She Absolutely Is

"How're you feeling?"

Holly giggles. "Creamy. You're not worried, are you? I've taken it way more rough than that."

"Just making sure." You kiss her forehead, and she pulls your lips down to hers. For a moment, you lose yourself in their softness. You could lie with her like this for hours. Unfortunately, you didn't have hours.

"I hate to cut this short," you say with a sigh, "but I am on something on a time crunch."

Holly pulls herself up, resting her back against the branches of her tree. “You’re in luck, Squire. I saw a few Heroes enter the forest a little while ago. A couple hours, maybe.”

“So soon?” Your face turns pensive, and you reach for your shirt.

“I wouldn’t lie to you.” She’s lounging against the branches of her tree. “I know how these things work, and I know how much that would hurt you.”

You smile down at her as you reach now for your pants. “Not quite what I mean, Holly. I believe you, but it’s strange.” You re-tie your belt around your waist. “We’re still in the early hours of the update. The heroes are still few in number, and it’s usually the strong ones who show up early. The newcomers tend to take longer.”

She purses her lips. “That’s a good point, but I definitely saw them. Three heroes, all elves, all level two. One had a staff, one had a bow, and one had armor and a sword.”

A staff meant magic. A cleric, maybe? Armor meant some kind of warrior, someone who could take a hit. And the bow…

“Where were they going?”

“They were heading towards the goblins,” Holly says, “and I overheard a bit about their quest. They’re after Old Brogung’s head.”

You nod. Brogung is the leader of the local goblin tribe. He's a hulking creature—which for a goblin meant he came up to your shoulder. He's the same level as you, and a strong bastard. Not smart, few goblins are, but he has his cunning. Quests to kill him are pretty common out of Thaeldir’s Crossing, but he always respawns.

He's also surrounded by his tribe. If the Heroes make their kill, and make it out, one of them could easily have gotten a level, or else be close. And if they die, you might be able to get it from the goblins.

You smile down at Holly. “Anything else you noticed?”

She smiles back. “The one with the bow was the only man of the three. He didn’t actually look that manly, but I could tell he had a cock from the way he walked.”

Nymphs. By all the Shining Courts, nymphs.

You bid Holly goodbye, and set out from her clearing towards your destiny.