An Oath Sworn in Blood

As you trekked through the underbrush, tailed by a squadron of twelve goblins, you were aware of the knives and spears they had at your back, ready to kill you at a moment's notice.

When you suggested you would show the female goblin where to find a Claimant Crystal, you'd expected her to not trust you, but still come along. Instead, she'd sent nearly half the tribe with you to bring back her prize and to kill you if you failed.

Technically, the village you were headed into didn't contain Claimant Crystals themselves, but the tooltip had said you got them from adventurers which should be in the village, and if they weren't...

But you hadn't mentioned that to the goblins who were looking confused as you reached the outskirts, a broad clear ring surrounding the village, severely hampering their ability to sneak in. No doubt implemented due to goblin raids.

"Come along. We have to grab as much stuff as we can." You hissed under your breath as an angry goblin stepped forward, a miniature crossbow clutched tightly in his hands.

"Grab stuff... take loot? Where Crystal?" He asked, his broken Common sounding like someone speaking through a blender.

"We... We have to buy the Crystal. That's why we have to grab stuff to trade for it." You tried to lie. Thankfully, the little ball of rage didn't catch it as he spit on the ground.

"Not buy... not trade Crystal... STEAL CRYSTAL... TAKE CRYSTALS!" He angrily ordered as he turned to the rest of the assembled goblins.

He let out a string of strangled words that you couldn't make out before the goblins tore across the open space, diving into shadows and rain barrels.

"We get Crystals! Then Chief want me! Chief make me new Chief!" The angry goblin declared as he pulled a grey hood over his head, sprinting across the open ground before reaching a building, but he didn't stop there. Holding his crossbow with one hand, he ran partway up the stone wall, using his other hand to grab on to a windowsill before launching himself on to the roof as you saw him vanish, barely able to spot him as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop.

You followed behind sedately, wondering where the best target would be. You contemplated momentarily announcing the goblins presence, which would no doubt bring adventurers running, but no need to anger them so quickly, you could use them to cover your escape after you'd grabbed some premium goods.

Which brought you back to locating these 'premium goods'. You been in this village less than a minute and you'd already heard a marketplace nearby, so you could try your luck at grabbing some food like apples and cabbages, and depending on the crowd, there could be plenty of coin purses to empty.

Alternatively, you could try picking some locks and breaking into some houses in search of silverware and basic jewelry, but it could be rather hit-and-miss on that front.

Finally, you decided, standing in the shadow of a stone house...