To my surprise, they are not coming any closer. There is some pushing and shoving between them and some louder conversations. Paying more attention to what they are saying, I can understand their words, although through a thick drawl or accent. Still don’t completely understand.

A few minutes pass and I have recovered my stamina before one of the goblins gets pushed forward out of the group. He is equipped with a spear and a small dagger still in its sheath, at his side. He comes forward and stops about fifteen feet away.

“You fight!” it says. “You understand?” it asks.

I just stare at it, thinking how am I going to take them all out. Something with an area effect, like a grenade or burning them all at once. Wish I would have kept that little dagger or the spear from the one I just killed before these came. I have nothing.

“You stupid!” it yells, pointing the spear at me.

“Human Stupid!” it yells back at all the goblins.

The goblins still in the group, they turn their attention away from me, yelling and arguing with each other. They keep yelling different things, but “Stupid” and “Fight” are being repeated.

“Fight! Fight!” This goblin keeps saying to me, pointing his spear. I’m pissed as hell now, just waiting for it to get close enough for me to kill it.

“Stupid! Fight!” Pointing its spear at me. I think it’s challenging me. I think it wants me to pick up a weapon to fight him with. ‘Maybe there’s something I’m not seeing here.’ I think. I start glancing at the ground around me, to see if there is something there. Not taking my eye off it, not turning my back to it. The crowd of goblins starting to laugh all the more.

This is making the goblin challenger all the madder. He drives the butt of his spear into the ground only to leave it there. Now holding his fist up, pointing at where a watch would be, he keeps yelling “Stupid! Stupid!”.

With a sudden clarity of thought, I realize it is talking about my ID band. These goblins understand enough that they know I have been labeled an idiot. That’s why they’re not gang-rushing me. That’s why they are not respecting me, thinking that I am harmless. I have not done anything but stand here.

With a wicked grin, I hold up my wrist with the Blue ID. Pointing at it I say “Stupid!” Lowering it back down I tell it “Fight!” I know I have a chance now.

The crowd of goblins continues to yell out “Fight, Stupid” and a few other words I’m not focused on right now. The goblin picks his spear out of the ground and holding it with both hands, starts to try and feint pokes at me.

The goblin keeps his distance and feints with his spear, far enough away that he would have to throw it at me. As it is getting braver, it keeps moving closer. This is giving me plenty of time to see how it uses his spear and to time my attack. I am holding my hands up like a boxer, not making a fist and keeping my hands open.

As it starts to come close enough that I might be able to lunge out and touch its arm, it feints with the spear again only this time to have it caught. I come across with my open hand as I block the spear away and grab hold of it. Simultaneously, I pull the spear to my side, pulling the goblin with it and with my other hand, haymaker his face. ‘Thud’ the goblin goes down as I crush its face in.

A hush falls over the crowd of goblins as I hear a few laugh and cheer. They were betting on me, I realize. That wicked grin appearing back on my face as I think about thinning this crowd out until it is small enough for me to take them all on at once.

A smaller goblin comes, half walking, half crawling, as it doesn’t want to get too close to me. It doesn’t have any weapons, but I watch it, as it comes closer. I will not make the same mistake as they are, underestimating something only to have it kill you before realizing your mistake. It grabs hold of one of the limbs of the dead goblin and starts dragging it away. I let it go, and after about ten feet it starts to loot the body. Finding a few small coins, taking the dagger and its sheath, it tosses them to my side. Then continues to drag the body past the goblin crowd and back the way they came.

As this is happening, the goblin crowd has worked themselves into a frenzy, as they are going at it again. I look down at the spear, the dagger, and the coins. The dagger looks big enough to peel potatoes or spread cheese, so I pick up the spear. The spear is about four or five feet long, its shaft about as thick as my thumb. There is a crude, large, iron-looking blade driven into and tied at the end. I can feel some flex in the shaft, I would have thought it would have been stiffer.

The second challenger comes out of the group as I start to hear the word “Fight! Fight! Fight!” out of the crowd. This time everything is happening much faster as the goblins know now, that I understand the rules. This goblin has a small shield and a short sword. It looks more confident than the last goblin, as it draws its sword. “Fight!” it yells. “Fight!” I respond.

At once he is coming towards me, one arm up to block, as it is making downward slashes with the other. I keep the spear pointing at him, to keep him from getting too close. It slashes at the spear a few times trying to knock it away or cut it in half. I keep backing away, not wanting to let the spear get broken either. As I keep backing away and turning in a slight circle so I don’t get too far away from the children. I become more aware of the range difference between our weapons and my reach. As it swings another downward slash, I have been waiting for it to overextend itself again, because it will be harder for it to recover it back, to block or defend. Instead of using my spear like I should be and stabbing with it, I cock it back over my shoulder and bring it down with a two-handed smash. The whip of the spear only adding to the blow as I chop into its skull. “Smack” I land an unexpected killing blow.

Same as last time, a smaller goblin comes out to claim the body and drag it back. The hush of the goblin crowd as there are a few more excited voices this time. They begin to yell and argue again as the small goblin before me loots the body, casting my spoils into a pile with the others.

Looking down at my winnings, I see some more coins, the dagger, and now a crude-looking short sword, a small shield, a pouch, and other meaningless things.

I hear the frenzy of the crowd picking back up as another steps forth. This one looks a little bigger than the others and clearly, they like this one more, the crowd chanting “Grut, Grut, Grut.”

As Grut is stepping forth, he has a sword, visibly too big for him to wield, dragging the tip in the ground. The sword is not like the other crude weapons I have seen, this one has a polish and evenness to its surface. I know that this fight will be different. He is going to be using the sword like a two-handed weapon. I plan on using that to my advantage, either as he is winding up for the blow, or as he finishes his swing, not being able to recover quickly. I look down and pick up the short sword in my right hand, small shield in my left.

I start and keep walking towards Grut as I see him stop in about the same place as the other challengers before. He pulls on and breaks a small chain from his neck. I can see him putting a ring on his finger. As he does, I can see him visibly get bigger and I would guess stronger. I keep walking towards him. As he finishes putting on the ring, he reaches down and picks up the sword with his right hand. Raising the sword above his head with one hand, and not blocking with the other, he turns his head to me and yells “Fight!”

It is already too late for Grut as I am already there. “Fight!” I yell as I am already inside his swing. Sword in my right hand, I am only holding on to it as I come across his neck and chin with my forearm, stunning him and probably breaking his jaw. Still, in motion, my left arm wraps over and around his bicep, trapping his sword arm under mine. I pull my right arm back to take another swing, the hilt of the sword crushing his temple by accident and not intent. I drive the point of the sword through his neck.

Taking no chances, I drive the blade into his chest as I hold his trapped sword arm tight. Falling away, I leave the sword one last time in his chest, as I release my grip on his arm. Remembering the sight as Grut used the ring and Jenn’s words about rings of power, I kneel and pull the ring off his finger. Sliding it onto my own, I feel the power it contains.

Rising to my feet, Grut’s trapped arm slides out from next to my side, the sword hitting against my back. Reaching my left hand back, I grasp the pommel of the sword to bring before me, holding it tip-side down, the wrong way in my hand. Looking up I see the goblin crowd start to react, and now they are all coming for me.

Charging into the crowd, I swing the sword in my left like a boxer’s left hook. The blade swinging out from the centrifugal force to cut through bodies and heads all alike. As I step, my right hand comes back as I punch through a head.

Clearing some room, I charge back into them, my confidence growing. There may still be about ten or fifteen of the goblins left, but I am wading through them like a reaper through the grass. Driving my right fist through bodies, and cutting through more with my left, they start to scatter like mice.

Turning to charge back into the ones that I missed, I see several of the hulking green monsters arriving back on this battlefield. There is one of those pointy little shits riding behind the shoulder of one, that looks whiter.

I would say it was the same goblin commander as before, but I left that one for dead, and this one still has its face. It is reaching its hand out towards me, but I have seen that trick before. I grab the skin of my left forearm pinching and twisting it hard as I bite down on my tongue.

I fight through nausea as I start my charge into this herd.

I decide to take a chance and test my mettle, as well as the metal of this sword. These monsters are slower, but there is intelligence to their actions now. As one is reaching for me, I turn to lunge at its forearm, coming down on it with a double-handed overhead sword smash.

I cleave through its arm, a hand with part of its wrist fly’s off. The creature bellowing in pain.

While it is standing there holding its stump, crying in pain, I wind up like a batter and try to chop off its leg, just above the ankle. I miss my mark a little bit high, as I drive the blade into the bone of its shin. Again, it howls in pain, as I wiggle my blade free.

I shift targets and sprint for the next. These are not like the goblins, but I now better understand the differences between us as I set up for my next attack.

I go wide as I use my speed to get around this monster and flank his side. As it turns to try and find me, looking back the other way, I double back and charge in, taking part of its side with me as I pass.

We are all grouped in about a twenty-foot circle. Four of the green, a goblin commander riding on one of white flesh. I continue to run and snipe from the sides, taking hunks of flesh as I go. The commander has taken a rod out, pointing and breaking it as I saw the other before. This time with a lighter landscape beyond.

I continue to evade, as I catch glimpses of the archery range beyond. From what I can see, there are people scattered all over the range. As they notice the tear, they are charging for it. Some have weapons drawn, most do not have anything.

As I turn back, I see a large white flesh arm swinging towards me like a golf club. Too late to even blink, I crash into it head-on, the impact sends me flying back towards the portal. Like running my car into a cement wall, I am thrown back and feel myself falling. With that falling sensation, I startle myself awake, grappling onto the sides of my bed.