The Summer I Met The Goblin King (ONC 2023)

Chapter Twelve: Unfixable

The woods shifted for what had to be the twentieth time since Hella and Barrett had started to walk down the pathway. It seemed no one had noticed Casey's disappearance but them, or at least, they were the only ones looking for her.

"Casey!" Hella called, doing a loop-de-loop with her staff. "Stop hiding and come out, this isn't a time for games."

Barrett clung to Hella. His breathing was fast, making it obvious he was in distress. It was a pity he couldn't enjoy the ride like she could. Landing, again, Hella helped him off and grabbed her staff in her hand, tapping it twice to make light on the end.

The trees parted to reveal the path at her tapping as a dark mist blanketed the landscape. Up ahead, three figures were visible, but besides one being a little shiny, Hella couldn't make out other details.

"Fly and see, fly and see for me," she whispered to the bird on her shoulder.

The bird flew ahead and swooped back towards her. "It's Sir Godly and Gigi, there's a man with a knife." The bird upchucked a blade into her hand. "I stole the weapon."

Gigi grabbed the man that had been behind Sir Godly, threw him over her shoulder, and pinned him to the ground with her sword to his throat.

Hella wandered over. That was impressive but not unexpected. After Gigi had thrown Sir Godly, Hella believed in only the best shows of strength from the young girl. It was fascinating to watch.

Over ten hooded figures melted into the shadows of the woods, surrounding Sir Godly and Gigi. Hella summoned a snack and sat down against a tree trunk.

"Aren't we going to help them?" Barrett asked, staring at her in disbelief.

Hella waved him off. "They can handle this, it'd be better to stay out of their way. Besides, fights are the best time for snacks, they always make me hungry." She held the container out towards him. "Toasted frog legs?"

"No thanks, that's disgusting," Barrett said, scrunching his nose and pulling out an old piece of bread he started munching on just as Gigi threw the first blow. "You're right, fights really do make you hungry!"

The ground exploded to the left. Several ant ladies came out of the hole with Casey walking behind them. Hella watched intently and munched on her frog legs.

This just gets more and more interesting!

A few of the hooded figures were thrown and flew past her, landing on the ground a few feet away. Hella summoned sleeping dust and blew it on their faces to ensure they wouldn't disturb her moment of relaxation.

Casey came over towards her. "This is Mel." She leaned forward and dropped her voice into a whisper. "She thinks I'm some kind of savior. I need your help figuring something out because I don't know how to save anybody."

Tossing her container into the air and teleporting it back to her house, Hella grabbed her staff and stood up. "Let's go!"

Sir Godly got buried beneath five figures while Gigi easily took on the other remaining three that stood against her.

"Do—do you want to help them first?" Casey asked, glancing over at them with concern.

"Nah, they got it." Hella grabbed Barrett and took him onto her staff. "Come, Barrett, we got savior stuff to do!"

Casey and Mel lead the way back underground. Hella observed with keen interest. She had never been invited into a place like this before. The distinct glow of a certain substance caught her eye. Getting closer, she put on a glove and poked at it. The sludge-like substance hissed, putting smoke into the air that made her stomach roll.

"Their queen has been poisoned and many of their warriors are dying, we need to figure out how to stop it," Casey said, leading her down to a large room where the warriors and queen resided.

The substance dripped off of tree roots and made puddles on the ground. Hella flew up to the ceiling and exploded a hole through it.

"Don't let her be violent! She may kill the queen!" Mel cried, her voice cut off oddly.

Hella ignored what was going on below and stepped down on the ground in the area beside the opening. Tapping her staff, she caused it to glow, illuminating the room. Barrett stumbled back and coughed. The smoke was more intense up here.

Walking forward, Hella found three dumped barrels in the tunnel passage. "Elixir of death." She swallowed. This was bad. Anyone that used such dark magical substance was a maniac, truly evil. Hella had been asked to make such a thing once but she'd refused. It wasn't often a witch or wizard would tarnish their name by doing such an awful thing.

Hella picked up the barrels, preventing more from spilling out than it already had. This wasn't reversible. It wasn't often Hella found something that could not be cured, but this, this was dark magic. This was a curse, one that spread. In order to stop it, they'd have to kill everyone infected and move everyone who wasn't as far away as possible.

Flying back down, Hella came to stand before Mel and kept her most sympathetic face possible. "I'm sorry. There is nothing we can do. They used the Elixir of Death."

Mel's face fell and her mandibles clicked in alarm. "Then that means—we can't save any of them."

"I'm afraid so." Hella looked down at the ground. "Gather everyone who remains unaffected and get them out of here. I'll release a gas that will put the infected into a peaceful sleep, that way they can painlessly pass." Looking up at Casey and Barrett, Hella's tone stayed serious and one note. "Get out of here. The gas could kill you too. I'm only immune because it comes from my own magic."

Casey and Barrett nodded.

"We are all that remains," Mel said quietly. "We can make sure to bring your friends to safety. Thank you for your help. This is not the type of saving I was expecting, but knowing that my friends will pass peacefully makes it hurt just a little bit less."

Hella stood in the center of the big room and waited until all the movement was so far away that they were safely out of range. Swirling her staff, she created a smoke cloud and slowly expanded it until it reached each infected. Their harsh breathing became softer, peaceful, then all was silent.

Tears didn't come, sorrow didn't hit her chest. Hella had lost too much in her life to feel such things anymore. She had turned off those emotions forever, never to speak of them again. What was the point in living if she allowed grief to rule her every moment? If sorrow was all she felt and wallowed in?

Pasting on a smile, she left the cavern behind, guilt ebbing away at her for finding them unable to be saved. The black scar on her side expanded, stabbing at her skin. She knew what it was like to be cursed, but she wouldn't let it rule her life, even if everytime she used darker magic, she brought herself closer to death. Some things were just—unfixable.