He had been ambushed twice on the road back to the garrison. Once by a group of goblins, and another by wolves. Having magic back had trivialized both encounters, and in the case of the goblins, taking out a few had sent the rest scurrying back into the trees, screaming some sort of obscenities in the goblin language. Avdren wasn't sure if it was funny or sad, but decided not to think about it too much. Becoming overconfident because his magic was back wasn't going to get him anything but trouble. He was pleased at how much Beth had begun to trust him. The mare had never even so much as flinched when he started firing off spells to protect them. "You're going to be a war horse before too long, girl," he said as he scratched her neck. The pair of them were off the road a short distance away from the garrison, and she chomped at the grass while he watched the fort through the trees. A short cliff dropped off a few feet ahead of them, allowing a good view of the high stone walls. He had expected more goblins to have arrived after the night of the assault, but hadn't expected this many. Avdren shook his head in frustration and raked his fingers through his hair. He didn't know the terrain well, but the way the ground sloped up so steeply in most areas on this side of the garrison led him to believe that the only real way through without risking a broken leg on himself or the horse was through the garrison itself. He hadn't really noticed it when he passed through before, but this area was more like a small box canyon with a switchback road going up to the pass.
"Stay here, girl." He gave Beth a pat and moved through the trees back towards the road a bit. He would have to stick close to the road to get down the mountainside. He took his time, moving slowly through the brush and trying to watch for any rocks. The sun was setting, and he wanted to be close to the walls when it passed below the horizon. After almost half an hour, he made it down to more level ground, pausing behind a young tree to peer again at the garrison walls. Ten goblins stalked the battlements. A few of them lit torches, casting flickering shadows over the stone around them. Avdren inched closer, using the trees and bushes to get as close as possible. The forest had been cleared out around the garrison in a thirty-foot swath when it was built. Avdren swore under his breath and looked toward the wall where the gate had been. The hole was still there, but it looked as though the wall had collapsed further. That would be his opening. He watched until the goblins looked to be focused in other directions or distracted by each other, to dart across the grass to press himself against the stone wall. Quietly, he moved along the wall until he got to the pile of rubble, and began slowly climbing. He stopped halfway up, listening to the creatures bickering and chatting with each other. They were definitely not trained soldiers, but Avdren knew he could still be killed by them if he got cocky.
When he reached the top of the wall, he found a firm foothold and peered over in both directions. There were a few behind him, but the majority patrolled the section of wall in front. He waited again until their backs were turned before making his move. He scrambled up over the lip of the broken wall and rolled to his feet, raising his right arm toward the sky before swinging it down. The sigil on the back of his hand glowed with power, as an arc of lightning blasted down from the cloudless sky and exploded in the middle of the goblins. The impact of the bolt sent chips of stone flying, the heat and electricity blasting apart two of the goblins completely, and sending another flying over the wall to crash to the ground below. The surviving goblins turned to look in his direction, shrieking in fury. Avdren charged first. He flung out a bolt of fire that slammed into the closest of the monsters, sending hungry flames searing over its flesh. He dashed past the screaming creature and slammed his palm into the next one. An explosion of lightning sending it flying back and off the wall into open air. The last two, farthest away, nocked and released a pair of arrows. Avdren raised his left hand defensively, the fresh sigil flaring to life as a barrier of magic flashed into existence around him, causing the arrows to bounce off harmlessly and spin away into the night. The pair screamed in fear as the barrier faded, and he charged forward. Another bolt of fire took the one on the left, and he tackled the other, slamming the heel of his hand into its chest with the crackle of lightning and breaking bones. The smell of charred flesh and hair wafted into the air as the goblin spasmed once before going still. He could hear shrieking and yelling behind him from the goblins across the collapsed wall, who were beginning to pull out bows. More shouts echoed from inside the walls as goblins rushed toward the wall. Avdren moved to the stairs, getting out of sight of the archers. He looked across the courtyard at the small swarm of creatures heading his way, raising his arm to call the lightning again. It crashed down in their midst with a brilliant flash, annihilating a good number of them in a flash of air and heat. The ground shook slightly as shards of cobblestone sprayed out. He wouldn't be able to use the lightning anymore, it was draining too much of his energy. Thankfully, the shocking spell and the fire bolt were basic spells, and he could use them all night if he had to. He had to save his energy for the shield, as he was sure it would be needed again.
The goblins' charge had been slowed by the massive lightning bolt, and Avdren wasted no time in seizing the chance. He saw a few hobgoblins mixed in among them and targeted them first with a barrage of fire. A good number of the bolts missed, but the ones that struck did so with lethal intent. Flesh and hair melted away, and the scraps of armor and cloth that covered them burst into flames. Their numbers worked against them; they crashed into each other in a panic, spreading the flames. Avdren went to throw another bolt but felt an arrow pierce his leg. He snarled and threw up a shield just in time to block several more shots from hitting him. He reached down and snapped off the shaft, tossing it away before turning and flinging out a blast of fire at the archers. He swore as they ducked below the battlements, the fire shooting over the top harmlessly. Avdren decided that he needed to get inside the main building, and took off as quickly as he could, trying to run in a zig-zag to avoid and arrows. He threw up the shield spell twice more to block what he couldn't dodge. He blasted one goblin that got too close with the palm of his hand, frying it with lightning. With a final burst of effort, he made it through the door, only to be greeted by the oppressive scent of death and rot as he made it inside. Bodies, both human and goblin, lay strewn across the floor. Dotted around the room, small cook fires had been started, and Avdren could see they had been well used. Some were still burning, chunks of human and some goblin flesh stuck over them to roast. Most of the remaining tables were covered in blood and gore. He had to clamp his mouth shut to keep the bile down before moving inside further. A goblin charged at him from out of the shadows, and he managed to sidestep, using its own momentum to trip the creature. As it fell, he grabbed the back of its head, casting the shock spell again as he slammed its face into the floor with a loud snap of breaking bone. The rest would be coming through soon, they were only disorganized now because he had killed a few of the hobs. Avdren moved across the room, putting his back to the wall where he could watch the door. He summoned fire in his hand, holding it ready. When the first goblin barreled through the door, he flung the bolt as hard as he could. The poor creature wasn't prepared for a face full of fire, and fell back outside screaming. Avdren smiled. He could do this all night if he had to. He would just have to kill enough of them til they broke and ran off screaming. Hopefully, some soldiers would return in a few days, clean up any stragglers that might wander back, and be able to have their fort back. Avdren hoped a few had managed to escape. Without magic, he had been unable to be of any assistance, aside from the lucky spear throw. Maybe someday, he could take some time to learn a bit more about hand-to-hand combat. Magic couldn't be his crutch forever, as effective as it was. He threw another bolt of elemental magic when another green head poked its way around the doorframe.
When the goblins stopped coming, he thought maybe he had finally been successful in scaring them off. Perhaps he had killed enough of them and the hobgoblin leaders to break their morale. He stood up from around the pillar and approached the center of the room, then stopped. He could still hear them outside. Something wasn't right. He backed away from the middle of the room, heading toward the farther west wall. His eyes were trained on the doorway as the wall next to it exploded in a massive blast that sent chunks of stone as big as his head flying through the room. He was flung backward by the blast, but managed to land with a roll. Through the haze of debris, he saw a large form push through the rubble. Avdren realized with chilling certainty that the hobgoblins must not have been the real leadership here. These little bastards had a troll.