Chapter 157: Temple Visit

 

  Karen dropped the scrolls and ran over to her little sister. She scooped Sophi up in a tight embrace and laughed brightly, “I can’t believe it. It’s really you!”

  “You have a sister?” Witt’s jaw went slack. Karen had never told him.

  “You’re squeezing too hard,” Sophi squirmed.

  “Oh, sorry,” Karen put her down. “How did you get here? I thought mom didn’t want you to see me.”

  “Mom’s still angry with you, I think. But dad said I could come visit you so long as I didn’t tell mom,” Sophi grinned broadly.

  “Heh, that works for me,” Karen kissed her on the forehead.

  Sophi laughed warmly.

  “Excuse me, what is all of this? Are you actually an acolyte?” The human mother asked in disdain.

  “Do you not see my white robes?” Karen pointed to herself and the necklace of the four ebon gods she wore.

  “That’s…” The mother frowned.

  “Karen,” another acolyte walked into the main hall. “There are people here to see you.”

  “Can it wait?” Karen asked.

  “T-that’s! That’s a human acolyte! I want to talk to her!” The mother pointed at the other acolyte.

  The acolyte ignored the strange mother, “I really don’t think they’ll wait, Karen.”

  Karen squeezed Sophi’s hand tightly, “Sorry, Sophi. I’ll be right back.”

  “Mhm, I’ll wait for you,” Sophi nodded.

  “We will talk about our temple’s views afterward, ma’am. Make yourself comfortable until then,” Karen said to the mother. She turned to Witt, “Make sure everything stays sane until I get back.”

  “You can count on me,” Witt made a fist in the air.

  Karen stared at him with a lack of confidence, “...Yeah, I’m not so sure anymore.”

  “Karen, we can’t keep them waiting,” the other acolyte said.

  “Got it, I’m coming,” Karen nodded and left.

  The moment the acolytes were gone the kids began playing around the room again. The human mother looked exasperated, though she did not leave. Her 7-year-old son gripped her skirt tightly.

  Sophi smiled at the boy and offered her hand, “Do you wanna play with us?”

  “I said get your little grubby hands away from us!” The mother raised her hand and swung down.

  The eldest orphan goblin, a young teenage boy, stepped in, and took the mother’s slap. Blood trickled down his lip. The kids stopped playing and grew quiet.

  “And where did you come from?” The mother took out a handkerchief and wiped her hand.

  “Are you okay?” Sophi grabbed the boy’s hand and asked worriedly.

  “I’m fine,” the orphan boy nodded. “Your big sis always takes care of us, it was the least I could do.”

  Witt stepped between the children and the mother, “Okay, this stops now. You don’t get to come in here and hurt the kids. Especially not Karen’s baby sister.”

  “You’d choose these goblins over your own kind?” The mother snarled.

  Witt was surprised the words came so easily to him, “Choose the kids over you? In a heartbeat.”

  “Goblins? Unbelievable,” the mother shook her head.

  “We have names,” the orphan boy gritted his teeth.

  “No one cares,” the mother sneered.

  “Get out,” Witt raised his mop. “Or else.”

  The mother pushed her son behind her, “I was the captain of the watch in my village. And you come at me with a mop?”

  “Leave, now,” Witt pointed his mop at her.

  The mother grabbed the mop’s handle and yanked it out of Witt’s hand. He tried to grab it back, she spun it around and knocked his feet right from under him.

  “Ow,” Witt groaned.

  The mother smacked him on his arm.

  “Ah, shit, dammit, stop it!” Witt raised his hands.

  The woman’s eyes were alight with anger, she smacked him across his body over and over. In a matter of seconds, his body was bruised and bloodied. Witt curled into a small ball and tried to avoid getting hit in the face.

  “Leave him alone!” The orphan boy ran at the woman.

  She swiped the mop at his head, it smacked right into his forehead. The orphan boy fell backward. The other orphans ran over to him and shielded him with their own bodies.

  “All of you dishonor the great god Stjerne in his very own temple! Playing with the statues of the deities and running about! All of you get out!” The mother pointed the mop at the children.

  The orphans huddled close and stayed quiet, they didn’t dare look up at the woman. The other children backed away from the angry woman.

  Sophi ran in front of the orphans and raised her arms up high, “Don’t hurt them!”

  “I told you to keep your damn grubby hands away from me!” The mother raised the mop.

  The room darkened, dark shadows curled around the ceiling and walls. The mother took a step back and looked around in fear. The children’s faces paled with dread.

  “Karen, who is this human woman?” A young blue goblin asked coldly.

  Karen and the other acolyte stood behind Stryg and Feli at the doorway.

  “Witt!” Karen’s eyes widened at the sight of the injured man. “Sophi? What happened?”

  Tears fell down Sophi’s chubby green cheeks. She ran to Karen and buried her face in her older sister’s chest.

  “It’s okay, Sophi, everything is going to be okay,” Karen caressed her head.

  “Did you hurt Sophi?” Stryg asked the human woman quietly.

  “What?” The mother furrowed her brow. “What’s happening? Why is it so dark? Is Stjerne angry with you all?!”

  “No, but I have been told I am a goddess’ bad omen,” Stryg’s pupils narrowed.

  “There goes our wedding planning for the day,” Feli sighed.

  “Stryg, this is a temple, please don’t do this here. She has a child,” Karen pleaded.

  “Goblins are not supposed to cry. So why is Sophi crying?” Stryg slowly walked up to the mother.

  “Stay back!” She swung the mop at him.

  Stryg’s hand shot out and grabbed the mop’s shaft. He ripped it out of her hand and broke it in two with ease.

  The mother’s jaw went slack, “H-how?”

  Stryg bared his fangs, “You have no idea the injuries that little girl has endured. You have no idea what I’ve done to the people that have hurt her.”

  The mother jumped backward and pulled her son close.

  Stryg glanced at the little boy, “Remember this well, the world is a dangerous place where monsters lurk everywhere.”

  Stryg raised his hand, an orb of fire materialized above his palm. “Your mother poked her head in the wrong den.”

  The mother fell to her knees, she trembled in fear at the sight of his magic.

  “Please, don’t kill them!” Sophi yelled.

  Stryg glanced at the little girl and slowly lowered his hand.

  “...You’re lucky this is Karen’s temple and the young one has begged for your life,” Stryg muttered under his breath.

  The fire died as quickly as it had appeared. Stryg leaned towards the woman.

  “Do not come here again. If you do, I will find you, I will rip out your heart, and I will leave your corpse in the street for the undead sentinels,” he whispered.

  She swallowed, “I -”

  Stryg slapped her face into the floor. The woman’s head bounced on the floor painfully. Her eyes rolled. The little boy screamed a high-pitch squeal. Stryg softly hit his nape and knocked him unconscious.

  Stryg glanced at the human acolyte, “Throw these two out.”

  “Understood,” the acolyte nodded quickly and hurried over to complete the task.

  Karen ran over to Witt and checked his pulse.

   “Oh, thank Lunae, he’s alive,” she sighed in relief.

  “Gods, who beats someone up with a mop?” Witt groaned.

  “If you can talk, stop pretending to be dead, you big dummy,” Karen laughed and rolled her eyes.

  “I could have had her, she just caught me by surprise,” Witt pushed himself up to a sitting position. He kept a hand on his swollen ribcage.

  Witt winced, “I think I might have broken something.”

  “We’ll have to patch you up then, come on,” Karen offered her hand.

  “Thanks,” Witt grabbed her hand with a gracious smile.

  Stryg glanced at the interaction, “Are you two together?”

  “What?” Karen’s grip loosened.

  Witt fell backward, “Ow.”

  Stryg nodded to himself, “He may be weak but he seems to have fought in the defense of Sophi. Besides, Karen, you can handle yourself if something happens. Hm, alright. I approve of this relationship.”

  “Stryg, I don’t need your approval to whom I date, and I am not dating this dummy. We’re just friends,” Karen chuckled to herself.

  “Oh,” Stryg cocked his head. “Well, in either case, I may not know you, human, but Karen is my friend. If you hurt her, death will be the least of your worries. Do I make myself clear?”

  Witt furrowed his brow, “Wait, you don’t remember me?”

  “We’ve met?”

  “Don’t take it personally. Stryg doesn’t remember most people,” Feli walked up to the blue goblin and wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

  “I’m not sure if that makes me lucky or not,” Witt rubbed his head conspicuously.

  Sophi ran up to Stryg and hugged him. “Thank you for not killing them,” she sniffed.

  “...Sure thing, kid,” Stryg mumbled.

  The orphan boy stepped away from the other orphans and bowed to Stryg, “Thank you for saving my friends and me.”

  “I heard your voice from the hall, you stepped up for the others. Well done. What’s your name?” Stryg asked.

  “Mel,” the boy shuffled his feet.

  The other orphans opened their mouths wide. The rest of the children quickly huddled around Stryg but stayed a healthy distance away.

  Stryg eyed them all curiously.

  “They are all just a little shy. They’ve never seen a goblin mage before,” Karen said.

  “So you really are a mage?” Mel asked excitedly.

  “The one and only,” Feli laughed proudly.

  “I may be the only goblin mage in the city, but I’m not the only goblin mageborn,” Stryg said.

  “Huh?” Mel cocked his head to the side.

  “It means that for all we know some of you could have the potential to be magi,” Stryg said.

  The children gasped.

  “I thought goblins weren’t gifted with magic. We’re not good at anything anyway...” Mel stared at his feet.

  “Who told you that?” Stryg asked, a trace of anger in his voice.

  Mel glanced out the window, “Everyone.”

  Stryg clenched his jaw, “None of those people know anything. Goblins aren’t good at anything? We were the first ones to build a Great City.”

  “What?” Mel’s eyes widened.

  Karen, Sophi, and the others all looked at him with surprise.

  Stryg took a deep breath, “A long time ago, the goblins of this Realm founded the first Great City, Lunis, the Sapphire of the East. Our people were great at many things and we had many magi.”

  “Why have I never heard of Lunis before then?” Karen asked doubtfully.

  “Because Hollow Shade wants to bury the past. I only know what I do thanks to a few ancient books I came across in my academy’s library,” Stryg said.

  “Where is Lunis?” Mel asked hesitantly.

  “It was destroyed, razed to the ground. The attack was led by Hollow Shade’s grand marshall, leader of all the city’s armies, the Blue Rose.”

  “I like roses, was she really that bad?” One of the smaller human children frowned.

  “Truth be told, I don’t know much about her, all I do know is that she was Hollow Shade’s most ruthless general. She killed countless of us,” Stryg said bitterly.

  The goblin children shuddered in fear.

  Stryg smiled wryly, “You must all think Lunis was weak. It wasn’t, we were just betrayed. But I should probably start at the beginning. A long time ago…”

  The other kids drew closer and sat down around Stryg as he spoke.

  Karen glanced at the scrolls in her hands and back at Stryg. “There goes today’s lesson,” she smiled softly.