Kitahria scampered across the valley ridge to circle behind to the abattoir. Her lord didn't exactly give her a detail plan of attack, but she guessed she would concentrate on freeing the prisoners first. She was half hoping to find some loose boulders to roll down onto the monsters below, but guessed that the goblins had already cleared any usable debris that could be used against them. As the young squire hopped and skipped she guessed it was for the best that her path was at least solid and not loose and treacherous.
Screams from behind told her that her lord Sir Jose was busy getting the horde's attention. She glanced slightly back and saw her master and his mount ruthlessly chopping and scattering a dozen goblins that were too slow to flee before his initial charge. She contained her enthusiasm though as she saw a dozen armored oni, or what Grommers called ogres, forming ranks outside a large lodge in the middle of the valley. While few could match her lord's martial prowess, Kit knew that the enemies sheer numbers would eventually best his skill. She needed to secure the prisoners then rush to support his flank.
As the squire sprinted to her target, several arrows whistled slightly past her. Kit frowned as she guessed the goblins had additional sentries around the valley , and that they were alerted by the scream. She wondered how many more of the beasts would be summoned due to her less than stealthy attempt at dispatching the guards previously. She cursed her pride and wondered if Sir Jose would be angry or simply disappointed at her earlier failure.
She spotted the half dozen sentries, and they were unfortunately directly in her path. Kit's eye's narrowed as she sped towards them. The goblin's shrieked and hollered as they loosed another volley at her. The squire ducked low as she weaved and dodged most of the projectiles, but an arrow still managed to strike her squarely in the shoulder.
Kit stumbled slightly but ignored the wound and resumed her sprint towards them. The goblins readied another volley , but the squire threw one of her curved daggers at her attackers first. Instead of glancing strike against her foe's chest like the last time, Kit smiled as her blade lodged itself into its eye. The goblin gurgled as it stumbled from its wound , it lurched precariously for a few seconds on the ledge before it tumbled off and fell down the valley. The other five goblins scowled and dropped their bows then drew jagged blades to bar her path. Kit was confident that she could best these creatures but the longer she took battling these monsters , the longer it would take for her to join Jose's side.
As the squire neared her opponents, an arrow embedded itself into the lead goblin. The remaining creatures' morale seem to waver, but broke when another arrow struck another of their rank. Kit was confused at the source of her aid, but she turned and saw the maid wielding one of the crude goblin bows at the outcropping they had cleared earlier. Kit was impressed with her skill but wasn't sure if she should be thankful or suspicious of her new ally. She decided to leave that question for later as she continued her charge.
When she reached the ledge overlooking the makeshift prison slaughter area, Kit saw that her lord's distraction was working. Though some goblins seemed alerted to her presence, the vast majority of the valley's defenders seemed focus on the armored knight atop the massive green dog. Sir Jose had already amassed a pile of goblins and ogres beneath him, but Kit could see that he was being pressed slowly backwards. The shock of his unexpected attack had faded, and predictably the humanoids were using their superior numbers against him.
Kit knew she should hurry. To climb down the cliff to the abattoir below would take too long, so instead she shifted her shape slightly. She grew more bestial in nature, sprouting long furry ears and a bushy tail. She knew it would be safer to transform fully into her animal state, but that would put her at a disadvantage when she reached the bottom. Besides, she hated scrounging for her gear and especially clothing after such a change. After her brief transformation she hopped from rock , to ledge , to outcropping, to rock . Even though her weight was only a fraction of what it was, the surface still broke beneath her as she descended but it matter not since she had already jumped further down the slope.
In a flash ,the squire was at the valley bottom with her curved daggers or kukris at the ready. A couple of goblins ran towards her waving their jagged weapons in the air , shouting their bravado as they charged. Kit gauged their speed and reach but suddenly felt a large presence behind her. She rolled to the side but a large blunt force still struck a glancing blow to her side. The squire briefly lost her footing but managed to spin to face her attacker. It was a hairy goblin , bigger than any she had previously seen. It was smaller than an ogre, but still larger than Sir Jose. It's body , face, and arms were covered in thick white fur with a few brown patches. Unlike the smaller goblins, its wore a heavy breast plate and wielded a spiked war mace , instead of the patch work leather and crude makeshift weapons that its kin were using.
Kit wasn't sure how she missed this large creature but snarled and launched herself into her foe. Her opponent seemed a bit surprised at how its smaller opponent had recovered so quickly from the strike it had landed and was caught off guard by her ferocity. Kit managed to duck a rushed blow and slashed the creature once against its side, and jabbed upwards with her other blade into its arm pit, avoiding its heavy armor. The goblin roared and attempted to grab her with its free arm, but the nimble squire spun and slid behind it. Kit then stabbed the monster 's lower back, its heavy armor deflected one blade but the other sank satisfyingly through leather, fur and flesh. The large goblin faltered a bit before falling onto one knee in pain.
Before the squire could celebrate her victory she felt her body slammed by three sharp blows. The force of the attack slammed her into the ground and pain wracked her small lithe body. A trickle of blood flowed obscured one eye as she saw a goblin warrior charging her along with the wounded limping giant goblin, behind it the last goblin's hands was bathed in blue, with angry motes of arcane energy spitting from them. The squire guessed it was a mage or shaman of some sort and panic spread through her.
Kit was normally fearless in battle, not because she was full of courage like Sir Jose, but because she knew few foes could penetrate her magically enchanted skin. She wasn't invulnerable though, heavy blows from large creatures like giants, spells , and of course silver could affect her. Faced with a melee screen in front of her , a spell caster behind them, and the possibility of more goblins swarming her, the squire knew that she was in real danger.
Kit felt the urge to flee, but ignored the impulse and grimly faced her foes. One of the things she learned admired about her lord was his ability to never back down, never surrender. She glanced behind her foes and saw Sir Jose atop of Greenpaw holding off a horde of the goblins and ogres heroically. He was injured and bloodied but gave little ground to his opponents. She thought the goblins before her was not that dangerous after all as she leapt back onto her feet.
She would attempt to deke the first goblin and simply circle the big one before rushing the spell caster, hopefully it would not have any defensive spells in place. Before she put her plan into action, a crude arrow slammed into the side of the shaman's head, thus ending the threat. Kit didn't need to see who was responsible for the assistance and grudgingly waved her bushy tail towards the last location she saw Maid . She then bypassed the larger limping goblin and found herself faced with the now solo opponent. The goblin shaman sensed its three to one advantage had rapidly vanished and stopped. It began to turn and flee, but the squire gave it no chance. Kit darted towards it and slashed it once each across the across the eyes, throat, and finally its groin. The creature released a chilling scream that sounded across the small valley, which gave even the foes fighting Jose pause.
Kit expected more foes but saw none directly before her. She saw peripherally some more goblins swarm out of a lodge , but noted that they did not spot her yet. She took the brief respite in battle and ran towards the make shift prison, slaughter house. Instinctively she grew a little taller and retracted her fur so not to panic the prisoners . Though her master Jose accepted her racial heritage, she knew full well that most humans were more fearful of her than their goblin captors.
The prisoners were expectedly in an uproar when Kit reached them. From their prison they weren't sure what was happening but sensed that freedom was near. Kit guessed from both the crude structures and the goblin reputation for sloth that they wouldn't be locked or in chains, and thankfully she was correct. The prisoners were jammed into a corral and a heavy rope kept the gate containing them secured. The squire swung her sharp kukri in a wide arc, and sliced the rope cleanly securing them cleanly apart.
Kit wasn't sure what was to do next. Jose's plan and her own thoughts did not anticipate that far. She half expected the prisoners to simply attempt to flee the valley while she ran to her master's side. The squire was surprised when the freed prisoners gave a loud cheer and began grabbing the weapons of the fallen goblins or make shift clubs. They dispatched the slowly pursing larger goblin and then without ordering them they formed ranks behind her as she rushed the rear ranks of the horde battling Jose.
An armored ogre stood in their path and swung its massive broadsword in wide arcs to keep their group at bay, but Kit simply smiled at this new menace. Before she was Jose's squire, Kit was trained to hunt rival demons and giants by her cruel demon lords. Kit was very good at her job, and was proud to claim that she fought the dreaded Ivory Lady to a standstill. Kit thought she would have eventually triumphed and only the frost giant mercenary's magic denied her the victory. Kit tumbled forward and evaded the ogre's blade and though this new foe would be no match for her. She scampered behind it and released a swift and accurate slice to its heel which staggered the creature. The ogre didn't fall, but Kit nimbly hopped onto its back and stabbed it in its shoulder, since its neck was armored and stabbing a giant in the head was normally futile. The monster twisted to swat the squire, but Kit easily hopped away . The sudden motion by the ogre however was enough to unbalance it , especially with its wounded heel and the giant crashed heavily onto the ground. The ogre found itself overwhelmed as a few prisoners mercilessly stabbed and clubbed it as the rest followed Kit towards the enemy.
The real danger of the armored Sir Jose and his savage canine mount, the psychological peril of random arrows raining into their skulls, and the perceived threat of the small squire leading a band of half beaten prisoners was too much for the humanoid horde. They quickly scattered and began madly climbing out of the valley. The few that remained were easily crushed by Greenpaw or swarmed by the vengeful band lead by Kit.
Jose lead a brief pursuit of their foe as Kitahria secured the valley after their victory. The prisoners were still in shock but thankful and showered the squire with praise. Sir Jose normally received the lion share of commendations and Kit was unaccustomed to such acclaim.
"Praise Koryis for your bravery! "
"Thank the fates for your intervention!"
"Thank you thank you thank you!"
Kit's head was spinning from the flattery, especially from some of the younger handsome guards. She ignored her fresh wounds as she basked in the victory. The young squire's small band of admirers quickly vanished however , when the slightly older and admittedly more pretty Maid slid easily down to the valley floor.
"Lady Maid! Thank the gods you are alright!", exclaimed a guard at the pretty young woman wielding the goblin maid.
"Wait…Maid is your real name? ", asked Kit in disbelief as she stared at the uninjured woman. She accepted the fact that most people had nicknames or call signs to address each other on the field, but she found it hard to believe that Maid was what she actually called herself. Her mistrust of the archer grew accordingly.
"I thought I told you how I got the name. ", protested Maid with a slight pout to her lips, that brought smile to the guardsman. Kit thought she looked more like a flirting waitress at that point than a deadly archer that had laid low at least a dozen goblins .
"Yeah , yeah . I know. You were named after your ability to be maid or something. Don't tell me you just got lucky with your shots . Firing a bow decently in battle takes a lot of training. ", pointed out Kit , slightly annoyed at Maid's innocent act. The squire knew she would have to keep an eye out for her.
Maid shrugged. "I told you I was from a small community. Everyone had to have some fighting skills , especially when the snow goblins or gnolls attacked. I learned to handle this weapon from a hunter named Hunter if you can believe that. ", she explained. "My skill with the bow isn't that remarkable, even the water boy was half decent with a sword. ", she added with a sigh and a nostalgic look in her eye.
"Gnolls? ", asked Kit puzzled. Her annoyance faded and was soon replaced by curiosity. "What's a gnoll?"
"A tall hyena headed humanoid. They were a plague on the land a long time ago, and threatened to destroy all of the north under the banner of their demon lord . Most of them were wiped out over a century ago when the Warmaster lead a great host of knights and smashed the demon and gnoll horde. Close to half a million were slain that day. Very few gnolls remained in the world after that, but tales of a few wayward bands do pop up occasionally.", explained one of the older freed prisoners while the rest nodded their heads in agreement with his tale.
Kit recalled hearing about this battle, even though she lived most of her life in far off Vinnraj. She mostly regarded it as some distant myth like the tales of Ragnarok , the stunning victories of Baktu Khan , or the legendary battles of Monte Nabisco. She didn't think that an actual Warmaster actually battled these beast creatures as recently as a century ago.
Kit eyed up the smiling young woman, and sighed. She guess she shouldn't prod too much into Maid's past less her own attributes be brought into question. She noted that despite seeing her unique ears, tail and fur that Maid did not inquire vocally about it in front of the freed prisoners. Kit decided against voicing too much of a fuss over Maid's archery skill and decided that it was better to have a mysterious bow woman on her side that against her shooting arrows into her hide. She still didn't trust her , but would not confront her directly about it.
The goblin camp was swiftly looted and burned. The ground was too frozen and hard to bury the dead, and a cairn of rocks was instead place atop them. Most of the supplies and goods were recovered and loaded back onto the remaining wagons as the band prepared to leave the valley. Kit noticed that Maid seemed especially concerned with a few crates marked fragile and delicate. The squire discreetly peered into one of the wooden boxes and to her disappointment found they contained mostly crystal steins or glass mugs. She half expected to discover some great treasure or more likely contraband , but guessed that there was some merit to her mysterious companions claim to being a merchant after all.
Some of the freed caravan guards and merchants expressed concern that Sir Jose had not returned yet, but Kit dismissed their worries. She doubt her lord was in trouble especially engaged in a pursuit operation. Sir Jose was a trained cavalryman, breaking through enemy lines and , more importantly in this instance, riding down a fleeing enemy was one of his specialties. She doubted the goblins could mount a successful ambush or counter attack when pursued by such a relentless and skilled foe. In fact she had doubts even a platoon of elite Thyatian infantry could put up much resistance to her lord after their ranks were broken. She could well imagine Greenpaw and Jose expertly taking out the stragglers and those at their flanks, giving his foe little time to regroup or organize.
Two of the wagons had to be abandoned due partially to the damage they had sustained and the lack of mounts, and the remaining three were laden heavily with plunder and supplies. Kit noted she should take better inventory of what was taken from the camp, and admitted that both Jose and her were poor accountants. She noted grimly that until recently Jose's countryman , Martinez , or more often than not the Baroness Stille, took stock of their treasure. Kit hoped that this incident wouldn't drive her lord back into his sulking mood or worse yet to a bout of drinking that accursed fermented agave worm juice once again. She noted he looked quite happy and almost liberated mounted astride his war dog , wading through carnage like a bloody god of war, and hoped he would retain that spirit for the next little while.
As the small reformed caravan slowly made its way out of the valley, they were greeted by the sight of a small orderly line of men marching towards them. Her keen eyes also spotted a half dozen white furred dogs and they oddly enough it looked like they were carrying supplies or something . For a second Kit wondered if this was another opponent to face, but breathed a sigh of relief when she noted that Sir Jose was at the lead. The two bands marched towards each other and Kit was slightly surprised and a bit annoyed when the other group started shouting praises that Maid was alright when they drew closer. The squire guessed that some elements of this group were guards from the recently ambushed caravan.
Sir Jose rode ahead and to Kit's embarrassment, Greenpaw gave her a big sloppy dog kiss in front of everyone as it bounded the last few steps to greet her. Jose ignored his mount's affection and addressed Kit directly. "Good work Keeta. I see you have secured and set fire to the enemy camp in swift order. I myself pursued the remaining goblins and unfortunately for them, drove our enemy straight towards Sherriff Trent here's patrol. "
Kit blinked as she then noticed one of the much smaller dogs had a small chubby humanoid with a long white over coat sitting atop it in a manner similar to Sir Jose and Greenpaw. Kit had heard of mounted Halfling dog riders, but thought it was simply an amusing bar tale to bring chuckles to foreigners. She never thought to see one herself. She looked past Jose, and noticed that a half dozen of the guard dogs she spotted earlier, had similarly clad Halflings mounted on them as well. She guessed she missed them earlier due to their size and terrain matching garments.
"Sir Trent of the fifth Leeha Dogoons at your service. I heard you acquitted yourself admirably in combat. I was hunting this band for a while now, and you and Sir Jose here saved me a lot of trouble. ", bowed the Sherriff. Kit saw that he had a stern face framed with salt and pepper hair, but still had a hint of jolliness that was found in all members of his race. A large nose and glowing cheeks made the short man seem more cute than dangerous, despite the large crossbow at his back, the blade at his side, and the lance strapped to his mount.
Kit was about to reply, when she noticed that the Sherrif was addressing Maid not her. She grew a bit angry at the attention the woman was getting but admitted that her recent companion probably presented more a heroine image that she did right now. Kit was wounded and had dried blood splattered about her leather harness despite the bandages she administered to herself. She guessed her hair also looked like a mess from the repeated transformations she put it through. Maid on the other hand was still story book perfect with her long dress, and flowing curly brown hair. Kit grew a bit self-conscious as she also noted that she was short and her own figure was still quite boyish looking , while Maid had a taller more mature full body look that most men found attractive. The fact Maid was also holding a bow gave her an almost Amazonian exotic quality about her that made her the center of attention, while Kit looked more like a common bandit with her daggers at her side.
The squire glowered quietly as her pride was once again trampled on.
"Thank you Sir Trent. ", curtsied Maid politely. "However, the real credit should be given to Sir Jose's squire here. She rescued the prisoners and lead the attack that broke the enemy's morale. I was just doing the best I could with this crude goblin bow I recovered. It was a miracle I didn't actually hit any one of my allies with my wild shots. ", she explained with a smile and a wink to Kit.
Trent turned his attention to the shocked squire and began complimenting her instead of Maid. Kit smiled once again and nodded at the young woman. She was still a mysterious person , but a lot of the mistrust she had for her vanished with that simple gesture.
