When the Goblin Attacks
I looked around carefully, making sure I wouldn’t be spotted by a nearby group of Yagudos. I had been caught by surprise by a Scribe and an Initiate earlier in the evening, and I was sure the others would be looking for them by now. A group of feather~faces wouldn’t normally be much of a hassle, but things could easily get ugly in my current state.
I groaned in pain as I cleaned a wound on my arm, pouring some distilled water mixed with some herbs over it afterwards to cool it down. Stained blood was covering the whole sleeve, and I was a bit sad that since it was one of my favorite shirts too. I’m sure my Moogle could clean it, but right now I was more worried about my own well-being than the shirt. I carefully looked through my pouch, hoping I had a flask of antidote left. Guess I should stock up soon. Only two left,
I said to myself while I unscrewed the cork on the antidote and drank it. I also applied some pressure to my arm using some linen I had tucked away in my satchel.
It was early morning by now, and the first few birds had started chirping. Apart from a few clouds lingering on the horizon in the north-west, just over Tahrongi Canyon, the sky was pretty much clear. I enjoyed the clear morning air, full of moisture from the Pamtam Straits.
The pain slowly faded away, and I was relieved that the antidote I took was able to cure the poison. I got up on my feet and started to sneak behind a nearby tree. A goblin was patrolling the path, mumbling something to itself. Their high pitched voices make it hard not to laugh when you hear them, but I suppose that’s rather rude. I somehow feel very sorry for the mandragoras when I hear their squeal as they fall to the ground unconscious.
Stop!
I turned around, surprised by the sudden call. A goblin had snuck up on me from behind, and was charging toward me. I unsheathed my katana and prepared to battle. My arm was feeling a little better, but I wasn’t completely rested still. But a beast couldn’t care less about such details. It thrust it’s rusty dagger toward me with a grin on it’s face. Or, I thought it saw a grin through it’s mask.
Oh, no you don’t,
I said, parrying the goblin’s attack with my katana, at the same time pushing him away with my foot. I took a step forward, before I launched a powerful attack toward it’s side. The goblin screamed in pain as I struck it. It quickly stepped to the side, trying to sneak in an attack from below, but I could easily anticipate the attack.
I made another powerful swing with my katana, but missed the evading goblin completely. It laughed cheerfully through it’s mask, celebrating my miss. Oh, keep quiet you,
I hissed at it. You can not attack me. Finally, the Goblin victory,
it said again in their usual quirky way.
The goblin suddenly took three steps backwards, picked up a goblin bomb and tossed it toward me before ducking to cover itself. I meowed in panic as I tried to jump away from the bomb. I barely missed the blast, but I could feel burnt hair from my tail. I hissed at the goblin again, but instead of charging at him, I stood completely still. I closed my eyes and concentrated.
Trick? I’ll go and attack the cat,
the goblin said before charging toward me. I slowly raised my katana, waiting for the right moment. Now,
I told myself. I just knew when to launch my attack. I struck the goblin twice in fast succession, using an attack I recently learned. Tachi: Enpi, although not very advanced, still does a fair bit of damage. Strong cat. I have no chance,
the goblin groaned, falling toward the ground.
