Everyone was bored, the scenery never really changed. They'd been walking amongst a plain for the last two days. It was just a huge expanse of grassland, interrupted occasionally by a lonesome tree. They had one more night of camping out in the wilderness, then they would reach Layette, the next town on their journey.
Riley's guards and carriage were taking lead, like they had been since they left Rockwell. Riley's guards were a good group of people, they didn't really have much combat experience, but they worked well together and got along well with everyone. Riley on the other hand was very full of himself, he would order his guards around with an air of superiority. He would even try to order Sylvia's guards around as well, treating them like his personal servants. Sylvia was constantly apologizing to her guards for the way Riley treated them, she always treated people as equals, that's what made all her guards and servants happy to be around her.
They were nearing dusk, crickets were starting to chirp and the temperature was dropping. They pulled off of the road, found a decent spot and went about setting up camp for the night. Like clockwork, Riley exited his carriage and made his way over to Sylvia. He would try to show off any chance he got, either by trying to set up her tent or going out on hunting trips for extra meat. Although really they didn't need any extra food since Sylvia had her storage item.
Marcus was helping Jared, one of the guards, set up Sylvia's tent when Riley sauntered over. Sylvia was walking Torbin around, he was off his leash, but he never strayed far from her. It seemed like Torbin really thought of Sylvia as his surrogate mother. Marcus didn't think that Riley much cared for animals, he was always looking at Torbin with disgust on his face, at least when Sylvia wasn't looking. When she was he forced himself to pet the bear cub, even holding him occasionally.
Riley started to chat up Sylvia, talking about anything that popped up into his head. Marcus largely ignored their conversation, focusing on the tent and the area around them. It was a fairly simple process to set up the tent. It was designed to go together easily, so as to not waste too much time. After about ten minutes, Sylvia's tent was all set up.
There was still half an hour of daylight left, so everyone was preparing dinner before they would rest. Kelly and Maria were serving Sylvia and Riley some tea, three guards were on watch. The grass around the campsite came up to just below the guards' waists, hiding much of the surroundings. They had flattened out an area around the carriages about the size of a soccer field, allowing for a little more visibility.
Marcus was doing his regular maintenance on his armor, making sure all the steel plates were properly oiled. There was a large fire in the middle of the campsite, it had a large pot with a stew bubbling in it. Although Syliva had food in her storage item, she couldn't be expected to feed so many more extra people now that Riley had joined the group. As Marcus wiped his armor with an oily cloth, he watched the other guards play cards and do maintenance on their own equipment.
Everything had become pretty monotonous during their trip, not much had really been going on. They would occasionally come across a magical beast, but they would always run off before causing any issues. Marcus liked it this way, just an easy trip and even easier money. Although Riley was a little annoying, it wasn't his problem to deal with.
The stars were just becoming visible, this was always Marcus's favorite time of day. He would just sit back and look up at the stars. The sky was vastly different than the one he was used to seeing. The constellations were all different, people still used stars to navigate, so they did have them. There were just griffons, dragons, and other magical beasts instead of what he was used to.
Now that it was dark and everyone had eaten their meal, many were turning in to get some rest. Marcus wasn't tired, so he was sitting on a stump carving a piece of wood. He wasn't sure what he was trying to make, but there wasn't a whole lot to do so he was pretty bored. It was starting to take the shape of an elephant, he had the trunk and tusks roughly carved out. He was inspecting it, trying to visualize what to carve next when a warning was shouted out by one of the guards on patrol.
Marcus looked over to where the shout came from. The guards weren't using torches, torches would light up a certain area, but leave you blind to anything outside that area. They would just use the moonlight to keep an eye out. The visibility wasn't that bad, but Marcus still couldn't see what the alarm was for. All the guards were up and moving to their designated positions. Marcus took his right next to Sylvia's tent, along with four other guards.
He could hear shouting, along with a high pitched gibberish type of noise, almost like a language. Nathan came jogging over, he had green blood on his pant legs and the sword he had drawn.
"We've been surrounded by goblins. We don't know how many there are." Nathan said, looking exasperated.
By this time Riley had made his way over to Sylvia's tent, he was decked out in his armor and new weapon. He had his guards with him, they all looked like they were fresh out of the outfitters. They were in a V-formation, with Riley taking point.
"Don't worry Lady Sylvia, I'll take care of everything." Riley shouted, loud enough to make sure that she could hear him in the tent.
"I've already told my men to regroup around the tent, there's just too many of them to fight spread out the way we are." Nathan told Riley, trying to keep him from getting himself killed.
As Nathan finished speaking, Marcus could see many of the guards forming a defensive circle around the tent. Many were covered in red and green blood, some even had deep wounds on their bodies. Marcus counted, and it seemed like there were two guards missing. He couldn't tell which ones, but knew that they were probably already dead.
Everything was happening very quickly, Marcus didn't know for sure exactly what the situation was. All he knew was that a large group of goblins had somehow surrounded the campsite. He looked to Nathan, beckoning him over, hoping to get some more information. Nathan hurried over, he wasn't too far away.
"What exactly is going on?" Marcus asked.
"Somehow a large group of goblins surrounded us, Trenton managed to alarm us before he was struck down by an arrow. Then we lost Bret when he went to go help Trenton. This attack seems to be well planned out, not like a usual goblin attack."
Nathan had a worried look on his face as he looked out into the darkness. Most the guards had already lit torches so they could see better, Marcus could see glints of eyes just outside the light's reach. He could also hear the goblins speaking in their high pitched grating voices, it sounded like nails on a metal washboard.
Marcus felt like he could go out there and clear most of them out very shortly. Not only could he kill many of them with every swing of his warhammer, his armor was so thick that he doubted he would even get a scratch. The only problem was that he didn't know how many there were and that something might happen if he were to leave Sylvia's side. Though something may happen anyway since they had been surrounded. He looked at Nathan, then told him to stay back at the tent, he'd be right back; with that, he ran off into the darkness.
Nathan didn't have time to even voice his concerns before Marcus ran off, all he could do was keep the guards in a tight formation as they fended off arrows. The goblins seemed to be wary of fighting them head on, so they were just trying to tire them out by firing arrows every so often. Nathan had just blocked another arrow with his sword when he heard a swoosh followed by screaming, he could only guess that Marcus had found his target.
Once Marcus was outside the light, his eyes adjusted quickly. He really didn't even need his amulet to help him see in the darkness. Immediately in front of him were a group of five goblins, they were short, only coming up to his waist. They wore rags as clothes and held rusted daggers that were as big as swords for them. They weren't surprised to see him, they could see his huge frame coming at them quite easily. They bared their fangs at him and charged.
Marcus swung his hammer sideways, catching all five of them at their heads. Four of their heads exploded on impact, sending green blood and brains flying every direction. The last one didn't die on impact, the other four softened the blow, he had enough time to let out a howl of pain as he flew through the air. Marcus reoriented himself, he had managed to draw the attention of every goblin there.
Arrows flew through the air, Marcus could feel them striking his armor, bouncing off the steel plates. Some would hit between the steel plates, lodging themselves into the thick leather. The goblin's bows didn't have enough power to penetrate most armor, only causing injury when hitting flesh directly. His armor covered every inch of his body, except his head, so he just had to avoid taking an arrow to his eye.
The goblins with swords went for Marcus's legs, trying to topple him over to get to his vitals. Marcus punted a few goblins with each kick, sending them back into their brethren. He killed seven more goblins in as many seconds, caving in their rib cages with a single kick. He stomped down on one goblin, driving him into the ground, turning him into green meat paste in the process. Marcus thought the goblins smelled bad on the outside, but they smelled even worse on the inside.
A low howl sounded out in the darkness, the goblins that were trying to surround Marcus stopped, and then ran off into the darkness, retreating. Marcus didn't chase them into the night, he wasn't sure what was going on or what had made that sound. He slowly made his way back to the tent, keeping an eye out on the surroundings. He met back up with Nathan, he'd only been gone for a couple of minutes.
"What was that sound?" Nathan asked Marcus, still holding his sword looking out into the night.
"I was hoping you would know." Marcus retorted.
They remained silent after that exchange, waiting for something to happen. Marcus was hoping that he caused enough damage to dissuade them from continuing attacking. He killed maybe fifteen goblins for sure, maybe even twenty if the ones hit by the ones he kicked died as well.
After around fifteen minutes, everyone started to relax. Nathan called over two guards, telling them to go out and see what was going on. The two guards reluctantly set out, they left the torches behind, they didn't want to make themselves targets. Riley was still standing there, surrounded by his guards. He was standing with his head held high, as if he was a general on the battlefield.
Marcus only glanced at Riley, he was paying more attention to the two guards. He could just barely make them out from where he was at. Seeing that they weren't in a hurry Marcus had high hopes that everything was over. Soon, the two guards came back and gave their report.
Many goblin corpses were strewn across the campsite, mostly all of them were attributed to Marcus. There were no signs of the rest of the goblins, it seemed like they retreated back across the plain. Nathan nodded his head, he was relieved that the attack was over, but he wouldn't let his guard down, they could be back at any moment. He ordered his men to stay in position around the tent. He would allow two men to sleep at a time for only an hour, then switch off with another two. They would rotate like that until daylight.
Marcus went inside the tent to check up on Sylvia, he hadn't seen or heard her since the alarm rang out. Sylvia was sitting on the edge of her cot, she was in a pink silk nightgown and her golden hair was down, flowing over her shoulders. She looked at Marcus with red eyes, her expression softened when she looked at him, the pent up stress leaving her body. She stood up and rushed over to him.
"What's going on? What's happening?" She bombarded Marcus with questions. She was looking at the green blood and viscera that covered Marcus while she asked.
"Just a few goblins, nothing to worry about. They already retreated so it should be quiet the rest of the night." Marcus said, giving her a soft smile.
He looked over to Kelly and Maria, they looked as scared as Sylvia was, but when they heard what he said they let out audible sighs of relief. They were also in their sleepwear, they all must have been woken up by all the commotion.
"Now that I know you're ok I'll leave you to get some rest." Marcus said, turning back toward Sylvia.
"If you need anything, I'll be right outside."
Sylvia nodded, her bangs bobbing up and down. Marcus gave her another smile, then turned around and left the tent. She walked back over to her cot, not tired in the slightest. She could hear the sounds of battle and the hair raising screams of the goblins. She was also worried about Marcus, she saw how he was covered in blood, thankfully not his own. She knew he was the strongest man she'd ever met, but couldn't help but to be worried for some reason, she didn't know why.
Marcus took up his spot right in front of the entrance to Sylvia's tent. He'd stand there all night, just in case he was needed. With the way his body was now, he would have no problem standing in one spot for a couple of days, let alone a few hours. Marcus had his hammer out in front of him with it's head on the ground, his hands resting on the handle. He heard footsteps off to his left, he looked over to see Riley walking up to him.
"Let me through, I wish to check up on Miss Sylvie." Riley ordered.
"I already have, she's fine, there's no need to bother her now." Marcus said, not moving an inch.
Riley looked like he just sucked on a lemon. "You don't understand, I wasn't asking permission."
"Oh, I understand, the answer was no. Now go back to your tent and let her rest."
Riley snapped his mouth shut, it was hanging open slightly due to shock. Marcus could see his face turning red, even in the dim light. Riley's hand went straight to the hilt of his sword, all his life no one had dared speak to him that way. He was going to teach this lowly guard a lesson, he didn't care if he was twice his size, or if he was another noble's guard.
Marcus let Riley draw his sword; he was actually impressed that he had enough courage to do so. He pointed his sword right at Marcus's throat, it was only inches away. Marcus still hadn't moved a muscle, he was letting Riley dig his own grave. Marcus wouldn't kill him, but would show him his place. He didn't care what his status was, he had to learn how to behave properly.
Marcus moved quickly, grabbing the hand that was holding the sword. With a flick of his wrist, Marcus made Riley drop his weapon. Before the sword could hit the ground, Marcus punched Riley in the gut, knocking all the air out of his lungs. Riley fell to his knees, holding his stomach and gasping for air. Tears were falling from his eyes, he'd never felt such pain before. Marcus picked up his sword and put it in his waistband, he then took back up his previous position.
Looking down at the gasping Riley, Marcus spoke. "I'll hold on to this until you learn how to use it properly."
Pointing at one of Riley's guards who were standing stock still nearby, he continued. "You might need to help him back to his tent, I don't think he can walk right now."
Two guards helped Riley up and Marcus watched as they limped him back to his tent. He wasn't worried about any repercussions, even though Marcus was just a commoner, you can't pull a sword on someone and expect nothing to happen. Nobles in this world held high status, but they still couldn't do whatever they liked, at least they weren't supposed to, there were always exceptions, but Riley wasn't one of them.
"Thank you."
Marcus was surprised to hear a soft voice from behind him. He spun around to see Sylvia poking her head out of the opening of the tent. She gave him a wide smile, then disappeared back into her tent. Marcus turned back around with a half smile on his face, he let out a sigh and looked up into the night sky. He was thinking about Clair, he was wondering if she was alright and how Sif was doing as well.