"It sure is one." she confirmed, pocking the thing with a stick.
All it did was getting squished, not responding and silently continuing to corrode the carcass.
"Should we destroy it?" Mikael asked as Sophia just squatted there, feeling the body of that monster.
"No really, this one is a simple minded creature, only wandering around and cleaning dead bodies away. Honestly, they are quite useful for nature, preventing diseases from spreading and keeping the environment somewhat clean. Also what should you get from them?" she pocked again, penetrating the body.
"Wow, its inside are like a fluid." He remarked astonished, as it sucked in the stick, it swimming inside.
"Yes, but never touch these fluids, or get them on your skin should you for some stupid reason decide to hit one." her warning was only further underlined as the wooden stick began to vanish, slowly but steadily.
"Not even metal would keep its form. Anyway, enough lecture time, we have still some way to cover."
'But you made us stop.' he inwardly complained.
They continued, only stopping for toilet pauses or eating and drinking.
The sun sunk as they stood on a hill, covered by some low branches.
"This is the cave?"
"This is it. Do you see that thing over there, looking like a dead tree?" she asked, pointing at the object.
"Is there something carved on it? Maybe some kind of stature?"
"Good guess, but no, that is a totem. Goblin tribes sometimes believe in something, and that is the proof they are being led. Maybe some more intelligent Goblin. Could also be a evolved one."
"Then isn't that pretty dangerous? Last time a evolved one almost killed us."
She didn't say anything, looking down to the cave, deliberating.
"It's not certain, and last time the monster evolved from an already strong creature. This one should not be as difficult to handle."
She led him back with her, putting some distance away their camp down.
No fire was lit as they had no cover, only erecting a simple tent.
"I once encountered with a party a monster that evolved from a Torro. Similar to a Goblin, just a bit more animal like and hairy fur.
It got more intelligent, able to do tactics and ordering his lackeys around. But they were still weak. I dare to believe this is barely different."
"If you say so. But the Guild sure don't check what the employers put up. This should raise the reward, no?"
"Like your thinking, but guess not. The Guild mostly presents a common ground, a middleman of sorts for quest givers and takers. There is always some leeway, as long as the quest wasn't put up by the institution itself. But our report will be elevated for sure, making our profile look better. Not many encounter evolved creatures as frequently like that."
The next day Mikael awoke early, just in time to see how Sophia already up, inspecting her weapon and equipment.
"Guess no call up today."
"I gladly miss out your awaking method." he yawned, drinking and putting on his gear.
"What is the plan today. Not that I want to pressure, but the earlier we get this done the better."
"See, that is a good attitude. Nothing beats a massacre in to start the day." she smiled devilish.
"We wait until the Goblins get out to hunt. They should prepare for winter, leaving only few inside. We strike then, killing all left and setting up some traps. Nothing fancy, maybe some pitfalls, barriers and these nasty things."
She showed Mikael small metal spikes, formed so that a pointy side is always upwards.
"Called crow feet, should slow them down. Wearing no shoes sure is one drawback."
They prepared in the early hours their traps, Mikael sharpening with his memento of Brom some stick they'll put near the pitfalls.
Then they walked back to their lookout, silently waiting. After an hour they saw the first group of Goblins leaving, followed by another and so one. Mikael already got itchy, his hammer in hand and the short spikes fastened on his back.
'I tried to deny it myself, but being about to rush in there, fighting and killing these monsters sure makes me excited.'
He looked at Sophia, who radiated a calmness he last saw when they were hunting.
"Now!" was her command, and together they stalked in a half circle towards the cave entrance.
Hiding behind some trees and their thick trunks, they waited. Another group then came out, and Sophia whispered:" I ambush them, keep my back free. If something comes out, kill it fast and painful."
Slowly she walked towards the four emerged monsters, them not aware of her presence until they were already in Sophia's reach.
Mikael followed until he stood near the exit, peeking inside the darkness which was dimly illuminated by the weird stones.
Her Sword made short work of the first one, entering the eye socket and exiting the back of its skull. Not even pulling it out, she simply made a sudden motion, slicing through the head and into another Goblin.
Then the remaining reacted. One made a cry, alerting its companions in the vicinity. The other took a branch from the ground, hurling it at her with its pathetic strength.
"Ha, easy as hacking wood." she laughed, catching with her gloved hand the branch and simply jerking the Goblin towards herself, the sword to her front and impaling its body.
Mikael followed her fight in awe.
'She certainly got a great instinct, and some serious cruelness.' he remembered Simon's words, and could only acknowledge them.
He heard hasty steps echoing from the cave, and soon the first brown bodies came to light. Mikael waited next to the entrance, and just as the first Goblin got close to exiting, he swung his hammer with one hand, connecting it with the ugly face.
"Gotcha!"
The body went limp instantly, arms outstretched and hindering another creature.
Sophia also had slain her last target, walking over to him not wanting to get in his way. She took out her slingshot, loading it with some stone pellets.
Mikael now stood before 5 incoming Goblins, one of them trying to get away from brethrens corpse.
He hit another one in the chest, while trying to dodge another that came from his right.
It couldn't do much, as a projectile hit its face, the soft skin getting penetrated and confusing the creature.
Mikael grabbed his hammer with both hands, swinging it towards the Goblins head and hurling it towards the cave wall, where it slid down, leaving a bloody trail.
Another Goblin wanted to use his action to get closer, reaching out and trying to hold onto Mikael's body, but he lifted his leg, pushing it away.
But to his surprise, it clutched his outstretched leg pulling him with it. He lost his balance, falling on his back and seeing black for a second.
He came back to his senses, but Sophia already intervened. She tackled away one Goblin, decapitating the other.
Mikael got up one his feet, seeing some stars as he did and using the wall to support himself. When he felt the back of his head, he felt a bit of a sticky fluid, which turned out to be blood.
'Let's hope it isn't serious.'
He took his hammer again, walking up to the frightened Goblin that laid on the ground, trying to crawl away, one of its leg bend backwards.
Mikael showed no remorse or pity, simply letting the weight of the weapon and gravity do its work. A weak sound of pain and the cracking of bones rang out, followed by an eerie silence.
"You okay?" Sophia asked. Her eyes looking down into the cave, ready to fight again should more emerge.
"Guess so, head hurts a bit but doesn't hinder me." he answered, the stars he saw already gone and the pain only weakly pounding from his head.
"Should you see things double or get nauseous, tell me. Then your brain might got hurt. Nothing to scoff at. But your call, so let's continue before the first group might decided to come back."
Walking deeper into the cave, together they killed another small group of Goblins, this time without Mikael sustaining any kind of damage or Sophia having to rescue him.
After they explored the cave a bit and made enough noise to attract the remaining monsters, they began digging up small pitfalls at the entrance, the sharpened sticks rammed into the ground after softening it up.
"Weird, we saw no Goblin that may could order others around. And the amount that left the cave combined with the still remaining here doesn't sum up, either." Sophia concluded while gazing at the totem. She walked up to it, knocking at it with her knuckles.
"Somehow this piece pisses me of." she put her foot on it, kicking it a bit but achieving nothing.
"Not that we can dig it up, it's buried far too deep." Mikael said while the last trap was set up. He brushed away some sweat, putting away his tool and checking if everything was concealed enough to fool a Goblin.
'With the time we gave ourselves this should work.'
"But fire should still work. Do you got some oil? Maybe we can ignite it and burn it down."
"Wouldnt that potentially attract all the monsters around us, not forgetting that the surroundings might catch onto the fire?"
"Right, but trees don't burn as quick as they are now." she resigned from her plan, walking to some of the corpses and dragging them to the entrance.
Mikael helped, and after done work they permitted themselves a small break, Mikael resting a bit while Sophia looked out for approaching enemies.
"I also think it is weird." Mikael began talking, thinking about Sophia's words.
"If there is a more intelligent creature, it shouldn't go out hunting, instead letting others do the work. And I got this feeling we might oversaw something."
'Something vital, down in the cave? Is it more complex then we assumed?'
His thoughts were interrupted by Sophia's call.
"Maybe, but we need to concentrate o the task before us. It seems the evolved Goblin gave them the instructions to keep their distance when danger is apparent."
Mikael followed her eyes, seeing between the trees how the creatures emitted strange sounds, gathering and pointing excited at the dead bodies by the entrance.
She clicked her tongue.
"Tch, plan a doesn't work. Normally with their numbers and that provocation they should rush in here, but like this they may wait for their brethren."
"Then what do we do now? Attack before more come?" Mikael asked worried.
"No, I got another plan. Maybe they already surrounded the entrance, but we don't see them. Right now I would believe they got a strategy like that."