At some point in the last couple of hours, the rain had started falling on Beth, Peter, and Eliza as they made their way through the wilderness. Then, in the last hour, as darkness approached, it had really started pouring. Beth and Peter were warm and dry thanks to the cloaks they’d been given when they were transported to Arenia. Meanwhile, Eliza didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. Some kind of perk associated with her class. Still, it was a long time to spend in a wet forest, and all Beth could think was that the sooner they got to Palmyre, the better.

Try as she might, Beth couldn’t help but notice every time Peter unconsciously touched the hilt of the simple short sword at his hip. It looked odd hanging there, and his large stomach kept pushing on the hilt, causing the sheathed blade to bang awkwardly into his leg with every step. Eliza had insisted he wear it though, arguing that the presence of the weapon was just as important as the knowledge of how to use it. He’d resisted, not wanting to deprive Eliza of her melee weapon, but when she’d produced a knife out of her pack that could skin a dinosaur, he relented. It bothered Beth deeply, seeing her normally quiet husband walking around with a weapon whose only purpose was to kill, but she also knew Peter better than anyone else in this world. Ever the pragmatist, he was doing what he thought was necessary for the survival of him and his family. And much as she hated to admit it, he was probably right. She’d overheard enough of her kids’ D&D games to know that a place like this wasn’t about hugging enemies until they became your friend.

They were skirting the edge of a bowl in the forest when Eliza abruptly dropped into a crouch, grabbing Peter by the shoulder and pulling him down beside her. Beth followed suit, unsure of what prompted Eliza’s sudden movement.

The Ranger put a finger to her lips, cautioning silence as she peered into the rainy forest bowl. After a moment, she pointed.

“Do you see the smoke?” she whispered.

Beth peered into the mist but couldn’t make out anything more than a sheen of depressing wet. She was about to give up when she made out the slightest hint of smoke.

“There?” she said, pointing.

“I see it too,” Peter said. “Any chance it’s someone friendly?”

Eliza shook her head. “No. One of my Skills is levelled high enough that I’d know if they were friendly. They’re not.”

“Who is it then? Bandits?”

“Very unlikely,” she said. “That spot’s too exposed to be a hideout, and no bandit would start a fire if they weren’t at their hideout. Unless they were trying to lure someone in, but we’re too far from any roads for something like that. No, my guess would be goblins.”

“Goblins?” Beth said. She was hardly a goblin expert, but she knew they weren’t something you wanted to run into. “Are there any other options?”

“Sure. But in this stretch of forest, it’s either goblins or shadow beasts, and it’s certainly not shadow beasts.”

“What’s a shadow beast?” Beth asked.

“Savage apelike creatures, about four feet tall with wicked claws. There are rumours of larger ones deep in the forests to the east, but that seems far-fetched to me.”

“How do you know it’s not these shadow beasts?” Peter asked.

Eliza looked him over. “You dead yet?”

“Uh, no.”

She nodded. “That’s how you know it’s not shadow beasts.”

“What do we do?” Beth said.

Eliza looked around, then back the way they came. She counted the arrows in her quiver. There were only seven left, but she nodded anyway.

“We fight,” she said.

“Fight?” Beth exclaimed. Eliza glared at her, and Beth cringed sheepishly. In a quieter voice, she said, “Sorry. But fight? You’ve only got a few arrows, and Peter is only Level 2 with his Short Sword skill.”

“Level 3,” Peter interjected.

“That’s great, hon, but aren’t we talking about trained killers here?”

Eliza hummed and hawed. “Eh. I wouldn’t call them trained killers. Vicious little buggers, but they rely on numbers, not skill. It’s miserable weather and there’s only one fire, so I’m guessing six goblins at the most. A leader, two on watch, and then another two or three at camp.”

“Six seems like a lot,” Peter said.

“I agree,” Beth said. “Can’t we go around? Or backtrack and find a different route?”

Eliza shook her head. “We need to get to one of my supply caches, and the closest one is on the opposite side of the valley. If we backtrack, it’s an extra two days and we’d have to finish the trip with no more food or arrows. Frankly, you two aren’t capable of that.

“As for going around, well, I don’t know if you noticed, but you’re not the sneakiest duo in the world. If they spotted you, you’d surrender all our current advantage and be killed, or worse, captured. If we ambush them, we can bring down their numbers right away and make it a fair fight.”

“What would you do if we weren’t here?” Peter asked. Beth nodded. It was a good question.

“Just me? I’d sneak past,” Eliza said. “But if you want to try that route, I won’t reveal myself if you get noticed. I like you two, but not enough to risk my life for your stupidity.”

“Okay, let’s do the ambush,” Peter said. “How would that work.”

Beth glared at him, annoyed at being cut out of the decision, and Eliza took notice.

“You going to be able to do this?” she asked Beth. “You don’t look convinced.”

Beth clenched her fist and banged it into the dirt. “Ugh. I don’t want to kill anyone!”

Eliza put her hand on Beth’s shoulder and left it there until Beth made eye contact.

“Your kids, Angela and Mark?” she said. Beth nodded. “Would you be able to do this if one of them were tied up in that camp? Being prepped for dinner, or worse?”

“Of course,” Beth said. “I’d do anything.”

“Okay,” Eliza said. “Then here’s the thing. Those exact goblins have almost certainly done that to others in the past. If one of your children came into this world near here, they could very well have suffered that fate. So, what’s the difference? Getting vengeance, stopping someone from suffering that fate in the future, maybe even rescuing someone… all of those are noble goals. Today, they’re reachable while also saving our own skins.”

“It just feels wrong,” Beth said.

“They’re evil, honey,” Eliza said. “Simple as that. They steal and kill and worse wherever they go. All sorts of evil in this world, and you’d best get used to it. Orcs sacrifice the living to their dark gods. Demons play with the souls of the damned. Shadow beasts kill and devour every sentient creature that enters their land. There’s a gray area with some species, but goblins aren’t one of them.”

Beth looked down at the dirt. Finally, she nodded.

“It’s the right decision,” Eliza said, squeezing Beth’s shoulder. Then her demeanour hardened. “Here’s the plan: We get as close as possible without you two getting noticed. When we’re in position, I’ll take out the leader at the campfire and anyone else I can hit while they’re in disarray. Meanwhile, when the sentries are distracted by the commotion, Beth throws rocks at one of them. When it comes after her, Peter takes it out.”

“I’m bait? That’s my contribution?” Beth said incredulously.

Eliza sighed. “I can’t have you in a position where you might freeze if you have to kill one of these things. Can you promise me that won’t happen? If so, I’ll change the plan.”

Beth gritted her teeth. It wasn’t the noblest of roles, but she saw the truth of Eliza’s words. “You’re right. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… let’s go goblin fishing.”

Fifteen minutes later, Peter and Beth were slowly making their way through the dark woods, doing their best not to alert the goblins to their approach. A page appeared briefly in the corner of Peter’s vision, but he paid it little attention.

Stealth Skill Increased to Level 2 (Tier-0)

SHHH! Be vewy vewy quiet. Weah hunting gobwins.

50 XP Earned

They needed to get close enough for Peter to hide somewhere that he could ambush the goblin when it chased down Beth. Fortunately, the falling rain didn’t just dampen sound and vision, it also dampened the motivation of the goblin who was ostensibly keeping watch. If it were being vigilant, they would probably have been spotted long ago. Instead, it kept glancing longingly towards the warm fire, ruining its night vision and proving that Peter’s Luck stat wasn’t just for show.

The goblin itself was… well, it was a goblin. Green, maybe four feet tall, with two long pointed ears that stood straight out sideways from its head, one of which had several earrings and odd notches cut into it. Its mouth was full of sharp teeth, and it was dressed in leather armour that consisted of pants, a coat, and a small skullcap. It was also barefoot and carried a spear around a foot longer than its height. Peter couldn’t stop asking himself whether it was odder that he was about to try and kill this thing or that he felt completely ambivalent about that fact. Why did he have no qualms about ending the goblin’s life? Was that something to do with Arenia itself? Or was it a sign of something about Peter?

Either way, he didn’t want to dwell on it at the moment. There would be time for introspection later. Right now, there was a job to do.

When they were comfortable that they could get no closer, they settled in to wait for Eliza’s assault to begin. The urge to watch what happened was nearly overwhelming, but Eliza had been emphatic that they needed to keep their eyes off the bright fire. That was part of the reason Peter had selected a large hemlock tree to hide behind. With no line of sight to the campfire, he could focus on listening for the attack and resist the temptation to look.

Minutes ticked by, and soon Peter’s mind was playing tricks on him. Was that the cracking fire he heard, or the sentry coming to investigate them? Had Eliza slipped away and abandoned them? What if there was another patrol of goblins about to show up? Round and round, his mind spun, the wait becoming more excruciating with each passing second.

Shouts suddenly erupted in the campsite as Eliza’s ambush began, the yelling of goblins cutting off in abrupt gurgles any time one of Eliza’s arrows found its mark. Risking a glance, Peter peered around the tree trunk to see that the goblin campsite was in complete disarray as they scrambled to find out where the unknown archer was firing from. Peter had hoped that maybe the goblin sentry would be distracted by the commotion, but instead it was peering into the forest, its eyes searching for any other assailants that might be lurking nearby.

A wave of doubt rocked Peter. What the hell was he doing here? He was a 44-year-old, overweight, untrained accountant, for god’s sake! Now he was standing in the rain with a sword in his hand, about to try and kill some fantasy creature that would slaughter him without a second thought? This was insane!

“Hey ugly!” Beth’s shouted as she stepped out from behind the tree, her voice cutting through the rain as she threw a rock at the goblin, pinging it harmlessly off the creature’s leather jerkin. The eyes of both Peter and the goblin snapped over to her. “You disgust me! This is your last night on Earth… er, Arenia, did you know that?”

The goblin didn’t seem to be taking the bait, and Peter started to feel ill. Was he going to have to charge after the thing? Maybe he should try sneaking around it now that it was somewhat distracted? He could see the concern on Beth’s face as her taunts failed to make an impression, but then something seemed to occur to her and she tried a different tack.

“Actually, now that I can see you a bit better, you’re not so bad looking after all,” she said. “Bit of a pretty-boy though, aren’t you? Must spend a lot of time getting ready in the morning—I doubt the other goblins are too happy about that. ‘We heading out on the raid?’ they say. ‘No, Grog is still doing his routine.’ Gotta get annoying after awhile. I mean, how long does it take to do those nails? Don’t get me wrong, it’s all okay with me. Who cares that your appearance is more important to you than your ability to fight?”

That did it. Even though the goblin probably didn’t understand half of what Beth said, it understood enough to get mad and charge after her. Beth turned and ran, just as they had planned, but the goblin didn’t respond in the way they had expected.

Instead of chasing her down, the creature took a single crow-hop and hurled its spear at Beth’s retreating form.

The poetic thing would be to say that the world slowed down as Peter watched the situation play out. Where a hundred different thoughts ran through his head about what Beth meant to him. But that’s not what happened. There was no great ceremony to the moment, no calling down of the heavens to witness the spear’s course. Instead, it simply flew through the air and embedded itself in Beth’s back.

She didn’t even raise her hands as she collapsed to the ground.