It was late in the afternoon when Nedoma finally arrived at Ayrith. He slowly crept through the nearby forest as he scanned the village for goblins. His eyes narrowed as he tried to focus on the entrance, a group of four goblins appeared to have been guarding the main road. In the distance, small groups of goblins could be seen wandering around the village, the smallest of which totaled no less than three. As the sun drew closer and closer to setting, Nedoma saw a few goblins enter one of the still standing houses. It soon became obvious to him why they didn't come back out.
The trees provided excellent cover for Nedoma as he used the forest to move closer to his house. Between himself and the open window to his parent's room was a considerable gap of open space. After a pair of goblins disappeared between some buildings, took hold of the opportunity and made his way towards the window. He moved in an almost power-walk fashion, trying to strike a balance between silent movement and speed. Once up against the wall, he looked around for any monsters nearby before peaking into the room. Anger shot through Nedoma as he took note of the green pair of feet which hung over the side of his parent's bed.
Nedoma cut his breathing as he began to break into his parent's room. The shield on his back taps ever so gently against glass as he pulled himself through the window. A gentle breeze comforts joins him inside the room as he releases his breath in success. It was far messier than when he had left it. Drawers were pulled out of the dressers, their contents scattered about the room. A slight smell could be traced to excrement sitting in a corner of the room. But by far the ugliest part of the room now rested on top of his parent's bed.
A slight sliding sound could be heard as Nedoma drew his sword from its sheathe. Placing both hands around the hilt, he points the sword downward as he steps closer to the goblin. The tip barely floats above its neck as Nedoma steadies his sword. He can feel the different levels of resistance as the blade travels through skin, flesh, and finally the material of the sheets and bed underneath.
“RAAAAAA!!” The goblin let out a blood-coated scream as the blade pierced it. Shock was plastered all over Nedoma's face as what should have been his silent kill bellowed in agony. Panicked, he drove the sword deeper with one hand as the other reached for the goblin's mouth and tried to clench it shut. After a brief moment, the screaming was no more and the bloody corpse laid still. But Nedoma knew he was in trouble as he heard the familiar sound of goblin chatter spring up from nearby. He pulled his sword and turned just in time to face an unarmed goblin shouting it's battle-cry as it charged through the doorway.
Nedoma's sword moved to cut across the goblin. But no flesh would be drawn when a resounding clang could be heard as the edge of the blade got caught on the wall. Nedoma instinctively raised his other hand despite not having his shield out, the goblin colliding with the back of his armored forearm before being sent backwards with a smack. The goblin fell back onto the floor as Nedoma pulled his arm back and took a stance as though he was about to fire his sword from an invisible bow. With a quick lunge and thrust, he pierced the shoulder of the goblin as it howled in pain. It's legs struck the air as it tried to kick him in revenge. Nedoma pulled the sword out before swinging in a downwards arc, its circumference intersecting with the goblin's throat, finishing it off.
But he had no time to rest as the sound of another goblin announcing itself came from the front of the building. As Nedoma readied his shield and peaked around the door to spot his next opponent, a feeling of fear filled him as he discovered that he had four opponents rapidly closing in on him. “Shit!” His thoughts ran wild as he processed his situation. Having only ever fought monsters one at a time, to have four coming at him at once seemed a tremendous spike in difficulty. He glanced at the window thinking of escaping as he had done long ago before coming to the conclusion that this time he would likely find himself surrounded outside. Realization struck him as he turned his attention back to the doorway. He tightly gripped his shield as he positioned himself a few feet past the entrance into the room. “Now if you could all just come in one at a time...” he muttered to himself.
Nedoma focused his senses as he listened to the patter of goblin feet running across the wooden floor inside the building. At the instant the noise seemed to be right around the corner, he jabbed his arm outwards, piercing the front-most goblin's stomach as it came into view. It took a small step backwards before falling onto the floor, twitching as it gripped its stomach in its last moments. The leader's associates searched for revenge as they all tried to make their way through the door, but Nedoma and his shield blocked the way. As they tried beating the shield down with their weapons and attempted to move around it, Nedoma continued jabbing through any open gaps.
The goblins danced back and forth as they avoided Nedoma's thrusts while keeping up their attack. Eventually, Nedoma managed to score an unfortunate hit on a goblin's groin. He cringed slightly as he pulled the blade back while the goblin sank to its knees and covered its genitals before jabbing again, piercing it's chest. With only two goblins left, a now confident Nedoma continued to try poking at the remaining foes. But that confidence quickly turned to anger as he began to feel as though these last goblins were taunting him. Moving barely in range of his sword before quickly stepping back, cackling as they did so. Impatience filled Nedoma, who began to be slowly drawn forward as he tried to land another hit. As he inched towards the goblins and stabbed once more, he felt another hit connect.
A warm sensation begins to trickle from Nedoma's hip as pain emanating from his side courses through his body. The pressure of a foreign object slightly embedded in him seems to disappear, and the trickle of blood seems to hasten its pace in it's absence. As he barely twists his neck towards his left, he is reminded of the window which he had used to enter the room.
