Uncle tapped Orn on the shoulder and gestured for him to follow. Orn nodded, falling in a step behind his uncle. The pair moved quietly through the underbrush toward the source of the noise. Uncle moved silently, but Orn heard a slight rustling of leaves as he walking through the thick brush.

The hunter stopped and signaled for Orn to look at something in the clearing ahead of them. Probably another hob. Old man Brom said the animals were acting strange when we spent the night.

Orn adjusted his position slightly to see what Uncle was pointing at. In the clearing, a large deer was laying on its side. It is dead. Based on the way it looks, it has probably been dead for some time.

A shift in the wind meant they were now downwind of the deer. Orn grimaced and tried not to cough. Definitively, dead.

He was about to asked why Uncle wanted him to look at the deer when its body moved. Orn watched the body shift slightly as a small hominoid figure crawled up its side. Though saying it was humanoid seemed a stretch. What is that? Hobs look vaguely human, but that… Orn had to push down the revulsion he felt for the creature.

The thing’s skin was an odd blueish green, and its proportions were just, wrong. Its arms and legs seemed too long and thin for its body. In contrast, its stomach bulged out form under a sunken chest. Even at this distance Orn was able to count ribs. But the most disturbing feature of the creature was its head. Nearly as wide as its shoulders, the head rested on a neck far too thin for it.

The creature slowly surveyed the area, its head turning like an owl’s. As it looked around, Orn saw light glint off its massive pupilless yellow eyes.

Once the creature turned its gaze away, Orn glanced at his Uncle and motioned about shooting it. His uncle shook his head and indicated they wait.

The unsettling creature again scanned its surroundings. Then the bottom half of its face split open revealing rows of long pointed teeth and a narrow tongue that fell out between its teeth. Orn starred at it horrified, as the creature’s mouth opened wider and wider. Then the creature’s face looked as if its head was split in two. it turned its head skyward emitting a high-pitched squeal.

Out of the woods opposite them similar squeals answered back. Within moments a half dozen of the creatures were swarming around the body of the deer. The first was the smallest at around a foot and a half tall, while the largest was just under three. Some of the larger ones carried sticks, or sharped stones. They made clicking and hissing sounds as they moved around and over the body, poking or hitting it from time to time.

Eventually, the largest of them clicked loudly and the creatures began to gather on one side of the deer. What are they doing?

As if in answer to the question, the creatures began slowly pulling the body in the direction from which they came. As they began to move the corpse, Orn felt a tap at his shoulder. His uncle gestured that they should quietly back away.

Uncle motioned for Orn to move quietly, but quickly. After almost a half hour, Uncle broke the silence. “Do you know what those were?”

“No.,” Orn shook his head. “They are monsters, but not hobs. There was nothing like that in the book of monsters mother had me read.”

“I would be more surprised if there were.” His uncle nodded, “It can be hard to image anything that ugly being real. Those are goblins. They make a hob almost appear a man by comparison. We need to head back to Brom’s, quickly. They should not be acting like that.”

As they picked up their pace Uncle explained, “goblins are scavengers. They will eat anything and drag the rest back to their queen. When they get large enough their mother throws them out. They wander for a while eating anything they can until they become hobs.”

Orn nodded as he tried to match Uncle’s pace. He is moving just slow enough I can keep up. He has not moved this fast since before we left the village.

“They are not particularly smart or strong. But,” Uncle emphasized the word, “they are fast. Never forget that. No matter how ungainly they look, over short distances, they are very fast. Too many forget that, and let them get too close. The venom in their claws and fangs can make that a deadly mistake.”

Orn unconsciously touched his bag where a bottle of goblin’s bane rested. “That is why we have the goblin’s bane.”

“Yes, but that is for treating the venom. You should avoid needing to use it. That is also why we have to hurry.” For the first time, Orn heard worry in Uncle’s voice. “If they are carrying food back while looking starved, it means their mother is starving. There is plenty of food in the forest. So they could only be running short, if their queen is a flood bearer.”

[In the basement]

It had taken time, but things were coming together. Olrich had studied the door after the goddess guided him to it in the vision. He had no way to stop the door from sounding an alarm, and bringing others from the temple above. But he should be able to stop the defensive spells from killing him. It will hurt a lot, but the pain is part of my penance. I must not dread it, but give thanks for the pain. Through it I may yet be redeemed. But I will need time. After the spells activate, I will need to get through the other locks.

He once again looked over his work. Laying on the table before him was a sketch of the basement. Every shelf as meticulously noted, as were shelves he would need to move. If he could complete his work in time, those responding to the alarm would face a maze of dead ends and barriers.

Taking in the scale of the work before him, he slowly let out a breath. It will be a lot of work, but I cannot falter now. The holy day of the saints is coming soon. It is my best chance and I must be ready. All I can do now is keep moving and have faith that that I may meet their expectations.