Travel through the brush was as slow as it was methodical.

Ahusaka crouched low in the brush, his large eyes carefully scanning the thickening brush and forest floor for any signs of a trail. Following the path of the horde was getting harder and harder, as fresh leaves littered the forest floor covering their tracks.

However, in spite of his rampant alcoholism, not much could escape the keen eyes of the determined Owlkin. As he continued to follow the trail, however, the brush began to open up again into rockier, wooded hillsides, removing the damage to the brush that he had been following before. Luckily, he was soon able to spot a small series of fresh tracks that had more recently passed through the area.

The party carefully navigated through a series of small canyons cutting through the rolling hills, the eerie silence slowly breaking way to be replaced by the howling of wind through the canyons. The shrill whine of the wind alone was enough to send shivers down everyone’s spine and keep them on edge.

Eventually, they exited the rougher part of the hills, and the forest once again began closing in around them. It wasn’t long upon reentering the woodline when Ahusaka motioned for the party to stop, his eyes staring with keen focus towards the hilltop ahead.

Turning his head completely around, a sight completely disturbing to any who aren’t used to witnessing it, he mouthed the words goblins and recon before quietly disappearing into the brush.

Lu nodded his head, before quietly turning around and motioning for the party to retrace their steps back another 100 meters through the forest.

“Everyone, spread out into lookout positions around me. We will wait for Ahusaka to return with his report. Meanwhile, I need to focus so I can do my part of the reconnaissance. We will discuss and execute our plan as soon as we know what we are dealing with.”

Lu spoke quietly and seriously, before assigning each person to a lookout position. A huge smile was starting to break out across Terra’s face, in contrast to the nervous apprehension of Diane and Emily. Grace seemed focus on silent prayer, and Thistleman… was an absolutely enigmatic read.

With a soft sigh, and everyone in position, Lu took a careful seat in the middle of the circle, before drawing both of his fans and opening them in varying amounts, lining up the circles on them into a new formation.

“Spirits of the wind, lend me your eyes. Reveal the path before me and tell me of its secrets! Configuration 4: Sight unseen!”

With a simultaneous wave of both his fans, a small breeze burst forth from Lu towards the goblin cave. The patterns on both of his fans began to glow a slight blue, maintained by his mana, while his eyes were kept closed in focus. Soon, the wind came back as a slow breeze, carrying with it soft whispers in an unknown tongue, before fading away.

Nodding, Lu whipered “Good work” before opening his eyes again, as Ahusaka returned to the group.

“Ahusaka, did your recon go well?”

“Hooooo, it went well enough. It seems the goblins are very wary, and have heavily trapped the hillsides around their front and back entrances. They also just shooo-witched their guards.”

“Lu, what was that you did?”

Diane couldn’t help but ask, overwhelmed by curiosity at Lu’s strange spell.

“That was some of my spirit magic, while the spirits can’t tell me more than some limited information, it helps me get a better idea of anywhere we have to enter. When combined with decent reconnaissance, we can make a much more thorough plan before conducting any mission. Now then, back to what you found…”

Lu calmly and quickly explained his spell before returning to Ahusaka. Using a small stick, they made a crude drawing of the hillside containing the Goblin cave entrances and marking various trap locations. While there were obvious crude traps, they served as nothing more than a distraction to reduce a would-be attacker’s focus and guide them towards the deadlier well-hidden traps. The cave itself, according to Lu, was pretty simple enough. Each of the two tunnels ran down into a larger chamber inside, housing the entire tribe.

After a quick discussion, they set up their plan of attack.

“Grace, you will take charge of the party here. Your goal is simple, but that doesn’t mean you can let your guards down. Goblins are natural cowards and frighten easily, we will take full advantage of that. You will need to break through the front entrance fast and hard. Have Terra take the lead down the tunnel, with Emily and Ahusaka in the rear. Kill everything in your path as quickly as possible, and make sure to make as much of a show of it as possible. If anything unexpected comes up, it will be up to you to make the decision to press forward or fall back. You with me so far?”

“Alright, I think I got it.”

“The idea is shock and awe. Once you enter the main cavern, you, Terra and Diane will take the front line with Emily and Ahusaka for support. Cast your Divine Barrier high enough to protect from arrows, and with enough space underneath for goblins to come through. This should deny them the advantage of their numbers while still letting you fight them.”

Thistleman cocked his head slightly while listening in to the discussion.

“Soooo… what do I do during all this?”

“That’s simple, keep your head down and don’t get yourself killed.”

“Well I suppose I am pretty good at that last part. So what’s your role in all this?”

Thistleman retorted dryly, his face still plastered with that enigmatic expression, almost as if it was both devoid and full of thought at the same time.

Lu’s eyes twitched slightly, but he otherwise maintained his composure.

“I will come in from the rear entrance. If you do your jobs well enough, it should cause a large number of the goblins to crowd into the tunnel on that side, allowing me to easily clean them out in one go. As long as we stick to our jobs, it shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Alright then! Well, what are we waiting for? Let me have some fun already!”

Terra stood up, stretching her muscles before reaching back and grabbing her massive battleaxe with one hand.

Lu couldn’t repress a small groan.

“Damnit Terra, you have to at least let me get into position first! We start in ten minutes time.”

“I’ll give you five. Better hurry~”

Terra’s smile grew even larger, as she playfully started hopping up and down, lightly swinging her battleaxe back and forth through some imagined foe.

When she started to get like this, there wasn’t much anyone could do to stop her, and Lu rushed as quickly and as quietly as he could through the underbrush, softly cursing his recruiting skills under his breath as he went.

A trio of heavily armored knights marched down the central avenue of Njord, having just stabled their horses at the entrance to the city. The sheen of the silver coating on their steel-plate armor attracted a large number of stares from the residents of the city as they made their way towards Tormund’s Wharf. Having passed through a series of other villages on their way here, the knights seemed to have gotten used to the attention.

“Sergeant Dufount, are you sure you want to stay at an inn on the Wharf? The gate guard seemed pretty insistent that it gets pretty pricey in that part of town.”

The knight who spoke up was a middle-aged looking man, his face covered in a thick shadow of stubble, with a short, heavy lance mounted on his back, its tip poking out from underneath the massive tower shield covering it.

“Marn, how many times do we have to discuss this? We have to spend so much time in dedication to our duties as knights that we should take the opportunity to enjoy ourselves when we have the chance!”

SGT Dufount’s green eyes were alight with joy, as the sound of birds and waves began to mix in with the bustle of the city, and the familiar smell of saltwater filled their noses.

“C’mon Theo, back me up here! You know the Captain will chew us out when we get back!”

The youngest looking knight, who carried a shortsword on his side and an intimidating Mythril compound bow and arrows on his back, merely shrugged off Marn’s pleas.

“Eh, it’s the sergeant’s decision, even if we all get punished, he will get the worst of it. Plus, I kinda hafta agree. On the off chance we actually find what we are looking for, what are the odds any of us will make it back in one piece? If I am to die, at the very least I want to remember something fun.”

“Don’t bring up that thing right now, its spoiling the mood. We can worry about it later. First….. AH! Its as beautiful as all the villagers said it would be!”

SGT Dufount was overcome with joy as they rounded a corner, Tormund’s Wharf coming into full view! A massive complex of piers and buildings rose out of the water, supported by countless pylons built long ago that have been sustained and repaired with magic over the centuries. Numerous plots of land were interspersed along the pier, growing lush trees above the ocean’s surface.

The piers themselves were extremely lively and bustling with activity, as fisherman and dock workers carried their cargo to and fro. Stalls lined many sections of the pier as well as restaurants, using mana crystals to rapidly the fresh catches of the day. The sounds of vendors shouting filled the air, competing with the waves and birds.

In the pockets of water surrounding many of the buildings, children would dive off the pier into the water to swim and play, while other sections served as gatherings of the elderly, who would cast their fishing lines into the waters and regale each other with stories from their youth, occasionally yelling at the kids who got too close to their lines for scaring off the fish.

The Inn SGT Dufount eventually chose to stay at was called Jormungand’s Retreat, located at the very end of the main avenue. It had a view from its third story over the seawall and gate directly into the Sea of Calimnon, embellished by skilled craftsman who customized every railing.

As he stepped onto the balcony of their room, he couldn’t resist leaning over the intricate railings, taking in a deep breath of the air once more. The smell of approaching rain interspersing with the already saturated air was almost irresistible.

Marn, on the other hand, appeared in a state of semi-shock.

“Two gold per night… two gold per night… and meals aren’t even included… if the captain decides to dock our pay for this…”

His voice slowly trails off, while Theo ignored Marn’s traumatized rambling and reached back out to SGT Dufount.

“That storm front won’t be getting here for a little while longer, but things will probably close up early because of it. If we are going to start our ‘investigation’, we should set our things down now and get moving.”

SGT Dufount stood in awe of the sight of the approaching storm, its dark and rain-laden clouds sharply contrasting the brightness of the sea and sky, before finally acquiescing.

“I could easily just stay here for the rest of the day, but its not often we get a chance to enjoy ourselves. We will properly get to work tomorrow, lets go!”

Changing out of their armor and leaving their packs behind, the knights departed Jormungand’s Retreat to explore the rest of the Wharf. With a little cajoling from SGT Dufount and Theo, and the help of some stout Njordic Ale, even Marn welcomed a moment to enjoy himself, and marveled at the number of ships entering the massive harbor in preparation of the coming storm.

If the waters off the coast of Rivellion were this peaceful, would we have built anything like this?

Marn’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted, however, when they got the bill for their meal.

“The captain is really gonna kill us for this! Aghhhh!”

In the deeper waters away from the city, a pair of large, bulbous eyes slowly poked out from beneath the water’s surface next to the sharp point of a spear. For a moment, aquamarine and blue skin was exposed to the light of the sun. Then, as the creature turned to dive under the water again, its fin cut through the growing waves before disappearing again.

The attack on the goblins began suddenly, with nothing short of absolute ferocity!

Thistleman watched as Terra began to charge straight up the hillside towards the goblins defenses, intentionally rampaging through the obvious tripwires.

Without hesitation, she swung her battle-axe, cutting through the spring trap, and leapt over the pitfall behind it!

Grace and Diane followed closely behind her, as Emily and Ahusaka readied their bows and aimed.

The first goblin to pop his head up to aim at the coming blitzkrieg immediately took and arrow straight through his eye, and dropped dead, its hands still twitching.

Ahusaka released an arrow, while halfway stumbling out of the way of an incoming dart. His shot seemed to almost curve as it found its way to his target, dropping it dead.

“Reinforced Strike! Brutal Strike!”

With a bellow, Terra swung her battle-axe sideways into the barrier in front of her, shattering it as she charged into the cave entrance.

Diane swiftly followed, her rapier piercing the goblin hiding behind the other barrier to the left, and Grace bludgeoning the skull of the remaining goblin to their right.

“Let’s go, were through, don’t let up now!”

Grace shouted out to her team, while terse, her words invigorated them.

Even though he wasn’t doing anything other than following behind the party, Thistleman felt surprisingly refreshed, like he had somehow gotten a little lighter and faster.

It must be part of her magic… so this is what it feels like to receive a paladin’s blessing? No wonder those idiots always rushed headlong into death when they came for me, hah!

“UUUUUOOOOOWAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Terra’s mad laughter resounded through the tunnel, as she led the charge further in.

Thistleman could hear the gurgling scream of the goblins, and the shattering of stone as Terra’s axe cleaved its way through flesh and stone, refusing to be constrained even in these tight quarters. The sights and sounds confirmed his suspicions.

I had a feeling it would go like this, when Lu decided she should take point instead of someone with a more reasonably sized weapon like Grace or Diane.

It didn’t take long to reach the end of the tunnel, as those following behind didn’t have much else to worry about other than jumping over the cleaved limbs and corpses of those left in Terra’s wake.

With another roar, Terra burst out of the tunnel into the main cavern, greeted by a dozen of the more courageous goblin warrior charging towards her!

Even with one of their spears successfully finding its mark in Terra’s shoulder, the goblins only reward was to have his skull slammed and crushed with a titanic impact into the ground. Blood showered the barbaric woman, finally adding true context to what anybody could mistake for an innocent, gleeful smile.

“Crater! AHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YES, YEEEES! COME! PLAY WITH ME SOME MOREEEEE!!!”

The hordes of goblins were stopped in their tracks for a moment, as this monster towered above them, and began to charge yet again.

“HOLD IT HERE!”

A series of guttural noises was yelled out by one of the goblins to his compatriots, as their line was on the verge of breaking.

That was when Diane and Grace blitzed out from the tunnel entrance…

“Fireball! Fireball!”

“Divine Barrier! Divine Blows!”

As Diane flanked right, she rapidly began launching fireballs at the goblins ahead of her. Each blast took out half a dozen of the creatures, while a golden barrier formed above their heads just in time to intercept a small wave of arrows from the archers in the goblins backline.

On the left side, Grace charged forwards, her mace splattering goblins with each swing, their attacks harmlessly pinging off her plate mail armor.

Worse yet, more still came out of the tunnels.

An Owlkin first, in a stumbling kind of run, took aim at the goblins exposed underneath the barrier.

“Hoooooooooo….. Hmmmm…. Scattershottttt….”

Less like a spell, and more like a drunken ramble, it blurted out its incantation before loosing an arrow, which moments before impact burst into dozens of fragments, perforating numerous goblins!

The line was falling, and the goblins were beginning to break ranks and flee.

Watching the massacre, Thistleman quietly and gleefully chuckled to himself, enjoying a moment that he at least properly understood and appreciated for once. The beautiful and artistic work that is destruction!

One of the older goblins with the dark green skin, the one who tried to rally his kin, unconsciously grabbed near his heart. While so small it is considered useless by any adventurer, goblins still possessed a monster core. Through that core… the goblin could feel something else coming. It was fear. A nameless death, permeating through the goblins’ ranks.

A chorus of horrible gurgles echoed throughout the cave, as the line completely collapsed and the goblins fled to the exit on the other side, dodging around the larger hide tents and stampeding over the smaller ones in their mad dash to escape.

“Tsk.”

Thistleman clicked his tongue.

I got too excited and my bloodlust scared them all off. I wanted to enjoy this moment more. Although… let’s see what surprise Lu has in store. It might not be a complete wash…

*FWOOOOM*

As the retreating goblin’s packed into the narrow escape tunnel on the far side, a column of fire burst out of the mouth of the tunnel, emanating a wave of hot air carrying the terrible smell of burning flesh.

Screams and wails of pain filled the cave, as goblins who weren’t outright killed ran screaming while on fire through their tents, rapidly setting the rest of their tribal homes on fire.

With Thistleman’s bloodlust held back, the goblin’s turned again to flee with renewed vigor towards Grace’s defensive line.

They were further spurred on, as wave after wave of fire chased them, thrown with brutal precision by a man calmly walking through the sea of flames.

“Configuration 12: Flame Wave!”

This is the end! Finish them all off! Embrace your victory!

Thistleman pushed excitedly into Diane’s consciousness, hoping this moment would free her from her pain.

However… Diane had entirely stopped moving. She was staring at the scene before her, eyes beginning to tear up… and her shaking hands loosening their grip on her rapier.

“This… this isn’t right… this can’t be right…”

Dozens of the creatures came hurtling themselves towards their defensive line, Grace and Terra effectively and efficiently slaughtering any goblin that came within reach of them.

The same green goblin from before came running back on the right side, with some of the surviving women and children behind him. Throwing down its weapon, the creature ran towards Diane… instinctively she raised the point of her rapier, the creatures momentum impaling itself on her blade.

It grabbed her by the arm, and in spite of its disgusting visage, tears poured out from the creatures’ eyes, its gurgling voice sounding almost like it was begging her.

Thistleman watched in shock, as dozens of the goblins fled past her, many falling to the arrows shot by Ahusaka.

“PLEASE! SPARE US! WE NO HURT THE HUMANS! WE NOT ONES WHO DO IT!”

I… can understand them too? Its not just the common tongue here? Wait… This… is really, really bad…

As some of the women and children managed to escape the slaughter, the goblin looks almost relieved for a moment, before a massive mace crashes through his head, crumpling the creatures small body, and its blood splattering all over Diane.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!”

Grace’s brutal action and shout seemed to almost bring Diane back to reality, and immediately, Grace regretted it.

The little girl’s face was absolutely aghast, she didn't need to understand its words to feel its meaning, tears rolled relentlessly down her cheeks, as she stared in simple horror at what she had just witnessed… no, what she had taken part in.

She collapsed, wailing as much as her lungs could allow.