Hezekiah ran down the slope of a hill that was covered in trees. The sun was directly overhead and sweat was dripping off of him as his legs took long strides to put a little distance between him and what was following him. He could hear the snapping of branches and the breaking of twigs behind him, so he put a little more speed into his running. They were closer than they should have been and if he didn’t hurry they might get a shot at him when he broke from the trees and ran up the slope ahead of him. He knew that the orcs had been following the caravan since the night before. Just before sunset while he was checking the back trail he had noticed them. As large as a man and wearing black leather armor they were not hard to see. Their pig snouted faces and long ape like arms helped identify them as orcs. A number of them carried man made weapons and shields instead of ones made by orcs. Two carried bows that could have been man made, but he was too far away to be sure. They were following the trail that the caravan had left earlier in the day. There were only twelve orcs when he first saw them. He had hoped for one more day before the enemy picked up their trail, but they were not going to get that one day. The caravan was just over half way across the plains, and if nothing had been following them they would have stopped for a while at sun down to rest. They had been lucky not to stumble onto a stray orc or goblin so far in front of them, but they had crossed paths with a couple of boars that were quickly killed. The absence of goblins and orcs was caused by having the three armies of hell spawn passing through the plains before them as the armies headed to Jericho and Millers Pass. With some amusement, he tried to picture trolls asking for volunteers as they went to war. The plains for the most part had been swept clean of the pig lovers.
When morning came he discovered that just over twenty goblins had joined the orcs. He had been surprised to see even a kobold had joined the group. It had a snout like an alligator, a high forehead, and bugged out eyes. It carried a shield and a war hammer. Spiked horns stuck out of the middle of its back. It was smaller than the goblins, and had a stooped back so it always looked like it was sniffing the ground as it walked. Although it was daylight he knew that it wouldn’t slow down because of its keen sense of smell. When it became dark its night vision and ability to see heat in the dark would help it follow their trail just as if it was a dwarf. He did not know of any kobold dens in this area. Besides, the trolls that lead the armies would keep any kobolds that they had brought south in their sight.
With the kobold as a part of the equation things had changed, they couldn’t leave any false trails for the orcs and goblins to follow. The kobold had too sensitive of a nose to be led astray for long enough for it to do any good. In truth with the kobold joining the orcs this had turned into a chase. He had just tried to shoot the kobold from hiding a few moments ago, but he would have had to be out into the open for a dangerously long time to get a good shot, so he had put an arrow into a goblin that had moved to the front of the group. It had been going too fast for its own good, and had ruined his plan to take out the kobold. The group behind them had been joined by a few more orcs since this morning and another twenty plus goblins. The orcs that he had originally seen must have sent runners to gather more fighters to join the hunt. The caravan could not hide its size.
They wouldn’t catch the caravan today, but they might catch up in the night if something wasn’t done to slow them down. Dwarfs were not known for their speed. The donkeys were getting tired, and, in truth, so were most of the maidens. The group following them wasn’t big enough to worry the caravan, but Hezekiah didn’t know where one of the armies was and that was troubling him. If a runner from the orcs knew where that army was and went to it for help the caravan could be in trouble if it was close.
Hezekiah broke from the trees and started up the slope of another small grassy hill scattered with large boulders. A branch broke behind him, much too close for comfort so he started sprinting to the top of the hill. Goblins are smaller and faster than orcs, and do not wear armor like the orcs so he figured that it was a goblin that was closest behind him. The fact that some of the goblins had darker green skin with many more warts all over their body, and no loin cloth, told him that almost half the goblins had been female. Only male goblins wear clothing of some sort. The goblin females were more savage than the males, and if they caught someone they would torture them, sometimes consuming the poor soul alive—if they survived long enough. He didn’t want to be caught.
Just before he got to the top of the hill he turned and notched an arrow in his longbow. He could see movements in the trees in a number of spots. One of the goblins was dodging through the trees near the edge, so he picked it as his target and shot. The goblin jumped over a log just as the arrow got to it, hitting the goblin square in the thigh. It fell to the ground, dropped its knife and shield, squealed in pain, and held its leg.
Hezekiah already had another arrow notched, but the goblins that emerged from trees used their shields for protection, having learned from their companion’s mistake. Right behind the first few goblins a larger group followed, with their bows out. Hezekiah shot into the group, and before they could take aim turned and ran over the hill. This time there wasn’t any squealing because the arrow hit the goblin in the forehead.
The group, of over twenty goblins, started screaming at him as they gave chase. Stragglers started coming out of the trees. Hezekiah had accomplished what he needed to do. After he topped the hill, where the goblins couldn’t see him, he turned directly to his left and started around the hill.
Some of the goblins had grouped together at the edge of the trees. They resumed the chase, following after Hezekiah, up the hill. Just as they approached the place where Hezekiah had shot from, the snap of crossbows sounded followed by the thump of bolts meeting flesh. All but two of the goblins had been hit in the ambush. They retreated, followed by a few more that still had use of their legs. The rest were either dead or soon would be. Twenty-five dwarfs stepped out from behind the boulders; most of them working the cable to their crossbows back in place.
The main group of orcs and goblins reached the edge of the trees, taking in what had happened. The orcs were not willing to start up the hill, and the goblins would not go without them. Because crossbows would not be effective at that distance, the dwarfs started slipping behind the boulders, and headed over the hill until all of them were gone.
A number of the female goblins strode over to the writhing goblin and pulled the arrow out of its thigh, while slipping a rope over its feet. They threw the rope over a branch in a tree, and pulled the struggling goblin off the ground. It started squealing in terror, knowing its fate. The largest female took a knife and walked behind it, grabbed the hair on its head, and yanked it back—slitting off the goblins ears. The goblins, orcs and a kobold turned to watch the gruesome butchering, and ignored the chase. Then she started to cut at the nose of the hanging victim.
Those closest to the kobold jumped in surprise at the sound of an arrow that had hit the kobold in the back of the head, and protruded from one of its eyes. They all turned to look in the direction the arrow had come from, but Hezekiah was already gone. He had learned in his youth to think more than one move ahead.
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