My group easily outdistanced Carnage, and his overlapping voice was soon lost in the swishing grass. We ran for about thirty minutes, but then the goblins started to slow down as we reached a section of the forest where all the grass became short.
When we reached the edge of the grass, the goblins stopped and turned around to face me. The grass on the other side was dramatically shorter than the three-foot stuff we were wading through.
It was almost like someone had been cutting it, but I found it highly unlikely. There might be some animals eating it, but it looked too even.
The line that divided the tall from the short was too clean and even, so there was no way that animals were doing this.
"We are getting close, but this is Karl's sanctuary, and he will know as soon as we step into it," Ayech explained to me.
[All the centaurs have particular areas that they stay in. Sometimes they will move after getting stronger, but most of them pick a spot that suits them the best and then stay.] Libra explained, and I somewhat understood.
"Alright, well, that just means that he will know we are coming, so is there something waiting out there? Maybe bombs? Or is he going to send people to," I asked, but then I was cut off by a voice.
"Come out now, and you will have the privilege of becoming one of my illustrious experiments! I have you surrounded!" the voice of a mad scientist called out; it had to be, no one talked like that that was sane.
I looked around, but I didn't see anything. That didn't mean anything, but I didn't really feel threatened.
He did just threaten to make me one of his experiments, but he never said he was going to kill me. I wasn't about to let myself get caught by this maniac, but I was curious to see what was wrong with this horseman or whatever Karl was.
"What do you think, Howl? You have been silent this entire trip," I said to my big blue wolf that I had just named Howl.
"Howl? That is what I do! It is not a name!" Howl growled but then said, "Karl is a hopeless fool, just kill him."
"It is a name, your name. Now, let's deal with Karl. Come along, my octolet of goblins," I said as I nodded and started to walk forward.
The moment I stepped onto the grass, little wild-looking goblins with devices attached to them started to come out of hiding. They all had crazy looks in their eyes, and most seemed to stumble, while some were even crawling towards me.
It was the strangest thing that I had ever seen, and I started to walk towards them with Howl at my side and the goblins behind us. Karl didn't say anything else, but something strange happened, and the devices attached to their chest started to glow.
Suddenly the creatures that could barely even walk were bursting towards me, and they started to get close. I turned to the wolf and then glared at him.
"Are you kidding me? How do I not kill these things?!" Howl growled, and I turned back to the first savage goblin that was almost within range.
"Take the devices of them; that should stop whatever he is doing to them to control them. After that, I don't think that they will bother us," I said as the first one jumped in the air at me.
I snatched the creature out of the air by the neck, and I removed the strange device in one motion. It was a metal ring on a plate with strange glowing runes carved into it with leather straps that were holding it on.
The leather straps were secure, but they snapped quickly with my strength. The moment that I took it off, all the first and struggle left the goblin, and it gave me a strange look.
I tossed it to the side without a thought and grabbed at the next two that flew at me, this time targeting just the rune plates. Whatever these things were, they weren't permanent, but that was great for us.
Howl was ripping the devices off, but my group of goblins was starting to get into the fight now. Even the Genni was trying to rip one of the devices off an unconscious goblin, and Milo complained about how they were all going to die.
Within minutes, all the goblins were lying on the ground or walking around in confusion, but there was no blood anywhere, thankfully. I was glad to get this done and over with while not having any casualties.
"What have you done to my army! That is it! I will face you myself!" Karl, the mad scientist, cried out.
Then the sound of a very large and powerful horse came clopping into the clearing.
I tried, I really did. I didn't want to, but the moment I saw the tiny little disfigured man's body attached to the type of horse that could tow a house, alone; I laughed like a hyena.
"You think you are funny?! Prepare yourself, Trespasser! I will hold nothing back!" Karl cried out and then charged me.
The small, disfigured man had no device attached to him, and besides the massive horse body, I could see no weapons. I stood still and waited as goblins scattered out of the centaurs' way and headed straight at me.
[You are pretty tough, but that horse will mess you up if it hits you!] Harold said with alarm as Karl got closer.
This was true, but I had a pretty good feeling about this guy, and I was confident in the choice that I was making. If his body was the only thing perfect on him, then I had to believe that holding my ground was my best plan.
I was pretty sure, but Karl wasn't slowing down.
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