Jeff Inlo - Pure Choice

Ryson did not wish to antagonize the beast, but he knew the situation turned critical. If he allowed the rogue's uncertainty to swell, it might make the wrong choice and create an unhealthy situation for them all. He wanted the creature to move out into the open street, not further back into the alley. He worried the corporal might order an immediate attack if he saw the monster charge backward. With all of them gathered in such close quarters, the chances of an unnecessary injury to any one of them would expand greatly.

With another decisive flash of motion, Ryson sprung forward. He swung his blade with force, but it never touched the river rogue. Instead, he used the speed of his movements to add power to his swing. He knocked the waste barrels over and sent them rolling out into the street. He created a clear path for the rogue to escape and then shouted a command to the soldiers waiting just outside the alley.

"Back up! Give it room to come out!"

Every soldier quickly acknowledged the order, except for the corporal who hesitated, but even he complied as he saw the wisdom in the strategy.

The quick strike to its cover startled the rogue. It initially prepared to fight off its attacker. As the delver shouted words it could not understand, it readied its claws to slash at Ryson's throat. It never found the opportunity as its intended victim sprung out of reach far too quickly.

With the barrels rolling out the front of the alley, the river rogue peered over its shoulder to see the soldiers backing away. Moving surprisingly fast and with determination to escape, the beast bounded after the barrels, extricating itself from the alley.

The rogue almost found a path to freedom. Seeing the guards give way, it remained behind the still rolling barrels. When the containers slowed to a near halt, it leapt over them before the soldiers could close ranks. The monster saw a clear lane down the open street and moved with haste to find new refuge.

Breaking from the alley, Ryson took a path around the soldiers and simply rushed to a spot beyond the monster and blocked the once clear path of retreat. Still holding the Sword of Decree, he never stopped moving. He used his great speed to add to the dazzling glow of the enchanted blade that he twirled about in his hand.

The swerving, flashing light confused the beast, and the rogue lost any sight of escape. Its uncertainty brought it to a complete halt.

The soldiers did not delay. They had the rogue on open ground and momentarily disoriented. They threw the iron net over the creature and circled about it to wrap and entangle the monster. With the heavy iron chains draped about the rogue's arms and legs, the guards pulled tight at the net's edges to bind the creature within the folds of the mesh. With one coordinated tug, they succeeded in dislodging the rogue from its feet and rendering it completely bound and helpless.

"That's one, at least two more to go," the delver acknowledged with a smile. He thanked the guards and then dashed away, lighting up the darkness with his enchanted sword like a shooting star darting over the empty streets.

"More on the wall," the goblin scout relayed to the taller and significantly bulkier goblin named Okyiq.

Okyiq had taken command of over two hundred goblins in Dark Spruce Forest. He did so in a very short amount of time with a force of will and the threat of physical punishment. He ordered those same goblins to prepare for a raid of Burbon. He directed them out of the trees and to the hills that covered the grounds just beyond the town's southwestern wall.

The large goblin didn't like planning and preparation-it was not a natural instinct-but he discovered that threats weren't the only way to control his army. Goblins enjoyed mayhem and chaos, but they also responded well to the orders of a disciplined leader. In order to maintain control, he found it necessary to utilize certain strategies, such as sending out scouts rather than blindly assaulting a target.

"More of what?" Okyiq demanded.

"Humans."

Despite his intended efforts to reveal the enemy's strengths and weaknesses, Okyiq only sent scouts to explore the southern portion of his target. He knew nothing about the river rogues at the northern edge of Burbon and beyond. He only knew he was hungry for human food. He could smell it-far more appetizing than anything the goblins could scrounge from the forest dirt-and additional humans at the top of the wall would not keep him from his intended prize.

"So?" was Okyiq's rather apathetic and somewhat annoyed response.

"Archers," the scout added with a note of foreboding, hoping to accentuate its concern without sounding as if it was admonishing its leader.

"So?" the commander repeated with a growing sneer. His eyes fixed upon what he began to view as an irritating subordinate, like a fly that kept landing on his face and didn't realize it was time to give up and annoy someone else.

"More archers means humans ready."

If it was the scout's intention to raise the level of its commanders concern, it failed to provoke the proper response. Okyiq brushed aside the activity as if it was nothing more than routine behavior. He knew of the human guards. They always appeared worried-moving around the gates, watching in towers-but it was all quite ordinary.

"Humans are never ready for goblins." Okyiq offered with a half grumble. "They are just afraid of the dark. They run around like ants in rotted wood."

The scout didn't quite see it that way.

"Not running. Watching. Arrows ready. Standing to fight. Different tonight."

Growing slightly more troubled by the news, Okyiq finally took the warning seriously.

"How many near us?"

The scout, lacking the ability to count, did its best to offer an accurate projection.

"Small group in tower, but more than usual. Walls have lots more. Uhmmm… size of goblin raiding party standing on wall supports."

"None moving?"

The smaller goblin shook its head.

Revealing a twisted and unpleasant frown, Okyiq almost called off the raid, but then a light breeze brought another whiff of cooking meat to his large nostrils. His stomach growled just as he waved off any reluctance to attack.

"Fah, not enough to stop us."

"We still raid?" the scout wondered aloud.

"The forest belongs to me!" the larger goblin roared, then added what he saw as an important detail. "With the elves gone, this part is mine!"

The scout decided, perhaps against its better judgment, to add an important detail of its own.

"Human town outside the forest."

The goblin scout did not wish to correct Okyiq, or point out such an obvious fact that would make its leader appear somewhat dimwitted, but the smaller creature clearly did not want to be part of a raid with so many human archers in position to offer significant resistance.

The hesitancy of the creature was almost understandable. Courage was not a resounding trait of the diminutive beasts, though they weren't complete cowards, either. Despite their lack of valor, they often threw themselves into violent and perilous situations, especially when the call of the horde overwhelmed and stifled their desire for self-preservation. While they might have joined gleefully in unrestrained acts of brutality, they also endured the insecurity of inadequacy, and they often chose to flee in the face of stout opposition.

It was a constant struggle for such small creatures that originated from a realm that demanded both aggression and caution just to survive, and it wasn't surprising that Okyiq would have to deal with at least some small sliver of reluctance. The bloodlust of battle had not yet taken hold, and a couple hundred goblins spread across the eastern border of Dark Spruce hardly characterized a sizable pack, let alone a horde.