Lance stood on the perched cliffs edge at the entrance of the cave, looking out to the horizon beyond, a few ships dotted his view as a salted vapour mist hovered around him.

  10 years.

  10 years have passed, and they have come so far.

  This stunt with Alice simply proves that, able to get an invite to such a prestigious event for the elites is no easy feat for even nobles, though there are so many back channels it doesn’t take much once you have the connections to acquire an invitation and the password. If conflict had broken out on the estate, they would have been screwed facing the guard of the Wishmaster outfitted in semi plate and chain armour with expensive steel weaponry and the assistance of a mage. Their one hope was making it to the narrow muddy alleys of the slums and using his animals to cause enough mayhem to slip away before any reinforcements could come.

  He had noted a few relationships having cropped up amongst his inner circle during the years, namely Astrid and Jace as well as Fad and Ester. Something that he was conflicted with, in terms of whether he should quash such budding relationships to maintain a more professional atmosphere, but he hadn’t the heart.

  Astrid had grown into a beautiful young woman at 20 years of age, approximately 5’7 with raven black hair and crystal blue eyes creating a beautiful contrasting nature. She had taken to Jace a few years ago and they have been together since.

  Jace had grown into a tall figure, 6’3 at 19 years of age, with light brown hair and hazel eyes, usually sporting a royal beard making him appear older than he is with a faint scar from a knife fight 5 years ago, which can be seen going down the right side of his face.

  Fad had long dark hair that he kept in a ponytail most days, with a clean-shaven face standing at 5’10 in height with a lither figure then Jace. He paints a more academic look compared to the others but he suites his role well.

  Ester was blonde and petite standing at 5’3 at 19 years of age, her eyes brown. She wore her dirty blonde hair down by her shoulders unless on a mission.

  Blake was very tall, 6’6 at 21 years old, which suited his role perfectly. He kept his dark brown hair at a medium length so that it doesn’t cover his blue eyes, and though he prefers to keep his facial hair cut down, he’s never too bothered.

  Cane was a very small man at 5’2, with crippling male pattern baldness and an overly large nose, he wasn’t blessed in the looks department, though none of them really were.

  They didn’t just fall into their respective roles within the gang but had proven that that is where their talents lie only offered the role after Lance had been sure it was what they would be best suited towards.

  Taking a deep breath and sipping his tea he let his mind calm; Alice was still asleep, and he didn’t see her getting up any time soon. They needed to lay low in the meantime as there is no doubt whichever Nobles or wealthy merchants had wanted a piece of her would still be searching, and in a world of magic they may very well find a mage that can cast some sort of clairvoyant spell. Magic being a factor that Lance very much wishes to delve into.

  Magic itself is a closely guarded secret. With resources and quality teaching required to go far in the practice, of which such resources are horded by powerful institutions whose history predates most Empires.

  Lance was not na?ve, to come into contact with magic is a tall order, with his only his current understanding of magic as of yet being the word of mouth from uneducated peasants, and now this girl.

  Having returned to the cavern he started preparing, Lance outfitted himself in his leather armour and dark hooded cloak. He had decided that they needed another location, one not in the city, one of which he will only have access to in the meantime, whereby he can freely create his goods in a larger surplus then what he has been able to over the years. Kayle has been a good business partner over the years, largely in part thanks to Lances secrecy, never giving away the source for all his goods and as such not giving Kayle the opportunity to usurp him.

  Throughout the years they had managed to make a significant amount of money with each other as business partners. Kayle had expanded his network and had taken a number of gangs over, leaving only two others, both having been financed by Nobles and so a much harder target to bring down.

  As Lance sets off walking into the slums, his nose was hit with a pungent smell of various odours of which stench of filth mixing with the seas breeze brewed a retching concoction which he wanted to distance himself from as fast as possible. The smell was something he has struggled to get used to over the years and fears he never will, though his plans don’t live and die in the slums.

  It takes him an hour before he breaks free from the cluttered wooden structures, and he fills his nose with the fresh air of the farming fields ahead. He would still need to walk for at least another hour before he reaches the grassland to which just beyond lays the forest that hides his promised storage, or rather secondary base. He had already used his animals to scout the area to find a well-hidden enclave with a small water source but enough space to make an impact. Naturally his animals couldn’t communicate the location but following some rats and birds is easy enough.

  Passing by wooden fencing, walking down dirt tracks beaten down through the traffic of merchants and peasants, a few windmills passed him by as a golden haze mixed with the now ripe wheat casted an image he would never forget. A feeling of dauntless ambition welled up within him. He will make something of himself, he will create a legacy.

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  Having had reached the forest he was joined by an entourage of Huskies, Pit bull terriers, Border collies and beagles. As well as the pack of hounds which total 15, all of which have been amplified as best as he can currently, that’s to say in size a 25% increase, but likewise other attributes have been improved, including senses and more importantly intelligence. His animals already have an intuitive grasp of communication with the being that has created them, if he so chooses, though that comes with its current limits as they are still the species that they are created as, and so boosting their intelligence helps massively.

  Lance can’t wait until he can create something along the lines of a Kangal as he would be able to make it even more domineering than it already is, but at that point he may not be far from wolves or even Tigers. He knew that this world had creatures that would need trained groups of soldiers to deal with, and even then, there are some creatures that make armies tremble, the dragons for instance.

  As he takes stock of his current assets, including 5 magpies and a troop of monkeys made up of capuchins, tamarins and squirrel monkeys.

  This was all to ensure that he had ground cover, tree cover and sky cover.

  From the stories that he has heard this group may only be enough to by time for his escape, especially if he comes up against something like a group of Ogres or Trolls, but even seeing one is quite rare as so seeing a group would be his bad luck.

  Lance begins to make his way in, the dense foliage allowing only a few rays of light to hit the forest floor as various plants fight for the sunlight. His dogs trotted around him, spreading themselves out with Lance in the centre, whilst the birds tried to keep track of the below group as best they can use the climbing monkeys.

  Brushing a twig from his face, Lance hears the call of one of the Tamarins, which is ratified by a cacophony from the others, the dogs go alert, to what reveals itself as a goblin, though not one but more like 20. Pulling out his short sword, Lance braces for conflict, taking a deep breath. Goblins, known for being weak and stupid are often looked down upon with a well-equipped adult able to take care of multiple with relative ease due to their childlike size, though their behaviour is anything but childlike. Goblins, like Orcs in this world are all born male, their genetics so dominant that any copulation with another female species results in a goblin child, approximately 5-8 at that, often killing the mother. The first nutrition that the goblins have in their life is the flesh of their own mother, though they have no care, instinct driven they happily consume the weakened female. Goblins only live for approximately 15 to 20 years, but it only takes a few months for them to reach their adult size and at that point all they are keen to do is cause death and breed.

  This has made goblins a kill on site threat, and whilst there are frequent extermination requests, few want to take part as its always a filthy job with little pay off. Goblins are filthy creatures, happily using their excrement as a poison, smearing it on blades that they have stolen from their victims. This is the folly of most peoples, whilst small and comparatively frail, goblins are numerous and vicious, and whilst perceived dumb, this is only in comparison to the intellect of the sapient species, compared to any animal a goblin is a genius. As such many have fallen to the twisted fate of consumption or worse, to be dragged to their dens of filth for a fate far worse than death.

  Lance knew that with the impressive smelling capabilities of goblins, they were already made, especially with the direction of the wind.

  Readying his blade, watching the goblins only 70 or so metres ahead, he braced for what may be a gruelling battle, one wrong move and getting nicked by a goblin blade may very well guarantee infection and he doesn’t have access to antibiotics.

  Clenching his teeth, the goblins screeched.

  A shrill noise hit his ears as he could see his dog’s wince for but a moment, though readied in the next.

  The huskies charged first and the swinging monkeys made their way through the treetops.

  Lance could see it in the eyes of the goblins, fear.

  Decidedly he ran forward as well, trying to make up the ground lost to his charging hounds as they barrelled into the goblins sending them flying with a variety of crunches, only to find their wheezing breath cut off by clamped jaws around their throat. The dogs were merciless but also smart, when a target was incapacitated, they moved on quickly, not giving opportunity to be ganged up on, the Pit bull terriers rending flesh, almost as if they are playing with goblins as chew toys, with the beagles choosing their battles more wisely.

  Before the goblins could process their next stage of attack, shadows crossed through the light above them as a war cry unfamiliar to them was unleashed.

  The onslaught from the monkeys has come, their task to distract and harass allowing the bigger more powerful dogs a chance to finish a target and move on.

  Just as Lance arrived mere seconds had passed, but the battle was already over. He had underestimated his beasts and there were no casualties on his side, not even notable injuries. Only a few goblins had been carrying blades, but they were not given a chance to use them.

  “Fuck me…I guess it’s good to know, **. We’ll need to pick up their scent, they must have a hole somewhere near here.”

  Allowing the Beagles to take charge, Lance made no effort to search the bodies of the goblins as they were ultimately naked, and the blades are worth nothing. Whilst he could take their ears as proof of extermination, he had no desire to go through the hassle. Leaving them Lance followed his horde to a hidden hole with foliage covering it, making it seem unassuming at first glance, but his dogs were emphatic that this was the place.

  “Let’s go”

  Crouching down Lance lowered himself in after lighting a makeshift torch with some flint from his pack, following a few of the Huskies whilst the other dogs came up the rear, the light from the entrance withdrew as he made his way down.

  “Finally,”

  His torch not doing justice, a cavern opened up ahead of him, barely able to make out numerous pale scrabbling goblins, but even more notable the bodies of numerous females. Grimacing at this image, all it took was a whistle, and the dogs bounded forwards, their heightened senses making it easier for them to see in the darkened cluttered cavern, navigating it with ease, the few goblins that were left were finished off promptly with futile attempts to fend off the muscular lumps of fur.

  Damn”, Lance had no desire to see such an image, though his good conscious made it something that he struggled to simply leave be. Approaching the huddled women, the light barely drawing their attention, he crouched down but found his voice stuck. What does one say in this situation?

  Before he could speak however, the oldest, maybe 30 years of age though the dirt and grime made it hard to distinguish looked at Lance and then the others. She shook her head, so slightly, Lance wondered if it may have been a trick of the light, though the resolve that flickered into her eyes quashed such thoughts. She was ready, there was no coming back from this. Looking at the others he could see a similar resolve cross their eyes as well as wavering relief from the tortured hell they had found themselves in.

  Climbing out of the cave, Lance felt no peace, his heart weighed heavy on his actions.

  “Fucking Goblins”.