Chapter 23 – Goblin Crossing

The guards registered the departure, and the wagons were moved through the gate. Since there were just two medium-sized carts, the party assumed a square formation with each person covering one side of the convoy.

Rudy was naturally in the front, leading the company. Tesser and Douhlim took the sides, which left the back to Asterios and Miria. That way, the trio could quickly cooperate when something happened ahead of them. 

Asterios was aware that they placed him in the back due to his previous statement and the fact that, in their eyes, an E-rank Summoner wasn’t much, but it didn’t bother him in the slightest. It did seem that the party had some experience behind their belt already so he had no problem with following their lead.

Everyone got onto their horses, Ast onto Miria, and they left Rosewind without any issues coming up. Few minutes after they departed, Asterios scratched her side and leaned himself forwards.

~You were pretty quiet back there. You fine?~ he spoke to Miria through their connection.

She purred at him. ~I can’t stir trouble for Master every time someone acts rude. And… she doesn’t feel like a bad person. Perhaps a little bit rough.~

Ast chuckled. ~Good. And I think the same. They most likely had their fair deal of incompetent Summoners in the past. Rosewind is called The Hub of Summoners not without a reason. And the fact that we are E-rank doesn’t help. Let’s just act according to the situation. We’ll fill in their blanks.~

~Roger that. I’ll do my best!~

~Tell me when you start feeling tired, I’ll revitalize you a bit with my magic,~ Asterios suggested.

He could feel Miria pouting in his mind. ~Mouuu, Master! I know my limits as well as you know yours! Actually, I know them better since that power is still new to you!~

He smiled and moved his hand to her ears. ~That’s most likely true. Don’t worry, I trust you. That’s not a reason to not make it easier for you, right? We’ll be on the road for at least ten hours.~

~I’ll have you know that I can run at my previous best speed for exactly 59 hours straight, Master,~ Miria conveyed with pride emanating from her consciousness.

~Ohhhh, that really is a lot. You must have been in a hurry somewhere to reach such a record.~

Miria felt satisfied with Ast’s reaction. She wasn’t the best out of everyone in her village, but she certainly wasn't at the bottom of the ladder of the fastest people.

~Fufufu. I wasn’t running anywhere important. I just wanted to test myself as many of us Beastfolk like to do. At least those who take pride in their speed and endurance. Many of the feline and canine bloodline with shifting innate abilities compete with each other in that field. Now that I think of it, I wonder how much that score would change after I contracted Master.~

~I see. Your kind seems like interesting people.~

They continued the journey while chatting with each other from time to time about random topics. Asterios was really happy to learn about a race he had never heard of previously and Miria couldn’t feel any more proud to tell him all about herself and her people, boasting about their respective strong fields.

During the day, the dwarf had been checking on him every few hours to see if Asterios was still following the group. Douhlim was slightly surprised to see the boy casually ride on the big panther’s back like it was nothing. 

He clicked his tongue after the third time he did his checkup. They bet on how long the brat would last and it looked like his guess of six hours, which already was quite a stretch when recalling their past expeditions, lost him a few gold coins. Not as many as Rudy though, who was adamant on him falling over after three. It looked like their healer was going to win. Again.

The dwarf increased the pace of his horse and appeared by the side of the woman leading their group. She glanced at him with one brow raised and a knowing smirk after seeing his face.

“Can’t wait to part with your money this much?” She chuckled.

“Jokes on you, he is still going strong as if we just started.” Douhlim stopped showing his fake, mournful expression and released a hidden grin.

“What? How? Did he sneak into the wagon to rest?” She furrowed her brows.

The dwarf shook his head. “Impossible. We would have heard that instantly with all the jiggly and tingly stuff in there.”

“Tsch. How is Tesser always right about them?”

“Magicians.” Douhlim shrugged.

While the two were talking, the panther arrived by their side, naturally, with its rider present.

“There’s company ahead. At least a dozen. Doesn’t look like an ambush, more like they are just going to cross the road. Most likely Goblins. We could wait it out,” Asterios conveyed in a calm tone what Miria had just informed him about a minute ago.

The duo looked at each other surprised. It was usually their mage who informed them about potential threats through sensing mana signatures of monsters or beasts.

“And how would you know that while being far in the back?” Rudy sent him a glare, suspecting that Ast might be bluffing to catch a breather.

He rolled his eyes and pointed downwards with his thumbs. “Do I need to explain the difference between a Human nose and the one of a predatory beast?”

~Ugh. Seriously, the stench is so strong that I wouldn’t be able to miss it even if I tried,~ Miria commented in their minds.

“So, what’s the decision, leader?” he asked.

Rudy pondered for a moment. “You sure about the number?”

*GROOOWL*

“That was a yes,” Asterios said.

The woman raised her brow and stared at the panther. It raised its head and locked its gaze with hers. A faint shiver ran down her spine.

“Fine. Tesser!” she shouted and the mage soon joined the group on the front. “We got a few goblins in front. Team decision, we wait for them to pass or earn ourselves a few more coins on the side.”

The man glanced at Miria and grinned. “You want to recoup your losses from our bet already?”

“Fuck you. We should have never competed with you. Just watch, I’ll expose your tricks one day.” Rudy snorted at the healer.

“Good luck with that.” He exploded into a hearty laugh. “I’m in for whatever.”

“My ass is itchy. Some exercise would be nice,” Douhlim added his two cents.

“It’s decided then. Let’s go with the usual formation. The new kid will watch the wagons.”

Everyone returned to their positions. Asterios sighed. They didn’t even bother asking him. But, in the end, he would prioritize the shipment anyway so he was fine with letting them have a go at the goblins while he stood back. He prayed for it to be just Goblins and nothing more. Miria didn’t report any other scents coming from that direction.

A few minutes later, Ast and Miria heard a whistle from their leader. The coach of the first wagon slowed down and made space for the second one to arrive by its side and they both stopped. The duo also moved around them to take a peek. 

The adventuring party jumped off their horses and started prepping up while the sound of a small horn travelled through the air. There were six goblins visible on the road ahead, holding some low-quality swords or spears and trashy, wooden shields. Forest spanned on both sides of the road, most likely covering the rest of them.

Asterios sent Miria a mental request and she stood up on her hind legs, allowing him to climb onto the flat, wooden roof of one of the carriages. He quickly crouched down. While this position gave him a great view of the surroundings, any archer had a clear shot at him, if there were any amongst the goblins.

Tesser cast some kind of a shielding-type spell on Rudy and Douhlim, covering their bodies with an almost invisible layer of additional protection. He also prepared something similar for himself. The attacking duo rushed forwards into the group of six monsters while he followed them with some distance.

Ast guided Miria to the back and they connected their minds a little bit more, deepening their sense-sharing. They weren’t able to show each other what they saw live, but with this, they could easily send quick images and thoughts to each other and cover both the front and back of the convoy.

He sensed slight annoyance at the party from her now that they shared more than just surface thoughts, and sent Miria some appreciation her way. She replied with an image of her head pressing into Ast’s hand, making him smile. They stopped the unnecessary flirting and focused on their respective tasks.

The adventures reached the goblins which prepared for the assault by setting up three guys with shields in the front. That, unfortunately for them, didn’t help much. Rudy set her foot hard on the ground and cleaved horizontally through them with a roar, slicing the first goblin on the path of her sword in half and sending the other two flying to the back.

Douhlim, even though being a slightly burly Dwarf, moved nimbly under his leader’s sword as she was cutting through the enemy. He dropped into a slide to avoid the blade and threw two daggers into the backs of the goblins sent into the air by the Human woman. He pushed himself off the ground and after their opponents fell down, he drew his two stilettos and pierced their chests while landing on his knee in between them.

A spear wielder tried to impale him but got hit with a Firebolt into the face before it had a chance to make a proper thrust. The dwarf dashed further, cutting the burned goblin’s neck as he passed the greenskin, and engaged another, shortsword-wielding one, swiftly dancing around it.

When Rudy caught up to him, three more enemies ran out of the forest from their left and two from the right. Douhlim finished his opponent in a flash while the woman also dealt with the last one of the first six by impaling it with her greatsword as it looked away at her companion. They stepped closer to each other and pressed their backs together, facing the opposite ways.

Asterios suddenly received a mental ping, followed by an image of two goblins jumping out of the trees near the back of the carriages. When he turned around, one of them was already being torn into two in Miria’s jaws while the other one tried to find an angle with its spear, but she kept violently shaking its companion, preventing any attempts.

He heard the sound of a bowstring being drawn between the trees to his right and instantly notified Miria who jumped to the side just in time to avoid an arrow coming straight at her from behind. Ast left the visible opponent to her and started running on the roof of his carriage into the direction of the hidden archer.

Drawing his dagger with one hand and a small, orange-red stone from a pouch with the other, he jumped off the wagon and threw the object in the general direction of the arrow, after filling it with his mana as he was descending to the ground. 

It exploded with an audible pop somewhere in the sea of trees, followed by a single yelp of surprise. Already on the ground, Ast dashed towards the source and found the goblin already notching another arrow. While the stone didn’t really affect it in any way, it helped him pinpoint the exact location of the assailant, which, distracted by the rock, definitely didn’t expect someone to jump at it from the side and slice its throat.

Asterios quickly glanced around, but there weren’t any more of them in that spot. Even though they would have reacted to the invasive flash of the exploding Brightstone, because that’s how the ore he just used was called, he preferred to still keep his guard up while surrounded by bushes and trees. When he returned, Miria had already finished the other goblin and ran up to him, shaking her head to the sides a lot.

~Bleh. Looks like they taste like piss in Master’s world too. I’m going to puke.~

Ast chuckled and scratched her head. “You could have just shifted and cut them down.”

~It was faster like this. I’m fine. I’ve chomped on worse things.~

Ast looked to the front to check on the battle there and it seemed like the Human-Dwarf duo was faring pretty well. Not that unexpected. Those were just your usual, weak Goblins. He noticed a blue glint on the left side of the trees, somewhere in between the wagons and the healer, who was casting another Firebolt. 

His eyes widened. A Goblin Shaman was finishing casting Ice Needle aimed at the back of the man. There was no way he would notice mid-chant. Miria didn’t need anything more than the shared thought to understand her role and broke into a dash instantly.

At the same time, Asterios drew the Haste sigil in the dirt with just three quick strokes and slammed his palm against it so hard it sent a shiver through his body. Miria pushed herself off the ground the second she felt his energy and disappeared with a soft boom.

It was too late to stop the Shaman. When Miria made the jump, the icy projectile was starting its flight. But. They both knew it. She did not aim for the caster. She flew by the side of the healer with a strong gust of wind following her and landed on the ground in front of him, creating long drag marks with her paws, with her side turned to Tesser.

“What the f—”

*CRACK* *SHATTER* *BOOM*

She closed her jaws with enough force to crush the icy lance she caught with her mouth and disappeared from his view with another explosion of air, kicking up a cloud of dust in the place where she was just a second ago.

“Gyaaaaa!”

Tesser turned around towards the source of the high-pitched scream and saw the black panther tearing off the head of a Goblin Shaman with her jaws while holding its body down with her strong leg. 

He instantly connected the dots and understood what just transpired. The big cat threw the green head onto the road and glanced at him. He quickly nodded his head at the beast which answered with the same motion and disappeared from the spot after taking a lowered stance, kicking up leaves and making the bushes flutter.

Rudy and Douhlim already finished the other enemies and approached the slightly dazed mage.

“What was that bang from earlier?” the woman asked, catching her breath after the battle.

Tesser pointed at the remnants of the ice projectile, decapitated head of a Goblin Shaman and then towards the wagons, where Asterios was currently patting Miria by their side, who was affectionately rubbing her head against his chest.

“I think I just saw the panther Blink three times in a row.”

“Pffffffffffft, yeah, hahaha. Did one of the little shits hit your head with a stone? A beast using Blink? Even you can’t do that yet.” The dwarf laughed.

He shook his head. “I would have ended with at least a dent in my chest if not for its intervention.”

Not wanting to argue with the duo, he left them and walked up to Asterios who was helping Miria get rid of the goblin blood in her mouth with some water and thanked them both for help. They collected the ears of the three goblins in the back while the other adventurers dealt with the front. 

After throwing the bodies further into the woods to not lure too many wild beasts near the road, they resumed their travel. It wouldn’t be wise to make a camp close to the battlefield. Two hours later, it slowly started getting darker and they decided to stop for the day. They covered a decent distance already.

Everyone got their backpacks off the wagons and started putting up tents for the night. As Asterios walked up to the group without even a small bag, they realized that they didn’t see any on him back in the town. They completely missed that detail because all of them dropped their loads off much earlier.

As Rudy was standing up to go and confront the complete idiot in her eyes, Miria’s panther body got enveloped in a black mist and after three seconds, a silhouette shot upwards and a girl with short, black hair, in red, leather armour appeared by the boy’s side.

“Wha—” She froze. Like the rest of them.

They watched as Asterios brushed through her hair for a moment while the girl gingerly squirmed under his palm and then jumped into a crimson, shadowy portal. A few moments later, she was back with a big backpack in her hands and they brought out their own tent, starting to set it up.

Miria obviously noticed their gazes, stood up and turned around.

“Is something wrong?” she asked with a soft voice while tilting her head and making a curious expression.

Rudy stood there with her mouth wide open, blinked a few times and slowly shook her head. Miria smiled beautifully and went back to helping Ast with their tent. They disappeared inside shortly after finishing.

The woman glanced back at the rest of her squad over her shoulder with her arms extended towards the duo’s shelter. Douhlim and Tesser looked at each other and then at her, shrugging their shoulders to show their lack of insight into the situation.

Meanwhile, Asterios had to squeeze Miria hard into his chest or the people outside would hear her intense chuckling and giggling after seeing their utterly shocked faces. She barely held back long enough.