Friedrich walked along the woodland path with his clinking sack of treasure over his shoulder, his unpolished shield on his arm and in-need-of-a-sharpening sword sheathed by his waist. It was a pleasant morning with the soft breeze rolling by and the cool mountain air filling his lungs, giving him a sense of ease.
“When we get to Eagle’s Crest,” said Marina, twirling her gnarled, wooden staff in her hands like a baton, “we need to research extensively to find the best dungeon to loot. The more riches we can get our hands on, the better.”
“No,” said Friedrich, looking at her in disbelief. “We need to consider how much we can carry. The lighter the treasure, the better. Ideally, we go for the higher value kupons because I’m not so great at knowing the worth of much else.”
“Hmm, that does make sense. Go lightweight and aim for the sound money.”
“You said you’re a treasure hunter too, didn’t you?” asked Friedrich, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
“I did say that, yes…”
“You must be very inexperienced if you haven’t considered that. It’s the most basic dungeon-delving lesson. Take what you can carry, but prioritise the highest value items.”
“To be perfectly honest,” said Marina before a long pause. “I haven’t had all that much luck finding treasure.”
Friedrich furrowed his brow. “How many dungeons have you explored? What about ruins? Crypts?”
“Umm…”
“Come on, tell me!”
Marina sighed. “None.”
“Zero?”
“Zero.”
“So, you aren’t really a treasure hunter? That was a lie?”
“I am a treasure hunter, I’m just untested.”
Friedrich couldn’t believe his ears. Marina had spoken with such confidence the previous night that he presumed she had had her fair share of adventures; at the very least, that she wouldn’t be completely inexperienced. She was going to be nothing but a burden.
“What exactly were you doing in the woods last night?” he asked with an airy curiousness in his voice that didn’t reflect his suspicions.
“In the woods?” asked Marina, feigning ignorance.
“You heard me. How did you happen to come across me? We aren’t exactly close to civilisation out here. When you told me you were a treasure hunter, I thought perhaps you were going to the same castle I had come from. Now that I think about it, I was so frantic that I would have made any logical leaps to justify someone being there to help me.”
“I was going to the same castle as you.”
“Really?” asked Friedrich, his voice giving away his disbelief. “Tell me, Marina. What was the name of that castle?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “I saw it on the map and thought it would be a good first place to explore.”
“Really?”
“Really!”
“You aren’t lying to me?”
“I’m not!”
Friedrich knew that she was lying again and that there was another reason for her being there. Whatever it was, she was taking that to the grave with her so he decided to drop it. It didn’t exactly inspire confidence in having her as a travelling companion for the time being, but if he was to enact the plan of using the fox mask to loot, it would help to have someone there to aid him. If she had wanted to hurt him, yesterday was her chance. She could have taken his treasure and run for the hills and Friedrich couldn’t have done a thing about it while he was in his fox form.
“I’m going to be honest with you, Marina, seeing as we’re going to be travelling together for a while. How long that while will be remains to be seen. I know there’s something you’re not telling me, and frankly, I don’t care what it is, just as long as you’re not planning anything nefarious.”
“I’m not, I swear,” smiled Marina sweetly.
“If you are, I’ll cut you loose faster than you can shoot a lightning strike.”
Stolen novel; please report.
Marina held out her staff and zapped a hanging branch from a nearby tree. It crackled as it fell to the ground and thudded upon the dirt path. “I can shoot pretty fast,” she joked, “but I understand. I won’t get you into any trouble, I promise.”
The two continued through the woods, walking for many hours before they finally settled down for lunch. Conversation was light, with Friedrich still unsure how much he should share with Marina, who spent most of their journey so far babbling about nonsense and talking about how excited she was to put the powers of the fox mask to the test.
“I can’t wait until we reach Eagle’s Crest so we can eat more than just pheasant,” said Friedrich, upon finishing his lunch.
“There’s nothing wrong with pheasant,” scoffed Marina. “Just be grateful that we have food to eat out here in nature.”
“Where do you think most food in the towns comes from? Something about you tells me you’re definitely from a city.”
Marina smiled and winked, but didn’t say anything else as she finished eating.
As they were packing up, there was a sudden screeching. The two froze, listening intently to try and hear what had made that noise. Upon hearing some rustling approaching them from somewhere in the thickets, Friedrich drew his sword and Marina held her staff at the ready.
“Hee hee,” snickered a conniving voice. He knew that sound well, having fought these little beasts before. It was the sound of the greatest vermin to plague the entire continent of Eradrel.
Friedrich jerked his head towards the bushes and Marina nodded in agreement. He could not see the creature that had let out the sneaky giggle, but it was close. Very close.
Crunch.
Friedrich’s eyes darted to the trees on his left. He sniffed and could smell a change in the air. It was the smell of damp socks and rotten meat.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
The sound of leaves and twigs being trodden on grew louder and louder until, out from the trees, burst a leaping goblin. It held its crude spear high in the air as the sickly green creature aimed straight for Friedrich’s head.
Clang, came the sound of Friedrich’s shield blocking the goblin’s rusty iron spear tip as it landed on the grass. He swept his arm to the side, throwing the goblin off balance. The goblin wobbled and looked worried as Friedrich stared it straight in the eyes. With a grunt, he rammed into it, knocking it to the ground where it spread its limbs out clumsily. Friedrich thrust his sword into the goblin’s chest. It screeched a horrid screech as the life left its body.
“Here come the rest!” cried Marina as a half dozen goblins erupted from their hiding spots, cackling loudly enough to shake the trees.
She held her staff high and threw a lightning bolt at the nearest one. It screeched that same foul screech as the other goblin had upon the lightning striking its chest. The wretched ambusher fell to the ground, a large burn sizzling upon his dead body.
The other goblins were undeterred. It was their lunch time and nothing was going to phase them. They were determined to lob off the heads of the two Mercians. They would use their hollowed-out skulls as bowls and their fingers as cutlery, so disgusting were these green monsters. Each of them had a snarling grin upon their faces as they watched the two youths menacingly.
“Move!” called Friedrich, pushing Marina out of the way as a goblin almost skewered her through the back.
The young man swung his sword, drawing the blade quickly across his enemy’s throat. The goblin dropped to its knees, gasping for air and clutching its wound, but there was nothing it could do. Friedrich kicked it out of the way and thrust his sword at another one of his foes who was stupid enough to keep fighting.
Marina tried to cast another spell, but one of the goblins clung to her staff, trying to wrench it out of her hands. In a desperate move, she kicked it in the groin and it squealed more high-pitched than ever as it released her magical implement. She bashed it in the face with the top of her staff and sent a jolt of electricity through the goblin, making it keel over and spasm wildly on the grass.
The two adventurers duelled valiantly against their remaining foes, slaying the goblins one by one with steel and lightning until only a lone goblin remained. It was now that it was outnumbered that it finally looked frightened.
It started to back away, turning to run, but another bolt of lightning soared across the battlefield and struck it in the back. It fell to the ground, twitching for a moment before it stopped moving. The final goblin had fallen and the two Mercians were victorious.
“I…I don’t feel so good about that,” said Marina. “Striking it in the back…”
“It would have done the same to you,” said Friedrich. “One of them tried, don’t forget. Never trust a goblin. They’re a blight that needs eradicating from the entirety of Eradrel, never mind being removed from Mercia. They’re creatures with zero honour and zero remorse.”
“I suppose you’re right…”
“I am right. Listen to me. I know these little monstrosities better than I would like to, so you can take my word that leaving a single one alive would leave you marked. They’re spiteful and would sniff you out eventually.”
“Alright…”
“You don’t have much combat experience, do you?” asked Friedrich, sensing Marina’s discomfort.
“I’m a very talented mage, I’ll have you know,” she said, bright and bubbly once again.
“Be honest.”
Her smile faded slightly. “In a manner of speaking…um…no, I haven’t been in many battles before.”
“How many battles have you been in?”
“I would rather not say, Friedrich.”
“I understand.”
“You do?” asked Marina, sounding surprised.
“I do. Much like with your dungeon-delving, the answer is zero, isn’t it?”
“What a beautiful day today!” Marina called out before strolling merrily along the road. “I can’t wait to see what Eagle’s Crest has in store for us. How about you?”
Friedrich sighed and shook his head in exasperation. He had been having a much more pleasant time travelling by himself. Now he felt like a babysitter. He glanced at the fox mask that was sparkling at the top of his sack.
“She had better be right,” he muttered to the mask. “If you aren’t going to make me rich enough to buy a boat, then you’re being tossed off a cliff.”
He pulled the sack tighter and slung it over his shoulder, rushing off to catch up with Marina. They were still a few days away from Eagle’s Crest, but they were almost at the edge of the woodland and, therefore, at the bottom of the mountain. At least on the grasslands, it would be far harder for goblins to sneak up on them, but they would no doubt try. Even if they did, Friedrich was certain that he would make short work of them.