Arc 2, Chapter 17: The Sound of Blood

  The goblin's eyes stayed fixed on him.

  It held its position at the tree line, a stiff hunch against the brush, watching with the yellow stare of infection. The forest rose behind it in a solid wall of black.

  Ash gripped his dagger. His hand stayed ready on the hilt, breath quiet and steady.

  Time passed while the stars moved across the sky. Both remained locked in place.

  The goblin reached for its belt.

  A dull edge caught the starlight. The creature pulled a rusted blade, a scrap of metal scavenged from some corpse. It dragged the edge across its own palm.

  Thick blood welled up. The creature endured the cut with a blank face, then dropped to its knees and shoved the bleeding hand into the soil.

  Fingers dragged through the dirt, drawing symbols Ash almost recognized. The shapes scraped against memories buried for decades. The blood shone wet in the gloom. Lines curved and intersected, forming a geometry that forced his gaze to slide away.

  *No.*

  The thought was cold and certain.

  *No. These symbols.*

  An arrow punched through the window behind him. Wood splintered and glass rained across the floor. Ash spun toward the outpost. Two more arrows hit the shutters, hissing through the gaps.

  Small archers moved through the trees. They were faster than the first goblin and nocked fresh arrows with professional speed. Their bows looked sturdy and well-crafted.

  The outpost door hit the exterior wall with a bang.

  Kyle ran out first with his sword drawn and eyes wide. Marcus followed with armor sitting crooked on his massive frame and his helm tilted at an angle. Emma trailed them, her knuckles white around her staff and her hair a bird's nest of tangles.

  "What's happening?" Emma shouted over the wind.

  Marcus pointed his thick finger at the shadows. "Goblins."

  Kyle laughed. He rolled his shoulders and tightened his grip on his sword. "Finally. Easy points. Let's clear them out."

  Kyle bolted toward the tree line. Behind him, Marcus ran with a heavy clink of plate armor while Emma took the flank, whispering until the tip of her staff glowed with a dull heat.

  Ash looked back at the ritual site. The dirt was empty. The goblin had vanished. Only the bloody patterns remained. They shone with a sickly, pulsing light.

  His stomach tightened. "Wait!" he yelled. "It's a trap!"

  The others kept running.

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  Kyle reached the tree line and swung at the nearest archer. Marcus plowed into the undergrowth. Emma released her spell. A sphere of fire ignited the woods, illuminating the scattering goblins as they fled deeper into darkness.

  The archers and watchers broke their line. They scrambled deeper into the woods, their shapes lost almost instantly among the thick trunks.

  Kyle led the others in a reckless chase.

  "Get back here!" His shout rang out between the trees. "You think you can run?"

  The silhouettes vanished, leaving Ash alone in the clearing for a heartbeat. The dark wood rose up like a solid wall.

  He hissed a curse and sprinted toward the treeline.

  The night forest felt cramped. Dark boughs crowded the space where the path once sat. Thick trunks blocked the starlight and twisted roots tripped Ash as he ran. Ahead, he heard Kyle's shout and the heavy thud of Marcus's boots. Flashes of orange light sparked between the trees.

  The path hooked left. Ash saw a silhouette crouched in the dirt fifty paces away. A goblin hunched over the soil with its hands moving in familiar patterns. Blood stained the earth. Symbols took shape under its claws.

  Ash kept his pace. The path turned right. A second goblin traced the same bloody lines in the muck.

  *How many? How far does this go?*

  The questions remained unanswered. He broke through a wall of thorns into a clearing thirty paces wide. Seven goblins stood there with yellow eyes and crude swords.

  Kyle's blade carved a wide, flashy arc through the nearest goblin. The metal bit into its shoulder and sprayed dark fluid across the grass.

  "Look at that!" His laughter echoed across the clearing as he turned to Marcus, grinning. "Easy experience. We'll finish this by dawn."

  Marcus's massive sword moved with practiced rhythm, cutting through two attackers and dropping them into the dirt. At the edge of the clearing, Emma's staff glowed as she threw a spiral of flame that ignited two more creatures. They shrieked and rolled in the weeds.

  The heroes were winning with ease that made Ash's stomach clench.

  "Get out of here!" His throat felt like sandpaper. "We need to leave."

  Kyle's sword hacked down another goblin before he glared at Ash. "Leave? We're just getting started."

  The remaining goblins backed away in unison, keeping their distance and retreating into the trees with coordinated steps.

  Silence fell over the clearing. Kyle lowered his weapon while Marcus shifted his weight and Emma's staff flickered.

  "Why did they..." Emma started.

  Metal struck metal, cutting her off. The rhythmic pulse came from the dark wood. Strange, sour light brightened the clearing without any visible source.

  Goblins emerged from the shadows. A dozen, then twenty, forming a ring around the group. Tin plates and wooden spoons filled their hands as they began to beat them together.

  The noise swelled with each synchronized strike. The pulse vibrated in Ash's teeth.

  Thum.

  The blood from the fallen goblins leaked into the soil. Red fluid found narrow grooves in the dirt and filled them. The liquid connected to a larger pattern carved deep into the clearing floor.

  Thum. Thum.

  The carvings matched the symbols Ash had seen in the woods. They stood in the center of a massive sigil.

  "What is this?" Kyle gripped his sword with trembling fingers. The tip of his blade dipped toward the grass. "What are they doing?"

  Thum. Thum. Thum.

  The noise grew. A dull pressure vibrated in Ash's teeth and the bones of his skull. The blood on the ground shimmered with a pale, sour light. The glow rose from the mud and pulsed in time with the striking metal plates.

  "We need to run." His voice sounded distant, muffled. "We need to—"

  His knees hit the dirt. The canopy overhead swirled. He braced his palms against the soil while his muscles strained to hold him up.

  Thum. Thum. Thum. Thum.

  Kyle slumped. His sword hit a rock with a sharp ring. He stared at Ash with wide, wet eyes. "What's... happening..."

  Emma crumpled. Her staff rolled into the tall grass. Marcus groaned and forced one heavy step toward the trees. He raised his sword, the metal catching the pale light for a second before he slammed face-first into the mud. His armor clanged against the roots.

  Thum. Thum. Thum. Thum. Thum.

  Ash shoved against the ground. His elbows locked. The Seed of Life throbbed in his chest, burning hot. It fought the pressure until his strength failed.

  The goblins kept striking their plates. Their faces stayed blank. Ash's vision blurred into grey. The world went black.

  The last thing he heard was the rhythm.

  Thum.

  Thum.

  Thum.