The goblins stared at me. None of them moved, but I could see the hate in their eyes.

"Tavik, he said the hummies didn't have any levels!" one of the goblins shouted. "Ain't no way he could take one of us down in one hit without them!"

"Doesn't matter! Get him!" the leader screamed.

As if they were one creature, the five goblins charged me. I stabbed, slicing into the nearest goblin's hand, and leapt backward at the same time. It shrieked and grabbed at its hand as its club fell to the ground. I swept my blade in an arc to keep the others at bay, but the leader ducked under the attack and entered my space.

Before I could recover, the leader's saber slashed my leg. I felt the blade connect, heard my pants tear, but the edge of my cuisse and Tristan's armor spell prevented the blade from tearing into my skin too badly. However, the sting of the blade was still substantial.

Hearing him curse, I spun my blade around and stabbed downward. Before he could dodge away, my sword entered the space behind his collarbone and met little resistance. A wet gurgle escaped his lips as my blade sunk through his flesh. An instant later, the tempered steel emerged from his torso and sunk into the dirt.

He died on his feet.

The dead leader's fellows screeched as I tried to wrench my blade free, but the impaled corpse kept it planted in the dirt. I pulled again, but before I could get it out, the remaining four rushed me. With no choice, I abandoned my sword and jumped backward before I became a pincushion.

"Kill him! Kill him!" one of the remaining goblins cried as he tried to slash me. I grabbed the handle of my dagger from my belt and unsheathed it just in time to parry the strike. Sparks flashed into the air as we connected. I twisted my blade, using the force of the strike to push it back. Then, before it could escape, I punched the hilt of my dagger into the monster's mouth, breaking through its thin lips. Its eyes rolled back as my dagger lodged into its brain, but a club slammed into my armored calf before I could celebrate.

"Shit!" I shouted as I dropped to one knee. Another club hit the side of my head, and my world exploded into stars. Without thinking, I pulled myself up and wobbled backward, but the three goblins continued to batter my armored legs as I stumbled. Their clubs bounced off ineffectively, but they were wearing me down. I thanked the Goddess that I'd been lucky enough to take down the ones with blades first.

As my vision began to clear, I searched for anything that could help me. Nothing stood out in the alley except piles of garbage, but at the top of one pile was a dented kettle. Hoping I wasn't about to make a big mistake, I dove for it. Snatching its handle, I rolled and stood back up, my new weapon bared and ready to strike. A chorus of chuckles filled the ally.

"Stupid hummie lost his sword!" one goblin chuckled.

"So dumb!"

"Gonna make us some tea?"

I swung my makeshift weapon, knocking one of them backward as it tried to swing its club at me. As it stumbled back, I swung at another just as it tried to capitalize on the opening. This time, its club struck my kettle, which shattered. Shards of clay rained everywhere. The attacker yelped as clay peppered its eyes, but again I was struck, this time in the knee. Despite my armor and Tristan's spell, it hurt. A lot. I groaned as I fell to one knee once again. This time, the wicked gleam in their eyes told me my luck was running out.

While their fellow was pulling clay out of its eyes, the other two jumped forward and struck in unison. I managed to deflect one of their clubs with my bracers, but the other connected with my ribs. Air burst from my lungs. Doubling over, I covered my head and neck with my hands. An instant later, the blows rained down. Left and right. Side to side. Back and forth. A massive strike, this one across my head, sent me sprawling onto my stomach. I nearly blacked out.

Rolling as quickly as I could, I felt one of the creatures jump onto my breastplate the instant I could see the sky. The green monster lifted a rusty dagger and struck downward toward my eye. Time seemed to slow down as the blade descended toward my face. I didn't know what to do. There wasn't enough time. My body knew it, and it resigned itself to the fate. I closed my eyes and threw my hands out, hoping to maybe stop the attack but knowing deep within the blow would come...

Except it never did.

I heard a grunt, then a shriek. I cracked an eye to find the goblin, its eyes wide, staring wildly down at me. The dagger had fallen from its hands, and a trail of blood dripped from its cracked lips. In the center of its chest, a blade extended. It was stained red. With a grinding sound, the weapon was withdrawn. Blood spilled from where the blade had been.

The goblin fell lifeless on top of me.

I struggled to push the foul-smelling thing off my body. With a heave, I threw it to the side and scrambled to my feet. Holding my hands up, I took a fighting stance, but the other two goblins lay dead mere feet away. In the center of the alley stood a small cloaked figure. Twin blades dripped with blood in its small hands.

"You alright?" the figure said, revealing a woman's voice.

"I'm alive, so there's that." I didn't move. "Friend or foe?"

"Neither. But I'm not here to kill you."

"Thank the Goddess." I dropped my arms, staggered back, and leaned against the nearest building. Pulling the healing potion from my belt, I drank it heartily. Despite the coagulated chunks, it might have been the best thing I'd ever tasted.

As I drank, words appeared in my mind.

----------------------------------------

For your valiant protection of a dear ally and your survival in the face of certain death, you reach Guardian Level 2.

You gain the [Resilience I] passive ability.

----------------------------------------

The pain in my battered body and my blurred vision slowly faded. In time, I felt restored, if not exactly refreshed.

"Not bad. Not bad at all. You took on six, one of whom had a few levels on you, and survived. Looks like I made the right choice." The woman pulled the hood of her cloak back, revealing her green skin and braided red hair.

"Vral..." I groaned, pushing myself off of the wall. I took a fighting stance again. She didn't seem hostile, but I didn't want to take any chances. Not that I had any chance in hell of surviving if she decided to attack, but I wouldn't go down without a fight.

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"Alex," she nodded. Wiping her blades on the goblin still impaled by my sword, sheathed them, then reached out and grabbed my sword. With a fluid movement, she pulled it free of both the ground and the corpse and threw it to me. It skittered to my feet.

I reached down and picked it up. "You hear for a rematch?" I gritted my teeth and held my sword between us.

"Nope." She knelt next to the corpse.

"Then what?"

"Saving your ass."

What? "Why are you helping me?"

She began looting the body. Without looking at me, she said, "Because I overheard some birdies talking about taking down the adventurers who defeated the mighty Vral. Normally, I wouldn't give a shit, but you spared me after we fought. I believe in doing right by those who do right by me." She smirked as she withdrew a few pouches from the corpses. "Plus, Tavik was an asshole. This was my shot at paying him back for some shit he'd done." Her smile grew as she found another full crystal purse. "Except you got him first. Good job."

She stood, jingling the crystals, and looked at me. "But you've really pissed off the wrong people. You won't get far without an ally."

"Why should I trust you? Last time I saw you, you wanted to kill me."

Her smirk turned into a grin. "That's business. No hard feelings, yeah? It was just a job."

"And what happens when you get another job like that?" I sheathed my sword.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Until then, we ought to catch up with that girlfriend of yours. I'm sure she nearly swooned when you told her you'd protect her. But, Tavik's gang wasn't the only band sent out today. We should get moving, you big charmer, otherwise you won't have a girlfriend much longer." She grinned before pulling her hood back up.

"We're not—"

"Then you're an idiot." She walked up to me and patted my chest.

"How long—"

"Since you left the inn this morning." She walked past and sauntered into the street.

"How do you know where they—"

"I shadowed them until they left town. Figured you'd be alright until I got back." She waved me on. "Let's go."

A fire lit inside of me as I watched her walk away. I wasn't about to let anything happen to them. I began running.

***

We spent the next few hours jogging down the narrow mountain pass. Considering how far we'd traveled without finding them, Tristan and Farvad had to have been moving fast. That, or...

I shook my head and picked up the pace.

To my surprise, Vral kept up with ease. Her lithe form allowed her to match my longer steps with little effort. Whenever the terrain narrowed too much for us to jog side-by-side, she easily fell into step behind. When the terrain widened again, she slid up beside me with no prompting whatsoever. Sometimes she even led the way. The small woman was clearly conditioned and more than capable. I was lucky she was on my side. For now.

Before long, we'd made it out of the pass and into the hills beyond. Once we reached the top of the third hill, I could see two shapes far in the distance, right where the plains met the forest. One tall, one short. It was them.

"Tristan!"

No response.

I cupped my hands and shouted. "Tristan! Wait!"

Nothing. We were too far.

Either way, I felt something inside of me relax. They were safe. Alive. I hadn't failed. I let out a deep breath.

Vral chuckled. "That's cute."

"What is?"

"Nothing." Her large red eyes shined in the afternoon light. She was grinning again under her hood.

"Let's catch up." I began jogging again, and Vral matched my pace. I couldn't quite tell, but it looked like two forms ahead of us stopped moving altogether. Maybe they'd noticed us.

***

An hour later, we were getting close. I could make out their faces in the dwindling light. Tristan stood with her mace drawn and raised, and Farvad peered at us with wide, searching eyes. It looked like his mind had faded since I'd seen him last.

"Tristan!"

"Alex!" Tristan dropped her mace and sprinted to me. When she reached me, she wrapped her arms around me in a hug. I pulled her close and felt her breath hitch. Then, faster than a blink, she pushed me away and punched me in the arm.

"What the hell?" I grumbled, rubbing my shoulder.

"That's for being a massive idiot and scaring me half to death!" She shouted, lifting her fists to punch me again. "You don't get to pretend to be a hero! You're not that cool!"

I held up my hands in surrender, fending off a couple of weak punches. "I'm okay, I'm okay!"

She dropped her arms and glared at Vral. I could tell she didn't recognize the small woman with her hood drawn up. "When I saw two people running at us, I thought you'd..." She stepped into me again and wrapped her arms around my waist. This time, it was gentle. "You're not allowed to do that again. I don't think I could stand it." Her words were muffled, her face buried into my shoulder. "I'm staying with you next time. Got it?"

"Okay." I held her close until I felt her arms fall away.

Pushing me away again, she nodded to Vral. "Who's your friend?"

"My friend? Oh, um, it's—" I looked over my shoulder to find Vral leaning against a tree, chuckling.

"Hey girly," Vral said as she pulled down her hood.

Tristan audibly gasped, then rushed for her mace.

"It's okay!" I called to her. "She's helping us."

"Bullshit! You're such an idiot!" Tristan snatched her mace up, pulled Farvad behind her, and shifted to place herself between me and Vral. "You absolute buffoon. Did you get hit in the head as a kid or something?" Tristan glared at me, then Vral. "Don't move, bitch. I'm stronger than last time."

"Oh relax." Vral rolled her eyes and held her hands up. "Alex, would you kindly tell your little attack dog I mean her no harm?"

I cleared my throat. "Tristan, Farvad, I assure you Vral helped me. I wouldn't be here without her. Please. Let's talk it out."

Tristan glared at me again, but she lowered her mace. "We're talking later." Her sapphire eyes were ice, and her voice was final.

I nodded and tried to smile. Looking at Vral, I said, "it would be easier if you explained yourself."

Vral laughed. "Well, it's pretty simple, honestly. You spared me after we fought. Even after you beat my ass into the ground. It was fun. After that, I went on the run, overheard some conversations, and decided to help you two. Partly because I'm grateful. Partly because the assholes who ambushed you in Galden are part of the guild I work for." Her smile faded. "Worked for. The more I can take down, the more likely I stay alive, and no one else will work with me now that I'm 'dead.' My job was to take you two down or die trying. I didn't do either. So here I am, working with a couple of nobodies in an attempt to not get shanked once they find out I'm still alive."

I nodded. Tristan shifted on her feet.

Farvad clapped his hands and laughed. His laugh filled the growing twilight. "Good, good. The more the merrier." The old man's eyes were unfocused. He looked at me. "My niece! She wanted to come to the forest. Where is she?"

"Tristan, I think Farvad's fading."

"He has been for a while. Keeps forgetting why we're out here." She placed a hand on the gnome's shoulder.

"Aren't we here to pick herbs?" His brows knitted, forming one long thick greyish line across his forehead. His green eyes swirled and dimmed before our eyes. Turning to Vral, he clapped his hands again. "Ah! There she is." His hands fidgeted as he walked up to Vral. "It's been too long, Elna! How's your mother?"

Vral crossed her arms and frowned. "What's wrong with him?"

"From what he told us, he's been confused for some time. We're taking him to the temple for healing."

"What caused this?" Vral's lips screwed up in disgust. She held her hands up, preventing him from hugging her.

"He said you gave him a knock on the head a while back. That's all we know."

Vral's frown deepened. "Yeah, I did, but it wasn't much. Just a scrape." Her sharp white teeth gnawed on her lip. "He wasn't like this last few times I saw him, but it's been some months since I'd been sent to collect."

Tristan tilted her head. "Could you have... I don't know. Given him memory loss or something?"

Vral snorted. "Are you joking? I smacked him upside the head with my palm. I've done worse to my niece's and nephew's asses when they're being rotten."

Tristan's eyes widened. "Nephews? You have family?"

"I'm a goblin. What do you think?" Vral pushed herself off the tree she was leaning against and drew herself up to her full height. "Dumb ass siblings bred quick and early. I'm the only one that got out of the cave I was spawned in." Her eyes unfocused as she remembered something. I realized then just how different Vral's life had to have been. She shuddered. "Decided it wasn't for me..." she grimaced, "... to do all that kid shit. Not with those losers, anyway."

"Dogs!" Farvad laughed. His crooked finger pointed back up the plain. In the distance, I could make out at least a dozen shapes rushing toward us.

Tristan squinted, then her eyes grew wide. "Those aren't dogs."

No, they weren't. "Team, we need to go." I drank a long pull from my waterskin and adjusted my pack. "Now."