The Matriarch's Daughter

Interlude: The Goblin's Watch

Watch and report.

The memory of the command burrowed into the small mind of the beady-eyed goblin as he stared across the rocky field. It had been three days since he and his companion had arrived. In the time since, barely a creature passed, save for a single band of warriors. Off and on, rain had drenched their patch-work clothing and the icy chill of the wind shook their bones; but its tease was only the beginning. A storm was coming. For whatever reason, known only to the gods, he and his companion stayed glued to the spot before them.

Watch and report.

In the distance, the sea could be heard. Winds stirred the abounding waves, beckoning the storm's strength as far as the eye could see. The tide drew low, pulling the surf out far along the shoreline and then returned it with a vengeance; crashing into the dunes all along the coast. Still, it was early, and the storm was only flexing its power.

A wooden platform stood before the two goblins in the middle of the rocky field. A stairway led up to the pillared-platform, roughly twenty- feet in the air. For the moment, neither one cared to gain access to the platform, but kept their distance, focusing on the crystal on top. Its reflected light would temporarily blind him with every flashing bolt, yet its hypnotizing gesture oddly focused him to the task at hand.

Watch and report.

Time marched on, but still the goblin remained rooted to the spot. A passing hunter would have killed him and his companion without a second thought as to why or what they had been doing, but no one came. The wind and rain made sure of it. Still, he waited.

Near midday, or at least as far as he could tell, a small spark from the crystal piqued his interest. It flickered and stuttered, as if someone was trying to bang two rocks together to start a fire. Second by second, the energy grew brighter. Lightning pulsed in the sky as bolts found the path of least resistance. When the energy finally reached its peak, a crash of thunder boomed in the air, sending a shockwave that knocked his companion over. With its burst, the crystal broke. Figures originating from its center were flung into the air. A female satyr holding a bow, was knocked back towards the far end. As she flew, she screamed something neither goblin understood.

"Eeeeeeeeee?" said the knocked companion, making his way to his feet as he mimicked the response. "Rreeee reeee?"

He ignored his companion. This was no time to act like swine, he thought.

A second satyr holding a large battle- axe was thrown into one of the pillars and fell to the ground, unconscious. A halfling wearing beat- up plate armor bowled down the stairs, dropping her shield and sword along the way. She painfully rolled towards the bottom, but managed to slow her momentum and stopped short of the ground. She struggled to bring her hand up and place it on her chest. The hand glowed. A few seconds later, she gasped, got up, and frantically climbed back up the stairs while ignoring her discarded items.

An older human warrior almost flew off the ledge, but managed to catch it at the last second. A lesser human would have easily fallen, perhaps not to his death, but to his pain. The fact that he was able to grab the ledge in this rain spoke volumes to his skill.

Mildly impressed, the goblin raised his brow.

Two more figures emerged from the now defunct crystal: a pink-headed human and an elf, wearing loosely torn robes. Unlike the others, they managed to catch themselves and land gracefully. The elf ran to help the human on the ledge. As the human female followed him to assist, she noticed the unconscious satyr— changed course— and cried out a name.

"Vivian!"

It was then, much to the goblin's glee, a great rumbling of noise reverberated over the platform.