The morning came, and with it were the adventurers loading up the cargo needed for the long journey ahead of them. Spearman and Rookie Warrior were loading up food and provisions in one wagon while Priestess and Apprentice Cleric loaded up clothing in the other wagon. The girls turned to see Goblin Slayer and Wolf approach with a large bundle in his hands.
"Good morning Goblin Slayer." Priestess bowed her head toward Goblin Slayer.
"Uh…what do you have there?" Apprentice Cleric curiously looked at the large bundle as Goblin Slayer loaded it in the back of the wagon.
"It's something from the blacksmith, he said it was intended for Wolf."
"Um…Goblin Slayer?"
"What is it?"
"I…I wanted to apologize for yesterday."
"Yesterday?"
"My screaming in the tavern." Priestess frowned as she recalled what happened the other day.
"It's fine." Goblin Slayer's response was as dispassionate as ever as he moved to load up the new supplies he gathered at the blacksmith shop the other day.
Priestess still found herself frowning, she hoped he'd be more understanding or at least say more than his usual two word response. She sighed as she prepared for the journey, she at least said her apology like she wanted and would just chalk up her dream to mere silliness.
"Everybody ready?" The cheerful voice of the High Elf Archer sounded as she and the remainder of the group exited out of the Guild Hall followed by Guild Girl.
"Are you all set?" Guild Girl inquired as she looked over the group.
"All supplies have been readied." Goblin Slayer responded with a nod as looked toward Guild Girl.
"It will take us a few days to meet up with the others near the dwarf fortress. I can only pray that we get there in time to help stop this plague before it gets too late." Dwarf Shaman sighed as the thought of his Honored Uncle fighting these things and becoming one of them crossed his mind.
"I wish you all the best on your journey, please be careful."
The party members nodded before loading up on the carts, Spearman and his group on the second cart while Goblin Slayer and his group on the first cart. The drivers gave a crack on the reins and off the wagons went, with Guild Girl waving good-bye as the group set off. Once on the road again, Priestess and High Elf Archer happily conversed, overjoyed to have new comrades on their journey, but soon Priestess found herself frowning as she looked back to the now sleeping Goblin Slayer.
"Did you get to apologize?"
"I did…but he barely said two words back. Do you think he's still mad?"
"Knowing Orcbolg, he just doesn't care about those kind of things. I wouldn't let it bother you."
"Long-Ears is right lass, Beardcutter isn't the type to hold a grudge…unless it's against goblins that is." Dwarf Shaman chuckled as he too looked over at the sleeping Goblin Slayer and his dire wolf companion.
Priestess smiled, although weakly, as she agreed with her comrades, she knew Goblin Slayer wasn"t angry with her, but still hoped that she'd be able to make up for her silliness. Meanwhile in the second cart, the other four adventurers conversed as well about the upcoming quest.
"I'm still not sure about this…I've never even seen an undead let alone fought against one." Rookie Warrior nervously rubbed his hands together as the thought of the battle ahead worried him.
"I know what you mean, I'm not sure we'll be of much use to you all on this quest." Apprentice Cleric could not help but sigh as she looked toward the bottom of the wagon.
"That's enough of that you two. Have a little more faith in your abilities and those fighting with you. Even if it was only Goblin Slayer with you, you'd both be just fine, but you've got me and her with you, and that's more than enough." Spearman carefully made sure that his weapon and backup weapons were polished and ready for anything.
"Have you ever fought the undead before?" Rookie Warrior was looking toward Spearman and Witch, those he looked towards as stellar examples of what it meant to be an adventurer.
"Yeah we've fought them before, there's different types but most will go down with a good strike to the head or decapitating them completely."
"Running water…is also…effective…against…certain types." Witch smiled as she blew out a stream of smoke.
"Too bad none of us know any water magic." Apprentice Cleric sighed in frustration thinking about her limitations with Holy Smite then a thought came back to her. "I meant to ask, I thought I saw you speaking with Goblin Slayer yesterday in the afternoon."
"Goblin Slayer…what did that hack want?" Spearman seemed quite angry at the thought of Witch meeting up with Goblin Slayer.
"He…asked for a favor…are you…jealous?" Witch asked with a smile across her face.
"Of…of course not…what do I have to be jealous of?" Spearman immediately turned his head to the side, trying his best to hide his flushed face.
The others chuckled as the wagon pushed forward, and so went the first day, the parties happily conversed, that evening they camped to rest the horses not aware of what dangers lay ahead of them..
xxxx
Elsewhere, one of the kings of men met with his military advisors to discuss the very presence of the lich queen and her minions.
"Has there been any movement from the dwarves yet?" The king looked over the map of the region, this horde would soon ben encroaching on his realm if not dealt with.
"The dwarves are reinforcing their forces along their fortress, they're holding until the elves and our own forces join with them. Reports from them indicate a horde of at least a thousand. We've dispatched a battalion of 500 men to crush this plague, this plus what the dwarves and elves provide should be more than enough."
"What of the lich queen?"
"Unknown at this time, she has not been seen outside of her castle thus far."
"I would have imagined that with the defeat of the demon lord, the minions of chaos would be more reluctant to move?"
"If she's foolish enough the try and take over the world, then we'll be there to stop her just like the demon lord!" The shout carried with it confidence although being young and feminine.
The King and his advisors looked up from the map toward the sound of the voice to see a trio of young women walking forward. The leader of the group was a young girl with reddish hair and apricot colored eyes with a yellow ribbon in her hair and a bright smile on her face. Her companions was a swordswoman and a mage with a cloak over her bluish hair.
"I had hoped that you'd have received my message. Knowing that the Hero will be fighting alongside my men is very reassuring indeed." King smiled and nodded his head toward the trio.
"We'll be departing immediately! Given what we've seen and fought so far, I'm sure the three of us can handle this just fine." Hero smiled confidently as she drew her holy sword and pointed it toward the ceiling. "Let's just see what this lich queen can do!"
xxxx
"What do you mean you don't plan on going any farther!" Spearman, now wearing his winter cloak, tightly gripped his spear while glaring back at the drivers.
After few days on the road, the group finally started to see snow gathering upon the ground, the change in weather forced them to change into their winter gear. The forest of dead trees around them had a rather dreary look with the overcast sky and constant snow flurries blowing in the wind. Now on this fifth day though, the drivers stopped their wagons and refused to go any further. The adventurers disembarked from the wagons, making sure to keep their eyes on the drivers on the off chance they tried to rob or attack them.
"We've already pushed our luck going this far into the forest. This place is home to legions of giant spiders and other monstrosities, I will not risk my life any further." The driver of the first wagon jumped out of the driver's seat.
"Nor will I. These woods…they're cursed, you can feel the evil within the place." The second driver shook his head but remained on his wagon.
"You've been hired to take our party to the dwarven fortress, it will take us at least two days on foot." Dwarf Shaman too was angry at the refusal of these men.
"Then you may keep the first wagon and half your money…no amount of money is worth risking my life for." The first driver took out the small pouch of gold coins and firmly placed it back in the dwarf's hands. "I wish you the best, but we are going to head back…you're welcome to come with us."
"You damn cowards!" High Elf Archer angrily tightened her fists contemplating whether or not to draw her arrow upon these men.
Soon enough though, everyone looked to see Goblin Slayer unloading the cargo from the second wagon and placing it upon the first wagon with the help of Rookie Warrior.
"What are you doing Goblin Slayer?" Priestess was curious to see him moving the supplies around.
"It will be night soon, if we continue to argue we'll lose too much time." Goblin Slayer finished putting the last of the supplies in the wagon.
The other party members although surprised by his actions, followed with him and started to load up the first wagon. Dwarf Shaman and Lizard Priest set themselves up on the driver seat while the girls loaded up in the back of the wagon. Spearman, Goblin Slayer, Rookie Warrior and Wolf would escort the wagon as it moved forward.
"We'll be going then…be safe on your journey to the dwarf fortress." The drivers nodded their heads before driving their own wagon back the way they came.
"Damn fools, hope their wagon falls apart on them." Spearman spat to the side as he readied to move then looked over to see Goblin Slayer looking around. "Hey Goblin Slayer, what are you standing around for?"
"Listen."
"Listen…listen for what?" Spearman growled in frustration at Goblin Slayer's cryptic response.
High Elf Archer could sense there was something more as she watched Goblin Slayer and Wolf both looking around the area. She closed her eyes and took in all the sounds around her as her ears twitched yet something did not feel right.
"What do you hear?"
"Nothing…I don't hear anything." High Elf Archer suddenly felt nervous as she looked around the area as well.
"So what the problem?" Rookie Warrior not sure where Goblin Slayer was going with this.
"We're in the woods, yet there are no animals around. No birds or beasts."
The others too started to grow nervous as the silence of the area around them was unsettling, there wasn't just the cold air to make them shiver. The party decided to push forward themselves, wanting to get to a more secure spot in the woods before night fell. Unbeknownst to them, a shadowy figure hidden behind one of the trees watched as the party of adventurers moved onward. The figure walked around the trees to the main path they had taken to watch them, black armor covering its body and helmet cover the top of its head, save the front which exposed its skeletal face. Empty eye sockets watched the party, but soon it turned around the watch the other wagon moving away.
"We will start with those two first." Within its eye sockets was a red flash of light before marching after the wagon with the drivers.
As the Armored Skeleton moved with purpose several shadows with the forest moved with him.
xxxx
'"Get this wagon moving!"
"We're going as fast as possible." He looked back and saw the clear path behind them and no sign of the other wagon. "Those damn adventurers are crazy…if the rumors are true about the undead, I'm sure not going to be caught out here."
Suddenly the wagon started to shudder violently, the two men pulled back on the reins of the horse. The horse neighed loudly as the wagon skidded to a halt nearly toppling over, but the two men managed to keep it upright.
"What was that?"
"Not sure, check the wheels!"
Both men hopped off to inspect the wheels of the wagon and to the driver's horror found a battle ax deeply imbedded in one of the back wheels. The other man came around the back of the cart and also saw the state of the wheel.
"Where did that come from?"
"Who cares, I'm getting it out!"
"There's no need for that." The voice that spoke sounded ancient, yet full of menace.
The two men turned around to see, to see an armored skeletal warrior glaring back at them. Both backed up until they hit the wagon, they contemplated running but the sight around them removed any fight they had. Surrounding them were a couple dozen individuals of different race, but all were covered in horrid wounds and looked at the men with blank stares. Their horse whinny repeatedly as it tried to remove itself from the wagon at the sight of the individuals around it.
"The girl…where is she?" The Armored Skeleton approached the men.
"Wha, what girl?"
"The adventurers...they went the other way!"
"I don't care about those fools, all I need to know is was she with them?" The skeletal warrior's skull features contorted in rage.
"We don't know who you're talking about."
"Then you're of no use to me…at least you'll be of some use to them." The Armored Skeletal took hold of the battle ax and ripped it free from the wheel then turned and began to walk away. "Once you've finished…will be going after them."
The horde let out a moan as they shuffled toward the two men and horse. All three panicked as they tried to move away but the undead around them were too many. The Armored Skeleton sneered as the men and horse were assaulted by the undead who feasted upon their flesh.
xxxx
"Whoa!" Dwarf Shaman pulled back on the reins of the horse.
He and the others all stopped and looked behind them, it hadn't been that long ago that they had left the two men to their own devices but the screams they heard echoed throughout the woods. The screams continued for some time, Apprentice Cleric closing her eyes and covered her ears while Priestess tightly gripped her sounding staff yet shook with fear. Soon enough the screams died down, and now the group could only hear the sound of the wind blowing through the forest.
"We need to leave…now." High Elf Archer grew nervous at the sounds they heard in the distance.
"No good Long-Ears." The dwarf gave the reins a crack but the horse refused to budge, it neighed and stomped around in place. "The horse refuses to budge."
"We'll set up camp here then." Goblin Slayer calmly walked toward the cart to retrieve his bow and a small quiver of arrows. "Be sure to tie the horse to one of the trees that way he won't run off."
"And who put you in charge?" Spearman fumed at being told what to do by Goblin Slayer.
"No one. It will be dark soon and we'll need to keep ourselves warm."
"Where…are you…going then?" Witch was quite curious to see Goblin Slayer walk away from the group with bow in hand.
"I will check to see if there is any game for us to eat tonight."
Everyone watched as Goblin Slayer walked away from the group followed by Wolf. With no other choice, the group disembarked from the wagon and went to work gathering supplies as they set up camp for the night. Goblin Slayer and Wolf walked for a bit until they came upon a stream and nearby they could see a large deer lapping at the water below. Wolf eyes grew big as he crouched low ready to pounce, but Goblin Slayer placed his hand along his back to stop him from charging forward. Goblin Slayer raised his bow and readied his arrow just as the deer looked up and turned toward Goblin Slayer. Before he could shoot, something large and white tackled the deer by the neck and brought it crashing to the ground in a violent display.
"Hmm." Goblin Slayer lowered his weapon to carefully inspect the creature that attacked the deer.
Wolf growled as he too observed the creature but soon stopped as he took in the smell of the creature before him, it was another dire wolf like himself, and this one was female. The white dire wolf savagely bit into the deer's neck shaking its head from side to side before tearing off a chunk of flesh to eat. The white wolf's ears twitched as it heard the sounds of crunching snow, she instantly picked her head up snarling at whoever was approaching. She could see the armored human walking toward her boldly and like any other wolf was cautious of humans, but then smelled the scent of another wolf. She stopped her snarling to look to the side and saw the large black wolf beside this human.
Both wolves walked toward one another and started to cautiously circle each other while sniffing out the other. Wolf happily wagged his tail at meeting this other dire wolf, but the white dire wolf was still cautious as it looked over at the black dire wolf. She then realized that the armored human was moving toward her kill and instantly rushed over toward him growling as he bent down toward the deer.
"I'm not going to take all of him…just the legs." Goblin Slayer turned his head toward the left to see the dire wolf snarling at him.
The white dire wolf continued to snarl at the armored human but soon stopped when she realized he was not reacting to her. The white wolf turned its head to the side, studying the curious human before her, she then saw the black wolf on the other side of the human bark twice before noticing him wag his tail.
Goblin Slayer took out his dagger and went to work cutting off the legs of the deer. It took a while but he finally managed to cut through all four legs. He gave one of the legs to Wolf then passed another to the white wolf, she stared at the leg then looked back to the armored human who stood with the other two legs over his shoulder.
"I just need these, the rest is yours." He reached out and placed his hand atop the white wolf's head and gave her a gentle pat. "Thanks."
Goblin Slayer then turned and began to walk away followed by Wolf. The white dire wolf studied the two as they walked away, the human was different from the others she had seen before and was also surprised to see another dire wolf going with the human. As the two moved away, she went back to eating her kill before the rotting creatures came back out.
By the time Goblin Slayer came back, the rest of the group had the fire going and started preparing a stew.
"Goblin Slayer, you're back." Priestess smiled as she continued to stir the stew mix.
"Are those deer legs?" High Elf Archer frowning at the thought of Goblin Slayer killing the deer.
"I'll starting skinning the legs." Goblin Slayer sat himself down and began to work with his dagger.
"Give me one of those legs, that way we can roast them. Where's the rest of it?" Spearman inquired as started to strip the skin from the other leg.
"The dire wolf kept the rest of it."
"Dire wolf, you mean Wolf?" Dwarf Shaman asked as he looked over to see Wolf eating his own deer leg.
"No, the white one."
"White one…Milord Goblin Slayer are you saying there was another dire wolf."
The other party members were surprised by this news, but Goblin Slayer just continued to work on the deer leg.
"A white female?" Goblin Slayer finished with his leg as he set it up near the flames to start cooking.
The party members were curious about the other dire wolf, but their hunger won out as they continued about their normal business. Night fell, and the fire did little to comfort some of party members as the rest watched the forest for any sign of movement. Wolf happily chewed on the deer bones while too watching those in his pack and listening for anything in the woods around them.
"We need to make sure we move out by dawn's first light, I'm hopeful that my uncle is still safe." Dwarf Shaman took a swig of his fire wine before offering the others some.
"The sooner we're out of this forest the better…even a dwarf fortress would be better than this." High Elf Archer finished checking her bow while also looking at the woods as well.
Goblin Slayer sat with his back to the fire looking out at the darkness with sword drawn with Spearman sitting beside him with spear resting upon his shoulder.
"What do you think Goblin Slayer?"
"I've seen some of the shadows moving in the distance…it may be goblins."
"I suppose…but it might also be the undead, you know the ones we're here to take care of."
"Hrm." Goblin Slayer studied the tree line and believed he saw a figure moving rather quickly and crunching sound of the footsteps in the snow. "They're coming."
xxxx
A figure ran through the forest, constantly checking behind them for any movement, but saw nothing.
"Have to keep moving!" Before them they could see a light. "What's that light? A fire…could be the dwarves…anything is better than dealing with those monsters."
Suddenly the figure tripped over a tree root and collapsed in the snow, as they pushed themselves up saw nine armed figures looking in their direction. The figure quickly stood and drew out twin daggers from behind its back and prepared to defend themselves. The party members could see this small framed figure, apparently a young woman, standing before them wearing a black hooded-cloak covering her body and most of her face.
"Who…who are you? Are you working for her?" The voice was young and feminine, almost sounding like a young teenager. "I refuse to go back, I know what she has in store for me!"
"Calm yourself, we're not going to hurt you." Priestess held out her free hand to try and calm this young girl down.
"However if you continue to brandish those weapons at us, we'll be inclined to defend ourselves." High Elf Archer continued to aim her bow and arrow at this figure.
"Then…you're not working for her? Aren't you mercenaries?"
"We're adventurers, now put the daggers away and reveal yourself!" Spearman sternly replied while still pointing her spear at this figure.
The figure put both daggers away then sighed as she removed the hood of her cloak. The young woman had bluish skin, pointed ears like a half-elf, short light pink hair and bright yellow eyes. The rest of the adventurers took one look at this female figure and continued to point their weapons at her save Priestess.
"Are you a goblin?"
"That's no goblin…that's a demon." Spearman's response held a bit of disdain in it.
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" The demon girl raised her hands to show she was not going to attack them. "I understand the feelings prayers have to demons, but I'm not here to attack anyone, I'm trying to get away from her."
"Who is this one you're trying to get away from?" Lizard Priest was still suspicious of the demon girl but was willing to listen to her tale.
"The Lich Queen."
The new voice caught everyone by surprise and made the young female demon run towards the adventurers and hide behind the two armored warriors. The party members could see a skeletal warrior covered from head to toe in black armor with large battle ax in hand.
"The Armored Skeleton." The female demon's voice had gone rather high with fear as she looked at the skeletal warrior before them.
"We've been looking for you all day, now come back with us." The Armored Skelton's voice seemed rather friendly, but everyone could tell he was easily lying.
"I'm not going back!"
"What of your brother?" The Armored Skeleton smiled sinisterly while staring at the female demon. "All he knows is that you're missing, should we tell him that you've join with the humans?"
"Leave him out of this!"
"You…adventurers! Surely this demon is not worth protecting? Turn her over to us and you may live through the night."
Goblin Slayer studied the figure before him then looked back toward the female demon and could see the fear in her eyes. He purposely moved in front of the demon girl with sword and shield ready to fight. The demon girl was surprised by this move on this human's part then found a large black dire wolf beside her growling at the skeletal warrior.
"She will remain with us."
The others were stunned by Goblin Slayer's comment, but too decided to defend this girl. The demon girl was surprised by all of this, she then felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see a young girl in the vestments of the clergy with sounding staff in hand smiling back at her. The young female demon smiled and nodded in response before she too drew out her daggers to fight back against the Armored Skeleton.
"Never thought I'd be defending a demon, but if Orcbolg can trust her then so can I."
"Indeed, even our companion Wolf has put his trust in the young demoness."
"Why…protect…this one…Goblin Slayer?" Witch stood by Dwarf Shaman with staff ready to use her magic.
"She's not a goblin." Goblin Slayer's response was as dispassionate as ever, making the other around him smile at the response.
"I don't know about that, but it sounds like this skeleton might be connected to the Lich Queen. The sooner we deal with him, the sooner we get some info on our target." Spearman smiled as he tightened his grip around his spear. "You skeleton's may be lacking is guts, so stabbing won't work, but I'm sure that skull of yours still needs to be attached to the rest of your body."
"Not to mention, when we're done Wolf will have plenty of bones to chew on." Dwarf Shaman readied his right hand with small pebbles for Stone Blast.
The Armored Skelton looked over the party of adventurers, before turning his attention to the wagon and horse. With a quick movement, he decapitated the horse, everyone was forced to watch as the heavy body slumped to the ground. Before they could attack, they all heard the moans and wails of creatures all around them. Little by little they saw dozens of individuals shamble out from the trees toward them. There were elves, men, dwarves, goblins, men and women, but all had the stench of death about them as bloody drool spilled out of their mouths. Priestess and the younger adventurers were terrified by the sight of the horde of undead that surrounded them, her dream now did appear like a premonition of things to come and with that thought could not help but look back toward Goblin Slayer.
"You've made very foolish mistake…thankfully it will be your last." Armored Skeleton sneered as he watched the horde slowly moving closer toward the party. "The horde still hungers, and there will be no escape for you…let's just see how long you last."