The black aura formed back within the hills of Kortev and soon Zayd appeared. He had been returned back to the same location he was previously. Even the two hill giants still remained there with their campfire. 

 

“The human is back!” One of them shouted at Zayd.

 

“Quick! Grab him so we can toss him on the pan!” The other stood up and began sprinting towards him.

 

Zayd spun around with his ax in full swinging motion. He brought it sweeping across, causing a full burst of wind to come launching out. It projected forward until it crashed into one of the giants, sending it tumbling back.

 

The other giant raised its arms up as its eyes lit up with shock. “Wait! No!”

 

Zayd prepared his ax for another swing.

 

“No! Hold on!” The giant lowered itself to its knees. “I’m begging ya! We’ll leave you alone!”

 

“Oh yeah?” Zayd asked as he raised a brow. He was unsure if such creatures could even be trusted. 

 

“Yes! I swear it to be true!” The giant pleaded. “Tell him, Gleldus!”

 

The other giant slowly lifted himself up and rubbed the bump on the back of his head. “Wow, that was one hell of an attack!”

 

“Well there’s another one waiting for you if you like!” Zayd announced. 

 

“No thanks! One was enough for me!” Gleldus declared as he held his hands up. “No need to worry about us! We’ll leave ya alone, little human.”

 

“How do I know you two won’t try to get the jump on me once I turn my back?” Zayd asked.

 

“My knees can’t take much more of that shield or that ax,” Gleldus claimed. “Me and Brolkos here aren’t built for being tossed around like that.”

 

“Yeah we were planning on trying to snatch up a few goblins later anyways,” Brolkos commented. “Those little buggers aren’t as tasty as humans but there’s plenty of them!”

 

“Yep. Looks like goblins for dinner again,” Gleldus noted. “Better go and retrieve the salt!”

 

“Goblins, huh?” Zayd wondered. “How do you two usually go about snatching them up?”

 

“Usually we gotta go wander in there and grab em!” Brolkos explained. “They’re too clever to come out here.”

 

“That’s right,” Gleldus added. “They’ve got them little houses inside the hills that they like to hide in.”

 

“Do you usually have trouble collecting them?” Zayd asked.

 

“You bet we do!” Brolkos answered. “They’re clever and so fast! We giants just aren’t quick enough to keep up with them.”

 

“We make due with the few we can catch every now and then,” Gleldus detailed.

 

“What if I could help you two catch a whole bunch of goblins?” Zayd questioned. “Like a whole bunch!”

 

“You’d do that for us?” Gleldus asked. “Why would you help us out?”

 

“Yeah! We tried to eat ya,” Brolkos added. 

 

“Let’s just say we have a common interest in taking out a bunch of goblins,” Zayd insisted. “I can lure them out while you two sneak in and get as many as you can grab.”

 

“Oh boy! I’m excited!” Brolkos began to hop around. “Ow! My knees!”

 

“Calm yourself there, Brolkos!” Gleldus commanded. “That beating you gave him earlier sure did a number on his knees there, little human. You sure are tougher than you look.”

 

“Thanks, I guess,” Zayd replied. “Are you two ready to do this?”

 

“You bet I am!” Gleldus announced. “Let’s go get us some dinner, Brolkos!”

 

The three of them set off towards the edge of the flat region. Zayd led the way with the two giants steadily following behind him. At any moment they could strike and probably pummel Zayd before he could react. However, the giants made no such move towards him. 

 

They all traveled together, preparing to fight against the horde of goblins that lay ahead.

 

“I gotta say this is the first we’ve fought with a human before,” Gleldus noted.

 

“Likewise,” Zayd replied. “Never fought alongside a giant before.”

 

“You know these goblins are pretty nasty things, don’t ya?” Gleldus asked. “Fighting giants is one thing. But these goblins outnumber us by the hundreds!”

 

“Yeah but I’m ready to face them,” Zayd assured them. “They may have gotten the better of me last time but I’ll show them this time!”

 

“Ah, so you fought them already, have ya?” Gleldus wondered. 

 

“Yeah, they chased me right into you guys,” Zayd explained. “Seemed like the entire horde was after me.”

 

“So that’s why you wanted us to help you!” Brolkos said. “You want to get back at the little buggers, don’t ya?”

 

“Yeah you could say that,” Zayd responded. “But there’s also two humans back there that I’d like to rescue. If they’re still alive, that is…”

 

“Two humans, eh?” Gleldus questioned. “How long have the goblins had them?”

 

“Not too long,” Zayd answered. “They grabbed em shortly before I met you two.”

 

Gleldus and Brolkos began to chuckle to themselves as they passed over into the hill region.

 

“What?!” Zayd glared back at them. “What is it?”

 

“Your human friends will be alright,” Gleldus said. “At least for now.”

 

“What makes you say that?” Zayd asked. “How do you know?”

 

“Goblins don’t always get the chance to eat humans so you best believe if they got one they’re going to savor it!” Brolkos explained. “They’ll slow roast them over a fire!”

 

“A fire?!” Zayd snapped. “What?!”

“Don’t worry, they have to prepare the fire first,” Gleldus assured him. 

 

Suddenly they could hear the sounds of goblins in the distance. A fiery flame lit up the nearby area, illuminating the goblins gathering from the shadows. 

 

From afar, Zayd and the giants crept down and watched on as the goblins danced around a fire.

 

“I’ll go in first,” Zayd detailed. “When I give the signal, you two jump out and do your thing.”

 

“Alright!” Brolkos nodded his head. “Wait…what’s the signal?”

 

“When you see me attack, then it’s your time to shine,” Zayd answered. 

 

“Sounds good to me, little human!” Gleldus said.

 

“Alright…here I go,” Zayd replied.

 

The Fighter continued to creep forward, sneaking along through the shadows. As he approached the gathering, he began to scale a ramp leading to the top of a hill. From above, he was able to see a much better perspective on the gathering.

 

A myriad of goblins were gathered together in a circle. A large crowd encircled the outer edges, forming a thick barrier. Within the center was a large opening with a great fire built in the open. Several goblins made their way to and from the fire, adding wood while another stoked the flames. Smoke rose to the night sky above them, blotting out the moon.

 

Zayd looked over and saw Gilbaus and Nol still alive and well. However, both of them were tied to wooden posts, neither of them unable to escape. Multiple goblins stood around them, guarding them intensely.

“You gotta be kidding me…” Zayd observed the area as well as he could. “There’s no sneaking up to untie them.”

 

Zayd lowered his gaze and shook his head. He let out a deep sigh and slowly stood up. The adventurer peered down at his ax and shield before turning away from the gathering. Zayd walked to the opposite edge of the hill and stared back at the giants, who were waiting in the shadows. Zayd nodded at them then closed his eyes.

 

“What’s he doing, Gleldus?” Brolkos wondered.

 

“I’m not sure, bud,” Gleldus answered.

 

Suddenly and without warning, Zayd turned and began to sprint along the top of the hill. He shot forth and launched himself from the edge as he ran out, staring over the horde of goblins. Zayd soared through the air, letting out a loud warcry as he howled in the night.

 

The goblins all looked up as he came tumbling towards them. As Zayd collided with the ground, he leaned forward and rolled along the surface. The adventurer barreled forward, stopping just barely before the fire. 

 

The goblins continued to stare back at him, filled with complete surprise.

 

“Wh-what?!” One of the goblins spoke up. “D-did another human just jump over here for us to eat them?”

 

While the goblins struggled to realize what was happening, Zayd used their shock to his advantage by turning around and unleashing a burst of wind towards a group of them. The air barreled through them, sending them flying in all directions. 

 

“Get him!” One of the goblins cried out. 

 

Suddenly the mass of goblins began to sprint forward towards him. 

The hill giants burst out from the shadows and began charging through the hordes. 

 

“Yeah! Look at all this fresh meat!” Gleldus began yelling as his mighty arms thrusted through the air, sending waves of goblins into the side of a hill. 

 

Brolkos wasn’t too far behind him as he had begun launching goblins into the air. The hill giant tossed them around like ragdolls, watching their bodies twitch and flail as they clashed into one another. 

 

Zayd whipped up several more gusts of wind and began sending goblins flying back as they attempted to swarm him. 

 

Screams and wails from the goblins howled off into the night sky. Broken bones and severed flesh sounded off as Zayd and the giants fought through the hordes. 

 

Eventually, one of the goblins sounded off a retreat and others began to follow in his suite. “Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!” 

 

The goblins began to flee from the gathering. Crowds of them began fluttering back up the hills and into their homes. They pushed and shoved their way out of the area and through the masses as the goblins ran in terror. 

 

“Go! Back to the hills!” The goblins cried out. “Run! Run!”

 

Zayd caught his breath as the crowds began to disperse from the area, leaving him in a state of disbelief. He watched as the entirety of the goblins ran from their presence. Together with the two hill giants, he had successfully driven them off.

 

“Zayd, you did it!” Gilbaus shouted at him.

 

“Hurry and get these bindings off us!” Nol yelled. 

 

Zayd grinned as he walked over to the two Fighters. “What’s wrong guys? Need some help?”

 

“That’s not funny, Zayd!” Nol screamed. “Get us down before those things come back!”

 

“So these are the humans you wanted to save?” Gleldus asked as he approached with a large armful of dead goblins.

 

Brolkos walked up too with a few goblins of his own and one in his mouth that he was munching on. “I’d leave them there if it were me!”

 

Zayd chuckled as Gilbaus and Nol began pleading for their release. “Maybe I’ll leave them here until morning.”

 

“C’mon! Quit messing with us!” Nol cried.

 

Zayd lifted his ax and swiped it across the ropes that were binding them to the poles. Gilbaus and Nol fell forward to the ground. 

 

Gilbaus and Nol arose to their feet and began to brush themselves off.

 

“Thanks Zayd…” Gilbaus expressed his gratitude.

 

“Are they gonna eat us?!” Nol questioned as he watched Gleldus and Brolkos toss a few goblins onto the fire.

 

Zayd looked back at the giants. “Who? Those two? Nah, those are my friends.”

 

“Friends?” Gleldus smiled and nodded at the adventurer. 

 

Brolkos waved at them while he continued munching on his feast.

 

“Well, we might as well camp here until morning!” Zayd announced. “The goblins know better than to mess with us now so I doubt they’ll be back soon.”

 

“Come gather around and let me share the stories of our hill adventures!” Gleldus waved his arms, gesturing to the others to approach.

 

Zayd and the other adventurers gathered near the fire. The three of them found a comfortable spot and began listening to the giant as he shared stories of days long past. With the goblins repelled and his companions freed, Zayd could finally relax and enjoy himself by a warm fire within the hills of Kortev.