I stepped over to the cooked food by the fire. Grabbed some meat and began eating. I was hungry, and I ate a few large chunks of ogre if I had to guess. Tasted great to me. When I was done I saw Bella saying goodbye to Velia, Pipi, and Donnie. I went over and said my goodbyes as well.
I was tired and feeling fatigued from the fight earlier. I figured the massive amount of food was also adding to my need to slumber. I walked around with Bella on my arm for another hour. Helping get to know people and solving minor problems. By the time we entered the Inn, it was dark. Some circles had formed on the Inn floor as people talked in groups. We passed them with good nights and walked down to the basement. Once in the room, Bella snuggled with me and we drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER 9
Morning sex with Bella was amazing. She took control, got on top slowly to fit me in, and then rode me eagerly to climax. I lasted three times until I exploded inside her. I wanted to go another round when there was a soft knock at the door. When I opened it no one was there.
The small landing in front of our door was stacked high with Bella's stuff from Lakeland. It took a few trips back and forth but I had her stuff moved in. At the top of the stairs in the kitchen was even more of Bella's things. How much did this girl bring with her? I lugged all those chests and crates into our room. Bella, of course, was giddy and started to unpack. She would be busy for a long time without servants to help her. I was content to see her working here instead of the fields. At the end of her stuff, I found my new armor in a crate.
I went through the process of getting fully armored up. My sword and shield were also there and I equipped my weapons. I was ready for battle. Bella ran up, kissed my cheek, and wished me luck. I exited the Inn to the early dawn morning and strolled to the fire pit. Without Donnie around, I was in need of a lackey. Fortunately, I spotted Nate eating a smelon by the fire.
“Morning my lord. These smelons are so damn good. We get the mage grown kind in Lakeland and they do not taste the same. You look ready for battle, shall I gather the men? More came in yesterday should have at least ten to go out with now.” Nate said between bites.
“Yes, have them ready for action. The griffins informed me of where the ogre had a goblin nest beside him. We are going to cleanse it and get the parts for profit. Should be a nice cave crawl, no orcs or anything bigger to be expected. Never know though. I want to be marching within half an hour.” I said to Nate as I reached the pile of fruit and picked out a ripe one.
He got up from the log slowly and walked to get the men. I proceeded to dig into a smelon myself. I grabbed a meat snack or three for a trip to the northern fields. I wanted to check on the animals and I had been meaning to visit. I crossed the path between the rows of carrots at a trot to get another feel of my armor. It felt great, and was hardly noticeable. Hopefully, it helped with the fight today. I really didn't want to experience being nearly clubbed to death or a pike to the ass cheek again. Any protection was better than fighting in clothes meant for court politics.
I passed the thin pines that separated the west and north sections and saw the few barns of Fernlan. They were in awful shape. Someone had done a quick patchwork to the fencing of one of the pens. As I got close the wolves howled. The pack raced towards me in defiance. When they smelled the meat I was snacking on they stopped yipping and quieted.
“Sit!” I commanded.
One of the older pups placed her butt down with a rapidly wagging tail. The rest blankly stared at me. I tossed the little lass a piece of the meat. As she ate the rest of the pack sat. Too late. At least a command and response had been established.
I moved on from the wolves. They would need more work before I took them into combat. I viewed the duck pen and saw they were comfortably nesting behind an enclosure. They had clean water and some veggies to eat. To the left of the ducks were the runtlets, most were resting peacefully, a few burrowed for food. Whomever was in charge of these pens and stables knew their stuff and was managing the animals well.
Strange noises erupted from the only standing farmhouse. I hesitantly approached the building with caution. As my footsteps creaked from the wooden patio the ruckus stopped. Curiosity overwhelmed me and I opened the door expecting to find the caretaker in distress. Instead, I sprung free all the monox. Three dozen of those little fuckers bolted past me in a hurry. They vacated so rapidly I stood there like the giant idiot I was. Great, exactly what I shouldn't have done. I didn't have the time or effort to round them all up so I decided to let them remain free. Figured the monox were partially domesticated and some would stick around for easy food. I was right on that account.
One of the smaller monox used its tiny claws to climb up my leather, and down my arm. It tried to steal the little bit of meat I grasped in my fingers. Before I could be robbed I tossed the food in my mouth and the monox turned to glare at me. I broke a small piece off and held it by my shoulder. The monox perched on the shoulder and got the treat. I checked and saw it was an adolescent female based on its size and lack of balls.
Her fur was a light brown with tiny black stripes in it. Her eyes were orange, and her ears had white tips on them. When I left the disaster of three dozen monox roaming the fields she stayed on my shoulder. Well if the creature stuck with me to the barrier I would have to name it. I went back to the fire pit and saw two groups awaited me.
Nate and nine other men dressed for battle waited beside four monox eyeing meat sticks. One of the many people whose names I did not know was managing the fire, food, and snacks. I told them to feed the little guys and grabbed two more things of meat. One for me and one for my shoulder friend.
I went over to Nate and watched as he double checked all the other soldiers. Giving those inspections was probably my job but I let Nate handle it. He had far more experience than I did. I was not about to be one of those know it all leaders who knew very little in actuality.
“Listen up. If you want to attempt to pair with a monox give it a go. As of today, they are free roaming, figure some will wander off but it beats trying to constantly keep them penned in where they are useless. After you are certain you are ready to go, meet me at the western gate. It is where the creek meets the barrier over there.” I said and walked that way.
I did a quick check of my items. No pikes, or greataxe today, I had the sword, shield, and dagger. I wanted to keep it basic for the first time in my new armor. I was confident I was more prepared than normal when I arrived at the western gate staging area. It would be nice to get a bench out here. Added to the to do list. A griffin soared over to the spot where the map was etched into the ground.
“Greetings Earl Gryff, I am Traz mate of Dina. I have done the recon for the last hour. The path to the goblin and ogre caves is clear. A few goblins went to the fish lines recently but have since returned. If anything approaches your position I will let you know. I am off to get a quick bite to eat before you leave the barrier.” Traz said and leaped into the air toward the fire pit.
“Never gets old seeing them get so close to men. Let me do some introductions.” Nate said as he and the group approached.
“You met Frank and Carl. This is Brad of Lakeland, Joey, Markus, Derak, Brad of Riverbend, Walt, and Kyle. We all have some war experience. Some of us are getting back into things, some had been into the wild lands. If you have any questions now is the time to ask. We all have a bow, short sword, and a few choose a shield. Walt and Markus have recently bonded with monox.” Nate said.
I had almost forgotten about the little monox on my shoulder. She sat so calm and quiet. Deb that was her name, short for Debbie. Little Deb ate a hunk of meat and relaxed while I carried her around.
“Welcome to war camp Fernlan. I have some things to divulge before we get started. I have the purple aura and can talk to griffins. Surprise!” I heard some mutters of purple aura, but for the most part, there were somber faces. “My battle skills are awful, I have never trained with any of the weapons I use. Yet I make up for
it in raw power, dexterity, and to some extent, luck. If we are going into combat together you should know my strengths and weaknesses. I am in overall command but if you have something to say or some experience where I don't, feel free to give input. Outside the barrier, I am Gryff or Sir, you can save the lordly pleasantries for inside the barrier. The griffin you saw take off as you arrived was Traz, he said we are clear getting to the goblin cave and ogre cave. If he sees any movement from there or from the outside coming toward us he will notify me.”
They looked ready to go so I passed through the barrier and walked down the creek. When we got close to the site of yesterday's battle Deb perked up. Interested in something, not warning or scared. I saw some of the freed monox had arrived out here and we're eating the remains of gore that had been left behind. I wondered when Count Conway had fed these little guys last.
We got to the river and I waded in.
“My lord, were you planning on crossing the river by swimming? Not all of us can swim, those that can would not do so in our armor.” Frank said.
Seven hells, I had not thought about that. I asked for a rope and got one from Kyle. I had him hold one end and dove into the water. Swimming in armor was much tougher than walking in it. My strength and excellent swimming skills got me across though. I tied an end of the rope to a tree and gave a good yank. It was secure, Nate and the rest of the men on the other side stared at me dumbly. As if I was insane to swim in armor across a river with decent flow. Kyle tied the other end onto a tree on that side. The men entered the water and death gripped the rope as they progressed across the river. I took the time to check the fish lines while I waited. Only one had a fish on it. I took it off the line when Deb jumped onto the ground and tore into the fish. It was dead almost instantly. Two monox raced across the rope in a hurry to join Deb in the mini feast. I was a bit disappointed because I wanted the fish but apparently, the monox were starving. I plopped down to watch them eat as the last of our group crossed the river.
We wrung the water off our clothes and poured out our boots to get as dry as possible. Someone grumbled about a bridge and I laughed. Not going to happen. At least not any time soon. The monox cleaned the fish to the bone, Deb gave a burp and then got back on my shoulder. She patted my head in thanks for the fish. It was creepy and weird. Oh well. Vin was unique.
I took point and lead us up the goblin path. It was well worn from them checking the lines often. There were no attempts to hide where they came from. It took about fifteen minutes of walking when the caves came into view. I did a quick check with Traz and he informed me the area was quiet.
“I will go into the ogre cave first, see if anything is worthwhile or ensure there is no mate there. Once that is done we go slaughter some goblins. If you cannot kill goblin children time to swim back to Fernlan because things are going to get savage. Wait for me.” I said.
I figured checking the ogre cave was vital to do before getting bogged down in fighting. It would be disastrous to have a female ogre attacking our back lines while we fought goblins. I approached the ogre cave with a crouch walk. I knew I was lacking in detecting things so I paid attention to Deb who was at ease.
The moment we entered the ogre cave a foul stench overwhelmed me. There was the rotting remains of a young war boar sitting by the entrance. Further back was a sleeping area and then some clubs propped against the wall. A pile of bones sat under the dead war boar. A few looked to be from a goblin, a deer, and even some human bones. There was a single sword that had been bent almost in half. It was the only thing I found of value. At most, it could be forged into tools or something useful. I left the cavern and rejoined the men. I tossed the sword on the ground where we grouped. Start of the loot pile.
“Okay ogre cave is clear. How do you want to tackle the goblins, the griffin’s estimate they number close to a hundred? It should be a tight quarter to fight in, but it is goblins we are talking about. Any thoughts?” I asked.
“Goblins never fought on the line or in battles besides in the back doing servant type work. They were always easily run down. In a narrow cave like this I would probably stick the strongest warrior in the front to trample them down. Between the enclosed space and easy opponents, there is no grand strategy here. I would guess the cavern splits at some point and we guard the main exit. It should be easy enough. Maybe next time bring a healer and do not forget your torch if you are going into a cave. I brought an extra torch, here you go,” Nate said and handed me a torch that burned with fire magic.
That was dumb of me to forget, I knew I was going into a dark cave. I also realized then that I probably needed to find a third healer, one who signed on and was willing to travel across the boundary. Jak was a bit of a coward, and he was not hired to go into combat so I had little room to demand he fight. Or bribe him into being a combat healer.
I thought over our options with this cave. I did not see many, at most we could lure a few of the brave ones out but then the element of surprise would be gone. I was tired of getting scolded for my impulsive charge in with no strategy behavior but that is probably what worked best here.
“Okay here is the plan, we sneak in. Once combat starts, we need to be loud and violent. Spark fear into these goblins until they piss themselves. Then we butcher them all. Try to save the heads and hearts from damage. If not oh well. Living comes before profits. Follow me.” I said.
Deb hopped off my shoulder and got on a branch as if she knew what was about to happen. I adjusted the strap of the shield and tightened it. The torch had a wrist strap that I fixed to my left wrist. My right hand was free to swing while my left deflected and provided light. I jumped a few times and psyched myself up to get my blood flowing. I did a quick stretch then burst from the bushes toward the cave. The scuff of my feet was the only audible noise as I darted across the clearing. The dirt path gave way to the cavern mouth. Off to the sides, you could see where freshly dug dirt had been tossed.
It was eerily quiet as I entered the dark tunnel. My torch flickered light as I sped down the narrow path. I was too tall for this goblin tunnel and I was forced to hunch over while I ran. I turned a bend and knocked a female goblin under my feet and kept going. I didn't slow, letting someone from behind me dispatch her. I ran down the largest tunnel past a few smaller offshoots.
I entered a spacious cavern where it looked to be the main home of the goblin settlement. It was tall enough for me to fully stand. There was a small fire in the middle. Some goblins slept on the ground, others fucked on a log. Some were doing chores, but they all turned when I gave out the loudest war cry I could. The female goblins went full panic. One even ran into the fire. The children goblins made for the exit and the male goblins pushed both the women and children down in an effort to escape.
I went to the fire first and killed those that were waking. The initial goblin was confused at the commotion when my sword removed his head. I went to the next goblin and sliced open his belly. The third I cut down the shoulder into the chest. So it went until they rallied a defense. I had killed at least ten, and the others with me had cleared half the room. A dozen male goblins had grabbed weapons. With backs to the wall, they faced us.
I turned from my slaughter and moved to the right side of the enemy line. I needed to close the gap before the few archers could stick me with arrows. The goblins charged at me from the left flank as I rushed the right. My shield deflected a pike, my armor saved me from a nasty slash. I reached the first goblin and used my momentum to shoulder check him.
The goblin flew into the wall, his head snapping back with a sickening thunk as brains spilled from the savage impact. I turned on those encircling me. I was on the defensive, it was hard to counter-attack when I was being stabbed, poked, and kicked by ten goblins. My armor repeatedly saved me from injury as the weak goblins got past my poorly skilled guard. I was saved from the increasing pressure as half a dozen men crashed into the backs of the goblins. I lunged forward and gutted one that had become distra
cted. I hacked with a final swing dismembering a leg and finished the nasty creature with a sharp thrust to the neck.
Five men held the tunnel entrance while the goblins were slaughtered. Some tried to run but there was nowhere to go. The remaining goblins cowered in a corner, pleading in a gutterish speech. There would be no quarter though.
I rejected my human empathy for the weak and defenseless. I buried it deep in my soul. I hacked the rest of the ugly little green creatures until the cave ran red with blood. I was not alone in the slaughter. As we killed those who tried to plead with us some broke off and charged the five guarding the exit. In the end, nothing worked for the goblins. At least I could say they died quickly.
I sat on one of the logs and caught my breath. Some men joined me while others piled the bodies.
“My lord, we have a few sacks between us but they are mostly full of gear for just in case scenarios. The loot here is great, but we have no bridge and no way to get a cart across the river. Did you have a plan?” Joe said. At least I thought it was Joe.
“Joe or Joey?”
It was Joey. So many people, so many names.
“Good point, no I did not. We will build small platforms to get the bodies and loot to the river, then build a raft to cross it. I will send someone to get carts ready for our side of the river. So let us get to it. Pile the bodies here, anything of value that is not a body part pile there. We will sell it all then split the cut once it is sold and funds in hand. Nate take three men with you and head up top.
“Get two or three long branches that can support some weight and then use some rope to fasten them together. Then we will stick some bodies and loot on them and two man haul it to the river. The rest of you with me. We will start with bodies then go and hunt for stuff worth anything.”
I was on my seventh body thrown on the pile when Deb arrived at my feet. She shrieked at me and ran over to one of the logs. I figured something must be important so I went to her. A few more jumps over the same spot got me looking closer. I kneeled and found the dirt had been disturbed here by someone digging. I removed the dirt gently until I found a goblin skin bag. Even goblins used goblin skin for bags, gross. I opened the bag and wanted to kiss the little monox. There inside the bag was a pile of red and blue gems. I had no idea their value was but when the men saw the small stack they gasped. Bonus for the bonus, rubies, and sapphires.
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