In one smooth movement, Lukas spun away, tucking me safely behind his tall frame as he drew his sword. Now that the clouds had cleared, the metal blade glinted in the moonlight as he turned it naturally in his hands.
“I know you’re there!” he called out in a strong voice. “Come out now, and I give you my word that I won’t harm you.”
The footsteps quickened, drawing closer every second until suddenly, they stopped. All I could hear was our combined heavy breathing and the faint whisper of the wind in the trees. Except, when the whisper morphed into a cackle, I realised it wasn’t the wind at all.
Just then, a tiny figure darted out from the bushes and racedtowards us. Its quick pace was a blur of movement, almost graceful, until it tripped on a twig and landed face-down in the dirt.
At first, I thought it might’ve been a child – a very peculiar green-skinned child. But when it scrambled to its feet and snarled, revealing a row of pointed yellow teeth, instead of feeling scared, I found myself gasping in bewilderment. Old rags covered the strange creature’s body, and although its petite arms seemed to be packed with muscle, the fact that he was barely two feet tall made it difficult to feel intimidated.
“What is a goblin doing this far from the mountains?” Lukas wondered out loud.
“That’s a goblin?” I’d never seen one before, only ever heard about them in history lessons.
The creature snarled again. “Ekka woo naga, o’oman!” In his hand, he held a sharpened stick and waved it around menacingly, as though warning us back.
“Woah there, calm down.” Lukas lowered his sword and raised his free hand. “It’s alright. We won’t hurt you.”
“Is it dangerous?” My fingers tightened around his sleeve.
Lukas shook his head with a soft chuckle. “Look at him. Even if I didn’t have a sword, he’d be no threat.”
Letting out a sigh of relief, I peered down at the snarling goblin from behind Lukas’s arm. He was right. This creature was no threat. A swift kick would send him flying into the trees.
Not that I would condone that sort of behaviour. He was harmless, after all.
“Let’s go home,” Lukas said, sheathing his sword. But the moment he did, more rustling sounded from the trees. Then, a dozen more footsteps followed by at least twenty cackles. Before we knew it, strange green creatures were popping out from every bush and swinging down from the tree branches above us.
“Stay behind me!” Lukas growled, holding me back.Whipping my head around, there were green-skinned creatures everywhere I looked. One goblin might be harmless, but what about thirty?
“Still no threat? Wumbah o’oman!” A goblin to our left howled, shaking his staff high in the air. The rest of the mob erupted into roaring cheers of stamping feet and high-pitched screeches.
As their cheering settled, the original goblin prowled closer, jabbing his stick towards us. “You come with us!”
“We’re not going anywhere with you,” Lukas snapped, keeping me tucked behind him.
“Wumbah o’oman,” the original goblin snarled. “You no come with us, we use grobba-bacci!” At those words, the mob turned into a wild frenzy.
I screamed as a goblin leapt onto me, his tiny claws piercing my skin as he scampered up my body. When I shoved him off, another two jumped onto my shoulders, yanking my hair. Even Lukas was struggling as I noticed five goblins clambering up his cloak.
I yelped again when a goblin with a particularly crooked nose jumped up to my face, gripping me by my hair. I tried to swat him off, but two other goblins were swinging from my arms. All I could do was watch as the crooked-nosed beast scooped some grey powder from a pouch, then brought his hand to his face. With a vicious smile, he blew. Hard. A thick puff of grey powder hit my cheeks as my chest broke into a coughing fit. When I could finally breathe, my eyes fluttered open. But for some reason, all I could see were stars and the goblin at my face seeming to shrink further and further away.
“Night night, o’oman,” he cackled.
And then, there was nothing.
CHAPTER 31
There was nothing for what felt like decades.
Until, suddenly, there was something. A voice. Calling my name, or at least I thought it was my name. “Naria!” He called it over and over again. It was a nice voice, a deep voice, a prince’s voice.
Lukas’s voice.
Gasping, my eyes shot open and I immediately retched, still tasting the foul grey powder on my tongue. Harsh reality slapped me across the face as I doubled over, except my body didn’t move. Something tight around my chest held me in place.
As my vision cleared, I noticed a wetness under my backside. I was sitting on the soggy forest floor, and unfortunately, we were still encircled by bloodthirsty goblins. Although this time, we were also surrounded by lopsided tents and poorly-made campfires that crackled in the cool night air. In the centre of the forest clearing was a large cauldron set over a fire. Three goblins worked together, stirring whatever festered in the pot with alarge wooden spoon.
I hoped the strange substance bubbling away inside wasn’t for us. It smelled foul.
