"So…goblins are involved." Goblin Slayer looked over the wounded goblins that shuffled toward him.
"Yeah…only these goblins are already dead." Spearman grunted as he slashed his spear to his left decapitating one of the human undead that came within range of his attack.
"A goblin that can keep attacking after being killed…that's troublesome." Goblin Slayer rushed forward and with a downward slash split the goblin skull open.
The party members that could attack pressed forward to combat the never ending number of the undead. Rookie Warrior made the mistake of splitting one of the elvish undead in half across the stomach and was horrified to see it crawling toward him still moaning with hunger. Lizard Priest rushed forward and decapitated the moving torso before it could get ahold of Rookie Warrior's ankles.
"Th, thanks!"
"You are most welcome, but keep your guard up the rest are coming."
Even with a dozen dead, the horde still had dozens more coming toward them. Priestess had used Holy Light in an attempt to blind the creatures, but it had no effect as the undead moved closer and closer. High-Elf Archer let loose arrow after arrow easily piercing through skulls, while Dwarf Shaman and Witch used Stone Blast and Magic Missile to blow the dead apart. Wolf lunged for one of the creature's, sinking its teeth into its arm and with a couple shakes tore the arm loose. Wolf dropped the arm and quickly moved back before the one-armed creature could bite him. Once it fell to the ground, Wolf jumped toward it and bit into the creature's neck. The young demon girl plunged her daggers into the temples of one of the creatures before jumping back to defend Priestess and Apprentice Cleric.
"Damn it…there's no end to these things." The young demon girl trembled slightly as she watched the creature moan angrily with arms stretched out, almost like they were reaching for her.
The Armored Skeleton watched as the horde continued to attack while adventurers who could attack were slowly being forced back up further and further.
"O Earth Mother, abounding in mercy, by the power of the land, grant safety to we who are weak…Protection!"
Instantly a large invisible barrier was created, protecting the adventurers from the mob of the undead who piled up on the outside pounding and clawing at the barrier. The warriors continued to slash away at the undead from the protected side but their blades soon began to catch in the flesh and bone of the creatures from repeated use. They were forced to pull further back while Wolf and the demon girl stood ready to defend the spell casters.
"The…the horde is too large. I'm going to run out of arrows at this point."
"Keep shooting Long-Ears, we've got to keep those things at bay otherwise they'll end up consuming us…not enough room for me to use another Stone Blast."
"I may have a way to deal with these things." Goblin Slayer reached within his pouch and withdrew two vials filled with a strange liquid. "The moment they're over the horde, shoot the vials."
"Okay Orcbolg!"
"You know lightning yes?" Goblin Slayer turned to look at the nervous Apprentice Cleric.
"M…me? I…know Holy Smite."
"When I tell you, use it."
"Yes sir."
"What's the plan Goblin Slayer?" Spearman took a step back as he saw a crack form in the barrier.
"I was told that fire is effective against the undead…time to test that." Goblin Slayer threw both vials in an upward arcing motion threw the barrier over the horde. "Shoot now!"
High Elf Archer let loose two arrows that easily shattered the vials and allowed the contents to rain down on the creatures below. The undead were oblivious to the liquid that now coated their bodies as they continued to push against the invisible wall, but the Armored Skeleton gasped when he realized what the adventurers were up to.
"Use Holy Smite!"
"Lord of Judgement, sword-prince, scale-bearer, display here your power…Holy Smite!" Apprentice Cleric lifted her sword and scales pointing at the mob as a bolt of lightning flew forward.
The lightning hit the nearest creature then branched off towards others and in that instance ignited the gasoline the coated the undead. In a blaze of fire the creatures were surrounded by flames, impervious to the pain of the flames, they continued to attack in a frightening display. At first it would appear that all Goblin Slayer did was create an army of flaming monsters but soon the bodies began to collapse from the damage created by the fire. As Protection ended, the massive army was reduced to roughly ten creatures, Goblin Slayer and the others went to work quickly finishing off the last of the creatures before everyone turned their attention toward Armored Skeleton.
"Most impressive…you are the first to be able to deal with the horde without losing any of your companions." Armored Skelton tightened his grip around his battle ax as he prepared to attack. "Unlike you all though, I never tire so I can fight longer than any of you can last. You will return with me this instant!"
"You can go back to whatever hell you came from, I will no longer be her plaything!"
"So be it."
Just as Armored Skelton was ready to attack, several voices could be heard approaching them. They looked out to see dozens of lights coming toward them, torches carried by others.
"Dwarves…my kin." Dwarf Shaman smiled as he saw the rest of his kinsman approaching.
Armored Skeleton hissed as he backed away into the shadows of the trees, even he was not foolish enough to take on these adventurers and the dwarf reinforcements. There were other undead all throughout the forest so it was unlikely that they would pursue him.
"It looks as though you have been spared, you will not be so fortunate the next time we meet in battle."
He vanished into the darkness, none of the adventurers gave chase as they slowly went about catching their breath. The young demon girl tucked her daggers away and replaced her hood over her head, not eager to allow the dwarves to recognize what she was.
"Thank you." She smiled and bowed her head toward the Spearman.
"Don't thank me…thank him." Spearman gestured toward Goblin Slayer before walking over toward the wagon. "I just hope we haven't made a big mistake."
The demon girl sighed as she heard the anger in the human's voice then slowly approached the man in the dirty leather armor.
"Thank you sir, for protecting me."
Goblin Slayer turned toward her, at first glance she too thought he was an undead given his state of armor and glowing red eye.
"You seemed to be frightened of that skeleton."
"I was…I did not want to head back…although I think my brother may still be in danger, and may yet be a danger to all of us." The demon girl sighed as she thought about her brother still in the lich's castle. "I'll be on my way as soon as possible…don't want to be seen with a demon right?"
"That doesn't matter to me."
The demon girl turned toward this armored man with a look of shock, he knew she was a demon and wasn't bothered by her presence.
"You're not a goblin and needed help."
The demon girl suddenly turned her head away and pulled her hood up higher as to hide the pinkish hue that crossed her face. Priestess and High Elf Archer both growled in frustration at the sight of Goblin Slayer giving his attention to this demon girl.
"Honored Uncle." Dwarf Shaman happily embraced his uncle.
"Nephew, thank the gods you and the others are alright. We saw the flames while searching for the undead and thought the worst." Honored Uncle gave Dwarf Shaman a hardy clap on the back. "Well done all of you."
The dwarves looked over the bodies of the undead while High Elf Archer went to work retrieving her arrows, taking very careful care to clean them of their foul stench before replacing them in her quiver. Honored Uncle was delighted to see the various adventurers that had accompanied his nephew, even the elf, but was surprised at the sight of Goblin Slayer and the black dire wolf.
"By the gods…is he one of the undead as well, and what is that, his hell hound?" Honored Uncle smiled as he inspected this oddly dressed individual.
"This is Beardcutter."
"This is Beardcutter? He doesn't look quite like what I imagined, but if you trust him that's good enough for me." Honored Uncle then looked over toward the young girl in the black hood and immediately frowned as he tightened his grip around his sword. "What is she doing here?"
The other dwarves turned and readied their weapons at the sight of the young demon girl. The young demon girl grew nervous as she started to back up only to have Wolf stand before her growling at the approaching dwarves. Goblin Slayer then walked forward and stood beside Wolf placing his hand upon his sword surprising not only the rest of his party members but the demon girl behind him.
"Enough."
"You there…Beardcutter. That's a demon behind you." Honored Uncle and the others stopped their advance but still watched the demon girl.
"This girl helped us during the attack. She knows the enemy and may be of help to us." Goblin Slayer turned toward the demon girl behind him.
"I'll tell you all what you need to know, and I have a map of the inside of her castle." The demon girl nodded her head toward Goblin Slayer.
Honored Uncle frowned as he looked over the demon girl then back toward Goblin Slayer and Wolf then sighed in defeat as he turned around to walk back toward the other dwarves.
"You best keep an eye on her, demons are known to kill you in your sleep." Honored Uncle then looked toward the wagon and the partially devoured horse to instruct the other dwarves to unload the cargo. "They won't be getting far with that, gather their supplies, we make for the fortress to regroup with the others."
The rest of Goblin Slayer's friends and comrades walked toward him and Wolf to express their concerns over his most recent actions.
"What the hell are you on about Beardcutter?" Dwarf Shaman too growled in frustration at the demeanor of his friend. "Why the hell are you so trusting of that girl, you just met her?"
"I have to agree Goblin Slayer, doesn't all of this seem a bit rushed." Priestess cautiously looked over the demon girl who had an unsure look about her own face.
"I hope you can at least explain yourself to us Orcbolg?"
"Look at Wolf." Goblin Slayer motioned toward the dire wolf beside him and the demon girl.
Everyone looked toward Wolf, he was simply standing their looking at them. There seemed to be nothing incredibly special about what Wolf was doing so it was Spearman who finally asked the question.
"What's so special about this dumb beast here?"
"He has not attempted to growl at this girl. Animals are naturally cautious of things they don't trust, the fact he has not shown any aggression to her means he trusts her and I trust him." Goblin Slayer then made his way toward the wagon to retrieve the special cargo given to him by the blacksmith followed by Wolf then turned toward the demon girl. "Are you coming?"
"Huh…oh yes sir." The demon girl ran to catch up Goblin Slayer and Wolf.
The rest of his party was left there to watch the three walk toward the wagon without them. Priestess closed her eyes and sighed as she looked toward the ground, her jealousy had caused her to doubt in Goblin Slayer's judgement and now he was walking away from her again. The others then followed behind the trio and managed to catch up with them and followed behind the dwarves.
"Once we are out of the woods, you will tell us the whole story yes?" Goblin Slayer turned toward the demon girl.
"Yes sir."
Goblin Slayer slung the large bundle over his shoulder before he and Wolf followed behind the dwarves and soon came upon a large clearing with several wagons.
"Load up the wagons, we still have a long day's ride ahead of us." Honored Uncle quickly boarded the nearest wagon while nodding to his nephew. "We'll talk more when we're back at the fortress."
Their first battle with the undead had ended in victory for Goblin Slayer and his comrades, but there was still unease at the withdrawal of Armored Skeleton and now the presence of the demon girl on the wagon with them. As the wagons moved away from the clearing, the white dire wolf came out from behind the trees to watch them, as she picked up on the scent of the other dire while moving away with them she decided to run after them.
xxxx
It took most of the day until Armored Skeleton reached the Lich Queen's castle. The castle was made of blacked stone that seemed to spiral upward with unnatural designs, ice clung to the top of the spires as the wind and snow blew around it. Armored Skeleton waited for the draw bridge to drop before entering into the castle in the main courtyard were hundreds of skeletal warriors with various weapons who parted to the side as their master walked past them. With the castle the moans and cries of the living dead echoed as the majority of the horde was kept below in the catacombs. He proceeded forward into the main hall where the massive Lich Queen sat upon her throne. He immediately got down on one knee and bowed his head while she slowly stood and approached him.
"What news?"
"Me queen…I was unable to retrieve the girl."
The Lich Queen stopped upon hearing the news, although he could not see her face from behind the black veil, he could feel her cold dead eyes upon him. With a growl she lunged for the Armored Skeleton, wrapping her right hand around his neck and effortlessly lifting him some eight feet into the air until they were face to face.
"Your stupidity knows no end. Your only saving grace is that I require your military insight for controlling the others." Lich Queen then tossed the Armored Skelton back to the ground as she paced around her throne room.
"My deepest apologies my queen. She ran into a group of adventurers who were able to deal with the horde." Armored Skeleton grunted as he picked himself up from the floor.
"Adventurers…fool! With that girl gone one of my horcruxes is now in danger. It would seem that my direct intervention is now required."
"My queen, but even with the girl gone that would only put one of the horcrux you possess in harm's way."
"And I should lose one? You damned fool, I don't intend to lose a single one…if they are destroyed I will become vulnerable. I have not lived for thousands of years to let everything fall to the way side." Lich Queen held out her right hand and suddenly a black, curved sword appeared in her hand. "Tell the boy of his sister…we may have use for him tonight."
"Yes my queen."
"Tell me, have the elves and humans joined these dwarves at that damn fortress?"
"They have, and now some nine adventurers and the girl have joined with them. On another important note, it would seem that the Hero has been dispatched with the battalion of humans."
"The Hero? The one who defeated the demon lord yes?"
"Yes my queen."
"How wonderful." Lich Queen then broke into a fit of laughter, slow at first then building to a faster pace as she threw her head back.
xxxx
The group reached the large dwarven fortress by the middle of the day, still tired from the journey and the fighting they quickly unloaded their gear and were set up in separate rooms. The four girls then turned their attention toward the young demon girl who sat quietly on the last bed with her back to them while nervously looking at the ground. The four looked at one another until High Elf Archer growled in frustration.
"Damn it this is getting uncomfortable!"
The demon girl shuddered at the sounds, she had a feeling they might try something and had her daggers ready if that happened, but would rather not kill those that had helped her.
"I'm…sorry for our earlier behavior."
The response the demon heard was surprising to say the least, she turned to look at them with wide eyes to see the four smiling back at her before each bowed their heads.
"Truly, we should not have rushed to a hasty judgment based on your race. Please forgive us." Priestess once again bowed her head while her sounding staff jingled.
"Thank you…for your understanding and for protecting me." The demon girl removed her hood and then calmly undid her cloak.
Her attire was much like what the Rookie Warrior was wearing, although black in color and she wore dark brown gloved and boots, beneath her garments was a thin layer of chain mail to protect her body without hindering her mobility.
"I should be thanking you, you made sure to protect me and Priestess while taking on those undead." Apprentice Cleric smiled as she nodded toward the young demon girl happy to have another girl around her age to speak with.
"I do understand how people can jump to conclusions based on the fact that I am a demon…or rather half-demon."
"You're a half-demon…"
Before High Elf Archer could finish, their door was suddenly and forcefully opened as Spearman and the other men barged in.
"Ladies don't mind me…I do hope your decent?"
"Please pardon us?" Rookie Warrior blushed while nodding his head toward the others.
"You damn pervert, hoping to catch us off guard huh?" Apprentice Cleric frowned while turning her head, also bushing as well.
"I would have expected this from the dwarf but I'm surprised at you two." High Elf Archer teased as she looked toward Goblin Slayer and Lizard Priest.
"That was not my intention."
"Nor mine Lady Ranger."
"We came to see how our new "friend" was doing." Spearman frowned as he looked over at demon girl sitting on the bed. "So tell us about yourself "friend"."
The demon girl frowned at the accusing tone of this adventurer, then smiled as she decided that she would have some fun with them.
"Fool!" She stood and gestured with her hands as she tried to look as intimidating as possible. "You dare anger a centuries-old demon who has laid waste to countless…"
"Didn't you say you were half-demon?" Priestess was puzzled by her sudden behavior and change in story.
The demon girl stood there in her pose with mouth wide open as she looked toward Priestess then back to the group before recomposing herself.
"Ye…yes a centuries-old half-demon who has laid waste to countless…"
She stopped as the large dire wolf nudged her side, she looked down at the wolf who turned his head toward its left side curiously. She looked up and grew nervous as she looked toward the oddly dressed Goblin Slayer and swore that she could see red eyes glowing within the darkness.
"How old?" Goblin Slayer's response was so cold it made the demon girl shiver.
"Seventeen…I'm a seventeen year old half-demon." She dropped her arms with a loud sigh as she plopped back on the bed. "I was trying to have some fun, but so much for that."
"Alright lass, Beardcutter and Wolf seem to have put their faith in you, so I'm going to do the same." Dwarf Shaman placed his hands on his knees as he too sat down to listen. "Tell us the whole thing."
"I was running from the Lich Queen. I worked for her as a thief and assassin." Half-Demon Thief sighed as she recalled the tale. "My older brother and I both served her until I found out about her plans."
"Wait a minute, you worked with the enemy?" High Elf Archery was rather angry to hear that this girl was involved with the one who brought back her kinsmen as the undead.
"I won't deny it, her interest was in humans and for me and my brother anything to get back at the humans was worth it." Half-Demon Thief then looked toward the humans in the room and sighed. "I'm sorry for what I said, but the same way you were angry with me for being a demon, I was angry with humans for what they did to us."
"What…do you mean…what humans…did?" Witch took a drag on her pipe before blowing out a stream of smoke to the side.
"My mother was human and my father was a demon. She wasn't some demon cult worshiper and my father wasn't some minion of the demon lord…they were just two people who fell in love with each other. That was their only crime." Half-Demon Thief found that her hands were shaking so she quickly closed her them to form fists to stop herself. "When we were born, my mother made sure to tell the others in our village we were the product of a night of passion with a dark elf, it was still frowned upon but people mostly left us alone, until the day my father was killed. He knew he could not be with us long term because it would put us all in danger, but one day, four years ago, as he was leaving our house, he was killed by the village guard and the truth had been revealed."
"I'm sorry to hear about your father my dear, even if he was a demon he sounds like he was an admirable fellow." Lizard Priest bowed his head and placed his hands together.
"What happened afterwards?" Rookie Warrior was also saddened to hear about her past but also wanted to know the rest of the tale.
"My brother and I were thrown in prison, a form of leniency since we were still children, while our mother was beaten to death by the villagers for being a demon worshiper." Half-Demon Thief found tears hitting her fists and quickly rubbed her eyes to wipe them away. "The humans left us in that prison for about a month, while they decided what they would do with us. In that time, my brother and I had dug our way out and escaped into the woods. We spent the next year training in the art of thieving and assassination before we came back to the village and took our revenge on the people who had known us for more than ten years, yet the moment they realized we were part demon they treated us like dangerous animals. After the night, I just wanted to go away, somewhere far away, but my bother said we weren't done with the humans."
"And you followed after your older brother?" Goblin Slayer looked toward the small girl to see tears in her eyes and her body slightly shaking.
"He's my only family, I had to follow him." Half-Demon Thief turned her head away from them. "There…now you know my horrible past. What will you do now?"
The group was silent as they heard her story, truly heard her story, like she said, the true question was now that they knew about her, what would they do with her.
"Is your brother still with this…what was it called?" Goblin Slayer looked toward the others in his party.
"You mean the lich? Yes he's still with her." Half-Demon Thief was the one who responded with a surprised look about her face.
"Yes that thing, then if we defeat this lich we should be able to retrieve your brother. Tell us about this lich."
"You mean you'll help me…I can stay with you all?" Half-Demon Thief was at a loss for words as she looked around to see the others, even Spearman, smiling back at her.
"Yes."
"Th…thank you." Half-Demon Thief once again had to wipe her eyes, in the last four years she had not received such kindness from anyone.
Before she could give them any further information though, there was a knock at the door. As Lizard Priest opened the door he found a dwarf present requesting the party's presence with the war council. The party members left their room following behind the dwarf as they moved through the fortress. Half-Demon Thief had a surprised look about her face as she looked at all the humans, elves and dwarves present in this fortress, but the look about her face was not one of joy but concern. The others looked over this group suspiciously, particularly Goblin Slayer, Wolf and Half-Demon Thief.
Soon the party was led to the room that housed Honored Uncle, Elven Leader and the Human Commander. The three nodded their heads toward the party but grew concerned with the presence of the demon with the party. As Goblin Slayer and Wolf entered the room, there was a cheerful voice that called out to him.
"I remember you!"
Goblin Slayer turned to see a trio of young women approach him, their leader was a girl with reddish hair and apricot-colored eyes.
"It is you right? The one from that Frontier Village, you were digging holes on the outskirts of the village."
"Yes."
"So what were you doing that night?" The Sword Master was curious to know what this oddly dressed individual had been up to.
"Preparing for goblins."
"Goblins, does one really need to prepare for such weak creatures?" Sage shook her head at the thought of having to do so much for just mere goblins.
"Didn't I tell you all that goblin are truly fearsome creatures?" Hero then thought about what she had said and turned back toward this man and knew who he was. "You're this Goblin Slayer then yes?"
"I am Goblin Slayer." Goblin Slayer replied as he looked over the three young females in front of him, once again unaware of the frustrated looks he was getting from Priestess, High Elf Archer and now Half-Demon Thief.
"It's good to see you…wait, what is she doing here?" Hero drew out her sword and pointed it at Half-Demon Thief.
Sage and Sword Master joined Hero and readied themselves to attack while Half-Demon Thief drew out both daggers to defend herself. Before anyone could attack though, Goblin Slayer stood before them all with left arm raised, motioning for Half-Demon Thief to stay behind him.
"What are you doing?" Hero was angry that he would stand between her and this demon.
"She has information on this lich or whatever it is called." Goblin Slayer lowered his arm and turned to see Half-Demon Thief put away her weapons and back up toward the rest of Goblin Slayer's party.
"That demon is going to help us?" Hero angrily put away her sword before walking away with the rest of her party. "Nothing good can come from working with a demon…perhaps I was wrong about you."
Goblin Slayer didn't care about what these girls thought of him, and the rest of his party knew this, but also knew that now was not the best time for such an attitude.
"Then why don't we have this little demon tell us something useful." Human Commander sneered as he looked over the demon. "That is assuming she's not here to kill us in our sleep."
"I am a trained assassin, I'd watch my mouth." Half-Demon Thief glared at this human with disgust as she had for other humans.
"You're not helping…I'd swear that you've been hanging around Orcbolg for too long." High Elf Archer sighed as she placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder.
"Fine." Half-Demon Thief sighed as she changed her tone to warn them. "Before leaving, I managed to create a map of the Lich Queen's castle and know the location of her three horcruxes."
"What's a horcrux?" Hero was slightly intrigued by the sound of unfamiliar word.
"An object that part of the spell caster's soul has been placed in, unless these items are destroyed, the spell caster will maintain his or her immortality. Before we go any further, please tell me that the people I've seen here is not your full forces?"
"Of course not you foolish girl, there are others in the banquet hall and stable areas. We would not be so stupid as to attack with only a few dozen." Human Commander scoffed at the idea of this demon underestimating them.
"With our combined forces we are a little over 1500." Elf Leader replied ignoring the pompous human.
"That's all…are any more reinforcements coming?"
"This is all we have, why are you so concerned?" Honored Uncle frowned as he stroked his beard. "From what we've seen on our little excursions, the horde should be in the hundreds at most."
"Those you've seen are the few the Lich has allowed to out of the castle. The force she will be bringing to you is over 15,000 strong."