A Goblin and a Girl

The latest shriek comes from to my left and I sprint towards the horrifying sound. I burst through the trees, finding myself in a small clearing. I scan the area, eyes darting for any sign of someone in danger. It's over near a mountain of rocks do I finally see the source of the noise.

A young, blonde girl pressed up against the rocks, face bloodied and terrified. I vaguely recognise her as someone from my village. She holds a long branch at a short, green skinned creature dressed in dirty rags. Its black, beady eyes narrow in on the girl, wheezing with laugher as it lunges with a small silver blade, toying with her. She screams as the blade nicks her arm, tearing her shirt and adding a new graze of blood to her body.

A goblin! But how did it get out as far as Shorm? We haven't had an attack from such creatures in...well, before I was even born. I'd never even seen one before, only heard about such creatures from stories or tales from wandering adventures. Nevertheless, I take a step forward.

A twig snaps. The girl's eyes lock onto mine almost immediately.

"HELP ME, PLEASE!" She shrieks in utter hysteria.

The goblin turns away from the girl to look at me. It snarls, bearing its jagged, yellow teeth at me. I prepare myself for it to lunge at me but it doesn't. Instead, the goblin turns back to the girl and pulls back its arm. Even I have practised enough training with Ishi to recognise a finishing blow.

The girl must have sensed it too, because she dropped the stick and threw her arms up in defence. In those brief moments, I knew I couldn't cross the clearing to stop the attack of the goblin. It seemed I was too late, and the girl would die before I could do anything to save her.

It was at this moment, I felt it.

Looking back, the only way I could describe it was this - something was trying to rise up from within me. In those few milliseconds, I underwent an intense experience that I'd never experienced before. Darkness seemed to pour out from the shadows - the trees, the rocks, the girl, the goblin and mine own. This pool of darkness and shadows clouded my vision, wrapping me in a tight embrace. The embrace felt natural, as if from a loved one...

As the darkness faded, I returned to my senses. As the shadows resumed their usual places in the world, I felt my voice being guided to say something, as if the shadows themselves were attempting to guide me somehow.

I locked sight onto the goblin and shouted a single word. "STOP!"

My voice echoed in the clearing. I watched as the sliver blade of the goblin stopped inches away from the stomach of the girl. The goblin's eyes widened, muttering in panic. The gruesome creature shuddering, as if willing its body to move and yet couldn't. The girl sobbed, not daring to move with the blade inches from entering her body.

There was no way! It couldn't be possible my words had just done that...

Against my better judgement, I spoke again. "Stab yourself instead!"

The girl and I watched in shock as the goblin's hand slowly spun and faced its own body. With the same speed and power as it had loaded its lunge at the girl, the goblin pierced its own body with the silver blade. Black blood poured out from the green creature, as it gurgled more from its throat.

We both stared in terror as the goblin dropped to the ground and remained unmoving...

When all seemed safe, I slowly began to creep to the girl. But she was clearly in distress and hurled herself towards me, collapsing in my arms. I picked her up as she buried her head in my shoulder, my clothes going wet.

"Thank you, oh thank you mister, thank you..." She sobbed.

I pattered her back and whispered soothing reassurances to the girl. Once I had checked over she was safe (other than her nicks and cuts) I proceeded to follow my trail back out of the clearing to exit the forest. As I turned to leave, my eyes lingered longer on the dead goblin in a pool of its own bubbling, black blood.

I pushed those thoughts out of my mind and focused on getting this girl back to Shorm safely. But after, I'd have to consult Ishi about what happened.

Because it seemed I had just awakened something incredibly dangerous within me.