You don’t see them coming.

Something slams into your leg hard enough to throw you off balance. Another hits your side. Then another.

They’re fast. Rolling, bouncing, ricocheting off the ground and each other. Candy. Hard, glossy, layered spheres about the size of your head.

One stops just long enough for you to see it properly. Bright stripes. Red, blue, yellow, green.

A jawbreaker… with teeth.

"Got one!"

Another crashes into you from behind.

"Don’t let it run!"

They don’t surround you neatly. They just keep hitting. Fast. Messy. Constant.

One of them miscalculates and slams straight into a rock.

CRACK.

The outer red layer shatters off in sharp candy shards.

It goes still.

For a second, nothing happens.

Then it lifts its head again.

The exposed layer underneath is blue.

"Oh."

It looks at you and smiles.

"Oh, hey. So... Hmmm. Are we… fighting?"

Behind it, another goblin slams into your shoulder.

"YES WE ARE FIGHTING."

The blue one winces.

"That seems unnecessary."

The others don’t care. They keep coming. Fast. Loud. Unpredictable.

One skids to a stop nearby, spinning slightly.

"Guys. No more cracking."

It grunts, annoyed.

"Keep your personalities. PLEASE."