The sun was once again rising and Aiden soon woke up, not because he heard the familiar rooster but because there was a thunderous knock at the door. He sat up on his bed and looked at the clock that was now mounted on the wall opposite of his bed, he had learnt those exist here on the fourth day. It was 6:00 in the morning and Aiden groaned, since he was used to waking up at 7:00.

“Hey! Is there anyone in this house!?”

He heard some guy yelling outside and got up, rubbing his head before quickly going through his morning routine of brushing his teeth, freshening up and getting dressed. Once he was done, he walked towards the stairs only to come across a half-awake Lin that was just stumbling outside her room with a yawn. The elf saw Aiden mid-yawn and quickly placed her hand over her mouth to not seem rude.

“Good morning Lin, what’s going on?”

“I have not the slightest clue…Oooooh….my head!”

Lin seemed to be going through a really bad morning, she was holding her head while the door banging was continuing. Suddenly a rushing Lloyd came out of his own chamber and stepped down the stairs faster than both Lin and Aiden. While the elf and the young man walked down, they saw Duran already up and staring at the door with his great sword in his grip, Lloyd had already gone to the door and cleared his throat before opening it.

“God! Finally! Do you usually keep guests waiting at the door like that?”

“Excuse me stranger, but mind telling me who you are and why you are disturbing my household’s morning?”

As soon as the man saw an opening, he stepped inside without asking for permission. Aiden got a good look at him, he was wearing a full body plate armour, had a sheathed bastard sword hanging from his belt, a round buckler strapped on his back and a plate helmet on his one hand. The stranger seemed to be in his early thirties, he was clean shaven and had blonde semi-long hair as well as dark blue eyes. Aiden took his eyes away from him and turned to Duran who had now lifted his sword up and rested it on his shoulder, ready to attack the stranger.

“Easy there, big guy. You don’t want to wreck your back wielding that sword at your age.”

Lloyd turned around and closed the door, you could tell by his expression that he was pretty pissed off by the stranger’s attitude. The guards were not in their position yet because during the night the household was locked and they were stationed around town in case of a night raid.

“I’ll ask one last time. Who are you and how did you get passed our guards?”

The stranger turned to face Lloyd and bowed mockingly.

“Oh, I’m sorry my Lord. I didn’t know you’re so rude towards people you’ve hired.”

-Oh my god…. please, don’t tell me…. –

The stranger straightened his back and pulled out a wax-sealed envelope before handing it to Lloyd. He opened it and pulled out a piece of paper, it was his own letter requesting someone to help them take care of the Goblins’ nest that was located in the Pine Forest.

“You are the professional?”

“Indeed, my name is Traynor Kogarah. I came here for some pest control, apparently killing a few Goblins is too dangerous for your brave old man over here.”

Lloyd opened his mouth to respond but Duran answered quicker with an angered voice.

“Don’t flatter yourself! I’ll be coming with you!”

“Oh please, you’re just going to slow me down. I’ll go in, kill the monsters and come back here for my reward, simple as that.”

“I assure you that with my skills we’ll be done way quicker.”

“What are you going to do huh? Wither away and hope your joint aches will scare the Goblins away? I bet even if you came with the strongest of your guards there would be no difference!”

“Even the weakest of my guards is more than capable of exceling in a Goblin killing quest!”

-I have a really bad feeling about this. -

“You think so? Then I dare you to bring them with us and see if they come out alive!”

Lin was holding her aching head while Lloyd was rubbing his eyes annoyed by this early-morning fight. There was silence for a moment before Duran turned and stared at Aiden with an outraged glint in his eye.

“You’ll be coming with us to that fucking nest!”

-Yup, there it is. I should probably try to not get him any angrier. –

“Okay, I’ll come as well…no need to tell me twice.”

“Good….”

Duran was still filled with anger and Traynor was about to say something, but Lloyd interrupted him.

“Let us all sit down to have breakfast, you can depart whenever you’d like.”

“We’ll go as soon as possible!”

That was Steelthunder talking. Aiden sighed and sat in his chair with the rest as the maids and the butler brought the food and drink forward. The table was mostly quiet, the air was heavy, and Duran seemed to be eager for Aiden and Traynor to finish eating so they can leave. Aiden was eating some bacon and sipping some of his mead while Lin was sitting next to him. She still seemed awfully moody and ready to doze off at any moment.

“Uh, are you alright Lin?”

“MMmhhmmm…. Fine…”

She was mumbling and soon stood up and carried herself upstairs. Even though she didn’t say anything, everyone was sure she went to get some more sleep. Traynor sighed and mumbled under his breath.

“Pathetic…”

Everyone already hated this guy, but they couldn’t do anything at the moment. They just had to endure him until the Goblins were exterminated. After a short breakfast they got up and Duran immediately left to prepare for their expedition, Aiden did the same and Traynor stayed at the table drinking some more ale while waiting for the two. About fifteen minutes passed before Aiden and Duran returned. The young man was equipped with a gambeson covered in chainmail, hard leather boots and gloves and a black travelling cloak, he was also handed his weapons by Duran, apparently Aiden was going to keep his zweihander, who was identical to his training one, strapped on his back and would be using a metal strap-on shield and an arming sword. Stellthunder was equipped with his own leather armor that covered his torso, forearms and shins while beneath it he wore some clothing to keep him warm and cover up the exposed parts, he also had his claymore on his back, while wielding a hand axe and a wooden centre-grip shield.

“We’re ready to go. Are you going to stop drinking or should I knock some sense in you?”

Traynor stood up while Duran wrapped himself in his own brown travelling cloak.

“Let’s go quickly, otherwise time may kill you before the Goblins even touch you.”

With that final remark they all hanged their supply bags from their shoulders, bided Lloyd farewell and departed for the Pine Forest.

This was Aiden’s first time out of Pinewood, since he got here, so he was excited but at the same time worried. He hoped he wouldn’t have to actually fight with any of the Goblins and that the other two could take care of them.

“Chin up boy! This is no face for someone ready to slaughter some Goblins!”

Duran seemed to be hyped up by anger as they all strode through the valley towards the woods.

“Yes sir!”

Aiden had told Duran that ‘sir’ was commonly used for army officials as well as knights in his own world, so he know was okay with being called that.

“Old man, I hope you’ve fought Goblins before. If not, I should send a message to my baby sister, maybe she can come and give you a lesson or two!”

“Oh, shut up, you arrogant bastard! Let us reach the nest and I’ll show you what I am capable of!”

Aiden sighed while the two men in front of him argued.

-I hope they get bored and stop this soon, it’s getting pretty annoying. –

The walk to the forest lasted about half an hour and the two men never stopped insulting each other. Aiden was now eager to jump into the Goblin nest if that meant they would shut up. Once they reached the first trees that formed the entrance to the forest Traynor turned around to tell Aiden something.

“I assume you have no experience of tracking down Goblins. It’s not that hard to do so. There are three main signs to look out for when searching for their lair. The first one is inedible animal parts, like bones and hooves. Secondly you should look out for any weird stinking liquids, they can be either Goblin liquor or poison, be careful to not do anything stupid and consume them. Finally, a dead giveaway that you’re in Goblin territory are effigies, if you find any be on your guard because you never know what might be behind you.”

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“Are we clear lad?”

Aiden nodded in agreement and slightly raised his metal kite shield, strapped on his right arm as the group walked into the forest. The Pine Trees were many and close to one another. There was space for people to walk between them, but it wasn’t once or twice that Aiden almost tripped over some root that had grown out of the ground. The light of the sun was able to pass through the many leaves and branches, but most of the forest’s ground was covered in shadow. The young man had recently learnt that the forest went on until it reached the mountains where the mist was plenty, and the cold was unbearable.

They kept walking without exchanging a word. The only sound they heard was the birds chirping and the wind making the leaves whistle. They all knew that they would probably have to walk for quite some time, but no one mentioned it. Soon, Aiden got bored of the silence and decided to use the singing skills he gad been practising at the inn for the past ten days.

He began hitting his shield with his knuckles to get the basic rhythm down before coming in with the lyrics. He chose to sing ‘The Ents’ Marching Song’ from the Lord of the Rings. He thought of it because of all the trees surrounding them and was certain they would probably need a war song to get them hyped up. The other two said nothing but seemed to be welcoming Aiden’s singing as a pleasant and entertaining break from the cold silence of the forest.

After he sang it for the first time, Traynor started tapping his buckler against his armour to the same rhythm and thus Aiden began singing once again, eventually the other two sang alongside him. They sang the same song six times, each time getting more and more energetic and by the fifth they were practically rushing through the thick forest.

The last verse ended, and Aiden was ready to start over again before Duran gestured him to be quiet.

“Shhhh! Come over here.”

Aiden and Traynor walked closer to Duran, who had now stooped and used a pebble to pick up a weird, thick brownish liquid that had formed a tiny puddle on the ground. Lifting it up he brought it to his nose and sniffed it before letting the pebble fall on the ground.

“Fuck, that stinks! This is definitely of Goblin making!”

“You’re right, we’re getting closer.”

The singing had stopped while the men were looking around to find more clues. Eventually Traynor found a few animal bones scattered about, they didn’t seem to belong to an animal that died of age or disease, so they decided to keep going forwards and look for more clues. It wasn’t long before Aiden noticed a weird creation hanging from a tree. It was a stick that was decorated with broken bones to look like an upside down, headless corpse.

“Guys, I think you need to see this.”

The other two took a good look at it and after turning their heads around Duran pulled out his axe and Traynor unsheathed his sword, Aiden, of course, did the same remembering Traynor’s advice.

“We’re close lad! From now on you must always be ready to fight.”

“Understood.”

Traynor seemed to have figured out where the Goblins were located, so he just began walking forward, sword first while the other two followed him. They didn’t walk for long before reaching an oversized burrow, made from sticks, stones and logs,

“We’re here. Ready to go in?”

“I’m always ready to kill some monster scum! Right, Aiden?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess.”

Traynor went inside first, then followed Duran and finally entered Aiden. The hole was wide enough for them to squeeze through and seemed to continue deep underground where, the two experienced men theorized, there should be a cave or opening for the Goblins to use as a base. They carefully treaded down the Goblin-path. The tunnel was steep enough for them to move slowly and carefully, but not steep enough for the men to slide straight down the hole. Eventually the ground began to level itself and the sunlight was now completely gone, the group lit a lantern that Duran had hanged on his belt before they left the town. The cave tunnel itself became wide enough for them to stand comfortably, although using a great sword was out of the question.

“Aiden, you need to be as quiet as possible from now on. Goblins have excellent hearing.”

Duran whispered to the young man while they were carefully sneaking through the Goblin-tunnel and using his cloak to hide the lantern and have the light shine, just enough for them to barely see where they were going.

So far, they hadn’t encountered any Goblins, but Aiden had bumped his head on some tree roots a few times. They kept walking around the underground hideout, in order to find their way into the actual Goblin nest they followed a stench that was so apparent in this poorly made tunnels.

“The smell has really picked up here. I think we’re getting close.”

That was Traynor whispering, he was the first and was pretty much leading them, even though Duran corrected him a few times when he almost followed the less stinky path.

-This place is a true labyrinth, let’s hope getting out will be easier than going in. –

Suddenly, they heard something as they reached a corner in the tunnel. All three of them stood completely still and Duran covered up the entire lantern while they were gripping their weapons harder, trying to listen to that sound again. And soon enough they did. It was a very raspy and strangely pitched voice. The words Aiden was hearing were unknown to him, and with the reek that was now completely surrounding them he felt slightly nauseous.

-Those are Goblins! I have to be mentally prepared to come face to face with them! –

He let out a sigh that was, accidentally, louder than he anticipated. Suddenly, the queer talking stopped and Duran turned to Aiden with widened eyes before turning back to face the tunnel. They could hear someone stepping towards them, as soon as the sound came close enough, Traynor dashed around the corner and two hacking noises were heard, followed by two quiet thuds. Duran gestured Aiden to follow Traynor and so they did. Turning around the corner the young man saw two Goblin corpses on the ground with blood pouring out of their sliced necks, the first had beige skin while the second had a more greenish colour, both were covered in mud and blemishes. Their nose and ears were about four times that of an average human, their eyes were small, and their iris and pupil were both black while their sclera was red from the bloodshot. Aiden thought that if they were standing their total height would be slightly higher than his abdomen.

“Disgusting creatures.”

Aiden mumbled while walking behind Duran. Traynor was a few meters ahead of them and was staring at what seemed to be a hole on the side of the tunnel. They both got closer and peeked to see what was behind the wall. They were hit with the smell of rotting flesh, faeces and burning wood. From the hole they could see a large underground cavern full of crude, but sturdy looking, goblin structures. The place seemed to have an opening on the other end of it, Aiden thought that it probably led to a whole different section of this cavern system. The stone walls were lighted by torches that were scattered around the wooden structures giving the place an orange tint. Aiden pressed his cloak against his nose trying to avoid the vomit inducing smell of this place. He leaned a bit closer to the hole to see what was right bellow them.

-What the fuck?! –

Aiden collapsed back horrified and was now ready to throw up, but he held it in. Hooked on the hole, and leading downwards to the actual cavern, was a rusty ladder. Right next to it the Goblins had placed two pool-sized, wooden, tubs. One was filled to the brim with decomposing body parts of creatures that could no longer be identified due to the mucus like substance that was formed and was covering them. The second was not much better, the mix of yellow, green and brown doubled with the nose-numbing stench certainly hinted that this tub was full of the Goblins’ faecal matter.

“I’m not going down there! There is no way! We need to find some other entrance to the caverns.”

Aiden’s muffled and shaky voice made the other two turn around and look at him. They didn’t to like the smell either, but they were handling it way better than the gagging man they were now facing.

“Don’t be stupid, lad. We don’t know where the other entrances might be! The longer we waste in these darn tunnels the closer we are to having our skin flayed and our guts ripped apart by Goblin knives!”

“The old man is right, we need to take advantage of this opportunity, otherwise you better tuck your tail between your legs and run away.”

Duran was a bit disappointed by Aiden’s burst of cowardness, but he didn’t make any further comments, he simply put out the now unneeded lantern and followed Traynor down the ladder. Aiden stayed down for a moment trying to cope with the smell and the atmosphere, he then stood up and carefully climbed down the ladder as well.

The lower he got the more saliva was building up inside his mouth, and not in a good way. Once his feet touched the ground he shuffled around in his back and pulled out a flask containing some strong alcohol. It was supposed to be used as a disinfectant, but he couldn’t care less. Aiden poured some of it on the part of the cloak he was using to cover his nose and then wrapped it around his face, once again. The burning smell of the liquor was enough to ease the reeking of the nearby pools. The other men saw Aiden’s little improvisation and decided to do it as well. Traynor didn’t have a cloak so he took a piece of cloth out of his bag, rinsed it with the alcohol and stuffed it inside his helmet.

“Smart move lad!”

Whispered Duran and patted Aiden’s back. Aiden nodded at Duran and then took a good look around the place. The crooked, crude and wooden structures seemed to go all around the cavern and partially support it. A system of wooden bridges, ladders and platforms hanging was expanding throughout the entire underground and seemingly continued outside of this chamber as well.

“It appears we were lucky enough to find the Goblins’ garbage place first!”

Traynor said that in a sarcastic and muffled voice. Duran rolled his eyes and they all proceeded to go to one of the many ladders and climb up the structure.

-These Goblins must really enjoy climbing…. It’s a wonder they decide to live underground. –

They were soon up the structure and, while sticking close to the wall, they made their way towards the passage leading to the next part of the cavern. As they got closer the smell was getting weaker and weaker, that motivated them to pace through the area quicker than before, reaching the passage in the blink of an eye. Duran then decided to get in front of Traynor and peek into the hole in the wall to see if the area was clear. Behind it there was a better lit and much bigger cavern. It was, of course, full of Goblin buildings, but this time they weren’t just a collection of bridges and ladders. They actually formed houses and shacks, some bigger and fancier than the others. Aiden leaned to get a better look but was pushed down by a crouching Duran. He was about to ask Steelthunder why he did that, but then he heard the voices of two Goblins talking to one another coming from the other side of the hole.

With a gesture Duran informed Traynor about what was happening and they both pressed their bodies close to the wall so that the Goblins could not see them until they had walked through the passage. After a few tense and quiet moments, they heard the goblins’ footsteps get inside the hole and walk towards them. Aiden kept himself behind Duran, but he jumped up a bit when both men dashed like spring powered machines towards the two monsters. Steelthunder’s axe dug through the Goblin’s skull and reduced it to a twitching carcass while Traynor’s sword slashed into the other Goblin’s neck making it fall flat on its face and bleed out.

They all stayed still and listened for a moment to make sure no one else was coming. Then as they crept through the passage Aiden whispered something to them.

“This place seems way bigger than what I had in mind… Are we looking for something specific or are we just going to kill every single Goblin that lives here? Cause, the latter will take some time.”

“We are looking for the leader of this hideout. We’ll kill him and then fight our way out. If we succeed the Goblins will be in total disarray and scatter until they reform some group, possibly far away from here.”

“We’ll also break down their structures and bring the cavern down on their heads!”

Aiden nodded and kept following them. It was true that the number of Goblins was greatly underestimated, but Duran and Traynor were not disheartened at all, their will to show off their skills was too strong for that.

Chapter 4: Through the forest and down a hole.

End