• “Well, this sure is fun.” Talis said sarcastically. The “fun” Talis was referring to is him hanging upside down, four feet above the ground, with a rope around his left foot, which is tied to a tree branch. He pulled out a pocket knife and tried his best to cut the rope. After several attempts, the knife slipped out of his hand and fell to the ground. “Great.” he grumbled as he watched the knife fall to the ground.

    “How did I end up like this? Oh that‘s right, goblins.”

    Pesky goblins, he thought. While he was asleep, goblins had come along and decided they were going to eat him. They left him hanging so they could go search for firewood. “They better hurry up,” he said. “I can‘t wait to be cooked like a lobster.”. Talis started to hear giggling. A female elf walked out from behind a nearby tree. “You humans sure are funny when you’re in danger.” she said. Talis studied the elf before saying anything. She was wearing a plain white dress with a tarnished brown belt around her waist.

    “So, whose the unlucky man that’s being forced to marry you?”

    She giggled once again. She smiled at Talis. “This isn’t a wedding dress. It’s what most female elves wear.” she said. Talis looked at the dress again. “Are you sure?” he asked. “It’s very plain looking. I thought elves were all about appearance and detail. There‘s nothing on your dress but white.” Talis added. “I’m not into appearance.” the female elf told Talis. Talis wasn‘t sure whether the elf was telling the truth or not. Her dress was torn in several places and her shoulder-length auburn hair was messy and had stuff in it that did not belong in hair. Stuff like leaves, blades of grass, twigs, and the occasional ant.

    “I don’t think I’ve introduced myself to you. I am Talis.”

    “Nice to meet you, Talis. My name is Soleil.”

    Talis pointed to the knife lying on the ground. “Could you get that for me?” he asked. Soleil looked down at the knife. “W-what’s that for?” she asked. There seemed to be a hint of fear in her voice. “To cut me loose.” Talis replied. Soleil picked up the knife as if it was some elf-eating insect. She reluctantly handed it to Talis. Once again, Talis attempted to cut himself free. “My parents told me I should have taken gymnastics in school. But did I listen to them?” he muttered to himself. “Nope.”. Talis was too occupied with cutting himself to notice Soleil climbing up the tree and untying the rope which kept Talis suspended in air. He fell straight on his head. “Pretty stars.” he said with a smile on his face before blacking out.

    “I don’t believe this!!!”

    The goblin leader Ore-rac picked up the rope. He turned around to his goblin comrades, who were carrying firewood. Ore-rac let out a snarl as he turned to Gaul, his brother. “I thought you said there was no way this could come loose!!” Ore-rac shouted. Gaul dropped his firewood and yanked the rope from his brother’s hand. He examined the rope. “Look here.” Gaul said, pointing his long dirty fingernail at a certain point in the rope. “It looks like our dinner tried to cut himself loose but failed.” Gaul pointed out.

    “That still doesn’t explained how he escaped, Gaul!!”

    “Ore-rac! Over here!”

    Rock-howl was on the ground, sniffing the dirt. He stood up. “An elf has been here.”. “An elf? In Goblin Territory?” Ore-rac said, puzzled. Ore-rac smiled. “Can you follow the elf’s scent?”. Rock-howl thought about this. “I should.” he said. “Good, I’m starving.” Ore-rac grumbled. “Leave the firewood here.” Ore-rac ordered. “We’ll come back here after we’ve caught our dinner.” he added.

    “Are you awake?”

    Talis heard Soleil’s voice, but he chose to ignore it. “I asked you a question.” she said. Tails opened his eyes. He noticed he was lying on a bed of leaves. He sat up and looked at Soleil. “And?” he replied. “It would have been nice if you answered it.” Soleil said, looking at Talis’s head. Talis touched the top of his head and felt dried blood. “You hit your head pretty hard when you hit the ground.” Soleil told him, explaining the blood on his head. “Luckily, I was able to use magic to heal the wound before you lost too much blood.”. Talis got off the bed and explored the area surrounding him. It was a huge flat board resting on two tree branches. Four poles were stuck in holes in the board. A huge tarp was tied to each end of the pole to keep the rain out. He noticed there was not a single leaf on the tree in which the board rested in. “Where am I?” he asked. “A temporary home.” Soleil said. “For now.” she added.

    “How could you get us lost in our own territory, Rock-howl!!”

    Ore-rac grabbed Rock-howl’s thin strands of coal-black hair and pulled on them. Rock-howl let out a screech of pain that frightened every creature near the goblins. “I don’t know!” he shouted. “The elf must have used magic to get us lost!”. Ore-rac let go of Rock-howl’s hair and kicked him in the back. “You use to be the best tracker out there. Now look at you. You‘ve gotten old.” Ore-rac said as he spit on Rock-howl. “Is he still of use to us?” Gaul whispered in Ore-rac’s ear. Ore-rac turned to look back at the pathetic tracker. “I swear it’s not my fault!” said Rock-howl as he sniffed the ground, trying to pick up the elf’s scent again. “No.” Ore-rac answered Gaul’s question with a evil grin on his face. He turned to two other goblins. “Rip and Slash.” Ore-rac addressed the other two goblins. “Get rid of this sniveling twit and make sure no one finds his body.”.

    “Well, it’s been fun but I need to get going.”

    Before Talis could climb down the rope ladder that was attached to the board-house, Soleil grabbed his hand. Amazed at this, he turned around to look at the female elf. “Let me guess, you’re going to tell me that you don’t want me to leave because you’re scared that the goblins will get you.” he told Soleil. Soleil shook her head no. “Then what?” Talis asked. “I need help getting rid of them.” she answered. There was a puzzled look on Talis’ face. “Why would you want to do such a foolish thing?” he asked. “This is their territory.” Talis added. Soleil blinked several times before answering. “No, it’s not.” she answered. “What do you mean it’s not?” Talis asked, confused.