Greenways Goblins (Resurrection Quest Book 1)

by Daniel Schinhofen

Harry darted forward, his sword catching the hoblin from the side. A ragged wheezing gasp came from it as it collapsed, and the other one spun around to see Harry pull his blade free of its ally. Taking in a deep breath to yell, it suddenly had an iron-like arm clamp around its neck.

  “No screaming,” Tom hissed in goblin. “We can’t let you warn the others.”

  Struggling against the hold, the hoblin yanked a dagger free from its belt. Dick grabbed its wrist, stopping it from stabbing Tom. With a growl, Tom slammed the hoblin’s face into the wall with all his strength, causing it to lose hold of the blade. The crunch of cartilage and spurt of blood spoke of the damage it took, but it couldn’t scream.

  Dick snatched the dropped dagger, “Turn it to face me.”

  Tom did as requested and Dick stabbed it in the eye. The hoblin spasmed hard, almost squirming free of Tom’s grip, but after another moment, it went limp in his arms. Setting the hoblin down, Tom looked back at Harry.

  “Good,” Harry whispered. “Feel free to toss them into the trash pile. I’ll go scout.”

  “Got it,” Tom said, crossing the room to pick up the other dead hoblin. “See you soon.” Heading back to Dick, he threw the second hoblin over his other shoulder. “Clean me up once I unload these, please.”

  “Fair enough. You’re doing the hard work,” Dick agreed as he followed Tom.

  ~*~*~

  “Is everything okay?” Marie asked when the two made it back to the entrance.

  “No issues,” Tom replied. “Two dead, and no injuries on our side.”

  “Harry’s going in deeper,” Dick added. “Any sign of scouts?”

  “Nothing yet,” Michael said.

  “Good,” Dick nodded. “Hopefully, they’re all in here. Can you set a trap or two right here so we have some warning if there are any out there?”

  “I can do something, but I’m not sure we’ll have warning if we’re even in the first room.”

  “Then try to do as much damage as you can,” Tom suggested. “If one or more die, that will help, too.”

  “I might be able to do that,” Michael said, pulling his bag off. “It’ll take me a little while.”

  “We have time,” Dick said.

  Marie inhaled sharply, “He found a trap.”

  “Is he okay?” Dick asked quickly.

  “I don’t know. I only know that he was in danger and saw a brief snippet of him bending down to look at a tripwire.”

  “He’ll be fine,” Tom said firmly. “He has bonuses for traps.”

  John nodded, “I think Tom’s right.”

  “He likely is, but I don’t like it,” Dick grunted.

  “Do we go or do I set the traps?” Michael asked.

  “Set the traps,” Tom said. “This is his job, Dick. I don’t believe he’d fuck up his first trap here.”

  Dick looked worried, but conceded, “Fine.”

  It took Michael most of an hour to get traps set. To the rest of them, it felt like much longer as they sat around waiting. Finally, Michael stepped away from the entrance. “Okay, I have a two-part trap rigged.”

  “Why are we setting traps?” Harry asked, startling everyone.

  “Fuck,” Tom exhaled, “dude, warn us next time.”

  “I was going to, but that comment deserved a question.”

  “So we can head in with a bit more security,” Dick said. “Marie said you found a trap.”

  “Oh, her spell warns her of that, too, huh?”

  “Yes. I’m glad you’re okay,” Marie smiled.

  “They wanted to rush down there to help,” Tom said.

  “It was a simple trap,” Harry said with a shrug. “I rerigged it. If they try to bypass it like normal, it will go off instead.”

  “What was it?” John asked.

  “Some kind of gas in a glass vial,” Harry shrugged. “Probably a weak poison.”

  “Okay. We’re glad you didn’t have any problems. What does it look like farther in?” Dick asked.

  “The tunnel splits again after that first room. The room to the left almost made me vomit... a bunch of hoblins were fucking in it.” The others made faces, all trying to bleach the mental image of hoblin sex out of their heads. “To the right there was another room on one side. Some hoblins were fighting over food in there. That hallway went on and led to a much larger room. I think their boss is in there, along with a lot of sleeping hoblins. There’s at least one hoblin that speaks common in there. Oh, and I think the farmer tribute is still alive.”

  “David?” Michael asked.

  “Possibly,” Harry said. “Do we go after the smaller rooms with the hoblins or go for the boss?”

  “Either way we’ll have hoblins at our back, won’t we?”

  “Yeah,” Harry agreed.

  “If they will fight each other,” Tom said slowly, “maybe we can use that to our advantage.”

  “You got a plan?”

  “Maybe. We can rush into the fucking room and kill them while they’re unprepared. If a commotion starts, I’ll raise my voice and start shouting things to make anything overhearing us think it’s a dispute over dominance.”

  “You think that will work?” Michael asked.

  “Harry?” Tom asked.

  “The fight over food was vicious. They were using daggers, so it might.”

  “What about that room?” Michael asked.

  “Harry slips in and uses shift blame to get another fight going,” Tom grinned. “We can rush in on them once it starts to ebb. That gives us weakened hobs to kill.”

  “That will put us at a disadvantage to go after the boss,” Dick said.

  “If you take a small rest, won’t that help?” Michael asked.

  “It’ll give me and Marie our spells back,” Dick said.

  “I thought rests helped adventurers recover their health, too,” Michael said. Seeing their puzzled looks, he stumbled but continued, “I remember Charlie saying once that the only reason he had adventured for so long was being able to recover during lulls in fighting when exploring dungeons.”

  “Maybe something else different,” Tom said. “I don’t remember that being a thing.”

  “That would make sense with the lack of healing magic,” Dick said. “We’ll need to rest anyway for Marie and me. If nothing else, we can see about retreating out of the tunnels and camping in the woods.”

  “I can go with that,” Tom nodded. “If things don’t work out, we retreat. If they chase, we use our vials to buy time and thin down their numbers. How many in each of the two small rooms, Harry?”

  “Maybe a dozen each, but no vargrs.”

  “There should only be a single vargr left, plus the greater one,” Marie said. “Unless Tom’s information was wrong.”

  “We can do this,” Tom grinned. “Let’s wipe them out.”

  “Anyone want to add anything?” Dick asked. They exchanged some long looks, but no one said anything. Dick nodded, “Okay then, check your gear. We’re going in.”

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Harry led the way down the tunnels, his friends following a few yards behind him. Marie walked at the back, holding aloft the lantern that Michael provided. The shutter was barely open, giving them just enough light to see by, but hopefully not enough to give them away.

  Harry motioned for the rest of them to wait in the first room where he, Dick, and Tom had killed the first two hoblins while he checked the tunnels again. Back a few minutes later, he gave them a thumbs up and led them farther in.

  The group did their best to minimize their noise as they crept along the tunnel. As they neared the split, hoblin voices echoed nearby. Harry turned left, and the voices grew clearer. Tom was looking a little sick, easily able to understand them. Harry held up a hand, motioning that they should go slow as they neared a hard left turn. Just before the turn he started counting down with his fingers and they all tensed as they prepared to rush after him.

  The noise from just ahead sounded like animals mating. Tom held one axe i
n his right hand, ready to throw it. Michael had an arrow nocked, watching the tunnel behind them. Harry held his sword, as did John, while Dick and Marie were already muttering under their breath.

  Harry reached one on his count, then quickly entered the room. Tom was a step behind, and the others were close behind him. Harry had an idea of the layout and was heading for the closest hoblins. Tom charged in, giving the room a quick scan, then headed to the other side from Harry. His axe flew at one of the two hoblins he had picked out as his first targets. John rushed in, choosing a pair of hoblins near Harry. Dick and Marie cast their jinxes at a pair across the room from the archway.

  The hoblins were taken completely by surprise and had no idea what was happening. By the time they realized they were being attacked, half of the twelve hoblins had already been killed. The remaining hoblins pushed the dead away from them and began to yell for help.

  Tom roared back in goblin as he broke another hoblin’s neck, “Just lie there and take it, you ungrateful wretches.”

  The hoblins kept yelling, but seemed to understand Tom’s tactic when he kept shouting over them. A couple grabbed the few weapons in the room, but they were quickly targeted by Dick and Marie. The fight was over before it even had a chance to start.

  Tom went back out to the doorway and motioned for everyone to stay in the room. Raising his voice, he spoke goblin and laughed. Hearing some hoblins coming, he slapped one hand into the other and snarled, “No, you do as I say!”

  The distant hoblins laughed and turned down the tunnel, heading their way. “One of them want to be like Kek.”

  Tom ducked into the room on one side of the archway and held up two fingers. Harry nodded and took the other side, while the others tossed the hoblins onto each other and tried to hide as best they could.

  “Leave one for us,” one of the hoblins laughed as they came closer.

  “No,” Tom laughed back, “they belong to me now.”

  “Kek will be angry if he hears that,” the hoblins laughed back. Their laughter died when they entered the still room. “Huh?”

  “Hi,” Tom grinned as he grabbed one by the neck and slammed it into the wall.

  The other hoblin gurgled as a sword pierced its lung. Stumbling, it tried to step back, only to fall when Harry tripped it. Tom twisted his arms sharply and the hoblin he was holding fell limply to the ground with a broken neck. The one Harry had stabbed tried to take a breath to scream, but only managed a gurgle as blood erupted from its mouth when Harry stabbed it again.

  Dick listened and shook his head, “No more voices.”

  “Fourteen dead. It’s a good start,” Tom grinned. “Everyone good for the next room?”

  “This is the one I’m not looking forward to,” Harry said.

  “We’ll be there. Remember to vanish if you have to,” Tom said, slapping his friend on the shoulder.

  “We’ll lead the other three by the hand so the light can be shuttered,” Dick said. “That will help us get closer. It’s straight across the way we came and then to the left, right?”

  “Yeah,” Harry said. “Let me get a minute ahead of you before you follow me. Listen for the fighting.”

  “We got it,” Tom said. “This room, then the main room. That’s going to be a bitch.”

  Harry held out a fist, and Tom and Dick fist-bumped him. John followed suit a moment later, and Michael, looking puzzled, copied them. Marie bent down and hugged him, instead.

  “Be careful and stay safe. We will be there to help,” Marie whispered.

  “Yes, mom,” Harry said, rolling his eyes, but smiling.

  When he left the room, Tom began to countdown. While he counted, Tom also looked around, doing a quick search of the room. Dick, John, and Michael joined him, coming up with a small pouch of coins. As he got closer to one, the group reformed at the archway. Extending his hand behind him, he took John’s hand, who held Marie’s hand, who chained to Michael, with Dick bringing up the rear. Finishing the count, Tom left the room, leading the others with him.

  As they approached the original tunnel they had come down, the sound of angry voices could be heard. Tom grimaced as he stopped, “Dick, get up here.”

  “I hear them,” Dick whispered, coming to the front.

  “Take them and go help Harry,” Tom said, handing John off to Dick. “I’ll go deal with these guys.”

  “But—” Marie tried to say.

  “No, Harry will need you all,” Tom cut her off with a harsh whisper. “Go.” Stepping away from the group, he started up the tunnel toward the voices.

  Dick gritted his teeth, “Don’t be an idiot, and catch up to us when you can.” Not giving the others time to think, he led them down the tunnel, heading for the room where the raised voices could clearly be heard.

  ~*~*~

  Tom didn’t look back as he went up the tunnel, not even when Dick called out to him. We need the escape route to be clear. You’ll thank me later, Tom thought.

  “We need to tell Kek the guards missing,” a hoblin was saying.

  “Not missing. We switching,” Tom said as he kept walking.

  “That not what Kek said,” a hoblin snarled. “We found trap at entrance.”

  “New trap, Kek want,” Tom called back as he started to jog up the tunnel. “You no mess it up, right?”

  Tom heard some pained whimpers as he got closer, but no one replied for a long moment. “No…”

  Multiple hoblins, some injured. Good job, Michael. Tom pulled out the acid vial he had. “Why stop?”

  “No, not our fault. Your fault not being there,” the hoblin said, moving to the tunnel entrance. It saw Tom, who was charged at it. “Wait, you not—”

  Tom slugged the hoblin in his way, shoving it aside. When he entered the room, he saw two badly burned hoblins and two more uninjured hoblins. He tossed the vial at the ceiling, breaking it above the two healthy hoblins and showering them in the caustic liquid. Kicking out, he caught the hoblin he had already hit with his booted foot, crunching some of its bones.

  “Surprise, motherfuckers!” Tom roared as he pulled an axe, throwing it at one of the hoblins that had been doused in acid.

  “No!” the hoblin whimpered and took off running for the entrance when its acid-soaked friend fell over dead.

  The two burned hoblins tried to get to their feet, but all they were able to do was roll over. Throwing his second axe, he missed the fleeing hoblin.

  “Damn it,” Tom hissed as he took off after it.

  ~*~*~

  Dick led the others down the tunnel as quietly as he could, wondering if Tom would be okay. The sounds of fighting coming from the room ahead of them increased. The pained invectives and sound of flesh hitting flesh let him know that it was only a fist fight at the moment.

  Pausing a few feet from the door, he leaned closer to John and spoke as softly as he could, “As soon as the noise dies down, we rush in. Tell Marie to use ice burst, but don’t use your sound spell yet. I’ll make them slip. Leave Michael the lantern in the archway so he can guard the tunnel.”

  John nodded and turned his head to whisper to Marie. Marie handed the lantern to Michael, and passed the message along. Dick kept his focus on the sound of fighting. After a few minutes, it was dropping off, and Dick let go of John as he stepped around the archway.

  Dick took in the scene; there were fifteen hoblins in the room with maybe a third of them sprawled on the floor, bloody and groaning. Another group of hoblins stood sneering down at them, obviously the victors of the scrapping. The rest were along the walls, laughing and eating. Dick spoke the words of slip, targeting the group in the middle of the room.

  All the hoblins looked up and saw him, surprise written across their features when the five standing near the beaten hoblins suddenly had their feet sliding out from under them. “Time to die,” Dick said.

  One of the hoblins in the back reached for a bow next to it before pitching over dead. Harry appeared behind it, pulling his sword out of the dead creature.
Dick gave Harry a nod and began to cast jinx ray.

  John entered as lantern light flooded the room from the archway. He stepped swiftly aside, his sword held in front of him. Marie was casting ice burst when she followed him, sending a chunk of ice into the group of hoblins in the middle of the room. It missed striking any one hoblin, but the shrapnel killed the five injured hoblins and wounded the others.

  The four hoblins not caught by the slip grabbed weapons and charged at Dick. One was hit by an arrow from the archway, another by a crossbow bolt from behind, and the third with Dick’s jinx ray. Two fell over dead, but the remaining two continued running. John stepped forward and met one of them sword to sword, trying to stop it from getting past him. The other reached Dick, its large cleaver whistling through the air.