Luckily by the time he finished meditating it was about time for everyone else to get up and pack everything up. Meditation also helped get rid of the lingering pain from sparring with Abigail last night. Calling it sparring was a stretch since it was mainly him only hitting air and getting slapped by the vile stick she had.

Breakfast wasn’t as fulfilling as the dinner the night before. Everyone ate what they packed beforehand. Thomas had slice of hard bread with cheese, jerky, and a sprinkle of dried herbs. It was still surprisingly tasty meal; the dried herbs made it actually have enjoyable taste. The herbs had a very small healing factor to them, at least that’s what he was told by Tessa.

That made him think about his friend. He would need to go have another tea and game evening with the quirky shop owner. He knew Tessa would try and convince him to try a new experiment like always. Maybe he could collect something for her on this trip. With a sigh he got back to packing away all his gear.

Double checking that everything was packed away, the group headed off. Abigail in the lead heading deeper into the woods. She would occasionally deviate and inspect something in the surroundings. Phillip who Thomas knew was Dawns Horizons scout approached her and asked a few questions.

The morning was uneventful only once were they attacked, and it was some sort of bear that had stone covering parts of it. Abigail for once didn’t have that dreaded stick in her hand but used her sword. The fight was over rather quickly with her dodging a few swipes of its claws. She killed it by doing a clean, accurate stab, piercing its heart.

She only paused long enough to clean her blade before they were moving once again. Thomas noted that the stone bear looked skinny, as if starved. He could only guess that was a result of the goblins.

It was shortly after that when Abigail motioned for them to stop, and she pointed at a tree. When Thomas got close enough to get a clear view of what she pointed out, he saw that it had a symbol carved into it. The same symbol that the shaman had in its possession.

Abigail turned towards the group and spoke. “If I had to guess I would say we are entering the territory of a goblin lord. Based off a detailed map of the region, about two or three hours’ walk from here is an old, abandoned tower. The tower is about three hundred years old and three stories tall. There was an eccentric mage who built it and lived in it. So, everyone gets ready, we may start meeting actual resistance now.”

Thomas asked a question that’s been bugging him since yesterday and seeing the bear made me wonder about it even more. “Why hasn’t there been more mana beasts or monsters? This far in there should be quite a lot.”

Tristan scoffed, muttering barely able to hear “uneducated street rat.” Before speaking up “obviously because the goblin lord has had its minions go out hunting to bring back food.”

Abigail spoke to the group as a whole, “Yes that is typical of what happens when a group of monsters becomes the predominate power in a region. The issue I have is how far out they have hunted; it makes me believe we are walking into a large group. Be prepared everyone. I just hope that they aren’t as active during the day.”

They set off heading in the direction Abigail indicated, the pace was slower than before. The tension was higher than any other point of the trip. As they progressed there were more signs of goblin tracks trailing through the underbrush and that weird symbol. They were carved into more trees the deeper they went.

The closer they got to the tower the more on edge he got. Expecting at any moment for a goblin to jump out from behind a tree. The longer nothing happened the more he twitched at any sound. Trying to calm himself he took a deep breath, it somewhat worked.

Then it hit the group. The smell was putrid, it reminded Thomas of one of his first quests. Clearing the slimes in the sewers of Les, that smell and sights haunted him for weeks. He knew goblins weren’t a clean bunch but being able to smell them this far out meant there had to be a lot. They were still a few hundred yards outs. As they went closer the sound was next. Goblins using their guttural language, fighting each other, and who knows what else.

Finally, he could see a break in the trees ahead, Abigail motioned them to be even more quiet and come closer. Peering through the gap in the trees Thomas saw a literal horde of goblins and hobgoblins. There was a hill with just as Abigail said, a three-story tall tower at the top. It looked decrepit but he also saw repairs that the goblins had tried to do to make it livable. It was clear the only real improvement they made was replacing the door at the base of the tower. It even looked sturdy. The only other noticeable work was stones shoved into gaps in the walls of the tower.

Around the base of the tower was a group of thirty hobgoblins. They had fashioned a sort of makeshift wooden wall and places for them to sleep. It was clear they made it to keep themselves separate from the normal goblins.

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The hobgoblins were wearing a mixed assortment of clothing. Some items were clearly stolen for dead adventurers and pelts from dead mana beasts. The weapons they were carrying also ranged from simple clubs to some using swords.

The group of hobgoblins was one thing but the roughly hundred normal goblins at the base of the hill was another. It was an amount that could overrun a hamlet or small town with ease. Around the base of the hill were small huts that clearly belonged to the normal goblins. Even with it being full daylight out the goblins were mostly active. The fact that they were this active was abnormal Thomas guessed it had to be because of the goblin lord. Most were just lounging around but somewhere doing simple tasks like repairing or building new huts.

The power hierarchy was clear, goblin lord got the tower, hobgoblins got the hill, and the goblins got the base of the hill. Clearly showing who was at the top and who was at the bottom. That wasn’t surprising and that fell in line with what normally happened with any group.

Female and male goblins were both working together, which did surprised Thomas. Normally female goblins would be only responsible for reproduction. Female goblins weren’t the only way for them to reproduce either, they could mate with just about any female humanoid race. Goblins had a fast reproduction cycle, and they could grow in numbers rapidly. The female goblins where normally never given a break from the task. They didn’t even look much different compared to their male counterpart. Besides the female parts that is.

The entire situation in front of him made him realize that the goblins had made a functioning civilization as twisted as it was.

Getting shaken from his thoughts by a hand waving in front of his face. He looked over to see Abigail pointing behind her. The group backtracked far enough that they wouldn’t get noticed or overheard by the goblins. The first to speak was Tristan he said “I know how skilled my team is, there is no way we can take that entire group. We should go back to Les and get a raiding party together then come back.”

Abigail eyed the man and spoke up “No we will handle It by ourselves. I already have a plan. So, are you staying or going?” When she said the last part, she looked at everyone including Thomas.

Tristan and his team looked at her for a moment before they stepped away where they started having a hushed conversation.

Thomas somehow knew that the choice he made right now would change the fate of his entire life. He didn’t know how he knew that. Maybe it was divine influence or maybe just his intuition, but he knew what he decided mattered more than any choice he ever made. Looking at Abigail he noticed she was staring at him with such intensity it almost made him flinch.

Looking up to the sky he thought about what he should do. Letting out a deep sigh he looked back at Abigail, nodding he spoke “I am already here, I will at least hear you out.” Hoping it was the right choice.

The blinding smile he received somehow made most of the fear bleed away.

Tristan and his team approached stopping in front of them with his arms crossed and he said, “We will hear your plan first before we decide.”

Abigail said “Simple we need to thin out their numbers, the biggest threat they have is numbers. First, we give them some bait to chase, and lead them into an ambush. Repeat until we get the goblins down to a more manageable number.”

She looked at Thomas and said “Thomas will be the bait of course; we will need to back track at least a half mile to find a good ambush spot. Just far enough away that even if the entire horde follows most will give up and turn back, but still close enough that some will still follow you. Since it’s daylight out they will be more likely to give up on difficult prey. Once you make it to the ambush spot Dawns Horizon and I will hit them hard and fast. Easy right?”

Thomas shoulders slumped, he guessed that he would be the bait as soon as she mentioned it. Still isn’t comforting that he will have to literally run for his life.

Tristan spoke up “What will we do if the entire horde does chase him all the way to the ambush spot?”

Thomas was genuinely surprised that Tristan didn’t make a comment about him being bait.

Abigail nodded at the question and replied “Simple we hit them hard killing as many as we can before we do a fighting retreat. After we find the ambush spot, we will look for a fallback location that’s at least a mile further away. We will set it up to be able to defend so we won’t get overrun. Mr. Worth, you will be needed the most since you can manipulate earth. We will set up both locations, so we have the best chances of success. That is something you can do, correct?”

A smile appeared on his face as he said “Yes, I can easily create walls to help defend a location. As long as I don’t overdo it my mana consumption shouldn’t be that high either.”

She took a deep breath, she looked at everyone present. Finally speaking saying, “Listen this is bigger than we all initially thought, I swear the guild will compensate everyone and it won’t be a small amount either. So, is everyone in?”

Thomas just nodded but watched Dawns Horizon reaction. He saw the obvious greed on Steven’s face, but it was Phillips’ smile that bothered him. It spoke of something deeper that he was looking forward to. Tristan just nodded, the look on his face didn’t give anything away. Either way all three of the members of Dawns Horizon agreed to the plan.

Abigail turned and looked at him, waiting for his answer.

This would be the most dangerous quest he had ever been on. He hoped that the benefits he would get would be worth the danger. Nine Hells the recognition and boost in reputation he would get for assisting a B-ranked would help his career out. The coin he would be paid would help set him up to get everything he needed if it was as large as she hinted it was. The knowledge he would gain from watching them work would be even more valuable.

He still remember Abigails promise that she would intervene if it got too much for him to handle. With fear raging in his chest made the choice he thought was best. He nodded to himself then with a deep sigh he looked at her. Hoping he wasn’t getting himself killed he spoke.

“I’m in”