Chapter 29: Celebration
The darkness waited beyond the hidden doorway, and for one moment everyone in the chamber simply looked at it.
Arthur started walking.
"Well," he said, "only one way to find out."
Vedas caught up with him in two steps. "Are you sure about this?"
"We’ll see what’s in there and leave if it’s dangerous. That’s a complete plan."
Athena fell in behind them at the pace of someone who had already decided. "Leaving it alone would drive me insane," she muttered, which was the most honest she had been about anything since they entered the palace.
Mithra glanced back at the goblin hunters and found them already moving, following Vedas as naturally as they had followed him through the raid and the ruins and everything before that. She smiled. "I think everyone has decided."
Melo rolled her three eyes but stayed on Vedas’s shoulder, and the group stepped through together.
Light took everything.
The darkness, the chamber, the palace, the ruins, all of it dissolved instantly into white, and then something solid was under Arthur’s feet that had not been there a second before, and the light retreated, and he was standing on grass.
The settlement was in front of them.
Torchlight at the entrance. The familiar damaged walls. The sound of the village in the evening.
Gruk looked around him in disbelief. "We’re back?"
Athena was already processing it. "A teleportation mechanism," she said. "But how did it know where to bring us?"
"I suppose the palace was built for this tribe," Arthur said. "It knew where they live."
Mithra tilted her head. "It would have been embarrassing to walk back the long way and discover this at the end."
Several goblins flinched in acknowledgment of how long that walk had been while Arthur laughed.
They stepped into the torchlight.
...
A child near the settlement entrance was carrying a bundle of sticks and had stopped. He looked at Vedas before blinking and then muttering. "Chief?"
The settlement turned.
Hunters who had been near the wall.
Children playing by the fire.
Workers moving between structures. All of them looked, and all of them found the same thing in the same place, and the process of recognizing it took a moment because the thing standing at the entrance was not quite the thing that had left.
Their eyes immediately landed on Vedas. Or more specifically, his new form.
The dark armor.
The commanding presence.
The spear resting against his shoulder.
Silence spread across the settlement. A basket hit the ground somewhere to the left. A goblin near the gate stumbled backward and caught himself on the wall. A third rubbed both eyes with the backs of his hands.
The child’s arm came up slowly, finger extended. "Commander," he said.
The word landed in the settlement the way the War Shout had landed in the plaza: it moved through the air and arrived in everyone’s chest at once, and for one full second the settlement held its breath.
Then a hunter near the back of the crowd shouted it.
"THE CHIEF BECAME A COMMANDER!"
The settlement came apart in the best possible way. Children rushed forward before the sound had finished echoing. Hunters crossed the distance at a run. Several goblins were already crying before they arrived, and the ones who weren’t started when they got close enough to see the armor properly.
Suri was immediately surrounded and nearly buried.
Vedas stood in the center of all of it with his arms slightly raised. "..." He had no idea what to do.
Arthur watched from beside Gruk. "They’re happy."
Vedas looked helplessly toward him.
Arthur offered no assistance whatsoever. He felt it was important for Vedas to have this experience.
...
Gruk let it run for a while before he raised his staff.
The settlement quieted in the way it quieted for him, not completely, but enough that his voice could carry.
The old goblin looked out across the gathered faces and then smiled. A genuine smile as he said it plainly. "The Great One is dead."
The remaining celebration stopped.
Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. A goblin near the fire blinked, then looked at another goblin beside her, as if checking whether they had heard the same thing.
"Dead?" someone whispered.
"The Great One is gone," Gruk said.
A woman near the front of the crowd lowered herself to her knees slowly, and she put both hands against the ground and stayed there. An older goblin sat down on the nearest stone like he had lost all the strength in his leg. One hunter turned away and put both hands over his face.
Then tears began appearing.
Not because they were sad but because it was over. For the first time in centuries, there are no more threats from the Hobgoblins.
No raids.
No fear.
No Great One.
One elderly goblin laughed and then covered her mouth. Then laughed again through her hands. Children looked confused while Adults hugged one another and several Goblins openly sobbed.
A woman near the wall had gone very quiet. "My brother..." Her voice broke. "He can finally rest."
The man beside her lowered his head. "My son too."
A silence followed that hurt.
Gruk waited for it to finish. Then he raised his staff. "Their deaths were avenged."
The eruption that followed was louder than the first one.
Arthur was standing slightly apart from the crowd and looked around with a smile. "...we really changed this place."
Mithra heard him, and she smiled.
Athena looked around the settlement. For once, she didn’t argue.
...
Ten minutes later, the bonfire was tall enough to be visible above the wall.
Children danced around it.
One of the older Hunters quietly raised his cup.
Soon another did the same.
Then another.
Before long...
The entire settlement had their cups raised toward Vedas.
Nobody said anything.
They simply smiled.
Vedas stared blankly. "...What do I do?"
Arthur grinned. "Smile."
Vedas awkwardly smiled.
The entire settlement erupted again.
Music echoed through the village.
The atmosphere felt completely different from when Arthur had first arrived. For the first time, it felt alive without any fear or need to be cautious.
Nearby, a crowd of children surrounded Mithra.
One of them asked softly. "Is it true?"
Mithra looked down. "What’s true?"
"The kingdom." Another child grabbed the sleeve of the first. "Did goblins really have kings? And festivals? And celebrations?"
"Yes," Mithra said.
The children gasped.
"Really!?"
"The memories showed it." She looked at the hunters who had come back with them, several of whom were standing nearby listening. "They had celebrations. They had families. They had cities and kings and everything that goes along with all of that."
The children stared at her in awe, disbelief, and joy. Nearby, several Hunters who had accompanied Arthur lowered their heads.
One smiled.
Another of the hunters who had been listening clenched his fist. "We’ll do it," he said.
The children turned toward him.
He was looking at the settlement around them: the damaged walls that had been repaired, the huts that were lit from inside, the fire at the center of it. "We’ll make this place like that. We’re not going to let everything they built stay gone."
The children’s eyes widened. Another hunter nodded beside him. Several goblins around the fire lowered their heads and nodded too.
Even Gruk looked emotional.
For the first time.
The future felt real.
...
Not far from the bonfire, several Hunters who had remained behind sat together eating. And naturally, questions started.
One Hunter leaned forward. "So what really happened?"
The Hunter who had accompanied Arthur immediately froze. Several others moved closer.
The Goblin lowered his voice. "...I think Arthur knew."
Silence.
"Knew what?"
The Hunter looked toward Arthur. Who was currently arguing with Athena about something completely unrelated.
"The Commander."
The group blinked. "What?"
The Hunter nodded. "The King... The Great One and the Trial. He knew about everything that was going to happen in the ruins, which is why he didn’t care we came."
Several Goblins immediately shivered.
Another Hunter frowned.
"That’s impossible."
"Then explain this."
The Hunter pointed toward Vedas. "The King called Chief a successor."
The others nodded.
They had heard that. "The King tested Chief."
More nods.
Then the Hunter lowered his voice even further. "And Arthur wasn’t surprised."
The group froze, with some rubbing their ears. "H-He wasn’t?"
The Hunter shook his head. "Not even once."
One Goblin swallowed.
Another whispered. "Maybe he hid it well? I mean, how can anyone not be surprised at seeing our ancestor? He is a Goblin King?!"
The Hunter stared before laughing. "He wasn’t... In fact, he looked disappointed."
The group froze again. "Disappointed?"
The Hunter nodded. "When the King appeared. When the trial happened. When the Chief became a Commander... He acted like it was supposed to happen."
Several Goblins immediately grabbed their heads. A younger Goblin slowly looked toward Arthur. "...he knew."
Another Hunter joined the conversation. "It gets worse."
The others looked over.
"The Great One was far more terrifying than we thought."
Everyone stiffened.
The Hunter pointed toward Vedas. "Yet when the Chief was losing. Arthur didn’t move and instead just watched."
One Goblin’s face went pale.
"W-Watched? Wasn’t he worried the Chief would die?"
Another immediately understood. "No... he knew the Chief would win."
The Hunter nodded. "That’s what we thought."
Several Goblins shivered. Then one of them remembered something.
"Wait."
"The ancestor king."
Everyone looked at him. The Goblin swallowed. "Didn’t Arthur call him a failure and say he sucks at picking a successor?"
Silence.
The Hunter nodded. "He did."
The group froze.
One Goblin covered his mouth. "He mocked our ancestor king?"
The Hunter slowly nodded. "And the King couldn’t do anything... he just accepted it."
Nobody knew what to do with that information.
Then one elderly Goblin whispered. "...terrifying."
"The Commander isn’t the scary one." Silence. "...His tamer is."
Several immediately agreed.
Another Goblin looked toward Arthur. Toward the human laughing beside the bonfire. Then toward Vedas. Then back toward Arthur.
"No wonder the Chief became a Commander."
A Hunter nodded.
"The Chief is incredible."
Another nodded.
"But Arthur..." He shivered. "...Arthur is something else."
The rumor spread through the settlement before the night ended. Arthur never heard a single word of it.
...
Later, when the celebration had found its quieter register, the ten goblins who had followed Vedas into the ruins found Arthur together.
Suri was at the front. The others were arranged behind her with the particular tension of people who had rehearsed an approach and were now executing it under pressure.
Arthur looked at them. "I had planned to look for you guys."
They straightened simultaneously.
Vedas noticed and looked confused.
"You all did well." Arthur smiled.
"No." He shook his head. "You did better than I hoped."
Suri froze.
The Hunters froze.
One Goblin dropped the meat he had been holding. Another stared blankly. A third looked ready to faint.
Arthur looked around at the frozen expressions. "What?"
The first hunter turned away from him, and his shoulders were shaking, and Arthur could not see his face. Suri pressed both hands against her mouth. Someone was crying. More than one someone.
Vedas looked horrified. "Why are they crying!?"
"I don’t know," Arthur said.
One hunter wiped his eyes without turning back. "We’ll work harder... We won’t betray your words!"
"That’s fine," Arthur said. "I think you’ve already established that you won’t."
The crying somehow intensified.
Vedas put his face in his hands.
Mithra laughed so hard she nearly fell over. Athena lowered her notebook. Even she looked amused. Arthur looked at all of them and decided this was one of those situations that would resolve itself if he simply waited.
...
Arthur settled onto a fallen log with Athena on his left and Mithra on his right, and the three of them watched the settlement together. Gruk was telling something to a group near the fire. Children were still running. Two hunters were laughing at something in the middle distance.
After a while, Arthur asked softly. "How many people do you think passed the exam?"
"Most," Athena said.
"Probably all," Mithra said.
Athena frowned. "Not all."
"I believe we have a good cast of students this time."
"Several were not."
The argument found its shape immediately. Arthur watched both of them present their cases with the attention of someone appreciating the form of the thing.
Arthur nodded supportively. "Good points."
Both girls looked at him. "Pick a side."
Arthur blinked. "What?"
Athena pinched his left cheek. Mithra pinched his right cheek.
"Pick."
"A."
"Side."
"I choose to continue to breathe," Arthur said. "Oh! Wait, when can we visit other Realms? After the Academy starts."
Athena paused before saying with a sigh and letting go. "First years can’t."
Arthur froze.
Then his face went pale, and he slowly looked down. Before picking up a stick and poking it into the dirt with a look of despair and sorrow. "...that sucks."
Mithra giggled.
Athena rolled her eyes.
Mithra flicked Arthur’s forehead gently. "Don’t worry." Arthur looked up. "If you become the First-Year Student President, you’ll be allowed to participate."
Arthur blinked. "How?"
"The King Maker Tournament," Athena answered.
Arthur immediately sat upright. "There’s a tournament?"
Mithra smiled. "There is."
Arthur grinned. "...Now we’re talking."
Mithra nodded. "Team-based."
Arthur’s eyes lit up. "As long as I can leave and visit the Realms, I’ll do anything."
Athena stared. "You’re very motivated for someone who didn’t know the tournament existed until ten seconds ago."
"Is it because you want to evolve Vedas again?"
Arthur grinned. "Evolving Vedas is nice." Vedas glanced over from across the fire. Arthur pointed toward the forest. "But what I really want is adventures."
"Adventure?" Mithra tilted her head.
Arthur nodded. "There are places like this everywhere, aren’t there? Things nobody knows about yet. Things that need someone to go find them." His voice had the quality it had when he was not performing enthusiasm but simply having it. "I want to see all of them."
"When you say it like that..." Mithra smiled. "It does sound nice."
Arthur looked toward the stars. "If there are places like this..." He smiled. "...I wonder how many more are waiting."
"You really love adventures like these, don’t you?" Mithra asked softly.
Arthur nodded. "They help spice up the story I tell my mom."
Both girls paused.
Athena looked toward him. "For your mother?"
Arthur nodded. "Before I was born, she was a Beast Tamer. She gave that up for me, and she’s never once complained about it, but I’ve seen the badge she keeps in her drawer." He looked at the fire rather than at either of them. "I want to bring back enough stories that she never feels like she missed them."
The fire crackled.
Mithra’s expression softened immediately. She gently reached over and pinched his cheek. This time much softer. "What a wonderful son," she said.
"It’s a little embarrassing when you say it like that."
Mithra laughed. "I’m sure she’d be angry if she knew how dangerous this exam has been."
Arthur looked sideways. "I’ll leave some things out."
"You think!?" Athena sighed. "Quite a few things, I’d imagine."
The three laughed.
Arthur looked around to see the Children laughing. Goblin Hunters smiling. Suri talking with the others. Gruk smiling near the fire. Vedas eating with Melo and Athy.
He then looked toward Athena. "How long?"
Athena sighed softly. "...less than five minutes."
The three of them sat with that.
Nobody wanted this to end anytime soon.
Neither did Arthur.
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