Happy to finish off the not-so-hungry Muu’s leftovers (like it or not) Matteo’s mood could only continue to improve. The conversation was all right too, even if it was mostly a cover. Speaking of which, what kind of guild was the “Blade Dancers?” Since he’d been prioritizing efficiency at the time, Matteo had only read about the basic guilds in the guidebook and lazily foregone anything else. [i]It sounds quite illustrious.[/i] The young man frowned a little. Ignoring her stammering, he pressed her for a little more information. [b]“If I may ask, how did you…”[/b]

There was a whistling sound and a [i]thud.[/i] Matteo felt the shock of impact run through him and he looked down at his arm, where the shaft of an arrow was protruding.

Ah.

He crumpled. The pain hit in a wave that made him clench his teeth as Matteo hit the ground, curling up to make himself as small of a target as possible. [b][i]“Shit.”[/i][/b] Shock still reverberated from the impact, a dribble of blood leaking from the arrow in his arm. Without thinking about it, knowing implicitly not to remove the arrowhead, he snapped the shaft with his other hand, still greasy with rabbit juices.

The newbie Thief was almost numb as he watched the two goblins (exactly how he’d imagined them, strangely) emerge from the woods and splinter off, leaping at the two girls on either side of the fire. Because he was injured, a loser, or otherwise unremarkable, Matteo was ignored.

[i]I wasn’t expecting this.[/i] Not an ambush—he hadn’t thought the goblins would come to [i]them[/i]. Fumbling for the dagger Ash had given back to him, Matteo rose shakily to a crouch. His arm throbbed, but he forced his muscles into a smooth, painful sidestep, still low to the ground. There were no snapping twigs or loud footfalls—he approached as quietly as he could, praying for his training to work the way he expected. 

When it came down to it, though, Matteo hesitated. Right behind the goblin attacking Muu, the boy suddenly felt unsure. [i]Am I just supposed to stab it in the back?[/i] Jump on top of it, try to wrestle it down? Slash at its ankles? It was moving, so it wasn’t exactly easy to go for its critical points. [i]I’ll just get as close as I can, then wait for an opening to get him off balance. Right. Yes…[/i] He crept closer, catstep by catstep, half-cradling his injury.  

His left arm throbbed. His right hand was sweating as he gripped the dagger. [i]Can I really do this?[/i]