Sarge and I quickly cover the distance to the truck, moving through the thin trees. By the time we reach the truck, my hands have finally stopped shaking. Reaching into the bed and pulling out a bottle of water, I sit on the bumper. I open the bottle and pour a stream into my hand, letting Sarge drink. When my hand is empty, I fill it again and again till he’s done. I swish the last gulp from the bottle around my mouth. I spit it and the gum out into the dirt away from the truck.

“The hell did we get ourselves into?” I ask Sarge as I pet the dog. Sarge looks up at me and then rest his weight against my leg.

“Yeah, yeah. I know boy.” I give him another pat before standing and facing the truck again. I take one of the plastic bags from Rural King and fill it with water bottles. After that I add in a handful of .308 rounds on top, before tossing Sarge a pig ear.

As we are about to start back, I hear a rustling in the brush. Sarge’s ears go flat as he stares at the brush. I pull the Beretta from its holster and we start to creep towards the bush. As we are about to get to it, a rabbit burst out. The rabbit wiggles its nose at us as we stare at the furry creature.

“I’m too fucking jumpy.” I cuss as I holster the pistol. “Come on Sarge.” I head for the truck. When I stop by the truck, I reload the empty magazine for the pistol before grabbing a handful of rounds for Thea. I look around the clearing one more time, then we start back towards the cave. Before I know it, we are back at the clearing in front of the cave. Skirting around the mass of dead goblins, I join Thea and Shiva by the fire.

“I grabbed the water.” I hand Shiva a bottle. The catgirl twists off the lid and takes a drink. She swishes the water in her mouth before spitting it out and downing the rest of the bottle. Thea takes a bottle from the bag and does the same, before grabbing another. Pulling a scrap of cloth off the chieftains body, Thea soaks it and starts to wipe away the worst of the blood off me. Handing Shiva another bottle, she starts to do the same for herself.

“So what's the plan?” I ask as Thea finishes. All the blood isn't gone, but nothing short of a full bath and scrub would do that. However, the worst of the gore is now off of me thanks to the Blonde elf.

“Thanks.” I kiss the top of her head before turning back to Shiva.

“When goblins hide in caves, they follow a pattern. The first room is usually for sleeping and eating. They keep everything else deeper in the cave.” Shiva looks over the dark opening. “Odds are, there are still a few deep in the caves. The females watching the young and the guards for the food and …. Goods they stole.” Something in the way she said ‘goods’ bothers me.

“What do you mean by goods?” I ask, feeling Thea stiffen as I ask. Shiva looks at Thea, seeming to have a silent conversation. With a sigh, Thea speaks.

“She means women. Goblins steal women and young girls.”

“Why?” I feel my anger starting to return.

“While goblins can be born female. The women are barren, they just take care of the young. In order to reproduce, they need humans or demi-humans.” Thea says quietly. It takes a moment for her words to register in my mind. When they do, I feel my anger turns into a rage like I have never felt before.

“You mean they?” I start to ask before I am interrupted by Shiva.

“They hold them captive and breed them till they die. It's brutal, painful, and one of the reasons goblins are despised the world over.” She says and I can feel anger to rival my own coming off her. With a growl, Sarge starts to stalk towards the door.

“I’m with him. Let's go kill whatever's in there still.” I hand the ammo for Thea’s rifle to her. The elf quickly loads the rifle and the spare magazines while glancing at the cave. She takes the pistol ammo from me and tops off the rounds she spent, putting the rest in a pocket in her robe.

“I’m ready.” She gives me a nod. Looking up at the sky, I see the sun starting to rise.

“It's getting early. Let's get this done.” I shoulder my rifle as we walk towards the cave.

“Let Sarge go first.” Shiva draws my attention. “He can see better in the caves than you can. Then you, Thea, and I’ll bring up the rear in case anything comes up behind us.” I nod to her and we get in order. Sarge looks at the cave ahead of us.

“Hold onto the back of my vest.” I tell Thea as I switch on my flashlight. The beam of white light is illuminating the cave ahead of us. Despite the narrow entrance to the cave, the first room is huge. I could easily park four of my trucks inside and open the doors. The floor is soft sand, squishing under my feet as we walk inside. Masses of torn and dirty blankets litter the floor. The smell of unwashed bodies, sweat, and piss rise up, assaulting my nose.

“Fucking goblins.” Shiva hisses from behind me. As we continue into the back of the cave, it reveals a dark tunnel that was carved through the stone. Sarge eases inside and I duck down to follow, trying not to bump my head. At the end of the tunnel, I can see a dim yellow glow. I switch off my flashlight.

“There's a room up ahead.” I whisper back to the women behind me.

“Odds are, there may still be ten or twenty goblins inside.” Shiva whispers back. “Judging by the size of the horde outside, there is no telling how many goblin kids or women.”

“My kingdom for a flash grenade.” I mutter as we creep closer.

“What?” Shiva squeezes up beside me.

“A bastardization of a line from a play in my world.” I say as she peeks around the caves entrance.

“What's a flash grenade?”

“It’s a device for entering rooms filled with enemies. It makes a loud boom and a flash of light. It disorents anyone nearby and makes it easier to breach.” I say.

“There’s twelve armed goblins inside.” Shiva says as she ducks back into the tunnel. “They seem to be deciding what to do. The big one keeps pointing this way.”

“He wants to see what's going on.” I listen to the commotion inside. Looking over, Shiva is giving me an open mouth look in the dim light.

“How the hell can you tell?” She asks. Tilting my head at her, I realize I can understand the goblins talking in the cave, but she can't.

“Must be the alltounges.” I tell her before continuing. “It just sounds like they are speaking english to me. Broken english, but still.” I say with a shrug.

“Of course.” She says with a snarl. “Let's just get this done. There's another tunnel behind them.”

“How do you want to handle this?” I ease my back against the wall and preparing to enter the room.

“We go in fast. You break left, I’ll go right. Sarge goes right at them and we keep Thea back out of danger.” Shiva nods to Sarge and then me. Nodding back, I raise my rifle.

“On three.” I tell her as I scoot closer to the entrance.

“One, two …. Three!”

On three, I let loose a loud yell and sprint into the low room. The torches of the goblins give off a dim light, showing off their grotesque forms. I flip on my flashlight and it blinds them. The bright light seems to be more than they can handle.

Wincing, I squeeze the trigger over and over. The boom of the rifle is deafening inside the enclosed space. As the goblins fall, Sarge runs into the mass and drags two of the goblins to the ground in his rush. A blade flies from Shiva’s hand that buries itself into the neck of the closest goblin still standing. As quick as it starts, it’s over. The goblins are dead on the sandy floor. The only sound is the ringing in my ears and Sarge’s snarls as he continues to rip at the dead goblin’s throat.

“Fuck! Can you be any louder!?” Shiva screams at me.

“What!?” I yell back, barely able to hear her. Thea moves her hands to my ears, a dim light on her hands and the ringing stops. She does the same for Shiva before I try to speak again.

“I forgot how loud it is in an enclosed space.” I grumble as we survey the room. It appears to be a storage room for food with baskets of half rotten meat. There are leaking buckets of foul smelling water all around the room.

“No kids or captives.” Shiva kicks over one of the buckets. “We will have to keep going.”

We all form up again. As we start down the second tunnel, the smell of piss and shit gets stronger. We come to a fork in the cave about ten feet into the tunnel. The smell of excrement is stronger from the right and I want to avoid it. Shiva grabs my arm, stopping me from taking the left.

“Wait here.” She says then nods to the right tunnel. “I’ll take Sarge and go that way. We need to make sure we don't get any nasty surprises at our back.”

Nodding in agreement, I click my tongue and Sarge follows the catgirl down the right. As they disappear, I focus down the left path, sweeping my light over the walls. I search for any sign of movement or goblins. There is a sound of a scuffle to my right. A few seconds later, Shiva returns Sarge on her heels. She wipes blood off a dagger before sliding it back into its sheath.

“One goblin and a few runts using the bathroom.” She says as I raise an eyebrow. “Let's finish this.” We continue on Sarge taking the lead. Another twenty feet and we come to a bend in the path. A soft glow from a torch casting eerie shadows on the wall.

“Same as before.” I say before swapping magazines. I don't know how many are there, but I don't want to have to reload if I don't have to. Shiva nods and Thea grips my vest tight. Raising my left hand, I raise three fingers. When I close my last finger, I sprint around the bend. Sarge charges ahead, barking like mad as he tackles the nearest goblin.

Inside the room is a mess of bodies and goblins. I can see four bodies that are too big to be goblins huddled against the wall with a mass of little goblins screaming and hissing on the floor in front of us. As I swing my rifle around, I feel something slam into my chest. Looking to my left, I see a goblin holding a bow. I send two rounds into his chest and he spins away with a howl. I kick one of the goblins as it runs at me and fire into the bodies of goblins huddling around the children.

Part of me feels a twinge of guilt as I fire into the mass. I squash that down as one of the young goblins latches onto my leg, biting down with sharp teeth. Sarge dives in, pulling the goblin off my leg and tossing it aside. My ears are ringing as I keep firing. All of the adult goblins have fallen. However, the young are starting to swarm towards us, picking up blades as they come. Gritting my teeth, I fire into the mass. Shiva's blades fly into the swarm beside my bullets, yet still they charge.

For a moment, I’m afraid I will be overrun again. My rifle clicks empty and with a curse, I drop it pulling my pistol. My ammo holds out this time and the last of the goblins drop before my slide locks back. Sarge has the last of the goblin young in his mouth, shaking it like it’s a rat. Its wailing cry is cut short as it’s neck snaps beneath his powerful jaws. Changing my magazines, I sweep the rest of the room.

“We’re clear!” I yell as Thea does her trick on my ears again.

“Not yet.” Shiva says with a growl. Walking to the back of the room, she starts to shift a rock against the wall. Inside, I see three goblin children, no bigger than my two hands put together.

“What are you going to do with them?” I feel uneasy at the way she’s looking at them.

“If we leave them here, in three days, they will be the size of the ones in this room.” Her voice is low as she explains the problem to me. “Inside a week, they will be grown and causing the same problems. We have to take care of this now.” Seeing my shocked face, she continues.

“I don't like it, but look at them.” She points to where Thea is kneeling beside the bodies of the people against the wall.

The women, yes they are women, are dirty, bruised and bleeding from multiple shallow cuts. Their clothes are torn, barely covering them as they huddle together. Thea is talking to them in a low voice. I can see the light of her healing magic running across their bodies. The women look scared, but at the same time relieved. They stare at me as if they can’t tell if I am a monster or a man.

“Go help Thea, I’ll handle this.” Shiva gives me a push and I walk over to the huddled women. I keep my hands up and out, showing I’m not going to hurt them. I try to blockout the sounds of crying and a blade tearing into flesh behind me, but I fail. As long as I live, I think I will remember that sound.

“It's all right.” I say in a gentle voice. “We are here to help.”

“Help? How can you help with this!” One of the women scream and pull her clothes to the side. She reveals a swollen stomach of a heavily pregnant baby bump. Tears stream down her face as she sobs.

“Goddess Ava help us!” Thea rushes to the woman. I’m shocked when I realize she can't be more than fifteen years old. My anger comes back with a vengeance and I scan the room again. I look for any living goblin to take my anger out on. Finding none, I look back to Thea who is comforting the girl.

“Shhhh, shhh. It will be alright. I can help.” Thea gives me a sad look before turning back to the pregnant teen. “What's your name?” She asks gently.

“Sarah.” The teen says between sobs.

“Well Sarah, my friend here is going to take the others outside. When he’s gone I will handle this. Ok?” Thea runs her hand over the girls face.

“Ok.” She says after a moment. “Can you really help me?” She asks with a small voice.

“Yes, but I need everyone else to leave.” Thea says, glancing up at me again. “No one else needs to see this. OK.” The other three women stand slowly, huddling together as they walk towards me.

“What's your name?” The oldest in the group asks me. She has auburn hair just starting to be streaked with gray. Her face is tanned and starting to get the lines of middle age.

“I’m Ji… Silas.” I catch myself before I say my actual name. The woman stares at me for a moment, and I know she knows I’m lying. She seems to decide it’s not important as she turns to the two behind her.

“Girls, we are going to go with Silas. He will protect us. Do you understand?”

“But sister Maggie, what if the other goblins come back?” Asks one of the girls. She has black hair and seems to be in her late teens.

"They are all gone now Dawn, they can’t hurt us anymore." The older woman says trying to comfort the frightened girl.

"But what if.." She starts before being cut off.

“Don't worry.” Shiva walks up beside me. “We killed the rest before we came here. At most, there might be a couple of scouts coming back, but Silas here can handle them.” She slaps me on my back. Pulling my head down to her level, she whispers in my ear.

“Don't take them to the truck, just to the entrance of the cave.” I nod to her then click my tongue at Sarge.

“Ladies, please follow me.” I start towards the tunnel we came from. “Sarge will bring up the rear, so stay close.” I look over my shoulder.

“You staying with them?” I ask Shiva as she kneels down beside Thea.

“Yes, we will be out soon.” The cat girl replies before turning back to the girl who is now laying down. The remaining women are huddled together, the younger two seeming to cling to sister Maggie. Giving her another glance, I realize her robes are a rough black weave, with a dirt once white trim. It reminds me of the habits nuns wore back on earth. Add in the sister and I assume she is part of some religious order here.

“Are you some kind of priestess?” I ask casually as we start down the tunnel. I sweep my light along the tunnel to make sure there are no more surprises.

“Yes. I manage the church in Torrance.” She replies as we walk. “Why, is that a problem for you? Do you have some dark sin chasing you I should be aware of?” I look back and she is giving me a thin grin. I realize she is trying to joke. She’s a tough woman and I find myself liking the older woman.

“Depends on who you ask.” I tell her as we enter the storeroom. “Truth is, I’m not from around here. I don't know how the religions work.”

“All the churches are for all the various Goddesses and Gods.” Maggie wrinkles her nose at the pile of bodies in the room. Spitting on one of the goblins, she grabs a rusted dagger before continuing. “The churches offer a place to pray to your deity in peace and to hear their words when you have the ability, for a small fee.”

“So no one God or Goddess has their own temple?” I start into the second tunnel and hunch over.

“In the larger cities some do, but not for the smaller towns and villages. Sometimes there is only a simple alter.” As we step into the first room, we are greeted by the soft light of the sun filtering in. I feel myself start to relax as the room is still clear of any goblins.

“Sarge, go take a peek outside. Make sure we don't have any surprise visitors waiting on us.” I cause him to bound ahead. He stops at the entrance and peeks out before he slips outside.

“Do you have a problem with the church?” Maggie asks, nudging me with her elbow.

“Not so much a problem as they seem to be chasing me for something I didn't do.” I mumble under my breath. The older woman looks at me for a moment, seeming to decide what she is going to say. Before she gets a chance, Sarge walks back in and gives me a bark before walking out again.

“Seems to be clear, so let's go.” I step out into the light. Dropping my rifle on its sling, I stretch my arms above my head. I hear my back pop as I shake loose the tension in my neck and arms. I didn't realize how much being in that hell hole was affecting me.

“Why is the church chasing you?” Maggie asks as she steps in front of me and stares at me with her steely blue eyes. For a moment, I consider lying to her, but dismiss the idea as I look into her eyes. Something tells me I wouldn't fool her and lying would be a bad idea.

“The king claims I used necromancy to kill his men. I didn't, but he used it as an excuse to get the church to chase me too.” Shiva had explained what the threat of the church was to me the night before.

Apparently years ago, a necromancer used an army of the undead to try and conquer the world. After he was defeated, it took years to heal the wounds left behind with roving bands of undead covered the lands. Killing and raising more as they traveled with no set path. Some growing so large they wiped out entire cities before they were destroyed.

Hard to believe that wasn't the worst part of the horde. Apparently, they spread something called blight when they walked. It made fields fall barre and trees died from contact with it. If a healthy person spent too much time on blighted land, they would grow weaker until eventually they died. They would rise up as an undead to spread more blight and turn more people.

Even provisions were not safe from blight. If they came in contact, meat spoiled, bread rotted, and water becomes undrinkable. Due to the threat of blight, and necromancy in general, the practice was outlawed. Any accused of the practice were hunted down, either by soldiers of the kingdom or the church’s paladins. From what I had been told, the common practice was to kill first and confirm the crime after. Apparently, a necromancer was too dangerous to take alive, which made me leery of being around a member of the church. Too late to do anything about that though as I seem to have committed myself to helping these people.

Sister Maggie stared into my eyes, looking back and forth between first one eye then the other. After a second, she looks away and pulls the girls towards the remains of the fire. She makes them sit as she looks them over in the light. Seeing the paleness of their skin, I wonder how long they have been in that cave. Picking up the remainder of the water bottles and walking over to the women, I hand one to sister Maggie.

“It's just water.” I show her how to open it. “Sorry I don't have any food to offer you right now. Maybe when the others get here, we can come up with something.” I say as the woman drink the bottles quickly.

“Thank you.” The two younger women say. I wave them off, nodding my head to sister Maggie. As I step away, she follows me a few steps before grabbing my arm to stop me.

“I don't feel any darkness in you.” She says slowly. “I don't know what you did to get the king to send men after you. I do know it wasn't connected to necromancy.”

“How do you know that?” I raise an eyebrow.

“Necromancy stains the soul. If you used it, you would seem dark as the night to me. I was gifted with second sight by the God Valmir. I can see your soul as easy as I can see your face. There is no darkness there. Oh sure, there is lots of anger, rage, jealousy, and envy, but no darkness.” Taking a small sip she looks at me.

“So what are you going to do?” I ask as Thea exits the cave. Shiva is close behind with an arm wrapped around Sarah’s waist supporting the teen.

“Well that's a question ain’t it.” Maggie says leaning her h3ead back. “By rights, I should try and turn you into the church and town guards.” I stiffen at her words. Sarge gives a low growl. “However, you did save my life and the lives of these young women.”

“He also killed most of a horde of goblins by himself.” Thea walks up beside me and wraps her arms around me.

“He also has two slaves. Valmir teaches slavery is an abomination and needs to be weeded out of society. That is against him.” Maggie gives Thea a strange look.

“He is rescuing us. When we get away, he plans to let us go. We only have the collars on now in case we have to enter a town.” Shiva says as she walks past. “I’m going to go grab some food for these women. I don't think they have eaten anything in awhile.” She says as she passes.

“Sarge, follow her.” I say before she gets too far. Sarge gives a huff then trots after the catgirl.

“That true?” Maggie asks.

“Yes, I despise slavery. I just didn't see a better option to get them out of the country.” I tell her as I feel Thea’s hand rub up my stomach over my navel. Maggie stares at me with a hard look for a moment. She seems to weigh her options and what she wants to say.

“Then there is the part of you lying about your name.” She motions to my arm where my status plate is affixed.

“Don't give me the Silas shit. I can see the shimmer where you changed it from here.” She gives me another hard stare.

“I can explain, but it's not easy.” I say while rubbing my neck.

“No need, let me see your plate. I’ll see the truth for myself.” She holds out her hand. In that moment, I realize I am running out of options. I can either let her see the plate and see what happens, or we can leave the women here and hope they are alright. I look at the women, the teens by the fire and my throat closes up. They have been beaten, cut, and raped for god knows how long. They look like a stiff breeze will knock them over and keep jumping at every little noise.

“Here.” I say with a sigh. I know I can't leave them like this, it wouldn't be right. If I did try and walk away, it would mean killing the part of me that is decent. All that would be left would be an animal as I couldn't even call myself a man anymore. Taking my hand, Maggie stares at the status plate for a long moment. With a gasp, she jerks her head back up to me.

“Who else knows about this?” She says with a hiss. Looking over her shoulders at the women around the fire, she drags Thea and me farther away.

“Counting you, one other who knows my name. Plus the king and a handful of men who are still alive.” I say after a moment of thought.

“Keep it that way.” She pulls my head down to her. “I’ll help as I can. Given enough time, I can get the church to quit chasing you, but I can't be with you when anyone shows up. It would throw me into question and ruin my credibility.” She starts looking around. “Do you understand me?”

“Not really, but I’ll listen.” I look at the treeline as Shiva comes running out. “What's that about?” I wonder as I pull myself free and start towards the cat girl.

“We need to go!” She yells as she comes to a stop by the fire.

“What's going on?” Thea comes up beside me.

“There is a group of people coming down the road. It looks like a group of adventurers as well as farmers and guards.” Shiva drops a bag full of supplies next to the fire. “I think they are coming to fight the horde, so we need to go!”

“No please! Don't leave us alone!” Sarah yells while grabbing onto Thea’s hand. Before Thea can say anything, sister Maggie is at her side, pulling her free of the distraught girl.

“Hush now Sarah. I can't explain, but they have to go now. We can't tell anyone about them. One day I will explain. For now, I need you all to be quiet and not mention these people. Do you understand?” She looks at each of the girls. Slowly, they all nod one after the other.

“Come on we need to go!” Exclaims Shiva as she is pulling on my arm.

“What will you tell the people coming?” I ask Maggie as I start to turn.

“I’ll tell them a roming band of adventurers wiped out the goblins. They offered to stay and help, but we told them we were alright. Then they took the north road towards the capitol.” The sister says with a smile. “So I would suggest going south, just in case.”

I give the group of women a final smile and a wave. Thea drags me away, causing me to stumble as I get turned around. Before we hit the trees, we are in a dead run with Sarge nipping at my heels, urging me to run faster. We barely clear the treeline before I hear a yell from the road.

“Alright men. If the king isn't going to do anything about the goblins, then we will have to handle this ourselves!” A loud warcry echoes on the mans words. “Keep in formation and remember none can escape!” Glancing to the road, I can just barely see a line of men forming up. In another second, they are out of my sight and trees surround us on all sides.

“We have to hurry!” Thea runs ahead of me. Even with all the blood covering me and exhaustion bearing down, I still cant help but stare at her ass as she runs. The hem of her robe is riding up, giving me a peek at the perfect round curve of her ass. Before I can pull my eyes away, I feel a root grab my foot. I crash into a heap on the ground and spit out a mouthful of dirt as I cuss.

“Quit staring at my ass and pay attention!” Thea hisses as she pulls me to my feet. “When we get away, I’ll let you look at it all you want. Hell, you can hold it all night if you want. Just pay attention right now damnit!” She curses as we start to run again.

Bursting into the clearing with my truck, I breathe a sigh of relief. Shiva is already in the cab and Sarge in the bed head hanging over the edge. Thea slides in the truck, straddling the gearshift to sit in the middle. I pull the sling over my head and toss the rifle to Thea. I slide in and slam the door shut. Firing up the truck, I jam it into reverse rolling back down the trail towards the road.

When we reach the road, I cut the wheel hard and spin the truck around. Glancing towards where the cave is, I’m thankful to see everyone is past the treeline. I see a thin trail in the trees and gunn the engine, taking the truck off road again. Soon, we are tearing through the trees the road fading behind us.

“Where are we going!?” Thea yells as we dodge trees and rocks along the trail.

“Fuck if I know.” I say afraid to take my eyes off the trail for fear we would crash if I get distracted.

“This should open up onto another road.” Shiva looks behind us. “Once we hit it, take a right. There is another trail by the river. We can stop at another cave I know about beside the river.” Giving a quick glance over, I can tell Shiva is nervous.

“What?” I jerk the wheel to avoid crashing into a fallen log.

“I’m just hoping they don't tell them the truth.” Shiva looks back again. “If they do, then the whole kingdom could be breathing down our necks by morning.”

“Nothing we can do about it now.” I yank the wheel as the front end reaches the road. “If anyone shows up, I’ll just shoot our way out. Again.” The rest of the ride is silent as we race down the road. It's almost a half hour later before we reach the river. By then, I’m struggling to keep my eyes open. The long hours of driving, followed by fighting has drained me.

Following Shiva’s instructions, I guide the truck off the road again. The wheels starting to slip in loose mud less than twenty feet after we get off the road. Cursing, I pull the four wheel drive into gear and give the truck more gas. With a roar, the front end pulls back onto the narrow trail and away from the water below. I look over and Shiva is grabbing onto the dash, eyes wide as she looks out her window.

“How much farther?” I ask. As we hit a deep rut in the trail, I have to force myself not to stare at Thea’s bouncing chest.

“Watch the road.” Shiva growls, making me turn my head back around. “It widens back out in about another thirty feet. Just past the bend right there.” She points at the bend in the creek. As we ease around the bend, I start to breathe easier. While it's still barely above a goat trail, its at least wider than the truck now.

“Up ahead, just beside the pine there.” Shiva leans back into her seat. With a grunt, I pull up beside the tree and shut the truck off. Laying my head on the steering wheel, I let out a long sigh. My head is pounding and a deep throb starts from the base of my neck to up behind my eyes. I hear Shiva climb out and Sarge follows, jumping out of the bed.

“Are you all right?” Thea rubs my neck.

“No, my heads killing me right now.” I squeeze my eyes shut. Thea’s hands start to rub my temples, spreading a warm glow over my skull. Within moments, I feel the pain slipping away and I like a human again.

“That feel better?” She asks as I start to moan.

“So much better. Thank you Thea.” I lean back. Thea lays her head on my shoulder and lets out a deep sigh.

“We need to get you cleaned up.” She wrinkles her nose at the smell of sweat and goblin blood. She gives me a shove and starts to guide me along.

“Come on. Up and at em. The sooner we get you all cleaned, the sooner you can stare at my ass again.” The remark causes me to laugh as I open the door and climb out.

“Give me a minute to strip this off.” I tell her as I reach for the velcro on my vest.

“Nope!” She climbs out after me. “It needs a scrub too, so do your pants and you. Pull your boots off and we can wade in together.” She gets into the bed of the truck and comes out a moment later with the bar of green soap.

“Alright, just let me strip off some of the gear.” I say. Working quickly, I strip off the magazine, pouches, knives, first aid pouch, and tournicute. I sit down to pull off my boots and my socks when I realize they need a wash too. Pulling me to my feet, Thea laughs as she drags me to the river.

“Come on Stinky.” She says with a laugh. “Let’s get you all clean.” She stops at the edge of the bank, looking down at the stones and mud.

“I bet that water is cold as a well digger’s ass.” I mumble as we stand there. Suddenly, I’m falling into the water with my arms spinning wildly. As I splash into the cold water, I hear Thea’s laugh from behind me. I come up and realize the elf has pushed me in. I start to growl at her.

“Ohhhh, growling like a dog are we.” She says with a happy glint in her eye. I splash her which causes her to squeal out loud as the cold water hits her. She laughs and jumps into the water beside me.

“So glad you could join me.” I say with a smirk. The water is up to my chest, but the waves from her jump splashing on my chin. Thea wasn't quite so lucky as the water rises over her mouth.

“Stupid water. Why does it have to be so deep.” She grumbles as she starts scrubbing me with a bar of soap. Reaching down and cupping her ass with my hands, I lift the elf woman.

“What?” She exclaims confused. Pulling her legs around my waist and locking my hands together, I tell her.

“Here, I’ll hold you while you scrub, then you don't have to worry about the water.” I smile down at her. Thea stares into my eyes for a moment before blushing and going back to scrubbing. Soon, the water washing away is clear, not red and gray from blood of the goblins or mine.

“Why do goblins have gray blood?” I ask as the suds float away.

“It’s because they are monsters. Humans and demi-humans are the only ones with red blood. Monsters have either gray, blue, or golden, depending on their type.” Thea responds absentmindedly.

“Take this off now.” She pulls at my plate carrier. Setting her down in the river, I start to pull it off when Shiva interrupts.

“Can you two hurry. You're not the only one wanting a bath tonight.” I look up to see her sitting next to the mouth of the cave and a fire burning next to her.

“Fine, we will hurry!” Thea calls back as she helps me strip off my plate carrier. Tossing it on the bank with a grunt, her head slipped under water a moment. Sputtering, she yells up to the catgirl. “You know the river is plenty big. You could join us or go downstream.”

“Nah, I’ll let you lovebirds go first. Just hurry up.” She says as she tosses another branch on the fire. Lifting Thea again, she quickly goes back to scrubbing me. She pulls my shirt off when it’s clean, causing her to grind against my waist. I fight back a moan as I feel her ass wiggle against my throbbing hardness.

Thea giggles as she realizes what is causing me to groan. Reaching down, she lifts the edge of her robe. She tosses it to the bank behind us as she goes back to scrubbing my chest. I go to look away, not to oagle the beautiful now naked woman in my arms. As I’m studying the trees on the bank, Thea pulls my face back down to look at her.

“Don't look away.” She leans back in my arms. I have to readjust my grip as she moves. Her hands started to rub and scrub over her breast, the cold water making her nipples stiffen. I feel like I’m about to burst out of my jeans as I look at the elf in my arms. She grinds down on my waist, moving her hips up and down along my hard length.

“I don't think I should be ….” I start before she stops me with a finger across my lips.

“Relax, it's just us out here.” She pulls me in for a kiss. My tongue slips between her lips, tasting her as her tongue battles mine. For a moment, I forget all about being summoned to another world. I forget about the fight that was less than two hours ago. The running and hiding means nothing. There is just me and the elf woman in my arms. I feel her hands running down my body, fingers working to undo my belt I start to moan.

A voice in the back of my head is screaming this is a bad idea. The other voice in my head is doing its best to squash the first down. Thea wants this, even in the cold water, I can feel her grinding against me. Her hand wraps around me and slowly strokes up my length. I try and fail to fight back a moan as I lean my head back. Her lips latch onto my neck, teeth nibbling. She traces the line of my neck, down across my collar bone. Spinning us, I back her against the bank, kissing her again.

She gasps as my hand traces over her breast, tweaking her nipple. I’m losing myself in her. This close, I’m surrounded by her scent. The water unable to wash it away as close as we are. I still smell the faint traces of gunpowder on my hair. Her scent is overpowering it, washing it away with cinnamon and vanilla. I start to kiss down the line of her neck as she continues to stroke my hard shaft. My jeans are falling away slowly, the wet denim clinging to my legs.

“WHAT THE FUCK!!!” Shivas scream pulls me back to reality. I start to stutter out an excuse, but she cuts me off. “FUCK NO! BOTH OF YOU OUT NOW!” She screams, pointing to the fire. “If you want to fuck like brush rabbits, do it in the cave or that damn truck. Not in the river while I’m waiting on a bath!” She screams.

Sheepishly, we break apart and climb out of the river. I have to help Thea out and I take the opportunity to fondle her ass one more time. Thea gathers up our wet clothes before sprinting to the fire smiling back at me. Pulling my jeans back up my hips, I follow suite. Shiva giving me an angry look as she slides into the water. As I take a seat by the fire, Thea walks around the truck holding a pair of my jeans from the go bag in the truck. She's wearing my button down shirt, just the bottom two buttons done up. Her nipples are barely hidden by the fabric. The buttons give me a glimpse of her lips beneath them.

“Here, you should change so they can dry.” She hands me the dry jeans and blushes. Standing, I strip down and quickly switch into the dry jeans. Even though she is showing me her body, I can tell the moment has passed. If we hadn't been interrupted in the river, we would have ended up going a lot farther. Now, we have both calmed down. The cool air and cold water is calming both of us down.

“Come here.” I hold up a hand to Thea from where I’m sitting by the fire. Thea takes my hand, sliding into my lap. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I feel her wiggle on my lap. Sarge walks over and lays his head on Thea’s lap. The crackling of the fire is comforting and the heat from the flames warms us up. I feel myself starting to drift off as Thea begins to sing some tune softly.

“The bluebirds sing across the field. The creek flows soft and gentle. The trees whisper on the breeze. As we rest on the banks of na-ha-vel.” The gentle verse lulls me to sleep with the dreams of Thea and me on a warm creek bank. As I drift off, I’m comforted by her scent. Again, I can't help but smile as I feel her body against me.