Chapter fourteen: The Right Moment

The old mage trembled as he opened his eyes. “We’ve been spotted.”

“Everyone forward! I want everyone in the tunnels now!” The soldiers moved quickly, years of training keeping them in order. As the last of them entered the cave Thunder Beard looked at the four mages at the end. “Everyone halt! We hold our ground here! You four set off the surprise and seal the tunnel!”

As the four mages, dressed in brown robes, stepped outside the cave; the mouth of the cave began to move. It’s motion was like a whirlpool, spinning slowly at first and closing within moments. There was no more escape. The only questions left were how long could they last, and how many could they kill.

On the second level of the Dark Trench there was a large hobgoblin. Most people don’t know this, but hobgoblins name themselves. Normal goblins don’t use names, so goblins naturally don’t name their children. Hobgoblins don’t have any differences from normal goblins until after they are a month old; this would be considered full maturity for a normal goblin. After reaching this stage they start to get smarter, and then bigger. With a boost in intelligence the importance of a name usually becomes apparent. This particular goblin had named himself Rock, and the reason was pretty obvious. He was extremely big for a hobgoblin, with massive muscles and a large hammer. Scars covered his body, and his teeth were a brownish color. Every movement felt like a mountain falling from the sky.

Rock was very proud of himself. He was well known even amongst the hobgoblins for his ruthlessness, and had even gained a position of authority from the master. Rock was in charge of a large scouting party. He was to rush to the closest villages near the Dark Trench with three-hundred thousand gobins. Goblins were most feared for their ability to reproduce, and their hunger. Because of this the humans would normally evacuate the areas near the trench, and burn all the fields. Rock was suppose to get there before the humans had a chance to destroy the spoils of war. Of course Rock didn’t really understand most of what the master told him, he had never even seen a human before, but he understood power. Rock knew if he did well he would be given power.

Rock was eating a cave spider when he heard the master’s voice. He looked back and forth before he remembered that the master could speak in his head. “Master?”

(Rock, enemies have come. Bring the goblins back to the third level.)

“Yes Master!” Rock lifted his hammer as a grotesque and fearsome sound reverberated from his throat. “ROOOAAARRR!” As the bulky hobgoblin started to run towards the cave entrance, thousands of goblins screeched in reply. The cave began to shake as a countless goblins followed Rock towards battle. The blood thirst was evident in their eyes as they dreamt of the taste of flesh. Rock was nearing the entrance when he began to feel something was off. He focused on the feeling, trying to understand it. Rock had faced death many times, and was very cautious for a hobgoblin. He realised that the air had stopped moving, and the cave was shaking too much. Even though so many goblins were moving the cave shouldn’t shake this much. “CAVE IN!” Rock gave a warning shout before rushing towards a nearby tunnel.

Goblins lived their whole lives underground, and were quite familiar with cave ins, so they all reacted quickly. Unfortunately this cave in was different; this was magic. Rock suddenly felt danger as he dodged to the side. A giant spike stood in his previous position. This spike looked like a thick spear, three times taller than rock, and a foot thick. The point was incredibly sharp as it penetrated the ground, but the most amazing thing was the glowing symbols covering the surface. As Rock looked around he saw countless goblins pierced through spears of earth that varied in size. Rock was overcome with the sense of death as he swung his hammer, smashing dozens of spears the length of his hand. They continued to fall, trying to drown him in stone, aiming at his soft spots. Small ones found there way into his joints, and his right hand had become useless. A very elegant and bright spear just slightly taller than Rock pierced through his back, pinning him to the ground. As the light faded from his eyes he remembered something the master had said to him. “If you meet a mage kill him quickly, or you will die painfully.” Rock thought this was really unfair he did not see the mage, so how could he kill him?

A man in a black robe stood in a empty cave with a black skull in his hand. This black skull was slightly larger than the ones others used, it was meant for commanding several different groups. The man in the black robe frowned as he looked through Rock’s eyes. “They acted far faster than I thought. If I can’t handle this before the elder returns…” Silence followed as he thought of the consequences. This man had served the twelfth elder for close to a hundred years, and had seen many things he could never forget. He had heard rumors that to become an elder one had to rip out their own heart. The man shivered as he quickly directed some of the more powerfully creatures towards the enemy.

Thunder beard had quickly divided his troops into two groups. Four-hundred were to set up a perimeter, this group consisted of the less skilled soldiers and a few mages. The remaining six-hundred were set up into smaller groups of thirty centered around a mage. Although mages would lose out in a dual they were an incredible asset on a battlefield. The purpose of this expedition was to make as big a dent as possible in the enemy’s forces, so these groups were sent out to cause havok. Thunder Beard had selected a medium sized cave as the battlefield, with about five tunnels leading off in different directions. He planned to use the tunnels to bottleneck the goblins, while using the cavern to allow his own soldiers rotate their formations. This strategy would take away their greatest strength. He gave out a few more orders before he quietly sat down near the middle of the formation waiting. Standing around him were five soldiers, each wearing their own unique armor. These old nobles, who had chosen to die for their country, each carried their own unique air. As they saw Thunder Beard sit down they all Chose to copy him. As they began to breath the energy in the air began to shake, lightning crackled as ice formed and a fierce aura covered the space.

The soldiers stood calmly with their swords drawn. Their old eyes gained a cold glint as they watched a flood of goblins come down the tunnels. Thunder beard heard the clash of weapons as he quietly gathered his strength. The goblin shrieks grew closer as the hours drew on. At some point the battle had changed; Thunder Beard had heard the heavy footsteps, and the sound of the hammer that crushed several men with each swing. There was the roar of fire from some lesser dragon, and the slight wails from some tormented soul.

There was less than twenty soldiers surrounding Thunder Beard and the five nobles when something changed. The large monsters who filled the cavern began to back off as if they were afraid. Thunder Beard’s eyes opened as he began to glow like a bolt of lighting. He flashed through several different colors as he stood up. The moment had come, he was done waiting.