report

Thank a specially breed race of horses by the Ganesha Familia, the expedition rejoined Tiris surrounding in only two hours, the horses barely breathing hard. Compared to the tired one ridden by the messager, their state was undeniable proof of their resilience.

With another ten-minute ride, the expedition, ride to the forest side, finally perceive the clearing's entrance. As they barely pass the human-made cleared area, they came to an abrupt halt at sight.

None expected the corpses who were lingering around the walls, nor the mound surrounding a destroyed gate, or still steaming crater. The smell of blood, still thick in the air, was what spurred the adventurer team to the settlement.

Followed and surrounded by the soldiers, the two guild staff and healer adventurer, more cautiously.

When they regrouped with Marron and his team, all looked with various expressions of disgust at the strong smell of burned fleshes and sight at the edge of the crater.

In the middle of the depression was a stack of charred goblins. Snapping into his role, the soldier's captain, the same older man who received the message dismounted and started to clear the hole.

Seeing them processing, Eina took out a wooden tablet with charcoal and started filling the pre-made report. For now, all she had to do was to fill the exterminate goblin, to let the guild have an idea of the horde.

It was needless to say that the ten soldiers, left behind to work the bodies, and Eina was greatly surprised to see that all twelve corpses were variant. Their surprise turned into relief at the sight of the hobgoblin, with missing head and charred neck.

Their gruesome work momently halted when a shout for 'alive guards' was heard from the gate. The entire team immediatly put the bodies count on the side to rush and help.

~~~

When Misha, along Naaza and the soldiers, found the twenty-eight guards, with various wounds, she immediatly called for reinforcement.

"Intact doors." Marron's simple two words made the barely arrived soldiers and the rest of the expedition look at the settlement itself. When all witnessed the intact protective boulder in front of the house' doors, a party composing half of the soldiers were sends to free the trapped villagers.

The fact that the closest doors were still intact raised the hope that the settlement may have avoided any loss. This impossible hope was crushed when the soldiers brought the corpse of the nine guards.

With the company's help, each surviving guards were moved to the casern, allowing Naaza a better place to start treating them.

Ais found Alex, bringing him too, inside when it was discovered that he was the stranger having warned the settlement.

Left with nothing more one the settlement side, the soldiers started the long process of clearing the corpse, soon joined by the men barely returning for a day in the field, horrified to learn of the attack, but relived to found their families mostly intact.

As there was no means to separate who killed which goblins, the corpse was the first tool outside the settlement, accounted for, and left to the side for later.

~~~

When Alex opened his eyes, the first thing that assaulted his were the soreness of his muscles. As his sight settle, he frowned at the concrete roof and the smell of something strong. Grunting a little when he raised, he could see that his wounds were treated, covered with some oinements and left as they were, since it was relatively unimportant.

His awakening caught the attention of Naaza, still working on some of the injuries that the still unconscious guards receive.

Both were curious at the sight of the other. Alex because he recognised the chienthrope as one of the shows, a member of the Miach Familia, and Naaza, to him as the first of his race she had ever seen.

"How are your injuries?" Asked her quietly, unwilling to disrupt the well-earned rest of the guards.

"Good, a little sore, but nothing uncomfortable. How much time had passed?" Responded him, surprising her with his soft voice.

"We arrived three hours before, ridden for at least two other. The messager needed three hours to react Orario, and we departed an hour after." Informed her.

"We fought for at least two hours, so no more than five then." Said him absentmindedly calculating from the given information.

Misha used this moment to enter, having heard Nazza speak to someone, hoping to have further information on the attack.

"I'm sorry to bother you immediatly after you awoke, but we need to complete the report for the guild, your information could help us quite to fill the hole?" Say her, keeping to a formal and appreciative tone, not knowing him nor how he would respond.

"Could I have something to eat before? I'm rather starved after everything happen."

"Of course, the villagers had been kind enough put something for everyone." Responded Misha kindly.

~~~

Alex followed her outside before exiting the settlement. A little further, the soldiers helped raise a large tent, usually used by the village for marriage. Alex immediatly understood why, wrinkling his nose at the waffling odour of spilt guts, blood and death lingering in the settlement after the heavy slaughter.

Even Misha, simple human was disturbed by the smell, s she could easily understand how much it must bother him.

Their arrival was immediatly heard from the silent tent, at the squeaking their feet made in the bloodied mud formed.

Were they not mourning the death of nine of their own, most would have swarmed him to give their thank. It didn't prevent the men from giving grateful nods to him when passing, before returning supporting their spouse, sisters, daughters.

Misha seated to Eina side, while Ais her team and the soldiers gathered around.

"Let start simply." said Misha, stopping as a soldier served Alex a large portion." We will need a name, age and birthplace if possible." Continued her, while Eina looked at him, ready to register the information.

"What day are we?" Asked Alex, while knowing from his world, he didn't know those here.

"31 July 999." State Misha, a little puzzled, the years were corresponding to the first god arrival and establishment of the tower.

"Then, I fifteen." Lied him, chuckling at the morbid similitude. " I had a better birthday before."

Alex appearance right now was more mature than when he started Hogwarts. He was standing at a proud metre ninety-five. His facial feature were sharps, effortlessly passing for a young entering his twenty while keeping enough youth to made others think he was slightly less. His hairs were falling to his lower back, nearly touching his tail. His deep and profound green eyes had an undertone of power, diminished somewhat by the previous arduous battle.

His response chocked most present. It wasn't uncommon for therianthrope to look different than human, never before one looked older than he was. Seeing their disbelieving face, he added.

"We tend to age faster than other until out maturity, then age slower. It a common custom for my people to send their young test themselves when nearing their maturity age, around fifteen." Alex explained, mixing a little of lies and truth. "As for my name, it's Alexander Evans, born and raised in the northern land."

The following information was another chock. The fact that some would send children alone in the wild was already troubling, but being from the north, too? The sea was hundreds of kilometres away, and there was no resented island on the nearby lakes!

Still registering the given information, Misha bits he lips, keeping her comments for herself, knowing she had no right to criticise other rites of passage toward adulthood.

~~~

Taking a deep breath, she continued.

"The messager that relayed the message to Orario spoken of a stranger, from your work, I think we don't need much confirmation?" Say her, continuing when seeing his nod. "Could you tell us more?"

"I arrived from the right side of the forest." Started Alex, pointing toward the strip of forest on the clearing opening. "I was principally following the stream upward, not knowing the surrounding and unwilling to move too far from a water body."

Eina and everyone else nodded at the forethought he showed, regretfully not shared by most other adventurers.

"During my travel, three days ago, I encounter a group of four goblins, with what I now know as a variant among them, fighting over a rabbit. At that time, I was in the hight, after hearing them. Since I had nothing more than stone knives I made to defend myself, I started to observe them." Say him, ignoring the gasp of shock from the two guild staff at the fact that he was left to roam the wilderness weaponless. "I didn't have to wait for long before the variant attack the smaller goblin. Seeing that he had more intelligence than others, I attacked him first, taking care of the other after. Two days before, I found another group of three. I also deal with them before continuing.

I was rather left alone, until yesterday. A group of goblins directly awoke me. Some of them armed. After killing them, I wanted to know why they had weapons. I could understand them pillaging corpse, but the weapons were too well maintained for not be of a recent raid. Following their trail, I discover the destroyed outpost, dating around a week prior. Following the stronger trail, I arrived at their lair."

Him spoking of the lair immediately attracted their attention.

"From there it was simple, the way had been cleared nearly in a straight line, from it to here." Alex could see Eina scribing furiously, trying to keep up with the report and its writing. "After seeing them exit and made sure that they were following the path, I ran to the settlement to warn them. If I had been faster, Orario might have heard of it before the attack and had enough time to send some help." He confessed him, genuinely feeling bad of wasting three hours to follow them, and made sure they were planning to attack.

"Your action can't be held against you. If you had done it and the horde attacked another place, you may have faced charges." Informed him, Misha, making him feel a little better. "The attack?"

"Yes, of course. I had around two hours on them. During that time, the message was sent to the outpost, making everyone gather here. They arrived around an hour before, barely escaping a further attack and depriving the goblins of additional weapons. As they returned, the guards report that each outpost had been attacked by around the same force that I followed. The horde was divided in five: four group of a hundred and fifty goblins, around ten to fifteen variants per pack. The last group' made of two hundred of goblins, forty variants and three hob-goblins."

~~~

They had indeed discovered three hobgoblins corpse, the additional two in the settlement. It was still difficult for the group to accept that thirty-seven persons with only nine loss had slain a force of eight hundred goblins, a hundred of variants and three hob-goblins.

Even with two hours worth of preparation, the settlement's defence was flimsy at best, only a simple wooden wall six-metre-high! It had been a small army against a company of guards, and they survived with nine death, three guards needing amputations, several injuries and no civil loss!

From the equipment they seen on him, they already know that Alex was responsible for a large part of the slaughtering, through the use of a bow. Such level of skill at this age was baffling, and both Misha and Eina would make sure to report this to Artemis. While the goddess only accepts women, they couldn't let such a proficient young pass through their finger and fall in the clutch of a less well-intentioned god or goddess.

"Thank you for the report, that will be all for now. As long as myself or Eina are with you, we can assist with the retrieval of cores. We still need an accurate number from the report, so..." Say, Misha, hoping not to displease him, it would be a black mark on them to earn his hire and make him not consider joining just from spite, an attitude they were already confronted several times before.

"I understand, I long as I'm not kept for my right, I don't see why not, I could even help." Say Alex mindfully, making the two guild employee nod and sigh in relief, while earning some brownies point with the rest of the expedition on his excellent manner, upbringing and kind character.