Negotiations For the Battle 2
Those present looked at each other, they had the feeling that Connor, despite being young, was right, and it was a fact that they really risked themselves in the ordeal to make a profit, in addition to rare ingredients and to enjoy the few and intriguing luxuries that this mysterious place had to offer. However, there was a doubt in everyone's mind.
- But why exactly should we attack the goblin village? As long as we only fight when we find them, I see no reason to actively go after them. - said the woman on the right, Miriam.
She was possibly the most deadly of all in the room, being a sword dancer she was subordinate to Piqval by contract, but none of them saw it that way and saw it more as a partner. Piqval usually chose the places for the performances, negotiated payments and provisions, helped with the general organization and ensured financial stability.
Miriam made sure everyone in the troupe was safe, well-fed, and healthy, as well as ensuring the overall stability of the troupe when Piqval was too busy with finances (which was unfortunately often, until they reached the Ordeal).
Since it was her duty to keep her troupe safe, she hoped the young man had a good reason, besides a little revenge, to go and start a fight against the goblin village.
Were they hideous little creatures and considerably despicable with their semi-animal-like ways and voracious appetite for human flesh?
Yes, they were, but they acted on instinct (as far as she knew), the instinct to kill to eat, and that was not something they could condemn, they themselves had seen the goblins hunting rabbits and wild boars in the ordeal, proving that they open to feed themselves, humans are just another item on the menu for them.
Connor knew this question would come, and he was ready for it. Honestly, he wouldn't want to attack the goblins either, they may have almost killed his master and him, but he strangely never felt much anger towards them other than when they hurt his friends.
But something they accidentally found 5 days ago changed things and ignited an urge to get past the goblins in all of them, an urge that he was sure would have the same effect on them as well.
Connor stood up and went to his backpack near the door, bringing back a piece of paper that he placed right in the center of the table for everyone to see.
- This is it?
- A map. - Connor answered.
- A map to what? - Alera asked.
- Not what, to where. According to what Cali managed to decipher with the help of some acolytes who arrived from the time of the Fist of Stone, this map leads to a passage that can lead to a new floor of the Ordeal.
The elders at the table looked at each other in disbelief. The Ordeal was already large, with kilometers of extension to the point of supporting diverse fauna and flora, many still wondered if they were still in the same place (below the mysterious structure in a kind of air jacket) or if they were transported to some other forest in some other place still unknown, but the various expeditions and measurements made by some wandering mages (and the mages of the troupe) confirmed that the teleportation coordinates led to the underground just below the Ordeal.
With an entire forest below the structure, some began to ask if there were more things below it, while others continued to wonder how such a thing was possible and why no high-level mage had shown up to do their own analysis and perhaps clear up some of these doubts, which made sense since all those who had shown up were low-level.
It was even strange, bizarre in fact, that no high-level wizard had shown up yet.
"Are you sure about that, Mr. Connor?" Alera asked.
If there really was a second floor of the Ordeal, what could he bring, more strange and delicious animals like wild boars, more fruits or vegetables like the red berries that helped wounds heal faster, herbs, minerals, or even new techniques like those revealed in the tomes?
The mere possibility of getting these things made them excited about the possible repercussions.
"No, I'm not sure, that's just the most likely based on what Cali and the other disciples managed to decipher from the "goblin language".
Connor admitted, which promptly resulted in a visible decline in the others' excitement.
– However, the possibility of it being true is considerably high, during our vigils we sometimes saw some of the goblins leaving the village and going somewhere inside a cave further back. These goblins did not return afterwards, indicating that at least there was some passage behind, this could be the second level of the Trial or its continuation.
Once again the elders stopped to think and saw that there was some logic in this thought, but still.
- If it were like that, young Connor, why not simply go around the goblin village and go straight behind the mountain. – Alera asked. – It would certainly take longer, but at least that way we wouldn't have to risk our lives, right?
- Yes sir, Alera is right, the problem is that just as we can't enter the floors by digging, we can't cross the mountain on foot. A small group of scouts and I have already tried, and the same force that prevents people from straying too far from the initial teleportation circle and the limitations of the forest.
This complicated things, not actually made them impossible. In the first 2 or 3 weeks since the Ordeal had appeared, and the initial wandering mages had confirmed that the forest really existed beneath the mysterious structure, some groups of "smart guys" tried to enter the Ordeal without having to go through the teleportation circle, digging to create a new entrance that they could declare theirs and charge admission for.
In the end, all they got was nothing more than a large hole, and some people passed out from lack of oxygen. Despite having dug to the depth that the mages said the forest was.
"And how do you intend for us to fight the goblins, young Connor? Even with experienced fighters, good leaders and a chain of command, it is not certain that we will be able to defeat them." Miriam said, remembering the way some groups of goblins behaved, some in a disorderly manner, just acting together, while other groups acted as a unit, covering their weaknesses.
Against the first type, even a group of knights could win as long as they didn't have more than 3 and were careful. With the second type, even a group of stable boys would have problems (one of the names used for inferior knights).
– You are right, Mrs. Miriam, and that is why my friends also decided to establish a basic supply chain, gathering materials from the Ordeal and the techniques of several apothecaries who came to the village and beyond for this purpose.
- That is good, but it still does not help much during combats, especially in large combats, since the supplies would by definition be in the back, at least as far as I know. – Piqval said with some uneasiness in his voice.
- You are also right, Mr. Piqval, and that is why Cali and Anna thought of a way to leave so that the supplies could be used during the fights.
- Ho! And how would that be possible? – Margo asked, intrigued by how things like food, arrow ammunition, throwing knives and medicines could be used during a fight.
Since Margo and her group's combat style was based primarily on the use of potions, a limited resource, this form of transportation could help them tremendously on their trips to the Ordeal.
At this, Connor became slightly embarrassed.
– Actually, a lot of this idea would depend on you and your group, Miss Margo.
Margo raised an eyebrow, while the others listened to the basic strategy that Connor and his friends had created. Without even realizing that the hesitation they had about fighting the entire village of goblins had almost completely disappeared in the middle of the conversation.
The strategy was basically set, the members for the "operation" had been decided, the supplies were essentially ready. Now all that was left was for the leaders to inform and convince their groups, which for them wouldn't be that difficult, and finally they could launch the second "expedition" in the Ordeal, with the certainty that it wouldn't be the same as the first.