Ob stopped walking in his tracks. He had heard something in the bushes; he focused his senses and felt nothing. He was sure that there was something out there waiting for them. Following them. Eclipse looked up at Ob to try to sense what she was sensing, and she noticed the tension that riddled Ob's face. She also sensed nothing.
That is what concerned her, nothing. How could she sense nothing? Even if there are no other beings, she should sense something: the wind, the grass, the trees; although those things are not sentient, they are alive. They should provide something; it was as if her senses were utterly cut off like she was in a void. "Ob," she thought to him alone, "Do you sense nothing too?" He nodded, slowly unsheathing Hades. It was clear he was not okay with this either. "I think we are about to get ambushed." She said to the whole group now.
Everyone paused, got into a stance, and began to prepare for battle. Abigail commanded that Eclipse and Ob move off away from the two of them. Creating a bigger distance between the four that could separate whatever is out there waiting for them.
Just like that, Ob and Eclipse bolted in different directions in a flash. Eclipse flew straight up, and Ob went left, readying his aura for this battle. Eclipse would be the scout from that height. She wouldn't risk using dragon's breath with all this foliage. The group was traveling on what looked like a nature walk. Tall redwood trees stood many feet in the air, they were separated from each other from a reasonable distance. Ivy covered the ground below the massive trees they spread across the ground. On the path the group had been walking on, there was short grass that looked like it had been walked on for a long time. A few paces behind the trees were berry bushes; it was not the right season to bear fruit. They were a deep green with blue streaks in the leaves. The bushes were thick and without thorns; it was an ideal spot to hide if that was what you wanted to do. It houses small creatures from any rain or storms that might enter into this forest. Eclipse, being a dragon of nature, could not destroy it with her fire breath; this left her limited in her attacks. Her fire breath was the most powerful attack she had.
Abigail saw Ob and Eclipse tense up. How strange, she thought; she hadn't felt anything that would cause them to act like that. She looked at Vincent. The look on his face changed all her feelings of safety. Vincent's face looked harsh. He was concentrating. He was trying to sense what was out there, and he, too, sensed nothing. Being a skilled hunter, he knew this to mean one thing: they were being hunted. Once Vincent saw the body language of his group, it all but confirmed it for him, they were going to need to be ready for a fight. He wasn't sure how long. He listened to what Abigail had told the other two and got into his position beside his partner.
"I can't sense anything," Vincent whispered to Abigail, "There has to be a lot of them. They are using a very strong sensory blocker. They would only do that if there were a lot of auras they needed to mask." Abigail didn't respond. She just stared and kept tabs on where the other two went. As their healer, she needed to be sure that they were in her magic range.
The one they called Lord Grinly was upset. They had been spotted; how had they been spotted? How had that Draconian been aware of their presence? He spent a lot of money on that sensory blocker. He was told that it would hide their auras until they were ready to strike. Surely, he is going to have to pay a visit to that dealer once again. No one ever gets the better of the lord of the Maroon Goblins. Maroon Goblins are exactly how they sound; they are a race of goblins that are maroon. Goblins all share the same features, small creatures standing no taller than 4 feet tall. They are skinny, they are ugly. Their faces are all wrinkled with a long protruding nose as if they had been lying their whole lives. Their eyes were sharp yellow, capable of seeing in the dark. Their teeth were all sharp and pointed, and their ears were pointed back towards their head. This specific race of goblins, however, is maroon. No one knows how they turned maroon from the typical green. This tribe of goblins is known to be the most ruthless. They raid, they pillage, they rape, they slaughter, they eat. They are a force that wants to dominate the world. Led by their vile king, the Goblin King is a creature who will eat his subordinates for speaking out of turn. He has murdered his own children in front of the kingdom.
His only remaining offspring is Lord Grinly. Lord Grinly is large for a goblin, as most lords and kings are. His facial features were that of a goblin. His body matched that of a goblin as well; the only difference was he was standing just shy of 6 feet tall. He also wore clothes, while most goblins only wore cloth to cover up their private area; he wore chainmail, with golden plate leg armor and golden boots. He wielded a long sword, narrow but a few feet long. He didn't like fighting, but he was not afraid of getting his armor and sword bloody.
As rightful prince and heir to the Maroon Goblin kingdom, it was his responsibility to lead the troops into whatever war they saw fit. Goblins were the superior species. After all, he thought to himself, everyone and everything shall bow down to us. This was no different. This was a time when he got to prove to his idiot father that goblins can dominate the world. Taking down a freshly minted Draconian and an astrological dragon will surely prove just that.
He sneered. Little pests. They were all little pests. No one understood the immense power that Lord Grinly had. He was strong, he was wise, he was good looking, yet he was told to be a lowly Lord while his father was alive. This will surely give him the crown and a seat on the throne in Crexding. Giving a grin that would give kids nightmares for weeks, full of sharp yellow teeth, he ordered them to begin their attack. "Attack them, knock them out, do not kill, we need to take them to my idiot father and kill them in front of all our people! Victory will be ours!"
With a war cry, a couple hundred goblins rushed out to attack. Hideous screeches and noises came from all directions, and the ambush had begun.
Eclipse dove down to be by Ob's side. It was time for them to fight. Smoke now bellowed out her nose as she was getting ready to start attacking. Claws bared, she landed on two goblins with her front claws, pushing them through their throats, dead in an instant. She threw the goblins at a group, knocking them over and giving her a little more space. She swung her massive tail, striking a few behind her, not killing but doing significant damage. She lunged again, catching one in her mouth, and she bit down hard, crushing the little beast in her jaw. She spat it out and coughed, "ugh, that tasted disgusting," she said out loud. She bobbed and weaved through the horde of goblins, slashing and stabbing. Snatching up some in her mouth and killing them in an instant. She was good, she was efficient, she was prepared to kill all of them if it came to that.
Ob was also doing just fine. As the battle commenced and he saw a group of goblins running towards him, he first thought disgusting little things, then he prepared Hades. With a burst of manna, he pushed out several light bolts. The bolt of lights looked like a crescent off-white blade being thrown in the air. On impact, it would erupt into a small white cloud, dealing significant damage. Each bolt could hit two or three goblins at a time; the small white cloud would hide the next attack coming. As Ob laid out a couple dozen, he watched as the little beasties crawled over their now-dead companions, charging him. He got into a stance for the next wave. He shot one more light bolt, but this time, he followed the bolt and attacked through the small white cloud.
Abigail saw the goblins charge, "Damn damn damn, why goblins, I hate goblins," she cursed under her breath. Goblins and elves are notorious for being enemies; they are weird cousins. It is as if the elves were born of beauty and grace, whereas the goblins were born of ugliness and deceit. The goblins stormed towards her and Vincent, and with several spells, she sent the goblins into many invisible walls. The goblins smashed into them, toppling over; none of these were damage dealing but provided her partner enough time to let loose some arrows. She watched as goblin after goblin fell with arrows in their heads, eyes, chest, or even mouth; how Vincent managed to shoot one in the mouth was beyond her.
She wanted to help deal with the damage; she wanted to help them attack. With a deep, calming breath, she remembered how she felt attacking Ob that one day in the cave; she remembered the rage; she remembered the manna coursing through her veins. She pictured that same thing happening but channeled it into her fingertips and sent them toward the goblins behind her and Vincent. A teal-green haze flew out of her fingertips and engulfed the swarm of goblins behind them; they all started coughing and wheezing. Some immediately dropped dead on the spot, "I-I I DID IT!" Abigail shouted, with a huge sinister smile on her face, "Now, I can do some damage. Give me your best shot, you little bastards."
Vincent briefly looked back and saw the haze; he had to do a double-take. Did that just come from Abigail? Did she finally figure out how to attack and cause damage? "Hell, yeah, Abs," He said excitedly while he continued to fire arrow after arrow at other goblins. "With the bows of the ancestors, fire plenty," he chanted his spell. As he fired that arrow, every centimeter it traveled doubled; one became two, two became four, four became eight, and so on. This effectively eliminated a considerable amount of the goblins in front of them. They were winning. They were beating these goblins.
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Lord Grinly was not happy. Why were his troops worthless? Why could they not take down four low-level bronze-tier pests? Did he, the glorious prince, have to get his hands dirty? Did he, the superior being, need to step in to correct the failures of his troops? No, he thought, I will wait and see. “Here,” he said out loud, "Grow strong, grow big, grow goblin, grow." He chanted a spell that spread across the battlefield. Just then, the maroon goblins all shrieked. They were writhing in pain, but they were growing, growing, growing. The goblins had transformed into hobgoblins, bigger and stronger variants of goblins. Hobgoblins would not be taken down so easily. This shifted the battle. The goblins' levels all increased one tier higher, thus increasing the damage they dealt and reducing the damage they defended.
"Dammit all!" Abigail swore. "We have a problem, hobgoblins are much worse. Come together and form up."
The group all listened. Following Abigail's orders, the four of them were all in a circle now, getting ready to defend their lives. Ob felt his aura in his belly, the dragon's fire. Rather than letting it come out of his mouth, he channeled it into his scythe. He slashed his scythe, and a massive wall of blue fire was released towards the enemies. It engulfed the hobgoblins. They were burning but still walking; all that damage barely halted their progress. Ob knew at that moment they were not going to win this fight, but he was not going down without a fight. He ready his scythe and jumped into a shadow towards his opponents. He started swinging his scythe in a beautiful dance; like a button dancer, he was twirling, slashing, and stabbing the newly transformed goblins with every action. It was a sight to see; the black blade slashing at such speed that it looked like the night sky was trying to attack; each slash, each movement took a hobgoblin's life. Their black blood would spurt out all over as they fell lifeless.
Ob was getting tired, though; his stamina and manna were draining rapidly. With a couple more exhaustive swipes, he heads back to the group to recover and defend a bit more.
Eclipse saw the firewall that Ob had let loose; she saw that he had not done that much damage. That concerned her, that should have incinerated them on the spot. She took a deep breath and told everyone to close their eyes. She used solar Eclipse; the ability was blinding, causing all the hobgoblins to stumble over each other. She then used her ice breath to freeze the ground beneath their feet; once again, they were struggling to keep their footing. Eclipse launched towards them once again, slashing and biting all the hobgoblins in the way. She killed quite a few, but the numbers and their strength were getting overwhelmed. A lot quicker than she had anticipated, they had recovered from the blindness. Disappointed, she headed back to the group to be there to defend. They were exhausted and overran.
Vincent was running out of arrows; he put them down and pulled out his hunting knife. It was about 13 inches long and made of sharp obsidian. It could cut through anything. He went to work, slashing, stabbing, and chopping hobgoblins to bits. The enemy was growing stronger, and the attacks would be doing less damage than they used to. He knew that pretty soon, these attacks would be fruitless. He ran back to the group and would just defend there; he could make a break for it and be successful in running away. He was not going to do that; he was not going to leave his party behind.
Abigail was exhausted; her manna was running very low, and she had to spare some so she could heal them on the off chance they were taken prisoners and not killed. She felt like a failure; she could not successfully help her team and her party defend these goblins. There must be a goblin prince or king here commanding this army. That spell. That spell was way too strong by any of the lower-ranking goblin commanders. That is what changed the course of the battle; that is what took their advantage. She possibly could purge the spell, but that many goblins in that short amount of time would completely drain her manna if she could even do it. The attempt alone would wreck her, let alone if it were to be successful. Her mind started racing. Goblins weren't known to kill on the battlefield. They were known to take them to their goblin city, starve them, torment them, then eat them. She thought their highest rates of survival would be if they were taken, but goblins were proud. They would not accept surrender; they had to take their victims.
"Everyone, listen and listen carefully," Abigail said through dragon speech. "We have to let them take us. I am sure that their commander will make his way out sooner or later. Goblins torture and consume, they do not kill on the battlefield. Unless, we show that we are giving up. We are all low on manna and stamina, conserve the rest and begin recharging it. We are going to be in for a long few days, maybe even weeks. Reduce your attack speeds and let them converge; Ob, does this take much manna to continue to use dragon speak?"
"With the entire group, not that much but still use it. I can communicate with Eclipse though, no matter the distance."
"Understood, they will likely separate us. I am not sure how we can find each other in the city. I would assume that Ob and Vincent would go together then Eclipse and myself would be in our own places. Eclipse, you will be killed first. You probably should retreat into your soul home."
"I will." Eclipse replied, "Ob this will allow me to help you recover in secret more; good luck, my friends. Tell them I left you behind." Suddenly, the eclipse wormhole appeared, and she stepped through, disappearing. Ob's eyes, unbeknownst to the goblins, changed colors to white. He could feel Eclipse in his soul, working to share her magical potential to recover his manna; it was working, and his manna was increasing fast.
As Ob looks on, several nets are launched towards them; in their best acting, the group all get caught under the net. The net was infused with some sort of magic to prevent teleportation; they were trapped, and the goblins were coming.
Lord Grinly was ecstatic he did it. He had successfully taken down the Draconian and his friends. The dragon left, which was a bummer, but that's what dragons do; they abandon people. Why would anyone be an ally of one? It was beyond him. He chose not to think further about the decisions of the lesser races anyway. He ordered his goblins to capture them with nets; it was time for him to become king of the kingdom. This would finally be enough for the idiotic counsel to see how great he is, how great he has always been, and give him the throne.
He walked over to his newly caught prey; it was time to gloat. It was time to inform them of who their conqueror was. He stood over them; why would he kneel to the level of these pests? After all, he was superior to them, "Well, well, well, Draconian," he mocked, "looks like your little dragon friend ran away, left you to die. Serves you right," he spat, "Dragons are vile beasts that don't deserve to breathe the same air that we do. Nasty creatures who think they are superior, yet they are not." He began laughing as the rest of the goblins, the spell wearing off, joined in.
"If you are superior, why did you need an army of 200 hundred to take us down?" Ob asked, pissed off. That comment received a swift kick to his ribs, cracking a few in the process.
"You dare speak to me, rodent!" the goblin spat after kicking Ob in the ribs, "keep talking and I'll break all of your ribs."
"Such a strong goblin," Ob mocked, "talk a big game when his opponent is trapped. Kicking them when you know we cannot defend or retaliate."
"SILENCE!" lord Grinly roared, "I am lord Grinly, the prince of the maroon goblins. You shall show respect, you will not speak until spoken too. Do I make myself clear?"
"This is the behavior of a child, not of a prince." Ob said coldly, looking the goblin in the eyes. He then turned his head as if looking at the prince would make him sick. For that, he received two swift kicks to the ribs.
"I cannot wait to teach you respect, you fool." lord Grinly grinned a snake's grin. "Take them away. Put the men in one group and the elf in another." There was a rumbling noise coming from behind the captured group. Three carts were being pulled by goblins. They locked their captured foes onto the cart and began walking away. They were put in handcuffs. That suppressed the magical abilities of all that were held within them. The goblins took the weapons of the party and put them onto a different cart.
"What the hell was that?" Abigail asked, enraged through dragon speak. "You just made your life, our lives, much harder with that little stunt. What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking," Ob replied, grimacing as the bumpy ride hurt his ribs with every bump. "That he was arrogant and emotional. Emotion will cause him to not think logically. He clearly knows about Draconians. What he should also know is that dragons are insanely loyal. To see the dragon leave, if he was thinking with logic, he had to assume that the dragon would come back to find its ally. Instead he kicked me. Completely forgetting about the dragon that was with us, who is currently recovering and helping me recover my manna."
"That is quite smart actually." Abigail conceded, "We might be able to escape after all."
"We will escape Abigail. Vincent, Eclipse, and I will come and find you as soon as possible. After all, we have an amazing hunter, who is head over heels for you. We will find you." Vincent simply nodded, his eyes filled with fury. If these ugly little creatures touched his girlfriend, he would destroy all of them without remorse. "Keep that rage controlled there, friend. Keep it under control," Ob said to his friend.
"Ob you should know. Elves and Goblins do not like each other. I fear I have less time than y'all do. Escape quickly, kill this arrogant prick, and find me FAST." She emphasized that last word empathically. "Vincent, I love you. I will see you soon. Ob, stay safe and continue to be smart." As she said those words, her cart took a turn, and she was carted off into the dark hole.