***
Aneira rubbed her hands over her eyes, trying to force them to stay open. It didn't help. Both her legs had gone to sleep and her fingers were stiff from the cold night air. Dawn was still a long way off. Reaching into her pack, she pulled out a small hunk of the cheese and nibbled on it. At the very least if, she fell asleep after eating it, she would get nightmares in recompense for her folly.
When her eyelids drooped for the fifth time that minute she realised she would need to move soon or sleep would overtake her senses. She stifled a yawn and lifted her torso off the ground. As soon as she was crouched, still able to scan the horizon around her, she re-strapped her pack and quiver to her back, making sure they were exactly where they needed to be, before picking up her bow.
Cramp filled her right hand as it clasped the thin wood her weapon was made from. She had let her fingers get too cold. After emptying her hand again she brought both up to her mouth and blew the warmer air from her lungs over them. Once they thawed a little she flexed her fingers, trying to work the warmth back through to the depths of the bone, but she still couldn't grip her bow yet.
All the while, as she did this, she kept her eyes on the terrain around her. She blinked a few times as she realised up ahead and to the right a flame was bobbing along. At first she wasn't completely sure that her eyes weren't playing tricks on her and just seeing what they'd wanted to see all night, but as time passed she became convinced a small party was moving in the direction of the village.
As the light came closer, she hunkered back down into her little den and tried to make out who carried it. She soon realised there were actually several lights, and they were farther off to her right than she'd originally estimated. Not wanting them to get out of sight before she'd established whether they were goblins or not, she got up from her hiding place and moved as silently as she could in their direction.
Before she could get much closer they had already passed perpendicular to her original position, placing her behind whoever moved through the night. Over the next few minutes she curved her path to get closer to the walkers and could soon make out the outlines of the gangly dark green creatures that everyone called goblins.
They shuffled along, a group of twenty-six by her rough count. There were five torches amongst them and they were all armed to the teeth with a selection of maces, swords, shields, helmets and spears; there was even a quiver or two that she thought she saw, strapped to a few of the knobbly backs.
She kept her distance and snuck along after them, repeating her pattern of moving between the cover the terrain provided. There was little chance that they would see her while it was still dark but dawn was not far off and then she would need to be very careful. She had never hunted goblins like this before; deer and other wild animals, but never something that would turn around and kill her if she was noticed.
As she slunk over rocks and around bushes, her tiredness dropped from her limbs to be replaced by the slight buzz of adrenaline. Despite her lack of sleep she felt fresh and revitalised. The abundance of food the evening before had probably helped. She hadn't eaten like that in months.
A few hours passed and the sky turned from its deep, star-studded black to the blue of dawn. Now Aneira's skills would be put to the test. She dropped back from the goblins and crouched behind bushes at the first hint that any of them would look back.
Even if she had to drop behind so they were out of sight, it wouldn't matter now. The light was showing her a path created by their feet and blades. They trampled everything and hacked at any branches that came too close.
When the sun rose to run through another day she dropped back further still and let the goblins become specks of green and movement on the horizon. Now she could move out in the open a bit more without them noticing her.
Either because they didn't like the sunlight, or because they were late, they picked up the pace and she matched it, not wanting them to be too far ahead.
While she followed, she started to plan how she would attack. She needed to somehow gather them into smaller groups and pick them off. She didn't have enough arrows for every single one of them either, so traps would be needed. If she had known where they were coming from in advance she could have laid many traps the previous day, but that couldn't be helped now.
Along the way she spotted several places to set good death traps but didn't have the time to stop and make them; not even the most simple of set-ups.
She frowned as she also realised the goblins ahead had sped up for the second time and were now out of sight. Almost all of the eight miles she had travelled the day before she had now retraced.
Aneira stopped at the next place she saw where she could make a trap. The goblins were going to the village and would come back this way. On top of that, she finally had some kind of attack plan. It made no sense to follow them any longer and use up energy she could employ elsewhere.
She nibbled on some more bread and cheese as she looked over the site she'd chosen for the first trap, as well as the resources nearby, at her disposal. There were a lot of bushes and branches but not much else, so she decided to build a simple pit trap and fill it with spikes. It would take a while but wouldn't use up anything she carried with her.
After pulling out her knife, she hacked off a nearby branch and began sharpening the end. The noise of wood being shaved off filled the air around her as she quickly worked. Within minutes she'd made a small pile of stakes at her feet.
While she was reaching for another branch to use she heard the sound of something behind her. She turned to see five goblin scouts aiming arrows right at her.
“What do we 'ave 'ere? We've been watchin' you follow us fer some time now, little girl. Why don't you come wiv us so you can explain to our boss why?” the middle goblin said in a deep harsh voice.
Aneira frowned as they shoved her forwards and took her knife right out of her hands. There was no point fighting back, so she let them take her bow and quiver as well. Thankfully, her cloak hid her small pack and they didn't notice it was there to remove. In the open, as they were, she had no hope of beating them in a fight. As she walked she mentally kicked herself for letting them capture her. She should have suspected there would be more, and not stayed where she could be so easily spotted.
None of them spoke to her but they force marched her at a fast pace to catch up with the group ahead. By this point the village itself was not far off and she could see smoke from their chimneys as well as just about identify the scarecrow from Gwain's field.
The goblins ahead soon saw her and the scouts, and stopped to hear about her capture. There was a slightly bigger goblin, whose eyes bulged when he glared. He had a leather jerkin on, compared to only the bare chests and loin cloths of the others.
She tried not to let her fear show when she realised she was now surrounded by over thirty of the smelly creatures and the leader was staring right at her. His eyes swept over her and a grin showed his crooked teeth that were stained so badly they were almost black.
“Well, well, we've got extras today boys.” The odour on his breath assaulted her nose, making her sway back in disgust. They all sniggered at her.
“We found 'er tryin' to sneak up on you lot and layin' some sort o' trap,” the goblin who captured her said.
“Well, sneak. Is that what you were tryin'?”
“No, I was trying to make a hide to sleep for a few hours. Why don't you let me go? I'm just a simple wanderer, I'll be right on my way.”
This garnered even more of the raucous noise the goblins made in place of laughing. No surprises that they weren't going to let her go. She hadn't really thought they would, but anything was worth a try.
“Come on, we've got places to be, and you'll be extra meat fer our feastin'.”
A hand shoved her from behind again and she wobbled precariously before finding her balance. With a gloomy expression, she allowed herself to be marched right back into the village. The hustle and bustle she'd seen the morning befo
re had gone completely. Each house was fully shuttered up and no one was outside.
The goblin horde strode right into the centre of the village and made themselves comfortable around the well there. For the moment, she found herself a little less surrounded. She pinpointed the goblin who had her weaponry and slowly meandered a little closer to him.
“I'm not fond o' waitin'. Bring out our gift!” the leader yelled before she could get very far. She stopped dead in her tracks, wracking her brains for something she could do to stop this carnage.
The door to the chief's house opened up and a middle aged man with a fiery red beard walked out. Behind him filed five much younger villagers, four boys and one girl, their hands bound and each one gagged. Several had tear-stained faces but none of them made a sound now, with only their eyes betraying the fear they all felt.
Following them was Gwain, holding the other end of the rope that bound them all together and ensuring none of them could run. His eyes remained downcast as the goblin and chief stared each other down for a moment. She knew this couldn't be easy for any of them, but surely fighting was better.
As the prisoners were released to be handed over, Gwain looked up. His eyes went wide as he saw her and realised she was also their captive.
“Aneira, I told you to get as far away as possible!” he yelled. She stifled her groan as every goblin took notice.
“So you were spyin' on us, you little sneak. You'll pay for lyin'. We don't like being lied to and we'll make sure you squeal plenty for it, won't we, boys?” There were more chuckles and sneers from the goblins around her.
“All right. I admit. I was following you. I want you to take me instead of these five.” She immediately noticed the hopeful looks on the faces of the five, “Let them go. I'm worth all of them. I could easily hunt and kill all five and...”
“Shut up, you maggot. I ain't making no different bargains. You'll come along like the rest o' them.”
Aneira could have screamed in frustration at that moment but she knew it wouldn't have helped. Instead, she turned her focus back on getting out of there. Especially as the goblins moved their gaze back to the five prisoners. She shuffled a little closer to her weapons, which had recently been placed on the ground so the goblin could help secure the children.
No one paid her any attention as there was a scuffle and the girl tried to run for it. Aneira seized her chance, grabbing her stuff and legging it back the way she'd come. As she did, she shouldered her quiver and notched an arrow to the string. The sounds of pursuit came to her as she rounded the edge of one of the houses. Using her turning momentum she spun to send the arrow through the throat of the nearest goblin. He gurgled deep green blood in response.
Without waiting to see how many followed her, she started running again, forcing her legs to pump up and down as fast as she could while keeping her balance.
As she reached the gate she'd talked to Gwain at she turned again, and another of her arrows went flying. This time she took a moment to check the scene. Another goblin down and only twenty-nine to go. But so far only a third of them were chasing her. The longer she elluded capture the more likely they would be to all pursue her and leave the village and the other five victims alone, so she turned and sprinted off again.
The goblins did not seem as used to running as she was, at least not flat out, and they soon fell behind. This made Aneira feel better, but she would not be able to keep it up either. As her pursuers trailed out of range of her bow she slowed a little, allowing herself to jog at a fast pace rather than sprint.
When the goblins caught up a little she turned and fired again, but this time her arrow only caught the edge of an arm and they all kept running at her. She frowned as she realised her knife was still with whoever had taken it.
Her breath came in ragged gasps as she ascended one of the many hills ahead of her. Right at the top she took another opportunity to turn and fire. One more fell to die, as another slowed and dropped back from the chasing pack. For her hastily made plan to work, this goblin would need to report to their boss and encourage the rest to join the chase. Hopefully, this horde's leader was proud and would take her escape to heart.
Either way, she could only run for so long. With no traps to aid her and nothing nearby to hide in, she did the only thing she could think of and ran for the massive fortress-like ruins she had seen the previous day.
At the top of each hill she turned and fired another arrow. Roughly half the time the missiles found their mark, but it was not enough. Her arrows were running out faster than her targets. As she climbed yet another hill her thighs protested at the strain and she stumbled over a loose rock.
She glanced behind to find the gap had closed again to no more than about fifteen metres and more goblins were racing in from behind that. The whole horde now chased her to the mountains.
Knowing she would want some arrows for emergencies, she stopped glancing behind her and turning around, so she could concentrate all her effort on reaching the ruins. None of them had fresh legs anymore, but as their leader joined them the horde seemed to take on a new lease of life. Soon she could hear their feet pounding behind her and they jeered at her between their own rapid breaths.
Arrow shafts started to fall around her, forcing her to weave a little and use up even more energy, and still they kept coming after her. As she reached another vantage point she stopped and wheeled around on the balls of her feet. She fired three arrows in rapid succession into the three nearest goblins.
At such close range her aim was good enough to kill two instantly and mortally wound the other. The rest hesitated. They wanted to catch her but goblins were more cowardly than they liked to make out. She'd killed over a third of their number now and still ran.
Their hesitation bought her some distance again and she continued the race for her life, now far enough ahead that she was out of their bow range once more. Despite her new advantage, thoughts of her own death tried to invade her mind. It took all her remaining willpower to keep slogging on and not give up.
She no longer looked back to see what might come. The horde leader could be heard encouraging the other goblins to speed up and get closer to her, but after a few minutes of this they didn't sound any nearer. Eventually the chief gave up and they contented themselves with staying the same distance behind.
Knowing their tactic was to wear her out, she concentrated on conserving her energy, using her arms to swing and aid her momentum, as well as controlling her breathing. Her tongue was like sandpaper in her mouth and she really wanted a drink, but she couldn't stop for that now.
Just as she thought she could not make her body go any further she looked up and noticed the ruins were a lot closer than they had been the day before. She had already run past the place she'd settled in for the night and covered at least half the distance between there and the ruins. On top of that, the sky was getting darker. Several gloomy-looking clouds had rolled in, and they helped make it feel like the evening and the blackness of night were coming soon.
Both these things filled her with enough hope to tuck her head back down, continue up the next slope and conquer the final hill, before heading down to the very skirt of the mountain and the main climb to the ruins up above her. As she started up the final slope, it soon became apparent the goblins were hesitating again and getting even farther behind.
Aneira glanced over her shoulder a few times before she realised they were bothered by the ruins. Their heads darted up to look at it before casting furtive glances at their own leader and then, if not watched, they lagged behind a little.
A laugh almost escaped her as she watched the strange switching behaviour where each goblin who slunk to the back of the group would find himself at the front again after the rest of the horde had repeated the process. Only their leader kept any kind of steady pace, and tried to encourage them on.
Whatever bothered them about the ruins must be serious if it stopped them from pursuing her as ruthlessly when their determinati
on had already seen them run over ten miles. She hoped they felt like they couldn't show weakness to the village. No doubt they would drag her back there if captured and make a public example of her, all because she'd dared to stand up to them in front of the village chief.
She lifted her head and scanned the edges of the rock construction, looking for a way into the building. When she spotted a possible entrance, she put on a final sprint uphill to the finish. By the time she reached the top her thighs ached with the build of effort, and she felt like she might throw up, but she knew she could hardly slow down now.
The building offered her immediate protection from arrows, but the goblins were still coming, and she would need to find a very good hiding place for there to be any chance they would pass her by. Through the great, black stone archway she raced, and then along, glancing at any open doorways with long ago disintegrated doors.
There were several rooms to each side, but they all looked to be dead ends, and she had no choice but to flee farther into the expansive building, like a rat before a flood.
After a few more minutes of running she heard the sound of the goblins behind her. Their conversation as they entered through the arch was picked up by the acoustics and echoed around her. She strained her ears to make out what was said, but only caught the continued commands forcing them after her.
Her flight continued until she saw a large room up ahead through a doorway that had also started deteriorating. As she got closer she realised the floor had fallen through, and it forced her to slow.
When she reached the edge she looked down. Over five floors had fallen down to reveal a dank cave at the bottom. This building had not only been made out of the rock around it but carved down into it as well. It was huge, and the only way to continue was on a small ledge that ran all the way around the sides.
As she looked down again she gulped. If she didn't work her way around the room she would have to face the goblins and they were still close behind her. She could hear at least a small group of them coming up the long corridor. They were still a good distance away and had slowed their pace, but they were advancing on her and she couldn't let them get too near.
Taking a deep breath to try and calm herself down, she shuffled sideways along the edge, her back pressed up against the wall and her arms out, running along it, for balance. She held her bow in one hand and an arrow in the other, just in case she needed to deter her pursuers from getting too close.
She'd moved about three metres out onto the ledge when she noticed some movement on the other side of the room. The large arched exit into another great chamber stole her focus, as she saw the face of the largest scaly lizard she had ever encountered. As it came forward she noticed the wings and tail.
When she had been little her parents had told her tales of dragons, but she'd never seen one and had assumed they were a myth. Now her gaze locked with this one. Its eyes were a deep amber colour that seemed to suck her into them, and its scales were ebony black. She'd never seen anything so beautiful and terrifying at the same time.
For a moment neither of them moved, then all of a sudden it sucked in its breath and she watched as smoke started to billow from the dragon's nostrils.
“Oh, crapola,” she said, just as flames burst from its mouth and came towards her at speed. There was only time to cover her face with her hands and close her eyes before the flame ball engulfed her. Her jaw clenched against the pain and then all of a sudden the fire was gone, except it wasn't. Her clothes, bow, quiver and even a small part of the ledge she stood on were now alight.
She tried frantically to beat the flames out with her hands but it just resulted in her wobbling over the drop. As everything slowed around her, her arms hung in the air before falling to her sides, and she glanced once more at the dragon. Its eyes had never left her and she saw no mercy in them.
The sounds of the horde no longer came to her. All she could hear was the slow crackle of flames as they flickered over her blistering skin. She watched the flames crackling on her arm for a moment, mesmerised by the difference in speed of the world around her in comparison to normal.
Something twinkled out of the corner of her eye and she looked down towards it. The cave below her had water on the bottom, and she could see a small star reflected in it.
Water! Water puts out fire. She blinked and hesitated. There was no other way but to jump the five levels and hope the water was deep enough. As the pain grew worse she commanded her body to do just that. Nothing happened.
“Jump,” she cried out and finally she unfroze and flung herself over the edge. As she fell, the air whistling past her fanned the flames even fiercer and the pain of being burnt alive raged across every part of her touched by the lit clothes.
With a resounding splash she hit the water at the bottom and sunk into its icy embrace. The force stung her skin on top of the already painful burns and she dropped her bow in shock. Doing everything she could to ignore how much she hurt she swivelled herself around in the water, trying to find the surface and get some air into her lungs.
As she thrashed around she felt all the pain and coldness fade from her. Her limbs went heavy and her eyelids started to close. She only had time to think she hadn't wanted to go out this way before she lost consciousness and slipped into oblivion.