KayDub2009
Simon, the weary adventurer, just wanted his own bed after weeks of tracking bandits. Instead, he finds his cottage broken into and his preserves stolen. The intruder? A small, frightened goblin named Cril. She's an emerald-skinned thief with gold-flecked amber eyes, clutching his mother's gemstone like a talisman. Goblins are supposed to be terrifying, yet all Simon sees is a fragile, hungry creature. Ignoring his own survival instincts, he doesn't draw his dagger; he offers her a home-and a chance to discover a "priceless treasure" beyond gold. His kindness bewildered Cril, the self-proclaimed "greatest thief in all the Forest". No one has ever called her pretty. She's always been afraid, alone, and stealing just to survive. But the shattering of the fragile connection occurs as hope flickers between the human and the goblin. Cril returns with a terrifying truth: hunters are tracking her, and they will be at Simon's cottage by dawn. Now, the night that began with a simple theft is spiraling into a dangerous race for survival. Can a lonely adventurer and a misunderstood thief find a haven-and maybe even love-before they're caught?