Three hours later, and after a quick stop at the fletcher’s to grab some arrows for his new bow, they arrived. The commission did not have the exact location of the goblins’ hideout listed, but it did have the last four known sightings of them, and they used this to their advantage, triangulating the potential area of the goblin den on a map.

  Or rather, Rayne triangulated it. The others were much more action-oriented, which was a kind way of saying that the highest educated among them was Syra, and even she took on a funny look when Rayne had asked her to help him with the task of figuring out the goblins’ location.

  “Can’t we just comb the woods for ‘em?” Lili suggested, a glint in her eye as she scanned the forest before them.

  They were currently on the edge of a small village known as Gabrik, where the first report of the goblins had originated. Lili was pacing anxiously, the constant flexing of her fingers a clear sign that she thirsted for violence. On the ground beside her sat Rayne, the map open before him as he traced lines on it with his finger.

  Casting his gaze around the sleepy hamlet, Rayne shook his head. “That would take days. We’d be out here all week if we chose to do that.”

  “And no one knows where they might be?”

  Eyes back on the map, Rayne did not look up. “Unfortunately, the farmer who called in the report isn’t sure where they might be. All he knows is that they’re in the area.”

  “He did say that he saw them in his field,” Bob said helpfully, having accompanied Rayne to question the man.

  Restraining the urge to give him a withering glance, Rayne shook his head. “Given that he isn’t growing goblins, that doesn’t help us much. All it does is confirm what we already know. That the goblins were nearby three days ago. However, thanks to the other reports, they should be…” His finger fell on a small area about three inches left of the village’s symbol on the map, or three miles in actual distance. “Here. Somewhere in the vicinity of Lake Titan.”

  Crowding in, Syra tilted her head. “Not in the lake itself?”

  “Possible, but I doubt it,” Rayne responded dryly. “But from the looks of things, their camp is probably located somewhere within one or two miles of it. Given that they were seen here, as well as west and north of the lake, they should be foraging and raiding with the lake as a base. Or somewhere nearby at least. The map doesn’t show smaller caves, but so long as they’re in the area, I trust you can find them.”

  Syra grinned brightly, pointing a thumb at her chest as she stood proud. “Leave it to me! No goblin can escape my tracking!”

  A small cheer went up at this, everyone clearly happy that their quarry was within reach. Folding the map back up, Rayne stuck it inside his pack as the party set off, entering the forest and leaving the village behind as they struck out in search of goblins.

  Syra took the lead this time, moving at a decent clip as she scanned the ground for prints. Behind her, Lili and Rayne watched the flanks, while Bob and Benji brought up the rearguard, everyone working together to watch for enemies as Syra tracked their prey.

  Despite their enthusiasm, it took another hour before they found any sign of the goblins, and it was not an air of celebration that surrounded them when they did.

  “We’ve got a problem,” Syra announced. As the rest of the party turned to look at her, she gestured towards the ground, where small footprints could be seen amidst the leaves and dirt. “These are goblin tracks, but there’s too many for a mere eight goblins. By my guess, there are at least fifteen goblins present in this camp. Possibly more if they leave anyone behind to stand guard while they’re out raiding.”

  With a frown, Lili bent down, brushing her hand against the tracks with an intense look in her eyes. Standing back up, she nodded towards Syra. “The cat is right. On top of that, these prints were made by armored boots. Some of these goblins are properly equipped.”

  Immediately, all eyes turned to Rayne, the unofficial leader of this makeshift party, as they waited for his verdict. If he said to turn back, they would. But then the day would be a total wash. It had taken them nearly half the day just to get here, and it would take them equally long to get back. By the time they arrived, they would at most have time for a minor commission in the city, which would pay a pittance compared to the bountiful reward this job offered.

  Rayne bit his lip, visions of Issa and his new bow dancing in his mind. “We’ll press on, but slowly. Once we confirm their numbers, we’ll retreat and try to formulate a plan. If we can’t, or feel it’s too risky, we’ll head back to the city to inform the guild. At the very least, they’ll be able to update the posting.”

  Nods all around, and the party struck off once more, following the tracks deeper into the forest. Around them, the forest was in full bloom, leaves rustling in the breeze as moss and flowers soaked up the sunlight. It was a beautiful sight, but the atmosphere among the party was a far cry from idyllic.

  If they went back empty-handed, that was the day wasted. It was always a possibility for adventurers, but to Rayne, who had not failed to earn coin yet, the idea of receiving nothing for his labors left a foul taste in his mouth. Even at the registrar’s office, where he had been overworked and underpaid, he had always received something for his work. Sure, the customers had sucked, and several of his bosses were worse, but compensation was always guaranteed in exchange for suffering, no matter how awful the exchange rate.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Despite all this, he knew he had to temper himself, to retain a cool head no matter what happened. Coin was important, but it was impossible to spend it without remaining alive. If he made the wrong decision, the entire party could wind up like Leon had, or worse.

  Steeling himself, he followed Syra as she tracked the goblins, taking them through game trails and thickets as they left the main road far behind in search of the monsters’ encampment.

  It was nearly half an hour from when they had first discovered the tracks when Syra raised her hand, calling a halt to the proceedings. One of Lili’s goons, Bob—Rayne thought it was—did not see it in time and ran into Lili, which earned him a harsh glare and a threatening raised hand that caused him to cower back.

  With a severe look, Syra commanded them all to be quiet, then pointed through the thicket. The grass was nearly waist high here, and brambles grew in twisted spirals all around, entangling clothes and hair, and scratching any exposed skin that came into contact with them.

  Putting his sleeve over his hand, Rayne used it to push them aside so that he might see what Syra had found.

  There, about two hundred feet from them, lay a small encampment. Four tents had been built on the lakeside, just at the edge of a small beach that had managed to resist the forest’s encroachment. Among them, goblins could be seen milling around, barking and grunting in what passed for a language among them as they prepared a midday meal.

  The smell of fish filled Rayne’s nose, courtesy of the small fire in the middle of the encampment upon which six fish sizzled, their juices falling into the flames and producing a delicious aroma of seafood. Or lakefood, in this case.

  There were at least twelve goblins gathered, and as Rayne watched, another emerged from one of the tents, slightly larger than the rest. This one wore armor, and as they watched, one of the smaller goblins, a female by the look of it, rushed over to provide him with one of the six fish.

  Snatching it from her, the large goblin tore into it, uncaring for the heat of the fish fresh from the fire. This was the signal, and the other five fish were quickly distributed to the rest of the goblins, each digging in with their fingers as they devoured the pescatarian offering.

  Jerking his chin backwards, Rayne signalled for the party to retreat, and they crawled backwards, slowly so as not to make any noise. Only once they had put a good half mile between them and the encampment did he open his mouth.

  “Thoughts?”

  “I counted sixteen of the bastards,” Lili announced grimly. She fingered her shield as she spoke, clearly ready to bloody it with goblin nose parts as she had done against the kobolds. “They’re decently armed, but I only saw two with armor. And none with bows. So in that regard, we have the advantage.”

  “There were eighteen,” Syra added. “At the far end of the camp, there was a lookout, and I saw tracks indicating that there was another on the west side, just out of our view.”

  Eighteen goblins. At this announcement, both Bob and Benji went pale, and even Lili looked slightly flustered.

  “Is that it then?” Bob asked. “Eighteen is too many to take on with just the five of us. Maybe if we had someone with D-tier stats, or a silver-ranker with us. But with just five of us against eighteen of them?” He trailed off, but the implication was clear. In a fixed battle, they would stand no chance.

  As the others bickered, Rayne fingered his chin, upon which he could feel the bristle of his untrimmed beard. “It’s possible,” he said slowly.

  Immediately, all eyes turned to him. Unaware that he had said that last bit out loud, Rayne suddenly realized that everyone was staring at him, and grew defensive. “What?”

  “What do you mean, it’s possible?” Lili demanded. “Are you saying we can take on eighteen goblins and win?”

  Her voice was raised, and Rayne held up both hands to stop her from getting any louder. “I think so,” he replied.

  Both Bob and Benji looked skeptical, but Syra’s eyes were shining, and Lili seemed willing to hear him out, for she motioned for him to continue.

  “I was just thinking,” Rayne explained. “Their camp is located on a lake. It’s great because it provides them with food and makes a natural barrier against attacks from that side, but it also means that their path to retreat is blocked off. If we can force them into the lake, then we can camp on the shore and pick them off at our leisure. Any that try to get back on shore, we can dispatch in melee, relying on the water to hinder their movements. Goblins are shorter than us, so water will slow them down much more than us in a fight.”

  “And how’re we s’posed to force them into the lake?” Lili demanded, but he could see the gears turning in her brain. She wanted to be convinced. All he had to do was show that it was possible and she would do the rest herself.

  “I think we should hear him out,” Syra said quickly before anyone else could interject. “Rayne was the fourth best candidate at the initiation, and it was all due to his strategies.”

  Lili seemed convinced, having been the direct beneficiary of one such plan, and with the party quiet, Rayne laid out his strategy.

  “Essentially, we need to use diversion and subterfuge to our advantage. If they believe us to be more numerous and powerful than we are, then the enemies will naturally flee.”

  With a snort, Lili shot him down. “Too many big words. Explain it properly.”

  “We hit them hard and make them think we’ve got a big force, using the bushes as cover,” Rayne replied.

  This got a nod, and she motioned for him to continue.

  “I’m the only one with a ranged weapon here, so to start, we’re all going to gather rocks. Then we’ll spread out along the edge of the camp. Each of us will take up position about fifteen feet from the next, with Syra positioned near the lookout so that they go down first. On my signal, we’ll attack, with everyone throwing rocks and shouting. If everything goes right, the goblins will think we have a much bigger force than we do. As soon as they start to retreat, everyone will charge, with Lili hitting the fire to scatter it across the tents and Syra going for their leader. If everything goes to plan, we’ll be able to corral the rest into the lake, where we can pick them off at our leisure.”

  No one challenged him, but Rayne could sense that they needed one last push in order to go along with the plan. Suddenly, with a rush of inspiration, he smiled.

  “Between Lili and Syra, and the advantage of surprise, this will all be over within an instant. And then we’ll be the party who not only took on a job meant for bronze-ranks, but did it without any casualties. Plus, the rewards for eighteen goblins have to be way better than for a measly eight.”

  This did the trick, and Lili grinned. “Screw it, let’s do this. Ain’t no way I’m gonna be known as the chick who ran from a few measly gobbos.”

  With Lili onboard, the other two soon followed, and Syra gave Rayne a reassuring grin along with a thumbs up. Thus convinced, the party set to it, making their preparations as they prepared to assault the goblin camp.