DORULL STORIES - LEGEND OF ROSHNAK
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CHAPTER 4
Chork Wlig, Nual-Sur’s shaman, paced nervously
back and forth over the small, natty square, in front of the chieftain’s
residence, the two story hut, made out of stone blocks and wood. Shaman was
covered in fur coat, stitched out of several mountain goat hides. His aged,
freckled face was riddled with worry. A week ago, master Gvin rushed into the
mines, without any explanation. The alleged, newly found deposit, was the
probable reason for his departure, but the shaman didn’t know that for sure.
Seven days had passed since Gvin left, but no one, not even miners, received any
news from the mine. And that was probable cause for concern.
Chork’s wait came to an end, as the chieftain
appeared from his home. Once he escorted his wife and daughter, he waved for
the shaman to approach. Strong and muscly, Helk Blul was one of the strongest
warriors of the tribe, and its leader for almost a decade. Twice younger than
Chork, he often relied on shaman’s wisdom and advice.
“Chold turned seven today.” chieftain said
looking after his daughter and wife, as they were heading towards the tunnel
“She’s going to the lake, to try the new rod. Thank you for it.”
“Don’t even mention it.” the shaman waved his
hand “I hope it’ll serve her good.”
“Something on your mind?”
“Master Gvin.”
“Still no word from him?” Helk asked.
“No.” Chork shook his head “Nothing.”
“That’s unlike him.”
“I sense something terrible has happened.''
Shaman frowned.
“What do you mean? Some accident?” chieftain
asked “There were no recent shakes, at least not that I know of. You?”
“Perhaps it’s just my imagination.”
“Whatever it is, it's better to be safe.” Helk
said “Come.”
They went through the tunnel, into a narrow,
long cave, in which goblins had built the marketplace and a couple of taverns.
Along the tall, rugged walls, there were numerous guard posts. Most of them
were quite near the exit, at the other side of the cave, leading out towards
the surface. They proceed to the right, through another, very similar tunnel,
and into a spacious, wide cavern. Six identical, two hundred feet tall, wooden
buildings were erected alongside the walls, leaving the empty space in the
middle of this complex. These were the quarters made for the accommodation and
training of soldiers. And they were, at this moment, almost three thousand
strong.
“Good day, your highness.” a strong looking
goblin wearing chain mail, bowed in front of the chieftain. And he did it,
without even taking his eyes from the soldiers, who were doing some routine
exercises, on the small range in the middle of the cave.
“Captain Kloin,” Helk retorted. “Would you
please do me a favor, and send one squadron down the mines.”
“For?”
“The search for master Gvin.” the shaman
whispered “He was last seen seven days ago.”
“No contact I presume?”
“Nothing.” Helk said.
“I see.” Kloin frowned, “I’ll personally lead
the party.”
“He is probably just…” the chieftain suddenly
stopped.
A loud crashing sound made them all turn
around. It sounded as if the entire ceiling, from one of the nearing caves,
came toppling down. For a moment, there was absolute silence. But in the next,
the horrific shrieks and screams, spread throughout the entire goblin city. The
horns sounded two times, sharp and short. A call for help, on which soldiers
readily answered. In a matter of seconds, they rushed from their barracks, in
the defence of their homes. Their city. But before they even reached the
tunnel, several goblin miners got in their way. Distraught out of fear, they
were highly adamant to run far away from here.
“Run! Save yourselves!” one of them screamed.
The torrent of scalding hot lava, gushed from
the tunnel behind his back, spreading through the cave at an enormous rate.
Those several unfortunate soldiers, who were closest to the passageway, didn’t
have enough time to move. Magma swallowed them in an instant.
“Help the weak ones. Go for the surface!” Helk
yelled at the captain, as he went running through the other tunnel.
“And you?” Kloin was wandering for a moment.
“His little one went to the lake.” Chork said
instead of the chieftain “Come! Chief gave us an order. A lot of our folks are
still unaware of the danger.”
“Could this lava be the reason for
master Gvin’s disappearance?” Kloin asked.
“Quite possible.” the shaman nodded, “Digging
could have triggered the eruption.”
They rushed through the maze of corridors,
towards the living quarters. The huge cave, in which goblins had built an
enormous complex of huts. They were erected on numerous platforms around the
massive stone pillars, connected with hanging bridges and ladders. The complex
stretched all the way up to the ceiling. It was almost three dozen stories
high. Cave was home for most of the population of Nual-Sur.
“Walk your way up.” Captain Kloin hastily gave
an order to his soldiers “Make sure no one is wasting time collecting their
belongings and valuables. Time is of the essence.”
“First evacuate women and children.” Chork
added.
“Old and sickly at the end.” Kloin said, with
a lump in his throat.
“Yes…” the shaman agreed reluctantly.
He immediately proceeded to follow captain
Gnil, as they both joined in, to help round the townsfolk. But, before they
even managed to climb onto the first level, lava breached the cave. And with
the way and speed it moved, Chork couldn’t help himself but to think, it was
following them. In mere seconds, it completely overflowed the one and only way
out, making their escape practically impossible. They found themselves cut off
from the rest of the city, forced to climb up the stairs. But, that was just
prolonging the inevitable, as the heat from the lava began engulfing all the
wooden objects. The fire spread at an enormous rate, releasing thick, black
smoke, all the way up, towards the ceiling of the cave. Those goblins on the
highest story, now tried to find salvation on the lower ones. But they had
nowhere to go, except towards the certain death.
“Don’t know ‘bout you children, but I refuse
to spend my last moments in pain and suffering.” Chork said, stepping over the
edge of the platform.
At the same time, he plunged the dagger into
his chest. He was dead, long before his body fell into the lava, now completely
covering the ground. Kloin understood why shaman decided to go this way. But he
wasn’t ready to do the same. At least not yet. But soon, he knew, he’d have to
make the decision. The fire will spread to the floor he was on. The scalding
magma all around and underneath them, already created so much heat, the captain
felt as if he was a roast. Many other goblins begin following shaman’s example,
throwing themselves over the rails.
Helk Blul was within the reach of the lake,
when he heard the horrifying screams of several thousands desperate goblins,
coming from the adjacent cavern. And he knew almost immediately, there’s
nothing he could do for them at this point. Besides, he had to think about his
daughter. Curled up in her mother’s arms, there on the lakeshore, little Chold
was aghast by these frightful sounds of death that were surrounding them.
“What is going on?” Efaiz asked, trembling.
“An eruption.” Helk answered “Lava overflowed
every cave.”
“There’s no escape?”
“Perhaps we could…” the chieftain turned
around. “Come, it’s worth a try.”
As he grabbed his daughter, Helk rushed
following the shore, towards the other side of the cave. There, through the
small gap in the rocks, an underground river flew into the lake.
“Hang on tight.” chieftain said, after Chold
climbed onto his back.
Helk waited until she wrapped her arms around
his neck, before he begin swimming towards the hole. Efaiz followed him
immediately. The gap in the stone was standing several feet above the surface
of the water. Nimble goblin reached it in just a couple of jumps. Hole was a
bit smaller than he previously thought, but Helk was assured they could manage
to squeeze through it, all the way to the surface.
“Daddy, what is that?” Chold asked all of a
sudden, pointing at something behind Helk’s back.
Chieftain turned around, just in time, to see
a monstrous creature made out of stone and magma, walking inside the cave. In
an instant, Helk knew the eruption was not accidental.
“Quickly now! Run!” Helk screamed “Run, and
don’t look back!”
“But what about you?” Efaiz asked.
“I’ll be right behind you.” the chieftain
retorted.
He had to be sure the creature wouldn't follow
them. He thought of closing the passageway. To cave in the ceiling or walls.
But without any tools, he knew he had no chance of doing so. Those rocks, he
could manage to move by hand, were just too small to block the path. Helk stood
in front of the exit for several seconds, deciding what to do, careful not to
make any noise. But it was a few seconds far too long. Because, when he lifted
his head up, he realized that the monster was staring straight at him. A second
later, the fiery boulder was flying towards him. Chieftain had just enough time
to jump into the lake. Not a moment late, because the stone fell at the exact spot,
he was standing.
The passageway was completely buried. Just one
glance was enough for Helk to know, he had nowhere to go. But at least he was
consoled in fact, that Chold was on the other side of it, safe from this
creature. Another boulder splashed right beside the goblin. With the strong,
unvaried strokes, the chieftain swam towards the bank. He was only ten or
twenty yards away, when water around him became all bubbly. At first, he did
not know why, but as soon as the horrifying pain spread through his entire
body, he understood the lake was boiling. Mere seconds later, almost all of the
water disappeared, evaporating in the cloud of hot steam.
Helk thought to scream. To try and ease the
pain, by doing so. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out of it. Scalding
hot air, he inhaled, burned his cords and respiratory system. Chieftain
stumbled forward, he had just enough strength to make a few steps, before he
fell to his knees. In disbelief, he stared dully at his arms and legs. Sizeable
chunks of meat were falling off them, revealing the naked bones. Helk was
cooked, alive. He blinked once more, for the last time, before he fell onto the
ground, dead.
A few moments later, the chieftain was
completely covered with lava. Badzanogh needed only a couple of minutes to fill
this entire cave. He was satisfied with what he had done. He cleansed this cave
from these vermin, from these parasites. After that he proceeded on closing it,
so no one could ever return in here. One minute later, he was done, encasing this
entire complex in lava. Elemental wasn’t wasting any more time. He knew there
were still many more similar beings at the surface. And they all had a habit of
destroying this beautiful planet. His planet. And he couldn’t allow that to
continue. He had to remove them all.
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