Chapter 17

Two days passed before preparations approached completion. Rather than moving en masse, the Hobgoblins had devised a scheme where the army was divided into groups that were staggered to reuse the camp locations of those moving ahead of them. It saved time for other activities and reduced the area required to support each camp. Since each location would be used for a week or more, it allowed the Dark Dwarves to continue reliably delivering their shipments of highly sought-after equipment.

In addition to sending scouts to see what lay far ahead of them, many were also deployed to trail behind. They served two purposes: to keep an eye out for Jaldabaoth’s forces should they move east again, and to point any additional stray refugees that they came across in the direction of the new camps.

They afforded themselves a conservative pace, allowing continued efforts to equip and train the army at each stop. After three days, the lead group found itself at the edge of the aforementioned eastern plain. Under clear, blue skies, the wind swept north through the expanse of tall grass. There was no sign of the herd animals that had been described, though this was most likely because they had sent hunters ahead to collect food before the main body of refugees scared it all away.

Qrs stood at the edge of the thinning woods with Ysvrith, gazing out across at the valley. He eyed the forests on the opposite slope, wondering what awaited them there.

“I knew there would be something like this in advance,” Qrs said, “but it looks terrible now that it’s in front of me. It’s too dry and exposed – if Jaldabaoth attacks us while we cross…”

“If we pick up our pace,” Ysvrith said, “we should be able to reach the river in a single day. The people will have plenty of time to rest in the forests beyond while we search for a way forward.”

“As long as nothing is waiting for us in that forest,” Qrs said. “How far have your scouts gone?”

“They’ve reached the river,” Ysvrith replied, “and are currently looking for a suitable ford. The waters in the southern half run wide and deep, so we’ve focused our efforts northwards. The scouts who have swum across to investigate the forests will take some time to return, but those who followed the river should be back by tonight.”

Qrs knew that hunters were quick, even when exploring, but Gnolls moved at a ridiculous pace. Their prowess as natural hunters gave them a tremendous advantage in their current circumstances. If it wasn’t for the need to band together for mutual survival, they’d have been hundreds of kilometres away already.

“One more day in the forest, then?”

“Yes,” Ysvrith nodded, “we can head north through the forest along the plain for that long, but I fear that going further north may draw us into unnecessary conflicts with those living in the border ranges.”

“Have you received any reports of what lives there?”

“I’ve instructed my scouts to stay out of the foothills to the north,” Ysvrith said, “but it appears similar to our old homes from a distance. I cannot imagine that no one lives there.”

He guessed it would be a waste of time and energy to investigate. Though three weeks had passed since the battle at the ford, they had only travelled a short distance – two or three days for an unimpeded raiding party, at most. They needed to put more space between themselves and Jaldabaoth, or he could potentially descend upon them with little time to prepare.

“As long as they don’t get in our way,” Qrs said, “I guess I don’t care. I was afraid that we’d find more of Jaldabaoth’s minions throughout the wilderness, or maybe even another Demon God. It doesn’t seem like it now, so I’m just happy we’re getting further and further away from Jaldabaoth’s base.”

“This is true,” Ysvrith said, “but midsummer approaches. We will need to find a place where we can make preparations to overwinter.”

Qrs looked across the plain to the forests again. At last count, they numbered 95,000 in total, with 90,000 assorted Goblinoids and 2,000 Gnolls. Despite the unprecedented number – to Qrs, anyways – forests across the next river stretched all along the foothills and seemed more than large enough to spread out in and spend the winter. Still, they would need to find out who lived there and whether they could be reasoned with…or whether they would need to be pushed out.

They parted ways to attend to their own tasks, and the day’s travel was unmarked by anything of note. The refugees looked less haggard now; the long rest without further attacks affording them the opportunity to regain themselves. Their lighter expressions as they made their way matched his own sentiments: the further away they got from Jaldabaoth and his ilk, the less there was to worry about.

Gnoll scouts started to arrive at their next campsite by the evening and, before dawn, the council met to discuss their findings.

“The forests show signs of old habitation,” Ysvrith told them from her place around the brazier. “Settlements sunken into the earth, rotted away by time. Broken stone towers; traces of old roads. Both on the opposite shore and within the forest.”

The gathering was silent for several moments, digesting the Matriarch’s report.

“…what happened to them?” Avod asked.

“My people have no sense for this unnatural construction,” Ysvrith replied. “What we could tell from them was that they were broken and burned. Also…Undead were seen stalking the ruins.”

“Great,” Qrs sighed. “Our nice little forest turned out to be a haunted forest. How bad is it?”

“The villages are sparse,” Ysvrith said, “and the Undead appear to stay near them. The scouts did not investigate closely, but the types of Undead reported were mostly weak: Skeletons, Zombies, Ghouls and several types of Undead Beasts.”

“Nothing we can’t handle then,” Avod said with a grunt. “We can make a sweep of the forest, then contain and suppress each of these ruins. My soldiers will benefit from the practice.”

He heard a few of the elders beside him sigh in relief. Despite violence and bloodshed being a common thing in the Abelion Hills, the Undead were an uncommon problem. Dealing with them was not something one usually looked forward to, regardless of how weak or strong they were.

“What about crossings?” Qrs asked, “We still have a river in the way.”

“Two smaller rivers form into the larger one in the upper third of the plain,” Ysvrith said, “but they cannot be crossed until further upstream. We’ll have to camp at one river crossing, then the other – the distance is too great for these groups to traverse in a single day.”

“At least we’ll be stopping by water,” Qrs said. “There’s still no sign of threats on the plains?”

“We’ve spotted grassland predators, but they are well within each camp’s ability to deal with should they grow brave enough to attack. It is more likely that they will be hunted down for food if they remain close to our path.”

The fact that Undead infested the forest explained why there appeared to be no inhabitants, but was it enough reason for the plains to be absent of inhabitants as well? The races represented in the council did not live in such open stretches of territory, but there were more than a few others that did. He had at least expected something like the Zoastia or some similar species to make the place their home. It was certainly plentiful enough to support many tribes.

“I don’t like this,” Avod said, “why is this territory unclaimed? Are you sure you didn’t see anything? What about tribes from the forests to the north coming out to hunt?”

“My people have been hunting out there,” Ysvrith replied, “so if they have, we have not seen them…it’s difficult to believe that they could be missed. We would be depleting their food supply; they would almost certainly appear to defend their hunting grounds.”

Several heads around the brazier nodded. The Matriarch’s reasoning was sound – having the herds you depended upon for food being poached by intruders would elicit a response.

“Maybe they’re massing for an attack?” Avod offered a possibility, “We’ve grown quite strong through our ordeals – even the smaller hunting packs of Ysvrith’s Gnolls spread out over the plain would give most tribes pause.”

“Someone would at least try,” Ysvrith said, “much to their belated regret. It’s more likely that there’s some tangible reason to the locals why no one hunts the plains. Maybe there’s some old superstition related to those Undead or some monster that isn’t around all the time.”

“Maybe we’re just too paranoid now,” Qrs scratched his head. “Even if something did rear its ugly head, our current strength should be more than enough to handle it. Our experiences in the west shouldn’t be a common thing out in the world…right?”

“Probably not,” Avod snorted. “The world would be immolated in hellfire if more monstrosities like Jaldabaoth existed. I suppose we’ll find out for certain once we make our crossing.”

They adjourned their meeting, breaking camp and heading out in the unsettling expanse of the open plain. When the sun bore down directly overhead, the question behind the strangely uninhabited grassland was answered by the sound of several screams somewhere behind him. Qrs twisted around and craned his neck, trying to see what was going on. Eventually, he left the front of the procession, looking back and forth in an attempt to find whatever had caused the cry of alarm.

It wasn’t long until he found that everyone he passed was holding something over their head: shields; supplies; bundled up furs and blankets…all were half-half bent over and scuttling forward. A number of black flecks fell upon the procession further back, and cries rose into the air again.

Qrs rushed forward, finding several Hobgoblins standing around with steel shields held over their heads. Before he could ask what was going on, several dull thumps could be felt nearby. A Goblin passing by was impaled through the top of its head by a wicked black spike. The hide shield it was holding over its head was insufficient to resist the force of the impact.

He looked down at the dead Goblin. The spike had driven through its head and continued out and through its shoulder. Black splotches of skin around its wounds rapidly grew outward. Qrs held his arms over his head, squinting up to see what was attacking them with little success: whatever it was, it was using the glare of the sun to conceal itself.

『Something’s throwing attacks down at us! Spread out!』

The Hobgoblins repeated his orders up and down the column. They started to spread out, but not before the next attack fell upon them.

“Damn it!” Qrs cursed, “What the hell is this!?”

Qrs looked around for a Gnoll, figuring that they would be the most likely to know what was going on. He found one a short distance away, carefully wrapping one of the metre-long black spikes impaled into the ground in a ragged hide. With a grunt, it yanked it out.

“Do you know what that thing is?” Qrs asked the Gnoll.

“Manticore spine,” the Gnoll replied.

“You…you mean there’s a Manticore flying up there somewhere, hurling these things down at us?”

“Yes?”

Why was this Gnoll so calm when death was raining down on them? Actually, rather than calm, he looked quite pleased with his new Manticore spine. Looking around, Qrs found several other Gnolls around the field, looking similarly pleased with prizes of their own. Muttering darkly, Qrs turned and jogged back up to the head of the column. Along the way, yet another volley of spikes fell upon them.

“Ysvrith!” He said when he found the Gnoll Matriarch, “Why the hell are your people so damn happy about being attacked by a Manticore?”

Ysvrith tilted her head at him, seemingly surprised at his question.

“This is a fortunate thing, no?”

“What do you mean?”

“Ah, hmm…it is troubling to be attacked unawares by a Manticore, yes,” Ysvrith explained, “but they only have two dozen spines. After four volleys, they run out. It takes a full day for them to grow back.”

Qrs counted the number of attacks that they had endured in his head, then looked back over the column. It appeared that nothing more had befallen the refugees.

“Okay,” Qrs looked back forward, “so we won’t get attacked again. That still doesn’t explain why your people look like treasure just rained down on them.”

“Because it has?” Ysvrith yipped, “Manticore spines are as hard as iron, and they are inundated with venom as they grow out. Fifty arrowheads can be fashioned out of each one. They are useless for hunting, but excellent for warfare…”

The Gnoll Matriarch looked down excitedly as she spoke, but her words trailed off as Qrs’ frown deepened.

“The spines are powerful when hurled down from such a height,” she said, “but inaccurate. Now that we’re aware of them and have spread out, less than one in ten should harm someone. It is not even guaranteed to be deadly, as long as a healer is on hand.”

“We still have children and non-combatants with us,” Qrs told her. “Being struck by a spine would be fatal for them. Isn’t there a way to defend against these spines?”

“Hmm…layered shields and supplies being held overhead might work,” Ysvrith mused, “the litters of baggage can be arranged in such a way that their contents can absorb the force of the attacks. The weak and frail should be able to walk beneath them…maybe the Hobgoblins have even better ideas?”

Qrs’ feelings of helplessness subsided as he was offered a potential solution to their problem.

“I guess we’ll have to warn the other groups coming up behind us to prepare,” he said, then paused for a moment. “By the way, did you know that this was Manticore territory?”

“You worry too much,” Ysvrith smirked. “Manticores make their lairs in high places and take their prey back with them to feed. With how plentiful the game is here, it would probably be able to bring back a week’s worth of food in a day. That is why we did not spot it, and that is why we noted nothing amiss. The grasses here are tall enough to conceal any spines stuck in the ground, and the chance of accidentally stumbling upon them in this vast plain is tremendously low. I’m sure the scouts will be sniffing around for them now, though, in hopes that they find materials for arrowheads.”

“I don’t understand how your people can take this sort of thing in stride like this.”

“Unlike Jaldabaoth and his Fiends,” Ysvrith told him, “Manticores are a natural part of our world. We understand that our place may go from hunter to hunted and back again, and accept what that means. They have long existed in the mountains above our homes, and to see a familiar old enemy is as good as seeing an old friend in these times – especially when they come bearing such valuable gifts.”