"Dear wake up!"
The farmer groaned as he was stirred from his slumber by his wife, stilled tired he looked around as his eyes adjusted to the dark, he was finally able to see the frightened look on his wife's face.
"Wha, what is it? It's still dark outside."
"Dear, listen…something is outside!"
The farmer groaned once again as he strained his ears, but soon enough his eyes widened as he heard the sound…the sound of his sheep screaming.
"Damn goblins!" The Farmer was quick to get his boots on as he readied to rush outside to drive them away. "I won't let those little monsters have their way!"
Though his wife protested for him to remain within the house, he rushed outside and immediately went for his pitchfork and moved toward the sheep pen. With lantern in hand, he dashed toward the pen ready to deal with the goblins but was unprepared for the sight before him. In the pen lay the carcasses of several of his sheep, many looked as though they had been torn apart with their entrails removed, yet there was hardly any blood within the pen.
"What the hell did those goblins do?" The farmer set his lantern down to examine one of the bodies but paused as he looked over the neck. "Wait…what are these strange puncture marks here? Did…did they drink the blood of my sheep?"
The farmer suddenly heard another cry and raising his lantern could see a large a large broken section of the pen and what he believed to be movement in the distance. He growled in anger thinking these blasted goblins were still there attacking his remaining sheep, he stood and rushed through the pen with pitchfork in hand. The clouds above blocked out the moons, but even with only the light from his lantern he could see a large shadow hunched over a twitching body.
"Get the hell away from my sheep you damn dirty gob…lin?"
The creature slowly turned and began to rise, the farmer watched as this beast stood nearly a foot taller than him; in its clawed hands was the body of the sheep, the same similar puncture marks present upon its throat. As the clouds parted allowing the light of the moons to be seen once again, the farmer could truly see the beast before him with its greyish skin, large red glowing eyes, jagged blood-stained teeth in its mouth with four large fangs, and what could be described as thick black spines running down its back to the tip of its tail which almost resembled the quills of a porcupine.
"What…what the hell are you?" The farmer found his body trembling, even with weapon in hand, as he took a step back.
The Farmer's wife suddenly heard the screams of her husband and rushed toward the window only to see a massive creature sinking its teeth into her husband's neck. She could only watch in silent horror as the beast proceeded to tear his body apart as it continued to feed upon his flesh.
"What…what kind of goblin is that?"
xxxx
"How odd?"
Guild Girl looked over the recently submitted requests before the adventurers moved in to pick and choose which ones they would undertake. There was the usual ones, a manticore some three days travel up toward the north terrorizing the people, a troll seen stealing ponies, reports of undead near the forest and of course the usual goblins, yet among the usual reports of goblins were three reports that seemed quite strange.
"Something wrong?" Inspector turned to see her friend looking over one of the quest sheets when a smirk crossed her face. "I see the word goblin on it, reserving it for him? You know were not supposed to play favorites with the adventurers."
"I am well aware of that thank you very much." Guild Girl turned her head to the side and puffed out her cheeks but soon turned her attention back to the quest sheets. "Though I know he takes on goblin quests, this one is odd…in fact I'm sure I've seen it before."
Guild Girl found herself looking through the all the quests when she found two more quests that had nearly the same details written down, though classified as goblin quests, something about the description of the attacks was unlike anything she had seen.
"I've been writing down the details and learning about the tactics of goblins for nearly seven years now thanks to him, but this is…I'll have him look over it, maybe there is something he might know." Guild Girl set aside the three sheets a frown still visible on her face.
"I was only teasing before but is there truly something wrong with those quests?"
"I'm not sure, they say goblin but something about it doesn't add up, I'll let him examine them."
With the Guild fully open and the quests now available to the various adventurers, everything seemed to be back to business as usual. Guild Girl smiled as she normally did with the adventurers as they came to pick and choose what caught their attention, but soon enough an even brighter smile crossed her face as a particular figured stepped. In entered a man dressed in dirty leather armor with a small round shield attached to his left wrist, at his side as a large black wolf nearly as tall as he was, both walked forward with a bold stride toward the front desk.
"Good morning Goblin Slayer and a very good morning to you as well Wolf."
Goblin Slayer nodded toward her, then spared a quick glance toward the board where he could see the other adventurers before moving toward his normal table to wait for the crowd to thin out. Soon enough Cow Girl and Snow then entered into the guild hall to finish up the documentation for her deliveries, Wolf and Snow happily nuzzling up against one another while the girls spoke.
"And how are you doing this morning?" Guild Girl had a smile as she signed off on the receipt.
"Very well thank you. Ever since that whole ordeal with the curse everything has been so much better."
"Indeed. It was quite troubling to think we might lose him and quite enlightening to hear the Lich Queen give us advice."
"Yes and on that note…I don't intend to lose this competition." Cow Girl had a friendly smirk on her face as she retrieved her receipt and tucked it away in her pocket.
"Nor do I." Guild Girl returned the smirk on her face then recalled the three sheets she had set aside for him to examine. "On that note, I could use his expertise on these recently submitted quests."
While the two spoke, the rest of Goblin Slayer's party moved to meet with him.
"Well if it isn't our esteemed Beardcutter. Glad to see you up and about, no linger effects of the curse I hope."
"No, I'm fine thank you."
"Well look at that, five whole words, I think Orcbolg is improving in his conversation skills."
"Is that so?"
"I think you jinxed it, he's now back to his normal reply." Half-Demon Thief gave a small chuckle as she heard the exchange. "All that's left for him to say is "I see" and we'll have his complete vocabulary."
"Oh ho, it would seem that our young Demoness has absorbed quite a bit of Lady Ranger's teasing when it comes to Milord Goblin Slayer."
"At least she's not kicking Goblin Slayer." Priestess had a light smile on her face as she looked over toward High Elf Archer.
"Still, even after more than a year? I'm never going to live that down am I?"
The party, save Goblin Slayer, laughed as they saw the elf sigh in defeat and watch her ears droop a bit, but soon saw Guild Girl and Cow Girl, along with the direwolves, approaching them.
"I'm glad to see everyone is cheerful today." Guild Girl happily mused as she reached out to pet each direwolf, one at a time.
"Is it goblins?"
"Goblin Slayer, what have I told you about your manners?" Priestess was quite annoyed with Goblin Slayer's insensitivity to anything that was not related to goblins.
"I sometimes forget who is the teacher and student when looking at you two." Cow Girl happily smiled as she placed a hand on Priestess shoulder.
"I appreciate your concern but I'm used to his personality, and rest assured I'll deal with him later." Guild Girl continued to smile but there was a hidden darkness within her speech before turning back toward Goblin Slayer. "Now then, yes Goblin Slayer, I do have some quests for you and they do say goblin, but there is something odd about them."
"Spending a lifetime hunting goblins is already odd enough, those little monsters are disgusting so nothing they do at this point seems to surprise me…which means that we've also been spending too much time hunting them ourselves." High Elf archer could not help but sigh again as she came to that realization.
There was a brief chuckle from everyone, but Goblin Slayer quickly brought them back to the quest at hand with his question.
"What are they doing that is unusual?"
"These three quests came in, each one stating the same unique information from the survivors." Guild Girl laid out the sheet upon the table for all to see. "The reports claim a goblin of unusual size has been seen attacking livestock and those who tried to attack it."
"The remains of the livestock were found strew across the field or pen, much of the internal organs were removed yet there was hardly any blood seen." Half-Demon Thief placed her finger upon her chin as she though about what she was reading. "That doesn't make any sense."
"Indeed, one would think that tearing the animals apart would produce quite a bit of blood at the sight of the attack."
"Wait, look at this part here Scaly, says that there were strange puncture marks near the throat…could be that how the blood was drained."
"Like a vampire? I would rather not deal with another one so soon." Priestess had a visible frown on her face as she thought back to all the trouble they had to endure when on the quest to destroy the vampire.
"Hmm…I don't like it."
"I don't anyone would like this Orcbolg, that fact that there's something out there attacking the livestock and people who get in its way is very unsettling."
"No, these tactics are unlike what a goblin would do. This creature only went after the livestock, it completely ignored the people unless they came after it. Goblins are cowards by nature, especially when alone, yet this one purposely went to attack rather than run." Goblin Slayer pondered over what type of goblin it might act in such an unusual manner. "A Hob? A Goblin Champion? No, they're go after the women in these houses. Hmm…wait."
"Did you see something Goblin Slayer?" Priestess once again looked toward the quests sheets to see if there was something she failed to notice.
"I need a map of the area."
There was initial confusion over his request, but soon enough Guild Girl brought over a map of the lands around Frontier Town. Everyone carefully watched as Goblin Slayer placed his right index upon a small village then moved his finger toward the next settlement and finally toward the next settlement. At first glance it would only appear that he was identifying the spots where the attacks had taken place but Dwarf Shaman eyes widened as he realized what Goblin Slayer was doing.
"Beardcutter…each attack is moving closer here."
"Yes, I wanted to verify my suspected. This creature…this goblin is going after livestock and drawing closer to this town." Goblin Slayer looked over the quests sheets to find the most recent attack. "This one, the attack was two days ago and this farm is less than a day's travel from here. We will look for clues of the goblins."
"I shall make the notes that you have undertaken this quest or quests rather to slay this monstrous goblin." Guild Girl smiled as she retrieved the quest sheets and nodded toward the group.
"You be careful on this quest, it's only been a short time since you overcame the curse." Cow Girl smiled as she reached over to pet Wolf. "I know he doesn't always listen, so I'll trust you to keep him safe."
There was a chuckle from the group yet Goblin Slayer seemed confused by the exchange. Cow Girl and Snow left the guild to return to the farm just as Goblin Slayer and his party set out in the direction of the farm that had been recently attacked. What none of them could have predicted though was the arrival of a middle aged man to the guild, the man was a bit on the heavy side with neatly trimmed and groomed hair and beard who looked over the quest board with a concerned expression on his face.
"May I help you sir?" Guild Girl was quick to notice his frantic manner and wished to aid him.
"Uh, yes…I'm looking over the submitted quests in hopes of finding clues to something I'm searching for."
"Something you're searching for…did you need to submit a quest to the guild? We have several adventurers who are capable of…"
"Well, perhaps it would be best if I explained what I'm looking for. Sometime ago, my master and lord had unique creatures and monster brought from across the sea to these lands, he wished to have a menagerie of monsters that had never been seen before. It would seem that this creature broke free on the ship while we were unloading the other cargo, it killed several men before escaping into the wilderness."
"Goodness, should his majesty not be informed of such an unusual creature?"
"My lord does not wish to create a scene that would cast him in such a negative light so several of us have been dispatched to find it and kill it if need be. Though while we continue to track the beast, we are hopeful it has already been killed, but recent rumors may indicate that this is not the case. Tell me, have there been any quests submitted about a creature feeding on animals and draining the blood from the bodies?"
"Why yes, these three?"
Guild Girl picked up the recent quest sheet and held out the three forms for him to see; this man quickly looked over the forms with wide eyes and gasped as he read the information provided.
"No doubt about it, this is the creature we've been seeking, but it is far from being considered a goblin. No, this is the Chupacabra."
"Chupa…I'm sorry I don't believe I've heard that name before."
"My apologies, it was the name given for the creature in its native land, it means 'the one who drinks blood'."
xxxx
Cow Girl smiled as she looked over the field watching as the cows happily munched at the grass beneath them, especially the young brown calf. This new addition finally started eating grass on his own just a few days ago, though still a bit clumsy he seemed to be enjoying discovering how big the farm was. Snow happily nuzzled up beside Cow Girl who quickly turned her attention back toward the direwolf and smiled as she went to scratch the side of her neck.
"No need to be jealous, I'll give you plenty of attention. You know, with a litter on the way I'll be having to show you quite a bit of attention in addition to him and Wolf."
Unbeknownst to either of them, from the tress, far from prying eyes, a creature with large red eyes studied the animals as the drool oozed out of its mouth. It eyed the large cows, but paid particular attention to the young calf, a defenseless creature would make for a good first meal, the only real concern was the large white wolf. Its hunger would have to wait until the sun was not so high, when the sun set it would strike.
xxxx
"It seems as though the creature came from the tree line and immediately targeted the livestock then when finished with its meal retreated back into the forest." Lizard Priest remarked as he saw the damage to the broken pen and tracks around the farm.
"Not entirely retreated Scaley, this monster also attacked the owner of the farm the moment he appeared."
Priestess, High Elf Archer and Half-Demon Thief had gone to speak with the farmer's wife, she had witnessed the attack and submitted the quest so she'd be able to give them details that were left out of the report.
"Please take your time." Priestess calmly placed a hand on the woman's shoulder.
"I heard the cries of the livestock…it almost sounded like they were screaming so I went to wake my husband." The farmer's wife nervously clutched at her hands as she recounted her tale. "I woke my husband and then he ran out to deal with the goblins…It's my fault he's gone."
"That's not true, you did the right thing to warn your husband, we'll find that monster and deal with it." Half-Demon Thief had a visible frown on her face as she thought about the grief this woman was going through.
"If you could, please continue." Now it was High Elf Archer who gently urged the woman to finish the story.
"I watched as the creature attacked my husband. It bit into his neck and once he stopped his moving, then went about tearing him apart. Once it was done, it ran back toward the woods."
The girls turned their attention back toward the rest of their party where they saw Lizard Priest and Dwarf Shaman finishing up their examination of the pen and were moving toward the Goblin Slayer who was investigating the site of the attack on the farmer and the tracks leading back toward the forest. The party regrouped and proceeded into the forest following the strange footprints deeper and deeper into the woods.
"These footprints, they seem strange for goblins don't they Beardcutter?"
"It's not a goblin."
"How can you tell Orcbolg?"
"This creature has three toes, they're widely spread apart and have sharper talons at the end, a goblin had five toes. This creature is quite heavy, the indentions are deep and there are times it was running on all fours." Goblin Slayer paused as calmly looked around the forest, then back in the direction of the farm, the rest of his party reached for their weapons as they examined the area.
"Is there anything wrong Goblin Slayer?" Priestess quickly tensed as she looked around the forest for any sign of this monster.
"The tracks are moving further away from the site of the attack, opposite of the path it had been traveling before." Goblin Slayer gave an audible grunt of dissatisfaction as he thought about it.
"Maybe it's moving away from heavily populated areas, waiting for an opportunity to strike away from sight." Half-Demon Thief still not fully sure about tracking down goblins and monsters gave her best suggestion.
"I say we continue down this trail for the meantime Beardcutter, hopefully we'll find this monster."
Wolf continued to sniff at the ground as he looked toward the footprints yet craned it head upward toward the tress still sniffing out the scent if the creature. The group continued on through the forest for almost an hour until the footprints finally stopped, in fact they seemed to disappear.
"This doesn't make any sense, the footprints seemed to have vanished." Lizard Priest looked around the ground for any sign of the footprints.
"Maybe this gobli…I mean this monster can fly?" Half-Demon Thief looked toward the gaps in the trees for any sign of this flying creature.
Goblin Slayer soon noticed Wolf looking upward, still sniffing the air, and as he looked upward himself noticed the deep scratches in the branches above. Goblin Slayer walked toward the tree and the others turned their gaze towards the scratches and continued to follow the marks, but there was no sign of the beast in the treetop. Instead, they noticed the scratch marks mow moved toward the tree behind them and the tree branches after that, in the direction toward the farm.
"My word, the beast doubled back toward the farm, it purposely led us in the wrong direction." Lizard Priest was at a loss for the strategy this creature employed.
"Then it might be after the woman we just spoke with!" High Elf Archer tightened her grip on her bow as she prepared to run ahead.
"Hold up Long Ears, these scratch marks appear to be old, they must have been made the same night it attacked the farm and the farmer. Clever little devil isn't it, it lured us away with footprints then doubled back to continue its hunt."
"Then if it's continuing to feed, it will likely head for the next closest farm where it can find plenty of livestock. Question is, which is the next closest farm from here?" Half-Demon Thief had to wonder out loud where this creature could be heading if they wasted this much time.
"…no…"
There was a sudden realization for Goblin Slayer before he took off running ahead quickly followed by Wolf; the rest of his party were confused for a moment when they too came to the same conclusion and rushed after Goblin Slayer and Wolf.
"Earth Mother…keep them safe…keep her safe…let us reach them in time." Priestess clutched at her staff as she continued to run.
"Fear not Milord Goblin Slayer, we shall make haste to your farm and protect our comrades!"
Goblin Slayer said nothing, he just kept pushing his legs as faster and harder, whatever would get him there with enough time to save his friend.
xxxx
With the sun setting it was time to bring the livestock back to the barn that way she could get started on dinner. It had been a fine day on the farm, her Uncle was on the other side of the farm tending to the field, but a quick glance around did not reveal Snow's location.
"I didn't see her in the barn, maybe she's off in the woods getting her food. Okay, I believe that's every…wait…" Cow Girl looked around the barn and behind the cows but did not see the young calf as a smile crossed her face. "That trouble maker, probably still out in the field exploring everything. I better get him before his mother…"
The smile on Cow Girl's face vanished in an instant the moment she heard the scream, her eyes were wide with fear as it almost sounded like a children screaming in agonizing pain.
"But, there are no children here only…no."
Cow Girl instinctively rushed out of the barn in the direction of the cries, the young calf who she had helped deliver was in hurt or dying. She had no idea could be the matter but she felt responsible for it and had to help in whatever way she could, but she soon realized that the screams had stopped. She continued to run toward the dark shadow she saw on the ground, the setting sun blinding her to what she was really seeing.
"Please be alright. I'm here now. I…"
Cow Girl gasped as she saw something fall off toward the left of this shadow, a quick glance confirmed her fears when she saw it was the young calf's head, the tongue hanging out of its mouth. She found herself trembling at the sight and she looked back at the shadow only to see it rise up, the entrails of the calf in its hand before devouring it. The beast eyes caught movement behind it and tossed aside the small body to fully inspect the one who disturbed its meal.
"What…what are you?" Cow Girl nervously took a couple steps back as she looked toward this strange creature. "A…goblin? No, you're something even worse."
Cow Girl turned to run, she knew it was foolish to try and fight this thing without her sling or tools, all she could hope for was to try and reach the barn and hope her Uncle had heard the cries of the calf. She only made it a few steps before something knocked her to the ground, there was a terrible pain across her back as she struggled to move. The creature leapt toward her and with the claws on its left hand slashed at her back, cutting deep into her flesh. This creature licked at the blood along its claws before slowly moving toward the downed human, once again it tore its claws into her flesh along her arms as it raised her upward toward its face. Cow Girl screamed as the blood ran from her wounds, she struggled to open her eyes only to now be face to face with the creature.
"Such…such rancid breath, I feel as though I'm going to vomit. No, is this how I'm going to die…without seeing him one more time? Please…someone…help me, if not…just let it end quickly."
Cow Girl closed her eyes as she just as the Chupacabra opened its jaws wide to bite into her neck, but suddenly something bit down on its right arm. The creature shriek in pain and anger as the large white wolf savagely clmaped down upon the arm, shaking its head and pulling back in an attempt to bring the creature down. The monster threw the human aside who hit the ground hard and then turned its attention toward the white wolf. Cow Girl hit the ground hard and groaned as she struggled to look up, the last thing she had seen before hitting the ground was seeing something attack the monster, what she believed to be Snow.
"Sn, Snow…Snow!"
Cow Girl looked up to see Snow still fighting with the creature as its claws scratched and torn at her white fur staining it crimson. The creature finally tore Snow off its arm and threw her to the ground before pouncing on the direwolf, once again digging its claws into her flesh, but now biting onto her neck with its fangs. Snow whined and yelped as she struggled to break free while the creature continued to drink the blood from her neck.
"No…get away from her! She has her littler so…don't…don't touch her you monster!" Cow Girl struggled to pull her injured body toward the monster, she herself not sure what she could do, but knew laying there would accomplish nothing.
The creature's meal was interrupted as something struck its right shoulder, the monster let out a shriek as the blood dripped from its teeth. A quick glance to its right and it could see an arrow now stuck within its flesh, the creature tore the arrow loose and looked back to see a group of humans approaching with another large wolf, the monster snarled and shrieked once again before running off on all fours towards the trees.
"Than, thank goodness." Cow Girl finally passed out relieved that Snow was safe.
Goblin Slayer and his party reached the spot were Cow Girl and Snow lay motionless just at the same time her Uncle had come. The group was immediately worried as they saw the state of both Cow Girl and Snow, Wolf whining as he pushed up against Snow's head with his snout.
"What…what did this? Can you hear me?" Her Uncle cradled his niece in his arms as she gently shook her to wake her up.
"Please sir, let me attend to her." Priestess though worried for her friend knew she had to work quickly as she held out her hand over Cow Girl's body. "O Earth Mother, abounding in mercy, lay your revered hand upon this child…Heal!"
"I shall attend to our fallen wolf immediately." Lizard Priest held his hands together and began to chant for his own miracle. "Gorgosaurus, beautiful though wounded, may I partake in the healing in your body…Refresh."
The two began the process of healing their injured friends while the others looked on with worried expressions, all except Goblin Slayer who fumed with anger as he tightly clenched his fist. He turned his attention toward his left where he could see the blood trail left behind by the injured monster then turned his attention towards his friend's Uncle.
"Sir, please stay with her, I'm going after the beast that did this."
Uncle and the others turned their attention Goblin Slayer where they swore they could see the red glow of his left eye within the darkness of his helmet. High Elf Archer, Lizard Priest and Dwarf Shaman had seen this before when Goblin Slayer though severely injured took on the Goblin Champion in the bowels of Water Town.
"You…you be careful as well. She'll be upset if you were to be injured or killed." Uncle sighed in frustration as he felt so helpless as he held his injured niece. "Thank you."
"Will go with you as well Orcbolg."
"No. Stay here if the beast returns. We interrupted its meal, I doubt it will be so easily deterred."
Goblin Slayer did not wait for any sort of argument from the others as he turned and rushed toward the forest. He heard the howl of Wolf and found the direwolf running alongside him as they hopped the fence and entered into the woods. The others could only look on with concern as they tended to the injured and watched Goblin Slayer disappear from sight.
xxxx
"Beloved, I know you are upset but would it not have been a wise choice to have the others aid you."
"No, Wolf and I will be enough to deal with this monster. No one else needs to be injured."
"Please watch yourself Beloved, this beast is smart enough to lure its trackers away with a fake trail, it may already be prepared to fight you."
With the light quickly fading, momentarily paused to light his lantern and continued to follow Wolf who picked up on the scent of the creature. Thanks to his lantern, he was able to catch glimpses of the blood trail as the light reflected off it. Wolf soon came to an abrupt stop as he sniffed around the area growling as he looked left and right, Goblin Slayer stopped himself and raised the lantern to see if he could spot the creature then realized why Wolf had stopped. All along the nearby trees was blood and scratch marks, there was a sudden rustling from the trees and Goblin Slayer reached for the hilt of his sword only to see a few leaves fall from above from three different trees.
"A trap."
Goblin Slayer looked ahead and while paced behind him in an agitated state, his nose telling him the creature was nearby but with it purposely hiding its scent it could be sure where. From the trees above the beast looked toward the two, the black wolf was thick as the other, it would make a fine meal but the other one in metal, he would have to cut through it if he was to get to the meat underneath. The was a sudden snap of a twig, Goblin Slayer turned drawing his sword to see the beast lunge toward him with incredible speed as it dragged its claws against his chest plate. The beast landed with a crouch and turned to see the man in metal stumble slightly from the impact when the black wolf charged forward. The Chupacabra shrieked as it slashed at the wolf, cutting it across the face but the dire wolf was not deterred as it continued to attack. The beast suddenly leapt toward the nearest tree and quickly scurried up into the foliage just as Goblin Slayer threw one of his daggers at the stop where the beast had been, it moved through several of the trees above before lying still. Goblin Slayer grunted as he drew out his sword and stood by Wolf ready to attack.
"Beloved watch yourself, I am unfamiliar with this type of monster and it is quite intelligent."
There was a sudden rustle of the bushed behind them, Goblin Slayer and Wolf turned only to see a large branch lying upon one of the bushes. The creature had drawn their attention behind them so it could leap at them once again while they were distracted. The Chupacabra leapt toward Wolf digging its claws into the wolf's hide before throwing it off to the side. The monster shirked once again to attack Goblin Slayer who brought us his shield to stop the creature before its claws could tear into his armor. Goblin Slayer raised his sword and brought it down tearing into the monster's shoulder only to hear the monster cry out in pain.
With a grunt of satisfaction, Goblin Slayer tore out the sword to strike again, but this time the creature caught his wrist with its left clawed hand then with its right claws, pushed aside the shield before raking them across the visor. The claws easily tore through the metal and cut across the top of his brown, Goblin Slayer stumbled backwards as the blood ran down the left side of his face. There was now a large chunk of his visor missing as he looked back toward the snarling creature as it prepared to attack once again but was only to be tackled by Wolf. The creature shrieked as his dug its claws into Wolf's shoulders to keep the dire wolf from biting him, despite the pain Wolf Continue to push forward. Just as Goblin Slayer prepared to charge in to attack the creature threw Wolf aside once again slashed as Goblin Slayer once again tearing off his right shoulder plate and tearing into his arm. Goblin Slayer hissed as he clutched at his bleeding shoulder while the monster quickly ran for the trees and scurried up once again hidden among the leaves in the darkness.
"Damn you." Goblin Slayer moved towards Wolf who slowly got back to his feet despite the blood dripping to the ground from its wounds.
"This creature is different from the goblins I've fought; it can set traps and has prepared to not only ambush its prey but counter an ambush. I have to remove its ability to freely move through the trees."
"Come forth Lich Queen."
From the sword appeared a red plume of smoke which took on the form of the voluptuous Lich Queen.
"Beloved, how may I serve you?"
"Can you freeze the area around us, the bushes and trees, and ensure that they are covered in sharp shards of ice?" Goblin Slayer sheathed his sword and instead went for his mace.
"Easy enough Beloved, though freezing the area will deplete my magic."
"It will be fine. Thank you."
The Lich Queen smiled before transforming into her monstrous form and pointing her palms towards the woods around her.
"Know that those who hurt my Beloved shall know the pain of hell! The fires of hell do not burn…they freeze!"
A giant gust of wind erupted from around the Lich Queen, the Chupacabra not used to such a sensation jumped out of the trees and back to the ground just as the bushed and trees were frozen over in a flash, in that moment as Goblin Slayer has asked for the treetops, their trunks, and the bushes around them were covered in several sharp icicles.
"That is all I can do Beloved, please be careful and finish this monster quickly." Lich Queen once again reverted to her smoke form and returned to Goblin Slayer's sword.
The Chupacabra looked around at the trees, covered in ice and hissed before turning its attention toward the man in armor and the dire wolf.
"You have nowhere to run to now."
The monster shrieked as it charged forward once again to attack, Goblin Slayer himself charged forward to slam his shield into the monster and swung his mace in striking at the creature's left side. The beast shrieked in pain as it stumbled backwards, as before it moved to retreat back up the trees but had to stop as it nervously looked at the ice shards blocked its escape. Before it had time to think about how it would escape, Wolf charged forward once again and tackled it to the ground biting down on its right leg. The Chupacabra cried out and prepared to attack but Goblin Slayer rushed in slamming his foot down upon the right wrist of the monster to hold the arm in place before smashing the hand with his mace. The Chupacabra practically screamed before Wolf dragged him away, continuing to tear at the flesh on the creature's right leg. Goblin Slayer himself would not let up as he swung his mace once again at the creature face shattering many of its teeth, flipping the creature onto its back. The beast struggled to moved as the blood ran from its mouth, but soon Goblin Slayer placed his right foot on the monster's chest and towered over it.
"I don't know what you are nor do I care. I will not allow you to harm those I mean to protect." Goblin Slayer put his mace aside and drew out his sword preparing to stab the beast. "Return to the hell you came from."
Goblin Slayer rammed the blade into the monster's skull before pulling it toward his body splitting the creature's head open. There was a brief spasm from the Chupacabra's left arm before it finally fell to the ground and with a final grunt Goblin Slayer tore his sword free. Goblin Slayer let a sigh as he looked over toward Wolf who was panting heavily, Goblin Slayer reached out gently pet the top of the dire wolf's head.
"Let's go back."
xxxx
Cow Girl groaned as she struggled to open her eyes, she found herself laying on her back she could see the ceiling of her room above. She turned her head to her side to see Priestess, High Elf Archer and Half-Demon Thief in the room with her.
"Looks who's awake." High Elf Archer had a smile on her face as she saw her friend finally up.
Cow Girl groaned as she sat up, Priestess was quick to try and keep her in bed.
"I managed to heal your wounds, but you still rest."
"My injuries…oh right, my back and arms." Cow Girl carefully placed her right hand over her left shoulder then gasped as she remembered the sight of Snow before she passed out. "Snow! She was hurt too, is she…"
"Not to worry. Our fine Lizard Priest took care of healing her, she's already up and around." Half-Demon Thief smiled as she nodded toward her friend.
"And what about him?" Cow Girl knew full well her friend would not just sit idly by.
"He and Wolf went after the monster that attacked you." Priestess had a slight frown on her face as she looked toward her friend.
"What? Help me get dressed, I want to check with my Uncle and wait for him."
"I really think you should rest. Goblin Slayer will be…"
"Please. I want to wait for him."
The girls helped Cow Girl out of bed where she changed into her spare change of clothing where she moved through the house toward the front porch where the others were waiting, Snow happily wagging her tail when she saw Cow Girl. Her Uncle was quick to rush up and hug her relieved to she was alright and there on the front porch they wait patiently for Goblin Slayer. It was some time later when they caught sight of Goblin Slayer and Wolf slowly approaching the farmhouse. Though they could see his armor was damaged the wound he received appeared to be minor.
"Goblin Slayer!"
His friend rushed toward him and Snow happily nuzzled up Wolf before moving toward Goblin Slayer.
"The creature is dead. I am glad you are both okay."
Cow Girl was indeed happy to see her friend back and both Priestess and Lizard Priest went to work healing the two injured adventurers before deciding to rest there for the night, in the morning they would all go back to report the demise of the foul monster. That following morning, the party and Cow Girl made their way toward the guild hall where they met with Guild Girl and the man who was also interested in this creature.
"So your lord spent money having such a monster brought over from across the sea. You damn humans can be quite stupid at times, or at least the males seem to be that way." High Elf Archer sighed in frustration as she shook her head.
"I am well aware of how it might sound, but my master had no intention of this monster being released."
"So this creature this, Chupacabra, I'm hopeful I said that correctly, was a beast that would primarily hunt livestock in its native lands?" Lizard Priest frowned as he remembered the monstrous creature.
"Yes, known for draining the blood from creatures before feeding upon their flesh. I am truly thankful for all your help in destroying the monster and offer my deepest apologies for the harm it caused your friends." The man bowed his head toward the party and from his pouch pulled out two bags of gold. "A reward, in addition to what is being offered by the guild for your troubles. I shall take my leave now, good day to you all."
Just as the man was ready to leave, he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and turned only to come face to face with the figure in dirty leather armor starting back at him.
"That creature, how many more are there?"
There was a moment of silence from the man and the others has they though about what Goblin Slayer was asking, could there actually be more of them loose among the countryside.
"Uh…there are no others to worry about. Again, good day to you all."
The man quickly exited the guild leave Goblin Slayer and his party to ponder Goblins Slayer's question.
"Why did you ask that question Beardcutter? Think of changing professions?"
"If a creature like that was allowed to multiply, it would be quite troublesome. The goblins are already enough of a threat."
The party immediately laughed as all seemed like it had returned to normal, but outside the guild hall, the heavy-set man wiped his brow with his handkerchief.
"At last this monster has been dealt with. These things can multiply quite quickly and by themselves no less…I can only pray that the others have also been killed or captured."
END
Author's Note: At the suggestion of a friend, I decided to write this little story to help clear my writer's block for Howl of Vengeance. I had originally planned for this to be a one-shot story just in time for Halloween, but if you'd like to see other cryptids and legends used with this world of Goblin Slayer, involving various adventurers, let me know in the reviews. Those of keen eye will know I took some liberties with how the Chupacabra acts, but hopefully you all found it enjoyable for the story. A Happy Halloween to you all…don't let the Chupacabras bite.