King of the Goblins 2—Chapter 16

After breakfast, I spent a few minutes kissing and hugging my wives. I was grateful none of them were the jealous type. That would have made this whole arrangement pretty awkward.

“I miss Tressi,” Zia said, frowning prettily.

“She should be back today, right?” I asked. “Hopefully the exploratory team will have good news.”

Zia nodded. “I can’t imagine they’ll have anything other than good news. And they’ll be back before the trolls get here, unless something comes up.”

It was my turn to frown at that. The trolls would be here tomorrow or the next day, depending on how fast they were moving. I knew we would be fine, but I also knew it would be a stressful event. But, worrying never solved anything. I smoothed my face.

“Alright, I’m going to get going,” I said. I bent down and kissed Zia on top of the head. “I love you all.”

“Love you, Aaron,” Leena said.

“See you soon,” Silvy said with a smile.

Walking with a sword belted around my waist was an interesting thing. First off, it took some getting used to. I generally had to walk with my left hand on the hilt so the damn scabbard wouldn’t bang against my leg. I couldn’t lie though; coming from a guy that used to type up boring financial reports for a living…I liked how it looked.

My journey through the halls of the royal palace was interesting that morning. All of the maids and servants seemed to be positioning themselves to show off their breasts or asses, even more than usual. Zia must have said something to them. I found that whole situation strange, but I couldn’t complain.

As soon as I stepped into the throne room, I slipped the shadow stone into my mouth. That made my walk through the Royal District much faster. The rest of the city, as well.

When I got to the Tunnel District, I saw the beginnings of the new tunnel, the one that would eventually connect with Caelora. It started on the path that led to Silvy’s old house, roughly thirty feet to the left of the main entrance as I was facing it. 

At that moment it was just roughly cut, but a veritable army of goblin workers wheeled carts back and forth, removing rock from the area. Several women sat on a nearby bench, resting, while others were inside the tunnel, moving the rock around like clay. It was fascinating to watch them work, but I didn’t have the time to stick around.

I hurried down the tunnel, avoiding all the men with stone-filled carts. Fortunately it was busy enough that no one noticed the shimmer in the air passing by them. 

Once I exited the tunnel, I hurried to the treeline. The goblin workers were piling the loose stone about a hundred feet north of the main entrance, so I assumed that was where the bridge would be. That made sense, as there was a great tree nearby.

After a moment I removed the shadow stone from my mouth and just walked along that familiar path to Caelora. It was a peaceful morning, the weather pleasant, birds singing, squirrels barking. While I loved all the people that filled my days, I enjoyed that time I got to spend alone.

I briefly wondered what I would be doing back on Earth if things hadn’t ended. My old job wasn’t a bad one, and my boss had been a decent guy, but I knew I didn’t have much of a future there. Definitely not a retirement I could have lived on. I hated to think that it was a good thing that the entire planet died, but I certainly made out like a king. Heh, get it?

When I came to the tree I preferred to use, I took a deep breath and began slowly climbing the stairs. The elves, as slender as they were, found it strange that I got tired climbing those damn stairs, as if walking up a hundred feet didn’t bother them at all. Even Leena teased me about it at times, but I had to remember she had spent decades going up and down the stairs, whereas I had only spent months.

“Oh, it’s King Aaron!” an older elven woman said as I crested the top of the stairs. She gave me a polite curtsey; not as deep as she would give to her own king, of course, but perfectly respectful.

“Good morning, King Aaron,” said another woman as she walked by. She gave me a sweet smile, but didn’t stop. 

And that was how the elves treated me. They respected me, sometimes they would give a brief bow or curtsey, but they didn’t take it any further than that. Honestly, I like it. But, I had to remind myself, I wasn’t their king. Even the elves bowed and scraped for their own king.

“Here for more training with the sword, King Aaron?” a man asked as I walked by.

“Yep, just hoping I can one day beat Althidon,” I replied with a grin. The man laughed and kept walking.

“Honeycake, King Aaron?” a motherly woman asked as I passed in front of her house. She held several of the pastries on a wooden platter. Faint wisps of steam still rose from them, showing they were fresh.

“Well, that would certainly be rude of me to refuse,” I said, stopping for a moment. I grabbed one and took a bite. 

Her honeycakes were fairly croissant-like, but of course, with honey. I assumed someone went down onto the ground to collect wild honey from time to time, although it wouldn’t surprise me if they simply had beekeepers in the trees. There were enough flowers up here, after all.

“Make sure you eat plenty and keep your strength up for when the trolls show up,” she said. The sweet tone of her voice was at odds with her words. “Of course, I don’t think any of them will even make it to your city. They have to make it past our archers first, and with my husband and my two sons among them, you can sure bet every arrow will find its mark.” Pride filled her voice as she mentioned her family.

“Thank you, ma’am,” I said. “And I agree. I don’t think the trolls will make it past you guys, but if they do they’ll find a hard time in the mountain.”

“You stay safe, now,” she said.

I gave her a polite nod. “Ma’am.”

After that I kept walking while eating the pastry. The elves enjoyed their pastries, although they tended to keep the flavors light. Bits of fruit, sometimes flowers petals, or honey. They were a people that appreciated subtleties in all things, and I liked that.

I finished the honeycake right as I walked up to Althidon. He was leaning against the railing, watching young soldiers spar. For all his lofty station, he preferred training soldiers to anything else.

“Good morning, Aaron,” he said to me. It was rare he used my official title, and that was fine with me. After all, I was only alive because of Althidon. “I see you passed by Mara’s house.”

I licked the last bits of honeycake from my fingertips. “Mara?”

Althidon nodded. “She makes those things nearly every morning and hands them out to people, especially passing children. She’s a national treasure, I tell you.”

“I guess I passed by at just the right time,” I said, dusting my hands off. “Are you ready?”

“I’m always ready,” he said with a grin. He stepped over to the weapons rack and grabbed two practice swords, then tossed one to me, point-down.

I caught it by the hilt and spun it upright, then held it in both hands. To warm up my wrists and arms I gave it a few swipes in each direction, then rolled my shoulders around a bit.

“So, are you guys ready for the attack?” Althidon said, raising his sword. That was the only warning I got.

“As ready as we can be,” I replied. I brought my sword up just in time, barely deflecting a blow that would have left me with a wicked bruise on my chest had it landed. “Although honestly I don’t think the trolls will make it past your archers.”

“That’s the plan,” Althidon said. He moved to the side, his steps slow and deliberate. “Starting tonight we’re going to have several dozen men waiting at the tops of the trees, keeping an eye out. In the event that the trolls come early, we’ll be ready.”

“Do you think they’ll come early?” I asked and dropped into a lunge.

Althidon casually stepped aside and my wooden blade found nothing but air. His sword was suddenly at the side of my neck. I hadn’t even seen him move the damn thing.

“Not bad, just be faster,” he said. “And make sure to keep your guard up.”

“Oh, King Aaron! We can’t have you getting bruised, now,” An elderly elven woman said as she hurried towards me, leather vest in hand. “And you as well, Sword-Master.”

“Thanks,” I said, taking the vest from her. I leaned my sword against the wooden railing and pulled my cloak off, then set it on the floor. After that, I slipped my arms through the vest and began lacing up the side. 

Althidon frowned at his vest for a moment, but finally decided to put it on as well. I raised an eyebrow at him.

“You’re getting faster,” he said. “One of these days you’ll land a hit on me, and I’d rather not feel it. You’re a pretty strong guy, after all.”

I smiled at the compliment. He had a point, too; while Althidon was no weakling, I had a heavier build than his elven frame, especially after Silvy had improved my body what seemed like so long ago. A steady diet of food from Chef Gorman, regular practice with the sword, and of course those damn stairs on every tree and I had put on a few extra pounds of muscle. 

Althidon grabbed his sword and waited for me to be ready. “What are your plans if they make it into the tunnel?”

“Pretty straightforward,” I said as I raised my sword. “They’ll have to crawl through the tunnel, which will make them slow and vulnerable. I have men training with extra-long spears as we speak. Any trolls trying to crawl through the tunnel will get impaled by a dozen of my soldiers. Of course, what I’ll probably try first is to just stop their hearts with magic, but I’ve been told trolls are naturally resistant to magic.”

“Hmm, good point,” Althidon said. He swiped left and I was barely able to parry it in time. “We don’t trolls very often so I guess they aren’t a regular topic of conversation. But yes, they are resistant to some magic. No one has quite figured out exactly what, though. They hate fire, that much we know. Other forms, they practically ignore.”

“I was told they can be affected by their own magic,” I said. 

“Who told you that?”

“A gnoll,” I replied. “Or a harpy. One or both, I forget.”

Althidon lowered his sword. “You spoke with a gnoll and a harpy?”

“Yeah,” I said and swung for his head. He casually raised his sword and deflected my attack as if I had all the time in the world. “Remember, Silvy used magic on me when I first arrived here, so I can speak any language.”

“That’s true,” Althidon. “You don’t have any accent at all; you sound like you grew up speaking the elven language. I suppose with that, I had forgotten it was magical in nature. I guess you’ll be able to speak to the trolls as well, once I get here.” 

“I’ll make sure I tell them to fuck off,” I said with a chuckle. “Or if I’m smart, I’ll try to take one of them prisoner and ask them about this new king of theirs.”

Althidon grunted. “Good luck capturing one of them. Bastards are about as strong as can be.”

He had a solid point. I didn’t think we had any chains lying around in my city that would safely hold them. I’d have to have someone make some with magic, although I didn’t know if there was even enough time to do that. Perhaps if we just wrapped chains around a troll from shoulder to wrist, that would be enough to hold them.

“What is this about a new king?” Althidon asked.

“I’ve only heard a little,” I said and lashed out with two quick swings. Althidon parried them without hesitation, but gave a slight nod of praise. “From what I understand, he arrived around the same time I did, became king three months ago, and he’s roughly my size. Oh, and he wears a suit of spiked armor and likes to burn things. He can use fire magic, I’m not sure about any other types.”

“Sounds like a real charming fellow,” Althidon said. “You should try sparring with your wife sometime. I think you might be surprised.”

“I don’t think I’d be surprised at all,” I said. Being the daughter of the Sword-Master, she could kick most men’s asses with a sword.

We sparred for another thirty minutes before Althidon ran me through several drills. He said I was picking up a bad habit with my footwork, so we went over that as well. It was tiring, but I felt good afterwards, like I had gone for a brisk jog.

“Now we just need to figure out a better way to communicate with each other,” I said. “Oh, that reminds me. Can you teach me the way you use magic to send messages to people?”