It had been a week since the strange voice had been heard high in the secret alcove of the north-eastern cliffs. It had taken Paulus that long to arrange for the situation of the remaining three goblin prisoners into the small arena they used. There was nothing out of the ordinary about moving them there. Food production workers often tired of hearing and seeing the goblins as they passed from the farms and butcheries into the dining areas.
It was also normal to leave goblins in the arena for long periods of time. It instilled a sense of mortality as few other places could. The obsidian black walls were splattered with the blood and gore of past battles. And though the floor was occasionally cleaned, the smoothed black obsidian never quite lost that red lustre instilled in it after countless bloodlettings.
Paulus, Ragnar and Aardvark were the ones below, with Fre above keeping watch to ensure the galleries were empty. Aardvark worked the levers and watched the lower halls while Paulus and Ragnar went within, locking the doors behind themselves.
After several days of sitting in silence the goblins were offered the best chance they knew they were likely to get. They would have their weapons returned and would get the opportunity to fight Ragnar, The Ragnar. He would be unarmed but fully armored. That alone was an almost irresistable offer, to fight an unarmed enemy with three to one odds. Most prisoners were killed outright and it was unlikely they would get a better chance. The only thing they needed to do?
Provide information.
Two of the speargoblins looked hesitantly at the third, a guard for some signal. The goblin sat and thought for a moment only before speaking:
"We tell you this thing then we fight. Lozu want Mirror of souls."
Both dwarves were silent, one waiting for a cue from the other. He nodded imperceptably and rapped on the door three times and shortly thereafter a quiet grating sound could be heard before the cages sprung open.
Ragnar popped his knuckles audibly as the three goblins warily left their cages, two with spears, one with a mace. One of the speargoblins charged forward trying to impale the stout dwarf before him on his weapon but Ragnar sidestepped it, reaching out and pulling the goblin forward by the spear. The goblin hung on tenaciously as he was dragged withing Ragnar's grip. The dwarf grabbed the creature by it's vest and propelled it bodily into the wall behind them, stunning it and leaving it on the floor face-down. Two swift punches in the back of the head rendered it unconcious and were done with such rapidity that the other two had little chance to act cohesively. He bled to death a short while later due to massive trauma.
The two remaining vainly attempted to circle around and flank Ragnar, but the armored dwarf quickly closed with the other spear-goblin and began crushing him in a bearhug while the guard vainly tried to pound on him but was unable to penetrate the armor in any serious fashion. It was a close matter when the goblin struck a blow from behind in a critical location, but some bruising and bent armor was all that resulted and soon he too faced Ragnar's cold fury.
Giving another series of taps, the door swiftly opened and the four soon left the scene, allowing others to clean up the remaining mess. By unspoken agreement no questions were asked, but much was thought about, particularly by those who heard what the goblin had said.
Lozu was the name of their demon master, a being of vast power and cunning. It was a name to be feared and respected. The other name none had heard of, nor knew but one of the dwarves there at least had some good guesses as to what it could be that they searched for. Paulus thanked his friends and retired to his public office to think. He couldn't afford to let his public work slip, but an internal change like this was likely to be questioned unless a plausible cause could be offered. One simply didn't steal an artifact displayed so prominently without attracting attention. At least, not easily.
((Can do Aardvark. I'll see to it.))
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Topic: Geshud Osod, the Fortress of Bones (Community/Story in Legendary Lands) (Read 101521 times)