His plan was relatively simple. Three sets of eight guards were split into pairs to patrol the houses and town hall. It stretched them a little thin, but he figured it would work until they could train or recruit more people. Callum would be there for the middle and last shift. It meant he would be missing some sleep, but he needed to ensure that everything ran according to plan for the first night.

Once the first shift was running smoothly, he told them to wake him for the next shift and went to get what little sleep he could. Sleep came easily, as it had for the last few days. Pushing himself to his physical limits helped with that.

Three hours later, he was awoken for the second shift of the night. It was uneventful, something that made for a good guard shift in his opinion, but the hours passed slowly. Callum was hesitant to do anything that would take his attention away, so he filled the shift with walking between the pairs of guards and getting to know some of them a little better.

His questions ranged from asking about their lives before the apocalypse, to what they hoped to get out of all of this. It was a lot of information to remember, but he did his best. Getting people to talk about themselves was the easiest way to engage with them, and he found that it helped to lift their spirits a little.

Throughout the third shift, he repeated the same tactic. Despite the little sleep he got, he didn’t feel very tired. The exhaustion was evident on the faces of the other guards, but from his conversations, they understood that the safety it provided was necessary.

The first night of guard duty was a success, as far as Callum was concerned. It was still undecided how effective it was, as nothing had attacked, but a night where nothing attacked was a good one.

As the sun rose, he started his new morning routine. It was nothing special, consisting of some stretches, and then checking in with the woodcutters as they set off for another day of work. His first real task was to check the meeting point for anyone who had decided to join him.

The Viper's attack was still present in his mind as he made his way to the small park. He saw it as a challenge, that they could claim to be in control of the territory so close to his. A confrontation with them was on the horizon, but he still didn’t know anything about them. Did they have a force that had been clearing dungeons since the first day? Did they have powerhouses that out-leveled him?

The likely answer to both of these questions was no, but the possibility was there. Callum was growing more confident in his abilities, but with few people to judge himself against, he was cautious of growing overconfident.

As expected, the meeting spot was vacant. No signs of civilians or Vipers. He sighed as he turned to walk away, but no luck again. If he had pen and paper he could at least post a sign that told people when to meet him. He stopped with the realization that he had something that might work instead.

He still had the dagger from the first dungeon. It took a little time, but he was able to carve into some wooden benches and trees the time he would be there every day. It would be a sign for the Vipers as well, but they had already found him once before. He would take a few people with him in the future to be safe. His first task done, he jogged the short distance back to the town.

Back in the town, he started gathering the people that he wanted for the dungeon run. It was probably more than necessary, but twelve people in the party would give him some peace of mind. Four were from Joseph’s crew, and six were from the group that had trained the day before. The last two were himself and Sally.

His main job would be to protect Sally. So far they had not recruited any other healers which made protecting her vital. Injuries were inevitable and she would likely be able to prevent any deaths, not that he expected any.

There was still a lack of weapons for everyone that wanted one. Some that stayed in the camp were forced to give up theirs so that the warriors and rogues would have something to fight with. Even more scarce than weapons were shields. Of the six warriors he was bringing, only two had shields. This was partially compensated by two more wielding two-handed weapons.

With the group gathered and armed, they set off for the dungeon. As they walked through the city, many commented on how overgrown everything had become. Even though he had been through these streets just the day before, he could tell that the plant growth had exploded once again. Soon, the city he had lived in would be entirely unrecognizable.

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Once they reached the door to the dungeon, he stopped and addressed the party.

“I have been in two dungeons now, but both I have entered by myself. Honestly, I have no clue what will be on the other side, but from what I can tell, it will be nothing like what the exterior would have you believe. I’ll go in first and see what’s in there. It’s possible that once I enter, I can’t come back out. If I don’t come out in five minutes, I want you to come in anyways. Got it?” Several people nodded, but one of the two teenagers raised their hand. “Yes?”

“What order should we go in?” the youth’s voice cracked a bit, and Callum could see that he had gone a little pale in the face.

“Warriors first, then rogues. The ranger after that, and finally the mage and Sally. Don’t worry. Between all of us, we can take care of whatever is in there.” Callum ended the statement with a smile, hoping to relieve some of the nervousness.

The youth nodded but didn’t seem any more at ease. There was only so much Callum could do to ease them into it. He took a deep breath, opened the door, and strode in.

[Entering: Goblin Encampment]

Inside was a large cavern, nearly three hundred feet to the far wall. The sides extended out another fifty feet on either side of him. The ceiling extended far enough up that he couldn’t make out the top. Where he stood was in near darkness, but the floor at least was mostly smooth. On the opposite side, he could make out torch light, and indistinct goblinoid shapes. Looking behind him, there was no visible exit.

The name of the dungeon was slightly concerning, as it likely meant there was a higher number than he had encountered in the first dungeon. It also explained the torchlight that was there. If there was a higher presence, it meant that he would have to get involved more than he had planned.

He took a few steps forward and stood off to the side to make room for the people coming in after him. He turned so that he could see both where he had entered, and whatever was at the far side of the cavern.

Following his instructions, the rest of the party trickled in. He held a finger to his lips to tell them to keep quiet and put his hands on their shoulders to guide them out of the way. As they gathered, he realized that he had made an error. There was no plan for how they would arrange themselves. It should have been self-explanatory, but it was something he should have thought of before entering.

Keeping his voice as low a whisper as he could, he explained a basic layout of warriors in the front, rogues supporting them from behind, and the ranger, mage, and Sally in the back. He felt confident enough that he would be able to protect them by himself. It was something anyone who had played an RPG would have known, but when it was real life, it was something that slipped his mind.

Positions set, they advanced toward the far end of the cavern. At halfway through the cavern, the goblins on the other side started stirring. The warriors at the front stopped in surprise, causing a slinky effect where people nearly tripped over each other. Another problem Callum would have to solve.

The goblins started forming into loose ranks, and Callum saw that there were many more than he had originally estimated. They formed into groups of roughly ten each, with each group being two ranks deep. A hobgoblin seemed paired up with each group, standing off to the side, serving some role that Callum had yet to figure out. In the back, silhouetted by the torches, he saw a single shaman, based on the robes he wore.

They were armed similarly to the first goblins he had encountered, with some having spears and others having crude swords and knives. The hobgoblins each carried that dreaded double-edged battle axe. In all, there were four groups of ten plus a hobgoblin. That made for forty-five enemies. They were outnumbered nearly four to one. Callum immediately started calling out orders, the time for stealth was over.

“Shield bearers to the front middle. Form a half circle. Rogues prepare to fill in the gaps, look for any exposed weakness. Ranger, mage, Sally to the center, I’ll guard the rear flank. Ranger, save your shots until they get closer, prioritize the bigger ones.” His voice echoed in the cavern. He called orders, but everyone shuffled slowly into position. “Move!” he bellowed, and they quickly shifted into place, stumbling over each other in the process.

By the time he had gotten everyone into a proper position, the goblins had started their charge. It was, at least, in Callum’s favor that their full run was only a light jog for a normal person. The goblins also had no sense of cohesion as one squad pulled further ahead of the others, and all of them left the shaman behind.

The spear goblins collided with the defensive formation first. They were rebuffed by the warriors with shields, but the rest of the first squad flowed around the sides and began the battle in earnest.

Callum watched and waited to see where he would be needed. The warrior's Weapon skill should have helped them, but on the left side, Callum saw that one of them had frozen, faced with a fight for the first time in their life. He dashed over, stopping the blow before it connected, and swiftly ended the goblin that had delivered the strike.

He didn’t have time to say anything, but firmly shook the youth, bringing his attention back to the fight. He stuck around for a few more seconds, helping the man get his bearings before returning to the rear in case any goblins snuck around behind.

The initial skirmish only lasted a few seconds, but it saw all of the goblins and the hobgoblin dead. Sally, proving her mettle, stepped in and healed someone who had taken the hobgoblin’s axe on the leg.

Looking out to the rest of the goblins, Callum saw that they had slowed their approach, and were approaching as one. The first squad had just been a test.