In a strange world as a Doppelganger

Chapter 31 - Testing the waters

The rush of adrenaline after having taken out the fox in one fell swoop eggs me on and I rush through the underbrush back towards the scout trail. It takes me a few minutes but I get a hold of one of the patrolling goblins.

"Can you bring this back with you when you return from your patrol?" I ask between heavy intakes of air from having ran. "And could you possibly point me in the direction of something bigger? I need to see what I'm capable of", I hold up my hands and tighten them into fists.

The goblin looks at me, taken aback by the sudden requests. "Uhm... sure I can bring this back. When you say bigger?" The question hangs for a moment, the goblin wanting me to finish the thought for them.

"I don't know, just something with a bit more challenge to it, is there anything like that around?" I can tell that my face is exuding eagerness, impossible to hold it back in my current state.

"There is a pretty darn large skunk not too far away, while it's not exactly a threat to us there's been talk among the warriors to chase it away and make use of its burrow to expand the village", the goblin points in a generic direction "If you head northwest you'll find it eventually, the whole area reeks of its markings."

I give the goblin a nod and take off once more, this time at a brisk but not rushed pace. This surge of energy within me is amazing. In the back of my mind there is a faint thought of not letting this go to my head but I just feel like anything is doable for once. So far it's been a struggle every time I come face to face with an adversary. Kill or be killed. I have only really had to fight for my life every time I needed something. Now though, I might be able to start flourishing.

True to their word, it takes me about an hour and a half before I start feeling a pungent odor in the air. At first it's not too bad but eventually it reaches an intensity that makes my eyes water. Stopping to to let my senses adjust I spot the creature and it spots me.

The skunk is large enough that in my current goblin form I wouldn't be able to reach the top of its shoulders even if I stood up on my toes. It stares me down, both of us gauging the situation. The skunk acts before I have time to muster the words that precedes the magic. It rushes forward towards me, bounding the distance in a handful of leaps, turning at the last moment and a wash of musk shoots out at me.

I manage to turn away and hold my breath in the very last moment, I'm covered in the stuff but control my breathing enough to where I keep from gagging as the stink permeates the area.

The skunk pivots towards me but was apparently not ready for the musk to be as ineffective as it was. I muster the magic to the surface, but instead of a concentrated and calm coldness, images of rage and fury come to the surface. Fire spews from my hand in a sudden burst, illuminating the nearby area in a bright white light. The fire shoots from my hand and burst into the skunks unprepared face, singing it's fur and skin. Stumped by the fire I take a tentative step backwards.

The skunk leaves no quarter and bears down on me with claws and fangs. The first claw misses me by an inch and leaves a gash in the ground beside me and the other claw slams down on the other side of me, now stuck in between its limbs as the fangs slam down. The fire must have left it partially blinded, the teeth are just a hairs width off mark when they slam together in an echoing clack!

Being trapped like this does not feel good right now, not good at all. A quick breath and I dig within for more fire, and I find it. Instincts kicking in, telling me that there is even more fire to bring forth but it's a finite amount of times it can be done. As I pull the magic from within my being there is no fire that comes, instead a massive cascade of water springs forth from my hands with an immense pressure.

When the water stops the skunk still stands before me but while it doesn't look any worse for wear it's now panting heavily and swaying back and forth. No time like the present, with what remnants there are of magic lingering in my hands I motion upwards and make a fist. The water that has been puddled beneath the skunk shoots upward suddenly and an audible cracking noise emanates from it as its jaw is slammed upward and its skull fractures.

I'm uninjured but exhausted to no end. The adrenaline surge starts ebbing and I let out a loud cry of victory! Falling to my knees before the creature a smile is plastered on my face. I sit down in the puddle that is slowly turning into mud around us.

Gaping mouths are what greets me when I come dragging the skunks body into the goblin village in the afternoon sun. The butcher is the first one to approach me, followed by the granny goblin. "Did you? Wha? How?" the butcher is staring at the skunk, dumbfounded.

"You made your choice then?" Granny looks me dead in the eyes.

"Yes, yes I did", I walk toward her and within the few paces it takes me to reach her, I revert to my lean, tall and hairless form. Looking at my own arms and legs, the hue of my skin is closer to a blue tint than the pale fleshy pink.