Malcolm groaned, rolling to a more comfortable position. Yet another night spent sleeping on stone. The coarse floor of his cell dug into his ribs, piercing through his thin tunic in places. A cold wind from some unseen vent swept through, sending him into shivers. Instinctively he reached for a blanket, but his groping fingers found none. Are they trying to freeze me to death?he wondered.

He heard the sound of Toe Goblin feet coming down the hall towards him. Probably just the guard again, he thought, doing his best to ignore it. The feet stopped outside his cell, just like they always did.

"Wake up you lazy human," Sven whispered, reaching through the bars and poking Malcolm in the ribs a few times. "I ain't got long."

Malcolm bolted up, blinking the slumber from his eyes. "Whah... who's there?!" he shouted.

"Are all humans blind or somethin'?" Sven whispered back. "Plus, who's goin' to visit you here? Most people are probably thinkin' you're dead."

"Sven?!" Malcolm replied. "What... how are you here?"

"One of the guards was owin' me a favor."

"Svith lied!" Malcolm whispered. "I didn't attack them, they attacked ME. He must have followed me after I was turned away from the council. They jumped me, and then when I fought back, they called for the guards."

Sven nodded. I KNEW something was wrong! "So Svith... he was at the council chamber before he did the attackin'? Are you CERTAIN?"

"Of course. He was the one who told me the Almighty Toe banned me from the meeting." Malcolm saw that Sven's face was frozen in thought. He grabbed the Goblin's arm, shaking him out of the trance.

Sven jumped up. "I'll be back later. Just don't be gettin' into any MORE trouble." Standing up, Sven turned his back to the cell, but was stopped by Malcolm grabbing his thin tunic.

"Sven." The human whispered. "I don't want to die." A singular tear rolled down his face as he said the words. For the first time since he joined up with the Toe Goblins, Malcolm felt true fear. His life rested in Sven's little green hands.

Shocked, Sven turned and stared through the bars at Malcolm. The torn and bloody shirt paired with the bruised face made the human a pitiful sight indeed. Sven sighed. "I'll do my best. But I ain't promisin' anythin'."

As he left the jail, waving to the guard as he passed, Sven couldn't help but wonder. If Svith was under orders not to let Malcolm into the chamber, who's to say he wasn't ordered to attack as well?

He hustled down the maze of raw-hewn tunnels, carefully avoiding any signs of life. The fewer Goblins that saw him out, the better. Deep in thought, Sven wove through the maze of tunnels. He had waited until most of the Toe Goblins had returned to their homes before visiting Malcolm. If he was caught at the jail, it could make the human's situation even worse.

As he was nearing the familiar tunnels of his home, he noticed the faint light of a lantern ahead. Ducking into a shadowy side tunnel, Sven watched, waiting to see whom it belonged to. Gradually the owner of the flame came into view. Sven breathed a sigh of relief. It was one of the members of his Foot.

He was just about to call out when he noticed the figures following the torchbearer. There were the two other members of his Foot... and Svith, now miraculously cured of his wounds. Sven's sigh quickly turned to one of sorrow as a handful of other torch-welding guards stepped into view.

"You three." Svith commanded. "You says you was in Sven's Foot, yes? Well if he ain't at home, where else might he be?"

To Sven's horror, one of his former foot-mates nodded and replied. "We be knowin' a few places. It'll feel good to finally be nabbin' that traitor."

Another piped up as well. "Haven't trusted 'em since he let that murderous human into the Foot."

"It's settled." Svith cackled. "You three should be splittin' up; check out the other places the traitor might be hidin'. The rest of you, fan out, he's gotta be in these tunnels somewhere."

The group split off into different tunnels, waving their torches around to illuminate every nook and cranny. Sven's heart raced as he silently prayed that no one would come near him. Before long, the searchers' torches had disappeared down the various passageways. Only Svith remained behind, waiting for his group to set off before he moved. Come on... Sven thought. Just go!

At last, Svith looked around for a moment, and then started down an empty tunnel. The one Sven was hiding in.

As Svith drew nearer and nearer, his lantern light growing dangerously close, Sven considered his options. Running would be foolish, he realized. Svith is certain to see me. A silent sigh escaped his lips as he realized what he had to do.

Reaching down, he selected a fist-sized stone from the edge of the path. What he was about to do, it was treason of the highest accord. Once done, there was no going back. Then he thought of Malcolm, and the poor human's fate. I've already lost one member of my Foot. Sven though, remembering Svengal's limp body. And I'm not losing another.

He could hear Svith creeping nearer, the guard's lantern light illuminating the dark tunnel only a few feet away. From his position in the shadows, Sven took a deep breath, then struck.

Just as Svith raised his lantern to peer into a hole, Sven leapt out, smashing the rock into the defenseless Goblin's head. Bone cracked as Svith collapsed to the ground face first with a nasty thump. A spear of blood trickled out from the Goblin's head, staining the cold stone floor.

Still conscious, Svith flopped over onto his back, breath coming in short bursts. His nose was broken in a dozen places, and his right eye was already swollen shut.

"Sven?" Svith groaned as his remaining eye focused. "What are you doin' here?"

Sven knelt down beside the other Goblin. He lowered his face until it was within inches of Svith's, so close he could feel the injured Goblin's breath.

"This." Sven whispered. Svith's eyes lit up as he realized what was about to happen. Sven whipped his stone-welding fist back and smashed it into the other Goblin's temple, knocking him out instantly. Svith's body went limp on the floor, his head rolling back into a sharp angle.

Leaping up, Sven dropped his stone, sending echoes down the tunnels. Freezing in place, he waited, listening for a shout, or a confirmation someone had heard the noise. The seconds seemed to tick by like hours as he held his breath, ears strained to the max.

Nothing. The breath he had been holding in was released, and for the first time, he realized what he'd done. However, he could not help but grin a little as he stood over Svith's limp body. Now you're really injured.