Twists and Turns 3


    "We should give our foes a chance to surrender, Geralhd said as walked over to cknail. There is no point in starting a needless fight if there is a chance of avoiding bloodshed.


    I like bloodshed, a lot, cknail replied as he nced at the man. Why did Geralhd feel the need to ruin this for him?


    cknails forces had just arrived in front of the walled town of Aldhara. Ity just beyond the eastern edge of cknails territory, and it had been garrisoned by a group of Werricks men. The road behind cknail was packed with his hobgoblin and human troops. They were waiting for orders and the atmosphere was heavy with the anticipation that came before a battle.


    Geralhd grimaced. Unless they have a far more fighters manning those walls than it appears, they stand no chance of victory. We should give them an opportunity to prevent a ughter.


    cknail rolled his eyes. Why? I like ughter and theyre the enemy. I dont want them to live. They work for Werrick. Killing them is the entire point!


    Its normal civilized behavior for humans. Having mercy and restraint is important or wed be killing each other constantly.


    cknail frowned and thought back to all the battles hed been a part of. No, thats not true at all. Herad didnt let people surrender and no one ever really offered it to her.


    Geralhd hesitated, but before he coulde up with a reply, a messenger arrived. He was one of the hobgoblins cknail had sent out into the forest to surround the town and watch it.


    Its all quiet in the trees, boss. The stupid humans have no scouts out, just watchers on the walls. The walls look strong though. Theyve been all fixed up recently and all holes in them have been plugged so that we cant sneak through. Climbing in unseen would also be hard.


    After listening to the report, cknail sighed. Hed been hoping there would be a way to sneak in. With a small force at his back, he could probably cut his way to the gate and open it, and he liked being sneaky and clever. Now it seemed like he would have to assault the gate. He could build a ram and batter it open, but sting it open with magic would probably be easier. Magic was just so convenient.


    As cknail thought his options over, Geralhd took the opportunity to speak up. See. There is no easy way to take the town, and you dont want to lose minions if its not necessary. That would weaken you before you face Werrick again. Give me a chance to ask them toy down their arms.


    Fine. Whatever! Make it quick, cknail told him. There would other opportunities to kill Werricks men.


    With a pleased nod, Geralhd immediately began walking down the road toward the gate. When he was close enough to easily be heard, he began yelling. Heil the town! Ivee brining a peaceful proposition.


    Weve no interest in talking to any man in service to evil beasts, someone yelled back a momentter.


    This response seemed to startle Geralhd, because he froze. It took him a several seconds toe up with a reply, which was unusual for him. Then you should have no problem talking to me. Ivee in peace and good faith to prevent unnecessary violence.


    We have nothing to say to you. You wont be getting us to lower our guards while that host of inhuman creatures lurks out there. Were not fools. The second we drop out weapons theyll be on us like hignd wolves on sheep. The cknail has a reputation.


    Indeed he does, one of mercy and honoring his word. He has no interest in murder, and many of the men you see in his army were once his enemies. And I say, anyone under the employ of a brigand such as the Wolf has little ground to stand on there. He is not known for his mercy.


    At least he is human. Besides, betraying Werrick is a sure way to earn a hard death. Wed rather take our chances with a battle. At least then wed die on our feet, like men.


    Come now. You must be able to see the force assembled against you. It is mighty, and you are far outnumbered. Surrender, there is no shame in it. Needless battle would serve no purpose but to feed the crows, Geralhd yelled. He was starting to sound rather exasperated.


    Weve rallied the locals and every good human is worth three little hobgoblins. We dont fear little green savages.


    cknail snorted. Stupid humans. Under favorable conditions, a human might be worth one and a half hobgoblins. However, not only did cknail have more than that, but he wasnt going to give them that kind of fight. He wasnt stupid enough to go head to head with them, where humans could use their greater weight and muscle against hobgoblins. Then there was cknails own presence. He was worth a good hundred humans anyway!


    Growing frustrated, Gehd tried for several more minutes to convince the enemy to surrender. They eventually grew tired of his nonsense though.


    Still your tongue already. We wont be surrendering anything to that stupid green monster that you call master! the enemy leader yelled.


    This annoyed cknail. As a mutant he might sort of be a monster, but he definitely wasnt stupid, and he didnt appreciate being called that by some humans. With their bizarre instincts, it was amazing most humans survived to adulthood.


    cknail wasnt too annoyed though. There was easy way prove his great intellect and show the enemy who was smarter. Hed simply ughter the fools. Theyd really look dumb then, when they were corpses.


    Grinning, cknail walked up behind Geralhd and put a hand on his shoulder. You tried. Now, its my turn.


    Geralhd sighed in disappointment as he looked back at cknail. What are you going to do?


    Im going to attack them, cknail replied as he turned to begin barking orders at his troops. He already had a n, a great one. They were constantly popping into his head, because he was a genius.


    It didnt take long for cknail to get things moving. Soon, he was leading arge squad of his toughest warriors straight for the gate while the rest of his army followed behind in support. Herah was right beside him, leading his bodyguard, while Imp was in the center of the group. All the hobgoblins were grinning in anticipation of an easy fight. There were few things they liked better than the chance to shed some human blood. For most of them, there was no malice involved; humans and other prey were just fun to torment and kill. It was instinct. How would they react when the hobgoblins broke in to the town? cknail licked his lips. Chasing them as they ran around screaming would very amusing.


    As he marched forward, cknail shook his head to clear his thoughts. He needed to focus on the task at hand. He wasnt far from the gate now.


    A few scattered arrows flew out from behind the wall, but none of themnded anywhere near cknail, so he ignored them and turned to Imp. Open the gate.


    The hobgoblin mage nodded and raised his mechanical staff. Around him, the other hobgoblins came to a stop. There were more subtle ways of getting into the town, but cknail didnt feel like waiting. The humans here had insulted him and had to be shown the error of their ways. He still wanted the town intact, but gates could be repaired.


    As cknail and the warriors watched, a rippling st of transparent power shot out of Imps staff. It tore through the air before hitting the center of the towns gate. There was a loud boom and the air shuddered as the magic exploded. The gates shook under the power of the explosion and then the wood bent and splintered. With a loud crack, the gate on the right came loose and partially copsed, creating a gap in the center of the doorway that was wide enough for two people to walk through.


    I can hit it again, Imp offered.


    No, thats fine, cknail replied as he motioned his troops forward and began running. The wooden doors looked wrecked and jammed now. Further sts might widen the gap, but they might also do nothing or even make it smaller, and Imp didnt have unlimited mana crystals to power his staff.


    Picking up speed, cknail charged straight for the gate. The enemy on the other side of it quickly began to react as well. Several armed men who looked like Werricks troops took up position to block his entrance. cknail just licked his lips and drew his de from its sheathe. It came free with an eager sounding hiss that was music to the hobgoblins ears.


    The sight of cknail barreling toward them made the troops guarding the hole in the gate nch. He was noticeably taller than a normal hobgoblin, even more than most humans, and his antler-like horns made him look taller still. His second transformation had also made cknail bulkier, with thicker limbs and muscles, and this was also emphasized by his ck leather armor. All in all, there was no way the humans could mistake cknail for an average hobgoblin.


    Fear was obvious on the human guards faces but cknail could also sense it using his magic, and he could use that. Gathering up his own power from his core, cknail fed the power up into his head and then sent it out. The magic washed forth like a wave, igniting the fear within the enemy and twisting it into numbing terror.


    There were three men blocking cknails way into the town, and all three of them stumbled back as he fell upon them. Without mercy, cknail lunged through the hole in the gate and shed at the closest man. His de sliced through the air with stunning speed and tore into the mans arm. The blow almost cut the limb right off, and the man screamed in pain as cknail grabbed his shoulder and tossed him aside so he could get at his next target. The invigorating heat of magic was still rising up from cknails core, but now it was feeding his muscles and trickling into his blood.


    The guard to cknails left overcame his terror and shed at cknail with a clumsy overhead swing. cknail just snorted dismissively as he spun his de around and stabbed the man in the chest. He then kicked the man away and tugged his sword free.


    Thest nearby guard turned to run, so cknail grabbed his cor, pulled him close, and then slit his throat with a flick of his de. As his victim copsed, cknail studied his new surroundings. He was on the other side of the gate now. The towny before him, and there were lots more armed humans around, at least two dozen.


    However, instead of retreating, cknail just grinned and began stomping forward. Behind him, hobgoblins began pushing through the gap in the gate and entering the town. For several moments, Werricks men stared at cknail in shock. In response, cknail burned his power. The fear inciting magic boiled off him like an invisible cloud and visibly mmed into the humans. They flinched or stumbled back.


    Their weakness thrilled cknail, sending shivers down his spine. Practically purring, he threw himself at the biggest clump of men andshed out with his long de. His magically enhanced blows crashed through defenses and hacked through flesh with ease, sending blood flying in every direction. Pain filled screams filled the air.


    Instead of rallying and trying to counterattack, the enemy hesitated. This allowed time for more hobgoblins to spill into the town and form a mob of their own. As cknail finished off thest nearby human with a bone crunching stomp to the mans chest, the mob of hobgoblin spearmen threw themselves intobat.


    There were still lots of enemy soldiers around, so cknail spun around and ran over to cover his minions nks as they fought. On his way he cut down two more enemies who tried to stop him.


    More of Werricks troops began to arrive. Desperately, they threw themselves intobat in an attempt to prevent the hobgoblins from spilling into the town. The enemymander had held troops in reserve and stationed guards all along the walls, but now he threw everything he had at cknail.


    It didnt work. cknail crushed every human in his way as he cut his way deeper into the town. Human after human was brutally dispatched by swings of his de, and his minions surged forward in a growing wave of spears and green.


    The scent of blood grew strong as the dead piled up, and cknail began to notice some different looking humans mingled among the others. They were dressed in in clothes instead of leather armor and many of them wielded tools such as axes and pitchforks instead of real weapons. cknail justughed and cut them down regardless. They were even easier to kill.


    Laughing joyfully over the screams, cknail continued to throw himself into the press. However, the enemy ranks quickly began to grow thin, and then they broke. As he stopped to watch, the nearby human began to turn and flee into the town. Some of his nearby minions started to give chase, but cknail stopped them with a yell and told them to stay together. The enemy didnt have anywhere to flee to, except into the Green, so there was no rush. Seizing the gate was the priority anyway.


    Soon, many more of cknails minions had entered through the broken gate, including some humans. So, cknail left a strong force behind to hold it, and then took about a hundred hobgoblins deeper into the town, toward thergest homes in sight. That was where hed find the leaders, or at least the best loot. This was turning into a great day!


    The front door of the biggest house in town was locked, of course. However, it was shut by a simple woodentch, which cknail easily broke by mming the door with his shoulder. He then stepped inside and looked around. It seemed like he was in the right ce. Everything in sight was morevish looking than the contents of an average vigers home, which were usually dirty and dim.


    There was no one in sight, but cknail heard creaks from upstairs, so he followed his nose over to the kitchen and told the minions that had followed him inside to round up the residents and bring them to him.


    After a quick raid of the pantry for anything that smelled tasty, cknail wandered over to a couch in the sitting room and waited. That was when Geralhd hurried in. The young man was out of breath, but he looked relieved to have caught up. cknail offered him some of the worse tasting pie, but the man shook his head and concentrated on catching his breath. His lose.


    As cknail ate, there was a brief scuffle upstairs and some yelling, but nothing major. Soon, his minions dragged everyone in the house in front of him. He studied them as he finished off some blue cheese. There were three adult women, one man, and two children. One of the women was much better dressed than the others, so cknail assumed the other two were servants of some kind. That meant the remaining humans were the leader and his family. They gazed at the hobgoblins with unconcealed terror, even though cknail wasnt doing anything with his magic anymore.


    One of the children was female and the other was male. The female looked to be older than the male, but cknail didnt pay them much attention. They werent important. He also dismissed the two female servants in their in ck dresses.


    Im in charge now. Who are you? cknail asked the town leader. He was a short man with a curly moustache that made cknail want to pull on it. Humans werent supposed to have whiskers like rats.


    The man paled and hesitated before answering. Im I mean, I was the mayor. What are you going to do with me? Please dont kill me. I havent done anything wrong!


    His wife threw him a nasty look, as if annoyed that he hadnt asked about her. She was taller than her husband and had a proud demeanor hecked. The children just hugged one of the maids, like she was the only thing preventing them from drowning. Ha, they were stupid little critters. Amusing though.


    Your people attacked me, cknail pointed out. I even sent someone over to offer you a nice surrender, but you helped Werricks men instead. I think that was wrong.


    The mayor flinched. Those bandits seized this town! They didnt ask me for permission. If some poor fools from here tried to fight you, it wasnt because I told them to do anything.


    cknail nodded. Maybe, but youre still the leader, I should probably kill


    There was loud cough from Geralhd, who until now had stayed in the background. He hurried over to cknails side, leaned down, and began whispering. You shouldnt kill the mayor yet. You dont actually know if he has done anything wrong.


    cknail sighed. Hes the boss, so hes responsible and needs to be punished. Thats how things work. He lost, so he dies and I take over.


    Thats not how it works with humans. Well, not usually. Its quite possible he had nothing to do with the vigers that fought against us. They could have been going against his wishes or been forced to do it by the bandits.


    So? What do you want me do? Hell lie if I ask him anything, cknail pointed out.


    Let me take some men and question the townsfolk. That way Ill be able to figure out what happened. We could even have a trial, which should keep the people cated. If you kill their mayor without justification, they might get angry.


    cknail wasnt sure if he cared if the people here were angry or not. This wasnt Shelter. He didnt need anything from them, only that they stay out of his way. Still, Geralhd seemed to be offering to do all the work. Annoying human nonsense like this was also why hed brought Geralhd along. Hed put a lot of effort into recruiting Geralhd into his force, so he may as well listen to him.


    Fine, do it your way. Ill tell my hobs to let you take charge. You need to find me someone to me for everything though. Someone is guilty. No being annoying and saying the people responsible are already dead or Im killing the mayor.


    Geralhd grimaced but nodded. cknail was satisfied, so as the mayor and his family trembled and watched, he remained sitting on the couch and began finishing off thest bits of food hed taken from the kitchen. The town was his, and he had lots of good food, so any more killing could wait.