The Hollow Grove: The Companions [Book 2]

[21] The Terror Below

"On my way," said the Faeling.  He took the time to darken his face and two long, thin daggers so nothing would shine in the torchlight below.  He remembered to cover the dagger adorned with a red crystal with a bit of black leather.  He felt fortunate to have so many weapons at his disposal.  However, he wondered if it was a reflection of himself as a warrior.  Who am I without all of this?  He thought about how much his gear weighed him down.  Now is not the time to ponder these things, he decided.  When entering an assassination, his mind needed to be clear.  He closed his eyes and allowed his mind to become a blank slate, for the more savage an opponent, the more likely they were to feel his killing intentions.  The slightest mistake could get him and his friends killed. 

Wess clung to the shadows along the perimeter of the cavern.  He found he did not have to be very quiet as the loud wails and discord covered the sounds of his steps.  The Goblins bounced off each other, often hitting and kicking a neighbor.  The Faeling was close enough now to see their wild, maddening eyes that stared into the aether.  Their pointed yellow teeth chewed on some kind of crushed leaves.  Dark spittle drooled down their chin and neck.  The bound Demon was so large and life-like he thought its eyes would pop open and he would burst his chains.  Its owl-like claws were curled closed.  Its wings were folded tight on its back.  Long fangs protruded from its tightened jaws.  Wess thought it appeared to be in a peaceful dream-like state.  This was his first live Demon and probably the only one he would ever see, so he took in a long look to remember the frightening monster.

Moving forward, Wess approached the entryway.  It was a tunnel, really, barely enough room for two Goblins to walk side-by-side.  The guards wore brown leather jerkins and breeches and boots.  They looked uniform, so it made sense these Goblins had some intelligence and social structure.  Their bored hands held sharp, steel-tipped spears that were perfect for crowd control like this. Daggers hung from their war belts for close work.  This told the Assassin to act more keen on his killing moves.  He could not flank behind them, so he approached from the southern side.  A long, dark dagger found the ear canal of the first Goblin.  The yellow eyes of his victim widened and his jaws shot open, but he did not scream—death was instant.  The second Goblin noticed a movement of shadow, but at first thought nothing of it.  Wess had slunk low out of direct sight and came up with his second dagger into the Goblin's throat.  It was a fair strike to the monster's jugular vein and black blood poured from the wound.  The Goblin beckoned a cry, but the Assassin pulled hard across its neck to cut through its windpipe.  Instead of a scream, all that was heard was a gurgling struggle to breathe.  Wess quickly dragged the bodies into the darkness of the tunnel out of sight of the cavern.  He cleaned his blades on their cloaks and waved his friends down.

The remaining companions made their way down the pathway, straining their necks as they could not take their eyes off the chained Demon.  They made it to the tunnel entrance with the Goblins howling and the drums hammering away.  One by one they entered the tunnel, with Wess in the lead and Haygen in the back of the line.  The big Half-orc shrank down a bit and traded his ax for his spear in order to fit into the low tunnel.  Otis noticed the Tribesman's troubles and made a tactical note of it.

The tunnel was lit by crude lamps fueled by pitch that burned a thick smoke and made the air even harder to breathe.  It was not reinforced with stone, but every so often there were wooden supports to keep the ceiling from collapsing.  They came upon a set of stairs that zig and zagged as they went up.  Eventually the stairs ended onto a platform which led to another tunnel that ran north and south.  They took this route until it came to a "T" where Otis though it best to take the western turn.  Wess led them to the left and, shortly, they came upon a large, crude storage area filled with wooden barrels, and crates.  Four guards were gathered in a circle on the floor playing a dice game for coin.  The dice was placed in a metal cup, shaken, then slammed to the ground.  Bets were placed, then the cup was lifted for the result with one Goblin celebrating and the three losers groaning.

Otis gathered his friends around him in a hushed huddle.  "We cannot let them alert others.  Take them out quickly."  Otis instructed each friend which Goblin they would take out, leaving Kayla to guard their back.  He counted down from five on his fingers, four, three, two, one...

A Goblin shook the cup and slammed the dice down onto the ground, letting it set a moment for effect.

Wess hurled Ravenwing and the magical Tenchi dagger stuck into the chest of the first unsuspecting Goblin.  Next, Anyu dashed across the floor in a white blur, swinging her longsword across the neck of the next.  Otis threw his heavy warhammer and it spun end-over-end until it cracked the skull of the third monster.  The green skinned Half-orc was more than happy to get out of the tight tunnels and out into the open space of the warehouse.  He jumped high up into the air and brought his spear down, skewering the last Goblin deep into his chest.  They froze still and listened.  Nothing was heard but one Goblin's death rattle.

Haygen made a move to one of the crates to investigate.

"Now is not the time for that, Haygen," said Otis.  "Now is the time for escape.  Our enemy population is unknown.  There could be thousands down here."  He retrieved his hammer.  "Come." 

Haygen rubbed his hand on his chin stubble and nodded in acceptance.  He helped the Dwarf drag the bodies off into the dark corners for the room.

Meanwhile, Wess peeled up the copper chunks that the Goblins were gambling with, feeling that it wouldn't take any time and they were just lying there.  Then, to cover himself even further, he said, "Let's get moving, shall we?"

"Your lead, sergeant," said Otis. 

Wess cleaned the black ooze from Ravenwing and peeked outside the open exit door.  The passageway straight forward was clear and lit by more lanterns.  They took this passage, and it led them to a prison area where a masked jailor was whipping a Goblin's skin clean off.  Black spray flew with each crack of his whip.  Kayla recoiled from the sight and thought of intervening, but knew better.  They snuck past the jail as best they could and continued on until they came to the entrance of a large antechamber.  Double doors were open that revealed an antechamber that supported a large throne room.  A tall throne of rocks and bits of gold supported a tiny goblin. He was donned in a purple velvet vest and fine silk breeches.  From a quick glance of the scene, it appeared he was but a symbolic puppet controlled by three fattened masters lined up to is right with an older, stronger queen to his left.  The room echoed with barks and grunts of Goblin speech leaving much to the imagination. 

Otis gathered his friends once more.  "This must be the throne room, so perhaps there is an exit nearby."  He pointed further down the hall.  "Let's keep moving...it seems we are heading in the best direction so far."

And so it was true, for at last an exit was found.  Fresh air called to Anyu and she led them through yet more twists.  The exit was more like a cellar door leading out from storage.  They pushed open the two doors and exited the underground maze like they were born again.  The fresh forest air cleansed their mouths and lungs.  The darkness of night and the stars above were a welcoming sight.  But the stars and waxing moon was just enough light for all of the companions to see the large Goblin hunting party just returning from their evening hunt.

A/N - I think the latter part of this chapter with the Goblin tunnels needs a bit more work, but I wanted to lay it out for you. I will come back and edit/add more detail to this, but for now I think it explains the direction I wanted. I did hit my 2k word limit, but I'm a lot more excited about the next parts of the story, so I just wanted to get past this part as a rough draft and get on with the next chapter.