Snarling reflexively, Rush awoke to darkness. He flexed, surprised that he was neither restrained nor in pain. Frantically peering around blindly and listening intently, he heard only the void of silence.
A light appeared nearby, causing him to shield his eyes and squint. Instinctively, he crouched, coiled, anticipating an attack. The brightness grew, revealing a misty scene of the mushroom forest.
The image was confusing to Rush, and his thoughts whirled, Is that really me twisted on the floor, and why is a human kneeling over me with her mouth moving constantly?
Raptly listening, he could hear the woman’s distant, pleading murmur, ‘Minerva, spare this brave soul who saved me. Though his body is broken, I know you have the power to heal him.’
A silky, female voice drifted out of the darkness, startling Rush, ‘It isn’t often that I involve myself directly in the affairs of mortals, but one of my followers interceding to heal a goblin is unusual.’
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Rush’s eyes flitted around, trying to fix where the voice was coming from. It sounded elegant and educated, which was undoubtedly dangerous. Such people tended to dislike goblins and often treated them as if they were rats that needed to be exterminated.
‘The priestess you hear praying over you is called Jeanne, but others in my temple call her Minerva’s Dog because of her selfless devotion to me.’
The voice paused, and he waited in a crouch, muscles tense in anticipation.
‘She saw something in you, and for that reason I am going to give you a choice. You are dying, but this doesn’t have to be the end for you. Agree to bind your fate to Jeanne and I will spare your life, and more than that, I will give you the potential to be what she believes you are.’
Rush, losing patience with talking, spat out, ‘Enough already with the yammering. It hurts my head, either kill me or let me go.’
A tinkle of laughter echoed, ‘I’ll take that as a yes.’
After the laughter died, silence stretched out and Rush was left alone in the darkness once again. The quiet solitude continued for hours, time he spent tensed, waiting for an attack that never came.
Eventually, his eyelids drooped as he tired. Overcome by exhaustion, Rush curled into a ball on the smooth floor, finally relaxing as sleep overtook him.