The Phoenix Ring(20)

Timothy seemed to struggle to understand for a moment.

"Uh, yes, I'm sure. I …  looked it up in the book."

Aidan bit his lip but dropped the subject. It didn't matter, as soon as  Grogg got finished going through Timothy's food they would leave, and  probably never see the creature again.

It was only after Aidan had packed his hammock that he realized his friend had no intentions of leaving the "gnome."

Grogg had found the magic compartment of Timothy's backpack and snuggled up there.

"Why is he in your pack?" Aidan asked.

"Oh, Grogg is coming with us," Timothy answered. "That's alright, isn't  it? You know gnomes are good luck." Then he turned and walked towards  his pack before Aidan had time to answer.

In the end Aidan decided it would be best to ignore the creature. It  seemed to be very quiet, and only ate the dried meat, which Aidan could  have done without anyways.

It wasn't until that night that Aidan realized how dangerous the creature was.





Aidan and Timothy fell into their hammocks that night, while Grogg  disappeared into the woods. Aidan had given up counting the miles, he  knew that he was pushing himself and his friend to their limits already.

Thankfully, the land had continued to slope downwards the entire day, so  Aidan had managed to keep a little energy stored somewhere in his body.

As soon as Timothy started snoring Aidan reached into his pack and pulled out his book.

It was a general guide to anything and everything magic, including the  spell that made the book look far shorter than it actually was. Aidan's  and Timothy's books had both been magically copied from the same source,  so they were completely identical.

There was a section towards the back labeled "Creatures," within which  were several subsections. Aidan found what he was looking for under  "Humanoids."

The only humanoid races native to Sortiledge were humans, elves, and  dwarves, but several other races had found their way to the continent  during and before the Great Wars.                       
       
           



       

The book claimed that gnomes had traits of all three of the "Higher  Races." They were said to be as united as dwarves, as reclusive as  elves, and were even able to perform magic as well as some warlocks.

They matched the description of Grogg in one way. They were only about  two feet tall. Other than that, they seemed to be completely different.  They were very reclusive and would run away from any creature that was  not another gnome. The groups that gnomes lived in were extremely tight  knit, and could consist of anywhere from five to a hundred individuals.

If a gnome was somehow isolated from his group, he would go find another, which would accept him as their own.

There was only one drawing of a gnome, and the moment Aidan saw it he  knew that it did not resemble Grogg at all. The gnome had a full brown  beard, a little potbelly, and a human-like face, whereas the creature  that Aidan was beginning to hate had small white hairs on his head,  looked as thin as a stick, and had a face that looked like a lizard more  than anything else.

Aidan sighed. Grogg was definitely not a gnome.

So why did Timothy lie to me?

He idly turned the page, feeling hurt and confused.

The creature on the next page had far more written about it than the gnome, due to its infamous reputation.

A goblin.

Aidan's focus snapped onto the drawing. It was the same creature as  Grogg, Aidan was sure. It had a long tail, lizard-like teeth and four  fingers.

The young mage began to read the description:



Goblins, thought to be the result of some magical experiments between  humans and reptiles, are some of the most dangerous creatures that have  ever migrated to Sortiledge. In the Nefarious Lands, goblins live in  huge groups, coexisting with orcs in the same way as an ant colony. They  tunnel under the earth and collect food, while their much larger  cousins (orcs) defend the entire structure from any threats.

Unlike an ant colony, when an individual goblin gets separated from its  group they can live fairly independently from any of its species. All of  the goblins ever spotted in Sortiledge are loners, which actually make  them more dangerous to individual humans.

Goblins, while swift and fairly strong for a creature of their stature,  are relatively defenseless when they are alone. That is why they use a  type of magic commonly found in illegal love potions to make humans be  "attracted" to them. The victim will feel a strong need to protect and  trust the goblin, and will make rash decisions on the creature's behalf.  It is very dangerous to try and break this bond, as a goblin can turn  his victim against you with a few words. The best way to deal with a  person who has been affected by this type of magic is to make the goblin  break the bond. While this may emotionally hurt the human, they will  not blame you for whatever happens.

Never tell a person that is being victimized by a goblin that he/she is  under possession. This will most likely cause the person extreme pain  and anger, after which they will probably attack you.





Aidan stopped reading and looked up into the woods, where he thought he had heard a rustling noise.

Grogg.

The goblin had loped out of the trees, chewing on something, and was  slowly making his way towards Timothy's pack in the moonlight.

Aidan leapt out of his hammock and grabbed his obsidian staff. He  started to think of spells, but in the end just pressed the button on  his staff, releasing the six inch steel blade.

Some things are better done the good old way.

He met Grogg in the middle of the clearing and held the staff a few inches from the creature's throat.

"I know what you are, goblin," Aidan said, "and I know what you're doing  to my friend. Now give me one good reason why I shouldn't incinerate  you on the spot."

For a moment the creature stared, shocked, at the mage, before Aidan  pushed the blade against the side of its neck, causing it to flinch.

He faintly remembered learning that most magical creatures don't like steel or iron.

Finally, Grogg smiled and looked up at Aidan, who could feel the anger rising past the safe zone.

"You can't kill me," it said, in a voice that sounded like some sort of  cross between a hiss and an old man, "because I have already possessed  your friend. The moment you touch me, my pet will try to kill you. And  you don't want that."

It took all Aidan had to keep from thrusting his staff into the monster.

"I could make it seem like an accident. He would never know I did it."

The creature actually laughed.

"Yes, but then he would go insane. You would be left with a raving  lunatic, bound to a dead goblin. Do you know how many times sorcerers  have tried necromancy and failed?"





Aidan was beginning to feel very powerless.

"I'll make a deal with you," Grogg said, "If you leave me alone and let  me have my way, then eventually I'll break the bond with your friend.  But if you do anything to endanger me, then I will make my pet hate you  so much that he will kill you or die trying."                       
       
           



       

Aidan was speechless.

"Oh, hey Grogg. Is everything alright?" Timothy was sitting up in his hammock, awakened by the noise.

The tiny beast looked up at Aidan. "Deal?" it whispered.

Aidan could think of no way out, and he was so angry that if he didn't stop talking soon he would roast the pest.

"Deal."

"Everything is fine, master," The goblin called, running to Timothy's pack.

Aidan finally fell into his hammock, but he barely slept at all. He was  too worried about getting his throat slit in the middle of the night.





The next day was a struggle for Aidan just to stay awake. They no longer  saw pines in the forest and were now entering woods where the leaves  were already turning red, yellow, and brown.

He had Timothy stop early to set up camp at the first nice looking clearing he saw.

This turned out not to be such a good idea, as there was a small pond  roughly twenty feet from the hammocks that was attracting mosquitoes by  the thousands. Aidan woke scratching dozens of bites.

It was on that day that Aidan realized they were being followed.

There were subtle signs, a rustle behind him or a snapping twig. If  Aidan had not practically lived in the woods his whole life he would  think he was imagining things. As it was he knew that they were being  tracked, but by whom or what he did not know.

He did know that sleeping in the open would be a bad idea, and so he pushed himself and Timothy as hard as he could.

It was towards the evening, right as the sun was starting to go down,  that Aidan noticed the road change under his feet. Whereas before it had  been overgrown cobbles, it was now made of some sort of gravel. It was  not long after that Aidan started to see symbols carved into the trees.