I left Johnny and his mount by the rocks we had used to scope out the camp and crossed the desert slowly to the opposite canyon wall and the firing position I had chosen. It gave me an equally good view of the camp and the longhouse at the center of the camp. I still hadn’t seen the big bad of the camp and I didn’t like not having a good view of it when it chose to come out of the building and murder us all.

When I was in position I gave Johnny a nod and I saw him begin his chant and urge the coyote he rode into motion. Just as before the sky started to darken as clouds poured in from seemingly nowhere. The goblins inside the wall stared up in confusion. The ones outside the wall barked challenges in whatever rudimentary language they used. The two riders began to gallop out right when the first of the lightning strikes crashed into the camp.

A bolt smashed right between the riders and sent them sprawling as their mounts fur stood straight and flanks were singed by the sudden strike in their formation. Another bolt obliterated one of the archery platforms. Sending the two goblin archers tumbling. One bounced off the pointed top of the palisade and then landed fatally on it’s head, snapping its neck in the process. The other one tumbled across one of the crudely constructed huts. The quartet of goblin footmen standing guard at the gate began to scramble in every direction. The lightning was too random though and one of the little bastards took a hit straight in the nose and was dead before he hit the ground, energy jumped from him to another unfortunate gate guard which didn’t appear to die, but definitely face planted.

Alyssa suddenly appeared from the shadows and ended the lives of the riders that had been tossed from their mounts. Then she slunk back to the shadows and Johnny was left to deal with their mounts. His mount bared its fangs and lunged for the closest dog while Johnny swung his newly acquired staff at the other one. As all of this happened I began working my rifle from one target to the next, STEADY SHOT actively draining my stamina while reducing recoil and assisting my aim.

A large group of about 8 goblin foot soldiers with a couple archers thrown in for good measure began to charge the now open gate. I activated CONTROLLED BURSTS and began dumping steady bursts of fire into the new opponents. The lead gob dropped to the ground blood spurting from his face and neck. The others raised their shields against my onslaught and largely protected themselves. Though I saw holes sprout in their shields.

At the same time Alyssa struck the coyotes harassing Johnny. A shadow wreathed hatchet seemingly emerged from the ground and removed a large chunk of the lead coyotes neck. It whimpered pitifully as it leapt back from the unexpected attack and began to dump deep crimson blood onto the flagstone. Then her other arm emerged from the ground and drove her borrowed knife into the jaw of the second coyote. It tried to pull free from her attack and then she emerged bodily from the ground, using the knife as a handhold and allowing the beast to pull her from the shadows she used it as leverage to swing the hatchet into the dogs temple. It slumped to the ground and Alyssa wrenched the knife free from the dead animals neck, then she disappeared into the shadows as a quartet of arrows speared through the space she formerly occupied.

That girl is starting to get a little fucking scary. I thought to myself as Johnny cast his new spell, GRASPING ROOTS on the large group of gobs that I had already attempted to pin down with suppressing fire. Several of the little green bastards made the unfortunate mistake of dropping their shields, which was in turn fortunate for me as I unleashed a trio of VITAL SHOTs that popped their heads to the horror of their entangled compatriots.

Johnny charged the formation with his coyote and staff as Alyssa appeared in between the pair of archers that had accompanied the group and cut them down muttering something about “Stupid green fucks”. Blood streamed from a wound in her shoulder, which indicated that she wasn’t completely invulnerable while in her shadows. She didn’t return to the shadows as she normally does, I had to assume that she had spent her stamina in the running battle. Together they managed to finish off the stragglers as I noticed two more groups of three gobs each come out of their huts.

The group farthest from me consisted of a beefy looking warrior goblin that was preceded by two smaller of the standard frontline soldiers we had been dealing with previously. The larger one carried a wicked looking battle axe and was the most armored warrior we had fought yet. He had a breastplate made of animal bones and leather, with studded brown shoulder guards and bracers to match. Where the normal goblins wore simple loin cloths, the big guy had a Roman style pteruges and caligae.

The group closest to me consisted of the first female goblin I had seen. She was clothed in a tan linen robe, that fit snugly around her short pudgy body and carried a staff similar to the one that Johnny now carried. Her guards were the same size as normal gobs but far better armed and armored with a pair of larger swords and a full set of leather armors for each. I examined the female goblin and identified her as a Goblin Matron LVL 10. She examined Johnny and Alyssa and saw them squaring off with the other group, then turned and looked right at me. She began barking orders to her guards and they moved into action.

Whelp, looks like the bitch and her guards are mine.

Since she had spotted me already I started to move when she raised her hand and fired a white bolt of energy at my position. I fell backwards to avoid being struck by the attack. I rolled to the side, raised my head to get eyes on the Matron when another bolt of energy struck the outcropping I was on. The ground cracked beneath me and began sliding into the ravine. I tumbled into the camp as the rocks beneath me crumbled and fell hard on my face.

Before I could get up KEEN OBSERVATION began screaming at me to move. I only managed to move my head as a sword skewered my shoulder. If I hadn’t moved I had no doubt it would have pinned my head to the ground.

“MOTHER FUCKER!” I bellowed at the little green bastard that had just shoved his sword into my shoulder. Fortunately he pulled it back in surprise that he hadn’t speared my head. I began to swing my rifle up from my side to shoot him when his buddy appeared on my other side with a savage chop to my neck that I blocked with the receiver of my AK. The impact reverberated down my arms and surprised me at how much strength was behind the attack.

My attackers had me scrambling backwards in a hasty ass scraping retreat. They moved too fast to get my rifle up in anything more than a hasty defense. My back hit the canyon wall and the goblins leered in satisfaction. Blood still oozed from my left shoulder and the goblins barked at each other. Deciding who gets the privilege of the kill, huh? FUCK THAT!

I moved my rifle to my left hand and drew my pistol and activated what was quickly becoming my signature skill “MAG DUMP”. I alternated fire between the two goblin fucks who had just been about to run me through. They stumbled backwards in pain and shock as my rounds smashed into them. Their armor seemed to protect them but where their skin was exposed my rounds tore through them spraying thick globs of crimson blood across the canyon floor.

I rolled to my feet and reloaded my pistol. The goblins now barked at me with hatred now, and squared off against me, one had a nearly missing left shoulder which left him minus one sword, the other had a savage wound in it’s knee and thigh. It looked to be barely standing. The one with the wounded shoulder moved to stab me again and I snapped off two rounds into his chest. He grunted and stumbled back, the rounds didn’t penetrate his armor and now that I was on my feet the fight was all but concluded.

They turned and grunted to each other and I fired two rounds into each of their heads. They fell back and I made to step out from behind the hut that we were fighting behind when a bright white light filled my vision and the next thing I knew was pain. The Matron had ambled around the hut and hit me with one of these nasty bolts of light square in the chest. Heat warped around my body and I felt blisters form my exposed skin. I hadn’t realized it until I smashed against the canyon wall for the third time in the fight but the attack had lifted me off my feet.

I recovered quickly to my feet and saw her charging another attack. Not going through this shit again! I charged left as her recent attack launched and narrowly dodged getting cooked and smashed into the wall again. I emptied the current magazine in her direction, dropped the magazine from the weapon as I ran and reloaded from another on my belt. She simply turned to follow me and threw up a barrier of energy. It didn’t outright deflect my bullets but it slowed them til they fell to the ground around her feet.

Oh, I think I have something just for you.

Behind her barrier she was preparing another energy attack. I slid to a stop next to another hut and aimed at her chest. “CRACK SHOT” The round penetrated her barrier and through her right clavicle. She dropped her attack and her eyes shot wide. Then the barrier fell and I knew I had her. “VITAL SHOT!” The next round flew straight through her eye, which was still opened wide in shock, and out the back of her skull. Blood and brain matter rocketed out of the back of her head and splattered the wall of the hut behind her. I watched as gravity took hold of the viscera on the wall and dragged it down. Astonishingly she tried to step forward as if her body didn’t realize it was dead yet, then she toppled over backwards. These fuckers don’t know when they’re dead.

I quickly looted the bodies behind the hut and stashed said loot in my spatial inventory. I walked around the hut to witness the end of the battle with the other group of green assholes. I watched as the Goblin Dominator Lvl 10 swung it’s axe down on Alyssa’s position. She rolled to the side and plunged her knife into its knee. It howled in pain and then backhanded her away. Johnny’s coyote lunged into the wounded goblin and yanked its feet out. It fell hard on its face and Alyssa had already regained her feet and seized the opportunity the adopted coyote presented her.

This time I heard her loud and clear as she appeared over the monsters neck and screamed hoarsely “DON’T FUCKING HIT ME YOU UGLY GREEN ASSHOLE!” Then her hatchet dropped on its neck. The coyote gave it one last shake and its head rolled sideways. Alyssa heaved several deep breaths then looked up at me and smiled, covered in blood both her own and from the goblins. Is she actually having fun? Or did that tattoo’d fuck really mess her up in the head?

Johnny walked up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. It glowed briefly and I felt my pain go away and the wound on my shoulder began to visibly heal itself. Alyssa looted the large goblin and then walked over to us and Johnny repeated the process on her. She sighed in relief and smiled again, still covered head to toe in blood, guts and brains.

“You alright, kid?” I asked with genuine concern.

“Oh yeah” She looked up at me and then away, “just tired of getting smacked around by men. Of any species.”

Me and Johnny laughed at that, she just smiled then found a log to squat on and regain her stamina. “All that’s left is -”

Drums started beating towards the longhouse and the biggest damn goblin I had seen stepped from the cloth door and stared us down with violence and hatred in its eyes. “ - the longhouse.” I stated numbly.