Author's Note: The next chapter is in! Sorry for the delay. I tried something new with this chapter. It's twice as long as the previous chapters and has more action, characters, interactions and story development. As always, comments and suggestions are most welcome. Stay tuned for more chapters as Bard makes his way closer to Glenhearth!
Bard was in a good mood as he whistled an upbeat tune. It had been a day since his racy night encounter with the mysterious wood elf. After much pondering on the matter, the thief had decided that he had indeed fucked the wood elf and not imagined or dreamt it all up. He could not rationally explain why he knew this, but he knew that deep down it was the truth. Ever since that realization, Bard was in higher spirits as he continued down Darkwood Road.
The thief was glad to see more sunlight piercing through the forest canopy. He felt as though the woods were no longer as dense as before, though he still shuddered when recalling the first three days of walking in near darkness. Bard knew that by foot the journey through Darkwood Forest would take roughly five days. He looked at his well-worn boots and wondered whether he would make it out of the woods soon. The thought of being out on the open road with the sun clear in the sky made him smile, but his smile soon diminished when something troubling caught the thief's attention.
"What's this?" he muttered as he knelt down and examined the path carefully. Darkwood Road was an old and well-traveled cobblestone trail. The path had deteriorated throughout the ages, leaving many missing stones and gaps in the roadway. It became a simple dirt road before him, with an odd stone here and there between crushed leaves and twigs. Though he was no ranger, he could make out horse and wheel tracks -- and a lot of them at that. Bard was not alone on the road after all. The thief shook his head, scolding himself quietly. How had he not spotted the tracks before?
"Company on the road. Good or bad, I wonder?" he asked aloud with a frown on his face. The roads between towns and cities in the central Kingdom were relatively safe, but out here on the outskirts it was another matter. Stories of travelers getting attacked by goblins and orcs, or being robbed by highwaymen were not unheard of. Bard had in his travels encountered such highwaymen before, and had even been a part of such groups. The thief had opted out of such a lifestyle in favour of being a city thief, where he had access to greater riches and pleasures.
A shrill cry in the distance made the thief look up. He listened for a while until he heard several more shrill cries pierce the silence of the woods. They were the first sounds the thief had heard in days, and he instantly recognized them as goblin in origin. He couldn't tell how many of them there were, but he knew that a fight was coming. Bard was not afraid of a goblin or two, but he knew well the dangers of a raiding party. For a brief period in his life, the thief had served in the King's army before becoming a deserter. He had fought alongside fellow soldiers against goblin and orc tribes that threatened the borders of the Kingdom.
The thief did not revel in the idea of fighting goblins again. Bard looked up and considered climbing high up into a tree and simply waiting the conflict out. Better alive than dead, he thought grimly. He was about to scale up a large tree when he heard a battle shout challenge the goblin war cries. It came from men and women, and they were not far away by the sounds of it.
"Shit," he muttered as he moved towards the sounds of battle. It was against all reason to go into fight not knowing the odds, but he couldn't stand the sound of women screaming -- unless of course they were screaming in pleasure.
Bard did not have to run far before he found the source of the commotion. Up ahead on the road he spotted a large caravan of wagons and carts. They were parked on and off the road in disarray. He saw smoke up ahead -- one of the leading wagons was on fire. All around the caravan, men and women were fighting against a small horde of goblins. The little green bastards easily outnumbered the humans two to one. Bard noticed that the men were trying to push the goblins back, while the women defended the wagons, carts and horses.
The thief dropped his bag of stolen goods and burst into action. As he ran he drew two concealed daggers. Without slowing his pace, the thief hurled the two daggers with expert precision and watched them bring down a pair of goblins. Another goblin turned around to see what had happened, only to be met with Bard's boot crunching hard into its long nose. The goblin yelped in pain and fell down, holding its bleeding and broken nose. The men cheered at the sight of a new ally. A burly man nearby brought his wooden mallet down on the fallen goblin, and Bard danced to the side to avoid the splatter of blood.
Bard drew another dagger and quickly dodged a clumsy spear attack by a goblin. The spear stabbed into a tree behind Bard, its sharp tip getting stuck in the thick bark. The goblin struggled to pull the weapon free. Seeing an opening, the thief smiled sinisterly and thrust his dagger hand out, burying the weapon to the hilt in the goblin's small chest. The thief twisted the dagger before viciously pulling it out.
"Fucking human!" the goblin gurgled before it fell to the ground, still clutching the spear.
Mad cackling drew Bard's attention. He saw a group of goblins sneak around towards a nearby wagon, which was defended by a few women. From behind a window inside the wagon, a few terrified children watched the battle. The men were starting to push the goblin forces back, but no one was close enough to help the women out. Bard heard the goblins cackle with glee as they approached the wagon. "Titties and kiddies!" one of the goblins shouted as it began to run towards the women.
Goblin raiding parties were infamous for their general disorganization. Often goblin forces would split up right in the middle of combat; some goblins would continue to fight, others would pillage and loot, and yet more would try to rape helpless victims. Goblins were known for their lecherous behaviour, and it was no wonder that their populations were so massive. The little buggers basically spent their entire lives doing three simple things: eating, raiding, and fucking.
Bard dislodged the spear from the tree behind him and hurled the weapon at the leading goblin. The spear struck true, impaling the goblin and sending it flying back from the force of the impact. The spear and the goblin slammed into the side of the wagon. A woman nearby screamed at the sight of the goblin's body dangling from the spear, lodged into the side of the wagon. Bard heard startled cries from inside the wagon. He hoped he didn't kill some poor kid inside by doing that.
The sight of their dead companion did little to stop the other goblins. A few goblins glanced at him and then back at the women -- they chose tits and he couldn't blame them. He saw one particularly horny goblin attack a buxom young woman. The bugger's loincloth was already on the ground as it tore at the woman's clothing, despite her beating it repeatedly on the head with a metal pot.
"Show me your tits, bitch!" the goblin howled as he clawed at her top. He managed to tear some of the cloth away, but not enough to see her breasts.
It howled no more when Bard's dagger found the back of its skull. The busty beauty recoiled in disgust as blood splattered against her torn garments. A high-pitched laugh from above redirected Bard's attention. One of the goblins had managed to climb up on the roof of the wagon. It was clawing away at the top, trying desperately to get inside. Bard tried to pull his dagger out of the fallen goblin's skull but found it firmly lodged. Instead, the thief improvised -- he grabbed the dead goblin by the foot and swung it up at the goblin on the roof. Goblins were relatively small in stature, about three feet tall and they didn't weigh very much so the feat wasn't difficult to perform.
With great satisfaction he saw the goblin corpse slam into the goblin atop the roof. Both bodies went flying over the edge. The other goblins continued to harass the women, oblivious to the thief wreaking havoc among them. A woman with light bronze coloured skin screamed as two goblins choose her for their next assault. One threw itself at her legs and started dry humping her like a dog. The other goblin practically launched itself at her ass. It clung to her rear for dear life as the woman spun around trying to get the goblins off. The sight was absolutely ridiculous and if it wasn't for the dire situation the thief would have laughed out loud.
"Stop spinning!" Bard shouted at her. She stopped and her eyes went wide with shock as Bard grabbed the two goblins by their necks. He pulled them off of her body and some of her clothing tore away in the process. The thief slammed their heads against the side of the wagon repeatedly until he heard their skulls crack against the hard wood. Bard dropped their lifeless bodies to the ground and looked at the women. They stared back at him in stunned silence. He realized how ruthless and mad he must have looked killing those goblins in quick succession.
The silence was broken by the two women he had saved. They cheered and the rest of the women joined in after. Bard saw a young boy in the wagon fist pump the air. The thief flashed a wolfish grin at women and children before returning to the battle with the other men. It was a bloody business but eventually the sounds of battle ended. A few goblins were trying to retreat but the men chased and cut the goblins down. Clearly these people knew the dangers of letting a few goblins escape -- the little green bastards would return in greater numbers and with a vengeance if allowed to do so.
Goblin bodies littered the road and forest floor around the caravan. A few men were wounded, but no one seemed in danger of dying. The women were a bit shaken but overall they were fine except for a few tears in their clothing. Bard was actually surprised at how well the group had defended themselves against the goblin raid. These folk were not strangers to conflict on the road.
