In a strange world as a Doppelganger

Chapter 45 - Hunted

Hearing the scout claim that the goblin and the forest hags being the cause for the blight makes me somewhat worried but looking over at Thi I can see their demeanor change. There is an anger in their eyes.

"Are you not one of them? Are you not here to curse us?" the scout looks me in the eyes. "You said you are mimicking the form of a dead soldier, what excuse do you have but to infiltrate our ranks and bring us down from the inside?" the elf in front of me is losing their composure.

"I have my own reasons for not showing my true guise, but I am no hag or spy of theirs", it's hard to stay calm but if I don't, I fear Thi will not hesitate to take the scout's life. Which would be a setback of mass proportion at this stage. "In a show of trust I will answer two questions of yours. But then I ask you to answer some of mine. We will then let you go", at this Thi shoots me a look of contempt. "And leave you with a message for your leader, understood?"

A nod is the response I get. Glancing at Thi, I can see them struggling to come to terms with what was just said.

"You may be a great friend of us but you be careful when speaking of things that may cost my people their safety", This hisses at me in goblin. The elven scout looks between the two of us with a fearful expression. I nod at Thi.

"Ask you questions", I turn back to our captive.

"Uh. Uhm, are you really not a hag?" a bit of an odd question maybe, I had thought there would be more forethought behind it.

"No, I'm not a hag", a simple answer for a simple question. Whether out of luck or not this person we've captured isn't coming across as the smartest one around. "Next question?"

"And you are not behind the blight?" again it's a very predictable question.

"No, we-", my response is cut short by the whistling sound of a projectile. I am launched back of my feet as a sleek arrow impacts my chest. The pain is immediate and a scream escapes me. This quickly scuttles over and starts dragging me away and to my feet. I stand up just as another arrow flies by. Multiple footfalls rush our way and I can hear voices calling out for the captured elf.

"We're not behind this!" I call out as we escape into the dark woods around.

The blood leaves a very distinct trail behind us. We have to do something about it or they'll find us before long. I grab Thi by the shoulder to halt their progress. "Give me a moment", Thi does not enjoy the idea but nods quickly at me. I grab a handful of dirt from the ground and summon a small amount of water from my internal reservoir. The dirt quickly turns to mud in my hand. With my free hand I take a firm grasp of the arrow, pierced into my chest. A quick inhale and a sudden tug. The pain is near paralyzing but I slap the mud unto the wound and feel a cool sensation. "Just one more moment", I hold out my free hand in a waiting gesture. "Just hurry", Thi hisses at me and looks behind us while I change into my goblinoid form.

"There", I whisper as my change is done. Finally I can see again, the goblin eyes allowing me to navigate the dark with ease.

We ran for hours before we finally stopped. Thi quickly scurried up a tree to keep lookout. I take a look around where we are to make sure this isn't somewhere they patrol regularly. I find markings of wild boars, scratch trees that indicate deer and maybe bears but there are no signs of people having come through here recently.

Together we make a small hiding spot and Thi tells me to see to my wound and rest while they take watch. In my current condition, arguing is futile. I lean back, apply some fresh mud and drift off.

Thi rustles me awake as the first rays of sun break the canopy. "We have to keep moving, with the sun out they're bound to widen their search area", they remove our camouflage and tries to make the space seem natural again.

We spend the entire day avoiding even the smallest of trails and using every trick we can think of to shake anyone who would be tracking us. By nightfall we're both convinced that we've made it far enough to allow for proper rest. Hunger is also nipping at both of us so if we want to hunt we've got to make sure we get sleep.

We were wrong.

Thi throws themselves at me as an arrow thuds into the tree I was resting against. "Get up, now!" they shake me awake with a frantic look. "Someone caught up!"

I stumble up and look around, my goblin form still allowing me to see clearly enough in the dark forest. The sun is still hours away, whoever they are must also be able to see in the dark.

A figure moves quickly between the trees, coming in our direction. They stop and raise the bow to take aim. My hands shoot out and I unleash a spew of water. The pressure causes them to loose their balance for a moment and I follow up with a dense ball of water, thrown like I was pitching for a game. The hunter rolls to the side and avoids the globe of water. Luckily they lost the arrow though. Thi is rushing up to make use of the opportunity. Wielding a knife I had sharpened and running low to the ground, the hunter has no time to react and grunts loudly as Thi slashes the outside of the thigh. The hunter swats at Thi with the bow to keep them at a distance. I run to the opposite side of the hunter and unleash another torrent toward them. The hunter is knocked to the ground this time. The force of the water keeps them down for but a moment. Now wielding the bow like a staff, the hunter swings hard as they go to stand back up, the wood connects with Thi, who winces but weathers the blow. Thi picks up the dropped arrow and launches at the hunter with a weapon in each hand. The knife misses but the arrow strikes into the hunter's arm.

"You vicious little cretins!" a rough voice exclaims at us. "Who's the one who stole my friends face?"

Thi and I look at one another quickly. Communicating to each other whether this man lives or dies.

"Lower your weapon and we'll tell you", I call out. My hands still raised toward the man, I walk a few paces closer. I finally get a look at him, tusks poke from his lower jaw and small eyes peer at me as he drops the bow.