The goblin clerk guarding the staff entrance to the fighters area under the stadium flicked his beady eyes over her briefly with a sigh and marked something on his board.

"Three doors down on the left" he said in a stuffy nasal wheeze, without looking at her again, as if speaking to her was below his station, "Check the potion in on the list by the door. Don't even think about pinching anything, I'll know about it." He waved the clipboard in the air to show his detailed stock notes.

He kicked the door open from under his desk without standing up and studiously ignored her as she passed him, making sure it was obvious that the notes he was scrawling on his clipboard were more important than she was.

She hadn't even spoken a word! The goblin clerk must have assumed she was supplying the replenishment potion to his storeroom. She guessed they must go through a lot of them down here.

Kylie did actually drop the potion in the room that was three doors down on the left, and even marked it on the list on the bench. She could always come and get it if the Elf needed it.

I'm stalling, she admitted to herself, because what I'm about to do is definitely going to go wrong...

The only real question was 'how wrong' it was going to go.

Taking a deep breath she kept moving down the corridor, passing an Orc guard roughly shoving a Goblin prisoner towards the entrance door to the pit. The prisoner whined and wept. The impassive guard just kicked him,

"Yor up next," he said to the Goblin "It will be da expeereeuns of a lifetime!"

"Nooooooooo…." it wailed.

She could hear the muffled clangs of combat and loud cheering of the crowd thumping above them as the next round began. She was under the stalls now.

When she had seen the Elf yesterday on their way into the city she had known immediately what his fate would be in Goblin Town. There were only two things that happened to Elves in the underworld, and if the Elf was a male, there was only one. They would fight him to the death for sport.

She had decided to rescue him, or try at least, last night. She was angry at Gob. She was venting. She'd spent much of the night trying to talk herself out of it. She hadn't succeeded. She'd had many Elf friends in her time here, and she owed those friends much and more along her own journey of progression. The Elves she had got to know were amazing beings, each one deeply committed to a life of deep understanding and advancement. Any Elf death was a great loss, and a tragedy Kylie wouldn't be able to live with if she just turned a blind eye.

She came to a barred door, beyond which she could see a series of cells, each side of a narrow hall along the length of the corridor. The bars did nothing to stop her progress, and she flew through, inspecting the cells as she went.

"Psst hey" a shackled goblin hissed at her, his hands on the bar of his cage,

"Hey get me outta here fay, I gots gold like ya wouldn beleev. I'll pay you a pretty sum"

"Haw haw Bolgart!" another goblin in the cell next to him guffawed, "Dat wot ya said to da last warden who let ya out?… did ya pay up? Or is that why yaz back in 'eer?!"

"Shuddup mate! I neerly 'ad 'er…"

Kylie moved down the corridor. The next cell was the two headed troll bound with very thick, very heavy, very restrictive chains. Both of it's necks had thick metal collars, also chained. It was snoring loudly, each head taking turns, the result being a constant rumble, backed by a metallic vibration from the restraints.

There were more Goblins, some Orcs, even a Crude Mage who sat in the corner of its cell in a green glowing puddle, giggling, chanting and screaming intermittently, wearing only a tattered loincloth.

She found him then. The Elf was cross legged in the very centre of his cell, and although his straight back was to her, she knew he was meditating; it was the only time Elves didn't look twitchy. When they meditated they were perfectly still. He spoke before she did, in a very smooth, measured calm voice,

"I don't rate your chances, Bright. You may do better using what time you have to return the way you came. Though for the record, I appreciate the gesture." He stood and turned, his movement twitchy once more.

"I couldn't live with myself if I knowingly let an Elf get sacrificed like this, so I may as well die try—" she gasped and her words failed her.

He had turned around to face her, smiling with dark mischief.

“Hello Kylie. You feeling OK? You're looking a little green...”

In the cage the day before the Elf had looked pitiful, crying, frightened, bound and weak. The Elf who looked at her now was anything but. He was powerful, strong and sure. His eyes were piercing, and intelligent. And deep. And she knew him. Very well.

“LEŐN!!??” she cried, louder than she should have given the circumstances.

“WHAT…? BUT… HOW? AND…”

“I allowed myself to be captured in order to get here faster” he interrupted her stammering “as if these sorry greens could hold me in a cage against my will. It was just quicker than fighting all the way down.”

“But… you… what…. why?”

“Get a grip færïe. I urgently need to find The White Orc. Do you know where he is?"

"Why is everyone looking for the White Orc!!??" She finally found some words.

He gave her a long look, his eyes narrowing.

"Depends what you mean by everyone..." he answered. "There are things happening in The Realm that need his type of attention. Your Master seems to be right in the thick of it... though now that I find you here, I'm curious to see whether I'm already too late. Did you come here to 'rescue' me... or something else.”

Kylie felt a surge of danger radiating from the Elf, it seemed to flow out around him, even distorting the space in the confines of the cell. It was terrifying. She wanted to get away from it! Leőn was a NEFARIOUS aligned Warrior. The nefarious style specialised in stealth and speed, in subterfuge and assassination. They attacked with intensity and and then slipped away in darkness and shadow. They were dangerous.

Some options occurred to her again:

*FLY AWAY! (speed(53/102))

Seriously? He is INSANE fast!

*Tell him you're here with Gervais and he better not hurt you or else (deception(2/25))

Nope, lying fail definite. Then what?

*Tell him the whole story in articulate detail(explanation(1/25))

Damn.

"Well, I-I-I'm not here with Gervais!" she blurted out.

"G-Gervais shot me into a goblin runt.."

"He what?"

"…and-and the runt picked the mountain troll archetype…"

"The what?"

"…and-and then an ethereal voice challenged him to a fight…"

"A what?"

"…and then we blew up a dwarf mine…"

"You what?"

"…and helped a vampire escape from it's prison…

"It's what?"

"…but-but-but it vanished… and now we're here…"

"We?"

"Me and the m-mountain troll runt. Gob."

"Where is he?"

"He-he got drunk. So I... I sent him off by himself to find The White Orc." she said, completing the circle. In her mind at least.

The Elf shook it's head. The intensity seemed to draw back from him, and the dangerous creature who had loomed in front of her was the Leőn she knew once again.

"You are a very confusing fairy." he said.

"It-It's a very confusing situation." she said, relieved.

"Ok, well I'm going to bust out and try to work out exactly what's going on here. Seeing as you came to get me all on your own, which is sweet, I take it you have some sort of plan for getting me out of here?"

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

She looked sheepishly at him.

"Well, no. Not really. I was going to work it out as I went."

He rolled his eyes. "Well of course you did... Look Kylie, this might get dangerous. Even for you… you still have time to fly back out of here unsuspected if you want to."

She laughed, "Oh hell no, if there's a fight on I'm in!"

Leőn stepped forward to the bars of his cage, and with a movement that Kylie wasn't ready for seemed to slide through them. As if for just a moment he turned into a shadow or a whisp of smoke. She jumped, as he was suddenly right in front of her, grinning, a little unsettlingly.

"Nice one..." she said, trying to sound less terrified than she felt.

"Just give me a moment. I have a friend to say goodbye to." he answered.

He walked over to the cage of the two headed troll and rattled the bars loudly.

"Oi! Troll! Wake up!"

It roused unwillingly, both it's heads looking around in confusion. It's four eyes landed on Leőn.

"huh? oh looky dere. iz da fuzy hoomin." said one head.

"oh yeh. looky dere. iz da fuzy fing dat herts mi eyez wen i lok at." said the other head.

"i fort we eet dat wun?" first head.

"nah. we woz GUNNA eet it but den we didn." second head.

"rite. wy didn we eet it?"

"i dunno. yoo cood ask. iz rite heer."

"yoo ask."

"wot?"

"uuuhhhh. dunno. i fogot."

"we cood juz eet it."

"Oh you two are adorable!" said Leőn,

"But I really need to be getting out of here. How about this. I'll open this gate. And I'll unchain you. And you WON'T eat me, BUT," He held up a finger, which they both looked at, squinting, "you can run all around town and eat anything that you want to!"

"runnin roun town wood be betta dan been heer hik." said the first head.

"yea runnin roun town EETIN stuff wood be betta dan been heer baz." said the second head.

"but we iz ina caj"

"yea we iz ina caj wiv chaynz on uz"

While they had been busy discussing, Leőn had slipped in and unchained them, then slipped out again. They hadn't noticed.

"Hey! Guys!" He waved in front of them.

"oh looky dere. iz da fuzy hoomin." said one head.

"oh yeh. looky dere. iz da fuzy fing dat herts mi eyez wen i lok at." said the other head.

"GUYS!" Leőn yelled.

"wot?"

"yea wot?"

"When you hear me yell "MEAT" really loud, come and get some meat OK? Your chains will fall off. It's a magic trick."

"wer iz da meet?" head one.

"yea wer iz da meet dat we can eet?" head two.

"Just remember: I yell "MEAT". YOU come get it. Don't worry about the chains."

"dey magiky fal off" they said in unison for the first time.

"Got it!" said Leőn, and walked up the hall quickly.

"i iz hungree hik" Kylie heard head one say as she flew after Leőn.

"yea i iz reely hungree baz…"

----------------------------------------

“I'm checking out this prisoner” said Kylie matter of factly to the fat scowling goblin clerk with the clipboard at the desk.

He scowled at her. He scowled at Leőn.

“Before you ask, yes I signed the potion in on the third door to the left, you'll find the record correctly updated."

His scowl relaxed a touch.

“Just so.” he wheezed, also noting it on his clipboard.

There was a roar from the crowd in the benches above them, and a muffled thump.

Some poor wretch just met their end she thought to herself.

“Sign here” he wheezed.

“What?” She said

“I said sign here” he tapped his clipboard impatiently, “for the prisoner.”

“Oh right, of course” she answered.

Leőn, behind her, the blindfold back around his head, vibrated and twitched a little bit. She could tell he was trying not to laugh at her.

The goblin clerk glared at her, then looked at the vibrating elf prisoner, narrowing his eyes through his spectacles.

He took them off, breathed on them and cleaned them with the edge of his waistcoat, while he squinted at her. He put them back on. He didn't look convinced. He looked up the corridor. She felt like he was about to call for help.

“Hey” she said, getting his attention back, “You know you've got a troll down there?”

He glanced at his clipboard.

“Yes, in cell sixteen.”

“Right. Just… I was a bit worried because I thought they're supposed to be chained up whenever they're not in the pit.” she said with concern.

“Well of course it's chained up.” he replied brusquely.

“OK. Well, you'd know...”

She flew off along the corridor, dragging Leőn with her. Just then, the guard noticed his hands were just resting behind his back, unchained.

“Wha—” gasped the clerk, then, “GUARDS!”

Leőn yelled,

MMMMEEEEEAAAAATTTTTT!!!

Then there was a

RRRRROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRR!

RRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!

CLOMP-CLOMP-CLOMP

SMASH!

The door to the corridor exploded outwards, the goblin guard lost in the debris, the newly made hole in the wall framing a very hungry looking two headed troll.

“WERZ DA MEET? bellowed head one.

“WEEZ HUNGREE!” bellowed head two.

The Orc guards who had come running at the clerks yell rounded the corner of the passage.

They took a look at Kylie, smiling and glowing excitedly wiggling her fingers which sent out sparkly crackles and pops.

They took a look at Leőn, now unbound, radiating dark power, a casual lopsided smile on his twitchy face.

They took a look at the troll behind the fairy and the elf.

"DEY IS DA MEAT!" yelled Leőn excitedly to the troll, jumping up and down and pointing at the Orc guards.

The troll took a look at them and lunged forwards into a loping charge. The Orcs actually squealed, pig-like, turned and ran back the way they had come.

“Well, that worked!” laughed Leőn as they ducked down a side passage out of the troll's way.

They followed the sounds of the crowd and emerged into the public part of the stadium, then ran out of the front entrance, amidst a growing crowd of others who had heard the commotion under them and decided to exit the building early. The bellows reverberating through the stadium gradually changed to yells, and then to screams as the troll made itself know to the punters, setting off a further panicked rush for the exits behind them.

“OI PATE, ITS DA ELF!” yelled an Orc soldier who was in front of them. It was clad in full armour and hefted a large, heavy spear. Behind it were nine other orcs, similarly clad and armed, all large, all muscular, all frowning.

“DATS DA ELF PRISNER!” yelled another one of them.

“Wots dat liddl fing Boss? Dat a fay?”

“ITZ DA WUN FROM DA TAVERN!”

"Nah Boss, da wun from da tavern woz bloo…"

"I DON CARE WOT CULA IT IZ, A FAY IZ A FAY AN I SAY CRUNCH IT!"

“ROIGHT! WE GOTTA BAG ‘EM BOFE, KORL!”

“GET ‘EM BOYZ!!”

Kylie looked at Leőn, “I've got an idea. Would you like to lead these guys on a chase that will end with havoc, disruption and widespread commotion?” she asked with a cheeky smile.

“Well that sounds right up my alley," he answered, and with a bow, "Lead on!”

They took off at a run through the streets of Goblin Town, the Orc squad in pursuit.

Kylie and Leőn were easily faster and more agile, but they kept their pace so the Orcs were convinced they were on to them.

Before too long Kylie was back at Fisty's gym.

“Hey Fisty!” she called out “give us a hand out here will ya?”

Fisty emerged from the gym just as the Orcs caught up with them, surrounding them, levelling their spears.

“Well looky ere!” Fisty said with a sly grin, "My little blubell's turn'd a much prittier shade! Da green suits ya darlin'!" He winked at Kylie and then turned to the Orc boss.

“Well now, if it isna my two favourite Orcs…”

The mood suddenly shifted. The Orcs, who had been about ready to cut Kylie and Leőn to shreds, suddenly didn’t look so sure. Korl and Pates faces looked as if they were about to explode, but they were now obviously trying very, very hard to restrain themselves." They said nothing.

“An ‘eres me thinkin we had us a deal, Korl...” continued Fisty, his tone low, slow and dangerous, even predatory, “yeh leaves me and mine alone, and I leave yer and yers...”

Korl and Pate shot each other angry, slightly desperate stares, their faces quivering. But they still didn’t say anything.

"Nuthin' to say?" taunted Fisty. He was rubbing his large hands together now.

After a pause, it was Pate who answered, clearly choosing his words carefully while struggling to contain some sort of bottled up anger.

“HEY.. hey Fisty, we didn’t… We weren’t…” He turned and unleashed on his own squad of soldiers,

“COME ON BOYZ, WE’RE GOIN' BACK TO DA PITS! RITE NOW!!”.

They turned as one, and were about to set off back the way they came when Fisty spoke again,

“I don’t know ladz, I mean… a deal's a deal...”

Some very rough looking Goblins of all shapes and sizes, and a few of Fisty's Orcs, probably close to forty in total, started appearing from out of the recesses and shadows of the alleys around them. They all had hard stares. Some were cracking their knuckles.

The Orcs stopped. Korl and Pate gripped their spears firmly and backed up a few paces.

“Come on Fisty,” said Pate “why don’ we just let this one slide… We didn’ come 'ere on purpose, we ain' 'ere to cause any trouble.”

“HA HA HA!" Fisty laughed loudly, "Jus' like las' time, eh? No trouble, no trouble, eh? Why don’t we see if my mate Clok’s OK wiv dat. Clok? Clok wat you reckon? Clok?”

There was silence.

“Hey Jinks, where’s Clok?” Fisty asked.

“Cloks ded Boss” grunted Jinks.

“Oh yeah, now I remember. No trouble though… no trouble… unless you're Clok.”

“ENOUGH!” yelled Korl. He rushed forwards towards the nearest Goblin, stabbing it through the belly with his spear. The whole street erupted.

The Goblins threw themselves at the Orc guards. The guards lashed out with brutal spear thrusts and brute strength.

Fisty stood back, motioning to Kylie and Leőn.

“So yer got ina sum trubbl den? I knew ya would. Little belles like you always get ina trubbl. Dats why I like yer!” he nodded at Leőn “...I figured yeh mite be affer dis one. Yer a brave girl blubell, I’ll giv yer dat! Now, yeh two be movin on. We’ll look affer dis lot, an I’m much obliged to yeh fer deliverin' them to me door! I been waitin' fer a chance to settle dis score for a wile!” he beat his fists together with a grim smile “Now if yeh don' mind, me arms feelin much better and it’s time fer me to give it a little extra levellin. See ya blubell. Oh, an yer should keep da green, ya look jus' luverly!” He winked, and threw himself into the fray.

“Well, that went surprisingly well” said Leőn with a light laugh and a nod at Kylie “getting into mischief I see? I'm impressed. Not just a little blue buzzer anymore?”

“Taking a leaf out of your book, Elf” she grinned back, "You'd be surpised what I can do."

"I already am!" he countered.

As they moved off, they heard the escalating sound of more yells behind them. Somehow another unit of Orcs had got involved, and more and more Goblins were pouring out of the side streets. They heard glass smashing, and the splintering of a wooden door. A minute later there was a

WHUMP!

As one of the houses caught alight behind them. Followed by more yells, these of alarm, and someone ringing a fire warning bell.