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The Big Oof! Volume 2 Chapter 52: Ghosts and Kobolds
🕑 Added 2023-07-21 18:15:35 +0000 UTCEveryone kept an eye out for any sign of movement as the group slowly and quietly flowed through the forest, their footsteps muffled by the thick layer of fallen damp leaves and moss covering the ground. Azeline was trailing behind the group, keeping an eye out for anything that could possibly sneak up on them as her grip on her sword remained rock solid. Her head frequently swiveled over her shoulder, scanning the forest behind them for any signs of movements before looking forward to seeing Elijah and Bennett had disappeared.
“They’re gods damned ghosts…” She murmured, following after Jucap who was also struggling to keep up with the humans.
Jucap had hunted with some of the best trackers and hunters in these lands, but none of them moved as fluidly and as stealthily as these two Primate other than the Lord’s personal Hunters. The lanky one wasn’t terribly difficult to keep track of, but this darker skinned fellow… His movements were so different… so swift and silent that they seemed to blend into the forest. It got to a point where even he would occasionally lose track of him, only to find him waiting patiently for the rest of the group to catch up.
Elijah's eyes were like that of a predator tracking his prey. Each movement seemed calculated and precise, and Jucap couldn't help but feel a pang of envy. He had spent his entire life in these woods, yet he felt like a novice compared to this outsider. The primate deftly avoided anything that may have given away his position, navigating past noise-making bushes and avoiding broken sticks and twigs that could snap under his weight.
That’s not to mention that object in his hand… Jucap squinted his eyes hard at the strange thing. It was a long, sleek device, unlike any weapon he had seen before. At first he wanted to consider it a spear, but its blunt end made it clear that the thing wasn’t meant for thrusting… “Maybe it bea club of some sort?” Jucap muttered to himself.
However, Jucap’s musing came to an end when Elijah came to immediate stop and his fist suddenly shot up signaling the group to stop. The man’s eyes were fixed on something in the distance, as he quickly raised his strange weapon at something in the distance.
A perplexed expression formed on the Hunters face as he watched the two primates move in a wordless and synchronized fashion. Their silent coordination absolutely fascinated him, a man who had to often work with his Hunting mates in order to take down larger prey. Each subtle gesture or shift in gaze from one was instantly mirrored by the other as they kept their weapons pointed in a specific direction. And when he followed their intense gaze, he finally saw what had sent these two into action…
In the distance, a hundred meters away was a clearing in the brush where four lizard-like creatures stood over an open pit, tossing things into them from several burlap sacks. Standing a little over four feet tall, their earthly gray scaly bodies seamlessly blended in with the forest around them, breaking up their silhouette in the lush background.
“Kobolds…” Jucap muttered, which caused Azeline’s head to snap towards them.
All of sudden it all started to make sense… The hamlet’s folk disappearing, His kin and Huntmaster being ambushed… The sudden silence in the forest. Even though Kobolds weren’t known for their intelligence, they more than made up for it with their cunning and stealth. These blasted beasts would often set up traps and ambushes for the unsuspecting, slaughtering all they came across. Even though they were on the smaller and weaker side of this realm, they compensated for that by using their sheer numbers to overwhelm their prey.
"Kobolds?" Azeline echoed, with a raised eyebrow. “What the hell are wild kobolds doing so close to farms?” She asked, her voice laced with confusion and concern. "They usually stick to the deeper parts of the forest, away from any settlements."
Jucap’s face held a grim expression as he readied his spear. “Aye, but it would explain a lot.”
Azeline moved to get a view of the Kobolds in question, but the moment they came into view, Elijah disappeared into the thick brush towards the four wild Ferfolk. She quickly picked up speed to follow, but Bennett held out a hand, stopping her in her tracks.
“Don’t.” Bennett said, his voice low and firm. His weapon was trained on the four Kobolds, who were obviously shoving things into the pit. "He’s scouting the area, wait until he comes back."
Frowning at Bennett's words, Azeline gave the man a glare. “They’re just kobolds and there's only four of them.” She said, her voice laced with frustration. "Even if I was by myself, I could easily take out 5 of them.”
Bennett let out a derisive sigh as his gaze focused on the Kobolds through his weapon's optic. “Aze, we don’t know if it’s just the four of them." He retorted, his voice steady and calm. "Just chill, let him do his thing and we’ll talk about what we’ll do when he gets back."
“Fine.” Azeline huffed as she stabbed her sword into the ground and continued to glare at the back of Bennett’s head. Even though Azeline knew Bennett was right and they had to be smart about this, She still didn't like being told to stand down. Especially when she knew she could easily handle the situation with just a flick of the wrist. Hell she could probably take on a whole den of the damned things by herself, but she understood that the two Humans placed a lot of stock in risk mitigation.
As the group waited for Elijah's return, Azeline's gaze drifted back to the kobolds. She watched as they chattered amongst themselves, their movements lazy and carefree. It was a stark contrast to the tension that hung in the air around the group as they tried to remain unnoticed. The kobolds however, seemed completely oblivious to their presence, their attention focused solely on throwing the strange near white objects into the pit.
Unable to stand the suspense any longer, Azeline squinted her eyes, trying to make out what the objects were. “What are they throwing into the pit?” She asked Bennett, knowing the thing on top of his weapon magnified his view.
"Bones," Bennett responded, his tone flat and emotionless. "They're small... child-sized. Could be Human or...," he paused, struggling to recall the term Azeline used for her people, "Aethari, that's it, or whatever you call yourselves."
The words hit Azeline like a punch to the gut, her blood running cold and the grip on her sword tighten. Glancing behind her, she saw Jucap's face harden, his eyes filled with a deep-seated hatred. The once jovial chattering of the Kobolds, once an annoying background noise, now took on a sinister undertone. The realization of what they were witnessing, the casual disposal of their kin's remains, was a chilling reminder of why they were there.
A deep quiet fell over the group as tens of minutes passed, waiting for Elijah’s return. As they tried to remain undetected and after the news of what these Kobolds were disposing of, made the forest feel darker, its shadows deeper, and the air colder. Just as Azeline was about to break the silence, a rustling noise came from the direction Elijah had disappeared to. Both Jucap and Azeline grabbed their weapons and pointed it towards the source of the noise, their bodies tensing in anticipation. But Bennett just waved his hand dismissively.
“Chill.” The Engineer spoke in hushed whispers, just before Elijah popped out of the underbrush.
"I think I found a burrow." Elijah announced in a low voice as he took a knee and motioned for everyone to gather around. "It's not far from here and it doesn’t seem to be particularly large. There were only 6 or so lingering outside of it."
The group exchanged complicated glances as they all deliberated on what to do. They had been tasked with finding out what was causing the villagers to disappear, not to engage in combat with a horde of kobolds.
"We're not here to fight," Bennett reminded them. "Our job is just to find out why so many serfs are going missing." He said, refocusing on the four kobolds hovering over the bone pit. “I think we’ve pretty much figured out what’s happened to them.”
Azeline crossed her arms, her gaze hard. "Ben, they’re just kobolds!” She replied with a judging tone. “Sure there’s a lot of them, but I’ve seen how you two fight! Both of you could probably slaughter a whole army of them, each!”
“What? No we cant!” Bennett shot back. “These things don’t work forever, we’re on limited supply and wasting it on a few miniature lizard’s when we don’t have to doesn’t justify the resource expenditure!”
Elijah reluctantly nodded in agreement. "I hate to admit it, but he’s right, Aze.” he said, scratching his beard. “Sure we got a few hundred rounds, but that’s ALL we have and we can’t replace them. So this mean’s Ben and I can't afford to waste it on unnecessary fights."
Frowning at the two of them, Azeline narrowed her eyes and let out a Sigh. “Okay, fine.” She conceded. The Northern woman didn’t know anything about their magical tools or anything related to Artificiers, but she still had her doubts. "Maybe not take on an army of them, but still need to bring back proof. The guards won't take us seriously if we return with just information. Wild kobolds just don't get this close to settlements."
A silence fell over the group as both the humans' faces palmed and let out annoyed sighs.
"Fuck me... Okay, um..." Elijah muttered, rubbing his forehead as he thought through their options. None of them were particularly good, and in every scenario, they were at a distinct disadvantage without expending ammunition.
"We can't just go in guns blazing or well… swords swinging," he finally said, looking at each member of the group. "We need to be smart about this. We're outnumbered and need to be careful on how we handle this. The last thing I need is to waste what I have left on patching you idiots up.”
Azeline rolled her eyes and rested her arms on her shield. "You're acting as if we're dealing with a horde of dragons, not a bunch of Kobolds," she retorted, her tone laced with disbelief. "They're small, weak, and not particularly bright. I've taken on worse by myself, hell don’t you remember that ambush on our caravan?"
Elijah opened his mouth to reply, but the words got caught in his throat as his memory flashed back to the incident. He remembered how Azeline cut through them as if they were mere children, LARPing as soldiers on a battlefield. Sure the crew was instrumental in repelling the attack by killing the magic users, but the peasants themselves managed to fend off the brunt of the attack armed with just spears.
"Okay…" Elijah said thoughtfully as his finger tapped on his knee. "Let's say we go get proof. We still need to worry about that burrow, because I highly doubt we’ll be able to silently take the ones at the pit. One of them is going to scream.”
“I can just take the Burrow by myself, honestly.” Azeline replied with a nonchalant shrug.
Both Elijah and Bennett turned to her and stared at her as if she was growing an extra head.
“What?” Azeline asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No," Elijah said with a deadpan expression. "No, Absolutely not. What the hell is wrong with you?"
Confusion spread all across Azelines face as she lifted her hands in a questioning manner. "What? Why not?" She asked, looking at the two humans as if THEY were crazy. “I’ve fought things A LOT more dangerous than fighting a small burrow of Kobolds, you know.”
Elijah glanced over at Bennett, who had a hand on his chin in deep thought. "Because if there's six kobolds lingering outside, then there's probably fuckin’ more of them inside!” Elijah shouted in a hush manner.
“I actually think that isn’t a bad plan.” Bennett finally spoke up as his hand dropped from his chin. "Sure, I think a whole nest of these things is bad news, but…” He began before pausing to think of a better way to phrase it. “Why don’t we just hit the burrow first and bone pit at the same time?"
Throwing his hands up in mockery, Elijah scoffed and rolled his eyes. “That’s the stupidest fucking I’ve ever heard–” He immediately stop mid sentence as his eyes looked to the side in thought. “Actually… that isn’t a bad idea.”
“The entrance to the burrow is in a hill… so if we hit them hard and fast, we can plug it with Azeline’s shield and Jucap’s spear." Elijah added after thinking about it a little more. “Meanwhile Ben and I can ambush the shitters outside and rush back to the two of you.”
A wide grin spread across Azelines face. "I knew you would come around!" she said triumphantly, wrapping her arms around Elijah’s neck in a hug. "Come on! Let's go!"
Elijah struggled in the embrace for a moment with a sour look on his face as Azeline squeezed him tight. “You just want to kill things!” He protested, his voice strained by the tight hold she had on him.
Azelines eyes shone with mirth as she released him, placing her index finger on her chin. "But Eli… I thought you’ve always wanted to embrace me..." She said with a wide grin and a wink. "Is that not what you desired?"
An annoyed look spread across Elijah’s face as he pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "God… The more comfortable you get around us, the more annoying you get." He sighed before his face fell back to his usual stoic expression. "The truth is, I would much rather spend more time NOT being strangled to death by your man arms." He jeered as he readied his rifle.
“MAN arms???” Azeline replied, seemingly confused and offended at the same time. The woman then felt her own arm while flexing, as she looked at it with a furrowed brow. "My arms are toned and muscular, but still thin and feminine! They’re not man arms!” She shot back, with irritation in her voice.
Waving his hand dismissively, Elijah stood up and gave Azeline a cheeky grin. “The point is, you were choking the shit out of me.” He retorted, before waving his hand in the direction of the burrow. “Come on, let’s do this.”
Azeline huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine, but they’re not MAN arms.” she grumbled. “They’re beautiful warrior arms.”
Elijah chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "Sure, Aze, whatever you say."
With that, they resumed their previous formation, moving stealthily through the dense forest. Azeline, however, seemed a bit distracted. She kept feeling her arm, her brows furrowed in thought. It was clear that Elijah's playful jab had made her a little self-conscious. Despite her outward bravado, it seemed that even the fearless warrior had her insecurities.
“You know he’s just messing with you right?” Bennett said, glancing back at her.
Giving him a small smile, Azeline’s hand finally dropped from her arm. "I know," she replied, her tone a mix of annoyance and amusement. "He's just lucky I didn't decide to show him how 'manly' these arms can be."
With a shared light chuckle, they continued on, their focus returning to the upcoming raid.
-
After maneuvering through the dense brush and foliage for what felt like forever, the group finally reached another small clearing and just 30 meters away from the treeline was their target. Elijah took a knee and motioned for everyone to gather around him before speaking in hushed whispers. “Okay, Aze. I need to know if you two got this.” he began as his eyes looked over Azeline and Jucap. “Ben and I can stick around and waste a few of them so your approach is a little easier” He said, looking back towards the Burrow.
Azeline's eyes shone with a cold, predatory gleam as she shook her head. "No, no. Just leave them to me," she replied confidently, a smug grin spreading across her face. "Jucap and I are more than enough to handle a small burrow of kobolds. You and Bennett focus on gathering as much proof as we can so we can squeeze a bigger payout from our Tasker."
Jucap, however, looked a little less confident. His eyes darted between Azeline and the burrow. "Ye want us to take this by ourselves?" he asked, his voice filled with uncertainty as he looked at Azeline and saw her bloodthirsty look. “I ain't sayin' I ain’t be able to do it, but it ain't the same as huntin."
The Northern woman reached over and placed a reassuring hand on the hunter's shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” Azeline said with an almost condescending look that made Jucap’s blood boil.
Jucap's face turned a shade redder, his eyes narrowing at Azeline's comment. "I don't need no protectin'," he retorted in a hushed snarl, shrugging off her hand. "I can handle myself fine."
An amused and even more obnoxious look spread across Azeline’s face as she put a hand to her mouth. “Oh my, of course you can," she replied, her tone teasing. "I can't wait to see you in action and show those Kobolds what a real hunter can do."
In reply, Jucap just grumbled something under his breath, but didn't retort any further. Instead, he simply nodded and focused his nervous gaze on the burrow.
Elijah However, just rolled his eyes and signaled for Ben to get up and start moving. The banter had somewhat lightened the mood, but he was still unhappy with the fact that he was putting one of his crew members in jeopardy by sending them into a lopsided fight. He knew Azeline was capable, but the thought of something going wrong gnawed at him.
"Alright, let's get this over with," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Aze, the signal to attack will be the sound of our weapons." With that the two humans stood up and disappeared into the brush.
Jucap had a strange look on his face the moment they left and turned to Azeline. “What they mean by that? What kind of sound?” He asked with a panicked expression.
Azeline turned to Jucap, her eyes serious. "Don’t worry about that. When I attack, you attack, got it?" she said as her hand gripped her sword tightly. Jucap nodded, his own weapon at the ready.
Meanwhile, the two humans had moved stealthily through the underbrush, circling around the pit to approach the kobolds as they worked on disposing of the contents in their burlap sacks from opposite sides. They moved with practiced ease, their steps light and their bodies low to the ground as they trained their weapons on targets.
The kobolds were separated into groups of two, each pair engrossed in their own tasks and completely oblivious to the impending danger. One pair was tossing bones into the pit, their movements mechanical and devoid of any emotion. The other pair sat casually against a fallen tree, chattering joyfully and occasionally pointing at their still working counter parts and laughing.
“I’ll take out the two sitting with my Kukri, use your sidearm on the ones working.” Elijah instructed Bennett through their subvocal channel, as they approached their unsuspecting victims. Bennett pinged back an agreement as his hand reached for the pistol holstered at his side.
The forest was eerily quiet as they took their final positions. Only the sound of chattering kobolds could be heard over the rustling of leaves and branches as they swayed in the wind. It was the calm before the storm of chaos that was about to ensue.
As Elijah stealthily approached the two kobolds sitting by the tree, he slowly unsheathed his large, machete-like Kukri. His grip tightened around the handle, the cool metal reassuring against his palm as a predatory smirk spread across his face. His prey was in sight and completely unaware.
And with a swift, fluid motion, he lunged forward and sent his Kukri slicing through the air with deadly precision. The blade found its mark, cutting through the first unsuspecting Kobolds neck, decapitating it effortlessly before either of the things could even register his presence. The second didn’t even realize what was going on as it turned its head to see a black metal blade screaming for its own neck.
Just as their bodies slumped to the ground, lifeless, Bennett took aim at the ones by the pit and squeezed the trigger.
CRACK, CRACK
