SJ stormed into the barracks, her anger building as she had walked there. The poor Human member of the guard, struck by the flying door, staggered backwards, holding his now bloody nose.

"Owww," the guard cried.

All the heads from those who sat at the desks in the central area turned and peered over at the dramatic entrance SJ had just made.

"I am so sorry," SJ exclaimed, seeing the blood gushing from his crooked nose. Ripping part of her sleeve off, she handed it to the guard, who stared at her with confusion and hostility.

"Be more careful next time," he said, taking the piece of cloth and holding it to his nose.

SJ's sleeve began to repair itself as the guard's eyes opened in amazement.

"Cool dress," he said, nodding his head in appreciation, before continuing his journey out the door, wincing as he squeezed his nose.

SJ turned, trying to compose herself, and walked meaningfully up to the front desk. The usual old Orc sat behind the counter and eyed her suspiciously.

"And what brings you here so quickly that you injure one of the town guards?"

Feeling flustered now rather than the anger that had been building, she replied in a much meeker voice than she had intended. "I am here to see Captain Broadaxe, please."

"I am sorry he is not in," the Orc replied.

"Is there anyone I can speak to who can help me?"

"It depends on the issue. If you tell me, I can inquire about who may be best suited."

"Cristy is missing from the Orphanage, and I want to know what is being done about it."

"Ah, I see. Well, that's the usual procedure for any missing being. The druids are scouting, and the guards are looking for signs."

"Has no one started to go after her then?"

"Go after her? She is an orphaned Gnoll. Do you expect the guard to give up their duties to run after a child?"

The response sent SJ's blood boiling for an instant. "THAT IS MY EXACT POINT. SHE IS AN ORPHANED CHILD," she bellowed.

"You need to calm down. There is no need to shout. The standard missing protocols are being followed. She has not even been gone for more than twelve hours. Many children will return home once they get hungry. It has happened before and won't be the first or last time."

"You do know why she has gone missing, don't you?"

"We received the report from the orphanage that she has been missing since before breakfast," the Orc replied, looking at the ledger before him.

"And what about this?" SJ said, slamming the crudely drawn map under his nose onto the counter.

The Orc looked over it briefly, "Whoever did this needs to learn how to spell."

"Cristy drew it. It was found in her room; she is heading to the Hobgoblins."

The old Orc scratched his head slightly, looking at the map again. "I suppose this could be the lake and the forest," he said.

"Are you for real? Her dad was killed in the latest raid, and she said to me previously she was going to hunt them down and kill them. She has now disappeared, taking a small backpack and stealing food from the orphanage pantry. Don't you think it is all a little coincidental and that to say that she will probably return this evening is acceptable?" SJ hissed angrily.

At that moment, SJ noticed Mayor Maxwell walking down the stairs from his office.

"Mayor," she called, pushing through the barrier and walking up to him as the old Orc protested.

"SJ! What's wrong?" he asked, frowning deeply.

"Cristy is missing, and these buffoons are not doing anything to find her."

"Buffoons?" The Mayor responded.

"Idiots is that a better word," she snapped.

"You mean little Cristy Henrick's daughter?"

"Yes. She disappeared this morning and hasn't been seen since. She left this in her room," SJ said, handing the map to the Mayor.

He looked at it briefly before looking up and over at the old Orc sitting on the desk. "Do you know where Alice went?"

"She went to the Baker's some dispute over flour pricing. Why?" he replied.

"Can you ask one of the guards to find her and ask her to return to see me as soon as possible?"

"Certainly, Mayor."

"Come, SJ, let's go upstairs. You look like you need a drink," The Mayor said, directing her to the stairs.

SJ was stalking back and forth across the Mayor's office. He had offered her a drink, but she had declined, asking for a coffee instead. A large Bugbear walked into the room carrying a tray and placed it on the cupboard at the side of the room.

"Coffee," he asked.

"Please," SJ's single-word response came. He poured her a large mug and brought it to her. Mayor Maxwell sat behind his large desk. He was such a bear of a man that he even made the desk look small when he sat behind it. He leaned over a map, studying it.

"Thank you. Karlson," he said, not looking up.

SJ stopped pacing for the first time since she had reached his office. She took the mug and sipped the hot liquid.

"If Cristy has really headed towards the valley, she won't have reached it yet. Looking at the distance, I expect it to take her at least a day. Reaching the river is one thing. Getting down into the valley is another. The trail by the river is not easy to traverse."

"I can't believe nothing has been done yet," SJ fumed.

"I wouldn't say nothing. I would say that the usual protocol was followed. Until you showed me the map about her plans, no one would have expected her to go down to the valley."

"How did the guards, it was reported to, not ask?"

"I will find out, don't worry, but in their defence, which I know isn't very helpful now. The number of reports they receive about missing children is quite high. Parents are known to overly worry, and nearly always, they end up back home as expected."

"I understand that, but she was an orphan who had spoken about revenge," SJ kicked at one of the chair legs in front of the Mayor's desk. The Mayor raised an eyebrow, looking at her.

"Sorry," she replied, "I am just so angry and upset."

"As soon as Alice is here, I will ask her to send Rex out looking. He can let her other familiars know. I am sure we can find her soon enough."

"I hope so," SJ replied, sitting in one of the chairs.

"At least you are no longer wearing the wood out on the floor," the Mayor said, smiling at her.

"I just want Cristy back home and safe."

"I know, and we will find her. Don't worry."

SJ sat silently, drinking her coffee. Once she had finished the first mug, she got up and poured herself another. It wasn't much later when Alice returned to the offices.

"Mayor. You wished to see me?" she asked, looking at SJ.

"Yes. Alice, thank you for coming. I hope you got the issue resolved you were looking into?" he asked.

"Yes, it is sorted out. Hubert was up to his old tricks again. Gladys has pulled him in line."

"Ha. He tries the price scam every few months. You would have thought he would have tried something new by now," the Mayor chuckled.

"What did you need me for so urgently?" Alice enquired.

SJ had been sitting, frustrated at the general conversation, and couldn't hold back. "Cristy is missing, and we need to find her," she said bluntly.

"Cristy?" Alice asked.

"Henrick's surviving daughter, she had been staying at the orphanage and disappeared this morning," the Mayor said.

"And what is unusual about that?" Alice asked, frowning.

"It appears she has given herself a quest seeking revenge," the Mayor replied.

"What!" Alice exclaimed.

"Here," the Mayor picked up the sheet of parchment, holding it out for Alice.

Taking the map, she looked over it for a few moments before looking up with a shocked expression. "You think she will have gone to the Hobs village?"

"SJ does, and I am strongly inclined to support the theory. Grief can be hard to overcome without direction and guidance," he replied.

"What did you wish me to do?" Alice asked.

"Could you have Rex and your others look for her towards the valley? They would ignore a Gnoll travelling through the woods, but she is still so young and defenceless."

"I can. I will call Rex now. It may take some time for him to get the message to the rest."

"The sooner the better."

"May I?" Alice asked.

"Please," the Mayor replied.

Alice walked over to the window in the Mayor's office where SJ had seen Rex land previously. Taking what SJ thought was a whistle from her pocket, she blew on it. No sound came out that she could hear, at least.

"I don't know how long it will take him to return. I will go and wait in my office," Alice said as she walked from the room.

"There, we have done all we can for now. The familiars will be the best option to locate her," the Mayor said.

"What about getting her to return, though?" SJ asked.

"Once we locate her, we can send some guards to bring her back."

"That could take hours, though."

"Yes, it may, but what other option do we have? There is no guarantee that she stayed on the main path in the woods."

"I can't just sit around here and wait," SJ said. "I am going to go and start heading towards the valley on the off chance she is still on the path."

"I can't stop you from doing what you think is best; just be careful; there have been reports of increasing activity in the woods over the past few days."

"What activity?"

"Wolves. There is a suspicion that Dire Wolf may have led a pack onto the ridge."

"That is even more reason to be out there looking," SJ replied in shock.

"We still don't know if she has gone that way. I would wait until we get the reports back."

"I am not going to leave it on the off chance she isn't," SJ stated flatly, frustration building in her again. Standing, she walked to the tray and placed the mug down. "Thank you for your help, Mayor."

"Be careful," the Mayor replied with a genuine look of concern on his face.

Walking out of the barracks, SJ swore under her breath.

"Why are they not sending guards," she hissed.

"I can see both sides," Dave replied. "If there is a Dire Wolf in the area, they must be careful whatever they do."

"And what about Cristy?"

"I know it's difficult to understand, but the Mayor was right. We don't actually know if she has headed that way."

"I am not leaving it to chance," SJ replied.

Heading straight back to the Inn and ignoring any of the usual patrons she shared pleasantries with, she went straight upstairs to her wardrobe. She selected the few items she wanted to take and closed them before returning. Fhyliss called to her as she walked out of the Inn, but she did not respond. As she stalked through town, she drew several looks with a scowl on her face.

"Why am I walking!" she hissed, transforming into her miniature size and beginning to zip through the streets. Several townsfolk looked startled at her miniature form, suddenly whistling by them. Reaching the edge of town, she flew straight out over the field where she had battled the Hobs and into the forest. The path was well worn, and staying a few feet above it, she was making good time. It had been late afternoon when she had gone to the barracks, and by the time Alice had returned and spoken to them both, the evening was starting to draw in.

SJ couldn't stop thinking how scared Cristy would be in the forest at night. She flew as fast as she could down the trail, hoping that she would have stayed on it. She had gotten lost as a small child in the Trafford Centre in Manchester and remembered how she had felt then and the people around her—never mind being alone.

"3 o'clock," Dave suddenly said, having remained quiet since she had set off.

SJ glanced sideways and noticed a pair of glowing eyes in the trees off the side of the trail. She raised herself further off the ground, ignoring whatever it was, and continued her journey.

"What was it?"

"A wolf," Dave said.

"I haven't got time for them now."

"No, but if you find Cristy, it's something to consider when you return. If a Dire Wolf is up here, they will have a pack with them."

"And I will kill anything that gets in my way or dares to try and harm Cristy."

"Valiant words, but until you know their levels, that may be easier said than done."

"Anything, I said. I don't care who or what they are," the intensity in SJ's voice startled even Dave.

"Understood," he replied sincerely.

The trail twisted and turned through the forest, and at her current speed, she was covering it much faster than her initial visit to the town. The difference between her flying speed and her average walking speed was phenomenal. She had seen no signs of anything unusual and ploughed through the forest as fast as she could. Knowing how long Cristy had been gone, she thought she could easily have travelled most of the way, if not to the river by now.

The light slowly faded as she flew, her improved vision allowing her to see still as she whipped down the trail. Nothing had come near her, and she didn't think anything ground-based could, even if they wished to the height and speed she moved. As she reached the break in the forest, recognising a gnarled old tree she had passed around the lake, she slowed down. She knew just up ahead, the forest ended, and the river fell to the valley. As she neared, she could hear the running water cascading down the mountainside.

Shuddering slightly as she reached the area the Raven had grabbed her not so long ago, she landed for the first time since she had set off. Her breathing was perfectly normal, and although her wing muscles ached a little from the constant flying, they did not hamper her. Growing to her humanoid size, she stood looking down the river's edge towards the valley bottom. In the valley far below, she could see speckles of orange and yellow, which must be fires or lanterns from the Hobgoblin village.

Taking a moment to drink from her waterskin and eat some of her rations, she shrunk again to her miniature form before taking off. Staying on the left side of the river, she began to track it down much slower, keeping an eye out for any signs. Not knowing if or even how far exactly Cristy could have gone, she was worried that she may have passed her, especially if she had moved off the trail to find shelter as it had started to get dark.

Her senses suddenly flared, and she stopped dead, spinning around in the air.

"There is something in the woods," she whispered.

"Can't see anything, Dave replied.

Moving up so that she was nearer the height of the branches of the trees that accompanied the river path, she edged towards them. She heard a voice as she neared.

"Boss will like this one. He has always had a thing for Gnoll," a voice said.

"Little small though," another replied.

"Placed on a sandwich with some fresh fish, I bet he would love it," the first voice replied with a round of laughter from several others.

"That has to be Cristy they are talking about," SJ whispered.

"Possibly. I haven't seen anything yet," Dave said.

Edging forward into the branches, SJ caught a glimpse of a fire not too far ahead. Weaving through the treetops, she approached until she came to the edge of a clearing. Sitting in the clearing was a group of eight Hobgoblins, and by the side of the largest one was a small sack. As SJ watched, she noticed it move.

The Hob next to it thumped it. "I said don't move," it said. An audible groan came from the contents of the bag.

Looking at how these Hobs were dressed, none appeared to be magic users, and SJ took the chance to use Identification.

 

Hobgoblin Lead Scout

Level: 11

Hit Points: 60

Mana Points: 55

Armour Class: 12

Attacks: Pierce/Slash

Special: Hide

 

Hobgoblin Scout

Level: 8

Hit Points: 45

Mana Points: 45

Armour Class: 9

Attacks: Pierce/Slash

Special: Nil

 

Hobgoblin Fighter x 6

Level: 7

Hit Points: 50

Mana Points: 40

Armour Class: 8

Attacks: Stab/Slash

Special: Nil

 

There was no way she could take them on, eight versus one, and with the levels they had, it didn't matter how anger-filled she now was; it would be a hopeless fight. Frustration built inside her as she looked at what she assumed was the small, helpless form of Cristy inside the sack. She turned back away from the makeshift camp they had set up and moved back towards the river. With the sound of the rushing water, she now spoke to Dave.

"I need to do something," SJ whispered.

"What? You can't possibly be thinking of fighting that many alone."

"I have to try and do something, though."

"Wait until they are asleep, or at least some are. I am assuming they will have a guard posted."

"I know I am an assassin, but I can't do that much damage in one hit to kill them. Which means they would be able to wake the others."

"If you slit a person's throat while they are sleeping, they are going to receive maximum damage plus critical as incapacitated."

"That is still asking a lot. As they bleed out, they could disturb the others."

"True. Although being awoken in the middle of the night with a friend bleeding out with a slit throat would scare them half to death."

"I will keep watching them and see what happens. If they post a guard, I may be able to do something, or I may even get a chance to grab Cristy and run instead of facing them."

"A good plan, but there is no way you can do that in miniature form. You may escape but those Hob Scouts would track Cristy easily, and there is one huge assumption that you are still making."

"What?"

"That it definitely is Cristy, in the bag."

"It has to be. How many other small Gnolls would you expect to find out here."

"Oh. I agree that it more than likely is, but it is still an assumption."

SJ didn't respond, trying to think of a way to free the Gnoll, whether it was Cristy or not.

"SJ."

"Yes?"

"I have an idea. A completely insane and stupid idea, but an idea."

"Go on."

"You know that wolf we passed back in the forest."

SJ immediately thought she knew where this was going and wasn't happy with the direction.

"Yes."

"What if you drew them here?"

"How did I know you were going to say that."

"If there is a Dire Wolf, then there will be a pack, and a pack of wolves, even if lower level than the Hobs, would cause mayhem."

"But how would I draw them here without being the main bait myself?"

"I haven't quite thought about that part yet."

"I am just going to go back and watch them for now and see what they do."

Taking back off from the branch she had landed on, she returned to the campfire, stopping on a high branch of a tree and overseeing the clearing. Even with night vision, there was no way they would see her six-inch-high form hidden in the canopy. The Hobs had been cooking, and as she watched, they began to pack up. To her surprise, they started to kick dirt over the fire, putting it out. As she watched, they packed up the few belongings they had, and the highest-level scout picked up the sack and, without any care, threw it over his shoulder.

"Come on, let's go. We will be back before first light, and the next patrol should already be on its way."

The other Hobs began to follow the group leader as he moved through the treeline, parallelling the river. SJ slowly began to follow, keeping her distance and staying high in the canopy. The fading light gave her night vision an ethereal glow as the light faded. They followed what must have been an animal track through the forest and eventually began to descend towards the valley floor. The sides were steep, and the trees looked as though they clung to them with only a few roots, giving the impression that they could topple over at any moment.

Following, at a distance, she came to the edge of the forest. A sharp incline path wove down the remaining side where scree had taken over from the trees. It even looked as though rough steps had been cut into the side of the valley. SJ moved out and high above them, looking down following their continuing descent. There was nothing she could do, the leader being at the front of the group of eight.

"Stop wriggling," it growled as it deliberately jostled the sack on his back.

SJ was starting to feel panic rise in her chest. She could not attack them, but she had to try and do something to stop them. Looking back up the steep slope, she saw an opportunity and flew towards it. A large boulder was perched precariously slightly off the Hob's path, but if she could get it to fall.

Landing behind it, at least a hundred feet above where the Hobs were, she grew to her full size and pushed her weight against the boulder. Gravity would do the rest if only she could get it to start moving. Hoping this wasn't as stupid an idea as she thought it might be, she strained against the boulder. The scree it sat on shifted slightly, and she pushed again with all her strength. Again, it moved ever so slightly, scraping. The Hobs were now nearly directly below it. Leaning against it, bracing her feet against the valley side, she pushed again, and then it happened.

The boulder began to move slowly at first, sliding on the scree side, and then it started to roll as its mass pulled it downwards. As it picked up speed, crashing into the loose scree that also began to fall, sliding like a stone avalanche under the persuasion of the boulder. The sound was horrendous, and SJ shrunk to her miniature form and took off as it careered towards the party of Hobs. Screams of panic started to erupt from them as they began to sprint back or forward in the case of the leader to get out of the way of the stone avalanche.

The boulder reached them first, crashing into one of the Hobs, who had managed to slide off the trail and scramble back to his feet. Its body was catapulted out from the valley's side, and it fell screaming down the face, landing with a sickening crunch and then sliding. In the meantime, the smaller rocks and scree had started to arrive, pelting the remaining Hobs with small stone missiles. None of them were the size of the boulder, but the amount that had been set free by the single movement was a sight to behold. SJ had been hoping for a distraction that split them not the side of the valley shifting the way it had.

Three more were taken out by the rockslide and carried further down the valley's side. The passing of the stones kicked up a thick cloud of dust, and SJ flew in the direction of the leader, who still carried the sack, thankfully making it away from the cascading rocks. He had kept moving forward with another while the remaining two stood on the other side of a thirty-foot-wide deadly scree field.

They were calling to each other and down at their colleagues, only two of whom SJ heard weakly calling back.

"Go get them," the lead Hob shouted.

SJ watched as the one with the leader and the other two began to cautiously work their way onto the loose stone and begin to approach their fallen comrades. One of them slipped, sending a fresh cascade of rocks into the midst of those below and causing further shouts and screams.

This was going to be the best chance SJ would have. Flying over to where the lead scout stood, looking down and shouting orders, she silently landed and grew.