One of the goblins jumped into the air with its axe raised above his head.

A steel hammer met it mid-air, and the sheer momentum of it slammed the creature back down to the ground. Dust, dirt, and a short spray of blood came up from the mess of it.

"D-D-Did you see that?!" One of the goblins nearby said to its comrade. The second one began running towards the human.

"Darn human! I'll gut you and skin you and -" Its cursing was interrupted by a horizontal swing from the same hammer, this one disorganizing the creature's jaw. It sent it into a roll along the ground, but did not kill it.

Ismayel's arm went along with the swing. Although he was strong, the hammer was so massive that he could not stop it once it was in motion. The second goblin lay still for a moment, it's jaw dislocated. But it soon realized the situation it was in, and got up and ran away. Ismayel was too encumbered in his armor to chase him.

"Arrows! Fire arrows at it! Hurry, hurry!" The squealing voice of a goblin came from his left, somewhere from within the darkness of the trees. Ismayel raised his left arm, and the near-human-sized shield along with it. He waited behind its cover, as he had trained before. He waited for the sounds.

"Fire!" The goblin shrieked. 

And the sounds came. Little pangs and pings against the metal of his shield. Crude iron arrowheads were hitting the tempered steel, one after the other. He braced himself behind the bulwark, and waited now, for the sounds to go away. 

As soon as they did, he lowered the shield and took a peek with one eye. He could not see where the fire was coming from, and he only knew their general location.

"Again! Again! Kill the human!" The squaling voice came with excitement. This time it let out a crude laughter.