The group embarked at the break of dawn, wanting to arrive at the Eastern Fortress City before the week ended. They were supposed to cross the Great Eastern Swamp before finally arriving at the Hiltzr Plains west of the Fortress City. The other adventurers with the same mission as they have set out a few days before, going against the orders of Izrael and wanting to complete the task all by themselves.
Did greediness run high for adventurers for this mission, 30,000 Aureus, and bonus Aureus? Yes, such money would give them power and wealth comparable to that of a noble family in the kingdom. But they failed to see the hidden warning, why were they giving out such a reward for the mission?
It was because the higher-ups and Izrael knew, most of them won't return and those who do, will probably not even accept the reward. The information they gave them was limited; the clergy knew full well that the enemy was unlike anything they've ever encountered.
It was a cloudy afternoon, and the group has reached the swamp.
The horses struggled to pull the cart with their equipment through the marshes, and Grey was forced to use some of his magic to mitigate the strain to the horses.
The swampy landscape was a foot deep and who knows what lied beneath the deepest reaches?
"It smells so bad here," Shialynn complained, covering her nose with her right hand.
"We're in a swamp, what did you expect?" Liz retorted.
"If you keep complaining the rest of the way, I will shut your mouth," Liz glared at Shialynn from her horse.
"Yes, ma'am!" Shialynn replied, terrified but was still annoyed by the smell from the swamp.
As they went deeper and deeper into the Great Eastern Swamp, the rays of the sun began to become dimmer and dimmer until the sun itself was covered by the thick treeline and fog which covered the landscape.
The sounds of nature were peaceful to their ears, the simple chirps of the birds which flew and stood on the branches above and the croaking of the frogs which called the swampy land their home. They bounced on top of floating water lilies, and several other animals and amphibians swam through the murky water.
The group enjoyed the scenery, nothing but nature's beauty itself was upon them. Even if they were to travel here often, they would not get tired of nature which surrounds them.
"I thank ye, Goddess Of Nature," Grey began to pray in whispers, he was a devotee of the church and seeing this beauty further developed his fondness of the deities which created this world, specifically nature said to have been created by the Goddess Of Nature and her angels.
Liz smiled at Grey, she was always happy when she saw any of her friends happy, and Grey was the most joyous of them all. Almost everything can make him smile and his smile, though average, emitted energy which gave others strength.
"You know.." Rudolf suddenly remarked, breaking the natural peace which had been with them.
"We could become true adventurers," He continued, real adventurers were adventurers who embarked on exploring unknown lands for the sake of exploration and fulfillment. Unlike what they were right now, they act more like mercenaries rather than people who go on adventures.
"That would be nice," Liz said with fondness as she looked at Rudolf.
Rudolf smiled and turned his attention towards Shialynn, who had become silent and ceased her complaints.
Shialynn was asleep.
"Knucklehead," Rudolf whispered.
Suddenly, an unknown growl echoed through the swamp, it's sound did not belong to the monsters of the bayou, nor was it any sound they've heard of before. It was similar to a particular little monster, but they could not discern what it was.
"Halt!" Liz and Grey stopped their horses.
"Wake up!" Rudolf woke the slumbering Shialynn who was by now, still not caught up with the situation.
"Shh!" Liz enhanced her senses even further, the fact that none of them detected what it was before hearing it meant it had concealed itself rather well.
After a bit of explanation from Rudolf, Shialynn came to her full senses. She flicked her hair to her back and drew out a small blue crystal which she placed on her palm and stood.
"What are you doing?!" Rudolf worriedly asked.
"I am drawing out whoever is out there!"
"That's a magic crystal! Holy light!" Grey proclaimed.
"Where did you get such a powerful crystal!?" Liz asked in astonishment.
Shialynn did not reply and continued to stand upright. The other three then drew their weapons and prepared their skills for the inevitable.
The Magic Crystal was a holy crystal, once its magic is cast it would send out a petrifying light which will draw out and highlight any monster within the immediate vicinity.
"I summon thee, Holy Light!" Shialynn chanted.
The crystal on her palm which she held up high began to shimmer until it glowed a bright blue light. The bright blue light illuminated their surroundings, temporarily blinding the group who've closed their eyes and covered their faces from the light and other creatures for a few seconds before dimming.
After a few seconds, sounds of water splashing and branches waving and breaking came from all directions. The group's temporary blindness was lifted, but their senses were accidentally severed.
And their enemies lunged from the swamp and towards them.
They were goblins, small creatures who posed little threat when in small numbers but posed a more significant threat in large groups.
Several goblins lunged at them from all sides, much to the surprise of the group.
"Watch out!" Liz immediately drew her bow and arrow and shot a piercing arrow which pierced through three goblins who were lunging at her. The three goblins fell, and their green blood combined with the water.
"Grahh!" Grey jumped from his horse and swung his sword against one of the goblins, the goblin, however, evaded his swing and proceeded to lunge at his chest causing him to fall on his back and into the water.
"Grey!" Rudolf, who had just jumped from the cart, rushed to Grey's aid and stabbed the goblin with his longsword. He then took his hand and hoisted him onto his feet, more goblins appeared. Rudolf scanned their surroundings to see dozens of goblins running towards them.
"Don't use any of your magic!" Rudolf shouted.
Shialynn was also having trouble, beset by five goblins, she used her short daggers on both hands to slice the goblin's throats, but for some reason, their skin was more robust than the usual goblin.
The group began to notice that something was odd about the goblins they were fighting. They were more agile; their skin was more hardened and a bit more green while they seemed to be coordinating, which was unheard of for a lower monster.
The group then formed a circle around their horses and cart with Liz in the middle and shooting he arrows upon more incoming goblins.
The group was beginning to struggle, after just a minute of fighting, more and more goblins appeared and came on the attack.
"They just keep on coming!" Shialynn exclaimed as she stabbed a goblin repeatedly at frightening speeds. The goblin fell dead from the number of stabs it received from the crazed assassin.
"Keep your act together! hold your ground; we may be able to continue at this rate as long as there are no unwanted surprises" Rudolf assured the group, he swung his longsword and sliced two goblins in half.
Grey dueled with a goblin who wielded a strange sword, it seemed normal, but when their swords met, he was sure that the sword was made of a stronger material than his.
After a few minutes of continuous fighting, the goblin numbers began to dwindle. Their bodies littered the swamp, they floated aimlessly on the marshy waters, and their green blood poisoned the surrounding water.
Grey struck down the last remaining goblin with his sword; his strike was powerful enough to send blood spewing from the goblin's head. The entire group took deep breathes and continued on panting. They were somehow worn down by a bunch of goblins.
"What. Was. That," Liz dropped on her knees as her face melted with sweat. The other three went to the side of the cart to rest; their senses were no longer detected any monsters in the vicinity; it seemed like it was over.
"Those goblins were no ordinary goblins," Rudolf remarked.
"They were forming positions, pincers, and wielded swords," Grey added, he was contemplating the fact that the swords the goblins wielded felt odd. It was already baffling that the goblins would use an advanced weapon such as a sword since they were known only to wield short daggers; now they wielded longswords which were made of a strange material any good swordsman would notice.
"Their skin was tougher too, even tougher than normal; their throats were the toughest. For some reason, their skin would harden when I tried to slit their throats or stab their heart. It was only when I used enhancement magic on my daggers did I finally penetrate the bastards" Shialynn added to the discussion.
"What matters is that none of us were hurt, and the horses and the supplies are safe," Rudolf got onto the cart and slumped on the side benches.
"Why didn't you allow us to use our magic?" Liz inquired, confused about their leader's order. If they were allowed to use magic, they could've ended the entire fiasco with the goblins in less than 30 seconds.
Rudolf was silent, his eyes were closed, and he seemingly had already fallen asleep. The rest of the group went back to their former positions and decided to continue their journey, leaving the ominous scattered corpses of goblins to nature's stomach.
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"Caitlyn, what's the status?"
"The goblins did well, but they failed to draw out their abilities. It seemed like that 'Rudolf' person knew of the underlying plot,"
"Interesting, leave the goblins there. We will try to verify their abilities with other methods,"
"How about those other adventurers who arrived yesterday? have their minds been fully extracted of relevant information?"
"Yes,"
"Nice, twenty-seven new citizens for our new city, our very own Empire are growing fast than we expected"
"Uh, huh"
Artemis nodded without a care.