"Ä̴̰̜̳͓͔̯̫͔͈͉͚̟́̌̓͐́̎̍̑̓̒ḧ̶̡̬̝̟͉̬͍́̉́͋͋́́͋͌̚̕͝ͅd̴̛͇̤̝̙͔̩̈́͗͛͌̀̓͝ḣ̸͈̤̗̈́̇͋̄̀͊͘d̷͍̣̰́́̂̈́̓̈̔̈́ś̶̢͓͉̚͜ͅḩ̷̢̧̪͍͍͓̳̳̯͓͉̱͌͛̒d̶̨̟̣̰̙͚͖̺̭̱̹̳͂͋͘ ̵̨͕͚͇͚̣̖͖̙͈̅̀́̋ͅd̴̨̛͇͈͐̌̔̆̒͒͘͘͜j̴͈̝̠̄̔̒̾̆͜ḑ̴̰̣̩̗̓̽h̴̛͓̦͚̓̋͂͒̆̒͂̾̄͝s̵̤̟̗̠̰͙͖̾̐̓̾͊̐̚y̶͚͎̤̫͋͝ ̶̨̛̛̲̉̿̈̿̈́͒̆͌͘ḑ̴̢̨̞͔̰̤̥̥̝̟̦̥̈̅̏̇̚i̸͚̖̞̲̗̕͜͜e̶̢̢̩͈̭̤̥̼͕̍́͋̊̑̐̈ͅ ̵̜͓̺̪̰̌̈̔̔̇͆̌͠ş̶̛͖̤̹̩̠̘̫̻̂̅͛̒̉̃͜͜͝h̸͔͓̹̬̥̜̫̤̠͓̹̘͇͌̒͊̇̀̈́̇̒̅̏͘͝d̴̨͚̤̞̹̙͖͉͓͇͒̔̆͑̀̓̚͝g̷̩͓̹̓̒̽͘ ̵̛͚̱͓̩͇͍̘̉̐́̀́͐͛̋̇̑͐͝d̵̨͉̝̃͗͋͂̈́̑̉̄͒̕͜͝͠ẖ̶̋ŗ̷̧͚̼̠͌̓̊͆̎n̶̩̮̥̺̑͘ͅd̴̨̮̲̘̝̳͇̬͉͐͐̎͋͑́̓͒̑͛͌̆j̸̣̻͒͜"

"Ä̴̰̜̳͓͔̯̫͔͈͉͚̟́̌̓͐́̎̍̑̓̒ḧ̶̡̬̝̟͉̬͍́̉́͋͋́́͋͌̚̕͝ͅd̴̛͇̤̝̙͔̩̈́͗͛͌̀̓͝ḣ̸͈̤̗̈́̇͋̄̀͊͘d̷͍̣̰́́̂̈́̓̈̔̈́ś̶̢͓͉̚͜ͅḩ̷̢̧̪͍͍͓̳̳̯͓͉̱͌͛̒d̶̨̟̣̰̙͚͖̺̭̱̹̳͂͋͘ ̵̨͕͚͇͚̣̖͖̙͈̅̀́̋ͅd̴̨̛͇͈͐̌̔̆̒͒͘͘͜j̴͈̝̠̄̔̒̾̆͜ḑ̴̰̣̩̗̓̽h̴̛͓̦͚̓̋͂͒̆̒͂̾̄͝s̵̤̟̗̠̰͙͖̾̐̓̾͊̐̚y̶͚͎̤̫͋͝ ̶̨̛̛̲̉̿̈̿̈́͒̆͌͘ḑ̴̢̨̞͔̰̤̥̥̝̟̦̥̈̅̏̇̚i̸͚̖̞̲̗̕͜͜e̶̢̢̩͈̭̤̥̼͕̍́͋̊̑̐̈ͅ ̵̜͓̺̪̰̌̈̔̔̇͆̌͠ş̶̛͖̤̹̩̠̘̫̻̂̅͛̒̉̃͜͜͝h̸͔͓̹̬̥̜̫̤̠͓̹̘͇͌̒͊̇̀̈́̇̒̅̏͘͝d̴̨͚̤̞̹̙͖͉͓͇͒̔̆͑̀̓̚͝g̷̩͓̹̓̒̽͘ ̵̛͚̱͓̩͇͍̘̉̐́̀́͐͛̋̇̑͐͝d̵̨͉̝̃͗͋͂̈́̑̉̄͒̕͜͝͠ẖ̶̋ŗ̷̧͚̼̠͌̓̊͆̎n̶̩̮̥̺̑͘ͅd̴̨̮̲̘̝̳͇̬͉͐͐̎͋͑́̓͒̑͛͌̆j̸̣̻͒͜"

"Ä̴̰̜̳͓͔̯̫͔͈͉͚̟́̌̓͐́̎̍̑̓̒ḧ̶̡̬̝̟͉̬͍́̉́͋͋́́͋͌̚̕͝ͅd̴̛͇̤̝̙͔̩̈́͗͛͌̀̓͝ḣ̸͈̤̗̈́̇͋̄̀͊͘d̷͍̣̰́́̂̈́̓̈̔̈́ś̶̢͓͉̚͜ͅḩ̷̢̧̪͍͍͓̳̳̯͓͉̱͌͛̒d̶̨̟̣̰̙͚͖̺̭̱̹̳͂͋͘ ̵̨͕͚͇͚̣̖͖̙͈̅̀́̋ͅd̴̨̛͇͈͐̌̔̆̒͒͘͘͜j̴͈̝̠̄̔̒̾̆͜ḑ̴̰̣̩̗̓̽h̴̛͓̦͚̓̋͂͒̆̒͂̾̄͝s̵̤̟̗̠̰͙͖̾̐̓̾͊̐̚y̶͚͎̤̫͋͝ ̶̨̛̛̲̉̿̈̿̈́͒̆͌͘ḑ̴̢̨̞͔̰̤̥̥̝̟̦̥̈̅̏̇̚i̸͚̖̞̲̗̕͜͜e̶̢̢̩͈̭̤̥̼͕̍́͋̊̑̐̈ͅ ̵̜͓̺̪̰̌̈̔̔̇͆̌͠ş̶̛͖̤̹̩̠̘̫̻̂̅͛̒̉̃͜͜͝h̸͔͓̹̬̥̜̫̤̠͓̹̘͇͌̒͊̇̀̈́̇̒̅̏͘͝d̴̨͚̤̞̹̙͖͉͓͇͒̔̆͑̀̓̚͝g̷̩͓̹̓̒̽͘ ̵̛͚̱͓̩͇͍̘̉̐́̀́͐͛̋̇̑͐͝d̵̨͉̝̃͗͋͂̈́̑̉̄͒̕͜͝͠ẖ̶̋ŗ̷̧͚̼̠͌̓̊͆̎n̶̩̮̥̺̑͘ͅd̴̨̮̲̘̝̳͇̬͉͐͐̎͋͑́̓͒̑͛͌̆j̸̣̻͒͜"

"Ä̴̰̜̳͓͔̯̫͔͈͉͚̟́̌̓͐́̎̍̑̓̒ḧ̶̡̬̝̟͉̬͍́̉́͋͋́́͋͌̚̕͝ͅd̴̛͇̤̝̙͔̩̈́͗͛͌̀̓͝ḣ̸͈̤̗̈́̇͋̄̀͊͘d̷͍̣̰́́̂̈́̓̈̔̈́ś̶̢͓͉̚͜ͅḩ̷̢̧̪͍͍͓̳̳̯͓͉̱͌͛̒d̶̨̟̣̰̙͚͖̺̭̱̹̳͂͋͘ ̵̨͕͚͇͚̣̖͖̙͈̅̀́̋ͅd̴̨̛͇͈͐̌̔̆̒͒͘͘͜j̴͈̝̠̄̔̒̾̆͜ḑ̴̰̣̩̗̓̽h̴̛͓̦͚̓̋͂͒̆̒͂̾̄͝s̵̤̟̗̠̰͙͖̾̐̓̾͊̐̚y̶͚͎̤̫͋͝ ̶̨̛̛̲̉̿̈̿̈́͒̆͌͘ḑ̴̢̨̞͔̰̤̥̥̝̟̦̥̈̅̏̇̚i̸͚̖̞̲̗̕͜͜e̶̢̢̩͈̭̤̥̼͕̍́͋̊̑̐̈ͅ ̵̜͓̺̪̰̌̈̔̔̇͆̌͠ş̶̛͖̤̹̩̠̘̫̻̂̅͛̒̉̃͜͜͝h̸͔͓̹̬̥̜̫̤̠͓̹̘͇͌̒͊̇̀̈́̇̒̅̏͘͝d̴̨͚̤̞̹̙͖͉͓͇͒̔̆͑̀̓̚͝g̷̩͓̹̓̒̽͘ ̵̛͚̱͓̩͇͍̘̉̐́̀́͐͛̋̇̑͐͝d̵̨͉̝̃͗͋͂̈́̑̉̄͒̕͜͝͠ẖ̶̋ŗ̷̧͚̼̠͌̓̊͆̎n̶̩̮̥̺̑͘ͅd̴̨̮̲̘̝̳͇̬͉͐͐̎͋͑́̓͒̑͛͌̆j̸̣̻͒͜"

"Ä̴̰̜̳͓͔̯̫͔͈͉͚̟́̌̓͐́̎̍̑̓̒ḧ̶̡̬̝̟͉̬͍́̉́͋͋́́͋͌̚̕͝ͅd̴̛͇̤̝̙͔̩̈́͗͛͌̀̓͝ḣ̸͈̤̗̈́̇͋̄̀͊͘d̷͍̣̰́́̂̈́̓̈̔̈́ś̶̢͓͉̚͜ͅḩ̷̢̧̪͍͍͓̳̳̯͓͉̱͌͛̒d̶̨̟̣̰̙͚͖̺̭̱̹̳͂͋͘ ̵̨͕͚͇͚̣̖͖̙͈̅̀́̋ͅd̴̨̛͇͈͐̌̔̆̒͒͘͘͜j̴͈̝̠̄̔̒̾̆͜ḑ̴̰̣̩̗̓̽h̴̛͓̦͚̓̋͂͒̆̒͂̾̄͝s̵̤̟̗̠̰͙͖̾̐̓̾͊̐̚y̶͚͎̤̫͋͝ ̶̨̛̛̲̉̿̈̿̈́͒̆͌͘ḑ̴̢̨̞͔̰̤̥̥̝̟̦̥̈̅̏̇̚i̸͚̖̞̲̗̕͜͜e̶̢̢̩͈̭̤̥̼͕̍́͋̊̑̐̈ͅ ̵̜͓̺̪̰̌̈̔̔̇͆̌͠ş̶̛͖̤̹̩̠̘̫̻̂̅͛̒̉̃͜͜͝h̸͔͓̹̬̥̜̫̤̠͓̹̘͇͌̒͊̇̀̈́̇̒̅̏͘͝d̴̨͚̤̞̹̙͖͉͓͇͒̔̆͑̀̓̚͝g̷̩͓̹̓̒̽͘ ̵̛͚̱͓̩͇͍̘̉̐́̀́͐͛̋̇̑͐͝d̵̨͉̝̃͗͋͂̈́̑̉̄͒̕͜͝͠ẖ̶̋ŗ̷̧͚̼̠͌̓̊͆̎n̶̩̮̥̺̑͘ͅd̴̨̮̲̘̝̳͇̬͉͐͐̎͋͑́̓͒̑͛͌̆j̸̣̻͒͜"

Azaan stood behind a building, his back against it, sweat on his forehead. His legs trembled sometimes and his eyes were focused on a seemingly random spot.

It had been a while since he had been like this. The tower was nearly in front of him, made of blue crystals, the same as the light it emitted. When the distance between them had been greater, he had been unable to sense it but when he had crossed a seemingly normal building, suddenly, a pressure that he could not describe was placed upon him. The pressure made it feel as if he was wearing weights all over his body making movement more difficult and tiring. With the pressure also came the sounds that pricked his ears.

Rested, he started moving towards the tower he finally got the confirmation that it was the target.

Target

His attention was diverted as he heard the sounds of breaths. At first, he thought that it was his own but as he focused they seemed to be coming from behind him. Not looking back, he went into an alleyway next to his right. In, he quickly dipped the sword in the jar and used his sleeves to quickly spread it across the entire sword. Done, he closed his eyes, focusing only on listening to any sound besides the damnable voices that were ever present since he came close.

Now more focused on the sounds, he heard the breathing sounds around him. He gripped his sword harder, as he thought about what to do. Suddenly, he heard a noise that was a lot closer to his location, so he went towards the side where the sound was closer and brought his sword up to his chest level.

Swords ready to strike, he stood there so as soon as the goblin crossed the building, it immediately received a stab on its neck.

Aggggg

The goblin, its face frozen in anger, screamed and swung its sword at him. He quickly tried to back away and instead tripped but it still saved him from the below. He crawled away. As he stood up and looked towards the goblin, he shuddered, it was coughing non stop and collapsed within a few seconds.

Another appeared behind him. This one also had the same angry features as his now dead companion upon seeing whom he leapt towards him, swinging its sword. He brought his own to deflect the below and his muscles screamed from the exertion. It amazed him that his sword, despite having such a narrow blade, could remain in mint condition after deflecting the heavy blow.

He staggered back from the blow and stabbed his sword on the ground to stop himself from falling. He had just regained his balance when another strike fell upon him and he jumped to the side to dodge it but it still cut through his shirt.

The goblin kept pushing him back until he was in a more open space between four buildings. The goblins were all around him and the only open path was moving towards the tower. The goblins advanced and he was forced to move towards the tower. The angry goblin still came at him and swung its sword. Having more space, he dodged to the side and made a cut on its arm as it was retracting its blade. As he was running, leaving the rest of the work to the poison, he was sent flying forward.

He quickly got up and looked behind. The goblin was on the ground coughing and the other goblins grew closer.

He dragged himself towards the tower and as he crossed the last building he came upon a vast space with the tower at its center, maybe the town square for this town. It was glowing with blue light, its intensity made it impossible to see any letters. Above the light were skulls upon skulls. Some of them seemed to be from animals, others of birds but by far the most of them had a more humane shape. A glance at the tower, now without any obstruction, its base was also filled with skulls.

He took a quick look around, noticing the floating figure and the goblins that had also started coming from both sides. They seemed to be pushing him towards the town square but after looking at all the skulls that were there, he did not want to be anywhere near it.

Facing the goblins, he slowly moved back. Slowly, he moved diagonally towards the right making it seem like he was moving towards the town square. Towards his right, there was very little space between the building and the town square due which created a funnel that only allowed a single goblin to be there at a moment.

He lept towards the goblin at the forefront, quickly slashing his sword at it. The strike blocked, he grabbed an arrow from the quiver, slamming it in the goblin's eyes. As it cried, he quickly pushed it in further while stabbing the sword at the goblin that was behind it. The height difference made it considerably easy for him to strike at its neck. It ducked the strike but he pushed the corpse upon it and instead struck the one behind it. After cutting the last one, he saw the goblin trying to stand up and kicked him towards the town square and ran.

ARRGGGHHHH!!!

The scream told him all the confirmation that he needed as he ran straight ahead. The buildings ahead were all very near the town square making the path very narrow. So he ran until another main road came and crossed it, ignoring the floating figure that was uttering those horrible voices.

The goblins kept running after him. After they left the field of pressure, it became harder for Azaan to keep his lead. Wherever he could, he funneled them in a narrow path killing all those he could and escaping afterward.

-----

He cut the corner, taking long arduous breaths. The goblins had surrounded him again. He tightened the grip on his sword trying to divert as many blows as he could. Face twisted in anger, the goblin in front of him struck him with reckless abandon, each blow causing his muscles to try in pain. With each below, he was forced back towards the tower. This was the usual procedure of the goblins. They just pushed him back or tried to capture him. The only thing that made it possible for him to escape was the poison and the night.

As he deflected another attack he forced his body to close in, stabbing an arrow on its body. He quickly backed away with the arrow in his hand facing another goblin. This one had a calm face and kept his distance from him, occasionally striking him. He wanted to run away lest even more goblins arrived but this one was very difficult to deal with. Its emotions remained calm as he watched the other goblin die, not giving him any opportunity to run away.

Gritting his teeth, he quickly moved in as the goblin struck towards him again. He forced his mouth close, tightly, as the blade cut into his shoulder and quickly struck it with the arrow. He ducked, freeing himself from the sword and started running away as fast as could without making any sound. He had already taken off his shoes to reduce the sound.

As he ran, energy flowed into his body from his stomach. It was the only thing that kept his body going even after he had exhausted himself to death.

Sheathing his sword, he cut another piece from his shirt and tightly wrapped it around the cut. It was not a deep one, but it hurt even more. He could only greet his teeth and remain silent even though he wanted to cry. Any sound instantly attracted them and if more than one group surrounded him, it would become very difficult to escape.

Storing his tears to cry later, he took the bow from his back and picked an arrow from the quiver. The tip shined in the little light that the moon had provided.

He could see a group crossing the glowing road. He waited and as they crossed it, quickly fired the arrow towards the calm one. The remaining two ran straight towards him. He quickly fired another arrow and then brought out his sword.

It did not take long to finish the last one and he quickly collected arrows from the dead bodies and ran.

Poisoned arrow made his work very easy. He thanked God that he learned how to use the bow otherwise he would have been in even worse condition. At close range, the goblins could not really dodge the attack even if they had very sharp ears and once the poison got in, it made them dead quick.

He kept moving towards the river, his objective that floating carriage that he had seen previously. That carriage had been big enough that he could clearly see it all the way to the forest. His plan, at the moment, was to ram it at full speed at the tower.

-----

He looked around for any goblins. He was currently at the intersecting point of the circular and straight path. Ahead, he could see a bridge. It was also filled with light.

Seeing no one near, he quickly crossed the road and hid behind the houses. Slowly, he walked ahead towards the bridge while hiding between the buildings.

His bow ready, he aimed towards the bridge. He could see some figures moving down the bridge and waited for them to come closer. As they came closer, there were four of them, he noticed, one ahead and three on the back. The glow from the road allowed him to see the front one clearly, his attention was completely towards him because this being looked completely similar to the floating figure that he had seen while he was running away from the tower.

It was garbed in a cloak similar to the floating figure and had two horns rising from its forehead. The three goblins were completely submissive towards the being.

He looked at the figure and thought whether he should fire the arrow or not. As they came nearer he released it. The poison had worked till now and if he missed, he could just stalk them from a distance.

Just as he released the arrow,

"So this is the rat?"

As the voice sounded out, blue chains erupted towards him from the direction of the figure. Still, he was more worried about the arrow but relaxed when they did not interrupt the arrow and started backing away with as little noise as he could.

He took a quick look behind and his expression soured. The figure was inspecting the arrow that was in its hand while moving straight towards him.

“Go bring the remaining sacrifices, I will bring this one.”

The goblins that looked like children in front of the cloaked being grunted and moved away.

He kept running away but the chains kept coming after him. He unsheathed his sword and struck it at one of the chains that was trying to wrap around his leg and ran towards the river at full speed. More and more chains started pouring out from the alleyways and it started becoming more and more difficult to escape their grasp. He struck those that got near but the destroyed parts remade themselves quickly.

He jumped into the river, chain behind him like a flood.