LIGHTNOVELONLINE Interlude – Gull (G.000)
His first clue that something was wrong came just minutes after waking up. Barnacle wasn’t bothering him. Over the years he’d been living there, Gull had gotten used to the noise that made up his home. The crashing waves through the ocean eroded rock that made up his home were just background noise, however loud they may be. Even the sounds of the city above rarely were capable of waking him.
Barnacle however, would be on him like– well, a barnacle. Hence the name. You couldn’t scrape him off if you tried. It would have been endearing, if barnacle hadn’t been so annoying. Try as he might, Gull could never quite get used to the annoying little brat always tailing him. But, to wake up, and not see Barnacle’s little head poke around the side of the chamber gull slept in within minutes was a change to the status quo, and one that filled Gull with a small sense of unease.
The caves carved out over thousands of years of ocean crashing against the face of the cliff were home to the Ocean Cave tribe. Naming was not one of their strong suits. While fairly safe from outside threats, the small cave system they lived in could be dangerous by virtue of wet and slippery rock with sea moss growing on it, and the occasional swell of the ocean itself.
So, when Barnacle failed to show up, Gull decided to go looking. Annoying or not, Gull would rather the slight embarrassment of being the one to go find him this morning, rather than the possibility that the little wretch was in trouble and Gull didn’t even try to find him.
His second clue that something was wrong came when he entered the shared common space in the largest chamber of the sea cave to find it also empty.
It was a circular cavern of smooth stone. In a lower part of the room, water still ran at high tide. But a big flat area remained dry in all but the biggest surges, and there the Ocean Cave tribe had set up a cook fire with a stolen pot, and a circle of mismatched pillows, cushions, and bundled up cloth to sit on. The remains of dinner from the night before, a stew made from a few ocean fish and kelp, were slowly congealing in the pot they’d used to cook it. Gull was not used to waking and finding leftovers at all, much less a cooking fire that hadn’t even gotten started. A deep sense of unease filled him.
Had there been a raid? How had he slept through that, and why had no one found him? The Ocean Cave tribe was a tribe of rats. Not literal rats, that’s just how they thought of themselves. The city on the cliff above them would have thought of them simply as monsters. Why? It was unclear to Gull. The people themselves may have struggled to come to a clear answer. Because they were dangerous? Because they were thieves? Because they were frightening to look upon? Because killing them was profitable? There were a lot of potential reasons, but it all boiled down to one simple truth. The Ocean Cave tribe was a tribe of goblins.
But, like rats, the Ocean Cave tribe lived under the city anyway. The caves that made up their home had a few points that intersected with the city sewers, and from there they could often sneak into the city, steal goods or rummage through garbage. Whatever they needed, really. They had learned to be careful not to be caught, because if too many got caught in too short a time, the humans in the city above would send people down looking for them.
A raid usually meant violence though, and there were no signs of violence. The rest of the tribe was simply missing. All of their belongings remained completely intact. If the humans had come in the night, why had they not destroyed anything? Why had they left Gull sleeping peacefully in his bed? No, this was something else.
Gull found his way carefully to one of the openings from the cave onto the beach, hoping to find his people had vacated the caves for some reason onto the beach. It was dangerous to do so, because they could be spotted. But it wouldn’t be the first time it had ever happened. Although, if there was some danger in the caves, Gull would have been a little hurt no one came to retrieve him.
The beaches were empty. Not simply empty of his tribe, there was no activity at all as far as the eye could see. Gull couldn’t even see humans aboard any of the boats that were out in the bay. In fact, a couple were getting dangerously close to the shore, and still no one seemed to be doing anything about it.
He sat and watched in stunned shock for a very long time, during which he even saw a boat run aground. Nothing. No one. Was this a dream? It had to be something like that. Although the rumbling in his stomach seemed to disagree, what other explanation was there?
Gull retreated back into the cave and got the cooking fire started. He had a lot of leftovers to himself, and wasn’t about to let them go to waste.
Gull spent the rest of his day in his chamber. He wasn’t hiding. He was definitely not hiding, or scared. Whatever had happened to his tribe and the humans would probably be all back to normal in the morning. After all, if it had killed them, there would be bodies.
Gulls’ prevailing theory right now was that he had eaten some very bad fish in that stew, and was hallucinating this whole thing. So, if he just waited it out, everything would go back to normal.
At least, that’s what he had told himself all day long, and even into the night. Only, the next day nothing had changed. He rose, expected to see Barnacle’s green head poking around the side of the entryway to see if he was awake. But, no one came. He rose and found his way into the common area, and no one was present. He went down to the beach to see that a few more boats had washed up onto the beach, and no one was doing anything about it.
Ultimately, it was hunger that finally forced him to move. With no one to gather food he was running out quickly, and if he completely ran out, he would die. It was as simple as that. Gull wasn’t usually one of the goblins that did raids to the city above, but with him being the only one still here there was not much choice. He felt guilty going into Barnacle’s sleeping area and scavenging enough cloth to cover himself head to toe. But he told himself that when the little goblin returned, he’d make sure to share some of the loot.
With that, it was just a simple trip up through the sewers. Well, for anyone not from his tribe it would hardly be a simple trip. But, every single one of the Ocean Cave tribe knew the sewer system like the back of their hand. After all, even if you were not one for sneaking into the city, there were good locations to be aware of. Hiding spots, places humans dumped useful items occasionally, dangerous places to avoid, and more.
In no time at all, he found himself staring out of a sewer grate at the main square of the city. It was deserted. There wasn’t a soul in sight. Despite that, Gull found himself bracing for a sudden shout of ‘Gotcha!’ and being hauled into the city square for an execution.
But, no such thing came. After a solid fifteen minutes of just staring, Gull pushed the loose grate out of the way and hauled himself up. The city square was empty. There weren’t even sounds of people moving about or doing whatever it was people did in this city all day long. The silence was eerie, but still less scary than if there had been people around. With a shrug, Gull started walking the streets.
He didn’t really know what he was looking for, since he had mostly heard from other goblins what it was like in the city. He’d always assumed that the others were telling goblin tales. The buildings weren’t made of bread, the fountains weren’t stocked with free fish, and there wasn’t a weapon shop on every corner. But more of it was true than not, to his surprise. It was clean, and warm. The walls around the city protected from the sea breeze. And every little shop seemed to be stocked with treasures beyond his imagination, even just looking through the windows.
But, the first time he actually entered one was when he saw something out of his wildest dreams. A little shop with some text he couldn’t read and a picture of a loaf of bread on the sign. After walking in, Gull found himself in a bakery. The glass case at the front of the door stocked absolutely to the brim with all manner of breads, pastries, sweets and more.
Gull wasn’t sure how long he was standing still, staring into the magical case full of dreams. He finally snapped out of it when he heard the sound of a wet glob of drool hitting the hard wood floor. Like the sound of a shout to start a race, it activated him.
Before he knew it, he was racing forward, trying to find a way into the case. He was about to break the glass, when he realized the back had no glass covering it. He dove around the side, and grabbed a fistfull of the closest bread. Soft! It was so soft! Even being a day old, he’d never touched such soft bread before! And the flavor! It was incredible! Better than anything he’d eaten in his entire life! Light and fluffy with just a hint of salt. It was like eating a cloud. What he’d always imagined they’d taste like!
He grabbed a second, and a third, shoveling them into his mouth. The second one was sweet, with a bit of cream and fruit. The third one was savory with some kind of cheese and peppers baked into it. The fourth– wasn’t going down properly. He’d swallowed too fast without chewing and he could feel the bread inching its way down his esophagus but he couldn’t breathe! He’d eaten too fast. He hit the floor, and pounded on the hardwood floor with a fist.
He could throw up? No. No no no. He absolutely wouldn’t let this food go to waste. Even if it killed him! But then, who would eat the rest of the food? It would waste away in this shop. Unacceptable! He was about to push his fingers down his throat when the bread thankfully went down. Gull laid on the floor gasping for air.
After a few seconds, a single green arm reached from the floor up into the case for another piece.
Some time later, a goblin exited the bakery feeling more full than he ever had. A bag was slung over his shoulder, holding the remaining food items that he couldn’t eat. If this were a normal raid, it would be time to duck back into the sewers. After all, this was already the best haul anyone had ever gotten as far as he knew.
But, there was still no one around. So, why bother? Gull was feeling just great, and he wanted to explore! The next stop was the blacksmith. Gull had never seen so much fancy steel in one place! The Ocean Cave tribe had a few old pieces of steel that had been thrown away from above, or had been looted off of the bloated corpse of a drowned fisherman. But they were few and far between, and most of them had chips or other imperfections.
In the blacksmith shop though, Gull saw the same kinds of swords and armor that the humans wore when they came to raid. In a way it was frightening, but now they were all his! He left his bag of baked goods by the door and proceeded into the shop. Knives, swords, shields, armor, even a flail greeted him.
He had to use knives most often, so that area was his first stop. There were a few kitchen and fishing knives, but he really fell in love when his eyes found an ornate dagger. The sheath alone was decorated with a fine gold filigree in a beautiful pattern, and the hilt alone hinted at the kind of weapon goblins would tell stories about for centuries.
Gull reached for the blade, and instantly the lore came to him. This blade, forged in the heart of the ocean by a long dead seafaring nation granted total dominion over the sea, and the sea wind. It was thought lost for generations, before being found by the son of a blacksmith, an apprentice on a fishing vessel. Then, stolen by its true owner, Gull. The blade can cut through stone like water does, it controls the tides, and can cut the wind itself! It’s name is– Is. It’s name is… He’d decide later. For now, he wanted to play with it.
Part of goblin culture was creating lore for your items. A shiny knife was cool, but the Blade of the Sea Winds was far cooler. This extended even to goblins themselves, who would often craft intricate backstories for themselves. Of course, all the other goblins understood that these stories were just that. Stories. Often inspired by real events, but at heart a creative game meant as a form of self expression. It was very rude in goblin culture to call attention to the fictional nature of these stories, even though it was assumed that everyone knew. When goblins passed, as they frequently did, they would be remembered in part by the stories they created, and the lore of the items they passed down. Through this, even in death a part of them remained. The part they wanted to express most. The part they wanted to be remembered.
Armed with his new destined blade, Gull went outside the shop and gave it a few experimental swings and stabs. He didn’t really know how to use it, in truth. But, that didn’t stop him. The sound of the knife cutting through the air filled him with a giddy sense of joy. Yes, this truly was the blade that could cut the sea winds!
Gull let out a joyful shout as a small gust of wind hit the blade just right and the sound grew a little stronger. He couldn’t wait to go back and show everyon–
Gull stopped in his tracks, and looked down at the knife. He glanced around at the silent surroundings. Oh yeah. He still had no idea where they all went, or if they’d be back, or anything really. For the first time, his unease at that took a few leaps and bounds towards grief instead. They would be back, right?
He didn’t know. But, his desire to play had just evaporated. Sheathing the blade, he gathered up his things and kept walking. Maybe he could find something new to take his mind off all this. There was no point in crying. Goblins died all the time. If they were dead, they were dead. He wasn’t, so he should be grateful for that and remember them.
He should be living it up with his new findings. In fact, he knew just what to do. His eyes scanned over the city until he found the castle. All goblins knew that to go near the castle was certain death. But, there were no humans here, so why not?
The smooth paving stones of the main road that lead to the castle were similar in some ways to the smooth cave floors of Gull’s home, and yet walking along the path he couldn’t help but feel awed by how the denizens of the city had shaped them. Forced them to be flat, perfect, and lead in straight lines to where they should.
As he approached the castle gates, the structure towered above him. It had always towered above the city, but from the beach it seemed so small. Now that he was right up on it, the sense of scale was almost overwhelming. Fortunately, the gates were open. The humans must not have been expecting whatever happened any more than the Ocean Cave tribe had.
Gull was able to simply walk in. Of course, once inside the building felt like a labyrinth. The irony of the maze-like sewers being completely known to him but being unable to find his way around a castle was unfortunately lost on him. But, after poking around for a while he found his way into a surprisingly simple dining room. Half eaten food still littered the table, as if the residents of the castle had vanished mid-meal. This dining room was attached to the kitchens and pantries.
It had been sitting out for quite a while at this point, so Gull wasn’t terribly sure about simply taking some of the half eaten meats. But the fresh salad on the table was only slightly wilted. He grabbed up the bowl and continued on, scooping handfuls of the lettuce, tomato, and cucumbers that made up the plain meal.
But, as he poked his head around a corner he saw something very interesting. A room stocked from floor to ceiling with bottles of wine. Gull abandoned the salad, at once and went digging through the bottles. Occasionally, his tribe would be able to obtain some wine. Usually when they raided a fishing vessel or the dock workers near the beach. It was a rare treat! But even the bottles this wine was stored in seemed so much higher quality than anything he’d ever laid eyes on.
It took a while to remove a cork carefully with the Blade of the Sea Winds, as it was made for much grander moments. Gull managed anyway, and after a few solid minutes of tinkering there was a popping sound and he extracted the last bits of cork.
He took a sip. It was an extremely rich and smooth flavor, almost sweet. Gull squealed in delight, and continued sipping on the bottle. As he did, he shoveled three more into his sack of pastries and continued on his quest. He wasn’t sure where he was going. There had to be sleeping areas around here somewhere he figured, and if he found one he could work outward from there.
He found a room stocked with a lot of gold and jewelry, and giggled to himself while he put on as many rings and necklaces as would fit. He found a room that smelled like the sewers. He’d never even seen a bathroom like this before! It had a seat so you didn’t have to squat, and cleaned itself. It even had a working shower. The goblin looked upon it like it was magic itself. He noted its location for later.
After a time, he found himself in a very large chamber with a large ornate chair set front and center, raised on a pedestal. A throne. It looked so… So cool! Gull dropped his things and ran to sit on the chair. It was, ultimately, a chair. So it didn’t do anything interesting or lift off into the air like he was hoping. But, it was quite comfortable. It was also large for him. He could easily curl up on the thing. But, he’d be bored. The rest of this room was just big and empty. Sure it was decorated, but there was nothing happening. The windows were cool, but they were all too high up to really spend time looking through.
Gull decided to do the only natural thing. He ripped down some of the cloth on the walls, and started himself a fire. It was time for a pastry, wine, and throne party.
Gull drank too much. He had no idea what alcohol was capable of in quantity, but he did know it tasted good and made him feel invincible. By the end of the night, he had made a game of jumping from chandelier to chandelier across his little campfire. He’d found a way to look out the windows from one of them too! Although the alcohol must have been playing some big tricks on him, because he couldn’t even see the stars.
After a few hours of drinking, playing around, and turning the throne into a bed by stacking every pillow and cloth he could find around and onto it, he finally fell asleep.
Only to wake in the morning with what he could only describe as ‘death sickness’. If he had anyone to describe it to. The birds chirping outside sounded like they were screaming in his ears, the sunlight was magnified tenfold, and his stomach was as untamed as the sea. Well, as the sea without his legendary blade, of course.
With a weak groan, the goblin lifted himself off his throne and collapsed onto the floor. He told himself he was never drinking wine again. Then, he decided that maybe just not that much again. In one sitting. It was too good to give up completely. But, this morning all he wanted was to find his way out under the sky and lie down until he felt better. Preferably with his eyes covered.
Fortunately, he found that this room opened up almost directly to the outside through a courtyard, and he was able to walk around the outside until he found his way to the gate again. With only a quick detour to dunk his whole head in a garden fountain and drink until he threw up, then again until his stomach was full of fresh water.
Finally, Gull collapsed in the courtyard outside the castle. He sprawled out on his back, and just thought for a while. People hadn’t reappeared. Still. He’d been prepared to get captured by the humans if they showed back up while he was in the palace. But, they hadn’t. Would new humans be showing up from other places to take control of this city? He had no idea. He also had no real desire to go looking for another tribe to join. Part of that was the lingering hope that he might look around a corner and find Barnacle and the rest searching for him, and the other part was… Well, goblins usually went searching for each other out of necessity.
There was no danger here. He could simply sit and languish. Oh, he’d need to figure out food sooner or later, but a trip to the shore and gathering up the human’s quality fishing gear would sort that out. He had water. He had shelter. Actually, his life had just gotten a lot easier.
But, at the same time he was full of a sense of emptiness. What now? Now that he wasn’t struggling to survive. He could only party so long, and in fact, this morning he wasn’t feeling much like partying at all.
Instead, he just laid there on the smooth stones. He listened to the sea birds, and the waves crashing below. He could do anything he wanted. So, what did he want to do? He’d never had that question before. Not for more than an afternoon. Gull didn’t particularly think of himself as a deep thinker. Usually he just went with the flow of what was happening around him. But now that flow, like everything else, was simply stillness. He was going to have to decide what to do. He was–
A crash interrupted his thoughts. It was beyond loud. He would have described it as sounding like lightning if it hit a rock and that rock exploded into more lightning. When Gull opened his eyes, the sky was dark. The crash hadn’t sounded like it came from that far away.
He rose as quickly as he could and staggered in the direction it had come from. It was just over by the bakery, near where he had come up from the sewers. There was a light emanating from the area that he could see even several streets over.
For a second, he thought about running away. But then, he thought he could hear voices. Two people were speaking over there! He dropped everything and ran! Maybe he could find out what happened!
Down the street, he ran his heart out, then around a corner, then–
In a square where two major roads met, they were standing. The same square he had entered the city from, even. Two figures were in the center of it, standing opposed. A human, and a goblin. The human was a woman, adult, and wearing black clothes. She stood taller than the goblin, by about a foot and a half, and the more he looked at her the less sure he was that she was actually human. He felt an overwhelming sense that he was looking at something far bigger just pretending to be bound to a mortal frame. She also was holding a strange device pointed at the goblin, and something about how she was holding it told Gull it was a weapon.
But somehow, the goblin was far stranger to Gull. That was because the goblin looked exactly like him. He had seen his reflection before in water, and steel, and even just last night. This goblin was him. He was exactly the same. Gull hid and poked his head out from around the corner to look in more detail.
The goblin was wearing a long coat and strange clothes of a style he didn’t recognize under it. Apart from the strange clothes though, it was him. Just, not him. He wanted to approach and ask what the hell was going on, but the way the two were staring at each other, he was sure a conflict was brewing. The woman spoke first.
“Don’t bother moving. You’re already caught in the spell.”
The goblin replied, in Gull’s voice.
“You don’t have to do this. Aren’t we friends? What happened to you? You promised me–”
The woman cut him off, raising her voice to speak loudly.
“Come on out here Gull. I know you’re watching. Hiding won’t do you any good.”
The goblin continued.
“After everything we’ve been through together? You can stop this right now. You said we would break it together! Was everything a lie?”
The woman addressed him again.
“Of course not. We’ve been good friends up till now Gull. But that time is over now. I’ll grieve you, but this has to happen.”
“It doesn’t! It’s not too late!
Gull carefully stepped out from behind his hiding spot, and saw that the woman was already turning to look at him. She smiled, but the sense that he was looking at something pretending to be human only intensified. It was a smile with nothing behind it. Or maybe, with so much behind it he couldn’t understand it. Like ships in the fog, not being able to make out how many or how large they are, but knowing they’re there anyway.
“Nice of you to join us. Come on, stand right there. You’re a part of this too you know.”
Gull spoke slowly.
“Who are you? What’s happening?”
The woman responded politely, even cheerfully.
“Well, my friend here is you. Another you. Would you like to explain, Gull? It’s the least I can do. I’m sure you remember this little speech by heart, don’t you?”
Gull watched as the other him grimaced. The Not-Him reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pair of glasses, but before he could put them on the device in the woman’s hand went off, firing a blast of fire and light that incinerated the glasses in Not-Gull’s hand.
The other goblin laughed, grimly.
“Fine. We’re really doing this huh? Of course we are.”
He turned to address Gull, who was staring in wide eyed shock. His clothes were still stained with wine from the night’s festivities, and he felt like he was going to faint.
“How do you kill a time traveler? The thing that people don’t get is that time is deterministic. You’re going to learn this lesson well. Imagine for a second you could move through time. A friend’s child fell into the ocean and drowned. They come begging for you to save them. You have to refuse. Do you know why?”
Gull, still not really understanding what was happening, shook his head.
“If you try you will fail. Every single time. No matter what. The reason is simple. You’re there to save the child because they asked you to. If you saved the child, they wouldn’t be there asking you. Which means, you didn’t save the child. You can’t. It will be as if the world itself conspires against you. Time is happening all at once. It’s only our perception of it that makes it feel like it’s linear. You can’t change what has already happened, just because you can skip around on the line.”
Gull swallowed, and felt how dry his mouth was. He didn’t understand this at all. He tried speaking.
“I don’t get it. Why are you here? What is happening?”
The future Gull smiled sadly and responded simply.
“How do you kill a time traveler? You make him watch you do it. She’s here to kill us.”
With that, he turned his attention back to the woman.
“So, here we are at last. Tell me, do you feel like a victim of fate right now? Is your hand being forced by the world itself? I am begging you. Decide not to do this. We said we’d break fate together! You promised me!”
The woman replied simply.
“I’m sorry, Gull.”
“Please. I can help you. I don’t know what it is, but let me help you.”
She shook her head.
In the last moment, the future Gull turned towards the present one and shouted.
“Don’t trust her! Her name is L–”
The device went off. A hole appeared where the goblin’s chest had been. It was simply gone. He crumpled.
Gull screamed. He screamed and screamed and screamed. He still didn’t fully understand what was happening. He felt like he was losing his mind. He had just seen– Seen his own death. A terrible certainty gripped his heart. A certainty that this was inevitable. This was going to happen. He was going to die to this strange woman’s device, right here.
He drew his dagger, and rushed at her. He wasn’t a fighter, not really. But this woman had killed him! She had killed him! He closed the distance in no time at all and leapt at her. A solid wall barred his path. Whatever it was was completely invisible. He felt like he’d just run into solid stone. The woman smiled at him, and waved. He dashed forward again, this time from a different angle, holding his knife forward to pierce whatever had stopped him.
It was no use. As he hit it a second time, the woman raised her device. Gull cried out.
“No!”
But it was too late. The device went off. Gull could see the energy gather at the tip of it. Everything slowed down. He could see the energy gathering, but it wasn’t firing. He stopped moving. He couldn’t move. A second spread out to what felt like a minute, and then an hour, and then days. A moment became infinity. Gull felt a burning in his chest, and thought he was hit. But, this was something else. Power. Raw power gathered within him. He had never felt anything like it, but for just a second, he felt like he could make anything happen.
Then, the world went black.
In a little bay by the sea, it was raining. The grey skies over the ocean water made the sea look black. The waves crashed mercilessly into the shore, and the cliffside. The tides were high, and that meant that at the point of the cape the waves were high enough to reach the ruins of what had once been a castle. A long time ago, the ocean had eroded the cliffs enough for it to collapse into the sea. Remnants of a city existed on the cliff above, but apart from the smoothed down stone that had to have been hand made, it would have been hard to tell in most places.
Near the remains of the castle, a goblin’s head broke the surface of the water. He was gasping, waterlogged, and had nearly drowned. He clung to the rock and tried desperately to make it out of the vicious surf.
As one wave went, and before another came he was able to pull himself up onto a dry spot, heaving. He vomited what felt like an ocean’s worth of sea water that had made it inside him, and lay sputtering and coughing. The rain was frigid.
He was alive. And yet, in a way, he was also already dead.
Author's Note:
The first chapter of volume 2! We're going to be doing one or two more interlude chapters like this before we get back to Lily. I'm really proud of how this one came out, and I hope you all enjoyed it despite it being quite a departure from what you've read so far. I wanted to take some time to introduce a few other major players and world building for this setting I've crafted, and this was the first step towards that.
Every time I drive through the local fast food shop with my dog in the car I think "I wonder what she would do if she was locked in this fast food kitchen overnight.", and I really tried to channel that energy into Gull. It turned out to be quite enjoyable to write. Hopefully it's just as fun to read.