Vol 1 Chapter 11 (2/2)

“You`ll go?” Hope written on his face, the chief bowed deeply to Slayn

“I, too, live in this village Do not worry about it”

Slayn stood as well and walked to the back of the rooe, twisted staff, riting in a e scratched into its surface But of the villagers, only Phile’s Staff only those certified as es were permitted to own The owner of such a staff could easily accoer answered Parn’s call, Philht be able to help Of course, he had not counted on finding a goblin-hating dwarf as well…

“Knowing Parn, he must have dashed off with ht be too late Let’s go”

Slayn pulled a single hefty toe words were printed in gold To those able to decipher ancient runes, the title read, “Slayn Starseeker’s Spell Book”

About three hours east of Zaxon, a small cave mouth could be seen in a stone knoll Once, a cheerful family of little people had lived there, but twenty years earlier they had moved and the cave had become a shelter for hunters Children had also found it a wonderful playground, and even Parn and Eto used to play there But since the goblins moved in, no one else had dared approach it

E the stone path, Parn and Eto surveyed the disorderly scene in front of the ideal hiding places where the goblins were unlikely to find theoblins were creatures of darkness, they hated the midday sun above all else The nocturnal creatures that they were, they ought to be fast asleep inside the cave during the day

That was, of course, the reason Parn and Eto had decided to attack during the day As long as the sun shone in the sky, Phalis’ power to destroy the darkness was at its strongest and the races of light had the advantage Soaking up the spring sunlight, Eto and Parn closed in on the goblin den

Eto’s strategy was a simple one First, shoot the sentinels with bow and arrow Then light sos on fire at the entrance to the cave in order to soblins If all ell, they would co their ability to fight They would pick off as ht the reoblins with his sword and Eto would use his mace If they put their backs to the hill so as not to be surrounded, they would probably prevail against the goblins, weakened by sunlight as they would be

Parn was no fond of archery, but given the goblins’ nureed As soon as they had decided on a strategy, Parn was as cheerful as if their victory had been assured, but Eto, who had co Parn unsheath his bastard sith a confident expression on his face, Eto grasped his amulet and uttered a brief prayer to Phalis

When they arrived at the cave, seeing that his worries had been realized, Eto reflexively looked up at the sky Parn was also chewing on his lip while looking at the two ugly goblins in front of thes wrapped around the fro as belts They bore wooden shi+elds in their left hands and stood with their backs hunched, squinting into the sunlight They looked somewhat like humans, but were about half as tall, and their bare linarled wood They had no hair at all, and their eyes and ears see for their faces Their noses were so flat that they looked like little ash in their faces, revealing their yellowed canines and blood-red tongues

Not seeing Parn and Eto hiding in the shade of the rocks, the goblins were fidgeting, as though bored

“Looks like we need to change our plan,” said Eto They had only expected one watchman If there had only been one, they would have been able to take hi But that plan had cruet, the rest of the plan would fail as well

His uncertainty showing, Eto took his sling out of his pack and cast about for stones to throw

“I’ll aiht, you shoot the left one” Parn pulled his bow off of his shoulder and strung it He rehts fro

Eto put a stone in his sling and slowly began to swing it around Parn pulled back his bowstring

“Now!”

As soon as he was sure of his ainal and fired The arrow and the stone fleards the watchmen at the same time

“Gah!”

Both the arrow and the stone hit their targets and the two goblins wobbled on their feet One of theround

But Eto sahat had happened His stone had hit one goblin on the head, but Parn’s arrow had oblin’s vital spot and hit its shoulder instead It was still alive!

Kashunk!

Parn shot the reushed froround

“Well, we’ve got no choice We’ll just have to kill them one by one”

With a great clanking noise, Parn and Eto shot out of the shadows of the rock in unison Parn draw his bastard sword and lifted it up as though ai the blade

While rehearsing his plan, Eto pulled two flasks filled with oil from his pocket He threw them towards the cavetheir contents around

But by the tiot out his flint, he kneouldn’t make it in time

Disgusting creatures were pouring out of the cave

Luckily, a nuround around the entrance One of therunt, hit its head, and stopped

“Die, you bastards!” Parn’s yell echoed

“Parn, let’s put our backs to the rock so they can’t surround us”

Eto stopped Parn frooblins and backed up against the boulder where they had hidden Parn followed his example

“Careful! They poison their blades!”

Since they had their backs to the rock, there was no risk of being surrounded, but they still had to fight against no less than twenty enemies With many of theht would go on until they either collapsed or defeated all the goblins

Parn was of course skillfully wielding his sword and shi+eld like a true warrior While blocking one attack with his shi+eld, he struck out at another eneoblin injured by his attack dropped like a rock, blood spurting from its shoulder Parn finished it off with a blow to the back It was nothing coood enough for fighting goblins Eto, too, had received co at the temple of Phalis He could hold his oitha goblin’s attack with deft footwork, he put all his power into a strike of his mace

The sharp sounds oninto flesh filled the air The goblins went down one by one under the blows of the two young men

But there was a lian to tire, his breath growing ragged and his hands shaking

When he noticed Eto’s fatigue, Parn began to fightit quickly With wide blows, he attacked the goblins facing Eto as well Because of this, Parn too began to tire, but his greater coave him more reserves

Soinal nuoblin corpses floated in the air But the reht with a renewed deterer had overco were fearsome enemies

“I guess this is it,” muttered Parn

Even he eakening Seeing Eto burst into a coughing fit and lean weakly against the rock, Parn made up his mind

He thren his shi+eld, held his bastard sword in both hands, and leaned forward To e yell

“Ooo!”

And then he began

He ra blow to the weakened Eto and on into a clu his sildly like a berserker

I wonder if you can call this an honorable death? Parn thought as he swung his sword Dying in battle ought to be a good death for a warrior But when his own father had ainst bandits when Parn was little, it had been called a dishonorable death, and he and his mother had been forced to flee Valis Parn’s mother had died in an epide in the forest and helping in the fields At sixteen he had donned his father’s arht the desert tribes for two years Afterward, he had returned to the village, where he helped defend the village, all while waiting for another chance to sell his services as a mercenary

If he died dishonorably, whatwas there in his life?

Just then, he felt soh his body A goblin had stabbed him from behind Blood spurted out and stained his shoulder red

Enduring the tooth-clenching pain, Parn spun around and cut down the goblin that had injured hi in such difficult conditions, Parn lost his balance As he cru his spurs into the ground Parn was helpless as he struck the ground with a great clanging and banging Sparks flehere the metal hit the rock

Another goblin leapt forward, taking advantage of the h He saw that a goblin had thrust its short sword into his thigh and was trying to pull it out As the goblin yanked on the sword, waves of pain washed over Parn When he thought the pain had passed, he felt himself lose control over histo take effect

Parn desperately tried to stand, but he no longer had the energy As he gave in to his intense fatigue, Parn turned his head to see how Eto was doing As he did so, the iht of it, with not one cloud in view, see up at the sky, he let go of his sword and lay spread-eagled on the ground

Parn watched the disgusting creatures plunge their swords towards his chest as though it was happening to someone else

It was right then! An arrow sprouted fro to kill hioblin collapsed, and Parn could hear another voice call out

It was a language Parn had never heard before

Along with that voice, the air seeo dark as Parn passed out As he lost consciousness, soh his mind

I see, that’s how it is… Dad! Parn shouted inside his heart

And then the darkness took him

“Well, it looks like we oblin with a crossbow As the other goblins turned to look, Slayn uttered a feords in the ancient runic tongue

“Ô peaceful airs that bring sleep”

While reciting the spell, Slayn sloaved his staff in the air Three of the goblin reinforceh the life had fled from their bodies Only tere left

Ghim switched from his crossbow to his axe and juoblin’s head flew through the air, its face frozen in shock The one reoblin’s upper body fell to the ground with a thud, while the legs staggered unsteadily forward before collapsing in turn The blood gushi+ng froround red

“Please finish off the sleeping goblins”

While saying this, Slayn carefully surveyed his surroundings He couldn’t see a single goblin that was still

Slayn faced the cave and concentrated Then he chanted briefly in the ancient tongue Using nify his perceptions, he cast mental feelers into the cave He tasted the air in the cave, seeking out any reoblins When his mind had touched the back wall of the cave, Slayn stopped chanting

“It would seem the coast is clear,” Slayn said happily to Ghioblin necks

“I’m all done here too I made sure all of them are dead”

Slayn nodded Then he walked over to Parn, as still lying on the ground, and touched his neck So warm seeped onto his hand

He’s alive, but badly wounded Slayn called Ghim over in a loud voice “Help et him home, it could be too late!”

Slayn and Ghim took the injured Parn back to his house and laid him to sleep on his bed Upon examination, Parn’s wounds were deeper than they had appeared Eto had no visible injuries, but Parn had injuries on his shoulder and leg as well as a head wound of unknown origin, the wound on his shoulder being the ue, he de Parn’s wounds But the poison coating the goblins’ blades had already spread throughout Parn’s body

Though his wounds had closed, it seemed he would not yet recover from his injuries He tossed and turned in a fevered sleep Eto and Slayn tried every remedy they could think of, but in the end, all they could do was trust in Parn’s strength

Three days after the battle, Parn’s fever peaked It see, and no et water froh to cool Parn off

Whether Eto’s efforts finally paid off, or Parn’s inner strength was enough to purge the poisons, on the followinghis fever broke and he slipped into a quiet sleep That evening, he awoke at long last

Once he had awoken, Parn’s recovery was rapid Even so, it took hiet out of bed

So it was that one evening, Parn and Eto called on Slayn while he restling with yet another arcane text

“Oh, it’s you lot”

Ghi news of Leylia, he was staying with Slayn

Slayn had spread ancient texts across his desk and was chanting unintelligible words

When he reached the entrance, Parn and Eto aiting respectfully Whether Ghi him, Parn consistently leaned down to listen to Ghim

“Well, it would see the improvement in Parn’s complexion, Slayn nodded as if in approval He still looked a little tired, but color had returned to his cheeks, and his eyes shone with a youthful radiance

“I’ve been a bother to you” Parn bowed his head deeply

“If you want to thank anyone, you should thank your friend over there If he hadn’t nursed you that faithfully, youyour life force”

As he spoke, Slayn realized that so Parn

“I doubt you came here just to thank us Please come in It’s small, so please pardon the mess”

“Thanks” Parn bowed as he entered

As Slayn had said, the room was small and crammed full of odds and ends With four men inside, it was positively claustrophobic What’s h chairs, Eto and Ghim had to sit on the bed

“It is as you say” Though he was itching to get the words out, Parn was having trouble, but on Slayn’s urging he spoke “I think I want to set out on a journey I never intended to spend stock by those goblins But for soet called a hero when I cannot claiht?”

“You knohatever the result, your actions could truly be called heroic There’s no need to be humble”

But Parn was not the kind of man who could be satisfied with such words

“There are oblins in the world But I don’t have the power to face down such evil All the rees with me as well Not only would companions hearten me on ers in our path”

Slayn listened intently to Parn’s speech

“So, you want to travel and get stronger I understand that What I do not understand is how you want me to help”

“In short… in short, I would like you to accoical poould serve us well against the dangers ould face And rumor has it that here in Lodoss there are any nuic What do you think, Slayn? Would you oblige us by joining us in our travels?”

“H to himself

“That’s a good idea I second it I plan to leave this town to wander soon If this e comes too, he can earn our bread with his craft” Ghih

Slaynhim in the eye He’d seen that look before

His friend had proposed that they defeat the thieves’ Guild of Alan Even with Slayn’s reat

Slayn had refused his request He had tried to stop his overenthusiastic friend But he hadn’t been able to change hisBut three days later, in the night, Slayn’s friend was stabbed with a poisoned blade and was never seen again After that, Slayn heard that the widely feared Guildmaster had been killed and replaced by one who forbade the use of force Even so, Slayn believed he had made a ht when he had seen hiotten the sincerity in his friend’s gaze And now another youth turned that saaze on him He was about to set out on a journey he did not understand, fighting so, “follow me”

Slayn sierous idea”

“What do you mean?” asked Parn, his expression perplexed

Are the Gods giving me a chance to make a different choice this tie, Rahda, that he worshi+pped, ht be at work

Slayn closed his eyes for a th he spoke in a quiet, hoarse voice

“I understand I will accompany you Ghim has his own reasons to want to travel as well”

Opening his eyes, Slayn caught a gli a look with Ghim

“Mrunted Ghim, and turned away from Slayn

“But let’s hope there’s no danger I’m a bit of a wimp, you see”

Ghihter Eto and Parn merely looked at each other, surprised to have convinced Slayn so easily