Swords rang from their sheaths accompanied by loud shouts. Aaspaelwin tumbled from the rock and landed in the dry brambles and thick layer of fallen needles. For a moment, he was too shocked to fully register what had happened. The goblin yelped in a distinctly high-pitched tone followed by Sir Hapow's angry yelling. Footsteps rushed him by a few seconds later. Aspen clambered to his feet, unsure what to do. Hiaashaqwi grabbed his arm before he had time to make up his mind.

'Be still,' the samandar demanded.

'Wait, you don't understand what happened yet!' He pulled his arm in an attempt to get free, but Hiaashaqwi tightened his grip. 'That hurts. If you'd loosen up, that'd be great. Please? I'd like to keep my a...' The look the samandar gave him was far from friendly, and Aspen clapped his mouth shut. He turned his attention to the chase going on.

Sir Hapow swung his sword after the nimble goblin, hitting several trees. The goblin ducked and weaved as Sir Hapow roared. Then, to his surprise the small creature climbed up a tree, agile as a squirrel.

'You get down here, you piece of trash!' Sir Hapow kicked the tree trunk and glared up.

''No. You bad. Go away!' The goblin replied and tossed a pine cone, nearly hitting his helmet.

'By the gods, you will get down here, or I'll have you shot!'

Another cone flew down, hitting his shoulder. He roared and attempted to climb the tree, but with his armour and the sword in one hand, he didn't get far.

'Lissen! You go away, we leave you be. But you go now. And shhh!'

'You were gonna stab us in our sleep, weren't you? You murderous little creep!'

'No no! The many eyes, it comes, it comes!' It tried to hush at Sir Hapow but he was too enraged to care. Aspen cringed at every loud shout and clang of the sword as Sir Hapow beat the trunk. Aspen glanced about but didn't see any monsters. His heart raced nonetheless.

'Please, Hiaash...aqwi.' He faltered, unsure of how to pronounce the name. The samandar watched him without a word. 'The goblin lives here, I think. It can help us. It didn't seem inclined to hurt us as long as we're not here to... steal the monster. We can reason this out!'

'Maybe you can,' Hiaashaqwi replied, cocking his head towards Sir Hapow. 'But he won't listen to anything right now, and you know it.'

'But he'll listen to you!' Aaspaelwin hissed, glancing around again. 'Look, he's gonna draw the monster with all this racket, we have to stop it right now. Please?'

For several seconds the Samandar looked at him, his eyes unreadable. Aspen's hope for help dwindled. Then he turned his head to watch Sir Hapow and the goblin, letting go of his arm.

'Thank you!' Aspen said. 'Umm, isn't he unusually angry by the way?'

'Jaki,' Hiaashaqwi called, ignoring him. 'Wait.'

To Aaspaelwin's surprise, Sir Hapow hesitated and glanced their way. 'What?'

'Maybe we should listen to it. Its got information.'

'What information?' Sir Hapow yelled, searching the forest floor and picking up a rock.

'About the monster.' Hiaashaqwi looked at Aspen who nodded.

'You'd believe that stupid half-breed and a goblin! You've lost it too.'

The samandar's tail-tip whipped from side to side in an annoyed manner. Like a cat, Aspen noted. 'No, I'd just like to find out for myself.'

Sir Hapow hurled the rock at the goblin. Some heated curses followed.

'Please, let us talk with it!' Aaspaelwin begged.

'She,' the goblin snapped, drawing Aspen's eyes. Her hood had fallen back, and though half-hidden by the branches, the dying cover didn't hide her fully. Her bright yellow eyes gleamed in a thin greenbrown face with a pointed chin. Large ears poked out to the side, and a stripe of long black hair crowned her head, tied into a ponytail at her neck. Her nose was thin and pointy. He stared, surprised. She spat and tossed another pinecone at Sir Hapow.

'That's it!' the guard roared. 'You, get here!' He pointed at Aaspaelwin.

'What?'

'Get your ass over here, and shoot it with your bow,' he demanded.

'N-no. Look, like I said, we should talk to her. We coul –'

'Either you're on our side, and you will get here and shoot it. Or, you're a traitorous scum, like I said, and I'll hack you to pieces too!' He sprayed spit with every word, and his bloodshot eyes stared wildly. His left hand clenched and unclenched by his side.

His ears rushing, Aaspaelwin took an unsteady step forward. The world spun unsteadily. He didn't want to shoot her, but he didn't think he could take on the crazy guard.

'Jaki,' Hiaashaqwi said again. 'Stop this. What's wrong?'

Aspen nodded, stayed by the samandar's side. Sir Hapow did seem way angrier than he should be. And what was wrong with his eyes anyway? Aspen studied him more closely. His cheeks flushed an ugly red in an otherwise unusually pale face, his ears burned in the raising sun's light like torches. He kept rubbing his left shoulder from time to time, grimacing. Something must be wrong. Surely?

'The goblin trying to kill us in our sleep is wrong. Why aren't you helping?'

'Because it seems a little over the top,' Hiaashaqwi said, his tone calm.

'Over the top? I'll show you over the top.' Sir Hapow left the tree and marched towards Aspen, his teeth bared like a rabid dog.

'No, thank you,' Aspen sputtered and backed off.

'Get here!' He roared, and Aspen froze in fear. His fingers found the hilt of his knife. Sir Hapow stopped in his face, grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back towards the tree. 'Shoot it!' he demanded.

'Ssshh! Bawa!' the goblin hissed from the tree. 'No smart. It comes!'

'Get your bow out.'

Aspen's hands shook as he unslung his bow from the holster on his back and slowly pulled the string into the notch. He didn't know how to get out of this. Hiaashaqwi clearly didn't like it either, but he didn't think the samandar would help him much either. He swallowed and glanced around. No monster yet. But he couldn't shake the feeling it was racing towards them. Padding on many silent clawed feet. A cold shiver ran down his spine. He glanced up and met the golden orbs of the goblin. Her mouth thinned into a line. By the fires of Yhori.

'I-I can't do this,' he mumbled.

'Then I'll do it for you.' Sir Hapow grabbed the bow and yanked at it.

Surprising himself, Aspen clung to the bow, refusing to let go. He couldn't let the crazy guard murder an innocent. She'd even seemed inclined to help them.

'Let go!' Sir Hapow yelled, spraying his face with spit.

'No!'

Sir Hapow's fist smashed into his solar plexus, dropping him to the ground. Panicking, he gasped for breath as pain lanced out in all directions, freezing him. He managed a pitiful moan as Sir Hapow pulled the bow from his nerveless fingers.

'Jaki, stop it. We're meant to protect him,' the samandar's voice floated above him.

'Not if he's in league with goblins, we're not,' Sir Hapow spat. 'He dug his own grave.'

A kick landed in Aspen's side, and he rolled away from it, groaning. Then he was tugged up into a sitting position, meeting the blood-red eyes of Sir Hapow. Red. Like the deer. Aspen's breath hitched, his heart racing like it tried to escape his ribcage.

Then a gloved fist clouted him in the face. Reeling from the blow, he couldn't defend himself against another and whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut.

'Get your filthy hands off him!'

Music to his ears. He dropped to the ground, bleeding from his nose, ears ringing. Shouts and bashing noises, a heavy thud. He cracked his eyes open. A huge, furry shape stood over Sir Hapow, her fur bristling like an angry dog. Sekafi. Where had she come from?

Hiaashaqwi pulled at her arm, keeping her from stabbing the guard with her curved golok. She shook him off and kicked Sir Hapow in the side. Then she got in close and personal, pressing the blade against his throat.

'If you ever lay a hand on him again, I will cut off your stupid little head,' she growled.

The man had the decency to blanch, but his eyes still stared wildly. Hiaashaqwi hesitated, his own blade drawn behind Sekafi's back. For how long?

Aaspaelwin struggled back up. Had to go and help. A hand steadied him on the arm. He glanced down, surprised to find the goblin beside him.

'Thanks,' he wheezed.

'Not so weak. Good.' She grinned, baring her sharp needle-like teeth.

'Uh...' He turned back to the others, afraid Sekafi would get stabbed in the back. But apparently, in the seconds he'd looked away, Sekafi had stared Sir Hapow down, and Hiaashaqwi tended to him, his sword on the ground beside him. Aspen breathed a sigh of relief.

Sekafi turned around and lay eyes on him, a wide grin splitting her face into a terrifying display of teeth. Aspen smiled despite the pounding in his head and aching over his midsection. She stepped over and engulfed him into a bearhug. He groaned as his ribs protested, but didn't mind at all. His best friend. How?

'How did you find us?' he asked once she let him down.

'Found you? It's not exactly hard with all the yelling and screaming,' she hissed. 'What's gotten into you? Did you forget about it?'

He glanced around nervously, meeting the eyes of the goblin for a split second. 'No, we didn't forget, but he's gone mad. I don't know what's going on.'

'I know,' the goblin interjected.

They turned to watch her.

'And who's this?' Sekafi asked.

'Uh... well,' Aaspaelwin started.

'Mirok,' she said. 'You have big friend. Not weak.'

'Yes, I know.' Aspen smiled. 'She's my best friend.'

'Good friend. Now we run.'

'Run?' Sekafi asked.

'Yes. It's coming.'

They quieted and listened for a while. The forest lay deadly quiet after all the noise they'd caused, only the whisper of the wind and creaking of branches broke the silence.

'We should go,' Aspen said.

'But where?' Sekafi's fur stood on edge along her neck and back. They'd never be able to outrun the monster. 'Up a tree?'

'The Many Eyes break tree,' Mirok whispered. 'I know place. We hide. Come.' Without waiting for a reply, she jogged off.

Hesitating, Aaspaelwin looked to the guards. He wouldn't feel too sorry if something happened to Sir Hapow. But Hiaashaqwi though. He'd been decent.

'Hey, we're going to hide. It's coming.' He left it at that. They could make up their own minds about what to do.

'Where are you going?' Sir Hapow growled and got up. 'The goblin's gonna get you killed, can't you see that?'

Fury exploded into Aspen's chest, and out his mouth. 'No, you're the one getting us killed! You and your big mouth!' He spun around and stomped after the goblin, ignoring the curious look Sekafi gave him.

They had only walked a few steps when a chilling howl rent the air. Everyone froze in their tracks, looking in its direction. Thumps and creaks, and loud crashes of falling trees echoed in the morning, only a mile or two off.

'It comes. Hurry,' Mirok hissed and sped away through the underbrush, leaving them to either run, or be left behind.

They ran.