Everything is the same. I am working on nothing, while everyone else has obligations. All I want is to help and yet nobody asks or apparently wants to be helped. Nobody except Blago. He is a blacksmith, making sure everything metal works just the way it should and sometimes, he is my teacher.

I have not learned anything fancy like smithing, that requires effort and skill that I do not possess. The way of the knife, however, is another matter entirely.

“You can do better than that, come on.” Blago said as he kicked me down… again, his raspy voice sounding bitter but somehow more caring than yesterday.

“If your boot is not on my chest, maybe.”

The words could barely come out as the pain hit like lightning through my body “how about you let me win once in a while, ever thought about that, oh glorious blacks-”, another kick, this time going for my butt. That man is out to kill me, I swear.

“You should talk less, act more. You are twenty years old, training since you were thirteen and still have nothing to show for it, you disappointing waste of space.” Blago really is out for my blood today.

“Find your center, read my attacks and do not fall for my feints. Come on, TRY to not be a sorry sack of berries.”

“Hey, berries feed this whole village, thank you very much, are we done now?”

“Giving up? You have nothing better to do anyways, what’s the rush?”

“I have to try hurting less from your kicks.”, I wince from the pain “And I intend to go see Sylvar, maybe he will show me a few throwing techniques.”

“If you want throwing, I can definitely-”

“Nope, I am good, you have a horrible day with smoke and heat.”

“Best use of my blacksmith skills and I would be free of your weak bones anyway.”

“Thanks Blago, see you later.”

I wave at Blago, knowing he would never wave back, even though he loves me… I hope. Sylvar is practicing archery, again, behind his house. It is always amazing to see him so focused, since that is the only time he actually focuses on anything. If it is not a bow, he does not feel at peace or at least that is how he seems.

It is so boring in the Village, that I do not have anything to do with most people, so I do not really know them. At the very least, I know Sylvar is kind and always willing to help. He is also one of the many reasons that people around here do not ask me for help, since he is more capable than me.

All I truly know, even though I consider him a friend, is that he is an Elf that came from outside the Village, he looks my age but is probably much, much older and he uses a bow to an astonishing level of expertise.

“Hey, Sylvar, want to teach me how to throw knives?”

“Was the beating you took not enough, my friend Volter?” Sylvar said with a caring and calm tone

“You know me, I do not give up easily. Also, how did you see me getting beat up? Blago’s place is pretty obscured from here”

“I would not call a few trees and a small hill ‘obscurity’, would you? More importantly, giving up is exactly what I call this evasion of armed combat training.. or do you think I am not able to hear your heavy breathing and slight wheezing? Anyways, pick a few of those knives over at my house and we will get to work.”

Sylvar always talked a bit different, like there is nothing that can change how kind he is. It has been about three years since he came to the Village and somehow, he fits right in. Picking up the knives is always the same. His house is small, could reach each end of it with six steps. It also happens to be truly simple.

A ladder that leads to the bed, a single, round, wooden table and two wooden chairs. Knives are always on the table, which shows he somehow knows when I want to throw knives to pass time. Maybe he thinks it is important to me, who knows. I guess I am excited to get to the throwing part.

“I know you can hear my breathing and all but… I am back.”

“Great, though never hesitate to announce your presence, my friend Volter, I always enjoy your company. Now then, you can handle this without my guidance, so throw away.”

The knives are pretty basic, since Blago was not in the mood for giving me any sort of special treatment. Wooden hilt and pommel, since wood is the essential resource of the Village, with an iron blade half the size of my adult palm and digits. It does the job.

Target is the same, take seventeen steps from the base of a tree, turn around and… let loose. I throw five daggers, three hit the mark, one is cleverly deflected by the tree and the final one is entirely avoided. This tree is clearly putting up a fight.

“You really should work on your last two throws Volter.” Sylvar can make even a correction sound like an honest wish for my happiness “Do not get carried away from the freedom of letting loose. I know you feel better when you throw those knives, but try to take in your body’s condition and adapt accordingly.”

“Wow, I did not expect you to take the tree’s side, it clearly cheated… I know what you mean so it is noted.”

“Trust me, I know about focusing on a task and forgetting everything else, my friend Volter.”

“Do you? Because it looks like you do not miss, my friend Sylvar, as you like to say in your calm and collected elvish tone.”

“Immobile targets, nothing more. You will reach that state eventually. Now, let us test your athletic ability, shall we?”

That test was cut short.

“HELP ME, HELP SYLVAR, PLEASE, I NEED HELP”

That desparate voice must be Travlon, a middle-aged dwarf, not that I can tell the difference between ages. He should not be here right now. Something is very wrong.

“Calm down, my friend Travlon, explain so I can assist you.” Sylvar says.

“MY WIFE, AN ACCIDENT, THE GROUP IS NOWHERE FOR ME TO CALL, PLEASE HELP ME, YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN.”

“Stop shouting and we will listen. Take a breath man.” I say.

I might not be as calm as Sylvar but I still have a point. Travlon’s face says otherwise.

“My WIFE and I were attacked by goddamn goblins. She kept the cart and led them off the road, I ran straight here, you need to take the south road, I beg you” Travlon growled.

Where Sylvar is calm and collected, Travlon is angry and wailing about. He definitely seems scared... And I know exactly what to do. After all, the Village is boring and I get one chance.

“Let us go, Sylvar. Take your bow and arrows, I will get the knives and some medicine and rope from Julie.”

“My friend Volter, you cannot accompany me, time is of the essence.”

“Trust me, I will not hold you back.”

Thankfully, Julie, our Village healer, lives right next to Sylvar, so Travlon’s shouting got her attention and she had a few bandages ready when I ran towards her house.

“Here you go, Vol, but take care now or we will have more injured for Sylvar to carry… Actually, my sister will join you, she overheard everything and does not need any preparation.” Julie says.

“Actually… I also need some rope.”

“Anything you need.”

Julie is one of the kids that I grew up with in the Village, so I do not need to explain why I want to help, she gets it. Her arms are full of small scars, a result of endless hours of tending to the Villagers’ injuries and her garden.

Her sister is a very strong reinforcement and the complete opposite of thin, long-haired and kind of short Julie. Meuko is an insanely tall woman, with a sun burnt body that is probably stronger than the knives I have around my belt. Somehow, Julie has blonde hair, while Meuko has dark hair, shorter than shoulder length.

Twice the size of me, it will be really tough to keep up with her. She is the one that handles any heavy lifting related work. Meuko, Sylvar and I gathered at the southern Village road and ran as fast as we could to reach Travlon’s wife in time.

“What will you do with rope?” Meuko’s strong, steady voice echoes in mockery.

“You know what Meuko… let us just go.”

This test had just started.

We did not say anything important while running, probably because we were trying to preserve strength. To be honest, they did that, I just felt too awkward to talk to them at first. Then... I was really worried I would get left behind.

Just as I think that the burning feeling in my legs will hold me back, we reach what appears to be Travlon’s cart, sacks of berries everywhere. Sylvar runs around the cart once.

“The cart has one back wheel broken, we see the goblin arrows, that much is clear. Berries are wasted for today I suppose but more importantly, I see the goblin tracks that lead towards the woods.”

“What about Hollis?” Meuko asked.

Hollis is Travlon’s wife and they go berry picking together outside the Village for food. Sylvar has a worried look that I have never seen before. Almost like he does not know what to do.

“My eyes do not see anything. No tracks of her… They took her… We are too late...”

I was wrong. Not running made my legs hurt more. My breath is getting worse. That beating I went through is starting to show. I cannot let it stop me from helping.

“Maybe not.” I say in desperation. “Hollis is an elf and with a broken cart, she could easily run for the Village but she did not.”

Meuko is considering my thoughts.

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“She did not want to lead the goblins to the Village… but there are no tracks of her running away.”

That strong voice of hers is enough to wake Sylvar up from his worries.

“Yes, my friend Meuko, you are right. If she wanted to hide from them, there would be no tracks. so let us follow the goblins. They must be tracking her scent.”

We immediately take off after them. Sylvar is first, Meuko is next and then me. We feel the pressure. Sylvar explains that she is probably hiding to buy time for someone to reach her, but the goblins could track her scent over a wide area so sooner or later… Let us hope it is later.

We left the Village when the sun was just showing its warmth, early morning. Now it has revealed all of its body and is steadily rising. A few hours might have passed but frankly, that is Sylvar’s specialty probably, not mine.

Sylvar suddenly stops and makes a signal to drop down so we silently crawl towards him. We are in the last line of trees, with a small clearing ahead of us, which consists of uneven ground, grass, a few rocks and bushes. I am more worried about that thing called gob-something.

“In front. I see five goblins, there are probably more waiting to take a shot at Hollis as soon as they find her. If I had to hide I would choose those thick bushes at the center of the clearing. We move fast, I cover with arrows and you, my friend Volter, you cover Meuko. I believe she is more than capable of beating these beasts. On your mark, my friend Meuko.”

Sylvar is talking quietly yet fast and determined. He seems… lighter but I have no time to spend looking for clues in his expression. My eyes are focused on one thing only. Meuko. Her signal will be my chance to finally fight someone. I could finally see what I am cap-

“Now.”

Meuko rose from the trees like a giant ready to crush any that oppose her. She definitely is a sight to behold. The goblins, like Sylvar said, seem to think so. I rush them. Their green bodies are half the size of me, so they must look like ants for Meuko. Snarling, they turn towards us and away from Hollis, at least that is the plan.

For all we know, she might be dead already, she might not even be here, we might be fighting next to the goblins’ lair and reinforcements could be here any minute. Meuko’s shouting pulls me out of my self-doubting. My knives should do it.

Meuko quickly kills two goblins with her hands, smashing their skulls and using their bodies as a shield. Three remain. I use that opportunity to throw a knife at the third goblin but its a miss. A miss. Now of all times. I could die and I miss the first move.

Any advantage is lost. Blago said observe. These goblins have small shields, the size of their fist, a dagger and no armor except for some sort of animal skin they use for their lower half as clothing. Before I get the chance to recover from the throw, the fourth goblin makes a lunge at me. I wince and the sound of an arrow flying past my ear makes me hope… Sylvar has my back. This goblin is down drowning in its own blood. An arrow to the neck will do it. Two goblins left.

“Recover, Volter, and fight.” Sylvar shouts.

“Stay behind me, I will clear a path.” Meuko growls at me.

She is definitely decisive. A natural. She uses the two goblins she is holding as shields against a few attacks. These two goblins are at the very least resilient. All I can do is shout to Hollis and hope once more.

“Hollis, it is Volter. We are here for you. Just stay safe.”

That is when I realized… there is a lot of movement in the central bushes. There were six goblins. One is in the middle of the clearing… right in that bush. Hollis will die.

I trust Meuko to handle herself, so I simply have to charge those bushes. When I reach them, I see the back of one of these creatures. I take out a knife and stab it. It makes no sound. It is already dead.

A figure growls and moves the goblin away from their face. An elf, evident by their pale complexion and long ears. Hollis is alive. Showered in goblin blood, but alive. Before I get a chance to talk, a hand pulls me back.

“Are you mad? I told you to stay behind me.”

Meuko just killed four goblins and she looks like they did not even touch her. They probably did not. She is still holding one dead goblin in her other hand.

“Sorry, Meuko, I… saw movement here and got worried.”

Sylvar appears. Clearly got here while I was not paying attention.

“Did you not hear me Volter? I shouted your name, I clearly left out the friend part to be more efficient, especially since you sometimes mock me for it.”

“Maybe I needed to hear all of it, my friend Sylvar. I am sorry, I got lost in the middle of battle.”

“Will anyone help me here? My leg is injured, these monsters stabbed me.”

I forgot all about Hollis. I need to work on my attention span. I am acting like a child.

“And we shall help you dear. I will help you up and Meuko can carry you. I suppose Volter can look for that knife he threw away.”

Even Sylvar’s kind demeanor cannot mask the sarcasm. If only he was wrong. I could look for it, but I have no idea where to begin. I guess I will just take one from the goblins. One would do it.

Their weapons are full of scratches and crooked. It might be by design, so there is no harm in testing one of them. I will have to wait a bit, probably until we go back. My legs are killing me. An arrow interrupts my sighing. Someone is shouting. Someone got hit.

“Hollis! No! Meuko, cover us.”

While Sylvar is giving orders, I turn to see Meuko using the goblin’s body to cover against arrows. Multiple goblins appeared from the opposite line of the forest. Reinforcements did come. Meuko grabs another goblin body from nearby.

“Sylvar, I will carry her, you use your bow and we retreat together.”

I am sounding desperate, but carrying is all I can do and Sylvar is better at range than I am.

“A sound plan.” Sylvar quickly releases arrows, killing one goblin and making the rest cower for a few vital seconds as we gain distance.Dodging trees while carrying a person is more of an effort than I thought. Thankfully Sylvar keeps buying time.

It looks like the goblins have retreated. We go back towards the broken cart and regroup. Sylvar uses one of the bandages I handed over to the group. He keeps looking around him, slowly applying the bandages.

“We need to tend to this wound, Hollis. We leave as soon as possible.”

Sylvar is trying to calm her down. I do not think it is working. All I can do is look for any movement in the trees, along with Meuko, who is still holding a goblin that is peppered with arrows.

“Something is wrong, it hurts a lot. Everything is dark. Something is wr-” Hollis’ voice sounds shallow and weak.

She passed out. I did not realize before but she was shot in her upper body. Sylvar breaks the arrow in half, dresses the wound and calls for Meuko to carry her.

“Why did you not take it out? She will die”

“Because, my friend Volter, taking out will make her bleed more. We need to run and have Julie heal her. Only way out is back where we came from… And pray Hollis makes the trip, I have never seen such a wound.”

Sylvar is sounding worried and Meuko does not even waste a second. She immediately discards the useless goblin body and puts Hollis in her arms and starts sprinting. We run after her. The goblins are nowhere to be found, until we hear them.

Arrows start flying towards us. Good thing I brought that rope. We used it to tie the berry sacks to our backs so I and Sylvar can act as shields between any goblins and Meuko. I need to thank my luck that berries are light.

The arrows stop flying after a few minutes and I cannot help but wonder. Turning back, I see the goblins acting… confused. Like they do not know where we are or where they are. Like there is not a straight line of road leading them to us.

“Volter, what are you doing, you foolish fool?”

I start running again. It takes some convincing to get my legs to catch up with the rest of the group but I eventually make it.

“Did you call me a foolish fool? Do you not know how to insult someone, Sylvar?”

“I am not… Quite used to it, I suppose.”

We are all winded, so we start slowing down our pace just to make sure we can actually make it. With the fight over, we feel the energy leave our bodies but we still have to deliver a wounded person back home.

While running, I ask a few questions just to pass the time. Perhaps I am more worried than I want to admit.

“So… what did you mean when you talked about the wound? Was she shot in a bad spot?”

“No, my friend Volter, it is not just that. I mean the wound itself looked dark around the arrow, like the flesh was already… Dying… Something dark is happening here. I am sorry I brought you with me, I should have known this was too much for you.”

“He was not brought here against his will. He took a step all on his own, as did I. Do not apologize for something that is not your fault, Outsider. It hurts you and us.”

“You are… right, as quite often, my friend Meuko.”

“It is HIS fault that he could not kill a single enemy in front of us though, so he should apologize for that.”

“I know that, okay? I threw one knife and I missed. It did not graze that monster, it was not deflected, I just… missed. I should have done better. I am the one that is sorry and I hope Hollis does not suffer for it.”

“Well, It is a rare trait to have... Humility, to acknowledge your mistakes and train to get stronger. Let us not forget that it was his rope and thought about the berry sacks that saved our lives when those goblins were right behind us.”

Sylvar always knows how to make someone feel better, I will give him that.

“Thank you both. I owe you.”

I have to thank them. I would not have made it without them and I can only hope I actually did all I could for them. It took longer to get back, carrying a wounded person and tired from the first time we ran, but we made it.

As soon as we enter the Village we go straight for Meuko’s house, knowing Julie would be there. They do live in the same house, after all. She was waiting for us with a ready table, bandages and a few other healing substances I do not know of. Never could learn about these, no matter how much Julie was willing to teach me.

“Oh thank you, whatever powers that be, for bringing them back.” Julie says.

“Hey, it was my rope that did the job, those powers had nothing to do with it.”

“I would say my power had something to do with it.” Meuko says as she gently puts Hollis over at the table.

“Yes, your power definitely brought us here, but my arrows covered you perfectly against these goblins.”

“Goblins? Oh dear, you must have gone through so much.” Julie is always the one to worry.

“Team effort really. Sylvar, Meuko and I work really well… So, what do you need?”

“Meuko can assist, the two of you should go and get some rest, Travlon will stay here.”

“You could not make me go if you tried, girl...”

“Right away, my friend Julielle.”

We reached the Village right before noon. After about an hour, Meuko finds Sylvar and me at Blago’s house, which is also his smith. He apparently does not need a bed, only a place of work. I needed to show him the goblin dagger and he informed me that the knives I had should be used for throwing at enemies but this dagger should be used up close.

It is made for tearing flesh, hence the crooked edge and why it looks so wore down. It seems this dagger has seen some use… I do not even want to think what for. Meuko looks… Almost worried.

“You should follow me over to Julie. Travlon is waiting for us there already.”

“I thought he was there from the start.” I say, with some suspicion. I do not like him.

“He left for a bit, now he is back. Focus.” Meuko says.

“My friend Meuko, Hollis is not healed completely, is she?” Sylvar does not waste time. He already knows some of what they want to tell us.

“Actually, Outsider, she is not healed at all.”

“Wait. That is impossible, Julie has magic healing powers AND the knowledge of medicine.”

“Exactly...”

Meuko sounds…scared. I guess she is as sure of Julie’s powers as she is of hers. Makes sense she would lose it if she saw the sisters’ efforts not working. When we get there, we are informed that the arrow that hit Hollis was cursed.

It is constantly draining her, making her weaker and she will most probably die unless we could make a cure. A cure that includes going north of the Village until we reach the mountains and then a griffin lair in order to get an egg.

Normally, we would send for the actual expedition group the Village has which consists of our leader and his two companions. All three of them are extremely strong but they have not been seen since yesterday and that is why everyone in this room, including me, is worried that Hollis will not make it. Thankfully, I am bored.

“Well, we have three people willing to help, right?”

“Wait, Volter there is just no way-”

“Kid, I appreciate everything you all did, I really do.” Travlon stopped Sylvar midway. “But I cannot have you all dying on account of some far-fetched cure. I could not live with myself.”

Something is wrong. Why is the husband of this dying woman trying to stop us from helping? No time. Blago always says find your center and work it out from there.

“We must do something.” Meuko says, sitting in the corner and contemplating. No chair could hold her so she just sits on the floor.

“Vol, the only way I could help Hollis is by having that egg… That way I can make a cure for the curse and then heal her. I do not know how long she has. It could be anywhere from two days to barely a day. This death curse is strong.”

Julie is the one of the few people in the Village that have access to the leader’s books when he is here, so she knows what she is talking about, I know it. I just need to convince them.

“Sylvar, we have to help her. We managed to rest for an hour, Meuko is somehow in a far better condition than us... Even though she helped Julie. Some could call her a freak. So, we get more supplies and we are out of here, we will probably be back by nightfall.” The desperation in my voice is as plain as my lack of experience with goblins.

“I suppose… We are the only ones that can, right now. How do you plan on explaining why you left the Village?” Sylvar makes a good point but we have no time to lose.

“I do not. I do plan on helping as long as I can.”

“Then-” Meuko says as she gets up. “Let us get bandages and some protective gear from Blago. Quickly now.”

“I will try to keep Hollis stable.” Julie says, looking at Sylvar and reassuring him.

“Do not forget about the rope.” I say, half-smiling.

“One more athletic test for you, my friend Volter.”

The test continues.