Hyperion Evergrowing

Leif was shepherded towards the central district of the city. Goblins jeered in a wide ring surrounding him as he retreated away from their leader. They threw rocks and fragments of roof tiles, some even loosed arrows in his direction.

But his attention never wavered from the tall armoured goblin. Menace radiated from its form like waves repeatedly striking a beach. An aura darkened the ground as the goblin slowly advanced, the boiling shade seemed almost physical as it cloaked the figure and the ground at his feet. Just being in its presence made him feel inferior and vulnerable.

But what was more the monster had control of its aura, unlike the drakes or the many goblins Leif had fought this being felt like a qualitative improvement of all the rest. Would this creature have struggled against a pair of drakes? Would it have been prevented from climbing the mountains?

No. No, it wouldn’t. Leif could feel it deep down.

The dangerous lilt in the goblins' step and the intelligent gleam in his eye told Leif plenty about how outclassed he was. It were as if he had failed to scale a mountain only to find another standing right before him.

But the true tell, what really made him uncertain, he couldn’t detect the monster at all. No vitality, no emotions, no intent. It were as if his skills were totally useless in the face of the leader.

The leader whistled casually as he followed along. As Leif backed off he noticed the city begin to change. The most noticeable difference between the inner districts from the outer ones was the sheer amount of goblins.

They came in shapes and sizes Leif had never seen before. There were even several figures taller than the source of the taunting whistling. Though they couldn’t have been more different. These hulking green goblinoids where like a boulder had been given a face and four limbs and told to ‘Go get em.’

What was more Leif found where all the items from the outer districts had been taken. Several hoards of junk were piled up within streets and squares. Several groups of goblins seemed to be very invested in their pile of trash, Leif spotted several scuffles that he guessed were caused by a desire for ‘loot’.

A chunk of wall was thrown at Leif by a mean looking evolved goblin. It smacked into the side of Leif’s head and made him stumble.

“None of that.” The leader chided. “That’s no way to treat an honoured guest.”

The offending goblin snickered and scurried away. “My sincere apologies.” He said. “They don’t teach them manners so far from the Heartlands. If I hadn’t given them strict instructions they may have torn you to pieces before I could say hello.”

Leif wondered what the large goblin got out of talking so much. As he entered the large plaza with the colossal slate structure he guessed he would find out soon enough. He glanced over his shoulder at the towering statue, up close the sheer scale of the thing was intimidating. Its head lay several metres from its left foot, eyes gouged out.

Just like in the village. He realised. If only he had the luxury to take a closer look.

Something brushed up against him, it wasn’t physical, but instead as though his soul had been poked by a feather. A feeling of being weighed, of being judged and coming up lacking washed over him. Leif winced at the unpleasant sensation.

“Into the building if you would, straight down.” The leader said. From his tone Leif guessed it wasn’t a request. He hesitated then decided to not play along. Leif deliberately moved away from the structure's entrance.

The goblin leader shrugged. “Oh okay then.” He raised his palm and a wickedly long sword apparated out of shadow. To Leif’s alarm and confusion the weapon radiated a sinister violence.

[Court Empath] can perceive the blade but not the wielder? Why?

“You would prefer to take your chances? I can understand that. Got that Darkwood pride in you Blight? A deviant evolution and at level thirty, or thereabouts, surely you have some backbone in you?”

Level thirty? Leif wondered. He thinks I’m a higher level than I am. But why? And could I use this?

Leif edged slowly around the goblin. He just rested his blade on one shoulder and made no attempt to impede Leif’s progress. He had hundreds of seething and chittering minions to do that for him.

Though even the lesser goblins stayed back, not eager to interfere. Or maybethey want to watch what comes next. He thought grimly. They formed a large ring around the edges of the plaza.

Leif reached the edge of what seemed like a crater formed from a massive impact or explosion. The large goblin’s smile faded. Leif’s hackles raised.

“Don’t you know?” The goblin asked. Voice low and threatening. “You’re supposed to pay tribute to a king. Disobedience is quite rude.”

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The goblin vanished, leaving behind a wisp of darkness. Leif felt the faintest wisp of intent from behind him and so he spun. Too slow, an armoured boot caught him in the side and launched him bodily down into the crater. Dust exploded upward as he impacted the cracked ground.

How?-

A blow came from below as Leif scrambled up to his knees. Despite his weight he was sent flying. Leif’s vision blurred from the pain, the layer of bark that covered his body had been cracked much like the ground below.

He landed heavily, body going numb. [The Well Within] didn’t trigger its emergency recovery, so despite how bad his injuries felt it wasn’t life threatening. Not yet.

Two roots in a vague approximation of arms made of etherial gold burst from Leif’s back. They slammed into the ground and hauled him up. Leif stood on shaky legs and glared defiantly at the goblin. The king. What does that mean?

“Not too bad, Blight.” He complimented. “Though your kind are known for their durability… Let's have a little more fun and test it some more?”

Anticipating the goblin king's attack Leif projected a golden barrier around his body. A blade wreathed in shadow parted the shield like it were made of butter and pierced Leif through his back. He gasped as his breath wooshed out. Pain blackened his vision and panic stirred his fluttering mind.

But [The Well Within] didn’t trigger, or maybe it couldn’t. It felt as though his ability to use skills was going haywire. Leif fell forward and onto his knees. Golden limbs dispelled into light as his face met stone. Body convulsing.

“That's a better position.” The king mocked. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Blight quite so gold and shiny before. Maybe if you survive my little task I'll put your corpse in my vault?” His voice came again, this time from a different position.

“I should probably care what those old bastards in the Darkwoods would think, but, well…”

Did he teleport again or… Leif pushed out with his perception, searching desperately. There, two faint wisps of presence. One several metres in front, the second… A large hand grabbed him by the back of the head. Leif saw a shadowy mimic of the goblin holding him from his periphery.

Leif’s face met the ground with a sickening crack and far too much intimacy. “But I don’t. If they have a problem with little old me they’d come and say it to my face.”

He tried to rise but the overpowering strength of the goblin leader held him down with contemptuous ease.

“You.” Crack.

“Are.” Crack.

“Nothing!” Crunch!

The ground beneath him buckled. Then gave way.

Leif began to fall, the sudden drop made him slip from the king's grasp.

Shadowy hands reached for his falling body but to no avail. The darkness below swallowed him whole.

===

Szesis strode to the edge of the newly formed pit. He spat down into the hole at the same time he unspooled his perception. Telltale traces of the trial's mana were down there, far more saturated than those near the entrance. His shadowy clone likewise peered down.

Well, that's convenient. He thought. If I’d known there was another entrance I could have saved some time.

He knew better than to go down himself. But damn was it tempting. Humanity might be a stain on the underside of his boot but their ancients sure knew how to ward out incarnates. He could almost taste the myth buried deep below, power his kind hadn’t seen in generations.

Now he just had to hope the child of the Darkwoods would survive the fall. He couldn't get his prize otherwise, his first investment had disappeared on him after all.

That thought annoyed the incarnate being. But it wouldn’t be too much of an issue, with enough time he would get what he came for. I’ve already waited this long, what's a few more years. It’s like a holiday if I think about it from a certain perspective.

Szesis considered sending a thank you gift to the ants. Sure, they were traitorous scum who couldn’t be trusted but their willingness to clear out an entire city and just move on was commendable.

He turned to the confused gazes of his minions. “Shortcut!” He explained. They cheered like the loyal subjects they were. It was good to be king.

===

Leif’s consciousness fluttered as he came to, the familiar sensation of [The Well Within]s emergency restoration flooding him. What wasn’t great was the aching emptiness of his energy pool. He felt far, far too weak.

Leif tried to move but couldn’t. Shadowy tendrils slowly evaporated off of his prone form releasing him from their clutches.

That was unpleasant. He thought, air hissing from his mouth at a sudden spike of agony.

Good to remember I’m not immortal. Also, nice to know my hatred of goblins is justified. Leif grunted and rolled over onto his back. As his perception slowly came crawling back he noticed several things.

The first was that he lay in a pool of water, debris from above disturbing what had once been an inch deep pond carved into the stone floor below. He had landed two dozen metres off centre of a circular chamber that seemed to stretch off into darkness in every direction.

The room was lit by various sources around the pool, metallic statues akin to the one above on the surface, each in different heroic poses and holding different weapons. They all had glowing runes etched into their surfaces. Dim blue light washed through the chamber giving it an ethereal ambiance.

The final thing Leif noticed was that his right arm was missing. It lay, mangled, in a slowly expanding pool of golden sap. Dust and detritus rained down from above, light from the city barely filtering down through a narrow gap his fall had created.

This seriously sucks. But at least I’m not dead.