Everflow City Surrenders

Outside the city walls, Bishop and Queen escaped through an unguarded gate with their most loyal subjects. Queen tried to crawl back into the city, but Bishop kept pulling her. "STOP WE LOST! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE THEY FIND US."

But she did not listen. She kept calling out for King. "We have to rescue him." She tried to shout with her soft, gentle voice. The goblins helped carry subdue the Queen and carry her. And they disappeared into the forest.

Meanwhile, at the castle district of the city, Sun and King were outside the castle doors along with the two opposing armies. King was locked inside an iron cage crafted by the best blacksmiths of the Walz Kingdom. King sat in the cage, still unconscious. Smoke examined him through the cage, "It looks his body is undergoing kas withdrawal. He expelled out too much in a short time period."

Sun was no better. He was lying on the cold stone floor with his head on Shuja's lap. "He pushed most of his mana into the Baptista." Sun said, "It was insane. No other choice but to break it and before it could make enough water to flood the entire city."

Water continued to rain on them coming from the large geyser. "I think that was a smart move. But try not to be so reckless. I got scared you'll burn half the city down when I saw that explosion."

"Hahaha!" Sun laughed, "Sorry about that. How long do you think we have to wait for him to wake up?"

"I don't know, maybe four or five," Smoke rubbed his chin.

"Four or five what?"

"Maybe seven."

"Smoke, are you doing a skit?"

Bi walked up to the stairs and interrupted, "Excuse, my Chief. We managed to find a high-ranking officer in their army." Bord and Skild carried the injured redhead red conqueror up the stairs and dropped her in front of them. "Her name is Spreckels. The only survivor among the red goblins. We detained her after she surrendered following your orders." Spreckels looked down on the floor, terrified at the sight of the three monsters. They were goblins she could not hope to defeat or risk angering. She has been scarred enough after witnessing Stick, Rock, Smoke, and Dawn's strength. She knows her place.

"Thank you, but who are you?" Sun asked.

Bi's cheeks turned blushed just a bit. "My apologies, I am Bi, and I have recently transformed during the battle."

"Woah, that's amazing."

"Thank, sir!"

Shuja pinched Sun's cheeks. Then she asked her goblins to help Spreckels stand on her feet. Her eyes avoided them. "Ahem," Shuja coughed, "Where are you looking at?"

"Nothing," She said with her wavering voice.

Sun tapped Shuja's shoulder, "Let's tone it down a little." Sun pushed himself upright and crossed his legs. "We have captured your leader, as you can see with his lovely sleeping face. That means you lost. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Great." Sun clapped his hands, "Now, here are my terms. From this day onward, I will be your new king of Everflow City. And the goblins that rule over this city must abdicate their positions to my commanders and me."

"And if I refuse?"

Sun grabbed Shuja's shoulder to stop her from exploding. He could feel her disdain for the Spreckels. "Then we will lock you up in the deepest dungeon with King, never to see the light of day again. You will rot in a cell colder than winter night you've ever experienced."

"Why not just kill me? Why not kill King? What do you want from me?"

Sun was dumbfounded. He was hoping that the threat of being isolated in the dark will be enough, but the city goblins were hardier than he thought. "You are the only conscious leader present obviously, and whatever you chose will also trickle down to everyone else that fought in this battle."

"So if you kill me?"

"I'll let you imagine that for yourself." Of course, Sun had no intentions of harming his new subjects. And the reason why he wants Spreckels to accept him as King is because of her knowledge of the city and its inhabitants. Removing and replacing everyone will only create chaos. They need someone that knows the city as much as the city knows them in order to herd these cats.

"Fine, I accept you as my king, and I relinquish my title as a pawn."

"Great because I think you'll be better off not being one."

"But promise to me that my tribe will be spared!" She finally looked at Sun.

"I promise."

The doors behind them opened wider, and Pagasa walked out from the castle and through the legions watching their new king. He was holding the Horn of the Spring, a relic created by the highest power to save the remaining goblins from turning into animals. Pagasa handed it to Sun, "Here, it is time."

Sun pushed the horn away, "Actually, can you do it for me? My lungs are killing me."

"Are you sure? This is a momentous occasion."

"It's fine. Besides, I think you want to do it the most."

"You're right about that," Pagasa stood proud and tall and blew the horn as loud as he could so the world could hear the sound. The sound that will free his kind from their first chain.

The goblins around burst into flames, including Spreckels. The raining water sparkled at the light from the city's blue pyre. The cold and gentle embrace of the flames grew larger as Pagasa blew on the horn louder and louder. And then the fire slowly died down, and steam rose its origin as the rain splashed against the wave of red goblins shocked by what they've just experienced. They were no longer the small green goblins that would cower from fear, they larger, and their skin was shined in vibrant red.

But the most drastic change came to the red goblins. They were larger now with mute green skin and showed off their colorful feathers. Spreckels fell on her knees and groped her new body. Her skin was not mute green but light violet, and her black feathers grew out from her elbows and between her chin and collarbone, and they reflected beautiful blue light.

And when she turned around, her face could not express her complex feelings. She saw a sea of red goblins, equally dumbfounded as they were. They could not explain their emotions with words facial expressions. They were not proud nor happy, but they felt relieved. And there was another feeling they just could not comprehend—a mix of freeness, and content, a feeling absent to them for most of their life.

And it was not just the city that did the sound stop. It continued to circle the world and free all of the goblins of every walks of life; from the deepest caverns to the highest peaks and from the thickest jungles to the desolate deserts. These goblins were isolated, uncivilized, and could be mistaken for animals, but it all changed when the horn was blown.

Every goblin became a blue pyre. The world was dotted by this gentle blue light. The flames burn away the first chains of the curse and they were born anew and no longer bound to the ground. The curse was lifted off goblinkind's shoulders and some could finally walk tall again. One of those goblins was Spreckels, but she was too shocked by the experience and stayed on her knees in front of her new king.

Outside the city, and a few miles away, Bishop and Queen were bewildered by the scene. The blue pyre that appeared before them engulfed their troop. And when the fire died, their soldiers came out redder than blood. "What just happened to them?" Queen wondered.

"THOSE MAD LADS DID SOMETHING." Bishop said, "AND I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE SHOW! COME ON SIS!" Bishop carried Queen over his shoulders, "THEIR STORY IS JUST GETTING STARTED, AND WE NEED TO BE THEIR, FRONT ROW AND CENTER!"