It had been two days since they set out for the Misty Hills. The walls of Silver Harbor had long since vanished over the horizon, replaced by rugged, rocky terrain. Mira led the way, leaping silently over the rocks with feline agility, guiding them forward. Liriel, as usual, watched the group's flanks, gliding like a shadow between the trees and boulders. Torin trudged along, grumbling, his newly acquired double-bladed battle axe resting on his shoulder. Kael walked beside Finis, puffing on his pipe.
Finis had written down everything he'd seen over the last two days in his journal. The changing landscape, the cooling weather, the local legends Mira told. It was all recorded. But a strange unease had settled within him. As if something was off. He sensed danger in the howl of the wind, the clatter among the rocks, the stillness in the air.
"Hold," Liriel said suddenly. Her hand went up, stopping everyone. Her pointed ears twitched slightly. "I hear something. Up ahead, at the canyon entrance."
Mira, crouched atop a boulder, narrowed her golden eyes. "I sense it too. There are many of them. And... they are hungry."
Torin gripped his axe with both hands. "Can you tell what they are?"
Liriel's face tightened. "Goblins. But not ordinary goblins. There's something bigger, more savage among them. And... a different smell. Rotting flesh and old blood."
Kael threw back his cloak and drew his sword. "Battle formation. Mira, stay with Finis. I'm not sure the boy can defend himself."
Finis flinched at Kael's words. Did he really look that helpless? But Kael was right. He had never been in a fight back on Earth, never even held a weapon. His fists had only ever clenched to balance loads while doing manual labor. And now he was facing goblins, and perhaps worse creatures.
When the first goblins emerged from the canyon mouth, Finis felt his stomach turn. These weren't the timid, small creatures he'd seen in the Serinwood. They were nearly five feet tall, muscular, hideous things. Their skin was dark green and brown, covered in boils and sores. Saliva dripped from their mouths, revealing sharp, yellow teeth. They carried rusty swords, chipped axes, and bone spears. And their eyes... Their eyes held not just hunger, but pure savagery, a lust for killing.
There were many. First ten, then twenty, then over thirty goblins began pouring from the canyon mouth. And from among them, something much larger, much more terrifying emerged.
A Hobgoblin.
Standing over seven feet tall, with thick, dark green hide, massive muscles, and holding a blood-crusted great axe, it was a living nightmare. A necklace of dried elf, human, and dwarf ears hung across its chest. Its own ears were riddled with holes from trophies taken from enemies. Its eyes gleamed with intelligence and cruelty.
"Gree! Gree! Fresh meat! Tender meat!" the hobgoblin roared, speaking broken Common Tongue. "We'll crack skulls! We'll gnaw bones! Gree!"
Torin was already swinging his axe. He cleaved the first three attacking goblins in two with a single spinning strike. Blood, mixed with a sickly green ichor, splattered everywhere. The head of one goblin separated from its shoulders and rolled to a stop at Finis's feet. Dark blood gushed from the severed neck, staining the ground. Finis stood frozen. It was the first time in his life he had seen a living thing killed so brutally.
Liriel had drawn her bow, picking off goblins one by one. Each arrow pierced a goblin's eye socket or tore through its throat. But their numbers were overwhelming; for every one that fell, two more took its place. Mira dove into the fray with her two short swords, dodging attacks with feline grace, slashing at goblin wrists, throats, and groins with every move. The battlefield was filled with screams, grunts, the sound of metal piercing flesh, and spurts of blood.
Kael pulled Finis by the arm. "Get back! You have no combat experience!"
But it was too late. In the moment Kael's attention was diverted, two goblins lunged at Finis. The first plunged its rusty sword into Finis's stomach. Pain exploded through his body. The blade tore through his flesh, and warm blood began to flow down his abdomen. Finis screamed and collapsed to his knees. As the goblin pulled the sword back to stab again, Finis's wound was already beginning to close.
The goblin stumbled back in shock. "Magic! It's got magic!"
The second goblin brought its axe down on Finis's shoulder. The blade bit deep, shattering his collarbone. Finis's arm went numb, blood spraying out. But within seconds, the bone cracked and knitted back together, the flesh wove itself anew, the skin sealed shut. The pain was excruciating, but his body continued to heal.
"It won't die! It won't die!" the goblins shrieked in panic.
As Finis scrambled on the ground, his hand brushed against the rusty dagger dropped by a dead goblin. He grabbed it instinctively. Just then, a third goblin leaped on top of him, trying to sink its teeth into his throat. Finis drove the dagger into the goblin's stomach. He felt the blade pierce skin, tear through muscle, and sink into internal organs. The goblin's hot, foul-smelling blood flooded over his face, into his mouth. The creature convulsed, let out a shrill cry, and then lay still.
Finis shoved it off. His hands were shaking. He had killed a living thing. Yes, it was a goblin, a monster, but it was still alive. And he had killed it.
But there was no time to dwell. The hobgoblin had knocked Torin to the ground with a single punch and was now advancing on Liriel. It swung its massive axe; Liriel barely dodged. The axe felled a tree as thick as a man's waist in a single blow.
"You little elf rat! I'll make a cup from your skull!" the hobgoblin bellowed.
Mira attacked from behind, plunging her swords into the hobgoblin's back. But the creature's hide was so thick the blades sank in only an inch or two. The hobgoblin roared in pain and hurled Mira off. The cat-woman slammed into the rocks and crumpled to the ground.
Finis stood up. His body was still healing, wracked with pain, but he was on his feet. He looked at the hobgoblin. The giant creature had now turned on Kael, cornering him. Kael's sword was lodged in the hobgoblin's arm, but the beast paid it no mind.
"Kael!" Finis yelled.
And in that moment, something rose from deep within him. An energy, similar to what he had felt when touching the obelisk, but this time much more intense, much more savage. His body grew hot, his hands began to tremble. A pale blue light flickered in his palms. This light was different from the healing energy that mended his wounds. It was colder, sharper, more... lethal.
The hobgoblin turned towards Finis. "You... What are you?"
Finis thrust his hands forward. The blue light shot from his palms and slammed into the hobgoblin's chest. The creature roared in agony. The light burned its skin, searing its flesh. But it didn't kill. The hobgoblin recoiled, writhing in pain.
"Retreat! Retreat!" it screamed at its goblins. "There's a mage! A white mage!"
The goblin horde followed their leader, fleeing into the depths of the canyon. The battlefield was left with only corpses, pools of blood, and a few severely wounded goblins.
Finis sank to his knees. The blue light in his hands had faded. His entire body trembled. He didn't understand what he had just done. What was that light? How had he done it?
Mira straightened up from among the rocks. Her arm was bleeding, but she didn't seem seriously hurt. "What in the... What was that?"
Torin stood up, clutching his head. Blood trickled from his forehead. "That hobgoblin's punch is heavy even for a dwarf skull. But you... Did you just do magic?"
Finis shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know! I just... saw Kael in danger and... something happened."
Liriel crouched beside Finis. "Your wounds... They're all closed. The blood on you is already dry. This is incredible."
Kael approached, cleaning his sword. His face was grim. "That light... It wasn't healing magic. It was an attack spell. And a very powerful one. The hobgoblin's hide is the kind that barely yields to ordinary weapons. But your light burned it."
Finis looked at his blood-covered hands. He couldn't tell whose blood it was—his own or the goblins'. "I... I killed someone. The goblins. With the dagger."
Mira shrugged. "They were trying to kill you. It was them or you. That's the rule in this world."
"It wasn't the rule in my world," Finis said quietly.
Before leaving the battlefield, they had to decide what to do with the wounded goblins. Two were still alive, groaning in pain. One had been unable to flee because Liriel's arrow had pierced its leg. The other lay with its stomach split open by Torin's axe, its entrails spilling out.
"Let's kill them," Torin said, raising his axe. "Put them out of their misery."
"No," Finis said. "Wait."
He knelt beside the wounded goblin. The creature looked at him with terror. "Don't kill! Don't kill, white mage!"
Finis moved his hands close to the goblin's wound. He willed healing into it. A soft, warm, golden light emanated from his palms. The light touched the wound, and it began to slowly close. The goblin's intestines retracted, the abdominal wall knitted together, the skin sealed. Within seconds, the goblin was completely healed.
Everyone watched in astonishment. The goblin touched its stomach in disbelief. "Healed... I'm healed!"
Finis healed the other goblin as well. Then he stood up. "Go," he said. "Tell your leader. The white mage spared you. But if you cross our path again, I will show no such mercy."
The goblins scrambled away, filled with fear and confusion.
Torin stared at Finis in amazement. "Why did you heal them? They were trying to kill you just moments ago!"
"Because they are living beings too," Finis said. "And I... I wasn't made for killing. I was made for healing."
Kael placed a hand on Finis's shoulder. "Not everyone in this world is as merciful as you, lad. But perhaps that's exactly what makes you special."
That night, they made camp far from the canyon entrance, in a safer rocky area. Finis sat by the fire, writing about the battle in his journal. The savagery of the goblins, the horror of the hobgoblin, his own wounds healing, the taste of the goblin's blood he had killed, the blue and golden light from his hands... He recorded everything in the finest detail.
His hands were still shaking as he wrote. But writing helped. The words helped him make sense of the horror he had lived through.
"What are you writing?" Mira asked, sitting down beside him.
"Everything. What happened today. Perhaps one day, someone reading these lines will understand what I felt."
Mira looked into the fire. "You are a strange being, Finis Ferrum. You are immortal, you heal, you cast magic, but your greatest weapon is your words. There is no one like you in this world."
Finis closed his journal. "How much longer until we reach the Misty Hills?"
"We'll be there by noon tomorrow. But let me tell you now, what we faced today is nothing compared to what awaits us there. The Whispering Stones... that place is cursed. And Albaris's secrets are not easily revealed."
Finis looked up at the stars. In the strange twin-light sky of Eterra, the stars shone as they always did. But tonight, something was different. Amidst the stars, a shape seemed to have appeared. The silhouette of a white city.
"Albaris," he whispered. "It's waiting for us."
They set out at first light. The Misty Hills were covered in a thick blanket of fog, true to their name. The mist not only obscured sight but muffled sounds and destroyed any sense of direction. Mira tried to navigate using her feline senses.
And from within the mist, whispers began to emerge. Faint at first, then growing louder, voices whispering in an incomprehensible tongue. It was as if the voices spoke directly into their minds.
"The Whispering Stones," Mira said. "Here we are. The entrance to the ruins should be over there."
The mist parted for a moment, revealing a massive structure ahead, built from moss-covered, cracked stones. It looked like a temple or a tomb. At its entrance, just like the obelisk in the Serinwood, there were relief carvings and inscriptions.
Finis clutched his journal tightly. As they stepped inside, the whispers stopped. They were replaced by a deep, humming silence. And from out of the darkness, white, glowing eyes began to watch them.
"Welcome," spoke a voice, ancient and echoing. "The Last Seed of Albaris. We have been waiting for you."