Before the Battle in the Forest

“Your Excellency, tens of thousands of newbies have appeared, this is the perfect chance for our forces to hijack their bodies and descend into the Mortal Realm,” a phantasmal man said.

“Yes, indeed. It’s a shame the barrier prevents me from descending onto that planet. The most I can do is puncture a hole for the weaker souls to pass through. Oh well, I doubt those weak vessels could hold me anyway,” a ghostly woman on a ghastly throne said.

“I agree, those weak vessels aren’t worthy of you,” the man replied and the ghostly realm began to tremble a nearly infinite amount of ghostly energy gathered into a giant ball.

“Break!” she screamed and it collided with an invisible wall. Her body began to fade in and out of existence as the collision grew ever bigger, before a small crack opened and the energy faded away.

“Go forth!” she shouted and an endless number of lights poured into the crack.

In a mysterious murky world

Haha, we’ve already taken several batches of newbies, things are going more smoothly than I thought it would. It’s such a shame these weaklings aren’t powerful enough to hold me.

He looked down at the little bugs running around confused trying to flee from the lights and many ghastly beings cackled at their futile efforts before piercing into their bodies. But, just as he thought everything would go fine, a powerful ray of light destroyed the dark mists, and a giant face formed in the sky.

T-That’s… Rae Lord Anarak! Why’s he here?! The Rae Lords never interfere…

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Can’t you leave the newbies alone for two days without causing trouble?!” The voice boomed and a force tore the struggling spectres out of their new homes. Why… Why?!

The struggling mortals began to vanish one by one as the murky world began to crack and rumble before completely breaking apart. Damn you, Anarak! Do you know how much energy we spent on this dreamland?!

Outside the Forest of Death

“Damn it all,” Nathanial muttered and a cold chill went down Jake’s back as the convoy of goblins marched towards them. The group drew their weapons, ready to fire. Among the crowds of goblins, Jake caught site of two six foot muscular goblins on either side of a smaller feather capped goblin.

The muscular goblins were carrying a pair of giant bats, while the feather capped goblin was carrying a long wooden stick with a red feather at the end. He’s probably the leader. And damn, they do have big goblins too, Nathanial was right.

The feather capped goblin started snorting and grunting before waving it’s stick, shockingly enough, a small ball of fire went flying towards Nathanial who jumped to the side, but still got hit by the fireball on the arm. F-Fireballs?! They can use magic?! What?!

The fireball was followed by a small barrage of arrows, which the group countered with their bullets, and the spider cavalry quickly charged in with the spearmen hidden behind to protect them from the hail of bullets.

One spearman fell off his spider, but the spider continued towards the group, and arrived in-front of Jake. He blocked the swipe of its leg with his tray and was sent flying back into the group before being cushioned by a short fat man. Ugh… Thanks. Damned spiders.

The spider charged after Jake and several spear goblins jumped out from behind, attacking several gun wielders, but they were intercepted by several people from the crowds who bashed them with suitcases and business laptops.

Several books and vases went flying into the side of the ownerless spider, distracting it from Jake giving him the opportunity to plunge his spear into its compound eye sending it shrieking backwards in pain. As it regained its bearings, several bullets went into its brain ending its reign of terror.

I. Hate. Spiders.

Nathanial fired some shots off at the feather cap leader, but one brute jumped forward to intercept, resulting in an injury on his arm, while the other shot towards him using a few spearmen as cover.

One of the men beside him pulled out a long rocket, fireworks to be exact, and lit the end sending it flying into the incoming spearmen. It exploded and they jumped back in shock. He took advantage of their disorientation to fire off a couple of shots and they collapsed to the ground revealing the brute.

The brute smashed his club at Nathanial, but was caught by a muscular man in his late twenties, a man who goes by the name of Gerry. Gerry struck several pressure points on the goblin’s arm making it release the club and quickly restrained it. It shrieked as he knocked it unconscious.

The feather cap leader turned to run, with the brute covering his exit.

“Stop him. Or he’ll tell the village about us!” Nathanial shouted and a hail of bullets shot his way dropping the brute. But, it was too late, as he made it into the forest and it endless dangers.

Nathanial sighed as he looked upon the aftermath of the battle. Several dozen injured, and some of those injuries would take weeks to recover. It was a miracle no one died, but he knew that if they kept having battles like this, then it would only be a matter of time before the second fatality came.

Damned goblins, what did we ever do to them?! We were just minding our own business and they started sending wave after wave to kill us!

“As much as I’d like to allow you time to rest, we need to back the hell away from the forest. Quickly!” Nathanial urged and the group moved away from the forest, with those who were unable to walk being carried by the others.

“Nathanial, what was that?” Jake asked.

“The spiders? Yeah, I was shocked too. To think they’ve actually tamed those spiders and have them as mounts. It certainly explains a lot. Think about it. How do they avoid the worms? We’ve been thinking about it the wrong way. They don’t have settlements on the ground, but up in the trees.

Not only that, but the spiders barely produce any sounds, even when moving on the ground. If the worms find prey via vibrations, then these are the perfect mounts, especially with their speed.” Nathanial explained.

“Not just that but…” Jake began.

“The fireballs, right?” Nathanial asked.

“Yes,” Jake said.

“I have no clue about that, absolutely no clue. I’m not even going to try to apply logic to this one, it’s pointless. But. If all the goblins were able to use that power, then wouldn’t they have done it the first time we ran into them on the plains. Or when the first spearmen appeared in the forest?” Nathanial asked.

“That’s true, why fire arrows, if they have a far more potent weapon?” Jake asked.

“Exactly, I reckon that only a small portion of the goblins can use that power, and this portion is highly revered by the others. You saw how it had guards who didn’t spare an effort to protect it, even at the cost of their lives, right?” Nathanial asked.

“Mm,” Jake replied.

“Exactly. For each one which dies, they have one less at their disposal, not only that, but their numbers are likely too few to have a large impact on a battle in comparison to the regular troops,” Nathanial explained.

“I see, so it’s like a status symbol then. I’m curious though… How did they get that power?” Jake asked.

“Who knows, we’ve only been here for half a day, and a good portion of that has been spent running around confused,” Nathanial shrugged and Jake sighed.

“Do you think… That we might be able to use that power?” Leo asked.

“I wouldn’t count on it, but it’s not impossible. I doubt Anarak would send us here without some insurance, but who knows, maybe he wants to laugh as we all run to our deaths. Even if we could, I wouldn’t even know where to start, am I supposed to meditate? Find an ancient tome of power? Cut open a feather cap and take out a magic crystal?

Yeah, the last one’s a little too ridiculous. The thing is. It’s pointless for us to think about that right now, we still need to figure out what we’re going to eat and drink. Our supplies can only last for so long,” Nathanial sighed and looked at the area ahead discovering a group of rabbits.

“How ironic, we go out looking for food, and food comes to the place we started at. I need you all to catch these rabbits, built a pen out of whatever makeshift materials you can find. Twigs will do, if you really can’t find anything,” Nathanial ordered.

Several men and women ran out laying down twigs, crudely raising dirt mounds, and dropping down bits of furniture which were transported but which they couldn’t carry into the forest to build a small pen. Minutes later, they herded up the rabbits and tossed them in, while the gun wielders patrolled the perimeter of the group.

Nathanial sat at a small desk drawing out a crude map. Not enough information. All we know is that there’s a forest over there. Whatever direction over there is. If we can trust the direction of the “Sun”, then that would East. The North, South, and West are completely unexplored.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The rabbits are great and all, but we really need a source of water before we all get dehydrated. We can go without food for a bit, but we definitely need that water, or we’re going to start dropping off like flies and resorting to all sorts of barbaric acts to survive.

“Gerry.” Nathanial called out.

“Yes?” Gerry asked.

“I’m letting everyone rest for a few hours, but we really do need to get moving again soon, even if it means taking the rabbits with us in our hands. If it wasn’t for the fact that a few of us are heavily injured, I would just take the whole group with us to find water,” Nathanial said.

“Agreed, we’ve only just got here and we already had a man die, the chances of survival are just too low without all of us there,” Gerry sighed.

“Yeah… Unfortunately, I have little choice in the matter. I need you, Jake, and a few others to form a small scout party. If you see any sign of danger, especially the goblins, then run. Get the hell out of there. And try to lay low as much as possible.

Most of our people will remain here to take care of the wounded, I have a feeling the goblins are going to be back with a vengeance, not to mention, that a large group like ours will be seen from a mile away, if we all march out,” Nathanial said.

“I understand.” Gerry said as he walked away. Nathanial clutched his head and sighed. I miss Tremence City. All the backstabbing politicians in the world can’t compare to this hellhole of a world.

-----

Waves of goblins attacking, each one stronger than the previous one. I don’t know if we can survive, if it goes on like this… What’s next? A squad of giant goblins, fire breathing feather caps, and an army of spiders?

“Jake.” A voice rang out and Jake turned around. Gerry?

“Nathanial wants us to form a group of scouts to go out and explore the surrounding area. There’s no telling what’s out there, we might even find dragons. Want to come?” Gerry asked.

“Sure.” Jake replied and the two walked off.

“Say, Gerry. What did you do before… well… you were transported? You seem to be very adept at hand-to-hand combat.” Jake asked.

“I was in the police force for a few years, we received training in subduing criminals. I’ve dealt with hundreds of club wielding criminals, so a couple of overgrown goblins aren’t much of a challenge. I’d be more terrified, if they had guns. I was out on my rounds one day when a beam of light descended and I found myself in-front of Anarak.” Gerry explained.

“Ah. For me, I was flying a plane, nearly crashed, and well… Anarak snatched up the whole thing,” Jake said.

“Ah, the plane. I’ve heard about that, the one with the demented flight attendant?” Gerry asked.

“Yes. That flight.” Jake shuddered. That lunatic. I wouldn’t be surprised, if he wet himself in-front of a spider…

“Yeah… People like that are well… Mm, I’ve dealt with those sorts before…” Gerry said. Jake was about to speak when he was interrupted by something utterly horrifying, one of the scouts was walking towards him and next to him was… Brandon, the middle-aged flight attendant with a muscular build and a long black beard.

Oh no… Don’t tell me. I have to work with him? No. Please. No. Not him. Of all the people, why did you have to pick him?! Noooo!

Gerry had a strange look at his face, while Jake scowled. Brandon was slightly embarrassed and broke things up with a cough, “Sorry about the previous incident, Jake. We were hurtling to our deaths, so I panicked a little. But hey, it all worked out in the end. My prayers got the attention of a god.”

Y-You prayed to Anarak? Why did you pick him? Why on earth would you pick him? The guy who randomly abducts people for whatever the hell he wants us to do here. Why don’t you pray to an archdemon why you’re at it?!

“Urm, so. These two are also members of our team, Brandom and Tom. Two of you already know each other, so I’ll skip over to Tom. Tom meet Jake. Jake meet Tom. Tom used to be a gymnastics instructor who competed in the Olympics. During one of the live games in-front of an international audience, he mysteriously vanished, we all know who’s responsible for that,” Gerry said.

“Hey there,” a thin man in his thirties said. The very same man who danced around dodging a spider’s attacks in the Forest of Death, Tom. Not a martial artist or a dance instructor but… An Olympic Gymnast?!

“I know what you’re thinking, I did a lot of dancing when I was younger to work out my joints and increase my flexibility,” Tom said.

“Ah,” Jake said.

“As for Jake, he was the pilot of the very same plane as Brandon,” Gerry explained and Brandon had a strange look on his face as he recalled that incident. Yeah, I hope you’re ashamed after you pulled that shit, we nearly died thanks to you!

Gerry sighed as he watched Jake glare at Brandom, “Okay. Okay. That’s enough. This time, we’re going to be going to the ‘West’, in other words, the opposite direction as that hellhole of a forest. We have no clue what’s out there, so we need to be extremely alert.”

Brandon grunted to show his approval and Gerry waved another three over.

“This is Jennifer, Wang Lu, and Vladimir. Jennifer was part of the army, before getting transported during a mission. Wang Lu was the owner of a large supermarket chain. And Vladimir was a tax collector working for the Russian Government.” Gerry explained.

Jennifer had long black hair, a small cut on her arm from fighting spiders in the earlier battle, and wore a military uniform and a rifle on her back. While Wang Lu was a bald man in his mid-thirties, and was carrying a long spear.

As for Vladimir, he had mid-length brown hair, a scar running down his nose, a long spear, and a tazer which he used to immobilize several goblin spearmen during the earlier battle.

“I’ll give you time to get acquainted on the way out, let’s move.” Gerry said before walking towards the outer perimeter with the scouts.

“As you heard, I was part of the army before I was abducted. I was infiltrating a compound with the rest of my squad, when we burst into a room and discovered a small child. That child turned out to be our good friend… Anarak. He waved his hand and my surroundings shattered like a mirror revealing that strange grassy plain we were all on earlier before we were transported to this hell hole,” she explained.

“Ah, I was a pi-” Jake began.

“A pilot on a plane which got swept up in a typhoon next to Brandon who… Let’s say… Cracked under the pressure?” she asked.

“Yes, how did you know?” Jake asked.

“I heard you talking about it earlier,” she replied.

“Ah, I see. What about you, Wang Lu?” Jake asked.

“I was having a meeting with one of my suppliers, ugh the guy wanted to rob me blind. Anyway. We were about to shake on the deal when the room started shaking and we were both enveloped by a holy light. We appeared on that field with the rest of you, but I ended up getting separated from the guy after we got send to this hellhole.

The sooner I leave this shithole, the better, damned Anarak.” Wang Lu said.

“Yeah… Especially with those goblins around, not a moment of peace,” Jake sighed.

“What about you, Vladimir?” Jake asked.

“I was out on my rounds, hunting down people who refused to pay their taxes. I ended up walking in on a gang who pulled a dozen semiautomatic machine guns on me, before I got mowed down, a golden light enveloped me and blocked the bullets.

The gangsters knelt down as if I was some sort of God and handed over a couple briefcases full of money, but before I could take it back, I got transported to the same place as you all. I still have the two briefcases, but the money is a little useless to us here,” Vladimir explained.

Jake nodded and Gerry turned to wave at the perimeter guards.

“Ah, Gerry. Going out? Be careful out there!” a guard warned.

“I will,” Gerry nodded. He took the last step out of the base and a heavy pressure descended upon the group as they became extremely alert, constantly looking out for threats.

A bush suddenly rustled in-front of them, and Gerry jumped into a battle stance, and then a small rabbit ran out and he sighed. I guess, we could catch a few on the way back, if we’re not being pursued by goblins or dragons or whatever else.

Jake turned to Brandon who was making psst sounds and pointing in a certain direction. He turned to look and saw… A tree. Not a colossal tree reaching the sky. Not a vast forest. But, a singular tree. That should be enough for a campfire to keep everyone warm when the night comes, perhaps even enough to begin work on the stockade. I’ll keep it in mind for when we come back.

As they ventured further and further, the trees became more and more numerous, to the point that dozens could be seen around them after a certain point. Jake turned to Jennifer who nodded, and the group moved into a formation where they hid behind the trees before moving to the next tree before them.

Not only were the trees more numerous, but so were the rabbits, there were far more of them than back at camp or in its immediate surrounding area. Dozens of times more. Hundreds of times more. Well, at-least we won’t have to worry about food, this should be enough to last everyone a few days.

They shot from tree to tree, watching for enemies, but there wasn’t a single goblin to be found, only fireflies and rabbits. Something’s wrong here. It’s too safe. How could a place like this exist?

Jake was about to let down his guard when he saw a tree larger and thicker than all the other trees in the middle of the grove. Several squirrels ran down the trunk and dozens of rabbits gathered around it, and behind it was, a small pond. Water. We finally found water. It’s a little on the dirty side, but hey, at-least we won’t die of thirst, haha.

Brandon jumped up and down in excitement prompting Gerry to do several hand signs telling him to stop at once, and he quickly settled down, but you could still see his excitement from the goofy smile on his face.

This guy is going to get us all killed… It would be one thing, if we had the main group here with dozens of gunmen ready to fire at a moment’s notice, but we don’t. It’s just me, an idiot, and several others. Wait. What’s that?

Jake squinted his eye at the small dark object, and it turned out that he’s mind wasn’t playing tricks on him, there was indeed a small tabby cat lapping up the water. Phew, just a cat. Not a dragon or some other monstrosity. Strange though, it seems awfully similar to a normal housecat, you’d think I’d be more… Feral looking?

He kept his eye on it, and it turned its head to look at him, when their eyes locked, he felt an immense pressure for a moment, before it turned around and playfully chased after a rabbit. W-What was that?!

He stood there in shock for a moment, before being interrupted by a small pebble, he turned and saw Brandon who was relaying a hand sign from the others. Ah yes, I shouldn’t let myself get distracted. But damn. What’s was that? That pressure? Something’s not quite right about that cat…

He turned to look at it once more, but it completely vanished, he couldn’t find any trace of it. He shrugged and continued hopping from tree to tree towards the giant tree. He quickly arrived next to the tree, when suddenly a wicked smile appeared on its trunk and a branch reached out to grab him.

Jake jumped back to dodge, but more branches surrounded him like snakes. Jennifer fired at the tree, but it had little effect on its thick trunk, and they grabbed Jake raising him towards the sinister mouth. N-No, I won’t be eaten by a fucking tree!

Jake stabbed at it with his spear, but it barely left a mark, and was about to be lowered into its mouth when he was suddenly dropped on the ground. What the…?!

Off in the distance, the cat appeared once more, and the tree’s face distorted as it stood on guard against it. It walked ever closer and closer. The tree became more and more panicked, until the cat was right next to it, sat down and started urinating on it.

Jake saw his chance and took the opportunity to run far away towards the other scouts. What on earth is that cat?! That ent was absolutely terrified of it, and the ent happens to be one of the most horrifying things we’ve run into so far. Just imagine being in a forest of them.

He quickly rendezvoused with the others who took the long way around the ent to the pond.

Brandon stepped forward with an empty water bottle and was sweating like crazy. He lowered the bottle into the water, readied himself for a quick escape and quickly jumped back with it.

Jennifer gave several hand signs they rehearsed earlier and Jake at once understood her intentions.

Time to go back, we’ve found what we were looking for. We could go further, but the chances of survival will drop off a cliff.

If there’s one ent here, then who knows how many there are further out, I really don’t want to face a pack of them without any backup, it’s a miracle the cat stepped in to help. I’d love to light the bastards on fire, but I don’t have anything for that. No wonder the goblins value their magicians so highly.

Jake turned back towards the camp with the rest, jumping from tree to tree to keep a low profile, just in case they encountered a formidable beast on the way back.