Ratface couldn’t move. She knew she should, but she couldn’t.

It was worse than that, Ratface refused to move. Albert and Tiffany tried to pick her up and she struggled against them the entire time.

“If we can get to the Redwood, we’re safe,” murmured Abigail. She eyed the red burning wood beyond the elf as if rating their chances.

“We need to run,” Albert hissed at Ratface. He didn’t understand.

“Will you run guest?” asked the elf. Her eyes lingered on Ratface again and it felt like her heart stopped beating.

Isabelle glanced over to Ratface.

“Glamour?” she asked.

The elf laughed. Her laugh was like a bell as it rung through the air. The light seemed to giggle with it.

“You attribute magic to what is natural. The guests must pay respect to their hosts.”

“We goblins are guests in the elves’ home,” Ratface forced out, trying to explain, “it is only right that we treat our hosts with courtesy.”

“The guest speaks true. Fear not guest-child. I am only here to take you to the safety of my home.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” said Abigail. She took a step closer to the elf and its eyes snapped to her. “Leave now and we’ll pretend we never saw you. I can’t imagine it would be good for Lurian relations if the news got out an elf was gathering monsters.”

“I am afraid you’ve already hurt my plans too much with your culling. Reparations must be made. Killing the witch’s plaything will have to suffice.”

“She’s not a witch,” Abigail said. She drew her sword from the ground and held it in a stance by her waist. “She’s a warlock.”

Abigail flashed blue. She covered the distance in a moment, just like she’d done with the golem.

Unlike the golem, the elf defended. A quarterstaff appearing in her hand as she blocked Abigail’s attack. The elf grunted at the effort and was forced to take a step back.

Abigail kept up the pressure. Her armour flashed blue as she shoved into the elf. The elf darted back and slammed her staff into Abigail’s side. The armour came away dented.

Abigail didn’t have time to worry about it as the elf pushed forward with her own attacks. The two traded blows. It seemed even until you realised the elf easily turned away any strike that Abigail sent her way. The only exception to that was the strikes empowered by Abigail’s armour. The elf had to dart back from those ones.

The empowered attacks were too clearly telegraphed though. The blue flash happened a moment before Abigail moved, and they were too linear. It sacrificed technique for brute force.

Someone like Ratface wouldn’t be able to take advantage of that, but the elf was better than she was. It had already begun to dodge the attacks with ease, and it smiled as Abigail’s armour flashed blue again. It moved in to take advantage of the space.

Abigail smiled back and twisted her sword towards the elf’s face.

Blood dripped from the elf’s wound, and they wiped at it with irritation. Ratface’s eyes widened. Abigail had managed to hurt her. Looking at the deep cut across the elf’s face, Abigail might have even been able to kill the elf if it hadn’t darted away.

“A cheap trick,” the elf said. Her face thunderous.

“I thought you’d like the trick given yours with the monsters. Preparing a parade, were you?”

The elf laughed. This one was nasty and Ratface could hear it in her skull.

“You lack imagination. I would tell you, but a corpse needs no answer,” said the elf. Her hand shone green for a moment and her wound stopped bleeding.

“Instead, I will give you a name. Know that you face Amaranth the Keeper.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Amaranth charged at Abigail. Her staff was glowing as it whirled around her. Abigail stopped the strikes, but she was getting pushed around. She ended up on the other side of the elf as she pushed Abigail further away from the rest of them.

The elf kept hitting Abigail until finally she found an opening. Amaranth slammed her staff into Abigail’s hand, forcing her to drop the sword.

She was about to land the finishing strike when something forced her to duck out of the way.

A knife whizzed past where her head had been. Albert ran at her spear first as he stabbed. The elf caught it with her staff, but Albert was already backing up to Abigail who’d taken the opportunity to pick up her sword. The three of them circled each other. Abigail and Albert getting themselves back into a position where their backs were to Ratface once more.

The fight went better then. Abigail kept up the pressure. Her armour was glowing permanently blue now as each strike was empowered.

When the elf tried to take advantage of her aggressive style, Albert would cover her. The two were forcing the elf back but they couldn’t hit her and Ratface knew that if it kept up like this then eventually, they’d tire out.

She looked over to Tiffany who was desperately trying to get the plants to work with her. Next to her Isabelle was watching the fight with a deep focus. She must have put up illusions to help the other two.

Everyone was working so hard to save her. Tiffany was literally arguing with nature itself to try and get it to defy the elf.

Yet the plants were like Ratface. They knew they couldn’t fight against an elf. It was like fighting nature itself. She should just give herself up.

A small vine caught the elf’s foot. She stumbled, and was forced to block Abigail’s follow up swing instead of dodge. Albert took advantage of the opening and stabbed through with his spear. It only got her arm but that was two wounds she had taken now.

The elf shot Tiffany a murderous glare. Amaranth had murderous eyes for all of them. Well, almost all of them. She didn’t even bother to look at Ratface.

There was an opportunity there. She just had to force herself to move.

Ratface struggled against her muscles, trying to get herself to stand. They wanted to stay still. The elves weren’t to be trifled with, even her mother knew that.

Her mother had known that, yet she had still insisted that the elves’ writing was based on goblins. She had whispered it to Ratface like a weapon. A knife that she needed for just this moment.

The elves weren’t perfect. Goblins had already given them a gift. It was a poor host who kept asking for things.

Ratface felt something in her snap. It hurt. She still felt scared and sick but now anger burned in there too.

She tried to move and found her legs wouldn’t work with her. Fine.

Ratface flopped to the ground and crawled towards the fight. Amaranth was starting to win as Abigail and Albert tired out.

Ratface crawled ever closer. She couldn’t think about the chance the elf would win. It would stop her in her tracks. She had to take the opportunity available to her. She inched closer.

The elf kicked Albert tumbling back. Out of the corner of her eye, Ratface saw Tiffany rush over to him to check he was okay which meant her vines stopped helping Abigail.

Amaranth took advantage of the moment. She attacked Abigail aggressively who desperately fended off the attacks. Her armour flickered as she struggled to maintain her power.

Ratface kept dragging herself closer, keeping behind the elf as much as she could.

The elf let out a cry of triumph. It parried Abigail’s attack and slammed its staff into her chest plate. The armour exploded and Abigail was sent tumbling back.

Ratface wasn’t close enough, but she kept dragging herself forward. She knew what would come next.

“Hah! even with your tricks you were no match,” Amaranth cried. She was panting and leaning on her staff, but she smiled in victory.

“Maybe if you had been fresh, it would have been different, but at last our fight has to an end. Die well knight.”

She raised her staff up to finish Abigail. The old woman’s eyes were open, but she wasn’t moving.

Ratface gathered her courage. She pleaded with her legs. They needed to move now, for the lady that saved them. There’d be no second chance.

Ratface leapt onto the elf’s back and stabbed her knife down. Amaranth managed to move a little bit, so the knife found her shoulder instead of her neck.

Ratface stayed on the elf’s back as she stumbled away. She went to stab again but the elf grabbed her and threw her off into Abigail where she landed with a thud.

Amaranth screamed in frustration and Ratface looked up at her death. She’d been close. She hoped her mother would approve.

“How dare you,” spat Amaranth, “what do you think you accomplished?”

“Well for one thing, it got you to take a few steps back,” said a voice next to Ratface. The illusion shattered as Isabelle appeared. She had a wide smile as she looked at the elf.

They all looked around and realised that wasn’t the only illusion that had shattered. They no longer stood on the green but in a forest of burning red. Amaranth barely inside the area.

“You-” started Amaranth but was cut off as the area around her erupted in flame.

The forest came alive as it attacked the elf. It forced her back until she was forced out of the forest back into the green. A wall of flame blocking her from the rest of them. She watched them with hate filled eyes.

“That fire won’t last long. Grab Abigail and move,” Isabelle commanded. Ratface was following the orders before she realised. Abigail was breathing and awake but couldn’t stand for some reason. Ratface dragged her away with Isabelle’s help. Tiffany joined them with Albert leaning heavily on her as they stumbled forward.

Ratface risked a glance back. The fire had stopped, and the elf watched her. It didn’t have any eyes but for her and Ratface shuddered at the attention.

She knew next time; the elf would not ignore her. The thought filled her with dread.