Ch. 3
Crash, snap, thwack oww, these were the sounds that pulled Adrian from his pleasant company in the Palace of Carnal Desires and awoke him to the plesant sensations of Annabelle's bountiful breats smothering his face. "By my ancestors left testicle, damned axle snapped" barked the gruff voice of the carriage driver. "We're in the piss now, keep your eyes peeled lads, could be an ambush" he comanded to the two men sent by Adrian's father. The carriage door swung open and Margitte hopped out, "what are you doin miss its dangerous out here" the gruff voice called out to her. "Retrieving my supplies" she stated with an icy glare that caused the dwarf to shake his head. "Adrian get your ass out here, we may need the extra blade" Margitte barked as she went to retrieve her gear.
"Pardon me beautiful, but as much as I'm enjoying your bold forwardness, it would seem I'm required elsewhere" Adrian spoke with the dark seductive tone that caused Annabelle's heart to race and her face to fluch crimson. She quickly untangled herself, "i-it was an accident my lord, just an accident" Annabelle stuttered. "She's way to adorable when she's flustered" Adrian chuckled in his mind whilst grabbing his sword and hopping out into the darkness of night.
"Allright what's the situation" Adrian inquired looking over at the carriage driver who was currently wearing a strapped shield and carrying a war hammer. Adrian was suprised to see an iron colored plate no bigger in size than a playing card hanging from the drivers neck, the dwarf was a member of the Adventurer's Guild. The dwarf let out a huff of annoyance at being interuped but quickly supressed it, "there was a hidden ditch in the road, a trap designed to catch caravan wagons usually, ripped the front axel right off the carriage". "Bandits" Adrian questioned furrowing his brow. The dwarf stroked his long beard with with his hand from his shield bearing arm, "possibly, or could be something worse". "Do we try and hunt them down before they can ambush us" Adrian inquired. "My lord, you may be able to see in the dark thanks to your elven heritage but the men are practically blind away from the laterns" Margitte called from behind him.
He turned his head, standing where the head maid should have been was a woman with a wild appearance. Wolf like ears sat upon her head and a matching tail swished behind her, she was dressed in a strange suit of scaled armor with a short sword hanging from her left hip and a quiver on her right, in her hands was a bow carved from a mysterious looking wood. His eyes fixed on the gold colored plate hanging from her neck, she too was a guild member. "Forgive my rudness earlier, Huntress of the Night" the dwarf said wid with a respectful bow of his head. Adrian wasn't sure what was going on, but it was clear that she out ranked the dwarf. He was somewhat dumbfounded, he had no idea she was anything more than a maid, he also had no idea that she was a demi-human of the Wolf-tribe.
"For now we'll hunker down around the carriage keeping our backs to it at all times, Adrian I want you to take the roll of a look out atop the carriage, keep a low profile just incase, Master Tagrid you'll be vanguard draw the enemy to attack you, men at arms you'll be flank what ever attack tagrid, I'll take up rearguard and keep the enemy pinned down and try to thin their numbers" Margitte barked. "What do you think we're dealing with" Adrian inquired. "Goblins, probably a small war band that gout pushed out by stronger faction" she replied. "How can ye tell" Tagrid questioned observing the tree line in the distance. "I'm wolf-kin, I can smell them" she anwsered flatly.
Every one steeled themselves, goblins were a deeply hated enemy of the civilized races. They were cruel, intelligent, and ferocious creatures barely a head shorter then humans with wiry limbs, large eyes perfect for underground caverns and night time ambushes, and motled green and yellow skin that allowed them to blend in with folliage. They were often the largest threat to frontier villages where they would engage in night time raids, silently slipping into homes kidnapping young girls and women and butchering any man they encountered. The women would be kept for sport and breeding the larger more intelligent and powerful hob-goblins, the men who were slain would be cooked and eaten. Bows, long curved knives, and spears were their weapons of choice, in battle they relied on ambushes using lightning fast loosely organized strikes into unsuspecting enemies only to flee before the enemy could regroup and counter attack.
The fact that the goblins hadn't attacked right after the axel broke implied that they were being overly cautious by goblin standards. Adrian wondered perhaps in they were low on numbers. A hour or so passed in dead silence save for the occasional sounds of nocturnal birds, the waiting was wearing thin on everyone's nerves. Adrian scanned the tall grass between the road and the edge of the forest when he caught a lumions reflection like the eyes of a cat in the darkness. "To arms, their flanking us" Adrian yelled out hopping down from the carriage before drawing his blade.
His heart pounded with a mixture of fear and excitement, this was nothing like the vague sensations he got from fighting his inner demon, somehow everything was more intense in the coporeal world. Six of the gangly creatures burst from the right side tall grass beside the road, they were dressed in tattered hides, their weapons looked porly maintained, their bodies had thin malnourished appearances.
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The goblins attacked fueld by the desperation of starvation, throwing themselves at the heavily armed party with blood crudling screeches. Tagrid banged his sheild like a drum and let out a deafening warcry of his own before charging into the lead goblin knocking the goblin onto it's back. The men ar arms rushed to Tagrid's flanks creating a three man sheild wall, the two men stabbing the downed goglin with their arming swords.
A loud screech erupted from above Adrian as a goblin leapt from the top of the carriage swinging a wicked looking curved blade the length of Adrian's arms. Adrian leapt back from the suicidal attack before lunging forward with a thrust feeding a foot of his long sword through the goblin's chest, black blood ran down his blade as he gave a final twist ending the creatures life instantly. The lound twang of a warbow echoed from over Adrian's shoulder followed by a pained screech, Adrian spun to see several more goblins coming from the left side of the, " a pincer attack" Adrian growled as he took a deffensive stance.
Margitte hopped up onto the carriage and scanned the side the goblin had climbed up from, satisfied that it was clear she began picking off the goblins that were charging Adrian's position. When she aimed her bow she tapped her spiritual energy speeding up and focusing her vision causing the world to seemingly slow for three seconds. This ability, like the dwarfs warcry was a martial talent, unlike magic any one was theoretically capable of learning these techniques, if they spent years honing their martial skills. Warcry was a martial talent that let out a burst of killing intent drawing the enemy's attention, useful for vanguards who's purpose was to defend against incoming attackers. Margitte's martial talent was called Eagle eye, it enhanced perception to make otherwise impossibly percise shots.
Adrian turned his blade to the side deflecting an incoming spear thrust, with a single step his blade flashed through the neck of his attacker, its body still moving past him whilst decapitated. The arc of his blade sprayed black the blood of his victim onto the goblin's allies. Two more twangs rang out dropping the number of goblins on his side down to three.
Tagrid and the two men at arms worked with a brutal efficiency only acquired by experienced battlefield veterans, they would intercept the attackers with their shields, one of the men would cut the goblin's hamstrings then Tagrid would crush the goblins skull with a sickening wet crunch. While they had already cleaned up their side they moved to support Adrian only to be motioned to stay put by Margitte.
Tagrid watched with suprise and nodded in approval watching the young lord fight three on one with the goblins. They swung wildly but each cut only met metal or air as Adrian paried and seemingly flowed around his oponents. Adrian paried first left then right and slashed downward cleaving the goblin from clavicle to lungs in a single blow, he hopped backwards to dodge a cut while dislodging his sword. It was too close for comfort as he felt the tip of the blade impact his gambeson, the other one closed in leaving Adrian no time to parry. He took his left hand from the hilt and stepped forward grabbing the goblins face, instinctively drew on the demonic taint and channeled his rage into the palm of his hand. Black flame burst from his hand, the suden explosive force blasting the goblin backwards, it pitifully screamed and clawed at it's face trying to put of the demonic flames. The other goblin fled in terror, it was one thing to be cut down with a blade in their culture, but they held a deep fear of anything magical. Another twang rang out ount in the night followed by the thud of the fleeing goblin hitting the ground.
"By my ancestors right testicle, you're a hell of a swordsman, and a damn mage to boot" Tagrid exclaimed. "I'm not really a mage yet, I just kind of got really angry and his head burst into flames" Adrian joked trying to downplay the situation. Even Margitte was looking at him with approval hidden behind her expressionless mask of profesionalism. "Well, if you don't mind I'm gonna harvest the goblin ears, the bounty on goblins is one Tiberian gold piece, thirteen gold in total not a bad haul" Tagrid rubbed his hands together greedily. " We're within walking distance of the town, but we'll have to wait till morning to head out in the meantime try and rest, I'll take first watch" Margitte barked from her position atop the carriage.
Adrian let out a sigh of relief, now that the battle was over his body shook from combat stress and the excess of adrenaline coursing through his veins. He panted, leaning against the carriage for a moment he took stock of himself, aside from a bruise on his right arm and the splattering of blood he was unscathed. Adrian pushed open the carriage door to find the sight of a terrified Annabelle wielding a blacksmith's hammer. "It's just me, you're safe" Adrian whispered taking the hammer from her iron like grip. "Please hold me" Annabelle whispered wrapping her arms around herself, "but I'm covered in blood" Adrian chuckled slightly. "I don't care, I'm scared, I'm a cute girl now shut up and hold me, but none of that whispering to me in seductive tones" Annabelle huffed. Adrian smiled taking the maid gently in his arms as he laid back onto the bed, he made sure to still keep his sword with in reach.
Neither of them stirred when Margitte entered the carriage, looking at the two of them she couldn't help but smile mischievously and crawled onto the bed on the otherside of Adrian wrapping her arms around the young Lord's broad shoulders. When it cam time for Adrian to take watch Tagrid couldn't help but chuckle lightly and quietly close the door and take the final watch as well.