The moonlight weakening as darkness settled on the land, iron grey clouds rolling in above him and the sweet smell of desiccation filling his nostrils. He would need to find shelter soon; staying out here in the open when it's dark was an easy way to get killed. Too many creatures preferred the darkness to hunt. His flame-colored eyes searched for anything he could use to rest up for the night, before lighting up on a huge squat oak tree with thick branches. He hobbled over to the tree, gritted his teeth, and climbed up. Using his calloused fingers, he gripped the bark-covered branches and scaled up to the highest branch he could find that would support his weight, releasing a heavy sigh of relief once he reached the top. Resting his back against the wide tree trunk, he tore off a piece of his black t-shirt and cringed as he bound it around his calf to stop the bleeding. He hoped that the swim in the river had cleaned the wound.

Eyes red with fatigue and body taxed to the breaking point, he tried to get some sleep. The night air grew colder as the wind blew through the treetops. He wrapped his arms around himself and dreamt of his little brother... a young boy with golden eyes and short wavy black hair, dark shadows dancing around him. He stood upon the edge of a cliff staring down. Talmen gazed down with his brother, swallowing back bile. Strewn about the valley floor were the remains of men, women and children, limbs missing and scarlet red blood splattered all over the earth. Amongst the bodies loomed creatures of darkness and flame...

His eyes snapped open, and he stared blindly in the darkness, his skin sweaty and palms itchy. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust and for his heart to stop pounding. He thought about going to back to sleep, when he heard twigs snapping and the rustle of leaves below. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the creature. A tall wiry goblin wearing leather armor covered in human rib bones that rattled with each slick movement stalked the grounds below him. The goblin carrying a torch made from fallen twigs bundled together in one hand, and in the other a throwing spear was studying the vegetation with great interest. Its pointed ears twitching as it yellow slitted eyes examined the foliage directly below him for signs.

Talmen's heart beat faster and faster, his instincts screaming for him to move. The tall lanky goblin bent over and dipped two fingers into the earth and touched something to its tongue. Its eyes lit up and mouth widened into a smile, showing sharp crooked teeth. Without thinking, he leapt down from the tree and crashed into the goblin, tackling it to the ground, knocking the wind out of him in the process. He hit the ground hard and rolled. Groaning he looked up and saw the creature already up on its feet reaching for its fallen spear. He threw himself on the creature again and wrestled it to the ground. His arms wrapping tight around its neck. The goblin growled and clawed at him with powerful fingers, while its head swiveled side to side trying to snap a chunk out of him. He tried to twist and break the creature's neck, but it was far stronger than he expected. Desperate, he let go of the neck and dug his fingers into its eyes. The goblin howled in agony and tried to shake him off. Ignoring his urge to vomit, he dug his fingers deeper into the goblin's soft, squishy eyeballs till the creature passed out from the pain.

Breathing heavily, he wiped his fingers on his tattered shirt and hurriedly stripped the goblin of its bone armor, which would hopefully confuse any other goblins in the area. He then searched the goblin's dirty brown robes for anything valuable and found a pouch and some dried meat. He tucked both into his pocket. Picked up the bone armor and put it on, before picking up the fallen spear. He turned to leave, when he heard the creature groan. He paused, his hands still trembling and turned back. He strode back towards the goblin lying on its back with its mangled eye sockets and gritted his teeth, as he drove the spear point into the creature's skull releasing the goblin from its pain. He twisted the spear free from the skull and started hobbling away as fast as he could. Leg's aching; mind swirling with images of the dead goblin he dropped to his knees and heaved till his throat was tender. After a while he took deep calming breaths, to settle his nerves, before lurching back up onto his feet and stumbling onward, using the spear as a staff to help him walk.