Chapter 45
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Venturing further north, the party slaughtered the pairs of patrolling goblins they discovered as they searched for a squad of five. Now that Eric had revealed his skills, Turk seemed much more at ease around him, joining in on the conversation as Aria continued to pelt him with questions.
"I've been meaning to ask. Why do you carry that bow if you mainly use your sword and magic?" Aria asked curiously, pointing to the Yew Longbow on Eric's back.
"Actually I do rely on it quite a bit. But I've been trying to level up my magic. Normally I would have opened up on those two goblins with an arrow to the dome. But I figured you guys wanted to see how I'd do in a real fight, not an ambush," Eric explained.
"Arrow to the dome?" Aria asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"The head. Gamer slang," Eric explained.
"Ah."
"Speaking of magic, where's your wand? I haven't seen you using one. Have you already learned how to do wandless casting?" Turk interjected.
"Yeah, I learned how to do it in the tutorial. I may have accidentally blown up my wand during the tutorial, and I was too embarrassed to ask for another one. So I just kind of taught myself how to do wandless casting," Eric responded. Aria looked at him with wide eyes.
"What?" Eric asked, shuffling uncomfortably as she continued to gaze at him with undisguised longing.
"Teach me."
"What?"
"Please teach me. I reaaaaally want to learn wandless casting!" Aria pleaded, bringing her hands together and lowering her head.
"Alright alright, no need to beg. It's embarrassing," said Eric awkwardly. Turk rolled his eyes at his friend's antics, continuing to forge on through the forest. Somewhere along the way the trees had become taller and thicker, the dense branches blocking out much of the late afternoon sunlight.
As Eric attempted to teach Aria how to cast magic wandlessly, the trio found themselves at a large gap in the trees. Here, a huge amount of trees had fallen at some point, with old trunks scattered across the swathe of deforested land. At the very centre, a huge gully could be seen, like a scar in the land itself that carried on for as far as the eye could see. Continuing for at least a kilometre in either direction, the deforested area spanned roughly three hundred meters between the two tree lines with very little in the way of cover to hide the party as they crossed.
"This is where we encountered the first squad earlier," said Turk, scanning the fallen trees and boulders for signs of goblins.
"Yeah they seem to be watching this area. There were two squads when we were here earlier. One about a kilometre to the west, and another a few hundred meters east," Aria added.
"Can't we just go around? How far does this go on for?" Eric asked, gesturing towards the treeless scenery.
Turk shook his head, "We tried that. First we headed east but after two kilometres we gave up, because there was no end in sight. To the west there's a large cliff, you can't see it right now due to the trees. But if we walked west for about ten minutes you'd see why we can't go that way."
"Tch, so there's no way across but through here?"
"Pretty much, but we have no idea how many goblins could be around. Like I said, there were two squads here earlier. We're not sure if they live nearby, or if they're guarding it. But even with three of us I don't think we can handle ten goblins at the same time," murmured Aria, continuing to scan the barren swathe.
"There," said Turk, pointing to a large tree trunk that had fallen at an angle, landing on top of another fallen trunk to create an enormous wooden X roughly sixty meters from the tree line. Peering closely, Eric could just make out a goblin crouched under the trunk, mirroring the trio's actions as it scanned the forest for intruders. As his eyes adjusted, he could make out three more, presumably there was a fifth hidden somewhere nearby if Turk and Aria's information was to be trusted.
"Think we can sneak over without them noticing?" whispered Aria. Turk shook his head, "Their position affords them to great a vantage point over the area. We'll need to kill them them, and do it before another group notices."
Eric nodded, "Any idea on how to do that? I'm all for a straightforward charge, but that doesn't seem conducive to staying low profile."
"We sneak as close as we can. Then you and Aria hit them with ranged attacks as I charge. Ideally, Kyp you charge with me and together we engage the goblins that weren't injured or killed while Aria supports us from the back. Sounds good?"
Eric nodded while Aria murmured her assent. Crouching low, the trio retreated into the brush. Once they were far enough away to avoid alerting the goblins, Turk led them to a spot fifty meters west of their original position. Emerging once more into the barren strip of land, the party stayed low, creeping along the length of an enormous fallen oak, its once mighty branches long since eroded by the combined powers of wind and time.
Stealthily, the group advanced, threading around fallen branches, stepping over fallen stones, and doing their best to avoid stepping on any dry twigs, lest they cause a noise and alert the goblin sentries to their approach.
Rounding the upturned roots of the oak, Turk motioned for them to stop.
"Prepare to attack," he mouthed.
"How far away are they?" Eric mouthed back. Turk held up two fingers.
"Twenty meters," whispered Aria. Eric nodded, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, doing his best to minimize the noise he made. Aria mimicked his action, drawing a pair of unfamiliar runes and readying her spell. Taking a second to calm himself, Eric glanced at Aria who gave him a quick nod. Seeing this non-verbal exchange, Turk pulled back slightly, giving the two room to take aim at the goblins.
Peeking out from behind the roots Eric could see the goblin squad. Two goblins were alert, staring at the treeline, slowly scanning the eastern and western approaches to the barren patch of land. Two other goblins could be seen staring in the other direction, monitoring the northern tree line. The final goblin was hidden behind a screen of branches. While it had been almost impossible to see it from their previous position in the forest, from the side it was exposed and lying in plain view. As Eric watched, the fifth goblin alternated looking between the east and the west, monitoring the barren land for anyone attempting to approach the lookout post.
Drawing his bow, Eric sighted at the goblin hidden in the crook of the branches. As Aria took aim at the two looking south, he activated charged shot, the arrow leaping from his bow with a loud twang. Simultaneously, Aria cast her spell, a watery dart emerging from the tip of her staff and shooting towards the goblins.
Alerted by the sound, the goblins flinched, but there was no time for them to react as the arrow and spell covered the twenty meters between the two groups almost instantaneously. Eric's arrow burying into the skull of the lookout goblin, while Aria's water dart slammed into the chest of one of the two southfacing goblins, knocking it backwards but not killing it.
With a vicious cry, Turk emerged from behind the two, sprinting forwards with his shield raised. This turned out to be the correct move as the companion to Aria's target lifted a crude bow, firing an arrow at the oncoming fighter. Receiving the arrow on his shield Turk didn't slow at all, instead speeding up as he covered the remaining ten meters between him and the fallen tree that the goblins had occupied. Arriving in front of the goblins, Turk's shield slammed into the archer, causing it to shoot backwards like a cannonball. Unfortunately for the goblin, its momentum was arrested by the tree trunk, its body slamming into the unforgiving wood with a satisfying thunk.
Raising his sword, Turk hacked at the goblin that Aria had downed. In response, the goblin raised its saber and parried the blow, calling out to it's companions in an angry chittering voice. This call seemed to be the signal for the remaining two lookouts to burst into action, raising their bows and firing at Turk. Raising his shield he managed to block one arrow, but the other found it's mark, lodging deep in Turk's side and causing him to wince.
By now Eric had arrived, activating dashing cut to finish off the goblin Aria had wounded previously. At this point, the goblin Turk had charged had regained its feet and regrouped with its remaining companions who drew their sabers, ferocious war cries that belied their size emerging from the mouths of the three goblins as they charged.
Unfortunately for the goblins, another water dart exploded into the middle of their formation, sending the foremost goblin flying backwards, disrupting the goblin's charge. Not missing the opportunity, Turk charged one of the off-balance goblins, bashing into it with his shield and sending it flying to the ground.
Conjuring up an arcane strike, Eric fired it at the final goblin, forcing it to raise it's blade to parry the violet bolt. This was exactly the opening he was hoping for, kicking upwards his foot smashed into the goblins saber hand, creating an opening that Eric's blade did not miss, slashing across the goblin's chest and leaving a deep wound. With a hissing sound, the goblin pressed forward, ignoring the blood on it's chest as it stretched its claws out and grabbed at Eric's armour.
Surprised, Eric stumbled backwards, the goblin drawing its saber back for a thrust. Gritting his teeth, Eric raised his arm, taking the thrust directly in the forearm but sparing his chest from the strike as he and the goblin fell to the ground together, entwined in a deadly embrace. Retracting the blade from Eric's arm, the goblin attempted to hack at his face and shoulders, its other arm furiously holding off Eric's swordhand.
This little freak is surprisingly strong for his size, Eric thought as he desperately grappled with the goblin. As the goblin freed it's saber, raising the blade high for an overhand slash, it's eyes suddenly rolled backwards, it's healthbar depleting as Turk's sword emerged from the front of it's chest.
Throwing the dead goblin off, Eric sat up. The battle had concluded, Aria's water dart having finished off the last goblin while Turk and Eric fought their opponents in melee combat. Taking Turk's hand, Eric hauled himself to his feet, brushing off the dirt and leaves from his little tumble with the goblin.
"That was a pretty fun fight," said Turk with a grin, wiping the blood off his sword and sheathing it.
"Yup. It's definitely way easier with Kyp here!" Aria piped up, arriving at the fallen tree. Eric grinned; the fight had definitely been exciting. Way easier than his earlier battle with the wolfriders at the stony hill.
"By the way, why didn't you use that wind spell you used against the goblins earlier?" Turk inquired, "If you'd used that on the goblin you probably would have killed it with your first slash instead of getting to enjoy an exciting monster make out session on the ground."
"Ah, I can't really use Wind Blade all that well with my left hand, I'd have had to transfer my sword to my left hand if I wanted to cast it in a reasonable amount of time," Eric explained, holding up the sword in his right hand to prove his point. Aria nodded at this, "Yup. I can't really use Water Dart with the staff in my left hand either. It's difficult to draw the runes correctly, especially in the middle of a fight."
Turk nodded, "Makes sense. I'd like to incorporate some magic into my fighting style. But I haven't been able to figure out a way to do so without dropping my sword or my shield yet. Anyways, let's get to looting and leave before these guys companions come to relieve them," he said meaningfully, pointing to the goblins corpses.
"How should we split the loot?" Eric asked, bending over the goblin he'd been grappling with. Turk considered for a second, "Equal split. We'll take turns looting. So I'll loot the first, Kyp will loot the second, and Aria will loot the third. Then we'll repeat the cycle. Since there are only five goblins, Aria can be first to loot our next kill. If we run into any elites or bosses we'll split the loot three ways. Sound fair?"
With a brief murmur of assent, Eric and Aria began looting, relieving the dead goblins of their weapons and armour, as well as a few shiny baubles that they were carrying. Finishing their task, the party crept out from under the fallen tree outpost and stealthily made their way to the northern tree line, headed once more towards unknown dangers.
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Venturing further north, the party slaughtered the pairs of patrolling goblins they discovered as they searched for a squad of five. Now that Eric had revealed his skills, Turk seemed much more at ease around him, joining in on the conversation as Aria continued to pelt him with questions.
"I've been meaning to ask. Why do you carry that bow if you mainly use your sword and magic?" Aria asked curiously, pointing to the Yew Longbow on Eric's back.
"Actually I do rely on it quite a bit. But I've been trying to level up my magic. Normally I would have opened up on those two goblins with an arrow to the dome. But I figured you guys wanted to see how I'd do in a real fight, not an ambush," Eric explained.
"Arrow to the dome?" Aria asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"The head. Gamer slang," Eric explained.
"Ah."
"Speaking of magic, where's your wand? I haven't seen you using one. Have you already learned how to do wandless casting?" Turk interjected.
"Yeah, I learned how to do it in the tutorial. I may have accidentally blown up my wand during the tutorial, and I was too embarrassed to ask for another one. So I just kind of taught myself how to do wandless casting," Eric responded. Aria looked at him with wide eyes.
"What?" Eric asked, shuffling uncomfortably as she continued to gaze at him with undisguised longing.
"Teach me."
"What?"
"Please teach me. I reaaaaally want to learn wandless casting!" Aria pleaded, bringing her hands together and lowering her head.
"Alright alright, no need to beg. It's embarrassing," said Eric awkwardly. Turk rolled his eyes at his friend's antics, continuing to forge on through the forest. Somewhere along the way the trees had become taller and thicker, the dense branches blocking out much of the late afternoon sunlight.
As Eric attempted to teach Aria how to cast magic wandlessly, the trio found themselves at a large gap in the trees. Here, a huge amount of trees had fallen at some point, with old trunks scattered across the swathe of deforested land. At the very centre, a huge gully could be seen, like a scar in the land itself that carried on for as far as the eye could see. Continuing for at least a kilometre in either direction, the deforested area spanned roughly three hundred meters between the two tree lines with very little in the way of cover to hide the party as they crossed.
"This is where we encountered the first squad earlier," said Turk, scanning the fallen trees and boulders for signs of goblins.
"Yeah they seem to be watching this area. There were two squads when we were here earlier. One about a kilometre to the west, and another a few hundred meters east," Aria added.
"Can't we just go around? How far does this go on for?" Eric asked, gesturing towards the treeless scenery.
Turk shook his head, "We tried that. First we headed east but after two kilometres we gave up, because there was no end in sight. To the west there's a large cliff, you can't see it right now due to the trees. But if we walked west for about ten minutes you'd see why we can't go that way."
"Tch, so there's no way across but through here?"
"Pretty much, but we have no idea how many goblins could be around. Like I said, there were two squads here earlier. We're not sure if they live nearby, or if they're guarding it. But even with three of us I don't think we can handle ten goblins at the same time," murmured Aria, continuing to scan the barren swathe.
"There," said Turk, pointing to a large tree trunk that had fallen at an angle, landing on top of another fallen trunk to create an enormous wooden X roughly sixty meters from the tree line. Peering closely, Eric could just make out a goblin crouched under the trunk, mirroring the trio's actions as it scanned the forest for intruders. As his eyes adjusted, he could make out three more, presumably there was a fifth hidden somewhere nearby if Turk and Aria's information was to be trusted.
"Think we can sneak over without them noticing?" whispered Aria. Turk shook his head, "Their position affords them to great a vantage point over the area. We'll need to kill them them, and do it before another group notices."
Eric nodded, "Any idea on how to do that? I'm all for a straightforward charge, but that doesn't seem conducive to staying low profile."
"We sneak as close as we can. Then you and Aria hit them with ranged attacks as I charge. Ideally, Kyp you charge with me and together we engage the goblins that weren't injured or killed while Aria supports us from the back. Sounds good?"
Eric nodded while Aria murmured her assent. Crouching low, the trio retreated into the brush. Once they were far enough away to avoid alerting the goblins, Turk led them to a spot fifty meters west of their original position. Emerging once more into the barren strip of land, the party stayed low, creeping along the length of an enormous fallen oak, its once mighty branches long since eroded by the combined powers of wind and time.
Stealthily, the group advanced, threading around fallen branches, stepping over fallen stones, and doing their best to avoid stepping on any dry twigs, lest they cause a noise and alert the goblin sentries to their approach.
Rounding the upturned roots of the oak, Turk motioned for them to stop.
"Prepare to attack," he mouthed.
"How far away are they?" Eric mouthed back. Turk held up two fingers.
"Twenty meters," whispered Aria. Eric nodded, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, doing his best to minimize the noise he made. Aria mimicked his action, drawing a pair of unfamiliar runes and readying her spell. Taking a second to calm himself, Eric glanced at Aria who gave him a quick nod. Seeing this non-verbal exchange, Turk pulled back slightly, giving the two room to take aim at the goblins.
Peeking out from behind the roots Eric could see the goblin squad. Two goblins were alert, staring at the treeline, slowly scanning the eastern and western approaches to the barren patch of land. Two other goblins could be seen staring in the other direction, monitoring the northern tree line. The final goblin was hidden behind a screen of branches. While it had been almost impossible to see it from their previous position in the forest, from the side it was exposed and lying in plain view. As Eric watched, the fifth goblin alternated looking between the east and the west, monitoring the barren land for anyone attempting to approach the lookout post.
Drawing his bow, Eric sighted at the goblin hidden in the crook of the branches. As Aria took aim at the two looking south, he activated charged shot, the arrow leaping from his bow with a loud twang. Simultaneously, Aria cast her spell, a watery dart emerging from the tip of her staff and shooting towards the goblins.
Alerted by the sound, the goblins flinched, but there was no time for them to react as the arrow and spell covered the twenty meters between the two groups almost instantaneously. Eric's arrow burying into the skull of the lookout goblin, while Aria's water dart slammed into the chest of one of the two southfacing goblins, knocking it backwards but not killing it.
With a vicious cry, Turk emerged from behind the two, sprinting forwards with his shield raised. This turned out to be the correct move as the companion to Aria's target lifted a crude bow, firing an arrow at the oncoming fighter. Receiving the arrow on his shield Turk didn't slow at all, instead speeding up as he covered the remaining ten meters between him and the fallen tree that the goblins had occupied. Arriving in front of the goblins, Turk's shield slammed into the archer, causing it to shoot backwards like a cannonball. Unfortunately for the goblin, its momentum was arrested by the tree trunk, its body slamming into the unforgiving wood with a satisfying thunk.
Raising his sword, Turk hacked at the goblin that Aria had downed. In response, the goblin raised its saber and parried the blow, calling out to it's companions in an angry chittering voice. This call seemed to be the signal for the remaining two lookouts to burst into action, raising their bows and firing at Turk. Raising his shield he managed to block one arrow, but the other found it's mark, lodging deep in Turk's side and causing him to wince.
By now Eric had arrived, activating dashing cut to finish off the goblin Aria had wounded previously. At this point, the goblin Turk had charged had regained its feet and regrouped with its remaining companions who drew their sabers, ferocious war cries that belied their size emerging from the mouths of the three goblins as they charged.
Unfortunately for the goblins, another water dart exploded into the middle of their formation, sending the foremost goblin flying backwards, disrupting the goblin's charge. Not missing the opportunity, Turk charged one of the off-balance goblins, bashing into it with his shield and sending it flying to the ground.
Conjuring up an arcane strike, Eric fired it at the final goblin, forcing it to raise it's blade to parry the violet bolt. This was exactly the opening he was hoping for, kicking upwards his foot smashed into the goblins saber hand, creating an opening that Eric's blade did not miss, slashing across the goblin's chest and leaving a deep wound. With a hissing sound, the goblin pressed forward, ignoring the blood on it's chest as it stretched its claws out and grabbed at Eric's armour.
Surprised, Eric stumbled backwards, the goblin drawing its saber back for a thrust. Gritting his teeth, Eric raised his arm, taking the thrust directly in the forearm but sparing his chest from the strike as he and the goblin fell to the ground together, entwined in a deadly embrace. Retracting the blade from Eric's arm, the goblin attempted to hack at his face and shoulders, its other arm furiously holding off Eric's swordhand.
This little freak is surprisingly strong for his size, Eric thought as he desperately grappled with the goblin. As the goblin freed it's saber, raising the blade high for an overhand slash, it's eyes suddenly rolled backwards, it's healthbar depleting as Turk's sword emerged from the front of it's chest.
Throwing the dead goblin off, Eric sat up. The battle had concluded, Aria's water dart having finished off the last goblin while Turk and Eric fought their opponents in melee combat. Taking Turk's hand, Eric hauled himself to his feet, brushing off the dirt and leaves from his little tumble with the goblin.
"That was a pretty fun fight," said Turk with a grin, wiping the blood off his sword and sheathing it.
"Yup. It's definitely way easier with Kyp here!" Aria piped up, arriving at the fallen tree. Eric grinned; the fight had definitely been exciting. Way easier than his earlier battle with the wolfriders at the stony hill.
"By the way, why didn't you use that wind spell you used against the goblins earlier?" Turk inquired, "If you'd used that on the goblin you probably would have killed it with your first slash instead of getting to enjoy an exciting monster make out session on the ground."
"Ah, I can't really use Wind Blade all that well with my left hand, I'd have had to transfer my sword to my left hand if I wanted to cast it in a reasonable amount of time," Eric explained, holding up the sword in his right hand to prove his point. Aria nodded at this, "Yup. I can't really use Water Dart with the staff in my left hand either. It's difficult to draw the runes correctly, especially in the middle of a fight."
Turk nodded, "Makes sense. I'd like to incorporate some magic into my fighting style. But I haven't been able to figure out a way to do so without dropping my sword or my shield yet. Anyways, let's get to looting and leave before these guys companions come to relieve them," he said meaningfully, pointing to the goblins corpses.
"How should we split the loot?" Eric asked, bending over the goblin he'd been grappling with. Turk considered for a second, "Equal split. We'll take turns looting. So I'll loot the first, Kyp will loot the second, and Aria will loot the third. Then we'll repeat the cycle. Since there are only five goblins, Aria can be first to loot our next kill. If we run into any elites or bosses we'll split the loot three ways. Sound fair?"
With a brief murmur of assent, Eric and Aria began looting, relieving the dead goblins of their weapons and armour, as well as a few shiny baubles that they were carrying. Finishing their task, the party crept out from under the fallen tree outpost and stealthily made their way to the northern tree line, headed once more towards unknown dangers.
Venturing further north, the party slaughtered the pairs of patrolling goblins they discovered as they searched for a squad of five. Now that Eric had revealed his skills, Turk seemed much more at ease around him, joining in on the conversation as Aria continued to pelt him with questions."I've been meaning to ask. Why do you carry that bow if you mainly use your sword and magic?" Aria asked curiously, pointing to the Yew Longbow on Eric's back."Actually I do rely on it quite a bit. But I've been trying to level up my magic. Normally I would have opened up on those two goblins with an arrow to the dome. But I figured you guys wanted to see how I'd do in a real fight, not an ambush," Eric explained."Arrow to the dome?" Aria asked, tilting her head in confusion."The head. Gamer slang," Eric explained."Ah.""Speaking of magic, where's your wand? I haven't seen you using one. Have you already learned how to do wandless casting?" Turk interjected."Yeah, I learned how to do it in the tutorial. I may have accidentally blown up my wand during the tutorial, and I was too embarrassed to ask for another one. So I just kind of taught myself how to do wandless casting," Eric responded. Aria looked at him with wide eyes."What?" Eric asked, shuffling uncomfortably as she continued to gaze at him with undisguised longing."Teach me.""What?""Please teach me. I reaaaaally want to learn wandless casting!" Aria pleaded, bringing her hands together and lowering her head."Alright alright, no need to beg. It's embarrassing," said Eric awkwardly. Turk rolled his eyes at his friend's antics, continuing to forge on through the forest. Somewhere along the way the trees had become taller and thicker, the dense branches blocking out much of the late afternoon sunlight.As Eric attempted to teach Aria how to cast magic wandlessly, the trio found themselves at a large gap in the trees. Here, a huge amount of trees had fallen at some point, with old trunks scattered across the swathe of deforested land. At the very centre, a huge gully could be seen, like a scar in the land itself that carried on for as far as the eye could see. Continuing for at least a kilometre in either direction, the deforested area spanned roughly three hundred meters between the two tree lines with very little in the way of cover to hide the party as they crossed."This is where we encountered the first squad earlier," said Turk, scanning the fallen trees and boulders for signs of goblins."Yeah they seem to be watching this area. There were two squads when we were here earlier. One about a kilometre to the west, and another a few hundred meters east," Aria added."Can't we just go around? How far does this go on for?" Eric asked, gesturing towards the treeless scenery.Turk shook his head, "We tried that. First we headed east but after two kilometres we gave up, because there was no end in sight. To the west there's a large cliff, you can't see it right now due to the trees. But if we walked west for about ten minutes you'd see why we can't go that way.""Tch, so there's no way across but through here?""Pretty much, but we have no idea how many goblins could be around. Like I said, there were two squads here earlier. We're not sure if they live nearby, or if they're guarding it. But even with three of us I don't think we can handle ten goblins at the same time," murmured Aria, continuing to scan the barren swathe."There," said Turk, pointing to a large tree trunk that had fallen at an angle, landing on top of another fallen trunk to create an enormous wooden X roughly sixty meters from the tree line. Peering closely, Eric could just make out a goblin crouched under the trunk, mirroring the trio's actions as it scanned the forest for intruders. As his eyes adjusted, he could make out three more, presumably there was a fifth hidden somewhere nearby if Turk and Aria's information was to be trusted."Think we can sneak over without them noticing?" whispered Aria. Turk shook his head, "Their position affords them to great a vantage point over the area. We'll need to kill them them, and do it before another group notices."Eric nodded, "Any idea on how to do that? I'm all for a straightforward charge, but that doesn't seem conducive to staying low profile.""We sneak as close as we can. Then you and Aria hit them with ranged attacks as I charge. Ideally, Kyp you charge with me and together we engage the goblins that weren't injured or killed while Aria supports us from the back. Sounds good?"Eric nodded while Aria murmured her assent. Crouching low, the trio retreated into the brush. Once they were far enough away to avoid alerting the goblins, Turk led them to a spot fifty meters west of their original position. Emerging once more into the barren strip of land, the party stayed low, creeping along the length of an enormous fallen oak, its once mighty branches long since eroded by the combined powers of wind and time.Stealthily, the group advanced, threading around fallen branches, stepping over fallen stones, and doing their best to avoid stepping on any dry twigs, lest they cause a noise and alert the goblin sentries to their approach.Rounding the upturned roots of the oak, Turk motioned for them to stop."Prepare to attack," he mouthed."How far away are they?" Eric mouthed back. Turk held up two fingers."Twenty meters," whispered Aria. Eric nodded, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, doing his best to minimize the noise he made. Aria mimicked his action, drawing a pair of unfamiliar runes and readying her spell. Taking a second to calm himself, Eric glanced at Aria who gave him a quick nod. Seeing this non-verbal exchange, Turk pulled back slightly, giving the two room to take aim at the goblins.Peeking out from behind the roots Eric could see the goblin squad. Two goblins were alert, staring at the treeline, slowly scanning the eastern and western approaches to the barren patch of land. Two other goblins could be seen staring in the other direction, monitoring the northern tree line. The final goblin was hidden behind a screen of branches. While it had been almost impossible to see it from their previous position in the forest, from the side it was exposed and lying in plain view. As Eric watched, the fifth goblin alternated looking between the east and the west, monitoring the barren land for anyone attempting to approach the lookout post.Drawing his bow, Eric sighted at the goblin hidden in the crook of the branches. As Aria took aim at the two looking south, he activated charged shot, the arrow leaping from his bow with a loud twang. Simultaneously, Aria cast her spell, a watery dart emerging from the tip of her staff and shooting towards the goblins.Alerted by the sound, the goblins flinched, but there was no time for them to react as the arrow and spell covered the twenty meters between the two groups almost instantaneously. Eric's arrow burying into the skull of the lookout goblin, while Aria's water dart slammed into the chest of one of the two southfacing goblins, knocking it backwards but not killing it.With a vicious cry, Turk emerged from behind the two, sprinting forwards with his shield raised. This turned out to be the correct move as the companion to Aria's target lifted a crude bow, firing an arrow at the oncoming fighter. Receiving the arrow on his shield Turk didn't slow at all, instead speeding up as he covered the remaining ten meters between him and the fallen tree that the goblins had occupied. Arriving in front of the goblins, Turk's shield slammed into the archer, causing it to shoot backwards like a cannonball. Unfortunately for the goblin, its momentum was arrested by the tree trunk, its body slamming into the unforgiving wood with a satisfying thunk.Raising his sword, Turk hacked at the goblin that Aria had downed. In response, the goblin raised its saber and parried the blow, calling out to it's companions in an angry chittering voice. This call seemed to be the signal for the remaining two lookouts to burst into action, raising their bows and firing at Turk. Raising his shield he managed to block one arrow, but the other found it's mark, lodging deep in Turk's side and causing him to wince.By now Eric had arrived, activating dashing cut to finish off the goblin Aria had wounded previously. At this point, the goblin Turk had charged had regained its feet and regrouped with its remaining companions who drew their sabers, ferocious war cries that belied their size emerging from the mouths of the three goblins as they charged.Unfortunately for the goblins, another water dart exploded into the middle of their formation, sending the foremost goblin flying backwards, disrupting the goblin's charge. Not missing the opportunity, Turk charged one of the off-balance goblins, bashing into it with his shield and sending it flying to the ground.Conjuring up an arcane strike, Eric fired it at the final goblin, forcing it to raise it's blade to parry the violet bolt. This was exactly the opening he was hoping for, kicking upwards his foot smashed into the goblins saber hand, creating an opening that Eric's blade did not miss, slashing across the goblin's chest and leaving a deep wound. With a hissing sound, the goblin pressed forward, ignoring the blood on it's chest as it stretched its claws out and grabbed at Eric's armour.Surprised, Eric stumbled backwards, the goblin drawing its saber back for a thrust. Gritting his teeth, Eric raised his arm, taking the thrust directly in the forearm but sparing his chest from the strike as he and the goblin fell to the ground together, entwined in a deadly embrace. Retracting the blade from Eric's arm, the goblin attempted to hack at his face and shoulders, its other arm furiously holding off Eric's swordhand.This little freak is surprisingly strong for his size, Eric thought as he desperately grappled with the goblin. As the goblin freed it's saber, raising the blade high for an overhand slash, it's eyes suddenly rolled backwards, it's healthbar depleting as Turk's sword emerged from the front of it's chest.Throwing the dead goblin off, Eric sat up. The battle had concluded, Aria's water dart having finished off the last goblin while Turk and Eric fought their opponents in melee combat. Taking Turk's hand, Eric hauled himself to his feet, brushing off the dirt and leaves from his little tumble with the goblin."That was a pretty fun fight," said Turk with a grin, wiping the blood off his sword and sheathing it."Yup. It's definitely way easier with Kyp here!" Aria piped up, arriving at the fallen tree. Eric grinned; the fight had definitely been exciting. Way easier than his earlier battle with the wolfriders at the stony hill."By the way, why didn't you use that wind spell you used against the goblins earlier?" Turk inquired, "If you'd used that on the goblin you probably would have killed it with your first slash instead of getting to enjoy an exciting monster make out session on the ground.""Ah, I can't really use Wind Blade all that well with my left hand, I'd have had to transfer my sword to my left hand if I wanted to cast it in a reasonable amount of time," Eric explained, holding up the sword in his right hand to prove his point. Aria nodded at this, "Yup. I can't really use Water Dart with the staff in my left hand either. It's difficult to draw the runes correctly, especially in the middle of a fight."Turk nodded, "Makes sense. I'd like to incorporate some magic into my fighting style. But I haven't been able to figure out a way to do so without dropping my sword or my shield yet. Anyways, let's get to looting and leave before these guys companions come to relieve them," he said meaningfully, pointing to the goblins corpses."How should we split the loot?" Eric asked, bending over the goblin he'd been grappling with. Turk considered for a second, "Equal split. We'll take turns looting. So I'll loot the first, Kyp will loot the second, and Aria will loot the third. Then we'll repeat the cycle. Since there are only five goblins, Aria can be first to loot our next kill. If we run into any elites or bosses we'll split the loot three ways. Sound fair?"With a brief murmur of assent, Eric and Aria began looting, relieving the dead goblins of their weapons and armour, as well as a few shiny baubles that they were carrying. Finishing their task, the party crept out from under the fallen tree outpost and stealthily made their way to the northern tree line, headed once more towards unknown dangers.
