26 The Storm Approaches

Opening his eyes at the setting sun, Nabik looked around the makeshift camp. Five goblins were idling, while four others were still watching the cardinal directions as ordered earlier.

*Yawn*

Nabik slowly stood up, all eyes now on him as they awaited his orders.

"Huddle up and move out." Nabik directed his subordinates. Their faces hardened, knowing full well that their enemies were on the other side of the cave entrance.

"What are you lot so afraid of with me here? EH?!" Nabik yelled out, spooking the goblins.

"What, do you think whatever it was that had to employ assassination techniques to kill the others is a match for the great Nabik?!" He screamed, his veins on his forehead almost popping.

"N-no sir! The great Nabik will never be defeated!" The goblins all yelled out in unison.

"That's what I thought. Now, pay attention and move out!" Nabik said, calming down with his ego being stroked.

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"Alright, sword, check, hatchet one and two, check, bones, check, cordage, check, Mana Heart, check, Solus, check, Inbellis, check. Did I miss anything Solus?" Roy asked, looking at Solus as she nodded her head yes.

"Really? What?" Roy asked, thinking over his list once again. Solus then lifted her finger pointing at Roy while giving a childish smile.

"Ah... Very funny." Roy said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "Alright, let's get a move on. We don't know if or when the other goblins are coming. But I'm sure they're on high alert when the scouts didn't return." Roy guessed.

*Ruff*

Solus gave a short bark in response, before following behind Roy. The two made their way back towards the cave, taking their time to use the trees and bushes as cover.

Soon enough, their practice in stealth and alertness paid off. In front of them was a party of 10 goblins. One of the goblins was almost twice the size of the other ones, whom Roy guessed to be Nabik.

[Goblin Warrior]

Lv. 3

Notes:

Evolved form of the goblin

Tier 1

'Yup that's him for sure.' Roy thought, trying to make as little noise as possible.

"Keep your doino guli, the enemies nashi be hiding in the trees." Nabik said to the goblins in a hushed tone of voice. Roy managing to pick it up faintly, understood most of the words and could fill in the last couple with context.

'Thankfully I kept Tilok alive to learn some of their language. It certainly helps to understand what your enemies are saying.' As Roy continued to watch them, he realized that they were far too alert for an attack right now. He knew that they were going to camp out or return soon enough as the fatigue of constant alertness got to them.

Taking this opportunity, as all of the remaining goblins of the cave seemed to be present. That is if he could trust Tilok's intel... Roy decided to sneak towards the cave and attempt to free the kobolds.

Taking one last look towards the platoon of goblins, Roy and Solus made their way towards the cave entrance.

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"Fucking bastards left us here! They attack us at in our sleep, kill our men, kidnap us women, tie us up and refuse to let us eat, drink, or even relieve ourselves." One of the prisoners complained, tears filling her eyes as she stared at the pile of meat that was once her loved ones.

"Asandra, stop complaining. We are lucky that we haven't been raped or killed yet. There is still a chance to escape, especially now that those fuckers are gone." Another prisoner told the first one known as Asandra.

"Terren, how are we supposed to do that exactly?! They ripped our claws out of our hands and feet!" Screamed Asandra as the tears poured even faster. "None of us survivors have a Mana Heart either, we can't do anything but sit here and wait for the inevitable..." At this point, Asandra's eyes returned to their originally glassy look. She was no longer responsive, making Terren eventually give up communicating.

"You all may have given up, but I refuse to become a breeding tool for filthy goblins!" Terren admonished her fellow pack members, as she attempted to think of a solution.

'Maybe I can try to form a Mana Heart myself? But if I do that in this environment and mindset I could end up killing myself... Might be a good last resort.' As Terren decided on her suicide path, she suddenly heard the faint sounds of footsteps in the cave.

'SHIT! They already returned?! NO!' Terren internally screamed, as she struggled against her restraints.

'Come on... COME ON! BREAK!' Terren, now struggling her upmost to break her restraints, the sounds of footsteps getting louder and louder as they continued to approach her.

*Snap*

'YES!' Terren's eyes shot wide open in shock as she quickly moved her hands to undo the bindings on her feet.

The rhythmic sound of the footsteps were almost like the beating of a drum, playing a crescendo to her doom.

Finally the panicked pulling of the bindings succeeded, her feet now free, Terren quickly shot up in an attempt to run away and hide.

Unfortunately the lack of nutrients and being stuck in one spot for so long, had caused her legs to give in. She fell to the cold cave floor, creating a small splash as the puddle she landed in spread its content out to the surrounding areas.

The smell of blood assaulted her nose as she realized that she had just fallen into a puddle of blood from the dismembered bodies of her pack.

"Oh god!"

*Blurgh*

Terren dry heaved at the realization that her pack members' bodily fluids were now covering her, but couldn't vomit as she had nothing in her to regurgitate.

Finally, the footsteps came to a halt right in front of her. Horror flashed in her eyes as she slowly looked up expecting to see the large goblin that captured them. To her utter surprise though, what she found was a small orc and a kobold pup. Both covered in armor, one seemed metalic, while the other made of pelt.

"Wha-" She attempted to question the two children that she never expected to see in this hell hole. Unfortunately before she could even finish her word, she passed out due to her nerves being shot.

"What the hell? She managed to break out of her bindings, though she is far too weak to move right now." The orc said in a language none of the kobolds could understand. All they knew was that there was now a glimmer of hope standing in front of them, their eyes slightly regaining color.