Chapter 22: The Great One
The settlement fell silent.
No one spoke.
The exhausted hunter still hadn’t picked up his weapon.
Gruk’s face had gone pale.
Arthur looked around. "So..." He pointed toward the distant ruins. "The Great One caused all this?"
The Elder’s hands tightened on his staff. "Yes, but more than that... He is the monster who has been ruling this area for so long."
"Even older than you?" Arthur asked with a raised brow.
"Longer than my father." Another pause. "Longer than his father."
...
Vedas looked around the settlement. The hunters had gone still where they stood. The children had stopped their evening activity. Adults who had been moving between tasks had simply stopped, their eyes drawn toward the place where nobody went. Nearby, Suri unconsciously moved closer to Vedas, who noticed.
Three people weren’t looking at the ruins with fear.
Mithra watched the Goblins.
Athena stared at the ruins, her brows slightly furrowed.
Arthur was watching Gruk.
For some reason it was Athena’s expression that unsettled Vedas the most. He exhaled slowly as he noticed the Goblins were looking at him again. And were waiting to see what he would do. Twenty minutes ago, that would’ve terrified him.
But now?
It only made him nervous.
Which was progress.
Then he straightened. "Hunter Goblins, stay close to the village." Several nodded. "The children stay inside." More nods. "We’ll strengthen the sections of the wall that are weakest."
He looked at Gruk, who blinked and then smiled. The first genuine smile Vedas had seen from the old Goblin. "Good."
Soon the settlement began moving.
Hunters gathered supplies while workers repaired damaged sections of the wall. Lookouts climbed elevated positions.
The fear hadn’t vanished, but now they had something to do.
...
Gruk gathered the settlement’s hunters and senior members as the light continued to drop, and the conversation turned to the Great One’s actions in more detail.
The atmosphere immediately became tense.
Gruk spoke quietly. "The Hobgoblins worship it."
Arthur tilted his head. "Worship?"
Gruk nodded. "They believe it protects them."
Athena frowned. "That’s why they do its bidding?"
"Yes, and why the Hobgoblins have been the top beasts in this area," Gruk said with a sigh.
Arthur rubbed his chin. "So if we beat it... the problem is solved?"
Gruk nearly dropped his staff.
Several Goblins stared at Arthur.
Suri dropped her spear.
One hunter almost choked.
"B-Beat it?"
Arthur tilted his head. "...yes?"
"No." Gruk immediately shook his head. "The Great One is ancient... The best we can do is try to make it impossible for it to leave its lair."
Arthur held his chin and asked. "Can it beat a dragon?"
One hunter blinked. "...what?"
Arthur repeated himself. "Can it beat a dragon?"
The answer came immediately.
"Of course not!"
"No Goblin can do that!"
Arthur nodded.
"Then you don’t need to worry." He smiled. "I—"
Gruk suddenly gasped. His eyes widened. "You already beat a dragon!?"
The settlement exploded.
"WHAT?!"
"HE FOUGHT A DRAGON?!"
"A REAL DRAGON?!"
Arthur nodded. "Yeah."
Every Goblin took a step back.
One pointed. "I knew it."
"He’s a demon."
Arthur tilted his head. "Aren’t you all overreacting?"
The Goblins gasped again, and one gripped his head. "It isn’t even a big deal to him!"
Another trembled. "He doesn’t see dragons as something important!"
Gruk swallowed. "D-Did you kill it?"
Arthur shook his head. "Of course not."
The goblins blinked in surprise, with some sighing in relief.
Then Arthur continued. "He’s just a sparring partner."
All of the Goblins froze again.
"A SPARRING PARTNER!?"
"NOT EVEN A DRAGON IS WORTH KILLING!?"
"HE USES A DRAGON AS A SPARRING PARTNER?!"
The whispers immediately spread.
"The terrifying human is too dangerous."
"But he’s also amazing."
"Yeah..."
"The Great One is doomed."
"The Chief’s master is moving."
Arthur looked at the spreading reaction. "Are they overreacting?"
"Yes," Mithra said immediately.
"No," Vedas answered at the same time.
Arthur looked between them. "...Well that’s not helpful."
Mithra smiled. "It wasn’t supposed to be."
Melo tilted her head and snorted while Athy’s eyes shone. She kept on writing down stuff in her notebook with Athena.
...
Around the settlement, Vedas continued directing everyone.
Later, he helped reinforce one of the damaged watchtowers. Mithra was directing several Goblins below, and Suri was carrying wood nearly twice her size. Suri nearly fell while carrying a plank.
But Vedas caught her. "Careful."
"S-Sorry, Chief."
"It’s fine. Do you want to sit this out or keep going?"
"I want to keep helping!"
Vedas nodded with a smile as Suri picked up the dropped wood before trying again to climb up the plank.
One of the hunters was securing rope. Another was sharpening stakes. Vedas climbed down and checked each section himself. Not because he knew how but because everyone kept asking him to.
"Chief, is this enough?"
"Chief, where should these go?"
"Chief, should we move the food stores?"
At first, Vedas looked toward Mithra and then Athena. A little later, he answered the questions himself.
A notification appeared at the edge of Arthur’s vision.
[Requirement Progress Updated]
[Vedas has gained three more Goblin subordinates]
[Current Loyalty: 6/10]
Arthur looked at the screen. "Six already."
Vedas looked over. "...Really?"
Arthur nodded proudly. "You’ve already got more people following you than you realize."
Vedas glanced around. "...Oh."
Arthur looked toward Vedas and grinned. "They won’t need a new chief anymore since they have you."
Vedas trembled and looked away.
He laughed. "After we survive this... We’re getting everyone stronger."
...
Athena had returned to the stone behind the settlement.
Arthur found her there, crouched in front of the section they had examined earlier, the one with the crown carved into its face. She had a small tool from her pack and was carefully moving dirt away from the area beneath the symbol.
Athy sat on the stone above the carving and watched each stroke.
"Something you missed earlier?" Arthur asked.
"The crown goes deeper than I thought." Athena brushed more dirt away. "The symbol is larger. And there’s text beneath it." She worked at the lower edge of the carving. "Older than anything else we’ve found in the settlement."
"What do you think?"
"I think these carvings mean something."
Arthur paused. "What?"
Athena looked at the crown. "This isn’t the Great One’s territory."
Silence fell for two seconds.
Arthur frowned. "This isn’t?"
Athena looked at the crown above the inscription, at the stone that had been here since before the settlement was built around it, at the ruins that stretched in every direction from where they were standing.
The wind moved through the broken walls.
"She means this place has a name." Gruk’s voice echoed from behind them as he walked over with a bitter look.
"And that is?"
"The King’s Grave."
Nobody spoke.
"Why is it called that?"
"... It’s said many Goblin kings were buried here." Gruk closed his eyes. "And their spirit remains here."
Arthur scratched his head. "Wait. So..." He pointed around the ruins. "Did you guys accidentally build a village on top of a cemetery?"
Nobody answered.
Arthur slowly looked at everyone. "...That’s usually a bad sign."
"You know... Now that he mentions it–"
"I know." Gruk said as he looked away.
"Well at least it becomes a fun story to tell about. Still, I didn’t think Spirits were a thing."
Athena frowned. "Me either, I... I never heard about it."
Gruk stared toward the distant ruins. His grip tightened around his staff. "But that isn’t the issue... If the Great One is awake then something woke it."
Silence.
"Are you saying it wasn’t meant to wake?"
"... It rests every five years before awakening and then going back to sleeping." Gruk looked down with a bitter look. "It’s only been three years."
Arthur frowned. "So, something woke it early."
Gruk nodded with a grave look. "And I don’t know which possibility scares me more."
Arthur looked toward the dark forest. "Then whatever woke it..." He smiled. "...is probably still out there."
Athena sighed. "Please don’t say that like it’s exciting."
Arthur grinned. "It is."
The wind passed through the ruins. Nobody laughed.
And then a scream rang out.
"HOBGOBLINS!"
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