Chapter 4

Yori gasped as he observed what was in front of him. He had expected nothing but the night's sky, but instead he saw flames. Everything was burning. Smoke billowed from the wooden buildings, painting the sky a gross shade of grey. The orange and heat of the flames reached his face as he peered out into the small village he had lived in his entire life, not able to move or think.

As he snapped back to his senses, he became aware that the screams were coming from every direction. He cried for his body to move, but it was frozen.

Wha- what is happening? I need to move! I need to help!

His body would not respond.

A loud yell of anguish came from downstairs. It was a man. It was his father. Yori's paralysis came to a sudden end.

"Mom, dad, Noko!"

Yori pushed himself away from the window as hard as he could. Using the momentum to dash as fast as he could to the staircase, he tripped on the blanket he had thrown on the floor, but managed to stay on his feet. The world seemed distant as he scrambled down the wood steps, accidentally bumping his hip on the banister. He barely noticed the pain in his frantic race to his family's aid.

He immediately halted at the bottom of the stairs as he processed the sight in front of him. A hideous green monster panted as he looked up at Yori with his piercing yellow eyes that seemed to slow in the dim light. A row of sharp teeth glinted in the fires behind him. The creature's pointed ears were starkly outlined by the chaos happening in the village. Yori wheezed as he realized what the goblin was standing over; the bodies of his parents, his father atop his mother, both lying face-down. The blade in the goblin's hand ran through both of them, apparent that his father's sacrifice was in vain.

The creature seemed out of breath as it struggled to dislodge the sword. Their eyes locked, a moment passed where neither moved. Yori was forced to wipe tears that threatened to blur his vision of the adversary in front of him. Taking advantage of this minor distraction, the goblin took its chance to strike and dove at Yori empty handed, unable to free the sword from the bodies below it. Yori turned to run, well aware that a Villager like him could never hope to fight a monster on his own.

"Ember!"

A small voice screamed the activation words of a spell, voice cracking with the effort. Yori turned back in time to see a diminutive flame sear the back of the goblin's head, causing it to lurch forward. The goblin stopped its approach as its right hand flew to the scorched flesh. It whipped its head around. His eyes were fixed on what it now saw as the greater threat. Noko stood in the doorway, a defiant look on her face as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her hands were outstretched towards the creature, with her palms facing it, her wrists touching. Her small legs were spread for balance. The goblin quickly closed the gap between them.

"Run Yori, I'll save y-!"

Before the little girl could finish her plea, the goblin's hands were around her throat.

No, not her too! She's just a kid! I can't let this monster take her from me too!

Yori once again was overwhelmed. Losing his own life was one thing, and his parents were already lost, but Yori could not lose his little sister too. He could not even fathom the idea. Regaining his senses, he ran towards the kitchen counter to his right. Searching frantically for a weapon, knocking dishes onto the floor in his frenzied hunt. Yori could hear his sister struggling against the goblin's grasp, scratching and kicking it. The creature grunted in return, maintaining its grip on her delicate throat. The glint of metal caught Yori's eye. The knife he had failed to put away after dinner, was lying safely away from the edge of the counter. He grabbed the handle of the blade and ran screaming at the goblin.

He turned in time to see Noko's tiny arms fall limp. Her small legs dangled, lifeless, above the ground before coming crashing down as the goblin released her body. It was too late.

No.

A whole new wave of tears came flowing from Yori's eyes, but his fear had been replaced with rage. It felt like molten lava ripping a hole in his chest, revealing the only emotion he had left.

Anger. Anger at the goblin that slew his family. Anger at himself for being weak. Anger at the barrier for not keeping the monsters out. Anger at the Gods for giving him a useless blessing. It all hit him at once, but he channeled those feelings into a desire to end this monster that stood above his sister's body. His scream turned to a battle cry, momentarily catching the goblin off guard. The creature's eyes went wide, surprised as Yori sprinted towards it.

I know I'm going to die, but this bastard is going to die with me, I'll make sure of that! I'm so sorry Noko!

Fumbling briefly, he swung the knife at the goblin. It narrowly managed to dodge him. A smirk formed on the goblin's thin lips. He swung again and again, but could not manage to hit the creature. His attacks came clumsy and obvious. It was apparent that this creature had combat experience, while Yori had none.

The boy swung wide, his arm well passed the goblin's body. The creature saw an opening to strike. It scratched at Yori's side furiously, claws ripping flesh and scraping bone. Blood dripped from the wounds, but Yori was too driven by adrenaline and rage to notice the pain.

Certain of his coming death, the pain seemed irrelevant since his only goal was to land a killing blow on the grotesque monster. His pulse throbbed in his ears, drowning any of the surrounding screams out of his world. A bead of sweat rolled down Yori's forehead towards his cheek, brought on by the effort he had been putting in to ending his foe and the immense heat radiating through the window from the burning village.

As Yori pushed through the pain and the goblin's attacks, he could see the monster take a step back, stumbling over the broken leg of one of the kitchen chairs lying on the floor on its side. With his attention focused on the corpses that were once his family, Yori had not noticed the disarray the kitchen was in from his parent's struggle. The creature looked him in the eyes as it fell to the ground, clenching its teeth and raising its eyebrows in a worried expression. Clearly the goblin did not expect the boy to stay and fight as humans usually retreated once injured.

Taking a lesson from his adversary, Yori took advantage of the vulnerable state of the creature and dove forwards as it fell. Anticipating the human's advance, the goblin was prepared and wrapped its hands around Yori's throat as the boy landed on top of it. It made a miscalculation, however. Unlike Noko, Yori's weapon was not a spell, it was a knife; a knife he still held in his right hand.

Yori gripped the hilt with both hands and pushed as hard as he could, driving it down towards the monster's throat. Pain throbbed in his shoulder, but he persisted. His attack landed as the knife plunged into the goblin. Blood spewed from the wound, covering him and the creature in dark red blood. The grip on Yori's throat temporarily tightened. His vision started going hazy, but he had to hold on long enough to see it die. He glared straight into the yellow eyes as they stared back at him.

The grip released. All of the strength faded from the clawed fingers. One final cough of blood spewed from the goblin's mouth as its eyes went blank. The blood splattered across Yori's face.

"Hah…"

A short, adrenaline-inspired laugh at his victory. This simple Villager had killed it. Yori was still alive despite his doubt when the tussle began.

What now…?

He peered around the room, soaking in the horror of what had just happened there. His eyes ran along the bodies of his mother and father, and rested on the corpse a few feet from him. Noko's eyes stared unwavering at the ceiling. Yori let out a strangled cry and collapsed to the floor, weeping, his arms wrapped around his face so he could hide from the terror around him.

He heard more screams. More people losing loved ones, and their own lives as well. Homes being burned. Lives being destroyed.

What should I do? They need help, but what help can I provide? I can't fight them all.

He was weak to begin with, but even more so now that he was exhausted and injured. Blood still leaked from the wounds on his side.

That damn stone did nothing. If only there was someone strong here to protect everyone. They could protect the village…

For the first time in his life Yori was angry that he was not given a more impressive Blessing. He sat there for only a few seconds, the pain from his wounds creeping up as the adrenaline began to wear off.

That's it! I need to get someone strong, someone to help. But where?!

It took him only a moment before an idea came to him.

The city! I need to get to Esaron as fast as possible! They'll have Adventurers strong enough there.

Yori held his left hand over his side to try and slow the bleeding, using his right to lift himself off the floor. Gathering his feet underneath him, he sprinted through the back door and ran as fast as he could. Beyond his family's fields there was a forest that stretched to surround the entire village. He figured he could use the trees for cover to try and remain undetected in his escape. His house being at the edge of town was both a blessing and a curse at the moment. It meant they were one of the earliest to be attacked, but that he might be able to escape without being noticed by the other monsters. While the forest had monsters of its own, as Yori had witnessed earlier that day, he had no other option but to hope none of them pursued him.

Stopping as he came to the barrier, Yori glanced at the wreckage of the village. All he could see was fire and smoke. Nothing looked familiar in the carnage taking place. Turning back towards the barrier, he took a deep breath and continued running.

It was dark, too dark to see clearly in front of him. The moon was high in the starry sky, shining through the trees to give him at least some illumination of the surroundings. The serenity of the enveloping forest was quiet in an almost eerie silence. There were no sounds of owls calling, or the chattering of rodents, not even evidence of a single monster nearby. Just silence. He felt a similar feeling to his first encounter with the forest when he was retrieving the herbs for Mrs. Handa. It almost gave Yori pause due to the uneasy feeling of being watched, perhaps followed. Whatever was out there was likely dangerous, but it was keeping the other creatures away from him. He was at least grateful for the lack of encounters.

An hour into his sprint he glanced behind him again, hoping for confirmation that this was all just a bad dream. The trees blotted out anything he may have been able to see of the village. Something shifted in the trees behind him. Squinting to see more clearly, Yori thought he saw a glimpse of golden eyes not far behind him high in the trees.

What is that? Is it following me?

Yori pressed on faster than his body wanted to allow him, one foot in front of the other. His vision was hazy with exhaustion and pain. More than a few low-set branches and protruding roots made the journey even more challenging than it already was. Hours passed and the adrenaline persisted. Images of his sister and parents drove his aching body. Severe dehydration made him unable to cry, even though he wanted to.

More time passed, but he was not sure how long it had been. The sun began its ascent, peeking over the walls of the capital. The sky turned a deep shade of orange, which to Yori looked like blood. The city was within sight. His gamble had paid off. Yori's body had reached a state of numbness and pain he could not have imagined before today, but he had to get there no matter what. The more his body cried for him to stop the harder he pushed himself until finally he could see the barrier of Esaron glistening with the light of dawn. Heavy iron gates sat open behind it.

Several people stood lined up at the entrance. The first in line was speaking to one of the guards. The city's protectors were heavily armored and carried either a halberd or sword. The dim sunlight glinted off of the city crest on their chest plate; a gold dragon inside of a shield. The traveler handed the guard a piece of paper, who began inspecting it. Yori could not afford to wait in line to gain entrance to the city. The guards were not who he needed, he needed seasoned Adventurers. Taking another gamble, he rushed towards the large archway. Two guards stood ready for him and crossed their halberds in front of Yori's face, expecting him to stop. As he approached, they noticed that Yori did not slow his speed. The man on the left held out his hand.

"Halt! You'll have to wait in line like everyone else, kid."

Ducking under the blades, Yori stumbled slightly from the sudden change in pace, and continued to run. The exhaustion was beginning to catch up with him, but he was so close. Citizens of the walled city gasped and jumped aside as they saw him run by them. He heard yelling coming from behind him but the pulse in his ears drowned out what they were saying. It did not matter. Yori would not have stopped for a king.

If I slow down, I fail. Not much farther.

Although he had no idea where exactly the Adventurer's Guild was, he had to keep moving and searching until he had found it. Several people walked the cobbled streets on either side of him. Shopkeepers began readying their stores for the coming day, sweeping their walkways and opening their doors.

A wood sign with a carving of a sword, staff, bow and shield came into view.

The Guild, at last.

Slamming his shoulder against the wooden door, he grasped at the doorknob, barely able to close his hand around it. The door flew open under his weight as he stumbled through the entrance, crashing to the tiled floor below him. A few Adventurers were scattered around the building. They stared at him with a mix of shock, confusion, and once they saw the condition he was in, concern. Being early in the morning the Guild was mostly empty. Even so, he was sure they could send someone immediately since that was their job.

Yori placed his forearm on the wooden table next to him and pulled himself to his feet, stubbornly limping over to the reception counter, despite the searing pain in his legs. A young girl stood behind the counter, her blonde hair tucked behind slightly pointed ears. She smiled at first when the door opened, but her smile turned to worried horror as she took in his state. Blood dripped from his wounds, leaving behind a crimson trail. Sweat had washed most of the blood from his face onto his tunic. With all the air he could muster, Yori begged the receptionist, gasping between words.

"The village… of Oseford… please save-"

Yori's plea fell short as he collapsed. His body crumbled to the floor as the exhaustion finally caught up with him. A loud thump echoed through the building as his head hit the cool tiles, and all light faded from sight.