CHAPTER SIXTEEN GOBLIN KING TAUDRIDOR UNDETERRED

  Deep inside his rocky underground cavern stronghold, Goblin King Taudridor gritted his teeth angrily as he walked. Every goblin he passed either looked away from him or down at the dirty floor in shame, if they noticed him at all, as they were tending to their battle wounds, now that another failed assault on The Elven Forest had taken pce.

  Deeper and deeper into The Goblin Caverns the tall, broad goblin muttered, as he lifted his enormous spike covered club and smmed it into corridor after corridor in a mix of anguish and anger. Goblin after goblin shrieked out and cowered as their leader went before them. As the minutes passed by, with every turn and level descent into the caverns, Taudridor started to see less and less of his fighters and underlings. Finally, when there was no goblin in site, he came upon a rge rectangle cut into the rock formation.

  The sound of dripping water and scurrying creatures could be heard in the distance as he grabbed a rge lever. As he pulled the lever back, the rge cut rock opened up to reveal a dark room in the darkest cave in all of his cavern fortress. After closing the rock door behind him, King Taudridor lit three torches, walked forward a few paces, and stood in front of a glowing crystal. The crystal’s glow permeated out toward three giant creatures encased in a magical ice.

  Silently, the goblin king looked up at the creatures, marveling at their wide leather wings, their strong cws, and finally to their sharp fangs. After looking from the giant bats and back down at the glowing crystal again, his face remained fierce. All traces of anguish had dissipated. The goblin king slid his giant club between his worn leather belt and ragged torn shorts. Then he crossed his arms.

  "Your time is coming soon, Queen Lightshower," whispered King Taudridor, through clenched teeth.

  Taudridor pulled the lever again and blew out the three torches as the door touched the top of the cavern ceiling. After leaving the glowing room and the door smmed back down, the goblin king began to walk up the natural rocky stairs toward the upper levels of his kingdom. But after only a few steps he looked back at the room he had just left. And with a smile, decred...

  "Rule your people well, sorceress. Now. And while you still can."