Will of Iron 1


    cknail and the others stayed in Herstcrest for two days. They needed time to rest and recuperate after their journey through the uncharted Green, and no one was in a huge rush to get back to Shelter anyway. Herstcrest wasnt a great ce to visit. The walled towns streets were still creepy and depressing, but it was a novel ce to explore, and roaming the streets was safer than walking through the Green, probably. The people from Shelter were particrly curious, since some of them had never visited another town or city before. Ha, what a bunch of rubes. cknail himself had visited five cities and towns. That was a lot, probably.


    Before departing Herstcrest, cknails party got a few things done. The hobgoblins got the feast theyd been promised, although since there was a local shortage, the fare wasnt all that great and had mostlye from the supplies theyd brought. cknail was able to eat his fill, though. The hobgoblins also managed to find themselves a fair pile of loot, even if it was mostly junk no one else wanted. Ferrar also used this time to meet up with some human craftsman and pick out one to travel back with them. The fire obsessed hobgoblin really wanted someone to learn smelting from. Thankfully, Ilisti was quite generous about rewarding the hobgoblins for their help, and he gave them everything they asked for. He did have one request, though.


    Since he was facing a food shortage, the vympr wanted some hobgoblin hunters to bring in game for him, and he was willing to pay them for it. Once the food from the wagon ran out, Hesrtcrest would start starving again. cknail readily agreed. It cost him nothing, and he was always looking to put some of hiszy minions to work. He had too many of them, and he didnt like it when they hung around his base and ate up his food.


    On the day of departure, cknail led his minions and allies through the gates of Herstcrest and out into the fields around the town. It was early in the morning and the wagon creaked as it rolled over the packed dirt path. The travelers had unloaded almost all the food that theyd brought, but theyd refilled the wagon with loot and equipment. cknail and Ferrar had scooped up all the axes and metal tools they could find, which was a lot. Herstcrest had plenty of steel shovels and simr thingsying around inside its many abandoned warehouses.


    Behind cknail, walked the hobgoblins that werent out scouting ahead of the main party. Geralhd and most of the humans from Shelter were walking around the wagon, while Khita and her followers took up the rear. Since the vympirs and their troops had remained behind, the party was much smaller now. The only new additions were the craftsman Ferrar had chosen and the small female hed brought with him. Briefly, cknail wondered why Ferrar had chosen this particr human. His nd looks didnt make him stand out from everyone else in Herstcrest, but then again Ferrar was weird. Hed probably picked the man based on whispers from the fire or something.


    Soon after theyd entered the forest, they approached the dark woods that the spiders had taken over, and they had to leave the old overgrown road and head off into the forest. Luckily, they could just follow the path they had made to get to Herstcrest in the first ce. Moving through the Green was slow, especially for the wagon, but they knew which way they had to go and whaty before them.


    Soon, they passed close to the location of the goblin camp that cknail had conquered and upied. Since Scamp and a few other minions were still there, cknail took some hobgoblins along and went to check on him. It was only a short walk through the forest, so they left the others with the wagon.


    When cknail got there, he immediately noticed that the camp had undergone some changes. A swathe of small trees and bushes had been cleared around the edge of the camp, and a short stretch of wall had already been built on one side. The patches of herbs appeared unchanged, though. That was good. cknail had been a little worried about Scamp idently killing them all somehow. Knowing Scamp, it wasnt impossible that his mere presence might have caused all the nts to wither down to nothing.


    The nearby goblins scattered as cknail and his minions walked into the clearing. One of the hobgoblins left behind was on the far edge of the camp, and he began walking over to greet cknail. Meanwhile, several of the feral goblins yelped loudly in excitement, which caused a sleepy looking Scamp to crawl out of one of the huts. He yawned as he got up and tried to figure out what was going on.


    cknail walked right over to Scamp, stopped in front of him, and then slugged the surprised hobgoblin right in the face. Scamp yelped in pain and fell over onto his ass. This both amused and satisfied cknail, who grinned down at his minion.


    Good job! Keep up the good work, cknail told Scamp. It was important to make sure everyone remembered who the real boss was, but also to give them positive reinforcement.


    Um, thanks? Scamp replied as he rubbed his sore nose and climbed back to his feet. He didnt sound too grateful for the praise.


    Im just stopping by to see how you are doing. Where is the female hobgoblin? cknail asked.


    Scamp pointed back toward the hut that hed just emerged from. Shes still in there.


    Ah, try to get at least some work done, cknail replied with a frown.


    Scamp smiled proudly. Of course, Im working super hard, boss! Soon, Ill have the wall done, just like you asked.


    cknail rolled his eyes in disbelief. He doubted the wall would beplete anytime soon. It was a big project, and he knew Scamp too well to believe that hed personally gotten his hands dirty working on it. Scamp was azy idiot, which was what made him a great sub-leader. He wasnt a threat.


    After a brief conversation to get the other hobgoblin caught up, cknail had his minions drop off a bunch of the tools theyd been carrying. Hed brought some axes and shovels to help the hobgoblins here build the wall. Steel axes made chopping down trees and cutting stakes much easier. Stone tools broke very easily so they had to be constantly repaired, which took time.


    Scamp seemed fine with staying here now, but some of the other hobgoblins wanted to leave, so cknail switched a few of them around with the hobgoblins hed brought. Ilisti had told him that moving his minions around a lot was an important part of keeping them loyal, and cknail could see why. It prevented them from getting toofortable and forming cliques. ns for keeping his hobgoblins loyal had been on cknails mind a lottely.


    Ill send some more workers from the main camp soon. Just keep building the wall and taking care of the herbs, cknail told Scamp before heading back into the forest. He didnt want to leave the humans waiting too long, lest they get into trouble.


    Fortunately, when the hobgoblins got back to the wagon, everyone was still in one piece and nothing important had happened. cknail took a moment to speak to Geralhd and reassure him, and then they resumed their journey. However, when they got to the others side of the dark woods and reached the overgrown road again, cknail called for a stop and started rummaging through the wagon for some specific items hed packed.


    What are you doing? There is nothing here but empty forest and the same endless greenery, Geralhd asked as he walked over to cknails side. There was a confused frown on his face.


    cknail pulled out a torch and arge sk of oil. Just stay here. I need to go into the dark woods for a while, but be prepared to move quickly when I get back.


    How long are you going to be? Geralhd asked with obvious concern.


    Not long. I will be running back, cknail replied as he looked over his minions.


    Geralhd tried to ask him a few more question, but cknail didnt answer. Instead, he selected two minions toe help him.


    You will probably want to see this up close, cknail told Ferrar.


    The other hobgoblin he selected was Herah. She followed him around everywhere anyway, and probably would attempt to sneak after him even if he tried to leave her behind. Hed caught her stalking him a few times. She clearly had way too much free time. With those two minions in tow, cknail started walking back down the overgrown road and toward shadowy trees that hung over it.


    I dont like this ce. It makes the back of my neck tingle, Herah remarked as she looked up into the dark treetops. Any number of dangerous things could have been hiding up above them in the branches.


    Ya, its a bad ce to visit, cknail replied as he held his torch up and strode forward. The flickering mes pushed back the darkness but didnt dispel it. In gloomy silence, the dark haze hovered around them. Shadows shifted and danced as the light of the torch hit the twisted trees.


    Then why are we here? Herah asked.


    It was Ferrar that answered her. Thats obvious. Were going to burn it all down!


    What? Herah eximed as she turned to look at him.


    Ferrar shrugged and grinned excitedly. Thats why he brought me, to burn things. This ce is bad, but fire will fix that. Also, look at all this dry wood. Anyone who saw it would want to burn it all down.


    Herah gave Ferrar a doubtful look. She seemed concerned, and she turned to look at cknail. He just nodded in agreement though, which didnt reassure her at all.


    The forest around them had grown even darker. The trees stretched up high into the sky, creating a stifling sea of foliage above their heads that blocked out all the light of the sun. Closer to the ground, twisted white branches jutted out from the sides of pale trees. Some of trees were dead and dried out, like Ferrar had pointed out, but many others still had healthy canopies up above.


    As he walked and held his torch high, cknail carefully studied the twisting branches that hung low to the ground. Was that glint of light as something reflected the illumination from the torch? Yes, it was. cknail instantly stopped walking.


    As Herah and Ferrar stumbled to a stop behind him, he turned to look at the female hobgoblin. Walk over to that tree.


    Um, why? Herah asked skeptically. The dark woods clearly made her nervous.


    cknail gave her his best reassuring smile. Thats an order, but dont worry. Ill protect you if anything happens.


    Herah hesitated but did as she was told. She began to carefully walk toward the tree as she scanned the surroundings for any sign of danger. She didnt see any, but as she neared the pale trunk of the tree, something moved up above in the shadows. Then, there was the crack of a branch as arge blurry shape hurtled down at her from one of the branches overhead. It zoomed toward her exposed back with hungry purpose.


    Reacting too slowly, Herah tried to spin around to face the threat. The shape was less than a foot from her head when cknail swatted it aside with a two-handed swing of his sword. There was aloud crack as the t of his de smashed the leaping spider and knocked it away from Herah. Instead, it hit the ground and bounced. Herah squeaked in fear and jumped back.


    The huge grey spider hissed angrily as it jumped back onto its feet. It immediately tried to scuttle away, but while it was still stunned, cknail stepped forward and used the tip of his de to impale its abdomen. The hairy grey spider hissed and squirmed, but it was stuck now. Dark fluid seeped out of the wound around the de for a few seconds, and then it went still.


    What is that? Herah shrieked fearfully.


    Its a spider, cknail replied as he removed his de and bent down to examine his catch. The arachnid was easily two feet across.


    Is that why you wanted me to go to the tree?


    cknail hesitated. It was probably a good idea to not upset Herah any further. Um, yes. Good job. You really helped me catch it.


    Herah wasnt mollified. She looked outraged. It could have killed me!


    No, I was protecting you, and their bite isnt deadly. They just paralyze you and wrap you up forter. You were safe with me here, cknail told her as he picked the dead spider up. He wanted to show it to everyone. The stupid humans hadnt believed him when hed described them.


    Can we burn things now? Ferrar interjected impatiently.


    Sure, cknail replied.


    Herah didnt look mad anymore. If anything, she looked smug. cknails words had apparently calmed her down. She seemed to like the idea that hed protected her, so he handed her the dead spider. Startled, she took it and then stared at it as if unsure of what had just happened.


    Meanwhile, cknail took out his sk of oil and dumped its contents on the base of a dead tree. Hed asked Ilisti what the best way to burn out the spiders was, and the vympir had suggested this route. When the sk was empty, cknail lit it using his torch. The slick oil immediately burst into mes, and the fire quickly began to spread past the oil and onto the dry wood.


    We should run now, cknail said as he stepped back away from the mes and smoke.


    Ferrar grinned joyfully and his eyes reflected the red light of the burning tree. He nodded absently at cknals words, but he made no move to leave, so cknail grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away. Herah followed them with the spider still in hand. She still seemed to have no idea what was going on. As they retreated back the way theyde, there was a loud crack and shower of sparks sprayed in their direction, causing everyone to pick up speed.


    It didnt take them long to reach the edge of the dark woods, but before leaving the shadows, cknail nced back. Behind him, he saw the previously gloomy forest glowing with a sinister orange light. The fire was spreading quickly.


    The hogoblins hurried run drew a lot of attention when they reached the wagon. Everyone looked in their direction, and most the people looked wary.


    Holy gods. Thats an incrediblyrge spider, Geralhd remarked in surprise as he saw what Herah was carrying. There were mutters of agreement from most the other humans.


    Yep, I caught it myself, but we should get moving. Right now, cknail told him.


    Geralhd looked concerned. Why? Youre not being chased by a swarm of giant arachnid, are you?


    Dont be silly. I set the forest on fire, cknail exined.


    What? Why would you do that, Geralhd asked in shock.


    Ilisti told me to, and he also said the mes shouldnt spread out of the dark woods, but we should probably keep moving just to be safe.


    Herah dumped the dead spider on the wagon, as the party began moving again. cknail was pretty sure he could smell smoke on the wind now.


    I still dont understand why you wanted to burn down the forest, Geralhd told cknail as they jogged side-by-side. They creaking of the wagons wheels was loud behind them.


    cknail frowned at the mans cluelessness. Because giant spiders live there, obviously! I wanted to clear the road so that we a get to Herstcrest faster.


    Geralhd huffed. Well, lets hope that Ilisti was right and the fire doesnt spread out of the dark woods.


    After half an hour of hurried running, it appeared that Ilisti had been right. No roaring wall of mes consumed them, so everyone was rather relieved about that. However, back behind them, a torrent of ck smoke began to rise up into the sky. Thankfully, it did seem like the ze wasnt moving in their direction.


    cknail nodded happily to himself. Hed been right to set the fire after all. Not only would it get rid of the spiders and allow them to use the road, but it would clear all the brush from atop the road there as well. Once the fire died down, getting to Herstcrest would be much easier. cknail also nned on clearing the rest of the road, so that he could send minions to the other goblin camp quicker and safer. Maybe he could use the boars to do that?


    The rest of day went by slowly as cknails party followed the old overgrown road back toward Shelter. When it started to grow dark, they began to look for a ce to settle down for the night. Up ahead, there was arge rock formation visible from the road. Its sharp stone point pierced the top of the forest canopy, so cknail decided to take some hobgoblin scouts and go check it out. A quick exploration of the huge rock formation revealed an excellent ce to set up camp at its base. The ground was dry, the rocks provided shelter, and it was easily defendable.


    However, when cknail left his minions behind and circled around the rocks, he heard a noise off to his left. Frowning, the hobgoblin looked up over a boulder to see what had made the sound. There were any number of dangerous creatures that it could be, and setting up camp near them would be stupid.


    As he peeked over the rock, cknail froze in surprise. A strange andpletely unexpected sighty before him. Were those giant bugs? He was looking at two creatures about the size of a hobgoblin, but instead of standing straight up they moved across the ground on six skinny legs. Faded ck carapace covered their very insect-like bodies, and their mouths were nked by protruding mandibles.


    Both the creatures were walking backward as they draggedrge objects behind them using their mandibles. One had a deer carcass, while the other was dragging arge green bush. Sensing cknails presence, they suddenly stopped and spun to face him. Their eyes were dark empty pits as they studied the hobgoblin, and then they both reared up and hissed aggressively at him.