Chapter 4
Discovery
Sterling woke up before the sun was up. Thankfully no one had disturbed him during the night. He looked outside to see it was still dark out, but the sun was soon break over the horizon. He got dressed and slung his bag over his shoulder before making his way downstairs to see Liz sweeping and the bartender taking inventory. The tall man turned and gave Sterling a nod.
“How’d you sleep?”
“Like a log.” He said as he sat at the bar. “Anything on the skillet?”
“I was about to start up some eggs, bacon and potatoes. Interested?” Sterling nodded and paid the man.
“Quite interested.” He said as he cracked his knuckles. He looked around the inn and realized it was far nicer than what he first saw the previous night. The floors and walls were all wooden and rich hazelnut color that matched the tables and chairs. “This is a very nice inn.”
“Thank you, I take pride in it.” He said as he broke the eggs in the pan.
“Might be a good idea to find someplace else to work with the way the town is going.” The man behind the bar let out a grunt. His eyes narrowing at the words. “Just saying that things aren’t looking good for this town.” The bartender turned and faced the man and roughly tossed his food down on the bar.
“Look here, my father’s father built this place with his own two hands.” Sterling listened as he started to eat. “My father raised his family in it and I’m going to do the same.” His tone was filled with the kind of pride formed from iron hard stubbornness. Sterling finished chewing his mouthful of food before speaking again.
“Willing to bet your life on that?” Silence was his answer. Sterling kept silent for the rest of his meal and left a silver piece for Liz. “Do you know where Princess Sparkle is?” The bartender wordlessly pointed out the window towards the large crystal castle that shined like a beacon in the morning light.
He cleared his throat and felt a little embarrassed at how he missed something so obvious.He paid for his meal and made his way out the door. As the door closed behind him, the glass the bartender was drying slipped out of his hands and shattered on the stone floor. He made his way through the town and could feel the thick feeling of dread that radiated from the towns folk. Several of them had sunken eyes filled with worry while others were trying to keep hope in their eyes.
He made his way to the castle and knocked on the hardened crystal door. He waited and knocked a second time with a little more force. The door cracked open and a small boy answered the door. He had spiky green hair and was wearing a park purple shirt. His ears had a slight point to them and his emerald eyes were like a snakes.
As he yawned, Sterling saw the row of serrated teeth. He rubbed his eyes before he took in the stranger’s form.
“Can I help you?” He asked in a groggy tone.
“Yes, I was told that I could find Princess Sparkle here.” The boy seemed to perk up at the words.
“Why do you need to see her?” He asked in a defensive tone.
“Because I was hired to come help her with this town’s goblin problem.” He gestured to the forest. A shine of recognition flashed in the boy’s eyes. He nodded and opened the door for the man. Sterling thanked the boy and walked inside.
The interior was made of the same crystal substance. A large chandelier hung over the main foyer and a staircase at the center of the room rose to the second floor. There was a royal purple carpet that lead down the center of each hallway and several paintings hung inside. Most of them weregroup of six girls, two of whom Sterling met the previous day.
“I’ll let her know you’re here.” Sterling took a seat and pulled out a book as he waited for him to return. The large doors opened and Viridian walked through. Her eyes immediately locked onto the thin man who gave her a simple nod of acknowledgement.
“What are you doing here?” She said as she stood in front of him and crossed his arms.
“Reading,” He said not taking his eyes off the book. She let out a small hiss at the indignant tone. Sterling closed the book and looked at her. She was wearing the same fighting leathers he saw her in the previous night over a green tunic. “I’m also waiting to talk with Princess Sparkle about the current situation of this town.”
Viridian’s golden eyes were flecked with exhaustion and her hair was in slight disarray. Her head turned as she heard her name being called. Sterling looked up as well to see the same boy who answered the door.
“Twilight is in her study.”
“Thank you Spike.” Viridian said as Sterling stood up. He gave him a nod and walked up the stairs with Viridian trailing close behind. Sterling could feel the captain’s gaze burning a hole in his back. Spike lead them both to a set of wooden doors. “How is she holding up?”
“The best she can.” Spike said as he shook his head. “Last night really took a lot out of her.” Viridian remembered how she held the shield during the battle as the creatures chipped away at it. Spike opened the doors to show a room in utter disarray with papers and books. The walls were lined with book cases that went to the ceiling and were filled with books and old leather bound tomes.
In the back of the room near a window that over looked the town sat a dark wooden desk and atop it was a bleary eyed Twilight. Like Viridian, her hair was in a tangle of knots and there were dark circles under her lavender eyes. She rubbed her temples and sat up.
“How are you feeling?” Twilight didn’t answer the captain’s inquiry.
“Would either of you two like something to eat?” Twilight asked trying to break the tension slowly building.
“I already ate, but I won’t say no to some tea.” Viridian nodded in agreement. Spike closed the doors behind him and went off to fetch their drinks. Twilight gestured to the two chairs in front of her desk and the two took a seat. Sterling bit his lip as silence filled the room and he felt Twilight’s tired gaze on him.
“If you don’t mind, before we get down to business might I say something?” She waved her hand sluggishly. “I’d like to apologize to both you and Captain Thorn about my behavior last night.” Both women raised their brows at his words. “Like I said before, I was on the road for quite a while and I had an unsavory confrontation with some highway men on the way here, so I was not in the best of moods.” He gestured to his still slightly swollen left eye.
“I realize that I came off as rather callous last night and I wish our first interaction was better.” He gave them both a sitting bow. “You both have done remarkably well in this horrible situation and I didn’t mean to insult you or your efforts. I apologize and I will do what I can to help this town.” Twilight gave him a tired smile at his words.
“Thank you and I accept your apology.”
“As do I.” Viridian said with a nod. “I know I can be a little thick headed at times and this problem has everyone on edge, even me.” He could sense the honesty in her words and gave her a friendly smile. The doors to the study opened and Spike came in pushing a cart with three tea cups and a steaming pot of tea.
“Thank you Spike.” Twilight said as she took her cup and added one lump of sugar. Viridian did the same while Sterling took it straight. Twilight set her cup on the saucer and folded her hands as she looked at the mercenary. “Now, let’s get down to business.” Sterling and Viridian both set their cups down and sat up straight.
“I need to know how long this situation has been like this.” Viridian cleared her throat before speaking.
“A few weeks ago I kept getting complaints from the town folk about things going missing; hand tools, pots, pans, simple things that held no real monetary value. A few days after the reports a few folks found tracks leading out of the town and into the forest. I took three members of the guard to investigate and came across Zecora who told us that someone had been taking things from her hut and that she’d been hearing strange sounds at night.”
“Who’s Zecora?” Sterling asked
“She’s a Zebrekan Shaman who lived in the forest before the goblins came. She makes potions, salves and other things from the plants in the forest.” Twilight clarified.
“Zecora helped us track the foot prints outside her hut to a cave where we came across six goblins.” Viridian continued. “They attacked and we killed all but one of them who escaped in the fray. We thought that was the end of it, but a week later the town was attacked by surprise and the force was much larger. A few people were injured, but no fatalities.”
“After that they’ve attacked at random, but always at night.” Twilight added. Sterling nodded at her words. “It’s been like this for close to three weeks now and they’ve been coming more frequently.” Sterling was quiet for a long moment as he thought.
“I’d wager there’s close to five dozen in total. Less now after last night, but still a considerable force to deal with.” He turned towards Viridian. “How many able bodied warriors do you have?”
“I’d say there’s about twenty or so. However they’re not trained warriors. Most people here are farmers and shop owners. I’ve trained them as best I can, but they’re still novices.”
“You trained them?” He said in surprise. She whipped her braid over one shoulder and gave him a devilish grin.
“A lady should always know how to protect herself.” He returned the grin and chuckled.
“True.” He turned his attention back to the Princess. “Goblins are usually active at night, sunlight bothers their eyes which is why they usually keep to dark caves and the underground.” He scratched his chin and started to mumble to himself. Both women looked at one another and then back to him. Viridian cleared her throat and his mumbling ceased.
He looked up and gave them an embarrassed smile. “Sorry, I get lost in thought sometimes. It’s curious.” He took another sip of his tea.
“That they’re stealing things?” Viridian asked.
“No, goblins are scavengers by nature. They see something shiny and they take it, but only if they know they can get it.” He pointed out. “So why do they seem hellbent on claiming a town that has fortifications and an extremely powerful mage protecting it?” He gestured towards Twilight.
“One fireball would typically have them running scared, yet they stay and fight. There’s also the fact that there’s so many of them working together.”
“Is that odd?” Twilight asked. Sterling shrugged slightly.
“Yes and no, it’s common for goblins to form small tribes and raiding parties usually around a dozen or so members.” He explained. “Granted, these units don’t last long and usually fall to infighting and betrayal.”
“If that’s true, then how could such creatures form a large force and attack with strategy?” Sterling smiled at the captain’s question.
“Exactly, it doesn’t make any sense.” He rubbed his chin and thought. “Something fishy is going on.” The three were silent for a long moment.
“So, what would be the best course of action?” Sterling sighed at the Princess’ question and pondered the words carefully before responding.
“I need more information before deciding and I’d like to inspect the town.” Twilight went to stand up but staggered and caught herself against her desk. Viridian was immediately on her feet and went to her side.
“I’m fine Viridian,” Twilight steadied herself and stood up straight.
“No, you’re not.” Viridian huffed in a mother like way. “You’re still recovering from last night.” Sterling agreed with her as he looked at the Princess’ exhaustion. “You need to rest.” Twilight just stared at her, stubbornness clear on her face. Sterling reached into his bag and pulled out a heavy leather tome that had seen much travel in it’s day.
There was a loud muffled sound as he put it on Twilight’s desk. “What is that?” Twilight asked as her eyes boggled at the tome.
“This is my bestiary.” He said as he tapped the hard leather cover. “It’s a standard issue, but I’ve made a few edits and sketched a few things to help better understand things for those who aren’t accustomed to heavy reading. Chapter forty-seven, page three-hundred and ninety-four, you’ll find all my information on goblins.”
“This way you can rest while doing something productive. I’m sure the captain here can give me the tour.” Viridian nodded and was pleased to see Twilight sitting back down in her chair and starting to look at the tome.
“Get some rest Twilight.” Viridian said in a firm tone. “They’ll come when the sun sets and that book will still be here when you wake back up.” Twilight looked at the book and sighed.
“I think I’ll have one last cup of tea before bed.”
Viridian then led Stirling out into the small town that had just started to come awake. Vendors lined the cobblestone street. Even through their smiles there was an ever present sense of foreboding hanging over the town like an early morning mist. They soon came upon a few tents set up not too far from the main gate. A woman with her light pink hair in a bun was looking at a clip board.
“Red Heart,” Viridian called out. “how much medicine did we get?”
“The good news is that it’s the right medicine we need for disinfection, the bad news is that half the vials were broken.” Viridian cursed under her breath as Sterling remembered when the wagon wheel broke and he was thrown from the cart along with the farmer. As if on cue, the blonde farmer was staggering out of the tent with a crutch under one arm and her arm in a sling. Red Heart frowned and stopped her with a hand on her chest. “You need to rest Applejack, you’re still recovering.”
“I’m fine.” She said in a stubborn tone. Sterling looked at her bandages and adjusted his glasses.
“Do you like your arm and leg Ms. Applejack?” The farmer turned towards him and looked at him as if he’d just asked her a stupid question. “Well if you don’t rest and let Dr. Red Heart do her job then in a few days she may have to hack them off.” Her tanned face seemed to lose some of it’s color. “Goblin saliva and the residue on their claws carry disease that infects the skin and rots it to the bone.”
He reached into his bag and pulled out a few glass bottles with a golden liquid inside. He gestured for her to sit down on one of the few empty cots set up. She did so begrudgingly and let him remove her bandages. Sterling ignored Red Heart’s protests and looked at the wound on her leg that was oozing something green. Viridian looked away and gagged a little. He uncorked one of the bottles and dripped some of it onto the wound.
As soon as the honey colored liquid touched the wound, her muscles tensed and she griped the edge of the cot as she stifled a yell of pain.
“What is this?” She said through grit teeth.
“It’s a disinfectant, a very potent one.” He applied the same to her arm and pulled out a mason jar filled with live maggots. She instinctually recoiled as he put some of the squirming bugs on her wounds. “These will eat away any dead skin. Do not mess with them.”
He rewrapped her bandages with some fresh cloth. “Now sit down and wait.”
“Why should I listen to you?” Sterling let out a sigh at her tone.
“Because I will not lose any sleep if I have to knock you senseless and strap you down to a cot like a patient who has gone fever mad until we know the infection has been dealt with.” He pulled out a long coil of rope and held it in his hand. Applejack muttered something very unladylike under her breath as she laid back down on the cot. “Good choice,” He also tossed her the other two silver pieces her owed her for the ride.
“Let it never be said that I don’t pay my debts.” He gave Red Heart a few more bottles of the medicine along with some bandages before continuing through town.
“Would you really have knocked her out?” He only gave her a sly grin as they approached the edge of the town where the wooden wall was. He hadn’t noticed the night before that the wooden wall was not a series of posts sticking out of the ground and bound to one another, but rather a solid wall of wood with hand holes grown into the side to scale the battlement to the upper level. He approached the wall and pressed his hand to the side of the wall and ran his hand over the smooth surface. It was smooth as a mahogany arm chair or desk.
“How did you build this wall?”
“It wasn’t built, it was grown.” Sterling looked down and saw that the wall was indeed rooted into the soil. “I have some proficiency in wood based magic.” She stated casually.
“That’s impressive, not many people have the sort of grit for that sort of magic.” Viridian gave him an appreciative nod.
“Unfortunately the wall needs maintenance. The goblins have been chipping away at it for a while now." He noticed that some men were doing their best to maintain the walls, reinforcing them with more wood and some sheets of metal.
“What was that thing you used on the goblin last night?” Sterling reached into his bag and pulled out the small six barreled device.
“This is my pepper-box.” He said as he held the weapon up. “It uses blackpowder and small metal balls that can rend through flesh, leather and some metal plating. I can also fire small burst of magic through it as well.”
“Where did you get that thing?”
“It is of my own design.” Viridian raised an eyebrow at him.
“You made it?” He nodded.
“I like to dabble in the sciences.” Viridian motioned for the guards to open the gate and they did so. Sterling looked towards the sky and groaned. “Perfect, it’s going to rain later.” He said in a drawn out tone.
He reached into his sack and pulled out a long black cane with a silver crow head handle. Viridian raised a brow at the man. “Old injury that never healed quite right.” He said as he started tolean on the cane as they approached the forest.
“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re certainly not what Twilight and I were expecting.”
“I suppose you were expecting a man with biceps bigger than his brain, wielding a massive axe and only spoke with words containing a single syllable?” He gave her an amusing smile. “Most of them are like that, but there are exceptions. I prefer to fight with my brain more than my body, but I know my way around a fight.” They entered the forest and followed a small trail that was peppered by goblin tracks.
“If we’re being honest, Hawke should have taken this job. That man can track anything rain, shine, snow you name it.” He crouched down and took at the tracks that lead off the trail. He continued on his way with Viridian trailing close behind. Her eyes flecking from tree to tree for any sign of danger.
He stopped abruptly and bit his lip. Viridian looked down and saw that the trail came to a sudden halt. The tracks just ended. As if they led to a wall and vanished. “Strange,” He commented more to himself. He looked at the trees beside the tracks and frowned as he saw a small symbol carved into the wood.
“Is that a rune?”
“Appears so.” He took out a stylus and scratched a symbol over the rune. The ground in front shifted and the tracks continued through the brush. They followed the tracks through the forest. More trails leading in different directions converged into one and headed deeper into the forest. Sterling came to a halt and Viridian came up beside him in a crouched position.
“There’s some sort of structure up ahead.” She peered through the leaves of a bush and saw the long abandoned Everfree Castle of The Two Sisters, it’s stone spires poking up out of the tree line. “They must be using this place as a base of operations.” He reached into his bag again and pulled out a spyglass. Viridian could barely make out some movement before he handed it to her. “You’re not going to like this.”
She lifted the spyglass to her eye and looked down into the camp to see at least a dozen fire pits with the hideous creatures crowded around them in huddles. “It appears this wasn’t just a roaming band, this is a full encampment.” He whispered.
She set her curiosity aside and went back to looking down at the camp. She still couldn’t believe how many of them were down there, it reminded her of a massive ant colony. Sterling nudged her arm and gestured to the center of the camp. She shifted her vision and spied a larger goblin with a tribal like headdress made of bones and a staff in his hand. He was also wearing what looked like dark purple armor.
“They have a chieftain.” Viridian raised an eyebrow at the words. “Normally Goblins fall to infighting when a group gets too big, but sometimes one is able to rise above and command the other goblins. No wonder they’ve been attacking with such cooperation.” There was a metallic clicking noise as he reached in his bag and pulled out a different spy glass and a long metal bar that clicked into one of the barrels of his pepperbox.
“Get ready to run back to the town.” He set the longer barrel on a heavy root of the tree he was using as cover. He pulled the trigger and a deafening blast erupted out of the end of the long barrel. The chieftain’s head perked up at the noise, just as the blast hit him in the right side of the chest, blowing his arm completely off. The creature shrieked in pain as it’s black blood leaked out on the stone.
It was as if they’d just kicked the hornets nest. The castle swarmed with the creatures as the two humans took off running back to town. “That got their attention.” They leapt over logs and through brush. Despite him having a cane, Sterling was keeping pace with the captain.
Viridian looked back for a moment and saw a group of goblins scampering after them. She faced forwards again just as a low hanging branch collided with her head. Her vision blurred as her back slammed into the soft earth and the wind was knocked from her lungs. She adjusted her head so she was looking back towards the fast approaching goblins. Three familiar shots rang out and three of the goblins dropped to the ground. Viridian shook her head and looked to see Sterling reaching for her hand to help her up.
She took it and roused herself as he let out three more shots into the brush. The barrel part of the pepperbox snapped forward and Sterling dropped six more bullets into the chambers. “Captain, get back to the wall and get the defenses ready, I’ll lead them away.” He snapped the barrels up and fired two shots into two more goblins that were approaching.
“Are you crazy?”
“Without a doubt, just do it.” He quickly ran off into another direction firing into the air to draw the creatures’ attention. Viridian huffed and ran full speed back to the town. She reached the tree line and didn’t stop as she waved her arm frantically and the gates were opened.
She ordered the others to get ready for a fight and within a minute, crossbows were pointed at the tree line. They waited, and waited, and waited, but not a single goblin emerged from the line of trees. The sun had started to duck behind the mountains and the sky started to turn an orange color. Viridian reported back to Twilight in her castle with a few other individuals including Applejack. A woman with fabulous purple hair that had a curl in it.
One of the two winged women had shoulder length rainbow colored hair and cyan feathered wings. The other had a curtain of pink hair that she seemed to be hiding behind and yellow wings. The last girl hada mop of curly dark pink hair and seemed to have a spring in her step. Viridian explained to the group what she and Sterling had seen. Twilight groaned as she sat back in her chair and rubbed her temples.
“How many did you say you saw?” The yellow winged girl asked.
“Maybe two dozen, but there were definitely more than that inside.” Viridian said as Spike came in with a pot of tea and cups for everyone. She thanked him and took a sip.
“And this guys just up and ran away?” The rainbow haired flyer said as she crossed her arms. “Runs off at the first sign of trouble.”
“Well, I’m glad you’ve put so much faith in me.” All of their heads turned to see the man leaning in the doorway. A bit of black blood was splashed across the front of his coat and boots. He walked into the room, cane under one arm and closed the door behind them. He gave Applejack a neutral nod as he approached the desk.
“How did you get away?” Viridian asked.
“I gave them the slip.” His tone was as nonchalant as if she had asked him about the weather. “Then I doubled back and did a little reconnaissance.” He fished into his pocket and pulled out a bright green gem. He tapped the surface as he set it on the table and an image of the goblin camp shined above. “I believe the captain was off by a large margin.”
He tapped the crystal again and another image of the camp flashed. This image showed several goblins working at a foundry and a collection of various items that were taken from the town. “They planned to attack tonight, but I did some sabotage to slow them down.”
“How did you know they would attack tonight?” Viridian asked.
“I asked one of them politely, after I tied it to a tree and removed a few of it’s fingers.” A few of the woman shivered as they imagined the situation. “Believe it or not, some of them can talk. It’s guttural and grating on the ears, but I got some information. They planned for a final assault tonight, but they’ll have to postpone that for at least another day.” The group all let out a sigh of relief at the news.
“What should we do now?” Sterling sighed and adjusted his glasses.
“Realistically speaking, the best thing to do would be to pack up and leave while you still can and wait until you get a larger force from your brother to retake the town.” They all scowled at the man and Twilight’s lips formed a thin line.
“This is our home.” Viridian stated. “Our lives are here.”
“I understand that captain, I know you want to protect your home, but this situation is too big for just a handful of farmers and myself. There is a very real chance that if you stay, people will die. Are you willing to take that risk for property?” The whole room went silent that pressed on for minutes.
“Where would we even go? We don’t have the supplies to become nomadic. We wouldn’t last three weeks.” Viridian stated firmly. “Besides, no one here will leave.” Sterling remembered how adamant the tavern owner was. “They’ll fight tooth and nail to protect what’s theirs.” Sterling shook his head and groaned.
“Why is it that bravery and stupidity are always a stones throw away from one another?” He was still for a long moment. Twilight could almost see the gears turning in his mind, but kept a stern face and quiet. Sterling rose and cracked his back. “Right then, I’m going to bed.”
The group all looked at one another in confusion as he stood up and made his way towards the door. “I suggest you all do the same.” He stopped and looked back at the group. “At dawn, we plan.”