The goblins’ entire battle plan was strange. The enemy was clearly aware of the humans’ arrival and yet failed to do anything to stop it. They had plenty of time and opportunities to destroy Papworth if they wished, but they chose not to it.

  None of the commanders could understand it.

  “What are we even discussing here?” Count Gregory crossed his arms, “they’re stupid. Or overconfident, whichever you prefer,” he added quickly once he saw Elvira sitting up to argue the point, “so far they’ve only fought peasants, so they were able to burn settlements as they pleased, without opposition. This is their first time facing a real enemy.”

  “Second time,” the Court Mage corrected him, “we obliterated them at the forest crossing.”

  “Maybe the message never got back to this horde?” the leader of the scouts theorized, “the wolf riders fled as far as they could, all the way to their main army and the message never reached this specific group in time.”

  “I doubt it,” Varre shook his head, “you weren’t at the woodcutters’ camp, but the goblins there were led by a strangely dressed creature. None of their soldiers looked like that. I think that was some important general.”

  “We still know very little about their command structure,” Duke Jan tapped a finger on the table, “but even a horde needs some leadership. What makes you think he was so special?”

  “The army defending the stream crossing didn’t have anyone quite like this,” the king explained, “this one was clearly more important.”

  “I agree with his majesty,” Captain Hakon chimed in, “that was no regular goblin. I’m sure of it.”

  Jan twirled his mustache. “Think he might have led both of these hordes then?”

  “It’s possible,” Varre agreed, “and whichever force burned the village we stayed at last night. It seems like all of these steps were connected. Designed to bring us to Papworth.”

  The duke nodded slowly. “It would explain some things.”

  Gregory’s confident expression lowered, but he quickly hid it. “Let them come. My scouts are spreading through the forest as we speak. If they had any more surprises waiting for us, we’ll know soon enough.”

  “The infantry is almost here,” Jan said, “if their plan was to separate us, it’s far too late for that. Perhaps something went wrong? Something they didn’t foresee?”

  “Like having a monarch brave enough charge off into the forest to save his subjects?” the count smiled, “truly an inspired move, your majesty. We don’t know what they wanted to do with these poor people, but thanks to your decisive actions, their dastardly plots were foiled!”

  “Did you already forget that they captured the outpost yesterday?” the duke glared at him, “if they wanted prisoners, they had plenty of time to back away.”

  Gregory was still confident in his theory. “Then they underestimated our valiant Royal Guards,” he nodded towards Hakon, “they hoped that we would dispatch our reserves there, so they could be slaughtered, but we turned the tables on them!”

  “Maybe,” Jan reluctantly conceded, “though I don’t think we’ll ever learn the truth. Unless we can interrogate that leader for ourselves.”

  “He ran away, but I did dispatch a dozen knights to go after him,” Varre replied, “he didn’t have many guards left so there’s a good chance they can get him. Though probably not alive.”

  “You may be in luck,” the captain said, staring out of the window, “I think they’ve just returned.”

  Within a few minutes, a Royal Guard had entered the room to deliver their report. There was no reason to bring each one in here, so only the officer, Marton, was needed. He had taken off his helmet and held it under his arm.

  The knight began by getting down on one knee in front of his monarch. “Your majesty, I have come to report a failure. Our enemy got away. I beg your forgiveness.”

  Hakon bore a stern expression. “How could you let this happen? You had a dozen men. And your horses are the best in the realm. Even if those damned wolf riders threw themselves at your feet to stop you, you had the numbers to just go around them!”

  “Forgive me, captain,” Marton lowered his head, “we chased those goblins through the woods, but they had no intention of even trying to slowing us down. They broke off in smaller sections, running away in whichever directions they could. They knew we were after their leader alone, so only two riders remained by his side.

  “We were gaining on him, until he fled into a strange grotto. His two warriors turned around to block our path, but we dealt with them in seconds. Turns out that was all the time he needed. When we went into the cave, he was nowhere to be found. He disappeared!”

  “And you gave up just like that?” the captain glared at him, “maybe there was a hidden passage there, or something. Did you check?”

  “Of course sir,” the guard nodded, and looked at his commander, “there definitely was only a single exit out of that cave. I’m certain.”

  Hakon examined his face carefully, but must have found the explanation acceptable. He turned to the best expert for strange phenomena. “Elvira?”

  She brought a hand to her chin. “It’s hard to tell without seeing it for myself. I suppose magic could have been involved though. The goblin may have used a potion to walk on the walls and then hid in some crevice up above.”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Marton considered the point. “We are the guardians of his majesty’s safety. We always look up. It was indeed dark there, but we used torches.”

  “Then perhaps he decreased his size, or used a spell to obscure himself,” the Court Mage suggested.

  “We checked the area thoroughly, but I suppose we could have missed something,” the knight admitted, “but what about his wolf? Even if it also turned invisible, it wouldn’t keep quiet for so long. It would breathe loudly. Not to mention the smell.”

  “True. An intelligent being could hide, but we are talking about an animal here,” Elvira said, “it would take quite a complex arrangement of spells to keep it obscured, not to mention the risk.”

  “That goblin ran straight for the cave right?” Jan asked, “it knew it would get away.”

  Varre spoke up after a moment of silence. “What about teleportation?”

  Perry gave him a pointed look. Most of the other, less magically inclined officers stared blankly at the suggestion, likely unfamiliar with the term.

  The Court Mage though, seemed to consider the idea. “An intriguing option. I suppose it’s theoretically possible… but I haven’t heard of anyone successfully teleporting a living creature before,” she explained slowly, “the amount of aura required is high, but the real problem is the stability of connection. Even the slightest imperfection in the transit, a single organ getting misaligned by an inch, could kill a person.”

  “It’s mostly reserved for transporting goods,” her assistant added.

  “And even then, it’s a bad idea in practice,” Elvira counted off, “you wouldn’t teleport an expensive artifact. It could get damaged and lose some of its properties during the trip. Written letters might work, but then why not use communication magic? The only real use case is cheap, raw material that you don’t care about, like ore or wood, but in that case why not transport it overland? It would still require plenty of aura to teleport. Better to use it on other things.”

  “Fair enough,” Varre nodded, “but if it was possible…”

  “If it was, then I suppose yes, the goblin could have escaped from the cave without leaving any trace,” the Court Mage agreed, “if you so wish, I could visit the place tomorrow. I’ll bring Kadmos and some of the other guild experts along. If we investigate it more carefully, we could find some traces of the spell and figure out what really happened out there,” she paused, “but I wouldn’t count on it.”

  “There’s no time for that,” Gregory argued, “whatever that goblin was, it’s gone now. Why should we waste our time following up on every little lead. We’re almost in the heartland of their territory. Let’s not give them any time to reorganize and crush them before they realize we’re here.”

  “I disagree. If this teleportation is real, then our enemies would be able to appear and disappear at will,” Hakon frowned, “a nightmare for our defenses. If that’s possible, I need to know everything there is to know about it.”

  “Not quite ‘at will’,” Elvira corrected him, “even in the best of times it’s a difficult, delicate process. Always done between two points that had been carefully prepared ahead of time. Even if they risked to do it with living beings, they wouldn’t be able to just teleport assassins straight into the throne room.”

  “Still, investigate it in the tiniest detail. I expect a report of the exact nature of this threat by tomorrow evening at the latest,” the captain ordered.

  The Court Mage looked at her apprentices, as if asking for help. Perry managed to keep a straight face, but Jury sighed and melted in her seat.

  “Our men have been marching late into the night anyway,” Jan added, “might as well let them rest here tomorrow. You’ll have as much time as you need for your research.”

  The meeting concluded, shortly before the infantry arrived in Papworth. By now, the settlement was secure and the cavalry had designated areas for the campsite. It was too late to build any watchtowers, but with the village lying in a small valley, the mere shape of the area would help.

  A few observers climbed onto the thatched roofs of the houses. The manor too, which had wooden shingles, so it was a little easier to sit on. From these vantage points, they would be able to see over the rows of tents set out in the empty fields and notice enemies sneaking down from the tree line. Several pyres were built on the open ground, lighting the area and making movement easier to spot. They also served as a convenient way of getting rid of all the goblin corpses.

  The real defense were the scouts though. Now that the rest of the army had arrived, they were reinforced by the Elven experts. They spread out through the forest, watching out for any enemies and confirming that all of the creatures had been slain in the battle.

  Varre, along with the senior advisors, was sleeping in the manor tonight. The day was long and stressful, but he decided to check in with the healers before heading off to bed.

  They occupied a few of the village huts, pushing the peasants away for the remainder of their stay. Normally no one cared for the feelings of serfs, but aware of his liege’s sentimentalities, Benjamin made sure to give them some better food in exchange for this arrangement. They certainly weren’t complaining.

  Elvira came together with the king. She was responsible for the education of Logres’ new healers and was very interested in their progress. While these weren’t the first casualties of the war, this was the first real battle. Until now, the only problems were disease and the occasional incident where a soldier rubbed himself against a poisonous plant, or worse, ate one.

  “His majesty is here!” one of the physicians gasped as soon as she saw him enter the room.

  All of the students kneeled, while their more knowledgeable noble peers were satisfied by bowing alone. Varre gestured at them all to stand up.

  “How are the injuries?” the Court Mage asked one of the wizards, apparently their leader.

  “Rather well, Mistress Elvira,” the man replied, “three dozen dead soldiers. Some from falling off their mounts, but a few more were finished off when down on the ground. Then several more who might not make it through the night.”

  “I see, I suppose our cavalry did tear through them like paper,” Varre nodded to himself.

  “Yes, your majesty. The battle was rather one sided,” the healer agreed, “the animals are a little worse for wear though. As many as a hundred riders lost their mounts today, resulting in a few more scrapes and bruises. But they’ll live.”

  “What about the rescued woodcutters?” the king asked

  “Surprisingly well, your majesty,” the physician chuckled, “if I didn’t know better, I’d say the goblins treated them like eggs. Very fragile.”

  Varre crossed his arms. “That’s a strange way to put it.”

  “Oh yes!” the healer said, “a few minor bruises, mostly around their wrists and occasionally necks, depending on how they were tied up, but remarkably healthy otherwise, your majesty. Not even a single broken limb. I doubt even the magistrate treats the local peasants this carefully.”

  “Maybe the goblins weren’t strong enough to deal major wounds, even when subduing the captives,” the king proposed, “or maybe they’re not as cruel as we think.”

  “Certainly not, your majesty!” the physician protested, “I recommend saving your eyes from such horrific sights, but they showed no kindness to our soldiers. As soon as anyone gets unhorsed, the creatures charge forward and stab any uncovered flesh they can see. Faces, eyes, necks, armpits. They’re ruthless. I’d say they almost revel in the pain.”

  “Then perhaps they’re only careful with those they plan to take alive,” Varre suggested, “maybe for work?”

  “Maybe,” the healer smiled, “you can’t do much work with a broken arm. And you can’t walk very far with a cracked femur. That’s what we’re here for and we’re not cheap! I doubt the goblins are as skilled as us in the medical arts.”

  “Then keep up the good work,” Varre put an arm on the man’s shoulder, “every life you save will be decisive in the days ahead.”

  “Of course, your majesty.”