บท 4: Chapter 4- First Kill
Alaster did not truly sleep that night. Not only was the memory of his family still fresh on his mind, but he understood the dangers of the forest. Instead, he closed his eyes and tried to rest, while still remaining observant of his surroundings.
When the sun rose the next morning, and the creatures of the night returned to their lairs and slumber, Alaster carefully climbed down the tree and continued East. The boy was unsure if the Elders' plan to misdirect the Knights had worked or not. Either way, he was not going to risk being captured.
He moved as quickly as he could, while still hiding his tracks as best as he knew how. However, as the sun passed overhead, Alaster decided to move faster, ignoring his tracks. By this point, the amount of land they would have to cover to find his tracks would be astounding. But that was all under the assumption that the Knights did not have some other way to track him. And if they did, he needed to move quickly.
Alaster was forced to hide himself numerous times as monsters blocked his path forward. The boy saw many creatures he was familiar with, but even more, he was not. To make up this time, Alaster did not stop to eat. Instead, eating while he moved.
As the sky turned vibrant hues of orange, Alaster finally saw the edge of the forest. Crouching and peeking out around a tree, Alaster set eyes upon the walled city of Vrens.
The walls stood five meters tall, the battlements patrolled by the City Guards. The Western Gates, that Alaster could see, still stood open, but it appeared that the Guards were rushing to get people through, so they could close the gates before night fell. However, in their rush, they still made sure to examine everything and everyone that passed through.
The path from the gates, lead into the woods, but Alaster had paid close attention to that road, so as to avoid it. A line had formed of people wishing to enter the gate. A line that stretched nearly halfway to the woods. And from where the boy hid, he could not make out anything more than the shapes of the people and blobs of color of what they wore.
Past the walls, Alaster could make out the roofs of the building, smoke rising from the chimneys as fires warmed the rooms. Alaster wished he could go in and find a bed next to one of those cozy fires. But even without the Alderman's warning, the boy understood that the risk was too great.
By now, if the Knights had not found Alaster, they would have sent word to the nearby cities to be on the lookout for him. They would not send out patrols of their own to look for him, but if they saw him, they would apprehend him.
Wrapping himself tighter in his cloak as a stiff breeze kicked up, Alaster turned away from the City and ventured deeper in the forest before he continued East, keeping under the cover of the trees.
As the sun set, and night took hold of the world, Alaster once again climbed a tall tree and took shelter underneath its branches.
Being so close to a city, the wildlife of the forest were quieter and more subdued. The more dangerous creatures preferring to avoid the walled settlement. Being disturbed less frequently throughout the night, Alaster actually felt rested when the sun rose once more. He was still exhausted, his eyes dark and back hunched, but he felt more alert. If only slightly.
Carefully climbing down from the tree, Alaster once again resumed his journey.
He made good progress, as he did not have to hide nearly as often. The boy kept an eye on the sun, making sure to kept heading east. The woods were also thinner, being this close to the city. He did not have to climb over or walk around as many obstacles.
Two hours before noon, Alaster had successfully skirted the city and was past it. Readjusting his backpack and checking the dagger as his hip, he continued on, deeper into the woods.
By the time the sun was above him, Alaster was forced to climb a tree to avoid a wandering hunting party of Goblins. Hidden in the thick branches and leaves, Alaster watched and studied the creatures.
They were ugly things. Motley green skin with spots of brown. Standing at a little over a meter tall, he suspected that they would stand at lower chest height of an adult human. All of them were male, and wore a loincloth. Most carried crude clubs made of broken branches, but a few carried short spears. Really just longer sticks that were sharpened into a point.
Their long ears stuck out of their heads, the ends drooping down. Their massive and crooked noses were the defining feature of their faces. Even up in the branches, with the wind carrying most of it away, Alaster could still smell their stench.
Alaster briefly remembered that while Goblins were weak and easy prey for those who had just received their classes, they should not be underestimated. They were a massively male dominated race, their females only being born once out of several hundred. Instead, they kidnapped the females of the other races to breed.
With numbers, they could easily overwhelm a new party of beginners. They would kill the boy, and drag away the females to their lairs. As such, it was common practice for the girls of anyone hunting Goblins to keep a knife or poison handy. Not for the Goblins, but for themselves.
Alaster once asked why the other races don't just kill all the Goblins then, but he was taught that the Goblins simply bred too quickly, birthing a new one once every couple days. And they hide throughout the entirety of the world. An Adventurer that was passing through their village once said that even if you were the first human to set foot in a new part of the world, Goblins and been there first.
The green vermin were cowardly at heart. They never attacked an adult human alone, preferring only to attack in trios at least. But Alaster was not an Adult, only a child. So instead, he hid in the trees, hoping that the Goblins would walk past quickly.
They clearly weren't on a time limit. They seemed to be wondering around mindlessly. It took nearly twenty minutes for them to leave, but just as the boy was about to climb down, a lone Goblin wondered out from underneath the foliage. Alaster quickly laid down again.
The Goblin lazily looked around for its comrades, but upon not finding them around, it shrugged to itself and laid against a tree to take a nap. It was asleep within moments. It had chosen Alaster's tree to sleep against.
Alaster could not wait for it to wake up and move on.
The boy slowly climbed down, making so to pause at any sound he made, but the sleeping Goblin didn't even adjust.
Alaster lightly landed on the ground and quietly grabbed the dagger from its sheath at his hip. He approached the Goblin and raised the blade over his head, readying himself to plunge it into the defenceless creature.
Alaster struggled to steady his breath, and held the dagger even higher, ready, but before he could an annoyed Goblin came back from the earlier group. It was likely looking for its friend, who it saw asleep with a human boy standing over it with a dagger.
It screamed in anger, waking the Goblin, but Alaster was faster.
His dagger fell and dug into its green chest, only stopping at the handle. It groaned in pain, before it lay motionless, but Alaster was not paying attention. Just as quickly as he brought the dagger down, he pulled it out, to defend himself against the second Goblin.
But it was faster than he thought, and before the boy could even steady his footing, he had to dive to the side to avoid the over head swing of its club. Alaster scrambled to his feet, but before he could bring his left foot underneath him, he again had to dive away.
His heart beat wildly in his chest as it pumped blood speeding through his veins. Alaster would have thought it could be heard if the Goblin was not constantly screaming.
Alaster once again scrambled to his feet, but the leaves underneath him slipped, throwing him forward, and into the Goblin. Neither the boy nor the Goblin had expected this, and they both fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Both of their weapons were thrown away.
They rolled in the ground, struggling against each other, and by luck, Alaster ended up on top. He tried to get the Goblin's arms under his knees, but the thing was moving too erratically and its nails were sharp. Alaster punched the Goblin in the nose, stunning it enough for the boy to finally lock its limbs under him.
A Goblin was weak, much weaker than an adult, but still stronger than a mere child, but not by much. And their position allowed Alaster the leverage needed to over power the Goblin. He grabbed the Goblin's throat and squeezed. It tried to fight back, but it had no leverage. Its feet tried to kick the boy, but they could not reach. The claws of its feet dug grooves in the leaves and dirt, but did not save it.
The Goblin's eyes teared up, both from the punch to the nose, and the lack of air. Its eyes bulged as its face turned a shade of purple. Its mouth opened, revealing a set of filthy sharp teeth, chunks of its last meal still between the teeth. Alaster was hit with a wave of even more oppressive stink, but he fought through it and did not let go.
Gradually, its resistance began to weaken, allowing Alaster to tighten his grip even more. When the Goblin finally stopped moving, Alaster held on for several moments longer before he let go and scrambled away.
His back slammed against a tree trunk, and he looked around only to see the still bleeding corpse of the first Goblin. Alaster rolled away and scrambled to his feet, clutching his heaving chest. He struggled to catch a breath.
Several minutes passed before Alaster looked up and saw the carnage of the skirmish. Two Goblin corpses and a mess of blood and leaves. Alaster saw his dagger and quickly retrieved it, wiping it on some clean leaves before he sheathed it.
Alaster wiped his forehead of sweat and Goblin spittle and took one last look before he ran away.
The boy ran as fast as he could, barely remembering to continue east.
Alaster had killed for the first time, and not just one, but two kills. He had expected to feel horror or disbelief. But all he felt was exhilaration, and perhaps even joy.
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