Likra stumbled, then fell as his legs failed to adjust to the loss of speed from the wind essence crystal running out of energy. He pushed it as hard as it would go, for as long as it would go, and still he was not even halfway back to the border outpost. He saw gob-captain Gahnol take hold of the curse bearer with his spell, but how long would that really hold him for? In all the stories, curse bearers were known to be tricksters and cunning fiends. They would stop at nothing to bring low the Grand Conquest.

Likra got back to his feet and began to jog despite every instinct telling him to sprint. He knew better, if he used all his energy now he would pass out before he made it back to safety, before he could avenge his captain.

'Why am I thinking like that? Captain Gahnol is more than capable, he's fine. One on one with a curse-bearer stuck under Chains of Submission? It's the filthy intruder that should be worried'

Likra smiled as he picked up his pace a little, assured of their victory. He and Gahnol would present the outpost commander with the curse bearer, and after a lengthy interrogation they would avenge the blessed goblins slain today. There was no other outcome.

Then Likra heard it, the sound of a large boom behind him. Likra was reminded of the time Lord Jaykra executed a band of traitorous lowborn slaves in the fighting pits, his father playing the part of leader to the heretics. The bastards refused the gifts of the most holy lord until the very end, despite killing 3 whole squads of blessed goblins. But they were nothing before Lord Jaykra, he summoned fire in the air and in one move melted the flesh from their bones for their heresy as they begged for mercy from Sanavrona.

The goddess was a relic of the old era, before the orcs came and showed the goblins another way, before the elves were rooted out from the lands of goblin-kind. Some lowborn still clung tight to the old traditions, the old goddess. Officially, they were forbidden to do so. But unofficially, leadership turned a blind eye until the Sanavrona worshippers surfaced publicly and were punished for their heresy. This served two purposes: first, heretics calling for their absent goddess sounded so much sweeter as they fell screaming in terror. Second, when a lowborn lost their faith in Sanavrona and accepted the blessing of the holy master, they would instill terror in their former friends and family who might hesitate to raise a blade to the newly reborn even as they cut the heresy spitting tongue from their mouth.

Thinking back to the explosion behind him, Likra realized that Gahnol had no power over fire like Jaykra. Likra kept pressing on with tears forming in his eyes, memories of his captain and thoughts of vengeance filled his mind as if wishing to flow away with his tears. He knew the curse bearer would come for him, and he had to be faster. He had to set aside his grudge for now, he had to complete his captain's final orders. He was reborn as a warrior by the blessing of the holy master and warriors always see the mission through to the end.

Many minutes passed, with nothing but the sounds of the night birds and the sounds of nocturnal predators stalking the forest floor. Likra was wary that any of the more dangerous predators might be out and about, but they tended to stay off the roads unless they were already in pursuit of something or desperately hungry.

He suddenly felt a cool burst of air from his offhand and felt the pressure of magic working its will upon the stone in his hand. The essence crystal had finally pulled enough energy to be reactivated! He might just make it after all! Likra held the crystal high and tried to calm down enough to activate the runes on its surface. One deep breath, then two. He tried not to think about the massive figure of the monster surely following him down the roadway. When he got ready to finally reach out to the stone, he heard a loud pop, then felt a sudden intense pain in his wrist.

It was too late, the curse bearer found him! But how did he catch up so quickly? The fleeting thought dropped to the forest floor with the essence stone, Likra fought the searing pain in his offhand and held his spear with his main hand. He would lose some reach, but decided it was better to have a bad defense than none at all. He quickly shuffled toward the forest, gritting his teeth and waiting for the assassin type curse bearer to appear.

He waited beside a large tree for about a minute, then he watched the wind essence stone he dropped float into the air, high above where his arm would have stopped. It had to be him! After a another moment the air flickered and the form of the assassin roughly appeared like an elusive shadow, the essence stone disappeared quickly and the curse bearer with it. Likra had to make his strike now or lose the chance!

He summoned all the strength in his main hand and threw his spear toward the location of the filthy human who killed his captain and his fellow warriors! The spear spiraled with a burst of wind behind it, Likra was proud to see it fly... until it clattered to the ground uselessly. Had he missed? But how? Was he that fast?

A sudden force yanked and pulled at Likra's good hand, while he felt a blade at his throat, unseen. Within moments, however, a big arm materialized in Likra's vision, his captain's prized knife at his throat. The tears stung Likra's eyes at the sight of it, the pristine bone handle defiled by unclean hands.

The proud goblin warrior was suddenly dragged to the ground, he felt a knee placed against his back pinning his good arm against his back while the other throbbed with pain and bled against the blue blades of grass. His head jerked upwards to look the curse bearer in the eye, a sudden pain filled his head and caused him to close his eyes.

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Likra could hear a voice in his head, piety warned him against speaking to monsters like this, but his curiosity and fear urged him to use the opportunity to find a way out, perhaps to hope for another patrol to come searching. The next moment saw the blade of the knife held closer to Likra's throat and his head pounding once again.

Likra gulped as the memory of the assassin taking aim at his hand moments ago from up in the trees with his strange weapon worked its way into his mind, then he gasped as he watched himself retreat into the forest. Was this what the curse bearer saw?

He responded, realizing he didn't need as much breath to talk with his mind as he did his mouth.

Likra struggled against the human's grasp, but he had a tighter hold on his arm now that he had let Likra's head go to the ground. Pinned beneath the weight of the assassin and in his grasp, Likra realized this might really be his end.

He let slip thoughts of his family, his disgusting lowborn mother and father, his sister who he had so blindly sought to protect before his rebirth. He was ashamed to ever think that Captain Gahnol was a monster before he accepted the blessing. He showed Likra the truth, that they all clung to a goddess who was either dead or long gone from this world.

Likra vowed to the holy master that if he ever escaped the clutches of this monster, he would find his sister and either force her to accept the Blessing of the Rebirth, or make sure she died painfully.

The curse bearer sighed as he projected these thoughts into Likra's mind. Likra resisted, certain that he would be saved.

The assassin shifted his weight and removed the knife from Likra's throat. He began to cut Likra's good arm, the searing pain of his skin being cut and his flesh exposed to the air caused him to cry out and tense with pain. But what really shocked the warrior was the images being sent to his mind by the assassin. His revered captain was lying on his back, writhing in pain and burnt to a crisp. The sight brought back memories of the heretics led by his father, whom he had been forced to watch burn to bones for trying to lead a rebellion. This couldn't be real!

Likra cried out in agony, then suddenly the tearing stopped.

Likra lost it, crying and praying for salvation by the holy master, for pain and suffering upon the curse bearer, for evil deeds to be wrought upon his world in vengeance. Then the images came flooding back of Gahnol begging the monster not to come after Likra as the knife carved deep into Likra's right calf muscle. It was too much!

Likra sent thoughts of the activation rune and memories of him activating it with the will of the master awakened in his body by the Blessing of Rebirth.

Likra cried as he flailed uselessly once more.

Likra felt something poke the back of his head and he went limp. His life began to flash before his eyes, this was really it. He began to pray to the holy master, but something gave way in his heart and he began to feel deep seated regret take his whole being, body and soul.

Why did he take the Blessing of Rebirth again? To protect his sister from the other goblins, from the holy ma- no, from the demon lord Hieras. The mysterious master who corrupted the goblins and the orcs. He didn't want his sister to end up burning like his father, or a plaything for the orcs like his mother had before she was murdered. He remembered how he had struck a deal to save his sister before agreeing to the brutal training and re-education goblins had to take part in before accepting the dark gift of Rebirth under Hieras' sick slave system.

Likra felt it in his heart, the humans had come to do battle with Hieras. May Sanavrona bless them, he hoped this one would find his sister and kill her masters, like he had killed Gahnol. Likra could hardly bear to remember the torture Gahnol had put Likra through before he accepted the blessing, how he whipped and beat him, cut symbols branding him a heretic into his flesh, and worse, the things he watched Gahnol do to his mother before she was gifted to the orcs by Jaykra.

Perhaps the human wasn't lying to him, Gahnol was afraid to lose Likra. But not because he cared for the young goblin. No, because he was afraid to lose his favorite plaything and his shining star to present to Jaykra as proof of his effectiveness as captain. If he could convert and keep Likra as a faithful warrior to Hieras, he could do more as he rose up the ranks.

Likra called this out with his voice, but also in his mind, knowing the assassin was listening.

A loud pop and the flapping of startled wings signaled Frank's final mercy to Likra, and the bloody end of the Awakened human's first night behind enemy lines.