Idol of Moreku: I am a representative of Moreku the Gluttonous, Sin Lord of Infanticide and devourer of children…
Idol of Moreku: Why do you disturb this unholy place, Human? Do you seek an audience with my master? Or do you simply seek a swift death by my talon?
Helena: I just came out here to kick your unholy ass, you stupid bird!
The demon then looked down at Gobediah and spoke to him.
Idol of Moreku: And what about you, Goblin? Have you turned against your own creator?
Gobediah: The people of my village no longer believe that the Snake is our creator as we once did, and we now worship the Forest Goddess Arboridae, for protecting us here within these woods of hers for all of these years.
A look of disappointment appeared on the demon's face.
Idol of Moreku: I see, so you're nothing but a worthless traitor now…
The demon then turned its attention to Necky.
Idol of Moreku: I never would've expected to see one of your kind here, Dracolich. You're meddling in the affairs of the living an awful lot for something that's been dead for so long, aren't you?
Necky: My Human friend and I share the same goals, one of which is undoing the damage that your kind have done to Sangai during my kind's absence.
Necky: And you are incredibly fortunate that I am dead, Demon, and you, your "master", and the rest of your kind would do well to remember that.
A look of fear appeared on the demon's face for a moment after hearing Necky's remark, then after it regained its composure it turned its attention back to Helena.
Idol of Moreku: Well, it is apparent to me that both of you are enemies of my masters Lord Moreku and Lord Balroth, and so continuing to waste my time conversing with you vermin is pointless. Prepare for an excruciating death!
Helena and Gobediah then backed away from the demon and prepared to assault it with their magic.
The first thing that the demon did was use some sort of unholy magic on the blood-filled Fairy Spring, causing some of the blood to rise up out of the spring and form itself into a strange Goblin-shaped creature.
Helena: What the hell is that thing?
Gobediah: It is a Hemogoblin, a type of blood golem commonly used by Balrothic Dark Magi.
[Spoiler=Author's Note]I first came up with the idea of Goblin-shaped blood golems known as Hemogoblins many years ago (even before I joined Paint back in 2019), and I obviously came up with the name because of how the "globin" part of the word hemoglobin looks and sounds so much like the word "goblin".
(My mom was a nurse, which is how I was exposed to weird medical terms like hemoglobin.)
By a bizarre coincidence, sometime between when I first wrote this rewritten version of MoD Chapter I on paper IRL (sometime back in 2021, I forget when exactly) and when I finally finished typing it up and posting it here on Paint (on January 11 2024), a Fairy/Fire-type CAP named Hemogoblin was made by the Create-A-Pokémon Project, and while I came up with the name before they did (although I'm sure someone else has probably used it before either of us), my Hemogoblins and theirs are completely unrelated to one another.
(Although it is a rather amusing coincidence, lol!)
Oh, and I got the idea of blood golems from watching my dad play Diablo II.
(A lot of stuff in MoD was inspired by me watching my dad play Diablo and Diablo II, actually.)[/Spoiler]
Gobediah: Hemogoblins can even be made using low quality blood, and the strength of a Hemogoblin is determined by the power and skill of the spellcaster who made it, rather than the purity of the blood.
Idol of Moreku: Yes, it is a shame to waste such fine blood on a mere Hemogoblin, but the idiot who created this idol couldn't even perform a simple demon summoning ritual, and so I unfortunately have no choice now.
Helena and Gobediah now have 2 enemies to deal with now, and to make matters worse, there was enough blood left in the Fairy Spring for the demon to create 12 more Hemogoblins. Big boss fight… Upon finally defeating the demon and the last of the Hemogoblins it had made, Helena and Gobediah received a TON of EXP, and the curse of Shadewood Forest had finally been lifted.
Although it was still dark out, all of the demons in the forest suddenly burst into black flames and died, leaving only their ashes behind, and all of the dead plants surrounding the Fairy Spring came back to life, healed by the blessing of its now pure waters.
Shadewood Forest was now once again as it had been for millions of years before the curse began, and neither the Goblins of the forest nor the animals that lived there nor any Humans or others who wished to visit would ever have to fear the nocturnal demons ever again.
Helena: Wow, this place is pretty beautiful now that the curse has been lifted…
Gobediah: Yes, it most certainly is…
Rather than dead plants and cockroaches, Helena and Gobediah now found themselves surrounded by beautiful flowers, the same flowers that the Elves and Fairies who once lived there cherished and protected with their lives.
Gobediah: On behalf of everyone in my village, I would like to thank you, Helena Dusklight.
Helena: Eh, it was nothing…
Helena: By the way, you wouldn't happen to still have any copies of the Book of the Snake in your village, would you?
Gobediah: The Book of the Snake? What would you want with a thing like that?
Helena: I'd like to better understand my enemies, that's all.
Gobediah: I see…
Gobediah: Unfortunately, that Evelynist missionary had convinced us to burn all of our remaining copies of it.
Helena: I see, I suppose it was for the best.
Necky: Don't worry Hel, they should have copies of it available for reading in Svartalfheim, since it is one of the few places in Sangai where it hasn't been outlawed.
Gobediah: You're planning on going to Svartalfheim? I thought that only the Drow knew how to freely travel between Midgard and Helheim?
Helena: You're mostly right, but Necky here taught me the spell to open up a Wyrmhole to Helheim, so it's just a matter of me being high enough level to go there safely first.
Gobediah: I see… I should've known that a Dragon would know how to do such things…
Gobediah: I suppose it goes without saying that you and Necky will always be welcome in our village. We may not know much Dark Magic these days, and we no longer possess any of the Balrothic texts that we once regarded as sacred, but perhaps we may be able to help you two out in other ways.
Helena: Alright, I'll be sure to keep that in mind, thanks!
Helena: Before I leave, I had one last question to ask you, about your Spirit Sight…
Helena: Have you ever seen the ghost of an Evelynist, Adamantist, or Balrothist?
Gobediah took a moment to carefully think back and try to remember all of the spirits that he's seen over the years, and what their religious beliefs were.
Gobediah: I have been alive for over 123 years, and I've seen many souls leave their bodies when they die, and this is all that I can say for certain…
Gobediah: Whenever I witnessed the death of a Balrothist – whether Human or Goblin – I always saw their soul descend into the ground below, and whenever I saw an Evelynist die – even those we killed as offerings to Balroth during our rituals – their souls ascended to the skies above.
Gobediah: Unfortunately, I've never actually seen an Adamantist die before. Although we've had to fight against plenty of Adventurers who were Adamantists before, we never actually killed any of them, and so I can't say with any certainty where their souls go when they die.
Helena: …But you've never seen the ghost of one here in Midgard before, right?
Gobediah: No, I'm afraid not, which means that they must either go up to Asgard like Evelynists do or down to Helheim like Balrothists do, although I can't say for sure which.
Gobediah: We Arboridae worshippers seem to just become ghosts when we die, though, and so do all other nature god worshippers, it would seem.
Helena: I see… That's all consistent with my own experiences with my Spirit Sight as well…
Helena: Anyway, goodbye Mr. Gobkins!
Gobediah: And goodbye to you as well, Ms. Dusklight!
It was almost 6:00 by the time that Helena made it back into town, and the sun was just beginning to rise.
Normally this would be her bedtime, but she had a little bunny to reunite with his family, and she didn't want to put it off any longer than she had to, so she began her search for them.
Since she found the rabbit in the woods, she concluded that he most likely came from one of the houses on the edge of town, and sure enough, within the first few houses she had checked she found the right one.
Helena: Excuse me Miss, but is this your rabbit?
Old Lady: Jacoby! You've found my precious Jacoby!
Old Lady: Thank you, kind girl. But if you don't mind me asking, where on Midgard did you find him?
Helena: Near the entrance to Shadewood Forest, being chased by a Night Terror.
Old Lady: A Night Terror…?
Helena: Yeah, creepy raccoon-looking demon creatures that used to appear there at night. Really nasty.
Old Lady: I see, I'm very glad that you saved him from it then.
Old Lady: You see, my granddaughter breeds rabbits, and last year she decided to give me one to keep as a pet because my husband Jacoby – who I named my rabbit after – passed away recently, and I was feeling a bit lonely…
Helena: Don't your kids or grandkids visit?
Old Lady: They do, and they also call fairly often, and they even send me letters from time to time, but it still gets lonely living on my own here…
Helena: Do you mind me asking how you lost him?
Old Lady: Not at all.
Old Lady: You see, when I was about your age, my grandmother used to read me stories about the Fairy Spring deep in the forest, and how it was what kept all of the plants and animals of the forest alive and well.
Old Lady: You see, my grandmother was a Druidess who worshipped the Forest Goddess Arboridae, and every year on the first day of Spring she would go deep into the forest to the corrupted Fairy Spring there, and pray to Arboridae and ask her to heal the forest.
Old Lady: Like most others in this village, I worship Evelyn, but every year since I was a little girl I would come up to the spring with my grandmother and pray to my Goddess and ask Her to cleanse the spring as well.
Helena: …And you still do that to this day, even though your grandmother is gone now?
Old Lady: My grandmother is most certainly dead, but I'm not so sure that she is gone…
Old Lady: You see, ever since my grandmother passed away, I have felt a strange presence nearby whenever I'd go to pray at the Fairy Spring, and I think that it might be my grandmother's spirit.
Helena: You're sure it isn't just Mr. Gobkins, right?
Old Lady: I'm quite sure, although I've seen him at the Fairy Spring before as well.
Old Lady: Incidentally, did you know that my late husband was actually a missionary once visited the Goblins' village about 100 years ago?
Helena: Really? That's pretty cool.
Old Lady: Yes, yes it is.
Old Lady: Anyway, it was when I was visiting the Fairy Spring earlier this year that I lost Jacoby. I took him with me into the forest, but as I began to approach the Fairy Spring he leapt out of my arms and ran away.
Old Lady: I think it might've been that scary owl statue there that frightened him.
Helena: Yeah, it seemed like everything alive except for the roaches hated that place, although they thankfully don't have to worry about it anymore.
Old Lady: What do you mean by that?
Helena: I mean that me and Mr. Gobkins lifted the curse on the forest, and kicked that ugly owl thing's ass.
The old lady suddenly became elated.
Old Lady: Oh my goodness! After all of these years, have me and my grandmother's prayers have finally been answered?!
Helena: Yup, they sure have.
Old Lady: Thank you so much, young lady. How could I possibly ever repay you?
Helena: Eh, I wanted to do it anyway. I'm on my own personal quest to rid all of Sangai of Balroth's harmful influence, and lifting the curse on Shadewood Forest seemed as good a place to start as any.
Old Lady: My, you're quite ambitious for someone your age. Would you mind telling me your name?
Helena: My name is Helena Dusklight.
Old Lady: "Dusklight"? Are you Angela and Christian Dusklight's daughter by any chance?
Helena: Yeah, I am…
A sad look appeared on Helena's face, as she could tell that the old woman knew her birth parents, but didn't have a clue that they were both dead now.
Helena: Angela actually died 6 years ago giving birth to me, and Lisa took me in and has been raising me over at the orphanage.
Helena: As for my dad, he died before I was even born fighting in that stupid war against the Akushinese. According to Mom he didn't want to join the military, but they gave him no choice…
The old woman was disappointed to hear the sad news, but she realized that these sad realities bothered Helena a lot more than they did her, and so she decided to try to cheer her up.
Old Lady: Angela passed away? That's such a shame, as I remember that she was such a nice young lady, not unlike you.
Old Lady: In fact, although your skin, hair and eyes are different colors than hers, you actually look a lot like she did when she was your age…
Helena was pleased to hear this from the old woman, although she had already heard how much she looked like her birth mother from Lisa before.
Helena: Thank you for your kind words.
Helena: If you don't mind me asking, what's your name?
Maria: My name is Maria, Maria Hansen.
Maria: Anyway, it was nice meeting you Helena Dusklight.
Helena: And it was nice meeting you as well, Maria.
Having reunited Jacoby with his Human Maria, Helena could finally head back to the orphanage to get a well-deserved good day's sleep.
Although she could no longer level up by fighting the demons in Shadewood Forest, there were plenty of other places for an Adventurer her level to go to gain EXP, including going to visit her new Goblin friends in the forest and training with them. Meanwhile, in the sewers beneath the Evilonian capitol city of Palatia…
Lumin Redshield: Alright, now that we're all here, it's time for us to discuss the present predicament that we find ourselves in now…
Seth Schadenfreude: Why must we gather in person like this instead of just communicating telepathically like we usually do? I'm the freaking Secretary of War for Balroth's sake! What if I'm caught hanging out down here in the sewers with all of you?!
Malkor Balthazar: Quit that pathetic whining, Seth! I'm the one whose put at the greatest risk by being here, and you don't here me acting like some sniveling coward!
Creep Coprophage: Calm down you two. Lord Lumin and I have provided us all with such fine food and drinks tonight, so let's all just enjoy ourselves now, as we seldom get to feast together on such high quality cuisine like this.
Before the gathered members of the Union of the Snake was a feast of the blood and flesh of young children…
Lumin: Yes, after I bothered to prepare such a fine feast for us all, and you have the nerve to whine about the risk of being caught?
Lumin: You're under MY protection, Seth, and not even that arrogant bitch Misandria can touch you as long as you are.
Seth: My apologies, Lord Lumin. I'm just still not used to these sorts of gatherings like this, and I prefer to just sit at my desk and tell people to go kill each other…
Lumin: I know, and that's the only reason that I continue put up with your constant whining and stupidity.
Lumin: Anyway, speaking of Misandria, I've been trying to figure out what to do about her, that annoying husband of hers, and their brainwashed children…
Lumin: Her thinking that she's the Valkyrie seems to make her think that she can just go around doing whatever the hell she wants to, and it's beginning to get on my last fucking nerve…
Judas Skullenbones: You've got to admire her bloodlust, though. I mean, she's probably killed more people than the previous 10 queens combined.
Lumin: As nice as that is, she isn't killing enough of the right people, and it seems like every damned thing that woman does is meant to annoy the living hell out of me.
Lumin: Who the fuck does she think she is sparing those damned Evelynist traitors while continuing to execute Balrothists?! She's too damned stupid and arrogant to know her place!
Malkor: Please try to remain calm, Lord Lumin, I'm sure that this situation can–
Lumin: DON'T TELL ME TO WHAT TO DO, YOU INSOLENT WORM!
Malkor: My apologies, Lord Lumin. Please forgive my insolence…
Lumin: Just remember that you aren't a king when you're in MY presence, Malkor. I'm not one of your pathetic little Hobgoblin subjects, and you're no different to me than the rest of the vermin, aside from the fact that you're somewhat more useful to me at times.
Lumin: Anyway, I also wanted to mention that some of my resources in Shadewood Forest were taken out recently by an unusual girl…
Creep: In Shadewood Forest? That's interesting, because it seems as though my idol out there was destroyed as well…
Lumin: This girl somehow seemed to detect my presence there, and she was accompanied by a Dracolich ghost for some reason. I don't know what her deal is, but we'll obviously need to keep a close eye on her…
Judas: You said near Shadewood? Misandria has actually been sending some of her personal spies out that way. Since she's not trusting the EIA to do it for her, she must be hiding something very important there that needs constant monitoring, most likely this girl…
[Spoiler=EIA?]The Evilonian Intelligence Agency is (as the name implies) the Evilonian Empire's spy agency, and is run by Judas Skullenbones.
They are an incredibly secretive organization, and although they are supposed to be loyal to the queen, Misandria doesn't trust them, and has her own personal spies thaty answer directly to her and only her, and she is trusting them to monitor Helena Dusklight to ensure her safety, rather than trusting the EIA.[/Spoiler]
Lumin: We need to be very careful how we handle all of this. This girl seems to know a bit too much for someone her age, and if she was able to defeat one of Creep's representatives, then who knows how big of a problem she could become further down the line, especially if Misandria gets ahold of her…
Seth: Yes, and I find what you said about a Dracolich accompanying her particularly troubling…
Lumin: Quit being a bloody fucking coward, Seth. The Dracolich is dead, so it's not going to eat you.
Seth: My apologies once again, Lord Lumin…
Lumin: Anyway, leave monitoring the girl to me. Although she detected my presence in Shadewood Forest, I just happened to have a lot of resources concentrated in that particular area at the time, and if I'm more subtle perhaps she won't notice me as easily.
Judas: Yes, you're certainly the best equipped to handle this most difficult and important of tasks, Lord Lumin.
Lumin: You're damned right I am.
Lumin: Anyway, wasting all of this time talking to you worthless vermin has caused me to work up an appetite. Let's eat already. It wasn't until Helena was 10 years old that she was finally ready to visit Svartalfheim. By this time she had already learned a great deal more about magic and had invented many new spells of her own, hoping to one day change the world…
Helena (age 10): Hey Necky…
Necky: …Yes?
Helena: …Do you think that it'd be possible to use Soul Binding magic to raise the dead?
Necky: "Raising the dead"? Do you mean using Soul Binding magic to reattach souls to the bodies that they once inhabited?
Helena: More or less, although I understand that it'd be much easier said than done…
Helena: I mean, all of those poor souls trapped in Muspelheim being tortured by Demons forever isn't a very pleasant thought to me, and although I know the Drow try to free as many of them down there as they can, it'd be a helluva lot easier if I could just summon them back to Midgard and give them a 2nd chance at life…
Necky was quite impressed by Helena's rather creative ida, although she wasn't 100% sure if it would actually work.
Necky: That's a quite fascinating idea, Hel, and one that I've actually never considered before in my hundreds of millions of years of existence…
Necky: …All I can say is that you should Go To Hell first.
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