I grabbed my gear and threw on my new armor that we had captured from the orc page. I was happy to have a chainmail as it offered more protection than my fur ever had. I had spent several hours making it better. It was much like my coif, lighter, cooler, and stronger. However, I also was able to make it magical resistant even at level zero, which was a huge boon as far as I could see.

So with my new equipment, I stormed out of the tunnel. I had pulled my weighted skirt on and threw the mail shirt over my shoulders and the coif onto my head. I strapped my sword to my hip, yanked up my quiver and bow, then sprinted up the tunnel.

I didn’t bother with the rest of my armor as tying it on took too much time. I needed to move quickly as I saw that Blink was at half health. I was still feeling pain across the bond though the fear had turned to anger.

I was about twenty minutes running to where I thought Blink was. I could feel her direction, and it was right back to where I had fought the orc, and she had saved my life. Blink had said that she was going hunting, so I had thought something local. But, with the distance that she was, I knew what she was hunting wasn’t just dinner.

I had my guess as to where she was. But, I couldn’t think much about that while I was moving. I had to pay attention to my run so that I didn’t get hurt on my way. I was mad that I hadn’t been wearing the rest of my armor.

I noticed about five minutes into my run that my stamina was running out. I hadn’t had that type of problem for a long time. However, since I had been unable to do most of my daily training, my buffs from my skills were all gone.

What should have been a twenty-minute run turned into a thirty-minute run with me sucking wind. I had to slow down twice and stop once to catch my breath. None of that was good since I was going to need to fight when I got there.

I was happy that I could still feel Blink. Most fights weren’t a long and drawn-out confrontation. Sure, a battle might last hours or even days. However, that was when the sides were large enough. This was just Blink, and whatever had hurt her.

When I started to get close, I sent to Blink a feeling of my nearness. She sent back to me a sensation of hunting. Finally, I got a flash of an image of her pouncing on a goblin.

I took a moment to catch my breath. The fight must have changed from whatever caused her pain to her hunting. I needed to be careful not to disturb what was going on. If she was hunting, then she was winning.

I drew an arrow from my quiver and started to stalk forward. I could support from the back and perhaps finish someone off. I kept myself crouched low as I slowly padded forward.

One thing that I noticed about my new armor was it made more noise than my fur. While I wasn’t ever going to be as quiet as Blink, I was hoping they wouldn’t hear me now. It took just a few more moments for me to see what was going on.

Near the partial skeleton of the orc Blink had killed were several newer bodies and a ton of blood. It looked like they had attacked her as she came out of the nearby hole, and she was giving it to them now.

Along with the recently departed goblins was a pack of currently moving chew toys and the less desirable mini-toys that Blink was playing with. I couldn’t tell where she was, but I could see where she hit. Her stealth would cause anyone to curse; if this were a game, then the powers that be would be looking to nerf her.

When she would pounce on a goblin, the rest would turn and try to strike. Then she would vanish again. She was the perfect assassin for this type of fight. Yet, like most predators, she was playing with her food.

I could tell even as I was creeping up on the fight. She was seriously wounding the goblins, not outright killing them. She had the power to one-hit kill the monsters, but she was missing her hits ever so slightly.

I sent across the bond to her, “Stop, playing around we don’t know if more are coming.”

“I is not. Stick mess with me.” She shot back with a good bit of anger. She sent with that an image of a goblin spellcaster hitting her with a magical cloud.

“I will work my way around to you.” I tried to send the idea of me flanking the goblins and shooting arrows in.

“Goods.”

Staying low, I moved around the edge of the fight. There was a group of broken trees that I could use to hide behind. It would let me shoot over but make it, so the goblins either slowed down or went around to get to me.

I shot my first arrow at the back of the group. The dummies had all turned to face in so that when one of them got hit, they could all swing. In theory, that kind of made sense, but it exposed their backs. Which I was happy to take advantage of.

When my arrow went in, it wasn’t enough to kill the goblin outright. But these morons were so used to trying to hit Blink that when the guy yelped, his friends finished him for me.

My second arrow produced about the same set of results. The only thing that was different was one of them saw the arrow. Which caused them to start looking around.

My third arrow didn’t get them to attack their buddy, which was kind of sad. What was troubling, however, was that one of them was pointing at me and jumping up and down.

I took the time to shoot a fourth arrow, and then I booked it. I had thought that the one group I was shooting at was the only one here. However, it turned out that they were the bait.

Yeah, the dumb green guys were baiting Blink and me. So it wasn’t cool when two orcs came out and started for me. I went from harassing shots to a full-out rout. The annoying thing was that I saw more goblins in the woods after about ten steps.

I yelled and sent across the bond all at once, “Blink, were surrounded!”

The pain and anger from before flooded back into the bond as I felt her send the image of the hole in the ground.

I turned back towards the trees that I had been hiding behind and went full tilt. Blink was right; the chances I had out here were slim to none. If, however, we could get into some tighter quarters, then my short sword might be the advantage that I needed to live.

I went up and over the trees in short order. As I was on the trees, I looked around and saw that the goblins were tightening in. Almost like they were trying to drive me towards the opening.

Right then, I was happy with the idea of going where they wanted. It wasn’t that I wanted to give in to whatever plans they had. But instead, I trusted Blink, and she wanted me in that dumb hole, so that was where I was going.

I had about twenty more feet to go. In front of me and on the other side of the hole by about 50 feet was one orc and to my left by about 100 feet was the other. I could tell that they were both fighting down the same battle rage that the other two had. They hated me and would do anything to kill me.

To my right were goblins. They were closing in faster than I wanted as I was about twenty feet from them and about 30 from the hole. I was running for the hole, but the goblins were going to beat me to it.

I shifted my bow from my right hand to my left and drew my sword. I needed a way past if I was going in that hole, and right now, that would be to fight. So I pulled on my Goblin Death Dance skill and gave myself over to it.

I adjusted my steps ever so. I went from a charge toward the hole to one that would put all the goblins to my right. I then changed my gait. I had been pounding forward with heavy steps, but now I slowed to about 2/3rds my full speed and moved to the balls of my feet.

My sword, which I had raised above my head, I dropped to shoulder height and angled the blade just a bit back. As I approached, I felt my skill directing a stutter step. The first of the 5 goblins blocking my path stepped forward with its large knife like a sword.

I turned my hip to my right and went for a long step as the skill dropped my arm down. It was beautiful as it was grizzly. This skill was as much a dance as it was a battle. It was also, in many ways, like the dance of death I witnessed in my dream with the Thunder Bison. The dance didn’t have me lop off the goblin’s head or drive the tip of my sword into his neck.

No, my blade cleanly cut the lead wrist off just at the arm. Like with the Bison, this was meant to slowly remove the fight. It wasn’t me being death, but me bringing death to them.

My right foot made contact with the ground, and I bent my whole knee. I absorbed all my forward momentum as I twisted myself and launched back towards the rest of the goblins.

The big problem with using a skill the way I was using it happened to be the loss of direction. If I was following the urges of the skill, then I could make up my own mind where to go and what to do. I also would learn the skill faster. However, when I turned on a skill, I did what the skill wanted me to do.

So, in this case, I wasn’t disengaging with the goblins. No, I was heading back towards them to finish off what I started.

The goblin who had lost his hand was flailing his stumpy around shrieking. The blood splatters from that were going everywhere. Including into the eyes of the goblin next to him. Who became my next target for the two best reasons ever. One, he currently had his eyes shut, and two, he was closest to me.

I had no way of knowing, but I felt at that moment that part of the skill was to cause fear or hate. My understanding of that was because I went for yet another wounding strike. My sword snaked between the goblin’s legs, and a flick of my wrists made the goblin’s unprotected manhood flee his body.

I had to drop into a roll as a spear passed over where my head had been. It was just enough of a pattern interrupt for me to fall out of the Death dance. As I did, I realized that both orcs were just a few moments from being able to engage me.

I did the only sensible thing I could think to do right then. I turned, took two steps, and I jumped both feet right into the hole. Then, as I sailed through, I got the pop-up that I was expecting. One that I had dreamed of but never seen.

You have entered into a dungeon only 5 may enter.

Power and treasure await those who are strong enough.

Death to those who are weak.