A week… Maybe more.
I am locked on a wall, with one arm in chains and the other kept tight and supposedly safe in a sling. More often than not, they throw water or magic at me when I close my eyes. They do not want me to sleep. At least, not enough to actually rest.
“Do you really want the Queen to come back and use her magic on you?” The red goblin asks.
The same one. The same disgusting little thing.
“I do not know of any swords. Other than the one I am going to run through your spine.” I growl.
Rage. Pain. Violent thoughts. Anything that can keep me alive. I have to use it.
“How long will you keep this up? Not that the kid minds the exercise, right?”
The goblin gives a blade to Snaray’s daughter. She does not share the enthusiasm for tearing flesh apart. For all my anger, I can see that much. She is a prisoner here, same as me.
Damn you, Snaray. You could just ask for help.
Every once in a while, the Queen visits again. Probably a way of maintaining control over my torturer’s killing tendencies.
They are keeping Snaray’s daughter away from the gray goblins. Probably an intimidation tactic.
A cut, across my left arm. Blood is flowing out, all the way down my body. I am starting to appreciate the warmth my running blood provides.
“Now, remember. What is next? Quick, before our cattle dies from blood loss.”
The daughter snarls. She is not confident enough to even speak a language I can understand.
“Then do it. If he dies, so do you.” The red goblin says.
The usual pattern. Right after the cut, they burn my wound, avoiding excessive bleeding. Must also help with infection, I guess.
My thoughts… They are disorganized.
The most important issue is that I cannot use magic. Something prevents me from releasing any bursts of magic. I cannot even shout the word reveal in order to make my eye glow.
Tried that some time ago.
Chains must be doing something. Cannot think of anything else.
How did this prisoner situation happen?
I move my arm in reaction to the pain, shaking in shock. Shocks happen more and more as the time passes.
“Orenmir. Talk. This whole thing stops.” The torturer says.
“I have not heard this name until you mentioned it. How many times do I have to say that.” I cry out.
“Still. This will not do at all. These cuts. Too unsteady.”
The piece of shit inspects the daughter’s work.
I need a name for her.
She is Snaray’s. Gray daughter? That is awful.
I cannot let the torturer think I do not hate the daughter.
“You are both dead. I promise you that.” I cough.
The daughter stumbles back, thinking the increased distance means safety.
“Enough playing for one day. Answer, you get to sleep. Avoid… You know. This is not the first time you do this, right?”
This disgusting little-
“Of course not. Wish I knew the answer, though.”
Play along. Play along.
-
Another… Day… How many… No Sun movement. Only flickering lights of torches.
Are they talking about Eadwald’s sword? Is it that special? I remember a gem. I do not remember her doing anything with it. I have to learn about that somehow.
Orenmir. What do I know about that name?
A technique? No.
Magic? No.
Was there anything about Orenmir in my dreams?
Shit, everything is a blur. This pain will not let me think straight.
And when it is not the pain, I have to worry about my exhaustion.
Being a prisoner is not exactly a relaxing way to spend my days. Better make sure they are not my final ones.
I have a family to get back to. A village.
I close my eyes.
-
A sharp, cold feeling in my leg brings me back to consciousness.
“I told you. No talking means no sleeping.” The goblin chuckles, cutting flesh with an ice dagger.
“I do not know anything. How. Many. Times do you want me to tell you that.” I shout, rattling the chains in pain.
The daughter tries to get away, only to be pushed on the ground by my torturer.
She cries as the red goblin snarls angrily and feints a couple of bites on her neck. What is going on here?
The goblin slaps the kid and pushes her towards my direction. The daughter tries to create the same magic my dad has. One of her hands conjures flames and she immediately burns my leg. I shout, just like every time this happens. The smell of my own burning flesh is growing more and more familiar.
“Since I happen to be extremely generous, we can pick up on the rest of your body tomorrow.” The goblin moves towards the exit. “Do not forget to feed him. We need him to regain his strength.”
The menacing chuckles carry on long after he is gone.
I have to struggle just to stay conscious. Still, I want to be awake when they feed me this time.
“Are you going to talk at all?” I ask.
The daughter simply brings the bowl of food close to me and starts feeding me with her hand. Apparently, they do not use a lot of forks or spoons. On the other hand, Neither does Meuko.
“Your nails are cutting me.” I say.
The food is a mashed up version of anything they could find. Bits of meat, grain, berries. Sometimes, even bone.
“Sorry.”
“Finally. She speaks.” I exhale.
“Sorry.”
She presses more food against my mouth. Messy is definitely the word I am looking for.
This child is scared. Terrified. Her elbows are always tight. Her eyes lack the vibrant yellow color of my torturer. Her fingers are trembling, wasting food.
It would be so easy to bite her arm. Just cut through the flesh. Tear her apart in the hopes that she is holding a key.
I can do it. Watch her life drain away in front of me. Run out of this dark place. Kill anyone that stops me. If I run, no hobgoblin can catch me. I can see my parents again. All I have to do is bite this trembling neck. And never let go.
“Sorry.”
Her cries for forgiveness snap me out of my raging thoughts.
This is what they want.
They are playing with us. Both of us. The daughter is just a reason to keep Snaray obedient. Keeping her locked in here with me is just a way to entertain themselves.
Will I kill her?
Will I try to escape?
If they think I do not have the answers they seek, I am dead.
And so is she.
They can just lie to the gray goblins that the daughter is being useful. Shit.
“Sorry.” She keeps crying.
Like the way fake Julie was acting in that weird dream.
Why do I always have this weird feeling that someone is controlling us?
Maybe because it is just the truth.
First, it was Travlon. After his death, it was Alayne’s actions affecting me. Then, there was the Queen affecting the gray goblins’ actions.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
I need to figure something out.
“I c-cannot see that well. Is he gone?” I ask.
“Yes.” The daughter says with some hesitation.
“Make. Sure.” I say, panting.
The daughter moves towards the exit, then quickly stumbles back to my side.
“Definitely gone.” She responds.
There is no way to prepare her for this ridiculous interaction.
“You have to get the keys and free me. Of course, it has to happen when the Queen is not-”
“N-No. No way. They will kill me. They will not think twice.” She interrupts me.
Shit. I really do not have the time to deal with her panicked state. I am about to pass out.
“They… Will kill you anyway.” I whisper.
“I just have to prove useful-”
“They can see- I can see.” I interrupt this time. “That you do not have what it takes to do this. They just used you to get your father to betray me. You are dead. Just like me.”
“When did-”
“But.” I keep talking, using all the energy I can muster. “If you want to keep cutting bits of flesh getting hit by that red goblin, be my guest.”
The daughter looks at all the dried blood around me. Days of slashing and hacking will do that. My eyes close just as she is about to say something.
Great timing, Volter.
Keep at it.
-
How many days?
Maybe this is just a very long dream. Like the one with the younger Sylvar.
“You know you are still alive because we want information, right? Anyone else would have been dead by now.” The red goblin snarls.
“Wish I could help. At this point, I barely feel like protecting Alayne.”
“Alayne?” The goblin tilts its head.
Shit.
“The leader of the Village.”
Why can I not stop myself?
“Is that the draconic sorcerer that was near the ‘Nghas?”
“The what?”
“The ‘Nghas.”
The weird clicking sound before the resemblance of a word is supposed to be part of the word?
“You know I cannot speak in your goblin language, right?” I mock him, copying the mannerisms of his speech.
“The Tree.” The red goblin snarls, burying its fingers in my right shoulder, the one that was shattered by a hook. “Is that draconic sorcerer your Lea-”
“Yes, yes, yes.” I scream.
The thumping of a familiar figure interrupts this horrid, as Sylvar would say, exchange.
Sylvar.
Julie.
Meuko.
“I guess she must be getting impatient with your lack of results.” I chuckle.
The red goblin slaps me before it quickly gets itself ready to welcome the Queen.
“We we- were getting somewhere. Just now.” My torturer babbles. “I have confirmed the identity of the village’s Leader. Alayne.”
The Queen barely notices the red goblin as she keeps walking towards my side.
“Is that all you have to offer? Perhaps the kid should train you…” The Queen responds, maintaining eye contact with me.
“I assure you. I- I am doing everything in my power.” The goblin explains.
“Then, tell me more about this Alayne.”
“I was just about to-”
“Was not asking you.” The Queen interrupts the goblin.
Dread is covering the entire face of my torturer right now. Even my tired eyes can see that clearly. I do enjoy this. Have to admit that.
“Focus.” The Queen says, piercing my hanging arm with one claw.
“Right, I forgot about the whole torturing thing for a minute. My bad.” I say.
“Talk.”
This encounter is suddenly just me against the Queen. The other two people in the room are in the corner, waiting patiently.
“I will tell you. But I have a question first. Why me?”
I try to look up, towards her. There is a slight grin. She is… Amused?
“You were wrong about this one. He still has the fire inside of him.” She proclaims. “Still wants to learn. To fight.”
“It is as you say, my Queen.” The goblin bows, quickly followed by the daughter as well.
“We wanted the one who cut the branches of the ‘Nghas. The one who was shining brightly during the night. The one followed by the storm.”
I am all that? I am pretty sure the storm was a happy accident. Way less happier after Kianel’s death.
“We call it Varuna.” I say.
“An ugly name. After the priestess of the Earth. She would not tolerate that use.”
“I do not know any priestesses. This is the name they gave me, this is what I use.”
This Varuna priestess must be a particularly selective person… Not tolerating someone else using her name.
“Now, your turn.” The Queen touches my arm with one of her claws.
Surely a threat.
“I do not know much about Alayne.”
“Then let me help you reme-”
“No.” I interrupt. “He is just very secretive and in the middle of some fight, as far as I am aware of. We have been fighting with each other constantly.” I explain.
“Are you someone important in your Village?” The Queen asks.
How do I answer this question?
“You look confused. Do you noy know the meaning of the word?” The Queen pressures me for an answer.
She must have read my expression.
I guess.
I always thought I needed to work harder. Faster. Better. But, what is the result? What is it that I do? It seems like the answer is right there. Yet, my recent experience of never ending pain and frustration. Anger. It makes it harder for me to find the answer.
“I am important. I am trying to fight the Leader’s actions. I only want to be on good terms with the goblins.” I growl.
The red goblin laughs uncontrollably, filling the room with its obvious mocking.
“Of a-all the lies.” It laughs.
I am more surprised by the expression of the Queen. Serious. Keeping her eyes on me, trying to figure out if I am lying or not.
“Why go against this Alayne?” She asks.
I do not even have to think about this answer. My rage and pain are exactly what I need to express myself.
“Because he wants to keep everyone locked inside the Village. He will not keep me there. My friends are already strong enough to resist him. Everyone else is fed up, I can feel it. And I am tired of all the lies.”
“He leads a strong fight against us. Perhaps replacing him could weaken your hidden Village. They even figured out that we were poisoning the rivers. You could not make that connection.”
Why is she trying to teach me stuff?
Am I going to die?
She does not even care. That is why she is serious about this.
“No. Everyone fighting, working together. Learning as much as possible. That is how you move forward. His lies only make our work harder.” I growl.
“Yet you got captured. Your goblin friend betrayed you.”
“So? You think I hate him because of that?”
“Who would not?”
“Do you hate me?”
“What?” The Queen asks.
“I burned your cave, killed countless goblins, released your pets… Do. You. Hate me?”
Come on. Come on. Be like Alayne. Just once, I want to be talking to someone like Alayne.
“I think nothing of you and your actions. I only care about the Orenmir.” She answers coldly.
Yes. Yes, you do.
“Then I will get it for you. I do not know what it is or what it does. But I will bring it to you.”
“Even more lie-”
“You are serious.” The Queen interrupts the goblin. “So much hatred in those eyes.”
Wish I could say she is wrong.
Unfortunately, I cannot tell how I look.
“This blood thirst of yours. Why would I trust a human? One as weak as you? The slightest of magic hurts you immensely. You could not stand up to a magician of that size.” The Queen moves closer, to the point where I can feel her breath.
“The Varuna, Nghas… Whatever you call it.” I have to give everything I have, before they kill me. “It gave me powers. It allowed me to cut its branches. It wanted me to. It said so itself.”
“Impossible.” The Queen says, clearly shocked. “You should not be able to. She never mentioned that.”
“How…” My torturer starts trembling.
“You talked to it?” I say.
I did not think I was the only one that Varuna talked to, but… I kind of wished I was. There goes the slightest feeling of being special.
That is right. Keep joking. You need all the energy you can get. Make it out of here. Alive.
“I have to leave. More important things happening. And you two.” The Queen conjures purple magic around her. “You heard nothing. Let him rest.”
Both the goblins nod endlessly, unable to express themselves in any other way. What is this fear? What is happening? Why?
Shit. Just when I want my mind to work, the pain distracts me. Does not matter. I get a few more days. Hopefully. The red goblin walks towards me as I close my eyes, trying to fall asleep as soon as possible.
-
I am awake.
What is this feeling? My limbs feel a bit stiff, but at the same time, they feel like they can tighten properly. Like when I lift weights. Am I… Refreshed? Well, barely. Especially considering the fact that I am covered in hastily burned cuts and soot.
“Finally awake.” The red goblin snarls. “The Queen wants to talk to you. As soon as her soldiers come, I am letting you out.”
“No more cutting from you? The generosity of the goblins is astounding.” I chuckle.
The daughter rushes towards me. My torturer starts shouting at her. He may be saying something in goblin terms but I get the general idea.
“I am making sure he has no weapons and that he is clean enough. Do not want the Queen to shout at us like yesterday, right?” She says.
Why is she speaking in a way I can understand? And what is this confidence? Also, I have been sleeping for a day? Good to know I am taking advantage of all the sleep I can get.
My eyes are working properly, even if I can only see as far as these weak torches allow me to. A metal sound draws my attention lower. Around my legs.
“What are you doing there? I am the one holding the ke-” The red goblin quickly searches around its pouches, realizing he cannot find the keys.
My left leg shackle is unlocked.
“Shit, you did it.” I say, looking at the daughter.
The torturer dashes towards the daughter, pulling her by the shoulder and her ear. She shouts, trying to wrestle free. The keys. Where are they? I look around. My feet. No. Is she holding on to them? The daughter struggles against the red goblin as he tries to move her towards the table with the knives.
Shit. Look. Where? Look.
The shackles. The keys are still inside the lock. At least I can move my left leg freely. How can I grab them? My right arm is wrecked. Does it even matter now? I bite my lips, trying to not scream from the pain that comes with wiggling my right arm from its sling. I can almost feel the shoulder bones grinding against each other.
The red goblin smashes the daughter’s head against the table and grabs a knife.
I need to be fast. I grab the keys with my free arm and try to open the hand cuff first.
The daughter quickly cuts the red goblin’s arm holding her by the neck.
She must have took a knife when she was not defending herself. Smart.
I try the same key that opens my ankle cuffs as well.
Sylvar said that even if I find a set of keys, most of them open the same group of locks. If they are different, that just means that one opens doors, the other might open windows and so on. Goblins do not have the time to spend creating multiple and complicated locks, apparently.
I turn the key, finally being able to move my left arm. Sylvar was right. Now, my leg.
The red goblin tries to cut the daughter but she is too busy gaining distance from him. She is a fighter. Even with one leg, she drops to the ground and uses her three limbs to jump away. As soon as she starts climbing the walls of the cave, the red goblin starts throwing the knives and the hooks and the- Better not bring those memories in mind. He throws anything he can grab towards her.
One of the improvised projectiles hit the daughter and she drops back on the ground. The red goblin stops a second before stabbing the daughter. He realizes I am free.
And I am right behind him.
The goblin spins around, instantly trying to stab me. I grab the arm holding the knife, twisting it until it can no longer hold a blade. The red goblin wails in pain, trying to claw its way out. I kick one of its brittle little legs, breaking a knee. Before it can even cry out, I muffle the sounds with my hand, pushing its head towards a wall.
A cracking noise.
It drops down, unable to focus its eyes anywhere.
I grab a blade.
“This will not do… As my cattle, you have to last longer.” I exhale, putting a blade right next to one of its eyes.
All it took was one arm. With one arm, I grabbed it, put it against a wall and hit it to the point where it cannot resist. All these chains. He needed those.
I do not.
“I will not cut you.” I whisper, dropping the blade and grabbing the broken leg.
I raise the goblin in the air and slam the bastard against the wall. Once. Twice. Sickening thuds, followed by blood splashing.
Then I slam him on the ground. Something cracks.
“Would not want to kill you too fast now, would we?” I growl.
The body twitches a few times. I have no idea if it will be alive for long. I hope it will be. I hope it suffers.
“Are you okay?” I say, carefully placing my right arm back on its sling.
The daughter has moved as far away as possible, almost curling into a ball. I remember Sylvie doing that.
The Blight Dog ate entire patches of ground with medicinal plants. Julie was so angry, the poor beast could not do anything other than hide in Sylvar’s house. How did that story end? I do not remember.
“We need to go. Now. Before the guards get here.” I explain, trying to grab as many of the torture instruments as possible.
My trousers still have the holsters I use. Still, I only now realize it.
What was I doing all these days?
“You do not want to kill me?” The daughter shudders.
“Why would I?”
“He cut you. So- so did I.”
“I told you. We are both prisoners. Besides, I need you to guide me out of these caves. Come on.” I urge her.
“Right.” She says, slowly moving towards me.
I guess the need for survival far outweighs the risks.
“When did you grab the keys?”
“When you were talking with the Queen. He was too busy shivering.” She says, looking towards the exit.
“Climb on me. Guide me out. We got this. And take a knife. Just in case.” I say.
“Walk outside, keep to the right side. It leads to one of the camps.” She explains.
“It had to be the right side.” I say, pushing my shoulder against the wall.
I need to get out. Now. This fight gave me a surge of energy and I do not know how long it will last.
“We are getting out.” I growl. “Reveal.” I say loudly, trying to focus on my eye not glowing.
There is a thing I never expected to think about. It feels like the space around me lights up but there is no visible glow coming off me. Good.
“Quiet.” She whispers.
At least I can see in the dark.