Green Skin

Under the cover of the night, the torch light from the tower at the main gate shone bright. The young knight stationed in the tower stared into the dark forest, aside from the occasional sounds from the native birds there was nothing. The young knight failed to understand why the Baron was so antsy and was adamant on raising security.

The young knight sighed and took a seat on a wooden crate, it wasn't long before he felt a sharp pain at his neck. Before his hand could massage it, he felt something warm flow down his neck, his vision became blurry and he felt as though something was being drained from his body.

In no less than a second since he felt the pain in his neck the young knight had dropped dead. Behind him a sharp blade reflected the moon light, the figure holding the blade was no taller than an adolescent child. Dark green skin, long pointy nose and pointy ears; dressed in nothing but a piece of cloth that covered its lower region. Had the young knight learned his life was taken away by a goblin, his soul could never rest.

......

The Baron paced back and forth in his study, he swirled the wine in his glass but never took a sip. He heard a knock on the door and with the grace of an elite knight he drew for his handkerchief and wiped the beads of sweat on his face before placing the wine on his desk and taking a seat in his chair.

"Come in." The uneasiness in his voice caused it crack slightly.

A knight equipped with black armor entered the room he bowed and stepped forward, a chest in his hands. The Baron's expression calmed slightly as one of his elite knights walked to his desk.

"Ah, Sir Hal, any news on Gam and Vern?" The Baron's face was akin to a small child who hoped his mother had returned with candy.

"My lord..." The knight seemed hesitant as he placed the chest on the Baron's table. He couldn't help but stroke his thick mustache the red hair felt like cactus on his fingers. "This was left at the main gate."

The Baron stared at the chest with strange eyes, he inspected it closely. It was nothing extravagant, just a black chest with no visible engravings or patterns. Despite the chest's simplicity it gave off an eerie vibe that made the Baron's heart ache with uneasiness. His forehead was once again covered in beads of sweat as he extended his fat hands and slowly opened the chest.

The Baron's face turned green, he looked like he could throw up at any moment. Inside of the chest was the head of Sir Gam, one of his elite knights.

Sir Hal was no stranger to the battlefield or corpses, in fact beheading was a favorite of his, even so he felt on edge seeing one of his fellow elite knight's decapitated head. He and Sir Gam were not close sharing nothing more than a few words and drinks every now and then, what really put him on edge was the fact it was not less than a week ago Sir Pole, another elite knight, was sent to investigate strange activity in some woods as the nearby residents had been bombarding the Baron with complaints.

After Sir Pole had failed to stay in touch, Sir Vern and Sir Gam were dispatched with twenty knights, as the Baron had already assumed the worst, especially with news of barbarians moving into his lands and now he had been delivered the head of Sir Gam and since Sir Vern had not shown up they could only assume him dead. In no more than a week three of the Baron's five elite knights were dead!

Sir Hal had deduced this to be a declaration of war! However, the Baron saw this as something much more severe, it was a conformation he would die tonight!

"Quickly! Alert everyone! The tower! The knights! I want everyone! Be sure to force that damned mage out of his hole!" The Baron's face was flushed red as he barked his orders, his spit flew everywhere. He was no fool, a box delivered with the head of an elite knight! He had done the very same when he stole this land from its previous ruler and he had attacked moments after it was delivered.