Chapter 356: The Chieftain

The sounds of heavy knocking banged on the other side of the reinforced door. Stryg stared quietly at the shaking door as if it was his past come back to haunt him.

“Stryg, what are you doing!? Get in the tunnel now!” First Mother ordered.

“Stryg, she’s right we should go,” Tauri whispered urgently.

Plum noticed something off about her friend and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, “Are you okay?”

“…I once ran from this village because I was afraid I’d be killed and eaten by my tribemates,” he muttered. “I then ran from a cave because I was afraid I’d be killed and eaten by lamias.”

“…And now?” Plum whispered.

“I am not afraid.”

Stryg turned to Third Mother, resolve burning in his lilac eyes, “Do you have any weapons in here? Any spears?”

“Are you serious?” Third blinked. “Of course we do.” She ran to a cabinet and pulled out a spear and headed it to him.

“Stryg, if you think you’re going to somehow fight off the guards outside then you’re a greater fool than I thought! Get in the damn tunnel!” First Mother admonished.

Stryg glanced at her, expressionless. “No,” he said in a calm voice.

“First is right,” Second said worriedly. “Just because you’re taller doesn’t mean you can fight a trained hunter, let alone a full guard of them. You have to go—!”

Stryg grabbed the spearhead and ripped it off the shaft with little effort. Second’s voice caught in her throat as she stared in mute shock.

Stryg held the spear like a makeshift sword. It extended a little farther out than the average longsword, but it would have to do.

“Plum, when I give the signal, open the door and get back,” he said.

“On it,” Plum said.

“So we’re really doing this,” Tauri said, a hint of excitement in her voice.

“Try not to kill anyone,” he said and tossed the spearhead aside.

“Says the homicidal goblin!” Tauri laughed.

Stryg glanced at Plum and nodded. She unlocked the door and dashed away, towards the Mothers. The door slammed open and seven guards rushed in. The guards shouted in anger, but Stryg didn’t listen to the words. He fell into the Gale’s Cascade Stance and stepped forward. His makeshift longsword flashed in dozens of quick small slashes, blocking each enemy spear and attacking back with two hits of his own. A faint breeze blew through the room as the guards cried out in pain and fell over with broken limbs.

A small smile formed on Stryg’s lips. The Cascade Stance’s true power came from its ability to generate a powerful wind with every second his blade moved until it eventually became a deadly gale. He had taken down his foes before he had gotten the chance.

He glanced at the wooden sword in his hand and noticed several small cracks in the blade.

The wood can’t handle the lifeforce technique for long.

Once more he was reminded of Nameless hanging on his belt, its blade broken and ill-suited for Gale sword techniques.

Tauri looked over the fallen goblins with numb surprise. She hadn’t gotten a chance to move. The blue goblin had moved in a blur and had dispatched his opponents in a single breath.

Tauri glanced at Stryg and bit her lip in mild consternation. There were no darkened veins or swirls of bronze on his skin. He hadn’t used any enhancement spells.

He’s gotten faster… Tauri thought.

“What are you doing!? What exactly is your plan!?” First Mother yelled angrily.

“I don’t know,” Stryg admitted. “But I’m not running away.” He turned away from the Mothers and walked out.

Tauri followed behind him silently.

Plum tiptoed around the goblins groaning on the floor and muttered apologies of ‘excuse me’ and ‘pardon me’ before chasing after her companions.

Stryg walked past the halls he had run through as a child. The other children had always thought him strange and had ignored him. He had chased after them, pretending it was a game, but he knew deep down they simply weren’t interested in playing with him.

It seemed so long ago now. The pain and the shame of being different. Being alone in a tribe full of people.

Stryg stepped out of the Moon Hall and into the village square. The ashen trees within the walls were tall and their red canopies bathed the village in scarlet light from the setting sun.

Over forty goblins waited outside for him. A few were hunters, left behind to watch over the village, but the rest were goblins of other tribal paths; cooks, carpenters, gatherers, and others Stryg recognized. Yet all of them held spears and bows in their hands, a glint of grim resolve in their bright yellow eyes.

Plum and Tauri walked out right behind Stryg and halted in their steps.

“Oh shit,” Plum mumbled.

“What was that about not killing anyone?” Tauri whispered.

Gathi stood at the front of the hostile crowd. Fresh white bandages were wrapped around her throat where Stryg had struck her. She pointed an accusing finger at him. “Outsider,” she said with a raspy voice.

The goblins didn’t need to hear anymore. The archers pulled back their arrows and let loose. Stryg jumped in front of his friends and took the Mountain Stance. His sword moved in a circle around him, each stroke cutting down the arrows with focused precision, but with each swing several more cracks appeared over his wooden sword.

The goblins didn’t retreat. They rushed at Stryg, spreading out in a circle around him while the archers continued to fire. The small green warriors attacked with quick thrusts of their spears in coordinated efforts, each searching for holes in his defense.

Stryg shifted his feet around and blocked the spears that came for him and Plum as Tauri struck out with her flail. The goblins ducked underneath the flail and dashed at her fearlessly. Tauri lashed out once more, but the goblins raised their spears in unison, blocking her flail together.

Suddenly, dozens of the goblins threw their spears at them. Tauri swerved around the strikes with ease, her agility magic enhancing her reflexes to supernatural heights. Stryg smacked the spears away, but his sword shattered in mid-strike. He tossed the makeshift weapon aside and batted the spears away with his hands instead.

Several arrows flew at Stryg with blinding speed. Blossom’s white petals arched up and the cloak bristled around him. The arrowheads bounced off the cloak harmlessly and their shafts snapped in two.

“Well done!” came a familiar voice from above.

Stryg glanced up. Five dozen goblins wrapped in mottled grey cloaks appeared on the Hall’s rooftop, short spears in hand. The chieftain stood in the center, a steel spear in hand. The hunters had returned.

The chieftain leaped down from the roof and landed with a silent step. He glanced at his people and smiled proudly, “You’ve done well, holding out. We’ll take care of the rest.”

The goblin crowd smiled in relief and rejoiced at the return of their leader.

“You think a few more of you is going to make a difference!?” Tauri sneered. She raised her palm and summoned a fireball a meter wide.

“Shaman!” the crowd gasped, fear finally trickling into their voices. They scrambled backwards.

“Now put down your weapons before I burn your village down!” Tauri threatened.

“Tauri, what are you doing!?” Stryg whispered angrily.

“Ending this fight before it begins.” She turned to the villagers and raised the fireball above her head, “Put down your weapons. I won’t say it again!”

The chieftain looked Tauri up and down with an unruffled gaze. Her cloak obscured her features, but it was clear she was no goblin. “Why have you come here, outsider?”

Tauri glanced at the chieftain and the silver hairpiece on his topknot, it was reminiscent of what the Valley chieftains wore. “I’m guessing you’re the leader of this place?”

“The matriarch is the First Mother, as it is in every tribe.”

“Then who are you supposed to be?”

“I am Jahn, chieftain of the Blood Fang and protector of this tribe.”

“Well, Jahn, to tell you the truth I really rather not hurt any of you, but I will if you don’t move out of our way and let us leave,” Tauri said in a dark voice.

Jahn cocked his head to the side, “Do you know who you threaten, outsider?”

“A Sylvan chieftain who doesn’t know how hot fire can burn,” Tauri glared at him.

“You threaten the Blood Fang, those who came before me, and those who will come after.”

Tauri narrowed her eyes, “I take it you're not going to move out of the way then?”

Jahn planted his feet on the ground and pointed his spear towards her, “The shamans of the Mother Moon are protected under sacred Sylvan law. But you are not Sylvan.” He raised his opened hand in a signal.

The hunters on the roof suddenly threw dozens of short spears at Tauri. She dodged the surprise attacks but lost control of her flame spell. The fireball flew out to the side and exploded harmlessly on the ground, a few paces from the crowd, who flinched back in fear.

She cursed under her breath and began to summon another fireball.

Stryg narrowed his eyes as he spotted the thin ropes attached to the end of all the short spears. He stiffened in realization, “Tauri, wait!”

“Now,” Jahn commanded calmly.

In a burst of speed, the hunters spread out and pulled tight on the ropes in their hands. The ropes attached to the fallen spears suddenly went taut and wrapped around Tauri with a crack like a whip. In the brink of an eye, her arms and legs were pulled in different directions and bound in place. Several ropes wrapped around her body, including her neck, preventing all movement.

Tauri’s hood fell back and her amber eyes widened as she tried to gasp for air.

The goblins yelled in anger and surprise at the sight of her scarlet skin.

“An orc, I should have guessed,” Jahn glared at her. “Don’t try to resist. My hunters can snap your neck with a single tug.”

“Let her go,” Stryg said coldly.

Jahn finally glanced at him, “And who might you be, drow…? Wait. No. You’re not a drow.”

“I am Stryg, son of Blood Fang and if you don’t let my friend go I will kill every hunter on that rooftop.”

Jahn pulled his lips back in a snarl, “Friend…?”