The forest thickened around them, the path narrowing to a thread between tangled roots and leaning trunks. The air was damp, heavy with the scent of moss and decay. Every step felt louder than it should, the silence around them making every noise echo.

  Josh held his shield close, the new leather straps snug against his forearm. He’d spent good coin on it, reinforced oak with a steel rim, etched with a simple sunburst. It felt solid, like he was holding a brick wall, large enough to shelter everyone behind.

  Brett whispered, “Something’s off. I can feel it.”

  Carcan nodded, eyes scanning the undergrowth. “It’s too quiet. Even for goblins.”

  Then came a sound, a sharp crack of wood, followed by a guttural hiss.

  “Left!” Josh barked, lifting his shield the instant a pale shape lunged from the brush. The goblin struck like a knife, jagged blade cleaving air and wood. The collision cracked through the trees; Josh’s shoulder took the shock and slammed him back a step, boots skidding in the sod. He hunched into the hit, breath hissing through his teeth, then shoved the shield forward hard enough to send the attacker sprawling into a heap of leaves and broken twigs.

  More shapes erupted from the dark, quick, ugly silhouettes with mottled skin and teeth like splinters. Six, then eight, then a scatter of them, skittering like vermin. The party snapped into motion behind Josh: Perberos sank his weight into his bowstring, eyes slitted for movement; Brett’s lips moved in a hurried cadence, fingers already shaping flame; Carcan’s staff hummed with a low, steady glow.

  Before their arrows and spells could rain, Bhel sprinted out of the line.

  He didn’t wait. With a single, animal roar he swung wide around Josh’s right flank, axes a blur. “Come on then! Show me!” he snarled, voice raw, and slammed into the nearest goblin with a force that bent its spine before the first curse left its lips.

  “Bhel, wait!” Brett swore, losing the thread of his chant as the dwarf cleaved through the goblin Brett had been singling out. The first blow knifed into a collarbone with a sick, wet sound; the second opened it up, and the goblin dropped like a sack. Bhel was moving before the body hit the ground, already carving a new arc through the ring of snarling creatures.

  Their neat formation ruptured. The goblins surged toward the breach, snarling with feral delight, then slowed as the dwarf turned and met them head-on. He swung wide, reckless and precise in equal measure; bark and bone spattered the undergrowth. Joy turned to terror in the goblins’ eyes as he took them down two, three at a time, not pausing to breathe.

  Josh ground his teeth and finished off a charging attacker with the rim of his shield. “He’s too far out!” he rasped, launching a foot forward to close the gap.

  Perberos loosed an arrow that thudded into a shoulder. “Bhel! Regroup!” he called, but a goblin unseen until the last heartbeat leapt from behind a root. Its blade grazed Perberos’ thigh, a shallow, burning tear that streaked hot down muscle.

  “Argh!” Bhel staggered forward, blood flecking his beard. He hacked again and again, steel clashing, then spun and sprinted deeper among the trunks, tracking fleeing shapes.

  “Perberos!” Josh shouted, planting himself and sweeping a steel arc that sent two goblins sprawling. “Cover him! Pull him back!”

  Perberos limped, grin tight, his breath ragged. “He’s in a frenzy! Not responding!”

  Carcan was at her brothers side in heartbeats, hands trembling with haste as she poured a clean, cool weave over the wound. The magic shimmered on skin, knitting and bathing him in a faint green light. “Hold still,” she hissed.

  Josh forced calm into his voice and drove it like a blade. “Bhel! Fall back to me, now! Anchor on my shoulder. We don’t break for one man.”

  Bhel finally came in like a storm that had finally been steered. He slammed into Josh’s flank, axes cutting space and buying time, then slid behind the shield-wall Josh held taut. Perberos, now healed, moved like shadow, dropping a goblin that tried to slip the line; Brett hurled a glare of white-hot flare that seared the air and scattered two attackers into the roots; Carcan pushed a shimmering shield over Josh and Bhel that ate the sting of an arrow that came out of the darkness.

  The remaining goblins hesitated, then scrambled, some turning tail into the trees, others melting into the leaf-litter with desperate squeals. Bhel planted both axes in the sod and breathed like a man who’d been pulled back from a cliff. His chest heaved, beard caked with blood and leaf mulch, eyes too bright.

  Brett lowered his hand, voice rough. “That’s enough.”

  Silence fell after the last rustle. The forest reclaimed the noise as quickly as it had been made: only their breathing, the drip of displaced leaves, and the distant throb of pulse in everyone’s ears.

  Josh turned to Bhel, voice tight but controlled. “You nearly got Perb killed.”

  Bhel picked up his axes, chest heaving. “It was fine. We had them.”

  Perberos sat on a fallen log, rubbing at his leg where the blood had dried into the dirt. He gave a short, wry half-smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “You had them. We were chasing to make sure you didn’t get caught out, and we lost our formation doing it.”

  Carcan stepped between them, hands calm, eyes clear. “We’re a team. That means moving together. Not charging off and hoping luck follows.”

  Bhel looked down, jaw tight. The heat of the fight still made his hands tremble. “I just… needed to show I’m still worth having,” he said, barely louder than the wind through the trees.

  Brett put a steadying hand on Bhel’s shoulder. “You are,” he said. “But not like that. Reckless hits don’t prove anything except that you can get hurt.”

  Josh’s tone softened, practical rather than accusing. “We want to come back in one piece. We’ll do better by playing to our strengths. Charging without backup puts everyone at risk.”

  Bhel’s shoulders sagged a fraction; an apology hovered on his lips aimed at Perberos, who shrugged and waved the thought away. “I’ll be fine,” Perberos said. “Bruised pride and a sore leg. Carcan patched me up; I’ll be back in shape. How about you? Do you need healing?”

  Bhel shook his head. “Took a few cuts. Nothing serious.” He looked up, eyes honest now. “I needed to know I still had the fight in me. That I wasn’t broken.”

  Brett gave a tight, understanding smile. “No shame in wanting that. But we don’t let one person shoulder everything here. We each have our uses, and need to work together, otherwise, it will all go to hell.”

  They moved a short way off the trail after collecting the loot from the goblins and settled into a quiet hollow where the trees thinned, allowing late afternoon light to leak through. The goblin blood on their boots had dried, but the taste of it lingered around them. The adrenaline that had carried them through the skirmish ebbed, replaced by the slow, practical work of regrouping.

  Carcan set her staff across her knees and looked at each of them in turn. “Right now we need rules. Clear roles. It’ll stop this happening again.” Looking at the original members of her party “Can you guys explain to Bhel your usual role, and see how he can fit into it?”

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  Josh answered first, voice even. “I’ll be the anchor. Shield up, draw attention, keep the line steady. If things get chaotic, hold. I’ll take the hits so the rest of you can work. I need to try and get that taunt skill that Caistina spoke about, I should have asked about how to get it before we left”

  Brett nodded and outlined his part in quick, crisp sentences. “I’ll provide ranged disruption, firebolts and ensnares to break formations and make openings. Damage from a distance, and spells that force movement.”

  Perberos leaned forward, fingers absently cleaning his dagger. “I’ll work the flanks with Brett. Cut down stragglers, take out archers and skirmishers, and hit anyone trying to outmanoeuvre us. Quick in, quick out.”

  Bhel listened, then spoke with a steadiness that sounded new. “I’ll be the close striker. I don’t go first anymore. Once Josh has something anchored, I move in from behind or the side. Hit hard, move faster than they expect, then pull back and let you finish them.”

  Carcan’s eyes flicked toward her staff, the healer’s cadence shaping her words. “And I’ll keep you all protected. Magic shields and quick heals. I can sustain one or two shields under heavy fire for a short time, but I need space to work and someone to guard me if things go sideways.”

  Brett tapped a finger on his knee, sketching invisible lines. “So the flow is this: Perberos and I thin the herd on the edges, Josh anchors the centre, and when the target is fixed, Bhel exploits any opening. Carcan keeps the group durable long enough for the plan to happen.”

  Josh looked each of them in the face, conviction in his tone. “We practice that for now. We call targets and timings out loud. No guessing. If you see an opening, say it. If you’re going in, say it. We move together.”

  Bhel met Josh’s gaze and nodded once. “I can do that. I’ll be patient. I’ll be precise.”

  Perberos cracked a small grin, the edge of humour returning. “Just don’t make me chase you again, okay?”

  Bhel managed a crooked smile. “Deal.”

  Brett passed around a small pouch of dried fruit. “Here. Sugar helps after a fight.”

  Carcan took a handful. “You’re like a walking pantry.”

  They tightened packs, checked straps and spare arrows, and ran through the sequence twice more, a brief cadence of commands and counters until the motions felt less like talk and more like muscle memory. The forest listened and offered only the distant trickle of a brook in reply.

  When they stood, the plan was not elaborate, but it was clear: anchor, thin, strike, protect. The words settled over them like armour. The earlier sharpness of reproach had already cooled into something far more useful - focus and a strategy born of trust.

  They left the hollow moving as a unit, footsteps measured and coordinated, each role lodged in their minds. The forest felt less like an indifferent beast and more like a field to be worked together.

  They stepped back onto the trail, more cautious now, more connected. The forest hadn’t beaten them, not yet. But it had reminded them what it meant to fight together.

  —

  The forest trail twisted like a serpent, winding between mossy boulders and leaning trees. The sun filtered through in fractured beams, painting the ground in shifting gold and green. The party moved cautiously now, tighter formation, quieter steps.

  Josh walked beside Bhel, shield slung across his back. “Hey, meant to ask earlier, what level are you?”

  Bhel glanced over, brow raised. “Four. Same as the rest of you, I reckon.”

  Josh nodded. “Thought so. You hit like someone higher, though.”

  Bhel gave a dry chuckle. “I hit like someone trying to prove he’s not washed up.”

  Carcan, just ahead, turned her head. “You’re not washed up, Bhel. You’re just… aggressively seasoned.”

  Perberos snorted. “Like a steak that’s been left out too long.”

  Bhel rolled his eyes but smiled faintly. "I've actually been thinking about my evolution path and how it will work with you guys. When I hit level ten, I want to shift into something that fits how I fight.”

  Brett perked up. “You’ve got something in mind?”

  “Yeah,” Bhel said. “Shadowpike eventually. It’s a ranger evolution that’s melee-focused. You ditch the bow skills entirely and lean into speed, precision, and battlefield movement. You get this stance skill called Pike Step lets you dash through terrain mid-combat, reposition, and intercept enemies. It’s all about momentum, which feels like it would work well with Josh holding the line.”

  Josh raised a brow. “Sounds slick. Like a duellist with a grudge.”

  Bhel nodded. “Exactly. You don’t stand still. You move, strike, vanish. You become the chaos in the fight.”

  Carcan whistled. “That suits you. You’re already halfway there.”

  Perberos muttered, “Just promise us you’ll be chaotic in the right direction next time.”

  Bhel gave a sheepish grunt. “Fair.”

  They walked in silence for a few minutes, the forest pressing in around them. Then Brett slowed, crouching near a patch of disturbed earth.

  “Hold up,” he said. “Tracks.”

  The party gathered around. The ground was churned, small clawed footprints, erratic and overlapping. Bits of broken twig, a smear of something dark. A crude symbol had been etched into a nearby tree with a jagged blade, a spiral with three slashes through it.

  Josh frowned. “That’s goblin markings I assume?”

  Carcan knelt beside the tracks. “Multiple sizes. Maybe a dozen. They were here recently.”

  Perberos pointed to a pile of leaves on a tree branch. “That’s not natural. Looks like a blind or a lookout post.”

  Bhel’s eyes narrowed. “They’re close. Maybe watching us?”

  Josh adjusted his shield. “We keep moving, but slow. No surprises this time.”

  Carcan nodded. “Eyes up. If we see anything that looks like a trap, we stop.”

  Perberos drew his dagger. “And if we see anything that smells like goblin, Brett sets it on fire.”

  They moved on, senses sharp, weapons ready. The forest had shifted again, no longer just quiet, but expectant. The goblins were nearby, they were sure of it.

  They progressed further into the forest, that had grown denser, the trees pressing close like silent sentinels. The air was still, heavy with the scent of damp leaves and old bark. Every step felt louder than it should, and the party moved with deliberate care.

  Perberos crouched low, one hand brushing the trail. “Tracks are fresh. They’re not just passing through, they’re living here.”

  Josh adjusted his shield, eyes scanning the undergrowth. “How close?”

  Perberos pointed ahead, toward a rise in the terrain. “There’s a ridge up there. If they’ve got a camp, it’ll be just beyond it. Goblins like high ground with cover.”

  Carcan stepped lightly beside him, her staff angled across her back. “You want to scout it?”

  Perberos nodded. “I’ll go quiet. Just a peek. If I don’t come back in ten minutes, assume I’ve been eaten.” Carcan hit him on the arm as he finished his sentence, huffing.

  Josh gave Perberos a nod. “Be careful. We’re no good to each other if we’re scattered.”

  Perberos slipped into the trees, vanishing with practiced ease. The party waited in tense silence, weapons ready, ears straining for any sound.

  Carcan whispered, “I hate this part. The waiting.”

  Bhel shifted his weight. “I hate not knowing where the enemy is.”

  Minutes passed. Then Perberos returned, emerging from the brush like a shadow.

  “They’re there,” he said quietly. “About twenty of them. Crude camp of tents made from stitched hides and lean-tos, fire pit, bone racks. Looks like they’ve been there a while. To be honest the camp looks like it’d house double the number of goblins there, so I assume the ones we killed came from here.”

  Josh frowned. “Any signs they’re preparing to move?”

  Perberos shook his head. “No. They’re settled. But they’re agitated. Lots of pacing, arguing. I saw one goblin with armour, not much, but enough to mark him as a leader.”

  Carcan leaned in. “Any prisoners? Signs of raids?”

  “No prisoners,” Perberos said. “But there’s a pile of bones. Mixed. Animal and… maybe not.”

  Bhel’s eyes narrowed. “We hit them?”

  Josh held up a hand. “Not yet. We need a plan. We’re five against twenty.”

  Brett nodded. “I can cast firebolt into the camp itself, get a fire started, maybe that could disorientate them, and then we start taking them out from range, and then you two charge in when they’re good and frazzled?

  Perberos looked at Bhel. “You’re fast. If we flank from the left, we could get in behind them and hit them from the rear as Josh slams into them?

  Bhel grinned. “I like the sound of that! Sow a bit of confusion.”

  Brett stood, brushing off his cloak. “Alright. We’ve got eyes on the camp, we’ve got a plan. Let’s move before they notice us.”

  Carcan murmured a short prayer under her breath, her staff glowing faintly.

  The party began to shift into formation, the forest around them holding its breath.

  The goblins were close. The fight was coming.

  And this time, they’d be the ones causing the confusion.

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