Karl was awoken well before his shift by the sound of monsters moving through the forest. The sound of breaking branches brought him out of a sound sleep, or perhaps it was Rae relaying the information about the noise.
In his half asleep state, Karl couldn’t tell the difference, but the mage on duty hadn’t noticed it yet.
“There is something big moving in the woods.” Karl whispered to her as he scanned the forest for the exact location of what was causing the noise.
Their position today wasn’t as high, so he didn’t have the advantage of being able to see over the treeline and look down at the monsters nearby, but he could still clearly hear the movement and it was getting closer.
“Wake the others if you think it’s going to attack us. I will be happy to let it pass by if we can so that we’re not fighting in the dark.” She whispered back.
That was a good point. Picking a fight when nobody could see what they were doing was a terrible idea, and from the look of the sky, this might be third shift, not fourth. The moon was still high in the sky, but there was no hint of light on the horizon that would suggest dawn was getting close.
Rae was up in the tree with them, and after a few seconds, she tapped Karl on the shoulder, bringing his attention to movement in the distance that could only be spotted as a bit of warm thermal imaging through the trees.
A small group of Hill Giants were moving around, snapping trees and then retreating.
“I have found them. Hill Giants making a camp. The noise was them breaking off small trees for their fire.” Karl whispered.
“In that case, we will likely be able to see them soon. They rarely hide their campfire, as it brings prey to them.” She replied grimly.
Most monsters were afraid of fire, but then Karl realized what she meant. Fire attracted humans. Their campfire would bring groups of Elites and soldiers to them, for the Giants to kill and eat.
They weren’t getting any closer, but they weren’t the only thing moving in the woods, and after a few minutes, Karl noticed that Goblins were also drawn to the fire, possibly thinking that it was a camp of humans.
“There are Goblins on the move, toward the Giants. Nothing is coming our way at the moment.” Karl updated the mage on duty.
“I’ve just started my watch, do you want to switch? Wake my sister next, and I will take your watch.” She offered.
“Alright. Sleep well, I don’t think that we will have problems, but it’s easier for Rae to explain to me than to anyone else.” Karl agreed.
[Can I kill the ones that smell good?] Rae asked hopefully after watching another group of Goblins headed for the Giants’ fire.
[If they’re weak enough that you can take them out without being spotted or causing a ruckus. We don’t want to draw the monsters away from their party.] Karl replied.
That was good enough for her, and Rae watched carefully for monsters that weren’t Goblins or other green things. The Lizardmen weren’t bad, and they struggled nicely in her web, but none of the green things made her top prey list.
The Commander Rank Hill Giant definitely did, and she was looking forward to getting another of them in the morning. They wouldn’t be difficult to find, as the fire was now clearly visible from their resting spot, and the sound of monsters arguing, or whatever they were doing, was loud enough that when Karl woke the next shift, she could hear them.
“How long has that been going on?” She asked.
“Nearly two hours now. Rae woke me up when the Hill Giants got close, and I switched shifts with your sister. Wake her up for last shift of the morning.
The light should attract all the monsters in the area, but I’m not certain what we will be able to do about it now that there are so many.
I have seen two groups of Goblins headed for the Giants, plus at least one group with Hobgoblins, and Rae intercepted a small group of Awakened Rank Ogres.
But we can’t see anything coming from the other sides, only what is close enough to be within sight or hearing range of our location.” Karl explained.
“Alright, get a few more hours of sleep, and we will work on a plan as soon as it starts getting light out. Prepare for a short night in case we have to run.”
Karl tucked himself back into bed, and only briefly noticed when Rae returned to her space to sleep, letting Hawk take over so that they were all well rested when the sun came up and things inevitably got dangerous.
Not that she was worried that their location would be spotted, Doug had done a good job of blocking their scent, but because someone was going to have to deal with that group, and unless all the monsters had left the nearby woods to join them, there probably wasn’t going to be another group to help.
They had all been relocated here because of the dangers of the area, so there were no extra groups around.
He was shaken awake by Hawk just as the others began to get active for the morning, preparing the breakfast ration packs, so the smell of cooking didn’t attract monsters.
[There are Ogres all over the forest, but nothing close to us. I took a flight earlier and the Giants camp is big, but weak. Plenty of Goblins, only a few other things with the Giants.
No big boss Giant this time that I can see, and I didn’t see a cave for them to hide in.]
Hawk was being extra vigilant today, after having missed the power level of yesterday’s fight. It had been an excellent learning experience for him, and you could never be too prepared for a battle. You could be too scared, or too cautious, but never too prepared.
Bob motioned for Karl to come closer as they whispered their plans.
“We had Hawk try and explain the situation, and it sounds like the Giants are the only major threat there. Does he think that we can take them in a fight without getting injured? Or should we start further out and clear away the other monsters in the forest first?” Their lead warrior asked.
Karl considered Hawk’s description for a moment. “There is no Commander Rank leader, and the Giants don’t outnumber us. But there are countless Goblins, plus some Hobgoblins and a few Ogres that decided to join them. From his description, the ogres sound like weaker ones that needed protection.
There are a lot of other Ogres in the area as well, but not at the camp.” Karl explained.
The rest of the group silently waited for Bob’s decision. They all knew their capabilities, and he had the most practical experience, so when it came to the final decision, they usually deferred to him.
“Alright, we will go for the camp and blitz it. Wipe out as many of the smaller monsters as we can right at the start, and then focus on the Giants and anything at Ascended Rank.” Bob announced after a few seconds of staring at the map.
“Eat up, and then we move out.” Doug agreed, before filling his mouth with oatmeal.
