Goblin hideout
No. 03
The weather was very threatening. My old leg fracture was never wrong. I was desperately looking for shelter; it was too dangerous to stay under the trees. I was soaked to the bone, with violent gusts of wind slapping my face when I finally saw a crack in a small rocky cliff. The place seemed inhospitable but I had no choice. I could get hit by lightning at any moment. I sneaked into this narrow gallery to take refuge. I had just reached the safety of the cave when I noticed an underground lake, which surely served as a watering hole for all kinds of wild creatures. I was gathering the materials needed to light a torch to frighten any unwanted tenants when I heard the f irst grunt. Then everything happened very quickly. I heard several other little incomprehensible cries before a dozen enraged goblins sprung from the other two galleries. I felt a sharp pain in my side before losing consciousness. The rest of the story is fairly easy to guess. If I had known, I would have tried my luck in the forest rather than serving as a meal for a band of green skins!
Excerpt from “Ghost Stories” by Geralt Nolz, member of the Brotherhood of the Strange.