The goblin stares at me and I stare right back.
Its beady eyes comb up and down my body while its pointed ears twitch.
I watch as it looks down at my left hand. I follow its gaze down to my hand.
I am still holding the half-rotted leg of one of its buddies.
Shit.
A wailing roar fills the air as the goblin rushes at me with veins bulging from its head.
I take one more look at the leg in my hand before chucking it directly at the goblin. Before it even hits the monster, I am already several meters away as Pawl and I make like a banana and split from the scene. I don’t even bother looking behind me as my feet pound into the soft grass as fast as I can make them.
Goblins are supposed to be starter mobs, right? Who gave Buddy behind me their secret stash of steroids?
Before I even reach the wood line, I can already hear the sound of heavy footsteps trailing not far behind me. I risk a glance and am very unhappy to see that the goblin is closing fast. Even with its limp and partially injured state, it is somehow still faster than me. To make matters worse, clear liquid runs from the creature’s eyes as it waves the leg around its head like some kind of weapon.
What kind of sick creep would use a poor dead goblin’s leg as a weapon? Not me, that’s for sure.
Pawl has already begun weaving through the trees, as he is much faster than I am, but I finally reach the woods myself and start my journey through the tight foliage. Luckily, due to my slim figure, I can slip through the gaps between the thick trees and vegetation fairly easily. I ignore the various branches and thorns that scrape and slap me as I dash through them.
The goblin continues to chase me, but it is clear that it is heavily hindered by its bulky stature and injured leg. Before long, I have widened the gap between us to the point where I can only hear rather than see it crashing against trees and foliage behind me.
I start to laugh aloud at the absurd idea that I might actually get away from the brute, but suddenly I trip on a root due to my momentary distraction and crash to the ground.
My skull knocks against a nearby tree, making my head spin and my vision blur. I attempt to get back up, but it is like the ground is shaking beneath me as I stumble around trying to find my balance. Forcing myself to focus, I remember my skill and push as hard as I can.
< Cogitation Lvl. 2 -> Cogitation Lvl. 3 >
Suddenly, I find my feet beneath me and the fog hovering over my thoughts lifts. That is when I realize that the ground under me actually is shaking and it is not just a result of me bumping my head.
I look around, trying to listen for the goblin’s heavy breathing and snapping of twigs that signal its presence, but the woods are filled with a steady thumping sound. I panic for a moment before I spot Pawl hiding nearby in a small hollow under a fallen tree. I quickly make my way to him and duck into the opening.
Putting Pawl on my lap, I do my best to control the rasping whistle that is my breath and become still as I continue to listen for the source of the thumping or the footsteps of the goblin.
Mere moments later, I freeze in place as I watch the goblin stumble into view about three meters from where Pawl and I hide. I can no longer hear its movements as the thumping sound has become almost deafening, but I watch as the goblin looks around.
For some reason, this time the goblin is not as enraged as it was before. Its figure is instead hunched to the ground and its eyes dart around sporadically as if looking for a place to hide as well.
I can feel Pawl’s body vibrate as he begins to hiss at the sight of the goblin, but I quickly shush him and pet him softly to calm him down. As I continue to watch the goblin scramble, I begin to hear the crashing of trees as it sounds like something huge is barreling straight through the woods.
Just as I think of what it could be, the goblin makes eye contact with me and we both freeze. I continue to hold its stare, waiting for it to make a move. My body tenses and blood flows through my veins like a raging stream as I prepare to fight. My nose flares and air seamlessly moves in and out of my lungs as my skin ceases to itch for a moment while my attention fully locks onto the twitching figure of the goblin.
< Cogitation Lvl. 3 -> Cogitation Lvl. 4 >
I slowly move Pawl off my lap and begin to pull myself out of the hollow, not taking my eyes off the goblin. Hesitation is written all over its body as it looks like it wants to charge me, but instead, it glances somewhere outside of my view. The crashing sounds become so loud that even I break eye contact to look toward the source. Whatever it is, is getting really close.
I take one more look at the goblin before grabbing Pawl and shoving myself deep into the hollow. The goblin is no longer in view, but the entire area begins shaking and dirt falls on my face due to the force of the thing heading our way.
Before long, the sound becomes deafening and a huge crash assaults my eardrums as it feels like a freight train passes right next to my hiding spot. Splinters of wood and clods of dirt rain down on me as I close my eyes and hold Pawl close to my chest, but just as fast as it arrived, it is gone within the same heartbeat.
I don’t dare to move until the thumping sound fades far into the distance.
When it is finally gone, I slowly dig myself out of the hollow and brush off the splinters and dirt that cling to my body. Sunlight bathes my skin unhindered as the trees that used to block it out are no longer around to do the job.
Nothing is left of the area besides dust and blood.
Whatever came through here not only took care of my goblin problem but also carved a path of shattered wood and flattened brush through the thick woods. The surroundings look very similar to the paths I spied earlier when I was still in the clearing next to the cave. It would seem they were not paths for travel after all. I use the brief respite to wander around the immediate area to see if the commotion drew any sort of new unwanted attention.
Walking around carefully, I count the spots on which I can see remnants of the goblin.
Splatters of blood all over the immediate area: Check.
Pieces of bone embedded into nearby trees: Check.
Shredded innards that hang on branches like streamers at a birthday party: Check.
I have to say, the ‘Train’ as I will now call it did a great job of taking care of my goblin stalker.
10/10 would recommend to a friend.
Also, what the fuck just happened?
Pawl seems to be as flabbergasted at the scene as I am, so I do not bother asking him. Instead, I go ahead and sort through the pieces of the goblin, trying to find anything of use. Usually when it comes to sorting body parts, I am the one being sorted through, not the one doing the sorting. Because I am a beginner when it comes to such things, it takes me much longer than it probably should to figure out how to identify which parts of the goblin are which. I give myself a little bit of leeway through, as I don’t think doctors from Earth would have any easier of a time trying to figure out the anatomy of an alien like this.
Unfortunately for me, after several minutes of looking, I do not find anything useful from the goblin turned pinata.
The only thing that was left of the encounter is the stupid goblin leg that is somehow undamaged despite the sheer destruction caused by the Train. It seems I am destined to bring the stinky appendage along on my journey, so I heft it over my shoulder and begin following the trail that the Train left behind. I don’t really know where I am going, but it seems like the goblin was afraid of the mysterious thing, so even if the Train could turn me into blood mist, I am hedging my bets on it.
I cough dryly into my hand and inspect my body. All of that was fairly tiring, and I am thirsty. My body is covered in small cuts and smudges of dirt, but other than that, I’m doing fine. My shoulder looks to be still swollen, and my hand is still pretty much useless for the time being, but that shouldn’t be a problem as the pain they both cause is not that big a deal. The soles of my feet aren’t doing very well due to the various sized chunks of wood that cover the ground, but similarly to my shoulder and hand, there shouldn’t be any reason I can’t soldier through the discomfort.
“Shall we follow this path and hope our quest results in some water and perhaps a sandwich?” I look down and ask Pawl with the seriousness of a veteran adventurer.
He meows in response and starts to follow the wreckage left behind by the Train. I chuckle and am about to follow when a screen appears out of nowhere.
[Quests]
< Floor Objective >
1. Reach the Valley OR 2. Finish what was started
< Reward >
-Entry to Floor Two
-Access to Forum
-Common Gear of Choice
< Side Objective >
Reach Level 10
< Reward >
-Augment of choice
Learn 5 skills
-System selected Trait