Chapter 8: Cornered

 Givontair: 

More than once during my life, I have lamented the fact that I have acute senses. My nose is too keen for a sewer.

Even with a mask on, I can still smell the waste water. It looks as if the filtering runes are out of commission. Soon, there will be another epidemic in Portius. That is, if I don't do something about it. 

"Look for filtering runes, and call me when you see them," I tell Nathaniel. He nods, and we each begin to search for the runes. When we move out of the lit walkway, I look at the dragon slayer. It is simple for me to see in the dark. Yet, what of him? 

Rummaging in my bottomless bag, I take out a torch. With a single breath of fire, the oiled cloth is lit. Nathaniel takes the torch from my hands, without much prompting. 

I peer ever forward, with the occasional sideways look, to see if there is a rune somewhere. I just hope that they are not beneath the sewer waste. Furthermore, I rather like my trench coat, and would like to not have to burn it. 

Then I hear it. A pair of feet running away from us. I look at Nathaniel, who nods at me. We keep on going forward, not slowing our pace. The torch is our only light source. That is, until we move to a patch of luminescent mushrooms, which line the walls on both sides. 

We hear a giggle from deeper into the gloom. I move to stand before Nathaniel, preparing my dagger. Nothing is going to catch us unawares! The first goblin drops from the ceiling. I kick at its stomach, and it lands in the waste water. 

This is something I regret. Now, the little bugger will get my clothes dirty. I don't have time to ponder on if I should go in the waste water, and pull the goblin out. For, another goblin rushes my way. My dagger makes an arch, and I cut into the creature's eye. The shriek that follows is music to my ears. 

Nathaniel sidesteps from behind me, and rushes into the darkness, with only a sword in one hand, and the torch in the other. I watch, as he uses the torch to blind one goblin, as he skewers another. I curse, at his obvious attempt to be a hero. Such behavior is going to get him killed. Doesn't he know that goblins like to swarm? 

I run after him, kicking a goblin in the process. The sound of snapping ribs is my answer. As I reach Nathaniel, his torch is gone from his hand. He is like a whirlwind. Dodging, stabbing, kicking. Yet, one of the goblins jumps on his back, and begins choking him. 

That goblin gets a dagger between the ribs. For a second, our eyes meet. The goblin's is so full of hatred.

 I never understood why this race lived in such conditions. Why they never evolved. Why they love battle as much as they do. Now, though, I can see the viciousness in the wounded beast. He knows that I will attack again. That the next thing I do, is to slit his throat. With a final battle cry, the goblin plunges his teeth inside Nathaniel's neck.  

My dagger is quick, yet the damage is done. Nathaniel shakes off the green beast, and places a hand over the bitten place. I can see that there is a layer of skin missing. The goblin pulled at it, when I killed him. One last deed, for a meaningless life. 

The rest of the goblin begin to circle us. 

"Keep your sword up. Don't let them pull you down," I say to Nathaniel, who holds his neck with grim determination. 

You are reading story The Dread Scrolls at novel35.com

"You don't have to tell me how to kill goblins," Nathaniel snaps through the pain. I don't hold it against him. 

The goblins stand their ground, but do not lunge at us. Even someone as empty-headed as the average goblin will know not to try something that doesn't work more than once.

 My back touches Nathaniel's and I wonder what I can do, to get us out of here. Should I transform? No, the entire upper ground of the town will collapse, killing Nathaniel. Not to mention the property damage that is going to have to be paid by me. 

"Any plans?" I ask Nathaniel. He snorts. 

"Die like men?" He asks. I shake my head at his macabre joke. 

"Something that involves us getting out of here," I ask him. He is just about to answer, when the drumming sound begins to echo in the sewer. Something is coming this way. Something big enough to make the ground shake. 

 But not too tall. Otherwise, it won't fit in the sewers. 

The goblins part, and scurry in the sewer waste. I blink at that. Just who would go in there willingly? Just what is it that they fear. 

A loud roar is my answer. Soon, there is an ogre before us, with an axe that is half as big as the beast. There is a wide smirk on the being's face. I now know why the goblins cleared the way. They didn't want to be killed by their leader. The water, which would have been an unpleasant way to escape, is now no longer an option. 

"Nathaniel, get behind me," I say, as I take a couple of steps forward. 

"You won't be fighting alone," the dragon slayer's stubbornness is getting on my nerves. 

"You have an open wound, while in a sewer," I remind him. He shrugs, and removes his hand from the bleeding wound. 

"That won't matter much, will it? I mean, if this big guy kills us, we will end up in a pot as stew ingredients," he does have a point. Yet, I need more space for what I am about to do. 

"Go back, as far back as you can. I will transform into a drake, and take care of this," I say, as I push him back to the way we came in. The mana envelops me, and I turn into a three-meter beast, who is just tall enough, to move in the sewers. The smirk of the Ogre falls, as I open my maw, to breathe fire down on him.   

You can find story with these keywords: The Dread Scrolls, Read The Dread Scrolls, The Dread Scrolls novel, The Dread Scrolls book, The Dread Scrolls story, The Dread Scrolls full, The Dread Scrolls Latest Chapter