From Misery To Myth

portion of a chapter from my published book

Joseph was dragged out the door and down a hallway poorly lit by scattered torches. His vision slowly cleared as he noticed other goblins throughout the path, either arguing with each other over scraps of food or fighting because someone cheated in some kind of marbles game. Utterly Chaotic, the lot of them. How Joseph ever got caught was beyond his imagination!

            The capturers turned down another passage and came to a large door. It looked oak. It had a finely detailed carving of a wizard. A goblin wizard. One of the guards knocked on the door and waited. Joseph heard the latch release, and watched as the door slowly opened. The sweet smell of incense wafted in the air as Joseph was shoved inside and had the door slammed behind him. There was almost no light where he lay on a cold floor of earth. The little light there was shined in front of him. Joseph got up and walked toward it. It seemed to come from behind a thin, red cloth. As Joseph got closer, he saw that the cloth surrounded what looked to be some sort of bed. Four huge stakes were in the ground, creating a canopy from the cloth. As Joseph approached, the cloth separated, looking like curtains. Behind them, a huge pile of --- stones? Bleached stones? Joseph shook his head. Those looked more like ---

            “Skulls, boy! The former heroes before you! By failing to claim my head, I’ve taken theirs, each one stupider than the last. Each one less challenging. No doubt you will be just as disappointing to me.”

            Joseph stared in shock. An obese man lay upon a pile of skulls, himself as disgusting as the scene. He wore a pair of trousers that looked too small for him, and no shirt, baring grotesque rolls of fat and a necklace of teeth around his neck that looked ready to snap.

            “You are no goblin! How is it that you have become King of this rabble?”

            “Magic, my dear boy! Powerful, dark magic! Even my master can be bought! I am in no hurry to die, and he wants to rule the land. In exchange for my service, he slowly wreaks his havoc on the world. When I have gained enough dead bodies, he will have an unstoppable army. True, the goblins and orcs and other such beasties have pledged their allegiance, but they are all killable. The dead are already dead. So, for a taste of power I vowed to get him his army! You are next in line!”

            Joseph drew his sword, not sure what to do next, but knowing it would not end in victory if he did not think quickly.

            “Wait! It is almost certain that I will die, so indulge me in my curiosity. What is it about this place that your master wishes to rule? There’s not much that I have seen so far.”

            “Foolish boy. Everyone wants the power! Everyone wants to be a master of something! Just to be King is enough to send men on suicide missions! I play my part and am King of the goblins, with a surging power! See for yourself!”

            Joseph watched as a blue sphere shot from the man’s hand and flew to Joseph’s chest, knocking him to the ground. He leaped back to his feet and noticed his attacker charging toward him with a large battle axe. Joseph stepped back just as it crashed to the ground, grazing his tunic. He swung back, but his sword was blocked by the massive weapon. Another shot of blue energy knocked him back to the ground. Joseph rolled over and climbed to his feet again. He turned in time to counter a swing to his head. He swung back and struck, nicking the blubbery man’s side. The King howled in pain and anger, and released another blue ball. Joseph tried to dodge this one, but it followed him, knocking him down once more. Joseph sat up, coughing for air and wheezed, “Coward! I am brave enough to fight with only my sword! Have you no honor!?”

            The Goblin King stopped his approach, chuckling. He didn’t even seem to be breathing hard!

            “All right, whelp! I take pleasure in torture, and you seem anxious to drag out your death. No magic! No, get up!”

            Joseph climbed to his feet and took a deep breath. He hoped he knew what he was doing! The Goblin King charged once more, and Joseph spun out of his way, slapping him on the back with the flat of the sword. Rage erupted from the beast’s throat as he turned and swung his axe. Joseph countered it, feeling the blow all the way to his shoulders as he grunted in slight pain from his previous injury. If his foe found out about his weakness, he’d surely be finished! He tried to ignore it and switched fighting hands. It did no good, however.

            “I know your weakness, boy! I will cut you to pieces, starting with that arm!”

            “I think of it as a greater challenge rather than a weakness, son of a whale!”

            The monstrous wizard hollered his anger again, and swung at Joseph only to be countered. Joseph spun to his attacker’s back and stabbed. The blade made its cut low and to the side. Blood oozed from the wound as Joseph exclaimed, “That’s two for me! Considering you’ve knocked me to the ground at least twice, I’d say we’re even. Now let’s stop playing so that I may have your head!”

            “You can tell that to the Ferry Man at the River Styx!”

            Joseph dodged once more as the axe barely missed his other shoulder. He swung and sliced, feeling the blade dig deep into an arm. Another painful howl and the sound of tearing flesh as Joseph retrieved his sword. He swung again as the king held his arm. This time Joseph marked a hand. The Goblin King fell to his knees, gasping for breath. Joseph approached him as he started chuckling.

            “No one has ever bested me. I salute you.”

            The hairs on Joseph’s neck began to rise. A final attack! Joseph raised his sword and swung hard. An explosion of energy blasted Joseph backwards as he felt his sword strike. His body flew across the room, slamming him into the pile of skulls that he felt sure to join. Pain rung through him as he sat up, his head spinning wildly from the landing. He looked around, unable to see at first. No one was running toward him. Where was the Goblin King? A small cloud of dust was settling from where he once stood. Joseph got up, his muscles screaming in agony from his fall. He limped his way over, grunting with each step. There on the floor, blood oozing from the neck. The head lay lopsided, as Joseph was only able to partially sever it from his swing before the blast. The King’s body was sprawled out on the dirt, his battle axe lying where he had previously dropped it. Joseph put away his sword and picked up the axe. He tried, rather. Aside from his battle wounds hurting, the axe was dreadfully heavy! Joseph lifted it over his head however, stumbling back a few steps, and then brought it down to finish his work. The King’s head rolled away a few feet as blood splattered from the blow. There, he thought. It is done! Thus ends the reign of the Goblin King.

Reviews

[Stef Outsiders]

This is interesting... your description is amazing because i could see the whole fight scene in my head! well done!