Give and Take - Ch. 01 by LordPriapus

Give and Take

A young newcomer, dreaming of adventure and a better life, crosses paths with a veteran who has lost himself. Can they help each other find what they seek? Or does their partnership only end in tragedy?

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Chapter 1

"Oh...come...on...!" The goblin panted, dodging around another cluster of bushes. The thin branches and leaves whipped at the girl's green skin, and tugged at her clothes. Behind her, she could hear the thrashing of the thing pursuing her, plowing right through the vegetation that she had to dodge around.

"Just...my...luck..." She vaulted over a fallen log, her short stature forcing her to hurl herself over it. A small break in the foliage ahead of her caused the goblin to put on a burst of speed, forcing her tired body towards it. If she could just get clear of the forest, she might be able to lose that...thatthingthat was chasing her. The goblin dashed forward, her lungs burning, her legs feeling like they were screaming at her.

Within a few moments, she ducked under a low hanging branch, bursting out of the treeline into the clearing. She winced, blinking rapidly as her eyes adjusted to the dazzling midday sun after spending so long in the shade of the woods. After a few moments, she could see again, and her heart, despite its pounding inside her chest, felt like it was sinking down into her stomach.

The clearing she found herself in was not the end of the forest as she had hoped. This break in the forest was only about the size of a large building, ringed by trees on three sides while a sheer cliff face made up the remaining one. She looked at the rock wall, considering if she could climb up it to escape, but gave up within a split-second. It went nearly straight up, and even if she could find some handholds, she was far too tired to climb something like that now.

The goblin forced herself to keep moving, pushing her worn out legs into a quick jog. Even the adrenaline pumping through her veins wasn't enough to let her force herself into another sprint. She figured her one hope at this point was to reach the other side of the clearing and vanish into the forest before the creature chasing her made it to the break in the trees. That is, if the beast didn't have some other way to track her down.

She made it about halfway across the clearing when a loud crash behind the goblin caused her to freeze, dread swelling in her belly. Almost in a trance, she turned around, finally facing her pursuer. The beast seemed to sense that she wasn't running anymore, and it paused, rising to its full height. The goblin had never seen something like it, but it wasn't hard to recognize it as a dangerous monster.

The thing seemed to be made of plant matter, but as it stood, its body came to resemble a humanoid, albeit without any kind of recognizable head. Its torso was comprised of soil and roots, woven together to form a hulking body, while its arms were made of vines and branches, twisted into long appendages, the plants almost looking like muscle fibers. The thing's legs were gnarled and twisted roots and even when standing still, they writhed around, tearing up the ground below it. Though it lacked any visible mouth or teeth, it wasn't hard to imagine its intentions.

"...shit..." The goblin knew that running was useless. Even if she had the strength or stamina to sprint again, she was sure that the thing would catch her before she reached the treeline. She slowly drew the knife from her belt, the dull iron flashing a bit in the sunlight. She raised the weapon in front of her, hand trembling as she did so. This wasn't how it was supposed to go, none of this was what she imagined.

Her eyes darted down to the weapon in her hand, then back to the foe in front of her. The old knife was perhaps sharp enough to cut or pierce the flesh of a person, but what in the 9 hells was it going to do against the approaching beast? She doubted the thing evenhadblood to shed. Part of her whispered to just drop the knife and lie down, surrendering to her inevitable fate, while another suggested turning her knife on herself, to spare the pain that was undoubtedly coming. She shook her head, as if brushing away the voices, her orange hair lightly slapping her cheeks and forehead. She had always been stubborn, and if she was going to give up on life, it would have been long before now.

"...alright, Alice. You've gotten out of tight situations before, too..." The goblin murmured to herself, though she didn't really believe her own words. This was a vastly different situation than facing down some drunken adventurer or furious customer. And no one was here to save her.

The beast approached slowly, the rustling of the grass contrasting with the creaking and groaning of the thing's body. At first, Alice thought it might be acting cautiously, but after a moment, she realized that wasn't the case. It was playing with her, like a cat toying with a mouse before breaking its spine. A flicker of anger burned its way through the dread in her stomach. She would give this thing something to remember her by!

The creature closed in, still shuffling towards the goblin. When the beast was about a dozen paces from her, it reached for her with one of its arm-like appendages, the vines and branches twisting and wiggling. It was an almost child-like gesture, as if the monster was curious as to what would happen. Guided by instincts, perhaps, Alice remained perfectly still as the thing reached for her, even as her thoughts screamed at her to get away from the writhing mass that was drawing closer.

When the beast's "arm" was close enough that the goblin could reach out and touch it, she moved. With a surge of energy born of desperation and fear, Alice jumped forward and to the side, avoiding the grasping vines, and brought her knife down on the creature's appendage with all of her remaining strength. The knife whistled through the air as the goblin let loose a snarl, both of her hands on the weapon's handle. The blade sank into the creature's arm...about two inches deep. The beast's vines started to twist around the knife, and Alice had no choice but to spring backwards, pulling the weapon away before it was ripped out of her grasp.

The beast slowly pulled back its arm, the twisting vines and plants already causing the small cut to disappear. It held the appendage up in front of it. If the creature had eyes, Alice would have thought the thing was examining its wound. However, the motion was...wrong, somehow. It was like the thing had seen a person make this gesture and was mimicking that. The clearing was still for a moment, other than the shifting and twisting of the beast.

Like a whip cracking, the creature broke the stalemate. One of its appendages shot forward, moving toward the goblin as quickly as a bolt loosed from a crossbow. Perhaps if she had been well-rested and saw the attack coming, she maybe could have dodged it, but fatigue and surprise dulled her reaction. She threw herself to the side, but the monster was quicker. Though it didn't catch her straight on, the creature's limb clipped her shoulder with the force of a speeding carriage as she dodged. The world spun around as she flew backwards, spiraling to the ground. The hit had been so great that she bounced twice on the hard dirt, slamming her head and neck on the ground. After skidding a few feet on the grass, she came to rest, gasping for the air that had been knocked out of her lungs. Though her body had stopped, her mind was still spinning as blood oozed from scrapes on her arms and face.

So this is it, then.In the jumble of thoughts that bounced around her head, this one climbed above the rest. Her head and arms felt like they were on fire, and she couldn't even move the shoulder that had caught the impact from the beast.There was so much more I wanted to do, though...this was only the beginning...Finally despair and self-pity had broken through her determination, and wet tears joined the blood dripping down her face.

She could hear the ground cracking as the monster drew closer, and the goblin peered up at it through bleary eyes. A small part of her mind urged to get up, to flee, but already the world was going dark. Even though it was drawing closer, the monster seemed to be getting farther away from the goblin's perception. It started to reach for her, only to hesitate. A small bit of confusion entered Alice's mind, but she was already halfway unconscious. The last thing she saw was a flash of bright light, then the darkness rushed up to claim her.

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Slowly, so slowly, the goblin opened her eyes. It felt like someone had taken her brain out of her head and shaken it in a drink tumbler before pouring it back into her ears. Alice's thoughts were jumbled, and she felt strangely disconnected from her body. She focused on the feeling until it passed, and she felt a bit more like herself again. Like a jolt of lightning running through her mind, she remembered what had happened to her right before she passed out.

Her eyes were still blurry, so she focused on her other senses instead. It certainly didn't feel like she was in a beast's stomach; she was lying under a blanket on some kind of bedroll. Her body felt stiff, especially her arm, but there was no pain, no burning. The air felt cooler than before, but she could still hear distant sounds of the forest. It didn't feel like she was outside, but it didn't feel like the inside of a building either.

After a few moments, Alice's eyesight cleared up enough that she could see again. The first thing she focused in on was her knife, lying just a couple feet away from her, along with her pouch and shoes. At least she might be able to defend herself. Being careful not to move, she slowly looked around with her eyes. She was indeed lying on a bedroll, under a blanket. The rough, rock walls of a cave surrounded her, with a fairly low roof over her head.

Taking a few deep breaths, Alice slowly sat up, pushing the blanket down to her waist. The cave was smaller than she expected, the entrance being only about a dozen feet from where she was. However, what drew her attention like a thunderbolt was the figure sitting at the entrance of the cave. At a glance, it was a human male, dressed like an adventurer, a hand and a half sword within easy reach. He was sitting, leaned against the wall at the mouth of the cave, his legs lying across the entrance. The human's arms were crossed, and he was apparently gazing out into the forest, as all Alice could see was the short brown hair that covered the back of his head.

He must have heard the blanket shift, as he turned his head back to look into the cave. Alice tensed up as his eyes met hers. It was common knowledge that you shouldn't trust others you meet in the wilderness too easily, especially if they have you at an advantage. Too many times, she had seen people stagger back to town, robbed or injured, or just heard people talking about the ones who didn't come back at all. Though she wasn't too sure how steady she would be on her feet, the goblin readied herself to move at the slightest sign of trouble.

"Ah, good. You're awake." The human's deep voice echoed very slightly in the cave. His tone was mild, and he made no moves towards the goblin. It was hard to tell how old he was. His face still looked youthful, but his green eyes were intense and arresting, and they made him look older than the rest of his face. The most notable feature on his face was a thin, horizontal scar, right across the middle of his nose.

The silence stretched for a few moments before Alice realized that he was waiting for her to speak.

"Wh-what happened?" She asked, cautiously.

"You mean with the shambler?"

"Is...is that what that was?" Alice's eyes widened.

"Yea. A forest shambler." The man nodded, glancing back out at the forest. "They're the result of a concentrated mass of magic going out of control in the wilds. But you must know that, right?"

"No, I...uh, I had no idea." The goblin looked away, feeling like she should be embarrassed for some reason.

"You didn't?" The human raised an eyebrow. "How did you get into that mess if you weren't hunting it?"

"Well..." Alice started, looking down at her hands. "I was traveling along the road, when I saw the wreckage of a carriage. That...thingwas ripping apart the remains. As soon as I saw it, the thing started chasing me." She shuddered a bit, in spite of herself. "I ran as fast as I could, but I couldn't lose it. It must have chased me for over an hour."

"Poor luck indeed." He murmured pensively.

"Did you...kill it?"

"Essentially, yes." The human nodded. "They reconstruct their bodies with their reserves of magic. Do enough damage to them, and they'll expend all their energy remaking themselves and run out."

"I...I see." Alice mumbled. "Then, why did you save me?" She asked, her wariness from before returning.

"Do I need a reason to save someone?" He asked, clearly puzzled.

"I've...heard stories about the wilderness." The goblin replied, still tense. "Altruism isn't something I would want to rely on out here."

"A fair point." The man conceded, looking down at his lap. "How can I..." He thought for a long moment, before looking back up. "Maybe this can help vouch for me?"

He brought his hand up to the collar of his shirt, and Alice gripped the blanket in her lap tighter, unsure of what the human would do next. He fished around for a moment inside of his clothing then brought out something that had been hanging on a chain around his neck. The goblin's breath caught in her throat and she couldn't help but flinch in surprise as the sunlight flashed off of the gold plating. Alice looked on in stunned silence at the small gold plate that hung from the chain around the human's neck, a large letter "A" embossed in it, next to some smaller lettering.

"You're...an A ranker?" She asked, still stunned by the revelation.

"Ah, you recognize my plate, good." The human said, giving a bit of a relieved smile for the first time since Alice had seen him. "I was worried you'd just ask me what in the hells this is."

"No, no...I know what it means." The goblin replied simply, letting her gaze drift to the floor.

She had only seen a gold plate like that once, in passing, but any traveler or adventurer knew what it meant. The Adventurer's Guild was an international organization on the continent, probably the biggest organization in existence, at least on this side of the Great Sea. She herself had become a member shortly before leaving her hometown, but she had known about it long before that. Many of the patrons at the tavern she worked at were adventurers, and they were endlessly discussing or bragging about their ranks.

"Ah!" The goblin said suddenly, scrambling over to her belongings as the human raised his eyebrows. Alice rooted around in her pouch for a moment, before pulling out a similar plate, though hers showed a copper sheen. "I'm also an adventurer." She turned the plate to display the embossed "G" on it.

"I see." The man said simply, and Alice could feel her cheeks flush.

A ranking of "G" was the lowest ranking an adventurer could have, saved for those who were either just starting out, or people who simply weren't suited for life as an adventurer. While Alice did fit squarely into the former category, it still felt embarrassing, especially considering the man in front of her was an "A" ranker. From what the goblin had heard, there were only a few dozen A rankers on the entire continent, it being the highest possible rank the organization could bestow. No wonder the man had been able to kill that monster!

"Thanks...thank you for saving me." Alice said quietly, no longer suspicious of the human. While it wasn't a one hundred percent guarantee that an A ranker was a good person, they certainly would be far beyond the need for petty banditry or robbery.

"Glad I could help, at least. The name's Jay, by the way." The man said with a nod, still in that same mild tone.

"Alice...that's my name." The goblin said, wincing internally at how awkward that must have sounded. The whole situation was strange, and her mind still felt like it was reeling from her sudden reversal of fortune.

Noticing that the human was still staring, Alice quickly dropped her gaze. Her clothes were mostly intact, aside from the shoulder where the shambler had caught her. That sleeve had been shredded. Her clothes weren't exactly quality goods, and she found a bit of relief in the fact that they still preserved her modesty. While inspecting her clothes, it took her a moment to realize something else.

"My wounds...they're gone...?" She muttered the question to herself, but in the stillness of the small cave, the words must have reached the human, for he responded.

"You were in pretty rough shape when I got you here." He started, rubbing the back of his head. Was he embarrassed? "Your shoulder had been dislocated at the very least. I set the joint, then cast some healing magic onto you."

"You...you're a magic-user?" The goblin blurted in surprise. While not unheard of, there certainly weren't many people who could use it well enough to cast spells where she grew up.

"Yes, I am."

"But then why...?" Alice trailed off, gesturing at the sword laying next to the human. She always pictured magic-users as old men, prancing about in robes and waving wooden staves and wands around.

"I think the term used by most adventurers is 'spellsword', if I'm not mistaken." Jay said, looking down at the weapon thoughtfully. "Gives one more options in a fight."

Alice tried her best not to let her disbelief show on her face. She had heard that the study of magic was intense and grueling, on top of the talent for it being quite rare. And yet here he was talking about it the same way someone might mention strapping a dagger onto the back of their belt.

Silence filled the cave as Alice struggled to think of something to say. The human seemed unbothered by it, though, his eyes still on his weapon. After a few minutes, Jay spoke again, his voice causing the goblin to start in surprise.

"So what do you plan to do now?"

"Oh, uh..." the goblin fumbled her thoughts for a moment. "Before I ran into that...shambler, I was headed to Greenwood."

"Mmmm." The human glanced out at the forest again before turning back to Alice. "That is where I am headed as well. Would you prefer to travel there together?"

"Wh-what? Why?" She couldn't stop the words from tumbling out of her mouth.

"Well, traveling with someone is safer than traveling alone, is it not?" The human asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh..." Alice started, her mind racing. She hadn't been too suspicious of him once she had found out his rank, but this seemed very odd to her. While traveling together would certainly be safer forher, she offered no such benefit to the human. In fact, if he had to protect her, it might even be more dangerous.

She couldn't figure out his motive. Since he removed her pouch while she was out, he had to know she didn't have much in the way of coin. One look at her equipment would tell the rest of the story; her possessions weren't even worth the trouble of stealing.

The next thing that came to her mind was slavers, but she quickly discarded that idea. She was a goblin after all. The amount he would get from selling her would be insignificant compared to what an A ranker could earn from monster extermination requests, or even just being the bodyguard of some merchant or noble.

No matter how much she wracked her brain, she just couldn't come up with a reason for him to make that offer...other than pure kindness. Andthatwas perhaps the least believable possibility of them all.

Give and Take - Ch. 01

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