Friedenshain Cleanup (pt 3)

“You want to allow the goblins to storm this square?” Cedric asked with a surprised voice while pointing at the chaos around them.

“That is exactly the opposite of what needs to happen! Now excuse me, I have some goblins to slay,” the impatient lord added.

“Stop!” Miho yelled, she walked and blocked the lord from reentering the battlefield.

“That won’t work, you won’t be able to kill the goblins by force even with a thousand defenders. If you look up at the sky, you can see weird smoke hanging around. This is magical dust that will allow the goblins to keep respawning.”

Cedric looked up, his hand against his forehead in order to block the sunlight from blinding him.

“Mmm,” he said. “A small cloud of dust hanging above a battlefield is not unusual, but certainly not expected above cobbled streets like these,” he responded calmly, after which he looked at Miho’s face again.

“So tell me, Miss Miho, how exactly are you planning to resolve this attack and prevent the impending collapse of Friedenshain?”

“As I tried to explain before, we need to gather all the goblins at one central place such as this square. If we station the defenders at every one of the six entrances, we would be able to enclose them and attack them from every side,” Miho faced and pointed at each of the six narrow streets lined by tall timber houses.

Cedric looked at Miho with a frown, his mind pondering.

“After closing in on all goblins, we have to defeat them from all sides simultaneously. At last, I will transform Clarice and suck away the leftover magical particles, so the goblins cannot come back again.”

“Are you certain that this plan will work?”

Miho nodded her head. This was not the right time to get uncertain, she had to convince Cedric of her plans.

“One hundred percent,” she had seen the extent of Clarice’s power at the Magnolia Gardens after all. By trapping the goblins in the square, there would be no chance of any of them fleeing as they did at the gardens.

If it fails, I’ll just clean up afterward. Miho quickly looked at her destroyed surroundings. The fairytale-like town had turned into one big mess.

I'll correct myself, we will need to clean up regardless.

X

After Miho convinced Cedric of her plan, he started ordering the defending troops to reposition themselves.

“Baltazar, I want you and your men to circle the goblins from behind, cutting them off from the gap in the wall. This is the most strategically important job, so you are the only one I could trust too,” the lord preached.

“We won’t disappoint you, sir!” Baltazar yelled. “Hai” his men sitting on their horses yelled in unison while lifting their swords in the air.

“For all of you currently holding our frontline, please move yourselves to the nearest exit without breaking the line. We need to give away some territory so we gather all goblins together. I’ll count on you!”

Miho looked at the defenders who started retreating step by step, their boots stamping on the cobbled surface. That is when Miho spotted a giant sword lying on the ground, almost getting trampled by the retreating defenders. Miho ran toward the familiar-looking sword, crouched, and grabbed the handle with both hands.

How is she ever able to carry this? she thought while lifting the hefty sword from the ground.

“Chopzilla!” she heard a womanly voice yell from afar. She could see the dark-haired warrior storm towards her, going against the flow of the retreating defenders. Her path collided with Miho’s and she grabbed her beloved weapon out of her hand.

“I am so so sorry for abandoning you, my beloved!” she pulled out her polishing cloth and started rubbing it over the dirt-covered sword.

“Let me help,” Miho said while transforming Clarice. With her now softened brittles, Clarice quickly got Chopzilla into top shape. While retreating to one of the entrances, Miho asked Karen about her brother.

“He is in good hands, the healers told me he would be back to his old self in no time.”

Miho looked at her friend with a smile.

“What is the matter?” Karen asked with a worried expression.

“Well… I guess you have given me your answer. You would pick your brother over your sword after all,” Miho answered.

“I never had any doubts about that, even though he can be a total idiot sometimes, I will always protect him when required. I only have one brother you see?” Karen responded after which she practised a couple of poses.

“Now excuse me, I need to beat up some goblins! The only thing they'll gain today is a firsthand experience of my blade!” she chanted, taking a sprint and leaping into battle. Miho watched from the sideline as her friend and the other companions started fighting the goblins. Miho could see the banner from Baltazar’s group appear on the other side of the marketplace.

The plan is working! Miho thought while bawling her fist, enjoying this small victory. The square was now surrounded at every side by the defenders, all goblins situated at its center.

“Let’s start the extermination!” Cedric exclaimed. His bannerman changed pose, and a soldier standing next to Miho blew his horn. She clutched her hand before her heart as the defenders pushed the goblins to the center. The sound of the warriors' prize swords clashing against the goblins' rusty daggers pierced Miho’s ears. A group of archers hanging out of the upper-floor windows of the houses surrounding the square started raining a wave of arrows down at the legion of goblins. A group of magicians cast their spells and rained balls of pure magic energy on their opponents.

Miho looked up at the cloud of magical dust hanging above the market square. With every goblin getting killed, she could see the cloud growing in size. A small ball of dense, collected energy started forming at the exact center of the square, just as Miho had hoped for.

The defenders had entered the marketplace, now completely encircling the horde of goblins. With their renewed energy, the defenders were now unstoppable. Goblins fell to the ground, crumbling into dust all over the new front, their numbers dropping by the second. With the size of the herd diminishing, the circle of brave warriors surrounding them became smaller and smaller.

With only a small group of goblins remaining, the ball of magical energy hanging in the sky above them kept growing in size. Preparing for the herd’s imminent collapse, Miho held Clarice in her stretched-out arm and started to transform it into the little box she used to trap magical energy in the dungeon and the gardens.

“It’s your turn Clarice,” she quietly whispered as she felt the box's square shape appear in her hand. Miho stood on her toes, trying to look over the crowd of defenders standing before her. Only a couple of goblins were remaining, battling a small group of defenders tasked with exterminating the last of these pesky intruders. Part of this brave group was Karen, whose sword beheaded one after another until only a singular goblin remained.

“The honor is yours!” Cedric yelled at Karen, who wasn’t going to let this chance slip. With a brave yell, she lifted her sword far above her head and sliced the hopeless goblin in half. A large cheer could be heard from the mouths of the victorious defenders. But the danger had not resided just yet. The gloomy ball of energy hovered above the group of joyous defenders, looking like it could burst at any moment.

Cedric commanded the troops to split, forming a path for Miho to walk up to the most central point. The brave warriors looked at the foreign-looking girl, some with admiration, others with doubt. Carefully, Miho stepped clutching the little box with her hand. She looked at Cedric, her eyes locking with the castle lord’s. The man who trusted her and gave her a job when she arrived all alone in this unfamiliar land.

“I promised you I could clean anything, so let me prove that once again today!” Miho exclaimed while she took her hand from the box, lifting its lid. Like before, the box started sucking in the ball of energy forming a gush of wind at the center of the square. Miho braced herself as she felt the enormous force of the magical energy flow towards her. She heard the crowd cheering as the ball of energy disappeared. Even the skeptical warriors now chanted her name.

“Miho!” “Miho!”.... Miho’s vision became blurry… she felt her body getting heavy.

I guess this was to be expected…

X

Slowly, Miho regained consciousness. She felt herself lying in a familiar bed, the soft blankets holding her tired body warm. Slowly, she opened her eyes and stared at a familiar pair of big-blue eyes.

“Miss Miho, you are back!” the excited Hanna exclaimed. “I was so worried about you when you walked down those steps and faced those terrifying monsters! But don’t worry, I always trusted you could do it!”

“Ehh... eh.. how are you feeling?”, the clumsy girl stuttered as she stared into Miho’s tired eyes.

“Thank you for asking. I have a bit of a headache,” Miho responded while putting her hand against her forehead.

‘Let me help you!” Hanna said as she stormed out the door. About a minute later, she returned with a wet piece of cloth as well as some freshly baked cookies and a pot of tea. When opening the door, she almost tripped, dropping all the stuff she carried. She folded the wet cloth and put it on Miho’s head.

“Thank you, Hanna,” Miho said with a smile. “How is mother doing? And the others, Lorian, Karen, the villagers…” the faces of the people defending the town flashed through her sore head.

“My mom is doing fine, she is busy cleaning the house. Karen told me her brother has been released from the sick bay.”

“That is great to hear,” Miho mumbled while grabbing the cup of tea Hanna carried. She blew away some of the steam coming from the hot tea and took a little sip. A warm, nostalgic feeling filled her stomach.

“You learned fast Hanna, this brings me back to my home country,” Miho said with a smile. She grabbed ahold of one of Hanna’s cookies and took a bite.

So delicious.

“Actually Miho, I forgot to tell but Lord Cedric left a letter for you,” Hanna said while handing Miho the envelope. She tore the seal and started reading. Or at least made an attempt too.

I haven’t had time to practice my reading lately, she thought while the strange letters danced before her head. Miho handed the letter back to Hanna.

“Can you please read it out loud?”

Hanna took the letter in her hand and started reading Cedric’s message.

“Dear Miho, thank you for coming up with such a brilliant plan to defeat those goblins. You and your cleaning magic proved itself once again. I am afraid I have to ask you for one last favor, can you come to help us clean up the mess that Friedenshain has turned into? I promise you, the pay will be worth it. Your Lord, Cedric.”

Miho stretched her arms, put the wet cloth on her nightstand, and stepped out of bed.

“W… what are you doing? You are sick, aren’t you? You should stay in bed,” Hanna muttered as Miho put on her slippers.

“After that cup of tea I already feel way better,” Miho said reassuringly.

“The town needs me, there is a lot of mess for me to clean up!”