The Hedge Knight

Chapter One: A Roll of the Dice

…

For eons, the Gods of Light, Order and Fate, and the Gods of Darkness, Chaos and Chance battled for which side would rule over the world. But it was not a battle like most would think; it was instead decided through the rolls of the dice. The dice was rolled again and again, with neither side appearing to gain or lose ground. The gods were quickly becoming bored with this game as it never seemed to change. So they created the races of Men, Elves, Dwarves and Lizardmen to live in the world. Some of these races went on great adventures, but others died.

Then, on one fateful day, a mysterious figure approached the gods. The stranger piqued the gods' interest as he came to them with an offer of making their game more interesting and to see which side would win.

The gods were intrigued by the stranger's offer of making their eons long game more interesting and heard out the stranger.

The stranger said that he could introduce a new piece to their board in which all the races of the world presided. This piece was from another world entirely and could tip the scales of the game.

The gods acquiesced to the offer and allowed the stranger to place his piece on the board.

The gods eagerly awaited what would happen when this new piece would find itself in entirely new surroundings. To decide where this piece would end up first, the gods decided as they always did; with a roll of the dice…

…

Lying in the corridor of a dark cave, a young man with blue hair and wearing a mixture of leather and mail awoke with a gasp. Taking in sharp heaving breaths, the young man glanced around, his deep blue, almost purple eyes looked at his surroundings in panic.

"Where-where am I?!" he asked no-one in particular and his voice was ragged and panicked. There was no answer to his question.

Slowly sitting up and fighting down an urge to throw up, the young man checked his person for injuries. Nothing broken or bleeding it appeared and he didn't seem to be affected by poison, so what the hell happened to him? And how did he end up here? Wherever here was…

Wracking his memory, the boy vaguely recalled it being his seven-and-tenth nameday. He had been given some gifts when a stranger had approached him. Focussing on the memory of the stranger, the boy tried to remember what he looked like. The stranger had the silver-blonde hair and violet eyes of the Valyrian dragon-blood and he even looked familiar to him, the boy thought, like he had met the stranger before.

The stranger had spoken with him, but he could not recall the words. The stranger had then placed his hand on his head and the boy's world went black. And now, he was in a dark cave in who knows where?

Checking to see if he had any weapons on his person (it wouldn't do if he were unarmed), the boy's eyes widened when he found a weapon that he thought lost. It was a hand-and-a-half longsword, or bastard sword as it was sometimes called, with the blade dark and rippling with a thousand folds that told of a forging secret lost for centuries. The hilt was as dark, if not darker than the blade with the pommel made of obsidian carved in the shape of a dragon baring its teeth and tiny rubies for eyes. On the centre of the of the crossguard on both sides was a dragon's head with a ruby studded in the middle of the head.

Gazing at the sword in awe and wonder and wondering just how this sword came to be in his possession, the boy quietly sheathed the sword in the leather and wood scabbard on his left hip. The boy also found a dirk sheathed on his right hip and a bow made of green wood with a quiver of arrows over his back. Standing up, the boy looked around to see which direction of the corridor was the way out of this place.

Then the sound of numerous feet thundering down the passage caught the boy's attention. Squinting his eyes, the young man's eyes then widened as he saw tiny green creatures wearing smatterings of armour and wielding crudely made weapons in their stubby hands approach. The raucous jabbering and growling of these creatures didn't make them appear friendly, and their fanged grins dripped with spittle and their yellow eyes gleamed with malice.

The creatures stopped in front of the young man who put a hand to his sword out of caution. Both sides waited for the other to make the first move; perhaps these strange creatures were friendly?

Then one of the strange creatures gave a jabbering cry and threw a tiny spear; the young man instinctively avoided the spear and drew his sword with a rasp of metal scraping against leather and wood. Preparing to take a swing, the boy was distracted when his sword collided against the narrow confines of the passageway. Cursing his stupidity, the boy prepared to run, but one of the creatures stabbed him on the shoulder with its spear. Grunting in pain, the boy grabbed the offending creature and with all his might, he slammed the creature into the rock wall, crushing its small skull into fragments and blood and brain dripped onto the stony floor.

Taking offence, the other creatures rushed forward growling and jabbering angrily. Three of them leapt onto the boy and the boy kicked, punched and bit furiously, desperate not to die in this gods' forsaken cave.

Then a light illuminated the tunnel and the three creatures who had tackled the young man lost their heads. The other creatures all screamed and wailed in fear and fled down the corridor.

"That's three!" said a calm raspy stoic voice.

Looking up to see who it was that saved him, the boy's purple-blue eyes widened when he saw what he assumed to be a knight. The knight wore a mixture of leather, chainmail and a chest piece made into three parts. A visored helm was on the knight's head obscuring his face and two brokens, one on either side, were also seen. The knight held in one hand a simple shortsword and strapped to his other arm was a small targe and torch was held by said arm.

"Thank you!" the young man blurted out to the knight gratefully. "If you hadn't come along when you did," he said.

The knight dug out from a small pack a bottle filled with green liquid. "Drink this," said the knight.

"What for?"

"Goblins sometimes dip their weapons in poison."

"Shit!" the boy hurriedly took the bottle from the knight's hand, uncorked it and downed the liquid, his face scrunching up in disgust at the taste. "My thanks, ser," the young man said to his unexpected saviour.

"Are you here to kill the goblins?" the knight asked.

"Goblins?" repeated the young man in confusion.

"Those creatures that attacked you. Are you here to kill them?" the knight said.

"I… I don't know how I got here!" replied the young man. "Those… things… goblins you called them? What business are they to you?" he enquired.

"I am the Goblin Slayer," replied the knight stoically. "I kill goblins!" he said.

The Goblin Slayer then looked at the young man and said to him, "The exit's that way," he said indicating behind him with a jerk of his helmeted head before walking further down the corridor.

"Wait! You're going after those things? What if they have a trap set!?" asked the young man.

"They likely do. I'll make sure to spring it," replied the Goblin Slayer stoically.

The young man stared after the Goblin Slayer before standing up and following after him. Goblin Slayer looked at him and said, "You're coming with me?" he asked tilting his head slightly.

"You saved my life! The least I can do is make sure you don't get killed!" replied the young man stubbornly.

Goblin Slayer seemed to consider this and said, "What weapons do you have?" he asked.

"I have these," replied the young man indicating his sword, dirk and bow.

Goblin Slayer then said, "Your sword is too long for confines like this. Use your dirk," he advised. "Do you have a shield?" he asked next.

The young man then pried a shield from on the dead goblins and said, "I do now!"

"What's your name?" Goblin Slayer asked.

"Aegon," replied the young man. "What's yours?" he asked.

Goblin Slayer tilted his head and said, "I already told you. Goblin Slayer."

Aegon looked at the man in confusion, "Your name is Goblin Slayer?" he said in disbelief, but then he heard some words in his head.

"The people of this world do not have names as such, only titles," the mysterious voice said.

"Right, titles only," Aegon said to himself before he looked at Goblin Slayer and said to him, "Well, I suppose you can call me… Hedge Knight, I guess," he announced.

"Let's go," Goblin Slayer said quickly before heading back down the corridor after the goblins.

"Hmph, not much for small talk," Aegon muttered as he drew his dirk and followed the man. Following after Goblin Slayer, Aegon decide to ask for some information on goblins.

"So, apart from poison, what else can you tell em about goblins?" Aegon asked the stoic man.

"If you see a goblin wearing a headdress and wielding a staff, kill him first!" Goblin Slayer said. "There are also Hobgoblins; much larger than regular goblins and strong as well, kill them quickly as well," he added.

"So goblin shamans and hob-goblins are leaders to goblins?" Aegon said as he stored the information away in his head for future reference.

"Yes. Killing the shaman and any Hobgoblins will break the morale of goblins," Goblin Slayer replied.

Guess when your name is Goblin Slayer, you must be pretty knowledgeable on killing goblins, Aegon thought to himself.

"And don't leave any goblins alive. Not even the children," Goblin Slayer then said.

"Not even the children?" Aegon asked a little surprised at such cruelty.

"Yes. Goblin children learn from their parents' mistakes and carry their grudges well into adulthood," Goblin Slayer replied. "When you exterminate something, you kill it at the root so as not to let it grow back," he said.

"But, to kill children…"

"If you don't want to do this, then turn around and leave. I can handle it from here," Goblin Slayer said calmly.

Aegon spoke, "No! I want to help!" he protested. "I'm not sure about killing children, but I still want to help!" he said.

"Very well then," Goblin Slayer said nodding his helmeted head.

As the passage began to gently decline, the jabbers and yowls of goblins made themselves heard. Goblin Slayer and Aegon stopped. "How many do you think there are?" Aegon asked the armoured warrior.

"A few. No more than a dozen, but they may have a Shaman or a Hob," Goblin Slayer replied. Kneeling down, Goblin Slayer pulled something from the bag on his waist. Aegon was surprised to see the armoured man laying down a beartrap.

"A beartrap? What on earth is that for?"

"It's for the Hob," Goblin Slayer said. "We'll run into the den, kill a few and draw the Hob into chasing us. We lure the Hob into the beartrap then kill it," he explained.

"And then?" Aegon asked.

"You'll see," replied Goblin Slayer.

Setting the beartrap, Goblin Slayer looked at Aegon and asked him, "Ready?" Aegon nodded reluctantly, his grip tightening on his dirk. "Let's go!" Goblin Slayer said and he set off at a run with Aegon following, both taking care to step over the beartrap.

Reaching the dimly lit cavern, Aegon saw the goblins jabbering and growling in their strange guttural incomprehensible language, if it could be called that. One a crude throne made of bones, a goblin wearing a feather headdress waved a wooden staff with a bird skull set into it. Standing near the throned goblin was a much larger goblin that was near twice the height of Aegon. Aegon surmised them to be the shaman and the hobgoblin respectively.

Goblin Slayer killed two goblins in rapid succession saying, "That's five!"

Aegon smashed his salvaged shield into one goblin before stabbing another in the throat and said, "Seven!"

The Shaman gave a jabbering shout and the hobgoblin hefted a wooden club that was more like a log than an actual weapon. The large goblin was surprisingly fast much to Aegon's dismay.

"Lure it back up the passage!" Goblin Slayer ordered as he ran back up the passage they came. Aegon sprinted after the warrior as the hob swung its wooden log, narrowly missing Aegon's head by inches.

Aegon's heart was pounding from adrenaline and exertion as he heard the deeper roars of the hobgoblin, followed by the cacophony of its smaller brethren following behind it. Reaching the entrance and jumping over the beartrap and spinning around to await the coming horde, Aegon said to Goblin Slayer, "Well, plan worked! Now what?" he asked.

"Wait and see," Goblin Slayer replied.

Then the hobgoblin came thundering into view and its then fell in to the beartrap. With a loud clang and crunch, the beartrap jaws nearly severed the hobgoblin's foot. The creature roared in pain as it fell to the ground and Goblin Slayer thrust his shortsword into the creature's back through its heart.

"Is that it?!" Aegon yelled in disbelief.

"Not quite," Goblin Slayer said as he dug through his bag again and brought out an earthenware jar, opened it and poured out some kind of liquid that had a strong scent. Aegon asked, "Water?" Raising an eyebrow in confusion as to what Goblin Slayer was doing, Aegon looked at the man in askance.

"Gasoline," replied Goblin Slayer as he soused the creature in the strong-smelling fluid. Before Aegon could ask what gasoline was, Goblin Slayer then shoved the hobgoblin down the passageway with a push of his boot. The corpse of the hobgoblin rolled down the passageway like an errant boulder and the screams of the goblins that had been trailing behind the hobgoblin were heard as its body rolled into them.

Goblin Slayer then threw his torch down the passageway. A small flash of light and the sudden smell of burning flesh filled Aegon's nostrils. "I see now!" he breathed softly. "You soused that hob and rolled it into its kin so that they'd be covered in that, gasoline you called it? And then set them all on fire!" he exclaimed.

"Yes. It's one way of killing goblins effectively," Goblin Slayer said. "But I can only afford one jar of gasoline at a time, so I have to be careful with it," he added.

"Well, it worked!" Aegon remarked.

"Come on. There should only be a few and the shaman left," Goblin Slayer said. Aegon nodded and they went down the passageway and passed the burning bodies of the hobgoblin and its smaller ilk. Now, there were only six goblins left, including the shaman.

"You said the shaman was top priority, yes?" Aegon asked Goblin Slayer who nodded. Picking up a goblin spear, Aegon hefted the small crude weapon and flung it with all his strength at the shaman, which to its credit, grabbed one of its followers. The goblin spear skewered the hapless body shield through the heart. The goblin shaman pointed its staff at Aegon and began chanting in its strange tongue. The shaman's staff began to glow brightly; realising the imminent threat, Aegon leapt out of the way as a bolt of lightning shot towards him.

Getting back to his feet hurriedly, Aegon then set on killing the goblins guarding the shaman. Goblin Slayer killed the other three. With quick stabs of his dirk, Aegon killed the two in front of him. The Shaman began chanting again, but Aegon grabbed the creature by the neck and slammed its head into the cave wall. Once, twice, three times Aegon slammed the shaman's tiny head against the rock wall until its head broke and blood and brain coated Aegon's hands.

Breathing heavily, Aegon slowly sat down and panted hard. The situation had been very tense since waking up in this cave, wherever it was. Goblin Slayer then walked up to Aegon and said to him, "Good work."

Aegon looked up at the armoured warrior and replied, "Thank you, it was the least I could do," he said as he stood back on his feet and looked at his bloody hands in disgust. "Erg… I'm going to be washing my hands for hours!" he muttered in disgust. Goblin Slayer didn't say anything as he walked up to the throne the shaman had been sitting and moved it aside to reveal a hidden door. Opening it, Goblin Slayer peered inside it.

"They haven't spawned. Good," the armoured warrior said.

Aegon looked at the warrior and asked, "Aren't you being a little cruel?"

"I told you before, goblin children learn from their parents' mistakes and they mightn't be smart, but they hold onto grudges and remember those who wronged them," Goblin Slayer replied. "You can't show mercy to any goblin, as they'll just take advantage of it and those you love will suffer for it," he said grimly.

"Well, you're the expert," Aegon murmured faintly. "Now you said something about an exit?" he asked changing the subject.

"Yes. Follow me."

Leading Aegon up to the surface, Goblin Slayer then said to him, "Thank you for your help."

"It was no trouble, you saved my life down there," Aegon replied modestly. "But, now I don't know what to do, or where to go," he said lamely.

Goblin Slayer tilted his head slightly considering what Aegon said before speaking. "You can come with me to the Guild if you want," he offered.

"Guild? What Guild?" Aegon asked in confusion.

"The Adventurers' Guild. It's where I go to get Goblin slaying jobs," replied Goblin Slayer. "You can register as an adventurer there and take jobs of your own," he said.

"And they all involve slaying goblins?" Aegon deadpanned.

"No. I'm usually the one who takes those jobs," Goblin Slayer said stoically.

"Why?" Aegon asked.

"Because if I don't, goblins will continue plaguing the world. That isn't a reason for them to live," Goblin Slayer said.

Aegon thought about it for a moment before saying, "Very well then. Let's head to this Guild," he said.

Goblin Slayer nodded and they both then headed away from the goblin cave towards a nearby village where they boarded a carriage that would take them to another village where the Guild was.

Goblin Slayer and Aegon rested in the carriage. Goblin Slayer appeared to be asleep, although it was hard to tell with his helm covering his entire head. Aegon rested on his back, thinking over how he found himself in this world.

Don't know how I came to this land, but better than being dead, right? Aegon thought to himself. I guess… I guess I'll just deal with this as I go and try to find a way back home, he said inside his mind as he closed his eyes and fell asleep to the sound of the carriage wheels rolling along the road and the thudding hoofbeats of the horse pulling the carriage.

…

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: There, the first chapter of this done and dusted. I'd been planning this fic for a while, but I hadn't the time or motivation to sit and write it. I do apologise if this chapter is a little short, but it was the best I could do without half-assing it. This story takes some inspiration from the Goblin Slayer/Red Dead Redemption crossover The Gunslinger. I called my story the Hedge Knight for a couple of reasons, one being that a hedge knight is a fairly common profession in Westeros. The second reason being that it is a reference to George RR Martin's other ASOIAF story A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms where it was adapted into a graphic novel called The Hedge Knight following the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Aegon V Targaryen, or as they are both known, Dunk and Egg. The third reason is because the title sounds a lot better than calling Aegon/Young Griff something the Squire like a friend of mine tried to convince me to do, so to that friend of mine, a thousand apologies if the title isn't to your liking.

Anyways, not much more to say, but I do have another story cooking up in my noggin. It's another Game of Thrones/ASOIAF crossover and this time it will cross over into Highschool of the Dead, although I'm still working on how to make that one work. MC will be Aegon/Young Griff of course and I've set up a voting poll of which girl he could possibly be with. Fingers crossed it's Saeko Busujima! The idea will also cross over into Witcher and Fallout as I have some ideas, but we'll see how it goes.

So, that's about it from me, let me know what you all think of this and leave a review if you liked it. If you didn't, tell me what I can to do to make it better. But if you don't have anything nice to say, the exit's that way (^_^)

Be kind to one another everyone,

Angry lil' elf.