every angle. He felt omnipresent. He felt like he could be everywhere at once. He felt... invincible.

+10perception +10awareness +15brain

He could hear every minute detail of the forest below him. He could hear the swarm scrambling into their defensive form. He could hear the fungus hoppers bouncing around in confusion. Obviously none of them had been expecting to be suddenly screeched at by a flock of bats, and they were hurriedly taking defensive measures. And that horrible three headed dog was barking and snapping any time a bat flew to close to her.

ha! stoopid doggy, thought Gob. He flew a bat right up close just to annoy her.

SNAP!

Stella was quick enough to snap at the close flying bat and catch it in the jaws of her left head. It took Gob by surpise and he panicked, then all of a sudden he wasn't a flock of omnipresent bats anymore, he was a troll again, and he was in Stella's mouth.

CRUNCH!

was the sound of Stella's jaws breaking the bones of Gob's body. The pressure was impossibly immense. Gob roared in pain.

GRRRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAARRRRR!

The jaws remained clenched.

"STELLA! DROP!" it was the White Orc's voice, commanding, urgent. Nothing happened.

"Stelllllaaaaaaaaaa..." the Orc again, this time a low, threatening growl.

The pressure released and Gob flopped to the ground, broken, and covered in dog drool.

"yyeeeeeeooooooorrrrcchhhh..." he managed, weakly. He was face down on the floor of the fungus forest. He could taste mushroom.

"GOB!" it was Kylie now, concerned. He turned his head painfully and looked up to see her hovering over him, twitching with small agitated movements.

"giv mi sec." he groaned.

"Bit off more than you could chew that time troll?" said Leőn, "Wait, no, that was the dog."

"bite mi" groaned Gob.

"Not much left to bite!" smirked the Elf.

"Leőn, leave him alone!" Kylie again.

Bowar ruff! Roawor bow rowl rof groaral.

(stelladeathslayer always thought there was something off about this one. it is lucky bats taste like doo or it would have been swallowed already.)

"Gob, are you going to be alright?" the General asked.

Gob gave him a clawed thumbs up. Then winced, and dropped his arm back down again.

"yoo go. i cach up wen i recuva."

The General nodded, remounted Stella, and the swarm set off again. Gob lay still and let his regeneration do the work.

"dog spit stinkz" said Gob.

"How did you even get into Stella's mouth Gob? What were you even doing?!" asked Kylie.

"i woz playin wiv ze cont's cloke. i werked out how to do it. iz amazin! woz amazing until dat stoopid dog bit mi."

"Gob, were you taunting Stella with your bat teleportation power?" she asked him, hands on her hips.

He nodded.

"I no longer have any sympathy for you. Leave Stella alone." she chided, and flew away after the swarm.

Gob managed to push himself painfully up into a sitting position, and then stood with a wobble. He took a few tentative steps and then stumbled after her.

stinkin dog, he thought as he flicked the drool off himself.

Before the swarm had gone too much further, there was another

TAAAAAAWWWW TAW TAAAW!

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

from ahead of them and more crashing through the fungus, but the goblin rider escorting them sounded a quick reply,

TAW! TAW! TAW!

and soon another three hoppers emerged looking suspicious, but not attacking. After some whispers between the riders, and some concerned looks towards Stella, they joined the other Goblins in escorting the swarm to the Night goblin town.

This happened twice more along the way, and soon there were ten riders in escort.

Another, new sound echoed through the fungus forest.

Chak! Chak! Chak!

rrreeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaawwww CRASH!

The swarm scurried into a defensive formation at a loud sound that echoed through the cavern, and Gob tensed ready to pull out his flask,

"TIMBER!"

Shouted a voice from beyond the trees, somewhat belatedly.

The swarm emerged from the forest into a freshly cut clearing where groups of goblins were felling great fungus trees with axes and dragging the trunks away towards...

"iz goblin town!" exclaimed Gob to Kylie.

Ahead of them, visible now they were out of the fungus forest, was a town that very much resembled a scaled down version of the Goblin Town back in the Jarvik caverns that had been destroyed by Gervais and his troops.

It was smaller, and didn't have the multi-archetype representation, the metropolitan buzz, or the packed markets that the other Goblin Town was known for, but the architecture of the rickety multi level houses was similar, the layout was similar, the pervading smell of Goblins was similar, and there was even a fighting arena under construction. The town was lit dimly by large cauldrons of flaming oil that had been hung from chains strung between tall fungus tree trunks the height of ship's masts.

There was one significant difference Gob noticed between the other Goblin Town and this one: this Goblin Town had a wall around it. The wall was made of upright fungus tree logs forming a palisade about the height of a human, with sharpened tips, and it was this wall that was being enlargened and refortified by the Goblin woodcutters they had just encountered. This Goblin Town was defended.

The rancid smells of Goblin civilisation wafted across the clearing, but strangely, Gob couldn't help but feel a sense of comfort. Goblins were gross, but those smells made him feel... safe for some reason. And there were a few scents mixed in that reminded him he hadn't had a decent meal since leaving the swamps.

"i can smel sumfin cookin!" he said to Kylie hopefully. He always felt ravenously hungry after a regeneration session.

She sniffed, "Really? You smell that and you think food? You might be more Goblin than we thought!"

As they moved out of the forest, the woodcutters stopped their work to stare. Many of them simply turned and ran off towards the town gates as soon as they saw Stella and the swarm.

As they approached the Town, Gob saw broken skeletons lying in piles. A skull was mounted on top of a wooden spike that had been driven into the ground. The skull was still animated by the Lich magic that had raised it, and it's jaw clacked open and closed continuously.

A hand scrawled sign had been nailed to the post under the head:

DA MOR TIMEZ YA COME ERE

DA MOR TIMEZ WE KIL YA!

The hornblower Goblin blew three short TAW's on his horn and that seemed to be enough to prevent widespread panic, however by the time they reached the outskirts of the town a surprisingly large number of Goblin archers had gathered along the top of the palisade, and a cohesive Goblin force on foot on with rusted spears and and shields units had formed just outside the town gates.

At the White Orc's command, the swarm stopped about twenty paces in front of the Goblin Horde. The two armies formed long lines that glared darkly at each other across the small distance between them.

The Goblin hornblower dismounted from his hopper and led it across the space between the two forces, as what looked like a command group made their way forward through the Goblin ranks.

"BLUBELL?! IS DAT REALLY YOU? MY FAVRIT FAE? COME ALL DIS WAY JUZ TO SEE ME?" a loud shout came from the command group.

Kylie looked around herself self-consciously.

Leőn laughed and shook his head.

Fisty the Goblin stepped out from the Goblin battle lines, unmistakable with his oversized hands and his sly, cheeky, grinning demeanor.

"Fisty?!" she replied, "You escaped the attack on Goblin Town!"

"O course I did blubell, probably in part at least, thanks to you. If it hadn't been that we woz already scrappin wiv dem Korl an Pates boyz, might be, we'd a been caught unawares, but as it woz, we were more reddy for dem hoomys when dey stomped inna town, an o course ol' Fisty's always got anuva trick up his sleeve! I had a big basement unda da gym ye see..." he winked at her, "for just in cases."

"But how did you end up here, in the underworld!?" she asked.

Fisty turned to the Goblin Horde and shouted, "HOW'D WE GET ERE LADZ?!"

"WE JUZ KEEP WALKIN'!" many of them, spread throughout the horde yelled together enthusiastically.

It was obviously something they'd chanted often, and now that Gob looked, he could see that around half the horde had the black skin and eyes of the Night Goblins, and the other the dark green of the Goblins he'd seen in the Realm.

"Sum of us 'ad 'eard of dis place," he waved his arm around the cavern, "an dat it woz a good place to be a Goblin. We wozn't expectin' de dead ta be 'ere, but we figured better to deal wiv a few skellys dan to BE a few skellys... which is wot fings is like back in da realm now... If you're a SAVAGE."

BOO! HISSSS!

Taunted the Goblins in mockery. The word had become a slur back in the Realm.

"So, we left Goblin Town wiv nuffin but de clothes on our backs, an' we walked on over de mountains, an we juz keep walkin', an' 'ere we are." Fisty finished, crossing his arms with a satisfied smile, "These ladz haz been very hospitibal. Let me introduce you. Dis iz Geeza. He iz da Mayor of dis fine town, don' worry 'e's a bit grumpy but 'e's not too bad once 'e gets ta know ya..."

The Mayor, Geeza, narrowed his eyes at Kylie suspiciously. He was an old, stooped Goblin, with pitch black, wrinkled skin and a shock of wiry, white hair that stuck out both sides of his head over his large pointed ears.

"...an dis 'ere's Brutus, da army Boss..."

A very heavyset Goblin standing next to Geeza simply nodded.

"...an of course also you'd remember Jinks 'ere from da gym..."

"I sure remembers you!" said Jinks, "No wun ever taught me a lesson about big fings in small packages like you did fae!"

"...Jinks an I iz helpin to train da army in fitin prowess, and dis, who you haz already met, iz of course Taxx, an he iz da Chief of da hopper squadz." Fisty pointed at the Goblin hornblower who had brought them here.

All the time Fisty had been speaking, Geeza, the Mayor, had been gawking at the giant three headed hellhound and so far hadn't said a word.

The General jumped down from Stella's back.

"Ay, I know you!" Fisty exclaimed, "Youz de White Orc! Dat mage what used te hang 'round goblin town. Yer a whole lot bigger dan I rememba ya... skulkin' around in your hood as yer did!"

"This is General Garthûn," Kylie introduced him.

"Mayor," the General acknowledged Geeza with a respectful nod, "Fisty, Brutus, Jinks. We've come here from the Crypt of Splinters to ask for your help. Above us, on the Wastes, there's an evil stirring that needs to be destroyed. The Lich Queen grows in power and she'll stop at nothing until the Shadow Lands are her's alone, and then who knows what beyond."

Geeza finally stopped gawking at the mention of the Lich Queen, and spat on the ground angrily.

"Thatz te yer Lich kween!" he said, "We wantz no part in yer gloreeus battle, Pale Orc, ye can av 'er all te yerself! We iz safe enuf down 'ere, an we don' need no swarm ov ratz in 'ere neiver!"

Brutus, the army Boss, leaned over to whisper something in the Mayor's ear. The Mayor looked like he was trying to swallow a fish. His beady little eyes shot around the swarm in front of them, then narrowed in annoyance. He burst out again suddenly, "Bah, you ladz do what you like! I haz got a town te manage." He pointed a gnarly finger at the Orc, his beady eyes narrowing even further until they were nothing but slits. In a low and threatening rasp he growled, "Mind ye don' help yerselfs to my ale. Itz not easy gettin ale down 'ere." and with that, he turned and pushed through the ranks of the soldiers back towards the gate, grumbling as he went.

Brutus stepped forward and held out a firm hand towards the General. He was big for a Goblin, and very stocky, much like a dwarf in build, being nearly as wide as he was tall. His skin was the leathery black of the Night Goblins. Although he was still much shorter than the White Orc, he certainly didn't seem intimidated by him. Gob decided he would definitely be a good fighter. He looked dangerous.

The General shook the Goblin warboss's hand strongly, and their grip seemed to determine something to both without another word between them. The warboss turned to his horde,

"FOOD AND ALE IN THE GREAT HALL!" he yelled.

HUZZAH!

The horde replied as one.

"I ssee that there iss a great deal for you to plan Garthûn," said the Master of Splinters, entering from the swarm to speak with the General before they moved off, "The sswarm and the Goblin hordess have no great enmity between uss, and when we meet on the plainss of the Sshadow Wastess we rather avoid each other than come to blowss, but all the ssame, we have come provissioned and need neither the Goblins food nor drinkss... we will await your return here, outsside the gatess."

The General nodded, "I will leave Stella here as well. Stella? Will you guard the town while I'm in it?"

Bowawor ruff! Roawor bow rowl.

(stelladeathslayer guard, yes. need boar. Also don't leave stelladeathslayer long. stelladeathslayer miss master.)

The General took out three large bloody boars to the surprise of everyone watching, and Stella snapped them up quickly and noisily, with cracking of bones and tearing of viscera. Most of the swarm and the horde who saw it took an involuntary step backwards, eyes wide with fear.

The White Orc slapped her muscular neck affectionately.

"Good dog." he said, then turned and walked towards the town gates, the ranks of the Goblin horde making way for him to walk through.

Gob narrowed his eyes at Stella and growled at her as he followed the Orc into the town. The three headed dog growled back.

"Really have a thing for that dog, don't you?" said Leőn as he and Kylie walked beside him.

"dogs, and elfs" said Gob.

The Goblin horde gaped at them, but from the ground, and also from the high palisade wall. Some watched them in fascination, some with suspicion and some with what was unmistakably outright hatred; an Elf, a Fairy, and some other creature that might have been a stunted troll were not the types of creatures that were welcome in the goblin underworld.

"dis goblin town iz goin to be juz as intrestin az da ova wun..." said Gob to Kylie and Leőn as they walked through the palisade gates.

"Just try not to burn this one down okay Kylie?" said Leőn.