The lionpig kicked the dirt a couple of times, then charged towards Stibs. The old goblin pulled out his Yiklar Shield of Reflecting, and held it true. As the sprinting lionpig made contact with the device, it bounced off as if it had hit a spring, and crashed into the flipped-over carriage-train.
Meanwhile, Drek drew his Yiklar Bow of Returning Arrow, then hesitated. “Rrghegh… I don’t have my arrow anymore. I don’t have any weapons!” he realized.
“Hmmm, I have this?” Colb suggested, tossing his Yiklar Wand of Rainfall to Drek. As the lionpig stood up from the wreckage, Drek shook the wand with ferocity, starting a rainstorm in the sky above.
“Rrghegh… I don’t think this is going to do anything,” Drek worried.
“No… I think I can do something with that,” Kashmir muttered, looking at the raincloud. “Colb, get behind me with your shield.”
As Colb knelt behind the purple elf, raising his shield, Kashmir aimed her hands up into the air and closed her eyes. Colb’s ears popped as air rushed to the elf’s palms, transforming into a frigid beam of clear liquid that fired into the air.
Before the lionpig could react, the thick droplets of water above it began to transform into dagger-like icicles upon contact with Kashmir’s beam. These sharp icicles pierced its head and shoulders as they fell from above.
The beast let out a squealing roar, confused by the harmful weather, and began to back off towards the forest. “AaAaaaaahhhh, it’s fleeing!” 27 cheered.
Suddenly, with a whoosh! sound echoing throughout the forest path, Drek’s iridhodium arrow magically rushed into the scene from out of nowhere. The arrow pierced into the lionpig’s skull, then abruptly curved through the air to return to Drek. The young goblin caught the arrow – which was soaking wet from the peppersalt sea – with glee. “Rhe, it came back!” he cheered.
“They killed it!” an Elvish voice suddenly rejoiced from nearby. Colb hustled over to the half-dozen elves that had crumpled to the ground. His ears perked up as he listened to them via his Yiklar Amulet of Open Ears.
“Our leader and comrades abandoned us,” one of the six guards choked.
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“These prisoners,” another one continued, “they could have run too, but instead they fought. They’ve slain the lionpig!”
“You didn’t deserve it!” Kashmir huffed, crossing her arms. “You should’ve left me and my friends alone in the first place!”
“You’re the Quilliva kid,” a guard countered. “The one that ran off to the human lands after the queen explicitly had her father executed, right? Of course we had to capture you. That’s our job.”
“Yes, I am Quilliva Kashmir,” the purple-skinned elf admitted. “But you didn’t have to capture my friends as well! I didn’t even want to return to this stupid kingdom!”
“Hmmm! Now hang on,” Colb interjected. Hmmm, I don’t want Kashmir incriminating herself any more than she already has, Colb thought.
He looked down at the Elvish guards. Five were injured, and the sixth looked to have perished. “Hmmm, although they’ve made our lives a challenge, these guards need medical attention, yes?” Colb pitched to Kashmir. “We should bring them to the city nearby, yes? Worry about ourselves once we know the injured are safe, yes?”
The elf huffed. “They brought us all the way to the outskirts of Falberin, and you want to bring them inside?! That’s where Queen Eylbella is! We need to get as far away from here as possible.”
“Please don’t leave us…” an elvish guard choked, looking up at Kashmir. “You say the goblin wants to bring us into Falberin? Let him! Please… if you do, I’ll personally tell the queen what you all did here… we’ll bring you to her step as heroes, instead of as prisoners! Maybe she’ll even restore your family’s honor?”
Colb translated the Elvish plea for the other goblins. “AaAaaaaahhhh, I like the idea of visiting the queen as hero goblins rather than as prisoner goblins, yes I do,” 27 noted. “If we can get the queen on our side, we could pass through the Elvish Kingdom without problem!” The other goblins nodded in agreement.
“Um… I don’t know…” Kashmir mumbled. “That just seems like a bad idea…”
“Hmmm, it’s going to be okay, yes?” Colb promised. “We’ll no longer be prisoners, and I’ll personally do everything I can to make sure the queen doesn’t hurt you. This is a chance to talk things through with your enemy, and that’s always a good thing, yes?”
“Um… fine,” the young elf conceded. “It seems my associates like your offer. We’ll bring all of you to some healers on the condition that you free us and proclaim us heroes to Queen Eylbella.”
“Deal,” the guard replied. The other guards nodded to the terms as well.
With that, the goblins got to work. Using 27’s Yiklar Floating Bed as a stretcher, Colb and 27 lifted the battered and fallen elves off the ground. Meanwhile, Stibs and Drek carved off the lionpig’s head as a trophy – further proof of their heroism for when it was time to meet Queen Eylbella.
With the guards lifted and a trophy acquired, the group made their way – willingly, this time – towards the Elvish Kingdom’s capital.
Hmmm, this went well! Colb thought with joy. The guards are thankful, battling the lionpig went well, and I feel like we’re setting a good example for Kashmir by giving aid to our enemies, yes? Falberin awaits!