The King awoke from his dream with a start; he placed his left hand against the left side of his head. His body was drenched with sweat as it took him a few moments to check his surroundings where he found himself within his bedchamber. With a final grunt he stood and walked toward the window and looked out over the capital. His castle was in the center of the capital where he ruled; the capital itself was massive, not merely the home for hundreds but thousands, the massive city was broken up into several town sized districts each governed by people personally selected by the king, those who had fought alongside his own party when they first went to deal with the Demon Lord. Like Water Town, massive canals crisscrossed the massive city allowing for merchants to bring in and sell their goods to the people.
"It's still there…peaceful for the time being." The King sighed as a small smile crossed his face.
In his dream he, Sword Maiden and the Hero battled wave after wave of horrid monsters, but these monsters had been citizens and his own soldiers moments before they transformed. The trio continued to battle as the capital was set ablaze around them and before he awoke he could see a figure shrouded in darkness looking over them as a sinister laughed escaped his lips.
"Just a dream but why do I still feel uneasy?"
The door to his bedchamber opened and his attendants entered and bowed their heads toward him.
"Good morning my lord, I see that you have already awakened."
"Indeed, just looking over everything." The King frowned as a new thought crossed his mind that could account for the unease he felt. "Have we finally located him?"
"No sir. The murderer referred to as the Highway Man has not been apprehended though…his handy work is still plain for all to see."
Over the last few nights multiple bodies had been discovered in two of the nearby districts. The victims included local citizens and some of his own knights; the poor souls looked as if they had been hacked apart by some horrendous blade, other appeared to have been torn apart barehanded.
"It would seem that whoever helped him escape, has given him new arms to use in his revenge. What worries me is the reports of the scene of his attacks, bloodstains upon the walls nearly ten feet high. How the hell could he have done something like that?"
"Double the patrols in the areas his attacks have been focused in, he is a creature of habit. Continue to advise the people in the area to remain in door come nighttime."
"At once my lord."
"What of the reports of oddly dressed individuals robbing graves or the odd monsters sighted in the countryside? Any connection to the Demon Lord or his worshipers? And have any of the other kingdom reported these strange occurrences?"
"We are continuing to monitor the reports from people and adventurers, nothing within the capital yet. These men don't appear to be with the demon lord, only the dead have been scavenged, no living victims have been abducted for sacrifice. The nearest kingdom to us has not mentioned any sightings themselves, their king has replied that we should be able to take care of our own problems and not bother them unless it concerns the fate of the world."
"Damn pompous fool, his arrogance was present at our war council as well, only interested in the spoils of the war. How I wish his older brother had survived, fair and compassionate man, he would have made a fine king. I shudder to think what kind of treatment that fool king is forcing upon his people." The King sighed in frustration as he saw the sun begin to rise over the horizon and a final check of the capital reassured him that there would be peace for the moment. "Send word major settlements like Water Town and Mountain Pass to be on guard."
"At once my Lord."
"Not even two full years since the resurrection of the Demon Lord and were still trying to finish the repairs to the Capital yet I fear that something big is on the horizon…these small disturbances are just the beginning."
xxxx
Deep in the bowels of the sewer, the monstrous Highway Man stalked through the large underground passage with half the body of woman in his hands. He brought the corpse to his and took a bite of her flesh as if he were eating a turkey leg. He chuckled to himself as he neared the main chamber where the Necromancer and his Faceless Men were working on next experiment.
"Ah Highway Man…I trust your nightly activities have been successful once again?"
"Is that not obvious by the snack in my hands?"
"I trust the modifications we made for you have been useful?"
His once torn clothing had been repaired as the Faceless Men went about stitching together various pieces of cloth and leather to replicate the former attire. Though it was clear the clothing was nothing more than patchwork, Highway man was more than appreciative, especially with all the new weapons provided for him. Long swords and claymores had been seized and reshaped to look more like the jagged daggers Highway Man had been using when he roamed the countryside. Highway Man went about store all the blades within his waistcoat and belt.
"It fits like a glove." Highway Man chuckled then looked over the latest experiment. "What the hell are you working on now?"
On the large table was the corpse of a massive creature covered in white fur, the visible parts of his flesh like its face and hands were gray in color. Through the aid of another group of hunters, Necromancer had procured three yetis, the other two angrily banged against there cages while the third lay motionless. The top of its head had the fur removed and there were signs that a large cut had been made all the way around the skull. Nearby the body was the corpse of one of the Faceless Men, the top of his head had been cut precisely and the brain could not be seen.
"While having the people around us turn into monsters will be sufficient enough to test my theory of chaos, what they need is something to guide them in my absence. That is where this experiment will come in, by transplanting the mind of one of my followers into this beast…I will have created another masterpiece." Necromancer smiled as he finished the last of the stitching and reached for a vial of the elixir. "Now…let us see what happens next."
Necromancer poured the fluorescent, green liquid into the mouth of the yeti and took a step back to watch with anticipation what would happen. In his mind, if this body did not work out, he still had two other yetis to experiment on. The Highway Man, Faceless Men and Necromancer watched the as the body began to trash about violently, the once dead creature suddenly roared with life as it got off the massive table and stood, standing nearly as tall as the Highway Man. Necromancer smiled as he approached the revived yeti who directed its red eyes at the man in the dark robes.
"My loyal follower, can you understand me?"
The yeti curiously looked at Necromancer, its mind slowly recalling everything from the past body and attempting to function within this one.
"Ma…mas…master. I…hear and…obey." The yeti struggled to speak but finally recalled everything and bowed its head towards the Necromancer.
"Magnificent." Necromancer had a sinister smile that crossed his face as he looked up toward the yeti. "Now…can you use the beasts magic?"
The newly resurrected yeti looked towards its hands, it growled as the human mind tried to force the yeti body to reproduce ice. Little by little a mist began to form from the palm until finally it managed to create shards of ice within its hand.
"That will do nicely. What do you think my Highway Man?"
"So long as this beast doesn't get in my way of slaughtering the innocent, I have no problems."
"Continue to push that body to its limits until you are able to freely use its ice magic." Necromancer chuckled before turning towards the others Faceless Men. "We have two more of these Ice Giants to create and tell the others I need two more volunteers."
xxxx
"So there I was, surrounded by the Gith in the Astral Plane, Scaly and Long Ears were on their last legs when I came in used my Stone Blast to save them." Dwarf Shaman smiled as he told Half-Dragon Daughter all about their adventurers in the Astral Plane.
"What's happening?" High Elf Archer looked around the Guild Hall with a confused look on her face. "Did…did I die back there?"
"Even as they closed in and I was out of spells…I had my trusty ax to keep me going!"
"Wow! You're amazing Grandpa!" Half-Dragon Daughter turned her stary eyes towards her father. "Is all of that true papa?"
"Sir Mage does like to embellish a bit unfortunately." Lizard Priest chuckled as he happily ate his cheese.
"You're grandpa has been helping himself to more of his fire wine I think." Half-Dragon Mother smiled as she cleared the empty plates from their table. "Anything else my love?"
"You spoil me enough my dear."
"That's it then. I died back in the Astral Plane and am now trapped here in this hell forced to listen to this fat dwarf's exaggerations." High Elf Archer laughed as she nursed her mug of wine. "And here I was worried for a bit."
"Bah. What the point of telling an exciting story if you don't add a few extra details here and there." Dwarf Shaman smiled as he continued to drink his fire wine.
Life at the Guild was back to normal, and while the rest of Goblin Slayer's party conversed and told their stories to the young Half-Dragon Daughter, their leader spoke with his colleagues.
"There was a goblin face attached to the body?"
Goblin Slayer had a moment to speak with Heavy Warrior and Spearman about the odd monster they had discovered. The beast, a flesh golem, was created using the body parts of various beings, with the left nothing more than elongated claw while the right side had two smaller arms for grabbing. A week had passed since his fight with the goblins in the village of the Hero, though he had overcome the curse, he was forbidden to undertake any quests until he had at least a full seven days to rest. During these seven days he would continue with his training with his sling and Southern throwing knife, the rest of his party had come by to visit with him. Three days ago, Priestess and Half-Demon Thief had been invited by Rookie Warrior and his party to accompany them on a quest since they had been invited earlier on.
"That night those people came in, they mentioned sighting these odd monsters around the area, nothing like the goblins, trolls or what have they would normally encounter." Heavy Warrior sighed as he nursed his drink wondering what could have created such a beast.
"About five days after they took you to the temple, we found the beats and slayed it. The creature had a tough hide, even the big guy's sword couldn't split it in two as he did with the goblin champion." Spearman too drank his ale as he conversed with Goblin Slayer. "As bad as the monster was, I'm surprised you were putting up with a curse for almost four months and it's the damn Lich Queen of all things. Speaking of which, where is she?"
"I am hear Spearman, always listening and ready to offer what aid I can." Though not present, the Lich Queen's voice could be heard emanating from Goblin Slayer's sword. "Back to the creature you described, it sounds like a flesh golem, similar to a war-forged, it is an artificial construct given new life."
"So is it like the undead you were controlling in the north?" Spearman found it odd to be talking to basically thin air since the Lich Queen had not materialized before them.
"Not quite, the undead I controlled were nothing more than puppets, there only function was to feed. These creatures are living once again; life, the soul…whatever you want to call it, has been reintroduced into these creatures. They are thinking, even if it is simple thoughts, they can understand direction from their Master…the one who reassembled them…this Necromancer."
"Assuming you're right and we're dealing with a Necromancer, where could this individual be hiding to be able to release them in different locations and not be seen?" Spearman finished his beer and raised his hand to order another.
"That is also assuming there is only one Necromancer. Do not forget that man in the plague mask who silenced the salvers and himself in front of Beloved's party. I would imagine that if you find these men, you'll find your answers."
"This Necromancer appears to be using the goblins for his own purposes…that alone is enough to stop him." Goblin Slayer too finished his beer as he thought about a person using the goblins, someone similar to Beast Master.
"Glad to see that you have your priorities set there Goblin Slayer. Heaven forbid this actually ends up saving the world." Spearman chuckled before drinking his ale.
"Speaking of goblins, when the people came in, they did mention seeing creatures that looked like massive goblins." Heavy Warrior smirked as he knew saying this would immediately set Goblin Slayer on to his next quest.
"Possibly Goblin Champions…I'll have to start my investigations tomorrow."
"You all purposely want him to get back out there and fight again don't you?"
The angry voice brought a smile to Spearman and Heavy Warrior's face as they turned to see the angry High Elf Archer, Lizard Priest and Dwarf Shaman approach them in the tavern.
"You've only had a week to rest, you need more time Orcbolg." High Elf Archer worried that he was putting far too much stress on his body, and she was not alone. "These humans don't live very long, after a certain point their bodies no longer respond they way they want it to, I wish he would slow down."
"She's right Beardcutter, I'd recommend at least another week so that you've fully recovered."
"Not necessary, I've had my body checked over and if I continue to rest, more goblins will show up."
"Then if you are truly set to investigate these tales of massive goblins, we shall accompany you." Lizard Priest smiled as he nodded his head in approval. "Though I know you are a capable adventurer, as your friend I do worry you push yourself too much."
"Thank you. We'll depart in the morning and we'll bring Wolf and Snow with us."
That evening, Goblin Slayer returned back to the farm to make one final inspection of the grounds before going inside the farmhouse to eat. Wolf and Snow trotted over to playfully rub up against Goblin Slayer who went about calmly petting their heads. Goblin Slayer then paused as he studied Snow, he carefully went about pressing her sides as the dire wolf curiously looked toward him.
"Hmm."
"How far along do you think she is?"
Goblin Slayer turned to see Cow Girl smile as she walked toward him and the dire wolves, they themselves happily approached her and nuzzled up against her.
"Wolves got into heat during February and March, judging by her current size…she's nearly one month along."
"Hear that Wolf…you're going to be a father." Cow Girl smiled as she scratched the top of Wolf's head. "Not even half a year in and already he and Snow had been quite busy. That dream I had…that daughter we had…from what the Lich Queen said I need to be more proactive, otherwise I'll miss out on my chance."
"A month…maybe five weeks."
"How big can the little be?"
"As big as nine…as small as one…I think she'll have three, maybe four."
"When that does happen, we'll have to make sure to name each and every one of them."
"Tomorrow morning, my party, the dire wolves and I are going to investigate those claims of the monstrous goblins."
Cow Girl sighed as she looked up toward Goblin Slayer with a frown upon her face.
"Afterall you've been through, you're going back?" Cow Girl like the others was not happy by this news.
"I need to make sure that goblin champions aren't moving into the area. If they're part of a horde, they need to be dealt with. I'm also making sure not to do this alone, I'm…trying to be more careful and considerate of others."
Cow Girl was indeed surprised to hear the last part from him, and with a final sigh smiled as she relented in her attempt to stop him.
"You be careful out there, even with Wolf and Snow with you, please don't over do it."
"I'll do my best."
"Come on then, let's get some dinner."
xxxx
Priestess and Half-Demon Thief were happy to once again be traveling with Rookie Warrior and Apprentice Cleric, but now they also were lucky to have Fighter alongside them. Among the group was an middle-aged figured in a plain tunic and white hair, to most he would appear to be just an old man, what was most unique about him were the two long hears above his head. The old man was a member of the Harefolk, sometimes preferred to as Grasswalkers, he had come to the guild in search of adventurers to aid their village. An unknown group of mercenaries had been attacked their village, stealing away several of their people, injuring others who attempted to stop them.
"Strange they didn't try to kill any of the villagers?" Half-Demon Thief pondered aloud as they continued toward the village.
"You think there's a chance they're still alive?" Rookie Warrior turned toward his colleague as they continued on.
"There's a possibility, I was thinking as an assassin and thief myself, I would not want to leave any witnesses around." Half Demon Thief carefully eyed the Older Harefolk beside them. "It's highly unlikely that any of them are still alive, but I can't tell him that."
"I am just thankful that I was able to find five capable adventurers to aid me and my village against these bandits." Older Harefolk smiled as she looked around at the five adventurers. "My own Son wishes to become an adventurer himself and went out to find others to aid our village as well."
"Is that right, what type of skills does your daughter employ?" Apprentice Cleric was happy to discuss these pleasant matters rather than focus on anything negative at the moment.
"He's an accomplished Arbalist. I taught him myself."
"Arbalist?" Apprentice Cleric was not too familiar with the term.
"It means he's proficient with a crossbow." Fighter corrected her friend when she noticed the village starting to come into view. "I see a village up ahead."
"That would be it, it's a bit of a trek from here to Frontier Town and back, but I'm thankful for your aid in this matter."
The party entered the village late in the afternoon, were they were greeted by the others in the villagers with warm smiles.
"Father, you made it back!"
A new voiced drew everyone's attention to the side to see a young male Harefolk walling towards him. Like his father, he too had long ears above his head, but had blonde hair as opposed to his father's white hair; he was dressed in a familiar tunic like his father, blue in color, with a dark green over it. As expected of an archer his armor was very light to allow for mobility, he had a simple chest plate across his chest, along his wrists and forearms were black leather bracers and metal greaves to protect his shins. Slung over his shoulder was his crossbow and along his back was a quiver filled with his arrows.
"I'm glad to see you as well son."
Older Harefolk eagerly extended his arm out to his son where both took hold of the other's wrist.
"How many did you manage to find father?"
"Five fine adventurers. What of you?"
"I ran into these two on my journey."
Behind him were two figures, one was a young boy with glasses and red hair with staff in hand while the other was a much shorter girl wearing light armor and black leggings, a short sword and shield attached to her back, the one thing both had in common was the obsidian tags around their necks. Though Fighter and Half-Demon Thief were unfamiliar with the two, Priestess, Rookie Warrior and Apprentice Cleric were delighted to see these two.
"It's you two, I'm so happy we were able to meet again." Priestess was immediately happy to see Wizard Boy and Rhea Fighter.
"Well we meet ag…wait what is that round your neck!" Wizard Boy was shocked as he pointed to tag around.
Priestess was a bit confused as she looked at her tag and remembered that when they last saw her, she was Steel ranked and now she had finally moved up Sapphire after their rescue of the young women three months ago. Wizard Boy looked towards all of them and could see the others also had Obsidian tags around their necks, save one person.
"You just wait, I'll be moving to Gold soon enough." Wizard Boy turned his face away from the rest with a pout present on his face.
"It's good to see you again. Oh, I see some new faces." Rhea Fighter smiled as she spotted the two new faces within the group.
"My apologies, these are our comrades, Half-Demon Thief is part of my party's group while Fighter is a part of the Rookie Warrior's party. We've formed a temporary party to aid the Harefolk."
"A pleasure to meet you." Rhea Fighter smiled as she bowed her head toward the two new figures.
"A demon thief? And you're part of the Guild?" Wizard Boy was surprised to hear this.
"Half-Demon, but yes I am registered with the Guild."
"Well as someone who already had experience with these ones, I'll be more than happy to take you under my wing. Just try to keep…up?"
Wizard Boy suddenly noticed the thief was gone in the moment he closed his eyes; he began to look around when he felt the tough of cold metal press against his throat. He had not seen her use her agility to leap behind him and bring up her dagger to his throat.
"I am so pleased that you'll be teaching me…and if you're lucky I'll be teaching you." Half-Demon Thief smirked as she whispered this into his ear as seductively as possible. "I'm a trained assassin so I'm quite adept in dispatching unwanted individuals."
"Wait…please don't hurt…him?"
Priestess stopped herself when she noticed that Half-Demon Thief held the dull side of her dagger against his throat, Half-Demon Thief smiled as she looked toward Priestess then gave a wink to Rhea Fighter to assure her he would not hurt him. She quickly removed her dagger and tucked it away while Wizard Boy calmly touched his neck to see if there was any bleeding.
"You…you nearly…"
"It's a little hard to cut your throat with the dull side of my blade. You seemed so confident in your ability so…I though a bit of teasing was in order." Half-Demon Thief smiled toward the flustered young man then bowed her head towards him. "My apologies. It was in very poor taste…especially as your senior."
"Senior…how old are you?"
"Just turned 18, and you?" Half-Demon Thief smirked as she looked toward the nervous young man.
"…16…"
Fighter took notice of the young boy, the color of his hair, glasses, face and color of his tunic and cape.
"Priestess…doesn't he look like the Wizard who was a part of our group." Fighter leaned over toward Priestess to whisper to her friend about her observations.
"Yes. He is her younger brother." Priestess had not had the time to share with him that she had known his sister during their time some eight months ago. "I'll have to find the time to share that with him…and offer my sympathies."
Before they could go continue with their conversation any further, Older Harefolk called their attention.
"This is the spot where the bandits entered our village. Must have been about a dozen of them…maybe fifteen." Harefolk pointed toward the eastern side of their village. "The bandits attacked the houses nearest the edge of the village, we came into action the moment we heard the cries for aid. We managed to kill three of them, they only injured our people rather than kill and escaped with eight of our people. Three children, two females, one young male and two elderly."
"That's troublesome. I apologize if my comment sounds rather cold, I am happy that none of your people suffered any fatalities during the attack, but it seems odd they would take such precautions to take live victims and only injure others…even at the cost of their own." Half-Demon Thief made sure to be as calm and precise in her comments to the Older Harefolk.
"You're thinking they might have been like those bandits we dealt with three months ago?" Rookie warrior was quick to make the connection to their previous quest.
"That though also crossed my mind." Half-Demon Thief quickly nodded towards her colleague.
"It sounds as though you've seen this group before…or rather a similar group. Then these bandits might be part of an evil sect." Wizard Boy pondered as he scratched his chin.
"Then…those that were taken, they may…" Rhea Fighter frowned as she imagined the worst-case scenario, much like what she had seen that night on the training grounds.
"We shall operate under the assumption that they are still alive until proven otherwise." Priestess knew full well that it was highly unlikely but was quick to catch sight of the other villagers around them.
"Agreed. We'll make sure to secure the village first in case of a second attack then focus on recovery." Rookie Warrior could also pick up on what Priestess was going for and wanted to reassure the others.
"Thank you." Older Harefolk bowed his head towards party. "I need to speak with the rest of village, this will allow you the freedom prepare what you need. If there are any other questions you have, please speak with my son."
With a final bow, Older Harefolk ushered the rest of the villagers back to their houses while the adventurers turned their attention toward son.
"Thank you for your aid uh…" Priestess bowed her head towards the younger Harefolk but had not gotten his name yet.
"I've gained the moniker of the Bowman from the village based on my skills as a hunter." Harefolk Bowman smiled as gave his crossbow a few pats.
"Hunter…aren't Harefolk vegetarians?" Apprentice Cleric was confused by why he would have the title.
"True, but we're still expected to be cautious of threats to the village. For the most part it's been dealing with wild animals, and that's where I've been honing my skills…this recent attack caught most of us all by surprise. I assure you that I will not hold any of you back, so like it or not…I'm your sniper."
"We'll be counting on your skill for sure then." Fighter smiled as the young man did seem confident but did not act overconfident. "What can you tell us about the bandits who attacked?"
"Those that attacked us were human, we disposed of the bodies of the bandits once we had a taken care to check for anything that might have help us identify them." Harefolk Bowman sighed as he tried to think of anything that might help. "They were armed with daggers but had nothing else that might have identified them."
"No tattoos or markings? No pieces of jewelry on their person?" Half-Demon Thief pressed for any information that might help them.
"Wait…there was something that all three bodies had in common. On the left side of their necks there were two small puncture marks." Harefolk Bowman used two of the fingers on his right hand to point to the left side of his neck.
"Two holes in their neck?" Half-Demon Thief frowned as she though about what that meant. "When these bandits took your people, which direction were the heading too?"
"That direction." Harefolk Bowman pointed towards the east section of the nearby woods.
Through the woods, the party of adventurers could see what looked like a winding path, and far off in the distance they could see some structure near the mountain, much of it seem to be overgrown with the wild plants around it.
"That structure…what is that?" Wizard Boy studied it, even though they were far away from it, the structure was quite large.
"I haven't seen it myself, but from the stories I've heard it is the castle of a fallen minion of evil. It's been there since I can remember, the lord or whoever took up residence, had fallen during that struggle with the Demon Lord more than ten years ago. It's about three days travel from here by horse drawn cart…four days if we go by foot."
"A ruined castle…former stronghold of the forces of darkness…and two holes in the necks of the fallen bandits. It seems like we have our location to investigate." Half-Demon Thief frowned as she looked out at the castle structure.
"Why the castle? Do you know something we don't?" Wizard Boy frowned as he felt as if he was being pushed away from a more leader role.
"Based on the sounds of wounds on the necks of the bandits and an abandoned castle structure off in the distance, I'd say it's safe to say this village is being plagued by a vampire."
xxxx
Elsewhere within the woods, a lone figure looked over the carnage around him. Around him were the severed bodies of dark-skinned monsters, their bodies almost emaciated, lacking any sexual features it was impossible to tell if they had been male or female, or even what race they were. The lone figure noticed their blood red eyes and extended canine teeth which they had barred at him when they tried to kill him.
"Look at them, vampire wretches, lacking in any intelligence and eager to devour anything that crosses their path."
The lone figure was silent as he heard the voice telling him about creatures before him. The figure had long, dark brown hair, his face hidden by the wide-brimmed traveler's hat atop his head and scarf that covered his nose down to his chin. Below his scarf was a blue gem and much of his body was covered by the faded, black long-coat he wore. In his gloved hand was his long sword, a thin, curved blade nearly as long as his body, he calmly then sheathed this behind his back. He then turned to walk towards a massive steed nearby, this horse's body was an odd black color with blaring red eyes, its mane and tail were blue in color and seemed to be alive like a flame. The monstrous horse snorted as the lone figure quickly mounted the beast before motioning it to move further into the woods.
"Hey Dhampir! Are you even listening to me?"
"These creatures…they're further from the castle and appeared to be starved. Their master has prepared for any intrusion into the woods. Not an Ancient, yet more prepared than a Fledgling…a Mature perhaps?"
"And being the one you are, you intend to hunt it down yes?"
"That is my goal."
"There is a village nearby, you saw it from the hill earlier, Harefolk if I remember. You could always stop by to gather information…perhaps take one or two of their finest women for your pleasure."
"Enough." The lone rider gave the steed a gentle pat along it head to get it moving.
"What wrong…did I strike a nerve there?"
"Another word from you and I'll slice you off." His tone was cold as he looked toward his left hand.
"Very well, I shall be silent…for now. Let us deal with this vampire."
Author's Note: Happy one year anniversary of Howl of Vengeance. I had hoped to have the ready by yesterday, July 15th, that would have been the best for a one year posting, unfortunately I'm a day late. My apologies.
New challenges and surprises are on the horizon for our parties, and a particular guest character who might be of some aid…assuming he's able to warm up to the notion of working with this group of young adventurers. Look forward to the meeting of our Dhampir and the adventurers in the next chapter and the master of the castle.
Thanks everyone for following the story, despite a couple bumps along the way, I'm happy with the way the story has turned out. Thanks again for all the feedback and critiques, every little bit helps. If you're eager for some other well written Goblin Slayer stores, I recommend: Goblin Slayer: What Comes After, Heart Slayer, and Goblin Slayer's Daughter. These stories are still works in progress, but man are they written well, give these stories the attention they deserve. Also, read Taking him on a real adventure, for some GS x HEA shipping.