Talmen pressed on ignoring the pain in his leg and reached a grassy knoll, where he discovered more footprints from the thieves. He was about to move on, when he noticed movement out from the corner of his eye. He froze before ducking behind a nearby thicket. Heart beating faster, he peeked his head through the underbrush, and scanned his surroundings, tightening his grip on the spear. Minutes passed by without any sign of movement. His injured leg began to throb again from the additional weight put on it. Wincing, he shifted his feet to try and relieve the pain. Tired of waiting, he moved to stand up, when he heard his father's voice again:

"Always be cautious, even when you think it's safe."

He pictured his father crouching down beside him, his face creased with wrinkles, and wise grey eyes gazing down at him. Sighing, he continued to wait. After waiting for a whole hour glass, he decided at last it was safe to move. Leg's stiff and aching, he stood up to leave, when movement erupted opposite him.

A small creature wrapped head to toe in a brown blanket waddled into the clearing. It gazed around nervously, before trudging towards the trail Talmen had been following. The tiny creature bent over the tracks, when without warning, it looked up and stared in his direction. His mouth went dry; could it see his tracks too? He had been careful, making sure to avoid leaving any visible marks. His instincts told him to run, but his feet wouldn't move. Something held him in place. Maybe it was fear, anger or simple curiosity, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that there was something very strange about this creature; its movements were too jittery and awkward to be human. At the same time, he sensed vulnerability, which was strange for a carnivorous hunter.

His breath quickened as the creature waddled towards him. He needed to decide. He would either run or fight. If he ran back into the forest, it could mean bumping into more goblins and orcs. Running out across the open plain was equally dangerous, especially with no places to take shelter at night. His gaze drifted to the spear in his hand. Even if this was one of the lesser creatures that had invaded the world, it could still be dangerous, even if it appeared weak. Maybe if he caught it by surprise... The creature slowly drew closer and closer. He could make out pieces of dirt and muck clinging to the filthy blanket it clutched to its body. His hands tightened on the shaft of the spear as he prepared to strike.

A hands breadth away from the thicket, he leapt out of the undergrowth, spear point driving forward in a jab at the creature's chest. The creature screeched in fear, dropping the blanket as it dove for the ground to avoid his blow. Unable to halt his momentum, Talmen grunted in pain as he slammed into the earth and rolled back up onto his feet. He immediately swung around to go back on the attack, and froze in shock. Lying on the ground was an oddly shaped short stout creature with slate grey skin and bloodshot red eyes, wearing a worn brown toga wrapped around one shoulder.

The creature rose to its feet mumbling what sounded like curses under its breath: "Fking humns." It glared up at him with its large red eyes at a poleaxed Talmen. What was this thing? For the most part it looked harmless, a bit like a worn-out teddy bear.

He slowly lowered his spear, while the creature watched, then raised his left hand in greeting. The creature stared at him for a moment before grinning to reveal its razor sharp teeth, leaping into the air in a single quick bound to bite him in his shoulder. Talmen roared at the white-hot pain coursing through his shoulder. He quickly grabbed onto the back of creature's neck and tried to rip it off him, but it refused to budge, instead biting down harder, nearly causing him to swoon. He desperately stabbed the spear up into the creature's chest and twisted the spearhead in its guts. The creatures red eyes dimmed, as it slowly released its grip on his shoulder and fell away to plop onto the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Tears trickling from behind closed eyes, Talmen dropped to his knees as warm blood spilled down his shoulder, soaking the left side of his shirt. Feeling lightheaded, he clenched his teeth and carefully began removing his bone armor. He then ripped the bottom half of his shirt and wrapped it around his shoulder to staunch the bleeding. Dizzy he fell to the earth, his cheek smacking hard against the stony surface, face planted firmly in the ground. He took one last deep breath before blacking out.