The goblins surrounding Tect had begun to whisper. Tect turned and looked at them, their eyes full of confusion, many of them had passed this wall multiple times, and couldn't figure out how Tect had opened it. Tect smiled, "This is it, this is the place the scroll has led us. We have found Mountain Heart." The goblins all start to cheer. "Everyone continued to gather supplies, we will leave the camp where it is for now. Tomorrow I will lead the scouts into the tunnels, if they are safe we can start moving the camp in." The goblins cheer even louder now, finally it looks like they may have a home. The goblins break up rather quickly, the excitement spurs them into action like never before. Some goblins begin to gather heavier supplies that they had avoided before like firewood.
By the time the scouts arrived it was getting dark, so they couldn't see the split in the cliff. "Sorry to tell you boss, but we couldn't find any caves. Worse yet, the area may be prone to quakes." Tect began to laugh, "Well I guess we better look for builder to build us houses above ground." Some of the other goblins begin to snicker as well, but the scouts are just confused and don't understand what's so funny. "Are you all poisoned or something, your laughing at bad news like it's the funniest thing you've ever heard." Tect straightened up a bit, "Sorry, it's just you look so sad right now. Truthfully we have found the cave the scroll was leading us to earlier. That was what caused the earthquake earlier. Come morning the four of us will be exploring it together." Excitement shown on all three scouts faces. "Hell yeah, I have first choice on sleeping caves." The other goblins started to grumble. "Nope, I called it. If you can't think to do it first then you can't complain when I show up hours later and still beat you to it." The other two scouts spent the next hour trying to catch Shota so they could force him to hand over the rights to first choice. As they did, Moidra came out of the women's tent. " We already called it idiots. Besides you boys are just going to ruin whichever cave you take, no sense in ruining the best one." The other women all nodded in unison. Clearly this well coordinated action was planned out by Moidra beforehand.
The shenanigans lasted fairly late into the evening but eventually everyone went to bed leaving Tect and Erdrin on watch. Erdrin wasn't making more jerky thankfully but he did pull out a piece and toss it a few feet from where he sat. A small shadow darted from the darkness to grab the meat, once again the matted mess of a pup sat across the fire from them chewing it's meat. Every time he'd finish the meat he would slink up and whine at Erdrin. Erdrin would toss the meat a bit shorter every time. Eventually, the dog had to come within arms reach of Erdrin to get the meat. By this point it had abandoned its instinct and simply walked up to grab the meat, and being full and lazy the dog barely moved away from Erdrin to eat the food. Erdrin looked over at Tect, "I can't believe I thought it would take a fortnight. I'll give it five more days and he'll be on the leash."
The night passed by and in the morning the pup was gone, probably wandering off sometime after the first shift change. Tect and the scouts took the gear from the adventurer's for safety and ready themselves to scout the caves. Tect and Shota stood at the entrance to the caves. "So, Which way do you wanna search first?" Tect thought for a moment, "Let's all go right first, we won't cover as much ground but I don't want to split up yet. We'll take it slow and safe." Shota nods, "Sounds good boss." Tect takes the lead, his vision is way better than anyone else and they don't have any torches yet. They take the right tunnel and as they enter they notice it's a dead end. Before they turn back they check for any hidden traps or switches. They find a small indent in the back wall, and Tect reaches over to feel for a switch. As soon as his finger touches the indent the exit closes. A crystal on the ceiling of the chamber flares to life and the center of the room begins to flow like thin mud. A figure rises from the slurry, it is tall with slightly pointed ears, and large almond eyes. It's features are reminiscent of a cat, thin with large ears and eyes, the look of an intelligent predator.
"King Candidate step forward, all others must stay silent" the voice comes from the flowing stone figure but it doesn't actually move or speak. Tect steps forward, "I guess you mean me?" The figure turns towards Tect. "King Candidate, you have entered the first trial. You will be asked a series of questions, if your answers are satisfactory you will earn the right to enter the sacred Heart of the Mountain. Are you prepared for the test?" Tect Hesitated, "May I ask a few questions?" "This one is an artificial construct. If your question is within my knowledge I will answer it." Tect thought that the figure spoke oddly but whatever. "What is the Heart of the Mountain?" "The Heart is the Birthplace of Goblin King, the home of the Elder Council, and the site of the King Candidate Training." Tect didn't really understand all of it but he did hear one thing he knew. "Can we speak to the Elder Council?" The Eyes of the statue flashed repeatedly, "No, for the past 7,354,283 consecutive days the Elder Council Chambers have been unreachable for this construct." Tect looked at the other goblins, "Holy shit, How many years is Seven Million Days?" Shota thought for a moment before answering, "A shit ton?" The other scouts snickered at his answer. Tect was regretting not bringing Moidra. "Construct, if we are not ready for the first trial may we leave?" The statue's eyes flashed again, "Negatively, the control room has been unreachable for 7,354,283 days." Tect rolled his eyes, "So what if we fail the test?" "If a candidate fails a test then an administrator from the control room will let them out." Tect's face went pale. They were trapped, potentially forever. "Construct, what if we pass the test?" "If the candidate passes the passage to the control room will automatically open so that the candidate may register with the system." Tect could only see one way out at this point. He had to pass the test. "Ok construct, I'll take the test." The eyes of the construct flash, "Very Well. First question, Should a ruler be ruthless or kind?" Tect was stunned, he thought it would be about combat, or organization. This question sounded more like philosophy. He thought on the question for a few minutes, finally in frustration he broke. "Why does a ruler need to be one or the other? He should be kind to his people and care for every one of them, and he should be ruthless to anyone who would bring harm to his people." The eyes of the construct began to flash, Tect panicked, he didn't mean to give an answer, he was just frustrated. The construct's eyes dimmed again. "Candidate's answer falls into the category of acceptable responses. Congratulations Candidate. Are you prepared to hear the next question?" Tect waited until his heart quit pounding to request the next question. "Second Question, Which has more value? The life of a king or the life of a slave?" Tect didn't think, he immediately blurted out his answer, "No life is worth more or less than another even if they are a slave." The construct's eyes flashed again. Tect was screwed, no one would answer that way unless they had been a slave. "The Candidate's answer falls into the category of acceptable responses. Is the Candidate ready for the final question?" Tect nearly fainted, "Yeah sure let's just be done already." "Third and final question. Do you vow to put your people first, to starve that they may eat, to bleed that they may know peace? Will you slay those men and gods who would bind your people in chains?" Tect stared at the construct, his gaze steady and unwavering. "I vow to do this and more. I will create a home for all goblins, I will free those who even now are bound in chains, and I will make those who look down on us show us the respect we deserve." The construct's eyes flash, "Your vow is accepted, live your vow, and lead your people well." The construct splashes down to the floor which becomes solid once more. The entrance reopens and a new passage opens on the indented wall. Tect walks through and is greeted by a strange sight. The room beyond the testing room is made of metal and is quite angular. At the center is a beautiful silver dias covered in precious gems. In the center of the table was a hollow space, it all looked exceedingly strange. Tect had never known goblins to be capable of such things, the construct was weird enough but this new room took the cake.
Tect approached the dias, it seemed like it should have some function. He reached out his hand and touched the dias. Suddenly in a flash of light words floated in front of him. Shota and the scouts jumped. "You guys can actually see the words this time?" Shota shook his head, "Yeah, I can see them. Next time warn us please, I nearly shit myself." Tect laughed, then turned to read the words, "Main power failure, backup power crystal low power. Please restore power to the system." Tect did not have a clue what it was talking about. Suddenly the dias hissed and a small device rose from the hollow at the center. The device looked like a three fingered golden claw holding a very dimly glowing crystal. Tect remembered seeing a similar crystal before. He took the small leather bag from his waist and reached inside. In his mind the small room formed and in the corner on a small display sat a blue crystal. Tect took the blue crystal out and proceeded to replace the old crystal with this one. "Hopefully it works. Shota clench your cheeks, I don't know what's gonna happen." Shota glared but his toes subtly shifted outward. Tect smiled and quickly swapped the crystals. The old crystal turned to powder immediately, and the new crystal flared with light then sank into the hollow.
The room was suddenly flooded with light, a short squeak came from behind Shota. "Oh fuck it all." Shota mumbled, Tect looked back at Shota, "Good thing you wore your brown pants today." The two other scouts lost it and began to howl with laughter. "It was just gas, you assholes." Shota turned an awkward shade of red but Tect ignored him. The dias lit up and a voice filled the room, the voice was identical to the construct from before.
"Control room power restored, Low quality mana crystal detected, approximate life at maximum utility 0.5 days. Using a higher quality crystal is recommended until main power is restored. Link to Main Gate Restored, Link to candidate testing restored, Link to Main Power Station Failed, Link to Elder Chamber failed, Link to Security Failed, Link to Overseer Failed…" This process continued for some time. Apparently the Goblins of old had very advanced magical constructs. After about five minutes of continuing messages the voice paused.
"System Reactivated, Major damage detected, All administrators life signs negative, all residents life signs negative, support creature life signs 2,354 positive life signs. System has initiated the Rebirth protocol. Rebirth protocol failed. Insufficient power. Rebirth protocol irreparably damaged. Goblin King Candidate detected, Test results S+, Goblin Kin Candidate assigned role of administrator." A device lowered from the ceiling and shined a strange light on Tect. "King Candidate Speak your name." Tect leans in to the device " I am Tect, son of Kaarm." "Candidate name registered as Tect Kaarmson.'' The device quickly moves towards Tect and upon touching his skin a high pitched hiss sounds. "Candidate Elevated to Administrator. Administrator ID bound. Welcome Administrator Kaarmson." Tect's face was flushed in anger. "What the hell did you do just now, and my name isn't Tect Kaarmson, it's just Tect." The crystals on the dias flash. " Administrator name update complete, the Administrator was just injected with the Identification Crystal. All Kings Candidates and Administrators must have an ID crystal." Tect rubbed his sore arm. "Well what about them?" he asked while pointing at the others. "Scanning… Status 3 lesser goblins afflicted by divine punishment. Chances of advancement to Hob Stage… Low, Residency must be approved by the administrator." Tect smiled as he looked over at the other three. "I approve." Shota's face turned white, "You bastard." The lights stopped flashing, "Residency approved." Nothing else happened. "Why didn't you inject them with a crystal?" "Residents have no system control and therefore do not require crystals." The scouts all sigh and then begin to snicker. Tect's face turns red in indignation. "System, what can you tell me about this place?" "Administrator stands in the control room of the western entrance." Tect sighs at the system's stupidity. "I mean Mountain Heart. What can you tell me about Mountain Heart." "This system is unable to answer query, most system features are unavailable due to damage." Tect shakes his head. "What can you do?" "Currently the only feature available to this unit is the control of the main gate." "We already opened the main gate so that's not much help." the room's lights flash and an alert appears. "Warning System use increases power drain, current crystal power below fifty percent." The lights stop flashing and the alert disappears, "Administrator and party are incorrect. Entry was gained through the after hours candidate registration system, the main gate remains closed. With current system power the main gate can be held open for 12 hours after which a new power source will be needed." Tect looked to his companions, clearly then couldn't get all of their questions answered but maybe one or two more before they would have to open the main gate. "System, after the main gate is closed will we be trapped inside?" "Administrators and residents can always exit through the emergency exit found in this control room, however without power, reentry will require someone to manually open the passage from the testing area to the main control room." Tect was satisfied that they wouldn't be trapped at least. "System, I have one last question. When was the last time you interacted with another administrator?" "Last administrator interaction was approximately 19,611 solar cycles ago.
The jaws of all four goblins dropped. It had been nearly 20 thousand years since anyone had been here, but all of this looked brand new. "System, do you know what happened to all the goblins who lived here?" "The events of the Final Days of the Heart of the Mountain are not available to me at this time. This system was disconnected shortly after the Main Security Array was allotted 99% of the available power available from the Main Power Station. Using Auxiliary power all this system could determine was that a Celestial Level spell impacted the city. It is this system's assumption that this event was what led to the damaged links and the disappearance of the previous administrator." None of the goblins were familiar with spells, but Celestial level sounded pretty bad. "Thank you System. Could you please open the main gate for us, then try to save as much power as possible." "Understood Administrator Tect. Opening Main gate now."
Outside the goblins all stopped moving as the ground near their camp split open revealing a wide tunnel paved in beautiful white stones that had shifting gold lettering on them. A gust of warm air blew from the opening melting the snow around the opening. The air smelled of wild flowers and fresh fruit. The goblins though hesitant at first could not help feeling a surge of hope. If the entry was this magnificent, what must their new home be like?