2.11 - Gutter's Cave

Anneleigh gathered her few belongings and set out north towards the goblin encampment Professor Drift described.  As she crossed into the goblin’s area, it was clear why no other soldier had succeeded.  All around her, goblins were using a combination of spell craft and blunt weapons to both slay and restrain those residents of Silverwood and Quicksilver College who had unknowingly crossed their path.  Many were still alive.  Anneleigh attempted to free them, but her strength was not sufficient to break the spell holding them to the pillars. 

As she walked, she realize the goblins had no standard for choosing their victims; an old man, frail body hardly able to stand, the magical bonds holding his limp frame; a young girl, no more than a child, weeping for her mother; many soldiers, many students;  All trapped and beyond her reach.

Anneleigh approached the small girl.

“I will bring help for you.  Be strong and remember that.  I will bring someone to free all of you.”

The young girl attempted a smile, but it faltered after a few seconds.  “I’m scared.”  She cried in a whisper.

Then her eyes grew wide and her pupils dilated.  She looked beyond Anneleigh to something that frightened her.  Anneleigh turned.  Behind her, not more than a few yards away, a goblin stood, oblivious to the conversation.  Anneleigh returned her attention to the girl.

“I promise I’ll be back, but I have to do something right now.  It will help. I promise.”

Anneleigh stood and left the area quickly.  Entering the cave of Gutter, the stench of raw fish and decay overwhelmed her.  She descended the ramp into the deepest part of the cave and found him next to his fire.  She moved into the space, trying her best to stay concealed in the shadows.   His eye sight, or perhaps his sense of smell, was greater than her own it seemed, because while she assumed she was well hidden, he spoke.

“The red dragon hungers for the ashes of Telara.  I will feed him your charred bones to keep him sated for now!”

Without warning her body became ridged and she began to walk towards him.  Unable to control many of her own movements, she looked him in the eyes, determined not to look away in fear.   Up close, she saw he was much larger than she, a pale green color with round black eyes and very little muscle-mass.   Although he appeared weak, he carried on his back a barrel of what Anneleigh assumed to be water.  Across his shoulders lay a yoke with two additional pails.

Gutter had her under his control; he made her walk around him, through his fire and back away again.  The slow torture of her burns seemed to amuse him.  He giggled and clapped his hands like a small child, causing the liquid in the barrel on his back to slosh free.  It landed in the fire with a loud sizzle and a few sparks.  Confused, but sure the liquid was not water, Anneleigh redirected her attention her foe.  Finally, after a few more minutes of walking and burning, he released her.   The release caught her off guard and, her muscles unprepared, she tumbled to the ground.

“You are such a fun toy.  A shame I will have to kill you soon. “He said.  His voice was raspy and guttural.  Anneleigh wondered if that is how he got his name.   He seized her moment of distraction and she once again became his puppet.

“He must not be strong enough to control me for long periods of time without a break.” She thought to herself.  A plan began to form in her mind. 

Around him she walked, through fire and into walls.  Her shoes were almost burned through; the leather scorched so thoroughly that the heat and fire would cause blisters soon.  At last his strength failed again.  She mimed falling to the ground but kept her concentration focused on the goblin.  He approached her giggling with delight, and leaned over his pray.

Anneleigh waited for the moment his balance would be off centered and struck.  She leapt from her low position and propelled her entire mass into his chest.  He was leaning so far over her that he was unable to counter the pressure.   Together they tumbled backwards and landed in his fire, his barrel bursting open under the pressure.  As the liquid touched the flame it burst and grew around them.  The fire consumed him but was unable to reach her as Gutter acted as a shield.

Anneleigh quickly got to her feet and distanced herself from the growing blaze.  She found his small pile of personal belongings and sniffed through the clutter of bone and crude tools until she found the trinket she had come to retrieve, the bone fragment of Maelforge.   

As smoke filled the cave, Anneleigh found the tunnel exit and started the climb to fresher air.  At last she reached the opening of the cave and emerged into the bright daylight of Silverwood.  The goblins around her were too consumed in their own captors to notice her, so Anneleigh took cover behind the low foliage to watch.  Not more than a few minutes after she left the cave, smoke began to pour from its mouth.  The other goblins began to notice and took up their own buckets before entering themselves.   

Confused, Anneleigh attempted to remember back to what Professor Drift said when he gave his request.  “That one single act would have the goblins fleeing Silverwood.”  Removing the token from Gutter should have sent the Goblins on their way.  But on the contrary, they seem to be motivated to rescue him. 

“There must be more to the story.” Anneleigh thought as she examined her feet.  Her boots were no longer fit for anything.  Their soles were burned away to almost nothing.  Luckily, her feet were protected from a majority of the heat and have not suffered any real damage.  Anneleigh hid her boots in the underbrush and looked east.  With any luck, the ground within the Palisade would be grass or soft dirt.