I open my eyes. I'm still half asleep. I sit up and take a look around. The others are still sleeping. The fire has mostly died out leaving me in darkness. I can see a little bit of the surrounding area. I pull myself up to my feet.

Something is not right. I can feel it...yet, I just can't see it. I tend to the fire. I'm trying to get it lit again. The flames rise up in a flurry of heat. Now I can see my surroundings better.

My eyes land on a small creature sitting on a tree branch. It's about a foot high with dark black eyes, a short tail, and pointy ears. More appear next to it. They swing through the trees with ease. Goblins, there are tons of them.

"Get up!" I yell to the others.

"What?" Flynn says confused.

"Get up!" I yell once more.

If he doesn't get up this time I'll let the goblins eat him.

"Why?" He asks.

The others are already up and ready to take action. I point to one of the evil monsters.

"Oh! Got it!" He says before scurrying to his feet.

Goblins are notoriously crafty creatures. They put up a surprisingly good fight. They are especially dangerous in large packs like this. I draw my sword. One comes running towards me. I stomp down on him with my foot. 
More of them crawl after me in retaliation. A simple swing of my sword knocks them back. I turn to see one latched onto Hazel's back. I grab it by the tail before throwing it back.

"Thanks, Luna," she says.

"How many more of these damn things are there?" Flynn yells as he kicks one.

"There are too many," Marina replies.

"Come on, guys. We are not losing to creatures that aren't even a foot tall," I say.

A bunch of the nasty monsters are attacking Valor. This is the first time I have ever seen him struggling against an opponent.

I swing the sword and bring down five of them. One jumps onto the sword. I try my hardest to get rid of the thing. I get fed up and toss it aside for the moment. I break a large branch off of a tree. This will do for now.

It takes all of my strength to bring it down. It crushes three of them. The remaining survivors retreat into the dark depths of the forest.

"Damn, that was tough," Valor says. "Thanks for saving me back there. I don't know what happened...so many were coming for me,"

"It's okay. You've saved me so many times, it's my turn to return the favor," I reply.

"Can we move on before more show up?" Flynn says as he takes the lead.

I guess we better move. We trek through the forest. It's so quiet...I don't like that. I would like more sleep, but I don't think anyone would feel safe enough to sleep out here. Maybe we'll find a place to stay.

Snowflakes begin to fall. We reach the top of the hill. The view is breathtaking. A frozen landscape is laid out before us. Glaciers and snowy mountains make up most of the land. The sun is starting to rise. It creates a beautiful sunrise. The sky is filled with swirls of pink, orange, and gold.

"Hey, Flynn!" Hazel says as she hurls a snowball in his direction. It smacks him right in the face. I can't help, but laugh. For the first time everyone is happy...well, everyone except Flynn, but I don't think anything would make him happy. He starts to say something only to close his mouth and then roll his eyes. It's a miracle, he finally shut up!

"You know, you shouldn't-" he begins to say as he steps forward. He loses his footing and goes tumbling down the hill. Hazel shrugs.

"Well, he got what he deserved," she says.

"Okay, you all saw that, right? Be careful of your footing, please," I say.

I slowly step down the snowy hillside. Flynn finally stops rolling. I reach the bottom of the hill.

"How was the trip down?" I ask him.

"Dreadful," he replies as he brushes snow out of his hair.

The others reach the bottom of the hill soon after. It's freezing out here! I wonder how long we will have to traverse through the area.

"Well, our talk on the ship got cut short. I still want to know why the rest of you decided to do this," Marina says.

"I'm doing this so I don't have to keep scrounging up coins and traveling to find work," I say.

"I'm only here to make sure Luna doesn't get herself killed," Valor says.

I hear a scream behind us. Flynn disappeared. Where he was standing is a hole in the snow. We stand around it. It's too dark to see him.

"Flynn?" I call out. No response.

"Do we really have to save him?" Hazel asks.

"Yeah, we do," I reply.