Kaztos led them through the ashen forest towards the goblin encampment. The hot temperatures and dead trees did little to curb Kaztos’ enthusiasm. And why should it, since he had a chance to prove what a real Molinar was made of? Finally, they would put their training to the test. Even for him, the repeated days of work with nothing to use it on were getting tiresome. He knew it grated on Zeltara at least. But now they had something to fight for and people to protect. Once more, a Molinar would fight on the side of good.
It made Kaztos want to shout with excitement. He refrained from doing so because it wouldn’t be proper for a noble to do while on a mission. He needed to be the picture of composure during times like these. That, and it would give away their position. Just thinking of what Zeltara and Saiya would do to him if he did that made him shudder. That should be left to his nightmares. He cherished his friends, but they could be scary sometimes.
Not that there was much danger of their being detected yet. They had a few minutes before they reached the encampment. He and Euronar had been closer when they’d first discovered the pack of goblins. Kaztos had wanted to rush into battle and wipe them off the face of Aleucea. He had faced goblins before and knew that now they would be no match for him.
But Euronar held him back, saying it was too dangerous. One or two goblins could be easily taken care of. Almost a dozen were an entirely different matter. Even a grown man could be overwhelmed if not careful. That wasn’t even accounting for the hobgoblin. Now there was a beast Kaztos wanted to cross weapons with. Something to test the limits of his new strength.
“Wait.” Zeltara’s voice brought Kaztos out of his reverie. He stopped and looked at Zeltara. She brought a finger to her lips and crouched down. He and Saiya followed suit and listened. There was nothing there at first, but then Kaztos just picked it up. The snarls, scrapes, steps, and grunts of something inhuman.
He took in his surroundings. Even though the forest looked all the same to him, this spot was now familiar. Lost in thought, Kaztos nearly stumbled into the encampment. Embarrassing, but Saiya and Zeltara didn’t seem to notice.
Even with the lack of foliage, there were still too many dead trees to see anything clearly. If Kaztos looked closely, he could just make out one of the boulders Euronar talked about. They had to be about one hundred yards away. There wasn’t any green to be seen, so the goblins must still be inside their camp. A pity, they could have at least picked off one of them to make things easier.
Lost in thought, Zeltara stared towards the encampment. Kaztos wondered just what plan she was thinking of this time. While her ideas didn’t always bring success, they were usually the best paths towards it. Not that he could think of anything better. If there was one thing taught to him over the past weeks, it was that Kaztos wasn’t that good of a tactician. He could hold his own at a high-society party if given the chance. But something in his brain seemed to default to ‘charge ahead and swing hammer’ when in a fight. That didn’t help them even back when they had first fought that goblin in Urada Forest. He decided to just let Zeltara handle these things for now. At least until he get’s better at planning.
“How confident are you of remaining undetected?” Zeltara asked as she turned to Saiya. The blond girl thought for a moment before shrugging.
“I should be able to handle it,” Saiya said. “Goblins don’t seem to be the most aware. As long as Kaztos doesn’t step on any branches this time, it’ll be fine.” Kaztos rolled his eyes.
“My apologies for not keeping track of every single twig on the ground.” Saiya turned to him and smiled.
“Apology accepted.” Zeltara raised her hand, stopping any more chatter between them.
“Enough, let’s stay focused.” She turned to Saiya. “I want you to go over and scout the camp. How big is it? How high are the boulder walls? Where are they located? Anything that can give us insight. I have a general idea of what to do, but need more information.”
Kaztos thought it was a good idea, but something bothered him. “Which of us will go with her?”
“No one. We aren’t as stealthy as she is. The last thing needed here is for us to give away the element of surprise.” The answer surprised Kaztos.
“But what if they find her? She would be all by herself.” Saiya scoffed.
“You don’t think I can handle it?” Kaztos raised a hand and backtracked.
“Not at all. But anyone can step on a twig by accident. I just don’t want you to be alone if the worst happens.” The two of them stared each other down, neither side willing to concede the matter.
Zeltara cut in. “Enough. Kaztos, she can handle this. So quit trying to stop her.” Kaztos finally conceded the point. He wouldn’t win an argument with both of them ganging up on him. “Remember Saiya. Sneak in, gather information, and come back. If you’re spotted, then run back here. Got it?”
Saiya nodded and stood up. After giving him one last look he couldn’t decipher, she turned to walk toward the encampment. She must have activated her cloak, since she seemed to meld into the background and disappear. Now, just the two of them remained.
He looked back at Zeltara and asked, “Are you sure she’ll be fine?” Kaztos would like to believe that she would be. But something in him couldn’t help but worry. Any number of events could come to pass that would put Saiya’s life in jeopardy. And they were just supposed to wait here and do nothing? It just didn’t sit right with him at all.
Putting a hand on his shoulder, Zeltara said, “Listen, I know that you’re worried. But questioning our skills isn’t going to help anything.” Kaztos flinched at the accusation.
“I would never do that! Both of you are more than capable. Is it so bad to voice my concern for your safety?” It was one thing if he were with her. Then at least he could do anything to make sure she was safe. But for all he knew, Saiya had been discovered and was being killed at this very moment. Dollanti had shown him that any hesitation could cost his friends their lives. He needed to be their shield.
“Of course not, but when you do it like that, it makes us believe you think us incompetent. Now, I know you don’t think that, and Saiya knows it too. But it still feels bad when you question us like that.” Kaztos looked at the ground, embarrassed.
“I’m sorry. I never meant to make you feel that way.” Zeltara put a hand on his shoulder.
“Is this about last week’s spar?” Ah, so she had seen right through him. He nodded. “Kaztos, what Dollanti showed us was what happened when we didn’t properly support each other. But did you remember what else he tried to teach us? Trust.” Kaztos glanced up to see Zeltara stare at him intensely. “Before, I tried to micromanage you two during battle. I didn’t trust that the two of you would immediately understand what I had planned. But Dollanti showed me that wasn’t the way to do things. You both are capable people in your own right. I need to trust that you’ll both do the right thing when it matters.”
Kaztos mulled it over in his head. “So now I need to do the same?” Zeltara nodded, a smile forming on her face.
“Right. Despite what happened last week, we trust you to protect us from danger. You’ll do anything in your power to stop anything from hurting us. But you need to trust that not only will we do the same for you, but that we’ll come to you for help if we need it. That if there’s something we can’t handle, we’ll come together to take care of it. Can you trust us to do that?”
When laid out like that, the answer seemed rather obvious to Kaztos. What kind of friend would he be if he questioned every little thing that they did? It would have been foolish for him to have gone along with Saiya. She had the skill to remain undetected, something he painfully lacked. All it would have accomplished was their being discovered and having to fight without Zeltara or a plan. It would go against what he wanted in making sure Saiya was safe. What he needed to do was trust that he could take care of herself.
“I understand now. My apologies for the lack of tact in my words.” Zeltara nodded.
“It’s no problem. But I’m not the one you need to say sorry to.” She then pointed behind him. Kaztos turned to see Saiya walking in unharmed from the trees. “Good to see you, Saiya. Did you get the information we needed?”
Saiya rejoined them and crouched down to their level. “Of Course. I should be able to show you. Don’t worry, I wasn’t spotted.” She glanced over at Kaztos. “Apology accepted, by the way. I know you mean well.”
Kaztos grinned and gave her a light shoulder bump. “Thank you, Saiya.” For once, she didn’t seem to mind the physical contact. Zeltara looked at the two with a cheerful expression.
“I’m glad that you two are getting along.” She got serious. “But we have work to do now. Saiya, what can you tell us about the encampment?”
The blond girl grabbed a nearby stick and drew on the ground. It took a minute, but the shape of the camp became clear. A campfire surrounded by a tree on one side and boulders on the other. They created natural defenses with only two paths on opposite sides to get in. It reminded Kaztos of how the caravan set up camp for the night. Did the goblins realize this when settling there, or was it pure coincidence? They should have an inclination to use basic tools, so Kaztos wondered just how intelligent they were?
“The goblins are intermingling at the moment. There are six of them, from what I’ve seen. They regularly move around, so we’ll have to account for that in our attack,” Saiya said. She then poked at the circle in the center of camp. “They have a fire located here. They’re currently cooking a deer to eat.” That got the other two’s attention.
“Excuse me, but did they really have a deer?” Kaztos asked. There had been no signs of living wild animals found so far. To find a deer this long after the cataclysm, it only meant one thing. “So Dinaro was right. We’re close to getting out of here.”
Zeltara said, “Now isn’t the time to think about that. For now, let’s take care of these goblins.” She then pointed at the dirt picture. “How tall are the boulder walls? Could we easily climb them?” Saiya shook her head.
“It’d be difficult. They were all at least ten feet tall. They were smooth too, so it’d be hard to find handholds.” She then pointed at the tree symbol. “This seems to be their resting place. They seem to use the tree branches as cover from the sun. At the moment, only the hobgoblin is sleeping. The rest are sitting or wandering around camp.” Zeltara hummed as she stared at the dirt drawing.
“How much of the camp is under the tree’s branches? Do they cover everything?” Saiya took a moment to think before nodding.
“They do. It’s a very large tree. Why do you ask?”
Zeltara said, “It’s part of the plan I’m creating. Another potential angle of attack.” That caught Kaztos’ interest.
“Are you planning an attack from above?” It sounded preposterous, but Zeltara nodded her head. What could she be thinking of now?
“Alright, I’ve got it.” Zeltara pointed at the two entrances. “We’ll use both ways in for our attack. Kaztos and I will be the primary force and will attack first. Saiya will go the other way and be a surprise second attack.”
“So we’re planning to take out the hobgoblin in an ambush then,” Saiya guessed. Zeltara shook her head.
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“We don’t know how durable it could be. If our initial attacks fail, then we’d be in some trouble. Better to take out all the goblins first. If we do it right, then we can make it a three on one.” Kaztos thought about the plan. Going after the goblins had merit, but he wasn’t sure if they should be so nonchalant about the danger of the hobgoblin. But Zeltara had a point. They couldn’t be sure that their ambush would kill the beast. If just the hobgoblin was dangerous, then it would be worse if it had eleven distractions helping it.
In the end, Kaztos said, “I don’t see a better course of action. So, what is our plan of attack?”
“We’ll commit to a three-pronged attack. You from either side and me from above.” Saiya and Kaztos looked at her in bewilderment.
Saiya asked, “And how are you planning the manage that? That tree isn’t easily climbable. You’ll likely get spotted at some point.” Zeltara held up her gauntlet with a smirk.
“I’ll be using my gauntlet. I managed to both combine and streamline some of my earlier inventions. One thing this baby can do is fire a grappling hook like my crossbow attachment.” Zeltara pressed a hidden button on the side of the gauntlet, and a small hatch opened on the back of the gauntlet. Running the total length of her invention was a firing mechanism with a thin rope attached. That explained why it seemed somewhat bulky. Kaztos wondered what else was hiding in there.
“Impressive, so that’s why you were asking about the branches,” Kaztos said. Zeltara pressed the button again, and the mechanism closed. Very impressive indeed.
“That’s right,” Zeltara said. “Now, the plan will go like this. Kaztos and I will go in first. You will distract them while I grapple onto the branches. Meanwhile, Saiya will hide on the other side. Next, I’ll start throwing marbles down at the goblins. Once they’re injured, Saiya will attack from behind, going for some kills. Kaztos, you target as many stragglers as possible. The goal is to kill all of them in one go. If we fail, Kaztos will focus on the leftovers while I distract the hobgoblin. Saiya will observe the situation and jump in to help where needed.”
Saiya asked, “Should I use my knives or wand for the ambush?” Zeltara thought about it for a moment before answering.
“Use the wand for large groupings of goblins. Kaztos will attack those on their own or in pairs. After that will be up to you.” Saiya nodded. “Any suggestions, or are we good to go?” Kaztos and Saiya glanced at each other and shrugged. Neither had anything else to say.
The three traveled together for a minute before separating. Saiya went towards the left entrance while he and Zeltara banked right. Before long, Kaztos could clearly hear the grunts and screeches of the goblins. Disgusting creatures. The entrance was ahead as the light from the campfire reflected off a boulder in front of them. He looked at Zeltara, waiting for the signal.
Zeltara thought for a moment before waving her hand to get Kaztos’ attention. She then made a few hand signs. WAIT. SAIYA. Ah, so they were giving Saiya time to get into position. Kaztos nodded and settled in. Zeltara observed the boulder wall they were hiding behind.
As they waited, Kaztos observed the direction they had come from. He wondered where Dollanti was. The older man said that he would follow them and jump in to help if needed. Was he out there, hidden somewhere? When would he help if this went bad? Perhaps Dollanti wasn’t there at all and only said he would be to boost their confidence. Kaztos vowed to make sure he wouldn’t be needed. They wouldn’t fail his training so soon.
A hand landed on his shoulder and shook him. Kaztos flinched and turned to see Zeltara. She raised an eyebrow, but then shook her head. Kaztos signaled. NOW. ATTACK. Zeltara again shook her head and pointed to herself. Then she pointed at the boulder and made a gesture as if to climb. Kaztos nodded, somewhat confused. She then signaled. ATTACK. MINUTE. Once he nodded, Zeltara aimed her gauntlet at the top of the boulder and fired the grapple line. A faint plink rang out, and the line pulled her upward. She must be using the boulder to get a better vantage point. So much for a difficult climb then. He noticed Zeltara on top of the boulder looking into the camp. He'd better get into position then.
Creeping closer, Kaztos heard the goblins more clearly. The animalistic noises brought back memories of their ambush in the cave. The roles were reversed now. He peeked around the corner to look into the camp. Six goblins were resting around the campfire. Two were beside each other some ways away, while the other three were by themselves scattered around the encampment. What must have been the hobgoblin dozed off against the trunk of the tree.
It looked just as revolting as Kaztos could have imagined. The hobgoblin sat at over six feet tall, almost twice the height of a regular goblin. Its skin was dull green compared to a goblin’s more saturated color. Thin back hair covered its body, contrasting a balding head. But what caught Kaztos’ attention the most was its body shape. While goblins were thin, almost malnourished, the hobgoblin was the opposite. The body was wide with both fat and muscle. Kaztos wondered for a moment how something that big could move around easily. Maybe this would be easier than they’d thought.
Kaztos brought his attention back to the matter at hand. When was he supposed to attack? Were Zeltara and Saiya in position yet? This part of the plan hinged on him. Attacking too early would ruin the element of surprise, leaving him vulnerable to the goblins. Kaztos looked up at the boulder beside him to search for Zeltara. He couldn’t see her anymore.
After giving them another minute, Kaztos prepared himself. If they weren’t ready yet, then so be it. He placed a hand upon his family amulet for luck before pulling out his hammer. Kaztos took a deep breath and then exited his hiding place. The goblins hadn’t noticed him yet. Well, Zeltara told him to make a distraction.
“Foul beasts!” Kaztos exclaimed. All the goblins whipped their heads to face him. “Your wretched kind have no place in this world!” He heard the zip followed by the thud of the grapple gun from above. So, Zeltara had been ready. Hopefully, Saiya was too. “Let me show you all what a true Molinar is made of!”
A moment of silence overtook the encampment. The goblins stared at him, stunned by his audacity. The hobgoblin stirred awake at his yelling. He held his hammer up, pointing at the goblins as a threat. The moment passed as the goblins’ expressions filled with hate and snarls escaped their throats. Kaztos risked a glance up to see Zeltara crouching on a large branch twenty feet above. He could just see her make a hand signal. FLASH. Understanding, Kaztos closed his eyes as the goblins prepared to charge.
They wouldn’t get the chance as half a dozen white marbles rained down from above. They were all blinded and thus surprised when black marbles exploded against them. Kaztos opened his eyes just in time to see a large fireball race into the camp and engulf the three goblins by the campfire. Their pained screeches were drowned out as Kaztos charged the lone goblin closest to him.
The goblin’s guard was down as it rubbed its eyes. Kaztos swung with all his might, his hammer slamming into the goblin’s torso. He could hear crunching and squishing from within the creature’s abdomen as it flew several feet. The goblin landed with a harsh thud and didn’t move again. The group of three goblins just managed to put the flames out, suffering bad burns. But before they could do anything, another fireball flew in and reignited them. They screeched in agony as they futilely tried to put out the flames again. Within moments, they collapsed to the ground, dead. Kaztos made the mistake of breathing through his nose and almost gagged.
The battle was going well so far, as only two goblins and the hobgoblin remained. Worse than they’d hoped for, but better than feared. Kaztos prepared himself as the two remaining goblins charged him with clubs. He easily blocked their initial swings. Their next attacks are the same as he doesn’t even have to give ground to defend. Their attacks were too wild and uncoordinated. If they were more intelligent, then Kaztos might have more difficulties. As it was, he could handle them just fine.
Kaztos looked at the hobgoblin, prepared to have it attack him as well. While he wouldn’t last long if it joined the fray, the others were sure to help. With the three of them working together, it should be easy. That’s where everything went wrong.
Rather than target him, the hobgoblin looked up at Zeltara. She threw a black marble at its face, but the small explosion only angered it. Kaztos expected the hobgoblin to make a useless reach for Zeltara, giving him and Saiya time to kill the goblins. Instead, it turned away and charged at full speed.
The hobgoblin shoulder-tackled the tree trunk. If the tree had been alive and healthy, it would likely have done nothing. Unfortunately, the dead wood was weak and thus shattered under the force. The whole tree shook and, to Kaztos’ horror, Zeltara fell off the branch. She tried to soften her landing and landed feet first. Her legs gave way, and she rolled as she landed.
For a moment, Kaztos thought she would be okay. But Zeltara let out a sharp gasp of pain and clutched her right ankle. As she lay there stunned, the hobgoblin recovered from its charge and turned. Fear raced through Kaztos as he watched the large creature lumber towards Zeltara. He needed to get there now.
Kaztos stumbled as the goblin landed a hit to his torso. He cursed himself for getting distracted. If it weren’t for his armor, then that could have taken him out of the fight. Fortunately, the landing hit caused the goblins to pause in their success. It gave Kaztos an opening to land his own hit on one goblin. He wasn’t able to put his full strength into it, but it knocked the creature to the ground. Kaztos took the opening and ran past the other goblin to save Zeltara.
His breath almost left him when he saw the hobgoblin in front of Zeltara. The monster raised its arms to slam down on her. She had only made it up to her hands and knees. Kaztos would not make it in time. Was he going to watch a friend die? A small fireball flew in and hit the hobgoblin on its side. It paused and turned to see where the attack had come from. Kaztos smirked. Now was his chance.
Just as before, Kaztos used the momentum from his sprint to bring his full force to bear against the hobgoblin. The large monster took the blow to the gut directly and fell back into a sitting position. Despite that, the hobgoblin seemed fine. For a moment, he wondered just how durable this thing was. It had taken his strike and Saiya’s fireball like they were nothing. It didn’t matter. He needed to help Zeltara. Kaztos turned and noticed two things.
The first was that Zeltara started crawling away. She hadn’t made it far, only ten feet, but any distance away from the hobgoblin was good. The second was the goblin charging him at full speed. Ah, he had forgotten about that one. It was so close that he wouldn’t be able to bring his hammer up to defend himself. The goblin swung at his head, and Kaztos braced for the blow to come.
A knife plunged into the goblin’s neck. It dropped its club and feebly clutched at the wound. Kaztos ignored that and ran toward Zeltara. He needed to get her to safety. As he approached, Zeltara held out her hand. Kaztos grabbed it and pulled her up. She made it only halfway before gasping as she fell back down.
“My ankle’s hurt.” Zeltara said through gritted teeth. Kaztos tried again and got her standing. She leaned on him to take the weight off the injury. A deep growl rang behind them, making Kaztos turn his head. The hobgoblin had recovered and was closing in on them. It grabbed a nearby club along the way, which looked almost like a child’s toy in its hands. Kaztos knew Zeltara couldn’t run, so he needed to stand his ground. With no time to lose, he pushed her away and raised his hammer in defense. He concentrated like Dollanti taught him to absorb the blow.
Even using durability enhancing, the blow knocked Kaztos off his feet. He landed several feet away, gasping for air. He knew his ribs were likely bruised, but better than shattered. As he lay there stunned, Kaztos could do nothing as the hobgoblin approached to finish him. At least he got Zeltara to relative safety. She could get away while it was busy killing him.
“Hey Ugly!” Zeltara called out. The hobgoblin turned its head just in time to receive a crossbow bolt in the eye. It let out a distressed shriek while clutching the injury. Kaztos took the time afforded to him to recover. He managed to get onto one knee. Enraged, the hobgoblin picked up the club again and prepared to charge Zeltara.
It then came as a surprise to everyone when Saiya jumped onto the creature’s back. With one arm around the hobgoblin’s neck, she began slashing at its face with a knife. The hobgoblin thrashed around, trying to buck Saiya off. Kaztos finally caught his breath and stood up. Besides the throbbing pain in his ribs, he was ready to go.
“Kaztos,” Zeltara said. He turned towards her. “Catch!” She threw what looked to be one of her black marbles at her. Once he caught it, Kaztos realized the explosive was several times larger than normal. “Use that to kill him.” Kaztos nodded. Holding his hammer in one hand and the bomb in the other, he charged into the battle.
The hobgoblin finally knocked Saiya off its back. Expecting retaliation, the blond girl scrambled away to gain distance. The creature, still in pain, covered its face and began wildly swinging the club. With the opening presented, Kaztos closed the distance. He fell to his knees to slide under the hobgoblin’s desperate swings and brought his own weapon forth with all his strength. The hammer struck its kneecap, shattering it. The hobgoblin bellowed in pain and collapsed to the ground.
Kaztos was tempted to use his hammer to finish it. However, even grounded, the hobgoblin would prove too dangerous. It finally lowered its hand, revealing a bloody, cut-up mess. One hateful orange eye stared at him as the hobgoblin crawled toward him on its one good leg. Its club swings were now calmer and more disciplined. Kaztos wasn’t confident that he’d get a clean strike in at this point. So, he channeled a small flame to his finger, lit the fuse, and threw the bomb at the hobgoblin.
As he turned and ran back towards Zeltara, Kaztos yelled, “Take cover!” He dove and covered the elf’s body with his own. The bomb had landed next to the hobgoblin, giving it no time to escape before detonation. A loud shockwave raced through the encampment as Kaztos felt the hot air on his back. Dirt rained down on both of them as the light from the explosion died down. Kaztos and Zeltara sat up and looked over to where the hobgoblin was.
A small crater remained where the creature once was, about a foot in diameter. At the epicenter, what remained of the hobgoblin laid there, long deceased. The blast charred a portion of its body, leaving the rest a broken mess. While Kaztos gazed at it in almost disgust, Zeltara looked gleefully at the result.
“Amazing! That worked better than I had hoped. I just wish that I were the one to use it,” she said. The two then heard footsteps approach and saw Saiya walk towards them. She sat down next to them and looked at the newly formed crater.
“So, is blowing up our enemies going to be a thing now?” Saiya sighed as she wiped dirt off her face. The adrenaline began to wear off, leaving the three weary after the battle.
“I don’t see a problem with that. Explosions are awesome,” Zeltara said with no small amount of glee. Kaztos figured she was still riding the high of the invention’s explosive debut.
“Agree to disagree then.” Saiya then looked over at him. “Are your ribs alright, Kaztos?”
He held a hand up to his chest. They were still tender, but no longer painful. “They seem to be fine. Nothing a few days of rest won’t fix.” He was just glad that it was over.
“Excuse me, but he’s not the one with the messed-up ankle here. Why don’t you ask me how I am?” Zeltara asked. Saiya gave her a quick look over and snorted.
“I’m sure you’re fine. It’ll teach you to be more careful next time.” Zeltara laid back down with a groan.
“You’re right about that. That was scary. Good thing I didn’t land on my head.” They stopped talking when they heard a screech. The three of them whipped their heads towards the source, afraid that more goblins had shown up. Thankfully, the sound came from one of the down goblins. The wretched thing was trying to crawl away from them, clinging to life.
Both Kaztos and Saiya stood up, weapons in hand. The goblin he’d grazed earlier had survived. They had forgotten it in the heat of battle. As Zeltara watched, the two of them approached the goblin, intending to finish it off. The goblin seemed not to notice them, continuing to crawl away from the encampment.
As they reached the goblin, Kaztos said, “Allow me to do it.” Saiya gave him a skeptical look, but shrugged. She watched as he hoisted the hammer above his head, intent on ending the creature’s life. But he watched as the pitiful thing continued to crawl away. Pained growls escaped its mouth as it inched forward. Kaztos found he couldn’t do it. Why end the life of something that was beaten? It wouldn’t threaten them or the caravan again.
Saiya sighed from beside him. “Don’t you remember what happened last time?” He did, but that didn’t mean they should condemn this goblin. “Fine then. Allow me to do it. I won’t hesitate this time.” Kaztos lowered his hammer and nodded. She motioned with her head back toward Zeltara. He got the hint and walked back.
Zeltara watched past him as he approached. Her slight flinch and the abrupt cessation of the goblin’s struggles were the only indications he received that the deed was done. He knew it was logically the better thing to do. They were putting it out of its misery more than anything. He just couldn’t find it within himself to do it.
Reaching Zeltara, Kaztos helped pull her up. She groaned in pain and leaned against him. He brought her arm over his shoulder and began supporting her weight. As Saiya made it back to them, he asked, “Where’s your crossbow? I saw you fire it earlier. Thank you for that, by the way.”
“No problem. And that wasn’t my crossbow.” Zeltara held up her gauntlet. “This baby doesn’t just grapple, but it also has a compartment to fire bolts. It can store my marbles and shoot them as well.” Kaztos let out an impressed yet weary huff.
“Are we done here?” Saiya asked. Zeltara looked around the now-destroyed encampment.
“I suppose so. The only question is where Dollanti is. He was supposed to be watching over us.” Someone dropped from the branches above, startling the three. Just before they handed, a gust of wind blew below their feet. They touched down, revealing Dollanti.
“I was keeping watch over you three. If it had looked like you couldn’t handle it, then I would have helped.” He then stared them down. “It’s a good thing I didn’t need to. You wouldn’t have liked the result.”
Ignoring the threat, Kaztos asked, “How did we do, sir?” Surprisingly, Dollanti flashed them a genuine smile. If he hadn’t been paying attention, Kaztos would have missed it.
“Well, you’re alive. There are a few things we need to go over. But you used my lessons well. Go back to the caravan and tell them the news. I’ll take care of clean up here.” Dollanti waved his hand to shoo them away, leaving them to head back.
Kaztos went to one knee, back facing Zeltara. “Here, allow me to carry you back.” Zeltara, after a moment’s hesitation, got on. He stood up, holding her in a piggyback carry.
“I’ll check out your leg when we get back,” Saiya said. Zeltara looked at both of them with a smile on her face.
“Thank you.” The three began their journey back to camp. While fatigue kept them quiet, they traveled in high spirits. A sense of pride fueled Kaztos as he walked along the desolate forest trail. They had overcome the test set before them and could hold their heads high. It was one step closer to being ready as adventurers. A long trip that was nearing its end. Kaztos couldn’t wait to see them finish that journey and begin a new one.
