King of the Goblins—Chapter 53

The first thing I did was heal Althidon. He was wary with exhaustion, but none of the dozen-odd wounds seemed to really slow him, not even the deep gash across his face that made me wince to look at. He stoically ignored all of his wounds as if they weren’t worthy of his time. I was amazed he had been able to fight as well as he had with that kind of blood loss. It put the old man’s toughness in a whole new light.

As soon as I was done with that, I ran across the room to the women. Silvy was crying, her tears soaking her blindfold. Tressi wasn’t in much better shape, and I noticed a white streak in her hair, just above her right eye. A wicked burn went from her hairline to her cheek, and her eye was solid white and leaked fluids onto her cheek. I reached out with the last of my magical strength and healed her face. Her eye repaired itself, but there was still a faint scar on her forehead and the white streak in her hair remained.

Taranath and Althidon were there a moment later, helping me untie the women and remove their blindfolds. I immediately went to Silvy and pulled her to me. She wept against my shoulder for some time, the full-throated sobs of a woman that had just been reminded of her son’s murder.

“Truk wanted me to tell you that he loves you and he’s at peace now,” I said to her, gently stroking her hair. 

She tried to say something but all that came out were sobs. I couldn’t imagine the pain she felt at having her son murdered, and then knowing his ghost lived in pain for a century or more.

“I don’t know if this helps at all, but Truk was the one that killed Ralcor. I made sure of that. He got his revenge.” I continued stroking the back of her head, and just let her cry.

After a moment, Silvy managed to contain her tears. She pulled back, looking up at me with red eyes. 

“Thank you, Aaron,” she managed to say, then leaned her head on my shoulder again.

Tressi and Zia were there a moment later, both of them hugging Silvy tightly. They tried to whisper calming words to her, but she was a mess of emotions at that moment.

“My baby went through so many years of torment because of that bastard,” Silvy said, sobs breaking up her words. She tried to say something else but just broke down again. I held her tightly, just letting her cry it out.

I kept one arm around Silvy and tried to hug Zia and Tressi with my other arm. They were grateful to see me. All of us, really.

“What happened?” I asked Tressi, looking at the white streak in her hair.

“It was Silvy’s son,” she said. “His spirit. He apologized to me, then suddenly I felt the most searing pain ever, right here,” she said as she pointed at her eye. “But my blindfold was gone. He managed to pull it off, which meant I was able to use my magic again.”

“So it was you that removed his necklace?” I asked.

“Yes,” Tressi said. “I asked Silvy and she told me that there was a weak link on the back. I was just strong enough to soften the metal so that it broke. Ralcor was resistant to magic, and the pendant itself was immune, but the necklace was vulnerable.”

“You saved everyone’s lives,” I told her. “You and Silvy’s son.” I squeezed Silvy tightly again, who finally was able to contain her tears.

“How was he?” Silvy asked, looking up at me.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that he had roamed the cemetery for more than a hundred years, wishing for death. “He was strong,” I said finally. “The other spirits deferred to him and agreed he should be the one to kill Ralcor.”

Silvy sniffed a few times, then nodded. “My boy was always strong.”

“Just like his mother,” I said, hugging her again.

“We should move,” Althidon said, looking around the room. “There are an awful lot of soldiers out there that aren’t sure what’s going on.”

“You’re right,” I said, pulling away from Silvy. I kept her hand in mine, and checked Zia. Her cheek was slightly swollen, but otherwise she seemed okay. We started towards the wide doorway. “Do you think they’ll follow me, or will I need to prove myself somehow?”

Althidon frowned. “One moment.”

“I’d like to be of some use if I can,” Taranath said. 

I looked over at Tressi. “You have an older sister, right?”

“Yes,” she said cautiously. “Why do you ask?”

“Think you can introduce her to Taranath?”

Tressi looked at me for a moment in disbelief, then broke out into laughter. “Sure. At this point, I’m just glad to be alive. Come here, Taranath was it?”

The elven man bowed and went to Tressi, offering her his arm. She took it and immediately began asking him questions about himself, clearly seeing if he was good enough for her sister.

Althidon went up to Ralcor’s corpse and stood there for a moment, rubbing his chin in thought. He reached down and grabbed onto the corpse, pulling him into a seated position, then took a step back. He drew his sword and in a single quick motion, removed Ralcor’s head.

“Ugh,” I said as I watched him. I knew exactly what I was doing, but I still didn’t like it.

Althidon reached down and picked up Ralcor’s head by his hair and carried it to me. He handed it to me, and I gripped it gingerly by his black hair.

“This is disgusting,” I said.

“Fortunately, dead bodies don’t bleed that much,” Althidon replied. “Just make sure you tell them you did it. Do you know what to do with that thing?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Stay close,” I said to Silvy. “I’d like all of you right behind me. Make sure they can see I have the support of goblin women.”

Still clutching Ralcor’s head, I stepped into the doorway of the throne room and stood at the top of the stairs. Royal City was filled with soldiers, who slowly approached to see what I was going to do.

I raised Ralcor’s head and held it high in front of me. A collective gasp ran through the crowd of soldiers as they recognized their former king.

“I have taken Ralcor’s head,” I called out. “He may have been strong with a sword, but he was a weak leader. No longer will the goblin people live under his boot. No longer will you suffer his tyranny. I am your king now.”

A stunned silence filled the room, so dense you could practically cut it with a knife. One brave soldier took a step towards me.

“But, um, my king, you are not a goblin.” He ducked his head respectfully.

“I know,” I replied. “And I know it will take time for you to trust me as one of your own. But I am taking goblin women as my wives.” I gestured behind me at Silvy, Tressi, and Zia. Zia took a step forward and placed a hand on me. 

The soldiers looked at me, then at each other as if asking if this were real. 

“Ralcor’s ego was greater than his desire to see his own people prosper,” I said. “I am not that way. Although I am not a goblin, you are my people now. I will restore trade with the other races. We will grow our own food. I will lead you to an age of peace, and prosperity. I will dedicate my life to you, and if necessary, I will die for you.”

Several of the soldiers nodded in approval at that.

“I know there is a mess to clean up. The men that died may have served an evil king, but they served him loyally, with their final breaths. Give them an honored position in the cemetery.” I lowered the head of the former king. “Ralcor’s body will be burned and his memory forgotten.”

I wasn’t sure how they felt about that, but there was no way I was going to show any amount of respect to a monster like Ralcor. I decided to wrap up my speech.

“I was sent here by the gods, for this very purpose. If any of you think to challenge me, know that I defeated Ralcor. I ask that you put down your weapons and spend the rest of the day remembering your fallen comrades. Tomorrow we will start building a new, stronger kingdom.”

“I’ve heard better,” Taranath said. “But not bad.”

“Thanks,” I said over my shoulder. I dropped the head of Ralcor. A moment later, flames consumed it. I took a step back in shock, then remembered that right behind me were three women that were able to use magic. 

“The first step is the hardest,” Althidon said. “If you have anyone you can trust, I would keep them close for a while. Have someone taste your food for you. Ralcor was feared, not loved, but there will often be someone that wants to try their luck.”

“Good idea,” I said, looking at the soldiers. They still looked bewildered, and I couldn’t blame them. They had just seen their king killed, and a guy that wasn’t even of their race was their new ruler. Difficult times for all.

“I’m proud of you,” Silvy said. 

She and Tressi stepped up to me, and all three women hugged me tightly. I figured it was good for the soldiers to see that I have the love of goblin women. At that moment I needed all the help I could get in order to gain their trust. 

I mean, even though Ralcor had been an asshole, I had just taken the throne by force. Trust would be a long time coming.

“I’m just glad I don’t have to answer to your wife,” I said to Althidon.

“No,” he mused, “But now you have to deal with my daughter.”

“What’s this?” Silvy asked.

Zia perked up. “Oh, is this the one you told me about? Do I get to meet her?” She sounded rather excited, considering the situation we had just been in five minutes ago.

Fortunately, Althidon stepped in and saved the day.

“It’s a political marriage,” he explained. “Now that he is king, he will be married to my daughter to solidify the bond between the goblins and the elves.”

“I can’t wait to finally meet her,” Zia said.

Silvy eyed me warily. “Well, as king you do get to choose your wives. At least it’s not an orc woman.” She laughed suddenly. “I shouldn’t give you any ideas.”

“I wouldn’t like an orc woman,” Zia said. “I like the elves, though. Tressi, are you going to set this young man up with your sister?”

Tressi looked up at Taranath, who gave her his movie star smile. “Yeah, I suppose I will.”

Silvy looked at me, then at Taranath. “Half elf, half human…. Things are going to change.” She looked out at the soldiers, many of whom were removing their armor and walking away. “A lot of things are going to change.”

“Yes, they will,” I said. “And the changes will be for the better.”