Nightfall

Darkness falls on their second night in Foxhound Forest. The three of them sit around a roaring campfire, talking about their plans once they reach the Royal Capital. Marcus and Eris have never been there before, while Brandon has been once. As such, they pepper him with questions about what the place is lie.

"Is it true that in the centre of the city, there is a giant fountain where the water is enchanted to dance?" Eris asks, starry-eyed.

"Yes." Brandon nods sagely. He does not tell them that he's never been inside the city proper. As an apprentice hunter, one of his seniors had taken them to the hill overlooking the Capital, but that's the furthest he's been. Of course that did not stop him from boasting that he had visited the Royal Capital before.

"Wow! What about the people? My dad said there are all sorts of races there. Not like our village where there are only humans."

"Yes." Brandon nods again.

"What races did you see?" Eris follows up.

"A... Goblin?!"

"Huh? There are goblins in the Capital?"

"N-no! Goblin!" yells Brandon, pointing his figure into the forest behind them.

Eris and Marcus spin around in fear, only to see naught but empty shadows.

"Hahaha, got you guys good!" Brandon laughs uproariously. "You shoulda seen the looks on your faces."

"You asshole." Marcus grumbles while Eris smacks his shoulder angrily.

Brandon just smiles smugly, glad to have escaped answering Eris' difficult question, only to have it slip right off his face when he sees movement in between the trees. "Uhh guys. Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Stop with the jokes Brandon. It's not funny." Marcus scolds him.

"No, no I'm serious. There's something in the woods." This time, the panic surfacing in Brandon's voice is apparent.

The trio once again turn to face the trees, only this time to see a gang of dimunitive green creatures slink out into view.

Goblins. A humanoid type monster that sits at the bottom of the monster hierarchy. Individually weak, they make up for it with their cunning and team work. For novice adventurers, their most common and biggest mistake is underestimating a group of goblins. Many have retired after getting captured and **** by these foul fiends. And those are the lucky ones. Some are never found, either having been eaten by the goblins after they tire of them, or are still serving as breeding sows in some undiscovered cave system.

Eris draws her sword shakily. She remembers her father's advice to run, but she doesn't fancy her chances escaping a pack of goblins in the pitch dark. The campfire's flickering disorts the goblins' shadows, twisting them into increasingly grotesque shapes. Next to her, Brandon has his daggers out, while Marcus holds a vial of black liquid. However, she can see that they are shaking too. For all purposes, this was their first real encounter with a genuine monster.

The goblins hiss and brandish their own weapons, crude tools of stick and stone held together by twine. From what Eris can see, there are about ten of them, but who knows how many more are lurking in the darkness? Still, no point thinking about theoraticals. Eris yells a battlecry and charges, taking the initiative.