Out of Darkness 6


    The dusk raid on the raiders camp had only yielded one small piece of cheese. It hadnt even tasted all that good, too in. What was the point of cheese too weak to water your eyes or burn your nose? That seemed like a waste to cknail. All in all, the raid had been somewhat of a disappointment. That was more because of other factors, but the cheese thing was still disappointing.


    It seemed like that after killing the sentries most the hobgoblins had avoidedbat and focused on stealing everything that wasnt nailed down, which had been everything but the tents, and even then an enterprising hobgoblin had found a way to grab one. That meant the raid had only resulted in the deaths of less than two dozen humans. They did however gain a whole bunch more weapons, a pile of pots, several sacks of food, and a lot of other random knickknacks.


    I found some new knives! I cant wait to show Khita, Herah eximed happily as she followed after cknail.


    Do you want one, boss? she asked him. Ill give you one for a favor!


    No, thanks, cknail replied as he kept on walking. He was lost in thought.


    Are you sure? You might like it!


    Instead of replying, cknail picked up the pace a little. Being dragged into this conversation seemed like a bad idea.


    The hobgoblins were headed back to the forward base they had set up. The main goblin encampment was too far away. cknail wanted to keep close to Shelter so he could keep an eye on things. The new camp was only about two minutes away from Shelter, but cknail was willing to bet the raiders wouldnt be doing too much exploring now. The Green could be a terrifying and dangerous ce even under normal circumstances.


    I got a whole bunch of human hair! Its all mine now, a bald hobgoblin announced as he proudly showed off the tufts of various colors that were in his hands.


    Why did you waste your time on hair? Thats useless. I got pants! another hobgoblin responded as he held up his loot. He was currently wearing just a loincloth so cknail didnt me him for being so excited.


    As the group of hobgoblins walked through some bushes, their temporary camp came into sight. Some time ago, a huge tree had fallen over and mmed into another giant. This had resulted in a small clearing where there was no canopy overhead. The massive tree trunks fall had been broken by the other tree so now the entire thingy on an angle. Near the base, there was enough room under it for hobgoblins to stand, and they had covered the open sides with long branches and green bushels of leaves to make walls.


    After all the hobgoblins had taken a moment to pile their ill-gotten gains somewhere, cknail called them over for a meeting.


    You were all terrible. I did all the hard work, cknail told his minions. You didnt kill enough people. That was the entire point of this attack!


    There was some assorted muttering from the assembled hobgoblins and they looked away from their chief, usually toward their loot. However, they didnt seem all that remorseful.


    Scamp, take two other hobs and watch the enemy. Send me someone if they do anything, cknail ordered his subordinate.


    I want to rest! I just finished fighting, Scamp protested. Send someone else less deserving!


    There is no one else less deserving, anywhere, cknail countered. Ill be sending recements to find you after a while, and if youre napping they will have orders to beat you silly.


    Since there was no way he could argue with cknail, Scamp picked out two other hobgoblins and headed back to watch the fields. Imp was standing off to one side of the main group of hobgoblins so cknail turned to face him.


    I didnt see you doing anything. Why were there no big booms? cknail asked him crossly. He had wanted some big booms.


    I saw no good targets. Its hard to use magic stones, Imp replied with a shrug. He had been one of the hobgoblins assigned to guard the campfires.


    cknail sighed. He should have probably asked about this before. Why were all his minions such terrible subordinates? They needed to do better.


    What do your magics do, exactly? he enquired of the mage. Mahedium had staffs that shot fire and nes that sucked things up.


    Imp took a second to process the question. He titled his head to the side and licked his lips.


    I have rocks that give off glow and others that burn a lot, he responded slowly as if unsure of himself.


    You cant shoot fire or anything?


    No, I have the magic fire but I dont have a staff to push the mes away. After I set the crystal alight they explode after a few seconds, Imp exined. cknail found these magics to be less than impressive.


    So how do you use them to fight?


    I throw them.


    cknail sighed. You dont have anything else?


    I do have some other stones that explode in other interesting ways. Some of them are green or make whistling noises! The problem is that they sometimes go boom in your hand, which is bad.


    That is a problem, cknail admitted. One hobgoblin mage throwing mana crystals that exploded into me wasnt going to be all that useful. He would have to think about this. He wanted magic, and if anyone coulde up with a solution it would be him, the greatest hobgoblin genius ever.


    After a little more conversation, the hobgoblin warband settled down and prepared to wait out the night. Hobgoblins had great low light vision, but even they couldnt see through the ck of night. They set up cots in the crude structure they had built under the fallen tree, and they even built a small fire off to one side where it was shielded from view. When he wasnt dealing withints about who deserved what loot, cknail caught some sleep.


    When morning was just beginning to spring to life, cknail was up and waiting for it. In the dark of early dawn, he led his warband back to Shelter. From atop a tall tree at the edge of the fields he surveyed the raiders camp. The leafy branch he was perched on swayed ever so slightly beneath him as he counted the tents and men. cknail wasnt great at counting but he believed there were still around a hundred raiders left.


    Thats too many smelly humans, cknail muttered to himself. He would have to work on cutting them down more.


    The tree trembled a bit more as cknail climbed down and rejoined his minions. It was still dark out enough that hobgoblins would have the advantage. The sun hadnt quite appeared on the horizon.


    Its time to hunt again! he excitedly informed his minions.


    Another raid like theirst would go a long way towards breaking their opponents, especially if the hobgoblins actually kept on task this time. Once the raiders realized that the hobgoblins could attack with impunity at any time they would be consumed by their terror and be easy prey.


    At hismand, cknails minions split into three groups and slipped out of the forest tounch a new attack. Their targets were the groups of sentries that cknail had picked out from up above in the tree. Carefully, the hobgoblins crept across the gloomy fields towards their prey.


    This time however, things didnt go to n. Before any of the hobgoblins had reached the sentries, a cry of warning reverberated through the air. cknail froze where he was crouched down low against the earth. He looked up to see that the sentries ahead of him were alert and scanning the ground around him. The man beside him had a strung bow in his hands, and there was noise from deeper within the enemy camp.


    Reinforce the perimeter now! Secondary squads move into position, a sentry yelled.


    Are the attackers human? You know what some of the others were saying, another raider asked fearfully. The only answer he got was an order from his sergeant to shut up.


    Miserable slimy slugs, cknail cursed. It seemed that the raiders had learned their lesson. They had been caught unaware the first time, but now they were ready for another sneak attack.


    Frowning furiously, cknail signaled to the hobgoblin next to him. His minion nodded, rose up, nocked an arrow to his bow, and then took a shot at the sentry with the bow. The projectile flew straight and true. It whirred through the air and mmed into the archers chest, knocking him over. cknail could have totally made that shot if he had wanted to, but he didnt need to, since he was the leader.


    Retreat! cknail yelled as he rose to his feet. He didnt need to worry about being shot now that the archer was down.


    As more armed humans appeared to reinforce the sentries, cknail and his minions ran back to forest. An arrow flew past them and sank into the ground with a twang, but it missed by several feet. When cknail reached the trees he turned back to see that this time the enemy was giving chase. Eight armed and armored raiders were chasing him.


    Follow me, cknail hissed at his minions as he picked up the pace and dove deeper into the forest.


    The raiders stopped at the edge of the forest and didnt follow, but cknail kept going. The humans soon disappeared from sight, and cknail veered off towards the base camp. Once he got there, he began pacing back and forth furiously as he waited for the other squads to return. The other hobgoblins avoided him. This mission had not gone well. After a few minutes had passed, Scamp and Gob finally showed up with their minions in tow. One of them was visibly wounded and bleeding from a gash on his arm.


    What happened? cknail hissed as he stomped over to Scamps side. He highly suspected that if anyone had messed up that it would be Scamp.


    They saw Fingersing and shot him, not my fault, Scamp replied warily. He wouldnt meet cknails eyes.


    And then they shot me, the wounded hobgoblin added.


    Where is Fingers? cknail asked.


    He dead, Scamp answered matter-of-factly.


    A sigh escaped cknails lips. Of course he was. The raid had gone even worse than he had thought. They had only killed one human and they lost a hobgoblin. To make matters worse, it was clear that sneak attacks werent going to work anymore. cknail was going to have toe up with an entirely new n. He really needed to find a subordinate to do this type of thinking for him. He was the leader, so it was beneath him.


    After helping sew the wounded hobgoblins cut shut and applying some herbs to prevent infection  that was another thing he needed to find apetent minion to do - cknail sent scouts back to watch the enemy camp. He then took a seat up on top of the huge fallen tree they were camping under. Once up there, he brooded and tried toe up with some ideas. He had promised to take care of the raiders, but it was proving harder than he had thought it would be. When you wanted humans alive they got themselves killed doing something stupid, and when you wanted them dead they defended themselves. It was frustrating.


    The problem had to be the quality of his minions. The entire point of them was so that cknail didnt have to do everything himself, and yet here he was, basically doing everything himself.


    The sky overhead grew brighter quickly as an hour passed, and then the bushes rustled as one of the scouts returned.


    Boss, the enemy tribe is moving! the hobgoblin scout shouted as he ran to below cknails perch.


    The hobgoblin chieftain immediately dropped down andnded on the ground. He shouted out a quick series of orders, grabbed his weapons, and then dashed back over to the fields around Shelter. His minions followed right behind him.


    When he reached the fields he was greeted by the sight of fighting. The enemy had copied cknails idea. They had split into three and attacked Shelter early in the morning before most people got up. Three different sections of the wall around Shelter were under attack by groups of twenty to thirty heavily armed men. Men with axes were trying to chop their way inside through the wooden palisade while theirpanions covered them. It looked like they werent meeting all that much resistance and would soon get inside.


    Quick, which spot seems weakest? cknail asked Scamp.


    Um, that one? the other hobgoblin replied uncertainly as he pointed to the closest squad of enemies. cknail took moment to study his choice. The men with the axes there had already cut through one post and were in the process of pulling it out of the way so they could climb inside.


    Alright, you better not be wrong, cknail said as he motioned for his minions to form up around him. It was time for cknail to save the day, again.


    What is it you wish, wise leader? Gob asked as he stepped up beside him.


    Were going to run down those outside humans.


    But its bright out and they will see using. You told us not to fight humans unless we could ambush them, Bones pointed out.


    The rules change! This will be an entirely new type of surprise. They wont suspect that we will charge right at them, cknail replied


    There were murmurs of conversation as the hobgoblins thought this over. They didnt sound convinced or enthusiastic.


    If you dont fight them then you will have to fight me, cknail said as he gave his minions a harsh re. He was the leader; other peoples opinions didnt matter.


    And me! Gob added in support.


    Now charge! cknail yelled as he drew his sword and pointed it towards Shelter.


    The hobgoblins hesitated for a moment, but then they all broke out into a run. cknail waited a second and then followed after them. He wanted to keep an eye on them so he stuck to the back, where he could motivate them to run faster.


    The mob of hobgoblins raced across he fields towards the walls of Shelter. Ahead of them, the raiders had hacked their way through the palisade and were starting to climb through. The attackers were slightly outnumbered by the hobgoblins, but cknail still didnt consider that great odds for his side.


    The enemy wasnt looking behind themselves. They were focused on getting inside the wall, so they didnt see the hobgoblinsing until thest second. Onerger man who was waiting his turn happened to look over his shoulder.


    Bloody shits, weve got iing, he yelled in a panic. His nearbypanions turned as well, spotted the hobgoblins, and raised their weapons.


    Demon spawn! Theyre real, another man babbled.


    Right before the two groups met, cknail sped up and dashed to the front of his minions. With inhuman speed, he lunged at the enemy before they were ready. His sword sliced into a mans belly as he ducked under a hurried blow. Another man swung at him. cknail parried the blow and kicked the man in the knee. There was a crunch as the limb gave out. Still reeling from cknails assault, the other raiders were unprepared for the wave of hobgoblins behind him, and the hobgoblins knew it. They grinned and growled fiercely as they pounced on the raiders.


    Form up on me! a bearded man with blonde hair yelled as he swung at a hobgoblin with an axe. In response to his voice, the raiders still facing the wall turned and stepped into position next to theirpatriots. Together they formed a tight defensive line and began pushing the hobgoblins back.


    A sword sliced through the air next to cknails head. He twisted around and shed at the face of the swords wielder. The man jumped back but the edge of the sword grazed his cheek and drew blood as he fell over backward. That was when cknail saw one of the raiders stumble out of the hole in the wall. As cknail unleashed a flurry of blows at another raider that had been about to strike down a hobgoblin, the man hurried over to the blonde raiders side.


    Were being pushed out of the vige, captain, the raider yelled at hismander as another man popped through the wall. The fighting here made too much noise and the peasants swamped us before we were ready for them.


    Then were retreating, themander replied. He raised his voice and ordered his men to fall back. All together, the raiders stepped back while keeping their defensive line strong.


    Seeing this, cknail instantly yelled for his own minions to let them go. Within seconds, the two sides werepletely disentangled and the raiders began falling back. They kept close to the wall as they headed to meet up with the other raider squads.


    Do we have dead or wounded? cknail asked as he watched the humans go.


    Two dead and several wounded, Gob replied.


    Anyone important?


    No.


    Good, cknail said as he thought about his next move.


    Im still alive! Scamp added, in case anyone cared.


    The raiders disappeared around the curve in the wall so cknail decided that now was a good time for his force to leave. Trying to enter the vige and helping out there would probably be a bad idea, and hed lost enough minions for one day. They were receable but annoying to train. cknail was just about to order the withdrawal when he heard a familiar voice.


    cknail, over here, Geralhd yelled as he leaned out of the hole the raiders had knocked in the wall.


    Oh, hello, cknail replied as he blinked in surprise.


    Is this one of those humans were not supposed to kill? Bones asked as he looked between the sword in his hand and Geralhd.


    Yes, that one belongs to our chief, Gob told him.


    He has snacks! Scamp added.


    Thank the gods I found you! Geralhd continued yelling. When the raiders attacked we had no idea what was going on and if anything had happened to you. Also, by all that is divine, those are a lot of hobgoblins.


    Its me, Scamp, Scamp exined as he walked over to Gerahld. Do you have any food?


    Wow, you sure have grown, Geralhd remarked in surprise. Youre barely recognizable after your metamorphosis.


    We need to leave, cknail interjected. Thest thing he wanted to do was listen to Scamp and Geralhd catch up. He could only take so much stupid. The enemy could show up at any second, but dont worry. I have a great n and everything is going the way I expected it to.


    Do you mind filling me in quickly? Geralhd asked.


    Sorry, I got to go! cknail told him as he motioned for his minions to head back to the forest. He then took off and joined them. Scamp was obviously reluctant to move, but Gob gave him a shove.


    Geralhd called after them but cknail didnt stop. He had lied. He had no n, and he needed toe up with a new one, quick. The raiders had seen what cknail had done and countered it. He needed to counter their counter without getting countered in return, simple. It shouldnt be that hard. Humans were nothing but predictable. Unfortunately, one mistake could ruin everything, and he didnt have much time. Eventually the raiders would find their way inside Shelter or call for reinforcements. cknail had to deal with them quickly or his ns to avenge Saeter would fall apart. He couldnt let that happen. Now that his master was dead and he was alone, vengeance was everything. Nothing else gave him purpose.