Chapter 44: 45-Squirrel

First, there was silence. 

Then there was screaming, as the remaining living goblins recognized the threat.

And then the remaining three goblins began running away from the swamp.

Rowan quietly followed the group as he replayed in his mind what just happened. He was still in shock, but he at least recognized what had grabbed the goblin.

It had been one of the lily pads that hovered on the murky swamp surface. There was something attached to the bottom of the lily pad as it had jumped out and grabbed the poor unsuspecting monster once it was close enough to the water’s edge. Rowan had not gotten a good look as the whole thing happened so fast. Also the fact that he was keeping his distance from the goblins didn’t help as that meant he was also far away from the swamp when it all happened.  

Safe to say, maybe all the lily pads in the swamp were connected in some manner. It would be best to stay away from the swamp for now. Whatever was in the swamp, be it plant or monster, Rowan was not ready to deal with it yet, if ever.

The goblins frantically ran as fast as their feet could carry them. Rowan tried to keep as quiet as possible behind them. In their current state, he doubted the goblins were paying attention to other threats. They were too scared of whatever had consumed their brethren would come out of the swamp and try to get them too. Thankfully nothing of the sort happened. 

The goblins had run for 15 minutes straight before finally stopping to catch their breath. Rowan hid behind a nearby tree once again to observe their actions.

“Gigigigigigi?”

“Gah!”

“Gigigigi! Gokigoki!”

Gigigigigigigigi!””

After a bit of shouting at each other, the goblins once again began to brawl. Rowan didn’t understand the goblin language, but he felt as if he had an idea what kind of conversation just happened.

It probably went something like this:

“What in the world was that?”

“A monster!”

“I know it was a monster! I want to know what that thing doing in the swamp was stupid!”

“I’m not stupid! You’re stupid!”

-and after the insults they began to fight.

This time the fighting didn’t take long as the goblins stopped  after throwing a few punches at each other, too exhausted from running away to continue. The biggest goblin started pointing in one direction while the other goblins began pointing in completely different directions. Rowan could tell that the goblins were lost, or at the least there was no indication of more goblins coming.That was all good for Rowan as he didn’t have to worry about a goblin ambush. If the goblins aimlessly wandered around,they would help Rowan reveal the dangerous threats that lived in the forest.

It did not take long before the goblins finally settled on a direction. In the end, the goblins decided to follow the direction that the biggest goblin decided. The three goblins began walking with Rowan quietly following.

The group of goblins soon came upon another living being, or rather it found them.

The goblins had been walking normally when they suddenly froze and stared at a certain spot. Rowan had stopped to keep his distance while wondering what could make the goblin stop in their tracks. His eyes wandered until he thought he saw what caused the goblins to freeze.

A squirrel.

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With black beady eyes, brown fur and a bushy tail, the squirrel just stood on the tree staring right back at the goblins. It size could easily fit in  Rowan’s hands

What about the tiny animal that made the goblins freeze?

Apparently it didn’t take long for action.  Rowan observed as the squirrel screeched out loud. A small scratching noise that wasn’t very loud, but still unnerved the goblins as they began to fidget with their sticks in hand as weapons. 

At first, only one squirrel  appeared after the call. The small animal popped up on a nearby tree branch.

Then another squirrel popped up.

And another.

Soon more squirrels began to gather on top of the trees. Just by the look of it, at least thirty squirrels had answered the call and made their presence known. At this point, Rowan had a bad feeling and was becoming increasingly nervous. Even though he was at least twenty feet away, he didn’t feel safe. The goblins must have been terrified as they were the ones right in front of the squirrel mob.

“RRREEEEEE!”

That was the signal as Rowan watched in amazement. The squirrel had shouted and then disappeared from sight.

No, it didn’t disappear, rather it moved so fast that his eyes barely caught it movement. 

The next thing Rowan knew was that one of the goblins sprouted a fountain of blood from its neck.

Seeing their comrade suddenly bleeding, the remaining goblins started screaming in terror and then began to flee. Rowan felt cold as he followed suit and kept a close eye on the injured goblin. It lifted a foot as if to follow its brethren, but its hope was dashed as the remaining squirrel all jumped and charged at it. The last thing Rowan saw was a swarm of squirrels gorging on the body.

That was another threat to remember.

The remaining two goblins kept running away as they had no wish to become the next meal of carnivorous squirrels.

Unfortunately it seemed the goblin fate was not meant to be that day. The goblins suddenly stopped and stared ahead of them.

What could have stopped the goblins in their tracks this time?

A deer.

Taller than both Rowan and the goblins, the deer stood in the way of the goblins' path. Light brown fur with four legs and innocent eyes, the creature stood in their way. However, Rowan knew that nothing living in the Forest of Death was simple. Anything that survived the inner depths was dangerous, no matter how harmless it looked. Just the fact that the goblins were too afraid to move at the sight of the deer proved the fact.

The goblins and the deer stared off at each other, none willing to make the first move. Both species were judging each other and whoever moved first would be the one placed in a disadvantage situation.

It was the goblins that ran out of patience first. With a yell, the biggest one charged at the deer waving a stick threateningly. The other goblin followed in the same manner and charged. They probably thought that they were safe with the two of them. The deer watched unperturbed by the goblins' numbers and wild manners. 

The deer only did one thing.

CHOMP!

With sharp teeth that Rowan did not think befitting of such an animal, the deer bit off the goblin’s head in one swift bite.  

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