The forest was eerily quiet as Jack sprinted between the trees, the sound of his boots pounding against the earth drowned out by the occasional rustle of the wind. His pulse raced as he scanned the shadows, alert to every shift in the air, every whisper of movement. His M4 Carbine felt heavy in his hands, but he knew it was his only chance to make a difference now. The goblins were endless, a tidal wave of green, but something behind the scenes was driving them. If he could take out whatever was causing them to rise again, maybe, just maybe, they'd have a fighting chance.
Jack's eyes darted back and forth. Then, just ahead, he saw something—a glimmer of green light. It was faint, but unmistakable. He moved quickly, staying low to the ground, keeping the trees between him and the unknown figure ahead. As he drew closer, the glow intensified, and Jack's heart skipped a beat. He could see the figure now—a cloaked figure, bent over something. The eerie glow surrounded the being like a halo, and in its hands was an object, small and circular, pulsing with necrotic energy.
A necromancer.
The figure turned slightly, and Jack caught a glimpse of its face—a sharp, hollow stare from beneath the hood. No time to waste. He raised his rifle, steadying his breath, and took aim. He squeezed the trigger.
The sound of the shot was deafening, but the figure barely flinched. Instead, it straightened up and turned fully toward Jack, revealing the intricate runes carved into its hands and staff. The necromancer lifted the staff high, muttering words in a language Jack couldn't understand, but he didn't need to. He could already feel the ground vibrating beneath his feet, the power building.
Jack fired again, this time hitting the necromancer's shoulder. The figure staggered back, but the green light flared brighter, and Jack's heart sank as more goblins began to emerge from the forest, renewed and angry. His shot hadn't been enough.
The necromancer's lips curled into a smile, but before Jack could react, a burst of energy erupted from the staff, sending a wave of dark magic hurtling toward him. Jack dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the blast, but the force of it left him with a splitting headache. He scrambled to his feet, but the necromancer was already preparing another attack.
"Damn it!" Jack muttered to himself, his mind racing. He had to take this thing down, and fast. He glanced around—there had to be something, anything, he could use to his advantage. Then he spotted a large rock nearby. Quick thinking. Jack ran toward it, using it as cover.
The necromancer was still busy summoning more goblins, and Jack's grip tightened on his weapon. This time, he wouldn't miss.
Taking a deep breath, Jack leaned out from behind the rock and fired once more, aiming for the necromancer's chest. This time, the shot found its mark. The necromancer's eyes widened in surprise as the bullet punched through its cloak, but it wasn't enough to stop the ritual.
With a desperate roar, Jack sprinted forward, diving to the ground to avoid another blast of dark energy. He felt his heart pounding in his chest as he closed the distance. There was only one chance left.
As he neared, he pulled the combat knife from his side, and in a swift motion, he lunged forward, driving the blade into the necromancer's side. The figure gasped, the green light flickering as the power surrounding it began to dissipate. The necromancer staggered, its grip on the staff weakening. Jack didn't hesitate. He twisted the knife, then yanked it free, bringing the blade up toward the necromancer's throat.
The green light vanished completely as the necromancer collapsed to the ground, its eyes blank and lifeless.
But the fight was far from over.
Jack turned, his breath ragged, his vision blurry from the force of the battle. He could hear the clash of steel and the crackle of fire as his comrades fought in the distance, but the goblins were still coming—more and more of them. The necromancer was dead, but the damage had already been done.
Jack sprinted back toward the battle, his mind focused on survival. The necromancer was down, but now he had to help his team finish what they'd started. As he approached, he saw Talon still holding the line, his shield battered but unyielding. Ein was moving with lethal grace, cutting down goblins as they tried to swarm Talon. Monte, though clearly exhausted, was launching fireballs with impressive precision, turning the tide of the battle one blast at a time.
But there were still too many goblins.
"Jack!" Ein's voice cut through the chaos, and he saw her break away from the fight, running toward him with an intensity that matched her usual resolve. "Did you get the necromancer?"
Jack nodded, his breath coming in heavy gasps. "Yeah, but it's not over. There are still too many of them."
"We can't keep this up much longer," she said urgently, her blade dripping with goblin blood. "We need to finish them off before we're overwhelmed."
Jack's eyes scanned the battlefield, his mind working rapidly. "We need a way to stop them from coming back. The necromancer's dead, but there could still be another source. We need to find it."
"Monte," Jack shouted. "Do you have anything left? We need to stop them for good."
Monte, still breathing heavily, nodded and staggered forward. "I've got one more trick up my sleeve," he muttered, focusing all his energy.
Jack watched as Monte raised his staff high, his hands trembling with exertion. The fire that had been flickering in his eyes before was now replaced with an eerie calm. He began to chant once more, his voice low and rhythmic. The ground around them trembled, and the very air seemed to crackle with power.
Jack barely had time to step back as a massive wave of fire erupted from the staff, sweeping across the battlefield. The goblins screamed as they were incinerated in the blaze, their bodies turning to ash in an instant. The fire consumed everything in its path, turning the once overrun forest into a burning hellscape.
When the smoke cleared, Jack's heart sank.
The goblins were gone.
But so was the forest.
Jack turned to Monte, his eyes wide in disbelief. "You… you did it."
Monte, visibly drained from the effort, managed a weak grin. "I think that's enough fire for one day."
Talon, still standing at the front line, lowered his shield, a look of grim satisfaction on his face. "It's over," he said, his voice heavy with exhaustion.
Jack nodded, but his mind was already moving to the next challenge. The battle had been won, but the war was far from over. He couldn't help but wonder what other dark forces were waiting for them down this twisted path.
Jack's adrenaline and feelings of euphoria were calming down. As Jacks excitement was calming down, Ein's was lifting up. As always after a fight, Ein ran over to Jack and jumped on top of him hugging him in a full embrace with her arms and legs.
Jack almost fell over but caught her in his arms, he could feel her breath hot on his neck, he already knew what was coming, she always got like this after a near death experience.
Ein whispers softly in Jack's ear quiet enough so no one else could hear her "I want you now Jack, I want you to take me and make my body yours."
"Now?" Said Jack, red in the face as Monte and Talon were still catching their breath not paying attention to what was going on. "Monte and Talon are right there, are you crazy?" Jack asked already knowing the answer himself.
Ein pouted and released her grip from Jack "I am not crazy," she replied. "But you're right. We will have our special moment when we make it to the faction," Ein said seductively.
Jack Ignored that comment for the moment and turned to Monte. "I thought the faction was here? The only thing here was an army of goblins. Where is it then Monte?" Jack asked slightly accusatory.
Monte took a deep breath and responded "It was here, I was not here too long ago. It's supposed to be right over this hill but they would never have let an army of goblins run amok right outside their gates."
With a sense of dread, they all began their climb over the hill, preparing themselves for anything.
There it was.
The faction was in ruin, buildings burnt down, the gates broken. Someone was here before them and destroyed it. It looked like a small town with a few wooden buildings and tents everywhere. But now it was littered with debris. Jack looked down on the town in despair. The one place that was going to help give him more answers was gone. And seemingly, everyone was gone with it.
Jack started to walk down the hill toward the town. He decided that he would at least look around to see if he could find anything, and answers on what happened and why. The group followed suit.
As Jack walked through the desolate street in the center, he could see that there was a battle here, a hard battle. The people of the faction fought for their lives. Jack didn't think the goblins could have caused this much damage and destruction.
They all split up searching for anything that may be useful. Jack walked straight ahead on the road while the others began searching the tents and buildings right at the entrance. A thick fog encompassed the street limiting visibility.
As he walked down the road Jack heard a rustle come from one of the buildings to his side. He glanced at it from the corner of his eye using his peripheral vision so he wouldn't tip off whoever it was that he heard move. Jack saw a pair of eyes on him from the window. He straitened his own eyes and walked ahead, pretending not to hear or see anything. When Jack made it about two buildings ahead, he went behind to the back of the buildings and quietly returned to the one he saw someone in.
Jack slowly and quietly slid his M17 out of its holster, gripping it tightly with his finger hovering next to the trigger. He was trained that it was never good to clear a building alone but he had no choice at the moment. Slowly and quietly, he stalked through the hall, aiming into and clearing each room he came across systematically. He went up to the second floor, and there he heard a little more noise. It sounded like... sobs.
Jack quietly walked over to the room with the noise and posted up against the wall outside of the door. Taking a quick look in, he spotted his target and stepped through the door with the gun aimed at a girl.
"Who are you and why are you here?" Jack yelled demandingly.
The girl screamed from being startled by Jack, her hands up in surrender "Please don't hurt me, I give up I swear, just don't kill me," She cried loudly.
Jack could hear his team yelling for him, they must have heard the screams. Without taking his gun off of the woman Jack walked over to the window and yelled out of it "I found someone in the building! But stand down, I have this under control!"
Jack kept his M17 trained on the woman, "What happened here? who are you," he asked.
"I live here, with the faction. The Knights of Ciradil did this. They destroyed the town, killed most people and took others hostage. My name is Jess and please, you have to help me save my brother"
Jack lowered his weapon, "Who are the Knights of Ciradil and where is your brother?"
"They took him to their encampment just a few miles from here. They came and set up camp just a few miles away from us so that they could attack our town. Please, sir, If they take him back to Ciradil they will hang him for treason." Jess begged on her knees, her forehead on the ground.
It reminded Jack of Japanese people when they ask for things. At least on the anime he's seen.
Jess had long silky red hair that went down to her waist. She had high cheek bones and very pale skin. Her legs were long and slender but her shoulders were wider then normal and arms were very toned. Jack noticed a bow propped up against the wall across the room, so her build made more sense.
Jack outstretched a hand to Jess, "My name is Jack, Come on, let me introduce you to the others and then we will go get your brother. Once we do that, I'm going to have some questions for the both of you."
Jess looked up with tears streaming down her face and a small smile crept up her lips, "Thank you so much sir, you are a real hero."
"I don't know about that" Jack replied.