Gathering mana into his fingertips, Lan pushed them into the Fire Silk before shielding his face as the trees around him were stained a blood red. Not being in the confines of the hollow, Lan only planned on using the silk as a distraction, so when the red fabric unravelled into another cyclone, he was a little taken aback.

Like a burning serpent uncoiling for the strike, the crimson flames crashed over the five evolved goblins and their smaller kin.

As the goblins cried out, Lan didn’t wait to see how many survived. Turning and wincing as pain ripped through his right ankle, Lan pulled the throwing knife free.

[Status Effect: Hobbled – Removed]

The voice said as the wound knit shut, and Lan took off into the trees, followed by a chorus of pain and rage-filled cries.

As the red light faded behind him, the last pain in his ankle dulled, and Lan forced himself to his top speed, knowing that the slender goblin could be on him any moment. Remembering just how fast it had been, and if it wasn’t as injured as he hoped, then he would need any distance between it and the other goblins he could manage.

Once again, Tyr seemed to become lost in a frenzy even as she guided Lan through the forest. She kept sending impressions of wanting him to move faster and faster still. Once or twice, she would send the new, more intense impression that made his body want to react independently. The last one was so strong that it almost made Lan trip, but as he turned to snap at Tyr, he found the wisp becoming even more frustrated.

Dealing with this, Lan almost didn’t notice it when they stumbled into a clearing. Although the word wasn’t wholly accurate as he knew it, it was a space clear of trees, but there was no light as a ring of red giants formed a roof with their branches.

The moment Lan saw it, he knew this was the last place he wanted to have to fight, but before he could take a step, he felt a pain stab him in the back. On sheer instinct alone, Lan spun and slashed with his sword, finding nothing but the air as the thin goblin emerged from the shadow of the giants around them.

A moment later, Lan heard footsteps come from behind him. Looking, Lan found two unburnt goblin knights at his back.

Left or right, then? Lan thought before seeing the two burnt knights appear from the trees, with the normal goblins rushing to form a circle around the clearing as the goblin titans joined them.

Lan glanced at the thin goblin when it looked like they wouldn’t immediately attack. It was no longer smiling, now glaring with hate in its one unscorched eye.

Instead of just attacking him, the thin goblin pointed to one of the goblins who, after looking surprised, walked forward.

Still waiting for the goblins to come at him at once, it took Lan a moment to realise what was happening.

‘You are trying to recreate that night.’ Lan said, gritting his teeth as the thin goblin smiled again. This wasn’t about revenge for the goblins lost at their camp. This was a game. From the moment it had stalked him through the woods, it had been toying with him, and even now, after everything that had happened, it was all still a game to it; the goblin’s eye seemed to say as its smile pulled into a grin.

Realising this, Lan reached for the fire silk as he looked up to Tyr. She was frozen in mid-air without moving. When Lan tried to reach out with his mind, she only sent an impression of no paths mixed with franticly looking for one.

Not knowing how to help her, Lan wrapped his sword with the silk. He was half done wrapping when the lone goblin screamed and charged.

Dodging, Lan tripped it before cutting the silk free and igniting it and even though it was much less silk than the first time he tried it, the odd steel blade came to life as the core glowed with orange-red runes in time for his swing to cut straight through the goblin, dropping it is a burning pile Lan looked to the thin goblin whose smile cracked a little.

Even if the goblin couldn’t understand him, Lan wanted to say something smart but held his tongue; he could only see walking out of this by killing the Goblins in small groups until he could escape.

Rolling his wrist on his shield arm and testing his sword's weight, he reminded himself that he still had the attack on the shield arm. He could also use the whole roll of silk as a makeshift bomb.

The thin goblin pointed, and three normal goblins came after Lan. They were each coming from a different direction, so Lan did the first thing that came to mind as he charged one of them, taking it by surprise and driving his boot into its face before slashing at it and turning to meet the next goblin with his shield.

As the goblin’s dagger bounced off Lan’s shield, he stabbed at it, making flames burst out of the goblin’s mouth and it fall back, but before Lan met the last goblin, something stabbed into the back of his armour and unlike the previous time when he looked found it wasn’t the trick of the Thin Goblin but a Goblin Knight whose dagger had been stopped by his armour.

Lan Spun and slashed, but the goblin knight jumped back as another slipped its dagger under Lan’s armour.

[Hp 60 – 55]

Reeling from the pain, Lan stabbed down at the second knight as it moved, just managing to cut into its shoulder with a cry as it retreated.

With a moment to spare, Lan looked to the thin goblin, finding it seemed to not care about the change in plans. In fact, it looked even more pleased, but soon enough, the two goblin knights and the lone goblin were on him.

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At once, Lan felt the Call of the hunter begin to sing in his ears as his mind was taken over by the urge to defend himself from the goblins trying to find blind spots and ways around his shield as they launched powerful lunging attacks at him. Mindful of the danger that his sword posed to them, the wiry yet pudgy goblin knight started to push Lan back.

One goblin knight stabbed up at his face, and the second jumped, trying to grab and drag Lan down. Luckily, Lan was faster than the last time he faced a goblin knight, allowing him to jump out of the way and score a cut along the face of the goblin, which bought Lan a moment as its face exploded with fire, but only a moment, for as the goblin knight rolled on the ground another took its place.

The new knight was much more experienced as instead of attacking when it saw an opening, it would in time or in concert with the other. It wasn’t long until Lan gave up on attacking just so he could keep up with those two, and even then, Lan found himself running out of ground faster and faster. More than aware of the threats circling him, Lan knew he needed to stay out of the reach of the other goblins, but as the fight went on, he found himself being pushed closer to the edge.

Despite the situation, or maybe because of it, Lan felt the feeling that battle brought take over him. Fire filled his blood, and his mind took on an icy calm. So even as he fought for his life, Lan looked for a way out.

There had to be a way out of this. Yet, without dealing with the Thin Goblin, Lan knew it would always catch up to him, and if he killed the two knights attacking him, what was to stop the rest just coming at him at once.

Suddenly, as the Goblins pushed Lan to the edge, Tyr sent the impression again. It was so strong this time that Lan jumped just as something heavy crashed into his body.

[Hp 55 - 35]

Spinning wildly through the air, Lan hit the ground and rolled to a stop in front of the last Goblin Knight and the Thin Goblin. As his head spun, Lan looked around. It felt like he had been hit by a wagon train, and why had Tyr chosen that moment to send that impression? Lan thought as his mind cleared enough to realise that if she hadn’t, he would have taken the full impact of what he guessed was a hit from one of the Titans.

Still dazed from the pain, Lan felt Tyr in his mind again, this time not the one to move his body but the impression of there being no escape, then one of needing to escape followed by trying to move his body again.

Spotting his sword, Lan reached, taking it by the handle before the thin goblin stepped on his hand.

Wincing, Lan looked up as the goblin knight took up a position on top of him while the thin goblin took on a smile that looked almost pitiful.

‘Of all the goblins I have faced, you are the second ugliest.’ Lan said as he reached into his pocket. The thin goblin frowned, then smiled again as it noticed what Lan was doing.

With a sound like a scratchy chitter from the thin goblin, the knight stood over him as the thin goblin crouched momentarily, making Lan think it would say something, but it became clear that it was just trying to get a better view.

With his hand still on the roll of silk, Lan used his pinky and ring finger to grip the end of it. It wasn’t going to be pretty, but if he threw the silk while holding the end, he might be able to give himself a moment to shield himself before the explosion.

Just when Lan was about to throw the roll, Tyr sent an impression.

Run.

The moment the impression filled his mind, a blade of black steel emanating with a dark aura bloomed from the goblin knight's chest as chaos erupted around the clearing.

As Tyr sent the impression to run again, the wielder of the ominous black blade stepped close to the goblin, making it tower over the goblin whose face was locked in a mix of pain and terror.

Lan looked up at the figure looming over him with a mix of surprise and understanding. Surprise at just what he was looking at.

When he was a boy, Lan had once seen a necromancer and its undead servant pass through the village. It had been quite the commotion, and the necromancer was quickly moved along. After he had heard more than one story about sleepless nights from his friends. Lan had found little to be afraid of from the rattling skeleton following after the woman in black robes. If anything, it had made him a little sad.

The thing he saw now, with green flames sitting in the sockets of an obsidian skull, spoke of a greater malevolence than the undead servant he had seen as it watched the goblin on the end of its sword with an almost detached interest.

For a moment, time slowed as both Lan and the odd undead watched as a trace of golden light pulled from the knight’s chest. Curiously, the undead reached over the knight's limp body and tried to grab the trace of experience before it slipped through its fingers and into Lan’s tag.

This seemed to make the undead take note of Lan for the first time as realisation filled burning eyes.

The long moment passed, and Lan saw more undead garbed in the Darkness he was hunting emerge from the tree line before impossibly long swords fell on the goblins with emotionless efficiency. Like butchers at work, taking the heads of the smaller goblins in twos and threes while the Titans and knights were hacked to pieces with no skill, just brute force.

From his left, Lan heard the thin goblin cry as the undead raised its sword before Lan. A tower of black even in the dark of the clearing.

Just as the sword fell, Lan pulled mana into his finger before Tyr darted in front of him, pulling her light into herself and erupting in a blinding white that threatened to sear even Lan’s Wisp-bounded eyes, which was nothing compared to the undead, that staggered back and began to shake.

Run!

And Lan did, climbing to his feet and running into the forest as Tyr’s light started to fade to normal.

If the Darkness wasn’t enough of a giveaway, having Tyr’s light effect it made it clear it was tied to whatever had taken the Tear of Creation and the force that attacked the goblin camp and although he had finally found what he was looking for, the form it had taken reminded Lan how in over his head he was.

But at least they had a lead now. All they had to do was wait for the undead to finish the goblins, and then he could follow them. Even still, Lan wasn’t taking any chances, travelling a good thirty minutes away before stopping to catch his breath.

‘You still have them?’ Lan asked Tyr as he leaned on a tree. After a moment, he got the impression that she did, although, from the looks of her, she needed a rest more than he did. The light she used this time had almost felt like it had tangible force to it and had clearly weakened her.

‘You should get some rest.’ Lan said out loud as he lifted the light stone up to her so she would know what he meant. With a moment of hesitation and an impression to be careful, Tyr shot into the light stone.

Just as Lan finished the thought, the feeling of being stabbed again ripped through his mind, and Lan stopped and spun only to find the Thin Goblin.

It was bleeding from its side.

Sending a trace of mana to his eyes, Lan activated his Other World Sight. Finding a small flickering flame in the goblin’s chest. It was in worse shape than he was.

‘Light and Stars! What is wrong with you?’ Lan snapped. ‘Your people are being slaughtered, and yet you are still trying to kill me?’ Lan finished, and although the goblin wavered for a moment, its face quickly solidified into a grin.

Looking at it, Lan felt anger boil over into cold fury. If it had any reason, even a bad one. Lan could understand it. But this… just made him want to be sick, Lan thought as he reached into the chest and retrieved a potion.

[Hp 35 – 60]

‘Okay, let’s end this.’ Lan spoke coldly, having nothing else to say.