Hezok and the Dark Spirit

Maraine tilted his head, the drained pallor of his face revealing his exhaustion. “This is not goblin-like,” he said hoarsely, dry with thirst. “What would you know to be goblin?” Hezok replied harshly. “Besides being thieving, murdering scum?” Tatnya coughed. Hezok’s brow bent as he looked angrily back at the woman. “Then why are you the ones always sneaking our lands?” “If we came quietly, it was only to not raise the attention of your people. We did not want a fight with you.” “Then why were you on the Runik?” Hezok asked urgently. Tatnya looked worriedly toward Maraine, who had paused as he studied the goblin looming over him. “We were lost,” he replied at last. “Lost?” Hezok asked doubtfully. “You dodged other patrols well enough.” “I may not know where I am, but I do know how to avoid a hunting party, mostly.” Maraine conceded to the present situation. “And how to kill a hunting party,” Hezok said hatefully. Maraine’s eyes widened slightly, not understanding Hezok’s meaning. “Kill? We have fought no one since the fight in the grass.” “Three pirates are lying dead in this house. I no care for the pirates, but you are the only explanation.” Maraine shook his head. “We had nothing to do with that,” he said, and he looked at the frightened pirate in the corner. The pirate looked at Maraine and then straight at Hezok. He shook his head furiously, refuting Hezok’s assertion. Through the cloth stuffed in his mouth, the pirate was still able to get a few recognizable words out. “Him!” “What?” Vrik asked impatiently, catching not even a quarter of what was being communicated. Hezok relaxed his posture a little and gestured toward the humans. “They claim they don’t know what happened to the pirates.” “As if we trusted the word of a human,” Gink growled with a dark look at the pair on the floor. “If we did not need to bring them back, I’d kill them right here and now.” Hezok pointed his sword at Gink. “You’re not killing anyone without my command.” Gink relented, looking away and back toward the humans. Maraine coughed, getting Hezok’s attention. “I not say I not know what happened them,” he spoke in rough goblin. Hezok was taken slightly back, as were the others. Never had they known a human to goblin speak. “That’s not bad,” Umquak said, impressed. “I speak better than that,” Vrik said, disgusted. “That’s not saying much since it’s your own tongue,” Nalek jibed. “We heard them,” Maraine said, returning to the commerce tongue. “And that’s why you hid down here?” Hezok asked. Maraine groaned and gave a nod. He seemed drained by the sheer effort of merely moving his head. “I think you killed them,” Hezok accused. “How?” Tatnya shouted. “You nearly killed us already. We’re in no shape for a fight with a bunch of pirates.” Hezok thought about it a moment. Much of what was said made sense to him. They were in poor condition, and it was obvious to everyone in the room. And then there was the pirate’s insistence that someone else had killed his men. But Hezok did not give any credence to his claim that it was the former master of the house, Clanacha. It seemed that would require the man to have risen from the dead in order to move around the house and slaughter intruders with a sword. Umquak seemed willing enough to give that idea some credibility. He himself squawked at the notion of it actually being Clanacha, but he was steadfastly certain about the nature of the house. As far as he was concerned, it was a fact that the house was haunted. Hezok stared at Maraine. “Then tell us about it. Why did you come to the Runik, and how did you wind up here?” Maraine stared at the goblin, trying to decide if he held any sense of honor, or if he would slit their throats just as quickly as Maraine finished telling them everything. Finally, he decided that there was no harm to come if he were to inform the goblins of their purpose. Maraine sighed and nodded to the goblin. Wearily, he spoke. “I was in pursuit of a murderer.” “Who just happened to be on the Runik?” Hezok asked. “He fled into your lands. Before we could find him—let’s say things did not go as planned.” “Like running into us?” “Yes,” Maraine wearily said. “Of the three of us, only Tatnya and I survived your assault to wind up here, chased by everything on this earth, now it seems. It was the pirates who came in here looking for us first,” Maraine whispered, nearly spent. “And then you killed them,” Hezok finished. Tatnya could stay quiet no longer. “Not us! It was him! We could hear them running around upstairs,” Tatnya said quickly. “Why should I believe that?” Hezok asked, arms still folded. He tried to sound disbelieving, but in truth, they just did not seem up to it. And yet, there was no other believable explanation. He hoped pressing them would shake loose some tidbit they had kept hidden. Tatnya’s eyes were dark, despising this goblin interrogating them. She opened her mouth to fire back some remark when the sound of a commotion interrupted her. Everyone flinched, reflexively looking toward the cold ceiling over their heads. The sounds of many feet tromping across the floorboards of the entry hall upstairs reverberated down into the cellar.