The Goblarian 1

In a pouring late autumn icy rain at midday, Gheehae was perched upon the highest tower of the Smigg stronghold, Castle Smug, formerly known as the Feanchiane Tower of the human Kingdom of Majoran. The trees that held thousands of the most beautiful scarlet, auburn, and golden leaves were now holding just a few that would no doubt be blown away in the cold breeze by nightfall. The ancient creature was moments away from doing what was necessary to save thousands of goblin lives, like he did countless times over the past fifty years.

"This should be a simple job from this point on, and hopefully my last. I tire of dealing with others." Gheehae thought aloud while the first early morning squawk-hawks came soaring overhead during the shower. These giant and boisterous birds loved to give off their loud cries to attempt awaking the sun from behind the dusky clouds, and everything else within earshot of their terrible fusses which was an onslaught of suffering reverberations.

Despite being hundreds of years old, Gheehae looked no hoarier than a young adult goblin, and no creature in existence was of the same age. Miniscule with bright green skin, large black eyes, huge floppy ears pointed on the end that moved to detect any sounds from leagues away, Gheehae looked quite common. His body was bone thin, and he wore his race's basic attire - cheap brown leather armor with calf hide trousers and a small human baselard attached to his belt. His average looks served a creature with such awesome power remarkably well.

His personal mission was to frighten the goblin conscripts of the Majoran Army with a touch of harmless conjuring, learned from the spectacular Zubian Mages, before the atrocity of battle took place. All the goblin soldiers would no doubt flee and give the humans time to decide if they wanted to fight the Smiggs directly without the goblin thralls putting the enemy in disarray, making it an uneven battle.

A single massively powerful and blood-hungry Smigg could slaughter two or three humans before being killed if killed at all. As they had before, the Majorans used hundreds of enslaved goblins as lead conscripts to occupy the enemy long enough before attacking to destroy with an assault from the sides and rear. This ensured small casualties to themselves yet would wipe out nearly all the goblins, and lead to the defeat of the Smiggs.

Gheehae wanted no such thing to happen and hoped the Majorans would retreat soon after the goblins were scattered. His mission was for no bloodshed, however no sooner he thought of this, an uneasy feeling built up inside of him.

"Why do have this sense of foreboding?" Gheehae whispered to himself with a dark glance toward the unlit night sky.

Months ago, he learned from a trustworthy contact, a thief and spy loyal to him, of the Majoran attack to take back their lost territory of the Feanchiane Tower which was previously left under-guarded and never thought to be pursued by outside forces due to its lack of nearby resources. The tower was erected decades earlier for Prince Egbert, a slightly unbalanced young man with strange appetites and fantasies he played out for real in the deepest underground chambers, who could never become king because of his vile impulses.

After the prince was found murdered in his bed with four women dead as well, and just one left alive but obviously insane who was later hanged; the tower was left for a position of soldiers who needed extra training and were rumored to be haunted by the former prince and his captured and forced concubines. The Smiggs took the castle without much resistance which angered the Majoran King to no end. He had to take it back. It was his property. No matter how useless it had become. For better or worse, his son had died there, and he couldn't let it go.

To save the lives of his kinsmen, Gheehae approached the tower to speak with the Smigg King. Firstly though, he had to convince the Smigg soldiers not to smash in his face when he approached the newly named Castle Smug. And not to allow King Chugg to have him torn apart upon one of the ruthless torture-racks the Smiggs had developed over the years.

These beastly creatures had no creativity and not much intelligence with communication or most aspects of life, nor did they have compassion for their own race and especially other races. The things they excelled at most were battle, wars, fighting, and torment. The ways they devised their horrid devices made even the cruelest and most vicious folk in the land of Zubyan scratch their heads in wonder.

Although Gheehae had tricks of his own; the Smiggs never realized that a goblin had entered their new castle. He gave them information on the Majoran army's imminent attack and won the right to sit upon the rampart of the castle alone prior to battle. Although strong warriors, the Smiggs didn't have archers and held a terror of heights. His duty was to sound the great Smigg War Horn at the dawn of the battle when he spotted the enemy allowing the beasts to go on the assault striking first.

To succeed in his mission, Gheehae used a changeling spell, a difficult but well-learned piece of sorcery taught to him by his former professor. Years ago, the Zubian Princess Zalentrian, helped him in this task tremendously. Gheehae couldn't disguise himself as a Smigg, as none of those creatures held a keen enough mind for the ideas he had to give. Going that route would no doubt cause him to be burned alive while drowning.

On the other hand, Smiggs do listen to humans who have a shadiness to their soul, so as a defector, he could meet King Chugg. Hoping, of course, the Smigg ruler was in enough of a high-spirited mood to listen. He could just as easily be torturously slaughtered on the spot.

Despite the danger, Gheehae conjured the magic to masquerade himself as a Majoran soldier. This depended on a difficult spell that would project a different image of himself to all others, and it required the highest level of concentration. The rest he accomplished by using his superior skills of charisma, along with mind-altering tricks he knew.

All this power was learned by Gheehae in his years of study from various mages and powerful wizards. For he held a special ability no goblin ever had and no creature came about as easily. This made it simple enough to trick the Smigg King into believing his tale and win himself the seat in the most important position of the lookout patrols.

After appearing as a slightly ragged and drunk human and being roughed up by the guards, Gheehae was dragged before King Chugg to appeal to the gruesome beast.

"Who is 'dis skinny little man? Why you waste great King Chugg's time? Huh? Speak!" the king screamed in a terrifying growl.

"I'm…I'm…a former Majoran soldier. I hate those cowards! I can help you. Help you to defeat the wretched scallywags!" Gheehae muttered, purposely keeping his words as simple as possible.

"Ha! What makes you think I need help from you? Guards! Get my pully machine! Let's see how loud this scum screams while his neck slowly pops off his little body!"

Chugg was in no mood for nonsense, which, by his standards, was anything that wasn't his own idea. Ideas that were few and far between.

"Oh, King Chugg, listen, please! I can go to the top of your castle! I can tell you when the enemy comes! Please, spare me!" Gheehae replied while using his mind tricks, by blinking his eyes at a certain rate of intervals causing the dullard Chugg to suddenly agree.

"Fine! Go! And alert us when you see our playmates!" King Chugg exclaimed. The Smigg soldiers guarding the king in the chamber looked at each other in wonder, yet they knew they had to follow Chugg's command or be sent to a harrowing fate worse than death.

The goblin trickster won his position and was to now carry out the rest of his dangerous plan to save his enslaved countrymen. Why did have such foreboding, though? He felt as if something were off, and his senses were usually spot on.

Trouble…" he muttered under his breath. "Trouble is brewing indeed."