The Iron Teeth

Queen of Swords 6

Blacknail hissed softly in warning, as the sound of footsteps on wet cobblestone drew closer. Saeter quickly held up a hand and signaled everyone to stop, and then looked back at Blacknail to see what was the matter. The hobgoblin responded by pointing to the source of the noise, and then making the hand gesture for people approaching.

Saeter immediately gestured for the group to split up, take cover, and ready their weapons for an ambush. Blacknail was more than happy to obey. Finally, some prey had shown itself! He hoped they had lots of shiny bits and tasty things on them he could take as trophies, like pie.

The hobgoblin quickly dashed over to a rain barrel and hid behind it, before drawing his bow. It had been a while since he had last used the weapon, but he remembered how.

It just wasn't something he usually carried around with him in Daggerpoint, since a sling was almost as good and much less conspicuous. Experience had taught Blacknail that half of successfully hitting someone lay in making sure they didn't know you were about to take a shot at them, and that was hard to do with a bow unless you were very far away.

The other members of his party also took cover behind various obstacles, and waited for the source of the noise to draw near. Blacknail could barely contain his excitement. He was shivering eagerly and had even started to drool in anticipation, as he listened to the footsteps approach.

Soon enough, a man's head poked out from around the corner. His wild looking hair was dirty blonde and he had a short beard. After a few seconds of staring down the street suspiciously, he then turned around and looked the other way for a few seconds, before stepping back around the corner and out of sight.

"It looks clear," Blacknail heard him tell someone.

There was a low rumble of conversation, and then the blonde man stepped back out into the street. He was soon followed by several other men and a woman. Blacknail studied them as they walked closer. All of them were wearing rough mismatched leather armor, and were armed with short swords.

They all looked like normal Daggerpoint thugs to the hobgoblin, but they clearly weren't just out for a morning stroll. They were far too nervous to be anything but intruders, and that meant they were fair game.

Saeter's hiding spot was the closest to the enemy because he had been leading the group. While still concealed, Blacknail's master flashed the signal for three, and then the one for two. Blacknail smiled eagerly as he realized it was a countdown.

Just as the lead thug stepped in a small puddle in the middle of the street, Saeter gave the go command. As one, the scouts rose from their hiding spots and unleashed a barrage of shrieking arrows. Their targets barely had time to react before the arrows ripped into them.

Howls of pain filled the air, and three of the enemy fell with feathered shafts protruding from their flesh. Their bodies hit the wet ground with a splash and went still. Two more of the enemy had been hit, but were still standing.

Blacknail hissed in annoyance. His own arrow had missed and flown harmlessly down the street. The stupid human had moved at the last second! That wasn't fair. He had wanted to show off how great an archer he was!

"Damnation, you bloody bastards!" swore a large brown haired thug.

He had a deep gash across his arm that had been caused by an arrow grazing it, but the wound didn't stop him from drawing his sword and charging the closest target he saw. The three uninjured thugs behind him also drew their own weapons, and charged as well. Blacknail hissed in irritation when he realized that they were headed for Saeter. Why did that always happen?

The hobgoblin was relieved that at least the last two thugs weren't joining the attack. One was too busy cradling his arm, because it had an arrow sticking out of it. The other was uninjured, but decided to make a run for it. He dashed back the way they'd come, but didn't get very far. A scout to Blacknail's left calmly put an arrow right between his shoulder blades.