Underworld - Book 4 - Chapter 8

With a nod of his head, the elder goblin began to shrink until he stood as tall as I did. He still possessed the purple pigment of his advanced form and his mana density didn’t change.

Depositing my weapon, I conceded for real this time.

A wave of his hand sent the entire room scurrying back into the numerous tunnels. He twisted his head to the side as if examining me. “What are you, shapeshifter?”

I let my Fire Incubus Form fade entirely, leaving just my human form showing beneath Skeleton Titan’s Defense. I hesitated, but after of moment of mental preparation, I let my skeletal helmet disappear as well to reveal my face.

“Human…” He said emphasizing each syllable. He stood rigidly for what felt like a long time.

Half expecting him to change his mind about talking, I took a step back, balancing my weight between both feet so that I was ready to move in any direction.

Then he surprised me by extending his arms out to the sides and he bowing his head. “Welcome.” He stood straight again before continuing. “It has been a century since I have seen your kind. Please, call your four friends and have them join us.”

Tension grew in my neck and back. Not only did he mentioned that he’d seen other humans in the last century, instead of a millennium ago like I’d been led to believe, but he obviously knew the rest of my group was here and how many of them there were. But how? Did he have a skill like mana sight that allowed him to see them clearly himself? If there were others that had given him the information, how had he communicated with them? Did he also have someone with a talent for communication like Richard?

“Come join us.” I called out to them. A moment later, I dropped their Invisibility. I didn’t say more or anything that would give away our ability to communicate at long distances.

Pivoting to the side, I watched them come. Aeris shot up overhead but approached with the others at their walking pace.

When they arrived, the goblin elder bowed his head again, never taking his eyes off of us. “Greetings humans. I am Master Khaba. Please follow me. There is a place where you can rest, and we can have refreshments as we speak.”

No one said anything in response, for he turned his back on us and began walking in the direction he had approached. Aeris floated down to fly by my side. Our eyes met. I saw that she had questions, but I didn’t want to offend our host by making him wait.

Through one of the many tunnels almost identical to all the rest, we followed Khaba down a winding passage that exited into another room with more tunnels. This one was smaller—much like the living room in the home I’d grown up in. A glance told me that most of the side tunnels were actually rooms and didn’t lead somewhere else. There weren’t many furnishings, but a series of mats were laid out in a circle that I guessed was what he used as a place to sit. In one of the far rooms, I heard the shuffling of feet and what must have been the setting of cups or plates.

Khaba stopped when he reached the furthest mat and motioned for us to sit. There were eight mats laid out, so there was more than enough room for the five of us.

The others were looking at me, and I nodded before taking a seat across from him. They followed my lead.

After we were seated, Khaba grinned widely before his purple form began to revert to his blue hobgoblin form. He stopped there, not returning to the old goblin he’d been at first. “Forgive the sparse accommodations. It is common for us to have to flee, so we don’t invest in certain luxuries.”

“How did you do that?” Jess said suddenly. I’d been considering the best way to approach the same question with him, but she just came right out and said it.

Instead of taking offense, he looked at her curiously. “You aren’t familiar with our race?”

Holding out my hand to the other, I stilled their replies. I looked our host in the eye. I still feared that giving him too much information might reveal our weaknesses—weaknesses he could take advantage of. As accommodating as he might seem, that didn’t mean he was any less of a monster. To approach him any other way was foolish. “We were taken from our homes on the surface world.” I chose my words carefully. “Our Succubus master has trained us to fight, and survive, but there is much we haven’t been told.”

“I see.” Khaba replied, he looked back to Jess with a friendly face. He seemed to relax. “Then to answer your question, the goblin race is Bestial, and not Monster like your master. We are much like humans.” He nodded toward Aeris as if to use her as an example. “Our strength runs in our blood. So when our strength overflows, our form can change. With time and experience, we eventually gain mastery over our form.”

“Thank you.” I said, more forcibly than I meant to.

“You’re surprised by my answer?”

“Not at the answer itself, but—”

“But that I’d share it freely?”

“Yes.”

A curvy hobgoblin exited the room where I’d heard the shuffling of feet. It was a female goblin without an underbite who also looked mostly human. She wore a sleeveless hard-leather vest and skirt. I wondered if the way she looked meant she could also manipulate her form. All that creature observation told me was that she was level 932—higher than most.

Sitting down the tray between us, she sat next to Khaba Indian style with her hands folded in her lap. She didn’t look anyone in the eye.

“This is Nane.” The elder goblin said. “My wife and head softener.”

Her eyes went wide with the last remake before narrowing into a scowl.

He let out a belly laugh at seeing her response.

She shook her head. “No number of whacks to the head will ever soften your skull.”

I laughed uncomfortable, but Aeris looked to have loosened up entirely. “So goblin and human men are the same?” She said.

Nane finally looked up and shared a grin with Aeris.

“I know you may not trust us,” Khaba said. “Our dealings to this point have been strenuous. Know that you will not offend us if you do not drink your tea, but we still offer it for your enjoyment. It’s made from Midnight Pearl, which is the leaf of a mushroom that feeds off neutral energy. It’s one of the few things that’s refreshing to all races.”

It only took a glance to know that it was as he said. It radiated neutral mana through Mana Sight. I took up one of the round clay cups with both hands. It had no loop for a handle, was glassy to the eye and perfectly smooth. I wondered if they made them themselves. “Thank you.”

Taking a sip, it indeed had the taste of sugarless tea, but also made my lips tingle at the touch. As I swallowed, the tingling sensation filled me. I received a popup.

+1 Health Regeneration per minute for 20 minutes

+1 Stamina Regeneration per minute for 20 minutes

+1 Mana Regeneration per minute for 20 minutes

Looking over to the others, I saw they were waiting anxiously to see how I’d respond—or if I began choking to death. Instead of giving them any clear answer, I lifted my eyebrow as a dare for them to try it themselves.

Aeris saw past my lack of forthrightness and picked up her own cup to drink. The others hesitated as she took a sip.

“It’s very good,” She said, smiling at Nane.

After the rest of our group began to drink, Khaba got down to business. “I’m assuming you are a part of the group that moved into Originem?”

We had renamed the dungeon Sanctuary, but I immediately recognized it as the name Zorik had used before we had taken possession of our new home. “We are.”

“Then our first form of business shall be reconciliation. Do you agree?”

My throat tightened up. It was possible that they considered Sanctuary as a part of their territory before we’d moved in. Even worse, when they had come to investigate, we’d killed them. “I do. And first, let me apologize. If we’d known you were here, and that there was a possibility for peace, we would’ve handled things much differently.”

He held up his hand, shaking his head. “The goblin tribes have been scattered, but even when the goblin empire thrived, peace would have been nigh impossible. It’s only through centuries of being hunted by the Monster races, and ever some of the bestial one, that a few of us have learned the virtue of friendship. If you’d been taught of us by your master, I’d expect nothing less than for you to attack us on sight. It is a reputation we have earned many times over. Even now, many of my brethren would attack you first without any thought of peace.”

Aeris’s hand found my wrist. “We’re still very sorry for the lives we have cost you.” Her grip tightened with every word.

I saw Nane’s gaze fall to her hands that lay in her lap. Moisture started to form at the corners of her eyes.

“We would’ve also approached you differently if we had known more.” Khaba continued, leaning against his wife to remind her he was there. “But this is the Underworld. All races must be quick to defend themselves. I admit, we were also confused at first. We didn’t see any of your people using Light Magic, and some were even using Dark Magic and Necromancy.”

I began to answer his question by giving a quick summary of how we arrived here and our lack of knowledge of our own history in the Underworld. Then skipped to the part where we were chased from the Head Mistress’s dungeon. Much of the events once we arrived in the area he already had knowledge of. It seemed their scouts were more widespread than I’d thought. They knew that Lady Contessa and the minotaurs had been chasing after us, for after they arrived there had been great spikes of mana for our battles. Even though our talks were progressing in a positive direction, there was much detail I purposely left out—like how long we’d been in the Underworld and how many of us there were.

“You are the only one of your people that can use Light Magic?” The elder goblin asked.

“Yes. Everyone else has different talents,” I replied.

“I would like to extend to you our forgiveness for every life taken as we scouted your dungeon. I ask that you do the same for our trespassing. Will you have to return to discuss this with your master?”

I was a bit confused because they hadn’t taken the life of anyone in Sanctuary, but I wasn’t going to argue the point. “No,” I said with a grin. “I’m confident I speak for the others. All is forgiven.”

“Then it’s settled.” He bowed his head. “As for this Mistress Nava, I’m afraid we can’t help you face her directly. In my four hundred years of life, I’ve experienced firsthand how powerful the Mistresses can be. It’s not a fight you can win. However, I can teach you how to hide, and survive. It would require you giving up Sanctuary. As you have probably noticed, our current home isn’t a dungeon. Dungeons and dungeon spirits attract attention. It’s only a matter of time before something too powerful to handle wants what you have, or to kill you for no other reason than to grow more powerful.”

I waited patiently as he explained how they survived for so long. Their scouts were the eyes and ears for their tribe, and the moment that they were threatened, they would pack up and flee. That was why they had very little. Even Khaba and Nane, who were the leaders of their people, lived as Spartan as possible.

“The problem we have is that there is an even greater threat than Mistress Nava hanging over our head.” I went into detail about how the Head Mistress had designed a spell to leech our excess mana. If we stopped progressing, then she would come after us herself and there was no hiding from her. It was the most in-depth I’d been with any of my explanations. I secretly hoped he’d know a way to sever our link to her.

He did not. “Then you have no choice. I will warn you though. Chasing power is the surest way to die in the Underworld. Those on top do not appreciate lesser beings trying to surpass them. The more powerful you become, the more attention you will attract.”

Silence lingered for a long moment.

“That is actually the purpose of our mission. We came to investigate you first, because we thought you might be a danger to our people. Now we know better, but our ultimate goal is to find a way to progress without drawing attention. You are able to hide your true form. Is that something anyone can learn?”

He tapped his chin as he considered the question. “I suppose it is, but I’m not sure of how much help I can be. You see, goblins aren’t able to use magic.”

At first I hardly believed my ears. “You’re not? But you transform.”

“We can draw on our strength.” Holding out his hand, palm up, he flooded neutral mana into his hand.

Melony jumped where she sat, then nervously laughed. She’d seen the spike of power.

His hand was now wrapped in purple light.

“So you use this strength to enhance your body?” I said, picking up his use of the word strength in place of mana.

“Exactly right,” the elder goblin replied. “At one time our strength surpassed even that of the monster races, but that was more than a millennia ago. In the same way humans are hunted, so are goblins.”

“I fear my Light Magic acts like a beacon to attract unwanted attention. Do you know of a way to hide it as I try to reach the next rank?”

He shook his head. “To progress, you must push your strength to the limits. In doing so, not even the Underworld itself can hide your presence. If there is a way, I do not know it.”

Our conversation continued for hours. Food was brought to us and we even offered to share our own. One thing became clear. The goblins wouldn’t help us fight, but they would share any of the information their scouts discovered freely.

We’d also found our first willing trading partner, but what they offered would be severely limited. They survived by scavenging, so ore, foodstuff, and alchemy ingredients were probably the most we could hope for. On the other hand, we could probably offer them some luxuries they normally didn’t have access to.

When asked, Khaba was willing to tell us what he knew about the humans in the Underworld, but it wasn’t easy to hear. Most of them had also become scavengers, running when threatened with no place to call home. Many still held to the old ways by limiting themselves to Light Magic. Those that didn’t were rogues and thieves. He warned that they would be as likely to attack us as the mindless beasts and monsters that roamed the Dungeon Level.

Before leaving, I had Richard contact Khaba and add him to our sphere of influence so that we could speak with him any time. His wife Nane was also added.

Finding a friendly neighbor had been the last thing I thought we’d find when coming here. I limited communication with Richard and Sanctuary while we were still in goblin territory, but if his reaction was any indication, then I suspected everyone else would be just as surprised. 

A hobgoblin that was shorter than most the others with grey-blue skin became our guide as we left half a day later. Lodging was offered, but I explained that we didn’t really require sleep. The event left me with more questions than answers. I was also less sure that I’d find a way to train my Light Magic without announcing my presence to every creature within miles.

I tried the best I could not to think about it, but it was impossible to ignore completely. I had felt the power Khaba had possessed, yet he insisted it was impossible to defeat Mistress Nava. If that was the case, perhaps it was a better idea to follow his advice and learn to run and hide. I’d already suspected that reaching Master Rank in Light Magic wouldn’t be enough on its own, but there had to be something—there had to be a way to progress faster, or a weapon that would give us the power we needed to survive. We could run and hide, or we could keep trying to find it…

Next stop, I had a date with an Ireki Wraith.