11
Goblin Invasion III
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The silence that haunted them had long disappeared. The final interval of silence which was meant to erode their resistance was replaced by continuous banging on the massive wooden gate. The taunting of those inside rang out, even the side entrance with a small door was being assaulted.
Cackling laughter and howling noises, the creatures had stopped masking their presence. The torture had shifted targets and every person in this church knew what this meant.
Outside, there were no longer any survivors. Alduin felt numb when he realized this. ‘More than a thousand people are suddenly gone.’ He had a hard time coming to terms with this situation. But looking at the others, their current predicament looked even worse.
The tension had risen. The formerly hushed voices had started speaking up slightly louder than before. Especially the priest seemed to be losing his mind. But it was the group searching for a lifeline that looked most dire. Edward and Alphons were surrounded by a few reliable men. The problem was that their sanity was visibly crumbling. The hopelessness had started settling in.
Alduin’s and Leon’s father, as well as a few other middle-aged and older men, were the last ones remaining under this pressure. Even if they looked at the rest of the church, the average person was too old to create an effective survival plan. Which was why the arrival of the young man became that much more impactful.
The young man could no longer be called a boy. Those that saw no hope felt their expressions turn for the worse the longer they listened to his explanation. Was it a rude awakening to their approaching fate? It was hard to tell. The thing they knew, was that this was the only lifeline they could find even after such a long deliberation.
“-If we want to survive. We’ll have to start moving.” Alduin finished his explanation.
The young man had thrown everything off the table, their “realistic” approach of waiting for external aid, reasoning with them, or even waiting things out, everything they came up with was discarded. There was only a small window of opportunity, and judging by the cracking noises of the front gate, things were certain to escalate for the worse.
“Gramps, how about the town map?” Alduin looked at Edward as he nodded.
‘Incredible.’ The old man looked at the kid with sharp eyes. ‘Where did this come from?’ He had always held Alduin in high regard, but this was even more impressive. Following this cue, Edward continued.
“Alphons, everyone, we should assume we’re in the worst-case scenario.” Edward acknowledged Alduin’s perspective. It was a gamble. But when even Alduin’s father remained silent, it was only an indication of how hopeless their situation was.
The map of an oval-shaped town was surrounded by 12 people. It wasn’t a large town, but besides the main roads, some small alleys and pathways were spread throughout the town as well.
Edward’s finger pointed towards the church as he explained, “We are clearly at a disadvantage.” The intense gazes on him made him pause. “But right now we still have one large advantage, we are most familiar with this town.”
This was the point Edward wanted to make clear. “The longer we stay with certain safety, the quicker we will arrive at a certain death.”
***
Small, cramped, and dark. Old stagnant water splashed and echoed through this dilapidated tunnel.
“It smells like a sewer.” A hushed voice couldn’t help but complain.
“We’re almost there.” Another turned around as silence settled once again.
The point of no return was almost in front of them. A thick metallic gate stood in the middle of this tunnel. A route only a few people knew of.
An old key unlocked the gate with a thick clang. The sound echoed through the tunnel. Accompanying the fading echo was heavy breathing, however, not a single splash of water could be heard. The darkness in front of them pushed the tension even higher.
“Looks like we were right.” The male voice sighed in relief. “From this point on we need to be completely silent” The final whisper was followed by the closing of the iron gate.
The church had three entrances.
A massive wooden gateway in front. One that naturally drew all attention. Yet its exit was the town square, which would spell instant death.
Next was at the side of the church, a small but sturdy wooden door. One that had long since been anchored into the building itself. Although escape would be impossible too.
The final was a long-since abandoned passage. A long winding tunnel behind an altar. Small and damp yet closed off from both sides.
The pair had reached the end of this tunnel. The small splashes of water had completely disappeared only to be followed by heavy but silent thuds. A cloaked person had grabbed rusted handlebars and climbed up an anchored ladder.
Not a single sound could be heard outside. Dead silence was the only thing surrounding this place.
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It was an accurate description. For the exit of this tunnel was a graveyard, not far behind the church. Small and large graves were neatly lined up. It was the reason why there were no residences behind the church.
There stood one small chapel, however, not much larger than a person. It was a small stone building with a lifesize statue of a patron saint. And from a hidden gap behind it, a cloaked figure observed the surrounding graveyard for more than 10 minutes.
Any presence would throw their plan in jeopardy. Time was not on their side. Their lifeline became smaller yet it hadn’t disappeared.
The red sky showed it was still night. Only the strange faded streaks of light helped illuminate the surroundings slightly.
Gradually the figure climbed out from the impressively small hole with great effort. Flexibility was required to make this as soundless as possible. And after someone tapped his leg twice two large objects hidden in cloth were passed through the gap.
His breathing turned silent, he now stood in plain sight. Anything could go wrong now. But after he got a clear look at the back of the chapel a second signal was passed. Following this, the last cloaked figure, leaner than the first, was able to climb up.
A defiled graveyard lay before them. Scratches, feces, and blood were spread all over. Even parts of limbs lingered around. In the remnants of this hunt, their gamble for life would be made, a gamble on which every single life would depend. They had decided to forfeit their fake security for a chance to live.
In this absolute silence, the first struggle against fate was held. Two figures moved swiftly through the graveyard, using gravestones as their cover, with hand signals and taps as their means to communicate. The start of their first fight against inevitable doom had begun.
Inside the church, a commotion had died down as well. Humanity, in this small settlement, had completely united.
***
Time passed gradually, the two figures eventually reached the edge of the graveyard with great caution. Now, hidden behind a ledge, they had a clear sight over the road that led towards the town’s bridge.
There didn’t seem to be much movement anywhere. Yet the presence of these creatures was certain. Corpses lay strewn across the road, marked as a place of conquest. Houses were broken into, and the victims closest to them had clearly wanted to escape toward the church. But other than this, not a single movement could be seen.
All was not well however, echoes of clicking noises rang out in their surroundings. Some closer than others. But each one gave rise to chills.
‘They’re scouting.’ Alduin felt comfort yet anguish in his decision. Had they waited any longer it would all have been over.
A nightmare had come to life, the red sky blended into the blood-red pavement. Their home was completely ravaged. And above their heads, an unfamiliar sky continued its rumbling. The root-like lightning still laid across the dome of heaven in multiple directions like a spiderweb.
Alduin needed time to adapt but there was none, the rough breathing behind him was his only comfort, but even she seemed overwhelmed by tension.
‘Are you ready?’ Alduin signed towards the black-haired Ise.
A soft double tap was given on his shoulder as he made a signal towards the church. In response, a small flashing light was visible in the corner of a clerestory.
And like this, the pair crossed the cemetery towards the south and entered the wide but shallow riverbank. Gushing water now hid their presence and they slowly made their way toward the bridge.
***
Impish creatures with large crooked noses, long pointy ears, and a crouching body shape were rummaging through houses and the possessions of corpses. It was a sight all too common in these surroundings. Their green skin was painted with deep red marks of blood that made them stand out in this town.
The more Alduin observed their cackling communication, the more his confidence grew.
And with this, over the next hour, Alduin and Ise had silently moved from under the bridge, to now abandoned houses. Moving from the south of the town towards the east. But in every house they arrived at, they only stayed in shortly. Everything went as planned as they continued moving forward.
A frontal attack would be their death. They could only win in a strategic battle.
‘Danger!’ Ise signaled on Alduin’s shoulder. The tension kept rising as they moved further into the encirclement.
With a thick cloth around their mouth, they kept the stench of this environment behind them. But even now, trying their hardest to evade every goblin scout, they knew something was tracking them.
***
Only a short while after the situation had changed, a howling voice, much like a hyena's rang out through this abandoned building.
A towering red-eyed goblin sat on top of a whimpering wolf. A terrifying beast had been completely subdued as it lowered its body as a muscular creature descended from its back.
From a distance, hidden on a top floor, two humans focused intently on this monster.
It was an accurate description. While most goblins walked on their flat feet, this creature walked digitigrade. Leaning on his toes, his heels never touched the ground. His stature resembled the bow in his hands, ready to launch at any given moment.
From its back hung a wolf’s fur, seemingly mocking the beast it descended from. Through the cloak, its two muscular arms holding the bow gave them an inkling of the strength it wielded.
But unlike the other goblins, this one seemed to have an incredible visual acuity. The grayish pupils present in the goblin scouts weren’t present in this beast. Its two front-facing eyes shone with a blood-red color. Ruby eyes with basalt-like pupils continuously scanned its environment. Much unlike the other beasts, this one didn’t mainly follow its hearing and smell as it observed its surroundings.
Each step from the whimpering wolf echoed through this vacuum of sound. Sharp black nails protruded from its feet and each continuing step left claw marks on the stone pavement.
From its fur clothing, this monster pulled two arrows and readied them on its bow as he fearlessly took strides towards the entrance of the house.
Until it didn’t.
‘Two arrows, it has already pinned down our location and our numbers!’ Alduin panicked slightly. Through a window on the second floor a couple of buildings away he continued his observation.
‘A couple more steps.’ Sweat was pouring down his back as both of them remained utterly silent.
“KRKKKRKKKRKKK!”
A sound impossibly loud suddenly rang out, and the large goblin stopped walking.
Fear rushed through Alduin. Without thinking Alduin had already pushed his body on top of Ise’s and pulled a blanket over them.
‘What?!’ Alduin shivered.
He was certain. The goblin knew. Before he ducked, that creature’s eyes darted on its surroundings and if he was a second late, their eyes would have met.