Favored Terrain

You followed after the small rage-filled goblin as he lurked through the winding alleys.

"So... why did you really help me?" You asked, not believing that the answer he'd given you was true.

He paused for a moment in his steps, looking over his shoulder, "Told you... I kill you... want Crystal first!" He ordered as you nodded mutely. It seemed goblins really were that vindictive... or at least this one was.

Any further discussion was cut short as a shadowy figure dropped down in front of the two of you.

"Hmm, figures it would goblins." The figure said before hurling a dagger at you.

You reacted almost in time, diving to the side as the blade sliced your leg, blood already dripping just from the close call. You could feel it just by looking at him, this was an adventurer.

"We got to go!" You hissed, and the goblin didn't argue as you both took off at a dead sprint, the male goblin handling the sharp corners better. You chanced a look over your shoulder only to see him fire backwards, wildly missing the adventurer, but delaying him long enough as he skipped backwards.

"He's not very strong, or he's being overly cautious... I've seen some adventurers just charge through anything!" You shouted, not bothering with stealth anymore as you rounded a corner, picking a new one on instinct from the split ahead of you.

The chase continued for maybe five minutes, but it felt like an hour as you heart raced in your chest.

When you didn't feel the overwhelming fear gripping you anymore, you turned back to check, not spotting your pursuer. You turned to give a confident grin to the goblin, only for his grimace to catch you short.

You turned to see what elicited that response, only to spot a semi-courtyard, a ball and some lines drawn on the ground marking it as a children's play area. But children weren't the one's occupying it right now; two more adventurers were.

One was a man in basic leathers, two swords strapped to his sides, he had a cocky look on his face.

The other was a young girl, she didn't look older than ten based on her face and height. Her hair was a soft gold, and she was holding a crystal shaped like a bird.

"Grr, gnome!" You heard the goblin hiss.

"I told you Tony, thieves like to stick to the shadows and alleys." The warrior declared as you felt a shiver run down your spine.

"Yeah yeah, you win a prize for figuring out the obvious." A familiar voice said from only a few feet behind you. Somehow, the mysterious adventurer from earlier had found you. "But my name is Shadowblade in this world!" He frowned verbally.

"Now then, seeing as how it's just you two against us three, perhaps you'd like to quit while you're ahead?" The warrior asked.

"Never, die badly!" The goblin jumped into the fight, not even giving you a second to react. He fired at the warrior, who somehow managed to pull one of his swords loose and parry the incoming bolt as he charged the rage-filled goblin.

The girl held up her crystal, illuminating the courtyard as you reacted on instinct, collapsing as a dagger sunk into empty air where your head was.

Not that that helped you dodge or block his follow-up, a swift kick to the chest that sent you tumbling across the ground, wheezing.

As if that weren't insulting enough, you felt a weight land on top of you as the warrior stood nearby, still only using one sword as the goblin bleeding atop you tried to get up.

"Stop, their too strong!" You tried to order only for the cloaked individual to chuckle at you.

"Too strong he says! Maybe to a weak little thief like you, but we're not even level 2 yet, we're literally the bargain bin equivalent of adventuring teams!" He informed you as you felt the blood drain from your face.

'If they're this strong right off the bat, then how can I ever hope to compete with them?' You thought hopelessly.

Your current partner, on the other, only seemed to grow more frantic as he tried to get free of your loose grip, finally managing to succeed as he **** himself to his feet.

He let loose a loud screech of anger as he charged the warrior again, only now did you spot the crossbow on the ground behind him.

A plan formed in your head. You held your hands to your no doubt bruised chest, hiding them from view as you cast the only spell you knew, Mage hand, using the lingering gloom to try and grab the weapon without endangering yourself.

It seemed like they'd spoken the truth, the girl's light barely banished the darkness that was covering the courtyard, honestly it might've been more effective to use a basic torch.

However, you had to make a choice as you saw the goblin hit the ground again, faring even worse against a melee-oriented adventurer with only his bare hands... err claws.

"Game over pipsqueak!" The warrior shouted as he started to bring the sword down on the helpless goblin.

You didn't even think, forgetting your plan as you tried to grapple the sword with your Mage Hand, only succeeding for a second as he pulled free without a sweat, but it was enough time for the goblin to scramble away and give another ear shattering screech as all hell broke loose.