Name: Todd Longfellow, Race: Human

Height: 5’6”, Weight: 130, Sex: Male

Archetype: Fighter

HP: 18 / 18, Mana: 0 / 0

Stats:

Physical: 4, Moxie: 2, Spiritual: 2, Luck: 2

Agility: 2, Magic: 2, Mental: 2, Energy: 3.

Relevant Skills: Agility - Dodge, Moxie - Deceive, Physical - Armored Defense, Physical - Awareness, Physical - Grapple, Physical - Kick, Physical Melee - Sword

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"Gods, what took you guys so long?" Todd said as Mark approached.

"Sorry, I came across a wild boar. I'd tell you the details, but," Mark shrugged.

"Random encounter," Todd stood up, took a step forward, and hugged his friend. "I'm glad you're all alive. We ran into some goblins, and let's say they know we are coming."

"Oh, I doubt they'll be ready for what we're bringing." Mark smiled.

"What?"

"You didn't have any casters among you guys; we got three total people who can cast fireball." Mark grinned, teeth showing, cheeks full, and pushing up against his eyes.

"Um, we don't want to nuke the village." Todd looked toward the villagers that filed in behind Mark.

"They've agreed, they would rather burn it to the ground and rebuild than allow the goblins to stay there another night," Mark said.

"Fuck, keep your guys in check, it isn't just buildings I'm worried about getting burnt."

"I'll try. What happened to you guys?" Mark looked at the trainee's still leaning against a tree on the ground.

"Goblins, and me being stupid." Todd sighed and slowly shook his head. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "I ran ahead alone, then brought a large group back."

"Funny, not to make light, but we found the boar because Reggie stepped away for privacy. The boar was nearby, and he freaked out."

"Damn, I'd have love to seen that."

"In hindsight, it was funny, but we lost three people, and several more were injured." Mark sighed and looked down toward the ground for a moment. Pausing as he took in a breath. "I'm not sure how the random encounter thing works, but it sucked."

Todd looked at villagers' faces; some filled with joy as they reunited with friends, some with jaws tight as grim determination encompassed their being.

"The longer I'm here, the more I'm convinced these people are real," Todd said softly.

Mark nodded his head and gave a glance around. Took in a deep breath and straightened his posture.

"How far is the village?" Mark said, gazing into the woods ahead.

"Maybe an hour's walk," Todd said.

"Five minutes, then we move out!" Mark shouted several people stared for a moment before resuming their task.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Why five minutes?" Todd said, "We are ready now."

"I gotta pee," Mark turned and walked toward the way they came.

Todd nodded and stretched. Picking up the goblin swords he had been sharpening, he headed over to the group of villagers who'd just arrived. Handing out the few weapons he had, he went to Reggie.

"Hey, you doing alright?" Todd said as he rested a hand on Reggie's shoulder. Reggie was in the middle of examining one of the villagers Jax hadn't been able to heal.

"For the most part," Reggie said as he felt around the villager's leg, squeezing every few centimeters to locate scar tissue.

"It wasn't your fault," Todd said, and he hugged Reggie, pulling his friend away from the villager and wrapping his arms around Reggie.

"Yeah, yeah," Reggie sighed and shrugged. "I get it, shit happens," he released a deep sigh. "If would have let the boar kill me, those guys would still be alive."

"Just remember the sooner we finish this game, the sooner these people can go back to a normal life," Todd said.

Reggie stared at Todd for a long moment.

"Do you believe that?" Reggie said.

"Yeah, while I'm not sure how, I'm confident these people are real, so once we get out of the game, the rules should no longer apply to them," Todd said. Chewing on his cheek a little, "the ends justify the means."

"I hope you are right. Otherwise, we've doomed millions to a horrible existence."

"Yeah," Todd sighed, and they stood together in silence for a minute until Mark rejoined them. "Hey, we also tried to see if one of the villagers could get an archetype; it didn't work."

"Damn, that's a good idea, too bad." Mark looked around. "I think it is time."

"Moving out!" Todd yelled as he stood up straight. Pulling out his sword, he thrust it up in the air, slightly toward the direction of the village. "Let's go kill some goblins." Scanning through the villagers nearby, Todd saw several smiles and a couple of grim faces forcing their expression into a smile.

Shadows from branches above obscured the sun. Unsure how long they'd been walking, Todd glanced around; leaves and bushes around him didn't look familiar, the new route suggested by Charisse had him turned around. Worry filled him, where did he lose Charisse and how long ago did it happen? Villagers lined up behind him. He stretched and acted as if he paused for some other reason.

Charisse's face appeared from behind some leaves, to his left.

"Forward twenty feet," Charisse said before she disappeared into the foliage. Todd nodded and turned toward a villager who he recently learned was named Alexander and repeated the distance. Alex slowly backed up from Todd to notify others in the line.

Pulling his sword out slowly and looking to where Charisse disappeared, Todd readied himself. Briefly, the thought of running to a bunch of goblins and becoming a pincushion again made him shiver. A movement behind him pulled his gaze to the determined face of Alexander. Nodding once, Todd looked back in the direction where the village would be.

"I fucking hate this game," Todd said under his breath before he pushed through the thick foliage.

After a dozen feet of silently pushing through thick bush, Todd saw a small hut. The style and shape were similar to the ones he'd fought near previously.

No goblins wandered around the building. Glancing toward the next, Todd saw several goblins on roof's forty feet away. Most of the arrows and eyes were looking toward the forest where he'd run.

Carefully and as quietly as he could, Todd stepped out of the forest and against the nearby hut, placing it between him and the goblins. Silently counting to five and hearing no alarm, Todd beckoned to Alexander to his side. Alexander crossed the space; they both leaned against the building. After a few seconds, Todd beckoned another villager, then another.

"Wait for the signal from Charisse," Todd said. He leaned his head around the corner of the building, looking down the row of homes. He didn't see any goblins, and none saw him. Hiding behind the building, he waited.

Several loud thunks of arrows hitting wood and a few muffled thunks from softer targets echoed through the village. Several guttural screams, and goblin cries followed.

"Fuck thee!" Charisse's call from high in the trees.

Todd rounded the corner of the building and ran down the line of huts, sword outstretched. A door opened on a nearby shack. Thin planks of wood swung toward Todd's face. Instead of dodging and moving out of the way, Todd threw his shoulder into the door to slam it closed. He was rewarded with a goblin yelp of pain from the other side of the door.

Todd moved to the side where the door would not block his view. Holding his sword high, he waited for the door to open. Once it opened a crack, he swung down with his sword.

Slicing down with his sword, the blade caught a goblin as it carefully pushed the door open. The goblin saw the edge falling and started to pull his hand back. The tips of two fingers were still in the weapon's path. The creature screamed as the fingertips were severed from its hand.

Todd kicked the door, breaking it inward and stepping in the doorway to block escape. Three goblins stared from inside the shack at him. One goblin clutched its bleeding hand against its chest.

Thrusting his sword froward while bringing it upward, Todd stabbed one goblin in the chest. Too slowly, it tried to raise its hands to block the strike, grabbing the blade as it slid in. The creature gurgled as it's lungs filled with blood. Todd yanked back on his weapon, pulling the screaming goblin toward him.

Todd took a step backward as the impaled goblin moved forward with the sword. It's weight pulling the blade down as the creature's legs wobbled.

The uninjured goblin in the shack pulled out a small knife and threw it, as it bellowed a savage cry. Todd quickly tried to bring his sword arm up to block, but the sword was still lodged in the dying goblin. Leaning to the side, the dagger hit the side of his neck. The chainmail coif caught the blade, preventing it from slicing open his neck.

Kicking his left foot out, Todd caught the goblin on his sword in the chin. Pushing it away while he pulled on his sword, the dying goblin tumbled backward into the one with missing fingertips. The hole in its chest still bleeding, the goblin lay on the floor.

Todd stepped forward, swinging his sword from above and down to the right. Even with missing fingertips, the goblin still raised it's hand to block the sword strike. The blade easily cut into the creature's leathery skin, hitting bone and driving the arm into the beast's chest. Todd roared as he pulled his sword free, leaving another goblin lying on the floor, blood soaking the wood.

Another guttural cry, the remaining goblin, using its downed friend as a step, lept toward Todd with another dagger in its hand. Todd's sword was too slow as he pulled it upward to block. Looking at the leaping goblin in the eye as it reached the apex of its jump, Todd felt pain as it stabbed the dagger into his collarbone. A weak link in the chainmail broke loose, allowing the blade to dig into Todd. The goblin grabbed Todd's armor with its other free hand, causing him to lurch forward from its weight.

"Fuck!" Todd screamed as he released his grip on his sword. Both hands reached up to the goblin.

Grabbing the sides of the goblins head, Todd squeezed pulled the goblin away from him. The creature released its hold on Todd's armor and the dagger.

Turning around and stepping out of the hut, Todd took two steps forward while holding the creature's head. He threw the creature's head down as he kicked with his right foot on the second step.

Before the creature hit the ground, Todd's foot connected, flipping the goblin end over end as it flew several feet from Todd. Before the beast could move or stand up, Todd ran over, kicking again as if the skull was a football.