Chapter 9 - 9

In a few minutes, we quickly reached a strange structure and stood about a hundred feet from it. It was long and wide, tipped with a large metal barrel with small longer metal planks. The main body was grey while the smaller parts looked black. Strange symbols were painted onto the metal, symbols I could not translate. I circled the structure, careful for any living goblins. To my surprise, everything was dead. To an even greater surprise, there were other humans behind it, seven of them.

A few were slumped over, pinned with several arrows to their heads and arms. The majority of them seemed to have been overrun by goblins; stabbed and beaten until they were bloodied. But they were still human. They wore strangely colored uniforms that had a blocky pattern. They also had cloth b.r.e.a.s.tplates with pouches attached to them. They also clung to metal staves and in between the bodies, hundreds of small bronze… containers? It looked like it and they were sprawled across the ground around them.

No one spoke, though I was sure we all had our own thoughts. I wanted to investigate the scene further, but something called to me. Like an itch. "Go to it." The feeling pulled me to the main structure. Without a word, I pulled away from the dead humans, and treaded carefully towards the large opening. There were nearly thirty feet of empty clean grass. Nothing stood between it and us. It wasn't until we got within ten feet of the opening did we find more humans. Each one was surrounded by nearly thirty dead goblins.

"A final stand." I muttered. I felt pride for them. It was apparent that these humans were strong warriors. From the wounds on the goblins, they fought like lions. I would honor them later for their courage. I looked around. There were at least three of the men, each dressed in the same attire as the others below. Each held their ground in front of the opening. The middle man defended the opening, where a strange metal object was attached to the floor. I couldn't tell what the floor was made of as it was coated in bodies and blood, but it wasn't something of this world.

The walls were grey and inorganic. I peered inside and found it was dark until the end where the moonlight shone through a doorway and a few windows. In the moonlight, I could see a large pile of dead goblins and a single human. I kept the spear at the ready and a few of the adventurers moved forward. They cleared the goblin bodies by tossing them aside but treated the human warriors with the dignity befitting their sacrifices. Once they were moved, it became clear that it was a metal ramp and I moved forward, making sure that my steps held.

Slowly, I proceeded through the dark hall. I waved the spear into around the dark floor. The head scratched against it a few times. My steps thudded hollowly against the floor as I stopped on the edge of the moonlight, the tip of the spear shimmered in the dark. I could hear the steps of the others behind me. Their steps as hollow as mine. The floor was not solid.

My eyes scanned the doorway, saw no obvious movement and then I scanned the pile. None of them were mangled, but most of them had small puncture-like wounds to their heads and chests. I moved into the light, and I heard a small gasp… Ahead of me.

My eyes flung up to the doorway. The shadows moved frantically and I saw the shimmer of metal, something clatter through the doorway, and cursed. It was something small and elongated. It was a… Silver device that held one of the brass items I saw littered around outside. Then I heard the fearful curses of a… Girl? My heart skipped when I heard the despair, the loss of hope as she began to frantically move.

"Mis-" Then the figure jumped at me. For a moment, I saw the flash of a slightly tanned, blood-splattered face of a girl leap from the shadow of the doorway. I almost brought the spear up to fight back, but I forced myself to let it slip from my grasp. It clattered onto the floor as my hands grabbed the frantic girl as she fought against me.

"You're not going to take me! I won't let you have your way!" She roared like a fiery lion. Nothing but darkness filled my vision as I caught her. She struck at me, but her attacks had very little strength.

"Shit!" I could hear the adventurers preparing to attack, but I wasn't in a position to warn them that it wasn't a goblin. I could only hope that they could hear what I heard and I forced myself forward into the light. My movements were limited in a full suit of armor, but I tried to be as delicate as I could with the girl. I could hear the anguish in her voice as she clawed at me, struck at my helm, and kicked at my groin. Each weak, but backed with the hopeless fight that any cornered lion could put up.

Then she managed to get ahold of the edges of my cheek guard and began to claw at my face. It was then I saw the twisted face of someone pushed past the edge as I reeled back against the side of the structure. Her pretty face was splattered with blood, crazed empty eyes, and a twisted snarl on her thin lips. Between those lips, perfect white teeth… Ah..

"She must be a princess." Was the only thought I had as the shaft of a spear entered the corner of my vision. It struck the left side of her head and released me as she fell. She collapsed onto the floor, ontop the pile of dead bodies.

"Holy shit!" A female adventurer stood on my left, wide eyes. "What the f.u.c.k was that?!" She looked at me, not believing what just happened.

"Take her outside." I breathed. I noticed that I was breathing heavily. I was getting too old for this knightly work. The girl only looked at me then down to her before she slowly nodded.

I could hear the commotion of the adventurers as they all tried to figure out what just happened. The adventurer dragged the girl out by hooking her arms under hers. She yelled at the rest to back out as she did. "Make f.u.c.k.i.n.g way, you stupid pricks!" She bellowed. Silence returned to the structure as I looked into the doorway. Curious, I stepped through the doorway and found a strange room. While there was plenty of interesting things to look at, the first thing that caught my attention was the man on my left.

His organs were sprawled across the floor. I looked forward and saw the bloody rusted shortsword. I looked to my right and found a rather disfigured Hobgoblin. I stiffened at the sight. "Dear gods…" Had she fought this on her own and survived?! I looked back to the center, but there was only blood splatters. "Was that why she-" My thought was caught off as a voice interrupted my thoughts.

"What happened?" It was Mr. Weichselbraun. I could not dignify her reasons with words and simply pointed to the Hobgoblin that laid mangled by the doorway. The Branch leader stepped forward and peered around the corner, only to gasp and jump back in shock. I nodded as he looked at me wide-eyed.