It was already morning. I was lucky that nothing had happened during my watch since my thoughts drifted away so easily. From on I had to concentrate. We would likely never get a second chance.
"It will happen tomorrow," Bock whispered. "Nock told me his group has found an altar. Even at a slow march the army will come near enough for the bastard to ride to it in the evening."
That came as a shock to me, since the two other altars that were found by kobold and goblin scouts were both at least a week of marching away. My heart beat fast. I knew the action would come soon, but I thought I could still practice our strategies for a while. I took a deep breath and caressed the rough hilt of my dagger. "What about the others?"
"On their way. All of them will be in position in time. Take this," Bock said and extended his arm. He dropped a small bone whistle into my hand. "We will follow the bastard and in case something doesn't go according to the plan one of us must let the others know."
"What about you?"
He said nothing and only brought out another one, that he had hung around his neck. I nodded and put it on as well. I yawned and looked down at the humans below me. Little piggies were bustling around, clearing their camp and getting ready for the long march ahead.
There was only the slightest rustle of leaves behind us, but we both sprang into attention and put our hands on our weapons. A moment later we relaxed and waited for the newcomer to come to us.
"Nyeh, nyeh," Bock cackled quietly and showed his sharp teeth. "Are you trying to give us away little brother?"
Nock gave him a nasty look. "I guess you don't want this then?" He said and opened one of the heavy looking bags that he carried on his shoulders. It was filled with meat and I had to fight to keep my saliva from falling on the heads of humans below. I looked at Bock, who was similarly enchanted.
"I'm sorry Nock. You are the best. I love you!" Bock was trying to come up with words of praise, but as per usual nothing smart came out of his big green gob.
This time Nock flashed his own grin, his older twin at his mercy. He opened another bag also filled with meat and the last full of mushrooms and berries. I could take no more and made my way to him. He turned to give me easier access and said nothing. I greedily grabbed the first piece that I reached. It was a leg of some sort of bird. I didn't care enough to find out which and bit into the fresh bloody meat. The tasty juice was flowing onto my chin and I tried my best not to let a single drop go. As I looked up and licked my hand clean, I saw that the other two were also trying to satisfy their voracious appetites.
"Eat, Razeck. You may not get another chance," Nock whispered.
The thought of our mission made me lose my appetite. But only for a moment. Minutes later we were able to empty one of the bags entirely and half of the second one. As we split the remaining food for later, the army began setting off. The trumpets sounded and the men began singing in unison. Or perhaps a cacophony is a better word for it. I never got much of a handle on human languages, but from what I could hear the song was about victory and killing. This time next day a sadder song might be sung, should our plan succeed. I allowed myself a quick grin.
It was my turn to tail the hero. From the looks of it he no longer glowed, but I was still a bit afraid of coming nearer to him. A couple of trees away was just far enough to still see him. I jumped to the next tree, but this time the branch beneath me cracked. I gasped. If I put more weight onto it, it might snap off and fall straight into a group of soldiers. All I could do was let go. I fell for a split second until the next branch was within arm's reach. The momentum carried me past the branch and spun me around the branch. I didn't make it all the way around and ended up with my head down and all limbs wrapped around the bough. I looked up at the people on the ground below me, hoping that they somehow didn't see me.
Nobody was looking upwards, but my sigh of relief was halted as I saw a piece of meat dropping past my head. I released the bough with my legs and swung them down. To my own amazement I somehow managed to catch the meat with my foot. It got impaled on the nail of my big toe. A quick glance down confirmed, that my presence was still undetected. Humans were passing by below me, some talking, others still singing on their march.
"Nyeh heh heh," I let out a silent cackle and brought my foot to my face. Getting rid of this obstruction was the safest thing to do, so I happily sunk my teeth into the meat. The hour or so of the march had already given the meat the opportunity to develop its flavour. The snack hit the spot and it was a fight to keep myself from burping. Moving very slowly I climbed up on the branch and made sure that the bag was closed properly. I would kill myself if we failed because of a stupid mistake like that. That being said I would likely have to get in line of many other angry and disappointed goblins and other races. I grimaced. Humans might get the first chance in the end, but I would take at least one down with me.
As the army finally stopped for the night the nervousness came back to me. I had made a good effort of not thinking about what was to come during the march, but there was no more delaying it. I gave a start when I felt an arm on my shoulder.
"Get ready. One last run before the action starts," Bock said straight into my ear. The sensation made me shiver. Bock apparently enjoyed my discomfort and grinned. He handed me a mushroom. "This will keep you form collapsing after we get to the shrine."
The three of us ate and got ready. It wasn't long before the hero began preparing himself and his horse for the journey. We exchanged glances. The hero rode away and we followed. As soon as we were far enough from the camp we dropped to the ground and ran. At first I was worried when he wasn't going in the exact direction of the shrine, but it seemed he only wanted to avoid the harshest terrain.
I was beginning to feel the effect of the mushrooms. My legs felt as if they were on fire and just itching to move. "Come on, run you bastards," I said as I looked back at the twins. "Nyeh heh," I began cackling. Bock started rushing towards me immediately, but Nock on the other hand gave me a stern look and held a finger in front of his mouth. The gesture brought me back to reality. I felt my stomach squeeze. We ran the rest of the way in silence.
We saw the hero dismount ahead of us, so we climbed up a tree and spread out. I ended up at his left side. My attention was drawn to the altar. I stifled a gasp. There was someone already there. At a closer look it became obvious that the hooded figure was a vampire. It came as a surprise since the vampire lords generally disapproved of the plan and dismissed it as simplistic and cretinous. At least that's what I'd heard. Since most of us weren't that familiar with hard words, statements tended to become warped with each telling. In any case the vampires weren't wrong.
The hero put his hand on the hilt of his longsword, but didn't draw it. He approached the altar slowly, passing by trees and moving past small hills.
"Hello there," he said in a loud clear voice. He continued and said some more things and asked some questions, but I didn't understand a lot of it. I assumed he introduced himself and asked the robed stranger to do the same.
The vampire was slow in responding. The figure turned around, the cloak swaying in the light breeze. "Oh hello," she said in a soft voice. She looked like a human with long wavy golden hair and almost shining pale skin. She spoke as if she was very shy or embarrassed.
The knight took a step back and stared wide eyed. I watched in anticipation. My mouth was dry, but my feet were still itching because of the mushrooms. The vampire lady began walking towards the hero, who looked as if his knees would soon buckle. From my position I saw that the plan was about to commence. There were movements from behind and to the sides of the hero. What had looked like two small hills on the way to the altar began moving slightly. The air around me felt heavy as if a storm was about to start.
The vampire extended her hand towards the hero, who lifted his own hand. To my disappointment it wasn't the one he held over his sword. At that moment a bird sang. Within the blink of an eye the vampire's hand flashed with magic, that flew towards the hero and two giants burst forth, the dirt, leaves and branches that covered them flew all around.
The hero dodged the spell and drew his sword in a single movement. The giant that reached him first swung down his enormous fist at him. The fist was big enough that it would completely obscure me had I stood behind it. The hero held the longsword with a single hand and swung without moving from the spot. The blade moved in a quick flash as if encountering no resistance at all.
The giants arm flew past the hero and smacked against a tree. The giant had a look of utter confusion on his face, then looked at the stump that used to be his arm. Blood began gushing out of the wound in rhythmic bursts. The giant roared with pain and staggered back. Meanwhile the vampire continued her magical assault. The hero dodged some of the attacks or just simply slashed at the incoming magic with his sword to dispel the magic. All I could do was stare at the giant with my eyes wide and mouth open. The dreadful sense began forming somewhere inside me, telling me that we would perish on that day.
A group of a dozen or so kobolds appeared from behind the trees and attacked the hero. I had hoped that the fight would be over before they had a chance to make an appearance. They were all fierce warriors, feared by humans, but for someone that didn't flinch when taking on a giant they could pose no real threat. They also seemed aware of that fact. Only two of them charged straight to the hero and attacked. They were slaughtered within two blinks of an eye. One was chopped in half. The rest of the kobolds were holding back, unsure of what they should do. The hero took incentive and charged them instead.
The vampire drew her sword and whooshed past the trees separating her from the hero. She was moving at an incredible velocity, making it hard to even track her movement, but the hero countered her attack. This time he held the longsword with both hands. At that point all of our forces were taking part in the fight, with the exception of the ones that had already died in battle and the three of us.
The hero was under a constant barrage of attacks, but was able to hold his ground. He was a frightening creature. I didn't know if it was my imagination, or if I actually saw a smile worming its way across his face. I don't think a single blow even hit his heavy armour. He used a spell that knocked back all the kobolds and even caused the vampire and giants to stop attacking for a moment. It was all the time he needed to exterminate all of the kobolds.
The two giants and the vampire all attacked. She with the rapier and the giants, more careful now were wielding small tree trunks. They kept up the assault, but it was obvious that the wounded giant didn't have much time left. The hero played it safe and focused on defence. He was rewarded for his patience soon. The giant swung the trunk too far and lost his balance for a moment. It was all that it took. His head rolled on the ground. Only two were left.
It was now or never. I looked at Bock and Nock to begin the final desperate attack. They were both staring at the action below, I tried signalling to them, but they were petrified. They wouldn't move. I wanted to start crying. I knew death was waiting below, but that wouldn't change even if we all went. I chocked back the tears and despair and descended the tree. I focused with all my being into simply disappearing. I was no longer there. There was only a forest breeze rustling some dried leaves. Meanwhile the fight continued. The giant limped and a deep gash marked his stomach and chest. The vampire didn't appear injured, but the serene look she had at the start was gone. Her face was twisted in wretched fury, her cloak was just strips of cloth.
I almost tripped and fell when I head laughter. A mad chilling laughter. It brought back the memories of my dreams of my home. My anguish turned to anger. This was the man who killed my family, my friends. He would kill everyone. Now he was laughing, ready to kill even more. I crept closer. I took my time. I only had one shot at it. Perhaps not even that. I would die, but I would do all I could. I was just a goblin, a small weakling, I couldn't fight toe to toe with a monster like that. All I could do was to fight dirty. I was only paces away from the hero. If the vampire saw me, she made no indication, but it looked to me as if her fighting became even fiercer. The hero had no problems keeping up with the renewed assault. Two more steps.
The vampire overswung her blade. The hero stepped back to avoid the slash, almost crashed into me, then attacked his opponent. There was a high pitched screech as a deep wound was cut into the vampire's chest. The hero moved back again once more. He took a moment to admire his work. Both the giant and the vampire were barely standing up. He laughed and spun the longsword around in one hand.
That moment of rest was all it took. The hero's lust for battle overtook him. He didn't see me coming. I launched myself into the air from a rock, my already drawn. The hero pointed his sword at the vampire and was just about to say something, when my blade sunk into his flesh just where the shoulder and the neck met. It was only a tiny gap between the helmet and the gorget, no more than a finger wide.
I was a weakling. I couldn't fight the hero, but in the end a blade in the neck from the lowest of the low was sometimes enough. The hero jerked and released a stupefied gurgle. I held on to the blade, my feet weren't even touching the ground. He shook and convulsed and it wasn't obvious if he was trying to get me off of himself or if he was already delirious from the pain and blood loss. Every fast movement of his body just caused the blade to slide further into his body. The shakes turned into spasms, which gradually weakened and finally he collapsed.
The vampire walked towards me, her face astonished at what had happened. "Good work little one," she said. "You saved us."
"Razeck!" I heard the two goblins scream my name and dashed towards me. I looked at them with a bitter expression, but as I saw their faces filled with tears, I felt my own eyes burn a little and I felt a lump in my throat.
Before either of the three reached me, suddenly the hero's body began to shine. I tried to back away, but couldn't move. Bock and Nock gasped with fear and the vampire drew her rapier once more. The light grew ever brighter. I didn't know what was about to happen, but to my relief the hero showed no sign of life. His blood was seeping to the ground. It felt warm in my hands and the smell filled my nose.
The light became brighter and I needed to squint. The goblins and vampire shielded their eyes. I heard a gasp coming from her.
"It's all right. You did well," she said and started walking towards me again. I didn't know what made her change her mind about the situation, but it was obvious she came to some sort of a conclusion. I tried standing up, but I still couldn't move. She came right next to me. A sad smile was painted over her face. I felt slight fear squeezing my stomach, but most of all I was just confused. She laid a hand on my head and petted me. "Don't lose heart. I believe you can handle anything after what you've done. I am proud of you."
I didn't understand the sudden barrage of kind words and praise, but I had to admit it gave me a warm feeling deep inside. I looked into the vampire's sad golden eyes. For some reason I felt tears welling up inside. I looked down and saw that my hands were shining as well. All of me was.
"Goodbye," said the vampire.
"Razeck," the two goblins shouted.
They shouted some more, but their voices were suddenly cut off. In fact all of the noises of the forest were cut off as well. There were no sounds. I was in complete darkness. I became aware of the noise of my own heart and breathing.