CHAPTER 19: Weeping Willows

I turned to see the blaze spreading swiftly across the building and towards nearby homes and structures. My eyes wandered with the embers floating freely from the fire. I looked down to Threepaw, and the fire was making shadows dance across her face, and light glisten in her eyes. My reverie was finally broken when I heard screams. For a paranoid moment, I think I even hear whispers nearby. Maybe the smoke had woken someone close. In either case, it wasn't time to be standing around in front of a burning home. Following the human screams, goblin sounds were coming. The attack had begun.

"Time to move!" I said to Threepaw. We ran from the blaze down the town's dirt path. Something was telling me we weren't alone in the darkness, and sure enough, Threepaw must have sensed it, too. Beside me, I heard her fiddling with her belt and turned my head to see her unsheathing the curved dagger. She was looking ahead of us in the darkness, but I couldn't see what was ahead. "What do you see? People coming?"

"Humans!"

"We don't need to fight them. We need to get out of here." Deep down, a part of me wanted to avoid fighting humans, even if these particular people were jerks. I never planned on fighting anyone here, as far as I was concerned, I only returned for the 'Criminal background'. The new books and all this other woodworking crap was just a bonus. I dragged Threepaw to one side and we continued running. This time I was the first one to notice company. We made another turn heading out of town, and an advanced party of goblins was there, running towards us. "It's me!" I said to the nearly forms. The blue indicators above the heads of four goblins said, 'LOWER SCUM' and one goblin was labeled 'SECOND LIEUTENANT'. I'd seen plenty of these officers in my short time in the caves: they were deadlier than the run-of-the-mill goblins, especially with their Shortswords. This group ahead of us had clearly seen us – we were only about thirty or forty feet away. Still, something made me pause. It was like a voice in my head that told me to just start swinging the axe. Threepaw was clearly oblivious, but she stopped when I did. She was speaking words of greeting while I summoned my shield, moving slowly and deliberately, trying to make it seem like a natural movement, like it had been there the whole time. The goblins ahead of us were growling, and with more of a bark than words, the leader of the little pack ordered troops forward. I wasn't ready to fight this whole little crew, especially the little leader. "Stay back!" I warned Threepaw. Her little face looked confused as the first goblin ran up to me, swinging a rusty blade. I had the shield out, though, and my wits about me. The second attacker, another Lower Scum, swung what looked like it was just a knotty stick. This one was impossible for me to dodge but it only gave me a glancing blow. An arrow streaked past me in the dark and then another goblin ran towards Threepaw. She was startled, but narrowly avoided this goblin's chipped scimitar as it swung down towards her little face.

"We are goblin army!" She cried. "Stop attacking!" but the troupe payed her no heed.

"Human tricks!" barked the leader as he sent an arrow towards her. There was a soft little noise, a wince of pain, as it struck her hard in the chest.

This was going from bad to worse. The fire had already spread nearer and lit our little melee a little brighter, showing me details of the goblins attacking us; I had already smelled their dirty skin and guessed at their scraps of leather armor. Except for the leader, who was clearly a goblin boss. He had actual leather armor, whether he'd killed a small humanoid for it, or it was made for him, I couldn't tell. Either way, it looked effective. So did the shining scimitar at his side. It wasn't chipped or rusty like the weapons of these other goblins. As annoying as these arrows were, it was probably better than him swinging that thing swinging towards my face. With or without the light I could have seen what happened next. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a change above one of the goblins flanking me. The blue indicator changed color to red and the very familiar 'ENEMY' was suddenly there.

"So be it." I said. The axe appeared in my hand, bidden from my inventory, but I had no chance to swing before a tarnished blade slashed into my leg and a thick knotted stick slammed against the shield. I was at least fast enough to see the two goblins with bow pointed at me. I'd never done the 'Warding Flare' twice, much less twice in a row. Until now. Twice, a blinding flash shone from my hands towards the bowmen, and twice, their arrows went wild. The goblin next to Threepaw brought the chipped blade down at her again, this time slamming against the Shield of Expression.

"We have orders!" Threepaw gnashed desperately in goblin. "Stop in the name of King Blecs!" The leader's only response was to fire an arrow that stuck into her little shield. My response was different. The acid splash didn't have far to travel before it splashed into the two goblins near me. The spell missed the goblin with the stick, but the first goblin to attack me was crying out as it fainted, its flesh melting as its face twisted in agony. The rusty metal weapon flew from his dead hand as I rounded on the other miscreant. His chunky little stick hit me hard on my left shoulder, but it was better than being sliced by a rusty sword. A goblin arrow found purchased past the leather armor around my right shoulder – the one holding my axe.

Threepaw screamed as the chipped blade of her opponent chopped into her own shoulder. It looked bad. REALLY bad. Suddenly the normally passive face of the Shield of Expression turned into a face of disgust and rage – it looked a little bit like the face of the very much pissed off goblin that held it as she reached out with her keen blade and struck him in the chest. She roared her squeaky little voice in rage as the arrow of the lead goblin bounced off her shield. My arm was still holding the axe. It felt just fine. But the goblin next to me wielding a stick would not. His ugly expression was going to be on his face forever, now that my axe was buried in his spine after I'd very nearly chopped his head off entirely. Before I got it out, Threepaw and her adversary had exchanged blows, and two arrows struck me in the back. One felt like it was still in there. Turning towards the source of the projectiles, I could see the Second Lieutenant and the other goblin with a bow. To my side, I saw the goblin with the chipped scimitar, and it must have sensed me, too, but too late. As it twisted its head to look at me, my axe came down and slashed into the goblin above its waist. Threepaw was in rough condition, battered and cut, but she'd be okay.

"Just hold on a little longer. I'm going for the leader!" For her part, she gave a small nod as she dropped her weapon and shield there on the ground, not even bothering to sheath the dagger. Then she let out a little chuckle, as she readied both bow and arrow at once and shot. She it quickly switched places with the other shooter, but she missed both. She looked over to the last two enemies and so did I – in time to be hit by one arrow and be narrowly missed by another. Finally, it was time.

"GUIDING BOLT!" As I shouted the words, I channeled my will into a flash of light that streaked toward the Second Lieutenant. Crashing into him, it exploded, cascading outward in a shower of sparks. The glittering light of the falling sparks are making him glow dimly in the night. Arrows flew to and from Threepaw. She must be nearly dead by now, but she was holding on. Despite this, I knew I was running out of time. I couldn't cast Guiding Bolt again, and I'd never make it all the way over to the last two goblins. I raised the axe as if to strike. *woosh!* The axe arced, whistling softly through the air. The second it left my hands, the toss felt special. My senses were vindicated when the whistling handaxe struck a critical blow. The already-nearly-dead Goblin Boss' head was nearly split by it! The last goblin broke and ran. I was chasing him, picking up my axe as I did so, but he was too far away for me. I'd never catch him. …He even made it a full thirty feet before another of Threepaw's arrows struck him in the back and killed him.

*ting!* "Level 3 titles are now available. Congratulations on earning two new titles!"

That's good news – but it will have to wait. I'm not safe here. Plus, even though I had already stolen 1,000 gold worth of stuff from this town, it was like a small voice in my head was telling me that there was plenty more here worth taking. Certainly, it was better than fighting for my life.

"RAAAAAGH!" Threepaw was letting out a roar of triumph as I made my way back to her. The sound mixed in with the screams of goblin and human nearby. After a few seconds of her victory howl, though, her eyes drooped a little and she sat right where she was. She was out of breath and barely hanging on. Her little head was dangling. She looked pitiful in the firelight. Tears and blood were streaking down her ugly little cheeks. Why did those goblins attack us? Me, maybe, but those idiots should have known that she was a goblin, even in the small sized clothes of a human traveler. Ugh! I could only do this once, and I had my own wounds to heal. Begrudgingly, I reached for her.

"Hold still!" I said, "This will be easier than carrying you. I cast Cure Wounds into her, watching the bleeding stop and her glazed over eyes come back into focus. I could hear the wailing of humans and the cries of goblins. The din of the skirmishes of the two also came close to my ears. I was torn up. I was not ready to fight another group like those goblins; it would be the end of me. Tight on time, I heard the murmurings of common speech and footfalls of humans. "Let's go, Threepaw. We're going to get out of here, but first we're going to get some medicine." But she was already up and moving. I ran over to her at the corpse of the goblin boss. She was unbuckling his sword belt and attaching it onto herself. Huh. Well, she had good taste. It looked good next to the dagger, and then she started tugging at the straps of the goblin boss' armor.

"No need." She said simply. She looked supremely interested in medicine, despite her wounds that still showed, even after my healing. "Not time to rest. Time to fight! Time to TAKE!" Despite her alacrity with the sword belt's buckle, she was making no headway with the armor's straps. Clearly, she was getting frustrated, and this time it seemed like she was screaming at the armor when she cried, "Time to TAKE!".

"Oh fine!" I said. "MOVE!" Maybe it was the force in my voice, but she did move – fast. Good thing, too, because my axe came down quick, past where she was and into the body of the former second lieutenant. His dead arm was cleaved from his body just a few inches away from where the leather cuirass stopped. Then I stepped to the side and repeated the process with his other side. Then I stooped down to the body. Threepaw's eyes weren't shocked or even upset. They looked more… interested? "Like THIS." I said, as my deft hands worked. "We're going to the druggist." When she started to groan, I added, "That's an order! I promise I'll find a treat for you while we're there." Saying this, I unhooked the leather straps above the arm of the body and then below, showing her how as I did. She was a quick study, and the goblin boss' body was cooperative in the undressing since he was dead, and his arms weren't in the way. Inside of a few minutes she was holding her shield, her new scimitar, and decked out in her new duds, with her hood up and her features hidden. For all the good it did to let the goblins know we were friendly, I wanted to maintain her slipshod disguise for when we ran into humans. Threepaw gathered us the weapons and arrows. I gathered my shield, my axe, and bearings and we were on our way.

Somehow, we made it to the druggist. The closed door didn't look as new as the general store. I was hoping it also wasn't as sturdy. "We don't have time for this." I said, looking at it from a dozen paces away. I put my axe back int my inventory and held my shield in front of me. Without breaking my run, I said in my head, "System! I know I have Attribute points! Put them all into STRENGTH, please. Now!" I put my weight into the shield and the *ting!* of the system's bell mixed with the sound of the door splintering and shattering. I don't know if the new boost to my strength helped or not. It felt mostly like luck. Little Threepaw waddled in after me, with a bright look in her eyes. "No fires!" I said to her.

"Just a little fire, maybe?" She asked pleadingly. There was already flint from a tinderbox in her hands.

"Who's there?" came a gruff voice. A man stepped out, holding a quarterstaff. He took in the sight of the busted door and the two of us standing there.

"We're searching for survivors!" I lied easily. "You need to get out of here, quick." It felt sensible to me, but no luck. I saw the look on his face change, and he spoke again.

"I know you! You're that murderer! The one we chased out after you stole from the general store!"

"Technically true", I said, "but if you'll just listen, I think that-" *swoosh!* hew didn't give me time before he swung his staff, which I narrowly ducked. Now I recognized his ugly face. He was in the mob that threw rocks at me. I pushed him. HARD. He slammed into a wall and I said to Threepaw, "Okay, maybe just a little fire – as a treat when we're done with him." That was less than it would have taken any goblin, I suppose. I couldn't help but think, though, that she was using her teeth more than her brand-new scimitar, which I'm sure she wanted to try out. I guess she must have gotten hungry.

The druggist was mostly thrashing, but finally landed a solid hit on his attacker after a moment. "Stop it!" I said, "You're wasting my healing!" The two were tangled up with each other, but the druggists head popped clear, and I punched him in the face. It's not as if Threepaw needed the help. I left them there, and I had the feeling Threepaw's pyromaniacal tendencies would only be distracted for a minute more. Most of the herbal remedies seemed like junk. Marigold for cleaning wounds, cilantro peppermint tea for digestion, lemon and chamomile tea for the nerves… I took it all, mostly out of spite, but I couldn't find anything that seemed like it would heal any of my hit points. I walked into a back room, looking around . It seemed to have a small workstation, but other than that it was just a normal living area. "Damn. There has to be something!" I said aloud. By way of reply from out in the front was a soft gurgling sound and Threepaw pattering around the corner.

"Little fire time?" she asked sweetly. I shook my head from side to side.

"Not yet, dear, I need to find something first. Something that might be hidden."

"THEN fire time?" she asked hopefully.

"YES!" I said, losing patience. I was looking around frantically. Threepaw walked away, probably to gnaw on the shopkeeper while I looked back and forth through the rooms, emptying drawers and checking the druggist's pockets (he only had a simple key for the front door). I was in the back room when Threepaw reentered looking around with an expression of uncharacteristic awareness. Suddenly, her eyes focused on the table in the workspace. She was only three or four feet tall, and barely had to stoop as she walked straight toward it.

"Threepaw went outside first." She was saying, ducking under the table "House is smaller on the inside right here." She must have thrown some sort of switch, though, because suddenly… *click!* there was no grand door dramatically sweeping open or anything, but a section of the wall paneling did pop out by an inch or so – just enough to get a hold of.

"Threepaw, here's that shiny thing I promised you. You can light as big of a fire as you want, you adorable little bloodhound!" There was enough here to share but these potions were for me. There was a small locket here with a picture of a woman inside – I reached towards Threepaw with it and she snatched it greedily before her little footsteps carried her over to a window. Great the drapes again. There were four glass containers in the secret cubby, each clearly marked; two in flasks said Potion of Healing and two smaller vials were simply marked 'antitoxin'. I uncorked a Potion of Healing and its familiar smell came to my senses. This time, though, the scent had a different undertone… Rosemary? The system displayed the same information that I had seen the last time I smelled a potion, though. 'You regain 2d4+2 hit points when you drink this potion.' So, I did. I already felt better. I should drink the second one, but one was enough to give me some pep in my step, and I wanted to get out of here before Threepaw made it hot. Sure enough, as I glanced over, she was cackling like a creepy little fire-starting monkey at the tongues of flame that licked up the drapes towards the ceiling. As I stepped towards the door, I took a final look at the workspace. Maybe there was something here that I could use anyway. There was a strange set of scissors that might be silver. I also saw what I recognized as a mortar and pestle, along with different pouches and vials, some of which were half full of what I assumed were ingredients that I could probably sell… though I had no idea where I'd unload the junk I'd already collected from this town. It was a problem for later.

The druggist was close enough to the outside of town that one little made dash got us out of the town clearing. Four humans were there less than twenty feet away finishing of a goblin in the dim light, using ruddy wooden spears. Dead humans and goblins were around them. There was no use in trying to sneak past or bluff them; they'd seen us by the new firelight step out of a house that was currently going up in flames. Finally, Threepaw did get to use her new scimitar. She closed the distance and slashed twice and before the first human could even react, he fell dead to the ground. Cold feet, I guess, but for some reason I wasn't as interested in fighting these guys as I thought I would be. They didn't last long anyway. Maybe the long night had made me tired enough not to want to be in the fray, but I still lit all four of the commoners up with Faerie Fire, one of the last tricks up my sleeve that illuminated them in the darkness. The goblin finished the remaining three humans off quickly. The Faerie Fire spell turned what I'd normally only be able to barely see into glowing silhouettes to make them easy targets. Threepaw had Darkvision anyway and they were lit up like candles. They could barely see her, though. One of the last men standing did get a lucky hit on her instead of running. Probably the wrong choice, and the last one he'd ever make. After that, we made it out of the clearing and the town fine, though definitely smelling like smoke. We caught our breath in the edge of the forest while the sun rose to the dying sound of human wails and goblin grunts as the last of the former villagers were silenced or driven away. The goblins gave out a unified cry of victory and then Willow's Edge was silent as the new day began.