Chapter 3

I crept around the edge of the bowl keeping several feet away from it. From down in the bowl, I could hear the sickening wet munching and crunching sounds as the goblins continued to eat. I prayed they wouldn’t hear me before I was in position. After several breathless moments, I had reached the opposite side of the bowl. I was now directly behind and above the Brute. He was my target; I was certain his higher level would tip the scales in the goblin's favor I needed to take him out quickly, the only problem was when I moved to attack him the other two would surely spot me giving me away before I could land a sneak attack. I crept silently to the edge of the bowl ready to spring, easing my sword out of its sheath.

I took a deep steadying breath and gave a mental command. Shadowfire launched himself from the opposite side screeching at the goblins. All three turned to look at him, giving me the opportunity I needed. I leapt from the edge raising my sword and fell on the Brute. His back was towards me, and I thrust the sword down between his shoulder blades bringing my full weight down on top of him. The blade plunged into his back, and he collapsed to the ground face first. I landed awkwardly on top of him, his health bar was flashing a critical warning, but he wasn’t dead yet. I wrenched my sword free, or rather I tried too. The blade had wedged firmly in his back and try as I might, I couldn’t pull it back out. The Goblin raider charged me raising a dagger to stab me. I stumbled back nearly tripping over my own feet and the Brutes body beneath me. The raider swung again I raised my arm to try and deflect the blow, it glanced off my bracer leaving a deep scratch in the leather.

Thinking quickly, I pulled the Crude dagger from my inventory and swung back at him. The dagger was far too short and missed him by a good foot. “Crap!” I cursed and tried to parry his next swing with my dagger. I was barely competent with the sword and was struggling even more with the much shorter weapon. I could hear the mystic goblin grunting in pain but had no view of him. I guessed Shadowfire was keeping him busy, but I knew my familiar couldn’t hold him off for long. The raider swung his dagger at me again and again, I tried to block and parry but it was little use he kept hitting me scoring dozens of tiny cuts across my arms. My health bar was down by more than a quarter, I need to throw him off somehow so I could attack.

As he pulled back to stab at me, I lunged in closing the short distant between us. I brought my fist up and slammed it hard into his face, he staggered back a step and I brought the dagger up aiming at his throat. My dagger missed its mark only scoring a shallow cut. He hissed at me, and I struck him again. I slashed the dagger across his chest leaving a shallow wound. He swung his dagger cutting me across the arm. I swung at his face again with my fist but this time he was ready for me. He blocked my fist with his arm and grinned showing a mouth full of sharp bloody teeth. I grinned back bringing my knee up into his crotch, he let out a howl of pain dropping both hands to cover his now injured crotch. I stabbed out with my dagger catching him in the throat, I pulled the dagger free and stabbed again and again and again. Hot black blood sprayed across my hand as his health bar flashed an angry red than died. He gurgled his eyes going wide then rolling back in his head as he collapsed.

I grinned feeling triumphant until a blast of energy slammed into my chest catching me off guard and sending me sprawling to the ground. I looked up to see the mystic leveling some sort of scepter at me, a faint light fading from its tip. I groaned looking down at my chest, the leather was badly singed and warm to the touch, but it seemed to have taken the brunt of the damage. I slowly got back to my feet; the mystic was already chanting something in some weird language a faint glow building in his palm. ‘Oh no you don’t’ I thought and charged him. He launched a pair of purple glowing darts at me. I tried to dodge but the darts changed direction midflight. Both slammed into me, one in my right arm, the other into my side, my health drained by several points. My charge became more of an awkward stumble as pain shot through me body, I slammed into him awkwardly driving us both to the ground. He snarled at me as I landed on top of him, thrusting my dagger at his exposed chest. He raked his claws against my arms and face, but I plunged the dagger down into his chest. He squealed in pain, and I wrenched the dagger free plunging again and again until his arms went limp, and his eyes rolled back.

I slumped to the ground next to him, I had barely a quarter of my health left. Everything hurt and it was all I could do to stay conscious. I forced myself to sit up, my head spinning slightly, and pulled the healing potion from my inventory, and downed it. The red liquid was oddly sugary sweet, with just a hint of something I couldn’t identify. Relief flooded through me as my health shot up to nearly half. I sat breathing heavily for several more seconds. Notifications flashed in the lower corner of my vision, and I mentally clicked on them.

You have defeated Goblin raider XP earned 20. You have defeated Goblin Mystic XP earned 25.

I starred at the notification for a moment, for some reason I hadn’t gained any XP for killing the Brute. I looked over at the Brute and realized in shock he was still alive. My sword was still sticking out of his back, and he seemed unable to move. His health was hovering around 5%, ‘I must have severed a nerve’ I thought as I slowly got to my feet. His hands twitched as if he was trying to force them to move, but his body wouldn’t respond.

As I approached, I saw his head lift slightly his dark eyes locking on me with hate. He tried to spit at me but failed, I placed one foot on his back taking a firm grip on my sword, still stuck in his back. I pulled with all my might, it took a few seconds, but the blade came loose. The goblin gave a strangled cry as blood poured freely from the wound and the last of his health drained away. I continued to stare down at the dead goblin for several long moments. Rather than let myself worry over what I had done I accepted it, knowing I was doing what I had to do to survive.

You have defeated Goblin Brute XP earned 45.

With that final bit of experience, I was only 30 points away from level two. I had no idea what I would get when I leveled, but I was eager to get stronger. Something brushed against my shoulder, and I jumped back. Shadowfire looked at me strangely as he floated in the air near my shoulder. I could see he had taken some damage one of his wings was bleeding and his flight seemed labored. I relaxed allowing the tiny dragon to land on my shoulder. I scratched his head and he purred with contentment. “Thanks, buddy you really helped out back there,” I said appreciatively.

“Of course, that’s what friends are for,” he said and nuzzled against my neck. I pulled a few berries from my inventory and handed him some, before shoving a handful into my mouth. While many of my wounds were healed my body ached from the exertion and I wasn’t sure if the magic berries or the potion would heal the bruises, I was sure to have. I leaned down lightly touching the goblin brutes body pulling up his inventory. I looted 5 silver coins and two healing potions from the brute then moved to the raider and the mystic. I looted 6 silver coins between the bodies another crude dagger and my first magic item.

You have found:

Blazing Scepter

Weapon Class: Scepter (Crude)

Damage: 3-4

Enchantment: Once per day conjury a beam of fiery force dealing 10-15 fire damage, with a chance to knock your target prone.

Current Charges 0 of 1

Durability 12 of 14

This must have been the spell that knocked me off my feet. It seemed looting it from the body hadn’t reset the charge on it. A shame I was sure that would have helped in any further fights I might have. I stowed the new items in my inventory. I now had 17 silver coins and two crude daggers, and the healing potions. I was nearly out of berries, though, and hadn’t seen anymore since. The bush I had gotten them from was several hours behind me, so it wasn’t worth going back for them. I would have to press on and hope I wouldn’t encounter anything else I couldn’t handle. I turned intending to climb out of the bowl when more of the goblins grunting language reached my ears. I looked up just as five more goblins appeared over the ledge above me. I swallowed hard and activated Analysis.

Goblin Raider

Level 1

Experience 20

Goblin Raider

Level 1

Experience 20

Goblin Brute

Level 2

Experience 45

Goblin Brute

Level 2

Experience 45

Goblin Shaman

Level 5

Experience 105

The two raiders were both wearing crude hide armor. One was wielding a bone axe and wooden shield, while the other had a spear. The two brutes both had armor that appeared to be made of various bones, they were both bald one wielding a stone ax and the other a rusty-looking sword. The shaman appeared to be wearing a similar kilt like loincloth as the mystic, though it appeared more ornate with some sort of animal skull on his waist. A feathered headdress stuck up from his head which was covered in strange tribal-looking tattoos. They were all looking down at me with hate-filled eyes and I knew one thing, I was screwed.

I might be able to take the raiders, maybe I would even last against one of the Brutes for a few seconds. All of them together though, there was no way. The Shaman was by far the strongest creature I had seen, and I was certain he could kill me quickly. I briefly wondered what it would be like to die in this world. According to Shadowfire, I had a 98% chance of coming back to life. ‘Would I come back with all my items, or would I appear naked in the forest?’ I thought sullenly as purple energy began to crackle in the Shaman's hand, it looked like I was about to find out. Then a few things happened in quick succession.

One of the raiders suddenly staggered an arrow appearing in his neck, he went crossed eyed as he looked at it in surprise before a spray of blood erupted from the hole in his neck. His health disappeared and he fell face-first into the bowl landing with a meaty crunch a few feet away from me. At the same time, two purple glowing darts, like the ones the mystic had hit me with earlier, slammed into one of the Brutes causing him to stagger back, alive but his health dropped by nearly a third. Then a strange-looking man leapt from the side of the bowl's lip landing 20 feet away from the goblins. He let loose a war cry and charged the goblins swinging a two-handed axe at one of the Brutes. I stared in awe for a few seconds realizing that by some stupid luck I had just been saved from a, no doubt, painful death. I shook my head a second later as another realization hit me, there was a fight going on and I was standing here stupidly. I needed to climb out of the bowl if I wanted a shot at any experience points. I sheathed my sword and rushed to the side of the bowl quickly beginning to climb. It was a short distance, but this part of the bowl was the sheerest. It took me several long seconds to reach the edge of the bowl 10 feet above me. As I reached it, I saw the spear-wielding raider stagger back an arrow hitting the side of his chest. We locked eyes and he let loose a feral grin stabbing his spear down at me. The spear bit deep into my shoulder and I grabbed hold of it pushing my feet against the ledge and pulling down on the spear with all my strength.

The goblin wasn’t prepared for this and staggered forward his momentum sending him tumbling off the ledge. I fell with him landing hard on the forest floor below, the air rushing from my lungs. The spear handle shattered as I landed leaving the tip and a few inches of wood sticking out of my shoulder. It took several seconds for my body to remember how to breathe, and I pulled in great lung fulls of air. I staggered back to my feet at the same time the goblin did. We eyed each other for a few seconds before he reached for a dagger at his side. I pulled my sword free and slashed at him, with my longer reach the blade connected slashing a nasty gash across the goblin’s chest.

He charged at me raising his dagger, I brought my sword up driving it up to the hilt into his chest. His eyes went wide as blood spilled from his mouth and his health bar flashed a critical warning. I yanked the blade free, and he collapsed to the ground dead. I staggered, my injured shoulder crying out in protest. I looked at the wound. Three inches of spear tip was sticking out of my shoulder. I grabbed the tip and yanked pulling it out with a spray of blood my health dropped to less than half, I fell to my knees and nearly vomited from the pain. I pulled one of the healing potions from my inventory and quickly drained it feeling cooling relief flow through me as my health began to rise. The wound on my shoulder knit itself back together, which wasn’t a pleasant sight at all. I breathed hard as the pain faded and slowly got back to my feet. I looked back up to see the strange-looking man decapitate one of the brutes, the other Brute was half hanging off the ledge limply, blood falling from a nasty gash across his chest.

The Shaman was still alive, he had conjured some sort of magic dome around him. Arrows kept bouncing off the shield uselessly, I still couldn’t see who was firing the arrows. The strange-looking man charged the Shaman bringing his axe down on the magic shield. Cracks appeared in the shield, but it held, a woman darted out next to the man and tossed a piece of parchment at the shield. To my amazement, the parchment erupted into flames completely engulfing the glowing dome. There was a sound like breaking glass and the flames shrank, the silhouette of the shaman now barely visible through the flames. He roared in agony as half his health bar disappeared, a second later the flames died away and the strange man charged in burying his axe in the shaman’s side. Weakly the shaman attempted to cast one final spell, but the strange man's axe ended it as he nearly cut the shaman in half.

I ungracefully climbed out of the bowl, staggering slightly as I got to my feet. My jaw dropped as I finally got a good look at the strange man several feet in front of me. He was tall, well over six feet with rippling muscles. He wore fine leather armor and carried a two-handed axe. He was the first non-human I had seen, not counting the goblins, his skin was olive green and a pair of stunted tusks stuck out a good inch from his bottom lip. He had a chiseled jawline with a long-healed scar that ran from his bottom lip to his chin. He glanced at me and smiled pleasantly, though the tusks made the smile a little unsettling.

“Well, hello there,” the man said with a pleasant tone, “what’s a low-level adventurer like yourself doing all the way out here in the forest alone?” I starred at the man, he had a gruff voice and what sounded like a vaguely Texan-like accent. I briefly wondered if this world even had a Texas, then shook off the thought as I noticed the man still staring at me waiting for an answer.

“Uh,” I stammered, should I tell him what I was? Would he even believe me? Were people from other worlds a common thing in this world? I suddenly wished I had asked Shadowfire about all of this. I realized once again that he was still staring at me. “Sorry, I-I’m Derek” I finished lamely.

“Yer sorry yer Derek,” he said with a laugh. “My name is Serk, that is Zavra,” he said pointing to the woman who was standing just behind him, “and the one standing behind you is Alvor.”

I turned around and jumped as I saw a man standing directly behind me. I hadn’t even heard him approach. He was tall just under 6 foot and had sharp features, his raven black hair was slicked back and fell just past his shoulders. Sharp pointed ears were visible on the sides of his head as he brushed past me, a slight smirk on his face.

“No sign of other goblins,” Alvor said simply.

“Good” Serk responded.

“Hi there,” the woman said as she approached me holding out her hand to shake mine. My breath caught slightly as I took in her features. She was beautiful with sharp elegant features, curly red hair, and soft blue eyes. She was short, standing barely 5 feet tall. I also noted she had pointed ears though they weren’t as sharp as Alvor’s I briefly wondered what that meant. I suddenly realized I was starring, and she was still awkwardly holding out her hand for me to shake. Back on Earth, I had never been much of a social person, always feeling awkward around other people, especially women, and usually keeping mostly to myself. It seemed that had carried over from Earth as well.

“Hi” I responded awkwardly, shaking her hand.

“It is strange that you are out here all alone, were you part of a caravan? Maybe you got separated or captured by the goblins? You look like an adventurer, but your level is pretty low to come out here all alone” she said rapidly, looking me over.

“Give the boy room to breathe Zav” Serk said with a hint of amusement.

“Oh right, sorry,” she said awkwardly, taking a couple of steps back.

“You're fine,” I said lamely, “This has just been a strange day for me. You’re the first people I have met, other than goblins.” I blurted out before I realized what I was saying. All three stared at me eyebrows raised in curiosity. ‘Crap’ I thought mentally kicking myself.

“Where do you come from, you ain't met, other people?” Serk asked curiously.

I thought hard for a moment, trying to come up with some believable reason. After a couple of moments, I sighed and decided on the truth. “I am new to this world. I arrived here a few hours ago.” I stated simply. Silence fell between us for several long seconds, until.

“You mean you are a Realm Walker? That is amazing! I have never meant a Realm Walker before. You will have to tell me all about your world. What kind of magic does it have? Are there many people there? Do they all look like you?” Zavra said speaking rapidly. Serk laid a hand on her shoulder stopping her from asking more questions.

“I have heard of your kind,” Serk said slowly, giving me a curious look, “Never thought I would meet one though.” He held out his hand for me to shake. I took it hesitantly and he grinned. “You handled yourself pretty well in that fight. We saw you take on those three goblins, would have stepped in, but we noticed the other five creeping up on you. Not a bad bit of fighting for an untrained level 1.”

I noticed a notification blinking in the corner of my vision and mentally selected it.

You have defeated Goblin Raider, XP earned 20.

Your skills have improved Untrained combat level 2, Analysis level 2.

Meeting these three had made me completely forget my battle notifications. Checking my character sheet, I could see that I was now only 10 points from level 2. I wasn’t sure what I was going to get when I leveled up, but I was excited about it.

“We are out here looking for a goblin camp, supposed to be somewhere around here. Where were you headed? If you don’t mind my asking.” Serk asked.

“There is a settlement nearby I was trying to get there before nightfall.” I looked around at the steadily darkening forest. “Not sure if I will make it though,” Serk gave me an odd look.

“There aren’t any settlements round these parts. The nearest place is Ravensbrook, but that’s to the south. How do you know there is a settlement nearby?” Serk asked a curious look on his face. I looked for Shadowfire who was currently perched on a branch off to my left. I pointed at him.

“My familiar said there was some sort of settlement nearby, it was the closest place to me, so I headed for it.”

“Oh it’s so cute,” Zavra said excitedly,” can I hold it?”

“He not it,” Shadowfire said sternly as he landed on my shoulder.

“Oh, My Gods!! You can talk? That’s amazing!” Zavra said positively beaming with excitement.

“Now hold up” Serk cut in,” you mean to tell me that He told you to head this way? How did you know where to go if you just arrived in this world?” Serk asked sounding a bit distrusting.

“I have a map…” I said hesitantly then quickly added,” Well not a physical map, but a magical one that seems to update as I walk. Shadowfire, my familiar, pointed out the direction on my map and I have been following it most of the day.” Realization hit me and I turned to Shadowfire “Have you been leading me towards a goblin camp all day?” I asked sternly. The little dragon just shrugged.

“I didn’t know it was goblins,” he said casually. I ground my teeth in frustration and had to stop from wringing his little neck.

“How did you not know it was a goblin camp?” I asked my temper rising.

“I just sensed it was a place with several mortals, I couldn’t tell what kind.” He said shrugging again.

“Is that some sort of skill? I don’t see it on your character sheet?” Serk asked cutting in.

“I am not sure it's just sort of showed up when I asked Shadowfire which direction I should head,” I said still glaring at the little dragon who was licking one of his paws as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Hmm... I have heard of people having a map skill, it is a bit rare, so I haven’t seen it before.” Serk said eyeing me.

“It’s been useful but all it shows is what I have seen and so far, it's just been forest since I’ve been stuck in this stupid forest all day,” I said with a sigh. Serk let out a bark of laughter.

“Well, you might just be able to help us,” Serk said with a thoughtful look on his face,” We have been looking for that goblin camp all day. Got us a quest to go clear it out. The goblins have been harassing merchants along the road. Good coin if we take care of them. Seems we might need you to come with us, help us find the proper location of the camp, besides this forest ain’t safe for a low-level adventurer to wander alone, what do you say?”

“Uh, yeah sure sounds good,” I said timidly.

“Wonderful,” Serk said with a grin.