A/N: Boom! Another nice, long chapter, you're welcome ;) As always enjoy reading As They Fall and thanks for continuing to read <3 xx

"Welcome back," said Elizabeth, relieved to see Charlie and I return. Too happy to speak I simply smiled at her, hoping my cheeks weren't still pink.

"Thanks," said Charlie, before heading over to where Merek was tending to the horses, "I'm sorry about what happened earlier, I don't know what came over me."

"No harm done," replied Merek with a shrug, untangling a clump of burs from Orchid's mane. Charlie dipped his head gratefully and rummaged through one of the saddlebags, pulling out a selection of dried meats and bread. The four of us sat and ate in silence, scanning our surroundings for danger every few seconds.

As night fell and we settled into our bedrolls, a large shriek in the distance made Elizabeth let out a squeak of terror which Merek quickly muffled with his hand. Raising a finger to his lips he withdrew his hand and whispered,

"Sounded like a rabbit, it's close by too." Charlie and I exchanged a concerned glance but remained silent. Merek closed his eyes for several moments before he spoke again, "The horses can hear a group of three unknown creatures heading toward us. I'm going to untie them. If we get killed I don't want them getting eaten because they were tied up." I nodded in agreement and Merek stalked over to where the horses were tied. One of the horses let out a nervous whinny as Merek untied them but none of them moved once they were free. He hovered near the horses, placing a reassuring hand resting on Auriel's flank, as he strained his senses for the intruders. Before long the sound of undergrowth being crushed underfoot could be heard, followed by a strange dialect that was a combination of high keening noises and guttural snarls.

Merek flattened himself behind a nearby tree and motioned for us to hide. My heart hammered in my chest as the sounds grew closer and closer until it felt as if they were right beside us. The three of us huddled together behind a large bush several feet from the base of the Yew tree. I could just make out Merek's silhouette in the dim light, peering around the trunk every so often. Then I saw the creatures.

The three of them were around the same height, a head or two shorter than myself with shrivelled skin, the colour of sour milk, that was covered in angry green pustules. Their red eyes were so large they seemed to protrude from their skulls which were angular and hairless. With large hooked noses and fang-like teeth, these monsters were the stuff of nightmares. Elizabeth recoiled as she saw them, burying her face into Charlie's shoulder. I wrinkled my nose in disgust as their scent hit me, a mixture of rotten meat and dirt. Completely ignorant of our presence the creatures strode into the small clearing and began to tear through our possessions. I let out a tiny sigh of relief that we kept all our weapons and valuables on our person at all times.

The tallest creature made a strange keening noise and the other two grunted, walking over to the base of the Yew tree, stopping a couple of steps from where we were hiding. My muscles tensed with anticipation as I prepared to spring into action, but before I could move Merek's voice rang out across the clearing.

"Can I help you?" He strode out from behind the tree and confronted the creatures, seemingly calm. The tallest one barked some sort of order at the other two and they rushed to his side, their fangs bared menacingly. Merek looked down them, his expression a mixture of surprise and disgust. The creatures began to speak to one another, yipping and growling like a pack of fighting dogs. While they were distracted Merek quickly nodded to me and I quietly stepped out from behind the bush. Beckoning for Charlie and Elizabeth to follow we snuck up behind the creatures who had stopped communicating and were closing in on Merek.

"You want this?" asked Merek, drawing out a handful of coins from somewhere in the folds of his tunic. One of the creatures let out a cry, of what I could only assume was joy, as it launched itself into the air in an attempt to retrieve the coins. Merek snatched his hand away just in time, buying time for us to get closer. We took a few more painstaking steps forward before we had to stop. The leader was sniffing the air, grunting and wheezing. In a flash Merek scattered the coins on the ground and the creatures dived to collect them. Seizing the opportunity, I darted forward and plunged my dagger into the leader's back, it collapsed to the ground, convulsing as its strange, black blood poured out of the wound onto the ground. Charlie and Elizabeth had both managed to dispatch the other creatures too but Merek still looked concerned.

"Get down!" he bellowed, charging at the three of us and knocking us back just as the slain creatures exploded. I squeezed my eyes shut as the green boils ruptured and sprayed hot liquid into the air. The acrid smell of burning flesh stung my nostrils as I opened my eyes and realised Merek was in top of me. Charlie and Elizabeth rushed to their feet and pulled him off of me. He began to shriek and writhe on the ground and I widened my eyes in alarm. Rolling him over I had to refrain from screaming, patched of his back were a mess of flesh and cloth where the spray had hit him and was eating away at him. As gently as I could I peeled off his tunic, taking care not to get the liquid on my hands, and inspected his wounds. The acid seemed to have stopped burning into him but there were three deep, coin-sized holes on his spine just below his shoulder blades, and a dozen other holes in varying sizes. Merek's agonised screams died down into groans but he was still shaking and struggling as if he was on fire.

"I need you two to hold him down," I announced, summoning Charlie and Elizabeth to my side. With sombre expressions, Charlie pinned down Merek's arms while Elizabeth sat on and held his legs.

"This is going to hurt Merek," I warned, "but I need to do it." He grunted in reply and I unstoppered the vial of Dragon tears which was already half empty. I tipped two drops into the three holes and prayed it would be enough. I had a feeling we would need the tears again before our journey was over. Merek screamed into the dirt as his body absorbed the tears and began to knit back together, steam rising from each wound.

"I'll never get used to that," muttered Charlie as he watched the healing process with fascination. The holes in Merek's back healed into three shallow scars and to my relief, his cries of pain stopped. The three of us helped him to his feet and Charlie fetched him a spare tunic from one of the bags. With a word of thanks, he put it on and drank deeply from a nearby stream. Almost instantly he retched and a stream of black bile poured out of him, wilting the grass where it landed. Gasping for air he groaned and said,

"Fucking Goblins."

"Goblins?" I queried, placing my hand on his shoulder to steady him.

"Yeah, they live underground mostly, because they don't like the sun, but they come up to the surface at night and hunt for food or anything valuable they can get their hands on," Merek's spirit seemed to be returning as he spoke, although he still sounded out of breath.

"Are you okay?" asked Elizabeth, concerned.

"Yeah I'm okay. As far as I've heard their poison doesn't leave any lingering effects, so long as you throw up that horrid black stuff." Merek stroked her head affectionately and she let out of sigh of relief. We rested for an hour or so but none of us could sleep.

"We should leave," said Charlie, getting to his feet, "there could be more of them out there and I don't know about you three but I'm not going to be able to sleep after that." I nodded in agreement and found myself looking to Merek for confirmation.

"That's probably for the best, Goblins have a good sense of smell. If they catch the scent of their dead kin they'll come to investigate," said Merek, gesturing over his shoulder to the dead Goblins.

"Will the horses be okay to travel again so soon?" Elizabeth seemed concerned as we loaded the saddlebags onto the horses and prepared to mount.

"They've had a few hours' rest and we're almost at the base of the mountains," replied Charlie, patting Valiant's neck affectionately before climbing into the saddle, "they should be fine." Elizabeth didn't look convinced but she mounted Auriel all the same. We set off into the night, surprisingly calm despite our recent ordeal. Merek winced occasionally as we traversed the pathless forest, but the undergrowth soon began to thin, allowing for a smoother journey.

A few hours before dawn we emerged from the shelter of Hilfdyr Forest and out onto the rolling moorland. Green hills and fields were scattered before us stretching as far as the horizon, where the Otkir mountains rose out of the ground, their monumental size reaching high into the clouds. I gasped with delight as I took in the sight of the mountains, recalling the hours I had spent watching them from a distance as a child. I squinted and hoped for a glimpse of the fabled dragons but if there were any still living on the mountains, they were likely hidden by the thick blanket of clouds that shrouded the snow-covered peaks.

"We're close," I murmured, closing my eyes and inhaling the scents around me, "I can feel it."

"We'll find him," promised Charlie, flashing me a hopeful smile.

As we rode past streams and hamlets I became concerned.

"These lands have been deserted for a while," I commented, as we rode through an abandoned fishing village situated on a large river that flowed all the way from the mountains into Galaan.

"It looks like there were driven out," added Elizabeth, pointing to where a door had been broken down, someone's personal belongings strewn across the floor of their home. We scanned the town for anything salvageable but to no avail, anything of value had been taken long ago.

As the sun rose from behind the mountains we came upon a vast lake where a larger fishing village lay. As we approached it became clear that it had also been abandoned and picked clean. I was troubled by the desolate landscape we seemed to have come across, and couldn't help but feel something tragic had happened here.

"I don't think we'll find any people, even if we keep moving," said Merek, stifling a yawn as he dismounted Natiro.

"I agree," murmured Charlie, "we're all tired, especially the horses." Valiant flicked his ears as if he agreed and Orchid snorted beneath me.

"We might as well look around," added Elizabeth, "if we're going up into the mountains we'll need warmer clothes."

"Let's stay here for a bit then," I mumbled. After our disturbed night, I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and sleep. I rubbed my eyes sleepily and almost slid out of the saddle when I tried to dismount. Merek and Elizabeth led the four horses away while I looked around for a suitable house to rest in. Charlie followed me into a large, relatively undamaged house and together we searched for warm clothes. Most of the house had been ransacked but we did find two large, fleece lined jackets that reeked of fish in an overturned wooden chest.

"You and Elizabeth should take those. Not to offend you but neither of you are used to dealing with the cold," said Charlie, passing them to me, causing me to wrinkle my nose. I bit back a retort as I realised he was right, as much as I played at being a commoner, I always had a warm fire and blankets waiting for me at home, even in the dead of winter. We searched the other rooms and I opened another chest to reveal a cornucopia of overlooked clothing and supplies.

"Look at what I found!" I hollered, my exhaustion momentarily erased. Charlie rushed into the room and peered into the chest.

"That's great!" he announced, drawing out various pieces of winter clothes as well as a length of rope and a lantern.

"Did you find anything in the other room?" I asked, peering up at him while he examined the lantern.

"Several pairs of winter boots. These people must have gone into the mountains often."

"Lucky us," I mused, relieved at the prospect of being equipped to explore the mountains so soon. Setting down the lantern, Charlie leaned in and kissed my forehead, sending a shock down my body that I couldn't help but smile at.