Goblinsbane Ch. 01: Pilgrimage

Chapter 01: Pilgrimage

Sister Sabine had never seen a goblin before, and she wanted to keep it that way.

"You are certain it is better to take this route, rather than stay on the main road?" She asked while peering out the window, warily. Instinctively, she clutched at the tree-shaped amulet that dangled from her neck, a habit she had had since her days as a Mirean initiate. "This forest is home to goblins, is it not?"

"Fear not, Sister," replied Kassus, the only other occupant of the carriage. "Goblins are pathetic little creatures. They're no more dangerous than those little dogs I see noblewomen carry around in the crooks of their arms." He laughed, but the priestess did not join him. She smiled at her old friend politely, instead.

"Trust me, you have nothing to worry about," he continued. "This route is as safe as any other. And think of all the time it will shave off your travels. I expect to have you at the temple long before nightfall." He gave her a reassuring smile, and for a moment Sabine felt her worries ease. She turned back to the window to watch the trees of the Falo Forest gradually pass by, doing her best not to imagine goblins peeking around every trunk or hiding in every bush. If Kassus said it was safe, then surely it must have been so.

Unfortunately, it did not take long for Kassus' assurances to be proven wrong.

"Beware!" the guard seated beside the driver up top shouted, suddenly. A moment later, a tree crashed down onto the road in front of them, barely missing the horses. The carriage shook, the horses screamed, and Sister Sabine screamed, too. The driver did what he could to calm the panicked horses down, until an arrow struck him in the neck.

"Gods damn! Kassus! Ambush! KASSUS!" The guard watched blood spray out of the dying driver's neck for two heartbeats before he collected his wits, readied his crossbow, and scanned the surroundings for the source of the assault. He did this just in time to see a goblin take aim at him with a bow. The guard leaped down from the carriage, narrowly avoiding the barbed arrow that got embedded in his seat rather than his chest.

Inside the carriage, Kassus removed a mace from underneath his seat. "Get your head down, and don't move!" he shouted at the priestess. An instant later he was out the door, which he shut behind him. Sabine dropped to her knees on the carriage floor, but although her guard told her to get her head down, she couldn't resist peeking out the window to see what was happening.

What she saw were several goblins rushing out of the forest, as though they had been summoned by her frightful imaginings. They emerged from bushes, leaped down from trees, and jumped over roots half as tall as they were, armed with crude spears or wicked-looking blades. Just like the books said, they were short of stature and green of skin, with long noses, pointed ears, and sharp teeth. But the books said nothing about how they looked like little demons. Perhaps they only appeared that way to Sabine.

The other guard, the one with the crossbow, shot the goblin that tried to shoot him, striking it squarely in its torso. That was one dead, but there were so many more emerging from the forest. Before the guard could load another bolt or draw his sword, a group of screaming goblins tackled him to the ground. He tried to swat the little, green monsters off with his crossbow, but to no avail.

Sabine's could not see from her position, but she could hear when the goblins began to stab the guard, mercilessly. He screamed out, and soon his death cry turned into wet gurgling that was accompanied by the impish giggling of his killers. With her amulet in her dark-skinned hand, the priestess closed her eyes and said a prayer to Mirea, asking her goddess to provide guidance to the man's spirit as he traveled to the next life.

Sabine opened her eyes and risked taking another look out the window to find Kassus. Thankfully, her long-time friend was doing far better than his comrade. Although he was surrounded by at least half a dozen foes, he kept them all at a distance with his long reach and the mace that was already dripping with thick, green blood.

"C'mon, you gibbering bastards!" Kassus yelled at the goblins, who took turns trying to stab at him with their spears or get close enough to slash at his unarmored legs, only to have their attacks deflected or dodged. They moved with uncertainty, whereas the tall guard attacked with confidence, skill and focused anger. He caved in the chest of a goblin that got too close, then scored a glancing blow on another that sent it stumbling to the dirt.

"Hah! You picked the wrong carriage to ambush!" Kassus was picking off the attackers one at a time, and thus far he appeared unscathed. For a moment, it seemed as though he would be able to defeat all their attackers by himself. Unfortunately, an arrow to the back of his thigh put an end to that prospect.

Kassus howled in pain and dropped to a knee. The goblins, seeing their chance, closed in for the kill, but he still had enough presence of mind to keep them at bay with some wild swings. He did not see the new assailant - the one who shot him in the leg - approach him from behind, but Sabine did. This one wasn't a small greenskin like the others. It was as tall as a man and looked as sturdy as a soldier. It wore armor, too, including a helm that showed its face, which resembled the face of a goblin except for the dull green fur that grew thickest around the cheeks, looking almost like mutton chops. Sabine didn't know what this monster was. Perhaps it was just a big goblin? What she did know was that it was coming to kill Kassus.

Sabine was about to call out a warning to Kassus, but it was too late. The goblin leader grabbed him by his head and threw him to the ground. The guard attempted to get back up, but a savage kick to his jaw knocked him to the ground, unconscious.

"You're all useless!" Sounding guttural and cruel, the leader stood above the fallen human, who was bleeding from his leg and from his mouth. The goblins backed away from the big one, for they knew he was claiming this kill as his own. Dropping his bow, the man-sized goblin unsheathed his sword and prepared to finish the last of the carriage's guards so he could find out what or who they were protecting.

Before she realized she was moving, Sister Sabine threw open the door and jumped out. Although she was terrified, she could not simply hide while Kassus was executed. She uttered a prayer as she moved. "Mirea, Harvest Mother, please grant me your husband's light!" The bright, golden radiance that she prayed for enveloped her hands like gloves. The goblins and their leader looked up right as the priestess threw her hands out at them. The light leaped from her fingers and exploded in the monsters' eyes, blinding them.

"Nyargh! A mage! Get her, you worthless gnats!" The leader barked out orders, but none of them could hope to catch the priestess without sight. All of them - the leader included - were rendered helpless for a few precious moments, during which they could do naught but complain or stand there blinking. Sister Sabine took the opportunity to grab Kassus under his arms and try dragging him away.

It was futile, however, and Sabine immediately knew it. The spell of blinding she cast would only buy her seconds. Even if she wasn't struggling to drag an armored guard who was twice her size, she knew she wouldn't have been able to outrun the monsters. But she didn't know what else to do besides try.

As she feared, the monsters recovered quickly. She had barely been able to drag Kassus off the road by the time their vision returned. The tall monster, finally able to see who he mistook for a mage, barked out a laugh. "Get a look at this, boys! Some frail, little thing trying to get away."

"She not gonna get far, huh, boss?" Asked one of the goblins in broken common. Its thin, tiny voice probably would have been amusing if Sabine's life were not in danger.

"No, she's not." The leader stalked towards her, his sword pointed right at her chest. He grinned, showing off a mouth full of sharp teeth. "We're gonna have some fun with you, humie, before I gut ya." The little goblins followed closely behind, some smiling wickedly like their leader, others scowling because they had just had magic shot at their faces.

Sister Sabine let go of Kassus, then stood up straight. She had no weapons on her, and besides the prayer of blinding, she only really knew prayers of health and harvest, none of which would help in her predicament. Shaking like a leaf, she spoke the same prayer she had moments ago. Once again, divine light covered her hands. The monsters averted their gazes or covered them with their clawed hands, ready for the blinding effect this time. They did not stop advancing.

Sabine's shaking suddenly stopped, for she felt strangely calm. She lifted her hands, finding comfort in the light that covered them. That light was a reminder of her goddess's power and love.

"Mirea, protect me."

The goblin leader reached out, but his claws never touched her. Out of nowhere, an axe flew into the side of the monster's head, clanging off of his helmet and dropping him to the ground. Sabine saw an expression of utter confusion on the dazed creature's face after he fell; she felt the same way.

"Wha?!" One of the goblins had just enough time to blurt that out before it got its head smashed in by a dark figure riding atop a speeding horse. Little green bodies were trampled underneath the horse's hooves before its rider pulled on its reigns, stopped it in front of the felled tree, and turned it around. Sabine's savior - a black-clad warrior whose face was partially covered by a helmet - jumped down from the saddle to resume the goblin killing on foot.

What followed was a massacre. The warrior dashed from goblin to goblin, crushing skulls and collapsing ribs with each swift swing of his war hammer. One goblin was struck with such force that his head exploded. The goblins attempted to put up a fight, but their attempts were too feeble in the face of such fury. They were like saplings trying to stand against a storm. Their blades were swatted away with ease before they were slain. Their primitive spears, as well as their bones, snapped beneath the brutal power of the man swinging the hammer. The hides they wore as makeshift armor offered no protection at all. The hammer dropped again and again, and each time it did another goblin died.

Before Sabine fully processed what was going on, the road was littered with green bodies and splashed with blood that nearly matched the color of well-watered grass. Her savior stood above the goblin leader, who was beginning to regain his senses and trying to get back to his feet.

"Yu..you pink-skinned crud! You dung pile! I'll gut ya! I'll...Oof!" The savior in black put his boot to the goblin leader's chest to shove him back down and hold him still. The monster snarled, but when he got a better look at the man who killed all his lackeys, his black eyes widened. "No! You're not supposed to be here! You rode away!"

"Yeah, but that was months ago," the warrior replied, casually. "I got back last week. Too bad for you, your information's old." With a shrug, he flipped his war hammer around in his hands, then drove the spiked side right into the monster's eye socket. His helmet didn't save him, that time.

When the man pulled his hammer free, dark green blood sprayed onto his boots. But he paid it no mind. Instead, he scanned the bodies he left on the road, making certain none of them were still moving. Once he was satisfied they were all dead, he turned to Sister Sabine. The two of them stared at each other for several silent moments.

"Are you just going to stand there, eye-balling me, or are you going to tend to your friend?" The warrior pointed behind the priestess's feet, where Kassus was still unconscious and bleeding on the side of the road.

"Oh!" was all she said in reply. She dropped to her knees beside Kassus, closed her eyes, and mentally prepared for the healing prayer she was about to perform.

"Mother of All, please grant me the power to heal your faithful servant, who risked his life to save mine."

The warrior in black, who was using the pant leg of the creature he just killed to wipe blood off of his hammer, scoffed. "He risked his life and got knocked on his ass for it," he muttered under his breath. The priestess did not hear him, for she was concentrating on the healing magic granted to her by her goddess.

Opening her eyes, Sister Sabine saw her hands sheathed in soft, green light. She placed them upon Kassus, one palm on his forehead, and the other on his leg, just below the arrow. The light in her hands flowed like water to the guard's wounds.

The divine magic made the arrowhead embedded in Kassus' flesh disappear, thus allowing Sabine to remove the rest of the arrow with ease. The wound slowly closed once the shaft slid out. Up above, Kassus' jaw - which had been fractured when he was kicked - was healed, as well. The only things left to indicate he'd been injured at all were the drying blood on his clothes and the hole in his pant leg.

Kassus awoke seconds later. His eyes fluttered open, and when he saw Sabine's face, he sat up abruptly. "Sister!" He looked around, almost frantically. "What happened?!" Scrambling to his feet, he unsheathed his dagger, as though he expected more goblins to rush out of the forest. There weren't any goblins around - none that were alive, anyway - so he turned towards the stranger.

"Who are you?" The guard asked as he positioned himself between the priestess and the heavily armed man. He assumed a fighting stance, his dagger at the ready.

"I'm the man who killed all the goblins that nearly killed the both of you." The warrior leaned on his long-handled hammer like a cane. "Feel free to thank me whenever you find your manners."

Sister Sabine put a hand on Kassus' shoulder. He glanced at her, and the look on her face was enough to tell him that they were out of danger. Turning back to the stranger, he lowered his dagger, but he remained ready to fight at a moment's notice.

"Thank you," Sabine said to the warrior as she stepped around her guard. "The temple of Mirea will reward you for saving our lives."

"Mirea, huh? What's a priestess of the field doing traveling through a dangerous forest with not enough guards?"

Sabine gave a sidelong glance to Kassus, who saw it and guessed what it meant: that he had been wrong. If Kassus' dark face could have reddened, it would have.

The priestess turned back to their savior and was about to respond, but he answered his own question, first. "You're headed to Vesper, right?"

"Yes. I am on a pilgrimage to the temple of Mirea, there."

"Mmhm. Making a pilgrimage to the City of Faiths...very original." The warrior, seemingly bored with this conversation already, removed his helm then used his forearm to wipe some sweat from his forehead. Sabine used this opportunity to take stock of him.

He was not an especially big man; Kassus was taller by a few inches and more broad of shoulder, as well. But he was clearly quite fit. In between the black plates that hung down from his shoulders and the metal bracers that protected his forearms, his biceps were left bare, so Sabine could see the thick muscle and tan skin there. The hammer he carried seemed heavy, but he wielded it with ease - another indication of how physically powerful he was.

The warrior had facial features that the priestess had not seen before, at least not in a human. His face was as tan as his arms, and she got the impression that his skin was darkened more by his lineage than by the sun. His eyes were dark, narrow and softly slanted. They vaguely resembled an elf's eyes, but he was obviously no elf. She had never before seen eyes like his in person. She had, however, seen illustrations depicting people from the lands far to the east, who had eyes such as his. If he was truly from one of those nations, then he would be the first Far Easterner she had ever met.

Now that his helmet off, Sabine saw that his hair was fine, thin, and as black as his armor. The hair on the sides of his head was shaved off, which left a short, thick mohawk behind. His face was clean-shaven.

In addition to having exotic features, the warrior's outfit was also unlike anything Sabine had seen before. Earlier, she mistakenly thought he wore a full suit of black armor. Now that he was standing still, she realized that what he wore was actually a long coat made of black leather and deep brown wool. It was cinched at the waist, and the lower portion was cut in a way that allowed his legs to move unrestricted. Plate spaulders were strapped on to provide protection to his shoulders and upper arms, and black chainmail was sewn into the garment, all around the torso. This strange, armored coat must have been heavy, but considering how quickly he moved when he killed those goblins, she guessed it didn't hinder his mobility by much.

The priestess broke the silence before it grew too awkward. "I am Sister Sabine, priestess of the Harvest Mother, may She nurture us, always." When she spoke her goddess's name, she made a gesture in which her hands were first cupped and folded over her heart, then 'blossomed' open. The Mireans called this 'the sign of the flower'. Behind her, Kassus made the same sign and mouthed a quick prayer.

"This is my friend and protector, Kassus. What may we call you?"

"You may call me whatever you want, as long as it sounds nice. But my name is Eredwal." That didn't sound like a Far Eastern name to Sabine.

Eredwal turned around and returned to the body of the goblin leader. Kneeling down, he retrieved the axe he had thrown at the creature's head. Next, he withdrew a long, curved knife from the back of his belt and proceeded to slice off one of the corpse's ear. He did so as nonchalantly as a cook might gut a fish.

"What are you doing, you savage?!" Kassus yelled, once again placing himself between the priestess and the warrior. Sabine gasped, her slender, brown hand covering her mouth. Although the brutal efficiency with which Eredwal killed the goblins did not sicken her in the least, seeing him desecrate a corpse - even a monster's corpse - made her stomach turn.

"Calm down, choir boy. It's not like they can feel anything." Eredwal, rolling his eyes, squeezed blood out of the pointy ear before tucking it into a leather pouch. He then went to the next body to slice off another ear. "Just so you know, I'm not collecting these as a hobby. Vesper's sheriff pays me a bounty for each goblin ear I bring them. There are enough ears here to cover a week of rent, or more."

"Hmph. So you're nothing more than a common mercenary," Kassus spat.

"I do mercenary work, sure. But in this case, Vesper law enforcement sees me as more of an exterminator. They pay me to keep the greenskin population down in Falo Forest."

"Then how do you explain this group that ambushed us? You obviously aren't very good at your job."

Unlike the Mirean guard, Eredwal did not raise his voice, nor did he show any other signs of agitation. He only smiled a little as he continued to collect ears. "You're one to talk. I wasn't the one who was asleep and bleeding all over myself while a hobgoblin nearly had his way with my priestess."

Sabine gasped, and Kassus was rendered speechless for a few moments. Scowling, it appeared as though he was ready to resume arguing - or worse - but the sister stopped him. "Kassus," she said a little sharply. "If you would, please, see what remains of Bruhl and Torren. We should cover their bodies and take them with us for proper burial."

It appeared as though Kassus was about to resist, but a stern look from her kept him quiet. He nodded, then walked off to carry out her orders. She could now speak to Eredwal alone. "Did you say that big goblin was a hob goblin?"