I'm awakened from dreamless sleep by leaves rustling. We are in a thicker area of the forest, surrounded by towering trees with wing-shaped leaves, gold flaked grass, vines with razor-sharp thorns, and tall grass-like plants with razor-sharp blades resembling wild boar tusks.
A small bird with shimmering gold feathers swoops down from somewhere above where I'm lying and lands on one of the vines amongst the brush. Inside its beak, I see something glistening in the sunlight peeking through the trees.
"Hi there," I say to the bird, sitting up.
It immediately flies away.
"Nice to meet you, too," I grumble, rolling over to my other side.
I don't even see it coming. I feel a heavy weight crash onto me, and something bites into my neck. I let out a bellowing scream in response to the burning pain that follows, and feel another bite slam into the same spot on my neck. I can feel blood pouring from the wound. I reach for the area where I've been bitten with my paw. Instead of feeling an open cut, my paw runs along a humanoid-like head.
I grab the head and throw it off of me with all my might before scrambling backwards, onto my feet. A small, gray figure with bat-like wings slams into a tree in front of me, blood dripping from its lips. It lets out a cat-like hiss as it lands, revealing razor-sharp teeth.
"Guys!" I yell at the top of my lungs, "A little help here!"
"Ironvine, go back to… What the hell is that?" I hear Whisperclaw and see her scramble to her feet, eyeing the small figure.
Four more figures emerge from the shadows, almost identical to the first figure. They have golden skin, wingless bodies, and small makeshift blades in their hands.
"Everyone, get back!" I jump back further at Goldenclaw's voice, "Those are goblins!"
Two more of the winged goblins soar towards me with outstretched talon-like fingernails. The first one is quicker than me and slashes its nails across my face. I barely manage to roll out of the way of the second one.
"What do we do?" I slowly take a step back from the growing horde of monsters.
"How about we…" A dagger flies towards one of the gold-skinned goblins, which it deflects, as Whisperclaw screams, "... run!"
The ground shakes beneath me, and the Goblins begin vibrating sporadically. I turn to flee, scooping up my backpack in the process. Goldenclaw holds his hand outstretched, the same golden glow covering his palm as when we were in Amacedia's town hall.
"Duck!" I instinctively do a military roll, narrowly avoiding a tree branch that Whisperclaw slams into one of the winged goblins attempting to jump on my back.
"We're under attack!" I kick Renald as I sprint past him. All I hear is a snore in response.
"How can you guys sleep at a time like this?" Whisper tries shaking Glimmer awake, drool falling from his lips.
"Huh?" A snot bubble growing from his nose pops, scaring Glimmer awake and onto his feet, "Wha- What in Abell's name are those things?"
"Goblins!" We all yell.
"Dammit, Liaz!" Goldenclaw slowly backs away, trying to maintain his focus on the group of goblins, "Wake up, you unhelpful sack of sloth!"
I'm glancing over my shoulder as I run, and I can see the glow dissipate from Goldenclaw's paws. He drops his arms and dashes towards me, grabbing Liaz up by the arm as he passes.
"I'm up… I'm…" Liaz mumbles, his eyes fluttering open, "Ow! What the hell, Golden… Oh shit, those are a lot of goblins!"
"What's with all the noise?" I can see Renald beginning to finally wake up as well, looking around at the unfolding confusion. "What's happening?"
Renald glances up quickly. His eyes widen, and he rolls out of the way of a winged goblin swooping down from one of the many tree branches above us. Its sharp nails slam into the spot where Renald just was. Right as Renald goes to stand up, another one swoops down and slashes across his right shoulder.
"Renald, run!" I call back, continuing my dash away from the battlefield. "They're in the trees!"
I don't even know where I'm going, and I don't care either. I shield my face with my hands, feeling myself burst through the dense foliage around me. Thorns and razor-sharp vines tear through my fur. Thankfully, they don't pierce through to my skin.
"Where are we going?" I hear Whisperclaw yell the question behind me.
Before I can answer, I stumble into a clearing. I skid to a stop. Something slams into me, causing me to start rolling over myself. When I look up, I see the snout of a massive wild boar with a cracked golden crown on its head.
"Who dares enter my domain?" A deep voice speaks directly into my mind. The boar snorts, blowing a gust of wind into my face.
"Easy there." I say as calmly as possible, "I'm a humble healer named Ironvine."
"You are a healer?" The voice echoes. "One of my people could use your help desperately."
"I'll do anything you ask…" I glance over my shoulder and see the others emerging into the open field. "...but you've got to help me and my friends first."
I don't see any winged goblins, but I see four golden-skinned goblins come rushing out of the forest, chasing us.
"With pleasure." The boar leaps over me and slams its giant tusks into the first goblin, throwing it into a tree.
The goblin's limp body drops to the floor, unmoving.
"Oh great!" Renald has his saber and shield drawn, squaring off against the boar. "What the hell is this thing?"
"Renald, don't attack!" Goldenclaw tackles Renald before he can attempt a slash at the animal. "It's a king boar! That thing can kill all of us if it wants."
Everybody is slowly backing away from the boar. Everybody except for the three remaining goblins, who have it surrounded. They lash out with their makeshift blades, cutting and slicing into the boar with all their might, but none of their attacks pierce its thick hide. It lets out a massive roar, the air from which knocks the goblins to the ground. They tumble backwards, fumbling over themselves to escape into the forest they call home.