Chapter 59: - The Fortress
The forest was thick and littered with trees and brush, and the farther away they got from the city, the denser the forest became. The brush was thick and difficult to maneuver around, causing Randolph's group to be pushed back several hours.
"These woods are getting darker. At this point the night will drag on and we'll be lost out here."
Someone from the group muttered, their concerns mirrored by the rest of the party.
But nonetheless, Randolph was unworried, his mind toiling at the seams, trying to come to a logical reason that those four Hunters died.
But more than that, he was trying to understand something that seemed to be hiding behind the scenes, shadowed by the monster that everyone in the group seemed to fear at this moment. As if it would just walk from the thicket of trees and into their grasp, killing them off one by one.
"This is the stuff of a child's bedtime story."
Randolph muttered, finding it somewhat foolish for everyone here to be shaking in their boots, tripping over roots, and logs.
Though, if he had to admit it, in some ways he was scared himself.
However, he was not afraid of a monster, having seen many fearsome creatures in his day. He was scared that this would be his final moment, dying in the hands of such a beast, even before he could lay off what had been weighing down on his chest.
'Carlena.'
He quickly shook his head, not needing the distraction in his mind at the moment. Whenever he found himself thinking about her, he would see himself daydreaming.
A habit he did not need while he was currently on the hunt for a monster. And certainly not one that made even him a bit afraid.
Taking a glance behind him, he was un-surprised to find Lia the closest to his tail, sword drawn and ready to fight.
Among all the people present, she and her group - though Rian and Lukali were struggling - showed little to no fear. Though he normally would have been happy to see this, considering the state of the other Hunters.
However, Randolph knew the suspicions the other Hunters had about Lia, and knew that either this was just her attempt to prove herself innocent, or her some false sense of courage.
But to Randolph this didn't matter. Courage was courage, and he would take whatever he could get.
"Do you think your summons is close by?"
Randolph leaned over and whispered to Lia, his voice hushed and kept low.
Closing her eyes for a moment, Lia went silent, the night's silence harmonizing with her own.
After several minutes, she opened her eyes only to shake her head.
"No. I can't tell where he is, or what he's doing."
Nodding his head, Randolph understood, though he wasn't suspecting much. Already he had asked Lia this question three times, only for him to get the same answer each time.
In some ways he was hoping that the killer of those monsters was her summons, and not some unknown creature.
Which gave him a nagging question that lingered in his head.
'Why were Shamans and Titans in the same area?'
Normally these two would be considered territorial rivals, yet when he found them they looked to have fought against a common enemy.
So why were Shamans and Titans in the same area?
This was a question he knew he could not answer, and yet he knew it was something he needed to know.
He felt it would be important for the battle he knew was to come.
***
Lia didn't know what to think.
She knew Cain had to be involved with the deaths of those monsters, and yet she couldn't help but hope that it was something else. But the consequences of that wish becoming true would be catastrophic.
A monster that could kill several goblin titans like that, and impose such fear into a Shaman that they would draw their own blade on themselves.
Lia didn't know what to think.
She was afraid, worried, and hopeful all at the same time, yet she knew that she could only hope to have one wish become true.
Cain was alive, but he killed off those goblins, but would be seen as the monster that killed the four Hunters.
Cain, trapped, in battle against the monster that did this, but a threat like that existing in the first place was too great a danger.
Or, Cain was dead, and there really was no monster out there, and that the events on the road were the last ditch fight for his life.
No matter what Lia thought, she could't find any silver lining in any of this.
Trying to distract her mind, she turned to Lukali, who was closest to her. Rian, though in a similar state as he was, was on the other side of Randolph, two tanks leading the way.
"You alright?"
Lia asked, seeing the dull eyes of Lukali as they stared forward into the forest.
"Yeah…I'll be fine."
"Is it something to do with your nightmares?"
Snapping him from his trance, he turned to her, confusion written across his face.
"How did you know that?"
Lia realized too late that Lukali had never directly told her this, and it had actually been Cain who did, when he mentioned how he should give Lukali space.
Shrugging , she looked for any option she had to direct his suspicion away from her.
"I…have good hearing. I heard you."
"Oh, when we were talking."
After several seconds of silence, he tried to wrap his head around that explanation and the possibility of her actually hearing they're conversation.
'Just how good is her hearing?'
He wondered, his mind struggling.
"So, are your nightmares the cause?"
Lia asked, snapping Lukali from his thoughts, and his now aching mind.
"No. It's..."
He hesitated, knowing that this was Lia's summons he was talking about, and knowing just how much he meant to her.
But after thinking it over, he knew he needed to get this off his chest. Like Cain had told him that morning, he needed to let the scars fade, and let the troubles fall off.
"...it's all this. I don't know how to think about all this. Cain, those goblins, and worst of all -"
He brought his voice down to a whisper, barely audible over the sounds of shuffling feet, and panicked breathing.
"-If Cain might actually be that monster they're all searching for. I don't know how to feel about that."
He laid it all out, his worries and fear, knowing that this was the best way to overcome them, and the fastest given what they might have to go through.
Nodding her head, Lia understood more than Lukali knew, as his worries were a direct mirror of her own.
"I get it. I'm worried too. Though it is possible for Cain to be the monster they're all looking for, the creature they're after is the one who killed the four Hunters. They just think the monster that killed the goblins , and the monster that killed the four Hunters are the same."
"And what happens when they find him? They'll just believe he's the villain here."
"That's where we come in. Given how worried and scared these people are, if we find Cain, and point out that he's my summons, their spirits might lift a little."
"But they're already suspicious of you. How can you even think that for a moment they'll give you the time to explain yourself before thrusting a spear through your heart?"
Shaking her head, Lia's face was reflecting the question at hand. She too was worried for that outcome, which she felt would inevitably come.
"I don't know."
She admitted, her voice grim with the seriousness of the situation at hand, and the predicament she currently found herself in.
"All I know is that Randolph is a wise, and straightforward person. He'll hear what we have to say, and make the connection. The girl we saved claimed we helped her, but wouldn't say what creature her party came in contact with. Randolph will make the connection that Cain couldn't have been the one to kill them, as the girl remembers Cain hearing her."
Mumbling under his breath, Lia could barely hear the slight comment that Lukali made, finding it somewhat humorous, until she was hit with how grave such an event could be.
"She also remembers him knocking her out."
"...right. But even so."
She firmed her resolve, pushing out the negative thoughts that flooded her mind.
"Cain has never once left my side, and even when he did, he did so to protect me. When he sent out Kal to tell us to leave, I had my suspicions, but now I know."
Leaning in closer, Lukali became curious.
"He's trying to keep us from danger. Meaning that, whatever is out there, is something he doesn't believe we can take - even Randolph was pushed away. What does that tell you?"
Picking up the pieces and putting them together, Lukali got a full picture of what Lia was really hoping for.
"That there's a monster out there, that only Cain can take on."
Nodding her head, Lia glanced back out to the forest of trees and brush, the night's darkness moving around it like mist.
"And we're heading straight for it."
***
When they came upon the fortress, nestled between two large jutted rock formations, smaller than mountains but larger than a normal cluster of boulders, it amazed them.
To find such a large and yet ruined fortress so close to the town, and having not found it yet, somewhat shocked them.
Take it, they were a ways away from the town, but given that it was still within the forest surrounding them, Lia was quite surprised it hadn't been found before.
As she looked over the broken and destroyed walls, the crumbling towers, and the bridges overcome with moss and vines, Randolph spoke from beside her, drawing in her attention.
"This must be an old fortress from the time of the Concors. Our warrior race."
Gazing up at the small fort, Randolph knew there was more inside, and stared on in awe.
"Such a relic was here all along?"
Like him, many of the other Hunters were also staring in awe, some even dropping their guards and lowering their weapons.
Even Rian and Lukali were caught off guard, before Lia snapped them out of it, slightly shaking them out of their trance.
'I guess this is to be expected. These Concor's were their heroes.'
When everyone had regained their attention and awareness of the dire circumstances they currently found themselves in, Lia looked to Randolph expecting a debriefing.
And she was not left disappointed.
Rounding everyone up, and using the shadows casted by the rising mood, Randolph spoke in a hushed tone, gesturing to the walls.
"They more than likely have scouts on the walls and at the gates. If these goblins have something to do with that monster, it would be in there."
He pointed to the tallest and thickest tower - the main tower, centered behind the crumbling walls. The courtyard had to be quite large, and open, given that the main tower was directly embedded into the stone ace,while the walls were bordering the forest edge.
To Lia, it meant they would be out in the open for quite some time, even before they reached the main doors. And even then, she knew that if the doors were locked or the hinges were too rusted, they would become sniper shots for the goblin archers.
One of the Hunters present pointed this out, a spear man who looked quite concerned with this possibility.
"What about the goblins along the wall? We don't have anyone who can get up there and deal with the archers. We'll become pincushions by the time we make it to the door."
Randolph nodded, this concern well met with the others as they nodded their heads in agreement. Turning to a fellow archer in the group - there being a total of three - he gauged the possibility of this plan.
"What about you? Can you snipe them from here?"
"Yes but, even if you get inside, I can't fight them all. Even with the archers giving you all cover, we don't know how many there really are."
The archer shrugged, gesturing to two small stone buildings that rested on the ends of the walls, as he spoke.
"Those buildings could have dozens, or even just a few. We don't know. And even then, if we do manage to kill them all, we can't guarantee that everyone will survive."
Clenching his fist, Randolph seems as though he was nearing the edge of his patients, finding the situation they were in to be anything but favorable.
"So then what? How do we deal with the archers in time for us all to get in there?"
The archer thought for a moment, before he shook his head, dyeing the possibility.
"Even if we had someone to deal with them all, they would get shot down by the second building. We would need more than one person - a dozen or so archers."
Now Randolph slammed his fist against a tree, angry with the situation that seemed impossible to get through, and achieve their goal.
Seeing that he was on the end of his rope, Lia spoke up, drawing the Hunter's attention.
"What would this person's skills need to include if they were to take on the archers?"
The archer seemed confused for a moment when he heard her question, but quickly answered, knowing that Randolph would just ask this latter.
"Someone fast, or someone who can shoot well. But most of all, they can't be noticed by anyone."
The archer put much emphasis on the last part of his requirements, stressing the matter of stealth.
"Stealth…Stealth…"
Lia mumbled to herself, before her eyes glanced past the group, where a man leaned against a tree, looking over them like ants. Or annoyance? Lia couldn't tell.
"Kal."
Her words brought the attention of the Hunters directly to Kal, who continued looking on like nothing in the world mattered.
"Do you think you could deal with them?"
Kal sighed before nodding his head, straightening himself up. But before he could head off towards the wall, the archer spoke up.
"Wait a minute. I get that you might trust him, but think for a second. Are you absolutely sure he can do this alone?"
Lia didn't hesitate when answered and gave a firm nod of her head.
'I've seen what Kal can do. I don't need to explain myself to them. The faster we get in and get to Cain, the better.'
However, even as she was thinking this, and was prepared to give the archer a stern reason as to why she trusted Kal, he disappeared.
Quickly looking around, she found him standing next to the archer, his own dagger in his hands. The archer, seeing this, patted his coat and pants, before snatching the dagger from Kal's palm.
Mumbling , the archer commented on the theft, somewhat impressed but also embarrassed.
"Alright, I guess he's good enough."
And with that, Kal grabbed one of his daggers from the back of his waist, positioned horizontally along his belt, before filling his left hand with a dozen or so throwing knives from his chest.
"Good luck."
Lia said, nodding towards Kal - a respectful farewell that Kal mimicked, before shooting off into the distance, his cloak flapping in the wind from his speed.
As he neared the wall, Kal pushed off the ground, shooting himself up just enough into the air that he covered the several meter tall wall just barely getting his foot over the edge.
Once he was on the wall, he shot off at incredible speeds towards the nearest building, and only taking a few minutes, he shot out towards the other when he was done, his left hand empty of any throwing knives.
He was so silent, that some of the Hunters present didn't even know he had started his attack until he came shooting out of the first building and towards the other one.
Seeing that the archers were distracted, Randolph signaled to the others to move, raising his own ax and charging forth.
But, as they rounded the corner, the gate to the inner wall which should have been guarded, was empty.
The heavy wooden doors were open, half pushed apart, and the corpses of two goblins laid dead on the ground, their blood mixing with the dirt and dust.
"What is this?"
Randolph uttered, signaling another pair of Hunters inside. But what they found was the same.
Spotted across the courtyard, dozens of goblin bodies were littering the ground, several hobgoblins dotted with them.
The place had been ransacked.
Now Randolph no longer held his breath, his own concerns being laid out before the Hunters for them to see.
"Now what?"
Starting all of them, Kal dropped down from the walls above the gate, landing next to Lia, who barely flinched as he hit the ground.
"Did you kill them?"
Kal shook his head, tossing down a bloodied and broken blade. The blood that was painted across the silver knife was a deep red, dried, and clotted blood.
Not something that would come from a newly killed goblin. And all at once, Lia's mind clicked with understanding.
The dead goblins on the road, the littered courtyard of bodies, some half burnt to crisps.
Slowly she walked to the large wooden doors that lead further into the fortress. This calm and steady walk attracted the eyes of every Hunter present, who eventually followed suit, as she slowly picked up her feet, and ran towards the door.
"Lia!"
Randolph called after her, giving chase like the other Hunters, but they couldn't stop her from reaching the heavy wooden doors, and desperately pushing them aside.
The chamber was bright and smelled of smoke, fire raged over the grounds of stone and the screams of goblins as they were being burnt alive filled the air.
In the center of this flaming whirlwind, was Cain, wrapped in a dark black cloak, decorated with gray swirls of smoke.
At his front, a large goblin, larger than the titans and the hobs, roared, raising his fist high, preparing to bring it down on Cain, who also had his fist raised preparing to strike back.
From over the sounds of fire and war, Lia could hear a soft, calm voice call out to her.
"I told you to stay away."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone