Chapter 2

The old man took a few drinks from his refilled goblet and began again.

Deke and Keal shook hands and warned the other not to get killed, then turned and moved off to start their mission, Raiffe going with Deke and the other four following Keal to their horses.

Keal, Bo-Jo, Kay-Lor, Malak and Gada discussed battle plans and tactics as they rode toward the Goblin force marching toward them. It was decided to dismount leaving one guard on the horses while the other four ambushed the front set of wagons with glass vials of oil wrapped in a burning cloth which when thrown against the wagon would break and burst into flames. They were hoping that the fires would keep any Goblins from following their retreat.

The attack was timed perfectly and not expected. This added to the effectiveness and allowed for their easy retreat. None followed mostly because they were not prepared to be attacked in this large a formation, it simply had never been done everyone always fled when they marched in large formations such as this one.

All four wagons were totally lost to the fire. There had been so much surprise and shock that it was far too late to stop the fire from destroying the wagons and all of the contents.

The second attack was almost as effective since word of the attack at the front of the formation was just getting passed to the rear formation when Keal and his party attacked it. As with the first attack there was confusion and ciaos resulting in all four wagons being lost just as in the first attack.

Keal and his men decided to attack the wagons next to the set they had just attacked since all of them had been warned. Enough of the Goblins were watching the futile attempt to put out the burning wagons and were caught by surprise when their wagons burst into flames as well. The few that did try to attack as the men were retreating were killed almost instantly with well aimed arrows through the neck preventing them from giving warning to others as they died.

Orders were given to halt and a hasty defensive perimeter was set up ending the advance for the day.

Keal and his men had successfully stopped an army of 1000 with just the four of them and did not suffer any losses or injuries. This gave Deke more time to prepare a serious ambush for the Goblin force when they did arrive. They move back to where Deke and his men were setting up the ambush to let them know that they had more time. Everyone gave a quick cheer when the news was passed of the additional time they had and the destruction of three sets of wagons.

Just after sunrise the next morning the remaining forces began to march again. Keal and his men rode out swinging wide to get behind the army marching toward them. The plan was for Keal and his men to destroy as many wagons as they could once Deke started his ambush.

Magic traps exploded with fire and lightning killing the lead unit to the last Goblin. Two volleys of arrows killed half of the next unit of Goblins and the remaining 50 charged into the trees to attack Deke and his men only to be cut down completely. Three men were killed and nine others were wounded but only one was very serious and he could still fight with his uninjured arm. Keal and his men were able to destroy another set of wagons. But after the first attack the Goblins sent an entire unit to flank the rest of the army and protect the rest of the wagons. So Keal and his men started killing the Goblins that were flanking the rest of the army. Just before sunset Keal and his men finished killing all of the Goblins on the right flank, they had killed just under half of the Goblins on the left flank.