They left Millbrook as the sun broke over the eastern treeline, pale light cutting through morning mist that clung to the fields.
Elias moved at a steady pace that ate distance without feeling rushed. Hiroshi matched it easily enough, his recovered body grateful for movement after four days sitting in a cart.
The road northwest was packed dirt, wide enough for two carts to pass each other with room to spare. Wheel ruts cut deep into the surface from years of traffic. Trees pressed close on both sides, thick enough that the road felt like a tunnel through endless green.
They walked in silence for the first hour.
Hiroshi used the time to observe Elias.
"You fought bandits on the way here," Elias said without looking at him.
"Yes," Hiroshi said.
"The merchant told the Guild House clerk last night. Said you took down seven of them without killing any." Elias glanced at him. "That true?"
"Yes."
"Why not kill them?"
Hiroshi had been expecting that question since it happened. "Didn't seem necessary."
"They would have killed you if the positions were reversed."
"Maybe. But the positions weren't reversed."
Elias made a noncommittal sound and returned his attention to the road. They walked another few minutes before he spoke again. "Most people I've worked with fall into two categories. First kind treats everything like a game. Kills without thinking because it's just what you do in combat. Numbers go up, experience gets gained, nobody stops to consider it."
He stepped over a fallen branch without breaking stride. "Second kind freezes up when things get real. They've never hurt anyone before, never seen real violence up close. First serious fight, they hesitate. And hesitation gets people killed."
Elias took a slight pause before countinung.
"You're neither. You fought effectively, put seven people down fast, but consciously chose not to kill them even though it would have been easier and safer." Elias looked at him properly this time. "That's either good judgment or dangerous naivety. Haven't decided which yet."
"Does it matter?"
"Probably. But we'll see how you handle whatever we find ahead." He pointed at the road. "There. See that?"
Hiroshi looked where he was indicating. The wheel ruts diverged slightly, one set veering toward the right side of the road before correcting back to center.
"Cart swerved," Elias said. "Not much, but enough to be noticeable. Something made the driver pull right suddenly then recover."
They moved to the side of the road where the deviation had occurred. Elias crouched and examined the ground, fingers tracing patterns in the dirt.
"Happened recently," he said. "Three days, maybe four. Right timeframe for our missing caravan." He stood and walked into the trees, scanning the undergrowth.
Hiroshi followed, watching where Elias looked rather than looking randomly himself.
"There," Elias said, pointing.
Broken branches about six feet off the ground. Scraped bark on a tree trunk. And pressed into the soft earth near the tree base, a partial hoofprint.
"Cart went into the trees," Hiroshi said.
"Not just went. Was forced." Elias pointed at the disturbed ground. "See how the tracks are scattered? Uneven spacing, deep impressions. The horse was panicked. Bolted off the road and crashed through here."
"What would make it bolt?"
"Good question." Elias moved deeper into the trees, following the trail of broken vegetation and disturbed earth. "Could be anything. Loud noise, predator scent, or something jumping out at them."
The trail led northeast, parallel to the road but deeper into the forest. They followed it for twenty minutes, the evidence getting clearer as they went. More broken branches. Torn cloth caught on a thornbush. A wooden slat that looked like it had come from a cart's side panel.
Then the trail just stopped.
Not gradually. It ended abruptly in a patch of disturbed earth and trampled grass. The wheel ruts disappeared. The broken branches stopped. Everything just ended in a roughly circular area about twenty feet across.
Elias stood at the edge of the disturbance, looking at it carefully.
"What is this?" Hiroshi asked.
"Fight happened here. Or an ambush." Elias pointed at the ground. "See the scuff marks? Something struggled. Multiple somethings. And these..." He crouched and picked up a broken arrow shaft. "Goblin made. Crude fletching, stone tip."
Hiroshi looked around the area more carefully. Now that Elias had pointed it out, he could see other signs. Scrapes in the dirt that could be claw marks. Small footprints, dozens of them, too small to be human. And dark stains on the grass that could have been blood.
"Goblins took the caravan?" Hiroshi asked.
"Looks like it. They ambushed the cart when it went off road. Probably had been tracking it for a while, waiting for an opportunity." Elias stood and brushed dirt from his hands. "Question is where they took everything."
"Can we track them?"
"Maybe. Goblins aren't subtle." Elias moved to the far edge of the clearing and stopped. "Here. See this?"
Hiroshi joined him. More small footprints, leading away from the clearing in a rough line toward the northeast. And between the footprints, drag marks. Something heavy being pulled through the undergrowth.
"They dragged the cargo," Elias said. "Probably the merchant too if he was still alive. Goblins prefer taking captives when they can. Use them for labor or ransom."
"So we follow the trail."
"Eventually. But not blindly." Elias straightened and looked at Hiroshi. "Goblins don't operate alone. If there's enough of them to take down a caravan, there's a camp nearby. Maybe a dozen goblins, maybe more. And we don't know the terrain between here and there."
"What do you suggest?"
"We scout carefully. Follow the trail but stay alert. If we find their camp, we assess the situation before doing anything stupid." Elias started walking along the goblin tracks. "And if things look bad, we pull back and get reinforcements. This is a retrieval mission, not a suicide run."
Hiroshi followed, his hand moving to his sword hilt.
The tracks led deeper into the forest, away from the road and into territory that got progressively rougher. The trees grew closer together. The undergrowth thickened. Twice they had to detour around fallen logs too large to easily climb over.
After an hour the tracks led them to a stream. The goblins had crossed here, the evidence clear in the mud on both banks. Elias and Hiroshi waded through the shallow water and continued on the far side.
The forest changed gradually. The trees were older here, thicker trunks and denser canopy that blocked most of the sunlight. The undergrowth thinned out in the permanent shade. And the tracks became easier to follow because the goblins had stopped being careful about covering their trail.
"They're close to home," Elias said quietly. "That's why they're not hiding their tracks anymore. They feel safe."
They moved more carefully now, making less noise, checking the area ahead before advancing. The goblin tracks led them up a gradual slope toward a rocky outcropping that rose above the surrounding forest.
Near the base of the outcropping, half-hidden by trees and boulders, was a cave entrance.
Elias held up a hand and they stopped behind a large tree trunk.
"There," he whispered, pointing.
Hiroshi looked where he indicated. Near the cave entrance, sitting on a flat rock, was a goblin. Green skin, pointed ears, maybe four feet tall. It held a crude spear and appeared to be on watch duty, though its attention was focused more on picking its teeth than watching the surroundings.
"Sentry," Elias said. "Which means the camp is inside the cave. They probably have the merchant and the cargo in there."
"How many do you think?"
"No way to know without going in. Could be ten, could be thirty." Elias studied the cave entrance. "This is where you need to make a decision. You can try to scout the cave, or you can head back and report what we found."
"What happens if i report?"
"Guild sends a proper team. Experienced adventurers. They clear the cave, recover what can be recovered." Elias looked at him. "Takes three days minimum. Maybe more."
"And the merchant?"
"Might be alive when they arrive. Might not be. Goblins aren't known for treating captives well."
Hiroshi looked at the cave entrance. At the lone sentry who still wasn't paying attention to anything important. At the dark opening behind it that led into unknown territory.
Three days was a long time. Too long if the merchant was injured or being mistreated.
But going in blind was stupid. Elias had been clear about that.
"We scout first," Hiroshi said. "Figure out how many there are and where they're keeping things. Then we decide."
Elias nodded slowly. "Reasonable. But remember, this is only an observation for me. Up to this point, I helped you because you're nothing but a greenhorn when it comes to tracking. But from now on, you take point."
"Understood."
They waited and watched the cave entrance, trying to learn the sentry's pattern and figure out the best approach.
The goblin continued picking its teeth, completely unaware it was being observed.