Giller, a young, ambitious wizard, blazed the dusty trail to nowhere. Its a beautiful place,

if youve never been, and he was almost there when he saw it; a wagon, ornate, overturned and

bristling with arrows.

Goblins.

He froze.

“Anepserma” he whispersed. Crouching down he drew from his dwindling magical

stores. Purple light shimmered around his body, then froze, semitransparent. Mage armor,

strong as plate, without the weight. He moved up to the wagon.

He smelled blood and ripe decay.

“When did this happen?” Something had knocked it over. He glanced over his shoulder,

then climbed the fallen wagon and looked in.

He wished he hadnt. A young elvish woman lay there, dead, flies twirling around gaping

wounds. Two arrows stuck into her shoulder and neck, they were crude and made of stone.

Goblin arrows. The rest of the interior was beautiful. Hardwoods, Linons and a jewelry box

propped sideways against a wall. This was a very wealthy woman.

Gillers neck prickled with sweat; something was very wrong. This attack was fresh, but

also hours old, Judging by the flies and the smell of rot. Goblins kill, then pillage, then burn.

Everytime and immediately. They fear undeath more than actual death, and a fire makes bodies

useless to most necromancers. Giller ruled out a goblin attack. He only had the crude arrows to

go off of, and this was very ungoblin like. Giller climbed out of the carriage.

A man was pinned under a horse at the front. He wasnt struggling anymore, but was

alive. He glowed a bright blue, wisps trailing out of his skin, mouth and eyes. He was wearing a

rich, colorful robe and a silver bracelet on his free hand. The aging man looked at Giller.

“Help me”

Giller dropped down. He tried to the lift the horse, but there was no way. He was a

wizard for a reason. Giller layed a hand on the horse, and closed his eyes

The man pushed Gillers hand away “Its too late for me son”

“Nonesense” Giller said laying his hand back on the horse. It began to glow a bright

yellow.

The old man pushed his hand away again. “Please take this” He held out his bracelet. “I

have a daughter in Phandelin. Her name is Lyna, please get this to her.”

Reluctantly, Giller took the bracelet. Expensive. Silver. With the symbol of two crossing

bats at its center.

As soon as the man let go of the bracelet, the blue light that surrounded him faded. A

final, shaky breath escaped his mouth and he died. Something was not right about this man.

An arrow slammed into the wagon, inches from Gillers face

He whipped his forearm in front of his face, mage armor activated in a shower of purple

sparks, deflecting a second arrow.

Giller looked north. Two goblin archers stood behind trees off the road.

Goblins. Really. He jumped behind the wagon. The Goblins scampered off.

Giller pulled from his magic. His reserves were low. There were some spells he could do

without the extra magic, but none of them were good. Two big spells left.

He’s fingers glowed with a deep purple. He snapped them in three places in the air.

Deep, purple white missiles formed where he snapped. Perfect. He looked for a target.

“LOOK OUT’” a voice shouted from inside his head.

Giller wipped around. The heck?

A goblin jumped off the cart and on to his head. It hacked at his neck with a crooked

stone knife.

Giller wiped his forearm up again.

The air rippled with purple light as stone and magic collided. The ground shook as Gillers

magic missiles slipped and slammed downwards. The Goblin dropped from his shoulders and

stabbed through his armor into his thigh.

Giller dropped in pain. Mage armor wasnt a seamless suit of armor. There were chinks,

just as with plate. But only the educated elite know about those. How did he find them? Dumb

luck?

Giller needed to buy time. The Goblin ran off, apparently afraid of the missile explosion.

Giller hauled himself on top of the wagon, and dropped in. An arrow wizzed through the air just

where he’d been.

Giller had always dreamed of sharing a small wooden box with a she elf. Not today.

Some flies hopped over from her to nibble on the blood he was leaking. He was going to be

sick.

A strong wave of nausea hit Giller, and his last spells worth of magic evaporated. His

thigh prickled with pain. He looked at it.The wound was healing.

He vomited. “I am going insane”

“Aaand I think its time I introduced myself. I am Fredrick Kneelback. Pleasure to meet

you”

Giller Froze; the voice was back.

“Thats it. Im cracked” He thought

“Helloooo. Fredrick Kneelback? Ring a bell. The famous talking magical bracelet?”

Giller didnt know what to do. There are no such things as famous talking magical

bracelets. He pulled the bracelet off his wrist and started wrapping it in a linon he found

nearby.Standard procedure for random, talking, magical items.

Nausea nailed Giller. Again.

“Now, Now. That is equivalent to tying up an acquaintance, and you dont have time. The

Goblins are just outside”

Dang. This was all happening too fast. Giller did the first thing that came to him. He

grabbed the ladies jewelry box, very heavy, and lined it up with the ‘ceiling’ of the wagon. He

put his hand on it like he did the horse.

It was a very weak spell, it didnt pull from his now nonexistent reserves. Yet, Giller felt a

great amount of power flow into it, many times his full reserves. What was up with this place?

A goblin dropped through the ceiling.

Giller released his hand.

The chest rocketed into the air, pegging the Goblin square in the chest and taking it into

the sky. Giller smirked. That Goblin was definitely dead.

Giller then jumped out of the carriage and shouted at the goblins, now fleeing back to

the forest

“Brilliant work. Now get on the south side of the carriage and prepare a firebolt”

The stupid bracelet was giving him orders. And if there is one thing they taught Giller at

the university, its that you dont take orders from the voices in your head.

“Why should i listen to you?” Giller said

“Because you cant see everything that happens within a mile”

“Limited Omniscience? Thats not technically possible”

“A talking Bracelet is not technically possible either”

“I–” He was interrupted by three arrows, peppering his armor.

He was going to do this anyway. He got on the south side of the wagon and prepared a

firebolt, another weak spell he could do without his reserves.

“Wait for it”

“I am not taking orders from you. What would i be waiting for?”

“An ambush. Aim a little to the left of that tree. Wait for it”

Giller could hear the goblins rustling to the north. They where coming back.

“Bracelet?”

“Wait for it”

Gillers hackles were up, he did not trust this thing.He itched to turn around. “Im not

risking my life for your stupi–”

“NOW!”

Giller released the fireblot. It colided with a goblin just pulling out from behind the tree.

An arrow popped off of Gillers mage armor. He turned. A Goblin snuck from the north ,

hiding behind the carriage. He returned fire.

The goblin pulled back. Giller dashed for cover west down the trail.

Many arrows peppered his armor as soon as he was away from the wagon. Two of them

stuck into his skin.

Giller yanked himself behind the wagon. He could feel the bracelet working on the

wounds, but he just doesn't have enough magic left. He was pinned behind the carriage.

A frustrating firefight ensued for the next five minutes, tit for tat, neither side making any

progress. The show of lights was dramatic, the sun was setting, every flare from firebolt lit up

the night sky.

Then something exploded next to Giller.

He jumped back. A pile of of splintered wood, roughly rectangular, barely holding itself

together was scattered across the ground. Underneath it was a goblin, deformed and very dead.

It was the jewelry box he had catapulted earlier. It must have been in the air for ten minutes.

He jumped closer to avoid an arrow

“However did i cast something that powerful?” He said, more to himself than anyone in

particular.

“I have no idea,” Bracelet paused “but it gives me one. See the body of the goblin you

pegged earlier?”

“Yes?”

“Go touch it”

“ What, Why?”

“Just do it.”

Giller grumbled something, but agreed.This bracelets information was good so far. He

broke a wheel off the carriage with a light catapult. Then he ran. Arrows slammed into his

improvised shield, but he wasnt touched. He reached the charred Goblin body

“Touch it”

Still wondering if he should trust the bracelet, Giller did so.

A warm magic passed through him. The goblin stirred, then sat up, wispy blue light rose

from its skin

Giller nodded. Figures. Necromancy.

Giller dragged the half alive goblin back. Giller wasnt able to fully cover it with his sheild,

so it took some arrows. But it didnt seem to mind.

Now back at the carraige, Giller prepared a firebolt “Bracelet, can you make the Goblin

duck west ?” Giller said

“Easily”

“Do it”

The Goblin booked it around the west side of the carriage. Giller jumped over the jewelry

box, fire streaming from his hand, and ducked around the east side of the carraige.

Giller pumped out firebolts like he was on fire himself.

They wasted their arrows on the Goblin west side of the Carraige, so he had open reign.

Bracelets goblin whipped around the carriage, ice streaming from his fingers. Ray of frost, the

equivalent of Gillers firebolt. The enemy Goblins stood down and fled. The goblins fear undeath

above everything else.

Just like that the battle was over.

Giller wobbled over and sat against a tree on the side of the road. He breathed out,

checking his wounds. The arrow wounds throbbed, and the thigh wound looked like it would

open up again. Great

Green arms wrapped around his neck. They glowed a faint blue

Giller firebolted it, catching the left side of his face in the blast.

He rolled around clutching his face. It hurt, bad. And the flash blinded him.

The Goblin leaped off, staggered back before catching itself on its dagger. Then it dove

back in

“Bracelet betrayed me” Giller thought, though not terribly surprised. Sentient

Necromantic magic items did not make good friends.

Then another Goblin slammed into the Goblin. It too glowed with a blue light. He took a

closer look. The goblin that had attacked him looked terrible. One arm hung loose in its socket,

and its entire face was gory and smashed in half.

It was the Goblin that exploded with the jewelry drawer.

“two bracelets” He thought.

This needed to end soon. Giller crawled over to the knot of Goblins and firebolted his

enemy. Three times. Skin to skin. Its movements became lethargic, but it did not stop fighting. It

seemed only to slow it down

Then everything went cold. The enemy Goblin held out his hand. Ray of frost, point

blank,. On GIller.

Giller rolled onto his stomach, convulsing. The only half healed leg wound, The arrow

bites and the burns on his face hurt so much. He couldnt think.

The enemy Goblin untangled himself and walked toward Giller, knife and eyes trailing

vivid blue light. Bracelets Goblin stepped over Giller. Frost streaming from his grubby hands.

Giller grabbed his goblins ankle

The enemy advanced, eyes glazed over

3

Bracelets goblin gurgled a slurred threat, then stepped back so he was standing over

Giller.

2

The enemy darted in. Bracelet stepped back and tripped. Giller still held his ankle The

sky erupted with two flashes of bright blue. His Goblin glowed a bright yellow.

1

Giller let go of the catapult spell. Bracelet ripped through the air at an angle, streaming

deep yellow light. He slammed into the enemy and collapsed in a pile a few yards away. Giller

crawled over and firebolted the enemy again and again.

The blue light of the goblin went out.

“WE WON!” Bracelet shouted in his head.

Giller rolled onto his back, quiet. The day couldnt have gotten any worse. He was out in

the middle of nowhere, going nowhere, at night. And yet, he was grateful to be alive.

He just laid there for an hour, trying to warm himself up. Everything hurt, and it was pitch

black out, save for the trailing blue light of Bracelets goblin. After a long time Bracelet spoke.

“Giller?”

“Yes?”

“Could you go look at that jewelry box you destroyed?”

Giller grumbled and stumbled to his feet. His mage armor was wearing off, he could see

its purple outline now. He examined the splatted remains of the box. It was empty, except for

one item. A silver bracelet with crossing bats on the front.

“Yay! You found my brother”

“Hello, the names henry”

Gillo shook his head. Another “You tried to kill us. why?”

“Only a part of doing bussiness. Nothing personal. I wasnt any REAL danger. You used

up all of my magic at the very beggining

Huh, so he could use the bracelets as magical reserves. When he had catapulted the

box earlier, he must have drawn it, making the spell more powerful. That made them worth

keeping, even if they were murderous. He sluggishly continued back on his way to Nowhere. He

needed medical attention. Soon.

As his thoughts turned to his body, the bracelets tried to heal him. They didnt have any

magic left, and he didnt either, so they ended up drawing on his life force.

“Guys, stop, your not helping” He said. He felt awful. I am going to die

“Nonesense” Bracelet said

“We are making progress, im sure of it”

They draw more. He vomited several times.

“Stop” He said between rasping breaths. He desperately pulled them off his arms and

threw them across the road

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Giller, youve already used our magic, we dont need to touch you” Bracelet

said

“Yes. You helped us; so we’re gonna help you” Henry echoed

They kept pulling. Sucking his magic and life into themselves. He heard their voices and

presence grow stronger.

Giller threw up again, this time mostly acid. He pulled himself across the ground, back to

Phandelin, to civilization.

“Please”

He blacked out.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day

It was a beautiful day. The breeze was blowing, the lillys were swaying, the birds were

singing. A perfect day to travel.

Kingsley the human cleric hummed his way down the path to nowhere.What more could

a man want? A destination to pursue, Riches to be had, gods to be found. Life was as it should

be. Quiet, Adventurous, meaningful. His musing were cut short by a fallen tree.

And a body sticking out from underneath.

Rushing over he got onto his hand and knees. The man was in his early twentys, with

wizards robes and a terribly burned half of his face.only his chest and right hand were not

crushed

His eyes flickered open, and blue light streemed from his body. His free hand held a

bracelet out to him.

“Please take this” The young man pleaded “I have a daughter in Phandelin, her name is

Lyna, please get this to her”

The Cleric took the bracelet, expensive. silver. with the symbol of two crossing bats at its

center.

An arrow slammed into the tree.