——— POV: 3rd person ———
Following the horrific death of the goblin chief, the few remain goblins scattered in panic.
The rangers eliminated the slowest gobs, but there were a were a couple who managed to escape due to running in different directions.
The rangers couldn't risk splitting up, especially with an injured ranger and a dead one. A healing potion was administered to the barely conscious ranger but Bod wouldn't be surprised if the kid would try switching to a safer career after this.
After spending some time recover arrows that could still be used and dumping the fallen gobs in a nearby ditch, the ranger regrouped for a quick meeting.
"19 dead gobs accounted for sir!" A younger ranger reported, the newfound respect evident in her glowing eyes. Bod Keeneye had long been viewed as an oddball amongst the others, but his performance today indicated that his skills were the real deal. Around half of the kills were his, including the sneaky goblin chief.
That brought up another thought, how did he do that? Magic wasn't commonly used in these parts, and what she had seen before was usually limited to small tricks, lights, moving things without touching it, and throwing small balls of fire. This was different, she had seen the trees rustle their leaves in response to the strange language, and then capture the gob with their roots.
"That leaves 2 survivors." Sebastian commented, interrupting her thoughts with a frown. "Not that they'll stick around long without their chief, probably already scurrying back to whatever filthy hole they came from."
"Pip needs proper medical attention!" The ranger caring for the poisoned ranger who sat propped against a tree weakly. "We need to go back!"
"He'll live..." Bod mumbled while checking his numerous pockets and pouches. "Ah there we go!" He produced a small diamond shaped leaf, crumpled it, and stuffed into the half-dead ranger's mouth. "Chew!"
The rangers chewed like his life depended on it.
"Ok now wash it down with some water!" Bod handed him a small flask.
"Cough! Cough!" The ranger almost choked on his drink. "That's not water! He croaked hoarsely." A burning sensation moved down from his neck to his stomach and then eventually through the rest of his body.
"Sure it is. Not ordinary water mind you, but it's still water." Turning to the others, "pack up and get ready to head back, I'm gonna go clean up those loose ends but I'll be back before you know it. Stay sharp!"
He disappeared. Leaving only a fleeting shadow that soon was gone amongst the trees.
"You heard him! Get to it!" Sebastian barked.
*******
Bagrat was just a runt of a gob. Hadn't really seen much action before, and definitely not had to face any of those horrifying tree stalkers. He started running as soon as that shadow of death dropped down amongst the others and began its massacre.
Winded from his intense sprint, he found a place to catch his breath. Hiding under a tree, he looked back the way he had come. Dreading the possibility that something would have followed him.
Silence...
He held his breath. Eyes peeled! Not daring to look away.
Lowering his head he put one ear to the ground.
Nothing, no sound of footsteps.
Finally letting out his breath that he'd been trying to hold, he clutched his little dagger tightly and prepared for another sprint.
A soft hissing sound stopped him in his tracks. Staying perfectly still, he listened to determine the source.
"Hissss"
Above! The gob looked up to see a large cooler mass on the branch above him. A pair of cold eyes met his for a second.
Then it dropped on him knocking him out.
*******
Bod followed the tracks of the fleeing gobs with practices ease. Broken twigs and branches, a crushed mushroom or leaf. Sometimes even a clear footprint in the mud. These gobs weren't even trying to mask their escape.
Not that he minded that. He needed to let off some steam and be away from other people for a bit. He'd always been careful not to show too much "special talent" other than his skill with the bow and blade. He'd slipped up this time, he knew.
It was the constant creepy vibes the forest was giving him that was to blame. It didn't feel natural anymore. The weirdness was grinding away at his self control and when that young lad died in front of him... well he might have snapped a little.
This was why he had always avoided the troublesome tasks that involved working with a team. He'd always feel guilty when one of them kicked the bucket, even when it was their own sloppiness and inexperience that usually caused it.
Now he'd have to write 2 extra reports too! A death report, and a report explaining what magic he had just used.
Hmm... he paused for bit as he spotted another weird sight in front of him.
A snake was watching him again. It was a unusually large specimen. He recognized the markings identifying it as a local variety native to these parts, but he'd never seen one so big.
The most disturbing thing was what looked like a goblin foot sticking out of its mouth. It seems he'd caught the snake at an awkward moment. Jaw unhinged and a large bulging body, the snake paused when they made eye contact, before it returned to its attempt at gulping down the protruding foot.
"Yeah... ok. None of my business." Bod moved on. That snake was definitely acting odd, but it did eat a gob, so who was he to complain. As a general rule, Bod preferred to avoid killing animals and plants. Gobs and other monstrous entities were not offered this mercy. They were almost as bad as humans when it came to destroying nature.
Moving on, the 2nd set of tracks led through the woods until it returned to the where the goblin cave had been. Bod recognized the area, but was surprised by the destruction of half the hill.
Spotting a group of gobs frantically fleeing in the distance, he noticed that there was only one large goblin amongst the runts. Grabbing his bow, Bod notched an arrow and took aim.
He identified the larger goblin as the group's chef due to it wearing a messy apron, and holding a cleaver in one hand and a large rodent in the other. Not that it mattered.
"SHWOOOO!" An arrow dropped the chef.
"Shwoo shwoo!" Bod fired a twinned shot dropping two runts who were stunned by the sudden death of their strongest.
The last goblin saw all this happen. He'd been the one to escape the battle to go tell the others to flee. He didn't stop to explain so the others were a little slow, and now they were dead. Ducking and weaving the goblin tried to make himself a difficult target, hoping the tree stalker would let him serve as a warning. Though he couldn't remember harming any humans recently.
Seeing the goblin about to escape, Bod drew his bow to its maximum. Releasing his breath slowly he loosed the arrow.
The arrow flew through the air, pierced a couple leaves, shot through a small gap between some branches, and split a mushroom cap in two, before hitting the goblin right in the back.
The goblin dropped. The bluefangs were no more.
After checking the goblin campsite and extinguishing their cooking fire, Bod removed an ear from each goblin and headed back to the others. It was a gross practice, but they'd serve as proof of what was dealt with.