The sun was not yet up when the orcs came out of the temple, shaking huts and kicking goblins sleeping on the ground. Dizzy rolled off of his mat and shook YDB on the shoulder.

“Looks like it’s time to go,” said Dizzy.

“Breakfast?” asked YDB bleary-eyed.

“No time, I think. Maybe later.”

“Hungry!”

“Yeah, I’m hungry too. That frog wasn’t enough. But no time.”

“Hmmph!”

YDB looked into the pot where he and Kitty had cooked frog stew the night before. Dizzy rolled his eyes. “I’ll look for something on the march. Maybe we’ll find berries or catch a fat fish.”

Dizzy pulled his sword belt down from a hook and threw it over his shoulder. He gestured at YDB’s bomb bandoleer. “Don’t forget to grab those,” he said. YDB carefully took down the bombs from where they had been drying overnight. With the weapons in hand, YDB dropped to all fours and crawled out of the hut, Dizzy on his heels. The two stood and slung their weapons. Both goblins checked for their explosives, making sure the bombs were secure.

. YDB fiddled in his pouch for his firestarters and handed Dizzy one of his spares.

“Thanks,” said Dizzy. YDB nodded, then pointed to where the orcs were organizing the goblins.

“All right, get yourselves together! Lance Slugger tells me you already have squads! I want to see the leaders up here right now! Lazybutt, Storm, Hammer, and Dizzy!” shouted Isaar.

The four goblins ran to stand before him.

“All right! You four have been designated as squad leaders! You have the same teams as before, but this time you will have two officers over you. Except you, Corporal Dizzy. You won’t have one since your group is only three members.” Dizzy nodded at this proclamation. He needed to be able to move around without an orc to cut him off. Or down, if the orc were to figure out Dizzy’s plan.

“Gunag and Bat will be in charge of Hammer’s squad, Klog and Bruno will be over Storm’s group, while Wrug and Ughash will take charge of Lazybutt’s squad. I will be in command of Lance Slugger’s squad.”

With the orcs organized to lead and keep control over the goblins, Isaar walked up and down the loosely formed ranks.

“You goblins need order and discipline! If you obey, you will live! If you disobey, I will kill you myself!” Isaar stomped as he moved through the ranks of goblins.

“It doesn’t matter that you are small and weak, as long as you work together! My orcs will provide you with an example. You will follow it, or you will answer to me!” Isaar stopped in front of the Chief.

“Your goblins show potential, Chief! If this mission goes well, you and your goblins will be rewarded. It is a good thing that we came across your village first. The other goblins in this region will answer to you, and you will go from goblin Chief to goblin King!”

The goblins cheered at the idea of their tribe becoming the most powerful in the area. Dizzy glanced over at Kitty, and he could tell she had misgivings of her own. There was no way to talk to her while the orcs had the goblins in ranks, so Dizzy knew he’d have to wait for a quiet moment later.

“Let’s move out!” roared Isaar. The orcs led the way into the swamp, with one orc at the head of each squad, and another at the rear. Isaar had ordered Slugger to the head of his team, taking the rear to watch over the goblins as they moved into the swamp. Dizzy, Kitty, and YDB moved off to the right side of the groups, staying low and mostly out of sight.

“Hey! Make sure you stay where I can see you!” called out Isaar. The orc was taking no chances. The trio moved a few steps closer to the main columns, not wanting to arouse Isaar’s suspicions further.

The march through the swamp was much slower and noisier this time. While the swamp goblins had perfected moving silently over tufts of grass, or along logs, the bulky orcs splashed through swamp water, swore when mosquitoes stung, and slipped in the mud. Dizzy shook his head when one of the orcs, Wrug he thought, landed noisily on his back while trying to climb a bank.

“Why are we walking? Don’t these stupid goblins have boats?” Wrug grumbled as Bruno helped him to his feet.

“He doesn’t know that goblin boats would be far too small for someone as big as they are?” whispered Kitty to Dizzy, who just grinned. Goblin boats were small, shallow-draft boats made of animal hide stretched over a lightweight frame. Enough for a single goblin to fish from and bring his catch back from deeper water. Even one orc would easily swamp the little craft.

The day grew long and hot as the sun rose. The rain from the previous days had let more mosquitoes breed, and the little bugs tormented the orcs remorselessly. The goblins had smeared themselves in leaves they knew would repel the annoying insects, but none had bothered to explain the simple remedy to any of the orcish warriors.

The pirates moved slower through the swamps than the goblins had, even with their long legs. It was past noon when the goblin scouts reported that the edge of the swamp was just ahead. Driftwood Landing was a short way beyond.

“Companies, halt!” ordered Isaar. “We’ll need to recon the area before going in. The humans and that dwarf probably plugged the holes you lot used last time, but there are always more. Slugger, you’re with me. Bruno, take whoever you want, Gunag you too. Take a goblin, go around the wall to the left and right, and see what you can see. Report back to me at that tree over there.” Isaar pointed to a large tree just out of sight of the town. The orcs were too big to try hiding behind any of the bushes the humans hadn’t bothered clearing away.

Dizzy expected Gunag and Bruno to pick their squad leaders, and was surprised when Bruno called him over to his side.

“You were in town the other day. Anything I need to know? Anyone dangerous besides the dwarf?” he asked while testing the edge of his blade. Dizzy gulped and shook his head.

“Just normal townies, and the one dwarf warrior. They might have called for more soldiers from their king, but there were only two guardsmen last time,” answered Dizzy.

The orc stared at Dizzy for a long moment, then shook his head. “If you’re lying to me…”

Bruno turned away to scan the town through the foliage. “Come on,” he said, and in a low crouch headed to the trees, Dizzy and Hammer had used. He paused several times, scanning the walls.

“Damn. The humans are manning their towers. That’s going to make things harder,” he whispered to Dizzy. The goblin looked up and saw two humans in both of the tower corners he could see. A third man walked along the wall, a spear on his shoulder. He paused time and again to stare intently into the treeline, watching for any threats.

Dizzy checked the trees they had climbed two days prior. The humans had wasted no time cutting the branches that had hung over the wall. “Looks like that way is out,” he whispered to Bruno. The two continued to examine the wall.

Reaching the corner, Dizzy saw that the loose boards he and Hammer had broken loose had been repaired. Fresh wood, with deeply driven nails, covered the holes the goblins used to escape. “And that way is out too.”

“Let’s keep moving,” said Bruno. “We’ll meet with Gunag at the side gate, and report back to Isaar.”

Dizzy and Bruno had to move deeper into the swamp to avoid being seen by the guards. The three towers Dizzy passed each had two sentries, while the walls had one roving watch. All seemed alert. Rounding the last corner, Dizzy spotted Hammer and Gunag crouched down in the brush. “There they are. What are they looking at?” Dizzy asked.

“Prolly the gate,” said Bruno, sounding somewhat annoyed. Goblin and orc moved carefully through the much more open area.

The town was barricaded on all four sides, but Driftwood Landing was situated on the coast. The wall on the coastal side was as well built and defended as the other three sides, but had a section built on a breakwater. A single pier jutted out to sea with two small fishing boats tied up at the far end. Dizzy spotted the side gate, a heavily reinforced door mounted to let the fishermen enter the city with their catch, and to allow trash to be dumped in to the water and swept away by the tide and current.

“Let’s get back to Isaar, see what he can come up with. This nut looks a bit tougher to crack than I expected,” mused Bruno.

The four warriors slipped down along the low cliff, heading under the pier and back towards the waiting army of goblins and orcs. There was a pipe under the pier, with a heavy grill over it. Brown sludge flowed a short way into the ocean. “What’s that?” Dizzy asked.

“Sewage drain. Not going in that way, except as a last resort,” answered Gunag.

A few moments later, the four were slipping across the ground, using the low cliff to avoid being seen by the guards.

Dizzy looked up and saw that the fourth tower was manned by two more guards, the front gate had two on the wall, and another two in front of the gate itself. Fifteen guards on duty, and who knew how many were in reserve. A lot more difficult than the two sleepy and bored guards they had faced a couple of days earlier.

Returning to Isaar, Bruno, and Gunag reported what they had seen.

“We can get to the side gate, but the town is on high alert. Guards in every tower, patrolling the walls, trees cut back away from the walls, holes patched, and all that. Maybe if we go in at night, while they’re sleeping?” suggested Gunag.

“Damn. We have to take this town.” Isaar glared at the goblins as if they should have found a way to raid a place without upsetting the locals.

“Let me think.”

Isaar sat on a log, sketching a map of the town in the dirt. The walls and guard towers were drawn in the dirt first, followed by the front and side gates. Stick figures represented the guards on patrol or in their towers. Dizzy pointed out the pier, and the sewer grate beneath.

“Hmm… How big was the grate?”

“Twice as wide as this,” answered Dizzy, spreading his arms wide.

“That’s pretty big for a small town. I think I need to check it out myself.”

Isaar and Bruno slipped away from the group, while Dizzy went to find Kitty and YDB.

“What did you find?” asked Kitty when Dizzy sat down next to her.

“Not sure. Isaar is checking it out. There is a big pipe under the pier. Smells terrible.”

“Sewer pipe,” said Kitty. YDB opened his mouth, but Kitty put her hand up. “We know. You don’t have to say it,” she added. YDB grinned.

“I don’t see what good it will do us. The pipe is closed off by a grate of heavy iron. If we try to cut the bars, they will hear us in the town.”

Kitty shrugged. She didn’t know how the humans managed their waste. Goblins spent much of their day hunting in the swamp, relieving oneself was a matter of finding a puddle or a tree. While the three waited for Isaar to come back, YDB suddenly grinned hugely.

“Boom!”

“What? What does boom mean?” asked Dizzy.

“Boom!” said YDB again. He pointed to his fingers and counted off three. “Boom! Boom! Boom!”

“Uh, what?” asked Dizzy.

YDB pointed at the town, and repeated “Boom, boom, boom.”

“Boom, boom, boom? OK, we’ll go boom, boom, boom when we get there. You’ll have to show us where,” said Kitty.

She and Dizzy looked at the walled town, not sure what YDB had in mind. The goblins waited until Isaar and Gunag made it back. Isaar called the goblin squad leaders to him and laid out the plan.

“The sewer grate is rigged. The lock is solid, but the latch itself can be opened with a twist,” Isaar explained. “I'll bet there were smugglers in Driftwood years ago, and they have tunnels near the water. There are trapdoors into some of the buildings above ground, but the doors are locked on the other side. The sewer tunnels go under the town, but they're too small for orcs.”

Isaar looked each goblin leader in the eyes. “You lot are small enough. The town has outhouses scattered around. Not sure how many though.”

Isaar paused as he thought.

“Here’s what I want you to do. You can count to one hundred, right?” He waited until all the goblins nodded. “Good. When you get to the tunnels, you all start counting. Count at the same speed. When you get to one hundred, come out of the outhouses as fast as you can. Start your attack, and when we hear the guards’ alarm, we’ll come in through the side door. Our inside man works near the door, and knows some commotion will be the signal.”

Dizzy nodded along with the other goblin leaders. He wondered for a moment how Isaar had recruited an inside accomplice against his own people. How long had these orcs been in the area? He would have to be careful when he tried to warn the elves above. If any orc spotted him giving a warning, the orcs would not just kill him, they would kill most of the goblin tribe.

“All right Slugger, you’re in charge,” said Isaar. Slugger nodded.

“We can’t all go at once. We’re going to go in groups of two or three. Stay low, and meet under the pier. I want my team first, then Lazybutt’s, then Storm’s team, and last Hammer. Dizzy, you and your team will go with me first.” Dizzy, Kitty, and YDB all nodded in agreement.

“Let’s move out.”