Chapter 7: Ch.7: Planning & Training

With the numbers more or less identified, we returned to the village in order to inform the elder of the sheer quantity of Goblins we would be facing soon enough. His reaction was, as expected, somber and grim. He didn't look like the cheerful idiot he presented himself as upon first impressions.

"So that's how things are huh?" Was his immediate response. It was clear as day that we didn't have enough qualified people to fully repel the attack, at least not if we waited for them to raid us. 

"How quickly can these Goblins grow their numbers?" I asked, if it was anything like the knowledge my previous self had, then the longer we waited the worse it would get.

"They're like rabbits down in their caves. In a week they would've doubled their numbers, most likely." Korvak replied, the elder seemed disgusted at the idea.

I stood there, taking in the information in silence as the room with three people seemed to be covered in despair the longer we spent inside it. Sure, I was new around these parts and I didn't know any of these people. If worst came to pass I could maybe make a run for it but then what? Go where? With what money to support myself? I really didn't have any other lifeline other than this village, so I might as well try to protect it right?

"Maybe we could try to raid them..." I mumbled out the idea, the elder seemed confused and Korvak seemed pessimist. "Maybe we could stuff the entrance of the cavern with flammable material and asphyxiate or smoke them out. We wouldn't need a lot of people, and we could re-use the barricades we built."

The elder pondered on it as Korvak placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Look, I know you want to help but if we try to smoke them out we will just be facing them head-first. They're a horde by now, even if we manage to asphyxiate half of them, the other half can more than likely kill all of us and then have an empty road to the village. It's suicide." He seemed to speak from experience, I could tell the horror in his eyes was not just theoretical, it was very much real.

"If we wait in the village they'll just grow larger in numbers and completely surround us." I replied, trying to remain calm.

"At least we could buy some time for the villagers to run away, don't you get it? The village is done for already! We can't kill an entire horde with a bunch of farmers with pitchforks..." He exclaimed, pain breaking his voice. I remained silent, only looking over at the elder as he seemed to have made up his mind.

"I'm sure the people here won't move even if it means their death. They have lived here their entire lives, for multiple generations even, this is their home and if they feel the same as I do, then they would rather die protecting each other than running away and leaving their families without a home." He spoke with a somber tone of voice, as if he had already given up the idea of running away from this. 

Korvak looked at the both of us and took a deep breath, massaging the bridge of his nose as he tried to focus back into the conversation. 

"Korvak, if you feel we aren't ready then all you have to do is teach us right? Grab the Militia and teach them what you know, if we had even just a day or two then we would be way better than we would be the day of the raid." I suggested, giving him the option of taking action should make him feel a bit better.

He took a few moments to think before replying.

You are reading story Tales from Another World at novel35.com

"Alright. I will teach you what I know, wouldn't want you guys to die to a bunch of greenskin." He tried to joke a little but his voice felt in pain, he had seen this happen before. I had my ideas about it but this conversation just solidified it.

"Very well. The goblins don't seem to be heading closer for now, but I wouldn't give them more than two or three days. Korvak, you'll need to drill the very basics into their heads." The elder spoke, smiling a little at the idea of at least being able to fight back.

"By tomorrow they should be able to learn how not to stab each other at least."

Although the situation was grim, Korvak seemed to be in slightly better spirits than before. And oh boy his training would reflect that.

For the rest of the afternoon I was thrown into the militia group. I didn't have much of an idea of how to handle myself at first, but holding a wooden staff in my hands seemed more comfortable than I thought. The very basics included the handling of a spear, always being aware of the tip's position. This required a lot of walking and moving, trying to drill the careful movements into muscle memory as quickly as possible.

Once we were no longer hitting each other on the back of the head with the wooden staffs we moved into the next step: Stabbing. With spears the range and the piercing capabilities were the main strength to work with, so stabbing was the one thing that would become the rest of our afternoon. For hours on end we hit wooden planks of different sizes in precise points. It was hard to keep doing the same movement and my arms started to tire as the sun neared the horizon.

By the end of the day most of the men had to bandage their hands because of splinters and callouses forming from low-quality wood scraping against their palms. Tired but more knowledgeable, the night passed by in what seemed like a blink. We had been blessed with a full night of rest and no goblin in sight, so the training continued.

For most of the morning we continued practicing stabbing and basic defensive techniques, going over simple guards and how to deal with smaller enemies. Mind you, swords or axes would've worked better in such cases, but since the village was mainly agriculture and not foresting, then the number of pitchforks and similar implements were far larger than axes, so the militia would end up being armed with very rudimentary weaponry.

The day went by quickly than the previous one, with the movement, attacks and defenses slowly forming a basic proficiency over spears. The militia was then divided into three groups. The first were the ones that would be charging head-first into the cave to attract attention and lure the goblins into the ambush outside. This group was equipped with rustic shields made from planks meant only to keep them alive until they reached the outskirts, alongside a sidearm of their preference. Most of them chose small chopping axes and knives.

The second group would be in charge of the ambush and perimeter defense outside the cavern. They were all equipped with pitchforks and spears, with torches at the ready to throw when the timing was right. Then the third group was formed, the people deemed more proficient with fire and wood-work. They were tasked with taking the barricades and placing them outside after the first group charged through, lighting the fire and safeguarding that it doesn't go out. 

The smoke would be fanned inside with large pieces of leather and hemp clothing, asphyxiating every goblin that didn't run outside in time, and blinding those that did. The plan was made, the basic training was rushed but finished, and soon enough the day of the raid came. With goblins being nocturnal creatures, attacking during the day would be our best option.

And there I was, forming part of the second group waiting outside. The barricades and other flammable objects were piled just outside the cavern, and the screams from inside started to echo through the dark depths all the way to the green forest.

We waited, pitchfork and spear, side by side. Until the first group came charging through, the fire was lit and our turn came to do our job.

You can find story with these keywords: Tales from Another World, Read Tales from Another World, Tales from Another World novel, Tales from Another World book, Tales from Another World story, Tales from Another World full, Tales from Another World Latest Chapter