"This is a dumb idea, and you know it, Stoss." Warrior had told him before they all sneaked out of the training grounds five minutes ago.
"Ja—Yeah. But do you have a better plan?" Since the sapphire-rank didn't, he'd kept his mouth shut, and Stosstruppler wished he didn't. Ever since the Grünskins raided the Adventurers' Guild's training grounds—no, ever since they raided the medical tents—everyone was on edge now.
He asked Priestess, as their wagon, reinforced by extra wooden walls, rumbled along, "How are they doing?" while she tended to the wounded.
"Not terrible. The poison will take ten minutes to cause permanent damage if we don't hurry," the blonde medic said, securing a cloth tightly around a worker's leg. She glanced back at him, Stoss sitting beside their wagon's driver. "...Do you think we'll be able to get them back to town in time?" Her voice, for the first time, sounded unsure. A stark contrast to the confidence she had shown in the past couple of weeks.
"I still don't know," the ex-Soldat muttered, the weight of recent events heavy on his mind, given what they promised to the silvers, and Stoss to Goblin Slayer. "We must remain alert," he said, watching the other two wagons and their rookie escorts moving ahead.
Rookie. Escorts.
"Hurry it up," Stosstruppler urged the driver, "we're nearly in the clearing."
"Yes, sir!" the porcelain, old enough to shave, flicked the reins and urged the two horses to pick up their pace.
"Uh-huh." Stoss ignored the kid (he may have been a year younger than him) calling him sir. Given the situation, Stoss had to fall back on military etiquette—actually, fall back on a lot of things—to win the day. And he hated every minute of it.
As the road got bumpier, and the thick woods on either side of the dirt path swayed a little faster from the spring breeze, Stoss steadied his breathing.
It almost made him miss the sudden rustle from the underbrush close by. "Hold it," he said, loud enough to be heard but low enough to maintain some stealth.
All three wagons jerked to a stop, eliciting startled reactions from the passengers on board. Amidst the commotion ahead, Wizard Boy's impatient voice pierced the air. "Hey! Why've we stopped? We need to keep moving! Those dirty goblins could be upon us any minute—"
"Wait, brother." Wizard pressed a finger to his lips. "Listen." She pointed upwards to the obscured night sky, barely visible through the thick canopy of trees.
The forest fell silent, holding its breath.
Stoss leaped from his wagon, landing in a crouch by a couple of startled-looking adventurers, arms at the ready. He nodded to each of them, grateful for their bravery. Other than the horses huffing from the stop, no one made a sound.
Snap. Stoss swung his crossbow to where he thought he heard the noise. Then someone in Warrior's and Fighter's wagon gasped, pointing by the roadside.
A bush pointed more out into the road than it was supposed to be, continued to shake—after the breeze blew past it. An up-down motion coming from in it.
Then it stopped. "…gruh…?"
Stoss fired, and the body of a goblin fell out. Its hacksaw clattering right next to it. The tree behind it was halfway cut.
"Ha, ha!" someone came up behind Stoss to slap him on the back. "Nice aimmin'—!" He never got to finish saying "sir."
Abruptly, a sickening squoosh rang out by Stoss's left ear, blood splattering across his face, snapping him to alertness. Spinning around, he saw the young recruit collapse with a thud, his helmet tumbling to Stoss's feet, blood pouring from the back of his skull.
"Ambush!" Stoss knew the reason. "They're in the trees!"
Frantic shouts and thundering footsteps filled the air as everyone scrambled off the road, bolting forward. The wagons jerked into motion as their drivers whipped their horses, the thunder of hooves drowning out the first rocks hurtling down.
"Ah, crap! He wasn't lying!" exclaimed a small girl, one Stoss recognized from Wizard Boy's entourage, pointing upwards.
There, on their branches, in the high-up peeks, were a dozen yellow glowing eyes, cackling as they hurled their ordnance down on their retreating foe.
Stoss dodged incoming stones, urging stragglers to move faster. He caught up to the wagons, staying close but maintaining speed. Meanwhile, goblins leaped from the trees, harassing the group. The adventurers fought back, but Stoss remained cautious of losing anyone.
As the wagons veered right, then left towards safety, a rookie stumbled and fell. A goblin seized the opportunity, descending upon her with a raised knife. With a shout, Stoss rushed forward. Discarding his crossbow to the sling that held it and drawing his saber. The goblin fell before it knew what had hit it.
"I'm sorry…!" that same rhea cried out, huffing. "Training was hard today!"
"Yes?" Stoss couldn't help but chuckle, picking her up. "Don't let it happen a—"
Twang! A massive force collided with his helmet, not from above, but from his left, straight on. One moment he was, for the first time this week, not scared or overthinking. The next, reeling and thrown on his side, clutching his left ear, feeling as if he took a sledgehammer across the face. Again?! He thought, positive his old wound opened up, again.
"Sto…ss..! …to…ss! Are…y..u..ay..?" He found Priestess at his side, a bright light above her head, her urgent voice cutting through the chaos.
"W-Was?" he tried saying, but couldn't hear his own voice. Only bells in his ears.
She kept pointing ahead, their wagon right next to them, and then she gasped. Corking his head to the side, he stretched his neck over her shoulder. Past an adventurer or two guarding them, also pointing down the road.
As the other wagons blitzed out of the road—now that they knew where the goblins were—he saw one tree further down the line swinging violently. Stoss smacked his new Stahlhelm, expecting his vision to break off. His eyes cleared a little, but the tree kept swinging. Then it lurched forward, crashing down onto the road with a deafening thud, narrowly missing the first wagon, but landing on the second, which was slowing down.
Stoss thought he glimpsed Wizard Boy grabbing and throwing his sister with him out of the way in time; other adventurers onboard doing the same. However, the impact of the falling tree obscured his view. The horses, spooked by a tree falling on them, decided they had enough, and bolted from the scene, leaving the trapped central- and rear-wagon adventurers to fend for themselves.
There was no sign of anyone with red hair and green in their trapped wagon. No bodies. No blood. Nothing.
"Wizard…" Stosstruppler's voice came, far away, "Wizard Boy…" He panted. Standing up, his boots turned to their destroyed wagon. Should I check—?
"Stoss..!" Priestess shook him harder. "…my spell won't last…long. We have to leave somehow…before the goblins realize what's happening!"
All around them, goblins deep in the woods, others high up in the trees, and a couple were falling and splattering the pavement from Priestess's Holy Light spell, shielding their eyes, took him by storm.
"Scheisse!" he cursed out loud. I knew they would try to hamper us on the road back. But I didn't think they'd go so far as to cut down a tree to do it. Damn it! How could I be so blind? Again!
"Stoss…!" Priestess's voice trembled as Holy Light began to fade; darkness barely masked by a torch or two.
Stoss looked back at the wrecked wagon, the cacophony of swords clashing and goblin shrieks filling the air. He hoped Fighter, Warrior, and the other adventurers were managing to fend off the green vermin on the opposite side. However, the adventurers on his flank were either scrambling over the fallen tree, seeking refuge at the rear, or cowering on the ground in fear. Again, there was no sign of anyone with red hair and green uniforms among them. Wizard. Wizard Boy. He bit his lips, drawing blood.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Rhea Fighter, that was her name, cried out.
"Sir!" The rookies' voices rang out, too, huddling closer to the fading Light, seeking guidance. "Sir?" "Sir, what's your order?"
"I'm thinking!" he shouted, fumbling with the bolt on his crossbow, feeling its weight both physically and metaphorically as sweat streamed down his pale face.
Cut off from the column, the middle wagon beyond repair, Priestess struggling to maintain Holy Light above them, the…loss of the wizard siblings, and the expectant gaze of those around him forced Stoss to confront a harsh truth he had been avoiding since his return to the adventurer's life.
"...I wish I still had my guns."
Two Weeks Before…
It was a bright spring morning in a dirty Ratte hole. The air was stale and damp. The jagged rocks stuck out and proud from their corners. Goblins were coming out of the walls…Goblins were coming out of the walls?!
Stosstruppler choked on his drink, the can clattering against the cave walls near a human skull. He scrambled for his crossbow and fired at the closest Grünskin, its child-size head emerging from the wall, toppling as he hit it.
Stoss spluttered to the others, "A-Attack!" He ducked back just as several green heads squeezed out of the opening like cannonballs. They charged at him, their bodies slapping against the cold floor. "Scheisse!" Stoss cursed, fumbling with the crossbow's string.
Amidst the chaos, the metallic clanking of Goblin Slayer's chainmail and boots echoed behind him. "How many this time?" he demanded, his voice cutting through the den as he approached. Fresh blood stains adorned his dirtier cuirass, reflecting the torchlight.
"I-I don't know! I was taking a drink when they poured out! And—" Within the narrow tunnel, no wider than two men side by side, yellow eyes leaped at him. Only when Stoss could make out their grotesque green faces and raised daggers did he react.
Blood sprayed across his boyish face before he could draw his shorter-than-normal saber, the sprite's corpse rolling back into the darkness.
"Count…the next time you decide to watch the front…" Goblin Slayer said, panting right next to him.
"I—"
Goblin Slayer fired back to High Elf Archer: "Ten in total! Two down!" He hurtled something else at the goblins right after. Stoss didn't see what.
"Gra—!" A goblin caught it. Whatever it was.
"That's three."
"Here's four!" An arrow sliced through the air, narrowly missing Stosstruppler's ear. Another goblin's sharp squawk signaled the demise of yet another fairy. Despite the Stahlhelm shielding Stoss's head, hearing threats in time was nearly impossible. He slammed the butt of his pseudo-rifle against his shoulder, locking eyes with the remaining adversaries. Glowing orbs, one after another, pierced the darkness, almost within spitting distance of the torch's flickering ring. Which meant that…
One charged at him like a wild boar, spear aimed for his left thigh, tongue flapping in the damp air, screaming in either fright or ecstasy.
Dropping his crossbow, Stoss twisted, his right boot scraping the ground as the green pigdog charged. Goblin Slayer didn't intervene. A second one followed. Sucking in air, Stoss paused, timing the strike, then, like a quick draw, his saber sliced through the air and the goblin's spearhead in one stroke. The rock-tipped stick javelined into the nearest wall, the shaft snapping. "Rrah?!" the goblin yelped.
Stosstruppler used the swing's momentum, balled his fist, and struck the creature's long beak-like nose. Weak bone cracked under his knuckles. He then locked his shoulder back, both hands on the handle, poised to finish the enemy.
Then someone whose voice didn't scream unless distressed yelled further behind him, "Stoss, watch out!"
"Huh?" He flung around to the front. Another twinkle deeper into the tunnels flicked, and an arrow. "Oh, Sch—!" Stoss swung his right arm up. Then almost fell back.
Steel tore through wood and leather, sending debris flying in all directions. Despite its limited power, the goblin-made arrow struck with force, grazing past Stosstruppler's left ear. He jerked and yelped, his hand instinctively reaching to assess the injury, while his legs kept him from falling completely. Crimson glistened in the dim light of the torch as Stoss staggered, clutching his injured ear.
"I thought you said you were ready?" Goblin Slayer flung the second goblin aside, bashing another right after. "Five!" he roared.
"I am ready!" Stoss sounded affronted. "It's—!" He clenched behind his ear and squeezed it in pain.
"Stay back! I'll handle this." Goblin Slayer barreled his way through the last four goblins alone.
"But..." As Stoss rubbed his neck, another arrow flew overhead, smacking some goblin laughing.
"Stoss…! Stoss!" Priestess finally came up. "I'm here..! I'm…whew…goodness. Are you hit?"
"...Ja, a little." He pulled his hand away. The hotness dripped from below his ear to his neck.
"Here. Hold the torch. I'll put dressing on the wound."
"Priest, I'm fine. It's not terrible. Give me an antidote, and—"
"No, buts!" Priestess insisted. "It'll get infected if we don't treat it right away! Now, please. Hold still." She snapped his head away from her towards the front and held it with one hand, like a barber would. Except, instead of a haircut, she didn't cut his hair right away. Priestess was rummaging through her medical bag setting down the golden staff she performed miracles with.
Waiting for her to finish, Stoss observed Goblin Slayer dispatching the remaining goblins with sharp jabs and cuts, forcing one to disengage. Lizard Priest joined the fray, staying close behind, ready to handle any goblins thrown back by his leader, wielding a long farming tool.
The last goblin attempted a surprise attack on Goblin Slayer by bouncing off the ceiling and descending on him but was met with resistance from the leader's chainmail. Goblin Slayer retaliated by slamming it against the wall with his buckler and burning its face with his torch, leaving the body charred and blackened.
"Wow—" Stosstruppler started to say when Priestess pressed something utterly cold and wet against his skin, shivering him. "Gott, I hate rubbing alcohol!" he shut one eye from the pain.
"That's nine." Goblin Slayer announced.
"Looks like that's three attacks already," Priestess said, watching. "But we're not even halfway in, though…" She crossed herself, muttering a prayer.
After witnessing the chaos, Stoss could only manage a bitter remark. "Not a good start," then "...for this season's opening…" he muttered to himself. Removing the arrowhead lodged in his gauntlet, he tossed it aside.
It bounced off the bald head of the goblin he had punched, trying to get up. Stoss's nose flared.
"Wait!" Priestess withdrew when he sprang up, marching to the dying goblin. Saber in hand. "Your wound isn't—"
Slap! Squish.
"—disinfected, yet." Priestess sighed. "Honestly. You don't listen, like Goblin Slayer."
"Nein," Stoss twisted the blade, "I do not."
"Is he dead already?" High Elf strolled over, observing the second-in-command's handiwork. Blood oozed from the filthy creature until its heart stopped. "Gross! I swear that's like the second one you had to kill personally like that in a couple of minutes. What's up, Dreaded Trooper?"
"I don't know." Stoss no longer cared if she used that name anymore. He yanked the blade out, getting bits sprayed on his dark blue tunic and trousers. "I… don't know what's wrong with me today. I feel off…Danke."
Priestess handed him the bottle he threw first, then the weapon he started using now. "I'm sorry. I can't purify it yet. Not unless we need to use a proper healing or support spell first, right? Hehe."
"I understand." Stoss took it without any hurry. He said, twisting the cord seal shut, "If I knew today would be this demanding, I would have brought more."
"Don't be afraid of keepin' up, laddie," Dwarf Shaman—Stoss didn't see him standing behind High Elf—chuckled hefty like the dwarven grandfather he tried to be. "You can't always expect the fight to end the same way you left it, after all! Why, just asked Beard-Cutter over 'ere."
"What is it?" Goblin Slayer removed a pickaxe from one of the first goblin bodies. So that's what he threw. Stoss noted.
"It is nothing, Sir Goblin Slayer," Lizard Priest told the steel goblin killer. "Sir Mage was only informing Sir Stosstruppler that the first quests back on duty are acceptable in not performing as well as before. So long as your allies are there to lift you up, that is."
Goblin Slayer glanced back at his aid. "I see," he said, returning to what he was doing.
Stoss grunted.
"I'll check if Goblin Slayer has any wounds, too." Priestess started to get up, only after tightening the white rag around Stoss's neck. She said, wiping dust off her white with blue temple skirt, "Be back."
"Sure." Stoss handed back the torch and watched her give Goblin Slayer it after throwing the other away, muttering thanks. Goblin Slayer, not turning around to see if his adjutant was all right, made Stosstruppler sigh out loud.
High Elf threw her arm around him. "Heyy! Don't sweat it! It's only the first quest of the day, ya know? A goblin quest at that," she spat that word out, showing how much she didn't fancy it, much less have the adventure involve them, period. She went on, "Besides, Glasses isn't here anyway for you to show off to." She raised her eyebrows up and down. "Unless you're trying to impress me?"
"Er, sure." Stoss felt a sweat drop. "If you say so." He shoved his helmet down to shadow his thoughts better. All the while, looking back at their leader. Patting him on the arm, he and the Silver-ranked archer regrouped with the others.
Goblin Slayer, who filed the bodies to one side, silently counted. "...That's twenty-two goblins killed, plus the one back there. But there's double the amount deeper down."
"Wait. 'Double the amount'?" High Elf exclaimed. "Geez! At this point, we might as well sit tight and wait for them to come to us, cause my arrows aren't getting any younger!" She made a point to pull the timber-shafted, skinnier-tipped arrows from her pack. The shaft on one of them bent sideways already.
Dwarf Shaman stared at it from below her, following it up to the acorn-carved tip. "If that's all you're worried 'bout flat-chest, then we truly are burden by bringin' you with us."
"Ah—What—" High Elf's face heated. "Shut up, you barrel-sized jerk! How about I kick your stumpy ass down to see how far you can roll, huh? That'll alert the goddamn goblins real quick!" Shaman laughed like that was the funniest thing in the world. Archer fumed. Lizard Priest—Gott help him—groaned.
While the group took the temporary respite underneath, Stosstruppler heard Goblin Slayer, kneeling by the bodies, say, "Hey, come here real quick," seemingly impatiently. Stoss trudged to him right away. He felt Priestess looked back at him. High Elf too. Stoss didn't turn his head around.
The former trooper knelt by his leader as he twirled an arrow he dislodged from a Grün's ribs between his thumb and following fingers. "Goblin Slayer?" Stoss began. His light Reich accent was apparent. "What is it?"
"This quest you picked," Goblin Slayer began.
"Yes." Stoss nodded, trepidation forming on his forehead down his neck to the wound, wondering why Goblin Slayer started the conversation that way. "W-What about it?" he asked, trying to hide his worries.
"Do the cave walls look different to you?" Goblin Slayer asked, seriously.
"Er, yes?" That wasn't what the ex-Sturm trooper had expected. "They came out of one hole, I think. Uh…this one to be exact." He pointed to the one right behind his leader's shoulder.
"Yeah. That one." Goblin Slayer looked like he knew that already.
Stoss rubbed his cheek with his facemask. "Is that…good?"
Goblin Slayer now asked Lizard Priest, who was within earshot, "What do you think of it?" bugging Stosstruppler. Why did you want to ask me, anyway? He thought, his brows creased.
"In these narrow walls, being outnumbered should not matter much. However," the lizardman rubbed his long green jaw, "it is strange that the last three skirmishes barely qualified as general ambushes and more of a way to draw us deeper into this cavern. If they burst through more walls, say, one behind us in a pincer attack…that could be dangerous."
"I thought so." Goblin Slayer's nod showed what he wanted to hear.
Stoss muttered, "From the walls behind us?" he asked the two Silver-ranked adventurers, "How can they even manage that so quickly?"
Goblin Slayer's disappointment was evident in his body language as Stosstruppler's words lingered. The faint sound of rattling beads under his worn armor echoed, a testament to battles endured. Stosstruppler sensed the weight of experience in the subtle exhale from beneath Goblin Slayer's helmet. Despite the obscurity, Goblin Slayer's posture conveyed a profound understanding of the situation. Then, quietly, he stated, "They're goblins. They always find a way."
Embarrassment washed over Stoss. Holding his hands behind his back, he took a few steps back, looking down a little. "...yeah. Of course. Sorry." He retreated to the nearest wall, letting them continue their conversation without him.
"…We must've gone pretty deep down, then, huh?" High Elf pointed out, glancing back at Stoss. She took a sip of Priestess's water. "Thanks," she said absentmindedly.
"No problem," Priestess replied, also looking at Stoss as he reloaded his crossbow.
Shoving his boot through his cross's stirrup, biting down on an arrow, Stosstruppler couldn't help but think, How can I be so stupid?
Meanwhile, Dwarf Shaman voiced his concern gruffly. "Hrm. This could be a handful. We'll need to protect her while we fight," he added, gesturing towards the frightened girl they had discovered by the second ambush, now wrapped in a cloak provided by Priestess.
"I still have spells left," Priestess said. "It sounded like this was going to be a long one."
"If they multiply any further, they'll attack the surface easily. We have to kill all of them," Goblin Slayer reminded everyone.
"Man, that's gonna be nuts," High Elf remarked, running a gloved hand over her mint-colored silk hair.
Goblin Slayer tilted his head at her. "You want to rest?"
"Not the issue here."
As they conversed, Stosstruppler lingered on the sidelines, listening, pulling the strings of his new gun back with frustration, unsure of what to do. Tactically, Lizard Priest noted the condensed environment, but a troubling realization began to gnaw at him. How could the Grünskins shovel fast enough to maneuver around them undetected? It struck Stoss as odd—wasn't it too complex for goblins? Of course not, he scolded himself. You've been fighting them for a year. What's wrong with you? Stosstruppler pounded his fist against his helmet, the thud ringing in his ears.
He felt only a glimmer of relief when Dwarf Shaman muttered, "Tunnel…?" followed by an "Ah, so that's it." The bushy mage slapped his massive palm against his temple. "Looks like you've started to rub off on me, too, Beard-Cutter."
" 'Emergency escape route'?" High Elf repeated what the overall leader had said, looking puzzled.
Goblin Slayer explained, "We've rescued the hostage, eliminating the need to risk another ambush." He tossed something to High Elf and Priestess. "Put that on."
Priestess examined the small, shiny object in her palm. Stoss tilted his head in curiosity. "A ring?" It dawned on him. "Goblin Slayer, isn't that—?"
"It is. Same one." With a roll of manila paper in hand, Goblin Slayer faced the group. "Try not to fall behind, or you'll get swept up by the current."