The goblins were quick to retreat back into the village. I had wanted to stay in the cave and see what the fuss was about but when the screeching started I was glad we had made it almost past the barrier.

Even past the long tunnel my ears were battered with high pitched screams. I flinched and a few goblins did as well though they seemed to be less impacted. At least Meeny was nice enough to carry me on her shoulder so I did not need to pay attention to walking.

Once everyone was past the barrier it was blocked off and some goblins carried over wooden boards from a nearby hut. It looked to me like they were expecting a siege. A few goblins even had actual spears with them. Wooden shafts with bone spearheads, but still more dangerous than the sticks the scouts used. I was not really sure where that came from but my new Skill gave me a feeling of bone being valuable for the goblins. They looked to be lacking in materials for proper weapons.

Thinking about it more the village really only used clay, bone, wood and a few plant fibres. Probably the vines and leaves from the forest. Oh, and leather, scales and the like. But those were only used for clothes and the door-flaps as far as I had seen.

The screeching had dampened down with the barrier closed but I could still make out some. I kept an eye on it for now. Meeny stood ready next to me with the few goblins using spears standing right in front of the barrier.

Soon I made out steps coming our way from the village. Luk and Roguk lead another group of goblins with spears to us. I received a nod before the now fifteen spear-wielding goblins grouped up around the alchemist. He took out bone vials from his pouch and passed one to every goblin. Soon all the spearheads were tipped in poison, just enough not to drip down. I recognized it as the poison I had made with Roguk. I would stay far away from those spears.

Done with his job, Roguk made his way over to us.

“You doing alright?” he asked.

Hoot. I nodded.

“Yes.” Meeny affirmed as well “It was only a juvenile far away from the group. They will be terrorizing the forest for a few days after hearing it die. Do you think we can hold?”

“Hmm, probably. We got a lot of poison ready. They are pretty dumb, in a few days they will be too exhausted to keep rampaging and retreat to their side of the river.”

I perked up. The monkeys would exhaust themselves in the forest? And then return to their territory? That sounded like easy kills to me.

Hoohoot. I pointed at the barrier with a wing. Clacklack.

Roguk looked at me, confused. I swiped one foot through the air, talons extended for an attack towards the barrier. I hooted again.

“You want to go in there?” Roguk was baffled. “That’s way too dangerous. The baboons are running and jumping around the forest and killing everything that moves. They rampage whenever one of theirs is killed. The only reason the village can survive is this barrier.”

I spread my wings and covered them in shadows. Flapping a few times, dark tendrils spread in the air around me.

Hoot. ‘I can kill them without getting in danger!’

“Right, you can fly. And you’re pretty sneaky. But it’s too dangerous. We don’t know how many monkeys there are. If you get injured just once you will die. If you can’t safely kill one before the others get to you there is no point in going.”

I shook my head. Hoohoot. I made myself small and mimed observing the goblins nearby. Then I spread out my wings, lowered my head and started panting. Then I moved my talons in another attacking move.

“You want to wait for them to get exhausted and then strike? That might work.” Meeny got my meaning. Roguk seemed less convinced but I could see him coming around to the idea.

“But how would you get there before they retreat to their territory? Once they are grouped up again even you won't be able to pick them out one by one.”

I responded by pointing at the barricade, flapping my wings twice and then pointing at a small protrusion on the wall. Naturally, I underlined my explanation with a hoot.

“Now? No. If they are moving up the tunnel as we open the barrier you won't be able to get to the forest.” Roguk denied me.

“But, I can barely hear them. I’m pretty sure they are staying in the forest for now.”

‘Thanks for the assist Meeny!’

I pointed at her ears with a wing and then at my own.

Roguk groaned.

“Okay, fine. Here’s the deal. We will open a small gap in the barricade. You will be careful when going down the tunnel. If there is a single baboon in your way before you get to the cave you will immediately turn back. Knock on the other side once you arrive and hoot a few times. We will let you in. There will be no second chance, alright?”

Despite the stern tone, the goblin was smirking a little. I pressed my feathers tight to my body and narrowed my eyes. I would give the monkeys hell. And gain tons of levels!

As I silently made my way down the tunnel the screaming progressively got louder. I heard steps on gravel and dirt and occasionally a breaking branch or twig. Leaves rustled, maybe from monkeys jumping in the trees. It was total chaos.

That was only confirmed when I entered the cave. There were no baboons near the entrance so I rose up quickly and saw the trees shake as if in a storm. A monkey storm. As I looked around for a hiding spot my eyes spotted the waterfall. It was to my left-wing side about halfway down the cave. A thought came to me. I could probably just have followed the river and got to this cave even safer. It would serve me well as an emergency exit. For that reason, I found myself a crevice close to the waterfall.

From my new vantage point, I observed the cave again. The underground forest spread out over most of the ground. The goblins had cleared a spot free of trees around their tunnel and, below the waterfall, a small pond had formed. From the pond, a river cut through the cave shaping a curve through the leaves. I assumed the monkeys’ territory was to the left of me, on the far side of the goblin tunnel. There was nothing special to see there, besides a slightly stronger glow. They might have collected moss to light up their territory.

Right now there was not much of a difference between the sides of the river. Monkeys were jumping, screaming and running about in a messy whirlwind. I wanted to get the drop on one of them when it was separated from its kin, but it looked to be impossible. There were just too many and they moved in a completely unpredictable pattern. So I reluctantly decided to do as Roguk suggested and just observed for now.

There were always a few spots in the forest without a single monkey. It was just too large for them to cover completely. This would allow me to hunt. It was still dangerous since they moved so much and no empty spot stayed like that for long, but it was enough. In my head, I was able to lure a single monkey to run into an empty spot and kill it. Oh, the levels! But it was too risky.

I spent probably a whole night just scanning their movements before noticing some patterns. Even the most chaotic groups would still move on mostly similar paths. It almost looked like they had several patrols running around at different speeds on crisscrossing paths. Whenever two of those patrols met they went slightly off course adding to the chaos.

This meant there was a certain predictability to their actions. I decided to take a closer look. Flying silently above the trees, I followed a monkey that was running around all on its own. Only a few did and they spent most of their time nearby other groups. On the eighth loop, I had its movements down. Another seven circles and I knew all the groups it crossed paths with. I made sure with a few more passes and then finally found it. A spot to ambush a singular monkey. It was close to the path of 3 other groups. This meant I had to pick the right timing as well.

I kept circling for a little while until two of the groups ran past just moments after one another. They would not come back soon enough. Landing in the spot I had chosen for my ambush I waited for my prey. The other group that was passing by would be coming about half a minute after the solo monkey. This had to be enough time. If I took any longer than that it would not give experience for [Assassin] anyways.

I did not have to wait long. Shaking branches and rustling leaves overshadowed by the monkey’s screaming announced its approach. It was taking a path through the lower branches.

I had covered myself with patches of [Owl’s Shadow]. This, in combination with my mostly white chest feathers, camouflaged me within the white wood and dark-blue leaves. As the baboon pushed off the nearby tree to jump directly under me I dropped down. However, I severely underestimated the monkey's senses. I had expected it to pay nearly no attention to anything nearby with the crazed movement but as soon as I moved it immediately zeroed in on me with its eyes. One of the clawed hands stretched out to grab onto a branch changed its trajectory towards my body.

I panicked and spread my wings. Flapping as fast as I could to stop my fall I narrowly avoided a full-on clash between monkey claws and owl body. It still clipped my feet and I let out a painful screech. Somehow I managed to manoeuvre my falling form towards a branch and pushed off with a stinging shove of my feet.

I heard the baboon turn around on a creaking branch and barrel towards me but the advantage of flight was absolute. It had no way to get to me anymore. Still, it had hurt me and I was not happy. Circling once more I shot an [Identify] at it.

Species: Cave Baboon (mature)

Gender: male

Oh, right. The other one had been juvenile. That was probably why this one was so skilled. Or Skilled maybe. I had no idea what kind of monster magic monkeys would get. I had my [Owl’s Shadow] and [Intimidating Screech]. And I was still juvenile. Whatever this guy had was probably a higher level than mine.

As I settled down in my hiding spot, I inspected my feet. I had been very lucky. There were a few scratches on both but most of the blood was not mine. I must have dug my own talons into the monkey's hand on reflex. My wounds had already stopped bleeding.

So I went back to watching the leaves shake and rustle. There was a larger than usual commotion near the spot I had used for my ambush. The monkeys had grouped up to scream together. I even heard a few branches crack.

One ambush misfired. I had failed my attack. Or rather underestimated the monkeys’ senses. If I came from the air and attacked from behind I might actually succeed. I would get my target!