The brush erupted with more shrieks. Darkness froze—five, no, six shadows moved in unison, eyes glowing faintly in the undergrowth. The pack was larger than before. Far larger.
"...Tch." She lifted the cracked branch anyway, heart hammering. Her body screamed to rush in, to throw herself into them, but instinct finally overrode desire. Not yet… not all at once.
The goblins spread wide, trying to box her in. Their guttural laughter grated in her ears as they crept closer, clubs and jagged blades raised.
Her boots slid back over the damp soil. She stole a glance over her shoulder—there, a glint of running water through the trees.
The goblins lunged.
Darkness pivoted sharply, throwing her shoulder into the nearest one to clear space, then sprinted. Branches clawed at her arms and face as she tore through the brush, the pack screeching and crashing after her.
She burst from the treeline onto the riverbank. Without hesitation she leapt, body arcing, armor heavy, and splashed hard into the cold rush of water. The current seized her immediately, dragging her downstream in a violent churn.
Behind her, goblins shrieked in fury on the bank, a few splashing clumsily into the shallows but unwilling to chase further. Their silhouettes faded as the river carried her away, tumbling her under and over until she finally surfaced, gasping, hair plastered to her face.
Her cracked branch was gone. Her limbs ached from the battering.
But as she clung to a floating log and let the current carry her, she smiled faintly through her ragged breaths.
"That… was close. Next time—I'll finish them."
Darkness dragged herself from the riverbank, dripping and shivering. Her armor clung uncomfortably to her skin, but her eyes still gleamed with that stubborn determination. She wrung water from her hair, glanced at the treeline where the goblins had lingered, and tightened her grip on the new branch she had snapped off on her way up.
"Running away once is enough… the next ones are mine."
The forest seemed quieter after her plunge, but soon she caught sight of movement again: three goblins scattered at the edges of a clearing, each distracted by rooting through half-rotten sacks. Lone stragglers. Her chance.
She stepped forward with deliberate noise. The goblins' heads jerked up, their snarls sharp in the air. One rushed her with a jagged blade—Darkness sidestepped, slammed her branch across its face, and drove a knee into its stomach, grinning as it toppled. Another came from the side, but she pivoted, smashing the branch down on its shoulder, then shoved it into a tree until it slumped.
The third tried to flee.
"Oh no you don't." Her voice rang low and eager. She hurled herself forward, crashing into its back, rolling on the ground until she pinned it. A quick jab of her improvised weapon, and it stopped struggling.
Panting, soaked hair plastered to her face again, she stood over the three fallen goblins. She could feel bruises forming beneath her armor, but her chest swelled with pride. "Three… that makes it worth the river."
After stripping their ears for proof, she paused, staring at the forest path where Kara had gone earlier. A flicker of concern crept into her expression. She's just a novice… what if she ran into too many at once?
With that thought pressing in her chest, Darkness turned and set off to find Kara, intent on regrouping so they could return to the guild together.