Chương 28: The Ambush

The scarred goblin kept its claw pointed at Caleb, steady as an executioner at the block. Another guttural bark and the pack surged. The loose scree of the quarry wall was too unstable to scale quickly, and they were faster than him. The pack had him trapped. The goblins poured down the face of the manmade hill. The bulk of them, maybe eight or nine, rushed toward the slope leading to the treeline, cutting off his only path to safety. They were blocking his escape.

His boots scraped on shifting gravel as he pivoted, checking both directions. The narrow pocket that had been his killing ground stretched, sheer wall and rubble mound hemming him in on either side. The corpse of his first kill lay between him and the path toward the main quarry and the cave, its blood still spreading in dark fingers across the ground. The goblins blocking his escape route formed a line, shoulders touching, a living barricade of muscle and claws.

Their barely restrained postures were full of anticipation. The head goblin remained on the rim, observing. It tilted its head slightly as it studied him intently. The closest goblin broke from the line and charged. The memory of his first kill threatened to paralyze him. Oh crumb, not again! I can't do— Before the thought could finish and the hesitation take further root, his training took over. [Savant of the Body] fired through his nerves, a current of pure instinct that bypassed conscious judgment entirely.

His balance shifted and his body dropped into [Iron Root Stance], then smoothly transitioned into a [Breaching Thrust]. His spear tip was a piston of keen purpose, fluidly translating hours of practice into lethal reality. The iron tip punched through the creature's sternum with a muted crunch. The goblin's own momentum drove it deeper onto the spear, its claws scrabbling uselessly at the air inches from his face. Its eyes went vacant, the feral intelligence dissolving into a dull, glassy stare.

He kicked the spear free in a hot spray of foul-smelling fluid and reset his stance. I can do this! Two more goblins peeled away from the pack, as if learning from their packmate's demise. They moved in concert, one climbing a few yards up the loose wall and the second charging low to the ground, forcing him to choose. His spear tracked the higher threat, the one going for his throat. The thrust caught it in the shoulder, spinning it away while the low goblin rammed his legs.

Caleb went down hard, his tailbone slamming against stone while his pack cushioned his spine. The goblin hooked its claws into his thigh, tearing through canvas and into meat. He brought the spear shaft down horizontally, smashing it atop the creature's skull once, twice. It let him go, scrambling back with a dazed screech. He rolled to his feet, blood running down his leg. Movement above caught his eye. A goblin stood on a rusted mining cart embedded halfway up the berm, glaring down at Caleb.

It kicked, and a cascade of gravel rained from overhead. Caleb raised his arm to shield his eyes. Jagged rocks pelted his forearm and head, each impact a stinging distraction. Through the gaps in his guard, he saw another goblin rushing in and scrambled to meet it. He thrust half blind and the spear met resistance, glancing off something hard. The goblin still crashed into him, driving him back three steps. Its teeth found his shoulder near the collarbone, piercing leather and shirt to stab at flesh.

Caleb dropped the spear and grabbed the goblin's head with both hands, his thumbs locking over its eyes as he pressed. The creature released him with a shriek, stumbling away. He snatched up his spear, breathing hard. Two down, three wounded. Still… seven uninjured, I think? And the leader, of course. They pushed him backward step by step with probing attacks. Test his defenses here. Force him to pivot there. Each movement swept him further from the forest and the hope of safety. His heel hit something soft.

The first goblin's corpse. They're herding me… They were driving him toward their chosen battlefield. The narrow pocket opened into a wider clearing ahead: hundreds of yards of exposed ground between him and the main cave entrance. In the open they could surround him. Attack from all angles simultaneously. They wanted him out there where their numbers meant everything and his positioning meant nothing. No. Caleb planted his feet at the very entrance to the pocket where it widened into the clearing.

Here, the walls still funneled attackers toward him. They could only come at him two, maybe three at a time. He'd make his stand here. The scarred goblin let out a piercing whistle, and the pattern of attacks changed immediately. The tentative strikes gave way to coordinated waves. Two goblins rushed him while a third scrambled up the wall to hurl debris from above. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

His spear took the first goblin in the throat with a darting [Decisive Strike]. It was a clean kill, but the second got inside his guard. Claws raked across his ribs, parting thinned leather and flesh in lines of fire. He brought his knee up into the creature's gut, doubling it over, then drove the spear haft into the base of its skull before dispatching it - all while trying to deal with the hail of stones. Another wave. His movements became mechanical. Thrust. Pivot. Parry. Step back. Thrust again.

The bodies piled up at the chokepoint, creating an obstacle that worked in his favor. The goblins had to climb over their own dead to reach him. Four corpses, then five. His arms burned from the constant motion. Blood soaked his shirt from a dozen wounds, and the cumulative damage from the shallow cuts was adding up. The bite in his shoulder throbbed, radiating down his left arm. It was harder to maintain a two-handed grip on the spear, forcing him to rely more on weaker thrusts and agile pivots.

Each breath was a fresh stab of pain where the claws had raked his ribs, but [Savant of the Body] helped him compensate, urging his muscles to find the most efficient way to adapt while [Ignore Pain] helped suppress the worst of his injuries. The goblin leader barked something different. The remaining goblins pulled back. What are they— The first rock caught him in the temple, stars exploding across his vision. He staggered, raising his spear to block, but he couldn't parry all the projectiles.

His defensive position was suddenly a trap, a shooting gallery with him as the only target. Projectiles came from every direction as the remaining goblins all converted to ranged attacks. A fist-sized chunk of granite cracked against his already-injured shoulder. His left arm went numb, fingers releasing the spear shaft. Another one hit his knee, buckling it. He curled in on himself, trying to make himself smaller. I can't stay here! The barrage intensified, relentlessly driving him towards the wider area.

Stones zipped past his ear; one deflected off his spear, rattling his arm. Another slammed into his ribs, testing his cuirass and spreading a deeper ache. He faltered as one grazed his head. He couldn't block or dodge them all, and he finally abandoned the chokepoint entirely. Bursting through the hail of stones, he left the gap and stumbled onto the main quarry floor. Three hundred yards of broken ground, rusted machinery, and overgrown spoil piles separated him from the cave.

From the ridge behind him, the scarred leader let out an urgent shriek. The goblins abandoned their rocks, dropping into four-limbed sprints as they bounded down the slope and up the pocket with unnatural speed. Caleb didn't hesitate further and channeled a quick burst of Stamina into his legs, using [Dash]. The world lurched. He blurred ten yards forward, putting immediate distance between himself and the pack.

The sudden acceleration threw off the aim of the few still throwing rocks and a stone skipped off the ground where he would have been standing a second before. The only cost was a swift drain on his already flagging energy. He sprinted, threading through the maze of the quarry floor. He vaulted over a rotting mining cart to use its bulk to cover his retreat. His lungs burned, the air tearing at his throat. And they were gaining. The loping gait of the feral goblins was built for this uneven terrain.

They flowed over the debris while he had to navigate it. He reached a relatively clear patch of ground. A glance over his shoulder showed the lead goblin closing in, claws digging into the earth for traction. He forced another precious surge of Stamina into a second [Dash] and the world blurred, as another ten yards vanished beneath him. The burst carried him past a cluster of rusted gears and toward the final stretch.

Checking behind him as he neared the northern end, he noticed the goblins slowing, their chase defeated by the sheer distance he had created. They wouldn't catch him before he reached the entrance. Moments later he pulled up at the cave mouth, pivoting to face them with his spear held ready. This would be the new choke point. But the scarred leader, now standing atop a distant pile of rubble, simply barked another command. The pack halted its advance and rocks once again rose in their claws.

The barrage that followed was thicker and more accurate than before, forcing him to stumble back from the opening. A yawning darkness that seemed to swallow light engulfed him. The temperature dropped as he entered it, cool air flowing from the depths carrying the stench of rot and damp earth. The entrance was tall enough that he didn't have to duck, but narrow enough that only two people could walk abreast. He pressed himself against the rock wall just past the threshold.

The overhang provided some protection, but not enough. Rocks could still arc in from the field outside. They cracked against the stone around him, showering him with chips of shrapnel. The goblins began to reposition for better angles. He glanced deeper into the cave. The tunnel twisted abruptly just fifteen feet in, cutting off all light from outside. Absolute darkness waited beyond that turn.

But his [Spiritual Perception] detected nothing so either the cave was empty, or its depths blocked his supernatural senses. A stone clipped his knee where they'd hit before and he went down, catching himself on the cave wall. They were targeting his injuries. Wearing him out. Options, Foster! What are your options!? He looked back toward the quarry floor. The goblins had fanned out in a loose semicircle, advancing slowly as they threw.

Their bodies crouched low, balanced on their legs, prepared to burst forward the moment he broke cover. I could charge them? But that seems mildly suicidal. [Combat Analysis] filled him with certainty: they were a living net. If he tried to charge back out across the open ground they'd pull him in then collapse from all sides. He'd be dead in seconds. The hail kept coming. One caught his injured shoulder again, tearing a gasp from his throat. His grip on the spear was weakening. Blood loss making him dizzy.

And the goblins… the goblins were in no hurry. They had an entire quarry floor of ammunition and all the time in the world. They could batter him until he couldn't lift his arms, then close in for an easy kill. He checked the cave's interior again. Impenetrable shadow. Unknown terrain and possible dead end. But also: possible escape. Possible defensive positions and survival. The rocks or the dark? Another throw whistled past his ear, so close he felt the wind of its passage.

The leader had picked up a particularly large rock, hefting it to test the weight. Their eyes met across the distance. The goblin curled its scarred lip from yellowed teeth in a grotesque imitation of a grin. It threw. Caleb brought his spear up in a desperate deflection. The rock clanged against the metal point, the impact ripping through his arms and nearly tearing the weapon from his grasp. The scarred goblin tilted its head, studying him like a puzzle that was nearly solved. But it had made one mistake.

It had given him a choice. Caleb met the creature's cruel stare one more time. Then, with deliberate purpose, he turned his back on the barrage. And plunged into the darkness.