Anna moved stealthily along the fortress wall, pressing herself as close as possible to the rough but finely made wooden fence. The forest, being as overgrown as it was, covered the rest of her body.

It had already been days since the goblins began to expand their fortress at an even more alarming rate, their construction quickly outpacing their ability to clear the surrounding forest. The outer walls now pressed against the tree line, creating the perfect cover for Anna.

It was proof of how little worry they felt when it came to the natives. Any force, no matter how powerful, would’ve been cautious, not letting such a glaring problem arise. Yet, here was Anna, taking advantage of their hubris.

Anna had long since given up on killing all the goblins that had arrived. It was just no longer feasible. Their numbers were growing too quickly, and each new wave brought better equipment.

Now she needed all her concentration to fight against even small groups of goblins. All her strikes now had to be precise and target critical points. Otherwise, the goblins’ armor would just brush the attack aside.

The armor also gave them a level of confidence that she didn’t account for. Before, they would attack cautiously as most of their body was exposed, but now they no longer had to worry about their torso, legs, and arms. There was also a certainty in her, that said that as time advanced, the areas they would have to guard would be reduced even further.

This wasn’t like when she fought against the crab monsters. They only moved on instinct, just being overgrown monsters. The crabs wouldn’t guess her movements, while the goblins not only did so, but obscured their own.

So, here she was, having seen no other option and deciding to sneak into the goblin fortress, where even the slightest mistake could be fatal.

Anna slipped past a sentry tower, crawling slowly through the grass, careful not to disturb the dried leaves and foliage beneath her, lest they make noise loud enough to alert the sentries.

The task of sneaking in had never been more challenging. The moons hovered above the fortress, basically acting as floodlights, making her every move feel exposed. If she had known this would—NO! no doubts, only action.

She arrived at the midpoint between two sentries and looked through the small openings in the wooden fence. Their haste and lack of worry had allowed such an opening to exist. After confirming that the area beyond the wall was clear and that the sentries were distracted, she vaulted over the shorter section of the barrier, landing softly on the other side.

Taking a quick glance around, she noticed a small wooden shed near the wall to her right. She quickly darted behind the shed and peeked from the corner. Narrowing her eyes, she focused on the platform in the middle of the fortress, or where she guessed it was, using the tower as a guide.

The fortress itself was built in a rushed manner, lacking any sense of planning or uniformity. If she had to give it a shape, it would probably be a rectangle with very uneven edges.

But even with their apparent lack of planning, the incursion platform was near the center of the fortress. Though, it was slightly more toward one side than the other. Unfortunately for Anna, she was still quite a distance away.

Bringing herself back to cover, Anna began to take note of all the goblins that passed by near her or in the distance, quickly noticing that the commander was nowhere to be seen. Must be in the tower, she thought.

She did not arrive at such a conclusion with the help of common sense or her grandfather’s teachings. Instead, she, just like Eric, based her assumption entirely on the media she consumed.

Careful to be not seen, she backed away from the shed’s wall, hiding within the tall grass that had already regrown near the outer wall. Sitting there for what felt like hours, she observed, until she was satisfied with what she learned.

With practiced motions, moving from one building to the next. Every single one of her steps was deliberate and planned, guided by the very basic schedule she had taken note of in her mind. Patiently, she waited for the armored goblin spear wielder to pass.

One, two, three, four—clear, she said mentally, and with one quick motion, she moved to the next building.

Three goblins moving crates to the outer wall’s main gate were about to pass her by, oblivious to her presence. Twelve, thirteen—clear. She advanced once more, now directly in front of the small main road that the goblins had made while moving materials. Now, she only needed to cross the road, and she would be near the inner wall.

As she carefully watched the road, familiar noises came from within the building she was hiding behind. Though she didn’t recognize the language, she did recognize the rowdiness. If the goblins’ laughs weren’t so alien to her, she would’ve easier time recognized what they were doing inside sooner. They’re drinking, she thought.

The small wooden building, like everything she had seen up until now, was hastily built, and there were clear gaps in the wood—gaps that were clearly made because of a forceful fitting.

Anna let curiosity get the best of her. She quickly searched the walls of the building and found an opening that still allowed her to remain hidden, if only for a short time.

Inside the small building were three unarmored goblins sitting on crates just small enough that their feet could touch the ground. In between them was a normal sized barrel full of a red, watery liquid.

One of the goblins aggressively dipped a metal cup—along with its arm—into the barrel, making a good amount of the liquid fall out. When the liquid hit the floor, it sizzled and evaporated rapidly, leaving behind only a scorch mark.

Anna’s eyes widened, startled by how the liquid reacted, but now her curiosity was piqued. She snapped her gaze back to the goblin who had dipped its hand inside.

The goblin’s arm was sizzling, but it left no obvious damage as the sizzling began to settle. Obvious glee filled the goblin’s face as it downed the entire contents of the metal cup. As soon as the goblin finished, the other two got rowdier.

Anna was about to return to her original task, ready to conclude that they were doing nothing but regular drinking, but she saw something peculiar. One of the goblins who had gotten rowdier, approached the barrel and reached deep into it, half of its body being submerged in the red liquid, and took out a flower with red petals.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

It looked like a sunflower, but with a much smaller center and much thicker petals.

The goblin showed it to the others as if saying, “Look at what I’m about to do,” this only made the other goblins became rowdy once more. The goblin holding the flower then made an effort to only bite one of the petals.

Suddenly, from the goblin’s mouth, red and thick veins began to crawl outward. The veins were a vibrant red, making them incredibly noticeable against the goblin’s green skin. Anna couldn’t help but fix her eyes on the veins as they traveled down the goblin’s mouth and neck. Its eyes bulged, the veins within just as thick, and from there, they continued to spread. She wasn’t sure, but they even seemed to visibly pulse.

It faced the other two goblins and let out a horrifying scream, then it passed out. If Anna hadn’t been seeing the entire thing, she would’ve thought that the poor goblin was being tortured to death.

Anna could hear other goblins passing by, but none of them seemed to care for the commotion that was happening within the small wooden building, they ignored all the noise. Seeing their reaction, an idea was forming in her head.

Suddenly, she heard two more, equally horrifying screams. By the time she fixed her gaze back on the goblins, the other two were also passed out.

Once more, Anna waited patiently, keenly searching for the perfect opportunity. She had no issue with doing so. It reminded her of when she tried to learn how to hunt.

She had gotten all of the basics down. How to track, how to avoid being seen or heard, how to make traps—everything except how to kill her prey—back then she was sure that she would never be able to take a life. Look at me now, she thought to herself, not entirely sure if she was happy or not, both possibilities unsettled her equally.

Seeing an opportunity, she swiftly entered the small building. She looked at the passed-out goblins and considered how to deal with them. Knowing that she had no intention of coming back to the fortress, not alone at least, she considered her options.

This was her one shot—whether she failed or succeeded, she would begin her journey back to Solace before morning came.

“I guess that’s my answer,” she muttered softly.

Taking out a dagger, she used it to stab all the goblins in a swift manner. She covered the mouth of the first, but it didn’t react at all. At first, she considered that they might be dead, but upon inspecting the other two, it was clear that they weren’t. She killed the other two, this time without bothering to cover either of their mouths.

Having finished, she began to search the crates for the red flowers. Her plan was simple and, honestly, pretty basic; anyone could’ve thought of it. She would put some of the red flowers into their drinking water. With the darkness of the night, they wouldn’t even realize that the color of the water had changed.

As Anna rummaged through the crates, searching for the flowers, behind her, one of the dead goblins began to twitch lightly. It was a small muscle twitch, so small and imperceptible that even if it was noticed, most would have dismissed it as muscle spasm.

“Where are they?” Anna asked in a low but clearly annoyed tone.

Turning abruptly, she began to search through another part of the small room. She moved some of the crates and barrels in a corner near the door, and she found it—a box covered in chains and odd symbols scribbled all over it, with a broken lock on the floor beside it.

Anna wasn’t dumb, she knew that the box screamed “ominous,” but she wasn’t sure if it was ominous because of what she had observed or because of something that she still had yet to see.

Knowing that it was a tremendous advantage that she couldn’t give up, she dispelled her doubts and prepared to leave.

She turned off the metal lanterns that illuminated the room and left the door ajar, carefully observing the road outside. Soon she found an opening, and with her sword in one hand and the box in the other, she crossed the road as swiftly as possible.

Now that she was near the inner wall, she began to search for any semblance of an entrance. It took her a while, but she found an opening near where they had begun to replace the wood with actual metal and stone.

One of the wooden stakes that was used as a support of the old wooden fence had begun to sag. Making sure that the coast was clear, she pushed it inward, just enough for her to pass through.

Once again, she found a suitable position and took her time to get a grasp on the schedules of the goblins in the inner wall. She could tell that morning wasn’t far, and she had already wasted too much time during her observations, but she also knew that this was the best way.

Maneuvering through the buildings once more, feeling herself become more adept at hiding, she searched for her target. Instead of heading toward the tower, which was closer than ever, she looked for where the goblins were getting their drinks or where they headed to eat. Ideally, they’re in the same place, she thought.

She saw that a goblin came from the direction of the tower while cleaning food out of its teeth. Not wanting to risk it, she advanced cautiously but kept an eye out for any other indication that might indicate that the food was elsewhere.

During her brief journey toward the tower, she only saw goblins headed toward it but none coming back, which didn’t help her with confirming if she was going in the right direction or not. Luckily, she soon came across a big tent with dining tables and big pots on one end.

Before she could even begin to plan her approach, something changed in the air, it was like a pulse. Was that… the morning sun? Anna thought.

Back in the small room where she had killed the goblins and retrieved the small chest, the metal lanterns turned back on, and the goblin bodies began to twitch violently.

Anna waited a bit, noticing that the goblins that were eating hadn’t reacted to whatever had just occurred. They either couldn’t sense it, or it was something that they knew to ignore. Guided by the goblins’ attitude, she began her slow advance toward the pots.

When she was finally behind the pots, covered by the tent, that odd change in the air happened again, this time much stronger than before.

This time, all the goblins got up, hastily grabbing their weapons.

Anna was about to take advantage of the opportunity, but then everything changed. She suddenly began to taste the color red, vibrant and insistent. Whispering petals began to dance in her ears, accompanied by rustling.

Throughout her entire body, she could feel a thick and cold moisture that wanted to pierce her skin. All while images of morning dew assaulted her mind, making it feel heavy and wet.

She wrestled herself back to her senses as best she could, only to discover that her sight was foggy, clouded by the smell of freshly cut flowers that refused to dissipate.

The disorientating she felt was unnatural, it was entirely alien. Even the ground didn’t feel like the soft plains grass that she knew that it was, it felt more soft and spongy. The only thing that her mind gave in response was that the ground was like flower petals. As her hand touched the ground, trying to find balance, she felt the death that followed a bee after losing its stinger.

Her sword began to vibrate violently. Then she felt each and every odd sensation being cut apart. Her sight returned to normal, but everything else remained the same. Whatever her blade was doing was barely enough to deter the effects on her sight.

She couldn’t hear, but she could clearly see how the goblins were despairing, as they suffered the same things she did. The sensations were growing in intensity, only to be held back by her sword.

One of the goblins, not being able to take it anymore, reached for a knife that was on the table and stabbed itself through the ear over and over again.

Soon, every goblin that Anna was able to see was doing something similar. Some stabbed themselves, while others gouged their eyes out. One was even skinning itself alive.

A loud thud was heard, breaking through the otherworldly invasion of senses, the main door to the tower had opened. From within the now open tower, the commander exited, seeming completely unaffected by whatever was occurring, and almost immediately, it turned to face Anna.

As if knowing that she had something to do with what was happening, a fury that could not be described took over its eyes. It walked with purpose toward her, its sword in tow.

Anna tried to get up when suddenly she was assaulted by the powerful scent of the radiant sun. She winced as the scent burned her nostrils, or at least that’s how it felt, which in the end made little difference.

When she opened her eyes, she saw that her sword had begun to crack. It was unable to take the power of whatever was currently assaulting her.

From behind the goblin commander, a red goblin appeared, its movements odd and at times robotic, as if it didn’t know how to walk.