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The Goliath knew of a river that ran quite the distance toward the Southwest, and since that was the way her travels would take her, she walked for a good distance -wary of the Goblins in the area- until she eventually reached the banks of fresh water. Thirsty, Vah/lux pulled the hide water pouch from her belt to refill before continuing her journey along the river, gripping the javelin in one hand, which can also double as a close-combat weapon should the need arise. 

Her weapon of choice, however, has always been, and will alway be, the large glaive strapped to her back, one which was taken as almost a “trophy”, from her Orc captor many months prior. She had, since then fashioned the polearm to suit her aesthetic, carving into the hardwood handle, ancient symbols of her people, tribe, and culture, as well as fashioning feathers together from sacred birds, and hanging them just under where the massive blade attached. Vah’lux had wondered quite often why she’d kept such a reminder of her many years in captivity under the mud and shit covered heel of the Orcs, yet she could think of no other reason as simply a reminder of victory against oppression. Never again would she allow herself to be taken prisoner. At least, not alive.

The smell of burning wood caught the Goliath’s attention as the winds shifted toward her, and while that isn’t an unusual scent to be carried through the air considering plenty of intelligent creatures through the wilderness may build fires for cooking or warmth, what wasn’t typical was using the wood of the great pines, as it can be toxic to ingest and quite messy. So, one of two things were happening, perhaps: A camp had no other choice of kindling, or-

And just then, Vah’lux could see the thick, black plumage of smoke atop the tree line ahead, which most likely meant one or more of the pines had caught fire. 

“V`harsoth” She spat the curse in her native tongue, immediately assuming that the various Goblin bands she had been seeing were most likely responsible for the destruction of nature. Creatures such as they were conniving, created only for nefarious purposes, and the Goliath despised them just as much as Orcs.

As she drew closer, the fire could be seen through the dense forest, and the Goblin’s guttural voices echoed from afar. A few could be seen running down to the nearby river, scooping up water with makeshift items and even the flipside of their shields, only to hustle back up the incline and disappear behind the trees. Using the bit of shadow cast from the forest, she moved up toward the thick, shady areas, keeping behind shrubs and trees as she crept closer to what appeared to be an encampment, and several Goblins scurrying about. Vah’lux also noticed something, or *someone* sat down and propped against a tree, with another Goblin a few feet away barking out something to the others as well as keeping an eye on its captive. 

[i]Human?[/i] She assumed based on the figure’s body proportions as she crept that much closer, and did her best to avoid direct inhalation of the smoke that was building. The Goblin looming over the captive shot a glance toward her direction, and the Goliath stopped, hoping that her natural slate-colored skin and earthy hide armor would keep her position secret for the time being. And that it did, as the creature turned away and toward the tree fire that the others were tending to.

With a sigh, Vah’lux wondered why she was getting herself into this mess in the first place. This wasn’t her fight, per se, and she could be off carving her own path through Faerun. But the Goliath, as stubborn as they could be, were also a culture who had a heart to assist those in need, sometimes whether they deserved it or not.  And with that, she circled around until she was out of the Goblin’s line of sight, and crept ever-so-closer to her target. 

[i]Human indeed, or perhaps an Elf?[/i] It was hard to tell from the vantage point, but regardless, the person was clearly tied to the base of the tree as the Goblins decided to have their way with his camp. This wouldn’t do at all. 

Vah’lux pulled back her muscled arm, javelin balanced in her hand, and closed an eye to gauge distance before thrusting the weapon forward and letting it fly through the air with the force of a hurricane behind it. The metallic spear emitted a low whistle as it cut through a few low hanging branches before skewing clean through the side of the Goblin’s odd-shaped skull, and sending its small frame soaring a few meters across the grassy landscape before the sharp tip of the javelin embedded itself into the trunk of a nearby spruce. The Goblin’s body dangled lifelessly.

Vah’lux ran up to the stranger who had been tied to the tree, knelt down next to him, and pulled out her hand ax to slice the ropes.

“U’hrs ghorth” She said to the other, quickly realizing this one most likely did not speak her language. “Do not move.”  Her words seamlessly switched to the common tongue, with still the hint of an underlying accent.

“Are you hurt?” She finally said, after a few moments of cutting through the bindings until the stranger’s wrists were free. At that moment, however, the shrieking of the Goblin’s filthy language echoed from across the clearing. A few of the ones putting out the tree fire had turned and noticed the Goliath, and they were not happy. One even let off a barrage of exclamatory comments after witnessing the death of their [i]supposed[/i] leader.

“Can you fight?”  The Goliath gazed at the other with large emerald eyes that almost seemed to glow in the light of the fire. She cocked her head slightly, awaiting an answer, however, at that moment a half dozen Goblin soldiers armed with various melee weapons and shields bounded toward the two of them. 

“By Kavaki, I certainly hope you can.” She said with a sigh as she stood to her feet, towering over the human, and passed him her ax which would most likely require two-hands to wield. 

With almost the same fluid motion, Vah’lux reached around to the Glaive strapped to her back, and with flick of her wrist, released the hook and swung the six foot weapon around to her front before holding with both hands into a ready position.