By the Fada, what was that?!

A second ball of fire followed the first, and Mahon was completely tossed out of the Flow, incapable of assimilating this new rhythm that shook everything in its trail.

He wasn’t the target this time, and the fire hit the cart next to the one that had just blown up. In another deafening explosion, the breach to the camp grew wider as a gap more than four meters wide had been created between the two burning carts.

The nearby goblins entered in a frenzy at the sight of the fire, and with excited shrills they ignored Mahon to rush at the breach. Even the goblins that were already attacking the camp changed their target, and every single one of them now rushed at the gaping hole in the human’s defense.

Just before they managed to reach it, Mahon saw Jorik arriving just in time to prevent the first goblin to pounce into the camp. A step behind him, Edwin and a few guards rushed to block the way.

Pushing himself back up, Mahon glanced to the direction the fire projectiles had come, and without surprise another group of goblins appeared from the forest.

They were four. At the side, three imposing hobgoblins, as tall as the tallest of the one Mahon just defeated, but it wasn’t what got his attention. In the center of the group, there was a hunched monster limping towards the camp.

It looked like a goblin, but it was awfully deformed. His back was twisted, and two heads protruded above his neck. A cruel light shone in his black eyes, and despite its horrible appearance, the creature emitted a more intelligent aura than its fellow goblins.

In its right hand, the two-headed goblin held a wooden staff with a glowing red stone. It pointed its staff at the camp, and drawing patterns in the air with its other hand, it started chanting something with a look of intense concentration. Shortly after, the glow of the red stone intensified at least tenfold, and smoke and flames began to emerge.

Mahon understood the situation in an instant, and picking up one of the swords dropped by the hobgoblins, he threw it towards this new group without hesitation. The projectile accomplished its purpose, and even though a hobgoblin managed to deflect the sword with its own and protect the two-headed goblin, the staff lost its power the moment the goblin was interrupted and snapped its head towards Mahon.

It gestured to one of the hobgoblins that immediately rushed to Mahon while it started back its ritual and fire accumulated again at the tip of its staff.

Mahon threw another look at the camp, but he couldn’t see the situation now that all the goblins swarmed in front of the breach.

If they’re still outside, it means they didn’t get in yet.

Out of habit, he started to Flow to confirm what he couldn’t see, but as soon as his Flow picked up the glowing staff, It started to get wild again. Mahon fought to keep its focus despite the unknown element breaking his Flow, and although he managed to keep it under control, its range was limited to a dozen meters.

If he increased it further, his Flow went crazy because of the weird staff the two-headed goblin was wielding. Mahon wasn’t dupe, though, he quickly made the connection between his magic going awry and the fire invoked by the goblin.

He must be wielding some kind of magic related to fire…

A memory of Yordar explaining there were multiple clues that weird, unknown magic other than Earth and Time existed flashed through his mind at the same time as Mahon’s own practice with Earth magic while Flowing and Jorik’s comment about the two magic not going well together.

He didn’t have much time to think about it further as the hobgoblin that had rushed him was getting alarmingly close. In the next second, it jumped right at his head, but Mahon dodged nimbly to the left, and with a swing of his spear he slashed at the hobgoblin’s back.

The monster twisted its body while in the air and managed to turn the fatal blow into a light scratch. Mahon didn’t let the hobgoblin time to recover, though. In two quick strides, he followed the creature and stabbed exactly where it would land. This time, the hobgoblin didn’t manage to dodge, and he was dead before he touched the ground.

At the same moment, a ball of fire hissed through the air and exploded yet another cart. A second later, a second one followed and widened the breach even further.

Fuck.

Mahon fought not to lose his Flow after the passage of the two magic disturbances. After excruciating long seconds he managed to stabilize It only to realize the two-headed goblin was again channeling its magic to its staff.

With a grimace, Mahon analyzed his possibilities. The breach at the camp had now doubled in size, and the guards were probably already overwhelmed by the swarm of goblins. But if Mahon went to help them, they would take fire magic after fire magic until only ashes were left of the camp.

On the other hand, if he went to deal with the goblin magician, the death toll on the merchant’s size would be higher than ever. Mahon wasn’t one to stay undecided for long. He had long learned to recognize situations where it was important to act fast even if he didn’t choose the best decision. And right now, he didn’t have the luxury to waste too much time thinking about the perfect course of action.

I’m the only one past the goblin lines. If not me, no one can delay or kill the two-headed goblin. I can’t let this thing throw more fire at the camp.

Picking yet another sword, Mahon threw it at the wretched goblin gathering its fire magic while he rushed behind at full speed. This time the two-headed goblin didn’t take well being interrupted again, and one of its heads screamed angrily to the sky as the other threw him an enraged look.

The deformed goblin turned to face Mahon and gestured at the two hobgoblins at his side to attack him. With a quick gesture, it channeled a fleck of magic fire and sent two balls of fire the size of a coin towards Mahon.

Mahon didn’t waste time knowing his Flow wouldn’t last long against the perturbation caused by fire magic. He dove deeper into his mental and physical resources and pushing himself at the limit, he stepped to the side and teleported at the two-headed goblin’s side.

It didn’t work as planned as the fire magic got entangled with his own, and he appeared a few meters away from his target instead. Seeing him suddenly so close, the two-headed goblin tried to engulf him under a torrent of flames, but only a weak spark answered its call, and it fell backwards.

The two hobgoblins turned around after they realized Mahon had moved behind them and rushed back at him. Under a second, they were at his side and swiped their rusty swords at him.

Deprived of his Flow and suffering from Its backlash, Mahon did his best to parry the two attacks and disengage, but the hobgoblins didn’t let him. They tried to sneak under his guard and stab him where he couldn’t see. Mahon pushed past his mental limits, and ignoring the pounding headache throwing a tantrum in his head he deflected all the attacks while retreating.

The hobgoblins didn’t give him any respite, and they redoubled their effort to kill him. A sword grazed against his leg, drawing some blood, but Mahon still managed to contend with the two agile monsters. They were moving at amazing speed, and their nimble bodies allowed them to do moves inaccessible to humans.

Hits rained at impossible angles one after the other, but they either met Mahon’s spear or nothing but air as Mahon danced under their blades. After a few seconds of battle, his vision clarified and the banging in his head receded. At that time, the two hobgoblins weren’t as threatening as before, and Mahon stood his ground for the first time in the fight.

He sped up his motions and began complex moves, throwing the hobgoblins off. His defense-only strategy shifted to a more offensive one, and soon it was the hobgoblins who were stepping back.

From the corner of his eyes, Mahon saw the two-headed goblins getting back up, and he increased his speed a step further. A flurry of attacks rained on the hobgoblins who had no other choice but to dodge and retreat.

In the end, despite its impressive agility and speed, one of the hobgoblins was a tad too slow, and Mahon’s spear pierced it through, killing it instantly. Although as fast as lightning, the death of its comrade bought enough time for the other hobgoblin to escape Mahon’s range.

It rushed to the two-headed goblin’s side, and the two creatures looked at Mahon with cunning intelligence as they prepared their last assault. Mahon didn’t wait for them to recover more, and he rushed forward to meet them.

Two burning coins welcomed him immediately, and without the Flow, Mahon only managed to dodge them due to its sheer reflex. He stepped to the left, and twisting his shoulder, the first projectile passed harmlessly at his side. In the same fluid motion, he kneeled and the second projectile slightly burned his left arm, not causing real damage.

From his crouched position, Mahon channeled all his strength in his legs and he pounced forward at breathtaking speed. The hobgoblin tried to block him by swinging its sword diagonally, but Mahon weaved under, and his spear stabbed directly at the left head of the two-headed goblin.

For good measure, he followed with a second, even quicker stab at the right head. The deformed goblin fell to the side, inert, the right hand still pointing its magical staff at Mahon. The red stone at the top of it started to crack as the fire accumulated around grew out of control.

Without thinking twice, Mahon distanced himself from it, but even he wasn’t fast enough as the staff exploded right after. Flames spurted around and engulfed the hobgoblin that failed to react in time. The flames licked Mahon’s back, burning through his clothes and the blast projected him to the ground, but he had been fast enough to avoid the full force of the explosion.

He rolled a few times, keeping a tight grip on his weapon while doing so, and pushed through the pain to get back up as soon as he could, ready to fight. But there was no more enemy able to contend with him. The two-headed goblin had almost been vaporized by the explosion while the last hobgoblin had half of its body burned and torn apart. Without a doubt, it was on his last breaths.

Ignoring it, Mahon threw a look towards the camp, and he realized the remaining of the goblins were now running away. He stood directly in their trajectory, but as he got ready to fight, the goblins avoided him, making large detours not to cross his path.

Seeing how their elite forces and leader had been taken care of, the cowardly creatures hadn’t hesitated long before running for their life. As they passed harmlessly by him, Mahon got a clearer view of the camp. Or rather what was left of it.

Jorik stood in the middle of the breach, a pile of corpses lying beneath his feet. He wasn’t without injuries himself, and his left arm was covered in blood from a nasty cut at the shoulder. The other guards and Frontaliers were in even worse conditions, and among the countless goblin’s bodies around them, there were also plenty of human ones. The fight had been a difficult one.

The four carts that had been the initial targets of the goblin’s fire magic were nothing but calcined, fuming carcasses by now, and the fire had actually spread around to other carts. Fortunately, it had been cut away a few carts further on the line by some of the merchants now covered with soot.

All in all, the caravan was in really poor shape, and Mahon let out a sigh as he walked back to the camp.

That was a close one.