The burglar pauses in his looting, and turns to notice gaping at him. Even by the dim moonlight Merlis can see that the thief has the stature and features of a goblin, though they are set in a more leering, sneering fashion than what he has seen of his new friend Zhang.
The goblin acts swiftly. He pulls a dirty-looking knife from a hidden sheath, and springs out toward the flat-footed wizardling. Merlis, shocked out of his dazed reverie, clumsily jerks out of his chair in an attempt to dodge the blow. Fortunately, the goblin's feet tangle amongst the straps and buckles of the backpack he was searching, and he stumbles. The dagger thrust goes wide, missing Merlis' throat by a bare fraction of an inch, and the two of them go crashing into the table.
The din of the struggle is enough to waken Zhang and D'artagnan from their troubled dreams.
Surprise round is over.