"They are still following us, mates!"

'A pointless statement, of course they are still following us!' Kael thought whilst looking back at the trail of blood behind them. 

Well not looking, his eyes couldn't make out the tiny flecks of red amongst the multitude of fallen leaves, at least not whilst moving but his nose told him it was there. He did not pause even with his head turned, he had to keep going, keep running no matter how tired he felt.

Their pursuers had noses that knew about the trail as well and that is why no matter how far the distance between them got at times, they were sure to return. 

'Doom, inexorable doom.'

The chase had started the night before and it was sunset now. It would get dark again and their hunters would gain the advantage, close what little distance had been created and perhaps go for the kill. Their demise was inevitable because of the nature of the chase. It was not a high speed pursuit where the victor was determined by power and agility, but a slow, grinding, mind numbing, march of atrition. Already they had gone a night without sleeping, one more and they would be dead on their feet. Their hunters no doubt knew this, it was a perfect strategy to tackle a weaker but dangerous opponent with little to no risk. For Kael and his comrades it spelt certain death.

'Outsmarted by goblins'

Technically speaking they hadn't been outsmarted so much as forced into a dicey situation but then again technically speaking lesser goblins were not considered intelligent beings. Clever and resourceful but not nearly sentient, they were comparable to ravens. Group hunters by nature, cowardly, weak and yet tenacious. A horde of them was a nightmare no one wanted to come across, but a feral pack like this one should have been beneath notice.

'We should have stood our ground, fought them off, they would have fled at the first casualty'

Yet they'd had no way if knowing whether it was ten or fifty goblins they faced, the cowardly nature of goblins made it dificult to tell the strength of their numbers based on the strategies they employed. 

'But now I know and the odds are only going to get worse. We are not going to get lucky.'

Kael stopped moving, he took his makeshift sword in his hand and gripped the hilt firmly. It was not like any other sword he had ever used before, it was too lightly curved to be scimitar yet it was no straight sword and whilst taller than a shortsword it was a far cry from a longsword, the handle was made of the same chitin as the rest of it, making it a great deal more slippery than any sword ought to be. Still it served, and he'd grown more attached to it --despite it's many faults or having never used it in against a living, moving opponent-- than any sword he'd ever used. Unlike the others it was his, he killed the spider for it, he helped make it, he sharpened it's edge each every morning, his! 

'My mind goes to the stupidest places before a fight.' He laughed silently.

The others had stopped now, he could smell their fear, blended with the scents of their sweat and a hint of fresh blood, to the creatures that dwelt these forests it was a banner of weakness. 

Kael wondered if his own fear was a part of their banner but if it was he couldn't smell it. Was he afraid? Yes but there was excitement too. He could do this, he could win, he knew he could and then it would be just another victory a learning experience, something to help shape his future as a deviant. All he needed was for his teammates to stand their ground, back him up and the goblins would flee. He could count on Gerald but Kip and the others were a mystery, they were grown men yes but age and manhood didn't equal bravery. Whatever this was his only chance, running and wishing for something to happen wasn't going to work.

'Here they come.'

The goblins were not too far away but even so they took their time, staying hidden in the leafage whilst they encircled the group. Kael and the others used this time to catch their breaths but even so they did not let their guards down. Not that they could, intermittent shreiks, yips and low growls reminded them that they were not alone and that the rustling of leaves was not the work of the wind. 

A high pitched howl silenced all the other goblin sounds and startled some birds into a noisy flight. Just after that a ring of goblins emerged wielding sharpened sticks. They were bald hairless creatures, little taller than half the height of a man, they had wrinkled ugly faces and leathery skin that was often brown or green but came in greys and dark blues as well.

The band of five pressed their backs against each others and pointed their crude weapons at the enemy. The goblins approached warily, poking with their wooden spears even though they were too far to do any harm 

'Come on already! Come die--'

A goblin interrupted Kael's thoughts by howling wildy and dashing forward in a mad sprint. Kael was dimly aware that other goblins were howling and charging at his comrades too but his atttention was focused on the goblin before him. He stepped forward and brought his sword down in an overhead strike but the goblin was scrambling backward even as he raised his arm and his blade met only air. Kael crouched low and burst forward with a powerful Voth leap. His practice bore fruit and he speared the goblin straight through the back with his sword. Hurriedly he kicked the creature of his weapon. The creature hit the ground with a weak sob and pitifully attempted crawl away even with a hole straight through its chest. The sight of its vain struggle to get away made Kael's stomach lurched but he could not look away.

When his senses came to him two goblins were assaulting him from both sides. There was a pang of fear but it dissapeared as he knocked their spears aside with a single sweep of his sword. They were weaker than the average man he realised and he would have pushed the attack but he noticed two other goblins trying to get behind him.

"Kael! Get back! They trying to seperate and surround us!" Gerald's shout warned him of what he already knew.

He spun around and slashed at one of the goblins trying to get around him, his sword bit through its arm, earining him a hateful shriek and a spray of blood but behind him he saw the dark forms of two more goblins moving in to attack. Desperate he turned to the thing that got him there in first place, he eyed his companions and noted the distance, as he was now it would not be a challenging leap, the muscles in legs uncoiled and launched him into the air. For a moment he was airborne, sailing over a bewildered goblin, his veins thrummed with exhilarating feeling of perceived weightlessness, the tiredness of the long chase was forgotten but then he crashed into the huddled forms of his comrades.

Oof! The impact had him gasping, the force of it eliciting grunts and groans from all around. Still they stood, and supported his weight till he righted himself and spun around shaprly. The goblin that sought to take him from behind yelped and run back to the safety of its brethren. This time Kael did not give chase. The others seemed fine, all of them except Gerald were panting but the goblins seemed even more unwilling to engage than before if that was even possible.

Slowly the half sized humanoids began to retreat to the shelter of the forest foilage where they dissapeared one after the other. If only for a minute but then a second howl peirced the quiet, and the goblins returned, spear ring and all.

'They have a leader, but what is it?'

Goblins were known for subjecting to stronger more intelligent creatures, chief amongst them hobgoblins who some said were the Despaired version of goblins. It was unlikely to be a hobgoblin however as they were good at controlling and managing goblins and hence tended to form larger packs than this one.

A series of sharp barks were uttered and a wave of sharpened stones pelted the humans from all sides.

The stick wielding goblins kept their distances and their hidden companions hurled even more sharpened stones. Kael's leathery skin meant none of the stones cut him and worst he got were bruises but the others were only human and some of them were already sporting nasty gashes, worst of all was Kip whose six foot frame made him an easy and intiviting target.

"Engage the spearmen!" Gerald yelled

'Spearmen,... seriously?'

Still Kael did as bid and tried to close the distance between him and the stick wielding goblins. However the goblins only retreated further back into the forestry where the humans dared not follow otherwise they'd be swarmed and separated.

Again a shower of stones pelted them, Kael felt like screaming out in frustration. He knew the goblins would soon run out of stones but the idea of having the fight dictated by witless goblins infuriated him, yet what could he do? 

Gerald sheathed his sword and stared at the incoming rain of stones. Everything about the goblins angered him, he felt it in his chest, a black pit of fury. Breathing out sharply he let a trickle of despair flow thtough him, sighing as it chased away his aches and quieted the stinging. A trickle that was all it took and the fall of the stones slowed until he could he count them all thrice and still have time to move away before they hit. 

He plucked two stones out of the air and semt them hurtling at the dark shapes still hidding behind the vegetation. Yelps of pain rewarded his efforts.

'Dead' he thought with satisfaction but it was not enough to rid him of the anger. 

A particularly courageous goblin tried to attack him now that he was unarmed and he answered with a sharp kick that sent it flying out sight.

Another wave of stones was comming he noted angrily. 

'Why do these insignificants think they can even touch me?!'

Drawing on more despair he grabbed a one of the goblins surrounding them by it's stick. The goblin wailed but Gerald paid no mind, he knocked away the incoming stones with the goblin. It cried and let go off the stick but that only allowed Gerald to flip the spear around and grab it by the butt. A forceful throw buried the spear into another unsuspecting hidden goblin. Without pausing he grabbed the now fleeing unarmed goblin by the head and proceeded to beat the remaining bloody with it.

The goblins began to flee en masse, screaming curses as they bolted. Gerald flung the limp goblin body he was holding at another that was running away. The two hit the ground in a squealing tangle of limbs. 

Gerald picked his sword and chased after them, venting as he cut them down with killing stroke after killings stroke. They were so helpless before him that he often did not need despair to finish them with a swift slash. Finally he was sated and largely out of victims, that was when he saw it, it was not like the others. It was much taller and completely decked ill-fitting but impressive looking dull red armour. Gerald accessed it's approaching form with clear blue eyes. He was bone tired and half out of despair, time to call it quits in his opinion but the approaching hobgoblin wasn't like to take that for an answer. Gerald gave it a second once over, raised his sword at it and then run away for dear life. 

Kael watched Gerald dance amongst the fleeing goblins, his movements weren't particularly fast but they were skillful and lethal. Sparing only the shortest of moments for each kill the blue eyed boy claimed life after life from the goblins, chasing them out of sight and into the trees. 

'We were holding him back...' 

Kael felt envious, he had neither the skill nor the strength and speed Gerald had just displayed. Yet he was the hideous monster, he couldn't even say for sure that he would possess a human body again. Perhaps he would die here in the middle of nowhere in the form of an incomplete twisted being that did not fit into any one race, a reflection of who he had been in life a desperate unloved little boy. 

Thinking on Gerald's combat superiority Kael felt a growing desire to absorb the spider bloodline within him for improvements or drain all the goblin corpses and savour the sweetness of their blood. But neither was feasible, intergrating the spider bloodline would take a minimum of days and if he drained the goblins he would lose his mind and assault Kip and the others without Gerald's pressence to keep him in check. Tired, he sat on the ground and played with a leaf.

Gerald run as fast as he could, both his deviation and his body were strained from the effort but a glance back told him the hobgoblin was hot on his tail. The sprints to the miniscule clearing where they'd fought of the goblins was a short one. He seemed to burst out of the copse and into the tiny clearing just as he began to run. 

Spinning he slashed at the now emerging hobgoblin visciously. The greater goblin's entirely black eyes widened in suprise but he handled it well, he dove out of the way with a well timed roll and rose from it with a strike of it's own.

The two exchanged a flurry of blows with dizzying speed. Kael and the others stood up and tried to assist Gerald but none of them could find the space to attack without getting in Gerald's way. 

Kael gazed with envying eyes as they matched blades in a lethal dance. A handful of goblins showed their heads and stared on reverently as their leader battled the killer of their brethren. 

At first glance Gerald seemed to be winning but Kael soon realised he was wrong. The goblin was just as fast as Gerald was and whilst the latter was far more skilled the former was well armoured and hence bolder. Gerald was forced into a more cautious defensive position and the few strikes he managed to get past the goblin's sword glanced harmlessly against its armour. Worse if their capacities were similar in size the Gerald would run out before it did. The only hope Kael could see was that the goblin wore a half helm and as such a well placed blade could split its face.

Kael had to do something, he stared on intently waiting for a chance to intercede but the two combatants spiralled faster and faster, their blades seeming nothing but silver arcs, streaking through the air and the erupting in sparks and clangs where they met. He was too slow and a mistake here would end in all their deaths.

Gerald kept swinging his sword, there was no time for anything else. His enemy was a shit swordsman but it's armour was unnaturally tough, he would not be able to break it, but perhaps if he could---

'Fuck!'

The goblin had caught his blade with a gauntleted hand, Gerald suspected that even so the sword had cut into its hand as well but before he test his suspicions with a yank the goblin swung it's sword at him and he was forced to let go of his or get cut in two. 

'Fuck, fuck, fuck!'

The goblin flicked his hand deftly and Gerald's blade danced in it's hands. Pleased, it began to attack him with both swords. It's sword play was poor to begin with and with two blades it only got worse, still Gerald was now unarmed and slightly slower meaning the goblin could focus on attacking whilst he was forced to avoid getting cut, it was only a matter of time till it got lucky. 

Moving even faster than before Gerald side stepped one blade then ducked beneath the next. He seemed to know where each blade was heading before the goblin itself did, the demi human strokes became wilder and Gerald's movements became surer. Gerald led the goblin left, then jerked to the right, he spun out of the way of both blades and tackled the goblin to ground.

On the attack now Gerald slammed his head into the goblin's over and over again. Each time he raised his head it seemed bloodier, soon it dripped steadily with the blood of both fighters. Gerald smashed his head against the goblin's one final desperate time. His sight was filled with red and everything hurt but just maybe, maybe it would be enough. 

Beneath him the hobgoblin growled, it's inhuman face was twisted with untempered rage. Not enough, Gerald raised a shaky fist, he would punch bastard to death even if it took all day. Unfortunately the goblin was faster, it planted a knee in his stomach and then knocked him aside with an armoured fist. 

Rising, it grabbed him by his dirty matted hair, and started punching him.

'I will die here... no one will save me this time... no one can...' his head felt like it would break in two with every punch, by now he was no doubt unrecognizable. 

Thunk! The goblin's helm was hit off it's head by a black flash. Growling it dropped Gerald and turned to face the fool who attacked it from behind. Kael's outstretched arm, shook feebly, when he planned this he had hoped the tentacle would take the goblin's head as well as it's helm but asides from a nasty gash the creature's head remaind intact. 

It lashed out at Kael, seizing him by the neck. One hand lifted Kael off the ground whilst a foot pinned Gerald down. It raised it's head and howled, what remaind of it's followers would return to it now. They would be reminded that it's strength was absolute, that it was first amongst goblins and hence first amongst all creatures!

It never saw the club that slammed into it's head from behind. A single hit from the six foot Kip, snapped it's neck and killed it on the spot. The goblins that were returning fled when they saw others doing the same, a pack that might have become a true hoard was crushed with that blow, reduced to wandering bands. Some of which would die of, others would subsist, barely surviving until another hobgoblin emerged from their numbers, another first amongst goblins, another chacnce at surviving in a hostile world. 

For Kael and his band it would be their first brush with death after escaping the Voth, being attacked by a single crazed rat did not count. It would help lessen the divide between the deviant boys and the ordinary men, teach them to trust and depend on. each other in the fights to come, whatever form they took. It was also their first major setback, Gerald's injuries were two serious to continue travelling and he was the teams muscle futhermore Kip, Bloke and Barnel had bleeding soles. After days of intense walking their blisters had become sores, the source of the blood scent that led the goblins to thinking attacking them was a good idea in the first place. The goblins had meant to separate their wounded members from the healthy ones and so what should have been a low risk hunt became a slaughter fest. The hunters were defeated and their intended prey grew stronger for it.

Elsewhere in the forest another pair of hunters found the same blood trail that led to the end of goblin pack. Eagerly they set down the same path perhaps however they would find a different end to their hunt, perhaps not. It is often difficult to tell the end of a hunt when it first begins.