Months Later (POV Switch)

Graham’s legs were burning, and his lungs churned out fog clouds like a blacksmiths workshop. He understood why people always talked with reverence of the mountains. This trip in particular was hellish, which was why it served as a final test to become a royal knight. He looked forward at his brothers in arms along the trail. They were six knights in total with one royal knight instructor leading them. He could also see the peak of the mountain ahead, flooding him with a wave of relief.

They all grouped up and the instructor addressed them, “You are exhausted and almost at the end of your journey, but you must never abandon protocols. Caution has never gotten anyone killed.”. The man turned to Graham, who was the last to join the group, “There is a cave at the top. Graham will go and scout for us to see if it is safe.”. Graham knew this was intended as a punishment, but he was fine either way. At least he could claim he was the first one to reach the peak when it was all over.

He did his best to quietly approach the cave as he carefully observed his environment. When reached the entrance he was about to call for his brothers, but what he saw inside gave him a reason not to make much noise.

There was a large, muscular, green-skinned creature sitting in a lotus position under the waterfall inside. It had a long black beard and hair that fell down its back and a long horn protruding from the left side of its forehead.

Graham stumbled back and quickly made his way back to the group.

“There is an orc meditating under the waterfall in the cave?”, the instructor laughed along with the group, “Looks like the cold did a number on you buddy. Let’s get moving.”. Graham wasn’t in a mood to argue, he wouldn’t have believed it himself, had he not seen it.

They all stood around the creature in the same state of shock and disbelief that had frozen Graham earlier. The instructor regained his composure very quickly and signed for the others to be quiet while he drew his sword and approached the creature. He raised the blade above his head preparing the third form of the Royal Swordsmanship, an especially destructive technique even for a Weapon-Master, created to slice through anything it hit. “Die, orc.”, he whispered, then brought down his blade on the creature’s neck.

A scratch. That was the entire effect of the monstrous strike on an unresisting opponent. A tiny scratch that barely produced a drop of blood. “I am not an orc, human.”, Flinch said as he rose to his new full height of 6’2, “I am a goblin and I thank you for this lesson.”. He raised a finger to the scratch on his neck and tasted the drop of blood. The humans before him were clearly terrified, but they still drew their weapons. “You have raised me from my training and taught me a lesson in humility. I am still not invulnerable, still not invincible. For this lesson, I will let you all live.”, his deep voice echoed through the mountains.

“We can’t let you leave!”, the instructor finally gathered his wits and managed to respond, “TAKE DEFENSIVE STANCES! DON’T LET IT LEAVE THE CAVE!”, he yelled at the men behind him. Flinch smiled, “You can’t let me leave.”, he cracked his neck both ways, then he vanished in front of their eyes, reappearing behind them on the edge of the cliff. It was not teleportation, he was simply too fast them to follow with their eyes, “But you also can’t stop me.”, with those words he dropped backwards off the cliff.