CH 144: Hostages Freed

Claire stepped forward on instinct to help Firewater, but the lead goblin barred her path. It tipped its admiral hat at her, then shook its head. Claire hesitated, torn between assisting Firewater and sticking to her word.

Jasmine hadn’t moved. Firewater’s wife had already filled her in. “This is his revenge, Claire.”

Claire looked back at Jasmine, whose hand still rested on her hip. Then she looked back at the goblin man, who was circling the wolf-hybrid. His left eye was swollen shut due to a gash, his thigh torn open. He was a mess.

“Can he win?” Claire asked the goblin.

It hesitated momentarily before nodding. The gesture was anything but confident,  Claire could tell. It grimaced with each blow exchanged between the two.

“I was told to step in if he can’t,” Jasmine said, pulling Claire back into an embrace. “She knew he’d be mad, but she would rather have him alive than avenged.”

Claire bit her lip, eyes lingering on the werewolf. Compared to Ursa’s wolf form, Astrid’s was grotesque. Ursa was savage but beautiful in her hybrid form. Astrid’s form looked feral and twisted like it was corrupted.

From the stronghold, an Elite goblin emerged. It signaled to the admiral goblin beside her, getting a garbled command in return. The heavy doors to the stronghold opened, revealing four of the elite goblins followed by a group of boys. Fear was evident in their expressions as they huddled together. The elite goblins herded them towards the hole in the wall.

Astrid stopped, her sickly yellow eyes focused on the group as they cowered in fear of it. The sight seemed to enrage the wolf, letting out a ferocious growl.

The boys let out screams as they scrambled away from the wolf. Claire wanted to do the same. She could feel the fear settle within her. Every instinct in her told her to run, but Jasmine kept her grounded.

Astrid tried to lunge towards the boys, only for Firewater to grab her hind leg. The goblin abandoned his blade to anchor her, rotating and slamming her to the ground. The move mirrored what Claire did to end their duel.

Despite the fear, a chuckle escaped Claire. “Did I teach him that?”

“I doubt it.”  Jasmine said, though there was a flicker of pride in her voice. She held Claire close, her eyes on the boys and the goblins, trying to calm them. “But if he learned just from experiencing it once… he’d be one hell of a student.”

Her voice softened into a chuckle with her jab at Claire. Claire took a bit of offense to the last statement, scoffing and pulling away from Jasmine’s embrace.

The admiral goblin tilted its head at the two, a confused look on its face. Claire let herself be pulled back into Jasmine’s embrace, giving the goblin a warm smile. It returned its attention to the group approaching them.

Claire could see their state better now. The boys held tightly to one another, their skin covered in bruises and dried blood. Their clothes were more like thrown-together rags, dirty and filled with holes. They were still panicked but the goblins kept them in check.

The admiral goblin made a clicking noise that the elite goblins responded in kind. It nodded then turned to Claire, nodding once more.

“I think that means that’s all of them,” Jasmine whispered. “Probably best if we deal with them.” “Right,” Claire muttered as Jasmine let go of her. She took a deep breath, thinking for a moment. “Jasmine, see if you can find Ursa. I’ll grab Elsie and Ana, and we’ll leave the boys with Lily. She should be able to help their wounds and keep them calm.”

Jasmine pursed her lips, eyeing the fight still going on between Firewater and the werewolf. She was surprised she didn’t have to step in yet.

“I’d rather stay here, in case things go south,” Jasmine responded.

“We can handle that,” Claire said sternly as she approached the huddle of boys. “But you’re the only one who could find and help Ursa if she needs it. So please, go find her.”

Jasmine nodded, understanding the logic. She raced towards the stronghold as Claire knelt before the boys. They stared at her with a mix of fear and hope.

“Hello, my name is Claire.” She said softly. “I understand that these goblins are scary, but they are here to help. I’m very grateful to them for rescuing all of you. Now, if you continue with us, we’ll take you to my party member. Okay?”

They stared at Claire with confusion. It took a moment, but they nodded. Their eyes wandered to the goblins surrounding them, who stood motionless.

“Good, I’ll walk with you to the treeline. Then I’ll have to return, I need to help that man.” She pointed to Firewater, who was able to knock the wolf back. “You’ll be safe with Lily, she has purple hair and glasses. If you’re injured, let her know.”

With their hesitant nods, Claire stood and nodded to the admiral. Its whistle set the elite goblins in motion. The boys flinched, but followed. Claire walked beside the boys, knowing they’d feel more at ease with a human.

She glanced back, checking the state of Firewater’s fight. Despite his injuries, the man was still fighting. His fists cracked against the wolf, but he was slowly making progress. The wolf looked far more beaten up, with its healing slowing.

She ripped her eyes off the fight to the boys beside her. They were incredibly young, most barely even teenagers. It made her skin crawl knowing what state they were in. Her stomach twisted the more she thought about it, but she smiled. It put the boys at ease, so she forced a smile.

At the treeline, Elsie raced towards them. Lily held the hand of one of the boys from the previous group, while Ana was kneeling beside another. Relief washed over the boys as they recognized each other.

Without a word or noise, the elite goblins marched to form a perimeter around them. They joined several units of goblins who set up a perimeter. Claire felt relieved knowing both sets of boys were now safe.

She exhaled hard. “Elsie, Ana, with me. Lily, keep watch over the boys. Check for wounds.”

All three nodded before Ana joined Elsie on Claire’s other side. Both twins looked back, unease clear on their faces.

“Th-they seem to be fine physically,” Ana whispered to Claire. “But there are clear signs of abuse…”

“There’s mental damage too,” Elsie muttered. “Some of them are acting far younger than their age, others barely say a word. And the ones who are more normal, flinch when we reach out…”

Claire grimaced as her stomach twisted. “I guess Jasmine was right… This is their justice.”

Elsie nodded. “I-I hate it but… it’s hard to feel bad for them.”

“Agreed,” Ana whispered. She grabbed Claire’s hand, giving it a faint squeeze. “H-how are you feeling? Did you throw up?”

Claire shook her head. “Sad to say, but it was easier this time. My stomach feels heavy and knotted, but… I kept it down.”

Ana studied Claire’s expression before nodding. “That’s good. We-we’ll talk more about it after this…”

“Sounds good, how did Elsie do?” Claire asked Ana, ignoring Elsie.

“She threw up already, but seems better now,” Ana said with a small smile.

“Hey!” Elsie shot back. “I threw up a bit in my mouth, okay?  And you could have asked me.”

“True, but you would have lied.” Claire’s smirk faded the moment they made it to the wall.

Claire took a deep breath as the twins fell silent. They entered in through the gap, finding Firewater in worse shape, his left arm limp at his side. His opponent was in a similar state, half transformed now.  Astrid was a grotesque mix of human and wolf, snarling with bloodied teeth.

The two circled one another, verbally taunting one another. Firewater had a mad-looking smile, but was sluggish.

On the other side, two wolves circled each other. Ursa’s white wolf against a darker brown wolf. Ursa didn’t have her axe, though.

Jasmine reappeared with it beside Firewater. The goblin man spat blood before grabbing the axe. His smile grew wider as he let out a maniacal laugh.

“Finally. I can repay you for everything you did to Silkie.”