"Scaly!"
Dwarf Shaman turned with wide eyes as the beast pounced on Lizard Priest and tackled him to the ground, thankfully he had hold of the creature's horns as he kept the beast's jaws away from his face. Out in the open, the rest of the party could see the beast was as large as Wolf, with think red skin like exposed muscle with large green eyes and twin horns pointing forward from its head like that of a bull.
"I have him Sir Mage!" Lizard Priest grunted as he struggled to keep the beast from biting him. "Though assistance would be greatly appreciated."
No sooner had he said this when Wolf Charged forward and sank his teeth into the creature back leg and savagely shook its head as it pulled back. The creature roared as it turned its head to snap at Wolf, it opened its mouth and out spewed a stream of fire. Wolf immediately released its grip and moved back though the smell of burnt hair lingered in the air. The creature growled as it stalked toward Wolf only for something to cut deep into its side, he roared once again and now found the lizardman back on his feet with a blade in hand.
"Are you alright friend Wolf?" Lizard Priest maneuvered by the dire wolf and smiled as he saw his comrade wag his tail. "We shall fight this one together!"
"Not alone you don't!" Dwarf Shaman stood by his friend with sling in hand. "Now, let's put this monstrous beast down."
"Protection!"
While Lizard Priest and the others had their hands full with the Hellhound, Goblin Slayer and the others would deal with the goblin Brute. Priestess had cast her miracle to keep the monster from attacking, the Brute not understanding why it couldn't hit the people before it continued to beat its fists against the invisible barrier.
"He is quite strong…I'm not sure how long I can hold him." Priestess struggled to maintain the miracle as the monster continued its attack.
"Let's move!" Goblin Slayer drew out his sword and mace as he charged through the barrier to attack.
He struck at the beast's wrist with his mace, the crunching of the flesh and bone audible for all then followed with his sword delivering a dep cut. High Elf Archer and Half-Demon Thief followed behind Goblin Slayer but went after the monster's opposite side. Half-Demon Thief was eager to test out her new weapons, and in rapid succession threw four of her poison knives at the creature's chest. To her surprise, she found the knives had barely the creature's hide, one of them even falling off the second the beast moved toward them.
"What the hell kind of skin does this thing have?" Half-Demon Thief quickly jumped back as the monster slammed its fist at the spot she had been standing.
High Elf Archer jumped onto the creature's left arm then jumped once again before the Brute could catch her; she landed on his shoulder and took quick at the creature's skull.
"These may not penetrate too deep from afar, but let's see you stop this!"
High Elf Archer released her arrow, aimed directly for the top of the creature's head only for it to bounce off upon impact, only a tiny wound evident of her attack.
"What the…"
High Elf Archer yelled as she jumped off the creature's shoulder just as he swung its arm up to grab her. The moment she hit the ground she rolled off to the side then fired two more arrows, but as with Half-Demon Thief's knives, the arrows did not penetrate the creature's hide very deeply.
"Damn it, the skin is too tough to cause enough damage!"
The Brute grunted as it prepared to continue its attack against the two girls, until Goblin Slayer swung his mace upward, connected with the creature's jaws as blood and several teeth flew from its mouth. The Brute growled in anger but did not so much as take a single step back as it raised both arms upward and attempted to smash the armored human but he jumped off to the side and once again used his sword to cut deep into its flesh.
"The bone and muscle are too thick, aim for the under its chin or for its eye!"
"The neck…got it Orcbolg!"
High Elf Archer drew out another arrow as Goblin Slayer moved in again to attack the monster with both weapons as the beast grunted from the blows and raised its right arm to strike him. As it lifted its arm it also raised his neck up and High Elf Archer saw her opportunity to strike; she drew back on her bow's drawstring and let loose another arrow. The arrow flew and connected with the underside of the monster's chin finally penetrating deep into its head. This attack had an effect as the monsters once again grunted but actually stumbled backwards but had not fallen over.
"It's still standing! Is it so damn stupid it doesn't realize that its dead?" High Elf Archer growled in frustration and she tightly clenched her fist around her bow.
"Then let's teach it a lesson about taking on this group." Half-Demon Thief reached into her back pouch and withdrew a vial filled with a clear liquid and threw it with all her might at the creature's face.
The vial shattered and the liquid splashed against its face and immediately Goblin Slayer and High Elf Archer could see steam coming off the Brute's face as the flesh began to melt away. The monster growled as it stumbled backwards once again swinging its arms wide as the damage to its face bothered it and now it had lost sight in its left eye.
"Goblin Slayer! Go for the exposed flesh!" Half-Demon Thief, happy that the acid had done its job, had hopefully exposed enough of a weak spot to finish off the monster.
Goblin Slayer nodded and charged forward, he had tossed the mace to the side and gripped his sword with both hands to increase the force behind his strike. He leapt upward, narrowly avoiding another one of the creature's blows and rammed the blade into the exposed flesh. He grunted as he pushed the blade deep into the creature's flesh until it finally appeared out the back of the Brute's skull. The monster grunted once again, both High Elf Archer and Half-Demon Thief worried that even this blow had not killed the monster when it finally fell backwards like a tree, Goblin Slayer still holding the blade's grip went with it. With a heavy thud, the body came to rest, Goblin Slayer had placed his feet on the monster body as it fell over and managed to avoid being thrown off, with a final grunt he pulled out the medium length red blade from the monster before hoping off its body.
While Goblin Slayer and his group fought with the Brute, Lizard Priest and the others battled with the Hellhound. Wolf snarled as it rushed in biting into the monster's exposed flesh, the hide was tough almost like biting a thick piece of leather, the Hellhound retaliated by throwing its head to the side and stabbing one of its horns into Wolf's left side of its body. Wolf gave a brief cry as if released its grip and backed away, the stab wound was thankfully not deep enough to fully incapacitate Wolf.
"Damn beast, I'll teach you to hurt our direwolf." Dwarf Shaman quickly put his sling away and threw out the small pebbles he had been holding in his other hand. "Come out, you gnomes, it time to work, now don't you dare your duty shirk – a bit of dust may cause no shock, but a thousand make a lovely rock…Stone Blast!"
Dozens of the tiny stones began to grow in size and flew forward, each one striking the monster's thick hide causing heavy damage as blood ran from various parts of its body. The Hellhound roared in pain as it threw its head back and backed away from the dwarf, but stopped itself as its one remaining good eye focused directly on him. Though nervous at the sight, the creature suddenly fell forward as it appeared that it had tripped over something, Wolf had gone behind it and one of its hind legs before it moved. Wolf bit down with his full force, bones could be heard breaking as it refused to release its grip; the Hellhound was preparing to turn around to attack when a heavy foot suddenly stepped down hard on its back.
"Foul beast! Your vile nature will end here and now!" Lizard Priest had a visible scowl on his face as he raised his Swordclaw high then brought it down in a quick swiping motion.
The heavy blade along with his strength easily cut through the Hellhound's neck, removing the monster's head from it body. Lizard Priest grunted as the head rolled off to the side then returned his blade back to its catalyst form.
"Nice job there Scaly!" Dwarf Shaman nodded his head in approval then heard the heavy thud and looked to see the Brute brought down and Goblin Slayer walking off the body. "You all alright over there?"
"We're fine. The monster is dead." High Elf Archer put her bow away as she looked over toward Half-Demon Thief who was retrieving her knives. "What was that vial you used? It seemed to eat away at the creature's flesh so easily."
"Acid. I had used some on the last quest and am happy to see it's still useful even against these monsters." Half-Demon Thief smiled but then shook her head as she placed the knives back into their pouches. "These knives are coated in the strongest poison the alchemist has, yet this monster acted as if nothing had happened. Anyone else would have been affected almost immediately, been dead in a matter of minutes…just what the hell kind of monsters is this?"
"I'm not too happy about the poison, but then again you used to be an assassin, so it makes sense." High Elf Archer sighed with a smile as she shook her head then looked toward the body of the Brute. "This is the same monster we fought while you were off on your quest. It's a goblin, but unlike anything we've ever seen."
"Beloved, why did you not summon me? I would have been able to assist you and the battle would have gone much smoother."
"I wanted to wait on the off chance there were more of these creatures. Even now, they could be around us." Goblin Slayer sheathed his sword and went about retrieving his mace. "Is everyone alright?"
"I'm tending to Wolf's injury now Goblin Slayer. Everyone else is alright." Priestess finished using heal to undo the damage.
The adventurers regrouped to examine the bodies of the monsters they had fought against, though the monsters could be killed the beasts could endure quite a bit of damage and their hide was very tough.
"Alright, we have a massive goblin, roughly the size of an ogre and just as tough given how hard it is to cut through its hide. As odd as it sounds, I can understand what I'm seeing with this monster but…what the hell is this thing?" High Elf Archer shook her head as she turned her attention towards the other creature.
"The red skin, this is exposed muscle, this monsters should be in excruciating pain but the texture…it's like leather." Half-Demon Thief knelt down to feel the skin of the beast her ungloved hand. "This thing is as big as Wolf, but look at the head, these horns are like that of a bull."
"Don't forget it was also able to breathe fire." Dwarf Shaman quickly added while he took a swig of his fire wine.
"Most disturbing. The beast has the body of a direwolf, yet its features and abilities are far beyond what a dire wolf is capable of." Lizard Priest pondered as he brought a hand to his chin. "Perhaps a chimera of sorts?"
"What's a chimera?" Priestess was confused by the unfamiliar term.
"A term used for a monster that is an amalgamation of different creatures. I've never seen one before though I had heard of a tale about a creature across the sea in a far off kingdom what was said to have the head of a goat, the body of a lion and a snake for a tale."
"I'd rather not meet such a creature if at all possible." Priestess nervously shook her head as she imagined seeing such a beast then turned to see Goblin Slayer using his sword near the body of the Brute. "What are you doing Goblin Slayer?"
"Removing the head. It's impossible for use to take the whole body back, but if we take these back with us, the others at the Guild can see what to be on the lookout for." Goblin Slayer grunted as he gave a final chop and removed the giant goblin's head.
"Use a bit more finesse Beloved! I am a sword not a saw!"
"Don't quite like the idea you have their Orcbolg, but you're right, we should bring them back with us."
The party used two of their rain ponchos to act as sacks to carry the severed heads, Lizard Priest carrying one and Goblin Slayer carrying the other, when a sudden thought crossed Lizard Priest's mind.
"Milord Goblin Slayer, a though just occurred. Look at the direction we were heading when investigating these claims."
"We're close to the farm." Priestess suddenly gasped as she brought a hand to her mouth. "Your friend…Snow…"
There was an immediate look of worry on all the faces of the party save Wolf who was looking over the forest and Goblin Slayer's whose expression was hidden behind his helmet.
"Let's go! Wolf!" Goblin Slayer rushed back to the main path with the sack slung over his shoulder, Wolf following right beside him.
The others didn't hesitate in following their leader, hoping that they were just overreacting, and all would be well when they reached the farm.
xxxx
There was a scream from outside the Guild as the people saw the broken body of what was once a human laying on the street. People ran away as the scream and cries within the Guild terrified them, what was going on none of them knew but the townspeople knew something was wrong as evident by the giant hole in the wall. Inside the monstrous form of the Faceless Man snarled as it swung one of its massive arms at the adventurers who surrounded him. By his feet were three more bloody bodies and in his left hand he held Female Knight by her throat, though he had not escaped unharmed as evident by the blood running from his various wounds.
"Ungrateful trash! I come here to share the Miracle of Life and you refuse his wonderful gift!" The Faceless Man snarled in a garbled speech as it swung it right arm once again at the adventurers.
Witch held out her staff and launched Magic Missile at the beast and watched as a large chunk of his flesh flew off while Half-Dragon Mother opened her mouth and spewed forth her fire breath which scorched the creature's arm. Guild Girl held onto Half-Dragon Daughter and pulled her further towards the tavern area while the adventurers continued to fight the monster.
"Fools! Then you shall be the first to die!" The enraged Faceless Man flashed a horrendous grin towards the struggling Female Knight.
"Not if I kill you first!" Female Knight fell back on her bestial instincts as she bit down on the creature's hand while stabbing her sword into its forearm.
The Faceless Man growled from the pain and prepared to crush Female Knight when Heavy Warrior leapt forward and using his claymore lopped off the monster's left forearm. Female Knight dropped the floor where she removed the arm from around her throat and tossed it aside, spit the foul taste from her mouth.
"You ok?" Heavy Warrior held out his free hand to help his lover back to her feet.
"I'm angry does that count?" Female Knight took hold of his hand as he helped get her back to her feet then smiled. "But I got to admit that was pretty amazing how you chopped through his arm to save me. I think a reward is in order."
"You choose the worst times to flirt." Heavy Warrior smiled as he then turned his attention back to the monster and raised his sword to keep fighting.
The monstrous Faceless Man growled as it looked toward the two armored adventurers but failed to notice the two younger ones who snuck up behind him.
"Now!"
Rookie Warrior and Fighter rushing it from behind to attack the back of the monster's knees. Rookie Warrior swung with his sword while Fighter struck with her spiked gauntlets, the blows forced the monster to drop to hi knees, he used his right to keep his body from completely dropping to the floor. Before he could get up Spearman leapt above him and jammed his spear through the monster's wolf-like snout then forced it deep into the wooden floor. Spearman grunted as he placed his foot on the free part of the monster's snout while still pressing the spear with both hands.
"How do you like that you bastard? See what happens when you mess with the wrong…"
Far from dead, the Faceless Man raised its right hand to strike at Spearman but never got the chance as Female Knight jumped over the monster's body and used her sword to slice through the monster's arm.
"You can't be too cocky when it still can defend itself." Female Knight smirked toward the surprised Spearman then looked back toward Heavy Warrior. "Finish it!"
"With pleasure!"
Heavy Warrior gave a mighty yell as he took hold of the claymore with both hands and raised the blade high over his head; with a mighty swing of the blade, he cut through the monster's neck decapitating the monstrous figure. Everyone in the Guild was panting heavily as they kept their eyes on the body, expecting it to move once again, but all they saw was the blood spilling from its body. It was a large collective sigh as every finally put their weapons away and a few of them slumped to the floor from the exhaustion.
"There…showed you…bastard." Spearman leaned against the wall allowing his spear to clatter to the floor.
"Are…you…alright?" Witch walked toward her partner and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'll survive. What the hell was that…I've never seen anyone transform into anything like that before."
"That liquid…when he drank it, he transformed." Heavy Warrior slumped to the floor with Female Knight by his side. "And to think he was trying to pour that into the well…just what the hell would that have do to the people who drank it?"
"You were amazing mama!" Half-Dragon Daughter had a huge smile as she hugged her mother.
"I was just making sure that you and the others were alright, it wasn't anything special."
"You were breathing fire like a real dragon and it pushed the monster back. Papa is going to be so impressed when he hears about this!"
"Are you all okay?" Apprentice Cleric helped Guild Girl and Inspector back to their feet in the tavern.
"We are thank you…thank all of you." Guild Girl smiled as she bowed her head toward the other adventurers who fought off this monster.
"What about you two?" Apprentice Cleric turned her towards her comrades.
"We're okay as well." Rookie Warrior looked to the monster and shook his head. "What a monster…and look at all the damage he caused."
"We'll need to do something about those who fell in battle." The Guild Manager frowned as the sight of the fallen adventurers who had fought to protect others.
The sudden mention of adventurers made Guild Girl gasp as she thought about the villager who had come in to tell the guild about that monster goblins they had seen.
"Goblin Slayer and his party went to deal with reports of gigantic goblins…do you think those things were somehow related to this man and the liquid he carried with him?"
The other adventurers, though worried were still tired of the battle they had just come out of, all they could do was tend to the mess left in the Guild and hope that their colleagues were alright.
xxxx
"Are you alright?"
Cow Girl was surprised to find Goblin Slayer and the rest of his party there at the farm but was nevertheless happy to have them back here.
"I am, thank you. Did you all want something to eat while we talk about the man who attacked us here?" Cow Girl smiled as she was quick to offer the others a meal so as not to appear rude.
"If you have any cheese that would be quite enjoyable." Lizard Priest had a big smile on his face at the prospect of the meal.
"Hold up there Scaly. You said there was someone here who attacked you?" Dwarf Shaman surprisingly was the one to have them refocus on the important details.
"Over here."
Cow Girl motioned for the others to follow her behind the farm where there was a body hidden underneath a burlap tarp. Cow Girl then noticed the sacks her friend and the lizardman carried had a dark red stain along the bottom.
"Did you also encounter something unpleasant along the road as well?" Cow Girl had a slight frown in her face as she looked toward her friend.
"We had to face a mutated goblin and a red wolf creature." Goblin Slayer gave his friend a brief reply as he knelt down and pulled back the tarp to see the figure in black with a plague mask. "Are you hurt?"
"Only Snow received a small injury from this man. Uncle managed to get behind him and struck him with his hoe. The training you gave me helped keep me safe, so thank you." Cow Girl smiled as she looked toward her friend then looked to the rest of the party. "What about you all, was anyone injured?"
"Wolf did get stabbed by the red wolf-like creatures, but I had a chance to heal him already." Priestess smiled as she bowed her head toward her friend then began to look around but could not find Wolf anywhere.
Cow Girl looked around and smiled when she saw the sight of Wolf and Snow off in the field nuzzling up against each other while playfully trying to bite each other. Goblin Slayer carefully removed the mask from the figure to see a young man with a clean-shaved face beneath the mask. The others joined in in examining the figure, but other than his strange garb there was no way of identifying the dead man before them.
"What was he doing on the farm? Why did he attack you and Snow?" High Elf Archer was just as confused as the others by this man's presence.
"I spotted him near the well, he was trying pour something into the water. Just a moment." Cow Girl rushed inside the house and a few moments returned with a small glass vial in her hands. "This liquid, I assume it was some type of poison."
Goblin Slayer took the vial from his friend and carefully looked at it, though green like a healing potion, he the liquid had a faint glow about it. He then looked toward the well and then back to the man with a final grunt of displeasure before he stood.
"I don't like it. The poisoning of the well, these strange men and the monster goblins…I don't like any of it."
"Nor should you Milord Goblin Slayer, perhaps it would be best for us to take him and the vial back to the Guild. There someone may be able to tell more about what we are confused about."
xxxx
While the battles in Frontier Town waged on, the King had gone to Water Town to speak with Sword Maiden concerning the dreams or nightmares he had been having as well as address the recent rumors of an unknown plague. Little could he or Sword Maiden could have known that this day, a great and terrible revelation was about to be dropped upon them.
"My Lord, always a pleasure to see you." Sword Maiden smiled as she bowed to the King.
The King had been wise to only travel with a small attachment of soldiers, twenty in number, as to avoid drawing any unneeded attention and to ensure protection if they encountered the escaped Highway Man.
"Sword Maiden, I trust you are well?"
"I am. Our town has been doing well, though the guards were forced to apprehend and odd individual in a black cloak. He was evidently trying to poison one of the water sources of the town, we found a vial of poison on his person and couple blades, perhaps another one of the followers of the demon cult."
"And the man, what did he have to say about the poison?"
"He took his own life before we could get any further information. Other than that one incident, the town has been peaceful, though rumors of odd monsters in the forest have not been sitting well on travelers."
"I see. The reason for my coming was I needed to seek the advice of a friend. For several nights, I've been plagued with a constant dream, no nightmare, of the capital engulfed in flames as my citizens are transformed into monsters as they tear each other apart. Though you, the Hero and I battle against them…there is always a figure in black constantly watching the chaos and laughing."
"That is quite troublesome, maybe an invitation from the Supreme God to be ready for some great calamity. Perhaps this rumored plague that we have been hearing about may have some connection to it."
"That notion had crossed my mind as well, but this dream of people becoming monsters, I still…"
Before the King could finish, the door to their chamber was suddenly opened and in rushed one of the acolytes of the temple.
"Forgive my intrusion My Lady, we have an envoy from the elven village. They say they captured a figure who was trying to poison their river."
The King and Sword Maiden were both surprised to hear this, especially after hearing the Sword Maiden mention a figure trying to poison the water in Water Town. Both figures followed the acolyte to find two high elves who bowed their heads to the two, with them was a figure in black with a strange mask on his face.
"He's dressed the same as the other man we found My Lady."
"Dressed the same you say?" Sword Maiden had a visible frown on her face as she thought about what was told to her.
"We found him and another near our village." One of the high elves mentioned as he withdrew a small vial from his pocket. "They were attempting to pour this into the water, we killed one of the intruders and managed to capture this one. Aside from this and a couple knives, that is all he had on his person."
The King was very suspicious of the figure and went to remove the man's mask himself, which the man vehemently argued about. The person in question was a young man in his thirties, nervously looking toward the King and the others; the King looked towards the mask and was surprised to find another vial of the green liquid within the mask.
"What the hell is this all about?" The King frowned as he looked toward the nervous man then toward the acolytes. "Use Truth Reveal, I want to know what he's hiding?"
With Truth Reveal in affect, the acolytes made sure the man was secured in a chair where the King, Sword Maiden and the high elves waited patiently to begin the interrogation.
"This vial, why were you trying to poison the water?"
"The vial…is not poison but the Miracle of Life…my master has decreed that we…share the elixir with everyone."
"Miracle of Life? Share the Elixir? This doesn't make any sense." Sword Maiden was confused by what she was hearing.
"Indeed, tell us about your Master?" The King was stern in his demand of the prisoner.
"My master…the tale that was told to me…before I had the glory of meeting him... was this…" The Faceless Man had a smile on his face as he thought about all the wonderful things he had seen this man create and would have no trouble speaking this part to the others. "He works alone, his hands defiling the bodies of the dead in his thirst for knowledge…and power…he is the Necromancer, a once respected adventurer until fate led him down another path…towards black magic. Now he has been given the secret of life…and has used this knowledge to give life to the lifeless and transform the people of the world into objects of perfection."
The smile that crossed the man's face was quite unsettling, the King, the Sword Maiden and the others were visibly nervous as they heard this and were quick to realize that the vials they held were not poison but something that should not be held in the hands of mortals.
"How long before he attacks the people with this vile formula?" Sword Maiden was worried as she heard this tale.
"It's too late…my brothers have been dispatched to villages all around the countryside…you cannot top him. These villages and your capital will be consumed by a horde of what you would call…nightmare creatures." The man once again had a hysterical smile on his face as he looked toward the people.
"The villages…the capital…the figure in black in my dreams is this Necromancer!" The King growled in frustration as he clenched his fists. "Where is he? Where is your master, this Necromancer!"
"Even I do not know. He came to me…he wanders the countryside to examine and study the beautiful creations he has unleashed. Rejoice, he has come to bless you with…"
The King drew out his sword and cut the man's throat with a quick swipe of the blade, the man gurgled on his blood briefly before toppling over. The high elves and the others were surprised not only by the king's actions but by the terrifying though of the villages all around the countryside possibly being attacked by these men and this odd formula that would transform people into monsters.
"I need a messenger bird we must warn the capital!" The King turned his attention back toward Sword Maiden. "Sword Maiden, I would ask that you and a small detachment of your warrior priests accompany me, we need to tend to as many villages near the capital and find this Necromancer!"
"I am at your disposal my Lord." Sword Maiden bowed her head then as she looked toward the slain man on the floor a sudden thought crossed her mind. "Goblin Slayer's party spoke of a man in a plague mask who silenced the man who had captured him some time ago. I am hopeful that he is also engaged with this unusual task and that our paths will cross once again."
xxxx
It was closer towards dusk when Goblin Slayer and his party approached the Guild hall with the body of the Faceless man in the back of the cart and the two severed heads as well. Cow Girl and Snow had also decided to accompany them as well in hopes of finding what exactly was going on, they'd been left out of much of what had been happening and weren't about to let that happen again. As they drew near the Guild, the party was surprised to see a massive hole near the entrance of the Guild and many of the familiar adventurers outside.
"Papa!" Half-Dragon Daughter rushed to her father side and was followed by her mother.
The party was shocked to hear that one of the Faceless Men had transformed into a monstrous creature and attacked inside the Guild. Nearby the Guild entrance they were able to see five bodies covered with a burlap trap, the fallen adventurers who tried to fight to creature but failed, and further away was the massive body of what was once a human, the mutated form of the Faceless Man. While Goblin Slayer was investigating the body of the mutated Faceless Man, Spearman and the others had gone to the cart to examine the body of the Faceless Man and the severed heads of the monster goblin and the red wolf-like creature.
"That's a goblin? What the hell kind of goblin has a head this big?" Spearman was at a loss for the side of the head they brought back.
"Forget the goblin, that I can understand, but what about this thing? I thought this was a bull skull, but you say it was more like a direwolf and could breathe fire?" Female Knight shook her head as she quickly covered up the red skull.
"Are you alright?" Lizard Priest was concerned that both his daughter and love had been endanger while he was away.
"Mama was amazing, she breathed fire to keep the monster away!"
"She exaggerates, it wasn't anything too special." Half-Dragon Mother had a slight blush on her face as she looked away, embarrassed by all the attention.
"It is no exaggeration how amazing you are my dear. I am thankful you were here to keep our daughter safe and apologize that I could not have been useful." Lizard Priest had a slight frown as he took his love's hand in hers and gently squeezed.
"You have nothing to apologize for, you had your own battle to fight. If anything, our daughter now knows that she has two capable parents to help guide her."
"I'm glad that you are safe. The idea of this man trying to poison the well on the farm and another here…it is truly terrifying." Cow Girl placed a hand on Guild Girl's shoulder to help reassure her.
"I am just thankful we had so many capable adventurers to stop this creature before any further lives were lost." Guild Girl smiled as she squeezed her friend's hand.
"Though I'm thankful that the damage was kept to a minimum, the presence of the monsters near the town and these two men at different locations does bring up a big concern." High Elf Archer frowned as she looked over all the items.
"What's that?" Priestess was concerned about what could be bothering her comrade.
"How many other villages are being targeted by these men? How many more people are becoming monsters?" Half-Demon Thief frowned as she then took up the vial in her hand and watched the liquid glow within the darkness.
Her questions brought a worried expression to all around, suddenly the rumors of hidden monsters and a mysterious plague suddenly seemed much more troubling than they had earlier that day. Goblin Slayer stood after examining the mutated body, his thoughts of these men poisoning the water and attacking his friend immediately drew parallels to the goblins he hated so much. He walked with purpose toward the others then held out his hand toward Half-Demon Thief.
"The vial."
"Huh, oh…sure here you go Goblin Slayer." Half-Demon Thief, though confused, gave him the vial.
Goblin Slayer looked at the vial in his hand then placed it into the plague mask with the other vial. Off to his left he could see bonfire lit to honor the dead who had fallen to protect the town, with an audible grunt he threw the mask into the fire, the vials broke and there was a sudden flare up in the fire before it returned to normal.
"What the hell are you doing Goblin Slayer?" Spearman was surprised by the actions of his colleague.
"We're heading out in the morning, to hunt these men down before they destroy any other villages."
Goblin Slayer's tone caught everyone by surprise, but they all grasped what he was talking about and knew he was right, various adventurers knew they would be traveling out while others decided that they too would travel on this quest, no matter how small they would help in any capacity, at that moment their goal was to maintain the peace of the countryside.
"Gather what you need. It is sure to be a long journey." Goblin Slayer looked up toward the twilight sky with a visible glow coming from his left eye within his helmet.