Chapter 23: Gribble’s Wrath

As the story reaching the end, do comment if you would like me to continue the story further into book 2

-

Discord: https://discord.gg/qufe3A95

Buy me a coffee: ko-fi.com/seriumtag

-

Gribble burst through the dense undergrowth, twigs snapping beneath his clawed feet. The tang of rotting leaves and rich earth flooded his flaring nostrils. His heart pounded, each beat reverberating through his powerful goblin chest. Dappled sunlight streaked through the thick forest canopy, the shadows of leaves flitting across his green skin.

Sweat dripped into his yellow eyes. Blinking rapidly, Gribble peered between the gnarled tree trunks. He leaned forward, pointed ears straining. Only the gentle rustling of foliage and the distant cries of birds greeted him. No signs of pursuit. Releasing a shuddering breath, Gribble sagged against a moss-covered boulder.

The muscles in his legs trembled from exertion. His tongue felt thick and dry in his mouth. Snatching his water skin from his belt, he gulped the stale liquid greedily. Rivulets dribbled down his chin, dripping onto his tattered tunic. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Gribble straightened.

The familiar smells of wood smoke, roasting meat, and the musk of trolls wafted towards him on the breeze. Troll Valley. Relief surged through Gribble, his shoulders slumping. Just a bit further and he would reach Tormak's village.

Tormak. The name filled Gribble with a rush of gratitude and affection. The old troll shaman who had tended his wounds, offered him shelter when he had nothing. A true friend. Gribble's chest expanded with warmth at the memory of Tormak's kind eyes, his gentle touch as he applied salves and bandages with a healer's skill.

A smile tugged at the corners of Gribble's thin lips. Soon he would see Tormak again, make sure his friend was safe from Grimrock's cruelty. Excitement thrummed through his veins, lending new energy to his limbs.

Pushing off the boulder, Gribble loped through the forest with renewed purpose. Low-hanging branches whipped at his face. His feet squelched in the mulch of decaying leaves. He ducked and wove between the dense foliage with an agility that still surprised him sometimes. The power of the Thundercat's heart surged within him, every sense heightened to an almost painful intensity.

Gribble's nose twitched. The earthy smells of the forest gave way to the pungent odor of troll sweat, the acrid tang of metal and blood. His ears pricked, catching the low murmur of gruff voices. Unease skittered down his spine.

Slowing his pace, Gribble crept forward with wary steps. He crouched behind a thick patch of brambles, peering through the thorny vines. Firelight flickered between the crude huts of the troll village, casting looming shadows across the packed earth.

Gribble's eyes narrowed. Hulking figures moved between the huts - armed patrols of troll guards in rough leather jerkins. Their heavy brows and jutting tusks glinted in the dancing flames. Iron spear tips flashed as they paced the village perimeter with a grim intensity.

A cold weight settled in Gribble's gut. The village bustled with activity unusual for this late hour. Tension crackled in the air, a sense of barely leashed aggression. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Gribble's gaze skipped from hut to hut, searching for Tormak's familiar dwelling. He froze. Two figures emerged from the shaman's hut. Firelight glinted off their armor, illuminating their faces with an eerie glow.

Grimrock. The goblin chieftain's cruel features twisted in a sneer of triumph. His beady eyes glinted with malice above his hooked nose. Yellowed tusks protruded from his leathery green face. At his side hung a wicked spiked mace, clotted with dried black blood.

Gribble's heart clenched. His eyes flicked to the second figure and he recoiled as if struck. Tormak. The old troll shaman stood shoulder to shoulder with Grimrock, his staff clutched in a white-knuckled grip. The firelight cast harsh shadows across the deep lines of his face. But it was his eyes that made Gribble's blood run cold. Gone was the warmth, the kindness. In its place, a glittering coldness. A hardness that spoke of cruelty and betrayal.

Gribble's throat constricted. His pulse roared in his ears, drowning out all other sounds. This couldn't be. Tormak working with Grimrock? It had to be a mistake. Some misunderstanding. Tormak would never...

The hushed conversation reached Gribble's straining ears, carried on the night breeze. Tormak's gravelly rumble, edged with barely concealed glee.

plans coming to fruition...

village secured...

Gribble will return, seeking my aid...

fools errand...

Grimrock's grating rasp of laughter.

pliable...trusting...

putty in your hands...

Tears of rage and anguish stung Gribble's eyes. Tremors wracked his body, his teeth grinding together until his jaw ached. The words reverberated in his skull, each one a barbed knife twisting in his heart.

Betrayal. Tormak had betrayed him. All his kindness, his friendship...it was all a lie. A facade to manipulate Gribble, to lure him into a trap. Gribble's claws sank into his palms, his blood dripping onto the moss below. Every muscle in his body coiled tight, white-hot fury building behind his ribcage.

The voices faded, swallowed by the roaring in his skull. His vision tinged red, the world fracturing into shards of crimson agony. In his mind's eye, he saw Tormak standing over him, tending his wounds with gentle patience. Sharing a quiet joke as they sorted herbs by the crackling fire. All lies. The memories twisted, warped, until all he could see was Tormak's face, etched with cold lines of calculation. Mocking him. Using him.

A guttural roar tore from Gribble's throat, raw and primal. Power surged through his veins, electric and all-consuming. The Thundercat power pulsed within his chest, each beat a thunderclap that shook the earth.

His hand shot out, snatching a nearby spiked wooden club. The polished wood felt warm against his palm, tiny arcs of blue lightning dancing along its knotted surface. Gribble's eyes flared an incandescent white, power crackling from his sockets.

He exploded from the brambles in a whirlwind of rage. Clods of earth sprayed from his clawed feet as he devoured the distance to the village. The troll guards reared back in shock, spears leveling towards him with panicked clumsiness.

Gribble leaped, muscles coiling and releasing in a burst of savage ferocity. He brought his claw down in a shrieking arc, a lightning bolt splitting the night sky. The nearest guard's skull exploded like a smashed melon, bone and brain matter splattering the huts.

Gribble hit the ground and rolled, body a blur of violent motion. His claw slashed, crushing a troll's knee with a wet crunch. The troll howled, toppling. Gribble's foot lashed up, caving in the creature's face with a single, brutal stomp.

All around Gribble, the village erupted into chaos. Trolls boiled from the huts, green skin glistening, tusks bared in primal battle snarls. Iron and bronze flashed as they hefted weapons with meaty fists - cleavers, mauls, serrated blades. Harsh war cries split the air, the guttural bellowing of enraged beasts.

Gribble welcomed the onslaught, baring his own fangs in a feral grin. He spun and leaped, his club a lethal blur. Bones splintered. Flesh tore. Hot blood sprayed, painting his green skin in slick crimson streaks.

A massive troll lunged at him, swinging a rusted axe. Gribble ducked the whistling blade. Dropping into a crouch, he whirled, sweeping the troll's legs. The troll crashed backward. Leaping atop him, Gribble brought his club down like a piston, caving in the troll's skull. Brain matter coated Gribble's chest as he wrenched his club free with a wet squelch.

Another charged him from behind, Gribble spun, catching the heavy maul on his upraised club. The shock of impact vibrated up his arms. Gribble snarled. Electricity crackled along his skin. The troll's eyes widened in sudden fear.

With a roar, Gribble shoved forward. The troll stumbled back. Gribble pressed his advantage, raining down a flurry of savage blows. The troll's weapon went spinning. A backswing took him under the chin with a crack. His head snapped back at an impossible angle. He crumpled, neck crushed, his face a ruin of pulverized bone and cartilage.

Icy rain lashed down, turning the packed earth to churned mud. Lightning split the sky, illuminating the carnage in strobing flashes. Trolls lay strewn about the village in broken heaps, their blood mingling with the muck. Smoke stung Gribble's eyes. Flames crackled as a hut collapsed in on itself, timbers groaning.

In the chaos, goblins scurried between the trolls, cackling with savage glee. Their eyes gleamed with cruel delight as they harried the flanks, jabbing with spears and daggers. Gribble snarled in disgust. Grimrock's minions. Traitors and backstabbers, every one.

A flicker of movement caught Gribble's eye. He whirled, club held high. Across the village center, Grimrock and Tormak stood before the shaman's hut. The chieftain's eyes blazed with hate, his dagger-like teeth bared in a vicious snarl. At his side, Tormak leaned on his staff, his face a mask of cold disdain.

Rage bubbled up Gribble's throat like acid. His fingers tightened around his club, the wood creaking. Power crackled through him, his eyes flaring. With a guttural bellow, he charged, feet churning the muddy earth.

Grimrock roared a challenge, his serrated blade slashing the air. Tormak slammed his staff against the ground. Eldritch energies swirled around him, his eyes glinting with arcane malevolence.

Gribble leaped, arcing high into the air. Lightning forked down from the churning clouds, drawn to him like a lodestone. It struck him in an incandescent burst, wreathing his body in searing white energy.

He descended on Grimrock like a falling star, blazing with power. His club slammed down in a sizzling arc of blinding electricity. Grimrock tried to twist away, but too slow. The club struck his shoulder with a deafening crack. Bones splintered. The goblin chieftain shrieked, the smell of charred meat filling the air.

Gribble hit the ground and rolled, whirling to face Tormak. The troll shaman snarled an incantation, black energy bleeding from his gnarled fingers. Gribble felt the dark magic slam into him, cold and oily. He staggered, muscles seizing.

With a bellow, Gribble wrenched free of the spell's grasp. He rushed forward, electricity sparking from his eyes. His club met Tormak's staff in a blinding flash. Gribble pressed the attack, his arms blurring. Lightning crackled. Thunder boomed.

The staff shattered under Gribble's onslaught, splinters flying. Tormak reeled back, his eyes wide with sudden fear. Gribble's club smashed into his chest with a sickening crunch. Ribs snapped. Organs ruptured. The troll crumpled, blood frothing from his lips.

Gribble stood over the fallen shaman, chest heaving. The red haze of rage drained away, leaving him hollow. Cold realization settled in his gut like a leaden weight. He looked around, numb.

Bodies lay strewn across the village, trolls and goblins alike. Steam rose from the churned mud, mingling with the metallic tang of spilled blood. Burning huts crackled, flames licking at the night sky. Smoke stung Gribble's eyes.

He looked down at his hands, still clutching his gore-slicked club. His claws dripped crimson, coated in the viscera of friends and foes. His breath caught in his throat, horror rising like bile.

What had he done? The rage, the power...it had consumed him. He had lost himself in the red haze, lashing out with savage fury. And now...now his betrayer lay dead at his feet, alongside dozens of others. By his hand.

A moan reached his ears, wet and rattling. Grimrock. The goblin chieftain lay sprawled on his back, his limbs twisted at impossible angles. One eye had burst, oozing viscous fluid. The other glared balefully up at Gribble, hatred and agony etched in equal measure.

Gribble met that hate-filled gaze, his own eyes hollow. The chieftain's mouth worked, blood bubbling from his ruined lips. A wet, rasping chuckle.

look...what...you've...become...

no better...than...me...

Gribble recoiled as if struck. Grimrock's words knifed into him, sharper than any blade. He stared at the ruin of the village, at the broken bodies of those he had called enemy...and friend. Self-loathing rose in his throat, hot and choking.

With a shuddering gasp, Gribble turned away. He staggered through the mud and blood and smoke, numb to the carnage. Despair crashed over him, smothering the last embers of his rage.

Reaching the edge of the village, Gribble drew in a ragged breath.

Bitter tears stung Gribble's eyes. The heart had given him strength, true...but at what cost? He had allowed the rage to consume him, to twist him into something monstrous. No better than Grimrock. A betrayer, lost to violence and hate..

Gribble sank to his knees in the churned earth, shoulders slumped in defeat. Tears carved tracks through the blood and grime on his face. The true toll of his vengeance crashed over him, the weight of the lives he had destroyed.

He threw his head back and howled his grief to the uncaring sky, a broken sound that echoed through the burning ruin of Troll Valley. The price he had paid for his rage, for his betrayal, was a burden he would carry for the rest of his days.