[rework] Minglings - chapter 40: Gobtown smackdown

Whipper nervously fiddled with his rolled-up namesake. Spittle splattered across his nervous green face, and he desired nothing more than to put his fingers in his ears.

"This will be your last chance, you piece of garbage! If you weren't my nephew, I would have fed you to those crocodiles!" Peltmans shouted, towering over the smaller Goblin.

"First, you lose a slave in the middle of the night, then one gets killed, and now you have lost three? Three! How do you just lose three Kobolds!"

The bare-chested Orc's muscles quivered, and he raised a massive hand towards Whipper. His eyes narrowed when the Goblin cowered down.

"I am sorry un- commander, boss! They are in cahoots, all of them. They're trying to make me look ba-" A massive green foot interrupted Whipper, kicking him across the wooden floor. He collided against the wall next to the door. With a groan, he pushed himself up and shook his head.

Peltmans strode forward, resisting the urge to throttle the other until he was dead. Why did it have to be this ant and not the brother that showed up from the jungle? He needed good help with those insects and that Fiend moving around behind his back and thinking he didn't know.

Running footsteps came from outside, and he stopped and stepped back from the little idiot. The door slammed open without a knock, and Peltmans cursed. Heins, another Orc, and his second-in-command rushed inside. With him came muted shouting and screams of fear.

"Boss, we've got trouble! You better come quick!" Heins didn't wait for a reply but turned around and ran back out.

"Now what..." Peltmans growled. "You stay put! I'll deal with you when I get back!"

He ran outside, and as soon as he placed his feet on solid ground, he felt a tremor. Groups of Goblins ran between the houses, away from the wall, and towards the partially finished dock.

Heins was running to the wall, and Peltmans followed him. Before he got there, an earth-shattering roar caused his hackles to rise. Climbing up the wooden palisade, he found the Orc guards clustered together and staring into the distance.

"What the hell is going on?" he roared and pushed the smaller Orc's to the side to get a better view. Nobody responded, and they didn't have to. An enormous monstrosity with far too many eyes was barreling toward them from the swamp. A tiny spec, almost like a fly, struggled to keep its distance as it flew ahead of it.

"Is that a Dragon?" Peltmans asked.

"No, Boss, it's one of those three-eyed crocodiles!" one of the Orc's said in a drawling voice.

Peltmans cuffed him and pointed at the spec. "I know that, you retard! I mean the thing flying in front of it!"

"Boss, let's get out of here! If that monster gets here, we're dead meat!" Heins was staring wide-eyed at the approaching doom.

"Damnit! After all my hard work, we're supposed to... GRAH!" Peltmans shoved the Orcs towards the stairs. Two didn't react in time and plummeted down. The cracks of broken bones echoed back up, but Peltmans didn't care.

"Fine! But first, we are going to get rid of those pests. I'll be damned if we get more of those flying lizards roaming about!" Peltmans scrambled down, screaming at the others to follow him.

"Go to the slave huts and slaughter them! And someone, find me that insect!" Peltmans roared.

The Orcs scattered, and within moments Peltmans was alone.

The tremors increased in power while the roaring got closer.

"Fuck. Those stupid Kobolds... I should have hunted down and killed them all when I found them!"

"We told you that months ago," a soft, hissing voice came from behind him.

Peltmans swirled around. "Where have you been hiding? You said you would take care of that Dragon, so what the hell is that?" he spat at the Insectoid.

It resembled a giant praying mantis with slightly humanoid arms. Four legs held its slender body up, and two transparent wings lay folded on its back. Any resemblance to the human it had once been was gone, and if it hadn't been able to speak English, Peltman's would have thought it was an indigenous monster.

"If you had listened to us and attacked the Kobolds on the island, this wouldn't have happened," the Insectoid stated as it unfurled its wings.

Peltmans stalked forward, clenching his fists. "I should have eaten you! What use are you if you can't get rid of those overgrown lizards!"

The Insectoid hopped in the air, hovering two meters above the ground. "Without us, you would have starved!"

"Shut up! Go and stop that flying lizard! Perhaps if that monster grabs the Dragon, it will go back to its stinky cesspit!" Peltmans glared at the Insectoid.

"Only if you agree to our demands!"

Screaming in the air, Peltmans appeared ready to tear the Insectoid apart but managed to hold back. "Fine! We will help you with that Kobold camp and get you your stupid hive or nest back! Now go do something!"

The Insectoid's wings buzzed louder as it shot into the air and across the wall.

"Stupid bug," Peltmnas growled before running towards one of the barracks holding Kobold slaves.

--

Muscle cramping and breathing ragged, Jake knew he couldn't keep his current speed up much longer. The Noshrile hadn't slowed down even a little, and he wondered if Dragons were some kind of delicacy to the thing.

A green-grey blur wooshed passed his face, and he felt something nick his left wing. He flapped mechanically, but the wing reacted oddly, and his forward movement turned into a left roll.

His heart skipped a beat, and his gaze snapped to the wing. A long green stinger was lodged between two of his wing joints, preventing it from normal movement.

With no time, and the Noshrile now so close he expected it to grab him any moment, Jake furled his wings and reached for the stinger. Angling down into a crash, he felt the thin thing between his clawed fingers. It was plunged in deep, and the furled wings made it hard to grip. Less than ten meters above the ground, he finally yanked it out.

Unfurling his wings again, he saw a row of giant, glistening teeth above and below him. Images of being eaten alive flashed before his eyes as he banked left as hard as he could. The Noshrile's jaws closed with a thunderous snap behind him, and he felt something scrape along his side.

Ignoring the sudden flash of pain from his ribs he shot up and over the jungle, leaving the logged path behind. All he could think off now was getting away alive.

Looking back, he saw the Noshrile had overshot, and its head was now slowly turning towards him. Then it scrambled forward again, its thick paws clawing at the ground and uprooting bushes and saplings as it crashed through the jungle as if it wasn't there.

Shit, what was that? Jake thought as he looked around.

Seeing nothing, he angled back towards Gobtown. This time he kept glancing around for what had attacked him. Even then, he almost missed the small blur as it rushed up from the jungle below.

Insectoid!

Rolling on his back, he bit at the horrible thing as it aimed another stinger at his wings, getting his first look at his assailant.

The mantis-like monster moved like lightning, dodged his jaws, and stabbed at his eye. The point slid from the protective lid and lodged into Jake's eyelid. Before he could react, the Insectoid was gone again, whirring back to the cover of the jungle.

Shit, just what I needed!

As he gauged the distance to the town, he knew it would be close. It had been difficult before, but now that he had to deal with a flying Insectoid? The allure of just flying high enough to get out of reach grew.

A branch the size of his tail flew across his head, some of the leaves tickling his back. With a shout, he dropped closer to the jungle and looked behind him. The Noshrile was barrelling through the dense vegetation, ramming through smaller trees and causing them to disintegrate, pieces flying everywhere.

It wasn't as close as before, and Jake's fear dropped, replaced by worry that the Noshrile would give up soon. Slowing his speed, he angled to the right until he flew over the logged area. A few seconds later, the Noshrile barged out into the open, leaving a gaping hole of splintered wood behind.

Jake was tired, and he had to pay attention to three things at the same time, making it harder to focus. This meant he didn't see where the Insectoid came from when it jabbed a stinger at his wing. It missed the joint, perforating through a thin piece of his wing's membrane. He grabbed for it with his hind legs but missed. The thing was slippery as an eel.

It was also too late, he thought with a grin. They shot out from between the logged path and into the large open area bordering the town. Rising higher, Jake saw hundreds of Goblins fleeing from the back exits along the beach.

Something collided with him, crushing his wing against his body. Shocked, he bit at it, almost spearing himself on a stinger shoved at his face. The Insectoid was using its much smaller body, holding his wing while they plummeted down.

A roar from behind showed the Noshrile had reached the open area. Jake knew that if he crashed, he would die, and he struggled with the much smaller assailant, ripping his wing free. It was fast but far too weak. He snapped at the Insectoid, anticipating the raised stinger and dodging around it with his flexible neck. Biting into the shoulder of the Insectoid, he ripped it from his body and flew forward. The Insectoid kept struggling, but Jake ground his jaws harder, mangling the flimsy wings. A shadow crossed above him, and he banked left, tossing the Insectoid behind with a quick jerk of his head.

With the sound of two colliding cars, the Noshrile's jaws clamped together, cutting short the Insectoid's scream.

Jake crossed the remaining distance and shot across the wooden palisade. With no more reason to risk himself, he painfully flapped his wings, quickly gaining altitude. He turned mid-air, staring down at the giant monster splintering the wooden barrier and barreling into town.

I hope the others succeeded and managed to clear out, he thought, wondering for a moment how much longer he could stay in the air.

Below him, the Noshrile tore through the town. Seeing the cabins and buildings crumble felt good. It wouldn't bring Emma back, but perhaps if he laid waste to what those Goblins had forced her to build it would make him feel better.

Goblins that had hidden in huts and cabins screamed as they tried to flee, distracting the Noshrile. No longer interested in Jake, it moved like a blur, snapping them up and swallowing them whole.

Jake circled above the town for a while, looking at the monster and searching for a sign of the Kobolds. There was none, and he could only hope they got away before the monster hit. With a final look, he turned away, flying up as high as he could before turning back to the small island.

The flight back took far longer than Jake expected. The sunrise was reflected in the sparkling water around the island when he finally returned. Angling down, he was worried. Had the others gotten out in time? Did they manage to save the captured Kobolds? Barely capable of flapping another wing, he knew there wasn't anything he could do about it now. He needed to eat and sleep for a week. From this high, he saw a school of fish arriving from upriver like a shadowy cloud.

The others won't be back for half a day, he thought as he slowly glided towards the surface. He furled his painful wings when he felt the cool water on his paws splashing in the water. The rush of energy alleviated some of the soreness in his muscles like a hot bath. Happy at the prospect of keeping his wings folded for a while, he swam forward.

Silvery grey fish, the size of his tail, swam close to the muddy bottom. The rumble of his stomach reverberated through the water, and they shot away.

Shit! He propelled himself forward, more hungry than tired.

Ten minutes later, he had caught three of them, eating them in a few bites. Partially satiated but too tired to continue, he slowly swam to the surface. Crawling out, he stared into the face of a startled Kobold.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he muttered, wondering who the hell this was. He didn't know everyone, but they all knew his name. Not something he thought he'd ever get annoyed by.

"Yeah, well. I wasn't scared!" the Kobold stuttered, probably not believing his own words. He was one of the few yellow Kobolds Jake had seen, slim and lightly built.

With a nod, Jake was about to climb up when he thought of something. "Listen, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure... yeah, I can do that!" With forced bravado, the Kobold raised his head and puffed out his chest.

What the hell is up with this guy? Jake shook his head and forced a smile.

"Mellisa and Tergin should be back in a few hours. I need to rest, but tell them to find me right away!"

The Kobold's shoulders slumped, but his head bobbed up and down like a piston. "Ok, sir. I will wait for them until they get back!"

Jake grunted, internally shivering at the other's slimy tone.

Sir? Mason will laugh his ass off.

With a surge of energy born from a desire to get away from the Kobold, he climbed up the tree. Reaching the top, he wrapped himself around the tree, his torso resting on a branch. He fell asleep before his eyelids fully closed.

--

"Why should we go with you?"

Melissa groaned. Was this guy an idiot? They'd just freed him and saved his life. She glared at the burly Kobold. He was fidgeting with a stick, and she noticed he was missing fingers from the right one.

"Daniel, right? You don't have to come with us at all!" she said before looking around at the slightly more than two hundred Kobolds around her. Most were malnourished and covered in bruises and blood.

They were at the border of the jungle, still standing in the logged area, and time was running out. The monster was crushing Gobtown while Jake hovered above. Seeing him brought a smile to her face. She shook her head. No time for that now. Most Goblins had fled, but some of them were on the other side of the logged area. Distant figures, they wouldn't stay so for long. She needed to get the Kobolds out of here before the Goblins decided to recapture them!

Tergin and two dozen other Kobolds from the island were standing halfway in the jungle, ready to return.

"None of you have to come with us. But we are creating a safe place for Kobolds, away from the Goblins," she said.

There was no immediate response, and she shook her head in disgust. She had expected them to jump at the chance to come with her. Many did want to come, though reluctantly, but a few seemed against it, and she couldn't figure out why.

Daniel frowned, shaking his head in disgust. "No need to get all prickly. The last time we went with another Kobold, she changed into some grey-skinned monster that handed us over to the Goblins."

Melissa shivered as she realized what was going on. "A fiend! Did he tell you his name?"

"A he? It was a she! Are you telling me there are more of those things around?"

A warning shout came from the forest, and Melissa turned around. Tergin pointed at the other side of the logged area, at a host of Goblins running their way.

"Shit. Listen, we've had a run-in with a Fiend, but there's no time left to explain. Either follow us or stay here. Your choice!" Melissa turned around and motioned to the others.

"Let's go! We need to get back to the rendezvous point," she said.

She prayed everyone would follow. They needed more people if they were going to defend themselves against the Goblins, Insectoids, and Fiends.

Her prayers seemed to be answered, as everyone ended up following them back to the edge of the bog. Away from the immediate danger, she and Tergin were standing together with the others.

"Everyone takes a group with them. Make sure you keep an eye on them and take the fastest way back to base. Do you all remember the route?"

Two dozen heads nodded, and she sighed in relief. Turning to the huddled-together group of Kobolds, she felt awkward. She wasn't used to being in charge, and she wished Jake had let someone else do it.

"Everyone, we will split up into groups of eight or nine. Every group will have a guide if you have friends or family hold hands, so we know who to keep together."

"Wha- Why would we split up? That will leave us more vulnerable!" Daniel stepped back, gripping the stick he was still carrying. It cracked dangerously, splinters sticking out.

Melissa took a few deep breaths. She wanted nothing more than to get back and not have to explain everything all the time.

"No! It's safer this way. You know how dangerous it is in the jungle. A large group will draw too much attention," she said, trying to keep her voice calm.

Seeing him open his mouth, she made a cutting gesture. "Enough! If you don't want to come, or don't agree, just stay here. We don't have time for this." She turned to the scouts.

"Get a group and head out!" Last minute, she recalled something Jake had asked, another weight on her shoulders. "Remember to keep an eye out for Jake's little lizard siblings." They nodded in response, but from their looks, she knew they had as little hope as her.

It didn't take as long as she feared for groups to form. After ten minutes, she watched the final group disappear into the jungle.

Turning to the nine Kobolds that remained, she scowled when she saw Daniel.

Of course, he has to be in my group.

She motioned for them to follow her and headed toward the nearest tree.

"Let's go! I hope all of you can climb."

--

"This is all your fault!" Screaming in rage, Peltmans continued kicking the silent form on the ground. Transparent wings and green limbs lay scattered around the white sand while thick green blood clung to the furious Orc's hands.

A soft voice interrupted his rant.

"Boss, we've found most of the women. Snake-eyes got them to safety before that monster arrived." Another Orc, slightly smaller and with darker skin, stood further down the beach.

Peltmans stared at the Orc that didn't look back but was staring at its shuffling feet.

"Damnit! Are you an Orc or a baby? And you dare call yourself Orcslayer? Look me in the eye when you speak to me!" Stomping forward, he felt his anger surge higher when the other one backed up.

"Did you find Whipper?"

"No, Boss. Nobody saw him get out of the town."

Peltmans struck him across the jaw, knocking him to the ground. "Useless! All of you! Go to the others and search the jungle. Find the Goblins before they get eaten."

Anthony the Orcslayer scowled before looking up and nodding. "Yes!" He scrambled up and ran away when something hit him in the back.

"That's, yes Boss, you spineless coward!"

"Yes, Boss!" Anthony the Orcslayer snarled without stopping.

Peltmans growled deep in his throat as he watched the other Orc runoff.

"I should kill him," he muttered.

Turning to the ruins of his master plan, he saw the giant crocodile monster stomp off in the distance.

"Finally, it leaves! Now, where is that idiot nephew of mine," he growled, ignoring the Insectoid remains.

--

Whipper shivered as he huddled in the corner of a ruined wooden shack. The roaring and screaming had stopped a while ago, but he was too afraid to go out. The air through the cracks was going dark and cloudy, and the wind was slowly picking up.

A breeze entered the shack, carrying the scent of fresh blood. It was tinged with something that caused him to stop shivering. He sniffed, and his eyes widened. Drool dripped from his mouth, and all the fear left him in one fell swoop.

Something about that blood, the smell, made him want to rush forward. It smelled of power, and a deeply buried instinct triggered, overriding his own desires. Climbing out of the shack, across the rubble of wood and stone, he followed his nose.

He barely noticed the destruction around him or the crushed bodies. Climbing forward, he scrambled across the ruins of a series of cabins swept together by a monstrous force.

He was close now, so close! As he sniffed, the rotten, putrid smell of a sewer mixed with the blood. How had he not noticed it before? No matter! Jumping across a tangle of beams, he landed in a warm sticky goo.

"Ah, shit," he hissed, then gagged, almost throwing up.

He stood knee-deep in an enormous pile of partially liquified crap. It was warm, still steaming in places, and this close, he barely smelled the blood. But the knowledge it was there tugged at him, forcing him to continue.

Whipper shoved his disgust down and trudged through the shit. He told himself it was just hot mud as he tried to find what was drawing him. Three steps in he vomited out everything in his stomach. But still, he continued. The shit rose to his belly when he bumped into something. The smell of blood was strong, and he saw a film of golden-red liquid atop the brown-green mush.

Without thinking, he jabbed his hand down, rutting around until his fingers thudded against something. Dragging it out was accompanied by a sucking sound, but when he finished, he looked wide-eyed at a piece of a limb. It was bloody and raw, with more golden-red blood dripping out of it. The size of his arm, there was a patch of deep red scales on one side. Just looking at it made him want to run and hide with his price.

He looked around. He was all alone in the rubble, the heavy thudding of the leaving behemoth his only company. His mouth widened in an ugly grin. Without another thought about the consequences, he bit into the meat, ignoring the warmth and slime.

The meat was soft and putrid, and when he managed to swallow it down, he felt like he'd knocked back a glass of liquor. Coughing, he almost vomited, then froze. His instincts kicked into overdrive, telling him to eat it all lest someone steal it! With large bites, he began eating the meat, ignoring the pain as his belly bulged out and heated up. The dimly lit surroundings blacked out, and he couldn't see. It was as if someone had turned off the light.

"Wuh," he croaked, suddenly terrified. He raised his hands to his head, but before they got there, he slumped. Without a sound, his body disappeared below the thick layer of shit.