King of the Goblins 2—Chapter 39

There was no way for me to really tell the trolls what I had done. I figured they would learn in due time. I just hoped they wouldn’t put another tyrant on the throne. 

As quietly as possible, I made my way out of the large wooden building. I traced my steps back to the first floor and went to the waiting room, where I had come in. The shadow stone kept me invisible as I slipped out the window. 

When I got to the wall, the rope was still there. I silently cursed myself for leaving it there—had someone seen it, it would have been a clear sign that someone was sneaking in. Well, it was too late to do anything about it now. My work was done.

One atop the wall I sat astride it for a moment, enjoying the view from thirty feet up. The trolls went about their day just like any other race; I saw a blacksmith, what looked like a central market, even women hanging clothes to dry. I also saw the guard standing in front of the royal palace turn and walk inside.

“Time for me to leave,” I said to myself and began climbing down the other side of the wall. Once I hit the bottom I shook the rope a few times and finally managed to dislodge it from the top. I rolled it back into a coil as I walked to the treeline.

I spat the shadow stone out of my mouth when I got close. Both Silvy and Tressi ran forwards and hugged me.

“I was so scared,” Tressi said.

“You don’t have a habit of making smart decisions in these situations,” Silvy said.

“I’m fine, my loves,” I told them. “And King Jack is dead.”

At that moment I heard a horn blare from the city. A voice followed it, angrily shouting in the grunting troll language. Of course I understood every word.

“The king is dead! Someone killed him! Find him!”

“Time to go,” I said. “And we need to hurry.”

“No problems?” Althidon asked.

“None,” I replied, taking my pack from him. I slid my arms through the straps and hitched it high and tight. “As I said, he was human. He had no way to defend himself.”

The horn sounded again and we hurried away. Some of the soldiers looked nervous. My wives were grateful I was back.

“Let’s move!” I said, and we set off.

Everyone was ready to walk quickly then, even Silvy. With a laugh, she held onto both of her massive breasts and said she was ready to run if need be.

The horn blew again, and I turned to look. It sounded like it came from a different direction. Closer.

“Gallu, come here,” I said, holding out my hand for the beautiful redhead.

“I’m here, Your Majesty,” she said and slipped her hand in mine.

I looked down at her for a moment, at her fiery hair, at her beautiful face. I gave her a quick hug.

“You said you can set fires a few hundred feet away, right?” I asked.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” she replied.

“Jesus, call me Aaron,” I said. 

“Okay. Aaron,” she said, smiling. 

“How big of a fire can you set at that distance?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never really tried, to be honest. Probably pretty big.”

With her hand in mine, I walked over to the side of our party, closest to the troll settlement, and kept looking towards the gate. We were far enough away that they wouldn’t immediately see us upon leaving the city; at least I hoped. The goblins being short and green came in handy when it came time to hide. 

“It’s about time,” I said to no one in particular. 

A group of five or six massive trolls hurried out of the city gates, some wearing hastily donned pieces of armor, some just brandishing weapons. They roared in anger and scanned the forest around them, looking for whoever had killed their king.

“Everyone get down,” I said over my shoulder. They needed no additional warnings. “Okay, as soon as you're able to, Gallu,” I told the diminutive woman.

“The whole group?” she asked, eyes wide.

I nodded. “They’re the ones that were devoted to King Jack. With him gone, one of those guys will try to take charge, and they’ll likely be just as bad. It’s like cutting out a tumor and leaving half of it there. These guys need to go.”

“Okay,” she said. “Whatever a tumor is.”

I just sighed.

We crouched behind a bush and waited as the trolls slowly walked nearer to us. They scanned the forest in all directions and loudly shouted threats.

“I’m gonna find you and tear your limbs off.”

“I’ll drink your blood!”

“Once I find you I’ll flatten you like an insect!”

“God, shut up already,” I muttered.

“I think I can do it now,” Gallu whispered.

I felt her draw magical power into her, and it seemed like it would never end. Jesus Christ, this woman was strong. The power within her surged and the ground beneath the troll warriors practically exploded.

Ten-foot-tall flames blasted upwards, catching the troll warriors completely unprepared. They screamed and tried to run, but half of them just ran into each other. They attacked each other with weapons, trying to get away. Two of them did manage to escape, but the fires followed them. Gallu was absolutely relentless. The troll screams filled the air, although they didn’t last long. It only took a few minutes before they started falling to the ground, dead.

Gallu sagged in place and I reached out and caught her before she hit the ground. I felt the magic leave her completely.

“I’m sorry, Aaron. I can’t do anymore,” she said, so tired she could barely even talk.

I lifted her into my arms and held her against my chest. “Hold on,” I said to her, and she threw an arm around my neck. 

I carried her back to our party. When they saw us, I assured them that she was okay and everyone stood up and we hurried away.

We walked hard for a solid hour, no one talking, just focusing on putting distance between us and the remaining trolls. Silvy walked next to me, with Tressi on the other side.

“So, are you going to tell us about it?” Silvy asked after a while.

I signaled for everyone to slow and I put Gallu down and caught my breath before answering. 

“He was from my world,” I said, and Tressi gasped. “From the same city, actually. From what I gathered, a troll witch-woman prayed to her gods, asking for, well I’m not exactly sure. But when my world was destroyed, I came here, and Jack went to the trolls.”

“Amazing,” Silvy said. “For that to happen to two people is simply incredible.”

“The witch-woman used the same language spell as you used on me,” I continued. “I assume she taught him magic as well. He probably used that magic to take power.”

“So, why did he attack us?” Silvy asked.

I laughed. “He wanted wives. Goblin and elven wives. Poor guy had been sleeping with troll women since becoming king.”

“Ew,” Silvy said.

“Tell me about it. Well, he’s dead and so are his warriors. Hopefully that was the last of them.”

“If not, we’ll be coming back here in the future, I assume,” Althidon said.

“As long as I continue to stay arrow free, I’ll always volunteer to help,” Taranath stated.

“Personally, I want a life of peace,” Tressi said. “Especially since I might be pregnant now.”

I put my arm around Tressi’s shoulders and laughed. “So, let’s talk about baby names.”

The end.