Both Sigard and Mazia had examined the dead wolf. Though she had clearly been smashed against the ground with tremendous force what threw the wolf was currently unknown.

Sigard knelt by the body while trying to find some clue. The wolf appeared as though it had tossed at great force and smashed against the ground, yet Sigard couldn’t tell what had done the throwing. Eventually all he could do was consult an expert.

“Mazia do you see anything?”

“Yes Master, beyond the blunt force damage there are a number of injuries around the body. These appear to be puncture marks, not from what one would expect from a sword, claw or fang but something round and dull. This likely means that the killer is not a natural predator, nor an intruder but is equipped with some form of hardened apparatus.” Mazia revealed flatly and methodically.

Sigard had listened intently to Mazia’s assessment as more monsters arrived and began to build a perimeter around the both of them. Goblin boar-riders following the Mantis Queen as they came upon the scene. Dire Wolves heading the mate’s call were also appearing from the forest and took up defensive positions alongside the goblins. The whole clearing a cacophony of movement that was trampling every inch of the clearing, and destroying

Focusing on the unmoving figure next to him, Sigard viewed the distraught wolf sitting by his mate’s lifeless body. They had only together for a few days and yet mournful sadness was etched on his face. Sigard found himself impressed by the poor creatures loyalty, so he placed his palm on top of the wolf’s head to comfort it.

“I don’t think there is anything else we can gleam from this site, let’s withdraw to the fort and plan for our next move.” Sigard stated aloud to everyone within earshot.

“Bring everything of interest back to the fort, including the wolf’s corpse.” He commanded.

In the already chaotic scene the monsters were slow to following Sigard’s orders but once seeing Sigard and Mazia lifting the dead wolf to be placed onto the Golden Tigers back they began to reform order. Sigard noted to himself to establish a proper hierarchy amongst his monstrous subordinates as he could easily tell that this problem was only going to get worse with time.

They returned to the fort without any problems, though it should be noted that a foreboding presence could be felt throughout the forest.

Once in the fort Sigard had the Goblin General organize a defense of the stronghold while Mazia rounded up the wolves so she could do something with them. Sigard wasn’t sure exactly what she was doing but he left it to her to gather what information they could on their unknown enemy.

After the Goblin General finished his task he reported to Sigard.

“Master, I’ve finished setting the goblins on the walls. What do you command?”

“Just tell me if you have any more forces with which to pin down the killer.”

“Another caravan of goblins are on their way, they should arrive here tomorrow.”

“Good. Now keep an eye on the forest, I don’t want to be surprised.

The Goblin General nodded his head and returned to his troops.

Shortly thereafter Mazia

“So what exactly did you with the Dire Wolves?”

“This one simply questioned them on the events of the last few days. None of them saw any unusual creatures only the ones that we would expect to reside in the forest. Even the dead wolf’s mate didn’t see the attack, they had split off to initiate a pincer while hunting it was at that moment when the wolf was killed.” Mazia reported concisely.

“Ha, so we still don’t know. Well we’ll gather up more troops then embark on a forest wide sweep for anything even remotely hostile.” Sigard stated coldly.

---

Late into the next day Sigard was pacing back and forth, growing impatient for the caravan that the Goblin General promised. It had been over twenty hours since the General informed Sigard of the caravan’s approach, yet it had not arrived. Sigard had a bad feeling about this.

“Master, worrying about a single convoy isn’t going to do Master any good.” Mazia said flatly.

“But they should be here. General, find this caravan.” Sigard ordered.

“Yes my lord.” The Goblin General replied immediately from the side of the room and left. His bellowing could be heard from outside as he issued his own set of orders, organizing a troop of goblins.

Only an hour went by till the Goblin General returned, reporting that the caravan had been attacked. Sigard wasted no time in following the general to the site of the caravan.

The location of the caravan, or what was left of it, was on the dirt road that lead from the fort to one of the cave openings that lead out to the wider Maze. This road was a recent addition to geography of the forest, as it was the result of Sigard’s and his subordinates continuous movements. The caravan itself was in shambles, overturned carts, scattered supplies, boar and goblin corpses, everything was completely ruined with no known survivors. While upset at the lost of fresh supplies and a hundred goblins, what unnerved Sigard was the silence

The Goblin General was looking around worriedly, which was a little odd he had just been here so he shouldn’t be surprised about the caravan’s destruction, once realizing this Sigard noted that he wasn’t looking at the wreck but towards the forest.

Is something wrong? Sigard asked.

“I…left sentries here.” The anxiety and caution oozing from his voice. There were no living goblins present when they arrived, only those who escorted Sigard and the Goblin General.

This would mean that the attacker was still lurking nearby.

Sigard took count of all those present, himself, the general, Mazia, the Golden Tiger, the Mantis Queen and around sixty goblin boar-riders. There were less protectors present than made up the caravan that had been decimated.

“We need to leave.” Sigard muttered while glaring at the oppressive woods that surrounded them.

They immediately retreated back to the fort, all the while Sigard scanned the surrounding forest. The forest that was once calming and relaxing was now an eerie source of dread, the trees pressed in ominously, the mist choking, the silence unnerving. Sigard didn’t see anything during the withdrawal, no movement or signs of life, nothing to provide any clues as to what he was facing.

Reaching the ruined fort in working order a sense of relief washed over Sigard briefly before his thoughts returned to whatever was stalking and murdering his troops. He stared intently at the forest determined to solve this mystery, he was tired of this game, he wanted to know what was harassing him.

“Your thoughts?” Sigard asked out loud.

“Master, this enemy is a expert in stealth capable of hunting and stalking it’s prey with great skill, yet it isn’t a predator since it hasn’t left any evidence of cutting with fangs or consumption of flesh. There also must be a great number of these entities in order to exterminate an entire caravan of goblins without any survivors.” Mazia spoke in her usual neutral tone. She was focused on methodically examining the known facts about this stalker.

“My lord, we’re now effectively trapped in this fortress if we can’t reliably move troops and supplies in or out. This is likely the goal of this enemy, to starve us then kill us when weakened. As it stands we can’t even rely on resupply from outside the forest in addition to not being able to hunt in the forest. This enemy is picking off our troops at its own convenience while denying us assess to food, this is turning into a siege.” The Goblin General stressed the martial and logistical aspects.

Sigard continued to stare into the mist shrouded woods while listening to the two. He ruminated over their words, everything both of them said was true and yet it didn’t tell him what he was looking for. This thing was a stealthy hunter, but not a predator. It was now cutting them off from food, starting by attacking Sigard’s wolves while they were hunti…

’wait’ he thought to himself. Suddenly everything began to come together, not just what it was but why it was attacking. His gaze refocused on the forest, not looking for what was there, but what was missing. Once he finished scanning the wood line he was now convinced with what the cause of this. And now he had a solution to this.

“Set fire to the forest.” He ordered with decisive conviction.

There was a brief silence that followed his order before the Goblin General began relaying Sigard’s order to the goblins. Within minutes the goblins had torches in hands as they rode to the wood line, setting the trees a blaze.

As the fires spread a deep rumbling bellow resonated from inside the forest followed by numerous silhouettes emerging from the depths.

From the forest emerged a massive herd of deer lead by one buck that was about three meters tall.