Brutal

His high subsided quickly, making him even more sleepy. Afraid to fall asleep, he remained standing, leaning on the wall and listening to the whistling wind and occasional rustling leaves.

He was wondering how he could stay relatively calm all alone by the entrance.

'When walking here I felt the need to check every sound, nook and cranny. Now standing here it isn't as bad.'

He saw late that the hourglass had run out, thus walking up and waking Leon who was next.

"Did you had to puke?" came the first whispered question, confusing Mikael.

"What? No, why? Should I?"

"Sorry, no, just a bet I have with Sophia."

He got up silently, careful not to awake the other two.

"Why did you bet on that?"

"Was a eventful day. Many would get sick after what we did. Only shows your inner strength. Get some sleep, we need you tomorrow."

Too tired to retort, he slumped down and made himself partly comfortable.

Quickly he fell into a light sleep, still alert about the surroundings.

The next day upon a kick at his leg Mikael jolted awake, taking a second to orient himself.

"Rise and shine." Sophia said, sounding less enthusiastic than yesterday.

The others also awoke, packing up their stuff and relieving themselves.

Upon exiting the cave, they saw a fire crackling in the cold morning weather. On a stick were two birds, the fat dropping into the fire.

"I took the liberty to get us a breakfast, preserving our rations."

'No wonder she is tired. Last shift, lighting a fire alone and also hunting. Impressive feat.'

"Fantastic work Sophia, glad to have you with us." Leon said, massaging his tired eyes.

Bjorn just yawned, warming himself up by the fire.

She took the stick of the heat, handing it around and one after another picked apart the birds.

Albeit not seasoned, the fat and juices awoke their muddy minds.

They ate in silence, savoring each bite.

"We keep this here as our base camp, would be stupid to not return here after fighting for it. Also I have estimated our gain for the slain Kobolds."

He held up a satchel, it bulging visibly.

"Gathered the fang of each one, and with 25 we make around 2 small copper per teeth, so 50 small. Divided by 4 approximately 13 per person."

"Don't count me in, I did not help with the killing." Bjorn said, crossing his arms in front of him.

"But helped us with the smoke and hiding of the bodies, so just take it.

2 big Copper is maybe not much, but if one doesn't value the copper, you don't deserve the gold."

Leon took out a small stick like thing, which he lit in the fire place. Smoke arose, and a similar smell like tobacco lingered around Mikael's nose.

"Wouldn't recommend smoking Benjamin, it will corrode over time your lung, maybe causing your death." Bjorn adviced, looking with mixed feeling at the smoke.

"I know, but I still like to take one every morning, something like a ritual."

"Suit yourself. I suggest we walk towards the east, around 6 hours before returning here. Our scent is all over the place, so no wild animals should take residence. Also a water source is like 3 to 4 hours in that direction.

Hopefully we have a good harvest."

Accepting it, they began walking in the same formation as the day before.

"Seems better already." Leon commented, seeing how much more relaxed Mikael to observe his perimeter.

"Again, most would be even more careful after a clash like that, but you seem to not only honor our advice, but immediately implement it. Respect boy, you have the heart of a hunter."

"Don't praise him too much, or in a real emergency he won't react accordingly, thinking he knows it all already." Sophia dampened from behind, more energetic after the meal.

"I will not grow overconfident. Maybe last night helped me to relief some build up emotions, but I feel calmer today. More clear headed. And after seeing you two in action, I'm even more reassured about our mission."

"Yeah, me and Sophia are great hunter, so learn as much as you can." he said laughingly, returning his attention to the task.

Sophia also went silent again, and the day went on much like the first did.

As they arrived by the small stream they could refill their flasks, cleaning some of their used rags.

Together with Mikael's help Bjorn found more herbs he could use for the experiments than he hoped, and came across some weirdly colored ones. He got so immersed into writing down their location, appearance and detail he had to be hit.

The gathered herbs and flowers were stored away in small wooden boxes, sometimes containing a slim film of water to keep them fresh.

Upon the signal Leon gave, they began their return. Using the sun for directions, they only made small detours to search at locations they previously passed.

The oy exciting thing was a small group of slim Goblins that crossed their way, but Leon saw them early.

Sophia took the first two out with precise shots, injuring another two before they pinpointed the ambushers direction.

"I'll let you deal with them." came to Mikael's shock the announcement, Leon retreating to Bjorns side.

"Take it as a lesson, you rarely have the chance to encounter such weak monsters in smaller groups. Most of the time they wander around in groups of 15 to 20."

Sophia didn't say anything, sheathing her sword which was already half drawn, taking a step back. Bjorn also kept shut, silently watching Mikael.

"Really? But there are still four of them." he tried to reason, but was shot down by Sophia.

"And? Two are injured, they are leaner than me and have no weapons, only their sorry excuses of claws. That guy doesn't even has all its teeth. So stop protesting, get your arse out there and take that lesson."

Her harsh words held some truth. After another look Mikael saw that they really showed no threatening picture.

'Last time they fled after we took out many of them, even with the majority. Now they still come at us, without any advantage. Weird.' he made a mental note to address that tonight, for now taking out his hammer, holding it loosely in hand.

'Yesterday I gripped it too hard. The recoil was no joke. And I had to finish my attack. In a battle with multiple foes that can't happen.'

He began to walk towards them, slightly diagonal to lure them away from the others.

"He learns fast. And isn't afraid to take the initiative. This boy is promising." Leon said to Sophia, who silently watched, not letting her eyes leave Mikael.

Said person on the other hand was already pretty near the first Goblin. It looked the most healthy, springing at him.

Mikael anticipated that maneuver, quickly sidestepping, letting the creature fall to the ground. As counter he swung his hammer down at the spine, the sound echoing between the trees.

"Ha, brutal." Sophia said, again a smile on her face that didn't fit the situation.

But the second Goblin was also near, and before Mikael could retract his hammer, the creature went low, tackling his hips.

But despite the impact together with the momentum, Mikael's legs didn't give in.

That earned him a impressed whistle from Leon.

"Solid foundation, if that would have been me I'd lie on the ground... maybe."

"He is after all a blacksmith, at least he got the most experience as one." Bjorn added, also awed by Mikaels lower body strength.

Mikael instead was also surprised, not by his solid stance, but the sudden grip of this small brown monster. To free his leg he kicked uo his knee, right into the creatures stomach.

The grip loosened, and Mikael wanted to strike it, but his hand was held up by another incoming Goblin. But this one was weak, already injured prior so Mikael initiate reaction of punching the second one resulted in it letting go.

Not wanting to get overrun by them, Mikael retreated some steps, resulting in the Goblins also standing back up.

Taking deep breaths, he put his left shoulder forwards, running at the regrouped Goblins.

They wanted to stop the approaching threat, but they weren't as steady as him. His charge connected with the Goblin he kicked, throwing it and the Goblin behind backwards.

He felt the chest caving in, the fingers running along his cheek. It only scratched him slightly, but it still made him flinch. Not enough tho, as he still followed up his charge with his hammer he held in his right, striking the remaining creature also right in the chest.

Its eyes seemed to bulge out, the tongue leaving the mouth as the impact made the monster bite it of.

Mikael breathed heavily, this short sprint taking more effort than expected.

The hammer also seemed heavier, making him hold it closer to the head.

He turned to the fallen two. The top ones chest moved slightly, and the bottom one struggled to shove away his brethrens body.

Seeing them before him made Mikael question if killing them would be cruel, but the hateful eyes and sting on his cheek cleared his hesitation.

'I need to stop having empathy with these creatures. They want to kill and eat me. This is nature's way, they could have fled, but choose to attack.'

He took the handle with both hands again, like he did the night before.

'This may be brutal, but stands right now as my solification of my resolve. No pity with monsters! And it is grotesquely cool.'

"Oh no, I think he created his favorite move. Heck, this kid is brutal, I dig it."

Sophia exclaimed ecstatic.

"Is it usual for a young boy to be that brutal? What did he experience?"

Leon added.

Bjorn remained silent, tilting his head a bit, ready to turn his head.

With a turn of his hip and gravity Mikael sped his hammer up, and like with the Kobold the Goblins head gave in, but the hammer head connected with the edged side, so it sunk into the skull. As the body was held down as well and the swing moved on, Mikael had actually shot away the upper part of the skull, face and parts of the brain, with the remains still in the ground.

""Brutal!"" Both of the hunter said, Bjorn having already looked away, not ready see that splatter.

"You are the last one." Mikael said to the weakly breathing creature which managed to open a eye. Before he could raise his hammer again, a stone pellet penetrated its eye, killing it on the spot.