Mikhail surveyed the scene before him, two men stood over what looked to be a woman laughing and jeering as the woman beneath them struggled against the fatter one. He had moved on top of her and was trying to force himself into her, his torn trousers at his ankles. The taller and leaner of the two men stood beside the fatter one, cheering him on while making thrusting motions. All the while the woman beneath the fat one clawed and fought. Mikhail's blood began to boil. Instantly his mind returned to the night that he and his father had found his younger sister, beaten and bruised. She had been taken against her will by another man that had not been from their village. A traveler that had come into the village one night with his damned honeyed words and magic tricks. They had gotten Leana back to their home. He watched as their mother had taken her into the wash room to clean her up. He remembered how his sister's innocence had been stolen that night and how helpless he had felt as he watched her stare blankly into the abyss. He remembered how much her personality had changed after the incident.

Mikhail tightened his grip on the spear. He also remembered how his father and him had hunted the bastard down. He had watched as his father had beat the man to death with his bare hands leaving his body for the rats. That had been his first experience in true violence and the only thing that Mikhail had regretted was not getting a turn to hit the man.

Today it would be him that would stop this travesty from happening.

“Hey!” Mikhail Shouted. “How about picking on someone your size!”

The two bandits turned their heads. The tall thinner one smiled wickedly as he turned to face Mikhail. “Who is you?” he asked. His speech was a bit off. Mikhail looked them over, inadvertently getting a look at the fat man's member as he had gotten up and pulled his trousers back up. He was now tying a rope that would keep them up. “I know who he is, blink.” the fat man said as he sauntered closer.

“You do?” the tall thin man asked. He didn’t seem to get the sarcasm.

The fat man looked at him. “Yeah, he's a dead man.”

“Oh yeah, that he is blisk, that he is.”

The fat man pulled a dagger from his belt and tossed it from hand to hand as the taller man pulled a short sword from his. “I get his spear and armor.” the fat one said. Close enough now that Mikhail could see his yellow teeth. Their combined smell nearly overpowering. “Aww man, you always get the good stuff blisk.” replied the thin tall one.

Mikhail adjusted his stance to better handle the two of them. He was confident in the training over the years but thought it prudent not to underestimate the two bandits. As the two approached closer he saw the woman scramble away to a small nook in the stone wall. Happy that she was out of the way as now he could take these guys out in style. The tall one, blink, got close. Mikhail batted the sword out of his hand and before the man could react properly he thrust the spear point through the soft flesh of his throat as he stepped forward. The man grabbed at his throat and fell to his knees. Mikhail pulled the spear from his throat spinning in place and bringing the blade side of the spear to bear on his neck once again. Blinks eye’s went wide then he fell his head rolling forward.

The fat man roared in anger and charged with his dagger. Mikhail methodically side stepped him, tripping him as he passed. The man fell to the stone ground hard. Before he could get his feet under him Mikhail's spear pierced the back of his head. His body twitched and convulsed for a moment then laid still. Mikhail pulled the spear from the man's head and wiped the blood and gore on the man's dirty clothes. In the failing light he examined the spear and satisfied he stepped over to the tall one's body. The man had been wearing a cape. He kneeled down, laying the spear down he pulled the knife from his belt and grimacing at the gore and blood that flowed from the neck stump he cut the cape from the body making sure to avoid the bloody bits. He was sure the woman wouldn’t enjoy having those parts around her.

Grabbing his spear he stood up and walked over to the woman that still huddled in the small nook. As he got closer he could hear her hissing at him. Mikhail stopped and looked around, seeking a torch. Maybe those fools had one. To his surprise they did. Not ten paces to his left it laid on the ground beside what looked like a campfire. Mikhail strode over and grabbed it, pulled a flint fire starter from a pouch on his belt and struck the sparks over it. Soon he had a lit torch. He approached the woman wondering why she hadn’t run by now. As he got closer she returned to hissing at him which Mikhail found strange but he supposed it was a fear response. Mikhail laid down his spear and held out the piece of gray wool cloak that he had cut from the headless bandit. Mikhail was shocked to see that the woman wasn’t human.

She had green skin and sharp pointed ears much like an elves, but they looked a bit different. Maybe bigger. He didn’t know, he had only seen elves once. Her mouth had small sharp teeth. Curly red hair covered her head and some of her ears. Reddish orange freckles covered her cheeks and her eye’s were a striking color of orange. Her face was soft and supple. Mikhail was captivated by her beauty. “She's more beautiful than some of the girls back home.” he thought to himself. She slashed her claw like fingers at him but he pulled back in time.

“Hey, stop that.” he told her. “I’m trying to help. Just calm down.” he said as he reached his hand holding the cloak out again. The goblin woman looked curiously at him then at the cloak. Not quite understanding the gesture. Mikhail sighed and glanced down and indicated that one of her small green breasts was exposed. Now that Mikhail noticed, most of her was exposed by the rags that she had on. The clothes were dirty and torn nearly to shreds. Surely she had to have been cold out here. Maybe she had been chased out of a cave by the idiots that he had killed. As he thought he noticed her grab the cloak and then wrap it around herself. Mikhail smiled and stood up. He watched as she emerged from the nook and stretched to her full height. Mikhail figured that she was at least four and a half feet tall. “Where’s your cave?” he asked her. She looked up at him, her orange eyes seemed to alight with fire. It threw Mikhail off a bit. She displayed something that looked like she was saying “what cave?” Then she looked back at the men who lay dead in front of them.

Mikhail grabbed the spear from the ground. The goblin woman's ear twitched and she turned around. Fear crossed her face for a moment as Mikhail saw her jump. “Wait. It’s ok. I’m just taking it back to my camp.”

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She seemed to calm a bit but kept her beautiful eyes on it. She watched as Mikhail searched the dead men and the packs that they had. They didn’t have much of anything to keep other than the dagger and short sword. Mikhail grabbed them and placed them in his belt. They could come in handy. He looked at the goblin, smiling. “Well all of this excitement has made me hungry. Are you hungry?” he asked her.

The goblin tilted her head not seeming to understand what he was saying. Her ears twitching as he spoke. From her expression he figured that she didn’t understand the common tongue. “That’s not surprising,” he said to himself. He made a gesture of eating something and rubbed his belly. The goblin narrowed her eyes then nodded. “Good. there’s some intelligence under that beautiful hair." Mikhail thought to himself. He gestured for her to follow him then turned to leave the area. He held the torch high to cast the light further ahead as now it had grown very dark. Mikhail was amazed at how dark it was inside the pass. He looked up as he walked through the small passage. “At least the stars still shine here.” He thought to himself.

He glanced behind him to see the short goblin woman following him. He felt relieved that he had been there in time to save her from the two moronic bandits. The torchlight shone down upon her casting shadows behind her while lighting up her face. A face that he couldn’t read. It seemed to be set in thought but at the same time worry etched across it. Then a second later it went stoic and didn’t betray any thought at all. Mikhail shrugged to himself and kept moving, soon coming to the entrance. He emerged from the passage to see that his campfire was still lit albeit a bit lower than earlier. Also to his relief, Bakule had remained tied to the tree, absentmindedly munching on some pine needles.

He watched the goblin woman walk out of the passage a step or two and then look around. She looked down the passage To the left then to the right. Mikhail figured That it made sense for her to do so. After all she didn't know him and to Her best guess he could have others lying In wait. “It's just us.” He told her, not even sure that she understood a word that he was saying. She looked up at him, eyeing him distrustfully before walking into the light of the dying campfire. Bakule had now taken notice, snorting as she got closer. Mikhail looked back at the small passage that they had Just emerged from. Something in his gut told him that it would be wise to collapse the passage entrance. Mikhail raised the spear and with the haft he started to pound on the rock. At first nothing but small pebbles broke off, falling to the hard stone below with a plink. But soon bigger rocks started to dislodge. After a few minutes of work the walls of the passage collapsed, Mikhail moving quickly to not get caught in it. After the dust settled he could see in the faint light of the fire that it became impassable. If anything or anyone wanted to come from that direction they would have to work themselves over all of the loose rock.

Mikhail turned, facing the fire and brushed himself off. He walked over to the fire, the goblin woman moved back a few steps as he got closer. Her orange eyes watching him, unblinking. Bakule had calmed and now studied them both with his left eye. Mikhail grabbed a few of the limited pieces of wood and threw them on the fire, sure that the goblin would come close to the fire for warmth as the flames began to consume the fresh fuel. She did not. Now as the light from the fire grew Mikhail could see her more clearly. Her cheeks were a bit sunken in. Her arms were thin and looked just as frail as her legs which were exposed to the elements. The raggedy dress that she wore stopped just past her hips, leaving the rest of her thighs and legs open to the cold night air.

Mikhail followed her legs down to her feet. They looked much like humans but instead of five toes per foot there were only four. The toes had claw like nails on them and were very dirty. In fact, all of her clothes and green skin were very dirty. As if she had spent years rolling in the dirt. The girl adjusted her cloak to cover her legs, sending a message that Mikhail understood. “Stop staring at me.” He looked back up to her eye’s to see that they had an intensity to them. As if she expected him to assault her and was getting ready for a fight.

Mikhail blushed a bit. Feeling ashamed. He hadn’t meant his studying of her like that. He shook his head and stepped over to the red elk. Reaching into his supply sack he pulled out some dried meat, bread, and a chunk of cheese. The Goblin’s nose twitched at the smell of the food. Mikhail walked back to the fire and sat down. He laid the food down on the rocky ground and unwrapped it. The goblin edged closer now to the fire, like a cat ready to pounce. Mikhail noticed and grabbed a strip of the dried meat and as the goblin got closer he reached out his hand, offering her a piece. She stopped and looked at the meat, then looked into his eyes. Unsure if she wanted to take it. Quickly she reached out and grabbed the meat, sitting in the spot she had reached across the fire from Mikhail.

Mikhail laughed. “Yeah, I thought you were hungry.” he said as she hungrily tore at the dried meat. “Here. Try this.” he said as he tore a chunk of bread from the loaf and handed it to her. She snatched the bread from his hand, taking a large bite from it. Mikhail noticed lots of sharp pointed teeth when she opened her mouth. He had been told that goblins didn’t possess teeth like humans. But he had to believe the tales others had told him about the race of the small underground dwellers. He took a bit of the meat himself and chewed, watching the beautiful female goblin across from him. Another thing that he had been told about the goblins was that they were very ugly with large eyes and bulbous noses. He couldn’t confirm that as the one in front of him was very much the opposite. Her nose was small and cute, being rounded and button-like. Her eye’s did seem a bit larger than a humans but not by much.

Noticing that she had finished the meat and bread he cut a piece off of the chunk of cheese and handed it to her. She grabbed it, sniffing it and looking at it curiously. “It’s called cheese.” Mikhail told her. The goblin looked at him then back to the cheese. She opened her mouth and placed it inside and began to chew. Her face and eyes seemed to light up at the wonderful taste. Mikhail laughed and handed her another strip of meat and bread. She grabbed both and began to tear the meat apart. Mikhail himself took another bite of the food as the fire crackled, a log falling as the fire continued to eat away at it.

Soon he noticed tears falling from her eyes. She rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand as they did. He sat still wondering what had happened to make her start to cry, realizing that maybe it had been the food. He began to apologize when the girl surged forward and hugged him around his chest. Mikhail looked around confused for a moment, his arms up as he had expected an attack. He looked down at the goblin who now had his torso in a tight grip. She looked up with tear filled eyes that seemed to say “Thank you.”

Mikhail placed his right hand on her back. “You’re welcome,” he told her. Shortly she broke the embrace and sat up straight, returning to eating. There was one thing that Mikhail was curious about. “What’s your name?” he asked her. The girl looked up at him with her orange eyes. Causing something to stir within Mikhail. He waited for a moment for an answer but none came. He thought for a moment. “Can you speak?” he asked her, pointing at his mouth. The girl shook her head no. Her red curls shook as she did. Mikhail frowned. That was going to make communication a bit more difficult. He thought to himself for a moment before asking. Do you have a name? Once again the girl looked at him then shaking her head again. The response flabbergasted him. He was sure that even goblins gave the others in their tribes a name. He was even sure that they could speak. He had heard that from some of the warriors in his village that guarded the village. He had heard stories from them that goblins would at times try to raid the village, seeking easy meals or young women to take for reproduction. Luckily none of that had happened as the Night Guard in his village was very adept at their jobs.

Mikhail studied her face and eyes and suddenly it dawned on him as to why she looked very different. She had been the result of a goblin and a human pairing. But it didn’t explain why she was out on the surface by herself. Mikhail dismissed the train of thought that he was on, putting it to the back of his mind to ponder on at another time. “Well I think you need a name,” he told her. “I can’t keep calling you goblin girl or just goblin.” He thought for a moment as the goblin watched him. “How about Rowena?”

The goblin girl made a face that he took as no. “Ok, how about Amara? It's a decent name.”

The goblin considered it for a moment then shook her head. Mikhail shrugged and thought some more. “Oh!” he exclaimed. “How about Anora?”

The girl once again considered it for a bit. Seemingly going over it in her mind. She nodded in approval. Mikhail smiled. It seemed fitting that she would like that name. After all, he had found her in Anora's pass.