Hurry boys, I whispered under my breath as I watched my two sons scramble up the trees. The trap would spring around us in a moment, and we had to be in place. We could hear the warning calls from the other goblins announcing the human heroes were in the forest. We needed this hunt to be successful because we needed a heart if we were going to survive.

The sounds of yelling and shouting were getting louder and closer. The sound of tree limbs snapping as the goblins ran through the forest in our direction got louder. They were traveling along the trail we were hiding on. I could not understand what the heroes were shouting, but I imagined it was them telling the other heroes which way the goblins had gone.

Two sweaty goblins suddenly burst from the bushes about fifteen yards from where I had hidden. I did not realize this bush would itch so much when I had chosen it. I cared more that it was dense, and I knew it hid me from sight. They darted through the two trees Turk and Dirk were hiding in, following the game trail we had picked out as they ran. One screamed as an arrow flew past his head and embedded itself into a tree further down the trail.

“A caster and healer!” Klas shrieked. He was the shorter of the two goblins. Another arrow barely missed his grimy, green head. It was good that his head was small; otherwise, he would be dead by now. He had his bow out but seemed unable to return fire lest he got shot in the process.

The slightly larger one, Xeld, following him, held a small wooden shield behind his head as he ran. A rusty and bent sword swung widely in his other hand. Snot and mucus flew from his mouth as he gasped for air while running. They were leading this pack of heroes into our trap. They knew they had to first get there in one piece for it to work.

As the two of them almost disappeared out of sight down the trail, two young men emerged from the brush the goblins had run through, Both men were decked out in leather armor, and each was holding a sword and shield. The dark hair one was shouting and pointing toward the two goblins running ahead of them.

From the bushes behind them burst a young female elf. Her long blond hair was tied up behind her, and she seemed lighter on her feet than her two partners. She raised her bow and prepared to fire off another shot until one of the warriors crossed into her line of fire. It sounded like she was cursing as she lowered her bow and continued running after two men in front of her.

Sweat rolled down my forehead. I resisted the urge to wipe it off as the three ran past where I was hiding in that bush. Itchy or not, the green leaves matched my skin and had hidden me from their sight. As they almost disappeared behind the tree the arrow had sunk into, I saw our true targets emerging from the same bushes they had.

Their healer came running, struggling in that heavy armor he wore. That padded armor offered great protection but must weigh a ton. His face was red, and he was trying to take deep breaths, but the armor constricted his ability to breathe deeply. He still had his hammer on his back, totally unprepared for combat.

That fool, I thought as I saw a woman who came after him snag her robe in the bushes. She let out a string of what must have been curses about goblin balls and orc butts, as her staff ended up getting stuck as well. She was stuck and trying to free herself.

The healer slowed down and turned back to try and offer her a hand. I glanced up and saw my boys preparing to drop out from the trees above them. They had both pulled out their daggers and held them pointed down in their small green hands. The healer finally got her free and started to move along the trail. They were just a few steps from the spot in the trail where it ran between the trees Turk and Dirk were waiting in.

“Now, you two!” I screamed as I dashed out from my bush and charged the two of them. My plan was simple. I just had to distract and engage them so they would have no clue what was about to fall upon them.

Coming towards them, I raised my wooden shield and held it up so I could slam it into the healer. He would be a greater threat if he got his hammer out.

I watched him struggling to unhook his hammer from his back. His hands seemed to fumble as he tried to get a grip on the handle. Frustration flashed across his face as he yelled out something in the direction his companions had gone.

As I charged, I saw the caster hold up her staff and raise a glowing hand at me. She was trying to cast something, but her heavy breathing from running was slowing her down. Risking a glance up, I prayed she would never finish that spell.

Turk and Dirk dropped from the trees on top of them.

Turk’s dagger struck the back of her shoulder, causing the glow of her hands to disappear and a scream to come from her lips. Dirk’s dagger glanced off the padded helmet of the healer, and it seemed to bounce off his shoulder as well. That armor of his provided protection against the crappy chunks of metal we called weapons. Dirk managed to bounce off the healer and caused him to stumble towards me. I was thankful Dirk was able to roll out from between the healer and the tree as I closed in on him.

“Eyes on me, you fat pig!” I taunted as I closed the last step and slammed my shield into his chest, driving him into the tree Dirk had been in front of a moment before.

I watched his eyes snap closed and heard the air leave his lungs. So far, everything was going according to how I had planned.

“Help Turk!” I shouted at Dirk, who had already turned towards the woman Turk was on top of. I briefly saw her flailing around as Turk pulled his rusted dagger out and stabbed her in the back. Blood was going everywhere, and her robe was already becoming a deep red color.

I felt my shield crack against the healer's chest when we slammed into the tree.

“Stupid wooden shield,” I cursed. I knew it was now useless.

Letting it fall to the ground, I took my pock-filled sword and started hacking at the man who was trying to do his best to stop my attacks with his arms. Blood, leather, and chunks of flesh flew everywhere as I swung over and over at his forearms. He was taller than me by a good foot, but he was pinned against the tree and had no air in his lungs. I could feel the bloodlust driving me on, making each attack of mine hit harder and harder.

I had to do this, I told myself. If I failed, Turk and Dirk would die like our other two friends.

His screams sounded wheezy, and the look on his face made me feel a little remorse, but I knew I had to end this quickly before help might arrive. Their screams could draw the other heroes back at any moment.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Snapping out of my thoughts, I saw his forearms had been lopped off. His stubs were waving before me, and he could no longer defend himself. He was crying and screaming at me. Thrusting my sword into his throat, I heard him gurgle and glanced toward my sons and that woman.

They were both standing and smiling, covered in blood. They had just given each other a high five because of their success. She was dead from where they had cut her spine and neck in multiple places. Their faces beamed with pride that things had gone the way we had planned. I saw Turk’s face suddenly change to a look of surprise.

“Behind you, Dad!” Turk shouted as he pointed with his bloody dagger toward the direction the other members had gone.

Turning, I saw one of the original two warriors had returned. It looked like he was struggling to breathe and seemed frozen at the scene before him. He barely moved as he gazed at the three of us standing over his fallen party members. I wondered if the other two members of this group were coming back until I heard the calls of victory by our companions coming through the forest behind him. The trap had worked!

Glancing down at my broken shield, I knew it would do no good trying to pick it up and use it. I quickly looked at Turk and Dirk and saw they were waiting for instructions.

“Go surround him!” I ordered my boys. “I’ll draw his attention. Strike if a chance comes but do not risk it. We have the advantage!”

Turning my attention back to him, I realized the man was trembling. It hit me that he was probably under twenty years old and had no clue what to do if he was the only one left alive. I knew that any thoughts he had about coming out here and defeating some easy prey had vanished from his mind. I would have felt the same if I had been reborn in his shoes. Now he must have known he was most likely going to die.

Growling, I slowly approached. Holding my sword in my left hand, I grimaced. I saw that his gear was far better than mine. I didn't even have any armor. The cost to replace my weapon after the last time cost me the few pieces I did. My sword would probably not do anything to the leather armor he was wearing unless I poked it through one of the side gaps. On the other hand, his sword looked like it would cut off my limbs with barely any effort.

Risk versus reward. I had to weigh those options and act quickly. Do we risk ourselves for more rewards, or should we hold off for others to join us? If the others help take him down, we get fewer spoils, but the chance of death or injury is greater if we attack alone. He was taller and stronger than both of my boys, and they would only be good in a surprise attack.

He was turning nervously and gasped aloud when he saw he was surrounded. Tears were streaming from his eyes, and snot was bubbling from his nose. The deep breaths he was taking after all that running accented his plight.

I smiled and slowly put my sword into the rope I called a belt around my waist. Holding both hands up, I grunted at him. I could see him looking at me. His eyes seemed to question what I was doing.

Shaking both my hands, I tapped my sword and hip and pointed at him before pointing toward the direction he had originally come. Grunting some as softly as I could, I knew he could not understand me any more than I could understand him. I even walked my fingers along my hand as I pointed again toward where he had entered this path.

“Boys, pretend to lower your weapons, and if he puts his away, watch me, and I will motion for us to attack,” I said in a calm, even voice. I was barely keeping my own body from shaking because I did not know what this boy would do.

They smiled and lowered their weapons.

I could see the human boy's mind working. Did he believe we might let him go? He glanced and saw my sons had stood up and lowered their weapons as well.

He shouted something, but I shrugged my shoulders and pointed to the sounds of our friends coming before pointing towards the direction he had come and again pointed to his weapons and his hips.

Urgently I pointed over and over, trying to impress upon him the urgency of the matter. If he left peacefully, he might live. If he stayed, our allies would arrive, and he would die. Finally, he started to lower his hands. He could hear the sounds of the others getting closer. Frantically he tried to put his sword back into its scabbard, but his hands were shaking too much.

“Soon, soon,” I told my boys in a gentle tone as I motioned to drop his shield to help get the sword in.

The boy nodded and let go of the shield. He used both hands to put his sword into his scabbard. Once he got it in, he held up both hands and smiled. He then motioned toward the direction he had come.

I smiled and put a finger up for him to be quiet and to go.

“Now,” I said, motioning my hand for him to move.

That smile he wore was a beautiful and sad thing. I saw him mouth something. I knew it had to be thank you or something like that. He really believed he would live to see another day. I felt a joy of excitement knowing my plan had worked but also a tinge of guilt, knowing I was killing another human. Hope had entered his mind and his heart. He gave a small bow as he started to move, then suddenly jerked up. His eyes went wide as he tried to understand what had just happened.

I dashed forward as he looked at me, his eyes searching for answers. As I moved towards him, he turned his head and saw over his shoulder both Turk and Dirk standing there with their daggers, each on the opposite sides of his lower back, driving him up and forward.

Before he could move his hands, my sword was out, having cut the rope around my waist as I pulled it out. I drove it into his neck. Blood squirted everywhere, all over me and my face. I smiled and cackled that we had accomplished the impossible. It tasted wonderful in my mouth for some reason. This was our first successful hunt in this world. Watching those eyes of his look at me with questions and sadness as he fell down to the ground was almost as great as the day I held my twin boys in my arms. As he fell, each of us pulled our weapons free.

“Great work Dad!” Dirk exclaimed as he lifted his dagger and licked the blood off it. “Three prizes for us!”

Turk was nodding, and we all turned to look back down the trail as we heard the sound of someone almost upon us.

Klas came rushing down the small forest trail with his bow out and an arrow in it. He was smiling and screaming as he came. He slowed down when he saw us standing over the three bodies and started cursing.

“Hairy dwarf balls!” Klas cursed as he looked at the three dead heroes. “You cannot claim all three!”

I growled, bent down, and undid the belt on the dead warrior at my feet.

“I see no arrows or other marks on the third! You did nothing for a claim on these three.”

Taking the belt and the dead man's sword, I strapped it to my hip to replace my old belt. Klas’s eyes flashed with anger, and he bared his teeth. He knew I was right but was more upset that I would do this in front of him.

“It was my plan and my trap you led them in. If you want to join me on any other hunts, you will not contest this, or I will not let you come again.”

Klas glowered at me and muttered before spitting at the ground.

“Fine, but the other two are mine and Xeld’s!”

“Claim them. They are yours. Now go back to Xeld, and we will gather our treasure and meet you at our spot.”

Klas looked at us once more and shook his head. Finally, he smiled and then cackled.

“It is good that Brar gave you three one more chance. He knew you were smart.”

Klas turned and ran back to where Xeld would still be. I knew Xeld was most likely waiting for Klas to return so they could split the spoils. Klas, however, would gladly steal from us if he could.

I turned back to both of my boys and grinned.

“Let’s get to work. Cut that robe off that caster, and we will stack the stuff we need to haul out in it. We still have to show our success back at camp.”

The three of us turned and got working on the spoils before us. After today I knew our position in the camp would change once Brar saw what we could do.