Fable: The Return Chapter 11

The King uses his true powers to find his way through the Hobbe City.
==Chapter 11==
Theresa was gone, all that remained now was the quest through the darkness. The king heeded Theresa's warning well, he was on a guaranteed path into one of the largest colonies of Hobbes in Albion. He has now come to learn that these hobbes can see well in the dark, a tool that the king severely lacks. But, Theresa unlocked something within him. She said he would be able to use his Will powers without the crutch of his gauntlets. She told him that something inside his blood had been tapped.
The darkness was thick, and the king knew that the Hobbe City had been awoken, and would be upon him soon. He would have no choice but to fight through the coming horde of demented creatures. He lifted his hand and faced his palm towards himself. He focused on his hand, staring deep into his bare palm, focusing all of his strength into one moment. He pauses, something is coming for him, and it is close.
The Hero-King stops his focus, he hears a rumble slowly building. There is a light echo of high-pitched grunts coming from deep down within the cave. His ears tune to the clinging and clanking of rusted armor being crushed together, a sound he has grown to familiarize with running. A massive horde of hobbes is coming for him very quickly, they heard a fight, and fighting is something the hobbes do not forget easily.
He would have to act quickly, with the horde coming for him he stares intently at his palm through the darkness. His mind races with thoughts of what would happen if his Will was not strong enough. Would he be able to fend them off with only his fists? Would the horde rip him apart and split his body into portions for a feast? Would he, the king of Albion and Aurora, die in the bottom of the world? Would he ever be found? Would the people forget about him and only remember him as the Hero who got lost in a hole?
It was now, now that he realized what would truly happen. His son, his only son would be told that his father was killed and his body could not be found. His son would gather a search party and go to Bower Lake, the shadows would be waiting for him. His son would die by the darkness and he could do nothing about it. He couldn't let that happen, he wouldn't let that happen. As the ravenous horde approached, he screamed with all of the fire in his heart and watched as the world around him burst with light. Fire exploded out of the palm of his hand, it illuminated the cave as well as the horrors before him.
The hobbes in front of his inferno were pale white, their eyes were just lifeless rocks inside of their skulls. Each of them wore armor, but none of it was recognizable to the king. Their armor was completely rusted and overly bulked, spikes and juts of plate pointed out of every shoulder and chest plate. They carry old, battered weapons varying from broadswords to maces, katanas, cleavers, war hammers, and few carried weak remains of longbows. The king's fire lit up the world and he could see everything, all the way down the cave to what he believes is the opening into their hellish city.
The king watched as the hobbes backed away in agony, they have not seen light in all of their lives, light has likely not even been seen by these hobbes for several generations. As the horde falls to its knees in pain, the king gets a small smirk on his face. He doesn't know why he is happy, he was never happy to kill hobbes, and he shouldn't be happy to watch them squirm. In fact, he isn't sure if this is even happiness he feels, but more of a sense of being in control. He raises his other palm to his face and watches as it ignites effortlessly.
One hobbe stands at the front of the horde, he gets off of his knees and takes his hands away from his pale eyes. The hobbe's mouth opens and releases a scream, one that shakes the king to his core. He watches as tears flow from the hobbe's eyes, the light burns its vision but he stands through the pain. The hobbe continues to scream and cry right into the face of the king. The king stares at the pain on that one hobbe's face, his smile fades and now all there is is the fire and the horde.
The king's gaze goes now to beyond the hobbe army, to their city below the earth. He focuses on his goal and turns his palms to face the horde. The inferno that surrounded him now erupts outward in hellfire that stretches all the way down the cave. The cries of agony turn into cries of death as the hobbe's bodies burn to a crisp. Now it is the king's eyes that fill with tears. His own pain flows out of his skull while he watches these creatures burn. Remorse fills his very soul throughout the entire ordeal.
When the fires recede into his palms the king is able to look now onto the path ahead. He lights a small ball of fire in his palm and uses it as a torch. The cave is full of smoke and the smell of overcooked flesh, it clogs his eyes and his lungs. He takes careful steps over the hundreds of small bodies, slowly making his way down the path leading him deeper underground. Soon enough, he finally reaches the opening he sought after, and he looked upon the great Hobbe City.
It's structures are to be marveled. Hobbes have always built makeshift homes to nest in, all of the ones the king has seen have been very poor and very temporary. But he now sees what can happen when a permanent settlement of hobbes is established in an untouched corner of the world. It makes him wonder how many other cities can be found under the world itself. Winding wooden staircases lead to towers upon towers that circle around thousands of small wooden houses. The houses are quite small, very fitting for a hobbe. The city is so expansive that he can see where the giant cavern changes in levels and actually makes hills for the towers to rest on. Resting above the city, suspended from a giant wood and stone tower is an enormous Guild Seal. It is much like the one the king carries with him always. He stares at the Seal and finally realizes what has happened, these hobbes took the rubble of the Guild of Heroes and used it to build their own city.
Standing before the king is another massive horde of the pale-skinned hobbes, all wearing the same manner of armor and carrying the same sort of weapons. But there is one thing different. Where the first horde had a hobbe that stood up against him, this one had a leader. In the middle of the horde stood a tall, powerful, and hungry White Balverine.