"Well... show it then! I'm eager to learn!" Midas smiled, gripping the new blade he had just acquired. He wasn't the type to say no to free handouts, especially when every small advantage meant getting closer to achieving his goal.
Gool didn't waste time either, beginning to teach Midas the ways of goblin fighting just like the way he learned over 120 years ago when he was first born...
Gool's theory of the goblin sword fighting technique being superior to many others first originated during his many travels through the tunnels in the two mountain ranges in the north and east.
The northern mountains were known as Karak-O, the eastern range known as Vineral. The tunnels within were called: The War Pass.
In the War Pass, Gool managed to easily defeat beasts far more powerful than him. This gave the young goblin a sense of confidence.
The main reason for his victory, however, was the very small and enclosed tunnels of the War Pass.
Since they were made by goblins of the ancient world, they were only eight feet in height and five feet in width. Of course, some parts were wider than others, but that was the average size.
Here, beasts found it difficult to use long weapons or swipe their big claws.
That was where a goblin shone, able to quickly close the distance and use goblin-style fighting to end the battle steadfast.
However, in an open field, goblin dagger fighting seemed to have a big weakness.
The tunnels gave goblins time to attack, and their enemies were stalled by the small size of the tunnels. However, in the open, the goblins were not nearly powerful enough to land any significant blow on most creatures.
However, Gool did not see this as a bad trait of the fighting style itself. Instead, he hypothesized that the build of a goblin was the limiting factor...
"Our fighting technique is very different. During normal sword fighting, you extend your arm and sword completely with long slashes. You imagine your blade as being an extension of your own arm. However, this leads to slow and winding swings, leaving openings in many instances. The tradeoff is that you can fight from more of a distance. However, this is only a benefit to those who do not understand the art of fighting in very close quarters. When one knows how to fight mere feet from their opponent, fear leaves their mind, and only killing instinct remains."
Gool spoke like a wise leader as he taught Midas the fighting technique.
"In goblin sword fighting, your elbows are bent at all times! Your knees are also bent at almost all times. Why? It's simple. With bent arms, you can squeeze your muscles to generate very fast and explosive movements. At the same time that it takes a human to swing his long sword once, a goblin can slash his dagger several times due to his arm being bent and close to his body."
As Midas heard all of this and practiced it, his understanding of it became far greater.
Each day of practice boosted his confidence, eventually even being able to defeat Gool in a spar once every five times.
Of course, this was with only goblin dagger-fighting rules in place.
"The knees are bent eighty percent of the time. This is so that you can quickly dash in and out of range. It's also to create even more explosive attacks while in close quarters with the enemy." Gool said.
Just like this, four days soon passed, and the two arrived at the War Pass.
By now, Midas was no weaker than Gool in a spar. This was because his larger limbs and more powerful physique allowed jolting movements when elbows were locked, each attack several fold more lethal than Gool's.
The War Pass was completely hidden.
All Midas saw when they arrived was a massive cove and valley in the corner of the forest.
Gool walked straight toward the mountainside. He began climbing up a tree, Midas quickly following his footsteps.
Before long, they came across a random hole in the wall.
Looking from ground level, it was pretty much impossible to see this hole due to the angle of elevation.
Midas followed Gool inside, and the two promptly began their journey through the War Pass.
Just like Midas expected, it was truly like walking through a maze. One long and narrow tunnel forked out into two, then four, and eventually over twelve at once!
Each turn led to a series of holes and openings, dangerous-looking drops, and also ledges to balance across.
By the time the two reached midday, they hadn't encountered any beasts whatsoever.
This confused Gool. "It's odd... I know it's been a few years since I've been here, but not once in my life has there been so few beasts or goblins." It seemed to make him even more on edge instead of making him feel calmer.
Midas sighed, "I'm glad to not have to fight anything... but I also wanted to test out my new fighting technique in these close quarters." He said while sitting around a small campfire.
The two were in a small opening in one of the tunnels of the War Pass, taking a small break.
"We only have half a day to reach Ashen Hollow. It's only a few miles from the exit of the War Pass. If things go this swimmingly, we will get there without any issues... but it all almost feels too easy." Gool said.
Midas felt chills crawl up his back. He didn't say anything, silence falling over the chamber.
Then, a small thud echoed from afar.
Gool and Midas both made eye contact with each other, their ears perked up.
'Something is here.' Gool thought.
'Can I finally use this fighting technique?' Midas said to himself in anticipation.
Another thud sounded... then another.
Then, a whisper.
"They stopped talking..."
And then another.
"Do you think they caught on to us?"
"Shh! Be quiet, dimwit! They will now if you keep yapping!"
Midas and Gool both nodded, slowly grabbing their daggers as they stood up and tiptoed to the entrance of the opening.
Just as they reached the doorway and peeked around the corner, they saw two blades mere inches from slashing their faces.
Midas pulled his head back quick, pulling Gool back as well by the back of his armor.
The ones holding the two daggers were two goblins wearing leaf clothing and pieces of tree bark as armor.
One of them held a stone dagger, the other a bone one. Their faces were slightly different and unique to each other, but it was easy to tell they were both definitely goblins.
Weirdly, they both had large grins on their faces.
"Why are you smiling, goblins? It's two on two, and one is a human." Midas smiled.
"Two on two? That's where you are wrong. You already fell for our bait, human." One of the goblins said condescendingly.
"Bait?" Gool said, "What bait?"
Midas realized at that moment, 'The whispers... it was to lure us out here on purpose.' At that moment, his head jerked to look behind him.
Dozens of goblins stormed at them from the opening. A small trap door made of stone was located above the small chamber that Midas instantly spotted.
Within seconds, the two were surrounded by a group of thirty goblins who all held their blades to the necks of Midas and Gool.