“Werner, charge! Get to the path!”

“What? We’re attacking now? We shou—”

“Go, now!”

We had no time to argue. I could already see a handful of goblins running for the entrance, no doubt to fetch the boss before she could get too far, while others were grabbing weapons and running to the trail up the cliff at the back of camp. I stepped to the side, giving Werner room to pass.

“Connor, you can shoot flaming arrows, right? Set some of their tents on fire!” Before I could even finish giving my order, Connor nocked an arrow and, as he drew it back, magical flames began to spread along its length. He released the string and the arrow flew straight into the largest concentration of tents. We both ran after Werner, trusting the flame to spread on its own.

Our footing was treacherous. The path was plenty wide for a careful stroll, but scrambling along pumped full of adrenaline made each step feel like we were only a hair’s breadth from tumbling and falling, just as the goblin I had accidentally pushed. Our only saving grace against the rushing goblins was that they had to run uphill, letting us reach the path moments before the tide of angry little green creatures arrived.

Werner barely had time to plant his feet in a steadier stance and raise his shield before the first wave of goblins collided with him. The upward path was narrow enough that Werner managed to block it almost fully, but his shield left small gaps on either side which goblins immediately started trying to squeeze through. They swiped at him awkwardly with jagged knives and axes made of scrap metal, which thankfully only scraped along the heavy chainmail.

I reached past Werner from behind, my hand shooting forward as if for a punch but with claws extended. The left goblin was caught off guard, attempting to dodge only to move his eye directly in the path of my thumb. A moment later, he was staggering back and screaming, hands held over his now useless left eye.

Pulling my left hand back, I quickly shifted my weight to my right, leaning around and doing the same to the goblin trying to push past there. It was ready, though, and swiped at my hand with its axe. I pulled back, clenched my fist, and punched.

Having inhabited this body for no more than a week, I sometimes found myself too focused on the magic and caught off guard by its physical capabilities. Colranth Firebreath may not measure up to the strongest heroes, but he was still strong—and these goblins were small, weak creatures.

As my fist connected, I felt its nose crack under the impact and it staggered back, howling in pain and clutching its face. It stumbled, stymying the approaches of two more goblins who had to push past it, and I took my chance.

“Werner, shift left!” As I shouted, I took a single lunging step forward, landing low to the ground and face-to-face with several goblins. They raised their arms, eager to bring their weapons down on my now undefended face, but I was already incanting.

“Burn!” A wave of flame spread from my mouth, widening as it went and rolling over half a dozen goblins whose movement was restricted by the cramped quarters. I pushed back with my leading leg, retreating as Werner smoothly moved back to the right to continue covering the whole approach.

Still unused to the sensation of such a large portion of my MP leaving me, I stopped for a moment to catch my breath, glancing over at Connor. While Werner held the front line, and I supported him, Connor had loosed another flaming arrow at a different cluster of tents, and the fire was spreading rapidly down below. A detachment of goblins dropped their weapons and began scrambling about, trying to find water to throw on the fire. One of them, it seemed, grabbed a pot of oil in his haste, and screams of renewed panic rang out from the camp. He nocked more arrows, one after another, and began picking off goblins in the rear of the formation.

Werner, meanwhile, focused mostly on holding the surging tide of goblins back with his shield, but his spear afforded him some ability to attack from behind his defenses. He managed to shove back against the mass of bodies just enough to raise his spear and make two lightning-fast strikes, each one injuring a different goblin.

Are we actually going to be able to do this? Are we winni—

My optimistic train of thought was derailed abruptly by a shout from Werner, more of surprise than of pain. As he repositioned his shield after striking with his spear, he lifted it just high enough for a goblin to throw itself onto its stomach and slide underneath. It grabbed Werner’s foot, frantically pulling itself forward and opening its wide, toothy maw to bite his leg.

“Ignite!”

Flames sprouted from my claws and I dropped to my knees, thrusting my fist forward into the goblin’s advancing mouth. It bit down reflexively, but my scales—thickest on my hands and forearms—stopped his teeth from penetrating my skin. Instead, it howled in pain, scrambling backwards, but I grabbed it by the neck and jerked it to the left, sending it toppling over the edge of the path and rolling down the steep incline.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Keep holding! Make sure that shield stays in place!” I shouted. In order to make the most of my now-flaming claws, I once again lunged low, reaching out from underneath the shield and swiping at the goblins to drive them back and give Werner a reprieve.

Connor continued to pick off goblins until, finally, he shouted, “I’m out of arrows!”

“Take Werner’s spear! Werner, both hands on the shield! Don’t just hold, bash them! Push them back!” The two men obeyed, carrying out the switch with almost practiced ease. Squeezing in precariously on Werner’s left, Connor carefully aimed and thrust the spear repeatedly. He lacked the technique that Werner displayed with the weapon, but against poorly armored targets squeezed into a choke point, he didn’t need overwhelming skill. Each strike pushed back a goblin, whether as a solid hit or just because it dodged back to evade the sharp point.

I looked down at the goblins. Still dozens of them were pushing their way forward, unable to advance any wider than three abreast. They looked uneasy, but we needed to truly halt their momentum to break their morale. We had pushed them back far enough that we had left behind the top of the cliff and steep dirt walls now kept them in place, able to only advance or retreat. I leaned in close to Werner, hoping that the goblins wouldn’t hear my words over the noise of combat.

“When I say ‘go,’ I want you to angle your shield to the left and push forward. Try to press as many of them against the wall as you can and hold them there. I’ll handle the right.” He nodded, and I stepped back. With a deep breath I took my usual stance, raising my flaming fists, sliding one foot back and angling it, bending my knees slightly, and rising to the balls of my feet. The familiar movement calmed me somewhat, and I readied myself.

“Go!”

Without missing a beat, Werner turned his shield to face the left, stepping forward and thrusting with both hands to pin several goblins against the wall. Connor immediately took the opportunity to raise the spear high, angling it down to stab at his trapped foes. The goblins that evaded the shield swiftly began to make for the newly created gap, but I was more prepared. I exploded forward, slashing again and again and driving them back step after step.

In just a few short moments, I was fully clear of Werner and Connor, right in the front line of the battle and facing the goblins unsupported—but I had planned for this. Taking one more deep breath, I prepared to use my Fire Breath spell for the last time in this fight.

“Burn!”

With no need to avoid hitting my allies, the wall of fire spread across the entire path, rolling over several ranks of goblins. Those in the back staggered away, screaming in pain and fear, while those closest to me simply fell to the ground, dead.

I wasted no time, turning and rushing back behind Werner. Connor had finished the goblins he had pinned against the wall, so Werner moved back into position, his shield once again blocking the goblins’ approach.

I took a deep, shaky breath as I watched the goblins, waiting for them to charge once again… but they didn’t. They’re losing their nerve! If we charge now, we can—

“Colranth, move!”

Connor’s outstretched hand caught me right in the chin as he shoved. I staggered back and tripped, falling down into a sitting position just in time to see a long, thick arrow sprout from his chest, passing right through it and embedding itself into the wall above me.

“Shit! Connor!” I caught him as he fell to his knees and slumped forward. “Are you okay? We can stop the bleeding, right?” I looked down into the camp and saw the goblins’ leader, Big Boss, standing with her bow outstretched after shooting. Oddly, she seemed frozen, not continuing to loose arrows at us even though we had no way of fighting back.

Werner still stood with his shield raised as, seeing one of their attackers fall, the goblins renewed their charge—only for a raspy cry to ring out from below.

“Stop attacking! Now!”

At the words of their leader, they awkwardly skidded to a halt just in front of Werner. I had no clue what her plan was, but if they were going to stop, then I had time to try and tend to Connor. Unfortunately, I knew little about first aid, and this wound needed much more than that. I pressed down on his chest to try and stop the bleeding, but I couldn’t stop the wound on his back from leaking an ever-expanding pool of blood that the dry mountain soil greedily absorbed.

“H-hey… that was quick thinking, you know?” I could barely hear Connor over the blood rushing in my ears. “Some real good strategy, holding the path here. Could’ve… won us the fight. If we didn’t forget about the boss.”

“We can still win, okay?”

“You can. I can’t. That’s okay.” His breathing was rapid and shallow. “You made all the right calls. Let m-me take the lead when we needed my skills. Called me out when I was acting like an ass. Looked out for your friends.”

I was vaguely aware of some shuffling from the goblins below. They seemed to be moving aside, and I could hear heavy, armored footsteps.

“You’ve gotta get through this. You really might be able to become a great hero.” Connor closed his eyes, looking almost content if not for his pale, waxy skin and trembling hands—trembling hands that slowly fell still.

“Shit! Shit, shit! Connor!”

He didn’t move. The armored footsteps came to a stop as I carefully laid him down then stood, turning to glare at the new arrival: a goblin, wearing crude armor made of sturdy metal plates held together by strips of hide. She wore a dirty brown bandana around her head, and held a bow taller than she was.

The goblin leader, Big Boss. She looked at me with a strange expression on her face. She seemed hesitant, despite her cocky bearing, unsure of how to proceed. I balled my hands into fists, but strove to keep my cool. She wasn’t someone I could defeat easily on my own, and if we started fighting Werner would be unable to contribute unless he ignored all of the goblins that would rush to her aid.

“What do you want?” I asked, perhaps more harshly than I should if negotiations were my goal. I was completely unprepared for her response.

“Did he call you… Colranth? Is that you, Jason?”