Chapter Seven: The Goblin Hordes
The soul had directed me to Gobling Towers, home of the goblins. There, they would give me directions to the Land of the Living Dead, home of the Skeletal Hand. Then, I would retrieve the Paws items from it and save the souls—or so she said. This whole adventure was way out of my paws; I couldn’t even begin to fathom the danger. So I didn’t. I just kept walking, trying to keep my mind off impending death.
I had left the barren valley behind and was now wading through waist-deep grass under a sparkling sun. There was a glistening waterfall pouring from a cave on the shady mountains. It was pretty, but I wasn’t here as a tourist.
After my second encounter with the Skeletal Hand, I kept checking my paws. They were soft, but definitely solid. I wasn’t a ghost…not yet, anyway. It was hard to believe that I was actually alive.
Suddenly, my ears pricked up and my heartbeat quickened. Please don’t be what I think it is, I thought. It wasn’t. Standing on a large boulder was a small furry creature. It’s blinking eyes were bottomless green, like a scummy pond.. A fuzzy little paw waved and it raced behind the boulder.
“ Wait!” I cried, dashing forward.
Desperately, I fished around in the grass until I had my arms around something. I lifted it up and screamed.
I was holding a bumpy-skinned monster with a bulbous nose covered in warts. Its ears were bitten and scratched, oozing purple blood from one and green from the other. Sharp little teeth lined its snarling mouth. Its clothing was a metal plate on its chest and dirty pants with patches. “Bad dog,” he whined, whacking me with a heavy club.
I dropped it. “ What are you?”
“What be you? I not like you. You be very bad doggie. Me called Pond Scum. I be prince of goblin horde, ruler of all stinky minions! Ho, ho, ho!”
I recovered quickly from the little shock. The prince didn’t scare me very much, but the iron club he was holding did. He must have lived up in the shady green mountains, but was on a hunting expedition or something. I never knew, since goblins are mysterious—in a blatant way. That Pond Scum could transform!
The goblin price beat the metal plate of his chest and screamed a war cry. “ Be gone, evil dog! Or else I be ripping you to shreds with teeth!” He flashed a smile.
“ Lead me to Gobling Towers and I won’t hurt you,” I said weakly, without much hope.
“ Ha! Silly Doggie! You think I lead you to towers? Ha! Ha!”
Frustrated, I whipped the Shield off my back and held it in front of me. I expected Pond Scum to laugh, but he gasped in horror and started shaking madly. “ Do not be hurting me, madam! I be escorting you to towers.”
“ That’s better,” I said, smiling.
Pond Scum led me to a great stone wall with iron spikes and moldy bricks. A small pad of rusty buttons was tacked onto the drawbridge. With long, filthy nails, Pond Scum rapidly punched in a code on the buttons. The drawbridge groaned and dropped to the ground. When the dust cleared, we walked inside.
I felt like I had stepped into an oasis. The shadowy hills bordered a quiet valley, which was steeped in dark, syrupy sunshine. Exotic vegetables grew outside every hut. The streets were of the finest polished marble, speckled blue and white. On the mountains themselves were granite towers with blankets airing from the windows. An intricate irrigation system gurgled merrily through the gardens. Some small goblin children played in the streets, kicking up dust and vegetables.
“ Is this where you live?” I asked.
“ No. This be where commoners live.”
Pond Scum pointed to a large and frightening citadel on the darkest hill. A spooky stone vulture was perched at the top of the tower, glaring down at the villagers with ruby eyes. “That be home to Pond Scum,” the goblin prince stated proudly.
I took a moment to flounce around in the thick grass. Pollen flew into the air. I sneezed, feeling refreshed afterwards.
Still smiling, I ran back to Pond Scum. He bellowed in a high squeaky voice, “You must never be playing in village. King Skimser get mad! Now, follow me, you horrid thing, before I sink my teeth into you.”
Not a bit discouraged, I bounced after the goblin. My journey was going much smoother after the encounter. The Shield of Paws was proving very useful!
In a few minutes we were standing at the door of the citadel. Hideously large spiders scuttled over the blotchy windows. I supposed that must be a good home for a goblin. Pond Scum thought so, too. Puffing out his chest, he led me into the dimly lit main hall. The table was set for at least thirty goblins, each plate stacked with some different disgusting delicacy. Goblets of blood sat on wooden plates, sloshing as something swam inside them. The goblin prince took a long gulp from one before showing me up the staircase.
Leering faces of past kings and queens sat proudly inside picture frames, watching me. They all looked as ugly as the one I was following, until we climbed farther up the stairs. There, they started to look more civilized and the girls actually looked dainty. But the smirk never left their faces.
Finally, we entered a long, spacious chamber with two golden thrones on the far end. Glassless floor-to-ceiling windows dominated one wall, allowing swallows and mourning doves to fly in. Two guards in armor lifted a long, skinny rug and unrolled it until it was at our feet. Pond Scum signaled me to follow him, so I obeyed. Intimidated at the prospect of speaking with the king and queen, I cowered behind the prince.
He stopped at the feet of two goblins and bowed until his greasy nose rubbed the rug. Feeling awkward, I did the same. “ Hello, mother and father,” Pond Scum said cheerily, standing up.
“ Oh good heavens, darling! You have a Moon Child with you! Ick!” The queen held her tiny pig nose.
A furry, cat-faced goblin with a heavy crown put three long claws on his wife’s shoulder. “Now, now, Snorts… You best not be angering son on his birthday. It not good luck to do so.”
Snorts scratched her wrinkles despairingly; moldy skin flew off. She had bright black eyes and a happy face, but the rest of her was gruesome. She had a row of spikes down her chest and flat feet. Her fingers were slender with three knuckles, her nails equally lengthy. Her mottled skin was baggy and wrinkled, covered in green spots.
The goblin queen called for her nail polish, complaining that she had scratched it all off. While the king was telling her it was her own fault, a tall and regal goblin entered, carrying a moldy pillow with different bottles on it. Snorts chose one and I could read the label for a quick second. Vulture Vomit. How pleasant.
I was ready to leave. I was sweating and panicky and the scars on my back hurt. The goblins were scaring me, and I had a feeling that they were just waiting to tear my throat open. The way the king was looking at me didn’t help. He whispered something to his wife and sat up off his throne.
King Skimser blinked his cat-like eyes greedily and brushed his whiskers. His narrow body swayed like a snake and his claws clenched. “I be so hungry! Can I not be having just one bite?”
Queen Snorts looked up from painting her nails. “ Just as long as you save a bite for me.”
Skimser lunged forward, snarling. I tried to move, but I was stuck to the ground in fear. To my horror, he landed on my chest and pinned my arms to my sides. He reared back, preparing to strike, when prince Pond Scum knocked his father with his metal club. “No,” he growled. “Pretty lady have Shield of Paws. She be possessing great power.”
The king snorted. “ I be believing when I see. Show me Shield, girl.”
Able to move again, I brushed him off me with shaking fingers. I reached over my pack and drew out the silver Shield. There was one black paw, one white, each burning in the sun. The goblins shrank back into the shade and said, “ We be doing anything. Just don’t hurt us!”
“ Then tell me how to find the Land of the Living Dead!” I roared, holding up the shield.
Pond Scum was the first to speak. “ Go straight through Gobling Towers. Use path that goes through the two mountains. Travel past wavy meadows and climb down crumbly canyon.”
“ Thank you, Pond Scum,” I said. “ You’ve been a great help. I hope I’ll see you again sometime!”
That was no lie! He had sort of a weird charm behind that dirty skin and ragged appearance. Besides, he had saved my life.
I spun around on my heel and marched down the tower. I entered into the bright sunlight, feeling refreshed and ready. No other worries crossed paths with me until a small girl goblin ran up to me and took my hand. It seemed that I wasn’t going to be alone on my journey.
