A Monster is Coming

Smoke arrived at the furnace where everyone gathered to drop their chopped wood. Three large chimneys were connected to the furnace, and a giant pip connected to the furnace leading into the cave.

After dropping off his wood, Smoke sat down next to a group of mercenaries telling their stories from the underground war. They sat around a small coffee table and ate baked potatoes. One of them, a teenager, noticed Smoke and a feather poking out of his face mask. "Friend, you got a feather on you." He pulled the feather off Smoke.

"Ow,"

"Ow?" Suddenly the man's cheeks turned red from embarrassment, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that."

"Be more careful," An old elf said while stuffing his mouth with the baked potato, "Our company is pretty big. There's bound to be an angel or two among us."

"Yeah, sorry." The kid gave the feather back to Smoke.

"It's alright. No harm done."

"You're lucky his ok with it," The old elf said, "Most angels would have punched you for touching their feathers. Now, who wants to hear the time I killed two horsemen with one arrow?"

"No one," One of the men said.

"Well, too bad, I'm telling it anyway." The old elf leaned forward, describing every bit of detail in his story to impress the young men around him. They could tell his tale is merely a lie and, at best, an exaggeration. However, they still listened to his story despite being a fabrication of his fantasy, solely because his stories were entertaining. Even Smoke was immersed in the old elf's tale.

But the story could not be finished because a fight broke in near the courtyard. In front of the flag pole was the guard Smoke, Sun, and Cossack saw guarding the entrance to the camp. "What's that orc doing?" The old elf snickered. "He must have a stick up his arse."

"Careful who you make fun, he's our Officer. The 1st Officer, third only to the Vice-Captain and Captain." One of the men wearing a white beanie said.

The kid next to Smoke leaned forward and whispered, "Is it true Officer Horace is strong enough to make a dent on the Captain's armor?"

"Hell, no!" The old elf yelled, "That orc brute is too slow to even see the Captain and his armor coming at him."

"Didn't I tell you to be careful?" The man with the white bean stood up and glared at the old elf.

Smoke walked in the middle of the group and holding his hands up to separate the two, "Guys, calm down." He told them, "We might miss the show. It looks like Officer Horace is picking a fight with someone."

"Not just anyone," The old elf added, "Its Vice-Captain Jackson."

Horace cracked his knuckles as he walked towards the shirtless man standing at the edge of the courtyard. The wind gently blew the man's curly white hair, and he had a smile wide enough to reach his ears. That smiling, half-naked man was Vice-Captain Jackson. "You have the nerve not to tell me the captain's plan!" Horace yelled.

Jackson whipped his long hair back, "You don't need to know anything, Horace. Just go back and write those silly poems, you little girl." He teased.

Horace stopped moving. His muted green skin turned darker, and veins began to pop through his skin, "Did you just call me a little girl?"

"Heh," Jackson smirked, "Yeah, I did, so what?"

Horace sprinted towards Jackson. He raised his fist with blue mana swirling around it and delivered a punch that sent Jackson flying towards Smoke and the group he was with. Jackson landed on his feet with his arms blocking his face. He raised his forearm in time and blocked the punch, leaving his face fully intact. "I suggest you don't take me lightly. And to never make fun of a man enjoying his craft."

"Brohohoho!" Jackson held his belly and laughed, "That felt more like a mosquito bite than a punch. And imagine if I had my round shield! You wouldn't even be able to touch me." He wiped a tear from his eye.

Smoke was impressed. Jackson's arms were completely fine after taking that strong attack despite using no mana to protect his arms. And up close, his lean body was made of highly refined muscles and not a single body fat to be found. At first, Smoke thought his cockiness was for show, but it was clear Jackson's confidence comes from true strength.

Mana began to rise from the ground around Jackson, "Now I'm getting fired up!" He yelled. "It's a good thing the Captain isn't here. It would be a shame if he stopped us now!" Jackson sprinted towards Horace as he waited for Jackson's attack.

And among the spectators was Smoke, whose body jumped when he heard Jackson say those words. The Captain is not present in the camp, so their walk to get here was for nothing. But he could at least get some information from the group he was in before searching for Sun and Cossack. "Hey, old man," He said to the old elf, "Do you know where the Captain is?"

"Didn't you know?"

"No, I was out gathering wood."

"Ah, right. Well, he left. We got some holes on the wall we need to plug up. We told him we could use just any wood, but that guy wanted Tungstree. The entire wall had to be made of Tungstree. So he went to look for some. Apparently, some goblin slave told Officer Green and Clay where a grove of Tungstree is, which has a goblin tribe living on them."

"And he went there already."

"Yeah, left before noon."

Suddenly, a loud explosive sound rang across the camp, and like moths mesmerized by light, the mercenaries and slaves stopped and stared at the cave. Jackson stopped in his tracks and turned around. The calm and collective Horace began to sweat, and his body began to shake as if the soundwave reverberated in his body.

Smoke scanned the cave entrance, trying to find the source of the sound, and he found it on top of the cave's entrance. A siren made up of a large horn and cogs and widgets continually moving. Just as Smoke found the siren, a spear lodged itself through the horn and out cogs and pipes behind the siren and the sound quickly faded away.

The one who threw the spear was Jackson, "What the hell are you all standing there for? Get your asses moving! Start the furnace and block the entrance!"

Several men came out from the cave running for their lives, with one of them collapsing on the ground. "Wait, we still have men in there!" He yelled.

"I don't give a damn!" Jackson walked towards the cave, "What's important is that we trap and choke that son of a bitch! Now move that wall already! And block the holes with your bedsheets. Don't let a single smoke cloud leak out."

"Yes, Vice-Captain!" The mercenaries yelled and began to move the wall. Smoke joined them to pull and push the massive wall. Those in charge of the furnace threw wood and charcoal inside and lit them on fire. A boy climbed the chimneys and blocked the holes with a leather ball. The only way the dark clouds could escape was through the pipe leading into the cave.

"Where's the trigger?"

The old elf grabbed a box with a handle sticking from the top, "Here, Vice-Captain."

"Thanks," Jackson grabbed the box and pushed the handle down into the box. An explosion can be heard deep in the cave. "Now go get ready, we never know what can come out through that wall."

The mercenaries scattered in the field while Jackson and Horace stared at the cave waiting patiently for their hunter to come out. Smoke used the chaos to search for Cossack and Sun. He first entered the barracks where he found Cossack looking at a poster on the wall. It was a wanted poster with a picture of a man with red curly hair and freckles on his cheeks. And under the picture was the man's name, Glasgow Buchanan. "This is their Captain," Cossack said.

"At least we know what he looks like," Smoke grabbed Cossack's arm, "Now let's go find Sun."

The two ran across the courtyard towards the red barn. Sun was outside with a goblin in chains. "Something strong, really strong, is coming out that cave. And I don't know what it is?" Smoke said, "But that's not our only problem. Half of the Black Crows already left, along with their Captain. Also, who is that?"

"This is Korge, and what do you mean they left?"

"Some goblin told them about it, and now they're heading there."

Korge jumped on Smoke, "What mean goblin tell? Me no tell," Then a realization hit Korge. "Brother? Korge coming!" Korge ran towards the barracks.

"Korge!" Sun, Smoke, and Cossack chased after him.

Korge slammed the door open to a dark hallway. There was only one door at the end, and Korge could smell blood coming from the room. Korge ran and opened the door and saw a goblin with a sword sticking out of his thigh and blood pouring out from his mouth. Korge walked to the goblin, stepping on the teeth scattered across the floor.

Korge hugged the goblin for he was his brother, "Brother!" He cried. His tears mixed with his brother's blood as he tightens his embrace.

A man entered the room through a side door, "The hell are doing here?" He asked Korge as he whipped Korge's back.

Korge did not scream from the pain, but he glared at the man, the torturer that laughed at his pain and his brother's cries. "Korge kill you!" Korge lunged at the man, but Smoke caught him before his hands reached the man's neck.

"Officer Clay!" Cossack said, "Sorry for the intrusion."

Sun walked behind Smoke, "Who is that?"

"Officer Clay, I heard that he got the information about the Tungstree from the goblin."

The room was dark and his figure was hidden behind the shadows. Only his dark green eyes are visible. "What are you doing here?" Clay asked.

"We were told to find the Captain and warn him that the enemy is coming." Cossack's long nose twitched. "We were going to use this goblin to guide us to the Tungstree grove."

"I see," Clay walked to a table with various tools of torture neatly organized on top. "I'll take care of the dead here. Go and find the Captain. My brother, Green, should be with him too. Tell him to capture more goblins for me." Clay grabbed a wrench, "I like to experiment with more healthier subjects."

"You sick fuck," Sun said unconsciously.

"Everyone thinks so, but I think its just my special quirk."

"Alright, Officer Clay, we'll be on our way." Cossack pushed everyone out of the room. Korge tried to wrestle himself free from Smoke, but his small body could not break free.

When they got outside, Smoke pushed Korge to the ground, "Calm down! Getting yourself killed won't solve anything!" He yelled.

Sun crouched down next to Korge, "I understand how you feel. Even I could barely hold back, but we need to go to Maston and stop them." He extended his hand, "So will you help us get there."

Korge took a deep breath, "Ok, Korge know shortcut."