"Water..."

This was the state of her vocabulary. The Princess changed a lot in just two days, first, she threatened us and put a lot of effort into our mockery too. I even found it entertaining at times, in desperate need of entertainment. Her original ideas almost made me forget I lost a comrade, but I was far from over it.

Which was to blame for her second phase.

"I can't feel my legs anymore..."

Nobody carried her now since I certainly wasn't qualified. I mean, being a woman of noble origin, no matter how young and delicate, she was almost twice my size. Her attire was in tatters, the long, deep purple hair, the hallmark of her family, was in disheveled yet still springy pigtails. She was in serious need of expert care and attention though.

Not that I was born a hairdresser or looked too noble, but she kept complaining about being tired, of her poor treatment and warned about running away at any moment. For some reason after we pulled her up from that chasm, she never did though.

Fang warned me about a pack of wild animals that shadowed us a while back. This was his reason not to carry her either. While he resembled our stalkers to some degree, he could not negotiate safe passage with actual wolves.

He kept his eyes on them, and ever since the Princess first spotted the wolves herself, she'd stuck to us even closer. We tried to lose them but were all out of breath, weak, and staggering by now. Her complaints became shorter, and simpler too. She got reduced to this.

"I'm going to die..." She repeated it, or that she was thirsty. She still had time for one terrible mistake, no matter how much we hurried.

"You shouldn't have tried those berries at random, your Highness," I said, although I couldn't blame her. She ate nothing in two days, the edible plants of this area were unknown to me as well. "One can survive on just water for a few days, but if you keep throwing up, you will die of dehydration before the wolves can catch up to us."

"Nothing edible is in season here." Fang joined in.

"Well, that pack won't complain about us being in season." I urged them to keep moving. "And what can I say? The last thing I had in my mouth was a healing potion four days ago."

"You can only blame yourself for it." He noted, anxiously looking around. "We had the Goddess with us. You should have asked her to return us home, give us food, or improve our luck... That's her gig after all. But no, you asked her help to continue this insane mission instead."

"Just what kind of amateur kidnappers are you?" The Princess asked too. This was the only thing she contributed to the discussion before throwing up in the back.

"I can't believe the rest of the champions never showed up." I tried to make up excuses. "Just a single wyvern, that's all it'd take to make them run with tails between their legs. Where the hell they could be?"

The Princess looked miserable and was a prime target for our pursuers. Her flashy clothes smelled terrible, which made it even easier for the wolves to track us. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.

"If I last until the Inquisitorias catches up with us, I'll order them to put you in boiling oil." She promised. "Cook you while you're still alive, and have them serve you with a simple side dish."

"That does sound good." I nodded, drooling from just thinking about it. "I'd rather be eaten well cooked and with some good seasoning, than raw by the wolves. Although Fang has more meat on him."

"And I guess you both already lost your minds." He shook his head resigned, but we kept on going. "How far did we come?"

"We should be near the old capital by now, but I'd much rather avoid it." I looked up at the sky. It was a bit cloudy, but nice weather. This could have been an enjoyable trip if not for starving and being followed by the shadow of death. Well, maybe not for the Princess.

"I wonder if the pack avoids that place too..." Fang pondered and brought up a good point. "There is absolutely nothing in there, and as I hear, animals won't go near it either."

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"Forget about animals, not even weed grows there." I claimed, quoting that ambitious witch on it. "Omerta said it was like a black hole for magicians. No spirits anywhere near, not even magicules, and it feels colder than Hell. After spending a day there, I'd rather take the wolves."

"Wait a second." Fang sniffed into the air suddenly. "I smell smoke."

"What? Where?" I tried sniffing too, but my nose was no match for the beastfolk. I couldn't see the smokestacks either, just the low clouds and the trees of the overgrown forest all around us.

"It's that way. And where is fire, there will be people too." He pointed randomly at the woods but sounded pretty confident. "If nothing else, the wolves might avoid the fire too. It could be our chance."

"How far is it?" I wasn't entirely convinced. "It’s easy to surround us in the forest and traversing it will be slower too."

"I can't tell just from the smell, but I don't have any better ideas." He shrugged, glancing around. "They are already close. What would it be?"

"Let's go." The Princess butted in, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her torn-up tunic. It wasn't very noble looking. "If they realize I'm a royalty, people will risk their lives to protect me."

"No humans live this far south, your Highness. I'm not sure if the Lesser Races are your fans." I noted, but wouldn't stop for a second. Still, they both made good points. I had to cave in. "Fine, we'll take the risk. Fang, straight line, no slowing down."

"Aye-aye, Captain." He nodded and rushed into the woods. I tried to keep the Princess in front of me, but she barely kept up.

Not a lot of scurrying or crawling around us. If anything, this forest should have been full of life. We weren't the only ones trying to escape the wolves, but the worst at trying to hide from them.

"Where did it go?" Fang looked around anxiously as we penetrated deeper. First I thought we lost the pursuers. "The trees are blocking my smell, but it should have come from this way."

"I'm going to skin you alive," I warned him, pushing the Princess in front of me. "I told you, no slowing down at this point."

As a sliver of hope, a small breeze slipped through between the trees, and the smell of smoke filled my nostrils. We were on the right track, but as I wanted to yell at our scout, a howl almost made me piss myself. It came suddenly and from a lot closer than I would have liked. The wind made it easier for them to find us too.

In the very next moment, we were under attack.

The wolves rushed us from all sides, and I felt like they were aiming for the Princess, but there were enough of them to pin down all three of us. From the moment I spotted the gray fur of the first wolf, in just three seconds, a dozen of them were in arm's reach.

Fang's injuries were never properly treated. None of us had our weapons, or armor anymore. As a goblin, I was neither a fighter, nor a magician, and her Majesty was on her last legs too. She didn't come off as a competent warrior anyway, and she barely managed to walk. I was sure the source of that smoke was close, and I felt embarrassed to be eaten by wolves after all this, but there was little I could do now. I snatched a fallen branch, turning to face our attackers.

"Fang! Take the Princess." I shouted at the top of my lungs. My leadership brought nothing but failures. Even if I were the only one who survived this, the Demon Lord would execute me. He wanted her Highness alive, and with just a little luck, the beastman could still deliver her safely. I had to buy them time.

Even just a few seconds might do...

I tried to look as fierce as possible, swinging the branch at the wolf aiming for the Princess. I missed widely, and another beast overran me from the side. Their distant relative still had it in him to jump in front of them and kick them away. I struggled to stand up, while he hesitated about what to do. There was only one option.

"Pick her up and run for it." I gave the order, determined to play the rearguard. Fang had no issues grabbing her by the waist and throwing her over his shoulder since her Majesty froze up completely by this point. In the meantime, I kept swinging my makeshift weapon at the animals, but a starving and beaten-up goblin didn't scare them away. "You keep going, don't look back, and no slowing down."

The pack would not have it. They surrounded us as if they knew that safety was nearby. They didn't want to let us go, but Fang only needed my permission, not theirs. His legs glowed up for a half second, then he leaped over the enemy and used all his strength to dash towards the smoke. I found myself alone with the wolves but wasn't about to give up either. All I had to do, was to survive. I was sure if he made it to safety, he'd do his best to save my life again. It wouldn't be the first time...

The beasts approached all at once though. They knocked the branch out of my hands and bit me for good measure, but I didn't care much about the pain. Sure, I cried out, but injuries could be healed. I just needed to protect my throat. That was their favorite target, if they reached it, I was surely a goner. Even some torn-off limbs were more desirable. If only I still had my shield, but the best I could do was to roll up on the ground and cross my arms in front of my head.

A moment later I was buried under a pile of animals.

I heard some howling, but it suddenly turned into whining and they did not bite me anymore. The wolves scattered, with only one remaining next to me, but that one was nailed to the ground by a spear.

"You sure are one tough goblin." The familiar voice sent a chill down my spine. "So you captured the Princess for real, not bad at all, Captain."

I could barely see from the pain and exhaustion but used my last breath to yell at her with all my frustration.

"Where the hell were you all this time?" I never got her answer, passing out right as she reached me, resting my head on Omerta's lap...