After looking around several times, Erish walked away from the group. She climbed up to an elevated area and looked back. Although she only had 7 in Perception, she had managed to pick up a faint scent brought by the wind.

Daowm and Ilya looked at her with signs of concern, but it was Yaros who spoke. “What the hell are you doing?”

Erish lifted a hand to shade her eyes from the intense sun and surveyed her surroundings. What appeared to be a vast pasture, was actually a series of small plains bounded by huge elevations every few meters. Huge masses of earth and rock over 15 meters high abruptly dotted the terrain.

At the top were the remains of an ancient civilization. Stone towers and walls practically destroyed and swallowed up by the weeds. Between that, and a few scattered trees blocking the view, she couldn't tell what lay beyond.

The only area on the horizon that was perfectly visible was where the huge wooden fortification stood. Situated between two mountains, it rose steeply along the mountains. The idea that the goblins hadn’t made it alone began to grow as she caught a glimpse of the creature following them.

Erihs hurried back to the group and impatiently pointed back. "Something big is following us! And it's not alone! A group of goblins…!"

“Shut up, idiot! You make everyone uneasy! Stop exposing yourself and giving away our position!" shouted Kham.

"If they end up finding out where we are, it'll be your damn fault! Why don't you go to the front with your little buddies, the coward prick and the grandpa with the playboy eyes. I bet they'll run away as soon as they find out!”

Erihs was dumbfounded. Why was he throwing such a tantrum when he had been the first to want to march against the enemy?

Erish rushed to Daowm, her face blushing in shame. She was only doing what she felt was best for the group. She only intended to help, but always got the opposite. Sometimes she wondered why she kept trying. Perhaps it was her urge to belong somewhere, for she had always been told that she was a mistake. The unwanted child of two teenagers. Her father left before she was born, and her mother abandoned her at an early age.

Zad hurried to stop her. "How many have you seen?

Her eyes brightened. "About 25 enemies. The goblins are no problem, but the big one looks like trouble. It's like a fat, giant goblin."

“Is it fast?”

She looked back. “I think so… but I can check it out if you want.”

"It's all right. We'll reach the ruins soon. We can use them to hide. Hopefully, they can serve us as a base too. If not, we'll have to find a way to deal with them."

Erish stared at him. She hoped that if he'd been a cop, he'd know a thing or two about avoiding confrontations. "Do you have something in mind?"

Zad put his arm around her shoulder with a smile. “Don't worry! Together we'll come up with something!”

Erish concealed her displeasure. She disliked being touched by boys. In fact, she didn't like boys at all. Girls, on the other hand, made her nervous. Even more so if they were beautiful and didn't look out of place in a casting for a B-movie entitled: Survive the medieval apocalypse in raffia underwear.

Zad whispered in her ear. “You did well. Ignore that moron. He's just resentful.”

Zad nodded his head in Ian's direction. “Ask him what we're going to do now! He must already have something planned. If we earn his trust, I’m sure he can keep us alive.”

She averted his gaze, visibly annoyed.

“What’s wrong? You don't like him? … That's funny! Didn't you notice that sometimes you two have the same expression?”

Erihs was looking for an excuse to separate from Zad without seeming dismissive, so that was the perfect excuse to remove his arm from her shoulder. Although being suggested that her expression was like Ian's merciless look had truly offended her.

Zad looked at her with surprise. “Did I say something wrong?”

Erihs hadn't approached Ian again after his last confrontation with Kham. It was true that the guy was stupid, but confronting him with that murderous gaze was excessive. There was something about Ian she didn't like. Trusting him wasn't an option.

Zad made his point clear. "People often see monsters in those who only choose to disguise themselves as such. In my 22 years as a cop, I saw many survive that way…"

Erish looked at him, not very convinced of his words.

"People generally pity or mock those who fall and give up, but fear those who get back to their feet. Those who overcome adversity with determination and become aggressive as a result…"

"That has nothing to do with me! Don't you ever compare me to him again!"

Zad didn't show the obvious disappointment he felt. “You clearly haven't seen yourself.”

Ilya interceded. “He doesn't mean it in a bad way. He means that you are very capable.”

Kham couldn't suppress his envy. “Shut the fuck up, you damn cowards!”

Daowm suddenly raised his voice. “I'm getting tired of you calling everyone a coward after what they've done for me.”

Kham tried to retort, but Daowm shouted as she pointed back the way they had come. "Why don't you show us how brave you are?! Come on! Someone as capable as you can surely handle the entire group, right?!"

“Did you forget that I also risked my ass for you, bitch?!”

The patient Dar-Hok was starting to get annoyed too. "I'm trying to ignore you, man, but you're making it really hard. If you keep behaving like this, you'll only get yourself ki..."

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Zad put his hand on his shoulder. He prevented him from finishing the sentence, but the damage had already been done.

All that hostility made Erihs anxious. She was disappointed by the lack of unity. A unity she needed to feel to quell the fear that ate her from within.

She ran towards Ian and stood in front of him with her head down. “I don't know what you were before, or why the cop seems to like you, b-but…”

She looked him in the eyes and swallowed hard. She was sweating like crazy. “… but something enormous is following us. What do you plan to do? How do we get rid of it?”

Ian stared at her in silence for quite a while. She looked away and began to tremble.

He understood exactly what she was trying to do. He considered her naive for that, but he wouldn't tell her. She reminded him of an army girl who always pretended to reluctantly seek his advice. Always trying to be the glue of the squad.

Zad was the one who took the initiative again. "Often, the bigger a creature is, the greater the qualities that made it survive. If it moves slowly, it will have a thick skin or it would be dead by now. That means we won't be able to hurt it with our crappy arrows…"

"That leaves only the close combat scenario...” Dar-Hok followed.

"Let's dig a hole and place some spikes in!" Kham interrupted, believing himself to be the savior.

"With what?! With our nails?!" Daowm sputtered.

"Where do you intend to get the branches to make the spikes?" She grabbed her axe. "You expect us to cut down a tree with all the patience in the world?"

“Even if it were possible, they would catch up with us before we finished. With the Maker we could close the gap, but that would leave us exhausted…” Yaros muttered.

“Get to the point, nerd!”

Yaros regarded him with indifference. “A creature that size could kill us with a single blow. We need to be able to move swiftly to…”

Ilya approached Ian, trying to avert his eyes from Erihs. The soft touch of her boobs against his arm was enough to get his attention. "What's on your mind, big guy?"

Ian watched her for a second. Her aura was white with a pink hue. The whispers didn't explain what it meant. He didn't need it.

Ian looked up at the ruins. "Running to the ruins seems the most viable option, but exhausting ourselves against something whose strength and speed we don't know for sure could be backfiring. The main problem is that we are a large group now, and that would make it easier for them to find us. Not to mention that the ruins could become a mousetrap against something that size. All in all, the ruins may be worse than the open field to fight them."

Erish raised her voice in confusion. “Fight them?! You expect us to fight against something that can easily kill us all?!”

Ian turned back to the group. “Most of us have already defeated one or two goblins, so we know what to do..."

"And those who don't?!" Kham blurted out, interceding for the newbies. Some had appeared after the fight with the goblins.

In response to the commotion, Ian further explained his plan. "We'll make two groups. One much smaller than the other. I will be part of the small group. We'll go to the front and act as bait. All with enough endurance to run for a long time, because we're going to make the big one a little dizzy. The large group will be in charge of killing the goblins, and then return to help with the big one."

Discontent could be seen on many faces, accompanied by murmurs of disapproval. Few were willing to be a part of that, let alone be part of the small group.

Ian raised his voice to quell the murmur. “The large group will disperse in all directions. That will make you a difficult target for the big one, so the goblins will surely chase you. Don't worry! You can handle them! Be careful though! I don't think this area is free of more enemies.”

“After we get the goblins out of the scene, we'll see if the big one wants to dance against all of us at the same time. If we're lucky, it'll run away and we'll kill him from behind.”

Zad began to clap, trying to get the attention of the most confused. “Okay! We have a plan! A good plan! We will gain experience and show them what we are capable of.”

Kham didn't seem to agree at all. "And who's going with you?!"

Zad laughed. "What a stupid question! You, your two buddies, Ian and me."

"No, Zad! You'll join the big group and lead it.”

Ian pointed at Dar-Hok and Daowm. "You two will come with the four of us."

Dar-Hok didn't hesitate. Daowm didn't have it so clear. "Why the six of us?!"

Ian walked through the group in the direction of their pursuers, but first approached Kham and laughed in his face.

Kham exploded. "You expect me to fight with fucking niggers?!"

Ignoring him completely, he went over to talk to Dar-Hok. Ian whispered something in his ear, and Dar-Hok nodded.

"Decided then! Let's resolve this as soon as possible. I have a feeling this is just an opening for what awaits us on this planet."

“Didn't you hear me?!” blurted out Kham, encouraged by his worried buddies.

Nobody paid him the slightest attention. No one was willing to trade places with them.

Ian led the way, Dar-Hok followed without hesitation, and Kham and his two buddies reluctantly.

After seeing Daowm's uneasiness, Erish moved to her side. "She's had it bad enough! Let me change for her!"

Ian didn't look back. "I don't decide who's a coward and who's brave. That's up to each of us."

Daowm's expression changed radically, as if a slap had restored her courage. However, Erish was not far behind. “Then I'm going with her!”

Deeply blushing, Erish looked for Daowm's reaction. Daowm reached for Erihs' hand and Erihs returned a shy smile. “Thanks, Erish!”

Erish knew it was only gratitude, but she couldn't help but yearn for more. Her beautiful ebony body made her dream. She imagined herself wrapped between those fit arms. Kissing her breasts while getting dangerously close to the nipples hidden under the bra.

When she felt her own nipples get erect, Erihs had to stop fantasizing. If she continued like that, she wouldn't be able to hide it. Besides, she was sure that Daowm didn't have her tastes.

Yaros tried to join the small group too, but Zad stopped him. "No dude, you and I have to figure out how to finish off the goblins quickly. Start racking your brain!"

************

The huge creature was already in sight. It was enormous, nearly 3 meters tall. Its skin was blue-gray, painted like the goblins. It was hulking, weighing between 500 and 600 kilos. However, it was also slightly overweight, concentrated mainly in its prominent belly. It wore only a loincloth and held the trunk of a tree in its right hand. Something big enough to crush them to death like insects.

Someone raised his voice. "Identify isn't activating yet! Must be a troll or an ogre!"

“Someone who knows! How dangerous are these things?”

Yaros replied. “They vary from world to world, but in the stories I know ogres are fucking strong and resilient. If it's a troll, we're screwed.”

“Why?!”

Yaros lowered his voice. “I don't want to spread panic…”

“I need your freak wisdom, Yaros! Enlighten us!”

“Don't blame me later! … They regenerate infinitely and devour everything within their reach.”

After a long silence. “Great! Ready for a dance?”