CHAPTER 25- THE CHASE

Astrid laid on her stomach and peeked over a snow drift. She struggled to control her breathing, hot puffs of air escaping her mouth.

Her bone shield was cracked where she had deflected a thrown Goblin spear. The spear was simply sharpened wood, but it had been thrown with such force that her arm throbbed. Blood trickled down from her forehead where a glancing blow of the Goblin Lord's sword had hit. Had it not been for the bone helmet Alaster had made for her, she would certainly be dead now. As it was, the bone had shattered, and she had thrown it away.

Alaster hid behind another snow drift that built up on the tree across from her. He had not been as lucky as Astrid, and a Goblin sword had cut deeply into his shoulder. It would have cut even deeper if one of the Night Children had not jumped at his attacker from the trees above.

As it was, while the Night Child had done significant damage to the Goblin with its sharp blades, its surprise attack did not remove the Goblin from the fight. The skeleton's attack had been at the cost of its destruction, its bones scattered across the snow.

However, its distraction had been sufficient for the two young humans to run away and hide. For now, at least.

From over the snow drift, Astrid spotted one of the Goblins searching for them. It was larger than the other Goblins from the tribe. It wore thick furs and even thick sticks tied together to form a type of armor. Its dull and rusty sword was still lethal. While the Goblin still used the sword as a club, the Goblin was much faster and stronger. They weren't nearly as clumsy as the other goblins in the tribe, no, they were the bodyguards of the Goblin Lord. And there were eight of them.

The Goblin Lord himself had stood a head taller than his guards and Astrid, and even a little taller than Alaster. He wore crude iron armor and wielded a sharp sword and wooden shield, all of which were cleaned and sharpened. It was smart, too. Smart enough to lay an ambush for the two humans.

While Alaster's Night Children had scouted from the trees, the Goblins had buried themselves in the deep snow and waited until the humans had been right on top of them. The only reason Alaster and Astrid had survived was because the Goblins had been slow to jump up, as the snow had weighed them down and slipped them up.

Alaster bit down on his fur coat as he tied a strip of hide tightly around his arm. Blood had already melted the snow around him and begun to pool. They were downwind of the Goblin, or it would have smelled the fresh blood. As it was, Alaster's grunts of pain were heard.

Astrid had been distracted by his grunt and looked over, but she quickly looked back. The Goblin had immediately turned in their direction and rushed over. It jumped over Alaster's snow drift with a triumphant cry and raised its sword to kill Alaster.

The final Night Child dived from the tree above with its arms raised in front of it. Its sharp blades, that extended past its knuckles, slammed into the back of the Goblin. Alaster twisted out of the way as the Goblin was dropped into the small puddle of blood.

Alaster hissed in pain as he stood. The surrounding woods grew loud as the other Goblins screamed and rushed over to them, their position revealed. Alaster rushed over to Astrid. She stumbled to her feet and together they ran.

The Night Child vanished into the trees and followed from above.

They sank into the foot deep of snow, but they forced their feet forward. Wind whipped around them, kicking snow into their faces. From the shadows of the trees emerged the Goblin guards, converging on the fleeing humans. Snarling and growling at them from the sides. The Goblin Lord sprinted after them from behind, screaming its orders.

The Goblin Lord and his guards had been out hunting for new adventurers and food when Alaster had raided their tribe and Astrid burned it down. They had returned to find their home and comrades destroyed, with tracks in the snow leading away.

Furious, they had given chase and hunted the humans.

Now with their prey within reach and the sweet scent of blood in the air, rage and bloodlust clouded their minds.

Astrid's heart beat rapidly. Her hands, feet, and face numb. The wrappings around her feet had long since fallen off.

One of the Goblin guards caught up to Astrid and reached for her. Alaster took off his bone helmet with his one hand and threw it at the greenskin. The awkwardness of running through the snow and of throwing it with his offhand didn't allow him to put much power behind the throw. It did, however, have enough power to stun the Goblin.

It tripped and collapsed in the snow, but the other Goblins were catching up. However, the trees were beginning to thin. Through the trees, a hundred meters past them, stood a walled city.

Another Goblin caught up to Alaster, but before it could dive at him, the Night Child jumped onto it, thrusting its blades into pale green skin. Its screams of anger turned wet and weak as it died. One of the other Goblins attacked the Night Child and within moments, Alaster felt the connection between him and the Skeleton vanish.

They broke out of the forest, sunlight embracing them. The snow noticeably became lighter and more shallow. Alaster almost allowed himself to relax, but the walls were still a hundred meters away. Just over three hundred feet away. And the Goblins were right on them.

The Guards on the city wall immediately noticed them and four threw ropes over and climbed down, but Alaster was not sure if they would make it.

As he racked his mind for a solution, his focus wavered, and he tripped over a rock hidden in the snow. He cried out as his ankle was twisted. The young man slid for several feet more before he came to a stop. One of the Goblins rushed at him, cruelly grinning as it raised its sword.

But a shadow fell over the young man as Astrid jumped over him with the bone shield in front of her. Unbalanced as it was, the Goblin was thrown back. A second Goblin swung at her, but she ducked under it and backhanded the Goblin with her shield. It was thrown aside.

By this point, Alaster had gotten to his feet and fired off a [Necrotic Bolt] at the Goblin's face. It squealed as its face began to melt, revealing the muscle and bone beneath.

Astrid grabbed Alaster's good arm and pulled him away. The rest of the Goblin guards would soon be upon them, but the Goblin Lord was already there.

It jumped at the pair, slamming them into the snow. Alaster cried out as his bloody shoulder hit something hard, his vision dimming. Stunned, he was not able to react as the Goblin Lord threw Astrid away, seemingly more interested in Alaster.

The Goblin Lord recognized Astrid as one of the captured women, he did not however recognize Alaster, leading him to believe the young man responsible for the destruction of his Tribe.

Alaster stumbled to his feet and drew his sword.

The Goblin Lord jumped at him, swinging its own sword with all its strength. The two blades met. By force of will, Alaster kept a grip on his sword, but was swung around.

Alaster faced his enemy, gritting his teeth.

The Lord came at him once more, bringing his sword down on the young man as an executioner would. Alaster stepped to the side, bringing his sword up. The tip of the sword caught the helmet of the Lord.

The Goblin recoiled from the close call. Blood wasn't even able to drop from the scratch the Goblin had received from Alaster's blade. A [Necrotic Bolt] slammed into the unarmored face of the Goblin Lord. It cried in pain as its face began to melt.

Despite its pain, it didn't recoil without striking back. Alaster was tossed to the ground as the Lord backhanded him.

The Lord swung his sword at the prone boy even as the Bolt ate through its right eye.

Alaster rolled to the side. The sword embedded itself into the frozen ground. It raised its sword once more, but before it could bring it down again, a fireball slammed into the snow just behind the Goblin Lord.

Fireballs were mid-level spells. Fairly weak, but its strength was that it exploded upon impact and was simply enough for most Mages to rapid fire. Which is exactly what this mage was doing.

Just as the Goblin Lord recovered from being showered with snow from the first Fireball, four more rained down on the area. The Goblin Lord looked around and saw the edges of a Fireball burn one of his bodyguards.

Growling, It shouted something in its language.

Immediately, the Goblins turned around and ran back into the woods.

The Goblin Lord stepped backwards, glaring at Alaster with fire in its eyes, before it ran away. Fireballs created small craters in the snow around the Goblins as they ran. At the forest edge, the Goblin Lord once again turned around and glared at the young man, before it disappeared between the trees.

Alaster stood up with a groan, Astrid rushed over and helped him up.

"That was close." She muttered.

"Too close for anyone's liking. How are you doing?"

"Bruised, exhausted, and bleeding a little. But, surprisingly, ok for what just happened. You?"

"About the same." He said, staring in the direction of the Goblin Lord.

"What is it?"

"I have the distinct feeling like this won't be the last time I'll see him."

Astrid opened her mouth to say something, but the City Guards reached them.

There were four of them, one in heavy armor, two in light armor, and one in a thick wool coat. Surprisingly, it seemed that only the one in heavy armor was breathing fine after sprinting away from the wall. He also seemed to be the leader of the four.

"You kids alright?" He asked, his thick beard doing nothing to block the steam from his mouth.

"Yes sir. Thank you for saving us." Alaster said, tenderly holding his shoulder.

The man noticed, "Let's get you both to a healer. Come with us."

The guards surrounded Alaster and Astrid. The two in light armor watching the rear. They led two to the city gate, wrapping around the wall to reach it. While there was a short line waiting to enter the city, the guards led Alaster and Astrid past it.

Once more, Alaster entered a strange city. He only hoped that he would be leaving this one of his own free will this time.