Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Rishi put his hands on the brim of his straw hat, lifting and lowering it to the ground, revealing his black cat ears and silver hair, smirking, Rishi said. “The first day of being in the countryside, and warriors are already showing their faces!” 

A large group of feral goblins had ambushed him, snarling like wild beasts, hunger was in their eyes, and logic wasn't in their mind. They slammed and scraped their axes, hatchets, and broken swords in the dirt and surrounding trees.

Rishi pulled forth his longbow while notching an arrow at the same time. He pulled the string and arrow back, clearing his mind; he closed his eyes, surrendering himself to the spirits' nature and wills. The wind whispered in his ears, steadying his heart and his hand.

He opened his eyes fiercely and let go of the string. And in a fraction of a second, the thirty-three-inch-long arrow went flying, piercing through the first goblin’s shoulder, instantly dropping them and pinning them to the ground.

One down, but the rest of the goblins, six in total, were still combative. They had also traveled much faster than he had expected; Rishi wouldn’t be able to use a long bow efficiently at this distance. He dropped his long bow to the side, firmly gripping the saya of his uchigatana with his left hand, with his thumb ready to break the seal—his right hand resting on the handle.

The goblins’ hectic scramblings would be upon him in approximately five seconds; Rishi took a proper stance; his right leg went forward, and his left leg supported him from behind. Then, he began the countdown with his preparations.

At four seconds, he chose the order in which his targets needed to be more prioritized; at three seconds, he calmed his breathing and relaxed his muscles to embrace; two seconds left to go, his muscles began to react before his mind, and he took a single step forward, meeting the goblins first, to take the fight into his control. Then, forcing the last second to come sooner, he pushed the sword’s guard forward with a lightning-fast burst of energy.

Twisting the saya and pulling his sword. The quick release was a tied combo cut. The first goblin had been just a little too close; he was sliced cleanly from waist to shoulder. The second part of the combo flowed flawlessly from the first; a twist of his wrist changed the direction. The second goblin was cut in the opposite direction, from shoulder to waist; the third was disconnected from the torso. The goblin’s insides could barely keep the two halves together; the last part of the combination of moves was a simple thrust into the chest of the last goblin.

However, two goblins remained in the group, reasonably safe from the assault. But then, Rishi pulled the katana from the chest and took a defensive stance; the fight shifted into a more even duel.

Even feral animals knew when they were standing in over their heads; they turned around and fled, not daring to look behind them.

Rishi sighed and said, “No better than animals, but with a little discipline, they wouldn’t be half-bad.” Rishi grasped the opening of his saya and slid the uchigatana across until he could sheathe it properly.  But then, the seventh goblin, the one shot with an arrow, started to squirm in the dirt several feet away. Rishi collected his long bow and approached the downed creature. 

Rishi cleanly embedded the arrow at the halfway mark on the shaft. And the goblin, clearly female, hissed at him while gripping her shoulder. It’d be quick work to pull his shorter blade out and put her out of her misery, but he decided against it.

He knelt and spoke in a calm voice. “That was bold to think I would be some defenseless civilian.” He put a knee to her neck, pinning her further to the ground; she gasped, making a noise as the air escaped from her. “But I supposed you wouldn’t know what a samurai is.” He gripped the end of the arrow and pulled. Coming straight out with relative ease, she tried to scream, but the force applied to her neck stopped it. Her eyes rolled back, and she passed out.

Fortunately for her, he used an arrowhead meant to go through thick armor and was extremely narrow.

“That was some pretty fancy fighting there; it reminded me of that sport nobles are so fond of,” said a man wearing full steel armor. “It was like I was at the theatre; I almost even clapped at the end!”

Rishi turned around and stood quickly with his hand resting on the end of the handle. The man was young but looked as though he’s seen his way around the field several times. Brown eyes and dirty blonde hair. 

Rishi bowed slightly and said, “Combat is an art form… A show for the spirits that guide us; it’s better not to make them bored,” Rishi explained. “That’s at least how my teacher taught me swordsmanship.” 

The knight paused for a second. “Perhaps that’s true from where you come from, but here it’s fierce.” He looked the cat-like man up and down, noticing his baggy clothes, sunkissed skin, and straw hat. “And exactly where are you from?”

Rishi turned to the side and pointed in a general direction that he came from, “I’m from a nation in that direction,”

The knight squinted and asked, “From across the ocean?” Rishi nodded in return. “You’ve come a long way, friend. What for?”

“Diplomatic negotiations,” Said Rishi. “The shogun - my leader, extended a mission to me to establish a trade route with the mainland here.”

The knight was hesitant as he chose what to say but eventually answered. “You’d need to speak to the lord then; for the moment, he’s out of town and will not be back until tomorrow afternoon.”

“Unfortunate news, however, I am not to return until I have an answer. I can wait however long is needed.”

The knight shrugged. Your civility and discipline are more significant than most. I’ll pay for your stay at a local inn tonight and bring you to the lord when he gets here.

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“You’re too kind, sir.” Rishi thanked; reaching into his pockets, he pulled out a small gold coin with a square hole cut out. “It may not be usable to you, but I hope the sentiment reaches you.”

The knight accepted the coin, “And about that?” He asked, pointing at the goblin.

Rishi looked down; the goblin was still unconscious but showed some form of life. “I feel this one might be of some use.” 

The knight shrugged, “Just keep it on a short leash; I don’t want any problems.” He then motioned for the samurai to follow.

But Rishi stuck a hand up and said, “If possible, can you just tell me the direction?”

The knight exhaled some air audibly from his nose. “Okay,” he said. “You see the hill? Head left and continue going down that path; you’ll reach the city that way, and then once you’re in, go towards the clock tower, and you’ll see it on your left.”

“Thank you very much!” Rishi thanked, bowing again. Then, the knight turned around and went off toward the river.

The river was just to the east and past a few farms. Rishi carried both a bag of personal belongings and the goblin.

He set the bag and the goblin down in a small cleared-out area, more than likely used by fishermen.

He looked at the goblin; despite being small and green with knife ears, she wasn’t much different from a human. Rishi pulled a small knife from his bag and cut the loose, ragged clothing from her right arm to her left arm, folding it down. Surprisingly, she had been a very well-endowed girl. Her breasts were massive; every one of her disrupted breathing made them move. Her body, however, did cause him to hesitate. 

He wrung out a wet cloth and wiped away the blood revealing the not-so-bad wound from the arrow; seemingly, it was already beginning to stop bleeding. Rishi still applied an ointment made of freshly ground herbs to treat and prevent infection, wrapping it around a cloth bandage to protect it further.

Rishi sat back on a nearby log, looking over at the goblin. Her condition was more or less stable, but she was topless. Her breasts were huge and perky. Her light green areola contrasted with the rest of her darker green body, and her nipples poked to the sky, despite not being aroused or conscious.

Because he was tending to her health, Rishi hadn't taken notice, but now he wasn’t. Instead, he could feel himself getting just a little flustered. The women in his clan weren’t even close to the endowment this goblin was. Yet, despite being on the lowest of the food chain, she wasn’t completely malnourished.

Rishi averted his eyes to regain some composure and let his arousal separate from his thinking, and his eyes landed on the wrapped wad of bandages. Rishi got up and measured the length of it.

She didn’t weigh too much, so he lifted her and began wrapping the cloth around her chest until everything was covered with no seepage. While winding the fabric, he noticed that if he went too tight, she’d start having trouble breathing; he sighed as he had to find the balance between loose and too tight. At certain points, he thought to himself, was it really worth the supplies?

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Rishi approached the innkeeper, smiling. “I was told my stay here would be paid for the night… by a knight?”

The innkeeper, a young man with neatly braided red hair, was hesitant to speak as he tried to process a beast-man carrying an unconscious goblin over his shoulder, late at night asking for a room.

“Or should I just pay?” Rishi offered.

The innkeeper slowly came back to reality. “Right, right, Samuel came by earlier for that,” he explained, pulling out an old steel key that would probably snap in half if someone looked at it wrong. “It's the last door on the right side of the hall.”

“Thank you!” Rishi said while bowing slightly, turning away to go to the room.

 “If that goblin breaks anything, I’m making you pay for it!”

Rishi tied the goblin woman’s hands to the bed post using more cloth, tugging them to ensure they were secure, sitting crosslegged facing the goblin. But unfortunately, it would be a long wait for her to wake up.

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