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The door swung open quickly, sending a resounding thud throughout the abbey. I had been sitting at the desk in my small room, reading over one of the books from the abbey library when it happened, and I had nearly fallen out of my chair in shock. Normally the abbey was nearly silent during the day, with most of the monks either studying or praying in the chapel itself. But when that door opened as hard as it did the only thing that came to my mind was trouble. We were a fairly isolated abbey, the nearest town a four hour hike down the road. I stood swiftly, grabbing my short sword from beside my closet and heading out of my room and down the stairs. What I saw when I reached the main chamber won't ever leave me. A man, covered in blood and limping heavily, leaned against the door as two monks rushed to his aid. I joined them, helping to move him to one of the back rooms specifically for travelers.

"What happened?" Asked one of the blue-robed monks, a heavyset human by the name of Father Werres. He brushed me back, shaking his head and gripping the symbol of Merrea that hung around his neck. I retreated to the other side of the room, looking the man over. He bled from innumerable wounds, some of them overlapping and crossing like roads on a map. It was only when I got nearer to him that I realized he wasn't human, his slight build and long ears pinning him as an elf of the High Fane, far from home.

"G-Goblins," He croaked, obviously in great pain. Hell, who wouldn't be? "Came out of...a c-cave..."

"Truly? Sigan, child, go fetch Cadein and bring him here. He must know of this." Said Werres, his voice the grimmest I've heard him. I nodded without thinking, turning and rushing out of the room. Some of the other monks had heard the commotion and showed up as I left, but I ignored them and rushed as quickly as I could out of the abbey itself. The summer air was hot and humid, but I paid no mind as I sprinted down the dirt path and edged through the small gate at the end of it. Cadein was a hunter who lived near the abbey, and a man of great knowledge about the area between the city of Seii to the west and Nale Hill to the east. This area included our abbey, and he ofttimes spent meals with the monks and myself. He was a kind, if gruff, man and according to the monks it was he who brought me to the abbey in the first place.

I had no idea of my parentage and I didn't want to know. All I knew is that I was an orc and that was all that mattered to me. I'd taken up the life of a scholar ever since the monks taught me to read, devouring every book in the considerable library on the abbey's grounds. Of course I got some very strange looks from some of the travelers that passed through, but none of them really ever got to me. People are ignorant, and that I learned very quickly. But these thoughts left my mind as I drew closer to my destination. Cadein's hut was nestled into a thick copse of trees at the edge of the river, and Cadein himself sat in front of it whittling a chunk of wood.

"Sigan? What's the matter?" He asked as I skidded to a stop before him, panting and sweating. He was an orc as well, but insisted that he wasn't of pure blood, like myself. Stripped to the waist and displaying his impressive musculature he cut an imposing figure only deepened by the concerned on his scarred face. "Speak to me."

"Traveler," I panted, "Came into abbey...hurt badly...goblins...told to find you..." I really shouldn't have run the entire way, in retrospect.

"Goblins? Here?"

"They...said the...same thing." I leaned against a tree, my heart pounding viciously. I guess it was adrenaline that carried me this entire way, seeing as I've never run that far in my life and definitely not in a robe in the middle of summer. Cadein spat a curse and stood, disappearing into his hut and holding open the heavy leather flap that served as a door. I ducked inside, the familiar scent of leather and fur meeting my nose. It was comforting, actually. A simple bedroll was rolled up and stored next to a large backpack, the longbow Cadein used to hunt leaning up against it. Furs hung from racks, presumably waiting for the next passing trader.

"Goblins aren't anything to be mucked about with," said Cadein as he prepared his equipment. "they're smart, devious, and most of all cruel. They aren't at all like the stories in your books."

"Ah." I said, worried. If what Cadein said was true, this combined with how wounded the traveler was...they might be a serious threat to the abbey and the surrounding lands.

"I want you to run back to the abbey and make yourself safe." Cadein said, as he strapped on his leather armor. "Tell the monks I'm on it and have a good idea where the goblins are hiding."

"Let me come with you." I said, my mouth working without my brain's consent.

"What? No."

"The abbey is my home, and if the goblins are this much of a threat I want to defend it." I frowned and tapped the scabbard of my sword. "I'm not unarmed and you know how good I am with it."

"Yeah, enough to defend yourself, not to assault a goblin cave."

"I want to come with you." I repeated, stronger this time. Caedin sighed and rubbed his forehead, pausing for a moment then shrugging.

"Fine. But I want you to stay back and do everything I tell you to do to the letter, understand?"

"Of course." I nodded and felt a little surge of pride inside me. I was defending my home, and in doing so proving my worth to the monks and Caedin as well. They'd always treated me as a child, since I was technically only sixteen summers, but I didn't feel as if I deserved it. I was better educated than most adults and I wasn't too shabby with a blade, so I had reason to not be called a child anymore.

"As I said, go back to the abbey and tell the priests we're going to deal with the goblins here and now. Then I want you to travel west from the abbey until you come to where the land begins to dip down towards the river. There will be an old pier on the bank of the river; you are to go south from there along the bank until you see the cave." Cadein finally slung his quiver on his back as well as his bow case, his own sword going to his hip.

"Alright." I nodded, and we left the hut. I jogged back to the abbey, finding a few of the monks gathered in the front hall. They turned to me when I entered.

"Thank Merrea you're safe!" Said one, smiling and crossing the room to put his hand on my shoulder. "What did the hunter say? Is he tracking them?"

"As we speak, yes." I nodded. "I'm going with him."

"What? Sigan, you are but a child and are not ready for such violence!"

"I'm sixteen summers," I defended, bristling. "I do as I wish. This abbey is my home, and may Merrea damn me if I don't!" My throat burned as I spoke those words, and my head throbbed. Swiftly I reigned myself in, remembering Cadein's lessons on my bloodline. If I didn't keep control of myself, I could lose my mind to the rage flowing through my veins; keeping hold of it is the difference between a beast and an orc. The monks looked between each other, until the one who had spoken first sighed.

"Take this," he said, reaching into a pocket inside his robe and producing a small wooden charm. "It will bring you back to us should you be severely wounded."

"Thank you, Brother." I said, taking the charm and tucking it into a pouch on my hip. With that I turned and left, back into the summer heat. As I followed Cadein's directions I unfastened my robe, letting it billow in the warm breeze and cool my sweating body. I wasn't naked underneath, I mean, I live with monks. Instead I wore a short loincloth of a dark fabric fastened by a length of leather about my waist. I shifted the small pouch that held the charm from my hip to this length of leather, desiring it as close to my body as possible. A twinge of fear ran through my body as I walked through the forest, and I began to doubt myself. Had I only insisted out of rage? No, it wasn't rage. Stubbornness? Would Cadein look down on me if I didn't show up?

No, he'd probably just go looking for me. The forest was dense between the river and the abbey, untouched by people and thick with undergrowth. I'd spent a lot of time out here when I was younger, exploring the woods and fighting mock battles against imaginary enemies. There was a nice little glade a short walk from the abbey where I'd often go to be alone with my thoughts and my writings. But I emerged from the forest after a time to find the old dock Cadein had mentioned, half rotted and crumbling under the weight of ages. I turned south, soon spotting in the distance Cadein half-obscured by bushes and burying something. I hurried up to him, and as I drew close he held up his hand, palm outwards in the universal sign to wait. I stopped, and he crept close.

"I've set up shard bombs in the ground. The moment the goblins step on them they'll explode, hopefully killing a good amount of them. They're not very deep into the caves, and they only recently entered." Cadein pointed back into the forest. "They obviously attacked the traveler there, but tried to hide the signs. It's possible they're just a roving group, but we really can't take any chances."

"So what are we going to do?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

"Every so often one of the goblins comes to the mouth of the cave to look around. I'll make a show of being sneaky, and he'll most probably call the others. Judging by how they attacked the traveler the lot of them will come streaming out, get killed by my explosives, and we'll mop them up. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Now don't attack until you see three explosions. Any less and you stay put." He nodded towards a large tree that had fallen across the bank, within close view of the cave mouth. I crept over there as Cadein took his position.

We didn't have to wait long before the sentry called out a cry in a harsh language. I drew my sword, remaining crouched behind the fallen tree and barely poking my head over it. Suddenly the entire mouth of the cave roared in a massive explosion, sending dirt and debris flying into the air in a great wave. I tumbled back, covering my head and losing my sword as the wave washed over me, only getting a glance of Cadein leaping into the water before I lost sight of him. My ears range with the fury of the explosion as debris battered me, covering me in a layer of dirt and sand. As soon as I could I leapt up, surveying the situation. Instead of the battle I had expected to see there was a huge dent in the ground itself, with exposed rock crumbling over the cave opening and sealing it off. A tree had been partially uprooted by the explosion, standing at a severe angle with the ground and its roots splayed like twisted fingers. Cadein bobbed in the water, looking at the situation as I did.

"What in the hells?" I asked, looking at him. He shrugged, swimming towards the shore and fetching his bow and quiver. He was plainly concerned, his eyes locked on the former cave entrance that was now collapsed.

"That was much bigger than my charges." He went to the edge of the crater, looking about as I gathered my wits. "They must have done something. It destroyed my trap and collapsed the cave entrance, as well as trapped them, so it's possible they were killed in the explosion." I searched about for my sword as he spoke, finding it half-buried in the sand and returning it to its sheath.

"Well..."

"That's it, then." Cadein said, smiling at me. "I'll handle it from now on. Go on home."

I returned to the abbey, brushing dirt off myself and spitting it out of my mouth the entire way. By the time I arrived back the sun was beginning to set, and as I walked back in the single monk in the front room leapt up.

"Sigan! You're unharmed, I see." There was obvious relief in his voice, and I smiled. "Unharmed, but filthy. We heard the explosion here, and we feared for the both of you."

"No, Cadein set explosives. The goblins are trapped in the cave now." I nodded simply, before glancing towards the stairs to the second floor. "Maybe I could bathe before supper?"

"Of course." The monk went back to his reading, and my attention turned towards the now-closed guest room door.

"How is the traveler?" I asked, quietly.

"By Merrea's grace he yet lives, but we do not know if he will make it though the night." The monk sighed. "His wounds are most severe and Merrea allows no more magical healing to be performed on him this day. We are doing all we can to make his existence comfortable, but the odds do not smile on him living through the night."

"I see." With that I climbed the stairs, ducking briefly into my room to fetch a new robe and underclothing before drawing a bath in the bathing room. With the door locked and window open I undressed, leaning on the windowsill and watching the last of the sun's light descend over the forest as the magic in the stone tub filled and warmed the water. The tub was a gift from a dwarven artificer who had stayed in the abbey before I had come along, and was enchanted to make water via magic. As I waited, though, my mind began to drift back towards the action and drama of the day. Something didn't seem right about the goblins being trapped in the cave, something that still chewed at me.

After climbing into the water that was instantly muddied by the dust and dirt all over me, it struck me. That explosion was far too large to be anything but intentional and I had no idea what was actually in the caves. The longer I soaked the more I was sure of this, until I finished bathing quickly, dried and dressed myself, and rushed downstairs. Thankfully Cadein was there, saving me a walk through the forest. He was speaking to Father Werres at the table in the room, having changed back into his normal garb. He didn't seem worried in the least, which calmed me somewhat.

"Sigan, there you are." Said Cadein, waving to me as I walked down. I sat, looking over at Werres and gauging his expression. He looked like his normal self once more, quick to smile and laugh. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd gotten locked in the bathroom again."

"No, that's not going to happen anymore." I said, blushing a little. Werres chuckled deeply.

"So as I was saying to Father Werres, I thought on the caves and went scouting around. There aren't any openings in that cave; it's pretty much just one big chamber. The explosion probably collapsed the cave roof too, meaning that they're not just starving to death down there." Cadein said, gesturing with the cup he'd been drinking from. "Which means Father Werres can go on with his plan."

"Plan? What plan?"

"We are going to take the injured traveler down to the Medicarium in Seii. He is too badly injured for us to treat, and we are nearing our usual monthly resupply so it would be best for us to take care of both issues at once." Werres explained, sitting back and gesturing as he spoke. "Thanks to Cadein here solving our goblin issue we can take our normal trip instead of remaining here and sending Cadein."

"Can I come with you this time?" I said, sitting forward instantly, my problems scurrying back into the dark recesses of my mind. But my hopes fell when Werres shook his head softly, chuckling.

"No, not this time either. Someone should be here if a traveler might arrive. And if you're old enough to fight goblins you're old enough to help out anyone who might come to our door." He finished this with a wink at Cadein, who merely twitched the corners of his mouth upwards in a faint smile. I slumped, disappointed. Cadein patted my shoulder softly.

"I'll still be in my hut if anything too bad happens." He said, as if to comfort me. I yawned deeply and stood after nodding to him, smoothing my robe.

"Time to turn in, I guess." I said. After saying my farewells I returned to my room and undressed for bed. But even as I laid in the comfort of the sheets I worried. What if it was a fake? A setup? I shook my head, rolling over to face the window. What a silly idea, goblins setting up a massive explosion just to fake death. Even if Cadein said they were intelligent I doubted they had the ability to build and set explosives that large. With a quiet snort I closed my eyes, drifting off to sleep.

I never dream. Well, at least I didn't before that night. Usually I just close my eyes, a moment passes, and suddenly it is daytime once more, but this night was different. In my dream I saw a high tower of light stone, several buildings surrounding it like a half-circle. The whole complex sat on top of a mountain, thick snow cover lining the cobblestone streets of the complex and the sturdy roofs of the buildings. A lake sat below, a long and winding path descending the mountain and cutting through a thick pine forest to reach the iced lake. But as soon as I had recovered from the shock of actually dreaming I woke, bright daylight streaming in through the half-open window.

The silence was impressive. The monks must have already departed with the traveler, and judging by the sun's position it was late afternoon. The sun always sat directly in line with my window, and its beams shone powerfully through. I sat up, dressing quickly and hurrying about my daily chores. As the sun set, though, an odd noise picked at the very edge of my hearing. It seemed to be coming from the basement, so I hauled open the heavy wooden door and descended the stone staircase. The basement was always chilly, and even more so in the winter when things tended to freeze over. The sound grew louder as I searched, still a barely audible scraping sound. After a while of searching I gave up, shrugging and attributing it to rats before heading back upstairs. Rats were always a problem in basements, trying to get into the grain stores that the monks had begun to store in iron-lined barrels.

With my chores done I returned to my room, settling down at my desk with one of the books I had been studying. I didn't even get a chapter in in before the door creaked open, and I turned to meet a vicious blow. My head spun as I slid off the chair, losing consciousness before I hit the ground.