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Enderians.
Creatures of the End, a place that some didn’t even believe existed. Some thought it was just a story, something to make enderians seem otherworldly. Others believed the place had long been destroyed, and its portal with it.
Oli was an enderian, and not even he knew for sure.
Nor did he care.
He was only half enderian anway… he thinks. He wasn’t exactly sure. Enderians were rare to see, but most were fully covered in tough void-like skin. It wasn’t exactly scale-like but it wasn’t as fragile as most origins. But Oli was different.
He had that dark tough skin going up his legs, but it faded out before reaching his torso. His feet were clawed, almost reminiscent of a dragon from what he’d been told, as many enderians were. He had the bright purple eyes, the particles that appeared around him, and he couldn’t touch water, but that was where the similarities ended.
The rest of him was pale skin, just as fragile as most origins, at least for the most part. His hands were the part of him that was unexplainable. They were the same bright purple as his eyes, they weren’t fragile or tough, they just were. The shades of purple in them shifted, like waves or ripples in water.
He didn’t understand. No one did.
But that didn’t bother him any.
What bothered him is that he’d be late if he didn’t get up soon.
So with a sigh, Oli pushed himself up from his bed roll and got ready for his day. Once he was ready, with a red hat on his head and a lute on his back he exited the flimsy, brown tent that was his home. It was cheap and easily replaceable, perfect for the life he lived.
Oli didn’t have much, the clothes and lute on his back, and the few things in the tent were really all he had. He was a traveler now, and he could only carry so much.
But he was working hard to get away from the dark and dingy hole he’d been trapped in.
He walked through the forest, reaching the small village that was nearby soon enough. Not too far, not too close. He did look around much, he knew where he was going and didn’t have much to spend. Instead he headed straight to the local tavern.
He was working there for now, had been for a while.
He’d have to move soon…
Anyway, the owners were kind enough to let him keep all his earnings and give him a discount on meals. He ate his breakfast and chatted with the lady behind the count before getting right to work.
The tavern wasn’t very full just yet, but it would be by nightfall. But regardless of the near empty room, Oli laid down his hat, pulled the lute off his back, and began to play a soft tune.
Was Oli very good? Why of course, he was a skilled bard!... At least he liked to think so.
The small amount of earnings he’d made over his travels seemed to say otherwise.
But he wouldn’t let that hold him back! Even if he wasn’t as skilled as he liked to believe, the only way to improve was to practice!
So as the hours passed, he’d play tunes, sing songs, and tell tales. He’d even tell a few jokes here and there, sometimes people would even laugh! People would occasionally walk up to the stage and drop a coin or two into his hat, only some of them holding pity in their expressions.
And hey, no one had paid him to stop or leave yet! A great improvement from the last tavern he’d been at!
Everything had been going well!
Maybe he’d be able to pay for a ride to the next town, instead of having to walk. It would put him ahead a few days at least, maybe he could even settle down for a bit! Maybe he’d be able to stay in one spot for more than a few weeks!
It was as he was strumming a tale of an ancient pearly goddess, too focused on his story to notice, that three new guests walked through the door.
Except, unlike all the other people in the tavern, they didn’t plan on having just a quick drink.
“Thank you, thank you everyone!” Oli told the crowd once his song had finished. Most people ignored his words, but some people were kind enough to clap! This really was a lovely village, no matter how small. “I sadly must step away, but only for a moment! Even bards deserve breaks, you know!”
Oli smiled at the crowd as he picked up his hat. He didn’t count the coins, he knew it wasn’t much without even giving it a glance, he just grabbed the coins and dropped them into his money bag, before hiding the bag away in his pocket.
He wasn’t just any fool! He wasn’t going to simply keep the bag strapped to his side for everyone to see! That would be an easy grab for the common thief, Oli preferred to be at least a bit of a challenge to steal from.
Well actually he preferred not to be stolen from at all. But alas, that doesn’t stop people from trying.
Or succeeding.
Oli walked off the stage, fully intending grabbing something to eat, perhaps chat a bit more with the owner. That someone called from behind him.
“So you’re the infamous ‘Oli The Bard’?” A voice asked from behind.
Infamous? That was a good thing, right? That meant he was well known?
“‘Infamous’? I didn’t know that my name had traveled so,” Oli said as he turned around, fully prepared to meet this supposed fan of his. Except, it quickly became clear that this wasn’t a fan.
And that he was in trouble.
The voice that had called him belonged to a gobin, who was sitting casually at a table. He had the green skin and vibrant orange hair that was so common in the origin. But this goblin was taller than the average goblin, though still shorter than most origins, and had spindly limbs.
And unfortunately he wasn’t alone.
Sat with him was an oddly muscular goblin and an honestly average looking goblin. Both green skinned and with vibrant orange hair.
They all carried weapons. They likely had chains and nets like most other bounty hunters goblins did.
“Oh.” Oli said blankly, before getting ahold of himself.
“Heyyy guys?” Oli started awkwardly, one of the goblins laughed quietly. “You know, it’s so great to see you but uh- I think I have to go?” He slowly inched backwards to where he knew the back exit was.
Learning where all the exits were was a fairly new habit of his, but it came in handy more often than one would think.
Sometimes a crowd just really didn’t like him.
Sometimes it was this.
“Go? But you told everyone you would be back?” The tall goblin teased, standing from his chair just ever so slightly slower than was normal.
“I did?” Oli asked nervously, still inching back. “I did! Well, you know some bards just say that- but uh- not me! Just need to step out for a bit. Get some fresh air, you know?”
“Lets cut to the chase,” the tall goblin told him, looking bored. The other two goblins stood up from their seats as well. “You’re coming with us.”
“You make a persuasive argument, my man,” Oli joked, his eyes jumping to each goblin. “But- I think I’m gonna um- have to decline your offer.”
“You have debts you need to pay,” The muscular goblin told Oli, his eyes narrowing. “Debts to Gobland.”
Oli couldn’t help but cringe at the mention of his debts.
“Ohhh, is that what you’re here for?” Oli asked, acting his best to be surprised. “You goblins and your debts. Now let's not get too hasty fellas, I’m sure there’s something we could figure out?”
The goblins didn’t seem to be very persuaded. They took a few steps forward.
Oli had to think quickly.
Thankfully, he had a habit of stopping in small villages, and small villages had a habit of being very curious when it came to strangers. People’s eyes had been on the three since they’d entered the tavern, and their ears had been listening since the moment the goblin had first spoken.
Oli just hoped that the kindness he’d been given so far would extend enough for this.
“Hey everyone!” The bard called, easily catching everyone’s attention. “Why don’t we give these fellas a nice warm welcome!”
The tavern guest cheered loudly, raising their drinks in the air. The movement and sound disorientated the goblins for a moment, not having expected such a greeting from the village.
A moment was all Oli needed.
He sprinted out the back door without hesitation. The three were quick to give chase.
So Oli was in debt with Gobland, what’s the big deal?
He had ended up at the entrance to the large underground empire and decided, why not check it out? The bard didn’t even remember what it was for anymore, he just knew it hadn’t been much at first. Something he could pay off with a few weeks of work.
But the problem lied in the interest.
Which he wasn’t aware of till after he tried to pay it off.
Every time he tried to pay off the debt it seemed like it doubled.
The worst part was Oli wasn’t allowed to leave until his debt was paid. But it quickly became clear that he’d never be able to, not without a miracle.
After months trapped in the underground Empire, trying to pay it off like an honest man to no avail, Oli decided to make his great escape. It had been tough, and unfortunately he’d been caught halfway through, but just a bit of teleportation was enough to throw them off.
Teleporting had been a great help, even if it took Oli further from his goal.
In the end Oli was able to get out through a forgotten entrance, finally escaping from the empire’s clutches.
He found the nearest town and was thrilled. He didn’t have much, but a kind elf with orange hair had offered him a place to stay for the night, clean clothes, and his precious lute, all free of charge! She said she planned to donate it anyway, as she was moving to a whole other empire and didn’t need the extra luggage.
The morning after he left with a thankful goodbye before going out and enjoying his freedom.
Two days after the goblins had found him.
Apparently, Gobland didn’t like people leaving without paying their debts.
And had goblins whose specific job was to track down any runaways.
It had been a few years since he escaped Gobland’s clutches and he’d been on the run ever since. He did his best not to stay in one place for long and was constantly trying to get further and further from the empire in hopes they’d leave him be.
That had yet to happen.
Instead he was still getting chased around by surprisingly fast goblins and getting cornered in alleyways.
Like he was now.
“You know, this reminds me of a story I once heard,” Oli told the goblins, hoping to stall. But they just go closer. “Would you like to hear it?”
The average goblin grabbed a pair of cuffs from their side, planning to capture not kill. It was Gobland, why kill someone who ran away from debt, when you could just make them work it off the rest of their life?
But Oli didn’t plan on going back to the dark and dingy Gobland. He didn’t plan on having to ride the ‘totally safe’ rail system that ran throughout it. He didn’t plan on being stuck there so long that he’d be forced to take care of a goblin baby.
He’d had enough of Gobland.
Oli was an enderian.
It was truly surprising just how often these goblin bounty hunters forget that fact.
Oli didn’t possess as many enderian traits as one would think, and he used that to his advantage.
“It starts like this-” the enderian started before he vanished before the goblins eyes.
There was only one flaw to Oli teleporting to get away.
That was that he didn’t really know how it worked.
He could teleport on command sure, but where he ended up after was where he struggled. He had tried keeping a place in mind, and that would kind of work? It would get him close at the very least.
But ‘where’ hadn’t really been on Oli’s mind when he teleported this time. He just wanted to be ‘away’, away from the goblins specifically.
So the enderian hadn’t been surprised to end up somewhere unfamiliar.
What he was surprised by was the vast amounts of blue in what most would consider greenery.