Chapter 3 - The Tower
Ulric and his companions were running at a brisk pace down a path that was set about half way between the Frost River and the edge of the Arden Forest. They had glimpsed the tail of the Goblin pack a few times, but were far enough behind that the crags, boulders, and natural slopes of the far river bank kept them out of the Goblins' sight.
The path forked, with the right branch heading closer to the river, and the left branch cutting into the forest. They veered left, knowing that this path would take them to the main roadway that ran between the watchtower and Cobblestone Glen. They weren't far from the watchtower now. As they ran through the forest, Ulric had the distinct feeling of being swallowed up. The trees in Arden Forest were ancient in this section, and they towered towards the sky like giants. He always felt very small and cloistered in this part of the forest. The forest near Cobblestone was made of younger, smaller trees, as the villagers had needed to cut them down for building material and firewood over the years. They had been very orderly in how they went about cutting down the surrounding forest, so that trees had time to grow back and mature before being cut down again. This part of the forest hadn't been touched by anyone since the ancient Ardenians had cleared the forest back from the bank of the river, and the trees that remained were hundreds of years old at this point.
As the three friends rounded the corner and came onto the main path, they could see the tower now. It wasn't much further, but something caught their eyes and they instinctively slowed down and moved to the side of the road. After catching their breath, Gideon was the first to speak up. "I am guessing you two also noticed something move near the base of the tower?"
Wayland nodded and continued panting. Even though his appearance was trim and well built, he clearly hadn't been staying in good running shape. His sides still hurt and he couldn't control his breathing yet.
Ulric thought about who, or what, could be at the tower. It was extremely unlikely that anyone else was out this far today. It could have been a wild animal, but it seemed too simple for such a strange day as today. "I think we need to stay off the road and make our way closer to see what is moving around there. It might just be some deer or something, but I would rather be cautious."
Ulric had taken on something of a leader role ever since the Goblins appeared, and neither Wayland nor Gideon seemed inclined to fuss over it. They had all been friends for as long as they could remember, and they had a deep trust amongst themselves. Out of all the young men in their village, none had a better or stronger friendship than the three of them.
"Okay, but I think I will cut over to the other side of the road. If it is something troublesome, I feel like it would be best for us to have a bit of space between the three of us."
Ulric agreed with Wayland's comment, and then added "That sounds good. Matter of fact, Gideon, why don't you spread out to the right of me a bit as well. We don't want to be bunched up if something is amiss."
Wayland dashed across the road, and Gideon and Ulric put about 10 feet between themselves and they all started forward toward the tower. As they were attempting to be stealthy, it burned some extra precious minutes for them, but Ulric was certain they would still reach the tower before the Goblins reach a safe fording location in the river.
They were now about 20 yards from the tower, and Ulric could hear slight snuffling sounds, but couldn't see anything. He looked at Wayland, and Wayland gave him a signal indicating he didn't see anything. When he looked over at Gideon though, Gideon was flagging him to come over. He crouched down and quickly advanced to Gideon. "What is it?", Ulric asked, and then Gideon pointed through a small clearing towards the west side of the tower. There was a campfire burning, and sitting next to it were roughly 5 Goblins!
How in the world did they beat us here? Why are there so few? Something was very wrong, but Ulric wasn't seeing it. "Stay here, I am going to speak with Wayland. Move when we move, either on the tower or away from it, got it?" Gideon nodded and turned his attention back to the Goblins.
Ulric made his way over to the path's edge and motioned for Wayland to come over. "There is a small group of Goblins, consisting of perhaps 4 or 5, camping on the western side of the tower. I'm not sure what to think about the situation. Where did the rest go? How did they have time to set up a camp and put a deer on a spit already?" Wayland considered what Ulric had said and a thought dawned on him. "If this is a war band, and they have planned their attack, it is possible these are scouts. Perhaps they were even sent here to stop anyone from lighting the lamp?"
Ulric immediately realized that Wayland was right. This couldn't be part of the throng they saw earlier, so it was the only plausible scenario. "You're absolutely right, that has to be it. So, how do you feel about us setting up a little ambush for these guys? You setup back across the road behind that thick set tree there." Ulric pointed towards the tree with the biggest girth near this spot in the road. "I will go back and get Gideon and have him setup here, right across from you. I will then go down to the end of the road and get the Goblins attention. I am sure they will give chase. When they do, try to wait until they are past you and Gideon to initiate your attack, so that you will then be attacking from behind. I will only turn to face them once I hear you and Gideon attack. You may have to change up the plan if any of them have a bow and attempt to shoot me, but it looked like they were all armed with swords and axes from what I could see."
After returning to Gideon and explaining the plan to him, all the chess pieces were in position. Now all Ulric had to do was stick his neck out to entice a small mob of armed Goblins to attack to him. What could go wrong?