Free Web NovelChapter 14: Ambush!!!
Lan’ka led the group deeper into the Evergreen Forest, following the trail with a silence that made Ka’z’s scales itch. The tracks had become harder to follow after the thorn bush, yet West and the other dire weasels continued moving ahead with their noses pressed close to the ground. Every few moments, West would stop, sniff the air, and let out a low growl before continuing forward. The little weasel had lost most of his usual arrogance, and even his tail remained stiff behind him.
The forest changed as they traveled farther from the Vaal’kor territory. The trees became denser, their branches twisting together high above until they blocked most of the sunlight. Moss covered the ground in thick patches, while long roots rose from the soil like buried bones waiting to trip anyone careless enough to step on them. The air grew damp, carrying the smell of wet earth, rotting leaves, and something else that Ka’z could not identify at first.
It was sour and smoky like burnt fat mixed with old sweat.
Lan’ka suddenly raised his fist, bringing the group to a stop. He crouched beside a shallow stream that cut through the forest and reached into the mud near its edge. When he pulled his hand back, he held a broken spear shaft made from sharpened bone. A strip of filthy leather had been tied around the wood to strengthen the grip, but it had long since become stained with dirt and something darker.
Lan’ka’s expression hardened.
"Goblins."
The word settled heavily over the group.
Ka’z looked down at the broken weapon, then toward the muddy ground beside it.
Several tracks were pressed into the wet soil. They were smaller than human footprints but wider than kobold tracks, with uneven clawed toes and deep heel marks. Five different sets moved through the area, all heading in the same direction as Su’ki’s trail.
Ru’k climbed down from a branch and stared at the tracks with a frown.
"Goblins did this?"
Ru’ks voice carried the surprise of a two year old kobold who had not seen any other race beyond their own. Lady Zira has done well to mention several races during a lot of her lessons, but hearing about them and seeing them are different things.
"Do not let their appearance fool you," Lan’ka said, his voice low. "Goblins have high mobility that makes them hard to handle. A goblin pack is worse. They hunt with traps, poison, and numbers. They do not fight fair because they do not need to."
Ka’z felt his stomach tighten. In every game he had ever played, goblins were treated like beginner monsters. They were the creatures heroes killed during the first few Chapters before moving on to dragons, demons, and ancient beasts. Yet Su’ki’s corpse flashed through his mind, and he remembered the terror in her eyes.
The group continued forward until they reached a narrow ravine where the ground sloped downward between two walls of tangled roots and stone. West suddenly darted into a bush, growling loudly as he pushed through the leaves. Ka’z hurried after him and found Su’ki’s gathering basket lying half buried beneath mud and broken branches. The woven container had been ripped open, its contents scattered across the ground.
Mushrooms.
Wild herbs.
Small stones.
A few polished shells.
Everything Su’ki had gathered that day lay discarded like trash.
Ka’z crouched beside the basket and slowly picked up one of the shells. It was smooth and blue, probably something Su’ki had collected because it looked pretty. To think they stole this only to dump it like garbage was infuriating for Ka’z.
As a kobold he knew the effort they put into gathering things. Seeing Su’ki’s efforts being trashed like nothing
A cold anger settled inside Ka’z’s chest. Before he could say anything, West began barking sharply.
The sound came from above and Lan’ka reacted instantly.
"Down!"
Ka’z threw himself forward as something whistled through the air. A black arrow struck the ground where his head had been moments earlier, burying itself deep into the dirt. The tip was coated in a thick green substance that hissed faintly when it touched the soil.
"Poison!" Lan’ka roared.
Another arrow came from the trees.
Lan’ka twisted his body and raised his arm, but the arrow still pierced his shoulder. He grunted as dark blood began spreading around the wound.
"Lan’ka!" Za’r cried.
Before anyone could move, a woven net dropped from above. It fell directly toward Kurg and Za’r, its ropes covered in sharp bone hooks that caught against their scales as they tried to escape. Kurg screamed while Za’r struggled to pull herself free, but the net tightened around them as something yanked it from the trees.
Ru’k leapt upward, trying to reach the rope, but a stone flew from the branches and struck him directly in the side of the head. He fell from the tree with a cry, landing hard against the ground.
Tu’ka moved first.
Darkness magic: Pestilence!
Darkness gathered around his hand as a black spear formed between his claws. He threw it toward the trees, and the spear vanished into the leaves before a painful scream echoed from above. A small green body fell from the branches and crashed against the ground, rolling through the mud.
The goblin was smaller than Ka’z expected.
Its skin was dark green, its body thin and crooked, and its long ears were pierced with bone rings. Yet its eyes were sharp and cruel. It pushed itself up with a hiss, revealing a crude bow in its claws before another dark spear pierced through its chest.
The goblin collapsed without another sound.
"One down!" Ru’k shouted weakly as he rubbed the side of his head.
"Stop celebrating and help them!" Lan’ka snapped.
Ka’z’s eyes shifted toward the net dragging Kurg and Za’r toward the ravine. He could hear Kurg crying as his claws scraped desperately against the dirt, while Za’r tried to hold onto a tree root to stop herself from being pulled away.
Ka’z slammed both hands against the ground.
"Earth Magic: Stone Grip!"
Mana surged from his core and fused with the Aether around him. The ground beneath the net shifted as thick stone fingers erupted from the soil and wrapped around the ropes. The pulling force from the trees stopped immediately, and the net snapped tight between both sides.
A furious screech echoed from above.
Ka’z looked up just in time to see two goblins leap from the branches. One carried a bone spear and the other held a crude clay pot with smoke leaking from its lid.
The goblin with the pot threw it and Ka’z who was still crouched and had no chance to flee quickly raised his arms.
[Dragon Scales]
Jagged golden scales burst across his body as the clay pot struck his chest and exploded. Thick fire spread across his scales, burning his scales and filling the air with smoke, but the flames failed to pierce through the hardened armor. Ka’z stumbled back from the force, coughing as heat surrounded him.
Everything had happened so fast, he barely had time to react. If it were an attack that could bypass his he would have been fatally hurt or dead by now.
