As the shadows closed in, Gro’Bur and I had huddled so tightly that we were almost hugging the ground. They couldn’t have been more than two meters away from us. My mind raced quickly, looking around for the quickest escape routes and obstacles we’d encounter.

“*_##^@&@@##, %$%~@+~”

My ears pricked up instantly, and I swallowed the urge to sneak a peek.

The voice was unmistakably human, but they weren’t speaking in any language that I recognized. Heck I doubt it even existed back on Earth. There were far too many syllables and pitches to belong to my planet.

From a distance I could hear a few men calling out, accompanied by the scraping of leathers as the bulk of the group neared the area we were hiding in. Every approaching figure made my heart beat just a little faster.

The heat within my body had evolved to become an almost unbearable vibration, and I struggled to keep it contained. What the fuck was this? Was the water contaminated? It was ironic that I'd eaten centipedes, flies and grasshoppers, but water ended up being what did me in.

Grateful that a good portion of goblin speak involved hand gestures, I motioned to Gro'Bur for us to move further away. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before we were caught. The clearing wasn't exactly very large after all.

We snuck quietly behind a thick oak tree, taking care not to step on any twigs, nor brush against any leaves. The carrying poles we left behind. It hurt, but loot wasn't worth our lives. Forgoing the meat was tolerable, but to me the bigger loss were the loss of the silver bear scales, intending to make something of them when we returned.

"#^^*%< @__÷;> )#&<]#"

"&@_^£!!"

We had managed to sneak up to a considerably more leafy tree, one that masked us and still allowed me to survey the humans as they went about their business. Dressed closer to what looked to be furs and loin cloth, I saw the lot of them set up camp by the riverside.

They numbered to about twelve, each carrying a dangerous looking weapon that would have put what the goblin cave had to shame. All but one. Unlike the rest of them, the man wore comfortable looking robes, with a hood that he kept down on his neck.

Then it happened. Like the pulsing of a heartbeat, the energy within my stomach began expanding. Wave after wave of energy rippled through my stomach into the air around me. I glanced at Gro’Bur in panic, but the goblin didn’t appear to feel the vibrations.

Though it seemed the robed man did.

His head swiveled in our direction almost immediately, pointing at the tree we were hiding behind and crying out in a loud voice. As the two of us stumbled back in fright, I watched in horror as the man made various symbols and drawings with his hands.

Orange sigils of light danced in the air, circling the man as he chanted unintelligible words. The uneasiness within tore at my stomach, growing into a maelstrom of noise that threatened to escape it. Time slowed to a crawl at that instant, and it felt like I had been thrown into a bubble.

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With smooth motions, the man wrung his fingers into a hand seal. Purple fire encompassed him in an instant, winking out of existence before shooting out like a cannon with a roar.

Fortunately, the two of us were already running by the time the tree was decimated. We could hear the resulting explosion, wincing as several of the splinters battered us from behind at odd angles.

"GRACKKHHHK..!!" screamed Gro'Bur as we sprinted through the forest. He wasn't the only one, since I was screaming my lungs out too. City life had never thrusted me into a firefight as intense as this before, and it definitely showed.

It was also now that the good points of being a goblin showed. Our small stature and elongated toes allowed us to quickly traverse paths that human feet weren't built for, over the many roots and rough gravel.

Several arrows went flying past us but we were far too busy running away to pay attention. One even struck me in the arm causing me to stumble but fortunately I held on, faltering only for a moment before picking back up.

We could hear the cries of the men from behind us, and every now and then I felt the same uneasy energy build up once more. Gambling on the odd feeling in my gut, I steered Gro’Bur through the vast multitude of trees, pulling him in zig zag motions every time I felt the energy in the air spike.

The chase continued for what felt like hours. It seemed like every time we lost them, another of the hunters would be just around the corner. Luckily, we weren’t the only ones drained by the hunt.

This was the forest after all, and it belonged to more than just the group of us. More than once I could hear a hunter curse whenever they encountered one of the local wildlife. Wolves with scorpion tails and shrews as large as dogs jumped out at them, tearing at their legs.

Though the monsters were mostly of the smaller varieties and easily dealt with, any new encounter slowed and tired the men out.

From our latest hiding spot, Gro’Bur and I could see a couple of the hunters skulking about in the dark. Drops of sweat dripped down their faces, with expressions that showed clearly their fatigue.

Eventually, the mage had decided to call off the pursuit. I could hear what sounded like curses and shouts echo through the forest.

Of course I readily supported this decision. The men definitely deserved a rest, and so did we. The two of us caught our breath for a while as the men slowly trudged away from us.

“Father, we move higher.” I motioned. I wasn’t willing to take the chance hiding in a spot so close to where they still were even if they were leaving. We crept stealthily through the brush, using the vines to cover our movements.

Eventually we had gotten far enough away that even the heat in my belly , which I now understood as magic, had grown softer. Softer, but not completely silent. Instead of the tornado earlier, I now felt it stretching in varied directions around me, but with a much gentler touch. Closer to sun-tanning at the beach.

It almost felt comfortable even. Before I could study the feeling more in depth however, Gro’Bur’s rough voice shook me from my stupor.

“Lucky goblins, yes? Night come to River. Said true, Badlands.” he spat out.

I wasn’t sure why the humans were considered the Badlands, but I did agree wholeheartedly that we were pretty lucky. Aside from a single wound on my arm, we were unscathed. The arrow was still stuck in my arm, so instead of pulling it out, I followed what I learned from movies I watched as a teen. Breaking it in two and leaving half of it in the wound, I wrapped my arm with a few long blades of grass.

The makeshift tourniquet seemed to hold pretty well, considering the amateur skill I was showing. Gro’Bur stared curiously at my leafy bandage. It must have been new to him, since I didn't remember any of the cave goblins having anything close to medical aid.

I would probably remove the remaining shaft when we were safely back at our small camp. It was far too dangerous to do so now, wherever we were.

With how things were right now, we decided to pass the night here. The magic-sense that saved us earlier had lessened in intensity, the feeling now closer to a cool summer day.

The magic was quieter now, but not silent and I could still feel it prodding at me gently from all around. As I crawled up one of the many trees with Gro'Bur, I recalled the devastation the spells had caused. Was I capable of that? It gave me a faint sense of excitement. Not enough to equal me missing my pregnant wife, but still it was there.

True magic, not just sleight of hand but actual spells! You could hardly find a human being from earth nowadays who had never entertained the notion.

I closed my eyes slowly, allowing my mind to drift away into the possibilities. Soon enough my soft snores joined that of my father