《The Goblin Nation》Vol 11 Chapter 9: The City's Breath
Advertisement
The scouting party left early in the morning for the city. They used established routes from previous expeditions to sneak into the city. They used the underground sewage system and catacombs to travel in between separate caverns and cave systems and used a mix of light spells and torches to guide them in the dark. The party separated into four groups. Spat joined a group of elves and humans traveling towards the center in an attempt to get close as possible. Meanwhile, the church officials and paladins formed their own group and traveled through the catacombs.
Spat carried Root and Mist on his back safely inside the large wooden box and planned to separate with the group once they decided to return to the entrance. He was the party's tank, so he was at the front walking next to their leader, Captain Yon. He was an old grump man, but experience comes with grey hair. He wore a gambeson just like the rest, but a house crest was patched on Captain Yon's sleeves, proudly presenting his family's name despite being low nobles.
Walking alongside them was the other frontline, Marqie, a proud tiefling warrior from a foreign land. He belonged to a large clan from the east beyond the mountains, where the land was covered in sand, and only those with skin as red as the tieflings could thrive in its heat. He also held the torches for the group. Behind them were the spearmen and the archers. Spat did not care much to learn their names. He was more interested in Captain Yon and Marqie because of their knowledge of the city's underground labyrinth.
Along their expedition, they saw multiple symbols carved above the entrances, and these symbols represented what the chambers and the passageways will contain. This is important because it saves Spat, Root, and Mist time to prepare for the possible dangers hiding in the shadows.
The passage they took were relatively safe. Some goblins would come out and attack them, but they will always retreat after their initial ambush, almost as if they never intended to stop their party. Once they reached the furthest they could, the group started heading back. Spat began to look for a way to separate from the group, but it wasn't proving easy. "Did I ever tell you about the women on the hill?" Captain Yon kept telling him tales of his past. Some of which were repeats from the previous night.
"Give it a rezt, old man." Marqie said, "Don't you zee Zpat is tired of hearing the zame ztory."
"Did I already tell that story? My bad. Then how about..."
Captain Yon did not close his mouth the entire way. Only when they met the other parties did he stop. "Finally," Spat gave a sigh of relief. And another saving grace came to them. Apparently, three parties have yet to return, and they were sending people to search for them.
Advertisement
Spat volunteered for the task. Captain Yon also volunteered to be part of Spat's group, and together, they followed the path of one of the parties. The group they were looking for was the Church group. Spat used his light spell which surprised Captain Yon, expecting the young guard to only know the basics of mana. The Church's route was safer than they expected. They did not encounter a single goblin on their way.
Eventually, they reached a fork. On top of the entry points were two symbols, one of a blue fish and another of white wings. Fish meant there would be water and its color meant it's safe. But the white wings are a symbol that Captain Yon is not aware of and has no idea if it is safe. The path could be extremely dangerous, but Spat did not want to miss this opportunity. "I'll take the white wings path," Spat said.
"No, it's too dangerous. We don't know what could be there. We should take the blue fish instead."
"But what if the Church guys went this way, and that's the reason they haven't returned. I should go and check first."
"Fine, I'll go with you," Captain Yon caved in.
"No!"
"No?"
"I mean, just in case they do return, you should wait here and then come and get me."
"I guess, but why are you going? It should."
"I have the goblins that could help me, and you're old."
"I'm not that old!" Captain Yon took a step back, "Am I?"
Spat did not wait any longer and ran into the shadows. The light coming from his palm was his only way to combat the dark. But he also has the ability to use Isiptali to see past the light. Once he was far enough from the entrance, he released Root and Mist and gave them a small lighter. "Alright, you guys know what to do."
Root took out the outdated map Pagasa gave them and the maps the adventures used. "Ok, I think understand map." Root said. "Still many missing parts."
"Then let's go fill them." Spat escorted the two through the maze system. Mist wrote down important landmarks while Root focused on measuring their path and memorizing their route. The map the adventures used was nearly fully accurate with just minor adjustments needed. Their real problem was locating Everflow City's water source and a path to get there.
Cross-referencing the maps helped fill in the gaps, and the further they travel through catacombs and sewage systems, the closer they are to reach the source located on Pagasa's map. Eventually, they reached another fork. One path had the symbol of a blue orb, and another the white wings form before. "That way to city waters!" Root pointed at the blue orb and yelled excitedly. "We found way."
Advertisement
"Great, now let's find the exit," Spat said.
"You mean entrance," Mist corrected him.
Spat was planning to make a sarcastic response, but he noticed Mist's legs getting tired. "Yeah, the entrance." Spat carried Mist over his shoulder.
Mist's cheeks turned red, "What doing? Spat got Mabel."
"Cheater!" Root said.
"What? I'm not cheating! Also, let's take the white wings path. It might lead to the exit."
"Or other Church people."
The group followed the white wings. And the path led to an unknown chamber. They walked out on a large terrace, and underneath them were goblins, many of them. Root and Mist were ready to leave to save their lives, but Spat stayed and watched the goblins. They stood next to an odd machine that carried various items. This machine was a conveyor belt.
The goblins would take the parts and assemble them on their station, creating a complex item. "Spat, why you no run?" Root whispered while the two hid in the tunnel.
"Guys, come here and look," Root and Mist crept closer to the railing, "You see that thing. The thing they're making what looks like the swivel gun on our tribe's wall. But smaller with a longer nozzle. And there's no attachment, just a handle and that weird hook thing below it."
The three watched the goblins work like golems, continuously making the strange gun in rapid succession, with no breaks. And when they finish, another goblin will come and collect them inside a large crate that they push to the next goblin.
While they watch, Mist noticed the Church group that was missing walking out from another passageway. They walked on the ground floor with the goblins, inspecting the guns and the goblins making them. Then another goblin entered the room. And this goblin was far more powerful, for he looked similar to Spat.
The goblin was as tall as the tallest paladin among the Church officials, and he wore a pointy egg-shaped hat. His skin was light pink, and he had white hair and feathers. "Sir Bishop, glad you came." One of the paladins said.
"PLEASE CALL ME HEARST!" The goblin screamed. "AND I AM HAPPY YOU ALL CAME BECAUSE WE JUST FINISHED YOUR ORDER AND THEY ARE READY TO SHIP."
"We'd like to test it first."
"BY ALL MEANS!" Hearst took a gun from one of the goblins working on the conveyor belt. Then he took out a small metal casing and pushed it into the gun. Then Hearst walked over a shooting range and fired his gun at the moving targets. The gun's loud shots woke up the lifeless goblins working on the assembly line and watched Hearst's big and loud performance.
The Church officials clapped their hands at the end, satisfied at what they saw. "It sounds and looks great. We are more than satisfied with this version, and we allocated our payment."
Spat covered root and Mist's mouths because they nearly screamed from terror after hearing the gunshots. These weapons undoubtedly gave birth to numerous problems. "Mist, write down everything we saw here today, and Root, we'll have to send a message to our Chief. We're going to explore more of the city and mark every workshop like this."
"Chief needs map in four days." Root said.
"I know, so we'll be using as much time as we need to scout the area. It seems like they're selling those cannons rather than using them, but we can never be too sure."
Once Mist finished taking her notes, the three retreated to the underground passageways and catacombs. Once they met up with Captain Yon, Spat told him that the Church would take more of their time exploring and don't need any assistance.
Root asked Spat why he would lie about the Church. "We don't know what they're capable of." Spat left it at that.
The days went by, and they managed to find eleven chambers dedicated to producing the complex firearm. They could not steal one to show to Sun, but Spat confirmed through observation that the weapons do not pose a threat. Only goblins designated as pawns could use the weapons, while the rest were sold to the Church.
The day before the expedition was completed, the goblins snuck out from the camp and headed to the Zackons, where the Chief is currently plotting their siege. He also sent a letter to Pagasa. He made it clear he will not interfere with the war, but Pagasa will most likely find this information about the Church intriguing. But now, their job is done, and the difficult part is next. The legions arrived at their meeting point, and with their elite warriors behind him, Spat led them to their Chief.
Advertisement
- In Serial36 Chapters
The Laptop Hero (Portal/Isekai LitRPG)
[participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] - April 2022 Silas got summoned to another world—by a group of kids attending magic school who seemed rather unhappy with the results of their ritual. After a brief glimpse of his summoners Silas woke in the town dump. Unable to speak the local language, a misunderstanding escalated and before long Silas wound up in a jail cell, the locals having confiscated all his worldly possessions aside from his laptop, which had formed some strange bond with him. Now he can summon his laptop at will, and he can view his Status, level up, and gain powerful skills and magic as if he were some character in a video game, which is great and everything, but all Silas really wants to do is sit in a dark room and play games on his laptop. Only, life isn't a game, and Silas needs to get his act together because everyone else is playing for keeps. Or does he? Maybe for Silas life is just one big game now, with everyone else stuck playing by his rules. Assorted Disclaimers, in no particular order: I am only posting this on RoyalRoad.com, so if you find my story elsewhere it was not posted by me. Please do let me know! While I do consider this a progression fantasy, and have tagged it as such, Silas's Status improvements will not necessarily proceed in a linear fashion. His RPG stats will have ups and downs, exploits and nerfs, periods of growth and stagnation. Such is the life of a gamer, to be held under the thumb of the all powerful devs, or in this case a certain goddess devoted to the idea of Balance. SIlas himself should learn and grow, improving and progressing in areas where he struggles, or rather, to show such is my goal. The story is told from multiple points of view. While other PoVs will come and go, Silas shall remain the only lead character. The world Silas finds himself on is not a nice place. Expect him to encounter gore and traumatizing content and bad people who do bad things for selfish (or possibly noble) reasons from time to time. Some characters will use profanity, however due to cultural differences the curse words used will differ from those used in our corner of reality, so I'm not including the profanity content warning. Silas himself isn't one for foul language. No explicit sexual content here. This novel is intended for mature readers, however, and will include mature topics, including, but not limited to, sex, violence, death, and taxes. No harem. Might be an eventual romantic interest, possibly even some competitive jealousy, yet as his story begins Silas is too overwhelmed with other concerns to consider long term plans. Musophobics might want to steer clear of this story. Same goes for turophobics. You have been warned. Keep in mind, however, if my other disclaimers didn't make this clear, I only have the faintest of outlines at the moment. This story will take me where it will. My goal with this story is to write it to the end, something of a long-term writing exercise, with the hope others might take an interest in my work and encourage me to keep at it. I've started a number of works before, even finished a few, but this is the first time I've shared any work in a public forum. My temporary cover was made by me, in GIMP using public domain images. If you can do better I'll happily accept your submission and give credit for your work here!
8 196 - In Serial8 Chapters
Ghost in the Tower
When he isn't doing odd jobs for the Guild, Wren is vanquishing monsters in the Tower, a mysterious mirage on Earth's horizon. While most Climbers seek their fame and fortune in the Tower's seemingly infinite heights, Wren is content soloing low-rank missions for cash. But when tragedy strikes and a girl lies dead, Wren takes it upon himself to make sure the Guild's two freshest Climbers don't meet the same fate. Unfortunately for him, the Tower is changing, and the world's deadliest job is about to become even deadlier. With the help of his two new companions, a spitfire named Lucy, hellbent on becoming the world's most powerful mage, and Perry, a cheerful girl hiding a troubled past, Wren may just survive long enough to remember what it's like to live.The gore and sexual content warnings are mostly for future content, though there are some depictions of gore in the first chapter. Currently, there are no plans to include overly-graphic depictions of sexual content, though that doesn't preclude sex or the mention of sex in the story.
8 164 - In Serial7 Chapters
Anime Worlds System
The Anime Worlds System was created to fulfill the dreams of many, to allow you to experience the impossible and live the amazing. But, Not every anime is a pleasant, love-filled dream world, nor is every anime a dark, death-filled nightmare. Welcome to the Anime Worlds System and enjoy your long, long stay. Follow my Instagram, @Benfang322, or join the following Discord for updates on AWS. https://discord.gg/dz8Erwc
8 111 - In Serial32 Chapters
The Charm Fable: Mousey and the Golden Book
Mousefred Souris lives in a world without humanity, and animals have risen to become like people. Mice like him live as slaves under the rule of a cruel cat, who lords over them with her armies of weasels and bats. For the crime of helping an injured stranger, Mousey is imprisoned and told he must either join the evil queen's army or die. But a chance encounter with a golden book sets Mousey on the path to freedom. The book teaches Mousey the secrets of magic, and with these newfound secrets he sets out on a journey to become the hero he was born to be.Note: This story is available in its absolute, complete form on Amazon.com, but most of the chapters can be read for free here.
8 222 - In Serial22 Chapters
World Blueprint: Variety of Life
The bond of two: man and girl, attempts to survive in all seven realities which inflicted with danger from invasion of unknown enemies in every world. Waltren Eragle was born with untreated-illness. He created World Blueprint, defeated a doctor's future vision that he would die in few years. With the power, he had been living simultaneously in seven realities: Blueprint Reality, Science Reality, ALIEN REALITY, Alchemy Reality, Rune Reality, Steam Reality, MAGIC REALITY. Though, the disease was about to coming back after eight years. Despite hopeless, he lived long enough, accepted his fate soon and prepared to pass this ability to someone else. After third selection who failed, he encountered a girl who seemed to be a unsure yet qualify to grand the right. However, as he was teaching her everything to know about World Blueprint, otherworld invasion occurred one by one in every reality. Siqura Selvona was grew up with debt left by his father. She and her mother were working day and night, chased the end month to dismiss the flowery-interest rate. As weight gone from her life, she thought everything would be greater when all of sudden his mother disappeared and treated by people as murderer. Have no idea what was going on, stressed from massive rumors, until when they started seeking a revenge. Peaceful was over, she was about to raise weapon with her bare flesh-hand, believed herself as daughter of criminal but a boy who she never met before rescue her. On next day, people somehow forget about her mother and blamed the tragedy to someone else. The boy who saved her acted like close childhood friend even though she had no recollection of relationship. With her mother still missing, she took connection who a completely stranger to her. Available on sites: Scribble Hub - https://www.scribblehub.com/series/81248/variety-of-life Royal Road - https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/29384/variety-of-life Wattpad - https://www.wattpad.com/story/210843130-variety-of-life Webnovel - https://www.webnovel.com/book/17174007506882105 Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/OcelintSteiner Amazon Page for Other Series: "Perfect Blueprint Volume 01 - Soul Hack" - https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B07Y8SS7SD
8 163 - In Serial70 Chapters
Interwoven ✔️
"I am quite flexible.""Stop wiggling your eyebrows."✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧In which she's assigned an alien under the rules of the New Order for both races to learn more about each other.[FULL SUMMARY INSIDE]©Kiki 2020© ➢AU➢Romance/Action➢Dystopian**Started: May 16, 2020****Ended: --**
8 141

