Waking up in a cold sweat I frantically look around me making sure I'm alone, noticing I'm alone I try to calm down. It was just a dream.

Taking a deep breaths I get up and take a look up at the sky, looks like I woke up with the sun. Walking to the forest I try to shake of the soreness from sleeping on the ground. Getting closer to the forest I notice that the bubble was a couple feet in to the forest from the clearing and in my haste to get to out of the forest I must have missed it, Not surprissing considering it looks vastly different from inside the forest.

Instead of the twisted and warped I expected to see, I was surprised when I saw a veil like substance that looked as if it would flutter away with a passing wind. Touching it causes the same ripples that happened from outside it.

Deciding that it was time I started the hike while the sun was low, I gather my will and walked through. Last time I walked through I felt wonder. This time, I was wiser, I wasn't going to get distracted by the beauty of it again.

Focusing on my plan I start to slowly walk in the direction I did before, looking for any fallen branches that would work as a staff along the way. While doing this I keep my head on a swivel, listening for anything that doesn't fit into what what I've experienced before.

Walking silently is alot harder than it sounds and more often then not the ground that I stepped on caused alot of noise. I tried to not step on anything that would carry noise far like twigs, but it was hard. I found myself having to walk really slowly. It was going to take a long time to get to where I last died, and even though walking this slow was mentally draining I was in no rush.

After walking like this for a while I found a decent branch, deciding to take a break from the mentally demanding mindset. Instead of sitting on a log and spending my time day dreaming like last time, I sat under a tree that had alot of ferns surrounding it, cutting down my profile and trying to listen to anything off to the best of my ability.

Deciding that I've spent enough time resting I start my slow sneaking again. There is a possiblity that the goblin spotted me on the exact trail I'm heading in. It's possible the goblin I fought before died, but that still doesn't rule out the possiblity of more being here.

After I'd rested 3 times like that, that's when I heard it. I didn't realize what I was listening to, it didn't fit into the reqular sounds of the forest, but it was getting louder. After noticing it I immeditly stop moving trying to stay as still as possible.

Bringing my staff into a ready position I slowly edged away from the sounds that where getting closer and closer. Starting to shake I try to edge back behind a tree. Only in my haste to step on a root, falling onto my butt. I start shaking even more, trying to slowly crawl behind the tree while still holding my staff. Once I get behind the tree and start listening again, I realize my haste and panic caused alot of noise. Enough to alert the source of the sound, and it's coming closer.

Knowing there was now no way to avoid detection, I slowly get up gripping my staff in a way that will allow me to swing it like a bat. The sound slowly gets closer and closer and I start to distinguish two different foot steps. There's two, I'm going to have to take one by suprise and if I get lucky maybe the second one two.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Shaking, and well aware of what happened last time, I ready myself. Just before their about to walk around the tree I jump out behind it and swing the hardest I can at where the sounds are coming from.

I don't know who is more suprised, me, who swings a hair too high and completly missing the goblins and makes the staff bounce of the tree, or the goblins, one of which fell to the ground about half a second after the staff passed over him, or the other one holding a rusty knife like a cross trying to ward off evil.

A second passes like this as both parties are seeminly stuck in time, Then it resumes. Looking towards the one with the knife I jump back as he jumps forward. Trying to bring my staff inbetween us and keeping it away. Seeing it's trying to still rush at me and my staff is useless at such a short ranged I do a swift hop to the left, making it have to stop and waste movment I quickly bring the staff as far back as I dare and swing it, with all my weight, straight onto the goblins head. It drops to the ground, shortly going limp.

Shouting directly to my left and the feeling of something makes me fall, more from shock than any physics, reminding me of the last goblin. Dropping my staff after I realize it won't be helpful in this fight, I go to grab the goblin but not before I recieve a bite on my thigh and straches along my sides. Learning from my last death I go to grab its neck, this time with both hands and as hard as I can. It continues to scratch my sides but with significantly less strength.

Feeling the pain they caused encourages me to squeeze long after the body has gone limp. Pushing the body off me I start to take deap breaths, ignoring the pain and fear I'm feeling. After I've spent a couple seconds gathering my thoughts I look at my injuries, overall not bad. With the scratches only causing a small amount of blood that immediatly clotts and the bite just causing bruising, I think I'm fine.

I start laughing, I lived!

Chuckling, I stand up and look the area. The goblin that I wacked on the head had a pool of blood sorrounding it and the other one wasn't breathing. The deaths putting a slight bamper on the mood. looking away I start feeling better about my future prospects.

Lifes looking up, It's only a matter of time now before I get out of this forest. Finding my staff and going to pick it up I realize the fight caused alot of noise. Pickng up the staff, I move away from the scene, taking one last parting glance at the dead goblins I start walking away. I already came to the conclusion that killing was going to be inevitable, it didn't make it any easier.

Keeping in mind there can be more than just two I start to run in the direction I was walking in before the fight, Sneaking forgotten in favor of leaving the area fast as possible. Feeling I ran far enough I try to calm down, sitting down by a tree to rest like I did while sneaking. Thinking about my future actions while breathing heavily I start to feel better, more centered.

Hopefully I'm heading away from the goblin territory, out of the forest, and into a place that offers food and water. Breathing calmed down, I start sneaking just like I did before finding the goblins. This time smarter about what to listen for, the mental strains from constant vigilance I felt before the fight less pronounced.

This was doable, the fight proved that. I can live through this and I'm not going to die again. The pain on my stomach and thigh from the goblins also prove that I shouldn't get overconfident. I pay more attention to my surroundings after that thought.

Not long after I started the trek again I noticed the light going down. Deciding to give me more than enough time to look for a sutable spot before the sun goes down, mentally marking where I'm looking and standing, I start my search.