Chapter 303
I scanned it through a pair of binoculars I'd bummed off a scout, lying prone at the ledge that led to a steep descent downward, scanning the structure. Wooden stakes carved from tree trunks formed high walls, thankfully not so high that they obscured our elevated view.
What was visible was grim regardless. Hobgoblins — the goblin's meaner, smarter cousin. Excepting a few loin-clothed, malnourished variants that seemed to be of a lower caste, they were all either fully or partially armored, and the weapons I could see were of decent quality. It was, by an order of magnitude, the largest group of monsters I'd ever seen in one place. Five hundred give or take, though the real headcount was difficult to establish as they appeared to be sleeping in shifts, numbers obscured by the large barrack tents. There was a considerable armory, a forge, even a mess hall.
Beyond the numbers, there were two massive problems. Separated from the rest of the camp was a small defended square that housed eight catapults. Their payloads were nothing special, judging from awkward mounds of "ammo" — they were using ordinary chunks of rock. Somehow — despite the considerable noise this many people made — the hobgoblins were still completely unaware of our presence, and the catapults weren't pointed at the mountain. But the artillery weapons were on wheels, and we were absolutely in range.
Not good.
The second, arguably bigger problem, were the prisoners housed in various cages scattered around the camp.
Nearby, Aaron and Tyler were arguing.
"Relax," Aaron insisted, dismissing some point Tyler brought up. "We have elevation, and enough firepower with all the mages to level a building. It'll be bloodless on our side. Just bomb the hell out of them and wash our hands of it."
"They have hostages," Tyler fired back.
"No one's been this high in the tower before. And even if someone has, look at them all. They're obviously system-created entities, strategically placed to stop us from taking the obvious solution."