Chapter 42: Words Of Power!
Running through the winding corridor with Shiki serving as his walking stick, Ka’z eventually slowed before one of the recovery chambers. Peering inside, he found Ru’k and Tu’ka lying on separate hay beds while several female kobolds busied themselves replacing their bloodstained bandages.
Ru’k, unsurprisingly, looked perfectly comfortable.
Every time one of the female kobolds leaned closer to wrap another bandage around his shoulder or chest, the young kobold let out an exaggerated hiss before breaking into mischievous laughter.
"Ouch... Be gentle."
One of the older females rolled her eyes.
"I haven’t even touched you yet."
Ru’k blinked innocently.
"I’m preparing myself mentally."
Another female couldn’t help smiling before lightly smacking the back of his head.
"You were screaming louder than everyone else yesterday. I thought you were dying."
"I was inspiring morale."
"You were crying."
"I was crying heroically."
The room erupted into soft laughter while Ru’k proudly puffed out his chest despite the fresh bandages wrapped around it.
Ka’z quietly smiled to himself. It seemed Ru’k had already recovered enough to become annoying again.
That alone was reassuring. His gaze eventually drifted toward the second bed.
Tu’ka remained unconscious.
Unlike Tud’or, his body wasn’t covered in countless injuries. Apart from cuts and bruises, the only truly serious wound remained the arrow that had pierced his neck. Fresh medicinal leaves had been wrapped tightly around the injury while dried blood stained the cloth beneath.
His breathing remained steady. Ka’z silently watched him for several moments. He considered stepping inside, but he eventually decided against it and quietly shook his head. Ru’k had earned the right to enjoy the attention after surviving that nightmare.
Without disturbing anyone, Ka’z turned around and continued toward the prison chambers.
...
The guards stationed outside immediately straightened upon seeing him approach.
"Young Master Ka’z."
Ka’z gave them a small nod before entering. The heavy wooden door groaned shut behind him.
Inside, Boi slowly lifted his head.
His mouth had barely opened when the earthen restraints surrounding his body suddenly cracked apart.
Crunch!
Large chunks of stone collapsed onto the floor. Before the goblin fully realized what had happened, gravity took over.
Thud!
He landed face first.
Silence followed as Ka’z simply lowered himself onto a nearby stone block before resting Shiki across his knees, patiently waiting.
Several seconds later Boi slowly pushed himself upright while clutching his nose.
"You motherfucker... The least you could’ve done was warn me." he growled through clenched teeth.
Blood dripped steadily from his freshly reopened nose as he glared toward Ka’z.
The young kobold merely shrugged.
"You would’ve fallen anyway."
Boi clicked his tongue before stretching his stiff shoulders. Every joint in his body popped after spending so long embedded inside solid rock.
Eventually his narrowed eyes settled upon Ka’z.
"You’ve got guts setting me free. Aren’t you afraid I might do something?" He slowly rolled his shoulders.
Ka’z answered without the slightest hesitation.
"I defeated you before. I can do it again and even if by some miracle you manage to beat me, you’re definitely not making it past the first corridor." He casually rested both hands atop Shiki.
Boi followed the direction of his finger before letting out an amused snort. The entire underground civilization was crawling with kobolds. Even if he escaped this room, there was nowhere else to go.
Ka’z leaned slightly forward.
"Now stop wasting my time. Carve every rune you know." He pointed toward the empty section of floor.
Boi folded both arms before immediately shaking his head.
"Runes aren’t something you simply memorize. They’re an entire language. My knowledge is only limited to the elemental runes you’ve already seen on Shiki." He deliberately looked away.
Ka’z slowly raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
Boi continued staring at the opposite wall and silence stretched between them for a moment.
Eventually, the goblin let out a defeated sigh.
"...Bastard. I’ll teach you the basics first." He scratched the side of his head.
Without wasting another second, he poured mana into his hooked fingernails. A faint glow of mana surrounded the sharp claws before he crouched beside the stone floor.
Scrrrt...
His claws carved effortlessly through solid rock and Ka’z watched attentively.
Initially he expected complicated diagrams similar to the arrays they encountered during the raid.
Instead what he couldn’t were single words. One after another they appeared across the stone.
Fire = Ignis
Water = Neris
Earth = Torum
Wind = Vael
Lightning = Zehr
Ice = Kryos
Light = Lumen
Darkness = Umbra
Blood = Sangu
Nature = Sylva
Metal = Ferrum
Poison = Vexis
Ka’z slowly stood. His golden eyes widened with each completed inscription. These were more elements than he has ever possessed or even hoped for.
Boi stepped back proudly while dusting off his hands.
"Master those first. Come back once you can reproduce them with your eyes closed."
He folded both arms confidently.
"Only then will I start teaching you how to combine them into proper runes capable of producing spells."
In his mind, that should occupy Ka’z for weeks and possibly months. Instead, he watched the young kobold quietly return to his previous seat.
Without lowering his gaze toward the floor, Ka’z extended a single claw and began inscribing those letters one after another.
Not once did his eyes leave Boi’s face.
Buzz!
Boi instinctively stumbled backward. His heartbeat thundered inside his chest.
"...Impossible."
He hurriedly crouched beside the newly carved words and studied them. Slowly, he raised his head toward Ka’z.
"I possess the mind of a dragon. I only need to see something once." Ka’z answered casually.
Silence consumed the room.
For the first time since becoming a prisoner, hope appeared inside Boi’s eyes. Initially he had planned something entirely different.
Once the Ashmork Clan destroyed the Vaal’kor Colony, he intended to ensure Ka’z died before any sensitive knowledge spread beyond this cave.
Now, everything had changed.
If this child truly possessed the ability to comprehend the Language of Power without formal education and the impressive mind of a dragon, then perhaps he could one day decipher the entirety of the Red Scripture.
Knowledge that even Elder Varg had failed to uncover.
Perhaps, keeping Ka’z alive would benefit the Ashmork Clan far more than killing him ever could.
Perhaps this extraordinary child belonged beside them instead. The thought quietly rooted itself inside Boi’s mind and his expression gradually softened.
"And you understand what each of them actually means?" He asked and Ka’z nodded without hesitation.
Boi slowly extended a finger toward the first inscription and Ka’z began calling out their meaning. Eventually, he identified every rune and the element they represented.
Boi slowly lowered his hand. His eyes no longer looked at Ka’z as though he were merely a talented kobold. He was looking at him as though he had just uncovered something that should not exist.