I went to sleep with an uneasy feeling in my stomach, I had made a mistake.

Since the beginning, I knew Fogosh picked up on my interest in Maeld, but I had grown so used to never having any problems with it that I didn't know when I began getting careless. When had he seen us? What was he gonna do with his knowledge and how much of it was were all my questions.

However, once morning came, Fogosh himself approached me. And while I was alert and a little on edge, he seemed normal his cold usual expression, no hint of the anger I saw in his eyes last night, no sense of danger coming from him at all.

"I will keep it brief, I know something is going on with you and her. And it's none of my business, I really want you to reconsider, but if you choose to stick with your words, I will respect it" He opens his hand, an invitation to shake it and let the animosity of last night go "I was very disappointed last night, I hope that there are no grudges"

I accept it and shake hands with him, as he offers me what seems like a genuine smile.

But be it thanks to last night, or the tension I felt this morning, the smile, with his teeth in full display, reminded me more of a hungry animal bearing their fangs, ready to pounce at any moment.

The day seems to go on as it had done before. I train a little more with Makur, and help Maeld study, worrying about her ever-increasing itchiness, then look after the new goblins, making sure they keep training with their weapons. Dubby follows in my steps as he helps me around.

Dubby comes to me with a spare spear, he has a big smile on his face as he offers to go hunting again, this time promising to stay where I tell him.

"I trust you, Ushkur," he says as his sincere joy eases my worries. I agree and we head off to the woods together.

We spent some time hunting small game, it is fun time flies as we collect a few birds and a pair of bunnies, but when the sky is washed with a shed of deep orange, so strong it almost look like blood, we decide to try looking for a deer or something similar.

"Can you stay here, Dubby? I will take a while but don't worry, I will come back" I reassure him, and his smile weavers just for a second before nodding.

The plan is simple, he sits in wait in a good spot while I approach a spot where we saw deers before, since they are two-headed sneaking up on them is harder and he has to be quite far away for this to work. Thankfully, they go to sleep during this hour, and when the sun is setting both heads fall asleep.

With spears instead of bows I have to get much closer, so this is the only moment I can try to lure one away from the rest, and I have to be quick before too much time passes and one of the heads wakes up for the rest of the night.

Finally, I reach the spot, and a dozen deers rest tightly near each other, laying on the grass.

There is no sound in the forest, only the haunting breeze, and the moving leaves. Not even the crickets, no owl, just the wind, and my careful steps as I walk as close as I can to them.

But after throwing my spear they run in the opposite direction I intended. I let a sigh escape my lips as I walk up to the spear stuck to the ground. My mind is not in the right place.

I worry about the future, about what's to come. But soon the silence of the night is interrupted by rushed feet that my ears pick up perfectly.

"Ushkur!" Fogosh says, he is breathing heavily and sweating, visibly exhausted "It's the woman, we need you back right now, she collapsed near the upper part of the river and isn't responding!"

No. I run as fast as I can, rushing past the bushes and through the thickness of the forest, the eerie silence of everything around me only letting listens to my rushed steps, my ragged breathing, and my beating heart until I begin to hear the furious river.

Once I reach it I don't stop to rest even one second, I won't be late, not again.

Fogosh couldn't have done something, right? He wouldn't risk facing Makur's wrath, he wouldn't be able to defeat him in battle, even with all the goblins in the tower...all the goblins I trained.

I stop thinking, it doesn't matter, nothing matters, I just have to get to her, to reach her before it's too late. And finally, I do.

She lies on the ground shaking lightly, a few feet away from a small cliff not taller than five meters from the furious river nearby. The sun is gone by now.

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I rush to her side, my mind clouded by a thousand thoughts until I kneel in front of her, she has her eyes open but rolled back, blinking furiously as foam runs down her mouth. What is wrong with her?!

"NO!" I turn around and see Makur appear from inside the woods, he too breathes heavily and quickly comes up to me, moving me aside with his arm in one swoop and grabbing Maeld in his arms "USHKUR! WHAT IS HAPPENING TO HER?!!"

I don't answer, instead, I approach her once more, looking all around her body for any sign of an injury, was it poison? I notice her clothes are a little more torn than usual, did she do that to herself in her current state? My eyes then fall on the now empty bag of medicine that she carried around, I pick it up and glance at her once more, was it this?

"No, no no no" Makur whispers as Maeld jerks hard a few more times, until she stops moving.

He simply stares at her, his mouth half open, hand trembling as it approaches her face. But then something else catches his eye, a small envelope, the one where the medicine is stored, resting near her head, and he carefully lets her rest on the dirt as he grabs it.

I stare at her in silence, she can't be dead, not again. My mind is shut down so I can't hear what Makur says until he grabs me by the neck and lifts me.

"DID YOU GIVE HER THIS?!" he screams, shoving the open envelope to my face "ANSWER ME!" he lessens his grip on my neck and I managed to pronounce the word yes.

His anger, his grief, it all changes with my words. He looks at me in complete disbelief, shock, and even horror. He looks at her once more, and only then his face contorts to pure wrath as he screams and slams my body hard on the ground.

I feel a few bones snap and many crack, then he leans in close to my face.

"I TRUSTED YOU!! AND YOU DRUG MY WOMAN?!" He lifts me again and smashes me once more, this time something pokes inside my organs, and the metallic taste of blood spills from my mouth as he lifts me again "YOU GIVE HER DREAM MAKER?!!"

What?

"I WILL KILL YOU!!" He prepares to slam me on the ground once more and I know, that if he does it I will die.

"But I am here"

The demon moves my left arm, the other too broken to work, and in one swift motion takes one of my war picks from my back, digging its pointy end deep inside Makur's elbow, forcing his hand open and giving me the chance to jump away from him.

I land not too far from him and he doesn't give me time to rest, he is already jumping toward me the moment I look up at him.

There is no time to think, I simply try my best to move away from his fury, feeling my mind fracture, and my heart split with the sight of Maeld's corpse...Did I do this?

He is enraged, like a wild animal he swings his arm around and tries to tackle to the ground, the other arm no longer working after separating its elbow with my war pick. He screams, tears escaping his eyes as he pounces once again and I narrowly manage to evade it.

The demon is in control, he sees an opening and takes it. With a swing, my war pick digs itself deep inside his back, but this orc is far from over, like if it was nothing he swings behind and hits me with so much force I fly several meters away.

"What did you do to her? What-" Makur spills blood, I perforated his lung "Why her? Why?" he looks at me with genuine pain in his eyes, and I can't help but reciprocate "You killed her, you gave her the dream maker, it was your DOING!!"

Makur screams as anger returns to his face, running towards me at full speed, and I let him tackle me against a tree. I feel my chest compress and break, pushing my heart against my spine, but even if I don't want to, the demon never wastes an opportunity.

My war pick raises above him and plunges deep into his skull, so deep that its end pops out from his right eye. Immediately he lets go of me, falling to his knees before collapsing backward as I hold on to my weapon, its exit spilling blood onto the ground.

He shakes a few times, his head looking up, at Maeld, before it remains still.

I vomit blood as it spills from my nose and I have to use the weapon in my hand to prevent completely falling to the ground.

"Ushkur?" Fogosh asks as he runs towards me "You are still alive?"

I turn around, and I feel the cold dagger stab me in the middle of my chest, all the way to the base, piercing my heart.

"Fuck, you are something else, huh?"

I look down and see his hand holding the dagger, I raise my war pick and try to hit it with it but he simply stops it by holding on to my arm with his free hand. He keeps me on my feet with the dagger stuck inside me as he walks forward, pushing me back toward the river.

"I admit, I almost thought you messed up everything with your little defiance last night but turns out you did learn well. I would have never been able to kill Makur," He smirks, satisfaction plastered all over his face.

I look behind him and see the goblins rush out of the woods, their maniacal laughter loud, as they stab Makur repeatedly. I notice some of them are injured and there are clearly less than thirty...Orokur.

"And you know, I thought you were just a gifted madman...but maybe you are a human turned into a goblin, only humans are so incredibly naive" he keeps pushing, and blood keeps gushing out of the wound and my mouth "When you first arrived, I thought you were trouble but turns out you were exactly what I needed"

We finally reach Maeld's body, and a group of goblins turn her over and begin tearing her clothes apart. I look away, focusing only on Fogosh, only on him.

He finally lets go of me and I fall on my knees, one step from falling to the river behind me. Fogosh squats in front of me, and from within his jacket he takes out a small glass vial, I instantly recognize it as the one Makur used to heal me when I was about to die.

He dangles it in front of me for a bit, before leaving it inside of his jacket.

"I wouldn't have been able to do this without you. Thank you" he says, his smile growing as he stands up, taking his shortsword out of his scabbard, ready to deliver the killing blow.

"But I am still here"

With strength, I didn't know I had I spring forth, not enough force to move my arm, I bite one of his bronze piercings, our bodies close together for just enough time to get what I want...the one on the right eyebrow. He growls and kicks me, I take a chunk of his flesh with me as I keep the bronze piece tightly between my teeth.

Falling, into the ravenous river.