The Goblin Wood by Hilari Bell

surely goblins couldn’t stop us. They’ve been dwelling in this land for…well, forever.”
    “Yes, but they’re extraordinarily hard to exterminate, as we’ve learned since the Decree passed. Goblins have neither loyalty nor courage, so they’re easily discouraged. Even if we couldn’t kill them, we could defend our settlers against normal goblins. However, these goblins are different, because a human is leading them.
    “There is a powerful sorceress in the northern woods. Somehow she’s managed to enslave a vast horde of goblins who drive out anyone who passes the wall. Even our armed exploratory troops have been killed or forced to retreat.”
    “A sorceress? I didn’t think they still existed.”
    “They’re rare, thanks to the Bright Ones’ grace. But occasionally someone obtains power from the Dark One. Then we must destroy the sorcerer, which isn’t always easy, for they can be very powerful. Make no mistake about that, Tobin; never underestimate her—it’s likely she has the power, if not the training, of a high-ranking priest.”
    “Then she, this sorceress, is the one you want me to kill? I thought it took a priest to kill a sorcerer. I thought you needed magic to fight magic.”
    “Not necessarily. Put a blade through the heart, and anyone will die. The problem with sorcerers is getting close enough to do it. You’re right, though, ordinarily we’d send seven high-ranking priests to take a sorcerer, because one cannot stand against seven. The problem”—irritation flashed over the lean face—“is that horde of goblins she’s compelled into her service. They killed two of the seven priests we sent and drove the rest off before they could even find the sorceress. That was four years ago, when we first heard rumors of her existence. Since then we’ve sent armed troops, with another group of priests, and several bounty hunters have tried for the reward, but all have failed.”
    “Then what makes you think I could succeed? Even if I agreed to become an assassin, which I haven’t.”
    “Don’t you think it would be worth sacrificing your scruples to save this whole land?” Master Lazur leaned forward. “That’s what’s at stake, Tobin. If we’re to get our people behind that wall in time, the early settlement, and the exploration of the outlying woodlands, must begin now. A flood of panicked refugees crashing over that wall would simply starve. It must be an organized resettlement if we are to survive it, and that means it must begin soon. Within the next year, three years at the very latest. So this sorceress who prevents us must be stopped. And she’s already earned death, for the deaths she has wrought in the Dark One’s name.” The passion in his voice sounded sincere.
    Tobin, having spent years learning to resist his mother and Jeriah, distrusted passion in charming and persuasive people. And Master Lazur struck him as both. Still, if the sorceress truly deserved to die—“What makes you think I could do it, when so many others have failed?”
    “Frankly, I’ve no reason to think you could. Your presence is part of my larger plan. I’ll send you in, and at the same time I’ll arrive with a band of priests and a troop of guards, mixed in with, and disguised as, a large group of settlers. Our presence should distract her from you, and your presence should distract her from us. Your real job is to find where she lairs and plant this nearby.” He held out a small, flat, brownish orange rock.
    “What’s this?” Tobin took it reluctantly. “Is it magic?”
    “No, which is why I hope it will work. If it was magic, she’d be able to sense it and would take care to keep it under her hiding spells.”
    “Hiding spells?”
    “You’ve never had a hiding charm? You must have been a very honest child—most apple-thieving boys have bought one from the local hedgewitch by the time they’re ten. At least they used to. It’s a simple charm, but even if it’s made by someone