Jack and Cain continued their escape through the forest owned by Viscount Tides. The terrain had grown wilder, thorn-thick and slick with morning dew. They’d already run into goblins. Four so far, but where there was one, there were always more.
Ten minutes passed. Another goblin burst from the underbrush ahead, screeching. It was smaller than the others, a child, but it moved with the same hunger. It hurled a crude stone-tipped spear at Jack.
Jack leaned left, and the spear clipped the back of his horse’s thigh. The beast bucked, nearly throwing him. He clung to the horse’s mane, steadied himself, then drew and loosed an arrow in one smooth motion.
To Jack’s surprise, the arrow struck the goblin in the throat. It dropped its other weapon and staggered back, its eyes wide and gurgling. Blood bubbled from the wound. It collapsed into a tangle of roots, twitching.
“Good shot,” Cain shouted.
The goblin would die soon. Jack dismounted and approached the dying goblin. He wanted another skill; he might need more to survive the coming dawn. The goblin’s eyes looked to him in desperation. It was young, its limbs were thin, and knotted like roots. Jack didn’t hesitate. He drew his dagger and drove it into the goblin’s eye. It spasmed once and then stilled.
The rush of power hit, and more of his exhaustion faded away. He still wasn’t fresh, but he was a hell of a lot better than he should be. A flare of sensation, and a new pseudo skill burned into his mind like a half-forgotten memory remembered in a dream.
Jack pulled his dagger from the goblin’s skull and checked his new skill.
[Class Screen-Internal View]
Class: Novice Blood Mage (0)
Compatibility: 83%
…
-- Pseudo Goblin: Night Vision (0)
-- Pseudo Goblin: Feign Death (0)
-- Pseudo Goblin: Iron Gut (0)
Jack couldn’t help but laugh.
Cane gave him a strange look. “What?”
“I just got the most useless skill possible,” Jack said, wiping his blade on the goblin’s tattered rags. “Iron Gut. I can eat almost anything.”
Cane didn’t understand what was so funny. “That. That sounds like a useful skill. It could save your life one day.”
Jack snorted. “You’ve tasted my mom’s cooking, right?”
Cain cracked a grin. “Fair point.”
They both laughed, and for a moment, it was almost normal.
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With his mom’s cooking, it was the least useful skill he could think of. Jack looked skyward. “You’re just messing with me now, aren’t you?” Neither the Gods nor the Fates answered, but the hunting horns did.
***
The next goblin attack came fast. A trio this time.
Cain spotted the movement first. “Left!”
Two goblins sprang from a tree hollow, another burst from behind a rotting log. They moved like feral cats, two armed with rusty blades, and the other a miners broken pick.
Cain dismounted mid-turn, he unsheathed his sword as the goblin with the pick leapt at him. His blade split its chest and face like paper, sending it flailing to the ground in a gurgling heap.
The second goblin clawed up his side, slashing with its rusty kitchen knife. He grunted as the jagged blade scraped across his ribs. He elbowed it in the face, then hacked down, severing its forearm. The goblin snarled and turned to run, but Cain kicked its legs out and drove his sword into its back and through the loamy soil.
The third, a dagger-waving goblin, went for Jack. It shrieked as it jumped over a tree stump. Jack drew his bow, aimed at the creature’s chest, and released. The arrow tore through the goblin’s thigh. It grunted and stumbled, but then recovered. He dropped from the horse with his bow still in hand. He drew his dagger as the goblin slashed with an old, rusty dagger, catching his forearm and producing a shallow cut. The new wound burned like fire.
“Fuck!” He gritted his teeth, dodged the next swing, then plunged the dagger into the goblin’s armpit. It shrieked, frothing at the mouth. His palm itched as the blade took its toll on the creature’s life. He twisted the blade, and hot blood splashed against his cheek as the goblin fell twitching.
Another pulse of power, and another pseudo skill. Some of his fatigue was washed away. Jack hissed as he pressed a Heal into the cut on his forearm. “Damn thing got me where the arm guard didn’t cover,” he complained as the wound sealed with a rough scab.
Cain approached, breathing hard. “You alright?”
“Still here, thanks to this healing skill.” Jack flexed his hand to test his forearm. “You?”
Cain looked down at the slice along his ribs. “Bastard nicked me with a rusty kitchen knife.”
Jack chuckled and used Heal on Cain’s ribs.
“Thanks,” Cain said as he remounted with a tired groan. “You’d make a great adventurer with all your different skills.”
Jack remounted his horse. “Got a feeling I wouldn’t last very long if I reveal all my skills to a group.”
Cain nodded as they continued through the forest.
They both understood that as a blood mage, Jack would be killed on sight by the Inquisition. All it would take was one party member to report him.
Jack checked his new skill.
[Class Screen-Internal View]
Class: Novice Blood Mage (0)
Compatibility: 84%
…
-- Pseudo Goblin: Night Vision (0)
-- Pseudo Goblin: Feign Death (0)
-- Pseudo Goblin: Iron Gut (0)
-- Pseudo Goblin: Scramble Reflex (0)
He focused on the new skill with interest. “Now that would’ve been useful over the past two weeks.”
“New skill?” Cain guessed.
Jack nodded. “Scramble Reflex, I now have a chance of instinctively dodging a first attack even before I’m aware of it.”
Cain’s eyes widened. “Damn, that’s a good skill… and explains why I’ve seen goblins dodge an attack when there was no way they knew it was coming.”
“Hmm…” Jack replied. “Goblins have some fantastic skills. I’ve never read anything about them even having skills. With them having so many, you’d think someone would’ve noticed.”
Cain nodded in agreement.
Jack had gained five goblin skills, and despite being wary of Enrage and dissing Iron Gut, they were all good skills. “Do you think the nobles will be having trouble with goblins?” he asked.
Cain nodded. “Yes, but they’ve dozens of guards, so they won’t be slowing down.”
