The morning was still, dew steaming from leaves in the early rays of the sun. The woodland oaks and birches around them kept a great deal of the light from falling in directly, but the cloudless sky promised heavy sunlight in the near future.
I shielded my eyes with one massive infernal arm, still shocked at the trunk-like thickness they contained, then yawned, a pillar of icy vapor escaping from my broad chest. The thought that my wife wouldn’t mind a night with me, like this, between the sheets sent a snicker to my lips, and I shook my head as I rose.
“All of hell’s horses,” I muttered, a curse I’d made on my own to avoid pissing off the wife and kids. It was the sort of thing that earned me mockery back home. But, here, all it earned me was an amused grunt from Kevinar, who stood next to my legs looking down at me. His eyes seemed dull in the light of the day. Small too.
I realized he was squinting.
“You alright, Kevinar?” I asked, scrabbling up to my feet.
The man smiled, his teeth gray in the shade of the forest. “The sun and the elves of the deep haven’t been friends for many millennia. But, maybe one day, we’ll be back in harmony. However,” he noted, winking, “today is not destined to be that day. I enjoy it though. I won’t be donning my shaded spectacles ‘til noon, I think.”
I nodded, unsure of what to say. The man was a good one—he’d shown me that much the night before. The things he said, though, were just high fantasy enough to leave me scratching my head. Coming from a world of BRBs and LOLs hadn’t prepped me well for long and detail-oriented conversations.
“Yeah I hear that,” I answered.
Yeah, I hear that, Jeldorain mimicked, his words echoing through my head in the voice of a whiny toddler. I shut him out. We’d have a talk about last night and what he had done later, when I didn’t need to pay attention.
Kevinar looked at me strangely. “I hear nothing but the birds of the aboveground, and the playful romp of fauns just out of sight. Oh,” he added, putting a finger into the air. “The sound of a bird in flight, a mouse screeching in protest as it dodges through the undergrowth. If ever there were a great metaphor for our fight against the Empire, that is surely it.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, casting about the place for something better to talk about, or for some way to exit the conversation. Luckily, Ike came stomping in, looking all grumbly and ready for a tussle.
“Sunrise, Kevinar. I told you we’d be rising at sunrise. Why in the Nine Hells are we waking up just now?” he demanded, his head tilted all the way back to look Kevinar in the face. The elf just shrugged, raising his palms upward in comic supplication.
“In the deep dark realms of my birth, clocks ticked and wound and grinded. We allowed time to rule us. And now, in the light of the sun, we are to live under the same tyranny? Even after a great exhausting victory over a tyrannous beast? While my mother matriarch might have agreed with you, I don’t. Wanna live by the clock? Wake up by your own damn self.”
The kobold blanched, his sharp-toothed maw and lizard-like eyes wide open. His mouth opened and closed several times before his gaze suddenly slitted, and the first squeak of a chuckle left his lips.
“Yeah, I can see that. Whatever. We’re all awake now.” Ike turned, glancing over the camp and seeing the bustle of his men packing for the day’s travails. “No harm done. Ryan!” he bellowed, staring up the long length of my body to the ridges of my well-monstrous face. “Did you fuse a weapon like I’d asked you to? What did you come up with?”
I cast my mind into my body, letting the inventory screen rise into my mind and marveling at how game-like this world really was. I knew that logic dictated that I wouldn’t have been drawn from my world to this one if it hadn’t been this way, but the impossibility that such a system could exist naturally made my head hurt.
Catching the cocked and curious eyes of Ike squashed the thoughts and sent me back to my task. Using my mind as a cursor, I selected the gleaming Titan-Ax-icearigama, marveling at its 2-dimensional image inside me. Even here the air frosted and sparkled around it, the icy sheen glimmering from some unseen light source. Bringing it out of my inventory, the weapon shimmered like a mirage, coming to solid existence in the grip of my meaty hand, and widening Ike’s eyes to the point that I thought they might just pop.
“What is that? A legendary?” he gasped. Kevinar’s eyes also widened, causing him to curse as the sun’s rays blinded him. His hands scrabbled through the pockets of his cloak, drawing his shades hours earlier than he’d prophesied.
“Very rare,” I answered. “Attunement unknown. The stats look amazing, which makes me wonder what a legendary would look like.”
“No man is powerful enough to hold a true legendary until they have attained a significant level of experience,” Kevinar stated, his eyes finally shaded against the light of the day. Beyond him, the rest of the party was heading in our direction, no doubt captivated by the sudden ice-blue sparkle that had appeared in their midst.
You aren’t a man, Ryan, Jeldorain’s voice bubbled up from within. You can hold any item, regardless of the level minimums. So long as I reside within you.
I ignored him, giving the infernal the silent treatment that he deserved. It was worrying how he’d taken me over and forced me to charge the forest shark despite my clear intentions to obey Ike’s commands. The magical summoning that had brought me here and stuffed me into the infernal’s body hadn’t completely sealed him away. I needed time to understand it all. Someone to talk to about it without possibly forcing me away from the only allies I had.
Instead I kept my face joyous, and I showed off my new icearigama, answering the excited questions of my colleagues. Given Ike’s previous ire over our late wake-up, I half-expected him to break us up and send us all back onto our path to the rebel rendezvous, but his scaly cheeks were rosy and his eyes intense.
The rest were quite enthusiastic as well. Brandosyeus eyed it professionally, declaring that the odds of fusing a weapon such as this, even from the plate of a forest shark, were astronomically low, in the realm of 400 to 1. The comparison made me envision all the times I’d rolled critical successes at the gaming table. Luck was not a stranger to me in the old world, and maybe it had followed me to this one as well.
Jon admired the blade while stomping his hooves, speaking of the great damage it could find in the hand of a mounted warrior’s charge, while Schustak simply noted that, often, “the fuse reflects the soul of the user.”
That last observation made me feel sour inside. It was something wielded by ice infernals on their home plain, and I didn’t at all appreciate being compared to that. I was still Ryan, still human despite everything, and if that fuse reflected who I was, it’d somehow be made out of roses and sunshine. Or at least hints of beef jerky.
After the weapons chatter was over, we headed out, Kevinar scouting in front, myself standing as the tank in second while Jon kept up the rear. The air smelled sweeter and more fruitful as we progressed, a condition that I appreciated even more when I realized that it was making Jeldorain moan and struggle inside of me.
The natural sounds of the forest were interrupted by the quick, almost silent steps of Kevinar as he darted back to our group. Seeing the taut serious look on his face, the lightheartedness of the morning faded away; the sunshine suddenly less welcoming and the air dense with tension. In a place where the trees spread wide and the canopy above was fragmented, our exposed position made me clench the hilt of my Titan-Ax-icearigama. Jeldorain's mocking laughter bubbled up within me, feeding off my anxiety.
“Trouble?” Ike asked, his voice a low hiss.
Kevinar's eyes darted about, his usual calm demeanor replaced with evident concern. “Warg Knights,” he whispered, “scouring the forest.”
The blood drained from Ike's face, his tan scales growing pale. “Perhaps it's best we move back to where the trees stand close together. They won’t be able to maneuver as easily there. And we might be able to find a nook to hole up and hide in.”
Kevinar shook his head, standing tall, defiance sparking in his eyes. “Retreating every time they show up isn't the solution, Ike. We can't keep running if we hope to truly revolt. What will we do when the rabble is all gone and they’re the only ones left?”
“Warg Knights?” I questioned. I’d heard of them in some of the fantasy novels and games back on Earth, but really had no sense of scale to them. The monsters I knew from the games I’d played wouldn’t be a challenge to such a professional group.
The group exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of surprise and pity. “Ryan,” Jon began, taking a deep breath and swishing his tail, “Warg Knights are elite warriors, each one mounted atop a dire wolf warg. Psychically bonded, the unity in their movements and strategy are unparalleled. The wargs are monsters like wolves but thrice as big, with teeth like daggers and muscles of iron. Warg Knights . . . they’re nearly invincible. No one's ever defeated a squad of them, at least not in any tales I’ve heard.”
“The tales,” Kevinar spat. “Glory comes to those who make new tales. And rebellions are won by those who are willing to fight despite the odds.”
Schustak, the goblin, let out a cough, bringing all eyes to him. I gave him a good look over for the first time, this being of the world whose people stood on top of the social pyramid. It was his kind that had forced me here, and left me dead back in my other world.
Waves of ice radiated out through my body, a sudden rage rising in my chest. I narrowed my eyes, feeling the slush in my veins pump faster, even as something bubbled in my stomach.
Goblin, I thought, the word dripping with ichor. The ferocity of my feeling shocked me and I tried to stuff it away, giving greater regard to Schustak and observing him more thoroughly.
He stood shorter than most of the party but something about him exuded wisdom and confidence. His skin was a deep, mottled green, textured and wrinkled like the bark of a tree that had been submerged in swamp water for centuries. Large, yellow eyes, luminescent in the sunlight, shined arrogance beneath a heavy brow. They were shifty, covered in a guilty pallor, always scanning and observing.
Everything about him screamed untrustworthy. Inside, I could feel Jeldorain assent.
They took you away from your body. And they locked me deep inside mine. He is one of them. He should be torn apart and consumed, his blood and flesh made energy for the conquest of this pathetic world.
My muscles clenched, but I forced myself to relax. I didn’t know him; didn’t know why he was here fighting the world that raised his kind above all others. I would listen first and learn his story and who he was.
I wouldn’t give in to assumptions.
“We could fool them,” Schustak said, his thickly accented voice stretching out his words in long greasy syllables. “We could stand our ground here and trick them into thinking we belong. I was a noble before I found the white stag, and my true place in life. I have knowledge of words and ways by which to deceive them.”
Ike grunted, nodding, and I stared at him in disbelief. Schustak had all of the obvious, over-the-top villainous qualities exhibited by so-called secret villains in cinema. His words and the way he said them were a dead give-away. As was his job. The good druids were always from sylvan glades and forests. Maybe an orchard. Sunny places filled with beauty and prosperity.
Swamps—I’d grown up in a swamp. Fat rotted willows lined banks of brackish water filled with leeches and swarming with bugs. The sodden ground squelched and moaned when you walked on it, sometimes even breaking through into hidden pools of fetid stagnant water slimed through with the eggs of amphibians. Swamps were natural horror shows, and a sure sign that Schustak was a classic villain in disguise.
I see no fault in your reasoning, Jeldorain agreed from within. They are monsters, all of them. But consider this. His plan isn’t without merit. He is a spy, for sure, but this isn’t yet his time to turn on us. I am certain of that.
Schustak continued speaking, telling the group his plan to bluff us all through, his words droning as I turned inwards. I’m not worth turning us in for? Seems like they went to a lot of trouble to get me here.
The feeling of understanding, and even brotherly comfort swept over my body. Would I give us up? I have just as much at stake here as you do. The goblin doesn’t know what we are nor our importance. I suggest his mission is to find the rebel camp, then run off to inform his superiors.
I thought a moment before responding. I will trust you on this. But what happened with the forest shark, I expect agreement between us before you seize control. Do that again, and I’ll find some way to end you.
Jeldorain laughed. Indeed, grand champion, I humble myself before you.
I shut off my mind to him, catching just the tail end of the plan. It didn’t seem too complicated. Schustak would pretend to be in charge of us all. And we’d play the part of his armed retinue.
With everything in position, we took our places, fanning ourselves out into a protective perimeter around the horrid goblin swamp druid.
The silence was palpable as the first Warg Knight came into view, the luminescence of the afternoon sun soaking into the black enamel of his steel full-plate armor. With each step the monstrous warg took, the soft crunch of dead leaves and twigs sent shivers of nervous dread through my body. He looked like an absolute total party killer, the sort of awesome bad guy who’d wipe out not just you and your friends but also the randos you met and recruited in the lobby.
His faceplate was stylized, shaped into something like the mix between a goblin and a hornless devil. I felt myself waver slightly as I tried to peek behind the mask. There was something unnaturally terrifying about it, almost certainly a magical fear spell baked into the metal, and I wondered if I wouldn’t have run away already if not for the infernal and magically resistant body that I now inhabited.
More riders followed, emerging from the forest around them until they numbered a total of five. They rode past birch trees in eerie synchronization, the wargs marching in proud and rhythmic unison.
Watching them progress, their mostly noiseless yet heavily armed presence picking through the forest in a way known only to the greatest of movie ninjas, I felt both awed and over-classed.
Shooting a glance at Kevinar, I noted that his own face quivered slightly at their approach. I respected the man, his blades, and his earlier call to arms. To see him in the same place as I was downright humbling.
The newcomers all drew up in line with the first, each of them sitting stiffly upright. Over their hearts burned the fire emblem of the Goblin Empire, a symbol of subjugation and enslavement.
I glared at Schustak, but could read nothing in his face. My body tensed. Despite the words of Jeldorain, we could very well be sold out in the next few moments.
“Glory to Gharag. Shall he see us reign forever,” Schustak said, pounding his fist over his heart. My pulse quickened, my eyes shifting to see the response of the Warg Knights. They stayed eerily still, like statues in a park.
Schustak cleared his throat, his hand moving slightly up his staff. “I am Grove Lord Schustak. This is my retinue. I travel to pay homage to Court Heartstabber at Gharag City. We are honored to meet you so close to the start of our travels, and request escort back to the city if you should be heading that way also.”
Finally the original knight moved, his short but bulky arms reaching up to remove his helm and gaze upon us all with urine-yellow eyes. Grey skin covered his face, and I noticed that his teeth were snaggle-toothed and jagged as he opened his mouth to take in a great exaggerated huff of forest air, the spiky goatee of his chin pointed accusingly at us as he did so.
“Ghrak tar zulik narsh in groth-nar vok,” he said. The knight raised his hand, pointing at all who surrounded Schustak. “You! Weapons drop or die screaming.”
My heart beat even harder and I looked at Ike, who gave no indication that he noticed. But Schustak spoke loudly, making it very clear by his imperial tone that he was not one to be trifled with.
“Weapons down. We have no quarrel with these fine servants of the empire.”
I dropped my icearigama, the sight of it now on the ground before me somehow well more terrifying than these goblin powerhouses. One of the knights turned his helm slightly in my direction, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he wasn’t about to steal the weapon from me. All with that bastard Schustak’s blessing.
“We come for battle rebels. They hunting here. Fighting wagons,” the knight announced in growling tones. Tones that quickly rose to murderous rage. “Taking many loot!”
Schustak nodded. “We have not seen any rebels. But my retinue and I were the victims of a forest shark attack. Fortunately, my servants are well-capable in combat.”
The knights chuckled at that, and I felt my ire rise despite their expert appearance. Their time will come, Jeldorain agreed.
“You have monster loot? Emperor want tithe, Grove Lord. Give us here, we bring him.”
Schustak growled and pounded his staff against the ground. It exploded with dark, leathery vines, a dim glow extending from their edges. “We are well-capable, and I am as loyal to the crown and Gharag as my servants are to me. We will not be harassed nor robbed.”
The head knight nodded. “You rebels. We kill. Take all.”
“Grak do, zarok duo thar vok!” Schustak bellowed. A blast of energy pounded out from his staff, and suddenly the unnatural fear that had been gathering inside vanished. I felt like me again.
On his warg, the knight blanched, a mixture of anger and surprise warring on his face. The battle resolved and a clear decision was reached. “Grub zorgak to vorn, zrok wez vrok.”
Schustak bowed. Turning to the rest, he raised his staff above his head. “To your knees. Bow to the might of the Empire, slaves.”
Anger roared in my ears, a sound like heavy snow pounding down the slope of a rocky mountainside. But the others dropped to their knees, kowtowing to the knights as if they were a bevy of ancient Chinese emperors.
Schustak’s face twisted with rage. “Bow, slave, or feel the wrath of the empire!” A bolt of green energy struck out, blasting me in the face, then spreading to cover the entirety of my body with electricity. I stuttered and dropped, performing obeisance despite my best attempts not to.
“If lying you did, pain will feel,” the knight stated. Then, as one, they turned and moved out.
