Gerald was paralyzed with fear. One wolf with glowing red eyes probably would have done it, but a dozen of them each with a crazed goblin rider swinging their long knives and waving their pointy spears madly was just too much for him to handle. He probably would have stood in one place, complacent as the goblins hacked him into little pieces for their black wolves to gobble down, except he heard a cry up ahead.

"Gerald look out! Goblins!" shouted Mina somewhere in the darkness.

The warning was a little too late, but it was enough to spark Gerald's survival instincts. Being a bard was one thing, being a terrible bard meant you had to think quick on your feet and know when and how to run and dodge when the crowd turns against you, and considering the cavalry charge that was about to be rammed down his throat, this was as good a time to 'exit stage left'.

Though Gerald wasn't the most skilled rider, thankfully his summoned mount was childlishly easy to direct. It reared up and flailed its front hooves at the approaching goblins, breifly breaking their charge before it wheeled about and bolted into the woods. Gerald wasn't sure where he was going exactly, but was satisfied that he took the clearest path to safety. As long as he was away from the goblins, that seemed like a pretty good destination to him.

While the red eyed wolves gave chase, Gerald was relieved to see that Mina's summoned horse was quicker than they were. He felt a sense of relief until he realized that Mina was still somewhere behind him. While there existed a possibility that Mina could defend herself with her magic, Gerald highly doubt it. The only magic she seemed capable of was summoning horses, (possibly) making her breasts more alluring and doing her make up, and making that little glowing fiery ball, whatever that was. Besides, he doubted a powerful mage would need his help to corall a suitor. She could have just zapped him with her magic and made him his love slave or simply summon one of those handsome Azata or something like that.

Against his better judgement he turned sharply around a tree and then wheeled the horse around again and decided to return back in a wide arc. If the wolves were still pursuing him, he might be able to lose them in the woods. While he couldn't exactly see his path, he had a good 'feeling' of where to go, and the horse seemed able to see just fine, jumping and dodging bushes and fallen logs as it doubled back. Gerald thought he might succeed until he met Green Eyes.

Gerald's blood ran cold as a hunched goblin on an especially large red eyed wolf appeared out of nowhere and blocked his path. The wolf was covered with jangly bones, possibly tied to its matted fur, while the goblin seemed cloaked with some large oversized animal skin, possibly from a bear. It held a large rune covered gnarly looking stick, and appeared to wear a belt of skulls from various animals and ...gulp...humanoids. This whole scene would have been impossible for Gerald to see, due to the shadows surrounding him, but what gave this goblin an extra edge of creepy was his fluorescent green eyes that illuminated the area around the creature in an eerie glow.

The sight of 'Green Eyes' almost sent Gerald tumbling off his horse, but the gutsy ( in his own mind) bard veered slightly from his new adversary in an attempt to bypass him with sheer speed. It might have worked except Green Eyes did a little chant and a little staff waving and the rocks of the forest broke through the roots of the trees and formed a barrier of spiky stones that impossibly attempted to grab him.

Gerald wheeled about again, narrowly missing being slammed to the ground by the animated rocks. He considered racing around this new barrier, but his original wolf pursuers were almost on him again.

"I'll come back for you Mina. I'll be back, " he swore dramatically to no one in particular, before dashing in another random direction through the woods, fleeing for his life.

While he had a comfortable lead a few minutes ago, this time his margin of error was considerably less. He could almost feel the wolves' breath on his neck, even as a few spears sailed narrowly past him.

"You'll never catch me you stupid gobbos!" he shouted. Almost immediately after he said that, he regreted it, thinking that his taunt might infuriate the goblins and wolves even more, but as he rode onwards the rukus behind him seemed to grow faint.

"It looks like Gerald the Magnificent wins again," he laughed as he drew away from his pursuers.

No sooner then he made the boast, a blur of red eyes and black fur pounced at his flank, almost tearing his leg off.

Gerald wasn't sure what happened, but he glanced back and saw that a riderless wolf had latched onto the haunch of his horse. While the summoned steed was still racing blindly into the dark, it was visibly getting slower and its path more wobblier.

Gerald drew his rapier, careful not to stab or slash himself this time, and madly beat the wolf over its snout with his blade. A part of his brain told him, he should try to aim and perhaps pierce the creature's eye or something graceful like that, but another, much more louder part, was screaming 'Get it off! Get it off!"

To the wolf and to Gerald's surprise, his flurry of blows seem to do the trick, and the red eyed wolf release its grip and rolled off behind him on the forest floor. Gerald was about to whoop again in victory, but instead almost threw up in fear. Despite being freed, the damage had been done. The horse had been wounded and slowed enough during its brief engagement that the other wolves had surrounded Gerald. Before he could wheel about and attempt to break through the ring, one of the goblins urged its wolf to dive straight at his horse's legs. Without hesitation, the pair crashed into Gerald and his mount, getting trampled in the process but sending the phantom horse pitching forward before crashing into a tangle of hooves on its side.

Everything hurt. Badly.

Gerald was battered and bruised but forced himself to his feet even as his horse began to evaporate into the aether or wherever it had come from. Somehow he still kept hold of his rapier, but that was scarce consolation as the goblins began to group up for another attack.

Gerald wasn't sure which way they would attack from since their shadows and their damned red eyes seemed to be everywhere, but he picked a point that seemed least dangerous and began to limp his way in that direction.

"Breeehhh Yarrgghhlee…"

Gerald stopped as a bloodied goblin barred his path. It had green skin, a comically oversized head, sunken eyes, and a wide jaw full of alternating sharp or rotted teeth. The one that leaped into the legs of his horse perhaps? Its tawny right arm seemed broken and it suffered cuts and bruises everywhere ( probably much like himself) and twirled a large oversized knife over its head as it charged the bard. Though Gerald was probably less adept than this goblin in melee prowess, he was less injured and had a much greater reach advantage than his foe. He simply waved his rapier back and forth in front of him as if he was dusting and prayed that the goblin would impale itself or something.

The goblin was puzzled at Gerald's odd stance and simplistic maneuver. It paused briefly as Gerald's rapier sailed by harmlessly before charging the bard with its long dagger in hand. Gerald's blade was way out of position to counter attack, but he still had a trick or two up his sleeve ( okay he had one trick, but it was a good one). Just before the goblin jumped and gnawed on his face or perforated his stomach repeatedly with his long dagger, Gerald unleashed a cloud of multi coloured smoke in the path of the creature. The goblin attempted to stop but sailed through the cloud, tripping as it lost its balance and crashing into the ground to Gerald's side.

Gerald swiftly kicked the groaning beast in the side for good measure before jogging past it, but he could hear the other goblins braying and howling at his back. The goblins grew louder, as Gerald ran and ran, until he realized that they were just toying with him now. Like some big old cat taunting a wounded mouse, or a fat merchant lady that had lured some unsuspecting and good looking singer into her summer cabin, this was going to end poorly. The chase was over, they had won and he had lost. Now they just wanted to run him ragged before a wolf would rip out his throat, or a goblin would stab him in the back, or some other horrible demise would befall him.

As they chased and harried him for a few more minutes, the tone of the goblins seemed to change, as each goblin took turns screeching at him and bellowing into the night. Were they insulting him? Or maybe they were challenging him, hoping he would turn around and fight one of them in single combat, to cap off this night's activities. Gerald considered the possibility that he might be able to face their champion and defeat him, thus breaking the goblin's morale and scattering them in fear through the woods, but he quickly absolved himself of that ridiculous idea. There was no way he was going to stand his ground, he was going to run away like a real bard and fight another day. ( Or not fight, and just stay at home with the doors barred and the windows shuddered within the comforting folds of a big old merchant woman)

After the 'bidding' had stopped, Gerald could hear one of the goblins scream victoriously and could hear it and its wolf bearing down him. He could also hear the other goblins waiting in the wings, and knew that even if he somehow miraculously defeated his attacker, there would be another to take his place. Things seemed pretty doomed.

While Gerald was already ran ragged and almost at the point of exhaustion, he forced himself to run a little bit more. He had already smacked his face into several trunks and branches during his flight, and didn't mind if he hit himself on a few more if it meant his escape.

"Soft skin run, goblin like, make meat tastier," hissed his pursuer.

Gerald considered stopping to defy the goblin, but knew that it was just a trick. He wasn't going to stop for anything until he….

*Crash*

Gerald fell on his ass as he smashed into something solid. He could swear that there wasn't any trees in front of him (given his questionable and limited night vision) but something big and solid had shifted into his path. As he glanced up from the ground, his spine shivered as he came face to face with a creature over six feet tall, broad of shoulder and rippling with muscles, sporting two big fangs curling cruely from the sides of its mouth. It's nostrils flared as it hefted an oversized hammer over its head, pausing briefly before bringing it hurtling downwards.