The Savage Caves - Chapter 12
The Savage Caves: Original Story by T.H. Lain
A Fan-Fiction Reimagining: Walthus Proudstump
Chapter 12
Rezrek fumed at the little goblin standing before him. He was groveling, whimpering like a beaten dog and the sight of his sniveling made the bugbear even more angry. The great bugbear showed his yellow teeth in a snarling growl.
“Hegun lie to Rezrek.” He said in his deep, menacing voice.
The massive bugbear roughly grabbed the goblin, who let out a stream of pleading to him in the goblin tongue. Rezrek hated the goblin language; it was clunky, stupid and limited. He hated every time he had to speak it.
The goblin grabbed at his thickly muscled, furry forearms and snot dribbled out of its flat wide nose. Rezrek sneered.
“No, no, no,” came the hurried reply. “Hegun no lie!”
Rezrek turned to the other goblins watching, as well as the bugbears - all save for Kurdeg and Wendeg. They hadn’t returned with news about Fairbye and that fact angered Rezrek even more. Thinking about it made his blood boil, so he squeezed the shoulder of the goblin tighter. His claws bit into Hegun’s grey skin and the goblin whimpered. The goblin had interrupted Rezrek as he was talking to Leden and Erzmer, arguing with the two about how best to approach Fairbye if they had any defenses. The little messenger had said something impossible.
“Hegun saw dead bugbears. Kurdeg and Wendeg. Dead.” He shook in Rezrek’s grasp.
The bugbear’s eyes narrowed. He grabbed Hegun by the neck, dropping his left hand from the goblin’s small shoulder. Again the little creature cried out. Rezrek tightened his thick, clawed hand around Hegun’s throat and started to squeeze. Hegun choked and Rezrek turned to Leden, who stared at him with obvious fear.
“Leden!”
The bugbear lowered her head at him, an obvious sign of submission.
“Kurdeg and Wendeg dead?” He growled his question and she didn’t look up as she answered.
“Yes, Rezrek. Leden find dead Kurdeg and Wendeg.”
Rezrek’s roar in response was incredibly loud. Foam had started to appear at Hegun’s mouth and Rezrek turned back to the goblin. Leden slunk away, disappearing into the shadows of the cavern hall almost soundlessly.
He squeezed and felt the pathetic thing’s neck snap. Hegun stopped making noise. Rezrek didn’t let go of the body, though; he kept squeezing. He crushed the creature’s throat, tightening his grip as his claws dug into flesh and blood flowed over his hand. His grip was so tight that the dead goblin’s eyes bulged from their sockets, looking like they could burst at any moment.
Tazerg entered the cavern. Rezrek leveled him with a deadly glare, still holding the dead goblin in his grasp.
Rezrek noticed the wound on Tazerg’s side and snarled.
“Where other goblins, Tazerg?” His question was a rumbling noise. The other goblins looked over to Tazerg, their silence punctuated by the dripping of blood onto the stone floor beneath the massive bugbear’s boots.
Tazerg motioned behind him to Undreg, who came in behind the other goblin carrying the spear he’d been given. Tazerg held a dagger. Rezrek narrowed his eyes and Tazerg’s small voice reached him, making his ears prick up.
“Tazerg follow Sard. Attacked by Nelnek, other goblins. Fight.” He pointed to his wound. It didn’t look deep to Rezrek but it had bled quite a bit; the goblin’s waist and thigh were streaked with dried blood and he walked as if injured. “Tazerg kill other goblins.”
Rezrek snorted.
“Tazerg run like coward. Leave other goblins to die.” Rezrek laughed.
“No,” came the small reply. Rezrek dropped the body of Hegun. Tazerg’s eyes followed it but he didn’t move.
“Tazerg not run?” Rezrek smiled. “Rezrek mark make Tazerg brave and strong!” He shouted, pointing to the other goblins around. There were perhaps fifteen in total, all unarmed and frightened looking. They nodded in response to Rezrek’s words.
Good, Rezrek thought. Fear Rezrek.
Tazerg nodded. “Rezrek’s mark make Tazerg stronger. Fight Nelnek. Kill goblins who not join Rezrek.”
Rezrek stomped forward, moving so fast that the little goblin didn’t have time to look up before Rezrek snatched him from the ground by his arm and the stone dagger clattered to the floor. He squeezed and Tazerg howled in pain. But he didn't claw at Rezrek. He held his tongue and did nothing but hang there.
“Good, Tazerg.” Rezrek smiled and ran his black, spotted tongue over Tazerg’s face. He left a thick, slimy drool over the goblin’s nose and mouth. But still Tazerg said nothing. Rezrek dropped the goblin. Tazerg backed away quickly, holding his arm and keeping his eyes down.
“Goblins!” Rezrek screamed, his voice filling the chamber and beyond. “Find who kill Kurdeg and Wendeg. Come into Rezrek’s cave, kill his warriors! Bring to Rezrek!” He paused for a moment, letting his eyes pass over each of the goblins and then they landed back on Tazerg. He reached a huge paw down and lifted the wounded goblin’s face up to stare directly into Rezrek’s eyes.
“Tazerg tired from fight?” He asked, smiling.
Tazerg shook his head, not turning his eyes away from Rezrek. The look made Rezrek angry but he pulled his paw away from the goblin. He pointed to the other goblins.
“You follow Tazerg, in Rezrek’s name!” He howled loudly and the group of goblins howled with him. Rezrek turned to Dulf and motioned for him to mark the other goblins. “You strong like Tazerg because Rezrek’s mark. You fight for Rezrek!” Many nodded and Tazerg reached down to pick up the dagger he’d dropped. Rezrek watched the little beast hold the knife, staring at it for a long moment before looking back up at Rezrek.
“Thrunk!” Rezrek called out. The bugbear moved forward, the smell of the rotting hands nailed to his shield washing over the larger bugbear and burning his nostrils. He growled low at Thrunk’s approach and turned to the one-eared warrior. He spoke in the tongue of the bugbears; a sharper, more complicated language that he knew the goblins didn’t understand. “You go with Tazerg - find who is coming, then bring them back for Ripper.”
“Humans from Fairbye?” Thrunk asked. He raised his shield and smiled cruelly. “Thrunk can add more hands.”
Rezrek shrugged. “Take hands, Thrunk. Rezrek no care. Keep them alive, though. Rezrek wants to hear screams, if humans. Humans make the best screams.” He returned the other bugbear’s smile and chuckled, turning back to Tazerg.
“Go, little Tazerg. Serve Rezrek.” The goblin tongue rolled off his lips haltingly but the goblin nodded. He turned, gestured for the others to approach Dulf and be marked. Rezrek left, leaving the chamber and walking down to where the massive underground lake was - where the pit he kept Ripper in was.
The chamber was large, many meters tall and wide. The room was dominated by a massive stone throne, very roughly shaped from stacked stones and a single tall stone back. It lay only a few feet from the deep pit that Ripper fed in. As Rezrek entered the chamber, three goblins stood waiting beside Fidul. They looked scared and had been stripped naked, their emaciated bodies and exhausted eyes making Rezrek smile wide. He enjoyed watching them shiver. Fidul had beaten them; bruises covered their little forms and two had broken noses. They didn’t look at Rezrek as he entered but they bowed their heads very low in his presence.
Fidul nodded to Rezrek, gesturing to the three goblins and Rezrek snorted. He walked slowly over to the throne, sitting himself down on the hard surface and letting his huge arms rest on the sides. He smiled. Rezrek was king here. And he would be king in Fairbye too! He barked an order at one of the goblins, demanding water in their simple language.
The goblin whose nose hadn’t been broken nodded. It shifted over, leaving the chamber and quickly returning with a simple bucket made from what appeared to be a spider’s body; hollowed out and sealed with some resin material Rezrek couldn’t identify. He knew the goblins controlled the spiders through the amulet and killed some to make tools. Water sloshed around in the strange bowl and the goblin pulled a tiny ladle carved from stone, offering the bugbear water. Rezrek shook his head and spoke.
“Use your hand,” he said with a wicked, yellowed smile. The goblin looked surprised, looking at the others. They kept their eyes away from Rezrek. The massive bugbear growled. With incredible uncertainty, the goblin scooped up water in its hand and Rezrek craned his neck down, opening his mouth wide. Just as the goblin’s hand passed his jutting fangs, Rezrek snapped his powerful jaws closed on it.
The goblin screamed, instinctively drawing its hand back as blood spurted over Rezrek’s lips. He felt the skin of its hand tear and three fingers came off in his mouth. The goblin screamed again, dropping the bucket and splashing its contents on the floor. The goblin whimpered, trying to back away and Rezrek rose, snatching the fleeing creature with his powerful paw. Blood dribbled down his lower fangs and Rezrek smiled, spitting the severed fingers back into the goblin’s face as it wept and whimpered in pain. The bugbear laughed, looking at Fidul, who gave a strange sounding chuckle and smiled.
With a great grunt, Rezrek sent the goblin sailing away and into the pit. It fell, yelling, and slammed into the wide open cave pit. Rezrek, satisfied, licked the blood from his lips and sat back. From his throne he could see into the pit, lined with some of the glowing lichen the goblins ate. The pale blue light showed the bleeding goblin struggle to his feet, eyes wild and desperate. The creature searched the walls of the pit for handholds to climb out but Rezrek knew there were none - he’d seen to that when he brought Ripper down here. It would be no fun if the goblins could actually escape.
The growling began and the goblin whipped its head around, staring into the shadows where Rezrek had torn out the mushrooms and lichen. A small cave attached to the pit went back roughly fifteen feet, emptying out into a chamber beneath that was large enough for Ripper to be comfortable. Plenty of space to rest, to eat if it wanted. His pet had taken to staying there more and more, though the bugbear didn’t know why. Rezrek smiled as he watched the nude goblin begin to shake in fear. The soft sounds of sobbing almost covered up the noise of Ripper’s padding paws on the stone. The wounded little Cavedeep goblin stopped shaking, standing completely still as Rezrek watched his pet emerge from the deep shadows.
Fidul had stepped over to the ledge, looming over the edge like a bird watching prey. He smiled.
The other two goblins remained silent, though as Rezrek looked back at one he could see it wet itself. The smell of urine filled the chamber and Rezrek snarled. He motioned to Fidul. The silent bugbear moved back as the goblin cried, trying to flee. He was snatched up easily and unceremoniously tossed into the pit alongside the other goblin. As he struggled to stand, gibbering something in the goblin tongue that Rezrek didn’t hear - or care about - Ripper growled and lunged at his fresh meal.
The screams of the goblins echoed loudly in the chamber, followed by the hollow laugh of Rezrek.
Jozan shook his head, trying to clear the fog that had settled over him since the attack. He felt tired and realized that even with the grace of Pelor, he’d lost a good deal of blood from the creature’s attack. His vestments were dry now but stained heavily with blood and though the wound had fully closed, it still ached. It felt like someone had tried to tear his scalp off with their hands. The image made him shudder and he took a breath to calm himself.
“Pelor, set the path before me - illuminated by your grace.”
The sunrod that Regdar was carrying bobbed slightly with each of the man’s heavy steps.
Jozan had taken off his helmet; the creature’s beak had damaged it heavily. The crushed side dug into his head and he couldn’t wear it any longer. He strapped it to his armor at his side, hefting his mace in one hand. He regretted not bringing a shield with him, as Regdar had done, but it was too late to complain about such things. They were here now and he would make do. He always did.
The great hallway continued for over an hour, though the pace they walked was slow. Each hole, every darkened alcove, might hold dangers and they didn’t want to be surprised again. They stopped often, waited and listened, then moved forward when Lidda gave the all clear. Her eyes and ears were more keen than any of theirs and she would enjoy pointing out this fact.
Jozan felt a strange sensation on his face and realized it was wind. He was about to say something when Regdar held his hand up to stop them.
Their meager light revealed that the hallway terminated into nothing.
The end of the floor broke away and dropped down out of their sight, the walls curling around to form the outer edge of some massive cavern deep beneath the ground. Lidda made a whistling noise and it echoed for a long time. She hissed an apology. Jozan sighed, looking back the way they’d just come. They would need to turn back, see if they could find a way down. From the nearest alcove, he thought he saw movement.
“We aren’t alone,” he said, raising his mace and peering into the deep shadows where the light couldn’t reach. Regdar took a step forward, the beacon of light spreading a little further into the opening in the rock face and Jozan was certain.
They were most definitely not alone.
Lidda furrowed her brow. “I think I hear goblins talking,” she said.
“Do you speak the goblin tongue?” Jozan asked, turning to her with genuine surprise on his face.
“Let’s just remember Jozan that you don’t really know anything about me, so yes, I do speak goblin.” She shook her head teasingly.
“Where did you pick that up?” Naull asked in a hushed tone, standing directly behind Regdar.
“I travel a bunch, so it only made sense, you know?” She smiled and shrugged. “I’m a worldly woman.”
“Well, worldly woman,” Regdar interjected. “What are they saying?”
Lidda strained to hear. She shook her head. “Oh, I don’t know.”
Jozan was about to say something when Regdar hissed, lifting his shield up. Something bounced off of the image of the dragon, careening away from him as he motioned for them to take a step back. Jozan watched whatever it was come to rest away from them and realized it was a crudely made spear - the haft didn’t look like any wood he’d ever seen before but the point was a sharpened stone that would cut as surely as metal would.
“Goblins!” Regdar called out.
Jozan rolled to the side, his armor shifting uncomfortably as he did so. There were a few small boulders that he could hide behind but he only had his mace. He’d need to get close. He watched Regdar charge forward, his massive blade in one hand and shield in the other. He cleared the distance surprisingly quickly even in his heavy armor. The priest watched as he strode to the first goblin and swung his weapon in a wide arc. The little grey-skinned creature shifted down, rolling away and stabbing at him with its strange spear. The tip struck the man’s thigh but deflected off of his armor.
Rushing up to his side, Jozan delivered a devastating downward strike that crushed the unarmored goblin’s chest inward. The blow sent it to the ground and others ran to replace it. There were easily a dozen of the creatures, all moving and yelling in their incomprehensible language. Some had clubs and spears, others had simple daggers with stone blades. They swarmed over the two men like a wave; two goblins jumped on Regdar, holding onto his shield as they tried to stab over it. Jozan felt the tip of a spear slam against his side and he knocked it away, grateful that his scale kept the weapon from finding his flesh. Lidda grunted from behind him, hurling a dagger into the goblin that just struck him and dropping it.
Jozan turned, swinging his weapon wide. The arc sent several goblins skittering back, hissing and brandishing their weapons. He delivered a powerful blow to one on Regdar, dropping the little creature in a pile of blood and broken bones. He heard the sound of chanting and caught sight of Naull, hands raised in casting. A whirling blue circle appeared on her outstretched finger, tiny letters he could not see clearly and a beam of frost shot forth. It struck the warrior in the side, a rime of ice forming over his half-plate and the goblin still holding onto his shield. Its hands froze instantly to the shield and it screamed, trying to throw itself back and away. It was stuck.
Regdar stepped back, dropping down and slamming his shield into the stone floor. The creature’s frozen hands shattered and fell away. The howling goblin scrambled as fast as it could from the warrior. He grunted with the effort to stand and pressed on, rushing towards the group of goblins. The little monsters broke, streaming and running back to the alcove they come from.
“We have to follow them,” Regdar yelled.
“Like hells we do!” Lidda shouted after him, not moving.
“Regdar is right, Lidda.” Jozan said as he started after the older man. “We have to find where they are so Fairbye will be safe.”
“Oh, Fairbye! Fu-,” she began and Naull ran alongside Jozan.
He heard the halfling woman curse; she continued to curse as they all ran after the pack of goblins fleeing into the darkness. Regdar’s light shifted and swayed as he broke into a full run, yelling as he did so. Despite their much smaller legs, the goblins began to outpace the warrior - and Jozan, who was far less accustomed to running in his armor. He watched as a goblin turned, tossing a spear behind it in a haphazard throw. It slammed into Regdar’s hip, striking at the perfect angle to hit the sunrod attached to his belt.
There was an explosion of light as the gem burst, showing sparks over the running warrior and plunging them all into darkness once more.
“Damn it!” Regdar shouted, the sound of his footfalls suddenly slowing. Jozan slowed as well, suddenly aware that he might slam right into the warrior. He stopped, skidding, and tried to let his eyes acclimate to the darkness again. He heard Regdar moving in front of him though he was unsure how far. Lidda and Naull were behind him. The gibbering of the goblins continued to fade in front of him and he reached out his free hand to find Regdar. His hand touched cool metal.
“Jozan?” The man asked.
“Yes, Regdar. I grow very tired of losing our light.” He said.
“That makes all of us, I think.” He replied, shifting in front of the priest. Though he was only inches away, Jozan couldn’t even see the other man’s face. Lidda and Naull caught up to them, the four in absolute darkness.
“We can’t keep losing light,” Lidda complained. “We can’t follow what we can’t see and I’m not going to run into the dark - not when there are giant spiders and goblins and who knows what else waiting to kill me.”
“Do we have any other options?” Jozan asked, the frustration of the predicament bleeding into his words. He wasn’t annoyed with Lidda, at least not this time. But it was maddening to search this place and keep stumbling in the dark. There was no real response to his question.
He heard Naull clear her throat and she spoke, her voice closer than he’d expected.
“I might have another option.” Her voice sounded deeply unsure.
“What is it, Naull?” Regdar asked.
She said nothing for a moment. The sound of her shifting was surprisingly loud in the relative quiet after the goblins had faded from earshot. “I can cha-,” her voice was cut off by the sound of scuttling behind them.
“Oh, damn it. Just RUN!” Lidda screamed and Jozan felt her slip between his legs and dash away, her footfalls echoing in the place. The sound of spiders grew closer and the priest turned towards the noise of the halfling, breaking into a run further into the darkness that stretched beyond. Naull and Regdar followed, the sound of their heavy breathing and his own heartbeat filling the priest’s ears.
As Jozan followed the sound of Lidda’s steps, he slammed his knee into something hard and stumbled. He rolled a bit, trying to catch his feet and heard Regdar behind him. The priest rolled to the side, hoping that he wouldn’t trip the other man as he ran past him. Two sets of legs passed him, one stopping and turning. A flash of flames burst into his vision and Jozan cried out in pain; Pelor’s light couldn’t blind him but nothing stopped the mage’s spells from searing his eyes with sudden light. Naull stood above him, looking down and shouting.
“Go! Jozan, get up!” She yelled, the heat from her spell passing over him and stealing the breath from his lungs. He scrambled, turning to see the illuminated hallway and Reghdar waiting at the end. It turned to the right and he waved the priest on. Behind him, Naull’s spell scorched several spiders that were crawling along the floor and walls of the hall to get to them. They make clicking-hissing noises as they move, shrieking as the flames burned their carapices to cinders.
He was up, running as fast as his legs would carry him and he rounded the corner. Regdar called out for Naull, who shuffled backwards as her spell continued to drive back the giant arachnids.
The last letters of her spell faded, taking with it the violent torrent of flames she’d called to protect her companions and Naull felt the weight of exhaustion settle on her shoulders. The scorched bodies of spiders still burned behind her as she followed Regdar, the fast fading light showing little of the natural stone around them. She shook her hands - calling upon so much magic in such a short time was rare for her and holding the spell made her fingers burn.
The direction the goblins had fled opened into an impossibly tall cave, one lined with a strange glowing lichen; its faint blue hue outlined everything in deep shadow but Naull was grateful that they could actually see what was around them. The oddly circular cave had a split exit, one going up and another digging deeper into the ground. Lidda was looking at the ground, patches of the lichen growing there as well and the sudden dampness Naull felt made her skin feel slick. She spotted tracks and pointed them out to the group.
“We need to move,” Regdar said. “Those spiders Naull killed aren’t the only ones and they’ll be after us soon.”
Jozan nodded, lifting his mace up. “Can we take some of this moss with us? Any light is better than none.”
Lidda nodded. “Oh, gods, YES. Please, I am so tired of the dark.”
Naull bent down to collect a handful of the glowing plant, noting that the humidity was somehow coming from the small patches. The surface was covered in a slick sheen of oily substance but as she looked up, holding her small knife, she couldn’t see the ceiling of the cave. Nor any place where light or rain might fall in. She furrowed her brow and cut several small pieces of the lichen, using twine to bundle it together. She watched her hands work in the dim blue and was fascinated by how strange it made her movements look. The others had torn their own bundles, stuffing them into their armor or knotting it together around their weapons. She stood and looked at their two options.
“Which way did the goblins go?” She asked Lidda. The halfling woman gestured to the path with footprints in the wet moss. Naull nodded.
“Let’s move.”
The group left the tall cavern, spilling into a downward turning cave hall. There was some moss growth here as well; considerably less than where they’d come from, though. The dim blue light from their moss and the natural moss here was enough to reveal a rocky path with several large rocks erupting from the ground. These were sharp cones, slick with moisture like the moss was, that made traversing the place frustratingly slow. They had to step over them or past them. Several times Regdar had to shift his sword away as it struck one. He cursed, as did Lidda - the shorter woman had to jump over several of the protrusions. They’d been moving so long that Naull had little time to consider her fatigue but now that they were slowed, it hit her. She wasn’t accustomed to using so much magic in so short a time.
It was far more taxing than any exercises she’d done with Larktiss.
But gods was it exciting! Dangerous, obviously. She was very aware of that. But this was incredible.
They stopped, Lidda searching and finding the trail once more. The group of goblins had fled into a web covered entrance; the thick white silk had snatched up several of their weapons. These hung, swaying back and forth, from strands of silk. Lidda shook her head and walked forward.
“No complaints?” Regdar asked.
“I’m tired, Regdar. Let’s just get this over with.” She had her shortsword out and drew a hidden dagger from her thigh.
Naull drew components from her pouch, palming them and holding her staff tightly.
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