Chapter 12: Piedmont Park Goblins
The moment the trio reached the edge of Piedmont Park, they knew something was wrong.
This place had once been filled with calm families picnicking beneath open skies, joggers weaving between paths, children chasing dogs through the grass. A place meant for laughter and rest.
Now, it was something else entirely. The park looked like the aftermath of a massacre.
Scattered body parts lay strewn across the grass and walkways, some dragged from the streets and dumped within the park itself. Torn limbs and mangled torsos had been arranged into crude displays, bodies strung up on broken benches and twisted metal like banners. It looked like… Like warnings. A claim of sorts.
This was no longer Piedmont Park they knew. It was territory of the Piedmont Park Goblins.
The air was thick with the coppery stench of blood and rot. Aryn felt his stomach churn as his eyes tried, and failed to avoid the horrors layered across the ground.
Jaxon seemed to be taking everything in better than Aryn, the smells and sights bothered him. But his focus on his parents drove him to look over the gruesome sight before them.
Kaia gagged. She turned sharply and vomited beside the path. As she pulled back, trembling, she noticed something half buried beneath the mess. It was a human hand.
Her breath hitched. She staggered back, turning away before she could retch again.
"Kaia…" Jaxon said softly, placing a steady hand on her shoulder. "We have to find Mom and Dad. And fast."
His voice grounded her. She swallowed hard and nodded, wiping her mouth as her thoughts latched onto their parents.
Both siblings looked to Aryn. He met their gazes and nodded once, firm, and resolute. They stepped forward together.
The grass crunched beneath their shoes as they entered the park, senses on edge. Goblins were everywhere. Small groups at first, two or three clustered together, some crouched low and gnawing on scraps. Others moved in packs of five or six. In the distance, even larger groups, ten or more could be seen laughing and shoving each other like ruleless children.
None wore armor, but all were armed.
Crude daggers. Clubs made from broken wood and pipe. Rocks clutched in filthy hands. A few held warped bows strung with frayed cords.
The trio ducked behind a low brick barrier near the park entrance.
Jaxon scanned the field, fists flexing as his mind drifted instinctively toward combat. He imagined hurling stones infused with kinetic energy, detonating goblins in every direction… But he knew better. If he burned through his strength too early, he wasn't sure if he'd have anything left when it mattered.
Kaia struggled to focus. Every mangled body fed the same thought.
What if their parents were already gone?
Aryn brought up his map with a thought.
[Maps]
The translucent display filled his vision. Red dots blanketed the park in alarming numbers.
An alert followed.
[Alert: Hostile density increasing]
'Increasing…?'
Aryn zoomed out toward Hollowfront Mall.
He let out a breath of surprise.
Clusters of hostile signatures pulsed outward from the mall like a spreading infection. Smaller groups splintered off toward the surrounding streets, into neighborhoods, businesses, and homes.
This couldn't be random. This was a slaughter spreading outward.
'If they're flooding the streets…' Aryn thought grimly. 'Then this could be like an overflow. They're pouring out of the Mall.'
His jaw tightened. He lowered the map and nodded to himself.
"I think I've got a plan."
Jaxon and Kaia turned to him.
"Kaia," Aryn said quietly, "can you put up a barrier? Something strong enough to block them off, at least part of the ways through park. We fight through the first stretch, then move fast. With your barrier shielding us no doubt."
Kaia inhaled, steadying herself. "I can do it. I don't know how long it'll hold, but… I'll push it."
"If it breaks," Jaxon grinned reassuring his sister, "I'll blow everything chasing us to hell."
Aryn activated the Scanner.
[Scan Complete]
[ENTITY]
Goblin
Monster, Magical
[THREAT LEVEL]
F
[Caution: Area threat elevated due to hostile density.]
[Notification]
[Spirit: Creatures from the rift will only be able to be scanned with limited information.]
'Well, that sucks,' Aryn thought as he reread the Spirit's message. 'Guess knowing the threat level will have to be enough.'
Every goblin read the same. Individually weak, but together one could assume they'd be a lethal bunch of sea green minions.
"We can do this, they are small and probably not as strong as those Gnolls. We just can't let them gang up on us, though." Aryn said. "And we don't stop. Us pushing through no matter what, is key."
They stepped out and Aryn led, with Kaia and Jaxon forming a tight triangle behind him.
Jaxon couldn't help but to think to himself.
'Aryn seems to be stepping into a new him, huh?' he let a friendly smirk stretch on one side of his face at the thought.
Five goblins noticed them immediately and they shrieked in alarm.
Aryn wasted no time and did what he knew best, he charged.
One goblin drew back its bow but a spear of golden light punched through its chest before the arrow could fly. Kaia's construct dissolved as blackish green blood spilled down its length.
Aryn slammed into the group, [Pulse] activated and surging through his limbs empowering his might. Three goblins were knocked sprawling. Jaxon finished the fourth with a brutal kick that snapped bone but spared his explosive Kinetic force.
Aryn grabbed the last goblin by the leg and hurled it into another that was scrambling to stand. The wet crack echoed through the park signaling gruesome deaths.
But they didn't stop as more goblins converged, drawn by noise and movement.
"Kaia, your shield!" Aryn shouted.
A golden dome snapped into place around them. Rocks and arrows slammed into it with hollow, watery, metallic 'THUMS'. The barrier kept humming as it absorbed impact after impact.
Kaia grit her teeth. "It's holding, just keep moving!"
So they continued to run. Jaxon infused stones with kinetic energy as they sprinted, improvising with his own twist of excitement and assistance.
"Open the back of this dome, now!" he roared.
Kaia dropped the back of the barrier for a split second, with the front still protecting them. Jaxon hurled the stones and the explosions ripped through the pursuing goblins in a violent bloom. Screams cut off abruptly as bodies flew apart.
The remaining goblins faltered with fear that rippled through their horde, ultimately bringing them to a halt.
The trio didn't look back. They couldn't afford all of the goblins in the park to catch up.
By the time they reached the far edge of the park, Kaia dropped the barrier and stumbled, drenched in sweat. Her chest heaved, but beneath the exhaustion, something felt… cleaner. More stable. She was looking at the palms of her head in confusion at first, but simply nodded with confirmation to the feeling within her.
They slipped into an empty alley leading toward Hollowfront Mall.
Aryn checked the map. The street on the other side of the alley was clear.
As they peeked out, the mall loomed ahead and a notification chimed from the Aryn's UI. He checked out the notification, an Alert.
[Alert: Task created]
[Task: Scan the Rift in Hollowfront Mall]
The real fight hadn't even started.