Civilization

"So, what do you want us to do?"

With a slightly angry but determined face, Spike steps forward to confront me about his role.

"Well, do you have any preference in weapons? Have you fought before?"

"I have not fought before. As for preference in weapons, I wouldn't know."

"Then take this goblin club. Just swing it at anything that moves in front of you when we are in a fight. That goes for your sister as well. She needs to be able to defend herself with her own weapon."

"Okay."

Spike grabs onto the club somewhat hesitantly. His anxious eyes move quickly between me, his sister and the club. 

"What now?"

"Now? Nothing. We search through the encampment, see if there is anything we can take, and move on to the next one."

And with that I left Spike and started to search through the small goblin huts. There unfortunately was not much here, just some animal bones, animal skin, bits and pieces of rotten flesh, some makeshift pots and other assortments of goblin weapons.

Deep down, I knew that goblin knives I keep recycling weren't good weapons. They break easily, and they were small and short, an eventually I might have to battle a creature or monster where the goblin knife is just useless against. In the back of my head, I feel a slight panic, hoping to find a weapon that would be of use against larger and stronger enemies but to my disappointment after searching through the whole encampment with everyone there was no such weapon. 

I had Spike and Val pick up any goblin knives they came across, and at the end of the search there was a total of 15 goblin knives. I distribute 4 to Stellar, 2 to Solar, 2 to Sylvia and 1 each to Spike and Val while keeping 5 tied, so they were hanging from a vine and I wrapped the vine around my waist. 

"Heyyyyy Luke. Are we done here yet?"

I look towards the bored Sylvia. Honestly, I couldn't believe she had a bored expression on her face as she lies on the ground, resting her head on one of the wolves stomach, whilst the surroundings were green blood and broken huts. Absolutely unbelievable.

"Yea, I'm done. Let's move onto the next encampment."

I do a short howl to gather the wolves and asked them to lead us to the next goblin encampment. 

Along the move towards the next encampment, Val asked me some questions.

"So, how come you can talk to the wolves?"

"Just can."

"Do they have names?"

"Yep."

"Oh. What are their names?"

"The two adults are called Belle and Dawn, while the cub is Hugo."

As I was finishing introducing the names of the wolves, Sylvia, who was at the front of the pack, turns around and zooms towards me.

"THEY HAD NAMES??? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!!!"

I was shaken back and forth by the surprised Sylvia, and the words could barely escape my mouth.

"No…One…Asked"

"Ugh, whatever. At least now I don't need to guess which wolf is which. I can say their names now! Belle! Dawn! Hugo! Come follow me!!"

Like a storm, she pushes me aside and runs to the front with the wolves on her tail.

"You have your work cut out for yourself, Luke."

"Stop giggling to yourself, Stellar and Solar, wipe that smile off your face."

"Whatever you say."

Both the elves walk past me, following the chaotic path of Sylvia and the wolves. However, I turn to the side since Val stopped moving and Spike was checking on Val.

"Sis, are you okay?"

"I'm fine brother. I just slipped a little. Let's keep moving."

Confirming that nothing was wrong, I let the siblings move ahead of me before following them closely.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary during our walk from one encampment to another, but regardless, night was slowly approaching. The sun was kissing the horizon and its golden rays wash over the canopy of the forest and peek through the gaps between the trees. 

In front of us, another encampment. Since night is coming, the best move would be to attack now before the goblin's night vision becomes a problem. 

After a quick scout around the perimeter, Stellar comes back and reports the details.

"About 20 goblins. Slightly less than the last encampment, however, there is a hobgoblin leading this group as well as a cage housing 5 or 6 humans and another cage next to it housing 2 demi-humans. All the captives look beaten and broken."

"What about the weapons the goblins and hobgoblin are using?"

"From what I can tell, most of the goblins have some sort of chest plate, shield and small sword. It's longer than the goblin knives we have, so they would have more reach, but we should be able to still out range them with our longer limbs. The hobgoblin was holding onto a whip of some sort, as well as a club. Not sure if it will use the whip as a weapon or if its just a device to torture captives."

"Okay I understand. Thank you Stellar."

"It's fine."

I close my eyes for a moment to think about a plan which would reduce the amount of risk and injury. However, with the additional armour and weapons compared to normal goblins, I was not sure how strong they would be as well as how strong the hobgoblin compared to the goblins. 

My last encounter with a hobgoblin was when Ian fought it, however it had a club and was worn down from constant fighting beforehand. I grip onto the wolf fang necklace and concentrated on the task at hand. After a moment of silence, I open my eyes and started to tell everyone my plan. 

"We will be doing a diversion. Dawn and Belle will come into the encampment and attract as many goblins as they can by wrecking havoc before running away. Depending on how many goblins follow them will depend on our next plan. If there are only a few, then we go after Belle and Dawn and defeat the goblins first before repeating this part of the plan again. However, if half or more than half of the goblins get baiting into running after the wolves, then we run into the goblin encampment and fight."

"What about the hobgoblin?"

"Sylvia, relax, I'm getting to that point. Solar will buff me before we rush into the encampment, and I will rush towards the hobgoblin and start fighting it. Sylvia will lead the charge, with Spike and Val behind her. Stellar will focus on defending the group from unexpected angles, while Solar will provide support. Hugo will do what a wolf cub does!"

"WHAT! You want to send poor Hugo into battle?"

"Sylvia, he already has gone into battle."

"But he had the adults with him that time."

"It doesn't matter. A wolf will always be a wolf, even if he is a cub. Don't worry about him."

"Hmm…Okay."

"Okay, any questions?"

I look around and stop at Spike and Val, almost expecting them to have a question for me. 

"I got one."

And I was right.

"Is this battle dangerous?"

"Every battle is dangerous. Anything can happen in battle. You can meet a monster which shouldn't even be here. You can run as far and as fast as you want, but it will still chase you down. Likewise, you can fight and struggle, only to die. There are no guarantees. You have to trust the people around you, Spike. Even your sister looks like she is ready."

"Val?"

Val was gripping onto the goblin knife handle, slightly trembling.

Sylvia placed her hand on both Spike's and Val's shoulder, whispering words of encouragement to the both of them.

"Spike, Val, we can do this. We just have to protect each other, okay? Don't worry. Luke is going to kill that hobgoblin suppperrr fast then come back and help us if we need it."

With a weak nod, the both of them looked slightly more confident. 

"Okay let's begin."

With a small, short howl, I signal Belle and Dawn to start the attack. Like two bolts of lightning flashing through the forest, they jet towards the encampment. Howls and growls resonate and mix with the confused cries of the goblins. I can hear the hurried steps of goblins finding their weapons before attempting to attack the wolves. 

With a loud howl, Belle starts to run out the side of the encampment, followed by Dawn and a handful of goblins slowly running behind. Keeping their attention, I saw Dawn looping back and attacking the group of goblins before running away again.

"Luke, I think about 10 goblins left."

"Are you sure, Stellar?"

"I am half sure. We can regroup of the wolves and attack the goblins before attacking the main encampment."

"No, if we do that, they might suspect a second attack by that time. However, it will be a complete surprise if we attack right now."

"Then?"

"Solar start the buffs on me.. I'm going in as soon as you are done."