I turned and saw a girl sitting on the fence. She was smiling and swinging one leg, looking down at me with deep burgundy, enchanting eyes. I immediately understood this was someone insanely dangerous.

  When I first saw the archers, I thought they could wound me.

  When I saw Scott, I thought he could easily kill me at any moment convenient for him—even with his bare hands.

  When I met Sem, I felt tension from him, as if standing next to a hungry or sleepy beast ready to tear off my head—but simply didn’t, because it saw no point in doing so.

  But from this girl, I felt only HORROR.

  There was no fear or panic, no urge to run, hide, or fight. Any action of mine was useless—and I realized this instantly the moment I saw her eyes. I froze, trying to process what was happening inside my hollow skull. Questions arose, and since I had nothing much to lose, I decided to ask them:

  — “Hi,” I began, “can I know who you are? And how did you end up there?”

  The most beautiful girl I’d ever seen nodded, and one of her silken strands slipped from behind her ear, making her look even more charming. She slowly placed her index finger on her chin and began swaying her head from side to side, pondering my words. Less than a minute passed before she parted her full, soft lips and began speaking, stretching out every word:

  — “Nah, you can’t know that yet.”

  I was surprised she’d spent so long thinking just to refuse me. But that feeling quickly faded—because simply looking at her was enough for me. It was more than enough for my weary body…

  — “Wait! Weary? But I’m just bones—why would I be tired?” The words froze in my mind, and to check, I looked at my gloved hand. But the moment I looked away from it, the air instantly filled with sounds of battle. Not far off, adventurers were fighting the slime. I froze, not understanding what was happening.

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  — “What did you see there? Is there something in your hand?” Her voice rang out again, drowning out all outside noise. But this time, I didn’t raise my gaze—I kept it fixed on my palm. The feeling of Horror still hadn’t left me, but now I could still understand where I was and what I was doing. I stood motionless.

  — “Won’t you look at me anymore?”

  — “Sorry, but I have important business with my hand, so I can’t be distracted,” I tried to give a reasonable answer.

  — “Fine, this is getting boring. See you later—if you don’t die.”

  — “Wait,” my thoughts were in chaos, but I managed to ask one more question: “Why didn’t Sem notice you?”

  — “His nose hasn’t grown enough yet,” she replied, then burst into a ringing, shimmering laughter that seemed to scatter across the entire area and vanish.

  When I lifted my head, the beautiful girl was gone—only the two ancient moons looked down at me from the sky. I turned toward the others. “Should I tell them about this? I think not. They’ve kept their secrets from me too,” I thought, preparing to rush to their aid—but then I heard a whisper:

  — “Goblins are already in the village. Hurry.”

  — “What? What goblins? Where from?” I asked the empty air, but got no reply. I didn’t understand what was happening, but decided to warn the others.

  The huge rink was badly wounded, its movements much slower now, yet it still held against Sem’s and Scott’s assault. Scott wielded his spear, but this time the tip glowed yellow and occasionally shifted to orange. He struck again and again, clearly inflicting serious damage. The monster defended itself by swinging its head like a massive mace. Of course, it hadn’t landed a single hit yet.

  I was close enough to the twins, so I shouted as loudly as the medallion allowed:

  — “Goblins! Goblins are in the village! Help!” I didn’t know if they were really there or not, but I wanted to believe the terrifying woman hadn’t lied to me.

  After my words, Lerry froze and began speaking rapidly to Drodul. Nodding to each other, Lerry, Drodul, and Berry ran toward me. They quickly caught up, and now we were running together into the village.

  — “Faster,” Lerry gasped, “I hear a large number of hearts at the far end of the village. They’re beating fast and nervously—and some are already falling silent. Let’s hurry!”