King of the Goblins 2—Chapter 11

“Be careful!” Zia hissed at me as I slowly approached the harpy.

“Don’t worry, I have every intention of keeping my life,” I said over my shoulder. I kept my eyes on the harpy’s chest, not wanting to risk her magic. As I got closer though, I decided that I wanted to show her that I did not fear her magical call. I brought my gaze up to hers and firmly held it there.

“I want to talk to you,” I said again. I stopped when I was about ten feet from her.

“What are you?” she asked. She sounded both impressed at my ability to speak her language, and irritated that her magic wasn’t working on me.

I momentarily slowed her heart rate even further. “I am the man that holds your life in my hands,” I said.

She staggered to her knees, her wings sagging. “Stop!” she called out. “Please, spare my life.”

“Would you have spared mine?” I asked.

She glared at me, knowing I had made a good point.

“What can you tell me about the trolls?” I asked.

Her glare deepened and her voice picked up intensity. “Vile creatures! Foul, disgusting vermin! I wish I could tear the flesh from every one of them and watch as they suffer.”

I waited patiently while she rambled on about how much she wanted to kill every single troll herself. Jesus, this woman had a violent streak a mile wide.

“Let me be more specific,” I said. “What can you tell me about the ones that are coming here?”

“I know nothing about that,” she said. “If you say they are coming here, I believe you. They destroyed my home and many of my kin only two days gone. They destroyed everything without a care in the world, and we were powerless against them.”

“Your magic doesn’t work against trolls?”

“Not always,” she said. “Trolls are naturally resistant to magic. We tried to fight them as they burned our nests, but they ignored us.”

Resistant to magic? Great. Just fucking great. Why had I not heard that before? I guess trolls weren’t really a common sighting back home.

“And they killed the gnolls as well, right?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yes, they stomped on those pests like insects,” she said.

“Was something different about these trolls? Compared to normal, that is. Was someone with them, driving them to do all this?”

Her eyebrows drew down even further. “They wore plates of skin and metal on their bodies and heads,” she said. “Similar to some of the goblin men behind you.”

I glanced over my shoulder at the soldiers. Armor. She was referring to armor. Well, that much I had guessed on my own, but the confirmation was good.

“Was someone with them?” I asked. “A man about my size, but covered in spikes?”

Her eyes narrowed. “The thorned man, as we call him. He threw fire from his hands the way you might throw a rock. He delighted in the destruction of our home.”

“Okay, now we’re getting somewhere,” I said. “Can you tell me anything else about him?”

She shook her head. “I know very little. The thorned man showed up a few months ago, and the trolls have been a problem ever since. More aggressive, actively hunting us instead of just bothering.”

“Do you know anything else about him? Where he came from?”

She shook her head again. “No one knows anything about him, other than he appeared several months ago and the trolls have been insufferable since. He seems to enjoy the killing of others. I believe he wants to kill and conquer everything he can.”

“Sounds like a real joy,” I muttered.

“I would kill him if I got the chance,” she growled. “No one can even get close to him. The trolls guard and protect him as if he is one of their own.”

Well, at least I knew a little more about this guy, now. The thorned man. That was an interesting nickname, but it matched Orkec’s description of him wearing spiked armor.

“Where are you going now?” I asked.

“To find a new place to nest,” she said, sounding angry. “Somewhere far away from any trolls.”

“Do me a favor and stay away from goblins as well,” I said. “And elves, for that matter.”

She glared at me. “Goblins taste the best.”

I sighed and slowed her heart rate again. She squawked and collapsed to her knees.

“Okay, I yield! No goblins. No elves. Only let me leave with my life.” One of her wings reached out to me, as if pleading.

“Go,” I told her. “And go in peace. I’m giving you your life, so remember that if you come across any goblins or elves.”

“I will,” she said, bowing her head slightly. “Thank you. I am sorry I didn’t have more information for you.”

With that, I let her heart rate rise a bit. Not enough for her to attack me, but enough for her to walk away. I stood there with a tight hold on my blood magic, ready to attack if she tried anything, but she just left.

After that, I turned and went back to my group. Zia stepped forward and hugged me tightly, and Taranath looked grateful that I was still alive.

“What did she say?” Zia asked.

“Not much,” I told her. “The trolls attacked her nest a couple days ago. Their new leader was there. A guy wearing spiked armor that throws fire from his hands. So, a magic user.”

“Well, at least we know our enemy now,” Zia said.

“Yeah.” I wasn’t sure what to say to that. 

“Do you think you’ll have to fight him?” Zia asked.

“Maybe,” I said. “I’m hoping after we kill his trolls, he’ll back off.”

“So, are we done?” Taranath asked.

“No,” I said. “I didn’t get much from her. Let’s keep looking.”

We fell back into our loose formation and kept walking east. Something about this new troll king was nagging at the back of my mind, but I couldn’t figure it out. Something about it just felt wrong.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait long before finding more tracks. This time it was Taranath that spotted them.

“Looks like a bunch of them walked through here,” he said. “Going that way.” He pointed slightly to his left.

“Alright, we follow Taranath!” I called out

It took us another ten minutes, but once again Zia was the first to see them. Her sharp eyesight really came in handy at times.

“Gnolls ahead,” she whispered.

“Alright, I’ll handle it,” I said. “Let’s quietly move closer.”

Our formation carefully moved closer to the pack of gnolls. The goblin men moved silently through the forest while I somehow managed to step on every single dry leaf and twig in existence.

“You’re really bad at moving silently,” Zia whispered to me.

I grumbled and kept moving closer. The gnolls eventually saw us and started moving towards us, barking in their strange language. Of course, I understood it perfectly.

“Goblins! Such sweet, sweet flesh,” one of them said.

“What is that tall thing with them?”

“It’s an elf, you moron.”

“No, the other one. He’s not an elf.”

“I don’t care, but I’ll bet he tastes lovely.”

“I want his legs. They look tender.”

“You’re just saying that because you want to eat his ass. You always eat the ass first, you sick fuck.”

“Will you shut the hell up!” I shouted. That stopped them dead in their tracks.

“He speaks our language?”

“What is he?”

“Why does he speak our tongue?”

“I’m here to talk to you,” I said, reaching out with blood magic. I selected the two gnolls in the front and slowed their hearts. Not enough to kill them, but enough to stagger them and get their attention.

“What’s happening?” one of them said.

“It’s him. He’s using magic on us.”

I stepped closer to them, showing that I didn’t fear them. “I need information about the trolls.”

“I fucking hate trolls,” one of them growled.

“They destroyed your settlement a few days ago, right?” I asked.

One of the gnolls took a step forward, closer to me. I assumed he was some form of leader. Gray hair flecked his bearded snout.

“What are you? Who are you? We have not attacked you.”

“I am the king of the goblins,” I said. “And before you say it, yes I know I’m not a goblin. I’m here for information about the trolls.”

“Trolls,” the lead gnoll muttered. “What do you want to know about trolls?”

“One of your fellows was injured. A man named Orkec. He is back in my city, safe and resting as he heals. He told me the trolls attacked you a few days ago, and that some of them are heading this way in two or three days.”

The lead gnoll rubbed his chin. “You have Orkec? Was he okay?”

I sighed. Getting information out of this guy was going to be tough. “Yes. He attacked several goblins and was injured. I used my magic to heal him and he is resting back in my city. We treat him well. Now, can you give me any additional information on the trolls?”

“Trolls,” he muttered again. “We hate the trolls. They’ve never been good to us, but they used to leave us alone, at least. Now they burn our home and kill our people.”

“That’s why you’re leaving, right?” I asked.

He nodded. “To find a new home. One far away from trolls, and that son of a dog that leads them.”

“The harpies call him the thorned man,” I said.

The gnoll pursed his lips. “Fitting. His armor is covered in spikes. No one knows much about him. He showed up months ago out of nowhere, maybe half a year ago. A few months later, he was king and the trolls started to get violent.” His eyes started drifting towards Zia and he licked his lips.

“Hey,” I said, snapping my fingers. “Focus.”

His eyes snapped back to me. “Trolls are lazy, but they like to destroy things. They’re resting after killing my people. If Orkec told you that some are coming for you, I believe him. If you want my advice, run while you can. These trolls wear armor of metal and hide and bone, and you can’t hurt them.”

“Is there anything else you can tell me?” I asked.

“He likes to throw fire,” the gnoll said. “Their king, that is. Trolls actually don’t like fire, but they have to deal with it now because their king likes to burn everything down.” He looked over at Taranath. “They’ll burn your trees down.”

“They can try,” I said. 

“They will,” the gnoll replied.

“Well, thanks for the information. Let’s part ways in peace, okay?” I released my magical hold on the two gnolls and they gasped for breath.

The lead gnoll watched me for a moment, then turned and left without another word. The rest of the gnolls followed, and walked away into the forest. I noticed many of them had bundles wrapped in cloth, tied to their backs. Several of them glanced at us over their shoulders, but overall they looked glad to be gone.

“Was he able to tell you much?” Zia asked as I walked back to our group.

“Not really,” I said. “Trolls don’t like fire, but they have to deal with it because their new king likes to burn everything down. Oh, and they’ll probably try to burn your great trees,” I added to Taranath.

The elf gasped. “Why would they dare do such a thing? The great trees are sacred.” His brows drew down into a fierce scowl. “Well, if they try, they’ll taste our arrows.”

I clapped him on the shoulder. “That’s the kind of attitude I want to see more of.”