Daniel scanned the area as he moved through the trees. His manic run through the dense forest had been chaotic and random. And now, for all he knew, he was going in circles.

He stopped, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes.

First order of business: find a landmark he could move towards.

Opening his eyes, Daniel crouched down and slowly turned until he could see where the forest floor had a slight upward incline.

Fixing his gaze on his target, he moved in that direction, careful not to drift off course.

While he had only seen it on a map, he knew that while the forest ranged far to the south; it stopped at the base of the mountains to the southeast.

Moonlight filtered through the trees and provided just enough light to see by, and after walking long enough to feel blisters forming on his wet feet, he could finally see the canopy high above was starting to thin.

The loamy ground beneath him was also starting to change. The soil was growing firmer and…

He stopped, his eyes straining to see the drastic change in the forest ahead of him.

The cool moonlight that had been filtering through the trees shined brightly ahead.

Quickening his pace, he moved towards the clear moonlit area and stopped dead in his tracks.

The frogs and insects that had filled the night with their constant noise had stopped, and only the sound of his own pulse could be heard.

His heart was beating hard and cold sweat ran down his back.

“What are you doing here?” a deep booming voice called out through the darkness.

He stayed quiet and slowly turned his head to find where the voice was coming from.

“A hunter, perhaps? No, that’s a fighter’s armor. And that tiny club you’re clenching so tight? Not the weapon of a hunter or killer,” the deep voice continued to observe as it moved around him.

Horrifyingly enough, he could tell the voice was moving, but no sounds of footsteps accompanied the words.

Finally, the voice chuckled. “Come on out, human. You are in the midst of those that don’t require light to see.”

Daniel reflected on his options and realized; he didn’t have many.

Decision made, he stood, dropped his baton in the ring at his hip, and stepped forward.

A part of the forest seemed to step between him and the moonlit area ahead, cutting off the little light there was.

“Follow me,” the deep voice rumbled.

He followed the dark shape forward, and after a few steps, the silhouette of the being could be seen in all its magnificence.

It was a troll.

Standing over 7 foot tall and nearly as wide as an adult man was tall, the figure’s back came into focus and he could see the blackened metal plates that adorned the creature’s leather armor.

Daniel’s mind whirled as he followed. This made little sense.

While he had heard of trolls, the giant horned monster-men to the south; he had never actually seen one.

The fact that this one wore armor, that was frankly better than his own, and spoke like an educated human, was even more of an anomaly than the fact there was a troll at all this close to the human lands.

He stepped out fully into what he now realized was a stone outcropping that…once again, his thoughts cut off.

Sitting around what appeared to be a black fire were three other beings he had only heard about.

The diminutive, scaled form of a kobold, the unmistakable form of a goblin, and the large heavy form of an ogre.

The goblin waved his hand at the fire, and the black licking flames turned orange, lighting the area fully.

“Sorry, I know you didn’t want a bright fire, but humans need light to see,” the goblin said to the kobold.

Daniel looked at the goblin in puzzlement. His voice was high pitched and as his wide mouth opened when he spoke, the row of sharp teeth told him he was looking at a predator.

However, the creature’s movements and words told a different story. He sounded intelligent, even cultured.

Daniel smiled despite himself.

The kobold tilted his head in response and stared at him.

“And what is it that you find mirthful, human?”

Daniel’s smile faltered, and he looked back at the kobold. Its tone didn’t sound dangerous, but he could sense its disapproval.

Daniel gave a quick apologetic bow of his head.

“I’m sorry. I’ve never actually seen, much less met, individuals like yourselves.”

The kobold’s gaze seemed to bore into him.

“And now that you have seen us?”

Daniel breathed out slowly and looked down at himself.

His guard armor was coated in mud and his socks squished with the water that had soaked through his boots.

“The stories my people tell of you are that of brutal savages. And here I find myself, looking like something that was fished out of a creek,” he said.

Another high-pitched voice spoke up from behind him, and Daniel jumped at the unexpected noise.

“It’s true,” the new goblin laughed.

“We watched him jump in a creek to hide from the two other humans that were trying to kill him.”

Daniel’s eyes widened as he turned his gaze on the goblin that had joined the conversation.

“You’ve been watching me this entire time?”

The goblin gave him a razor toothed smile and nodded vigorously.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Turning back to the kobold, the goblin continued.

“Jagarag stayed behind to see who the elf was meeting with, but I followed the human.”

The kobold nodded.

“And this human. Why was he being hunted by his own?”

The goblin shrugged.

“Not really sure. We saw him being sent out towards the woods while the other guards patrolled the grasslands, then two others were sent after him.”

The kobold’s attention turned back to Daniel.

“Care to tell me why your people wanted to kill you?”

Daniel frowned in response.

“I was a new guard that just completed training and got sent to accompany the convoy. My assumption is that the noble and the guard captain were up to something shady, and they didn’t want any witnesses.”

The kobold nodded in thought.

“And now. What do you plan to do?”

At this, Daniel shook his head and shrugged in response.

“I can’t go back. My plan was to work as a town guard until I got enough System points to gain a class and enough gold to join the Adventurers Guild.”

He paused.

“Oh, the Adventurers Guild is a group…”

The kobold cut him off with a wave.

“I’m familiar with the Adventurers Guild.”

He gave Daniel a more pointed look.

“I meant, what are you going to do now that you’ve discovered a group composed of four of the so-called monster races are in the human lands?”

Daniel froze in thought.

“I hadn’t considered that, really.”

He looked around the cadre of beings and considered them.

“Do you plan on attacking or causing problems for the towns and cities in the area?”

The troll laughed.

“As if you humans had anything we wanted.”

The goblin that sat at the fire gave an admonishing shake of his head to the troll.

“There is no reason to be rude, Drexel.”

He turned his attention to Daniel.

“No. We have no interest in the human towns and cities.”

Daniel gave the goblin a friendly smile.

“Then no. I have no issue with you.”

“A rather open-minded opinion from a human,” the goblin said, studying him.

“People are intrinsically good. Trust but verify,” Daniel responded.

His stomach took that moment to growl loud enough to be heard by everyone present.

The goblin looked over at the kobold, whose eyes had never left Daniel.

“Everything he’s said has been the truth, not even any half-truths or lies of omission.”

The kobold nodded.

“Very well.”

With a wave of the kobold’s hand, Daniel felt something wash over him.

His hand dropped to his baton, but he stopped when he realized he was now clean and the fatigue from his journey had been washed away with the filth covering him.

The troll placed a hand on his back and leaned over him.

“Please sit and eat.”

Daniel only paused a moment before sitting on one of the cut logs that encircled the fire.

As if by magic, a plate appeared in one of the goblin’s hands, and he handed it to Daniel.

Nodding his thanks, he watched as the goblin walked around the circle and handed plates of food and goblets to each person before filling them from a wineskin.

Daniel waited for someone else to drink before he took an appreciative sip of the wine. Then ate as quickly as decorum permitted.

The wine was refreshing and fruity without the bitter flavor he was familiar with from the wines that were served in town, and the food, while oddly spiced, tasted delicious.

The kobold had continued to watch him as the food was being served and arched a scaled eyebrow.

“What’s the matter, human? Worried it may be poisoned?” he asked, his voice devoid of warmth.

Daniel gave the kobold a shrug and an apologetic smile.

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure of the etiquette and didn’t want to offend by eating before you.”

“Truth,” the robed goblin said as he set down his wine.

“And Polto, you are being a bit of a prick,” he continued as the kobold turned to him with a scowl.

The kobold stared hard at the goblin, who stared back with an imperious eye.

“Fine,” he said.

Turning back to Daniel, Polto stood and bowed.

“I am Polto, Cleric of KRAM!”

Daniel flinched back as the kobold shouted the last word, and all the others threw their fists into the air and shouted, KRAM! In response.

Realizing he had neglected to introduce himself as well, he set his plate aside and stood, bowing deeply.

“I am Daniel Bakerson from the town of Barda, former livestock guardian and town guard, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The goblin that sat at the fire, clearly a magic user of some kind, gestured to himself.

“I am…”

The goblin never finished his statement as an arrow struck him through the eye, causing his body to tumble backwards off the log.

Before Daniel even understood what was happening, the camp moved into action.

A giant sword magically appeared in the troll’s hand as he placed his muscular bulk between the kobold and the dark forest.

The rotund ogre then moved with a grace and speed that defied explanation.

He leaped effortlessly over the fire and landed in a crouch, before diving forward in a punch that seemed to impact the air.

A moment later, Daniel saw the truth. An orc faded into existence and appeared to have been doubled over by the ogre’s strike.

With a stomp, the ogre finished off the orc, but more orcs appeared, pouring into the camp from the dark woods.

Small crossbows magically appeared in the hands of the goblin, who had served them food and wine.

He would fire a bolt, the crossbow would disappear, and a newly loaded crossbow would appear in its place.

Not that the goblin stood still. He dodged and weaved through the orcs, shooting his crossbows as he went.

Three orcs charged at Drexel, but a sweep of his giant sword, sent two of the orcs back, and one to the ground, forever out of the fight.

The two orcs attempted to space themselves out to attack from either side of the troll, but Daniel had finally come to his senses.

He grabbed the orc nearest him by the back of his fur armor and pulled himself forward while swinging his baton at the orc’s temple.

With a mighty shrug of the orc’s body, Daniel was pulled off his feet and thrown to the ground a full ten feet away.

Despite being interrupted, his attack partially struck true, and the orc reeled and grabbed his head before turning to face the prone Daniel, a growl erupting from his tusked mouth.

The orc spun his sword in an arc as he moved towards him, but Drexel’s giant sword stabbed through the orc from behind, and his body fell to the ground just inches from where Daniel lay.

More orcs were coming, and Daniel stood up, baton in hand, glad the weighted baton had a lanyard that encircled his wrist, keeping it from flying off into the darkness.

All around him, the chaos of battle was overwhelming.

Orcs fell one after another, but the small group was being overwhelmed by pure numbers.

He had lost track of the goblin with the crossbows, but he spotted the ogre, still punching and kicking the orcs, even though his body was covered in crisscrossed cuts.

Daniel ran forward and struck the elbow of a spear wielding orc about to stab the ogre.

His attack had gone unnoticed, and the orc screamed as he dropped the spear, the crack of the strike loud enough to draw the others’ attention.

Knowing it wasn’t enough to strike once, he brought the baton in a low swing and hit the back of the orc’s knee.

The leg collapsed, and the orc fell to the side. Not wanting to kill him, but still take him out of the fight, he swung the baton at the orc’s jaw, and it dropped bonelessly to the ground.

One orc broke off his attack against the ogre and charged Daniel with a wide-bladed axe in hand.

A kick struck the orc’s back, and he fell sprawling to the ground directly in front of Daniel.

Moving quickly, the former guard stepped on the orc’s wrist and then struck the warrior at the base of his jaw with all his strength, knocking the warrior unconscious.

Looking up, he spotted the ogre on the ground unmoving, and three orcs, their eyes blazing with rage, dashing towards him.

“Get behind me, human!” came the booming voice of the troll.

Turning, Daniel closed the distance between himself and the troll in just a few seconds, equally amazed and horrified at the number of orcs that littered the ground around the massive troll.

As he reached the sword wielding defender, he saw the kobold’s hands glowing with a golden light, directed into the troll’s massive form.

Daniel held his baton firmly in hand and looked for an opening to attack one of the orcs.

The now familiar sound of an arrow striking flesh rang out, and he looked up at the troll.

One giant hand came up to his face and touched the arrow that had embedded itself in his eye before doubling his grip on the sword.

With a scream of rage, the troll leaped forward, striking down the two orcs as they charged.

Two more arrows struck him in quick succession, and with a final scream of defiance, the troll threw his giant sword, which spun through the air before striking another invisible figure.

This time, an elf with a bow seemed to fade into existence.

He already had a bolt in his side, and now, thanks to the troll’s throw, a left arm that hung limply at his side.

The bow disappeared from the elf’s hand, and he held his palm out flat, pointing it at Polto.

He barked out a word, and a blue bolt of energy flew towards the kobold.

Polto recoiled as the energy hit him, but his eyes hardened.

With a wave of his scaled hand, Daniel saw an arc of silver light move from the kobold’s outstretched palm to strike the elf, but he couldn’t discern what effect it had, if any.

The elf, however, seemed infuriated.

His outstretched hand balled into a fist as a long, thin dagger appeared in it.

The elf dove at the kobold, who summoned a short sword to his hand.

Polto’s sword deflected the dagger, and it only managed a shallow cut to his arm.

Polto’s riposte missed its target as the elf danced backwards, but finally, seeing an opportunity, Daniel darted forward and struck the elf’s wrist with all the strength he could muster.

A crack sounded out, and the dagger fell to the ground.

The elf’s hate-filled eyes turned to Daniel, but it was too late. Polto’s sword struck deep into the elf’s chest.

And just like that, the battle was over.