Chapter 32: Track The Goblin Lord
With their skilled tracker in the lead, the patrol headed out searching for the possible Goblin Lord. The guards were all understandably nervous to hear about the chance that the Goblin attacks on their town were more organized than they had suspected, mixed with a sense of eagerness to find the truth and hopefully eliminate the threat before things got even worse for the village.
The bonus pay for a confirmed Goblin Lord elimination would be enough to give them the easy life for a few months, and perhaps even buy a few things for the family that they had been waiting for the right time to fit into the budget.
Every guard set aside a lot of their pay, just in case they didn't come home one day, but now and then they had to splurge on their family to keep things happy at home.
For Wiz and Bella, it was somewhat the same. They didn't have a family of their own to take care of, but Wiz's family farm relied on the income that he brought in to keep them from struggling during the winter months. It was just part of living on a farm, only the best years were really comfortable, and you had to save some of that in case the next year wasn't a good one.
"There are footprints headed back toward the City. Goblins, with hobgoblins for sure. The prints are the same four-toed pattern, but too big for a regular Goblin." The scout reported.
"Perfect, we're on the right path. Can you tell how far ahead of us they are?" Wiz asked.
"Not far. It looks like they're setting up for an ambush. The footprints keep splitting off like they're looking for something." He reported.
"Or hiding their numbers." The Guard Captain added.
That put everyone on edge. Hiding their numbers was unusual for Goblins, but the Hobgoblins were a bit smarter, and if the report was right and there was a Lord, they might actually manage a proper ambush.
"Everyone form up in the hostile territory pattern. I've got a bad feeling about this." Wiz whispered a few seconds later.
Everything was quiet around them. Too quiet.