My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 28: In The Shadows

"Are you. Ready?" Grugda asked.

"Can you ever really be ready for this?" Kace replied as he stood in the room where he first arrived in Er-Gol.

"Hm. No." Grugda replied flatly.

'Was that meant to be a joke?' Kace thought.

"Hm. Tree located. Many Goblins. Underground. We go?"

Kace thought about it for awhile.

"What about the ones I was with in the swamp?"

Grugda was silent for some time following the question. 'I swear he had better not have fallen asleep.' Kace thought as he waited patiently for a response.

"Hm. Tree says. No problem. Already done. On way. To many. Goblins."

"I don't suppose the tree could tell us if they have trolls with them?"

"Yes. Many Trolls. Moving Fast. We go?"

Kace sighed with relief. It seemed Kharja and Gyn had been successful.

"Sure Grugda. Let's go to the many goblins."

"Ok. Be ready."

Kace prepared himself as much as he could as the familiar opening appeared. Allowing them entry into the hollow roots. Kace was just not looking forward to the next part though.

Like before the pair became engulfed in darkness. Shortly after they were swept away in the liquid. Kace felt himself being thrown around like before. Although he knew he could breath while inside the liquid substance it was his bodies natural reaction to hold his breath.

Just like before, after awhile he could no longer hold it. As he felt the presence of the liquid permeating his lungs the gentle sensation from before also returned. 'Yeah, I could easily fall asleep if I'm not careful.' he thought seriously to himself.

Grugda had warned him about his. If he were to fall asleep like this then his own body would betray him. It would believe it had already drowned and cease to continue breathing. The danger was especially present in long journeys. After all the longer you spent doing nothing in a comfortable environment the more likely you would be to fall asleep.

Kace settled his mind and began counting. Although it was tedious it would keep his mind busy. Anything to avoid that fate was good in his books.

'three thousand four hundred and sixty seven, three thousand four hundred and...' as he thought this he felt a disturbance in the liquid. Sure enough he was thrown out of the root and landed on the hard ground. Again a coughing fit followed and an amused looking Grugda stood before him.

"How come you don't end up like this?" Kace asked, all the while coughing.

"Used to. It." Grugda answered shrugging his shoulders.

"That's just cheating." Kace replied with a grumpy tone.

"No cheat. Just truth."

"Fine, fine. I get it."

It was at this moment that he heard the familiar screeching tones unique to goblins. The root that they had been spat out of returned deep into the earth. As he turned to greet the owners of the voices his face was met with a bony flat chest slamming into it. The force from the body slam causes him to tumble back to the ground. The hide chest wrap was rough against his face.

"Oh! You've finally come back to me! Should I prepare the bed for us?" Vaskra announced in a teasing voice.

"Get off you hag! Like I'd ever want that!"

Vaskra playfully jumped off of him. Allowing him to get back to his feet. As they he stood there Vaskra was eyeing him up. Evaluating if he had become any stronger.

"Kace. Kill it?" Grugda asked, seemingly unsure if the little shaman was an enemy.

This statement gave Vaskra a little fright causing her to jump slightly.

"No, Grugda. This is Vaskra. She's a friend."

"Very well." Grugda replied.

Vaskra stared at the giant, more so to her as a goblin, with upset eyes. The first thing this newcomer had said was about killing her. What did she ever do to him?

"Hm? Where's Kharja and Gyn? Don't tell me you only got one troll!" Vaskra exclaimed.

"Grugda. No troll." Grugda rebuked her instantly.

"I'll tell you inside. Where's the King?" Kace said shaking his head.

"Hm, I like a mysterious sort of guy." Vaskra responded while batting her eyelashes, "Follow me."

*

"Ah, I see lad. So that's wits happened huh?" Shagrat said as he rubbed his chin, "Nae word o' a lie but that's some story."

"Indeed, you'll need the help of many dominion rulers to achieve this." Vaskra said sharing her opinion.

"Yeah, it won't be easy and I'm not sure how long it will take." Kace replied grimly, "But... I have to see this through."

"O'course lad. Once we get past the current threat we'll do all we can tae help yeh."

"How do we stop them though? Even if we defeat them here they'll just send more." Vaskra responded.

"We'll hav' tae do something. We cannae jist sit 'ere oan oor arses."

"Attack town. Keep attacking. Force defensive." Grugda finally said after listening to the debate.

Everyone stared at him. They were surprised at how insightful his comment had been. Sure enough, if they attacked the town the heroes would have to stay there to defend it. This would give them time to really establish themselves. Forcing the heroes to think twice about attacking.

"It should be a small group. A raid. Hit only the wealthy looking homes. They have the most say in what happens. Forcing them to be afraid will be better than doing this indiscriminately." Kace inputted.

"Yer right lad. I'll giv' yeh the fellas who were with yeh afore."

"What about Durz?" Kace asked.

"Hm, 'fraid ye'll hav' tae do without him." Shagrat said slowly as he considered his options, "If that's settled it'd be best to set off tonight."

*

The sky was full of clouds. Blocking off the light from the moon. Kace, Grugda and six goblins lay low not far from the walls of Stonefall. They had scouted the town out from a distance on a nearby hill. Allowing them to pinpoint several potential targets. The goblins would work in pairs while Kace would move alone. Grugda was not adept at stealth so he would be waiting outside to provide them with their entrance and escape route.

Using his [Night Eye] Kace watched the current group of town guards atop the wall move on with their rounds. Leaving it for a couple of minutes to be certain he gave the order.

"Now!" he whispered urgently, as he dashed in a full sprint for the walls.

The goblins were not far behind him. He watched as Grugda's magic took effect. The earth turned to mud and took the form of a staircase, reaching up to the top of the wall, before turning back into solid earth.

As he reached the top of the wall he immediately crouched low and drew his blade. Guarding the area from any surprises until the goblins made it. Luckily no such surprises occurred as the goblins quickly caught up. Once they were all present and accounted for the earthen staircase returned to the ground, in the same manner in which it had been formed.

With a silent nod they split up. Kace progressed through the town rather quickly. His passive skill [Curtain of Night] coming into effect as he kept low and in the shadows. Several times he was forced to hold his position as guards and drunks passed by. One guard even stared directly at him before moving on. Having seen nothing out of the ordinary.

As he moved from the outskirts towards his target, more and more drunks were stumbling on their way home or to their inns. This became a hassle for him since there was the possibility that they may accidentally stumble into him and break his stealth.

With the use of his mana he cast [Spider Thread] to swing himself up onto the rooftops. Giving himself a better vantage point and a clear route forward. 'I should have done this earlier. Note to self. Work on my planning in the future.' he thought seriously.

As he leapt between the rooftops not a single person that passed by below looked up. All was going smoothly. He came to a halt as he arrived on the rooftop bordering the property he had targeted.

It was a large town mansion with an ample walled garden. Ofcourse dropping in from this height meant the walls were obsolete. As he studied the grounds he noticed several private armed guards. 'Guess the rich really do live in luxury.'

A candle was suddenly lit in what appeared to be a study. As the man sat down facing the window and looked over a pile of parchment, Kace felt the man's features looked somewhat familiar. Choosing his moment carefully Kace managed to easily cross the garden and scale his way up on to the balcony outside of the study's window.

In the time he had taken to get there it sounded as though a woman had joined the man in the room.

"Well Rose? Have you found a way to make it happen?" the man asked.

"I'm sorry M'lord. Since the incident in the alley your younger brother has been avoiding going outside much." Rose replied.

Kace recognised the voice as belonging to the bitch that he had given a beaten to when he had first come to this town. 'So by brother, are they talking about that kid I saved?' Kace wondered.

"Ugh, useless! Unless you get it done I'll make sure the Mercenary guild refuses you any decent contracts!" the man replied furiously.

"I'll make it happen!" Rose fervently replied.

'Hoh? So that kid is tied to the Mercenary Guild in some way? I wonder if I can make use of this?' Kace thought, as he considered whether to save the kid again or help his brother, 'Either way, it's a win for me...'

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