Chapter 087:
Twenty minutes passed in relative peace before a noise broke their silent wait. A single loud trumpet resounded throughout the camp. The other mercenaries groaned as they finished off their meals and rose to their feet, grabbing their weapons and armour while giving them one last check.
“I wonder if it’s going to be a simple plan this time as well.” Anton said as he rose to his feet. “Something a little more imaginative than charge up the middle.”
“They probably wanted to give the soldiers a little break.” Cetina explained as she picked up her new shield. “It’s easy for you guys but most of the soldiers are in full metal plate. Even mine’s heavy and tires me out if I have to run, even though I’m used to wearing this.”
“I suppose that makes sense.” Verona opened the small clay pot on her hip. “This is a little old. Can I get some more?”
“When we’re on the way.” Anton replied. “When everyone’s focusing on the Goblins and not us.”
Verona looked around to see the mercenaries still in the tent glancing towards them. Anton’s explanation hadn’t answered any of their questions so they were undoubtedly still curious what happened. He pushed them out of his mind and checked over his own armour. When he was certain it was fine he saw Kal looking around rather nervously.
“Are you alright?”
“I…I think so.”
“You think someone’s watching us?”
Kal nodded. “That’s definitely going to be happening, for some time I think, and probably right now too…but…I don’t know. Something feels a little odd. I can’t really explain it. It does feel like someone’s watching me…There’s just that feeling running down my spine.”
“Keep close to us and point out anything you think that’s odd.” Anton said.
Kal nodded as she checked over her bow and quiver. Anton was quite interested in seeing how the new arrows would function. They all took a deep breath before heading back into the light. Outside the soldiers were already forming into their hundred man units and moving towards the fortress. Behind them the mercenaries were rapidly forming into small groups but were not heading towards the fortress just yet. Anton spotted Citrio and Livia and waved towards them. Both mercenaries returned the wave as they hurried over.
“Any idea what the plan is?” Anton asked.
Citrio had recovered some of his courage from the break and didn’t regard him with the same level of fear that he did before leaving the command tent.
“Yeah.” Citrio replied. “We’ve just got the plan now. Seems like it’s pretty much the same as before. Except this time, once we’re inside the fortress, we’ll be separating into small groups of about fifty, while the regular soldiers keep to their one hundred men groups. That way if there’s more traps it won’t be as devastating to the whole force.”
“That makes sense.” Anton nodded. “Except for those poor people that fall into another trap. I wonder if they’ve done that inside the fortress as well.”
Livia shrugged. “I’ve heard that it’s possible. There are a lot of floors in the fortress. It wouldn’t be too hard to weaken one.”
“I guess we’ll be staying near the back then.” Anton smiled awkwardly. “Has anyone been assigned their groups yet?”
“Not yet.” Livia replied. “We were thinking of travelling with you.”
“For safety?” Verona chuckled as her smiled widened to breaking point. “Kind of like this one.”
She cocked her head back to Cetina. Cetina flushed lightly and turned he head to hide her embarrassment. Anton and Kal chuckled at the sight, as did a number of mercenaries, though theirs were a little more awkward as they were dancing around the issue rather than Cetina’s admission. Regardless, Anton preferred knowing that there were fifty odd people that would stick close to them out of safety.
“Alright.” The mercenaries appeared quite happy to come along. “When we get inside is the plan just to kill every one of them?”
“Basically.” Livia replied. “There’s not much else to-”
A new horn resounded from the south. This was far deeper and distant than the one before, coming from well past the camp perimeter. Over the crest of the hill a large moving mass of red and brown began to creep over. It was another army. But who’s?
“And who are they?” Verona asked, cutting to the heart of the issue.
Livia squinted hard. “Looks like reinforcements of some kind.”
“They’re not wearing any sort of metal armour.” Cetina pointed out. “Looks like leather armour if anything.”
“No…” Citrio looked for a moment before realisation came to him. “I know who they are. They’re reinforcements.”
“And…And why didn’t we wait for them to arrive?” Anton asked.
“Who knows?” Citrio replied. “They might be reinforcements that were late. Though…I don’t know why Ricimer tried to get us to attack early.”
“Any idea who’s leading it?”
“It’s got the insignia of Lord Cassius.” Citrio replied. “So it’s friendly at least. Though it doesn’t look like they’re under Ricimer’s control. It might be a family member…”
Anton agreed. That seemed the more likely answer. “I wonder how Ricimer’s going to take this. Not well I imagine.”
Verona and Kal nodded as the mercenaries began to follow the Graterious soldiers towards the few wooden bridges across the dirt ditches. Once again there was a large bottleneck, one that appeared worse than last time, and they mercenaries had to wait while the soldiers passed. Anton looked back to the hill. The reinforcements had quickly reached and stopped at the perimeter of the camp. Anton spared the tiniest amount of mana to increase his vision for a few seconds, more than enough to get a good look. Each soldier wore thick, sturdy leather armour that had the same pattern as the tough and hardy Ix beasts. Their shields were relatively small and dull, a dark paint over their front, while they held spears or swords in their hands. A few had bows, crossbows and quite a few more had long pikes. They weren’t a rabble of soldiers, rather a carefully constructed army, designed more for manoeuvre than a straight up slogging match like Ricimer’s metal plated army.
When nearly half the soldiers had passed over the bridge a few soldiers rode forward from the new force and straight towards the command tent. Ricimer emerged looking rather furious, flanked by the three mages and several of his officers, and stood in the middle of the camp’s road, his arms on his hips while he stared at the approaching soldiers.
“This should be good.” Anton said as the soldiers approached. “Ricimer doesn’t look too happy.”
“Of course not.” Livia replied. “Not when there’s sibling rivalry at play.”
The new soldiers rode right through the camp perimeter and stopped a few meters from Ricimer. Ricimer’s body language spoke volumes of the displeasure the guest was giving him.
“We might want to hear this.” Verona offered.
“I doubt we can just get close enough to listen in.” Anton replied. “But…maybe this is another chance to test out and obtain a better understanding of the prayer power.”
“Do you want me to help?” Kal asked. She seemed quite excited by the prospect of experimenting with her power.
“How much mana do you have?”
“About…Almost all of it.”
Anton patted Kal’s head, to which she cocked it slightly. “That’s very good. You-”
“How much do you have?” Kal asked back, a sternness to her voice.
“About three quarters. I checked the potions the mages gave me and they’re not poisoned. I still want to keep them all just in case we need them inside the fort. ”
“You’re going to need every drop of mana to fight. I don’t.”
He was sure that Kal puffed her chest out ever so slightly. Verona raised a brow but didn’t say anything, rather, she looked a little impressed. Anton really liked it when Kal had this sort of attitude, when she was the one taking charge. A tiny crack formed in her posture but she took another breath and held her hands on her hips.
“Okay.” Anton nodded and looked towards Ricimer. He was already chatting with the new soldier and, judging by his posture, he wasn’t have any fun. “I have an idea.”
Anton leant down to down and whispered what he wanted her to do.
---[]---
Kal listened in silence to Anton’s words. They seemed simple enough to follow. When he leant back up, not very far for him as they were nearly the same height, a faint smile formed on his face.
“Do you think you can do it?”
Kal nodded furiously, the mask straining around her head as she felt it trying to come loose. It hadn’t, she had checked and rechecked the straps every time she had a spare moment, but the fear was always present. Especially in such a large crowd. Often she would, when Anton and Verona weren’t looking, take massive breaths just to calm herself down. It normally worked and after a few more deep breaths she was fine. It surprised her how quickly she became used to the idea of walking and talking to humans, even though most would try and tear her apart the moment they realised who she was.
“I can. It sounds simple enough.”
Kal turned towards General Ricimer and the reinforcement soldiers. They looked quite smug while Ricimer was becoming increasingly annoyed. She glanced to the side, the thin black material covering her eyes hindered her vision a little, bringing her down to what she suspected was human levels of vision, and saw that two thirds of the Graterious soldiers had already made it across the bridges. They didn’t have long.
“Okay. You can do this.” She coughed as Verona jabbed her lightly in the side. “Okay…Tethra, Goddess of Prayer, give me the gift to hear only in a cone in front of me until I wish not to.”
Anton had been very specific with his instructions. He didn’t want her to be deafened if every noise of the camp and soldiers, every creak and groan, every cough and breath, were to rush into her ears at once and to have the option to remove it at any moment.
A small portion of her mana left her, about an eighth, it was hard to guess how much it actually used, as a torrent of sound rushed into her ears. She squeaked in surprise and reflexively covered her ears. Anton grabbed her shoulder and said something. She looked, but didn’t turn her head, and his mouth moved but nothing came out. Rather she couldn’t hear anything coming from the side, not even the bouncing and groaning of the wooden planks.
How weird. Is this what it’s like to be deaf? Anton said there were ways for people, on his world, that were deaf to hear again…Definitely not with this though.
Another squeeze from Anton reminded her of where she was.
Shit. I’m getting distracted by his stories again.
Often, late into the night, they would all snuggle together and listen to the stories of Anton’s world. A strange and fantastical world. Sometimes it was just an excuse to hear him speak as they slowly drifted off to sleep. But reminiscing would have to wait.
She removed her hand, gave Anton’s a quick pat, and focused her attention forward. With the prayer power enhancing her hearing it was completely clear Ricimer and the new man were arguing. While Ricimer looked rather plain, and not at all a General, this new man looked equally unbefitting a leader. His face was hawkish, his eyes sharp and observant, yet he held himself in a jovial state with a wide and dopey smile and unruly curly hair that poked out from underneath his helmet. Kal focused all her attention and listened in.
“I said, what are you doing here?” Ricimer demanded, throwing his hand towards the ground. “We don’t need you, or your peasant rabble, to retake Fort Acadiva.”
“I think you do.” The other man replied. “Considering what you told my father you should have taken this fort by now. With all the men you have, and even the mercenaries thrown in as well, this should have been an easy victory. Even for you.”
“Lord Cassius gave me this task and I intend to complete it. Alone.”
“Is that why you begged on your hands and knees for these mages to come with you?”
Ricimer held his fury in check, Kal heard the grinding of metal and leather as he hands scrunched tight.
“I didn’t and you know that-”
“I bloody well saw you.” The other man barely held back a smile. “I didn’t tell my father because it seemed far too cruel. Even to you.”
Hurry up at tell me your name.
Ricimer appeared to be in a tranquil state of fury and held himself back. “Crispus. I don’t need you here.”
Crispus smiled and moved forward to embrace Ricimer. He stepped back but Crispus was faster. The sound of metal clinking was near deafening but Kal persevered. Crispus leant into his ear and whispered. “After you married my sister it’s the least I could do. Or the least you could.”
Kal didn’t understand the inflection in Crispus’s voice and the man held his smile as they parted. Citrio or Livia might know more. Crispus parted and patted Ricimer’s armoured shoulder, yet another cacophony of sound, and returned to his original position.
“Well…You’re here now.” Ricimer grumbled as he kicked at the grass. “I suppose that we should take advantage of your help. If that’s what you’re offering.”
Crispus chuckled. “Of course. Actually we’re on the way to a little sleepy town near the border with those rotten clansmen. It seems father’s found a major hideout of Tullas Mad Eye’s gang and wants us to pay a visit.” He smiled, one which deeply disturbed Kal. One which she had seen before. And never wanted to see again from someone so close.
“How’d he manage that?”
Crispus winked. “That’s his little secret. Even I don’t know.” He pulled out a small piece of paper, drops and smears of blood covered one side. “Though…I’m pretty sure I can guess how he got it.”
“Hmm.” Ricimer looked towards the reinforcing soldiers. “And will they be enough?”
“Of course. Against bandits my men won’t lose.”
Ricimer nodded but said nothing more. Kal remembered Virgil saying those bandits weren’t like the usual ones. How they were far more dangerous than the usual types that Kal ran away from during her life in Graterious, the type that would run away once a trained sword was thrust towards them. His bravado might go disappear once they get into an actual fight.
“So, will you help us?”
“I said yes before, didn’t I?” Crispus moved to the side of Ricimer and looked towards the fort, a frown forming on his face. “And what happened there?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come now. You know exactly what I mean. There’s a giant hole in the wall…and it’s just not here.” His eyes squinted even more. “And why is there a giant hole in front of the wall here? The edges looked burnt.”
Ricimer looked back and straight at them. Kal felt her heart jump as his eyes looked at Anton. While Ricimer had been willing to let them go, on the promise that they would meet Cassius later, she wasn’t so sure Crispus would. He seemed a far more frivolous man than Ricimer.
Ricimer sighed and turned back. “There was an incident.”
“You don’t say…” Crispus looked at Vistilia. “Has it been taken care of?”
“It has.” Vistilia replied softly.
Crispus waited for more information but none was forthcoming. He shrugged. “Good to know. Ricimer, I take it you’ll be attacking from the south, heroically leading your men from the front?” A deranged and knowing smile overcame his face as he clapped his hands together. “Oh. If only there was a way to capture the moment both of us triumphantly meeting in the middle of Fort Acadiva. What a tremendous gift for father that would be.”
Kal chuckled at Ricimer’s obvious discomfort. There was no way that he would be leading from the front or even entering the fort without it being completely secured. Anton looked at her but she didn’t answer straight away. She didn’t know how loud her voice would be.
“True…” Ricimer trailed off for a moment before he regained his composure. “However retaking the fort will have to do.”
“That it will. It’ll still be a marvellous gift for father.”
Ricimer grumbled once again. “My forces will attack from the south in the next few moments. We weren’t planning or counting on your support so the attack will continue as planned.”
“That won’t give us that much time…There’s a breach on the south eastern side. We’ll attack through there and meet you in the centre.”
“Just be careful. There-”
“Oh? Is that concern I feel from you?” Crispus was barely holding together his laughter.
“There was a large pit-fall trap at the base of the fortress and there could be more. My mages say that an Awakened might be leading the Goblins.”
Awakened?
Crispus’s face darkened. “Well, thanks for the warning. I’ll tell the men to be careful.” Any frivolity disappeared. “If one of those squishy pustules is lurking about this thing’s going to get a whole lot messier. Good thing we’re here then.” There appeared to be hint of modesty in the man. “We’ll start our attack immediately. See you in the middle.”
Crispus gave a wave before mounting his horse and returning to his men. Ricimer ground his teeth, loud enough for Kal to clearly hear, probably even without her enhancements, and turned towards them. He checked over his weapon and armour as the mages looked towards him with more than a little concern.
You actually took the bait? Honour must mean quite a lot to you…with your father in law at least. I need to tell Anton what I just heard.
Kal wished for the enhancement to end and a different sound rushed into her ears. The clanking of metal armour, the groaning of wood and the breathing of those nearby returned. She glanced to their side, almost all of the Graterious soldiers had passed and a few of the mercenaries were already travelling over the bridge.
“How’d it go?” Anton asked.
“Good. Really good.” Kal smiled back, though immediately remembering and slightly detesting that he couldn’t see her face. She sighed, which only increased Anton’s confusion, so she waved her hands to placate him. When his face softened she felt happier. “Anyway, I’ll tell you when we’re on the move.”
“So you’ve got something?”
Kal nodded. “Yeah. Something about an Awakened Goblin leading them. One that’s meant to be a squishy pustule, whatever that means.” Anton’s face darkened as he bit onto his lower lip. “I...I remember you saying something like that before.” Kal groaned as she rubbed her temple. “Back at Maxill you talked to Alfred about that.”
Thinking back to Maxill brought back some interesting memories. It made her heart flutter remembering their first night together and the cold she felt just before as she lay dying after slaying the Orc commander Zig. She brushed those thoughts aside and recalled the conversation with Alfred, Duchess Belinda’s butler, the trip before they rushed to Maxill’s aid. He had been confused about the existence, and Anton’s fascination, of such a strange Goblin. Verona grumbled to her side as they started moving towards the wooden bridge.
“If it’s what I think it is I’ve fought one before.”
“When?” Kal asked.
“Before you arrived.” Verona smiled wildly at her. She looked at the mercenaries around them and coughed, especially when Anton had a strange look on his face, one telling her not to blab everything about their secret home. “One was like that. Covered in puss and cysts. It…It wasn’t fun to fight.”
“Nearly killed you.” Anton gently held Verona’s hand, to which she flashed a smile. “I had to ask you for it but my heart ached to see you dive into the fray like that.”
Verona flushed lightly and smiled as she hold his hand. “I did for you. But I did manage to kill the rotten thing. We both know it was very smart.” Verona chuckled once. “For a Goblin. With that white magic it could blow a hole in the wall…Hmm…”
Verona frowned deeply and held her chin tight as she thought deeply about something.
I’m kind of glad I didn’t have to face such a thing. Something that makes them that worried…No thanks.
“An Awakened…” Livia trailed off. “That would explain the pit trap.”
“That’s what Crispus said.” Kal replied.
“Crispus?” Anton asked, a strange smile creeping on his face, one that Kal didn’t understand. She would have to ask later.
“That would be Cassius’s first son.” Citrio replied. “He’s pretty smart but rather…frivolous.” Kal agreed with Citrio’s words. “I don’t really care why he’s here but I’m glad that we’re going to have the extra soldiers with us.”
“Apparently he’ll be attacking the other side of the wall, up another breach.” Kal looked back to see Crispus and his soldiers marching away from the camp. They weren’t going to wait for a combined assault.
“Here’s hoping that they told them about what happened when we attacked.”
Kal smiled, again mentally cursing the mask, and reached out for Anton’s other hand. She entwined her fingers with his free hand. “Don’t worry. Ricimer told them about that, and he didn’t give you up as the person that caused all those scorch marks.” She felt Anton relax through his hand.
“There’s some good news.” Anton said as they began to cross the wooden bridge, bouncing and rocking as the heavy mercenaries walked across.
Kal’s Beast-kin feet were different to a humans, and the boots she wore, while comfortable, felt like they were about to slip forward. Some of the pressure wasn’t on her pads just behind her toes but rather the part of the foot behind. Still, it was the best she’d worn in her life and far better than being discovered. Anton picked up on her light discomfort and she shook her head. She didn’t need to bother him with something so tiny, even though he would take the time to help her through it. That thought alone brought her some happiness.
Time to focus Kal. We take this fort, meet with Lord Cassius, get the boat and held to Danafra. Then it’s simple as finding my mother after nearly twenty winters, buying her and anyone else we can and then getting them back to Atros…Tethra, we might need your help with this. But if we can…I don’t know how I could repay you.
Kal smiled, knowing that there were two people, two that would be with her no matter what, that were risking their lives to help her. She gripped her hands tight, the leather squeaking under the strain, as she looked towards the fortress. It still loomed in the distance with its imposing wall. She took a deep breath and readied herself for what was to come. If her head was stuck in the clouds with warm feelings she wouldn’t be able to reach and rescue her mother. That thought alone gave her focus for the battle ahead.
---[]---
Anton carefully moved across the wooden bridge. While he was sure that it would hold he wasn’t entirely sure. The wood let out terrible groans as the heavy mercenaries moved over but it appeared okay.
“Anton, Verona....” Kal shook her head and looked towards the fortress wall. “What…What was it like when you fought that Awakened Goblin? I’ve never seen one before.”
Anton shook his head. “Only that my magic didn’t work when I tried to kill it with a lightning bolt and it could use this really powerful white magic.” He turned to Verona. “Though I wasn’t the one to fight it.”
“Nothing much to say. Other than it was pretty strong. I couldn’t use my blood shards straight away. I had to use my spear rather than my blood.” Verona glanced up at her spear. “My magic became dull when I tried to hit it…”
“I think that was part of the metal armour that encased it.” Anton said. “That Gliyrhil stuff lay underneath the green Bosciycium husk.”
“That’s right.” Verona smiled warmly at them both. “Darn thing was clever too. It laughed at me when it thought my blood couldn’t kill it. Didn’t stop me from cutting its balls apart.”
Kal turned to Verona and tilted her head. Anton smiled and squeezed her hand. “She isn’t kidding. She’s my tough little silver fox.”
Verona laughed as she threw her head back, Kal grumbled as she wasn’t being flirted with. Anton freed his hand and gave her rear a pinch. Kal squeaked and thumped his side but quickly pulled herself close and returned the favour.
The mercenaries followed the Graterious soldiers across the wooden planks and formed up behind. As before the soldiers stayed with their small hundred man units, forming an unbroken line, while the mercenaries clumped together in their smaller groups. Once again organisation seemed a little messy on the mercenary’s side. It would be difficult to maintain it once they assaulted the fortress itself.
“Where are we going?” Anton asked Citrio.
The man had almost forgotten his fear of Anton, though a tiny twitch of his hand and face revealed it wasn’t entirely gone.
“We’ll head up the side and then into the fortress.” Citrio pointed to the left of the revealed pit trap. “Not right against the wall, in case they throw things down, but it’ll have to do.”
“Right…” Anton turned to Kal. “Keep an eye out above. It’ll be a good chance to show off those arrows of yours.”
Kal nodded furiously as she held her fists close to her chest. He loved seeing her like this, even if he couldn’t see her face.
“You ready, Cetina?” Cetina still appeared a little lost but nodded all the same. She raised her shield and drew her sword. “Alright then.”
“I’m going to need some more blood.” Verona withdrew her blade and ran it along Anton’s palm. She hid herself underneath her cloak until she had taken up another half pots worth. “The other bit still seems okay. Just to be sure.”
Anton healed the wound as a single loud horn resounded from the rear. The soldiers began a slow and methodical advance to the fortress wall, not charging or running so they wouldn’t be tired when they arrived. To the east the reinforcing soldiers were making good time in reaching the other side of the point of the star fortress. While he didn’t know how well they would fight it should at least divide the Goblins forces and attention.
The travel to the fortress was long and uneventful. Again he felt the nervousness and apprehension rise amongst the mercenaries and soldiers. Only fools or those with supreme confidence wouldn’t be at least a little bit nervous when fighting. The reinforcing soldiers disappeared behind the side of the wall as they began to attack in unison.
The fires and smoke had long extinguished themselves around the fallen pit trap, revealing how close they had all been to disaster. A few Goblins were still in some semblance of life, trying to haul themselves back into the fortress, but otherwise the whole area was devoid of life. As their mercenary group moved to the left side of the soldiers Anton scanned the top of the fortress wall and saw nothing. He doubted that would last for long.
As the Graterious soldiers advanced like a sea of metal to the edge of the burnt stones Kal quickly withdrew her bow and nodded to the top of the wall. Tiny specks moved all along the top, their profiles were a little strange to be Goblins with spears. They looked like Kal was now.
The first arrow flew from the wall, he could barely see it against the bright sky, and landed amongst the mercenaries. By some chance it missed everyone but everyone knew what it meant. Every mercenary raised their shields above their heads as they huddled together for protection. Cetina raised her shield and moved beside Anton, more than adequately protecting them all from a small hailstorm of arrows. Quickly a thunderous cacophony resounded around them as the Goblins above loosed everything they had. A few arrows started to get through and yelps of pain emerged. Kal huddled close to Anton and pulled out a Lightning arrow.
“Fuckers.” Livia groaned as the mercenaries huddled together as they advanced. “They can just throw shit down.”
“Cetina.” Kal had Verona tap her. “Move your shield. I’m going to shoot them.”
“Can you actually hit them from here?” Citrio winced as an arrow bounced on the middle of her shield.
“I can.” Kal stepped back, pulled the bow back as hard as she could, and loosed the arrow.
Anton could just see through a tiny gap behind Cetina’s shield. The arrow, loosed by the white bow at maximum draw, flew like a rocket and smashed into one of the small yellow lumps. A brief screech resounded as the arrow erupted in a scattering of lightning, like a moderate sized lightning bomb, striking everything within ten meters. The Goblins nearby vaporised as the lightning penetrated and wrecked their bodies. Large chunks of stone flew into the air alongside the dead Goblins. A new shower of rocks landed on their shields but a cheer rang throughout the mercenaries. Many were stunned but already cheers of praises were directed towards her, something she wasn’t entirely ready for as she hid behind Anton’s back. Anton looked up from the safety of Cetina’s shield. From what little he could see the other Goblins were deeply afraid and had ceased firing. Their barred teeth quickly returned as they drew their small crude bows back for another assault.
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“Again.” Anton said, but Kal was well ahead of him.
Another three lightning arrows followed in quick succession. As the first arrow reached the Goblins the second was already in flight. Each exploded in a burst of lightning, taking out every Goblin within ten meters and throwing chunks of stone in every direction.
Kal readied a fifth arrow, her breathing was already slightly ragged, but she held it. Anton looked up and couldn’t see any Goblins on top. He looked to the other side of the fortress and could see many Goblins launching arrows from the wall at the soldiers and the mercenaries. As he judged the range a bolt of blue smashed into the Goblins and sent them tumbling over the wall. Anton saw the stone turn a darker colour slowly. It took a moment before he realised the stone had become wet. He looked back and saw the blue water mage, Harprax, with a large staff in his hand, a large metal tablet on top with eight embedded blue stones. He was chanting something, throwing his hand into the air and another ball of water smashed into the remaining Goblins, the high pressure of the spray coming off the human sized ball cutting through flesh and stone like a hot knife through butter. The ball of water smashed into a giant stone and exploded, harmless spray travelling in all directions. Anton looked to Harprax. He barely looked like he had exerted any effort.
“Looks like they’re finally coming out to play.” Citrio smiled.
“What did he just use?” Cetina asked. There was no small look of awe on her face.
“Just a water blast.” Citrio replied. “A basic skill of the water mages but it can be really dangerous.”
“I can’t imagine what his big spells are like.” Anton commented quietly.
Another horn resounded from the rear. This time Ricimer was almost at the front of a small detachment of elite soldiers and the three mages. Crispus’s words had taken root in his heart and drawn him out to fight. Harprax let loose a few more water bolts and completely cleaned off the right wall. Now neither side was under assault.
“Any of them attack from the front yet?” Anton asked.
“Not yet.” Someone replied. “They’re just letting us in.”
That means they’ve got some sort of plan.
The soldiers move around the pit fall trap and began the ascent up the last fifty odd meters of uneven stone before they reached the breached wall. The going was slow and ponderous for the heavily armoured soldiers. Man slipped and crashed into one another, though none of it looked serious. Just as they moved past the hole, and they reformed their lines, a screech came from deep within the fortress.
A horde of green Goblins, several hundred at least, rushed out from the dark hole with little more than sharpened wooden stakes and shards of sharp rock. The captains barked orders and the men readied themselves. Shields clunked together and were thrust into gaps in the stone as swords were drawn and arrows and bolts loosed. Many died but the surge didn’t break. Their small frames crashed in stone secured shields and were torn apart by hundreds of jabs from steel blades. Every Goblin that crashed into the shields was immediately cut down only for another to take its place. Anton readied a fireball in his mind, something he could throw over the soldiers, but it was unnecessary. After the last Goblin smashed into the shields the captains ordered their men forward, simply marching over the dead and bleeding bodies.
“What did they need us for?” Verona asked. “I’m sure everyone is loving the money but they don’t honestly need us.”
“That’s good then.” Citrio smiled back. “Free money is good money.”
“And it still gets a meeting with Cassius.” Anton added to Verona. “I don’t think the rest is going to be that easy though.”
Verona’s face grew serious as she gripped tight on her spear and pushed forward with the other mercenaries. Kal kept most of her attention at the wall while Cetina kept her shield above their heads.
A strange grumble came from the front as a gap emerged in the advancing mercenaries. A body lay on the ground, a mercenary killed by the Goblin arrows. It was one of the six idiots, the left side of his chest had been peppered with three arrows and one that travelled straight through his jaw and out his neck. He looked to an arrow laying to his side. The tip was very blunt and wide. The angle from which it was fired would have given it a substantial increase in strength but a decent piece of armour may have saved his life. There was nothing to say or do. His power couldn’t bring people back from the dead, nor did he have any desire to bring this one back. Anton followed everyone else’s action and moved around the body. He couldn’t see the other five anywhere.
Someone might have used them as a meat shield. I think that’s kind of sad, though them turning up wearing what they did is even worse.
The soldiers hesitantly entered the breach and advanced inside. Almost immediately shouts rang out with the sounds of combat. Blood and green and yellow body parts flowed forth.
“Where are they coming from?!” One of the first mercenaries yelled out.
Yellow and Green Goblins were bursting out of nowhere and setting themselves upon the startled mercenaries. Though they suffered from having to adjust to the lower light they quickly rallied and cut them to pieces. They slowly continued to advance through the breach and arrived in a very large open section of the internal wall. A series of very wide corridors ran either side while another large breach had been opened on the other side leading into the central area of the fort. The shuffling silver backs of the soldiers jostled as they slowly advanced, the unmistakable cries of combat emerging as a small torrent of Goblin body parts and blood followed behind. Anton agreed with Verona’s sentiment once again. So far they hadn’t really been needed.
Several brightly coloured Empire captains stood just at the back of the soldiers and waved the mercenaries down the corridors. Anton couldn’t see any Graterious soldiers moving down the corridors, only the backs of the mercenaries travelling down the relatively tight stone confines. Anton guessed this is why they were hired, to clear these confined and dark areas without risking the regular soldiers. They had no choice in the matter and travelled down the left side of the fortress with half of the mercenary force. They corridors quickly branched out, up and down. One was picked and they cautiously travelled down the corridor, always watching and waiting for an ambush.
---[]---
The inside of the fortress was a complete mess. While freshly killed Goblins lay scattered and leaking across the floor there was an abundance of older bodies. Human soldiers, wearing a mixture of leather and metal armour, were pilled along the edges of the corridors, their armour thoroughly torn to pieces as the Goblins attempted to loot their corpses of anything of value. Many more Goblin corpses were piled amongst the dead soldiers. It was interesting to see that the Goblins took just as much care with their own kind as they did with the humans. At least they weren’t being stepped on. The smell of rot, the foulness of decaying flesh mixed with an undercurrent of bodily excrement, was especially unpleasant to the senses. Kal spluttered next to him but waved him forward. No one else was entirely happy with their current surroundings.
Ahead another group of mercenaries were fighting furiously against a surge of Goblins from ahead, their shouts and cries, the sounds of metal hitting flesh and stone, echoed everywhere. Even though the relatively narrow stone corridors should have limited the effectiveness of their numbers they were simply crawling over one another and ripping into the relatively unprotected faces and necks of the mercenaries, using the mercenaries’ bodies as platforms to other victims. The tight confines were now working against the mercenaries. Some were starting to fall as flashes of Orange and Purple came through the struggling mercenaries. These weren’t flashes of magic but Goblins.
A pair of Orange and Purple objects dove through the mass and stabbed at the backs of the mercenaries. Their screams were terrifying. Those with bows and crossbows moved forward but hesitated to fire. These Goblins were very fast and hard to get a proper aim on and every second they hesitated was another dead or wounded mercenary. Kal took a shot with a regular arrow and struck the Orange Goblin in the back. The mercenary let out a cry as the arrow had punctured through and struck him, but at least he wasn’t being stabbed.
The Purple Goblin turned towards them. This breed was taller and more lithe than the Yellow Goblins, the type that Anton had decided on being the base type of Goblin. While the Yellows were about a meter tall, more if they didn’t slouch all the time, this one nearly stood perfectly straight at one three quarters. A complete scavenged set of leather armour, including boots and even a blet, had been fitted relatively well onto its body. Each hand held a well-crafted steel dagger drenched in mercenary blood. Compared to the Yellow’s its hands were far more human, even more so than Kal’s, with very small but sharp claws. The face was more like a hawk than the deformed Yellow, the nose long and like a beak, its lips pulled back slightly to give it a permanent sneer over rotten yellow teeth. When its eyes made contact with them the already small pupils contracted to pinpricks, leaving only enraged red irises.
Verona pushed through the mercenaries and activated her power. With one flick of her spare wrist the blood crystallised and flew forth from each pot in two large shards. The Purple’s eyes flickered to the first shard as its body twisted out of the way of the first shard. Thankfully the dead Orange, still attached to the struggling mercenary, caught the shard. The second blood shard caught the Purple Square in the chest as Verona held it back from the first by a few centimetres, piercing through the leather armour and out the other side. Verona grunted as she held out her hand and burst the embedded shard, sending the fragments throughout its body and shredding its insides. The Purple slumped to the ground, the knife tumbling uselessly away, and Verona recovered as much blood as she could, including the shard embedded in the Orange.
“That guy was quick.” Verona mumbled as she refilled her pots, allowing the rest to fall to the ground.
The other mercenaries were stricken in a mixture of fear and surprise and failed to respond. Their companions were still fighting and dying ahead.
“Come on!” Anton yelled, bringing them back to the present.
The last mercenary fell as the surge of Green and Yellow Goblins rode over them. The Orange and Purple hadn’t been the only ones to get through though had proved to be a sufficient distraction. Cetina moved in front of them as she readied her blade and shield. Anton moved to the side and fired a few lightning bolts as Verona threw her blood shards. The lightning and crystallised blood exploded and eviscerated the horde and reduced them to puddles of blood and flesh. Everyone held their breath as they waited for another horde to approach, but none came.
“How…How many was that?” Citrio asked.
“About two hundred.” Kal flatly replied.
“They shouldn’t have…”
“In the open field, no.” Anton continued. “But in here they just crawled over them and they couldn’t kill them fast enough…Maybe if they had spears…No, they would have wanted shorter weapons…Anyway, we need to get into the open. Then this won’t happen to us.”
Anton was a little surprised when everyone agreed with him. His knowledge of military matters was very limited but apparently it was correct. Now it was just a matter of getting out of the corridors. They had come across many doors but they had no idea which way led to the upper walls. If by emerging early they lost some of their pay, so be it. They really didn’t need it and the other mercenaries knew they couldn’t collect or spend the reward if they were dead.
“Any clues on how to get out?”
“There’s bound to be a door somewhere.” Livia pointed at some of the smaller mercenaries. “Sneak ahead and see if there’s a door leading upwards.”
The smaller mercenaries, who Anton immediately thought to be scouts, grumbled but did as they were told, readying their shorter weapons and moving over the dead bodies. Anton thought it was strange but perhaps an instruction, no matter what it was, was preferable to standing still and waiting for something to find them. Either that or Livia had some sort of authority that Anton wasn’t entirely aware of yet.
“I want to have a closer look at the Orange Goblin.” Anton said.
Verona frowned lightly. “Whatever for?…Do you want to dissect it again?”
“Not right now-”
“Doing what?” Cetina asked.
Verona chuckled. “One of the first things that I saw Anton do was rip one of those Goblins apart to see how it worked. Very endearing…”
Cetina looked to Anton and then to his hands.
“It was with a knife.” Anton said, Cetina continued to look a little disturbed as did the other mercenaries. “I want to see what’s different about that one, other than its skin. That Purple one was really fast.”
“Hang on.” Kal fired another three arrows into the Orange Goblin, still pinned to the dead mercenary. Each landed with a satisfying thump and squelch but the creature didn’t move. “Just wanted to make sure.”
“Good call.”
All four moved forward with their weapons raised. Cetina kept her shield and her sword ready to fight, just in case a Goblin was playing dead. Kal knocked another arrow and kicked the foot of the Orange Goblin. It was completely loose and lifeless. Kal hesitantly retrieved her arrows and moved to the side for Anton.
Anton knelt down to the Orange Goblin and pried it off the dead mercenary. Verona and Kal let out strange groaning noises and Cetina visibly recoiled at the sight. While the Purple Goblin was approaching a human physique this was the complete opposite. Strong muscles bulged underneath the tight and leathery orange skin, several places had ripped to reveal a dark and dry red flesh underneath. It wore no armour and only a loincloth styled piece of cloth to cover its groin, the same level of care the normal Greens and Yellows had. The claws had grown considerably and were jagged and sharp with many hooks along the edges, like a sharks tooth, the same for its feet. The mouth though, the mouth looked like a deep sea creatures; all teeth and nothing else. These too had the hooks running on the inside of its teeth, far larger than on its limbs. Hunks of flesh were still embedded in its teeth, wet and dripping down its dead throat. The face itself was more flat and square than the Yellows or the Purple though clearly still a deformed humanoid. It was a hideous mass of flesh.
“Wouldn’t want a whole bunch of these things tearing at us.” Anton took Verona’s blade and prodded around its mouth. “Imagine if we had to fight a few hundred of these things…And their teeth. Or that purple one and its blades. That one seemed really smart. Or at the least, quick.”
Verona agreed. “Thank the Gods we didn’t have to fight these…back home. I’m more worried about that Purple one than the Orange. That thing moved really fast. Having fifty of those come at you at once would probably be terrifying. Especially without magic like mine. They’d just dance around swords and spears.”
“They’re strong but they still die to an arrow.” Kal pointed out as she looked at one of her arrows. “I haven’t seen any like this in my time in Graterious. I didn’t make a habit of getting close to their nests, but...”
“They take so long to breed.” Livia began. “That’s why there aren’t more of them.”
“At least this isn’t the first time they’ve been seen. I’d be terrified if there were.” Anton admitted as he stood up. “Just one, without my magic, would make me want to run away.”
“From what I remember it’s about a season for them to come to adulthood.” Livia said. “And they’re very rare to be born in the first place. One in tens of thousands, that still need to grow up in their society. So we don’t see them often…Thankfully.”
Anton nodded and looked back to the Orange Goblin. He thanked any god that was listening they didn’t have to face these varieties when he arrived. Atros would not exist.
“We’ve got a whole bunch of doors up here.” A scout yelled back. “We need some help to get the open.”
Help or do they not want to be alone? I don’t blame them if it’s the second.
Livia waved them forward and they began to move. It felt very wrong and disrespectful to walk over the bodies of the mercenaries but they had no choice. Everyone moved with hesitation, like their boots would offend the dead, but moved across them regardless. Something underneath the thinning pools of blood caught his attention. Two bodies looked completely different to the others, these didn’t have armour. Another two of the six idiots. A man and a woman, torn to bloody shreds by the Goblins attack. With such a high amount of exposed flesh they were an easy target for the Goblins to sink their teeth and claws into. Their role as a meat shield didn’t work too well though.
Verona scrunched her face up as she passed. Being around so much blood was clearly grating on her mind. She grabbed Cetina’s arm, Cetina raised a brow but didn’t say anything, as she used her to help her across the piles of bodies.
Kal stopped next to Anton as he rose up from the body. She grunted as she saw the bodies.
“I wonder what they were doing.” Kal asked aloud. “What made them think they could actually do this? How desperately did they need the money?”
“You remember what Verona said?” As Anton started walking forward he held his hand out for Kal to take. She took it and followed him across the floor.
Kal nodded. “Their breaths reeked of…you know.”
“Maybe they owed a lot of money…To their pimps.” He glanced back at the bodies. “Who really knows? But there’s another three somewhere. Hopefully they’re doing better.”
Anton and Kal were the last to pass over the dead bodies. Verona ground her teeth as she slapped her cheeks when he approached, Cetina threw her an odd look.
“I’m fine.” She exhaled deeply. “Just a little too much in such a small space. I’m alright now. Just need to take a few breaths.”
“What’s wrong?” Cetina asked.
“Um…It can get a little bad for me if I’m surrounded by so much blood.” Verona smiled awkwardly. “It can play with my head.”
“But I thought that, since you control it...”
Verona shook her head and she rubbed her forehead with her free hand. “Nah. It’s how I use the power, it can make things a little bit difficult for me to concentrate.” She smiled at Anton. “It’s getting a bit easier to control each time. Like I’m getting used to it.”
“Right!” A mercenary at the front yelled. “We’ve got light. We can get up top from here.”
Two large mercenaries held a large wooden door, one thoroughly attacked by the Goblins with evidence of being barred from their side. Streams of light came through the door from above and Anton could just see a flight of stone stairs leading up. Anton looked along the corridor and saw nothing other than more dead bodies. From behind he heard more movement, several more groups of mercenaries were coming towards them. He had no idea if they would be only one’s on the surface or the fighting would already be over. The Graterious soldiers and the reinforcements might have already cleaned everything up. They were tearing through the Goblins when they last saw them and that was some time ago. A tiny clang through the door told him otherwise.
“Let’s go.” Livia pointed towards the door. “Better than being stuck down here.”
A mercenary passed through the door and slowly advanced up the stairs. He kept low and his weapons drawn but didn’t encounter anything. He gave a wave and motioned for everyone to follow. They slowly and delicately advanced up the stairs, as a group of mercenaries behind them caught up. They were covered in blood and wounds but looked otherwise okay. There were far less than the fifty in their group.
Now I know why they wanted us to go through the corridors first. They don’t have to pay us if we die and we’ll do whatever we can to live…Its kind of sick but it’s a cost saving measure. Not one that’s good in the long term. Having pissed off mercenaries is a good way to have really experienced and coordinated bandits.
As they advanced up the stairs he heard the tell-tale sounds of metal clashing and shouts of men and screeches of Goblins. They quickly ran up the stairs, the lead scout slashing at a Yellow Goblin that tried to attack, and emerged at the top of the fortress on one of the outer perimeter walls.
Everything inside was a bloody mess.
Graterious soldiers, both Ricimers and Crispus’s, fought a bloody battle in the open courtyard in the centre of the fortress. The several hundred meter space was filled with Goblins, quite a few Orange and Purples amongst a sea of Yellow and Green, all surging like waves towards the soldiers backed up into the south and eastern sections. Ricimers soldiers kept in their shield formation and stabbed and shot everything that came into range while Crispus’s fought them off with everything they had. Anton wanted to help but he couldn’t unleash his most powerful magic just anywhere. He looked to the North West and saw nothing but Goblins.
“I’ll use my flame pillars on the north side.” Anton began to focus his magic. “That should break them.”
As he formed a few flame rings in his mind a horde of Goblins charged up a ramp leading down the wall to the inside of the courtyard. Hundreds of Yellow and Greens, and Anton was disturbed to see a few Oranges in the mass, ran towards them up the stone stairs.
“Do it quickly.” Verona yelled.
She summoned her blood shards and threw them forward. They tore through the Goblins flesh but the tide was too great to steam. Verona grunted as she began to spin the shards up, when they reached her maximum range, and then back down the stairs, forming a shredding belt of shards. Bizarrely the Goblins continued to charge straight through the shards, unknowingly pushed on from behind.
The remaining mercenaries readied their weapons as more Goblins ran along the top of the wall, some leaving other groups of struggling mercenaries, and charged straight towards them. Kal readied a flame arrow and fired at a mass at the base of the stairs. An explosion of flame erupted, just like the lightning arrow, and burned every Goblin it touched. The black spindles and shrieking dead gave the other pause and made them easy prey for the bows and crossbows of the remaining mercenaries. Another shriek along the wall caught his attention, another surge of Greens were coming from both directions.
Anton formed five tethered flame rings, the mercenary group from behind ran up the stairs and were quickly assimilated into the defence, and pushed it as far as he could. A great rush of mana left him when he released the magic.
He waited until the ground began to glow red and the Goblins shrieked in panic. Great holes began to emerge, as if the Goblin sea had parted itself.
“Here it comes again.” Anton yelled to the mercenaries. “Get ready for the light.”
Most covered their eyes and ears as best they could but had to keep their attention focused on the Goblins that had almost made it to them. As the first Goblin collided with their shields the world disappeared in a blinding flash of red and orange and the unmistakeable roar of a fire. Verona covered her eyes with her arm but continued the shredding crystals.
Four flame pillars raced into the sky, destroying everything and everyone inside. Through the roar Anton was satisfied to hear their screams and the popping of the Goblins boiling under the heat. Cetina moved forward and used her shield to protect them from the light and heat. Verona offered her thanks, or at least he was sure she did, it was hard to hear anything over the roar.
As quickly as they had emerged the flame pillars disappeared. All that was left was the blackened remains of the Goblins and scorched stone and earth. Thankfully the ground didn’t open up again. The mercenaries cheered, quickly silenced as the Goblins resumed their charge, but Anton was worried. One pillar was missing.
“Ha!” Verona cried out as she patted Cetina’s arm for her to move. “That’s what you get you little bastards.”
“What’s wrong?” Kal asked. She held his arm, he could tell that she was excited, excited that her flame arrow had worked spectacularly and would easily sell for a small fortune, but she was worried that he wasn’t so excited.
“I made five flame pillars…”
Kal grunted as she released another flame arrow along the wall. It bought them a little more breathing room.
“So where is it?”
“I…I don’t know. I used my magic so it went somewhere…The one that didn’t go off was near the middle of the courtyard.”
Kal’s hand moved to raise her mask but she held back. He heard a chant muttered underneath her breath. Her mask scanned the surroundings until she gripped his arm hard.
“There!” She pointed near where the fifth pillar should have been. “There’s a strange Goblin there. It doesn’t look like the others, more like the Graterious soldiers. It’s got all this puss on it.”
Verona visibly shuddered as she looked into the Goblin mass. Anton looked to. He chanted a quick eye enhancement prayer, to last only a few seconds, and tried to follow Kal’s line of sight. A Yellow Goblin stood near where the fifth flame pillar should have been. Its body was encased in thick metal armour, horrendously warped and bend to fit its form. A thin puss leaked from every gap, especially its mouth. Its arm was held up into the air, with even more puss running down the inside of the metal armour and emerging from its armpits, with a large green crystal held firmly in its hand. However its head, barely visible underneath the warped helm, was staring straight at him. The look of anger was unmistakable and even more intense than anything he had seen from them before. It knew exactly where that magic came from.
“I see him.” Anton grumbled. The magic wore off and his vision snapped back to normal. “My magic didn’t work on him last time, but that was because of the Ghlyirl…but how can it use magic covered in that stuff anyway?”
“We’ll figure it out later.” Verona replied. “We just need to kill it.”
“Right. Kal, this might be on you.” Anton looked towards Kal, she had already retrieved a lightning arrow. “If that doesn’t work…We might need to do it the old fashioned way.”
“That’s a lot of Goblins to go through.” Cetina mumbled.
“I can clear a path pretty easily.” Verona had a wild, and somewhat troubling look on her face. “I’ll just summon more shards and spin them around me. Nothing could get through that.”
“No it couldn’t.” Anton added. Verona laughed as her head darted to the side, following the sound of stones tumbling.
Green Goblins were climbing the stone wall straight up towards them, bypassing the steps and Verona’s magic. Verona swore as the first Goblin’s head emerged. Anton prepared to fire a few lightning bolts but an armoured body moved first. Cetina rushed past and thrust her shield onto the ground just as the first Goblins heads appeared. With an almighty kick she hit the bottom of the shield, sending it careening into their heads and throwing them back into the Goblin sea. She quickly stepped back and swung her sword at the next Goblins to climb up, cleanly cutting their heads in two. Every Goblin that tried to climb the stairs was quickly cut down by her furious strikes and bashes from her shield. Anton wanted to say something but didn’t want to break her concentration.
Kal pulled a lightning arrow and fired at the Awakened using the maximum draw of the white bow. The arrow soared through the air and straight towards the Goblin but there wasn’t a blast of lightning when it landed. Anton flickered his eye enhancement prayer. The Awakened stared at the arrow jutting out of a nearby Green Goblin. It pushed the Green away and barked at the nearby Goblins, an order quickly spreading throughout the Goblin hordes.
“What do I do?” Kal asked, a hint of fear in her voice.
Anton threw several large fireballs into the Goblins trying to climb the side of the stairs. They screamed as the fire melted flesh and fat, slowing their assault. Now they had a bit more breathing room.
“That thing’s just like the other one.” Anton said. “Try…Try hitting one within the blast range of that arrow.”
“Right.” Kal pulled her bow to full drawn and loosed another lightning arrow. This arrow landed past the Goblin and exploded in a shower of sparks. The lightning killed dozens of Goblins but the Awakened, despite being struck by many of the lightning bolts, survived. Kal swore as she readied another arrow.
“Oh shit!” Cetina exclaimed as she stepped back.
Orange claws clambered up the stone and the horrific creatures lunged at her. Again, like with the Ghlotsm, her body and breathing changed ever so slightly. Her sword twisted in her hands as she took another step back and spun her sword around her body in a great arc. The Oranges were torn apart but as she continued her spin it left her without her sword pointed at the enemy. She kept her shield in-between her and the Oranges, two crashed onto the iron tower shield and tossed back into those clambering up, and stepped back towards him again to provide some distance.
Anton saw the look on her eyes as she spun around. The grey and purple eyes that were either happy or full of sadness were completely devoid of emotion. They continued to hold zero emotion as she continued to spin back to her original stance and to slice down another charging three Orange Goblins. Another five Oranges darted around her, now considering her too much of a threat, and dived for Verona’s back. Anton loosed lightning bolts, Kal hesitated to fire her bow as she still had the lightning arrow in her hands, and the killed the Goblins.
“To the right!” Kal shouted to Anton.
He glanced and saw a flicker of Orange. A single Orange Goblin had dived the other side of Cetina and lunged at him, the sharklike teeth dripping with saliva from its enraged open mouth. He readied another lightning bolt, Kal dropped her bow and rushed in front with her rusted blades, but the pinpricked eyes constricted even more as a burst of red blood erupted from its throat. Cetina shouted as she wrenched the sword free to the side and ripped its head apart. The Goblin continued on its path and crashed just before Anton’s feet. When he looked Cetina’s hollow eyes barely recognised him before fading back into emotion.
“Thanks Cetina.” Anton said, Kal said it too, even bowing her head to her. Cetina flushed as she smiled nervously at the creature a few centimetres from his leg. Seeing the blood stained shark teeth made him feel more than a little jittery. While giving up a tiny bit of blood to Verona was fine he didn’t want to know what those horrific teeth would feel like.
Cetina coughed and returned to the top of the stairs, slashing and smashing anything that tried to climb the stone. Thankfully there were only Yellows and Greens now, something that Cetina could easily deal with.
“I’ve got an idea to get that one.” Kal readied another arrow to fire at the Awakened Yellow Goblin. Anton threw a few fireballs into the tightly packed masses of Goblins beneath them to keep thin their numbers.
“Tethra.” Kal said aloud. “May you bless and guide this arrow to its target, so that nothing may block its course.”
Kal loosed the normal arrow into the mass of Goblins. Anton quickly chanted the eye enhancement prayer in his mind to see if it worked. The Awakened Yellow Goblin didn’t move, thinking it was a normal arrow, but let out a terrifying screech as the arrow struck it between the eyes. Its head jerked and body spluttered before the creature fell over dead. The Goblins nearby emitted a strange shriek, one of panic that quickly rippled through the Goblin forces. Now they were scared and confused with their leader dead.
A deeper screech came from near the lines of the soldiers. Almost instantly the Goblins rallied and continued their assault. Anton found the source, another Awakened Yellow Goblin. This one was protected by a ring of Purple Goblins, all staring towards them. The Awakened barked an order towards the Purples as they leapt up and over the crowds of Green and Yellow, their heads used as stepping stones, straight towards them.
“We’re going to need another one Kal.” Anton said. He looked back to see Kal lightly panting. “How much mana did it use?”
“A bit.” Kal admitted. “But I’ve still got more in me.”
He knew that Kal would push herself but didn’t want to tell her to stop. He nodded as she spoke the prayer again and fired the next arrow. Anton secretly thought that it was too far to shoot from but the arrow found its mark again. The Awakened Yellow Goblin fell and the same shriek rang out, demoralizing their army. The Purples running over the heads of the Goblins weren’t affected and continued their charge. Anton waited until they were close enough and fired a storm of lightning bolts, killing many Goblins that weren’t his target, until he obliterated all the Purples.
Kal groaned as she staggered a step and used her bow to stand upright. Anton moved to her and found her arms shaking and her breath ragged. “That…That used a bit more than I thought it would. Only two and it took nearly everything I had…”
Anton smiled as he retrieved one of the vials given to them by the mages, raised Kal’s mask just enough to expose her lips, and held the vial to them. She swallowed the vial’s contents in a second before forcing the mask back down. A few moments passed and the shaking stopped.
“Thanks. I can do that a few more times now. We’d better find out how those are made.”
A single trumpet horn blew from below.
“Charge!” A voice came from one of the soldier captains. “Fight for your Emperor and cleans these vermin from his lands!”
The soldiers cheered and surged forward, cutting a bloody path through the Goblins. Their numbers counted for nothing once they had broken. Soon the reinforcing soldiers picked up the cheer and charge and began to sweep aside the Goblin defenders. Mercenaries began to pour out of the holes and breaches in the stone walls, many looking battered and bloody but still alive. The Goblins had ceased attacking along the wall and were now running about without any direction. Their eyes swivelled about as they desperately tried to find a way to flee, knocking each other over and becoming easy prey for them.
“Let’s finish them off!” Anton yelled, a cheer rang throughout the mercenaries.
Verona used her blood shards to clear the stairs of bodies and allowed the mercenaries to run past and into the Goblins bellow. They followed close behind watching the growing trails of carnage. The soldiers and mercenaries decimated the Goblins and pushed them back so they only controlled two thirds of the central area. Anton threw out a few more fireballs as they kept to the rear but most of the work was done. The Goblins were broken and easy prey now, and he didn’t want to ruin anything by accidentally lighting someone on fire.
“So we’re just hanging back?” Cetina asked. She didn’t seem particularly worried by that, simply asking the question.
“Yep. We’ve killed more than enough to earn our money.”
“Maybe you…” Cetina looked to her blade. “I haven’t got much blood on this yet.”
Verona shook her head as she held her nose tight. “There’s way too much right now for me. If…If we’re not going to be fighting any more can we-”
Anton yelped, something attracting Verona and Cetina’s immediate attention. For a brief moment Anton thought his arm had been stabbed. When he looked, already preparing a lightning bolt in his mind, he saw Kal gripping onto his arm with all her strength.
“We need to go!” She screamed. “We have to leave right now!”
“Explain.” Anton demanded. There was no time to dance around the issue.
“I don’t know.” Kal whimpered as she held her head. “It’s everywhere. All over my fur. Like I’m being stabbed a billion times on every part of my body...And it’s coming from the centre of the fort. We have to go! Now!”
Her voice was almost a shriek by the end, something he had never heard from her even when she was dying. He glanced towards the centre only to see several fully enclosed mercenaries behaving the same way, clutching at their helmets while shouting and pulling their comrades away from the battle. They seemed just as confused as he was.
“Okay…” Anton pushed Kal towards the stairs. “We’ve done enough. Verona, Cetina, let’s go.”
“Right.” Both replied at once.
As they ran up the stairs Kal’s affliction grew worse. By the top she was almost crawling on all fours as her hands desperately clawed at her head, shuffling up using only her elbows. Her legs kicked wildly and almost removed a boot in the process. Anton picked her up and moved her against the wall. A few seconds passed and she seemed better.
“Kal, what’s happening?” Verona asked.
“I don’t know.” Kal groaned as she scratched at the back of her hands. “I don’t know. I just know we need to run and get out of here.”
Verona shot Anton an extremely worried look. Cetina banged her shield on the ground and looked down the stairs. Citrio and Livia ran up to join them.
“What’s the matter?” Citrio asked. “Thanks to you we’ve got them on the run.”
Both of their attention was placed on Kal, clearly the source of their concern.
“Why are some of the other mercenaries acting so odd?” Anton asked.
“No idea.” Citrio replied. “They just started saying they needed to run. I don’t know why but they really sound like-”
A deafening thunder clap came from above. Verona glared at Anton, her face draining of all colour when she realised it wasn’t him. Kal stood up and gripped tight on his shoulders as she looked towards the source. Above the centre of the courtyard ripples of red lightning ran a hundred meters above them, quickly coalescing into a sphere. Verona backed towards Anton and held his hand, Kal too.
No one spoke as the lightning continued to grow. Below the fighting stopped. Every Goblin stared slack jawed at the red lightning, uncaring or even unaware of their surroundings. The soldiers too were stunned. They looked to one another, confusion clear even given the distance, before one dared a jab. The spear slid through the Goblin’s chest and fell down dead, its head still staring at the rippling and growing red lightning. Nearby Goblins didn’t notice its death and remained perfectly still. Mercenaries and soldiers cheered and charged forth, carving their way through the stationary Goblins. The red lightning contracted to a single point before firing towards the ground, forming a giant sphere that threw off bolts of red lightning for over thirty meters. The impact blew away every Goblin nearby and every red lightning bolt fried the Goblin and carried through to the next.
The sphere stopped the charge of the soldiers as they were brought back to reality while the Goblins remained still, despite so many of them dying from the arcing lightning bolts. Very quickly a cleared circle emerged around the sphere while the surviving Goblins continued to stare unmoving. Shouts emanated from the soldiers as they began to retreat to the wall.
“Should we head down there?” Cetina asked quietly.
No one answered, and it looked like she didn’t really expect one, as they watched in silence. The red lightning settled down and formed a smooth red sphere. An occasional red lightning bolt would fly off but nothing compared to before. Through the red sphere an image began to come through, of a different place, one not of this world or of Earth.
Long brown grass moved gently with the wind. On the end of each blade was a hook, but it took Anton a moment to realise they were also moving independently of the wind. Tiny white flecks moved through the air, snapped up by the hooks and pulled down to the ground. What he thought was brown grass was actually the feelers and graspers of a plant, one like a sea anemone, that grew in large clumps. Endless fields of these strange plants spread out in every direction that he could see through the sphere. To the uttermost right stood another strange plant. A mixture of a pine tree and a mushroom, a very odd layered tree, stood lonely in the field of grass anemones. These too had the feelers, smaller than the grasses, which picked up the small white dots floating through the air. The more he looked the more white dots he could see, a constant rain of them fell from the sky.
Above the anemone plants a bright red sun burned in the sky, hundreds of times larger than this world or Earth. The small sunspots and bursts of flame were visible on its slowly swirling body. In the far distance a faint purple hue coloured the horizon with a faint twinkle spattering the purple hue.
Anton moved his head to the side and the image moved as well. It wasn’t like a flat portal judging how it shifted, there was probably a sphere on the other side as well.
“Is that…” Verona nodded to the red sphere. “Where…”
Anton shook his head. “No. I don’t know where that is.”
The image inside the sphere began to shake violently. Every tendril withdrew into the plants all at once, even the tendrils of the mushroom tree withdrew to safety. Something hit the edge of one of the lower levels of the mushroom tree, a tiny flick of sharp barbs ejecting from the edge of the layer, before the sphere collapsed in a blinding flash of light. Thick steam obscured where the red sphere once lay, flowing out and blanketing the still stunned Goblins.
Just as Anton was about to speak a deep growl emanated from the steam. A growl he had never heard before. Out of the steam six red eyes glowed through, arranged vertically in sets of two. They weren’t humanoid eyes, rather thin slits that leaked something orange that dripped from whatever face held them together. A bright glow came from underneath as an orange forked tongue licked up the orange liquid weeping from its eyes. The eyes turned to one side as another set emerged, then another and another. Six sets grew through the dissipating smoke as the red slits moved from side to side, Anton only just realised they were at least five meters off the ground.
Verona looked terrified at Anton while Kal’s hand trembled in fear. Anton didn’t speak. He couldn’t speak. Though almost no one else knew what was happening he did. He knew what these things were. There was no mistaking it. He had spoken of the mission that the Old Gods sent him to this world with Verona and Kal. And now, in a fortress of the Graterious Empire, the Demons, the scourge of civilisation and enemy of the Gods, had arrived.