My stomach grumbled for the third time. I was beyond hungry and arriving at famished. At least the bitter taste had faded away though, mostly.

At first, when I felt the first pangs of hunger, I was polite. I didn't want to snoop around too much. I hadn't met Farvad until today, and I didn't know what he was about. He was weird, and his house was filled with weird stuff, so I left things be and kept watch from behind the counter. However, hunger and boredom eventually won me over. I snooped. But, after an hour of searching high and low for anything to eat, I gave up. The guy hadn't left me a scrap of food anywhere in his shop. I guess I should have assumed.

I sat cross-legged on the countertop with my head resting against my palm, staring out the window and thinking of all the foods I should be eating. Burgers. Fries. Sushi. Gyro. I'd even take one of Dave's shitty burger cart burgers right now, and those were made from the shittiest of beef. For the first time in a long time, I thought about my old life, but a violent growl in my stomach stopped those thoughts real quick. My stomach gnawed at me, and I was definitely getting hangry.

This was awful.

A fly buzzed by. I smacked it with my free hand and went back to watching the empty shop.

"Are you kidding me? Fuck!" I shouted to no one.

I threw the first thing I could find. It fluttered to the ground harmlessly. It was a piece of paper.

Don't mock me, paper.

Where the hell was Tristan? Obviously, I hadn't told him where I was going, which was entirely my fault, but also, it was kind of his fault. He shouldn't have split the party! If he were here, I could send him out for food. What use was a sidekick if they couldn't pick you up some grub when you needed it?

Damn. I was starving.

I sat on the counter and watched as the light outside dimmed. Long shadows stretched down the street. As it got dark, I heard some boisterous voices nearby. They entered a nearby establishment, and a minute later, there was shouting, someone cursed, and a piece of glass broke. Then, there was laughing, and the voices exited and got closer. The walls were super thin around here. I looked around. They were basically all wood, not the stone of the buildings on the other side of town.

I hopped off the counter and strapped my sword on. As I did, I saw the tops of the heads of three people. They had green skin and long ears. There were two men and one woman. A part of me wondered who they were, but the other part of me decided that it was a whole lot of not my business. They passed without incident and vanished into the growing darkness. I could hear them laughing for a while, but even that faded after a few minutes. The shadows grew longer outside as the light became increasingly dim.

Maybe I should lock the door. That would help, right? I mean, I was supposed to guard stuff. Not that I had any idea about how to stop nargles, or if they were even real. My gut told me they weren't. I walked to the door and latched it. Better safe than sorry.

My stomach growled again. I paced back and forth, hoping the movement would keep the hunger away, but it didn't. I walked to the back and began snooping through the drawers again, looking for anything edible. Still nothing.

A small chiming sound rang through the building as the front door swung open. Didn't I lock the door? I walked back to the front.

Standing in the doorway and illuminated by the deep red of dusk, a group of three green-skinned rough-looking creatures were gazing around the shop. These were the goblins I'd seen earlier. Shit.

I remembered learning from Arden that goblins had worked hard to be admitted as one of the accepted races of the land at the beginning of the age, but they still faced persecution from most other races due to their violent reputation and frequent raiding along trade routes and settlements. From what Arden had said, their reputation was often fairly accurate. They were short-tempered, fiery, and impulsive, which made them difficult to work with. However, the real problem was that a century ago many had lost their homes and lands in the far north after a series of natural disasters. They also grew fast and generally had two to four children per birth. As such, goblins tended to overpopulate and struggled to find stable sources of income, so they relied on mercenary work or raids to survive.

"You're new," the woman said with a grin. Her red hair was tied in a tight braid that was flipped over her slender shoulder. She wore blackened leather armor studded with sharp metal spikes, and he could see twin short swords, more like long knives relative to his size, on her belt. She looked like she was straight out of Mad Max. The two goblin men behind her laughed. Both were similarly adorned. One carried a pickaxe, the other a sword. "So Farvad finally decided to hire someone?"

"Uhhh..." Real smooth, Alex.

"The shopkeeper. Where is he?" the goblin woman said. She spoke with confidence, and a light smile never left her lips. I could see her pointed teeth through her smile, but her face was gaunt, causing her cheekbones to stick out in sharp lines.

"He's out of town." Why did I say that? My heart raced in my chest as I tried to calm down. I knew I looked nervous.

The two men burst out laughing, and the smirk grew on the woman's face. "Yeah? When'll he be back?"

"Not for a few days." Shit, don't tell people information, dude!

"A few days? How convenient." Her two men snickered again.

"Can I take a message?" What was I, his butler?

She laughed and walked up to me. I put my hand on my sword, but she seemed unfazed. "You're a good doggy. Very obedient." Despite being almost three feet shorter than me, the woman was incredibly intimidating. Something about the glint in her eyes set me on edge. It took everything not to run away. "Who are you, kid? I haven't seen you around before."

I swallowed. "Alex. An adventurer."

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She walked up and sniffed me. "Where are you from, Alex?" Why was she sniffing me?

"Why does that matter?"

"It doesn't. Not at all. Just curious."

"Well," I paused for a moment, trying to decide how honest to be, "I'm from very, very far away."

"Oh, a traveler, huh?" The two men stepped closer. "Nice. I've only met a few of you before."

"How did you know I was a traveler?"

She stepped up and sniffed again. "You smell like incense and fear. I had a feeling."

"Oh?" I set my jaw. "You think you have me all figured out, huh?"

Her red eyes bored into mine. They were gleaming. "I think I know enough. You arrive recently?"

"Not that recently, no." Her smile faded. One of her hands rested on her sword's handle. I stepped back again. The woman's movement felt dangerous, and the other goblins mirrored her. This wasn't good.

"Vral, stop playing around." One of the goblin men said. "We got a job to do. No time to get distracted."

Vral turned on her heels. "Oh relax, Tavik. I'm just having a little conversation with our friend here. Is that so bad? It's not every day you meet a traveler."

Tavik scoffed, but she ignored him and returned to me. "Anyway, that's Tavik, the quiet one is Firk, and I'm Vral. Nice to meet you, Alex."

"Nice to meet you three." What was happening? "Why are you here?" The goblins unslung bags from their shoulders as she spoke.

"We're here to collect a payment from Farvad, but since he's left town, I'm gonna go ahead and say he defaulted. So, we're gonna take some stuff today, and if you're a good boy, you won't get in the way. Are you a good boy, Alex?"

"Not particularly."

"Oooh, feisty. I like that." She grinned and stepped up to him again. "What are you doing here, Alex? In Galden, I mean. I thought travelers usually stuck to cities. Much safer that way." She raised her eyebrow.

"Well..." I couldn't keep giving away all my info.

"Oh, don't be like that, Alex. We were just starting to get along." She played with one of her sword handles. She seemed completely at ease. I was not.

"I'm adventuring with my friend."

"Oh? And who might he be?"

"Tristan. He's not here now. Out picking up supplies. He'll be back soon."

"Ahh, I see, I see." She reached up and patted my chest. "So, here's the thing Alex. We need some things, and your boss isn't around. So how about we make a little deal between new friends?" She smiled up at me, revealing her sharp teeth.

I hadn't met goblins before. Contrary to my expectations, she wasn't bad-looking. None of them were. I imagined goblins would have football heads or warts or something. These looked like small people. They didn't exactly look human, with their large eyes, red pupils, and green skin, but they weren't gangly or misshapen either. Shit, I was getting distracted. "What kind of deal? We aren't friends."

"Well, you don't have to be so rude." She pretended to pout. "You aren't much fun. Look, we're taking his shit, okay?"

"Hell no." I took a large step back and snatched my shield off the counter. I drew my sword and took a defensive stance. "I have a job to do. I can't just let you take stuff."

"Aw, a fledgling. That's adorable." She tilted her head. "How old are you, boy? And what's your level?"

"Don't call me boy. And it doesn't matter."

She laughed. The other two goblins opened their sacks and started wandering around the shop like I wasn't even there. "It does to me. See, I have a rule against killing kids. Can't stand it, really. Gives me nightmares." She pointed a thin finger at me. "So, tell me, how old you are, kid."

"Twenty-six." I leveled my blade at her.

She looked puzzled and turned her head to the others. "Guys, how old is twenty-six in human years?" Tavik shrugged, but Firk opened his mouth for the first time.

"Adult."

"Really? Well, shit. Too bad, kiddo. Tough luck." She approached me, drawing her short swords.

I clenched my fists and brought my shield close to my body. I took several deep breaths to calm myself and watched closely, waiting for her first move. She giggled as she threw out a few light cuts. She was testing my skills. I didn't take the bait. The others watched for a minute before breaking off and snooping through the cupboards and shelves.

"Stop it!" I shouted at them.

"You're fighting me, kid!" Vral darted forward, throwing one of her blades directly at my knee. I lowered my shield just in time to block her attack, but her second blade slashed at my throat. I barely had enough time to get back. "Damn. You've trained a bit. That's good. Even without levels, you've got some skill. This might actually be fun." She darted forward again, swinging her swords in tight arcs. Each strike bounced off of my shield. She wasn't able to land any hits, but I was being pushed back with every strike. She was good.

As we sparred, I saw that Tavik and Firk had begun collecting items from around the shop and were loading them into bags. Damn it! Even if I wanted to stop them, I couldn't.

"Don't look away!" She noticed my thoughts wandering and capitalized on my mistake. One of her swords dug into my left shoulder. I felt my grip on my sword loosen.

She didn't let up. She slashed high, stabbed low, and struck again and again. I barely managed to keep up as she pushed me with every strike, and she was doing it without even breaking a sweat. However, my training was paying off. Every swing she took at me came within a millimeter of hitting, but my defenses held. I moved my shield without thinking. Each of her strikes landed on the broad wooden surface instead of my flesh. Her smirk turned into a smile as we fought.

The bitch was having fun!

"Vral, let's go. We got everything we need. Finish up." One of the goblin men called out.

She lashed at me with a vicious double strike, then jumped back and looked at the speaker. "Get out of here. I'll just be a minute." She turned back to me and flashed an even larger smile. "Sorry about this, kid. Don't take it too personally. It's just business." She took a few steps back, sheathed her weapons, and pulled a pair of gauntlets out of her beltpouch. They glimmered with gold, silver, and blue runes. The fingers of each gauntlet were tipped with thick claws. She pulled them on, then drew her swords again.

Her blades flashed. I felt pain in my thigh. Then my sword arm. I stepped back, blocking whatever I could, but I barely could see the attacks. I blocked three or four before a slash cut open my forehead. Blood poured into my eye.

"Fuck!" I yelled, leaping back, but she kept advancing.

One cut landed on my wrist, leaving a bloody slice. I felt my arm tremble, then my fingers released, and my sword fell out of my grip. Another followed, and I managed to block it with my shield, but the impact drove the wood into my chest. I felt my ribcage bend under the weight of the strike, and air burst from my lungs as I was thrown backward. How was she so strong? I landed on the ground and struggled to catch my breath.

She laughed as I pulled my shield in front of my chest. She took a couple casual steps toward me, bouncing her swords on her shoulders as she did. The smile faded as she lowered one of her blades to my jaw, nicked it, and forced my head up. The edge of the blade was cold against my throat. I felt blood seep from my skin as the blade nicked it.

"You've got spunk, kid. I like that. You held on longer than most, and you didn't show fear." She pulled her sword away and sheathed both. "Not a lot of people have guts anymore. It's a good quality." She looked out the window at the darkening town square. "It's getting late. Best get yourself to a healer. Else your sword arm'll stay like that." She looked down at me one more time. "Find better employers, Alex. Otherwise, you'll end up dead." She turned, walked to the door, and vanished into the darkness.

Once I'd caught my breath, I stood up and checked the damage. They took everything. Almost everything, anyway. There was still some miscellaneous crap left lying around, but most of the shop had been looted. I reached into my bag and pulled out one of the potions Na-Ya had given me. Uncorking one, I threw it back, and a moment later, my wounds tingled. The blood falling into my eye stopped flowing. The potion wouldn't seal my wounds completely, but it would be enough.

Once the potion finished doing its work, my vision blurred. It took a lot out of people to heal, and the faster the healing, the more it took.

I fell back onto the ground and promptly fell asleep.