Somewhere Warm, and Quiet

Blem tossed and turned. He tried to go back to sleep to escape that terrible nightmare. But every time he tried a heavenly chorus kept him awake. Heavenly chorus?

He never recalled having enough room in his cave for a choir, nor did he ever get around to teaching his mice to sing. Blem flung himself out of bed. Or rather he flung himself off a cloud. It gave Blem quite a start when he landed. He thought this would be the second time he'd die today. Instead of the familiar confines of his cave he found himself in the sky. The sun was shining dimly, clouds made up the ground and off in the distance hundreds of robed figures sang in choirs.

Little winged mice flew overhead, some laying flower petals, and others strumming tiny harps. It was enough to make Blem realize that he was in fact dead. Or maybe he finally had that mental breakdown he knew was a long time coming, whichever made more sense. Regardless of his of musings, Blem realized the petals formed a trail he could follow, so he did. It took him through and endless sea of clouds which were occasionally broken up breathtaking monuments and gardens. Fungi grew in such great abundance that he could start picking a month solid and still not make a dent in the selection. Another thing that amazed him was the lichen. Back home he needed to nurture the lichen in the moistest parts of the cave, but here they grew on the rocks so thick and so quickly that he could scoop up a handful and watch it replenish before his eyes. This place was a paradise...but why did he not feel happy?

He lost himself in his thoughts as he wandered the petal path. The little angelic mice fluttering overhead made him sad. He wished he could send himself off in better terms in front of his pets but alas it wasn't meant to be. His thoughts distracted him so heavily he barely noticed the angel floating beside him.

"Be not afraid," the angel said calmly. Blem could not help that however and nearly jumped out of his skin.

"WHO- WHA-WHA-WHAT, WHAT THE WHAT! WHO ARE YOU, WHAT DO YOU WANT, WHY DO YOU WANT?!" Blem replied a little scared. The angel simply waited for Blem to regain his composure which also gave Blem time to figure out what he was looking at. It looked like a regular goblin head minus the body, except the ears were replaced with wings, and a halo covered in eyes orbited the angel.

"U-uh can I help you?"

"No."

Blem blinked, "Okay, can you help me then?"

"Yes, come with me." The angel bit the collar of Blem's robe, which he had now just noticed. Before the goblin could protest the angel flew with incredible speed. "Please wait here," and with that the angel dropped Blem and flew off with the same blinding speed that brought them here. While Blem dusted himself off he realized he was at the steps of a great stone gate. The gate was massive, so massive that Blem figured it would take a hundred cyclopses just to pry the door open. Symbols fluttered and flickered across the door in no apparent order. Some were familiar, like a cracked egg symbolizing a women ready to give birth, or a goblin carrying flowers symbolizing the coming of age. Others not so familiar, like a bird carrying three eyeballs or sacks which Blem could only guess as being some vague relation to a tax of some kind. Unfamiliar symbols like that made him wish he were a bit more studious or religious at least.

*Creak!* He heard it and felt it, the creaking of a great door followed by a rush of wind. In an instant the symbols on the door flickered off and beyond the great stone gate strode a figure wrapped in purple like a corpse. Bundles of jewelry further encased the wrapped figure as gold chains were held in place by silvery bejeweled locks. Despite this the figure appeared to be unencumbered and gracefully strode towards Blem, chains rattling all the while.

"Hail child, it is I. God-blin." the ethereal voice echoed.

"God-Blin?"

"You would know me more as the Great One or the Green One. My original name Gob the Lilkin is seldom used but mayhaps you have heard your oldest elders speak of it?" Blem shook his head. "Alas my power has faded, yet I still bring bounty to the faithful."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Why call yourself God-Blin if your name was Gob the Lilkin. What do you mean your power has faded?" Blem asked incredulously.

"Because I'm a god. If I want a silly name, I'll get a silly name, no questions about it," the clouds darkened and its voice thundered. "As for my power, our people have always been persecuted which naturally affects me. What makes it especially troubling however is that other gods hate me and our people."

"Why?"

"Mortals don't like the idea of being equal to goblins; gods absolutely loathe the idea ergo we are persecuted both spiritually and physically."

"Is that why our histories were always filled with crusaders and what-not constantly kicking our people's teeth in?" Blem asked mortified.

"Exactly, but I'm not here to talk about that, I'm here to talk about you," Blem blinked as he waited for God-Blin to spring his surprise. "You see Blem, I witnessed your trials and tribulations, and I must say I'm a little inspired by how you powered through them."

"It wasn't entirely by choice," Blem added dryly.

"I'm aware, yet still you persisted. For your continued valor in the face of constant torment I'm offering you a place in the great halls of my holy palace. Any room you want, any luxury you need, any book, any mouse, any maiden, it can all be yours." The godly being put out its green goblinoid hand. "All you have to do is ascend with me, Blem." Blem carefully considered it. True his life was terrible and he deeply regretted his choice of home but something twanged his heart strings. Hearing from his holy patron that other gods hated them made him angry. So angry in fact he began to shake ever so slightly. Everything about it felt unfair, extremely unfair, the degree of unfairness was literally cosmic in scale.

"I, I don't wanna ascend yet." Unconsciously his hands curled into fists. "I wanna go home, I wanna raise my mice colony, I wanna tend to my farm, I wanna wear nice boots. Dammit I want my cave! I want my home."

"You can find peace here," God-Blin reasoned to no avail. Suddenly every naysayer, abuser and monster had Blem's ear. He reheard all the taunts and jeers that followed him throughout his life. Now he heard a chorus of divine mockery from every god ring in his ears as well. Blem has had enough.

"I don't want peace, I want my cave! My cave gave me joy even when it kicked my ass. It gave me hope knowing I had a little corner of the world, even if the world didn't want me to have it. I'm sick of the unfairness of it all. I don't want to cower anymore, I want to live. And if dying is a part of living I'll gladly die again to live my life. But make no mistake, next time I'll go down fighting, and I'll make sure everyone knows Blem Rattlefoot isn't a pushover!"

Blem suddenly remembered who he was talking to. He lost his fire just as quickly as he started it, and awkwardly stared at his feet. He pretended they were a more interesting sight than the divine being next to him. Slowly a chuckle started from under the hood. Each chuckle was punctuated with a clap.

"Yeah I know it's silly." Blem hung his head low.

"Not at all, I think it's wonderful." Blem looked incredulously at God-Blin. "It's not often one as quiet as you arrives with fire in their heart."

"Oh, I'm really, really, not that fiery," Blem stated.

"And yet here you are, turning down everlasting paradise in favour of a cave that has shown you only hardship. I respect it Blem, which is why I'm going to make you an alternate offer. I'll bring you back to life." Blem could hardly believe his ears. But, he listened to enough tales to know there was always a catch.

"Okay. Do I need to do anything in return?"

"Of course, you must make a vow, one that you will never back down from." Blem took a deep breath and nodded. He wasn't sure he liked the definitive nature of this condition; then again, he was in no real position to bargain either. "To start, you must always be willing to fight. Cowardice will result in your death and a guaranteed spot in damnation. Secondly, you must be willing to take the fight to the enemy should they engage you. Failure to do so will result-"

"Aw I have to leave home..." Blem whined.

"Let me finish," God-Blin replied with some annoyance. "Failure to do so will result in death and damnation. I know it irks you but think of it this way; what's the point of weeding a garden if you don't take care of their roots? Ergo to defend the home you love you must be willing to part with it to deal with the source of the problem." Blem nodded reluctantly. "Lastly if I call upon you to do something for me, you must do it regardless of other commitments. Failure to do so-"

"Death and damnation got it."

God-Blin nodded, "Good, I'd hate to waste a miracle on a fool. Now then, vow to me Blem. Vow to me and become my champion."

Blem didn't know what to say but he didn't feel like making his patron wait. "I, Blem Rattlefoot, uh, promise, er vow...can I start over?" God-Blin shook its head. Blem took a deep breath, "I vow to follow your conditions. I vow to always fight, I vow to take the fight to my enemy, and I vow to aid you in whatever matters you need, er, wish of me."

God-Blin removed his hood. Instead of a wizened figure, or impossibly divine radiance, Blem saw another goblin, albeit one that looked incredibly young. God-Blin had a chorus of old men as its voice yet its face was one of someone barely out of adolescence, smooth and wrinkle free. "I accept your vow and grant you another chance," God-Blin replied. "However I cannot grant you anything beyond the chance to live your life again."

"But other gods grant their champions weapons or powers," Blem protested.

"Other gods grant divine items and protection because they lack faith in their mortal champions. I grant you nothing because I have faith in you. I could give you the tools to make you great, but I cannot grant you the ability to stand on your own two feet and face the world as you do now."

"Surely there is someone better, someone greater than myself. I mean you're a god you can do anything."

"Of course Blem. there are those who are more fitting of being my champion. There are others among your kind who could certainly benefit from my patronage. But I'm choosing you because I want to."

Before Blem could question any further God-Blin put a hand on Blem's left shoulder, and pushed him. Blem fell through the clouds. His scream followed his descent while God-Blin waved good bye.

Somewhere Humid and Noisy

Blem took a sharp inhale as he found himself in the land of the living. His fight for air was interrupted by a coughing fit.

"Drink this," the hobgoblin replied. When Blem wiped the spittle away he shakily imbibed the potion. Gradually the air came back to Blem and the shakiness subsided. "Feel better?"

"Yeah," Blem replied uneasily. Blem took in his surroundings. It was a cave, but not his cave.

"The name's Pleck, I dragged you out of there when I realized you were still alive."

"I thought I died..."

"I thought so too. At first it looked like they stabbed you through the chest, but it was all superficial. You know, bleeding cuts-"

"He stabbed me in the back. It went right through my chest," Blem replied in disbelief.

Pleck shrugged, "Must've been a magic weapon, like a pain blade or something. Those'll pierce through you pretty good, but they won't kill you."

Blem shook his head as he sat up. He felt the pain reverberate from his back and his chest. Curiously he noted a hand mark on his shoulder that was never there before. It was too small to be the hobgoblins...but just right for another goblin. "How long have I been out?"

Pleck fiddled with a mortar and pestle while he got up to sit beside Blem. "A little over a week. You were out cold from the shock of it all I guess. I fed you and watered you as best as I could, and patched you up as well as I could. You're a remarkably fast healer, doubly so given that your wounds were made by a magic weapon."

Blem thought about his vow, his meeting with God-Blin, the mark on his shoulder, and the symbol of the bird carrying three orbs or eyes. While Pleck was applying a salve to Blem's back, Blem scooped a bit and began painting on the cave wall. "What does this symbol mean?"

Pleck squinted at the crudely drawn symbol. "That's the symbol of judgement, why are you asking?"

Blem thought deeply. If he told Pleck what he thought he experienced, Pleck might think he was mad. If he didn't tell Pleck he wouldn't have to worry about anything, but he might not get any answers to any questions he may have.

"Well, it's a long story..."

ScramblinMan

As an aside I'd like to point out that some chapters will have varying lengths from this point on. Some will be a few hundred words, others might be a few thousand. Also if you questions please feel free to ask