A Soldier's Life
chapter-108

The road was wet with light rain from last night. I walked next to Maveith with Flavius and Blaze in front. My mind was still turning over the fact that Lareen knew I had a dreamscape amulet. She might know what it was, but I doubt she had figured out just how valuable it was. Six thousand gold was a fortune in the Telhian Empire. I also wanted to keep how I obtained it a secret. Maybe I was selfish, but I did not want to share it.

Lareen did teach me something interesting about the artifact. More than one person could use it at a time. It also added more questions. Was there an upper limit to the number of people? Did everyone using the amulet have the same amount of control over the environment? Would the amulet reset if others activated it?

I was distracted from my thoughts by Blaze and Flavius talking. Blaze asked, “Why are we going to kill goblins? This seems just the type of easy assignment the duchess’ new guards could wet their lips on.”

Flavius answered, “I asked to go when I heard about the farmer’s request.”

Blaze pressed, “Why?”

Flavius was quiet for a good few minutes, then he sighed and admitted, “The last goblin uprising, some twenty years ago, when they came north in numbers from the mountains, my family was killed. Killing them helps me feel like I am getting revenge.”

Maveith had overheard as well and said, “Goblins breed quickly, and they have cities deep in the earth filled with them. Most of what you find on the surface are exiles or wanderers.”

Flavius stopped walking and turned around. “How do you know that?”

Maveith shrugged. “There was a goblin sailor on one of the ships I was voyaging on. He was a bit of a pariah like me, and we talked at night on deck.” Seeing Flavius’ intense stare, Maveith added, “He was not a bad sort, but I have also killed my fair share of his kind and have no reluctance to kill more.” Flavius nodded at Maveith.

Flavius was also interested in learning more. “What did he tell you about the underground cities?”

Maveith scrunched his face, retrieving the memories, “The goblin cities have thousands of goblins. They grow and eat mushrooms and lichen. They fish in underground lakes for blind frogs and fish. The goblins are constantly living on alert. He talked mostly about the horrors of The Endless Dark and why he fled.”

Blaze, also interested, asked, “What horrors?”

“Giant tunneling purple worms down there are a blessing and curse. They created a network of passages down there but are also nearly unkillable and mindless. Other than that, there are dark elves, kobolds, dwarves, hibernating dragons, and wandering monsters,” Maveith said, testing his memory.

“I don’t think I want to visit,” Blaze commented. Maveith huffed an amused breath.

Flavius nodded slowly, accepting the answer. “The last goblin uprising was a larger horde than anyone thought possible. If those from The Endless Dark reinforced them, then that makes sense.” He turned and started walking. “No matter. We will kill what goblins we find tonight.”

We passed a wagon of refugees every hour as we walked. Most were thin and dirty. I had no idea the duchess would handle the constant stream of people. The walk to the farm was just over four hours, and we waited for Flavius to talk to the farmer in the field for directions.

When Flavius returned, he explained, “The two buildings there are where the goblins have been raiding at night, chickens and piglets so far. But they will get more bold soon. The farmer has not seen them, but the tracks he found indicate there are maybe half a dozen. Eryk and I will explore beyond the fields, and you two can make camp in that building,” he pointed.

I followed Flavius while Maveith and Blaze set up inside the building. As we walked, I scanned the ground with Flavius, looking for signs. Last night’s light rain had softened the soil and made tracks difficult to see. Flavius pointed under some trees. “There. I can see the goblins cut the branches to make a path.”

I nodded but did not see anything until we approached. The goblins were only three feet in height, so they cleared the lower branches. Flavius studied the small footprints under the tree. He looked up, “Lot of prints, but it could be the same goblin over and over. Definitely goblin prints and fresh. The farmer was right. I will go and tell him. Pick out some spots for snares.”

As Flavius left, I was at a loss for choosing the best spots for snares. I didn’t even know how to set snares. When Flavius returned, I told him as much, “I have never hunted with snares before. Can you show me?”

Flavius seemed a little annoyed but did explain. He pulled out some fine metal wire. “We will drive a stake into the ground to anchor one end of the wire. The other end, we make a loop like this.” He demonstrated.

“And this will hold the goblin? Won’t they just cut the wire?” I replied, holding a length of the thin wire.

“The green ones are too stupid. The wire cinches into a knot as well. Normally, I would use this for rabbits, but I have found it works just as well on goblins. They struggle, and the wire cuts into the flesh all the way to the bone, making it near impossible to remove without cutting deep into the leg,” he explained. He dropped six prepared twenty-inch stakes from his pack. I helped him for the next hour, drove the stakes in with a rock, and set the wires so that the goblins likely triggered them. He only set the traps on their likely path of retreat into the woods, which I had not thought about.

It seemed a little cruel. I remembered the green goblins I killed in the stables. They seemed more like helpless children than anything. I also did not foresee any opportunity to harvest essence from the goblins we killed with my present company. It would be even more dangerous to use Durandus’ collector with Flavius here.

After the midday meal, we returned to the barn where Maveith and Blaze had made camp. It was a livestock building with pigs, chickens, and goats. The smell was not appealing, but this was where we needed to be to confront the goblins. Flavius inspected the barn and pointed. “The windows. When they arrive, three of us will use the windows to catch them outside. Neptune willing, his tear will shine bright tonight, and we will have clear targets with our bows.”

I looked and realized I would not be one of the three jumping out the window. Flavius, Blaze, and Maveith were all the archers in our group. I didn’t even have a bow. Well, not a bow they knew about.

“We will not leave the barn again for fear of being spotted. Goblins rise about two hours before sunset and are active through the night,” Flavius educated us.

Blaze complained, “I am going to smell like a pig. Are you sure we can’t wait on the roof?”

Flavius looked up. “I doubt it could support your weight, definitely not the goliath’s. We will wait under those windows, and when the sun sets, we will remain completely silent and wait.”

We ate dinner. Maveith happily ate two of the ration bars I bartered with him. Blaze had packed our food. The overwhelming smell of the animals made the honey-sweet rolls, sugar beets, and sweet jerky not as tasty. I also guessed Blaze had a bit of a sweet tooth from his selection.

We whispered to each other as evening came. Flavius told the farmer our plan, so he was not going to visit the barn. It meant that we had to feed the animals, which somehow fell to me. I probably gave them too much, but they did not complain. The sky was clear when the sun set, Neptune’s tear was soon bright, and we all went silent. The animals had become comfortable with us and were trying to sleep, making weird sounds from flatulence and constantly moving to get comfortable.

After an hour, I thought the goblins would stand us up. After two hours, I was sure of it. Then, one of the sows squealed in unhappiness, and her piglets made soft squeals, trying to hide under her. Other animals started to get anxious as well. The goblins must be near, and the animals could smell or hear them. We still waited for Flavius’ signal. My job was to kill any goblin inside the barn. My hand was making my hilt sweaty as I waited perfectly still.

The barn door rattled as the goblins removed the simple bar holding it closed. I could hear them talking in their coarse language as they entered. They sounded suspicious. This would be the third night in a row they raided the same farm. They were not too bright as they entered anyway.

We waited as they entered the barn. A piglet squealed in dismay as it was seized by a goblin who ran out the door with it. The sow crashed in her stall, upset. Finally, Flavius yelled, “Now!”

I rushed out of my dark corner, tossing a glowstone from its black bag. I heard the windows open as the others made their way outside. In the barn’s center were four short goblins and one much larger goblin. He was almost my height but still had green skin. The three small ones looked to him for guidance. He wielded something and rushed me.

He had a rusty long sword, which was a surprise in itself. I made an air shield to block his clumsy swing, then stabbed him in the throat. He dropped his sword and grabbed at my blade, sticking in his neck, surprised he had been struck so quickly. The three small greens bolted for the door now that their leader was dead.

I caught one in the back of the head as it ran, but the other two were through the door, and now the archer’s problem. I searched the barn as I heard bow twangs outside and squeals of pain from the goblins. I found one tiny goblin, no taller than two feet in height, crouched in an empty pen. It was shaking so violently that I felt pity for it.

I could move the creature to my storage, but did I really want to bottom out my aether right now? We were in the middle of a fight. What would I even do with a goblin child? I was indecisive as the smell of urine became even more pronounced amongst the animals. “You are a fucking idiot, Eryk.” I moved the goblin to my storage, bottoming out my aether.

I grabbed my glow stone and confirmed the rest of the barn was clear, and I joined the others outside. The blue water moon gave us enough light to see. Maveith was retrieving an arrow from a goblin corpse, and Blaze and Favius were walking toward the woods. It looked like a pair of goblins were caught in the snares we had set. “I got two; how many did you get out here?” I asked Maveith.

Maveith’s deep voice came back. “Blaze got three, and Flavius and I two each. Four made it into the woods, and another two were caught.” He pointed. I hustled to catch up to Flavius and Blaze.

Flavius hissed. “Caution, Eryk. There were more than I assumed. One of the ones we killed had a sling, too.”

“One of the ones in the barn was as tall as me and had a sword,” I replied.

“Hag’s curses on us. A hobgoblin?” I just shrugged, not knowing what a hobgoblin was.

“Kill the two in the snares while we cover you,” Flavius ordered.

I crouched and approached the woods, looking for movement in the shadows. The first goblin was trying to cut off his foot with a rusty knife, and I ended his torment with my blade. I almost tripped on another snare, reaching the second goblin. The second goblin was slightly smarter. It had dug up the stake and was carrying it into the woods, limping. But as soon as it stood, Blaze put an arrow into its throat.

I backed away from the woodline to talk with the others. Flavius had us return to the barn. “Two got away, but that is not a hobgoblin, at least. Looks like a half-breed between a red and a green.”

Blaze asked, “What do we do?”

“We got eleven of them, and two got away. The world is a better place for it. Most likely, those two will not stop running till morning. We will bury the corpses in the morning,” Flavius informed us.

“Do we have to sleep in the barn?” Blaze asked, hopeful of an alternative.

Flavius nodded. “Yes, it will be safer. We will scout the woods in the morning for tracks to make sure this pack of goblins is not much larger than the two that got away.”

We dragged my two goblins outside and slept in the barn. The animals were upset all night due to the smell of blood, and I did not sleep well with the noise. The piglet that had been snatched by a goblin returned in the middle of the night, and Flavius volunteered me to go outside and bring it to its mother. When I came back inside, I noticed Flavius shifting in his bedroll by the window. I was immediately suspicious. Did he check on me? Was he thinking I might use the collector on the dead goblins? I was going to have to be cautious around him.

In the morning, we dug a trench while the farmer watched, satisfied with our work, dumped the bodies inside, and covered them in dirt. We walked the woods, and Flavius identified four sets of tracks fleeing away. We tracked them for half a mile before returning to the farm.

Flavius talked to the farmer, and then we started our walk back to Sobral. What was I going to do with a goblin child in my storage? It could make a nice distracting snack for a monster or a distraction. Or maybe I could try harvesting its essence?

When we arrived in Sobral, I looked forward to a bath and rest. Flavius went to make a report to Castile and the Duchess. I went to the kitchens as it was between midday and dinner. I still smelled like the barn, and they chased me out, handing me a plate of food. I found the common baths in the Citadel and washed up before climbing the Northwest Tower to get some much-needed sleep on the unoccupied floor below the alchemist. I was in a mostly hidden corner of the floor when I donned my amulet and fell into the dreamscape.