An
owl hooted. The bushes rustled. The forest rang out with the sound
of a hunt reaching its completion, then settling back into the loud
silence of chirping crickets and croaking frogs. Govad held his
torch high, yet the trees and boulders that crowded the road blocked
the light from reaching any farther than ten feet away from him. The
shadows his torch created danced as he marched, creating the illusion
of bodies darting around the corners as soon as he approached.
Govad took the final
swig from his flask. He would have quickened his pace if he hadn't
already reached his peak speed.
The road took another
sharp turn as it made its way down a hill so steep it could have been
given an award for effort in a class for cliffs. Govad was amazed
that horse-drawn caravans could even make it through the forest with
all the ups and downs the journey included. Then he noticed the
wreckage of a wagon at the bottom of the hill.
He heard movement again
in the brush to his right. It felt like something was following him.
He pointed at it, but that didn't do anything. He had chosen to
make this journey alone. And that was the right choice, he thought
to himself. With someone else he would never make it out of the
kingdom safely. Safety in the forest was traded for safety from
someone discovering why he was trying to leave.
***
“Got
him,” Lorn said, lowering the dead body of the goblin stalker to
the ground. Govad lowered his arm, and nodded for the group to press
on through the trees.
“Good
ear,” Vilmos said. Govad smirked, but didn't say anything. His
soldiers knew that he would protect them, even when they were neck
deep in the enemy territory. Even when the enemies were the
unpredictable goblins of Sievermlat.
Govad
made a hand motion, and the team spread out. Ahead, past the thick
trunks of the dense northern forest, Rhona had signaled that she had
spotted the goblin encampment. The five soldiers and their captain
crept through the snarl-branched bushes to encircle it.
Govad
found a spot behind a tree on a small hill overlooking the camp. He
could see goblins inside. They were strange creatures; some small,
some big, some with two heads or three arms, all different colors.
They moved about their own camp in random swathes, creating a vision
of chaos from above which yet never knotted or clogged. They were
always moving, pulsing with energy and the unifying drive to destroy
whatever they deemed not goblin enough. In the past few months, that
had been the kingdom of Cadereria. Govad was sent to one of the
outposts to take it down, or at least report back with information.
He
looked at the defenses the goblins had erected. They had chopped
down some trees to build a wall, though that was the generous way of
phrasing it. More accurately, they decimated a section of the forest
and lashed together the resulting logs and sticks to make a border
around their encampment. They fortified it with stones and support
beams along the inside, but it was still a crude job at best. The
goblins clearly didn't intend to stay here long.
He
cupped his hands over his mouth and made a call that sounded
something like a bluebird. Hopefully the goblins were unaware that
no such birds were around in the autumn. It was the signal his team
was waiting for to strike.
Vilmos
charged in first, shouting and yelling before he even got close
enough to strike. The goblins all across the encampment heard him
and turned towards the source. Rhona came from the opposite
direction, running without stepping on the leaves so that she didn't
make a sound. While groups of goblins armed with spears and daggers
were rushing out of the camp to confront Vilmos, Rhona vaulted over
the crude wall, and became hidden behind one of the tents within.
Govad,
Lorn, and Micah were next, suddenly appearing alongside Vilmos. The
charging goblins faltered when, all of a sudden, the one adversary
became four, and that was the opportunity Govad's team needed to
carve their way through the front lines. Some goblins left their
allies outside to die while they fled back into the
encampment...right into the waiting blade of Rhona. She had already
silently dispatched four goblins, and now was closing the gap between
her and the rest of the team.
The
four outside made their way through the gate of the camp's defenses.
Goblins hidden behind the wall sprung at them from the sides. Rhona
stabbed a short yellow goblin's neck and pushed it to the ground,
moving to where it had been standing so that she could rejoin the
group. The five soldiers formed a tight circle, beating back the
goblin hordes that were assailing them.
“There
are more of them than I thought,” Lorn huffed.
The
gate suddenly swung inwards, and Vilmos had to jump out of the way to
avoid being stuck between the door and the wall. A goblin stabbed
its spear into his shoulder when he was out of position. The gate
closed, trapping them inside the encampment.
“A
few more, yeah,” Govad said.
The
goblins pressed closer, but Govad and his soldiers fought back.
Vilmos swung his mace, Rhona twirled her dagger, Lorn and Micah stood
back to back casting spells, and Govad kept them working together and
fended off goblins with his sword and shield. Still, they started
taking wounds more often. They were growing tired, but the goblins
they killed or fought off were replaced with fresh troops.
Govad
looked at the gate. It was shut tight, a wooden beam flung down
across it to prevent it from being opened, and the goblins were
intentionally guarding it. His eyes then strayed to the wall they
were almost backed up against.
“Move
over there!” he ordered. His team followed without question.
After all, Govad had kept them all alive up until this point. While
other squads suffered casualties when they were sent out on the front
lines, Govad's team had never needed to replace a soldier, whether
that be warrior or mage. Govad intended to keep it that way.
They
were backed up against the wall. The goblins flung themselves at the
soldiers, trying to knock them to the ground where they could tear
their bodies apart with their rotting fingernails. Govad then gave
the call to retreat.
He
and Vilmos body-slammed the wall of the encampment, sending it
toppling to the ground.
The
timbers were fortified from the inside of the camp, but the goblins
hadn't considered the possibility that someone might want to go
through it from that direction, so there were no braces put around
the outside of the wall. The wall smashed to the ground, and Govad's
squad bolted back for the protection of the forest. Goblin slings
and arrows clattered uselessly into the trees around them as they
made their escape, while the others in the squad whooped and hollered
at their success and survival. Govad just grinned as he ran behind
them, holding his shield up to protect them during their retreat.
***
The
bushes trembled again. Govad was now walking in squiggles down the
path, half from attempting to lose whatever was following him and
half from drunkenness. It came as no surprise when a small creature
leaped out at him, holding a dagger and a rope. He couldn't see them
well, but there were apparently more of them, as he stumbled backward
and was tripped by something, falling into the waiting clutches of
scaly claws. He was scratched and stabbed a bit, but not killed.
The creatures tied him with rope, bound his mouth and eyes, and
hoisted him into the air. He could feel a dozen tiny hands lifting
him, carrying him away from the safety of the path and into the heart
of the forest. Govad writhed a bit to escape, and was again not
surprised when he felt something heavy come down on his head and
knock him into unconsciousness.
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