by Scott
“It’s a doorway to the endless hells,” one bandit muttered.
Carefully, the hobgoblin backed away from the passage’s mouth. Saeter’s words had struck a chord with him. He still hadn’t gotten used to being trapped in the forest with all the terrible things that lived there, and those dark roads didn’t sound any better.
Saeterhad everyone pull out of the cavern. They were all exhausted, but no one wanted to spend another night out in the forest. So after a brief discussion, they decided to try to meet up with Red Dog. Since they had no wounded, Saeter thought they would be able to catch up.
Between the fast pace they set and the fact that it was faster moving downhill, they managed to rejoin the rest of the bandits halfway down the road back to Herad’s base. Red Dog was glad to see them return and to hear news of the troll’s death. If Saeter had failed, not only would he have an angry troll to deal with but an angry Herad as well. In the North, more numbers were always welcome; the roads were far from safe. It was entirely possible another troll could show up or even something worse, like bandits.
All together, the old hands, new recruits, and former deserters arrived at the camp before dusk. Nothing of note happened on the rest of the journey, and no one else got themselves killed. Some of the deserters seemed unsure of the reception they would receive, but everyone was glad to have reached safety.
Saeter looked a little hesitant to enter the camp though. He kept throwing looks back at Erissa, who had been staying close to him ever since he returned. When everyone else entered the camp, Saeter held himself and Erissa back and stayed on the road. He was scanning the entrance to the camp as if looking for something.
“What are you doing, Saeter?” Red Dog yelled.
“Nothing, be there in a second,” Saeter replied. He then whispered something to Erissa and pulled her over to a group of bandits loitering down the road. He called out to one of them. “Efra, you owe me a favor.”
A bald woman with squinty eyes looked up. She frowned at Saeter as he walked over. “What’s this about? You may have pulled me out of the way of that mimic, but that don’t mean you own me.”
“You’re heading to town, right?” he asked her.
“Yep, in a bit anyway. Why?”
“I want you to take this woman with you. She’s my spoils, and I want to make sure she gets to Riverdown unmolested,” he told her.
“Why can’t you take her?”
“I just got back, and I have to report to Herad,” he explained.
“Wait a second, Saeter. I’ve been walking all day. Why can’t I rest here overnight, then you can take me back yourself?” Erissa asked the old scout as she moved closer and hugged his arm.
Saeter threw Erissa a distracted look before turning back to the other woman. Efra looked confused. She obviously didn’t understand what he was thinking, and Blacknail didn’t either.
“If that’s what you want, then I guess I owe you that much,” Efra told him.
“It is. Just make sure she gets there safely,” Saeter replied.
“She’ll get there if I do. I can’t do more than that,” Efra said with shrug.
“Why are you trying to get rid of me so suddenly?” Erissa asked with a bewildered expression.
“Now, this is for your own good. Do you really want to stay out here when you could be getting back to safety?” he asked her.
“Well no—”
Blacknail’s master cut her off. “Good, stay here and stick close to Efra. She’ll get you there in one piece. I have to go report in now, but it was a pleasure.” Saeter spun around and walked swiftly away.
The attractive woman could only gape in astonishment as her lover left her so suddenly. Blacknail didn’t know what was going on, and he didn’t really care. He just followed Saeter like always.
When they caught up to Red Dog and the rest of the party, they were standing before Herad. She must have had word of their coming and wanted to show off, because the bandit chieftain was at her most intimidating. Saeter and Blacknail quietly stepped up beside Red Dog.
Herad’s cold dark eyes malevolently swept over the deserters. They cringed under her attention, except for Mahedium, who seemed relaxed and unworried. Herad’s eyes lingered on the mage and his staff for a few seconds before she moved on. She looked as though she was trying to choose which one of them to make an example of, or someone to make a meal of. She was dressed in her usual dark leathers, and a black cloak was draped over her shoulders. Even more knives than usual were holstered about her person, and her long sword was sheathed at her hip. She sneered at them.
“These are the fools who thought they could set themselves up in my territory?” she asked Red Dog.
“Yes, this is them, boss. There used to be a few more of them though,” he answered.
“If they were anything like these scum, they weren’t much of a loss anyway.”
“Well, their boss was a Vessel, but also an arrogant prick. With you around, he would have just been a waste of Elixir anyway,” Red Dog replied.
“I see.” Herad turned away from the deserters. The bandit chieftain gave Red Dog a curious look before facing the deserters again. The mention of a Vessel had surprised her. “It seems you scum are in luck. We’re currently in need of some new grunts. Otherwise, I would just have useless shits like you killed. Instead, you’re now the lowest of my lackeys. Now swear obedience to me and we’ll see if you survive the month.”
Herad had each of them take a simple oath of obedience. When that was done, one of her men took the recruits away for inspection and billeting. Her eyes flickered over Mahedium again as she watched them leave.
When they were out of sight, she turned back to Red Dog and Saeter. “Report now. How did you two manage to run into both a Vessel and a combat mage?”
Saeter scowled at her tone, and Red Dog winced.
“They were both just part of the deserters you sent us after,” Red Dog explained.
“What happened to the Vessel?” she asked.
That was when Blacknail saw his chance. He stood tall and pointed at himself. He was so excited he was almost bouncing. Now, it was finally his chance to impress Herad! “I did it! I killed-ss the big leader man. I scared the other men so badly they gave up! Was all me.” As an afterthought, the hobgoblin added, “Helped kill the troll too, by doing what master told me.”
Herad frowned at him, then turned to Saeter and gave him a questioning look. She clearly didn’t believe the hobgoblin.
It was Red Dog who answered though. “It’s sorta true, boss.” Red Dog then gave a detailed report of their mission.
When he had finished, Herad looked somewhat impressed despite herself. “Well you two certainly earned your pay this time. Especially that hobgoblin of yours, Saeter.”
The hobgoblin was confused by her choice of words and frowned. Pay was those shiny things a lot of the tribe had, right? “I don’t get paid.”
His reaction made Herad laugh at him. That didn’t make the hobgoblin feel any better.
“I suppose you don’t, but that’s fixed easily enough. From now on, you’ll get paid a grunt’s share of the profits. Oh, and Blacknail, since you call Saeter master, you can call me mistress,” she told him with an arrogant smile.
“Yes, mistress,” Blacknail replied as he lowered his eyes and assumed a submissive posture.
Saeter looked surprised. It was unlike Herad to voluntarily part with money. Red Dog sighed, but it was a resigned sound instead of an argumentative one.
Blacknail was happy at the praise but still more than a little confused. He liked coins but wasn’t sure what he would do with more of them. He already had borrowed or picked up quite a few of them, and squirreled them away in various hiding spots with the rest of his shiny things.
Herad dismissed them, and they headed off to their respective campsites.
Saeter had a thoughtful look on his face. “I suppose if you’re drawing pay now, then you’re a full member of the band and not my servan
t anymore, Blacknail.”
“He is at that,” Red Dog muttered.
Blacknail felt a mix of emotions rise up into his chest. It felt a bit like gas. He had done it! Herad had accepted him as a member of her tribe. Apparently that was what getting paid meant. Coins were obviously some sort of measure of status among humans. Blacknail was going to have to make sure he hid his away carefully, somewhere no one would ever find them.
On the other hand, his rise in the tribe seemed as if it was going to change his relationship with his master. That thought made him uncomfortable.
The nervous hobgoblin turned to his master. “I am always-ss your servant.”
“Not anymore. Now you’re my subordinate. Don’t worry, it’s much the same, just more work,” Saeter told Blacknail.
Blacknail blinked. He wasn’t sure if his master was being serious. Before he could ask his master anything though, Red Dog interrupted their conversation.
“I’ll see you two around. No offense, Blacknail, but I’ve had enough of trolls, hobgoblins, and whatever for quite a while. Yep, I’m looking forward to some uneventful rest away from every sort of forest critter imaginable,” he said as he walked away from them and toward his tent.
Before he got more than a few feet, there was a rustling sound from a nearby tent. As everyone looked at it, a goblin burst out with dagger in his hand. It ran out in front of them, stopping only for a second when it saw Blacknail. Its eyes went wide and it dropped the dagger. It then scampered off behind another tent. No one said anything.
Seconds later, a worried-looking Varhs ran up to them. The young scout who had helped Saeter with Blacknail's training was about to say something when he saw the dagger on the ground. After picking it up, he turned to them. “Did you see which way my goblin, Scamp, went?”
Red Dog was twitching. He stared at Varhs with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. His face was growing redder by the second. Before Red Dog could say anything, Saeter turned stiffly and immediately walked away. He clearly had decided he had somewhere else to be. After a few seconds, Blacknail followed him.
There was another goblin running around his camp! This was his territory. Varhs should have asked him before bringing in a goblin. He would have to show both the goblin and Varhs who was in charge! Right now though, sleeping sounded like a good plan. He had been walking a lot lately.
Tired, Saeter and Blacknail headed back to their campsite. Blacknail was already scheming about how to capture the other goblin and make sure it knew whose territory this was. When they got to their campsite, they were surprised to see a second tent set up beside Saeter’s. Blacknail had yet to unpack the one he had won from the deserters.
“Oh hey, you’re back,” a cheerful voice called to them.
The old scout and the hobgoblin looked over to see Khita approaching them.
“Whose tent is that?’ Saeter asked her suspiciously.
“It’s mine. Vorscha said she wanted some privacy with Geralhd, so she got me a tent of my own and told me to set it up here,” Khita replied happily.
Saeter groaned, and Blacknail hissed. Yes, when he woke tomorrow, he would definitely have to do something about all the annoying little things running around the camp.
Part 4: Playing With Fire
Chapter 29
Blacknail was walking through the woods at the edge of Herad’s camp. He had gone out to empty the rabbit snares and reset them, as he did almost every day. Today though, he felt a cold shiver run up his spine a few minutes after entering the forest. The days had grown shorter and colder recently, but that wasn’t what had made him shiver.
Blacknail felt eyes on his back. Something was stalking him. His ears twitched ever so slightly as they detected the faintest hint of noise in the trees behind him. Make that at least two things that were stalking him. He was careful to act normal, and not reveal his awareness of the watchers, as he continued to the traps. As he walked, Blacknail subtly scanned the forest around him.
The plants had grown throughout the year and reached their full height now, and most of the flowers had disappeared as well. Here, in the sunnier part of the woods, the taller plants reached up to his chest. Their once-colorful summer blooms had withered and been replaced by hard black seeds, or white fluff that took flight when the wind blew through the trees. Autumn had crept up and stealthily disposed of summer when no one was looking.
Of course, not all the changes were bad. The trees had begun to bear fruit and nuts. Those new treasures were hidden among the green branches of the forest canopy.
The hobgoblin had been completely unaware that food even grew on trees. The idea sounded silly to him. Wasn’t food supposed to be harder to get? Now all he had to do was climb a tree, which was something he had recently gotten good at.
When Saeter took Blacknail out to hunt or track, he would show him which fruits and nuts were edible and how to harvest them. Being a hobgoblin, there were many things that Saeter wouldn’t touch that smelled delicious to Blacknail. Unfortunately, just because something smelled delicious didn’t mean it wasn’t poisonous. Blacknail had learned that the hard way, after a night of fever and vomiting.
Blacknail approached the snares carefully. He was listening for any hint of movement behind him that would reveal the positions of his stalkers. He frowned in concern when he didn’t hear anything. He knew they were there… somewhere.
Quickly, Blacknail gathered up the carcasses and started heading back. Around halfway there, he entered an area of the forest where the canopy was especially thin and the forest floor was bathed in sunlight. The animal trail Blacknail was following wound forward through a small field of tall weeds. As soon as he entered it, the hobgoblin purposely slowed his pace. When he was sure he was out of sight of any watchers, he ducked into a small depression where the weeds concealed him. It was time to turn the tables on his pursuers.
A few minutes passed as he waited. The only noise was that of morning birds singing, then the shrubs rustled ever so slightly in the direction Blacknail had just come from. He tensed as he heard footsteps. His stalker was approaching!
Eager energy burned through him, but he patiently waited until the source of the noise had moved past him. Then he burst out of concealment and sprang toward his pursuer’s exposed back. As he leapt, his jagged claws closed around the back of Khita’s shirt collar, and she let out a high-pitched screech as she jumped into the air.
She squirmed and struggled to escape his grip for a few seconds. Blacknail had to brace himself to keep his hold. He was stronger than her, but their weight was almost the same. She calmed down after a moment when she threw a look over her shoulder and realized it was him. The young redhead flushed in embarrassment as she turned around and gave Blacknail a nervous look.
The hobgoblin frowned in disapproval as he held her. “Master Saeter told-ss you not to go into the forest alone.”
Most people found his hissing scary, but this insufferable female just found it “sharp.” She gave him a guilty smile and shrugged in a way that suggested she was trying to act composed.
“I wasn’t alone. I was with you… sorta,” she replied dismissively. “Besides, I was bored and thought a walk sounded like fun.”
“You’re stupid. You know the forest is dangerous—master Saeter has shown you. Still-ss you try to sneak around by yourself. You are not very good at it, and will die,” he replied accusingly as he continued to listen carefully to his surroundings.
“I’m used to danger, and I’ve got my sword here anyway,” she told him as she pointed at the blade at her waist.
Blacknail released her collar and continued to frown at her. Stealthily, he drew a stone from one of his pouches. “A sword won’t keep you safe here.”
He withdrew his sling and placed the stone in it. Blacknail then took the rabbits he had tied together and thrown over his shoulder and dropped them on the ground at the edge of weeds. Khita frowned as she finally noticed his odd actions and distracted manner. Before she could say anything
, Blacknail spun and whirled the sling in his hand. A whistling sound filled the air as he sent a stone flying into the leaves of a nearby tree.
Twigs splintered and cracked as the projectile tore through the branches, and a high-pitched squawk quickly followed. As Blacknail and Khita watched, a small cloud of feathers and leaves fluttered from the tree, and a large harpy took flight from where it had been hiding.
The grey-feathered creature was almost the size of Blacknail or Khita and had a truly impressive wingspan. It screeched and gazed at them with its hate-filled black eyes. The flapping sound of its wings filled the air as it fought to gain height. A surprised Khita took a step backward and then another one behind Blacknail.
As the harpy screeched again, it’s eerily human-like mouth revealed its long needle-like teeth and the black feather crest on its head straightened to its full dramatic height. The enraged raptor hovered in the air. It seemed to be preparing to dive bomb them.
Blacknail let out a deep menacing growl and stretched himself to his full height. He opened his mouth and flashed his own impressive teeth at the harpy. The stupid ugly bird-thing didn’t scare him. He was no longer a small, weaponless goblin.
The harpy eyed him carefully, then apparently decided this was a fight it didn’t want to pursue. With one last squawk, it took off and vanished into the forest canopy. Khita let out a relieved sigh.
When he was sure the harpy had disappeared, Blacknail turned toward her. “You’re not a sneaky human. Ugly harpy followed you and wanted to eat-ss you. It knew you were a stupid brat and was waiting for you-ss to make a mistake.”
Khita grimaced as she looked at the ground. She avoided his eyes out of embarrassment. “Creepy bloody things with their damned human faces. I could have taken it though.” She looked up and scanned the canopy.
“You see those claws? They’re like-ss knives and very sharp, no?” Blacknail asked her condescendingly.
The hobgoblin then drew another stone. This time he whipped it by hand into the bushes beside where he had dropped the rabbits. There was a yelp of pain, and Blacknail pounced toward its source. Khita flinched and gasped at the unexpected, quick movement. She was still high-strung from the last surprise.