The cave

It took 2 days for the hole to finish. Now stretching the whole way under the camp it would allow all 90 rats to enter the camp at various locations. For the final battle, this would be necessary. 

The crate of alcohol was going to be poisoned an hour prior to the attack. One of Thassius's underlings had said he had seen poisonous flowers before in the forest nearby. The poison was verified upon being fed to a rabbit we had caught. 

We had decided against the assassination. The death of their general stood as a momentous occasion in the plan to hopefully crush the remaining goblins. Therefore it would be most effective if they saw their general get killed in combat and not have his throat slit prior. Whether Vrogg was dead or not prior to the battle did not increase our chances vastly since 1000 - 2000 goblins still outnumbered us even with only 600 or so of them being warriors we were still outnumbered over 6 - 1.

Therefore watching their generals be killed in battle would hopefully break their morale and in the heat of battle cause them to overestimate our numbers greatly. Therefore as much as it made my part in the battle far more dangerous Vrogg had to be killed in a 1 on 1 duel in the battle. 

However, this did not mean I would fight fair. Far from it. 

From the brief look at Vrogg, it seems he requires larger open spaces for his weapons to be used to the greatest effect. 

Over the last 2 days, I've sent some of the more sneaky rats up through the tunnels and into the camp. Their orders were to find an enclosed area where I would have the advantage with my swords over Vroggs chained scythe. 

A small alleyway in the village served this purpose well. We would lead Vrogg to this alleyway and injure him as much as possible. Therefore when we emerge from the other end of the alley into one of the largest squares in the village it'll be a spectacle for all to see. 

The perfect plan. 

Tonight would be the night we attacked. But this left the final part of my plan still to do. 

Reinforcements. 

"Thassius, Sniffer, Twig and yous four comes to me"

I picked the strongest out of the rats in the hope that this would increase our odds of even surviving this final part.

"Tonights will be the nights of the attack however even with our plans ins place wells still be badly outnumbered. Reinforcements ares required, Tonights wes will follow the tracks of the beast wes saw ins the forest back to its lair."

We could not ask any rats for reinforcements because if they had already given us false information it would be doubtful wed have any luck. Plus they would already be marching to or have arrived at the larger Goblin fortress and I did not want to take my chances with the red baron without Vroggs head. 

So we would have to get creative with our allies.

"Well sneaks in when the beast is asleeps or nots there and destroy the place. However, well leave items that carry the scent of the goblins. like the clothes that have been stolen from the village" 

The other rats looked mortified by the idea however I kept going.

"The hopes would be thats upon realising the damage done it would be enraged at the goblins in this village. This would takes some of the goblin fighters of us and helps destroy the village. If the beast falls so be it but if the beast lives then wes will be out with the head quicker than it can get to us"

This was the best idea I could come up with. No other beast we seen would be able to provide good enough support bar him. The gates would be nothing to such as large monster and it could take out hundreds of goblins without going down. 

It was almost foolproof. The only issue would be how to piss the beast off enough. 

The other rats at the small meeting had a variety of reactions. Thassius had a sure look of himself that meant he probably realised it was our only chance at getting support. Sniffer and twig looked like they were trying to dispel their fear but inside were shitting themselves and the other four were quite vivid about their feelings. 

"Wes will gos now befores the battle tonights" 

Despite their fear, the rats seemed almost eager to leave the hillside we had stayed on for almost 4 days now. 

We began retracing our steps through the forest eyes and ears peeled for the sounds of the beast. 

After almost 2 hours of searching, we came across a massive food print. Most likely the creature we were looking for, or at least one so big it didn't matter if it was the same one. 

It was difficult to tell whether it was returning or leaving its home and so we split up into groups me leading one and Thassius leading the other. I was following backtracking the footsteps in case they were leading away from the nest and thassius would follow in the footsteps. If either mine or Thassius's group found nothing or found the beast itself they were to return to camp. We did not need all 8 of us to trash the place. 

We set off in our split directions. The trail was not discreet considering each footstep left craters in the earth and the body of the monster crippled a path through the trees around it. 

We each held a huge pack on our back, filled with the vilest goblin-smelling things that our scouts could find in the village. 

We walked for an hour before the terrain began to change. The forested backdrop fell back to reveal a more mountainous rocky terrain. The footprints became fainter now over much thinner layers of dirt however they were still followable up to a huge cravass-like cave dug into the side of the mountain. Not dissimilar to if an axe had carved out a wound in the rock. 

The cave was a daunting endeavour as it dwarfed the four rats which now stood in front of it. 

The once ambient fear had begun to peak among the group. The chances of the beast being in the cave were much higher than we probably wanted to think about. 

Nevertheless, if we were to keep our lives tonight this would have to happen. I took the lead as we began creeping into the dark cave. Regardless of the threat which lay inside it felt nice to be in a proper cave again rather than just some dirt hole that had been dug far too quickly. 

Sniffer and the two other rats who accompanied me had a grave look on their face.

"Boss, boss" Sniffer began to tap me on the shoulder while whispering.

"If I dies I want yous to have my swords" 

He looked at me like this was an honour for him to be bestowing his prize possession on to me. 

"If yous dies in this caves then I dies as wells you moron"

I whispered back to him.

"Goods points boss, Thens I woulds be happy to dies with yous".

I tuned him out. The last thing I needed was a soppy rat behind me putting me off. 

We continued down the cave as our eyes became more used to the darkness. Small amounts of light were emitted from mushrooms dotted around the cave which gave just enough light for our eyes to adjust to. 

After 5 minutes of horrified tension, a noise broke the silence that had developed.

Thud, Thud, thud 

A light thudding sound was coming from up ahead. 

Immediately fear shot down my spine. Someone was home. 

Although now on high alert none of us made a sound. It seems the rats behind me at least had the sense to keep their mouth shut. 

Upon closer examination, the thudding was not loud enough to be the huge creature from before.

I crept closer to the noise coming up to a corner. Edging around the corner I stare into the more open room. 

A collection of the mushroom stood in the centre of the room seemingly acting like a campfire to light up the cavern. To one side of the cavern was a creature almost identical to the beast we had seen on our way here if not for the massive height difference. He was similar sized to the rat in the red armour which was on the tribunal. Its four eyes on either side of its head span around as it moved in twisting circles. 

It was dancing. 

So that beast was a mother it would seem to a child. 

A tantalizing grin spread across my face. 

I had the urge to laugh. 

The great burrower was clearly backing me on this day. 

I had the perfect idea of how to piss the big one-off.