At the edge of a forest overlooking the ruined city Lurk had recently had his fight in, sat a goblin looking extremely bored, it was supposed to keep an eye out for any humans or interlopers that would approach from this direction. The sun was just rising, early morning was beginning to cover the land in light, the goblin had already begun grumbling from the light.
It clearly hated this task, back in the cave there had been fights breaking out now and again. Watching the women get assaulted. All this goblin normally considered as its daily entertainment was now cut off from it.
A bit further away from it were its other goblin comrades waiting in a temporary safe camp, guarding the supplies they needed to remain out here. It had been three days and nothing happened except they managed to capture a rabbit from one of the weird traps the new shaman had placed near their camp.
It was alive so they had a bit of fun ripping it apart slowly. But other than that they had no fun, all work, and no play. But that gave them a headache as when the Sun Soakers came to check on them during the day, they got angry over them ruining the trap and taking the wire from it. So Goblin named Aurk beat them up till they returned the wire.
"Pff... Stupid Sun soakers... They could not even do their normal routine of throwing tiny rocks at them when they saw them leave the cave, not after seeing the new shaman bisect a goblin that dared try it. The goblin shivered thinking about that shaman, It felt a dark pressure in its mind and it tried to focus on the task it had been given by the shaman. purely driven by the fear of what would happen.
The city had not had any traffic going through it, only wild animals had at times wandered inside and gone out. The sun Soakers also went into the town when they arrived daily, but they always left after a while. The goblin pondered what in the realm they wanted in the ruined town.
Just as it had shaken off the boredom out of fear from being reminded of the shaman, it noticed something moving down in the city, very briefly it was like it saw something move down at a building. The goblin stood up to look better. But nothing moved.
It was just about to turn around to alert the camp behind it when suddenly a small wind gust blew around it.
The goblin slowly collapsed as it was cut into two pieces, the wind died down around it. Out from behind a tree came a robed figure that waved a glove covered hand down towards the city. From the building that the goblin had seen movement came three people running out.
At a small camp nearby sat a group of ten goblins, hidden behind some fallen trees out of sight from anyone who did not approach from the other side. The goblins were picking apart some meat from their food bag getting ready to eat. One of the bigger goblins suddenly perked its ears and motioned to the goblins to be quiet, the goblins began to listen intently and look around in the forest from behind the logs.
But only bird sounds and a gentle wind blowing through the forest was heard.
But suddenly out of nowhere came a large spear flying through the air skewering two goblins to the ground, they were standing near each other at a log, only one of them survived it trying to free itself screeching in pain as it fell down unable to keep the weight of the other goblin and the pain away.
Two wind blasts blew into the camp and decimated 4 goblins that had been fighting near the bag with food.
The big goblin quickly ducked down just as two arrows hit right where its head had been. It gave out a few commands and shrieks towards two of its goblin comrades that immediately took off underneath one of the logs that were resting on a rock, giving a small way out back towards the cave where they were told to run to alert the others.
But they did not get far as an ax flew into its side of one of them sending it crashing onto the ground. A giant man wearing green shaded armor and clothes, his body bulging with muscles holding a shield, stepping out from behind a tree on the side the goblins had been running too. He had a new ax ready already and slammed it into the chest of the other goblin as he intercepted it.
They had managed to sneak up so close to their camp! The large goblin leaped out at the new enemy alongside the last goblin, they stabbed their spears at the human, he blocked one of their attacks with his shield. The big goblin managing to give a tiny scratch on his leg just above his boot drawing blood.
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A gust of wind came blasting out from the forest bursting one of the goblins open. The large goblin panicked and quickly ducked past the giant man that was guarding himself and backing away when he got wounded, making sure to keep to the side, away from were the arrows and that magic came from!
Just as the goblin jumped into the brush of the forest and took off, an arrow came flying between the trees and pierce into the goblins head impaling it onto a tree.
The giant man cursed as he moved to the camp to check if there were any goblins hiding. When he saw it was clear he checked the wound on his leg, grumbling as he calmed down, the spear did not seem to be poisoned and the cut was not very deep.
"You should have let Garren handle that goblin instead of coming out like that Alex...." Came a voice from the forest as a man also clad in a shaded green colors robe. Pulling his hood and mask down, a young looking man with black hair and a goatee, stern looking eyes staring at the giant man named Alex.
"Shut it!... Bellie had just shot her arrows...and you had thrown your spear." Alex kept a look around checking the camp. Taking his own hood and mask down, he had a grizzled face, with scars aplenty on his face. A heavy brown beard. He was at least two meters tall giving him an imposing look. He knelt down to examine his wounds
"Get that damn healer here.."
"You heard him, go fix him." came a woman's voice, as two women came walking out from further behind in the forest. A woman with darker clothes but in a green cloak, holding a bow, giving a push to a girl also covered in a green cloak, but normal looking green shaded clothing. The girl headed over slowly kneeling down to put her hand on the wound, a weak shimmering light appearing and disappearing, the wound closing up.
"Such a steal we got this slave so cheaply, her healing is not that bad as they claimed hah!".
"pff... That is just a scratch you got there... if that spear had skewered you, her meager healing would have been useless..." answered the woman named Bellie, picking her arrows back up.
"If she had the same amount of control over her healing magic like Granvir did his wind magic, she would not be a pathetic slave.." smirked Bellie, looking with disdain at the girl who had finished healing Alex, she merely kept her face down.
"Dammit!, we need to hurry! Look!" said the man in the robe pointing over some trees, everyone turned to look seeing a smoke collum appearing from in the forest a bit deeper inside. The adventurers had easily spotted the goblin scout and camp, surrounding it and killing all the goblins quickly, but the real scouts had been even further back, keeping an eye on the forwardly positioned goblins waiting for someone to take the bait.
Lurk had set it up, with the forward goblins being sacrificial pawns for any adventures to take out. Keeping a second group behind that had hidden much better. With a prepared pile of wood and leaves to cause good smoke to rise from the forest. That an even deeper in the forest group of goblins that were closer to the cave would be able to see easily and then run to the cave and give warning.
"Dammit! arent these goblins a little too clever!." Alex pulled his ax out of the dead goblin and began to follow the robed figure along with the two women following behind.
---
The adventurers had rushed towards the pyre, thrusting in Bellie's keen eyes from any waiting goblins or traps. They found a place goblins had been hiding, with a perfect hidden view over the front goblin came. a burning pyre was hidden further yet behind again, now burning with fervor sending a thick smoke collum up.
The robed man held out a rod that had two crystals on either end of the points. The crystals glowing and wind suddenly built up surrounding the pyre spinning faster and faster. The fire died down.
"The goblins here ran that way... eight or ten of them. But there are tracks showing they also moved back and forth over here in a different direction" Said Bellie as she was looking around the camp her bow drawn with an arrow ready.
"They must be moving away from their main camp..." Alex said, looking at Bellie then turning towards the robed figure.
"I think these goblins are a tad too clever... Should we retreat? Granvir?" Alex moved up next to the robed figure, as he asked him.
The robed figure took his hood and mask down too. His grey colored skin being shown, a calm-looking demeanor on his very angelic looking face, his ears with pointed tips and neck long white hair.
"They are just goblins... And we need that crystal club... Bellie and you go to the main cave... I'll take care of the goblins from this camp..."
"... You are ok alone?" Alex squinted his eyes, he had not been with this Granvir on too many missions, but he had shown incredible control over his wind magic, cutting down foes left and right. The dark elf had handled single targets and bunched up targets fine, but going alone without someone to block for him... Normally a mage would require someone to intercept for them.
"I will be fine." The dark elf had an evil grin on his face as he ran off following the tracks, leaping a bit further than what would be normal for a human to be able to do.
"Right. Bellie, and you girl!. Come"
Alex and Bellie and the robed girl headed towards the tracks leading right towards the cave.
---
Lurk was walking with Aurk and Vorm making their way to the central scout location before they would split up. When they saw goblins coming running.
"Shaman! Intruders! the pyre at the town is burning!"
"Good, go warn the cave. Aurk, Vorm... let's go..." Lurk turned with a stern look, and headed out into the forest.