Chapter Sixty-Two - Goblin

Chapter Sixty-Two - Goblin The first goblin showed up near one AM, just as I was really starting to regret my plan to stick around and wait. The plan wasn't bad, mind. My objective, in the end, was to be seen as a hero, and you couldn't be heroic by saving people long before they were in danger. Was that messed up of me? Waiting until the breach started to save people? Yeah, a little. But also, if I didn't help, I knew exactly how many people would die, so... I figured on the great scale of good vs. evil, me waiting so that people knew that I was the one saving their asses wasn't all bad. The first goblin to show up was a bit of a runt. At least, I think. I'd never seen a live one in person, but I'd dragged some bodies out of a portal a few months... from now? Anyway, this one came up to about my waist, no bigger than a seven to ten year old. The goblin had greenish-beige skin, all of it mottled and patterned almost like a natural camouflage. He... because this dude wasn't covering up, was only wearing a sash around his waist, and he carried a small wooden club. The goblin plopped out of the portal, tripped on the way out, then jumped to his feet and stared around. There was intelligence in those little eyes of his. Then malice. He screeched and ran at the nearest 'guard' who was sitting back and not paying attention until the club smacked him in the side. The blow didn't have the leverage or weight to hurt too much, I didn't think, but it sure caused a scene. People gasped, others backed away. I stood up, drew my sword, and walked over. The guard kicked at the goblin, who deftly avoided the strikes, then tried to swipe back with his club. I stabbed out, intending to skewer the goblin in the neck, but... well, I missed. "Shit," I muttered before pulling my sword back and just swiping it through the air. The edge didn't land quite right, I could feel the way the blade recoiled, but it was sharp enough that a poor angle didn't matter all that much. The edge bit into the goblin's flesh, parting it, and leaking reddish blood all over. The goblin squealed and stumbled around, falling onto his ass. Which is where he died when the guard opened up with his little SMG and punched a dozen rounds into the goblin. There was a winging in my ear. Shooting in an enclosed room, even a large one, wasn't brilliant. Damn, I really needed to get cyberware for my ears. "Everyone!" I shouted. "Keep calm!" They didn't. Probably should have figured as much, but telling people to chill out didn't lead to people being chill. There was some screaming, shouting, people rushing back, and then River Rats rushing in. I saw a few with some better gear, nicer clothes, then looked at D-rankers to them in the way they moved. They came in, saw me, and I tensed up as I felt them preparing spells, or at least preparing their magic for something. It was a weird sensation, kind of like being near a C-ranker normally, only more urgent. Then they noticed the goblin. "Shit," one of them said. "That come out of the portal?" "Yeah, bossman," the guard said. "Just popped right out, came swinging at me. Chick with the knife stabbed it and I shot it up." Knife? This was a sword, dammit. "Aight. Did Becky come out?" The guard shook his head in a hurry and the D-ranker grunted out a few more curses. "We're going in to check on her, then. Might've fallen asleep or something. You know her. Calm the folks down. Maybe pass around some food or something, tell 'em it's all under control." Hmm. So, in the original timeline, without my interference, two D-rankers would have come out to help. There were four more gangsters in the room too, plus those already here. And they were armed. That painted a weird picture. If the portal breached, then two D-rankers and a handful of E-rankers ought to be enough to hold it, at least for a while, especially against something like goblins. So, how had so many people died? Some friendly fire? The panic? "Thanks for the help, girl," the 'bossman' said. "You can head out with the rest, yeah?" A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "No, I'm going in as well," I said. "Na-uh," he replied. "Not about to let that happen." I looked him in the eye. "You will, for three reasons. First, because you could use the help of another D-ranker. Second, because you don't have the right to stop me. And third, because you don't have the time or energy that it would take to stop me. Besides, I wouldn't mind going in and killing a few monsters. It's good experience." He stared, then cursed again. "Fuck it. We're getting Becky and getting out. Probably nothing anyway." I shrugged, then wiped the end of my sword clean with a bit of paper towel I had in my pocket (from one of those fried food vendors... it was tasty). The two D-rankers lined up, then leapt in, and I followed at a more sedate pace. I was getting used to the momentary disorientation of stepping into a portal, and the strange sensation of almost-falling that came with finding my footing on the other side. The portal world was a... fort? Like, one of those weird Roman ones, made of rows of tree trunks planted into the ground. There were makeshift tents around, and some taller trunks with platforms above them and rope-ladders leading up. And goblins. "Shit!" the D-ranker in the lead shouted as he jumped to the side. I ducked on reflex as something whizzed by. It would have missed me, regardless, but the motion had me jumpy. Then the other D-ranker opened up with an SMG and I found myself running for cover behind a wooden barricade. There was some dozen or so goblins at the far end of the courtyard. Most of them weren't armed any better than the one who'd come through the portal. Loinclothes and sticks, but a few had bows and they were shooting back while chittering at each other in whatever language goblins spoke. I poked my head around the other side, confirming that the goblins out in the open were the only ones. The D-ranker ran empty in seconds, then ran to cover himself. Other bossman? He grunted something, then reached a hand around cover and a long, pitch-black spear appeared in the air and hovered there for a moment. Then it shot out, stabbing through three goblins at once before just... disappearing and leaving an inch-thick hole in all three. Void magic? Damn. Didn't expect to see that. "Dammit, dammit," the second D-ranker shouted. "I've got one mag left!" "Then you should have brought more!" bossman shouted. I decided that I might as well make myself useful and switched my sword to my left hand and pulled out my revolver. I poked around the corner, took aim, and fired into the middle of the pack. The goblins went into a full panic, running around like chickens on spotting a fox. Some ran towards the bossman ranker, but he stepped out and met the first two with fists covered in smokey black magic. It seemed to melt the skin off the monsters with each strike, sending them down in a hurry. The second D-ranker reloaded, then took fire again, smaller bursts this time. It wasn't too long before the goblins were dead or fled, but something told me that those that ran back into the caves-turned-fort we were in front of were going to spread the news, and that wasn't good for us. "You guys, how deep did you go when clearing out the dungeon's opening?" I asked. Bossman glanced back at me, saw me reloading my revolver with my sword tucked under one arm, and tsked. "Just this one room." I paused. "Seriously?" Standard operating procedure was always three rooms deep. One to guard, one as a buffer, and one more because it was stupid not to. "No traps? Not blockades?" "What are you on about?" the other D-ranker asked. I shut my eyes for a second. "Fine, whatever. You two have names?" "Josh," bossman said. "Franklin," the other D-ranker said. "And you?" "Deadline," I replied. "Just call me Deadline. Now, let's find that friend of yours, if they're still alive, and see how deep we can go." I was getting the unfortunate impression that this wasn't a portal that would be easy to clear solo. Not with swarms of goblins running around. I'd need a better gun. Or I'd need to learn how to use my sword a lot better. ***