“Let’s gang up on her before she has a chance to use her magic! Give the order John!” The goblin henchmen were already getting themselves fired up.

“Wait you idiots! Don’t just blindly run at someone without knowing what they’re capable of.”

The darkened alleyway fell eerily silent as the leader reined in his goons, keeping them by his side as he assessed what I was going to do next. The stench leaking from a nearby sewer grate hung in the air like the tangy, clammy smog that littered the skyline of Kandon. The stench was so rotten that if I opened my mouth I could almost taste it. The one in the middle clearly seemed to be the leader and not just because of the beanie. Now the question was what happened next? Was he actually going to wait for me to make the first move? No, that seemed unlikely.

Taking a couple steps forward John with the beanie planted his feet firmly down on the ground with a wicked smile, “you know as much as I love to stomp trash like you it’d be a shame if you just died for nothing here.”

“What are you trying to say?” I replied, keeping my eyes trained on the goblins despite feeling an urge to look for Nugs behind me.

“I’m making you an offer, if you come back to the Undercity with us his majesty might take pity on you. Could give you a new lease on life.” He had a mischievous shine to his smile, the kind that told me he was used to confusing his victims with fast talking.

“No thanks. The shit you guys do for a living sucks. Hey Nugs, what do you think?” I quip back with a smirk.

“What do they do Emma?”

“They kill and steal from those weaker than them.”

“Yeah that sucks, you guys suck.”

“How dare you insult the work his majesty has given us! We were assigned this post because we’re capable soldiers!”

“Oh totally, that’s why you attack in groups too right?” I finished with a grin and gripped the ball in my hand tightly. Small cracks in the ground alerted me of what came next as the concrete in front of me gave way so that black spikes could shoot out of the ground. I swiftly ducked out of the way, the point narrowly missing my eyes as I prepared my counterattack. The spikes were very clearly made from his sludge and had a thin, zigzaggy look to them, kind of like the roots of a tree.

“Damn it! Almost had her, next time for sure!” John spat on the ground next to him and rolled his shoulders back.

“Yeah you get ‘em John!” One of the goblins cheered on from the sideline.

The spikes retracted back into the ground, most likely returning to him so that he could charge up another attack. In terms of what I expected from a goblin and their magical capabilities this seemed on par for the moment. They’re weak so they attack in numbers. Still, if I just stood around and dodged his attacks we wouldn’t get anywhere, which is why I decided to strike before he could. I nonchalantly let go of my sludge ball and began juggling it from one foot to the other, the bouncy exterior made it look comically light to the untrained eye so hopefully it would catch them off guard.

“Ahh! Her magic!” One of the goblins cowered behind his plank of wood and another quickly chimed in, “Idiot! It’s just a ball y’see? I bet I could catch that out of the air.”

Once I had built up enough momentum I kicked the ball up high and spun in place to position myself properly, performing a high kick that sent it flying into the side of the alley wall at blinding speeds. The ball slammed into the side for a split second, before bouncing off the surface and onto the adjacent wall, swiftly creeping its way over towards the goblin gang. The ball roared with every impact, the loud cacophony of raging thunder of the spinning ball, bellowing with ominous power for only a second before it bounced off the wall once more and flew straight at one of the goblins.

The goblin barely managed to bring his hands up in time to try and catch it. He should consider himself lucky. It hit him at just the right angle that his right arm absorbed most of the impact, causing his bone to jut out of his arm as the force ripped his skin open and split into an open fracture, the blood dripping as the crunch from the marrow splitting filled the street, followed by his agonized cries. That’s gotta fucking hurt.

“My arm! She broke my arm, y'see?! Fuck!”

What a pain in the ass, I was hoping that was enough to kill him. The ball probably lost some momentum when I let it bounce between the walls. Would a straight shot down the middle be better? Thankfully the power of my ball afforded me precious time to think it through as the goblins shouted amongst each other. In the best case scenario they would realize they can’t beat me and back off, but I can’t plan for the best case, I can only hope for that.

“She’s strong, we’ll have to use the truffle.” The goblin with the longest and most frazzled hair was already trembling.

“Bro, let’s get the hell out of here, did you see what her magic did?”

“Shut up! I know! His majesty doesn’t tolerate failure, we can’t come home empty-handed. Look, I’m the leader, I call the shots… Now give me the fucking truffle so I can kill this bitch.”

“What are they talking about Emma?” Nuggets chimed in from behind me.

I tilted my head to one side as one of the goblins handed John some kind of pink truffle? Whatever it is, I haven't seen it before. “I think he’s having a snack.” I replied matter-of-factly, “you’re still keeping your distance right? I don’t want you getting caught up in this fight.”

“I’m all the way over here Emma. Oh, I waved but I guess you couldn’t see that.” Nuggets replied.

Our conversation was rudely interrupted by the shrill ear piercing scream of John as he swallowed the last bit of the pink truffle. With the way he was howling you would think my ball had already hit him and not his friend, who was still on the ground crying over his arm.

“I feel fantastic, holy shit that hits the spot!” John lashed his upper body forward, his muscles twitching and moving erratically as he righted himself and looked back towards us, the white in his already bloodshot eyes had turned neon pink and thin lines of black sludge was running down his face like slow-burning tar. With a firm stomp the concrete street began to crack, this time with much more intensity as the magic attack shot towards me at a frightening speed. I felt the significant boost in power as a small shockwave followed the stomp and shook me to my core, threatening to throw me off-balance.

I heard another stomp.

Suddenly, a sharp shrub of sludge spikes erupted from beneath me. This one was much denser, sharper and bigger than the last attack. The cracks in the ground had already made me shift onto my back foot, so committing to the jump backwards in time was no big deal. However, an intense burning pain rang out through my body as one of the spikes graced the side of my hip, ripping a small piece of pant fabric off with it. Shit, I had failed to account for the extended range of the spikes. I really got off lucky there… The sensation of gentle warm blood trickling down my leg distracted me for a moment as I furrowed my brow. “Fucking asshole, I just bought these pants.” I muttered under my breath as I straightened my back.

“Emma on your right!” Nugs shouted out, the loudest I had ever heard him.

My eyes automatically started moving right, my head following suit as I noticed that familiar cracks were forming along the walls of the building. I felt my heart race as my body reacted before my eyes could process the information, using all the energy and speed I could muster in the moment to duck out of the way. Dropping down on the hard concrete with no regard for my own safety, I just narrowly avoided having my brain skewered, as another shrub of sludge spikes burst forth with enough force to kill. That was too close for comfort, how had I not noticed what he was doing? Had he tried to trick me into thinking his magic was predictable and only came through the ground? Before I could even get back on my feet I heard another stomp come from John. Since I was more prepared this time I managed to roll out of the way of the third set of spikes, but I flinched as I heard another stomp midway into my roll. My blood ran cold as I braced for impact, but nothing came. For the first time since the fight had started I felt a drop of sweat run down my face. It finally dawned on me that the last attack wasn’t meant for me at all.

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

“Nugs!”

“I’m okay!” He sounded startled, but otherwise not very bothered by the whole ordeal. I brushed a strand of hair out of my face as I turned to glance back at him. Sure enough, he had just barely dodged a set of spikes too and was now sitting with his back against the wall.

“This is fun! What a rush! That’s MY magic doing that!” John laughed triumphantly as he stomped a few more times, these next sets of spikes erupting from the space between me and Nugs… He was trying to separate us.

“Nugs, come to me! He’s trying to trap us!” I motioned for him to make a break for it, hoping he could sense the urgency in my voice. Thankfully his slender frame allowed him to leap through a small opening in the shrubbery of death, sending him crashing into my arms. Within seconds we were surrounded.

“Emma you’re bleeding.” Nugs remarked calmly.

“It’s nothing, did he get you?” I quickly got back up onto my feet and dusted my legs off.

“Nope. I just sorta did that,” using the box of rattling syringes, Nugs gently swiped it downwards to mimic the motion of something falling, “fall down thing you did to avoid his attack.”

“Great,” he managed to make me crack a smile in the heat of battle. My attention quickly snapped back to the spikes as they encircled us, a wall of twisting and thorny spikes making sure that there was no way for us to escape. “Stay close to me, Nugs.” I conjured up another ball of sludge in my hand as I peeked through the holes in the wall to look for my target. Rubbing the ball with both of my hands I smoothed out the sides and filled it with more sludge, making it a lot heavier than the first ball. I took a deep breath and hoisted the ball up to my chest, keeping it pressed against my body as I leaned back to support its weight.

“I need a bit of space for a run-up, how’s it looking?” I close one eye as I prepare to aim my ball.

“All good I think.” Nugs gave a passive thumbs-up.

“Hookay, here we go!” Taking a few steps back I utilized what little space I had to get a forward momentum going, adding it into the speed of the ball as I lobbed it straight at the wall of shrubbery that protected John. The ball smashed cleanly through the spikes and soared unhindered towards its target.

“I’m God! I’m a fucking god you guys! I’m stronger than any devil!” John boasted as he held his arms high, failing to realize that we were still very much intent on fighting. The ball connected much to my relief, as it smacked into his chest the spin from the throw tore into his skin, twisting and contorting the t-shirt he was wearing forcefully before continuing out through his back. A splatter of John’s blood and gore littered the street behind him as the ball, coated in a layer of crimson black blood came to a silent stop. The sight of their leader’s shredded organs and bone fragments scattered across the street was more than enough to send the rest of the goblins screaming and running for their lives. John’s body collapsed with an unceremonious thud.

“I got him! That was a close one.” I smiled up at Nuggets, who blinked his eyes a couple of times as he looked at me, then back to the sludge spikes surrounding us. “He’s dead right? Why aren’t these going away?” He extended his index finger to try and touch one, but stopped at the last moment. “Don’t worry, see my ball poked a hole through it so we can get out of here.”

“It doesn’t just go away when he dies?” Nuggets cocked his head to one side inquisitively.

“That’s rarely the case,” I replied as I kicked the side of the hole to make it a bit bigger, “people have to consciously lift their magic.” As we get back out onto the street I demonstrate by making the two balls I had used earlier dissipate and sink into the ground. “So even if he wanted to, he can’t really say ‘magic go away’ or anything like that. Although it seems like it got weaker once he croaked.” I noted after having kicked through the sludge spikes.

“I see,” Nugs’ curiosity was interrupted by a loud rumble from his stomach.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. He made me hungry earlier.” Nuggets put a hand over his stomach.

“When he was trying to kill you?” I asked with a wry grin as I looked up at him.

“He was having a snack.” Nuggets replied, deep in thought.

“That pink mushroom?” I asked, surprised that something like that would seem enticing to him.

“Yeah, what was that?”

“To be honest I don’t know, some kind of drug if I had to guess.”

“So we can’t eat that.”

“Probably not a good idea, no.” I chuckle as I crouch down and lift John’s head out of the pool of blood by his beanie. “His eyes really look like shit, I wonder if Doc knows anything about this.” The sludge had stopped running out of his eyes, but the neon pink tint stayed.

“How do nuggets sound?” I looked up at the similarly named person.

“Hm?” He blinked his eyes at me, looking confused.

“The food, not the you.”

“I’d like some nuggets.”

“Then it’s settled.”

“Sweet.” He smirked as he started walking.

‘‘Hey by the way, Nugs?’’ I stood back up and got him to turn around again.

‘‘What is it Emma?’’

I wasn’t sure how I should say it, it seemed like a non-issue and yet I felt like I needed to bring it up. This was his first day in Kandon after all and he had to know.

‘‘I killed a man today. You don’t have a problem with that?’’ The pain in my hip distracted me for a moment as I glanced down to make sure the bleeding wasn’t getting worse.

‘‘Well… It’s not really a problem to you is it?’’

‘‘Of course not. Are you bothered by it?’’ I furrowed my brow and walked up next to him.

‘‘I guess not? Should I feel like it’s a problem?’’

‘‘No, if you feel that way, that’s better. Remember Nugs, this is a kill or be killed world. You have to be prepared to kill one day. Have you killed before?’’

‘‘I don’t remember… But I’ll keep that in mind.’’

‘‘Okay let’s not worry about that for now, let’s go home.’’

‘‘Right.’’

“Hey, careful Nugs, you’re stepping in John.”

“Ew.”

After a long day of going to the clinic, fighting off goblin thugs and shopping for groceries and a proper set of clothes for Nugs, we finally made it back home to the apartment. “When’s it ready? I feel like I’m going to die.” Nugs whined as he leaned in over my table and stared out the window at what I assumed to be nothing in particular. “Almost done!” I called out with a smile. He had finally gotten a set of clothes that fit his tall body properly. At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to have to pick for him, but he was surprisingly decisive about what clothes he wanted. A soft dark blue long sleeved shirt, a fitting pair of black pants and matching blue shoes and socks.

“Dinner’s served!” I felt a bit bad that it was the same dish as last night, but Nugs didn’t seem to mind at all. He tore into his nugget sandwich like his life urgently depended on it. I got a couple of bites into my own sandwich too before Nugs broke the silence. “Emma.”

“Yeah? What’s up?”

“It gets so hot in here at night, can’t we open the window?” He pointed to the window in between his slow chews.

“Well, we could, but that would mean all the smog starts seeping in…” I point up at the clouded skyline outside the window which is covered in a layer of city smog and living, writhing sludge. “I’ve already made that mistake before… believe me, it just makes things messier.”

“I see… That’s annoying.”

“By the way, earlier today Nugs…”

“Hrm?” He looked at me just as he was taking a big bite. It was incredible how responsive he was today compared to last night.

“You warned me about that guy’s magic attack.”

“Hmm I did, didn’t I?”

“I was surprised, how did you know where it was coming from?”

“Mmm, it seemed kinda like the most obvious move I think? I’m not sure, it just sorta made sense to me.”

“Is that so?” I pressed the sandwich up against my lips for a moment as I thought about it, before taking another bite.

“That stomping thing he did, it made him pretty easy to read.”

“It did, didn’t it?” I chuckled and leaned back in my seat. I don’t think what Nugs did today was just a coincidence. He has never been in a fight, or even seen magic used to kill and he was still that calm and perceptive under all the pressure. Of course I was doing the fighting, but he wasn’t exactly standing out of harm’s way either.

“Oh yeah, I have work tomorrow so you have the apartment to yourself.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Only for a few hours, then I’ll be back.”

“Can’t I just come with?”

“I think it’s better you stay here, you’re really not missing out on anything.”

“I see.”

“Let’s go over a few things for tomorrow while I’m gone…”