"... W-wait what?"

"Oh, you look confused," the goblin chuckled.

"O-of course I am?! We did everything you asked?!"

"And I have no reason not to commend your efforts! This past month has been a breeze thanks to you two --Cough! Cough!-- you have ... you have no idea by how much ... which of course brings me back to my earlier question ... why would I release two leashed and suppressed witches? Who in their right mind lets go of a locked chest of gold like that?"

"Ngh!"

"You're both far too valuable,... far too useful... a box of goodies anyone would want to take in their hands ... who knows what riches lurk beneath the lid until it's opened --Cough! Cough!-- ... and that's not even putting your sister onto the table ... I've seen what she can do ... imagine what more can be shown with the right ... motivation."

".... Don't you dare ... Lay finger on my-- URK!"

--Thud!--

The moment I shot to my feet, I was slammed back down to the cold, unforgiving ground. My throat felt like it was caught in an iron vice, squeezing tighter with every breath I fought for while a searing pain rippled through my entire body. The world blurred, dark spots swimming in my vision.

"What a stupid lad you are," the small goblin sneered. He clambered onto the table, his tiny frame wobbling as he sauntered to me. His fungus-ridden feet slapping against the wood echoed like a twisted drumbeat.

"How many times has it been now, witch boy?" the small goblin rasped, crouching just out of reach, waving the contracts with smug satisfaction. "You keep forgetting, don't ya? You belong to me." His fungal nails twitched with glee. "What're you gonna do, eh? Curse me? Turn me into a maggot and squish me underfoot till I'm just a puddle of goo? Heh, heh, heh! -Cough! Cough!- Tch! Thought your lot was supposed to be smart—hella smart—better than some gobby like me, ain't that right?"

He leaned in closer, head tilting as if trying to savour how low I'd sunk beneath him. His crooked smile widened, patched eyes glinting with the pleasure of my misery. But that smile faltered when a sound escaped my lips—something unexpected—a chuckle.

"What the heck's so funny, aye?!" he spat, eyes narrowing.

Even with the strangling grip around my neck, I met his gaze, a smirk tugging at my lips. "I'll answer that... with another question … Don't you smell that?"

"Smell? What smell?"

"Uh, boss?" one of the goblins called out from near the throne. "Why's the bag all... smokey?"

The small goblin's eyes darted back to the sack, and sure enough, thin tendrils of smoke began curling out from its seams. "Eh? What in blazes..." He stumbled over to it, snatching the bag into his scaly hands. Blind as he was, he couldn't see the smoke, so he thrust a claw inside, his rough skin feeling the warm, damp sensation of something smouldering. His brows furrowed in confusion at the pointed tip of his fungus-filled nail, Brushed against something smooth yet cracked.

—Crrrrraaaaaccckkkk—

If he had used his eyes, with how smart he was supposed to be, he might have chosen to do anything essential other than allow something as sharp as his nail to run through what it did.

But he didn't, so he did, and now, as a splintering sound filled the air--

--Ksssshhhk!--

--The end of him began.

"?!-- B-Bloody he--!"

The moment the sound of cracking glass echoed through the shack, the small goblin's patch-covered eyes widened, his confusion thick as the doom unfolding before him. Ignorant of the final warning the world had just whispered, he gripped tighter around the fractured object nestled within the sack. His trembling claws dug too deep, piercing the fragile crystal.

Tendrils of thin and writhing smoke began to spill from the crack, coiling like serpents freed from their prison. The smoky wisps grew, merging into a thick, murky cloud that ascended to the top of the shack, taking on the sinister form of a serpent—massive, ethereal, its maw a gaping, four-pronged abyss.

"What the...?!"

The smaller goblin, blind to the chaos unravelling before him, could only feel the sudden force that shoved his hand from the bag, sending him stumbling back. Panic set in, his instincts screaming that something had gone terribly wrong, though it was already far too late to reverse it. The gas loomed above, a predator savouring the panic of its prey. It moved swiftly, faster than their reptilian reflexes could comprehend, winding through the air and creeping along the walls like a phantom.

"Wha--What's all this smoke?!" one of the goblins began, his voice drenched in fear as his trembling hands thrust a spear into the mist. Of course, it passed through the smoke without resistance. Before the goblin could react, the vapour coiled around him, forcefully filtering into his nostrils and throat. A sickening gurgle escaped his lips as the fog filled his lungs, silencing him forever. His body crumpled to the floor, twisted and lifeless, leaving only an empty husk as the mist moved on to claim its next victim.

I had just pulled myself up, using the stool for support, as the serpent cloud continued its ravenous rampage. It swept through the room like a vengeful spirit, internally devouring each goblin with minimal effort.

The gas forced itself into their bodies, choking the life out of them, leaving behind only the stench of death and the dull thud of their corpses collapsing to the ground. No goblin had the chance to fight back, scream, or even beg for mercy.

The small, blind leader stumbled backwards, his coughs ragged as the poisonous vapours circled him like death's final embrace. By then, most of the gas had seeped through the cracks in the shack, but enough remained to engage him within in its toxic grip, keeping him paralysed in helpless fear.

It was then, in his disoriented state, that he heard footsteps approaching—slow, deliberate—until they stopped just outside the swirling cloud of poison that had sealed him within itself.

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"Damn... so this is what it feels like ... standing over someone you've brought to your mercy. I gotta say, ... I'm liking it a whole lot."

I crouched beside him, taking his scaley chin by my hand while the vapours thickened around us.

"Now, boss, ... let's talk business."

He wheezed, gasping for air, while I tossed the torn pieces of the binding contract onto his face. Some of the scraps entered his mouth as he inhaled, causing him to cough frantically. Feigning concern, I patted him twice on the back—hard, perhaps harder than I needed to—then, as he coughed and winced in pain, I leaned in close.

"So, you probably want to know what happened, huh? How'd you go from sitting on your high horse to where the filth all belong beneath? Let me enlighten you, my scaley friend."

A wicked grin spread across my face, darker than the mist that choked him, my glowing blue eyes casting an eerie light in the gloom.

"It all started four weeks ago when your lackeys fished me and my sister out of that river and dragged us here. We were unconscious, vulnerable... and the moment you realized what we were, you bound us to those cursed contracts. Do you remember that day? I bet you do, 'cause before we woke up to the sight of you slimy reptiles grinning over us... you had something killed just a moment before ... a certain black kitten? Sound Familiar?"

From the moment I ended that sentence, the wheezing, short goblin, scaley, hairless eyebrows were raised faster than he breathed ... he knew very well what I was referring to.

"Oh, you remember now? Good. 'Cause that's where your death sentence began. You see that cat—Ebony was its name -- he was our early birthday gift for the upcoming fifteenth birthday. He was the kindest little guy, wouldn't even hurt a stinkbug... and his charred corpse was the first thing my sister and I saw when we woke up in this here place."

The goblin's breathing grew erratic, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"And then you—" I seethed through clenched teeth, "—you then chose to start playing with those contracts, choking the life out of us for some twisted sick form of humour. For Ten! Whole! Minutes! Especially on my sister! She had every right to jump at you when she did! We had always wanted a pet, and you turned the first one we ever got into charcoal after just day one! And once you were done torturing us, you had the nerve to say we belonged to you. For the next four weeks, you worked us like slaves!"

"P-Please... j-just hang o—"

--Bam!--

The sickening sound of my fist meeting his face echoed through the shack. "I'm. Not. Done. Talking!" I barked raw fury in my cracked voice.

The goblin's head lolled to the side, blood oozing from his nose as I stood over him, shaking with rage.

"So where was I ... ah yes, four weeks of slave labour. Now, we actually began to think this was our life after what happened before the river… But things changed the day you sent us after that old hag. You know how you didn't hear from us for three days? Well, in case you were wondering, we got there within hours, and only a little while after we arrived, there was this fight that happened-- I'd have gone into detail, but I lack the effort to—but in the end, we dipped her into her own cauldron. After she was dead, we had the freedom to explore her place, to find whatever caught our interest ... And we did."

I leaned in close so my mouth was beside his hole of an ear. "We found a book, a very intriguing book. And you know what it contained? Something only a witch would find ... useful. Like how this mist thing here can be created by grinding down indigo polka-dotted mushrooms to dust with the magic contained in the crystal ball."

I gestured to the swirling mass of noxious gas that filled the room, a living, writhing cloud that seeped relentlessly through the cracks in the walls and ceiling. More and more of it escaped, yet the fog didn't diminish.

"It was a gamble, really," I sneered. "There was only one crystal ball in that hag's lair, but we took our chances. And would you have it? Luck was on our side. That cloud? Instant death. A self-aware poison driven by the simple desire to eradicate the closet forms of life. It's so potent that even the slightest whiff can be fatal to anything and anyone… Unless, however, a hefty amount of a certain kind of berry is consumed beforehand."

Little gobby was shaking now.

"You know the ones I'm talking about— stale, tiny red-berries with that little layer of fungus growing on them... the only stuff you chose to feed us for the past four weeks!"

The sickly goblin's beady eyes widened unnaturally as the bitter irony and cold realisation clawed their way into his thick, marble-sized brain. The look on his face was profoundly and genuinely satisfying.

"All that was left," I continued mockingly, "Was to sit back and wait for one of you filthy reptiles to get your claws around that crystal ball and trigger the whole ordeal. And now, here we are... Hay presto. So... ready to find out what death tastes like?"

"N-No! P-lease,-- ack– no! W-w-witch boy! D-Don't do this t-to me! –gah– Don't l-let me end like –ack– this! I'll do anything ya want! –cough– Anything! –h-hack– ANYTHING!!!"

"Anything?"

Oh, how that single word sent a surge of bliss through me.

"You know what, my scaly little friend? Sure, I'll take your offer—your life for three favours. How's that sound?"

"R-Really?! --wheeze-- I-I'll get to live?!"

"As long as you don't tell me things I don't want to hear." I couldn't resist throwing his own words back at him. "So, to start us off... where'd you put my sister?"

He was quick to answer—panicked. "T-There's this hole I had my boys dig a while! Just to the left of the entrance to this here shack! F-for when I wanted to –ack –threaten this rival of mine with being buried alive! A-after you two were fished out... she's in there—unharmed, I swear! –cough–!"

"...You put my sister... in a damn hole?.."

"Ah... Aaaahhh..."

I was on the verge of losing it, ready to tear him apart with my bare hands, but I held myself back just enough to rein in the rage, clawing its way up my throat. I forced myself to stay composed, at least for the moment.

"Second..." I began, my voice still low and seething, "We're taking a ton of that treasure over there... since, as far as I'm concerned, the rules say finders keepers—and me and my sister were the ones who found most of it if you remember."

The scaly midget twitched, coughing hard as he struggled to curse his heart out until he nodded frantically. "Tch!—Ugh! S-sure... take as much ... as you want!"

"Good." I rose to my feet, my eyes drawn to the mound of treasure piled in the corner. As I approached the hoard, the small goblin's desperate wheezing faded into the background.

At the forefront of the stash, I spotted two bags that didn't belong—our bags, exactly as they were when they were taken from us. Reaching out, I grabbed them both and slung them over my shoulders before plucking the hat, sitting upon one of them and placing them on my head, settling there most comfortably.

Next, in silence only broken by the wheezing behind me, I pulled an empty sack from the heap and began carefully filling it with as many gold and silver coins as possible, as well as one very mesmerizing large piece of paper I recognised as a map of this forest-- a goldmine of a prize I didn't hesitate in adding to the loot.

Glancing back for a moment, I notice the small goblin's patched eyes appeared to dart between me and the treasure with nothing but seething contempt as if he could see perfectly through them, just as I made sure the ordeal lasted as long as possible to inflict the most mental anguish he could possibly take.

When I had finally finished, I hoisted the now-full sack over my shoulder and turned toward the door, ready to leave.

That's when his voice croaked out, raspy and strained, barely managing to break through the fog choking him. "O-Oi! W-wait! -cough– What about me?!" He croaked out, raspy and stained his voice was "This bloody smoke... it's still –cough–closing in on me!"

"Ah, that's where the third favour comes in," I replied indifferently, flipping him off without looking back. "As you die, try your absolute best to scream... loud enough for me to hear it from outside. Our employment here is over."

With that, I stepped out of the shack, the door creaking as it closed behind me. The sound of my footsteps faded into the distance as the toxic fumes slithered ever closer before invading his lungs, convulsing them in an instant. He hacked violently, his scaly hands clawing at his throat, eyes bulging in terror as the gas smothered him internally.