Demian groaned and tried moving his head, but it felt like someone had filled it with cotton, and then kicked it a few times for good measure. Pain and drowsiness made it hard for him to do anything but lie down as still as possible for a moment. He tried remembering what had happened, but it all felt like a half-remembered dream…

“Hey, man! You awake?” The voice was Kinari’s. He also heard her footsteps as she approached and knelt next to him. When he heard her voice next, it was much closer to him. “If you’re listening, it’s very important that you don’t use your voice thingy, ok? Don’t use it at all. Please?”

The memories of the last few hours returned. He grimaced and tried moving his head again. Pain flared, then faded, but at least he managed to turn his face toward her voice. At least it was progress.

“Are we in trouble?” He whispered.

“Sort of? Some goblins ambushed us and knocked you out with poison. But I managed to negotiate with them and we were brought to their leader!”

“Oh really?”

He heard another voice shout something in a language he could not understand. And her heard replies and whispers from all around him, an angry chorus.

“But now we’re surrounded by them, they’re kinda pissed at us and are talking about how we must pay for our crimes or something like that. Umm… There’s a lot of them here. Too many for me to fight my way out.”

He paused while considering her words. “So… You negotiated for them to capture us?”

“I was doing the best I could!” Said Kinari, angry but also a little embarrassed. “At least I still have my weapon and we’re not tied up!”

“Good job.”

“Yeah, fine, go ahead and laugh,” she muttered, looking grim. “I did fuck this one up, didn’t I? Was stupid to bring us here in the first place...”

“No,I really meant what I said.” Reassured Demian while slowly getting up from the floor and into a sitting position. “At least we’re still alive, right? Nowhere to go but up!”

“Ah, the monster is awake!” The queen’s voice boomed behind them. “Bring both to me!”

“I may have spoken too soon,” muttered Demian under his breath.

“They want you to let those goblins you’re controlling free. It’s kinda the reason they’re keeping us alive. Just keep that in mind” said Kinari while she pulled him on his feet and, with some difficulty as his legs still felt like jelly, they made their way carefully down the steps to the center, the sitting place of the goblin queen. Kinari held his shoulders firmly as she guided him.

“So! You are now awake, hmm?” The queen eyed him carefully. “It is best you don’t use your voice on us. Bad things will happen if you do.”

He nodded. “Very well. It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty,” said Demian with a polite bow.

“Pretty words. Such pretty words.” The queen smiled, but there was no humor in it. “But now you are awake you must let those you used your voice on free. You free them now, or things will get very violent, understand?”

Kinari saw the goblin bodyguards looking intently at them. They all had something covering their ears and they held their weapons firmly, some pointing them at Demian’s back. She bit back the warning she desperately wanted to give, and instead said, “I really think you should do as she says.”

Demian considered it. “You seem to have us at a disadvantage, Your Majesty,” he said. “We are at your mercy right now, and you ask us to give away our only leverage, under threat of death?”

“They’re my people, monster. Not ‘leverage’. You will let them go, this is not up for discussion,” replied the queen. She spoke her threat with an even, measured tone, but she also raised her arm and the bodyguards, when they saw the hand gesture, gripped their weapons firmly and got ready. Kinari tensed her body, despite realizing how powerless she was in this situation. But if they were all going to die, she certainly wasn’t just meekly letting them slaughter her without a fight.

Demian nodded again. “I will let them go, then. I have only one simple request in exchange. Please? I would like for a chance to explain myself. For my voice to be heard. And, trust me, you will want to listen to what I have to say. So will you give me a chance to speak, after I free your people? Please?”

“We will listen to you regardless, monster,” said the queen. “How else will we judge you for your crimes?”

“That is acceptable. I will free them now,” he replied. Then he cleared his voice and spoke in his eerie, gift-given voice, supernaturally deep and echoing. “All goblins who hear my voice, you are free to speak or do as you please.”

There was a tense moment when they were all still, the bodyguard goblins watching furiously for any reaction…

Then one of the thralls backed away quickly, stumbling away from the young noble and into the crowd, and just as quickly as the silence came, it was broken. The enthralled goblins quickly moved away from the centre and were welcomed by others with joy and relief. The goblins surrounding them now whooped and shouted in goblin, but a few words of common made through.

“They’re free!”

“The monster-thing is gone!”

“Now kill him!”

One of the goblins was clinging to a former thrall and would not let go. They both wrapped their arms tightly around each other, and whatever words they spoke were drowned by the crowd that surrounded the queen and the two prisoners, with its cheers, jeers and shouts.

“I was true to my word,” said Demian with a bow, ignoring the commotion. “So, Your Majesty, do I have permission to speak freely?”

She looked at the goblins who were rejoicing in their freedom, then back at Demian. “Fine,” she said. “Speak. But no using your voice again in this room, yes?” And she did a dismissive gesture with her hand before lowering it. The guards relaxed slightly at that, although they still held their weapons even if they were no longer pointed directly at them.

“Your Majesty,” said Demian, making sure his voice was loud enough to be heard, while still calm and polite in tone. He was quite good at it. “I know you hate those above for what they have done to you, now and in the past. I understand your pain. But we are the enemies of the people above as much as you are! We belong to a different kingdom that is at war with them, you understand? They are our enemies, and they’re hunting us down! Which is why we’ve come here to ask for your help!”

“I heard they were looking for a big half-orc woman and a short blind young man. Offering a reward too,” said the queen. “So, that’s you two?”

“Pft, half-orc...” Muttered Kinari, rolling her eyes. Demian continued speaking.

“Yes, the reward shows how desperate they are to find us. So now you should ask yourselves, if they want us so badly is it something you want to give to them? If you help them capture us, you will be doing exactly what they want! But if you help us escape, you will be helping their enemies! And this will help turn the war against them!”

“I’ve heard talk about this war. They’re fighting it a long way away from this place, and it’s of no concern to us.” Said the queen, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. “So the question is: why do they want you this bad?”

“Ah, you see,” Demian barely hesitated. “My voice is a rare gift that they want to use in battle...”

“You’re important?” Asked the queen, her voice quiet now, and merciless. “In that other kingdom you talk about. You’re a big man there?”

“I… Yes. I’m somewhat important, yes,” he admitted.

“A big noble then,” said the queen, almost spitting out the word noble, as if it was the vilest of insults. “Growing rich and fat on land stolen from our people, growing food fertilized by our blood and corpses, while taking us as slaves to work in your mines!” The accusation hung heavy in the air, and the chorus of angry goblins began again.

Demian frowned. “I’m not that fat,” he protested.

The queen barked a quick laugh. “Funny,” she said. “You’re a very funny man.”

“Well, I try - ”

“This is our land!” She shouted, interrupting him. The room went quiet as she got up and stood at her full height. She was still short, looking up at them, but her confidence and righteous anger would have rivaled any duke or duchess. “Your forefathers came and took it from us! They burned out cities to the ground, killed our fighters and captured us as slaves. Even our fire-powder you stole from us! You take, and take, and take until we have to hide in our own cities! Living in filth, because even our underground dwellings were polluted by your kind! Our temples are now your sewers, while your cities above thrive on the carcasses of our buildings! And now you come here and say you understand us? After all the suffering you’ve caused us, you ask for our help?”

There were angry tears in her eyes, and they heard the goblins now joining in on the angry chorus.

“This is our land! Not yours!”

“Give us back our land!”

“You pay with your blood!”

“Kill them both!”

There were many more cries in their goblin language all around them. They were angry, but there was also a sadness in their words. A desperation borne of hopelessness as their cries went unheard by their enemies, which they were powerless to fight back. Theirs was the cry of a wounded animal, cornered and too weak to fight back, but still unwilling to die.

Kinari tensed when she heard these cries, herself much like a cornered animal. She recognized the pattern. The nobles preyed on their human servants, and the human servants preyed on the goblins, who were too weak to fight back. But now the goblins had a half-troll and a noble boy surrounded and cornered, and now they finally had a chance to prey on someone more vulnerable than themselves…

Demian silenced the room by slowly, carefully getting on his knees. He turned his head up high, as if listening to the goblins and then bowed slowly until his head was so low it touched the floor.

“I am deeply, sincerely sorry for all you went through,” he said. “I cannot imagine how hard it must be for you and your kind. And I understand you would be fully justified in asking for my death.”

The room had gone quiet, and Kinari now wondered if this was the first time a noble had ever bowed so deeply or apologized to a goblin like that. ‘It’s almost like he’s just a teenager,’ thought Kinari. ‘Just a normal kid, and not part of the most powerful family in the continent! Royalty! Kneeling in front of a goblin queen! This is insane!’

“However,” continued Demian, getting up from his bow to address the queen, still on his knees. “My death will not help you in any way, or be of service to you and your people. Killing me might give you satisfaction, and you might be correct in doing so, but it will not get your land back. It will not help your people.”

“That is true,” agreed the queen. “So, if you return back to your kingdom and your side win this war, will you do that? Will you free our people enslaved in your mines? Will you give back our lands?” There was sarcasm in her voice, she did not believe any of these would happen.

Demian bowed his head down. “I’m afraid I don’t own any land to give away. Nor do I have the power to free your people, unfortunately. I am not as important as you might think. And even if I had either of these, it would still be impossible for me to make millions of people leave their homes.”

There were rising cries of anger and protesting from the goblins, so Demian raised his head as well as his voice.

“Your majesty! If you ordered your people to leave their homes underground and go to the surface to hand themselves over to the nobles, would they do it? Would they blindly obey you, no matter their wishes? Even I, with my voice, cannot command millions to leave their homes and move! Where would they even go? It is not possible, Your Majesty! It’s! Not! Possible!”

There were still angry cries, but less than before. Some goblins were paying attention to him now. Kinari had to admit, this was going better than her own interrogation.

“Under this ground, we have a saying: the crimes of the forefathers, carried by blood through generations, must be atoned for by their descendants,” said the queen. “Are you saying you can’t help us? After you gave a big speech about how your death wouldn’t help us, you’re now saying you also can’t help us while alive?”

“We… I am powerless right now, true. But once I return to my kingdom I will have more power to help your people,” said Demian, now put on the backfoot. But he quickly recovered. “I can help get you supplies or weapons! Sending them here, or close to here, should be doable? But I want you to also think about the war!”

“I told you the war is far away from us.”

“True, at least geographically,” he admitted. “But you think the war does not affect you? Then let me ask you this: if the war ended right now, with their soldiers victorious and my side defeated, what do you think would happen to the soldiers that were fighting? Where would they go, and who would they fight next? What are the other enemies of the kingdom available nearby?”

The room was now quiet, intently watching this debate. The queen looked at Demian, but said nothing so he continued.

“They will attack the orcs in the red forest with renewed vigor. They will also have more men to, for example, root out rebels and goblins in hiding. You are the nearest enemies of the kingdom, once we are gone!”

The room then exploded in angry cries.

“This is our home!”

“If they come, we kill them!”

“They will never find us!”

He waited for them to speak, and for the chorus to grow and fade, before continuing. “Even if that is true? Even if the Adran soldiers are defeated by the goblins through ambushes and guerrilla tactics while fighting underground? Goblins will still die! And things will be harder for the ones that remain here! You think you can defeat three or four full battalions, including ones you call ‘monsters’ and their powers, without being severely hurt? Without suffering massive casualties? The truth is that this war benefits you! The more this kingdom’s soldiers busy themselves with the war and with fighting each other, the less men and resources they have to spend fighting you!”

The room went quiet again, aside from whispers and one or two shouts. Even Demian, blind as he was, seemed to sense the atmosphere and continued his speech before the silence was broken.

“And if the war is won? If that happens you want the winning side to be as sympathetic to you as possible. Or, at the very least, as unconcerned with you as possible. And now you have in your hands the life of a prince of the Kingdom of Viridia.” A wave of hushed whispers. Even the queen seemed surprised at this turn of events. “I will be honest with all of you, it’s doubtful that I will rule. I am not the first in line for the throne. But even I will have at least some power in the future. And wouldn’t it be useful to you, having an ally in a position of power? One that might be able to help you? That alone is far better than what you can expect from the other side!”

“Consider this an opportunity, Your Majesty! Help me now, and we can cement this alliance! When in power, I promise to do my best to help you and your people be free, with dignity and hope for the future! And together, we might find a solution for us to live beside each other, in a better future!”

“Hm,” said the queen, eventually. “You really have a silver tongue, monster.”

“Uh… Thank you?”

“But your forefathers also made promises to us, once. When they came to our lands. Many pretty promises of living together and helping each other.” She smiled, or rather, showed her teeth in a humorless expression. “And look where we are now.”

“I am sorry for the actions of my forefathers. If you’d give me a chance-”

“Say we let you go, and lead you out of the city and help you escape. And say you get back to your place. What stops you from forgetting about our people and letting things go as they are? What reason would you have to help us then, when we can no longer be useful to you, hm? And even if you wanted to help, and didn’t forget about us, what could you even do, ruling another place so far away from us?”

“At the very least we could keep the Adran soldiers too busy to fight against you!”

“Or so you say, but that’s a big ‘if’.” The queen sighed. “Your offer is too uncertain, and I won’t fall for pretty promises again.”

“Please, Your Majesty!” Demian bowed his head low again, while still keeping his voice clear and loud enough to be heard. “What can we do to prove our honesty? If there is anything we can do, to show our commitment, and for us to trust one another? Or are we all doomed to mistrust each other forever?”

The crowd rose again, but this time in a mess of noise and confusion. There were all kinds of suggestions, threats and words coming from the crowd. For each that said this is what should be done, one said the exact opposite. Furious discussion took over the goblins, mostly in their own tongue, although some of it was also in the Common Tongue. The queen considered Demian’s words as well as the goblins surrounding them, while the young noble stood in front of her in silence. He kept his head low, his eyes blank and unseeing, but his ears were alert and absorbing as much as they could, while he tried to parse the crowd’s mood, like a fish feeling the motion in the water or a small animal listening for nearby footsteps or snapped twigs. This could be what decided if they would live or die.

“We need you to do us a favor,” said the queen. “You do that for us, then you prove to be willing. It doesn’t erase your crimes, but shows you’re willing, at least. A big favor. A dangerous favor.” Her voice lowered on the word ‘dangerous’ and she did another one of her humorless smiles. To Kinari they seemed more like a predator showing its fangs, as if revealing to its prey what would soon happen to it.

“What would you have us do?” Asked Demian. “So long as it’s within our power...”

“There’s a group of people who come to our sewers,” interrupted the queen. “They block our tunnels, they kill our people and they defile our place. All so they can hide their goods away from your people above.”

Kinari realized, with a sinking feeling, who she was talking about.

“I want you to kill their leader,” said the queen. “The one they call Nelos. We’ve seen him a few times. An evil man who takes pleasure in executing any of our kind that he captures. I want you two to go to the surface and bring me back his head. That is the price for our help.”

The goblins broke into furious whispering, some protesting or shouting what they thought should happen to the two intruders. Demian frowned.

“I’m sorry.You want me to kill another… Uh, is it a goblin or - ?”

“A human,” said the queen. “He is the chief of a group that raids and defiles our underground homes. He is our largest threat now.”

“I’m not sure if we’re suited to this task,” said Demian. “We’re just two people and we don’t even know who this person is -”

“I do,” said Kinari, quietly. She blinked, when realizing most of the room now had its attention on her, and shrugged. “I know Boss Nelos. And I’ve gone to his base before. A big warehouse close to the river docks.”

“You’ve been there before,” said the queen, now examining Kinari with narrowed eyes and a knowing smile. “You work for him before?”

“No,” lied Kinari, staring back at the goblin with a blank face.

“Only I’ve heard once or twice about a tall, strong half-blood fighting along with his men against my people.”

“Must have been someone else.”

“Anyways, this is too dangerous!” Said Demian, attracting attention back to him. “If we get killed or captured, you will be helping your enemy! Don’t you think it’s better -”

“I’ll stop you there,” said the queen, interrupting him. “If you’re not showing willing, there’s no way we’ll help. You think you can come into our home and demand our help? After all you’ve done to hurt us? You think it’s that easy to forgive your crimes?” She shook her head, her voice getting louder and angrier. “No! If you want our help, you first start paying for the crimes of your people! You help us, for once!”

“But we’re not even assassins!” Demian protested. “We could get killed!”

“You have your monster-voice-thing,” said the queen. “And you got a strong fighter there next to you. Hah! She even knows who to kill!”

“But -” Demian started, before being quickly interrupted by the goblin queen.

“You think you can solve this without work? Without shedding blood? Just with your pretty words?” She growled. “I need more than words to trust the words of another sweet-talking human. I need action! If you’re not willing to do what it takes, then get out of our home. Do not dare step another foot in here!”

The room was now quiet, with barely a few whispers, and everyone was focused on the two. The atmosphere was tense, and Demian took a deep breath, looking conflicted.

“We’ll do it,” said Kinari. All heads turned toward her, and she steeled herself, trying to look more confident than she felt. “We’ll get Nelos’ head for you.”

“Will you now?” Asked the queen, looking at Demian while giving one of her predatory smiles.

Kinari turned to Demian. “I think we can do it, if we use your voice and go in and out, quick-like? It should be easy! Besides... I owe that bastard one. We use your Gift on his guards, kill him and then we're out of here! Come on, we can do this!”

“Alright,” he nodded, shoulders hunched down as he fidgeted with his cloak. “Fine. We’ll do it.”