Unfortuniatly it is dead.

I awoke suddenly, feeling a warm sensation slithering around my dick. My eyes shot open to find Zarra kneeling between my legs, her long, prehensile tongue skillfully wrapping around my shaft, licking up the evidence of recent encounter.

With a smile, I asked, "What are you doing?" Blushing, Zarra, having finished, retracted her tongue, and helped me pull up my pants. She replied, "Just cleaning you. We need to go."

Afterward we both got ready and went around checking the goblins traps. As we ventured deeper into the woods, the goblin tribe's presence grew more apparent. Wooden stakes with markings denoting their territory occasionally punctuated the landscape. As well as clearly used foot paths crisscrossing through the forest.

Zarra was quiet and fidgety the entire time, occasionally stealing glances at me, her cheeks flushed. However, I noticed that she was walking next to me instead of leading the way as she had done previously.

Unable to bear the silence any longer, I asked, "So that was your first time, right?" She nodded, and explained, "I am a shaman. If a male wants to mate, all other males would be scared of his power."

"Wait, are you saying that if a goblin slept with you, they would be considered a threat?" I asked incredulously. She nodded again and explained, "Male goblins are greedy; they would kill each other before letting the other win."

Amazed at what I had learned about goblin culture, we fell into silence again. The forest was teeming with life. We encountered various animals caught in the traps, their frightened eyes pleading for release. My heart ached as I watched them being dispatched, knowing it was necessary for our survival. Zarra watched me with a mix of curiosity and indifference, but we both understood that it had to be done.

Eventually, we came across a large rabbit-like creature with a black, spiraling horn, caught by the foot and hanging from a tree. As I looked at it, an intense sense of fear washed over me, and a notification rang out in my mind.

{Ding! User is under the fear status effect!}

Before I could start panicking, Zarra placed a glowing hand on my shoulder and cast a spell. Immediately, my fear disappeared, replaced by deep confusion. Turning to Zarra, I asked, "What happened? As soon as I saw it, I started freaking out."

" That beast has an ability to frighten things that look at it, but now that you know it shouldn't affect you again," Zarra explained.

She swiftly stabbed the creature with her spear, ending its life. After resetting the trap and placing the rabbit in the basket, we moved on to the next trap. We worked in tandem, Zarra efficiently dispatching the trapped creatures, while I collected their bodies in the basket.

The horned rabbit was the only creature unfamiliar to me we found; the rest of the traps were either empty or contained more mundane animals. When we started to make our way back, satisfied with our haul, we were carrying an assortment of squirrels, chipmunks, a fox, and even a badger.

After hours of trekking through the dense woods, we returned to the goblin camp. The sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows through the trees. Suddenly, I felt a familiar weight slam into me, and I staggered backward.

Looking down, I was met with the determined, brown-eyed gaze of Mackinzie, my childhood friend. She clung to me, trying not to cry as she choked out, "I am so happy that you are safe." She nuzzled my chest, her voice filled with a mixture of relief and concern. "You were gone for so long, and Zarra came to get me, saying that there was a fight, and I was worried, and—"

"I'm sorry for worrying you, but as you can see, I'm good as new," I reassured her, striking a few playful poses to lighten the mood. A teary-eyed smile, Mackenzie responded, "Don't ever do that again."

Patting her head, "I promise I will always come back to you, okay?" She nodded, satisfied, and finally let me go.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Zarra handed me all the plants we had collected and dropped off all the animals to one of the other goblins, who began cleaning and skinning them with a sharp rock. Taking the plants, I asked, "Do you have a mortar and pestle?"

Zarra, not understanding what I was asking for, said, "I don't know, what is that?" Sighing, I asked instead for a large flat rock and a smaller, hand-sized rock. She nodded and led me to the cave, where she pointed to a simple cooking spot with a fire pit, various simple utensils, and a couple of large flat stones used for cooking.

I shredded all the plants and separated out the useful parts, grinding them meticulously as I slowly added water until I was left with an acrid-smelling, thick paste. Goblins with various injuries lined up, their faces filled with a mix of curiosity and apprehension.

I began treating the goblins with cuts and scrapes, we worked together, cleaning wounds, and removing debris. Mackinzie helping me apply the paste, her fingers gentle yet sure. Having Nassa translate, I instructed them not to pick or scratch the paste and to try to keep the area clean.

As I was wrapping up the treatments, I noticed Zarra approaching one of the goblins with a broken arm. Running over, I said, "Wait, there is something I would like to try. If it works, it might decrease the amount of mana you would use when healing a broken bone."

I had been thinking about how healing magic might work and came up with a hypothesis. Wouldn't having to realign someone's broken limb require a lot more mana, since physically rearranging something would be a completely different effect than accelerated healing?

At least with the magic and rituals I had been taught, you should always prioritized limiting the aspects of the spell; otherwise, the energies would become muddled and diffuse. Thinking this far, I had approached Zarra with my proposition.

Zarra, seemingly interested in what I said, motioned for me to approach. Looking down at the injured goblin, her face contorted in pain, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. I quickly organized some sticks and leather cordage to make a splint. Grabbing a nearby stick, I told Zarra, "Have her bite down on this; it will hurt," as I placed it between the girl's sharp teeth.

After confirming that the stick was firmly in place, I placed my foot in her armpit, grabbed her wrist, and pulled it toward me, causing the goblin girl to cry out in pain. While pulling, I massaged her forearm, working toward the break and pushing the bone back into place. After setting the fracture, relief already evident on the goblin's face, I tightly tied the arm in a splint.

Once the initial treatment was done, I motioned for Zarra. With a wave of her hand, she channeled her magical energy, and a warm, soothing light enveloped the injured goblin. The bones mended, and the cuts healed before our eyes.

Excitedly, I asked, "Was there a difference in the amount of mana used?" After some thought, Zarra nodded and said, "I used half the normal amount," her surprise clearly etched across her face.

Having confirmed my suspicions, we moved from goblin to goblin, repeating the process until only one remained. When I saw the girl's left arm, pale and already turning black at the fingertips, a sense of dread gripped me. I checked her wrist for a pulse but felt nothing.

Pulling Zarra over to Nassa, I spoke in hushed tones, "That girl's arm is dead; it has gone without treatment for too long, and if I treat it, it could lead to her death. Zarra, can your magic heal it?"

Zarra went over to the girl, inspecting her arm closely, a soft glow enveloping the girl's fingertips. Frustrated, Zarra returned, shaking her head, and said, "I can't heal it."

Sighing, I said, "Unfortunately, the only other option is to cut off the arm. If we recklessly try to fix it, the dead arm will poison the rest of her body." Shocked, Zarra stared at me, while Nassa looked at me contemplatively before grimly saying, "If there is no other way, then we have to trust the human."

"If we are going to perform the amputation, it would be best to find something to block the pain," I said, pausing to think of suitable plants, before continuing, "There are two flowers that might help, one or preferably both, will be able to put her to sleep. The first is a purple-reddish flower called a poppy; it has a stalk and is shaped like a bowl with a yellowish-green ball in the center of the flower. It bleeds white liquid when cut and tends to grow in fields or meadows. The next is a purple flower with long, droopy petals shaped like a hood; it also grows on a stalk and has leaves with many points. It can be found along streams or rivers. Both should be handled carefully because they are poisonous."

After hearing this, Nassa called over the goblins who had been healed and could still move, relaying what I had said before sending them off to search in the quickly fading daylight.