"Why do you have a response for everything we say? We’re soldiers, we’re supposed to protect our cities. With the chaos the Free Lands is in at the moment, of course they’ll reinforce the borders. Especially here— Fort Conon has been a key defensive position for the Chalstics Confederacy ever since its formation."
"Hey man, I just want to get la—"
"Shush. I see something." The third guard raised a hand up as he spoke. He pointed in a direction, and squinted. "There. I see… light?"
"I don’t see anything… wait I see it now."
"Yeah, me too. But that’s not a light. That’s…" he trailed off, then the realization hit him. "Shit! Raise the alarm!"
But it was too late.
A red ball of fire flew through the air, past the trees, straight at the gates of the fortress. The spell detonated upon impact, exploding on the large double doors of the fortress gates.
It dented backwards, still standing strong. It was built to take the force of siege weapons like battering rams and catapults. It would not fall to a single blast.
So a second Fireball struck it. Then a third. A fourth. And it continued, finally until the gates blew open. Its wood burned and splintered. The metal bent and collapsed on itself.
The soldiers of Fort Conon were scrambling for battle. The guards on the walls were waiting in anticipation. Their bows drawn, swords ready. Some even had guns prepared and aimed in the direction of the blasts.
But no army appeared.
Instead, from the nearby trees, arrows flew by the dozens. They came from from behind the bushes, in between the branches, curving around impossible corners, piercing through shields— through armor. Like it was made of nothing.
"Look out—" one of the guards cried.
But he was cut off. An arrow was sticking out the side of his head. He collapsed, weakly grasping at the wound as he slowly died. As soldiers perished around him. As the fortress fell.
The explosions resounded throughout the night with sounds of screaming and shouting accompanying it as the assault started. And that was the signal to move.
Karna did not say anything. He knew the plan. And so did his men. So there was no verbal command. There was only a nod of the head. A movement of the hand. And they were off.
They stalked through the shadows, sprinting past the trees, charging at the walls of the fortress. But there was no fighting here. And neither was there a gate to breach. There was just a wall.
A tall wall. One which most people would not be able to climb. But this group of individuals were not most people.
They were Goblins. And in addition to being short and having incredibly rough skin, they had strong legs too. That was how they could move so quickly. That was how they could scale a fort’s walls with few problems.
So as the guards abandoned their post, and went to assist their comrades at the main gate, the Goblins did exactly that.
Karna leapt up the wall without a problem. He landed silently on his two feet, and almost as quietly, Ihsan came up right next to him. They were followed by two dozen other Goblins. Not all of them could cover such a distance in one jump, but they helped each other make it.
The lead Goblin peeked over the walls and saw figures gathering at the courtyard. They were all armed. Ready for combat in mere minutes. But that was not all of the soldiers. They were far too few. So he ignored them.
He turned to the Goblin at his elbow.
"You know what to do," he spoke quietly.
Ihsan nodded. He took off, followed by five other Goblins. They split off into two groups. One stayed along the walls, and the other went down. But both made their way away from the fighting— from the battle at the front gates.
Karna and his group of Goblins made their way down the stairwell. They waited as a dozen guards ran past, before continuing deeper into the fort.
They snuck past a training area and into a hallway, where the loud footsteps of heavy boots were all they could hear. They avoided the sound of marching soldiers, and proceeded down a side passage. A small group of soldiers were passing through. No more than half a dozen.
This time, Karna acted. He drew his bow quickly as they rounded the corner. Arrow already nocked, he loosed straight at the foremost soldier.
"What the—"
The arrow went straight through his open mouth, and he was silenced in an instant. His companions followed quickly after, as the Goblins silently disposed of the group.
"Lock their bodies in that room. Quickly. The armory is up ahead," Karna ordered his men. They efficiently did as they were told, and in a minute, they were moving again.
The door to the armory swung open, as soldiers went in and out in a hurry. Most of them were still struggling to equip their gear, woken by the alarm from half an hour ago. They froze as they saw the figures appear.
There were just over a dozen of them. Small figures, dressed in concealing clothes. They came with their bows and short swords. Outnumbered more than three-to-one.
But the soldiers were not prepared. They were armed with weapons, but not fully ready for a fight. For battle. And especially for what came next.
Arrows pierced through steel. The soldiers charged, but were met by the swift Goblins. The Goblins easily dodged their swings, cutting and stabbing at the soldiers of the fortress.
A loud voice rallied the soldiers.
"To me, men! Regroup and fight
