'You're insane. She'll kill us all!'

'And eat our kids!'

'She's a woman of the woods, not a witch. Have you forgotten? Have you not read the Annals? Who brought the goblins to heel in the Battle of the Sungal Pass? Who restored the crops, the waters, and the soil after the Scourge? Who was unjustly exiled for crimes against our rivals - the same crimes that saved our people?'

The townsfolk grumbled. The Annals had well documented the feats of the woman, but they feared her magic. She held power they could never understand, and they were glad to have exiled her over a decade ago. Their grumbling echoed around the great wooden hall, until finally a voice pierced the din.

'I hear her woods are cursed. Tainted by her evil, none who enter have ever returned.' The townsfolk murmured in agreement.

‘They call her the Spider, and the woods the Spiderwood. It is a cursed place.’

'It's too dangerous. You’ll doom us all!'

The townsfolk hushed as one man rose to his feet. The sheathed longsword at his hip swung around as he turned to face the throng, his face set and determined. Darius spoke slowly, but thoughtfully and clearly. The people hung onto every measured word he spoke.

‘We're doomed anyway. We've never faced a goblin threat like this, even before her exile. We can stay here, safe in our temple, until they come with their engines and their fire and they slaughter us all anyway. Or we can seek her aid. Alaric speaks the truth. She is our only chance.’

Alaric nodded in agreement. But Timm, a wizened and wrinkled man, slowly rose to his feet. His buckled back meant that he was barely taller than most of the seated men, but the people looked to him as a wise elder, and he spoke with the authority of the entire assembly. He slowly moved to the front of the room, every step a labour, until he finally turned to the crowd from a position between Alaric and Darius.

‘You’ll never even get to the Woods. The host is already at our doorstep. Our outer walls are already under siege. We can hold them off, for a time, but there’s no way to pass through. The mountains at our back have defended us for generations, but they are impassable. We are trapped, all of us. Our only chance is to fight them head on.’

Alaric shook his head. He spoke shakily, as if he wasn’t sure he should be sharing the information.

‘There is a small pass through the mountains. The temple cellar connects to a cave, which connects to the pass. It is a treacherous path, and a large host moving through it would be spotted by goblin scryers who might bring the mountains down upon our heads. But one man, moving under the cover of darkness?’

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

The townspeople whispered to one another suspiciously, glaring at Alaric, and Timm voiced their concerns.

‘How do you know of this pass?’

Alaric shifted his weight nervously, his eyes not meeting Timm’s.

‘She showed me, before her exile.’ Timm’s eyes narrowed and a collective gasp echoed around the hall.

‘She always favoured you, and you return that favour now by unleashing her back upon us! Traitor!’ The townsfolk followed every word, their eyes boring into Alaric. Some moved behind Alaric, their hands falling to their weapons. Others moved to support Timm. Many remained gathered together away from the two men, unsure of who to support. Their murmurings reached a crescendo of anger and accusation. It almost seemed certain the villagers were to tear themselves apart, before the goblins even breached the walls. Alaric’s brows crashed down towards his eyes as his mouth opened to argue.

‘Enough of this!’ Darius intervened, and the entire assembly fell silent again, Alaric’s retort dying on his lips. ‘We were divided then, just as we are divided now. Alaric was not alone in his support of her, but he passed the sentence himself. His loyalty cannot be questioned. Now that our need is again dire, he speaks with reason. Alaric, tell me of this pass. Could we all flee the village?’

‘As I said, it is a treacherous way. Many couldn’t follow, and we would need to abandon the old, the frail and the weak to be massacred by goblins. And if we were spotted, they would use their dark magic while we’re vulnerable on the cliff sides. I must go alone.’

‘So, the coward traitor Alaric would flee through the mountains, and leave us for goblin supper?’ Timm spat. Alaric fidgeted uncomfortably and shook his head, the townspeople supporting Timm glaring at him accusingly.

‘I am neither a coward nor a traitor.’ Alaric’s shaky voice did not confirm his words. ‘The pass comes out by the foothills, a couple of miles East. It is not a path through the mountains. It’s a path to the woods.’

His confidence rose with each word. ‘I will brave the pass, and the Spiderwood. I will seek out the Woman of the Woods, the one they now call the Spider. I will bring her back, and she will have an answer to the goblin invasion.’

‘I will go with him,’ Darius said. ‘Alaric is a loyal servant of the village, a veteran of the Great Wars a decade past. He will find our salvation.’ But Timm was shaking his head.

‘They knock on our gates with great weapons of siege. They bring fire, swords and axes to our sanctuary. You would abandon us too, Darius? We need every man who is able to wield a sword to fight if we’re to defeat the threat. You have the respect of every boy and man here. And you, Alaric! They will overrun us if you flee. It is a fool’s errand.’

Darius placed a hand on the old man’s stooped shoulder. He spoke softly.

‘They will overrun us if we stay, Timm. We must go.’ Timm shook his head helplessly, but slowly returned, defeated, to his seat.

----------------------------------------