Shajstra, bounty hunter of the Southern Ravishome Guild, cautiously peered out from her concealed position and got the first glimpse of her target.
The abandoned keep was still several miles away nestled in a small valley and protected by a natural fast flowing river. It was no doubt the location of her quarry. She had easily tracked the Goblins to this location, their sour stench and footprints were everywhere.
Must be a small raiding party to have come so far south from their mountainous home in the Varkil Mountains. Goblins rarely travelled in large units as they were too disorganised and skittish but raiding parties could have close to a hundred warriors. Shajstra would have to approach this mission stealthily and with a great deal of care.
There were no signs of movement around the keep, no sentries had been posted on the ground but the high towers were cloaked in darkness. Goblins were notoriously sloppy when it came to patrolling - especially when they had entertainment to draw their attention. They did have far better night vision then Shajstra's own human eyes though so one false move and the entire raid party would be alerted.
Satisfied that the route to the keep was clear, she drew back into her makeshift camp, a small enclosed outcropping of rock which shielded her from view of the keep. She still dared not start a campfire for fear of alerting the Goblins to her presence but she needed light to prepare.
She withdrew a small clear stone from a pocket and gently brought it to her lips and uttered a soft word in Elvish, 'Elila'.
The small stone immediately pulsed and grew warm in her hand, a soft white light emanating from the center to cast a faint pale light upon the rocks around her. Shajstra wasted no time in digging through her pack for the piece of parchment she sought.
She hastily unrolled it and read the bounty posting one last time which had been handed to her from the Guildmaster back in Ravishome.
We seek your help!
Our beloved daughter has gone missing. We don't know how or by whom but she was last seen near the forest on the city outskirts. She is a brown haired girl of medium height and 20 winters old.
Reward is 200 gold crowns.
Please bring her back safely!
There was no signature or seal on the parchment, there never was. Only the Guildmaster and some of the higher ranking officials knew the details of the bounty requests. The hunters, like Shajstra, just got handed the details.
The Guild preferred it that way, claimed it reduced their hunter's conscience when carrying out jobs. The reward was quite modest by Guild standards, Shajstra suspected they were a poor working family but then second guessing her client wasn't her job. Once she returned to the Guild with news of a Goblin raiding party, the Guildmaster would up the price for sure. If they couldn't pay then the girl would be held as collateral until they could.
One hostage situation to another...
Satisfied that a female of twenty would not be hard to find in an abandoned keep, Shajstra tucked the parchment away. She pocketed the light stone which softly hummed and winked out before fastening her travel cloak and pulling the hood up over her face. It was time to pay the Goblins a visit to see what they had done with the missing girl.
Shajstra hugged the tree line as she made her way down the path to the old keep. The signs that the Goblins had come this way became more and more evident as she saw crushed vegetation and stinking piles of excrement everywhere.
These creatures were no better than rats and they stank just as bad sometimes. Shajstra ducked further into the trees as she approached the keep, she still couldn't afford to be spotted until she had infiltrated the ruins. The goblins would likely kill the girl in their panic and then flee and she would be one hostage short of a reward.
As she made her way silently through the forest she picked up on sounds from the keep, only vague but it sounded like the manic chattering of Goblins. She could also discern some faint lights from several high locations. The light was static, a guard carrying a burning torch would be moving. Most of the light sources were located on the the opposite side to where she was approaching from.
So far so good.
As the trees began to thin, Shajstra ducked behind a large gorse bush and surveyed the keep. It was no more than a hundred paces away now but a wide river flowed between her and the crumbling stone walls. It was not a fast flowing rover but it looked deep enough that she would need to swim.
The river surface rippled like black ink as she watched the keep for any sign of movement. Once she was satisfied she dropped her pack and unfastened the clasp to her cloak. She would have to cross here as the river meandered away into the distance for some way and she had no time to find a crossing.
She reached around her back and unfastened the buckle of her metal bustier which dropped to the ground, releasing her breasts and stiffening her nipples against the chilly night air. Then came the armour on her lower body and finally her boots until she stood before the river completely naked and bathed in moonlight.
She stooped down, feeling the moisture on the ground seep between her toes, and retrieved an oilskin from her pack. She deftly layed it out and placed her armour and sword in them before expertly rolling it and and tieing it with string. She had learned long ago that water and amrour did not mix. An old Guild member once taught her that...he had drowned before her eyes when his armour had snagged on a rock.
Shajstra pushed her pack into the bush so it could not be seen and then readied herself. She had never been used to freezing water and diving in could attract unnecessary attention. So she carefully stepped into the dark waters until she was ankle deep, the frigid liquid clamping her skin.
She bent and drew some water onto her hands, rubbing it over her body to try and brace herself for the cold shock. She took a deep breath and waded in, oilskin clutched to her chest. She closed her eyes as the water engulfed her thighs and tickled her belly, completely swallowing her breasts in it's murky grasp.
Her feet soon lost touch with the muddy riverbed and kicked with her legs, using her free arm stroke quietly through the water. Her supple figure glided across the river, the current was noticeable but not strong enough to cause her trouble. She focused on the opposite river bank which was low and sloped up to the walls of the keep.
It was tempting to hurl the oilskin up onto the bank as she drew close but she didn't want to create any unessary noise. Instead, she ignored her tiring muscles until her feet touched squelchy mud an she scrambled up the bank and onto an area of prickly grass and rocks.
Shajstra leaned up against the keep wall to catch her breath for a while, staying completely still and watching for any signs of trouble.
Nothing.
She wrung out her wet hair and sluiced the excess water from her body as best she could before unfolding the oil skin. Her armour and sword were perfectly dry and she made short work of dressing and re-arming herself.
Now she needed to find a way into the keep to begin her search properly and it wasn't long before she found an open invitation. A rusted and twisted grate, almost perished, was set into the bottom of the keep wall to act as a primitive sewar system. There was enough space for her to squat down and edge through it into the darkness beyond.
A thin film of water trickled past her feet and the rank stench of Goblin assaulted her senses. The tunnel was far too low for her to walk upright so she had to stoop and shuffle along the passage. She stepped on several squishy things which she didn't care to think about until the tunnel widened and she came to a crossroads illuminated by weak wall sconces.
The fire in them burned low so they must have been active for some time. If she followed the trail then it would likely lead her to the lower levels. There were three ways she could proceed but there was a distinct chattering coming from the western passageway.
Shajstra climbed a small ledge and silently made her way further into the keep. The walls and floor were a mixture of stone and dirt which were big enough for her stand at times but mostly she was forced to crawl in order to progress.
The Goblin cacophony was certainly gaining in pitch and volume and Shajstra thought she heard another voice in the midst. Was that a human voice she could hear? The noise proved to be a reliable beacon as she followed the sounds and eventually crawled towards a semi circular set of iron bars at the bottom of a wall.
She flattened herself against the floor and peered through the bars. There was a room beyond resembling some kind of dungeon. Cobwebs clung against old tables and equipment but it was not abandoned. There was a head also in view with brown hair. She had found the hostage, the only trouble was there was no way to get to her.