Succession
Having recovered from the springburn sickness, Noah and Tin set out early on a beautiful day. Summer was approaching, so the mornings lost much of their chill, though everyone paid for it in sweat later in the day. Instead of roaming through the woods to hunt monsters, they had a specific location in mind. Noah had heard rumors of an abandoned mine, now taken over by goblins.
A hive, a nest, a colony; whatever it could be called, it spelled trouble for the village. Goblins ate and bred like rats, so if they managed to find a good place to dig in, they could bolster their numbers in very little time. This mine had been infested and flushed out repeatedly, but the goblins always found a way back in.
The pair were following one of the maps Noah had bought, with several pieces of advice written down that he had received from other adventurers. It would take a day to reach the mine, so they exercised restraint and avoided fighting monsters whenever possible. Hopefully, this mine would be a great source of revenue in scavenged weapons, meaning it would be best to travel light and not gather along the way.
They arrived at the mine early in the morning of the following day. Finding a safe place to set up camp had been burdensome, for this was the territory where the goblins roamed. The mine delved into the base of one of the small mountains, originally a bountiful operation. Numerous cabins and sheds once stood around the entrance, now reduced to rotten kindling. The handful of goblins stood guard behind barriers of scavenged materials and equipment.
Noah and Tin hid nearby, scouting the entrance. "You wait here and I'll take out the guards. I'll wave you over when it's all clear."
"Yes, Master."
Noah concealed himself and advanced towards the mine. He counted seven goblins in total. A wooden shack stood around the entrance to keep the rain out some time ago, but it was just a rickety skeleton now. A goblin was perched like an owl with a bow in hand. Two more were sitting on the wooden walls at the camp's perimeter. The remaining four were at the entrance.
Noah went for the one no one would notice: the sniper above. If he tried killing it with an arrow, there was the risk of a missed shot alerting it, and even if he did land a fatal wound, it's screams would reach the others and the whole mine would swarm like an overturned anthill. He had to kill it up close to ensure it died without making a sound.
He approached the entrance without fear, invisible and inaudible to the goblins keeping guard, but that would change. The only way to the sniper was to climb up onto the roof of the shack, and it was so weathered and fragile, it looked like it couldn't support more than the weight of one goblin. However, it was worth taking the risk. He reached the side of the shed and began the climb, using the mossy cliffside as a secondary ladder to help minimize the weight he put on the old wooden boards.
His illusion concealed traces of his influence, like footprints, leaving mana sticking to whatever he touched like an invisible flame. That said, there were limits. If he ended up ripping a board right out of the wall, his illusion wouldn't be able to conceal it. It could obscure traces of his activity but not replicate objects.
The climb was challenging. The shack had frayed over the years and riddled his hands with splinters, while the hard clay on the cliff crumbled and made it difficult to get a solid hold. Regardless, he managed to climb up onto the roof, though it was like thin ice, and if he broke through or snapped any of the beams, the goblin would feel it, even if he couldn't hear it. Regardless, Noah closed in and stabbed it in the back of the neck with his short sword. It died before it could even voice its pain.
Noah left it sitting there, climbed off the shack, and then snuck over to the two goblins sitting away from the entrance. They looked bored as could be, struggling to stay awake. Noah approached the first one and dispatched it with his knife, once again striking the base of the brain stem. The wound was small, and the goblin simply went limp, never feeling a thing. He draped its body over the barrier, looking, to its friends, like it had merely dozed off. Noah similarly slew the other goblin without creating any noise or disturbances.
Finally, he approached the entrance, where the four were eating venison. He stood over them, the sun passing through him perfectly and its rays illuminating their meal. He selected his longsword for this, even doing a few practice swings to figure out the reach and force required. Once satisfied, he gave a mighty slash, beheading all four beasts at once. Their bodies dropped to the ground, and Noah released his spell, then waved Tin over.
She searched the corpses and cut off their right ears as he stood guard. Most monsters had some body parts that could be sold, like their hides for clothing or their meat as food, but aside from collectors of grotesqueries like skulls and other things to put on display, very little of the goblin was sellable. However, since they were such a nuisance, their species had an ongoing bounty. The local baron would pay adventurers for every goblin they killed, and their right ears were the proof. The goblins also sometimes carried valuables, such as weapons, candles, and even coins. Tin searched them all, and whatever goods she collected went into her backpack.
"Ready to go in?" Noah asked.
Tin nodded. "I'll follow you wherever you lead, Master."
From her pack, she drew a lantern and lit it. Noah would take point, but she would provide the light. With this arrangement, he couldn't simply disappear and leave her at a safe distance while he picked off the goblins one by one. Instead, he needed her beside him so he could see what he was doing and defeat the goblins drawn to the light.
They entered the mine and shuddered from the stench. This was the first time Noah or Tin had seen a goblin nest, so the smell was new to them. It reeked of sewage and rotting meat.
"This air might be toxic. Tell me if you start feeling dizzy, because if one of us loses consciousness, we're both doomed."
They delved into the mountain with Tin lighting Noah's way. Remains of the goblins' meals lay everywhere, picked down to the bone. Though goblins were known to hunt in packs, they were mainly scavengers, sweeping the forest clean of animal corpses and bringing their finds to their den. In a way, they provided a vital service to the ecosystem, ensuring the landscape didn't get buried in corpses as summoning circles continued to spawn monsters. However, the greater their numbers, the more bold and formidable they became in their search for food, and they had to be culled.
Noah and Tin soon came upon the first branch chamber, about the size of an average bedroom. Inside, several female goblins and younglings were sleeping atop a mountain of pelts. Of course, it wasn't good sport to kill such prey while they slept, but this was an extermination job, so things like honor held no meaning.
"It would probably be better if you didn't watch this," Noah whispered to Tin. "Look away and listen for anything approaching."
She did as ordered, keeping the lantern's light focused on the chamber while averting her gaze. Noah drew his short sword and began stabbing the monsters in their sleep. He'd go straight for the head each time so they would die without making a sound. He was steady, methodical, taking them out one by one, with none of his victims even suspecting a thing. It was unnervingly easy, and when finished, he harvested their ears.
"Master!"
Noah ran out into the tunnel as a goblin charged from deeper within, armed with a spear. Noah pushed Tin out of the way and sliced off its head. Another two, hearing its cry, came running at them. The first swung at Noah with a large dagger, but he stepped out of its range and kicked the goblin in the chest, sending it flying. The second blocked the swing of his sword with a wooden club, but he forced it against the wall and drove his knife into its chest. Then, leaving it to die, he returned to the second, struggling to breathe, and ended its life with his sword.
"Please, take this," Tin said, handing him a damp rag.
Noah used it to wipe the blood off his hands while she looted the corpses. He then paused, smelling something that stirred within his memory. It was a scent he experienced only in dark timelines and the most brutal fights for survival. It was wafting throughout the mine from directly ahead.
They moved further down the tunnel, finding it expand into a larger room that forked out. A bonfire burned in the center of the chamber, over which the corpses of humans and animals cooked. Goblins were jumping around and squealing in delight and hunger as the dripping blood sizzled in the flames. Human flesh cooked over a fire--it was the kind of smell Noah could never forget.
Tin gasped in horror at the sight, and one of the goblins spotted them and squealed something in their bestial language. The goblins turned their attention to Noah and Tin and began to approach, armed with the blades used for butchering their food. They chanted the same squeal, probably something along the lines of, "more meat!"
"Tin, stand back."
Noah summoned his clone and sent it running to the right side as if to flank them. The goblins paid no attention to the fact that their prey seemingly split into two and focused on the movement of the clone. With that opening, Noah attacked from their exposed side with his longsword and beheaded three of the beasts. The goblins, sensing the deaths of their comrades, turned their attention back to Noah and swarmed in.
He kept them at bay with wide swings while leaving his left side open to bait them. One by one, they tried to attack from the apparent blind spot, but he would dispatch them before they could reach him. Any that got in close enough to attack found their weapons blocked by Noah's shield, and then his sword would slash at them from below and split their stomachs open.
After losing half their ranks, they began to retreat behind the bonfire. As this was their den, they didn't show their backs and instead tried to ward Noah off with shrill screeches. Though stupid, they wouldn't fall for the same tricks as the others.
Noah cast both spells and left his clone behind while sneaking past the goblins and attacking from their blind spot. He slaughtered three before the remainders noticed, but as they couldn't see him, they could do nothing but scream in confusion. They made it too easy for Noah to finish them off. Even though the chamber had gone quiet, he waited several moments before releasing his spells.
"All clear."
Tin went to work, gathering up valuables. The blades might be worth something to the blacksmith, but they'd have to wash the dried blood off them first. As Tin searched the goblin corpses, Noah checked the pockets of other bodies waiting to be cooked, and one caught his attention. It was a young man, still warm with his wrists bound. Noah checked his neck, and while it was weak, he found a steady pulse.
Noah had gotten to know many people around the town in the past month and learned to recognize others. He often saw this boy with Beth and Mira, carrying a sword and dressed as an adventurer. They frequently ate together at the Old Wineskin. Noah assumed they had recruited him to join their party.
"Tin, I found a survivor."
He retrieved a health potion from his pocket and poured it down the boy's throat. He soon woke up and looked around, struggling to see. Even with a bonfire nearby, this wasn't exactly the best place to wake up in.
"Where am I?"
