The goblin city

The darkness now blanketed the camp making it far easier for me to take my leave. 

Many rats were still awake even into the early morning hours so sneaking would be difficult. I chose the more nuanced approach of just acting naturally until I reached the forest before taking off into the undergrowth. 

No one seemed to pay any particular interest in me. I was just another rat going about his business.

Entering the forest, however, was as intimidating as it always was. The peaceful cuckoos of birds which radiated during the day made way for the padding footsteps of distant predators masked by the gentle sway of the trees in the wind. 

I tore through the undergrowth to make some distance between me and the camp before slowing down. 

I wore no armour for this mission. Instead deciding on a darker cloak to hide my white fur. In places where it still shone through I rubbed mud and dirt to better hide in the darkness. 

While it was easy to sneak into the village the city would be a different story. I would have to take as many precautions as possible. On the way, I picked up several bunches of soft-smelling flowers and herbs burying them into my clothing. The hope was to mask my scent and give me more time to react. A goblin who smelt an odd floral scent would be less suspicious than a goblin who smelt a rat. 

I continued making my path through the forest being careful now to cover my tracks behind me. The hardest part even getting to the city was still to come. The clearing. 

No longer guarded by the tall trees the clearing would be the perfect place to spot intruders. 

I peeked out from the safety of the woods trying to map out a general route. Although the darkness provided a level of cover the bright glow of the moon betrayed me by illuminating the grassy fields. 

At first, I wanted to crawl fully prone the whole way but on second thoughts although it's the lowest risk option it would take far too long. The longer they would have to spot me and the less time I would have inside the city before daybreak. 

I broke out of the forest in a 4 legged crawl keeping low to the grass while making quick darting movements when clouds diminished the light from the moon. Much of the grass had been trampled in the previous battle however after a month reeds still stuck out tall enough to conceal my crouched body. 

It took almost an hour of darting movement and waiting before I got close enough to the city to begin to plant my way in. 

Sentries manned the walls diligently making rounds. My previous method of climbing during blind spots would not work in such a regimented group of guards. 

Torches hung off the large walls kept alight throughout the night making it difficult to climb the walls unseen. 

The security had undoubtedly been doubled if not tripled with the pressing threat of rats. They were expecting us to try to sneak in. 

My other plan was to use the innate ability of rats and try to burrow beneath the walls. A great plan which they seemed almost completely unprepared for. While the walls were heavily guarded it would be difficult to deter underground trespassers. 

I sneaked close enough to the walls to where burrowing under would take all of 5 minutes before I picked a particularly bushy area of grass to start digging. 

About halfway through however I stopped abruptly. No matter how stupid goblins are, it would be almost impossible not to plan for this. Word must have been received from the previous village we raided that burrowing was a tactic that rats specialised in. There's no way they would have left themselves so open for such as tactic. 

I pulled myself up and out of the dirt. I would take to clambering up the wall. I preferred the idea of knowing what threats I faced when climbing up the wall in comparison to burrowing straight into an unknown trap. 

I had to remember that the first village only knew they were being attacked hours before being attacked. This city had a month and a half and a lot more goblins. 

In comparison, the wall seemed like a harder bet but a few plans came to mind.

I slowly traversed my way around a small portion of the wall. Eventually finding an area with the least amount of sentries. Marking this area in my mind I returned to my original spot and lit a small fire in the centre of a bush. Before the fire could properly take off I moved as quickly as possible back to the area with fewer sentries. 

Then I waited patiently. 

Bells began chiming on the walls as they became alive with action. Goblins abandoned their post to assist with the now-blaring fire which was eating through the surrounding bushes. 

Perfect. 

I took my chance diving onto the wall whilst they were attracted by my little fire trick. I moved with precision and agility as I dug my claws deep into the wood and used this to propel myself up the wall. 

I reached the top in just 1 minute and hauled myself into enemy territory. 

This part of the wall would not be this empty for long. It was only a matter of time before the fire died down. The rain over the last few days would mean the ground was still wet and so the fire would not last long. 

My eyes darted around the area scanning the scene that now stood in front of me. A vast city of wooden houses and dirt streets stretched out in front of me. 

First, however, I would have to get off this wall. I made a dive from the wall over to an adjacent house which stood close to the wall. 

I landed with a disturbingly loud thud onto the roof however quickly scampered onto another roof. 

I moved slowly this time taking my time to make as little noise as possible when moving from roof to roof. While the sentries on the wall worried me as they were likely now on higher alert it's doubtful they would have expected an intruder to have entered so quickly. I had hoped they had taken the burning bush as a warning sent by the rats to make sure they knew we were still out there in comparison to a distraction to allow me to sneak in. 

The roofs were made of a bristled mess of grassy stalks which while did occasionally stab into my paws they were incredibly easy to climb on. 

The city was much larger than anything I had seen before. Various types of buildings stood in a mismatched pattern. Occasionally I would pass a small arena-looking building which was still ablaze with activity. 

I climbed up to the roof of one to take a peak in and saw two goblins battling it out in the centre while others sat around cheering them on. The battle however seemed to have been going on for too long so small gates were opened in the sides of the arena which allowed larger wolf-like creatures to stalk in. Chains were wrapped solidly around their throats. The wolf life creatures pounced on the two goblins ripping them to shreds. This elicited even louder shouts among the goblins. 

I must say, as much as I hate goblins they do have some good entertainment. Not daring to stay too long I pushed further into the city. 

The further I went the happier I was not to have attempted to have burrowed my way into the city. Goblins patrolled the streets with small devices which they kept planted to the ground. They had large funnels which they planted to the ground which had pipes that lead up to their ears. Occasionally the group would stop and begin digging. Upon pulling up a mole or some other burrowing creature they would eat it quickly before continuing on their way. 

So they did have a way to guard against attacks from below. 

It seems I did not give enough credit to goblins' intelligence before now. 

As I went I recorded small notes on a little booklet that I had stashed away in my cloak. The information regarded layouts of the cities and guard rotations. 

My main goal however remained the castle at the centre of the city. I needed to find out what secret cards the goblins still had left hidden in that keep. 

It took only around 20 minutes of dashing from roof to roof before I came to the castle. A large building made of solid wooden logs. A large set of double doors stood prominently in front and centre of the building. The windows were sealed shut with large wooden shutters. All of which had bells on to alert the inhabitants should they be opened. 

I leapt onto the castle and stuck to the wall with my claws. I clambered up it as silently as possible before reaching one of the windows. In order to enter the castle I had one very simple plan. I gently grasped the little dangly bit inside the bell and held it very still as I opened the shutter wide open and crawled in. 

It seems goblin intelligence varied greatly depending on the defence mechanism. 

I surveyed the room I had entered. It appeared to be a meeting room with a large wooden table and several wooden chairs. Atop the table, papers were arrayed out almost too obviously. Upon inspecting the papers I realised they were a load of nonsense most likely set out there to throw off would-be intruders into thinking they had gotten secret info. It seems they doubted that they would send in a rat who could understand the goblin language. 

I left the papers there and left the room through a door. Now in a long hallway, I gently snuck through gently opening each door and inspecting the insides. Many of which were just bedrooms with a goblin sleeping soundly inside. 

Finally, after many duds, I opened a door to find a room with a desk and a chair. Sneaking in and gently pushing the door closed I inspected the desk. 

Papers were arrayed out including maps of the city. Crosschecking the data with my notes I found most of it seemed to be true. 

I reached out and gently grabbed a few of the papers. As I lifted them up to slip them into my cloak they gently dissolved in my hands like liquid.

My heart stopped for a second. 

A slow and quiet chuckle gently seeped into the air from behind me. 

"Trick"