68. Kulle: Wiremu

Tabitha came through with my Sten ID. The Army delivered official IDs as well, which we put aside as spares. Tabitha did better than I expected and the Government ID came with accounts at the Kirghiz Treasury in which a monthly Stipend would be deposited, equivalent to a Lieutenant's wage for three years. She said she was going for five, but they argued that after two years it would no longer matter. Three was a compromise. I would just let mine accumulate as a backup.

The Caravan had too many wagons for the trip to Jern as the camping spots were not large enough and too many merchants wanted to get there for the auction. They had to split into two, one following a day behind the other. We were in the first lot with about thirty wagons. Twenty-five wagons were following. The Caravan Master was therefore short-staffed. Tabitha subcontracted me out to the Caravan Master as a Scout and she still kept the minimum of two guards to a wagon. The Goblin threat is not going away soon, and nobody wants to go into the caves to hunt them.

Tabitha had one wagon full of expensive alcohol, wines, spirits, ciders with spiritually enhanced ingredients, and a lot of dwarven whisky. That was the wagon that needed guarding against theft. The other wagon was miscellaneous luxury goods and foods, particularly rare herbs and spices, that wouldn't spoil. The other wagons in the caravan were a mixture of expensive goods for auction and supply goods like us. The mood was totally different to the trip down as there was significant tension between some of the Merchants. I spent my days away from it all scouting in the peace and quiet of the wilds. It was very relaxing after being in the city.

This requirement of the Army that I get away from Hrothgar and Jern for a couple of years was a concern. I discussed it briefly with Skavt who said we would have a longer discussion in Jern. I didn’t want to break from the Canine Queens if I could help it. There are signs of spring in the new growth and lambs being born. Snow is retreating from the lower parts. Spring will be fully on us when we get to Jern.

We made Halvväg in good time and without incident. From now on the goblin threat was an increased risk. We were two days out from Kulle when we started seeing signs of goblins. There only seemed to be small bands roaming around, which were only a treat to small wildlife. Large groups, especially with a Shaman were threats to small villages as we had already seen. However, small groups indicated that everything was not contained. The Caravan Master had the Scouts keep close and doubled the guards overnight.

Kulle was shut up tight. The commander was not pleased to see the caravan and even less pleased to find out there was an equal-sized one a day behind. There was no room in the Kulle walls for that many wagons and draft animals. The Longhouses we stayed in the first time now had a palisade wall around it, but it was not enchanted like the main wall. It would barely slow any Goblins down.

The Guard Commander spoke to everybody from the top of the wall. The Guard had enacted the Emergency Monster Protocols and all Mercenaries were immediately drafted to the town defence. The Merchants were welcome in the town as long as they would help in the emergency. All wagons would stay outside and all draft animals would have to stay in the Longhouse area. If they didn’t like it they were welcome to go to Jern and lay a complaint.

Half the guards claimed not to be Mercenaries, but direct employees of Merchant and Trading houses. For some of them, it may even have been true. Some of the biggest groups of Merchants from the larger Trading Houses planned to take their guards and push on to Jern. The Caravan Master wished them luck as he unhitched his wagons and took his guards into the Town. Tabitha didn’t hesitate to do the same. The wagons were parked close to the Longhouse area and the archers on the walls discouraged looting from those not coming in. About fifteen wagons got back on the road in the late afternoon.

Tabitha, Modrica and Vrsig were rostered on the walls. As the Canine Queens were an established group with mounts we would be heading out with a group of Guards in the morning. Five days ago there was a major event at the Kill Site and they sent for reinforcements. Guards and Mercenaries went up there. Three days ago the Army set off the emergency explosives which was always their plan for a last-ditch attempt to close the tunnel and kill everything if it went bad. The explosions were heard from Kulle. The watchtowers reported seeing small groups of Goblins two days ago and Kulle fought off a Goblin attack yesterday. They had heard nothing from the Army. At dawn, we would ride out with a squad of Guardsmen to find out what was happening if we could.

Messages were sent to Jern as soon as the explosions were heard but it would be another three days at the earliest before reinforcements could arrive, assuming Jern was not under siege or they were attacked on the road or any number of other things. I was thinking Hrothgar celebrating the Saviour of Jern was a little premature.

We prepped in the pre-dawn. I hit the Guard up for some extra quivers of arrows and Ört raided their medical supplies. Ört would be the group medic and I would be the Scout. The Guard had one archer and six melee types, four with shields with a Sergeant in charge. It would normally take about four hours to get up there on the nice road they built, but we would be moving more cautiously.

It was only a half hour in when we met our first group of six Goblins. The Guard Archer and I had three down before Oske trampled the rest. If only it was all going to be so easy. We stopped several times while I went ahead on foot to investigate. The last thing we wanted was to be embroiled in a big fight. We avoided one Shaman with a large group of Goblins. We efficiently took out several smaller groups.

The watchtower on the hill above the Kill Site was standing but abandoned. The Kill Site was just a crater in the ground. Instead of collapsing the tunnel, it seems to have opened it. There was still the occasional group of Goblins coming out. We would investigate the Army camp before attempting to close it.

The camp palisade wall was still standing and manned, so there were some Army personnel alive. There were Goblins swarming around it like flies on a carcass waiting to feed. It looks like they have been repelled in every attempt so far. I didn’t see any Shamans, but there must have been some otherwise the goblins would have scattered for easier prey. It was late afternoon by this time. I reported back to the Sergeant who was keen to make contact with them. We moved away to find a defensible campsite and then the Sergeant and I would go in again and see if we could communicate.

Tāoke could probably slip in, but then what? He could carry a message, but they might also kill him. I could lob an arrow in with a message easier using Longbow. The Sergeant claimed to have Stealth but it must be so low-levelled as it was practically useless. The Sergeant wanted me to send in a message to let them know we were here and if they had ways to communicate. He wrote on some parchment and I told him to add that if they spoke loudly on the wall I would hear them. I didn’t tell him the level of my Hearing Aid, but with the distance, he knew it was up there. I put the arrow near one of the wall guards. He got a fright. This Darksight Farsight Combo was well worth having. The Guard called a buddy who scurried off to whoever was in charge.

Lieutenant Aaren arrived on the wall. The short story was that Goblins started pouring from the opening and several Shamans arrived and made a second exit. Goblins came faster than they could kill them and were weakening the wall enchantments and climbing over one another to get to the top of the Kill barrier. There was fighting on the top of the wall and the call went out to Kulle. The flow slowed to a trickle for a while, and then there were waves coming for two days. Then several Shamans came from behind the Army and the Scouts only got a very short warning out. While the Soldiers were fighting on two fronts a large stone armoured Goblin arrived which they thought was the Chief. He did something like a massive quake and broke the fortifications. That was when Captain Tor triggered the explosives. They think they got the Chief in the blast. But made a retreat to the camp. Captain Tor is still unconscious and Lieutenant Awyr is missing an arm. Lieutenant Kelda is the only operative affinity user and the only reason they are still alive. There are 450 able Soldiers in the camp and 100 wounded. There are at least five Shamans in the area around them. They don’t expect to be able to repel many more attacks as the enchantments are damaged. They were planning to make a fighting retreat to Kulle at dawn.

The Sergeant informed me Lieutenant Awyr is an air affinity user. He didn’t have much parchment with him and I had left my Map Making supplies in Kulle because, why would I need them? He wrote an acknowledgement and said that we would get word back to Kulle. I put the arrow in the wall next to the Lieutenant and we retreated back to the others. The Sergeant dispatched the two non-shield bearers to take the message back to Kulle so they can expect them. Mobile melee fighters were what they were, and this was the type of job they were used to.

The Sergeant wanted to stay and help but he really had no idea how. I looked at Skavt for permission. She nodded so I spoke up.

“The problem is not the Goblins as such. Without the Shamans the Goblins will disperse. The Shamans only have about the same health as you or I. If we can get them with surprise attacks, which means without any defensive Skills active, they will go down fairly easily. That is my speciality,” I said. “I am a Hunter and Monster Hunter, with high Stealth and high impact ranged attacks.” I touched my bow. “If I can take out one or two Shamans before dawn that will make the retreat possible with a lot fewer casualties. What I will need is a defensive line I can retreat to if I am discovered or after I make a hit and have a horde on my tail. Is that something you can do?” I was looking at the Sergeant, but I was really talking to Skavt. The Sergeant was well out of his depth.

The Sergeant nodded, “Where is the best to do that?” he asked.

“Skavt knows best what terrain and how to organise it.” and just like that the Canine Queens were in charge. With the Guard's four shields and the twins, we had a good shield line. Oske and Skavt were the backup cavalry.