A Familiar Fate 1


    Geralhd frowned with obvious trepidation as he studied cknail. The hobgoblin simply smiled back in a cheerful manner. That always disarmed humans, or maybe it stunned them, cknail wasnt sure. It worked. That was what mattered.


    It was mid day, and people were walking past them on the street as they both stood outside a rather fancy looking inn that was located on a busy city street. It had stained ss windows and its sign bore the image of a wine bottle and a silver fork. cknail had his hood up so that he didnt draw attention, and the other former members of Herads band had already gone inside.


    Are you sure you dont want to join us? Geralhd asked. Were nning on holding a celebratory feast, and it wont be the same without you. You were our guide here. Let us reward you! We can rent a private room to help keep you incognito.


    I was the leader, not just the guide, cknail pointed out.


    Ah, yes. That too.


    cknail fel the urge to roll his eyes, but he suppressed it. That would be rude. It was amazing that humans were stupid enough to believe that he was stupid enough not to catch the nuance of their words. Did they think he was as stupid as they were? Well, whatever. Their reluctance to admit he was the best leader they had ever had wasnt an issue right now.


    No, I got things to do, very important things. I need to visit some people I met here before. They will be very excited to see me.


    Huh, I keep forgetting that you came here with Heradst year. But all that can wait. Think of all the food and drink you will be missing, and Khita is expecting you to join us. She wouldnt have gone in without us otherwise.


    Im fine, and Khita can bother someone else for a while. Im busy. The young redhead had mostly recovered from the injuries she had acquired during the battle at Shelter, but the journey here had taken a lot out of her so she had gone ahead to sit down.


    There will be more meat pies than you can eat.


    cknail wavered. That was a tempting offer. He could eat a lot of meat pies. Maybe his ns could wait No, he had to prioritize and resist temptation. He would just have to rob a storeter tonight, when he was done.


    Sounds tasty, but I cant. I will see you soon, cknail responded before turning to leave. He had to focus on the mission. Pies were secondary to vengeance, most of the time.


    Good luck then, and try to stay out of trouble! Geralhd called after him. The man was obviously torn between keeping an eye on cknail and finally getting the rest and rxation he had been craving for months, but his impatience had won. All of the former bandits had filled their pockets with coin from the in raiders.


    Of course! Dont worry, Im amazingly sneaky, and I will keep my head down, cknail replied cheerfully as he turned to wave goodbye. He was going to do the exact opposite of what he had just said.


    Without a shred of guilt, cknail turned back around and started walking away. The hobgoblins cloak trailed behind him as he moved down the street, and people got out of the way. He had engineered everyones return to Daggerpoint for a purpose, and it was time to get to it.


    About three weeks had passed since the defeat of the raiders who had attacked Shelter. While Geralhd and the others had been resting and rxing, cknail had hunted down the fleeing remnants of the raiders. He and his minions had stalked them through the forest and worn them down with constant surprise attacks until they were easy pickings. It had been both a necessary part of cknails grand n and a lot of fun. There was just something so sweet and right about a good hunt with a bloody ending. It warmed cknails hobgoblin heart.


    Once thest of the raiders were dead and no longer amusing, cknail had returned to Shelter and finally guided hispanions east through the Green to Daggerpoint. The journey had taken a while but it had been mostly uneventful, until he had dropped them off at the inn behind him.


    After walking past a tailors shop, cknail stopped at a corner. He brought his fingers to his mouth and whistled sharply. The shrill noise caused several people to look his way, but cknail ignored them, and there was soon a replying whistle from off in the distance. cknail headed towards the noise. He walked down the road, stepped behind a fruit booth, and slipped into an alleyway that was out of sight of everyone on the road. The side street wasnt empty though, two dozen cloaked figures were standing in the shadows. They looked cknails way as he approached, and he saw into their shadowy hoods to get a good look at their faces. They were hobgoblins.


    cknail quickly counted them to make sure they were all there. They were. Good, you made it into the city without any problems.


    Yep, it wasnt even hard, Scamp replied proudly. We climbed the wall. All the humans didnt even look our way, and they couldnt smell us if we were sticking our fingers up their small pink noses.


    Why do they even have noses? another hobgoblin asked no one in particr.


    Before leaving Shelter, cknail had assembled a group of hobgoblins and ordered them to follow in secret. Scamp hadnt been cknails first choice for sub-leader, but Gob was needed back at their main base, and after cknail Scamp was actually the most experienced hobgoblin when it came to dealing with humans. He had also been raised in Herads camp when he was a goblin.


    cknail took a moment to study his minions. Entering the city had affected each hobgoblin differently. The ce was incredibly alien to most of them since they had been born and raised out in the forest. Some were excited while others were more nervous, but all of them seemed distracted and jumpy. Several werent even looking in cknails direction. They were scanning the shadows for danger or trying to peer past cknail to get a look at all activity on the street behind him. To remedy this, cknail hissed and pped the nearest hobgoblin across the side of the head. That got their attention.


    Pay attention to me. Im your leader, cknail told his minions. You dont need to fear the humans here. They are blind and stupid. As long as you are with me you will be safe, so ignore all the delicious smells. I will get us all tasty foodter.


    This speech reassured the hobgoblins a fair bit and they calmed down enough to give cknail theirplete attention.


    What are we doing here, boss? Are we going to steal a whole bunch of tasty and shiny stuff? Scamp asked.


    No! Stealing is bad, cknail replied as he kicked a surprised Scamp in the shin. We are here to learn from the humans, and then we will probably kill a whole bunch of them. If those people just happen to have lots of interesting items for us to take then that isnt stealing because they arent using the stuff anymore, since they are dead.


    That makes sense to me, another hobgoblin agreed. A lot of other minions nodded, while Scamp winced and shook his sore leg.


    The first person we are looking for is a mage. He knows some fancy magic stuff I need.


    So we are going to talk to him? Herah asked as she stepped right up next to cknail and stared into his eyes.


    cknail leaned away from her. He had considered leaving the female hobgoblin behind, but she was one his best disguise artists and voice mimics. She was one of the few hobgoblins who could soundpletely human and she even had a blonde wig. Also, she had really wanted toe and he wasnt sure she would have listened if he said no.


    Sort of. His name is Avorlus, and he probably wont want to share his magic with me, so we are going to sneak into his house and ask him about it when none of his servants are around. We dont want to meet his guards. They are tough fighters and rather unfriendly.


    Once all of his minions had fully grasped the details of the mission, cknail led the way deeper into the city. Avorlus lived near the center of the city where most of the big fancy houses were. To avoid unwanted attention, cknail chose to move through the back streets and less upied portions of city. His cloaked hobgoblin minions trotted after him, as they moved through the shadows and grimy alleys.


    It felt weird to be back in Daggerpoint. The city was the same. It was still a steaming heap of nose burning scents, both good and bad, but he was here under very different circumstance than his first visit. Then he had been one of Herads servants and now he was the leader of his own group. cknails right hand tightened into a fist as he suddenly felt the ache of Saeters absence. Soon


    The hobgoblins ran into people more than once as they stalked through the back streets, but after one nce at cknails party the people all quickly disappeared without a word. This was Daggerpoint and everyone here knew better than to go looking for trouble. It soon became obvious that there was no immediate danger of discovery so the hobgoblins began talking amongst themselves.


    There are so many humans here. one remarked in awe.


    There is even more garbage, another replied as he scowled down the unidentifiable substance he had just stepped in.


    Oh ya. The pinkies are everywhere. They have lots of cities all over the ce. You just dont see them out in the forest much because almost all of them are too stupid to survive there without being in a huge mob, cknail replied as he kept walking.


    The group passed an alley that led out into a street where several food vendors were hawking their wares. The aroma of the greasy food wafted out and enveloped the hobgoblins. Two of them instinctively moved to investigate, and cknail had to drag them back by their cloaks. After a couple of quick punishment swats, they kept moving.


    All the hobgoblins with cknail had been thoroughly trained, but they were still hobgoblins. Each of them had been taught self-discipline the same way cknail had, through intensive and exhausting swordsmanship lessons. The only way to escape the embarrassing beatings was for them to seize control of their emotions and learn the skills necessary to fight. This self-discipline was necessary because hobgoblins were violent and anti-social by nature. In the wild, hobgoblins usually murdered each other at first sight. Those that failed to learn to suppress their urges were executed. They were too dangerous to keep around and of no use to cknail.


    After observing his minions, cknail had alsoe to realize that a lot of the sessful hobgoblins changed throughout their training. Some developed quirks such as nail-biting or making clicking noises when stressed, while others became obsessed with something. The hobgoblin walking right behind cknail would stop and tap his elbow every few seconds. cknail was d he hadnt picked up any weird quirks like that when Saeter had trained him.


    Soon the hobgoblins reached an area where the houses were squeezed together and the back alleys came to an end, so they quickly stepped out onto a main road. It wasnt particrly busy there, but there was more than a few people about, and cknails group drew a fair amount of attention. Cloaked figures were hardly rare in Daggerpoint, but although the hobgoblins features were hidden there was still something off-putting about them. Maybe it was the way they moved or maybe it was their height that raised peoples hackles. There were lots of humans as short as hobgoblins, but they didnt usually wear dark cloaks and travel together inrge groups.


    Before they could draw too much attention though, cknail led his minions back down into an alley. No one raised an rm behind them so they kept going. After a bit more walking they reached a tall wall that ran between two homes. Two by two, the hobgoblins jumped and grabbed the top so they could pull themselves up and over it. Once theynded on the other side they had reached the central district of the city.


    The going here was tougher. It was the only ce where the city watch patrolled, and although they tended to let most people enter and leave unmolested, cknail was sure they would be suspicious of his minions. They werent as good at disguising themselves as he was. The key to mimicking humans was to walk around like you were blind and about to walk right into something.


    cknail peered out from behind the corner of a building and looked around. He didnt see any guards so he motioned for his minions to follow. All together, they ran across the street and jumped into some shrubbery that bordered a yard. A few momentster, they leapt out and ran over to the neighbors ce. Like this, they made their way down the street until they had arrived at their destination. In front of cknail was the fenced-in property where he had met Avorlus. Like before, the long path up to the house was barred by a metal gate, but now there was no huge glowering guard watching over the entrance. It looked deserted.


    Carefully, cknail signaled for his minions to hold their position and then went to investigate. He nonchntly walked over to the gate and looked around. No one stepped out to stop him, so he ced a hand on the iron gate. His gentle touch caused it to swing open on its well oiled hinges. cknail froze but no guards appeared, so he stepped inside and nced towards the house. There were no signs of activity, so he signaled for his minions to follow him.


    Once they were all past the gate, the hobgoblins crept up the pathway that led to the house. One side of it was bordered by a neatly trimmed hedge, so they kept their heads low as they moved. As they approached the door, cknail noticed that it had been left slightly open. He watched the windows of the huge mansion before him for any signs of movement as he stalked over to the door and carefully examined it. The lock had been busted. The wood was splintered around the metal te and wouldnt shut properly anymore. cknail grunted and peered inside. The house was dark and empty. This wasnt going anything like he had nned. He wasnt sure what was going on, but it didnt seem likely that Avorlus was inside and off guard.


    After his minions had joined him, cknail pulled the door open and they entered Avorluss mansion. The reception room was exactly as cknail remembered, except for theck of people and the huge hole that someone had sted through one of the interior walls.


    This is definitely the house of a mage. Something went boom, Scamp remarked as he walked over to the hole and examined it. The edges of the rubble were burnt ck.


    I dont think Avorlus did that, cknail replied as he reached Scamps side. Id bet that some other humans with magic attacked this ce.


    The scent of blood was thick within the mansion and there were other signs of battle everywhere. As the hobgoblins explored the other rooms they found more st marks, some rather extensive water damage, shards of ck crystal jutting out from walls, and what looked like a bottomless pit in the middle of a hallway.


    Do you think this is supposed to be here? a hobgoblin asked as he peered down into the pits ck depths. The wooden floor around the hole had been cracked and torn.


    No, humans dont like having holes in the ground in ces where they walk a lot, cknail replied. He knew this from experience.


    More searching revealed quite a few interesting items that quickly disappeared into hobgoblin pockets but no signs of Avorlus. There were also a lot of books and bits of paper with writing on them scattered around the house, but none of the hobgoblins could read. cknail hoped the secrets he was looking for werent written on any of them. It hadnt urred to him to bring a human in case he needed someone to make sense of their scribbling.


    What do we do now, boss? I dont think your magic man is here, Scamp asked when they had all returned to the reception room.


    cknail sighed and thought it over quickly. He needed to find Avorlus, even if it meant taking some risks. Hopefully the mage was still alive.


    Stay here, cknail orders his minions.


    The hobgoblin chieftain then went back to thergest and most luxurious bedroom they had found and started searching it. It took him a few minutes to find what he was looking for, several articles of clothing that smelled strongly of Avorlus. He grabbed them and then handed them out to his minions.


    Whats this for? I already took a nicer looking shirt. It has silver buttons! a hobgoblin remarked as he held the brown shirt he had been given out in front of him.


    Smell it. Im looking for the human that wore them, cknail exined as the hobgoblins passed the clothes around and sniffed them. Im going to send a bunch of you to look for him.


    You want us to explore the city by ourselves?


    Yes, just stay out of trouble. Sniff around for signs of Avorlus and make sure no humans get a good look at you. If they do then kill them. Come back here when four hours pass or if you find Avorlus.


    All the hobgoblins immediately turned to leave. Most of them were grinning in excitement.


    This didnt amuse cknail. No, not all of you! Some of you have to stay here with me. I will decide who gets to leave.


    There were moans from the hobgoblins as cknail chose three to remain behind with him. They watched the others leave with obvious disappointment. Both Herah and Scamp were selected to go hunting. cknail had wanted to keep them with him and out of trouble, but they were too skilled not to use.


    Im going to find something nice to wear and maybe a new wig! Herah eximed as she walked out the door.


    Scamp was right behind her. I want an entire tray of sausages, the spicy kind!


    cknail scowled after them. He had no way of keeping his minions on track once they left. All he could do was hope they remembered to actually look for Avorlus and not just stuff themselves silly.


    What are we going to be doing here? one of the remaining hobgoblins asked as he gazed longingly after his more fortunate fellows.


    cknail smiled fiercely as he answered. Wereying a trap. There is no way the people that attacked this ce arent watching it. If we make some noise then someone wille to investigate and we can ask them some questions.