Kaleidoscope

"They are still following us, mates!"

'A pointless statement, of course they are still following us!' Kael thought whilst looking back at the trail of blood behind them.

Well not looking, his eyes couldn't make out the tiny flecks of red amongst the multitude of fallen leaves, at least not whilst moving but his nose told him it was there. He did not pause even with his head turned, he had to keep going, keep running no matter how tired he felt.

Their pursuers had noses that knew about the trail as well and that is why no matter how far the distance between them got at times, they were sure to return.

'Doom, inexorable doom.'

The chase had started the night before and it was sunset now. It would get dark again and their hunters would gain the advantage, close what little distance had been created and perhaps go for the kill. Their demise was inevitable because of the nature of the chase. It was not a high speed pursuit where the victor was determined by power and agility, but a slow, grinding, mind numbing, march of atrition. Already they had gone a night without sleeping, one more and they would be dead on their feet. Their hunters no doubt knew this, it was a perfect strategy to tackle a weaker but dangerous opponent with little to no risk. For Kael and his comrades it spelt certain death.

'Outsmarted by goblins'

Technically speaking they hadn't been outsmarted so much as forced into a dicey situation but then again technically speaking lesser goblins were not considered intelligent beings. Clever and resourceful but not nearly sentient, they were comparable to ravens. Group hunters by nature, cowardly, weak and yet tenacious. A horde of them was a nightmare no one wanted to come across, but a feral pack like this one should have been beneath notice.

'We should have stood our ground, fought them off, they would have fled at the first casualty'

Yet they'd had no way if knowing whether it was ten or fifty goblins they faced, the cowardly nature of goblins made it dificult to tell the strength of their numbers based on the strategies they employed.

'But now I know and the odds are only going to get worse. We are not going to get lucky.'

Kael stopped moving, he took his makeshift sword in his hand and gripped the hilt firmly. It was not like any other sword he had ever used before, it was too lightly curved to be scimitar yet it was no straight sword and whilst taller than a shortsword it was a far cry from a longsword, the handle was made of the same chitin as the rest of it, making it a great deal more slippery than any sword ought to be. Still it served, and he'd grown more attached to it --despite it's many faults or having never used it in against a living, moving opponent-- than any sword he'd ever used. Unlike the others it was his, he killed the spider for it, he helped make it, he sharpened it's edge each every morning, his!

'My mind goes to the stupidest places before a fight.' He laughed silently.

The others had stopped now, he could smell their fear, blended with the scents of their sweat and a hint of fresh blood, to the creatures that dwelt these forests it was a banner of weakness.

Kael wondered if his own fear was a part of their banner but if it was he couldn't smell it. Was he afraid? Yes but there was excitement too. He could do this, he could win, he knew he could and then it would be just another victory a learning experience, something to help shape his future as a deviant. All he needed was for his teammates to stand their ground, back him up and the goblins would flee. He could count on Gerald but Kip and the others were a mystery, they were grown men yes but age and manhood didn't equal bravery. Whatever this was his only chance, running and wishing for something to happen wasn't going to work.

'Here they come.'

The goblins were not too far away but even so they took their time, staying hidden in the leafage whilst they encircled the group. Kael and the others used this time to catch their breaths but even so they did not let their guards down. Not that they could, intermittent shreiks, yips and low growls reminded them that they were not alone and that the rustling of leaves was not the work of the wind.

A high pitched howl silenced all the other goblin sounds and startled some birds into a noisy flight. Just after that a ring of goblins emerged wielding sharpened sticks. They were bald hairless creatures, little taller than half the height of a man, they had wrinkled ugly faces and leathery skin that was often brown or green but came in greys and dark blues as well.

The band of five pressed their backs against each others and pointed their crude weapons at the enemy. The goblins approached warily, poking with their wooden spears even though they were too far to do any harm

'Come on already! Come die--'

A goblin interrupted Kael's thoughts by howling wildy and dashing forward in a mad sprint. Kael was dimly aware that other goblins were howling and charging at his comrades too but his atttention was focused on the goblin before him. He stepped forward and brought his sword down in an overhead strike but the goblin was scrambling backward even as he raised his arm and his blade met only air. Kael crouched low and burst forward with a powerful Voth leap. His practice bore fruit and he speared the goblin straight through the back with his sword. Hurriedly he kicked the creature of his weapon. The creature hit the ground with a weak sob and pitifully attempted crawl away even with a hole straight through its c.h.e.s.t. The sight of its vain struggle to get away made Kael's stomach lurched but he could not look away.

When his senses came to him two goblins were assaulting him from both sides. There was a pang of fear but it dissapeared as he knocked their spears aside with a single sweep of his sword. They were weaker than the average man he realised and he would have pushed the attack but he noticed two other goblins trying to get behind him.

"Kael! Get back! They trying to seperate and surround us!" Gerald's shout warned him of what he already knew.

He spun around and slashed at one of the goblins trying to get around him, his sword bit through its arm, earining him a hateful shriek and a spray of blood but behind him he saw the dark forms of two more goblins moving in to attack. Desperate he turned to the thing that got him there in first place, he eyed his companions and noted the distance, as he was now it would not be a challenging leap, the muscles in legs uncoiled and launched him into the air. For a moment he was airborne, sailing over a bewildered goblin, his veins thrummed with exhilarating feeling of perceived weightlessness, the tiredness of the long chase was forgotten but then he crashed into the huddled forms of his comrades.

Oof! The impact had him gasping, the force of it eliciting grunts and groans from all around. Still they stood, and supported his weight till he righted himself and spun around shaprly. The goblin that sought to take him from behind yelped and run back to the safety of its brethren. This time Kael did not give chase. The others seemed fine, all of them except Gerald were panting but the goblins seemed even more unwilling to engage than before if that was even possible.

Slowly the half sized humanoids began to retreat to the shelter of the forest foilage where they dissapeared one after the other. If only for a minute but then a second howl peirced the quiet, and the goblins returned, spear ring and all.

'They have a leader, but what is it?'

Goblins were known for subjecting to stronger more intelligent creatures, chief amongst them hobgoblins who some said were the Despaired version of goblins. It was unlikely to be a hobgoblin however as they were good at controlling and managing goblins and hence tended to form larger packs than this one.

A series of sharp barks were uttered and a wave of sharpened stones pelted the humans from all sides.

The stick wielding goblins kept their distances and their hidden companions hurled even more sharpened stones. Kael's leathery skin meant none of the stones cut him and worst he got were bruises but the others were only human and some of them were already sporting nasty gashes, worst of all was Kip whose six foot frame made him an easy and intiviting target.

"Engage the spearmen!" Gerald yelled

'Spearmen,... seriously?'

Still Kael did as bid and tried to close the distance between him and the stick wielding goblins. However the goblins only retreated further back into the forestry where the humans dared not follow otherwise they'd be swarmed and separated.

Again a shower of stones pelted them, Kael felt like screaming out in frustration. He knew the goblins would soon run out of stones but the idea of having the fight dictated by witless goblins infuriated him, yet what could he do?

Gerald sheathed his sword and stared at the incoming rain of stones. Everything about the goblins angered him, he felt it in his c.h.e.s.t, a black pit of fury. Breathing out sharply he let a trickle of despair flow thtough him, sighing as it chased away his aches and quieted the stinging. A trickle that was all it took and the fall of the stones slowed until he could he count them all thrice and still have time to move away before they hit.

He plucked two stones out of the air and semt them hurtling at the dark shapes still hidding behind the vegetation. Yelps of pain rewarded his efforts.

'Dead' he thought with satisfaction but it was not enough to rid him of the anger.

A particularly courageous goblin tried to attack him now that he was unarmed and he answered with a sharp kick that sent it flying out sight.

Another wave of stones was comming he noted angrily.

'Why do these insignificants think they can even touch me?!'

Drawing on more despair he grabbed a one of the goblins surrounding them by it's stick. The goblin wailed but Gerald paid no mind, he knocked away the incoming stones with the goblin. It cried and let go off the stick but that only allowed Gerald to flip the spear around and grab it by the b.u.t.t. A forceful throw buried the spear into another unsuspecting hidden goblin. Without pausing he grabbed the now fleeing unarmed goblin by the head and proceeded to beat the remaining bloody with it.

The goblins began to flee en masse, screaming curses as they bolted. Gerald flung the limp goblin body he was holding at another that was running away. The two hit the ground in a squealing tangle of limbs.

Gerald picked his sword and chased after them, venting as he cut them down with killing stroke after killings stroke. They were so helpless before him that he often did not need despair to finish them with a swift slash. Finally he was sated and largely out of victims, that was when he saw it, it was not like the others. It was much taller and completely decked ill-fitting but impressive looking dull red armour. Gerald accessed it's approaching form with clear blue eyes. He was bone tired and half out of despair, time to call it quits in his opinion but the approaching hobgoblin wasn't like to take that for an answer. Gerald gave it a second once over, raised his sword at it and then run away for dear life.