"We can't thank you enough for helping us out back there." One of the Leonin continued to bow his head toward Goblin Slayer and his party.
With the monstrous goblins dealt with, Goblin Slayer and his party had aided the surviving Leonin to the nearest village for medical treatment. While there, they informed the villagers of the goblins that had been dealt with but cautioned them to be on guard for any further sighting of the monsters. Goblin Slayer stood near the outskirts of the village with Wolf and Snow by his side as he carefully scanned the countryside for any signs of disturbance, the sun already rising off in the distance.
"There you are Orcbolg."
Goblin Slayer turned to see the rest of his party walking towards him, their conversation with the surviving Leonin and the villagers completed.
"Though they've been through much, those brave souls should be ready to travel in a couple days." Lizard Priest had a big smile on his face that they were on the way to recovery.
"I tell you though Beardcutter, those big brutes were quite the tough opponent to battle with and that was just two of them."
"They survived my arrow to the forehead and even your stone blast with little resistance."
"Their bodies were mostly thick muscle, even the bones were tougher than normal." Goblin Slayer carefully recalled all he had seen during their battle with the monsters. "It seemed that they could sense the pain, but their brains were not able to fully process it. Goblins are cowards by nature but these one continued to fight even after the damage would normally cause them to flee."
"Some form of mutation then? You said that you had never encountered such a goblin before." Lizard Priest too pondered what could have created these goblins.
"What about those "Faceless Men" that had been sighted around the area Scaly, maybe they had something to do with these new monsters being spotted?"
"Then it's possible that we might have to deal with more of them unless we find these plague mask men and their leader, this Necromancer." High Elf Archer frowned as she thought about fighting more of these monsters then remembered their other comrades. "Hey…you don't suppose Priestess and Thief have run into these things do you?"
Lizard Priest and Dwarf Shaman looked toward one another with an unsure expression on their face.
"They will be both be fine." Goblin Slayer's flat tone drew their attention as he started to walk away from the village with dire wolves at his side. "We should return and report our results to the guild."
"Wait up Orcbolg." High Elf Archer and the others quickly caught up with Goblin Slayer. "You really think those two will be fine?"
"They are both capable and they are with other competent adventurers. We shall await their return and inform them of what we have seen."
"That's always like you Orcbolg, but I have to agree with your accession of our comrades. Alright, let us head home and wait for them."
xxxx
"We should probably save the healing potion for a more serious situation." Rookie Warrior wrapped up his left hand after once again cutting it to provide Apprentice Cleric with blood. "If I keep using them for just this, we'll have nothing for when we really need it."
"Are…are you sure? I can use heal myself to tend to that injury." Apprentice Cleric looked toward her comrades injured hand with a small trail of blood running down her chin. "It's the least I can do after all you've done to help me."
"I should be fine, you can now use Holy Smite twice which I'm sure will help us a lot more. Even if it leaves a scar, it's proof of my growth and willingness to help my comrades."
"Well look who's all high and mighty with a rise in rank." Half-Demon Thief laughed as she happily ate her spider meat. "I would have never guessed that this stuff would be that good."
"It's unusual, but not entirely inedible." Priestess smiled as she too enjoyed her breakfast.
"I never would have imagined myself eating something like this…then again after what happened back in the cave, I would never had imagined myself back as an adventurer." Fighter too smiled as she enjoyed her meal then looked toward Rhea Fighter and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'd best hurry, if we are to save your comrade and my friend from this curse."
The party extinguished the campfire and quickly packed up their supplies, all the while Dhampir Hunter stood off to the side waiting for them finish.
"If you're all done, let's continue less we lose valuable time."
"Ever the voice of optimism I see, alright we're ready." Half-Demon Thief sighed as she and the others followed behind Dhampir Hunter.
As before, Apprentice Cleric and Dhampir Hunter kept to the shade and shadows while the rest continued on the visible walking trail, though as they progressed further noticed the trail was becoming harder to see.
"I can see why my people choose not to walk down this path, even if you make it past the spiders, you're likely to get lost and may never find your way back to civilization." Harefolk Bowman quickly looked toward a nearby tree and used his knifed to mark it with an arrow. "When we come back, we'll want to make sure we can actually follow the right path."
"That's a smart move, but at least the scenery around us is far more tranquil than the spider filled forest we saw yesterday." Rookie Warrior smirked as he happily looked at the sunlight filtering through the trees the saw them. "Hey look there…butterflies."
The group stopped momentarily to see three butterflies with beautiful blue and white wings fluttering near the treetops and off further away was a deer eating grass.
"Oh wow, how lovely." Apprentice Cleric smiled as the tranquil sight. "So much more pleasant than being in the sewers or that treacherous spider-filled forest."
"Hey…is it just me or do those butterflies seem bigger than normal, even if they're further away from us?" Half-Demon Thief then saw the trio of butterflies flutter down toward the deer. "They're…are they trying to attack the deer?"
"Butterflies don't attack things…do they?" Priestess was confused as she as watched the butterflies and noticed what her friend was speaking of. "She's right…they look so big."
As the butterflies moved closer toward the deer, the group of adventurers were able to see that each of them was roughly the size of a large hawk. The trio landed on the deer's body at different locations, their legs holding them in place while the deer snorted and whistled as it trashed about to removed them from its body. From the center of the butterfly's head shot out the proboscis and pierced the deer flesh as the butterfly's began to drink the fluids from the deer. The group looked on with wide eyes and open mouths at the sight before them, something they did not expect to see. The deer continued to struggle but soon its movements grew sluggish until it collapsed to the ground, the party could see its body begin to shrivel as the butterflies continued to drain the fluids from its body.
"Hmm…well that's different." Dhampir Hunter watched the scene unfold with his usual neutral expression.
"That's all you have say about butterflies drinking a living creature in front of us?" Apprentice Cleric was at a loss for how calm he was.
"We're you not the one who mentioned giant butterflies?" Dhampir Hunter's comment was genuinely one of validation, no sarcasm present.
"Me and my big mouth." Apprentice Cleric sighed as she watched the giant butterflies finish their meal and effortlessly flutter away.
"It is official then…I hate this forest. Things were easier when I was assassinating and stealing from people, there weren't giant animals that would eat or drink me." Half-Demon Thief cautiously looked around the tree tops for any further signs of the butterflies.
"Let's get moving, the sooner we're out of this forest the better." Rookie Warrior too gripped his sword in readiness of dealing with the unnatural wildlife.
"Agreed." Fighter grew nervous as they party quickly, yet carefully continued through the forest.
The group continued on through the forest, though they were now on constant guard for anything they looked like it was going to potentially feed upon them. Off in the distance, among the shadows in the trees, a figure with bright yellow eyes with a long rectangular pupil in the center watched them carefully.
"They actually made it past the Spider Monarch, mistress was correct in sending us to stop their advance. I won't fail where that fool did…I already have the appropriate tool to crush them." The figure frowned before running off into the woods ahead.
Further on the group continued though at this point, there was no longer a viable path for them to take and whatever sunlight they had seen earlier was now gone, it had gotten so dark that the adventurers were forced to draw out their lanterns to check their surroundings.
"It can't be dark this early right. It's only been a few hours since we started, there's no way the sun could have set this fast." Rookie Warrior looked toward the treetops for any sign of sunlight.
"It's not that…the treetops are so think they're even able to block out the sun." Harefolk Bowman commented as he too looked around the area with an uncertain expression on his face. "I've been marking the trees as we go, according to the legends we'll be entering the Swamp of Despair."
"Swamp of Despair?" Priestess turned toward him with a worried look on her face.
"Yeah. The legends I was told about this part of the forest would lead to a swamp where if you're not careful, you'll be lost and unable to find your way back. The earlier part we passed through was called the Forest of Hunger and after seeing the giant spiders and those butterflies, I can see why it has that distinction."
"Wait hold on, Forest of Hunger…Swamp of Despair…you knew about these places?" Fighter had a scowl on her face as she looked towards Harefolk Bowman wondering why he kept this all secret. "Does that mean you also knew what we'd be dealing with?"
"They were from stories told to me when I was much younger, at the time I just thought them tall tales to amuse children or to keep them away from this place. Unfortunately, I don't know the specifics of what creatures are around here, just the usual wild monsters we'd be cautioned of."
"But even if they were only legends, how come you didn't tell us?" Rhea Fighter too was concerned that they had been misled on this quest.
"I was not trying to trick any of you, but to put it simply…none of you asked." Harefolk Bowman smiled as he looked toward his traveling companions.
"You picked a terrible time to develop a sense of humor but ominous names aside, we need to push onward." Half-Demon Thief sighed in frustration as the group moved further into the swamp.
The mist was thick, even with their lanterns the visibility was poor for them and with every step they found the ground beneath them may have looked like solid ground but would sink into a marshlands.
"Yuck…thank goodness these boots are tall enough to keep the water out." Half-Demon Thief grunted as she lifted her wet boot out of the water.
"Well that's not exactly true for all of us." Priestess smiled as she pointed off to her left.
Half-Demon Thief followed the direction Priestess was pointing to and had to stifle her laughter as she watched Harefolk Bowman carrying Rhea Fighter on his back as he marched through the marsh with a visible frown on his face.
"I don't remember volunteering to act as a pack mule."
"Quiet you, after withholding information from us, you're lucky this is all I'm asking of you. Besides, I really don't want to get my feet wet in this muck."
"If that's your concern then wear some damn footwear! You realize the moment we have to fight you'll have to get off right? I have no intention of carrying you into battle as well."
"I am well aware of that, but until then onward I say." In spite of her acting brave, there was a visible blush on her face then a sudden concern came to mind, one she had to ask as quietly as possible. "Hey, I'm not too…heavy am I?"
"Huh…uh…no, not at all." Now it was Harefolk Bowman's turn to blush as he realized that he was able to carry this attractive girl along his back. "Under other circumstances, this would be really nice…though right now isn't too bad either."
"Water aside, this place reeks…got that smell of rotten eggs." Fighter scrunched her nose as pressed further into this swamp.
"Must be the gases in the area, all the more reason to get out of her as quickly as possible." Rookie Warrior grunted as he felt he might sink into the marsh if he wasn't careful and used his sword to cut his way through the thick vines. "I don't suppose you know how far this swamp goes for do you?"
"The legends said it goes on forever, but we know that's not true, there's a castle at the end of this forest…swamp…whatever you want to call it. Our main concern is to make sure we head in the correct direction." Harefolk Bowman shook his head as they continued through the marsh.
"We are heading in the right direction."
The group looked ahead to see Dhampir Hunter calmly walk forward through the marsh, completely oblivious to the smell and marshland around them.
"How can you tell?" Priestess, though she was sure he was correct in his judgement, was still concerned that they could possibly be heading in the wrong direction.
"I am quite adept at tracking the Noble's…she can't hide away from me forever."
The party though still worried had no choice but to follow the hunter, he was their best bet of getting through this forest, though Harefolk Bowman would continue to mark nearby trees should they become lost. Onward they traveled through the swamp, constantly checking the area for any type of wildlife that might try to attack them. The group was spread out to watch for all sides, but were so not far as to be unable to help their comrades when the moment arose.
"Huh…looks like there is sand ahead, hopefully that means were nearing the edge of the swamp." Priestess had a small smile on her face at the thought of leaving this miserable place.
Priestess and Fighter stepped onto the soil and slowly started to walk forward, their feet sinking into the dirt as before but soon enough the found they could no longer pull their legs out as they had in the marsh. The two girls were concerned as they attempted pull themselves out, but soon found the more they struggled the fast they sank into the muck.
"H-hey we're sinking!" Fighter screamed as she continued to struggle in a futile attempt to get out of the sinking earth.
The others turned to see their comrades were stuck and sinking, now up to their waste in the bog. Instantly they all rushed forward to help but it was a commanding voice that stopped them before they moved any further.
"Don't approach any further or you'll sink in with them!"
The group turned to see Dhampir Hunter approaching them at a faster rate, but not making any effort to run.
"They're stuck in quicksand, if you go there, you'll be stuck to." Dhampir Hunter was blunt in his explanation to the other young adventurers. "You two in the quicksand, cease your futile struggling or you'll sink faster. Keep yourselves as still as possible."
The worried Fighter and Priestess did as they were told and stopped their struggling, a terrified expression on both faces as they found the sand nearly up to their chest.
"Pl, please get us out of here." Priestess was at the point of tears as she worried about sinking beneath the sand.
"We will!" Rookie Warrior was not about to let his comrades drown in the quicksand and turned his attention to Dhampir Hunter. "How do we get them out of there if we can get any closer?"
Dhampir Hunter kept his neutral face as he studied the situation, he could clearly see the worried expressions on the faces of the adventurers beside him and the terrified looks on the girls faces. Both girls were near enough that they'd be able to rescue them, though there wasn't much time for excessive attempts.
"Listen carefully, you have rope yes? Then toss the rope as far as you can between the two of them."
"Right got it. You two, catch the rope and we'll pull you out!"
Rookie Warrior took the rope from Apprentice Cleric and threw it the first time only for it land too short from either girl, he quickly pulled the rope back and threw it once again but in his panic it went to far to left and once again neither girl could grasp it.
"Calm yourself…you won't get anywhere if your panicking. This time…this time for sure." Rookie Warrior took hold of the rope in his hands and threw it forward. "Take hold!"
The rope landed between the two girls, they carefully reached over and firmly grasped the rope with both hands. Rookie warrior and the others, Dhampir Hunter included, took hold of the other end of the rope and pulled with all their might, little by little the girls were dragged out of the quicksand. Once back on dry land, or at least more solid land, Half-Demon Thief quickly rushed to hug her friend while Rookie Warrior and Apprentice Cleric went to embrace their own comrade.
"I thought for sure I was going to lose you." Half-Demon Thief happily embraced Priestess.
"Thank…thank you all." Priestess tears in her eyes bowed her head towards the others.
"We'll need to be careful as we move further, this swamp like many others can hold many more dangers." Dhampir Hunter nodded head at the safety of the others before once again turning to continue into the swamp.
Fighter and Priestess were quick to get back up on their feet, enough time had been wasted and the only way out of the swamp was forward toward the castle. After another hour of walking, and being careful to avoid the other quicksand pits around them, the group finally came what seemed like a lake, before them they could see trees with visible roots that sank down into the water below and all around them were what looked like giant lilipads.
"Let's see how deep this is?" Rookie Warrior carefully stepped into the water and found that it came up to his knees. "Well at least the ground seems sturdy enough, but…my boots are completely soaked."
"I'd rather not have wet boots." Apprentice Cleric frowned as she looked toward the water with caution. "Watch out for swamp dragons."
"Like we don't have enough to worry about."
"Well what about using these lily pads, they look big enough to support a person." Harefolk Bowman still carrying Rhea Fighter on his back leapt forward with his great agility and landed on the Lilypad.
"Wow, that's a Harefolk for you what agility." Rhea Fighter could not help but smile as she continued to remain out of the water.
"Well it supports us so that's good. Huh…what in the world are these weird hairs on the lily pad?" Harefolk Bowman suddenly noticed the hairs in the center of the lily pad were beginning to move.
The side of the Lilypad then quickly began to close upon Harefolk Bowman and Rhea Fighter. Harefolk Bowman released his grip on the young girl's legs to place both hand on either side of the lily pad to keep it from completely closing upon them all the while Rhea Fighter screamed while the others looked on with wide eyes.
"What the hell is going on! The plant is trying to eat us!" Rhea Fighter still in her panic had her arms wrapped around Harefolk Bowman's neck.
"Yo…you're choking me. Sword…use sword…cut this…thing." Harefolk Bowman struggled to speak as the plant continued to close upon him while dealing with the panicked adventurer.
Rhea Fighter quickly regained her sense and released her grip from Harefolk Bowman, drew out her sword and proceeded to stab into the plant. Her sword easily cut into the sides of the plant slicing it open where she pulled Harefolk Bowman through and plunged into the water. The plant closed completely on itself before submerging itself into the water. The other jumped into the water in the event they would have to help their comrades, thankfully both Harefolk Bowman and Rhea Fighter emerged from the water coughing heavily.
"Are you both alright?" Fighter helped Rhea Fighter back to her feet.
"Alright? How they hell can we be alright? We were nearly eaten by a plant…a plant of all things! Not to mention I'm all wet."
"That's your big concern?" Harefolk Bowman continued to cough as the water made his ears above his head droop. "You nearly strangled me back there while I was trying to keep the plant from eating us!"
"Well at least you're both okay." Half-demon Thief smiled but soon enough that faded into a frown as she looked around the swamp as there were still multiple floating plants present. "We need to get out of here as quickly as possible before anything else tries to kill us."
It was then that the group heard an odd melody echoing in the woods around them, then tensed up with weapons at the ready as the music continued. Harefolk Bowman's ears twitched as he looked toward his upper right and spotted a figure among the top of the trees.
"Over there!"
Everyone looked upward and through the mist they could see a figure playing what appeared to be a pan flute. The figure in the treetops danced among the tree branches as he continued to play on his pan flute, once he stopped the group could clearly see him. He was a figure which legs that were covered in dark brown fur in place of feet were hooves, his upper body had an odd grayish color to is and resembled that of a man but the head was a different matter. The head was shaped like that of a goat with a dark brown beard under his chin two long black horn atop his head and bright yellow eyes that stared at the group below.
"A goat…a man…what is he?" Fighter was confused and for some odd reason terrified as she looked up at the figure's eyes with a long pupil in the center.
"A Satyr." Half-Demon Thief grew nervous as to why this figure was here and the unnatural way he danced in the trees.
"I hope you enjoyed the tour of the swamp, it's filled with quite the number of interesting creatures." The Satyr Trickster spoke as he held his pan flute in his right hand while looking down at the adventurers below.
"Another pawn of the Noble." Dhampir Hunter drew out his long sword in readiness to kill this figure.
"Oh hold there Hunter, I'm not fool enough to take on someone as skill as you by myself, let alone a group this massive." Satyr Trickster laughed as he put his pan flute away and pulled out a knife. "As I said earlier…this swamp is full of several interesting creatures. Let's bring out some more!"
Satyr Trickster laughed as he cut his arm and held it over the water allowing the blood to drip into the water below. Though it may have only been a few drops the group could hear a strange gurgling coming that surrounded them as well as what looked a torrent of bubbles in various spots all around them, they then saw odd shapes floating to the surface as they emerged from the mud beneath the water. These figures looked monstrous bipedal frogs with sharp clawed fingers and wide mouths filled with razor sharp teeth. Each of these figures stood roughly as tall as a man and had dark green, grayish skin and reptilian green eyes who eagerly stared at the adventurers with hungry eyes.
"What are these? Frogs?" Rhea Fighter drew out her sword and shield as she prepared to battle against them.
"Frogs how rude. These are the Slaad, they would normal be sleeping until the grew hungry but…a bit of blood is very useful in bringing them to the surface." Satyr Trickster continue to laugh as the Slaad drew closer. "Now…would you be so kind as to die for me and my mistress?"
The Slaad let out piercing cries before rushing forward to attack, the adventurers struggled to move as they wanted to with the water up to their knees but did the best they could.
"Maybe we can get them onto land, but we got to get out ourselves. Priestess!" Half-Demon Thief quickly gave her partner the signal.
Priestess was quick to cast Holy Light which blinded the Slaad who shrieked in pain giving the group the time they needed to get out of the water and back on the more solid land. Once on land Apprentice Cleric gave the chant for Holy Smite and shot out a bolt of lightning at the Slaad, this bolts of lightning spread to five others that were nearby and shocked the water around them. The Slaad fell into the water dead, a thin layer of smoke traveling off their bodies. The other surviving Slaad regained their vision and once again rushed towards the edge of the lake to attack the fleeing adventurers, leaping out of the water and landing near the group. Back on land, the adventurers held the advantage with their weapons as compared to the Slaad and their claws and fangs.
Fighter had struck one of the creatures with such force it actually flew back and landed on one of the floating lily pads. The moment the creature landed on the lily pad, it closed around the creature who shrieked before the plant submerged under the water with his meal secure. On and on the group continued their battle against the Slaad, the bloody bodies that feel into the water around them were they feasted upon by other Slaad, but the moment they were finished with their meal they would again attempt to attack the adventurers.
"These monsters seem almost without end, but we must not forget about the Satyr." Dhampir Hunter finished slashing at the Slaad that attacked him when he heard the familiar pan flute.
He looked up toward the tree tops once again to see the Satyr Trickster with pan flute in hand, the creature moved the instrument left and right as his melody continued. Before Dhampir Hunter prepared to attack the beast when he suddenly heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching from behind. He instinctively turned with sword in hand to slash at the opponent only for his sword to strike a hard object and be deflected.
"What the hell?" Dhampir Hunter could see the being before him, the figure was broad and he had to pan upward to see the face, a face made of stone. "Golem."
The pan flute sounded again as the massive stone golem struck Dhampir Hunter with its right hand sending him flying back until he collided with a tree. The rest of party turned at the sound of the sword striking something and watched as the giant figure sent Dhampir Hunter flying with a single strike. By the light of their lantern they could see the figure was composed of grey rock with two orange eyes that glow as the massive man-shaped monster lumber towards the downed Dhampir Hunter.
"We have to help him." Priestess was concerned for the safety of the Dhampir Hunter.
"We got to deal with the rest of the Slaad before we can get to him." Half-Demon Thief quickly slashed the throat of one of the nearby monsters.
Dhampir Hunter grunted as he could taste blood in his mouth, his chest hurt as did his back from striking the tree. He found himself slumped in the water near the tree with the golem sloshing through the water at him, tossing aside one of the lily pads as it drew closer. He pushed himself up despite the pain only two see two more of the Slaad shriek before charging toward him. With sword in hand, he easily took care of the monstrous creatures but then heard the sound of the flute once again. Before he could find the Satyr, the left leg was suddenly gripped by the golem and he was lifted out of the water. The golem squeezed its hand crushing the shin bone as the Dhampir Hunter grunted in pain, the golem proceeded to slam the hunter down into the water over and over, each blow feeling as though he were striking solid ground, until the golem final slammed his body up against the tree with a sickening crunch. Blood escaped from the hunter's mouth, he was unable to cry out as even the simple act of breathing was painful.
"How fun! Now…kill him." Satyr Trickster brought the pan flute to his mouth and played the eerie melody once again.
The golem reached for the barely conscious hunter, tightly gripping his head and effortlessly lifting him out of the water. Dhampir Hunter grunted in pain as he was lifted by his head until the golem started to apply pressure. Dhampir Hunter's eyes were wide he could feel the golem working to crush his skull, yet he was still unable to cry out only gasp at the pain and the sound of bone cracking.
"Good, good! The most difficult of the group will be dealt with and then I can…"
A glass vial flew forward and collided with the golem arm, the green fluid within splattered along the arm and began to quickly eat away at the stone until it finally crumbled and Dhampir Hunter dropped into the water slumped against the tree.
"What the…you!"
Satyr Trickster turned his attention toward the remaining group of adventurers who had finished dealing with Slaad and now their attention on the one-armed golem. Satyr Trickster brought the flute to his lips once again and played the familiar melody and the golem eyes lit up as it once again lumbered toward the group.
"What was that?" Priestess looked toward her friend to verify what she had used.
"Goblin Slayer told me about the alchemist he goes to see whenever he needs gasoline if the blacksmith is out. He sold me some poison I can use in my assassination and a vial of acid." Half-Demon Thief panted heavily as she struggled to catch her breath after the constant fighting. "Unfortunately, that's the only vial I have."
"Then how the hell do we stop that thing, none our weapons can break through the rock." Rookie Warrior began to slowly back away as the golem drew closer.
"We better think of something fast cause here he comes." Harefolk Bowman raised his crossbow and fired a bolt into the left eye of the golem, though the bolt found its mark the stone giant did not stop.
"Wait…I have an idea. Priestess do you still have your miracles left?" Fighter turned toward her comrade while backing away from the golem.
"Yes two." Priestess quickly rolled away as did the others as the golem swiped at their former position.
"Lead it back the way we came, I have a plan." Fighter gave a shout as she got back to her feet.
The young adventurers turned and ran back the way they had come from with the golem chasing after them. Satyr Trickster continued to play his pan flute as he watched the golem chase after the young adventurers, his instruction the melody clear…tear them apart, he then looked to the still unconscious hunter and smiled as he moved to climb down the tree.
The group of adventurers rushed through the marshland, the sound of the golem crashing through the tree directly behind.
"So what's the plan? We can run from it forever." Apprentice Cleric spared a glance back to see the approaching golem. "Though as a vampire…could that thing kill me? Best not to test that theory."
"We'll use the swamp to kill that beast. Priestess…Holy Light!"
"O Earth Mother, abounding in mercy, grant your sacred light to we who are lost in darkness…Holy Light!"
The forest was filled with light and the golem though voiceless raised its hand to try and shield itself from the light. Blinded by the light, the golem swung its arm in a frantic manner striking trees all around it in a futile attempt to kill the adventurers. Slowly the golem managed to regain its sight then turned its head toward the sound of someone crying out in pain. The golem lumbered forward and ahead of it near one of the trees, it found two of the adventurers one on the ground nursing what appeared to be an injured leg while the other tried to help her up.
"Priestess…run, my leg I…I can't get up!"
"Just…just wait and I'll heal you. O…O Earth Mother, abounding in…"
Priestess was unable to finish as she and Half-Demon Thief heard the heavy footsteps approaching and turned to see the golem heading directly for them. Both girls were petrified as the golem drew closer, but suddenly the ground seemed to give away as the golem sank into the ground. The golem looked and found its body sinking into the earth, its struggled to free itself but with every bit of movement its sank faster and faster, the golem looked forward to see both young adventurers back on their feet slowly backing away from it. In a futile attempt, the golem reached toward them with its left arm but could not grab them. The other adventurers emerged from the shadows, making sure to keep their distance from the golem who continued to sink further and further into the quicksand. Soon its chest was submerged in the soil then up to its head until at the very end only its left arm continued to move out of the quicksand, still acting on the order given to it to slaughter the adventurers.
"That's pretty smart using the quicksand to take care of it." Harefolk Bowman smiled as he looked toward Fighter and nodded his head in approval.
"After going through that hell earlier, I see no other fitting way to deal with this monster." Fighter frowned as she watched as only the hand of the monster remained above the soil still struggling to complete its task.
"Speaking of monster, we have to get back to the Hunter!" Priestess remembered the injured Dhampir they left behind to save from the golem.
"Then let's hurry back!" Half-Demon Thief once again drew out her daggers in readiness of dealing with the Slaad or the Satyr.
The group of adventurers then rushed back toward the lake, behind them the last of the golem's fingers finally slipped beneath the soil, no further ripples in the quicksand present.
xxxx
"Foolish Hunter…you thought yourself an equal to my mistress." Satyr Trickster allowed the pan flute to dangle from his neck as he drew closer with knife in hand. "With you out of the way, my mistress will be one step closer to dominating the mortals, making you all nothing more than cattle."
Satyr Trickster raised his hand high and brought it crashing down with the intent of stabbing the hunter in the head only for this wrist to be caught.
"What?"
"It would seem that you are the fool."
Dhampir Hunter calmly stood from within the water, slightly towering over the frightened Satyr and proceeded to crush his wrist. Satyr Trickster cried out as he felt and heard the breaking of the bones and was forced to drop his knife.
"That's…that's impossible. No mere human can recover from those kind of wounds that quickly!" Satyr Trickster held his broken wrist in his left hand as he back away from the hunter.
"How fortunate for that I am Dhampir."
"A Dhampir? You? That's impossible." Satyr Trickster quickly dropped his inured wrist and reached for his pan flute to summon the golem. "Soon you'll be dead dhampir!"
He played his melody and waited while continuing to back away, there was no response from the golem so again he played on his pan flute.
"Damn it! What the hell is taking that beast so long?"
"Your golem won't be coming."
Satyr Trickster dropped his pan flute as he heard the voice from behind him and turned to see the other adventurers behind him near the water's edge with weapons ready. He then turned his attention back to the dhampir to see him with sword drawn looking directly at him, there was no where for him to run in the water he continued to back away from the group, constantly keeping his eyes on them, awaiting their attack. He then bumped into something and a smiled crossed his face as he thought he reached the edge of the shore and quickly stood on the dry land, but a quick look down revealed it wasn't land but one of the lily pads. The plant suddenly folded inward with him trying to desperately use his arm to keep the plant from closing around him. With a final scream of terror, the plant closed its teeth and with meal inside, the plant submerged itself under the water.
"Good riddance. Couldn't have happened to a nicer person." Harefolk Bowman did not feel any sorrow for watching this latest assassin meet his end by the creatures of the swamp.
"Are you okay? Those injuries…surely you need medical attention." Priestess jumped into the water and made her way towards Dhampir Hunter.
"Not to worry, as a dhampir, I can heal from injuries much faster than a human." Dhampir Hunter was calm as he looked around the lake then fished out his hat thought found it soaked. "Oh well, once it dries, I'll be able to wear it again."
Dhampir Hunter was calm as he wrung the water out of his hat before giving it a final shake then caught sight of the worried look on the others faces.
"Thank you. If not for your vial of acid, he might have crushed my head." Dhampir Hunter opted to not put on his soaked hat but wait until it was dry. "Perhaps it would be best for us to get out of the lake and find a comfortable spot where we can get a fire going and warm ourselves up?"
"That sounds like a fantastic idea, let's get the hell out of here." Rhea Fighter breathed a sigh of relief as she carefully looked around the area at the other floating lily pads.
"By tomorrow evening we'll reach the castle, there we can deal with the noble and save your friend." Dhampir Hunter once again walked forward through the swamp to lead the party in the right direction.
"That's a relief." Rhea Fighter smiled as she followed the others through the lake until Harefolk Bowman tapped her shoulder. "Something wrong?"
"Did you want me to carry you so you would get your feet wet?" Harefolk Bowman had a smile as they all stood there in the middle of the water.
"Oh shut up."
Author's Note: The plants are technically venus fly traps, but I thought I'd refer to them as lily pads since they be floating on the surface of the water waiting to unsuspecting prey. Some may have noticed that I tweeked the nature of the Slaad for this story, I wanted a monster that looked like an frog or aquatic beast to hide within the swamp.
At the suggestion of GrimmBear, the kind soul who's doing the artwork for the chapters, I'd like to know from the readers your Top Ten Goblin Slayer Girls. Rank the ladies of the story from 1 to 10, canon characters and originals (Half-Demon Thief, Lich Queen, Mistress of the Game, etc.) are all available candidates. Let me know in either the reviews or you can PM me, I'm genuinely curious to see how my characters stack up against the Canon ladies.
Also, check out the link below to see the artwork GrimmBear has been busy with. Thanks again for all the support and assistance.
thewebsurfertwopoint/art/Goblin-Slayer-Fanfic-Fanart-Howl-Of-Vengeance-1-851513070