He looked over at me. I gave him a wolfish grin.
Everyone joined us soon after. There was a silent hesitation as the players and goblins stood, waiting for the other party to make the first move.
It was Wilson who broke the tension.
Running forward, his group followed with their spears at the ready. With the terrain forcing mostly one on one skirmishes, it was unclear who had the advantage. Even with the warriors’ superior strength and equipment compared to the normal goblins, it wasn’t enough.
With only a few bodies left, the goblin warriors turned and ran. I missed the normal goblins that were stupid enough to just keep fighting until they died.
We took chase.
I bound up all my frustration and burned it as fuel. If I couldn’t face a hobgoblin, then I’d make the regular goblins regret they had been born lowly grunts.
Wilson once again was at my heels as we both quickly outpaced everyone else. We took two different paths through the underbrush, but regardless of a few obstacles we had to jump over or avoid, it was unclear who would catch them first.
He glanced over at me, this time with a grin of his own. The challenge was on.
Then an open field came into view through the trees. Once in the open, I would have much more freedom to open up my stride.
It was amazing how good it felt flying through the trees. For the moment, my fears had disappeared entirely and the fog of anger dissolved. In that moment, I was back on the hunt in Gravel, or one of the many games I played before.
With less than a hundred yards to the clearing, it was obvious Wilson wasn’t giving in.
He looked at me and gave me a snicker before upping the pace. For a moment he was a few meters ahead.
VR games were little more than simulations that tricked your mind into thinking you were running. The physical act, the pump of adrenaline, and the challenge of strained muscles were something else entirely. My training from before Codename: Freedom kicked in.
When I decided he had been pulling away long enough, I began. Pumping my arms harder and stretching my stride out, I caught Wilson in less than a second. Though I sensed he tried to push himself further, in moments I was pulling away.
Crossing out of the forest into the field in victory, I nearly fell over my own feet as I skidded to a stop.
The goblins hadn’t just been heading for an open field. I didn’t know what I had expected we would find when we found the goblins’ spawn point, but this wasn’t it. A city, twice the size of Willingham, if not larger, stared me in the face.
Wilson looked at me wide eyed and we both struggled to catch our breath. We had found what we were looking for.
I caught myself as the wolfish grin started to stretch across my face and stopped it. What was going on with me? Was I becoming Chewme, a bloodthirsty brute with a perpetual smirk?
An open gate about a half mile away soon welcomed the three goblins we had been chasing. Just through the gate, I saw goblins and hobgoblins about their business. Bright reds were worn. There were about a dozen goblins heading into the city on a gravel road that stretched along the wall of one side leading into the entrance.
The goblin city had a similar wooden wall around the city as our player city did. One difference was a row of wooden pikes stretched out to meet any intruders, lining the entirety of the base of the wall. The tops of the wooden wall were also sharpened making a very convincing argument not to climb over the fencing.
The majority of the players had caught up to us.
Peter quickly made his way to the front and started waving his hands for us to move back into the tree line.
A thunderous horn called out from the city, causing a stir among the goblins still outside. They left their carts and fled to the city gate.
Two fully armored hobgoblin guards exited the city. They were armed with genuine breastplates and vicious horned helms. They took their place to either side of the gate as the traveling goblins rushed in. Instead of standing there on guard, they started bashing their huge clubs against their overly large wooden shields. The clamor was heard clearly with nasally taunts. They dared us to come.
No one had to say anything. It was time to go. I trembled, but it was not from fear. The fog of my anger started to rise.
I spat and turned, the last of our party to return to the tree line. Kline met me there and gripped my shoulder. He looked me in the eye for a long moment then nodded.
We all silently formed up in our groups and fled. If there was any chance that the goblins weren’t going to attack tonight, then we had just forced their hand. We now knew where they were, and that there were many more of them than we ever imagined.
As we hurried away, a thunderous gong sounded. Over and over again it proclaimed doom. When we were a mile away, I could still hear it even though I hadn’t toggled on my enhanced hearing ability.
Chapter 17 – Preparation
The only stop we made on the trip back was so that the man whose group had been attacked could loot their loot piles. There was no way they could safely come back here now.
After a mile or so, we slowed to a fast march. With armor on there was no way most of us could keep the pace and navigating the forest floor increased the difficulty. With an inventoried spear and shield, I kept close to Victoria’s side.
I checked a popup I hadn’t realized was there.
Level 14
You have reached Level 14!
Ability Points +1!
Your Creature Indicator range has increased by 2 to 34 meters!
It wasn’t anything special, but my range was getting fairly useful, and I was closing in on level 15 already.
Tapping Kline on the shoulder, I showed him as I spent my ability point.
Group Leadership!
Can now set loot distribution for a group!
One group member must be selected as the leader.
***
When we broke the tree line on our return to Willingham, a number of groups surged forward, thinking we were being pursued. They had been ready to back us up.
We slowed, allowing them to see things weren’t that serious. Meeting them in the middle of the field, over a hundred players herded around us, expecting some kind of explanation.
Peter held up a hand to quiet the inquisitive players.
Placing two fingers into his mouth, Oliver whistled like a siren, finishing the job.
That did it. The crowd gathered in closer. Stepping back, Peter allowed Victoria to step up and address everyone.
“We have found the goblin city!”
Before she could continue, a number of voices shouted their approval.
“Spread the word! Tell all the group leaders to meet at the head of the barricade! Hurry!”
There were plenty of nods and pats on the back as the word spread among them. They set out as heralds of the news, splitting up along the player line.
***
I found myself wielding my shield to hold back not an army of goblins, but the crowd of players. Victoria stood upon an overturned cart at the very peak of the barricade. It was too much to hope for that only group leads would come. Though there were some large groups, even the beginning stages of guilds forming, not everyone was a group player. Hundreds of people on either side of the row of carts packed in to hear the news.
Too bad there wasn’t some kind of shout ability that allowed us all to speak via a chat channel. On the other hand, much of the thrill of the announcement would have been lost without a real gathering of people. The murmur of excited voices filled me with a heart pounding electricity. The only drawback was that so many people were trying to get into hearing distance that there was a real danger they would tip over the cart Victoria stood on. Hence my shield.
It wasn’t only our group, but Harrison’s group as well, that helped to make a wall on either side of the cart.