“Zee we’ve been walking for about an hour and still have seen neither hide nor hare of any animals. Come to think of it, I have yet to hear any calling sounds of bugs in these woods…” Jake said while walking naturally silent, turning to see Zee trying his best to move silently and yet keeps stepping onto a pile of leaves or twigs.

“It’s been forever ago since I’ve played in the woods ahaha…” Zee laughed out of disappointment.

“Played? Have you at least gone hunting before?” Jake asked with his arms crossed.

“Umm sure I have! Though it didn’t require me to go walking in the woods for a while, I just sat down and may have fallen asleep numerous times, waiting for animals to come to me.” Zee answered embarrassingly.

“Well I guess there is that method, but you really need to stay on guard. That’s a bad habit to pick up on.” Jake pondered while tilting his head.

“Yeah… I need to brush myself for whatever life throws at me; it’ll take some time to do so. Well for now, I suggest we wait for an animal to come to us! After all you need your re-!” Before Zee could finish, he was interrupted by Jake motioning him to be quiet.

Zee readies his bow and Jake has his right hand on the hilt of his sword. They stay motionless for a few minutes, hearing a faint sound of something moving around in the northern brushes getting a little closer. It releases a snort then stops. Zee knocks an arrow up onto his bow and points in the same general direction as Jake slowly but quietly draws his broad sword out. Shortly afterwards, they hear a cry of a horse and galloping off through the woods in the north.

“Eh, I wasn’t even in the mood to eat horse meat anyways…” Jake said after sheathing his sword up.

“You meat-head, you’d eat anything wouldn’t you? That was most likely someone’s horse from the town.” Zee said after he put the arrow back up into his quiver while giving Jake a cold stare.

“I was going to risk it being my drill instructor’s horse.” Jake said with a wry smile while shrugging his shoulders.

“Now that’s what I’d call straight from the horse’s mouth.” Zee said flatly before they both busted into laughter.

Their laughter was soon interrupted by another rummaging sound from the southern brushes. The boys immediately look towards the brushes and then to each other surprised about the noises they’re making, that anything would head towards their direction. Curious to what it could be, they still drew their weapons and focused in that general direction.

What the boys saw creeping up slowly from the brushes, reveals to be the young goblin that was the last to be cursed by Glenn. His pale looking face scanning around and notices the young boys, as they too notice that he doesn’t appear to be a normal forest goblin.

“Um Jake, is that a swamp goblin or a sickly forest goblin?” Zee asked out of bewilderment.

The goblin starts to walk towards them with dragging his axe on the ground.

“Hmm, judging where we’re at, I’d say that’s a forest goblin, he is moving a bit slowly and drooling so maybe he is sick…” Jake answered.

The goblin mutters some words in repeat as he walks closer.

“I didn’t study up on goblin language, I wonder what he’s saying.” Zee pondered as the goblin pulls his axe up off the ground with both hands still muttering the same words.

“My brother taught me some of it, I learned to pick up the rest in boot camp.” Jake responded while remembering his lessons.

The Goblin starts to run towards the boys as Zee is looking back and forth from it to Jake.

“It is saying, ‘Must…Kill…Filthy Bugs!’ over and over again, but we have yet to see any bugs as of lately…” Jake said while squinting his eyes.

Zee went ahead and released an arrow but missed, hitting the ground right before its feet. Then the arrow got crushed underneath the goblin’s feet.

“You idiot I think that’s a slang for us humans seeing as how he’s running towards us with killer intention in his eyes!” Zee launched another arrow and hits the goblin square in the chest but it didn’t even faze him as he drew near in arms reach.

With lightning fast reflexes, Jake subconsciously blocks the down striking axe, with his broad sword, doing this with both hands. “Oh, I guess you’re right Zee…” He tries to brush the goblin off but the goblin’s strength is so abnormal to him, it’s practically a test of endurance.

Zee launched another arrow after careful precision, and hit the goblin straight in its head, but it’s still alive, snarling at Zee while drooling on Jake as he gets lower than the goblin.

“This thing is strong, so very strong, I don’t think I can win this…” Jake mutters while attempting to overpower the goblin.

“Jake just try to evade his attacks, we can just kite around him and whittle him down a bit!” Zee yelled out, while he gains some new footing on higher grounds.

Jake eventually let the goblin push him down, just so he can use the momentum to attempt a tumble roll behind him, but the goblin’s strength threw Jake off guard and caused him to roll to a nearby tree and hit it. Jake staggered to get up from his dizziness. The goblin paid him no mind, just kept his focus to Zee and charged right at him up hill. Zee was losing his focus out of fear and frustration that he kept missing his next two arrows.

He finally had an epiphany of realizing, ‘Oh I’m a mage, not an archer!’ So he threw his bow and arrow on the ground and right when the goblin drew to close. Jake regained his senses and saw Zee was in trouble so he threw his sheathed dagger gunning towards the back of the goblin, same time Zee felt the mana of the air around him and poured some of his own mana to unleash a torrent of air that blew the goblin at amazing speed, towards the dagger and had it plunged into the back of his spinal neck. The goblin blacked out and suddenly withered away like dust in the wind leaving behind the goblin’s belongings and the dagger that did him in.

“That worked well!” Jake stated as he walked towards the gear and grabbed his dagger to brush off the black dust.

“You jest? That was sloppier than your cooking!” Zee stated while exhaling in relief that the fight was over.

“If we gotten that horse and cooked it after this encounter, how messy would that be?” Jake pondered while holding his chin with his right arm as he looked up.

Zee rolls his eyes while smirking. “Much messier I’ll bet. Still, we really have to be careful. That could’ve been worse than it went. Though it’s a bit strange. One, forest goblins are a recluse bunch, they usually don’t travel this far nor attacking us humans unless provoked. Two, this forest goblin didn’t look right and just disappeared after I blew him towards your dagger, which good throw by the way! Third..!” Before Zee could finish his monologue, Jake started staggering as he walked towards Zee.

“I feel dizzy again…” Jake said right before he fell down face first on the ground, revealing that he has a nasty cut across his back. It must’ve happened when the goblin slid Jake to the tree unnoticed.

“Jake? Jake… Jaaake!” Zee shouted in worry.

Zee, looks around the vicinity, spotting some thickets not too far. He picks Jake up by hanging him around his back and heads towards the thickets. He takes Jake’s jacket and tunic off, then pulls out a vial of clear liquid from his belt and pours it on his back. Then he grabs some wash rag out of his bottom left cargo pocket and rubs against Jake’s wound, folds it back together and placed it back into his pocket. He takes some rolled up bandage out of his bottom right cargo pocket and wraps Jake’s torso around with it. He folds Jake’s jacket up and lays Jake on it and moves his folded up tunic underneath Jake’s head.

He reaches into his upper left cargo pocket and pulls out a green ball, and threw it towards the town. Shortly afterward Zee threw the ball, green smoke start rising from it, while Zee starts to cover him and Jake up with leaves and twigs. After he’s done, he moves his left hand on Jake’s chest and closes his eyes to keep a concentration focus to feel for where Jake’s wound is so he can slowly but surely help close it up with his healing magic.

‘There we go. After that is done, I will start to focus on easing his bruises again. Jake has been through a lot this day… I would move him to town, but I have a bad feeling about it. It’s best for now to lay low and heal up till then. Hopefully help will come soon, if another goblin shows up like that one… May be problematic.’ As Zee opens his eyes, he sees black smoke rising from the southern part of the town. ‘What is going on in town?’ He closes his eyes and continues his focus.