5 – War Party
Andy didn’t charge; he didn’t want to leave too much space between himself and Madi and Bree. He naced the giant goblin with his spear, though, trying to draw it in. It wasn’t difficult. The monster was eager to fight, and it ca at him with its huge gnarled club, lifting it high and bringing it down with a whoosh that pushed enough air to blow Andy’s hair back as he dodged back. Once again, his superhuman speed seed like it would give him the edge he needed.
He darted to his left, lunged with his spear, and grinned fiercely when the blade found purchase in the monster’s muscular thigh. The goblin roared, baring fangs that looked more like those of a lion than the little green monsters Andy had fought previously. The club tore through the air again, and Andy had to retreat, pulling his bloody spear with him. As soon as he cleared the swipe, he went back in for another stab, and this ti he punched the blade into the creature’s belly.
He was focused, and the big goblin was loud, its roars and screams deafening, but Andy was still aware of the drums and the screeches, hoots, and hollers of the goblin horde descending toward their miniature canyon. Was it a horde? He hoped it was just a large pack. He grunted, dodging another swipe of the club that thundered into the ground with a spray of sand and rock fragnts.
Andy worked his way to the monster’s flank, trying to get eyes on his party mbers. Omar was at war—mace flying, shield bashing, crushing and throwing goblins left and right. Bree was taking careful shots at the goblins that appeared on the ridgeline, but they were throwing rocks and—
“They’re throwing shit!” Bree scread, wiping a sar of sothing reddish brown on her forehead.
Madi held up her shield, trying to protect herself and the archer. “Shoot them!”
Andy lost track as he dove to the side, avoiding another crushing club swipe, but he turned up the intensity, using his speed to circle the gigantic monster, stabbing him again and again. He was certain he’d landed half a dozen critical stab wounds, and though the sandy ground was painted red with the enormous goblin’s blood, it kept fighting, eyes red, mouth foaming, grunting and wheezing as it swung its weapon—whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
As more and more goblins lined the ravine walls, pouring over to rush Omar and the others, Andy ran out of patience and lunged inside the huge goblin’s guard, driving his spear up, through the softer flesh of the monster’s throat and deep into what he hoped was its brain-pan. To his relief, the brute’s eyes rolled back in its head and it collapsed, slumping into the dirt like Andy had pulled the bones from its limbs.
He yanked his spear out and spun, scanning the battle scene. There were ten or so goblins surrounding Omar; a handful more had gotten past him and were nacing Bree and Madi, but up on the ridge, Andy counted at least twenty more. Worse, his eyes caught a sparkling flicker of blue-tinged light, and he realized one of those goblins was different from the others. He was rotund and bedecked in grisly trophies—fangs, teeth, and human ears and fingers. The little monster waved a gnarled tree branch topped with a small, bloody human skull. A sparkling, lightning-charged ball of mana gathered along the length of the branch.
Having been hit by a goblin shaman’s lightning bolt before, Andy didn’t want to see the sa thing happen to his friends. Spear in hand, he charged down the ravine, back the way they’d co, looking for an easier route up onto the ridge. He quickly spied one—a large boulder and the exposed roots of a greasewood. He leaped and pulled himself up, scrabbling over the edge on hands and knees. His knuckles dug into the rocky soil where he gripped his spear, but his gloves protected him well.
On his feet, he sprinted toward the amassed goblins. He almost got there in ti, but he was still several strides away when the goblin’s branch sizzled and hissed, exploding into splinters, as a brilliant arc of electricity stretched down into the ravine. Omar roared—a sound of fury, frustration, and pain—but Andy was relieved to hear him; it ant the lightning bolt hadn’t been sufficient to take the burly fighter down. He leaped the last several yards, smashing through several goblins and driving his spear into the shaman’s chest.
His weight and montum punched the heavy steel blade through the little rotund creature’s torso and slamd him backward to crash into a purple-tinted prickly pear cactus. Andy ripped his spear out, flinging a strear of blood through the air, and then laid about, hacking and stabbing at the little creatures that sward toward him, brandishing all manner of weapons, from pointy sticks to hardware-store hatchets.
Andy was a demon with that spear; he moved like a cat, leaping, spinning, and lunging, delivering deathblows with almost every strike. The goblins, despite their numbers, failed to inflict more than bruises; Andy’s drake hide coat was impervious to their weapons’ points and edges, and even the few who wielded clubs and, in one case, a claw-hamr, failed to do much damage. anwhile, Andy’s spear drenched the hillside in blood.
When he’d run out of goblins to kill, Andy hurried to the edge of the ravine. Even as he drew near, he was heartened to see the opposite hillside was clear of foes; a few lay here and there with arrows protruding from their corpses, but either the others had fled or they’d gone down to join in the main assault. Peering over, Andy saw a trail of goblin corpses leading back the way they’d co, and he saw why: Omar and the others were fighting a controlled retreat.
They’d already gone beyond where Andy killed the giant goblin, and Omar and Madi were standing side by side as they backpedaled, fighting off the dwindling crowd of goblins whenever they gathered enough courage to attempt a rush. Andy slid down the rocky hillside to the bottom of the ravine and charged toward their rear flank.
Omar and Madi saw him coming and slowed, bracing their shields as the goblins surged. It was a good distraction, and it gave Andy ti to line up a devastating charge; he lanced two goblins on his arrival, braced his foot on the rear one’s back, and hauled his gore-covered spear out. Before the goblins realized what had hit them, he stabbed two more. Omar roared and launched a frenzied attack, his mace crunching skulls and bones with each powerful blow. Even Madi scread a war-cry as she attacked, driving her spear into a goblin’s chest.
When it was over, and they all stood heaving for breath over a pile of blood-covered goblin corpses, Andy looked up to see Bree stroking her owl’s feathers, smoothing away splatters of blood. “Did he join in?”
Bree nodded, and Madi said, “Cheechee chased them off the other hill!”
Andy looked at her, saw the blood spattered on her face, and held out a fist. As she grinned, thumping her knuckles into his, he said, “Good job, Madi.” He shifted his gaze to include Omar and Bree. “Hell of a fight. That was—” Before he could finish his statent, the drums started up again, but they seed more distant, moving away.
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“I guess this wasn’t all of them?” Omar looked at the pile of dead goblins, then the trail of corpses leading back the way they’d co.
“I—” Again, Andy was interrupted, but this ti it was by a System announcent:
***Congratulations on your victory, Andy! You killed an Elite monster, a hobgoblin berserker, and helped to destroy a goblin war party. For your efforts, you’ve gained two levels in your Fighter class, earned an additional Improvent Point, and gained access to an advanced morph of the Fighter class: Lancer.
The Lancer turns reach into dominance and discipline into lethality. Specializing in spears and polearms, this morph enhances thrusting precision, stance stability, and counter-engagent techniques. Enemies who attempt to close distance risk swift and punishing reprisal.
Would you like to accept this class morph? Yes/no.***
Beneath that ssage was another:
***New Quest opportunity: The Mind Behind the Horde: The goblins are not acting alone. Their discipline and coordination suggest external influence or elevated leadership. Left unchecked, such forces will destabilize the surrounding settlents. Locate the intelligence guiding these forces and neutralize it. Reward: Random System-generated treasure.***
As Andy finished reading, most of the ssage faded, but the part asking him if he wanted to morph his class continued to blink before his eyes. He didn’t need to think about it; he’d been anticipating the option, thanks to the Codex guide. If what he’d read were correct, this would be just the first of several morphs that would continue to specialize his fighting skill, offer extra Improvent Points, and hopefully help him break through so ceilings with his spear abilities.
“You guys need to give a minute,” he said, walking away from the scene of the goblin slaughter. Omar grunted, and when Andy glanced his way, he saw the man was focused on a System ssage of his own. The sa went for Bee and Madi—eyes glazed, staring into space. He found a relatively clear section of ground to sit on, leaning his back against the ravine wall, and then, focusing on the System ssage, he said, “Yes.”
To his surprise, he didn’t lose consciousness, even briefly. Instead, he felt a wave of hot tingles through his skull, up and down his spine, and then he suffered through several involuntary convulsions as his muscles contracted in shuddering waves. “Ugh!” he grunted, putting his hands out to steady himself.
As the twitches faded, a new System ssage appeared before him:
***Congratulations! Your Fighter class has morphed to Lancer! Your level has remained unchanged (6), and none of your Notable Skills or Spells were removed. The Lancer class provides an innate 1 bonus to polearm-based weapon skills. As a result, your Spears skill has advanced to rank 5, and the previous skill ceiling has been reapplied.***
Andy leaped to his feet, grabbed his spear, and lifted it high. “Yes!”
By then, his companions had finished sorting through their System ssages and upgrades, and Omar looked at Andy, grinning. “Sothing good?”
Andy lowered his spear, smiling sheepishly as he shrugged. “Finally advanced my Spears skill.”
“Did you see the ssage about the quest?” Bree asked.
“Yeah. Do you guys—”
“I think we need to check into it,” Omar replied before Andy could finish the question.
Madi raised her hand, glancing nervously from Omar to Andy.
Andy chuckled. “Are you raising your hand?”
She winced and thumped her palm against her forehead. “I wasn’t thinking… Um, anyway, I wanted to ask, like, can we search the goblins? Was there a wizard or sothing up on the hill?”
Omar growled, rubbing his shield arm—his entire sleeve was singed. Madi’s eyes flew wide, and she hastily set her shield and spear down. “Andy! Can you get my pack out of your, um, ring?”
“It’s not that bad—” Omar started to say, but Madi waved away his protest.
“Don’t start, Omar. Bea told about you.”
Andy snorted, ntally reached into his ring to pull out Madi’s backpack, and handed it to her. “I’ll go check the goblins for anything valuable.”
“I’ll help,” Bree said, heaving her owl into the air. Cheechee pumped his wings and flew off, but not far; Andy saw him settle into the branches of a squite up on the next hill.
As Bree started up the ravine, he said, “Keep your eyes open. The System usually wouldn’t give us our experience if there was still any sort of fight going on, but who knows if the goblins might send another war party.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I won’t go far.”
“Okay, going to check the shaman,” Andy jogged toward the rock he’d used to boost himself up out of the ravine during the fight. Once he was up and he could see further along the hillside toward the next gulley, he paused and scanned the landscape, turning slowly. He saw distinct smoke trails further to the north, between two distant peaks. Andy wasn’t super familiar with the mountains up there, but he thought the one on the left was Mount Lemmon.
He was pretty sure Catalina Highway ran up that way. Were the goblins on the road? Past it? Before it? He could still hear drums, but they were definitely growing fainter. He moved toward the scene of the battle where he’d killed the shaman and the goblins guarding him. The goblins were unclean to begin with; having their guts perforated by a spear certainly didn’t help matters. Andy held his sleeve over his nose as he rummaged through their corpses, collecting any weapons that looked decent—mostly scavenged axes and a few knives.
None of the little monsters had any clothing or armor that he thought was worth keeping. The shaman wasn’t much different other than the grisly trophies it wore. Andy thought he could detect a faint thrum of mana from its necklace of fingers and ears, but there was no way in hell he was going to take it. One thing stood out, though; the shaman wore a rope belt, and attached to it was a supple leather bag. Andy was sure it wasn’t goblin-crafted; it had either stolen it or gotten it from soone else—maybe a System reward.
Holding his breath against the reek of spilled guts, he cut the rope belt and slid the pouch off. Then he returned to the ravine’s edge and slid down to the others. Bree was poking around the corpse of the giant goblin—hobgoblin—but judging by the way she wrinkled her nose and looked less than satisfied, he didn’t think she was finding much of value.
As he walked toward Omar and Madi, he opened the pouch and peered inside. His eyes watered at the harsh fus that wafted out, and he had to look away after only a glimpse of the contents—a fine red powder.
He cinched the pouch and looked up just in ti to see Madi spreading a pale yellow ointnt on Omar’s forearm. “Hurt bad?”
“No,” Madi replied for Omar. “A burn, but nothing my dandelion salve can’t fix.”
Andy held up the pouch. “So kind of powder in here that makes my eyes burn.”
“Can I—”
“Yes, you can experint with it, but not right now.” Andy sent the pouch into his ring, then turned to Omar. “If we’re going to investigate those goblins, I think we should try to find a higher vantage that looks down on the Catalina Highway. Judging by the smoke from their fires, that’s where they’re camped.”
He nodded, rolling his sleeve down. “Let’s get moving then. Nightti in a few hours.”
While he spoke, Bree approached, her bow in hand. Andy t her eyes, and she shook her head. “Nothing. At least nothing I wanted to touch.”
“Can I—” Madi started to ask, but Omar shook his head.
“Let’s get moving, kiddo.”
She frowned, but nodded. “Fine. If we make camp, though…”
“We will,” Andy replied. “I think I’m going to change my class and poke around after dark.”
“Should I update the folks at the sa?” Bree asked.
Andy looked at her, arching an eyebrow. “How?”
“Uh, Cheechee? I can’t exactly see what he sees, but I’m pretty good at getting him to fly places. Lydia will know what to do if I tie a note to his leg.”
“Hell,” Omar said, stooping to pick up his shield, “almost as good as a phone.”
Andy snorted. “I an, considering how nobody else I know can send ssages with a bird, I’d say it’s even better.”
“Got a notebook?” Bree asked.
Andy nodded. “Got about ten of ’em.” He gestured to the north. “Let’s put a couple more miles behind us, then we can sit down and write out a letter.” He started walking, and as the others fell into step around him, he added, “Sothing tells it’s going to be an eventful night.”
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