Click here to start at beginning, or here to read the previous entry. Fair warning: we're coming close to the end, so don't start here if you want to avoid spoiling the story.
Although their was enough light to see by within the maze of cages, there was no mistaking the bright opening as anything but the outside. The warm light of the eternal dusk seemed to beckon as Harriet found herself actually having to jog to keep up with Vicky's steady pace.
Evan managed to avoid being drug through the intervening space, getting his feet under him soon after they started out. Eventually, he managed to wrestle out of Vicky's grasp, looking perturbed but otherwise unharmed.
"Any idea on what to expect on the other side?" Harriet asked him as they crossed the last few cages. Some of them were occupied, but no one came close to them as they strode through. In fact, most of them cowered in the corner. Whether it was from Vicky's powerful display earlier, or the tight set to her jaw as her walk engulfed the land, Harriet had no idea.
Evan shook his head. "I honestly have no idea. I'm guessing that something is going to be waiting for us, though."
"Why do you say that?"
Evan pointed over to his left, about sixty feet down from the hole they were approaching. "That's where the exit is." Harriet's eyes widened as she understood his implication. "I'm guessing displacing that much stone made a lot of noise."
There was a loud wrenching noise from behind as Vicky crossed the threshold into outside. The change in light as they approached the hole was affecting Harriet's vision, so she couldn't see clearly inside the cave, outside of Evan coming up behind her. She instead followed behind Vicky, hoping that Evan would think to watch the entrance, and stepped into the evening.
They found themselves on a wide plateau made from the same red clay they had been dealing with since they arrived, about a hundred feet from the edge of a cliff. On the other side of the cliff there was only sky, with wispy, still clouds glowing in deep colors in the distance. The sun hovered unnaturally, perfectly still within a perfect painting.
At the edge of the cliff, straight ahead from where they stood, hanging over with only the doorway on solid ground, was a ramshackle old building. Stained but unpainted, it looked almost more like a cabin than a typical bar. Neon lights made the open door glow in a plethora of unnatural colors, and smoke danced along to a tune that wasn't heard, playing its own melody with the strange lights as it issued from any opening it could find in the building, whether it was the front window or the tiny crack in the wall on the side.
Standing between them and the bar was an enormous line of goblins. They were a strange sight against the sky, all sharing colors with the horizon behind them, ranging from deep purples to burnt reds and subdued yellows. They way they seemed to blend in with the background almost made them appear to be apart of the sunset itself. Perhaps that is the point, Harriet thought quietly.
In the center, directly in front of the bar, stood the tallest of them: the gray goblin, their new nemesis. He still wielded his same broadsword, but it looked different now. It had its own fire, one to match the strange sun behind them, a reddish glow that caused strange shadows to crawl across his features, causing him to seem even more menacing than before.
Harriet looked back over her shoulder. Behind them was only a large rock wall, about forty feet high. And through the hole nearby strode Evan, a large section of a metal pole tightly gripped in both hands like a staff, explaining the strange noise Harriet had heard. Seeing the crowd of goblins, Harriet expected him to pale; instead, he set his jaw and tightened his already white-knuckle grip on the staff.
There was a loud bang. Harriet turned back around to see Vicky, standing only a few steps away, hands positioned palm-to-palm in front of her chest as if in prayer. The noise seemed to center on her, but not quite. It's the like the noise didn't come from her, but actually flowed to her.
Vicky opened her hands, and the air rippled. A wave spread out from her, toward the crowd of creatures. As the wave reached them, they tumbled, knocked onto their backs and each other, becoming a tangled mess of leather, metal and flesh. None of them seemed able to regain their feet, although a few managed to prop themselves up.
None except the giant. He did not budge at all as the wave passed by him. His sword seemed to glow a little brighter as he moved forward, striding defiantly towards Vicky. Vicky extended her palm towards him, and a shimmering ball rocketed towards the goblin, but it had little effect. He swept his blade at it as it approached, and it simply ceased to be. His strange, thin mouth curled upwards into a smile as raised the weapon above his head and broke into a run, and a growl escaped them as he leaped the last few feet and brought the weapon down.
Harriet couldn't move, couldn't react. She found herself frozen, barely able to process what was even happening.
What are you doing?
There was an enormous ringing sound that caused her to start. Evan had managed to place the steel staff between Vicky and the goblin. The weapon had cut through the steel, but not before Evan manged to deflect the blow away.
I went to school for this, to teach. What's it matter if it's college students or middle school?
The goblin showed his teeth, grinning widely at the newcomer that he was after to begin with. His sword seemed to flare as he twisted it, taking a swing aimed at Evan's neck. He barely managed to avoid it, shoving his iron pole upwards to force the blade over his head and dodging the hot piece of metal that fell from the staff as another piece was sheered off.
You're better than this, Harriet. You've been doing research for your entire life. You should be in the field! Not stuck in the classroom with children who don't even want to be there.
Blow after blow Evan managed to hold the towering goblin off. Vicky had fallen back, eyes wide at the spectacle before her. Evan was starting to lose ground; his long pole was now down to only a couple of feet, not even close to the size of the sword it was barely managing to parry.
This is about those tests, right? Who cares what the doctors say. You could still have children. You don't need to do this.
The pole couldn't hold up under the onslaught. With one last ring, it cracked lengthwise, falling apart in Evan's hands as he stumbled backwards from the blow. The goblin took one giant step towards Evan, pulling the sword back and preparing to skewer him.
I care.
Harriet's was in front of goblin before she had even realized she was moving. Her hand was out across her body as she faced the goblin, and she had grabbed the blade of the sword mid thrust, inches away from Evan's body. She held it, perfectly still, as the goblin tried to wrench it free, pulling and pushing with both arms. The sword hissed around her hands, smoke coming out from either side of her hand. The glow slowly started to leave the blade.
She looked calmly into the creature's eyes. It registered again that she was looking down at it, and it was unable to break her gaze as its eyes grew wide once again, this time in recognition.
"You will not harm these children."
She squeezed her hand. The sword contorted, bending beneath her grip before snapping in half. The goblin staggered as the pressure keeping him from moving suddenly stopped. Having been forced to break eye contact, he stepped back and looked around. Harriet took a moment to see where he was looking.
The others were standing around, watching. Some had finally managed to stand up; others remained propped up on elbows or sitting, but all had their eyes fixated on the two of them. None moved to engage, though; in fact, they seemed to be looking on with pity, as opposed to fear or excitement.
The goblin tried to use the distraction to take a shot at Harriet's blind side, swinging the remaining half of his sword. He misjudged. Harriet simply raised her hand once again, catching the blade by the edge. With her other arm, she swung a closed fist at the goblin's head.
The goblin's feet left the ground as Harriet's fist crushed bone beneath it. He was sprawled on his back, still conscious and holding his face. He scrambled back and up onto his feet. He was panting, still backing up but gaining no distance. Harriet was advancing on him, although she barely realized it.
"Walk away," she simply stated.
He growled once more and lunged at her, bare-handed, like a football player going for a tackle. Harriet side-stepped and grabbed his arm with both hands. She spun once in a circle, using his own weight for a counter-balance as she gained momentum, and threw him as hard as she could.
The goblin flew through the air, over the heads of the onlookers whose gazes followed his trajectory, before bouncing once at the edge before disappearing over the cliff. The rest of the goblins turned slowly back towards the humans.
Harriet took one look back over her shoulder at the two children. Evan was holding his shoulder, and Vicky had regained her composure. She swallowed hard and nodded. Harriet nodded as well and turn back towards the bar. She began walking towards the bar, the two younger people staying close behind.
The goblins made no move outside of a few of them stepping out of the way. Harriet strode up confidently past them; she had a hard time feeling angry towards the strange creatures, but she wasn't about to let them harm any of them, either.
As they got close, Evan and Vicky broke out into a run. They quickly outpaced Harriet, who was trying to meet gazes to make sure they weren't going to be jumped on the way. The two of them burst through the doorway, only to stop on the other side, still visible.
As Harriet passed by, the closest goblin nodded while holding her gaze. "You won't be attacked again, Hobgoblin," it said. "Nor will your friends." It nodded once more, releasing his gaze this time and turning to the other goblins. He said something she couldn't understand, and the others started to make their way towards the hole in the wall.
Confused but satisfied, Harriet watched them leave for a moment before turning back to the bar. She walked up behind the two children who were still standing just beyond the doorway. They both were looking at a man standing behind the bar. He was older, perhaps fifty or so, with slender features and long, pointed ears. He was cleaning mugs with a supernatural finesse, tossing them in the air and wiping them with a cloth as they spun. Harriet found herself staring for a while herself at the spectacle.
"Uncle Todd..." Evan said, breaking the silence.
The strange man stopped his juggling and looked up at the new comers. A smile made its way across his face. "Oh! Hello there, Evan."
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