Goblins' Arrival

Mother points her snout to the side for a moment, back toward the kitsunes' abode. You do the same, but you can't hear anything by the time she speaks up. "It seems Camilla needs assistance with a goblin issue. Kara and I will continue with what we discussed on our own." She sits on her hind legs as you nod, returning to your own body. You had only 'trained' for a few minutes before Mother had apparently heard Cammy's distress.

When you open your eyes, you're curious to learn where Eve and Citrinas had gone, since they weren't in the fluffily-furnished room you went to 'sleep' in. Hell, even Blobby's missing... You stand up and stretch, before moving to the spiral staircase opposite the only door in the room. "Eve? Citrinas?" You hesitantly ascend the stairs, which you're pretty sure the archmage had told you not to climb, only to hear a squishing sound, spotting Blobby rapidly bounce down, hopping into your chest as she reaches the bottom. "I see one of you is still here."

"I'm coming!" Eve's voice rings out from above, and you step back just in time to see the goblin hop and climb down the outside of the railing, before sliding down the last loop on said railing. Similar to Blobby, she leaps off at the end and wraps herself around your torso with all four limbs, nearly flattening the blue blob between you. "Hey!"

You raise an eyebrow. "Both of you seem to be in a good mood..."

Her cheeks turn brown, but now that you're paying attention, a patch of lilac skin creeping up from below her jaw actually turns almost violet. "Uh, it's nothing. Just excited that you're back." The goblin's pushed back a bit as Blobby...reforms(?)

You exhale through your nose. "Fine, kee-" You briefly remember the Mark of Submission., so you don't quote a certain hobbit movie. "I won't pry." You pat her head as you set both of them down.

"Dusk." You look up once more, expecting to see Citrinas come down next, but you instead just hear her voice continue to speak. "Please return tonight."

You would think there'd be more said, but she leaves it there. "Alright, see you then, I guess," you say to the empty air. "Come on, Eve. I think some of the goblins showed up, and right now you're our only hope to speak with them."

Her previously joyful face turns almost horrified for a moment before she blinks and slightly shakes her head. Now with a determined look, she nods. "Alright."

[Translated from goblish]

Torch scrunches up her face as Shadow continues the shouting match between himself and the one called Borak. "You can't expect us to bow down to you! You're not the one who rules over us!"

The armored goblin raises his voice again. "The Red Arrow tribe is in charge and when Chief isn't here, that puts me in charge! You will listen to what I say or I'll execute you!" He raises a bone dagger, pointing it at the hobgoblin's face.

Torch groans, looking across the river at the human town, and at a handful of people keeping an eye on the bank. Funny how we were planning to raid these humans soon, but now we're going to work together... Suddenly, she spots a silhouette in the orange sky. "Both of you quiet. Chief is here."

They both straighten themselves up as the black-winged devil lands a dozen or so feet from the two tribes. He sets down the horned goblin and...a slime? Both follow him, and the former speaks up. "W-welcome to Riverbend." She's nervous again...where did the brave one from before go? After a bit of speech from Chief, she speaks more. "W-we're going to set up camp for the night, then travel in the morning." Eve then looks among the gathered goblinoids, nineteen in total, and says something to Chief. Torch can only catch a handful of words, but when he squints as well, he says something back, and one of the words she recognizes is 'Kormaks'.

"The Pussy Slaver tribe still hasn't come." Torch addresses what seems to be the horned goblin's concern.

After what seems to be a flinch, she smiles to the hobgoblin. "Y-yes, it seems so. Anyway, we will be discussing strategy tomorrow, but until then, get along, and don't fight the humans or each other except in self-defense. Even then, don't kill them." That last order...when chief said that, even before Eve repeated it...something felt off...

.....

You look at the nineteen goblinoids, twenty if you count Eve. I couldn't evolve down the archangel path, even though I clearly have more than thirty goblinoids under...loose control. But I don't think they really view me as their leader, just as the one that bosses them around. Is that why it wouldn't work? If so, is it possible to get these goblins to view me as a leader in the fight tomorrow? You do a headcount. If Kara counts now, then I'm gonna need nine of the Kormaks to show up in order to just make the threshold, and that's assuming I can somehow convince all of them to look at me as a leader, and not just the one in charge...unless maybe some of the ones back at Eve's tribe count?

The goblins have begun setting up for the night, the ones from Eve's tribe having brought some tents from their main camp. Torch and Shadow's tribe have only brought some moth-eaten blankets, alongside their food rations. (And looking at the tiny blanket covering Og is hilarious.) They haven't really needed to sleep outside since they have the barn...maybe I could grab some things from town?

"Hey Private!" You turn around, spotting Camilla shouting from across the river, right next to the church. "We need you and Eve over here!"

You turn to Eve and Blobby. "Time to go for now." You pick up the pair as Eve says something to the nearby hobgoblins, then fly yourself the short distance over the river, landing right next to the captain. "What's the situation?"

As you set down Eve and polymorph yourself, Camilla starts walking and talking. "We're talking strategy. Captain Roger invited us, since we know the area around the hive."

You nod. "Makes sense. Surprised he didn't settle for just you."

She turns the corner, about to enter the church. "Wait till he figures out about you turning into a human." She leads you into the stone building, and you can see the male captain standing and discussing something with Gilford at the altar.

"Captain, you can't expect me to be a one-man army." Gilford holds the bridge of his nose.

"Then why didn't you send word before now!" Roger waves his arm in anger, holding his helmet against his side with his other hand and revealing a head of red hair.

The priest makes eye contact with you, lightly pursing his lips. "I did." He clears his throat. "Captain, Dusk, Eve...slime..." He frustratingly closes his eyes before opening them again. "Now we can begin."

The knight looks to you and does a double-take. "Who is this?"

You raise the hand not holding Blobby in a light wave. "Hi, I'm Dusk. I'm the monster you fought before."

He looks shocked, but when he looks to Gilford - who nods - his fist tightens. "You're only here to provide information about the Empress and her hive."

"And to help with my own army of goblins. And myself. And now, maybe a slime." You add on more and more, luckily remembering not to bring up the kitsune.

Roger's face scrunches up in anger. "You will not-"

"He will." You all look to the side, spotting a certain archmage sitting on her floating pillow. "I need more combat data." The redhead captain stops and stares at Citrinas in anger. "Dusk informed me of the hive, and of how dangerous it is. Two hundred soldiers won't be enough."

You cock an eyebrow to her. When did I mention...any of that? "Yeah, two hundred soldiers is great, but if they're all like the ones you sent at me earlier, I don't think you'll last long enough to reach the Empress." You step up the two steps leading to the altar, followed closely behind by Eve and Camilla.

.....

Camilla points to the circle on the paper she had drawn before meeting up with you. "So a pincer attack would ensure the least amount of contact between the goblins and humans."

Roger shakes his head. "Initially, yes. However, our ideal position would have soldiers secure the area immediately around the hive while the goblins provide support from the trees."

Eve then shakes her head. "We only have three people that could give covering fire. We don't have enough bows and arrows that everyone's trained with them."

"And what would you have us do?" He sneers.

You set a hand on the goblin's shoulder. "Only a handful of the goblinoids can't be relied on for stealth. With their green skin, the rest of the tribe could use the foliage as camouflage to flank the hive, giving better chance for them to get inside before being noticed."

"Are you suggesting my men to be used as bait?"

"In a sense, yes. However, assuming you didn't bring any priests with you, we've got four healers already in town to heal any injuries."

"And what of you? What do you plan to be your role in all this?"

You think for a moment. I could just provide air support, but that would be ignoring the Empress and Graul to confront us on their terms... "I'll stall the Empress and her therian bodyguard." When he stares at you, you realize he probably doesn't know about the wolfman. "I've been...staking out the place the past few days. The Empress is on the top floor with open windows, and will likely coordinate a counterattack from there. If I can throw her off her game, the hornets will be less organized. As for the therian, I can't say where he'll pop up, but he's a wolf, if that helps."

He grunts, pausing before crossing his arms. "Then it's settled. My army will attack from the southeast, while the goblins surprise them with a flanking maneuver. Communication on the battlefield will be difficult, so we'll be using flares to signal each other. Myself and my lieutenants will each have three flares. Green means an objective is completed, red means to retreat, and blue is a special circumstance. We have extra, so I will make sure some are provided for you three. Camilla, your squad will join us in assaulting the southeast. Eve, you and the goblins will attack from the northeast. I'll signal when you should start with a blue flare."

Camilla raises her hand. "Actually, I think Dusk should give that signal once he engages with the Empress."

Roger glares at her, but nods in agreement. "It makes sense. Dusk, signal the blue flare when you enter the Empress' chamber. Eve, Camilla, if you get close enough to enter the hive, launch the green flare and enter. The first squad to enter will climb upward, while the second will descend. Every squad after that will secure positions at ground-level. Does that sound reasonable?"

As everyone nods, the meeting concludes. We have an actual plan now...