I forgot to milk the goats.
Funny that’s going through my mind right now, with the whole bleeding out one would think I’d have more important things to deal with.
I can still see the body of the little bastard responsible for this, well one of the little bastards anyway. His dark green corpse is prone in its own black blood lying by my knees. Only three feet tall and with just a stone axe he managed to carve out a piece of my stomach before I managed to cave in his skull. I’m not sure if I got the better part of the deal, not with his buddies gibbering a few feet from me. Goblins aren’t particularly known for being kind to things they plan on eating; especially since it’s not uncommon for them to get the whole order of kill first, eat second wrong.
I force myself to push my back up against the bush behind me. I may not be able to stand at this point, much less move or feel but I have absolutely no intention of letting myself die like this.
“Come at me you green jabbering shits!” I hoarsely screech at them while I try to wave my short sword. My hand shudders while grasping the hilt slick with blood and the sudden movement only adds to the nausea I’m feeling. Gritting my teeth I try to bear it, focusing on my breathing seems to have pushed it back for now. How the hells did I end up like this! I used to be an adventurer, never goblin bait. Thinking about other things seems to help keep me awake and I can’t help drift back on what happened only this morning.
“How in the nine hells did you fools end up down there?” I’ve seen some odd things in the sea of trees but this is a first for me, to find what could only be green horned adventurers facing an entire tribe of goblins. Goblins are notoriously territorial creatures and are common enough that even unranked adventurers would be taught to avoid their regions marked by animal bones, well unless you were prepared. Yet my curiosity caused me to ignore those same totems while creeping up a small hill so I could get a better view of who was shouting around here.
Cresting the hill led me to see five youths facing off against what might be at least forty goblins. The two males in front seemed to have Warrior jobs as they struggled to hold the line with a mix of swinging their swords and shouting at the goblins to give them pause in charging them en masse. The man behind them seemed more collected as he shot arrows at those who got too close to the line. Judging by the corpses littering the ground in front with arrows jutting out of them, he was more than a good shot and probably the reason the line held in the first place. Unfortunately his quiver seemed almost empty and the deadlock would soon break. The last two were huddled behind him at the base of the hill, I could only make out their heads but it seemed it was a girl bandaging the arm of another boy. If I don’t step in soon none of them would probably make it.
I was only planning on checking my traps today and maybe hunt something depending on my luck, now instead I’m facing off against a horde of goblins with just a small hunting bow, rope and a short sword. Not the best idea I’ve ever had but you learn to make do in a pinch. Tying one end of the rope around a redwood beside me I gave it a quick perfunctory tug before dropping the other end over the cliff face.
I’m not sure if it was my hissed question or the rope bobbing to a stop over her head that got the girl’s attention but for whatever reason she looked up. “Get your friend to grab the rope and tell the others to fall back as I pull him up.” It wouldn’t much matter to me if she didn’t listen, I comforted myself, but it seems she heard me, and better yet, she obeyed. Supporting the young man she pushed him up enough so she could wrap the rope around his good hand. That was my cue and I started to drag him up towards me. At least I wouldn’t have to lie to myself later about not feeling guilty if they died. While hauling the young man I gave him a once over. I have to admit he’s tough, he doesn’t make a sound as his body scrapes against the cliff, not even when he bumps against his bandaged wound.
As he stares up at me I wouldn’t believe he’s injured or even in danger with that calm look. I’ve seen blue eyes before, but his, his are different… strange. Grabbing his hand I yank him up beside me.
“You alright?” I ask as I unravel the knot on his hand.
“I’ve had better days.” I can’t help but look up at his face when I hear the unadulterated amusement in his voice and just catch the hint of smile.
“Your friends probably have as well.” I note as I look back out towards them while readying my bow.
“Well we seemed to have found ourselves somewhat at odds with the locals here.” The amusement still apparent in his voice he continued. “Diplomacy has broken down somewhat with their whole stab things protocol.”
Huh, I’m not sure how seriously I’m supposed take him or what I’m guessing is his sense of humour, but as long as he chooses to die quietly without interrupting me saving their lives, who am I to complain.
Having launched two arrows while letting him talk, I nock my third arrow and draw the bow in one easy practiced motion. As I ground myself and choose another target, I let my mind wonder to how exactly did this happen.
The guild’s presence here isn’t particularly strong as the current family head of house Juvleim was a progressive man who created and maintained constables to enforce the law and safety of the land, and even went as far to give them monthly wages to ensure their loyalty and effort. It wasn’t a perfect system, but it was more than good enough that most people didn’t see the need for hiring guild members in help with blood feuds or even monster culling. This doesn’t mean they weren’t any dangerous elements here, the sea of trees was plenty dangerous on its own, it’s just everyone here knows that the deep and dark things in this fey touched forest liked to stay that way, deep and dark. No guild would send unranked adventurers, which they clearly had to be, into the sea of trees.
Stolen story; please report.
The third arrow had already found its way into another goblin sweeping it off its feet in a tumbled heap as the shaft appeared in its chest. That should give the goblins a reason to stay back for a little while longer and us a bit more breathing space. With it I could take a better look at the rest of the group.
The girl was already more than half way up the rope herself; her feet braced against the wall as she pulled herself up surprisingly quickly for one so small. The shoulder length blond curls were a halo around her head that couldn’t be held down even by the sweat and dust on her face, a mask of pure determination. Her blue robes, impractical I couldn’t help think, had three crests over her small chest, one I recognised with an old twinge of envy I thought died long ago. So she’s a mage.
The other three were now around the rope, the archer had switched out his short bow for a dagger which he held in front him as the other two looked up, their faces mirror images of the other with just a different in the frame, one with long flowing red hair and the other with it cut close to his scalp.
My attention is brought back to the girl as she reached the top and I hoist her up and unto the grass beside me.
“Now that we have the chance to talk, could one of you tell me what in the nine hells are you doing out here?” I growled as I fail to modulate my tone. None of them could be past fifteen, they could be my grandkids, if I ever had children that is.
I narrow my eyes as I stare them down, “One of you start talking.”
I didn’t bother to continue staring after I saw the girl recoil and placed my eyes back on the three still at the bottom with my bow at the ready.
“Ah, yes, well if I may say Miss…” the young man started, I could see him pulling himself together in the corner of my eye. With his short black hair and the baby fat still on his face, I couldn’t help but smirk at this man child. It was hard to think of what I saw before as anything but a trick of the light.
“It’s Ariadne, Ariadne Belladonna.”
“Yes of course, well Ms. Belladonna, my name is Felix von Juvleim and these are my wards. We were here to gain experience on our own and were informed this part of the fey forest was more than safe while being adequate for our needs.” A wry expression crossed his face as he continued.
“If we had but known of the true dangers we would find here, I assure you Ma’am, we would be much more prepared than just this.”
Well no wonder he didn’t stumble over my name and acted the way he did. It’s because he’s bloody nobility and I all but cursed at him and gave him my actual name, I can’t help sigh at this. Well I did save his life, that should hopefully be enough to convince him to leave an old lady alone; but you could never be sure with nobles. They had a bad habit of being the worst mix of idiot and dangerous.
Well at least I had my reason now, it’s the reason I bet the world had most of its problems. The reason was because of the folly of nobility, who else would send their children into this place. Well maybe that wasn’t a fair assessment, it was the children who walked into goblin tribal territory all on their own so let’s amend that to the folly of young nobility.
I had to shoot twelve more goblins before the twins managed to join us. The tribe was getting antsy watching their prey, who came out of nowhere and kill tens of them just waltz out of their grasp. The archer boy needed to hurry it up, I could only shoot so fast and it’s not like I had that many arrows left.
As soon as I thought it, he had already grabbed the rope and began to what I can only describe as run up the wall face. In all my fifty two years I’ve never saw anyone so young do anything even close. I myself couldn’t even come near to doing that, not even in my prime. No way could a human do that, not without a Skill and he had to be too young to have one of this calibre, maybe he had elvish blood in his veins.
Whatever the reason, he was already at the top and standing beside me before I had the chance the loose my second last arrow. The thirteenth goblin fell over with it now in his eye and I release my Sure Shot and roll my shoulders to ease the tension built up.
I quickly unsheathe and cut the dangling rope before the rest of goblins got any ideas. It may take them some time and hopefully some more lives, but I know that they’d scale the cliff face and be after us if we don’t move now.
Turning to face the children I tried not to show any fear on my face as I explained the situation.
“We won’t have much time, maybe ten minutes tops before the tribe can follow us. It’ll take at least twenty minutes to get out of their territory. Without a means to slow them down we’re going to have to fight our way out and hope to the Gods that they’ll leave us be once we leave their area.” I gave them a hard stare, trying to judge their reactions, especially when they hear the end of my speech. “If none of you have any useful Skills that can be of some help, we all can’t expect to leave here.”
I watched as the fact I told them some of them were going to die sink in. The tanned skin of twins and the girl blanched as they failed to meet my gaze but the young archer didn’t even shrug. I guess with his abilities it’d be unlikely he would be staying. Felix on the other hand merely lowered his head as if he was merely mulling it over.
“What skills would be of use?” well the boy had his head on.
“Any Skill with the potential for entrapment or distraction would be useful. Intimidation may prove valuable as well. It’d be best if they can affect groups.” I list off the conditions.
He looks up at me with more confidence than expected, I guess they do have something and we might live to see our way out of this.
“We don’t have any Skills which meet your requirement but I believe we can still meet them and give us all more than a fighting shot to survive this.”
Oh? Well I’ll bite, not like I have much of a choice, “So what’s this plan of yours.”
“It’s quite simple really” he says with a smirk. “We just have to prepare a distraction large enough to cause them to not climb the cliff. A distraction such as a live target much closer at hand.”
His eyes, now I know what was so strange about them. I could still see them as I fell, he never broke eye contact with me as he lowered his arm. He muttered something and the girl started to gesticulate. In it all the smirk never left his face.
The reason his eyes had looked so strange was quite simple. It was because they were lacking something, they were simply lacking humanity.