IX

It was midday, and hot out. Yoreno wiped his brow as he pushed the hilt of his sword forward to keep the end of the scabbard out of the dirt as he crouched down.

Sorika and Liora had come back from their scouting, their boots scraping through the rocks as they came.

“What did you find?” Dantera asked.

“Found it,” Sorika said with a nod.

Breathing heavily, Liora took a stick and started scratching at the dirt. “This is the cave entrance,” she said. “They have a tower here on a ridge.”

Yoreno glanced up, but from here in the hills behind the thick trees, he couldn’t see it.

“They also have a lookout here, and here.”

“Will we be able to go in without alerting them to our presence?” Yoreno asked.

Sorika shook her head.

“Sor?”

“They have a lot of lookouts,” she said. “After attacking these farms, they seem prepared for a fight.”

Sir Jerrin moved a rock off of the ground. “They probably had a scout watching us as we arrived.”

“That doesn’t sound far off the mark,” Wynet said. “Even now, they may be making their escape if their cave has an exit.”

“What are the chances they are looking for a fight?” Yoreno asked.

“High,” Sorika said. “I can see it in their behavior.”

“Wynet?” Yoreno asked.

“I would agree with the young lady,” he said. “With so much happening in the kingdom, they probably think our small force is comprised of little more than regular soldiers.”

“Aren’t they in for a shock,” Andaloo said with a grin.

“Don’t be too hasty,” Dantera said. “They may be filthy goblins, but we don’t want to underestimate them.”

Andaloo nodded his acknowledgement to Dame Brennovo. He did not seem to know who she was, or maybe he didn’t care. But he didn’t carry an air of contempt or arrogance. He was simply young and eager.

Like Yoreno.

But Yoreno, as young as he was, had a lot of experience behind him. He had nearly died on multiple occasions, had been involved in large battles, and so learned to temper his hot headed moments with caution.

Usually.

“How long will it take to set up an ambush? We need to deal with the scouts without alarming the rest.” He asked the question of Sorika and Liora.

“Not long,” Sorika said.

Liora nodded, her strands of honey-blonde hair bobbing beside her face.

“Fine,” Yoreno said. “We go in full force.”

“Ah,” Sir Wexel said from the rock he was sitting on.

They turned to regard him as he stroked his huge mustache nervously. With a laugh, he said, “Should we not call for more reinforcements? We have no idea how many goblins are even down there.”

“Any one of us is worth ten gobbies,” Sorika said. “I’m worth at least fifty.”

Sir Wexel laughed as he wiped his brow of sweat. “To be sure, but…”

They ignored him and stood up.

“Let’s do this,” Yoreno said. “Sir Wynet, you take your party through this pass and assault the tower here. I’ll take my people up the western pass and kill any goblins I find. We meet at the mouth of the cave.”

“And then?” Andaloo asked.

“And then we decide what to do next,” Dantera said. “If the cave is small, we can smoke them out—kill them as they flee into our blades.”

“I like the sound of that.”

“A good strategy,” Sir Wynet said. “We are ready, Lord Yoreno.”

“Meet you at the mouth.”

With a final nod Sir Wynet corralled his party in the direction they needed to go. Yoreno regarded Dantera, Sorika and Mai. “I haven’t been on a regular adventure in some time.”

Dantera smiled. “It is kind of exciting, is it not?”

Sorika nodded. “Going to turn into an epic fight at the castle if Laderan’s right.”

“That’s fine with me,” Mai said. “We will have the advantage.”

“Hopefully,” Dantera said. “We do not know the makeup of the Nai Sha’el’s forces. “I can’t wait to kill them all, Yoreno.”

“I know,” he said. “But we must be patient, play our hand the way it needs to be played. Their greed will be their downfall.”

“Yes,” Dantera said emphatically.

“Now let’s kill some filthy goblins,” Yoreno said.

“I couldn’t have said it better myself, my young protégé.”

As Dantera smiled through her words as she met Yoreno eye for eye, he could see that Sorika and Mai were watching the two of them—more closely than normal.

Yoreno sighed inwardly.