The path wasn’t hard to find, once Connor knew what he was looking for. Instead of taking the main road out of Woodville, his new parchment map led him up a side street past a small pig pen and a collection of houses. It led to a rough, overgrown meadow that sloped upward, then disappeared into a grove of black and silver-barked birch trees. Connor heard the cry of some vast-winged creature overhead, and when he looked up, he could see a pair of the creatures circling high in the air, the snowcapped peaks of the Mourn Mountains clearly visible in the background.

The shortcut ascended up the side of the meadow and disappeared into the Black Birch Forest, and, for just a moment, Connor paused, wondering if he was ready for this.

Of course I am! He shook his hair a little, as his hand moved to the handle of his small axe at his waist.

He was still level 1, but he was also one of the best game-hackers in the world. There wasn’t a fantasy world that he didn’t know inside and out. He knew how to handle himself.

Connor stepped forward and was soon surrounded by the gloom of a dark and tangled forest.

***

Connor was startled slightly by a distant sound in the forest.

Maybe not so surprising, he thought, as he heard the distant creak and crack of tree branches, the scurry of small animals, the crunch of leaves.

“I am in a forest after all,” he told himself.

The half-elf had been following the ‘shortcut’ as outlined in his map of the Mourn Region, but had discovered that it didn’t really feel much like a shortcut at all. So far, he had been trudging through the forest for what felt like a couple of hours of real time, following a thin and vague path that wound through the wooded hills. The Mourn Mountains themselves had disappeared beyond the murk of the tree canopy, and all around him, shadows gathered.

It had honestly been getting pretty boring when Connor heard what sounded like the crack of a splintered tree branch from off to his right.

“Probably a badger or something,” Connor assured himself. Or some other normal forest creature, though he couldn’t think of what that might be (despite his vast experience of playing games in fantasy worlds, he had a particularly urban body of knowledge with no actual forest experience).

Crack. It sounded again, and this time from in front of him, over the rise of wooded slope.

This time, however, the sound was accompanied by a whisper on the wind—a snicker of guttural voices.

Connor froze. Had he really heard that? Or was he just imagining it?

“...ghrs’ta.”

“...volubnik!”

It happened again, and this time Connor was sure that he heard voices. Voices speaking an inhuman tongue.

He ducked a little and pulled the small axe from his belt as he crept forward to where the path crossed the wooded slope.

“Half Elf!” There was a sudden shout and a noise from behind him as something that he hadn’t known was there fell from the canopy.

“What?!” Connor spun around, throwing leaves up all around him.

A small shape, roughly half his size had landed on the ground. It was still attached by rope to the trees above but was already drawing back its arm to throw the short, barbed spear in its green claws.

Goblins! Connor thought, his heart pounding in panic and in glee. Goblins were easy to kill, weren’t they? He had leveled up many warriors battling these little green terrors.

Name: Goblin Bandit

Level: 1

Size: Small

Health: 10 / 10

Vitality: 9 / 9

Strength: 6

Stamina: 9

Agility: 11

Intelligence: 5

Wisdom: 5

Charisma: 3

The message that popped into his vison confirmed that the monster before him was indeed a goblin. It wore tattered leathers and cloths, clearly stolen from other travelers. The creature’s face was a tight accusation of green, it’s mouth displaying rows of tiny, razor-sharp teeth.

The bandit’s arm shot forward as it hurled the spear at Conner.

The half-elf leapt to the side, and, with his near elvish agility he easily dodged the spear, hitting the forest floor.

Goblin Bandit attacks Connor with spear. Attack dodged; no damage done.

Connor rolled and hopped to his feet, raising his hand-ax. He stepped forward and swung at the creature, but before the blow could land, the green monster was hoisted back up into the tree canopy with a delighted, cruel shriek.

The ax passed through the open air where the goblin had just been.

“You little shit!”

Connor heard a crunch on the ground behind him—

He spun, just in time to see another goblin throw something in his direction, not a short spear this time, but something that whizzed through the air and struck his legs, wrapping around his ankles and suddenly bringing him crashing to the forest floor with a painful thump.

Goblin Bandit attacks Connor with Goblin Bolas causing entanglement. Fall causes 1 Health Point of damage.

Hells! Connor gasped, spitting out leaves and dirt as he spun over, his legs hopelessly tied. There was a victorious squeal from the offending goblin, and another shriek as the original bandit once again fell from the tree branches above.

I can’t believe I let those little bastards ambush me! Connor chided himself for being so stupid. The goblins had made some noise in the distance to draw his attention, all the while setting up to attack him from the trees.

“Now What?!” Connor groaned as he threw his hands down to his ankles, and started to pull at the leather straps which held him, but they were tight and interwoven. He managed to pull the first strap away before his attention was drawn to the snarling goblins who were now circling him, weapons in hand.

“Crap!” Connor pulled at the leather wrappings savagely as the goblin that had thrown the bolas leapt toward him, a wicked curved knife raised.

Suddenly, Connor’s right foot was free and he spun, kicking upward from where he lay as the goblin descended on him.

His boot connected with the goblin’s knee and the half-elf was rewarded by the sound of a sharp snap and a squeal of pain.

Connor attacks Goblin Bandit with Foot causing 3 Health points damage.

The goblin fell to one side, screaming in pain, but it wasn’t enough to kill it.

Where is my axe! Connor looked around frantically, rolling over and pushing himself up to his hands and knees. A guttural scream drew his attention to the other goblin as it charged toward him, spear in hand.

Connor spotted his hand-axe on the other side of a tree. He scrambled forward, barely avoiding the spear that was jammed down into the ground where he had just been. He dove forward, seizing his hand-axe and pushing himself up to his feet next to the tree.

“Half-elven scum!” the goblin sneered and thrust its spear at him again.

Connor jumped to the other side of the tree, avoiding the spear. He continued around to the other side and chopped downward with his hand-axe.

Goblin Bandit attacks Connor with spear. Attack dodged; no damage done. Connor attacks Goblin Bandit with Hand-ax causing 7 Health points of Damage. Strength 9 decreases damage by 10%. Total Damage: 6 Health points.

There was a shriek, and the goblin with the spear darted away, its shoulder bleeding a thick green ichor from where Connor had struck it.

Ha! Ha! Connor celebrated as he turned to face the other goblin.

“Hnghh!”

The second goblin had rounded the tree while he was attacking the other, and his curved blade sliced across Connor’s chest.

Goblin Bandit attacks Connor with Dagger causing 4 Health points of damage.

Connor gasped as pain swept through his chest and he stumbled backward.

Sweet Mother Theresa that hurts! Connor cursed under his breath as the pain made his head swim more than any game ever had.

These were only goblins; how could he be losing? And again, the pain, how the hell did this hurt so much?

“Am I really this weak and pathetic at Level 1?” he muttered to himself.

The knife-wielding goblin uttered the first intelligible words Connor had heard. “Dinner!” The creature darted forward once again, but Connor, with his higher agility made it around the trunk of another tree.

“Dinner!” the wounded spear-wielding goblin croaked in agreement, charging toward the half-elf in an enraged fashion.

“Not tonight!”

Conner acted on instinct. He knew that the goblin behind him was only a few steps away, and he spun on his heel, swinging his hand-ax out in a wide arc.

He was quicker than the spear-wielder, who ran straight into his outflung hand-axe.

Connor attacks Goblin Bandit with Hand-ax causing 6 Health points of Damage. Strength 9 decreases damage by 10%. Total Damage: 5 Health points. Goblin Bandit has been killed.

Connor had no time to celebrate his victory as there was another very angry goblin right behind him. He was unable to avoid the knife thrust into his back.

“Aghh!”

Goblin Bandit attacks Connor with Dagger causing 4 Health points of damage. Dagger scores critical hit in back increasing damage by 200%. Total Damage: 12 Health points.

Connor cried out in pain as he fell to the ground, attempting to roll away from his attacker. He felt the sharp pain radiate out of the small of his back. He pushed himself faster, his body fueled by adrenaline, rolling down the leaf-filled slope in a desperate attempt to get away from his goblin attacker.

His health was down to three points. I’m going to die out here, Connor realized. Even though he had killed one of the goblins, and wounded the other, he knew his chances finishing off the second monster were slim.

He slid, flipped, and rolled down the leafy slope that turned out to be significantly steeper than he’d previously realized. The goblin stumbling and tripping after him in hot pursuit. Connor managed to punch his hands against the ground and turn his terrified roll into a scramble just as he saw why this slope was so steep.

It ended in a gorge.

“No!” He flung his hands out, catching one of the low-hanging branches at the last moment before he tumbled over the edge to his death. The pursuing goblin didn’t slow.

Connor swung out over the rocky gorge, gripping tightly to the branch he had just barely been able to snag. He watched as the goblin stumbled past, unable to stop itself, and plunged right over the edge of the gorge, falling to the rocks and boulders some thirty feet below.

Goblin Bandit falls from cliff causing 10 Health points of damage. Goblin Bandit has been killed.

Connor stared down in shock, not quite believing that he was still alive. He maintained a death grip on the tree for a moment, painfully aware his arms were screaming in agony, but unable to pull himself back from the edge.

“Come on, come on, you can do it…” he urged himself, sliding his hands along the rough bark and kicking out, stretching with his feet until they found a root, and then the rocky edge of the gorge.

With one last pull, he flung himself back onto sloping ground above the canyon where he collapsed back onto the soil and grass, shivering with exertion as he wished, wished fervently, that he was a higher level.

You have been awarded 200 Experience Points for slaying two Goblin Bandits.

Connor couldn’t help but chuckle at the message. “I guess that helps.” But he knew that he was down to 3 Health points and he had nearly been killed by two Level 1 goblins.

“My journey almost ended before it even began,” he whispered to himself. He distinctly felt each of the wounds that had nearly ended his life, then remembered his backpack, that was miraculously still on his back—add the two healing potions inside.

“Okay, right…” he pushed through pain, fumbling with cramping fingers to pull at the straps and shrug it onto the ground. He worked at the leather buckle with shaking hands until he had it open then quickly pulled out one of the glass vials he found waiting inside.

The healing potion was in a small, round-bellied glass vial with a cork stopper, half filled with a transparent, nourishing looking blue liquid.

Do I drink it? Pour it on the wounds?

Connor realized that he had no idea of how it even worked, but, given that one of his wounds was in the small of his back which he couldn’t reach anyway, pouring it on the wound wasn’t going to work. So, he bit the stopper off, spat it onto the grass, and downed the blue liquid instead.

Potion: Basic Healing

Effect: Heals up to 50 Health points of damage.

Duration: Instantaneous

Cooldown: 30 minutes

“Ack!” The taste was . . . unpleasant.

He collapsed onto his back, his arms spread out to the side and groaned in relief as the pain started to fade. Out of the corner of his eye, Connor could see a blue glow sweep up and down his limbs, leaving him feeling restored and full of a buzzing energy.

“Thank the stars…” he breathed, still panting. He stayed there for a moment then sat up and put the empty bottle back in his backpack before slowly pushing himself to his feet. Despite the health potion having restored him to full Health, he was still achy and cramped from the fight. Connor stretched his limbs experimentally as he considered how close he had come to actually being beaten by two tiny freaking goblins!

He shook his head in disgust then started back up the hill to where the battle had started.

Once at the top of the hill, Connor found his hand-ax where he had apparently dropped it when he’d been stabbed in the back. He glanced at the body of the first goblin that he had killed as he slid the weapon through the loop on his belt where he carried it.

Loot Goblin Bandit?

“Are you kidding me? Of course I want to loot the goblin!” Connor nearly shouted.

Name: Goblin Bandit

Level: 1

Inventory:

Fork, Spoon, and shaker Bone toothpick Goblin dagger 3 silver pieces Spare goblin loincloth

“Ugh!” Connor recoiled at the trash he found, but still pocketed the 3 silver pieces all the same. He realized that the other dead goblin would probably also have some money too, but it was too much effort to climb down the gorge just to get it.

“Oh well,” Connor grumbled. “Let some other poor schmuck who comes this way have it,” he decided, picking his way back up to the trail, and hurrying over the brow of the hill, and through the forest.

After all, he had an easy $5000 waiting for him as soon as he got to Union City and got that Ring!