Jake let out a long, tired breath as he stared up toward the sky. The road was peaceful, quiet, and empty. There were no signs of other adventurers or passersby and there hadn’t been for quite some time now. It gave him plenty of alone time to think over what he’d just faced. Sorting his thoughts was helping him come to terms with what he was going to have to deal with in the future. Beside him, the bodies of the two women lay with cloth covering their faces. He’d cleaned them off with water to rinse away the filth of the goblin nest, but it didn’t do anything to change the lifelessness their bodies radiated. The girls were gone and Jake had been too late to save them.

This was his first time encountering the Goblin scourge and it certainly had made him second guess a lot of his expectations for being an adventurer. But he had learned quite a bit from it, both about Goblins and about himself. Compared to the meager details that the Guild offered him, the actual encounter taught Jake plenty more about his foe. From their tactics to their activities. Dealing with them wasn't a priority to his current journey but it made him think. If Goblins were this vicious, this foul, then how would other monsters act? Were they the same? Or did they each have their own way to torment Humans and other surface races? What made it odd was also the low threat level of Goblins. The expectation that they would be simple to deal with and that snuffing out their nests was perfect work for rookies. After that fight, Jake thought it would be the opposite.

If individuals weren’t prepared for that kind of enemy, that kind of fighting, and didn’t have the grit to deal with what Jake just witnessed, then they would become goblin food. Or worse, breeding mares for them. Marching into that foul pit took more than just a knife and some armor.

“Goblin food, hm?” Jake mumbled to himself as he recalled an adventurer saying that to him. Maybe they expected the same of him or maybe they’d seen his type before. An isolationist who didn’t yet comprehend the hell they were about to step into and underestimated the threat in front of them. An individual unprepared to face the atrocity of the Goblin existence.

He chewed on that, gnawed on it for a little while longer before someone finally appeared in the distance. Who he was waiting for. From the direction of the village, there was a horse drawn cart with a man sitting in the driver seat, the reins in his hand. Gradually, the cart rolled up to Jake, coming to a stop in front of him.

The driver looked over at Jake, then at the two bodies beside him. He sighed, resigning himself to yet another quiet delivery. “You the adventurer who went to the Goblin nest?”

“I am.” Jake took that as his cue and stood up.

“Right. Put them in the back.” The man jerked his thumb towards the cart.

“Understood.” With care, Jake lifted the girls into the cart. He replaced the cloth on their faces with blankets that the driver pointed out to him. The blankets were softer, made of a higher quality fabric. Far better for wrapping a fallen individual than what Jake had been using.

The driver’s face remained aloof, unchanging as he stared at the girls. When Jake was finished, the driver nodded then turned away. He snapped the reins and the cart pulled away. “Good work, Adventurer,” he said as he left, taking the girls with him. “Is that all for the day?”

“No. I’ve got another nest to clear.” Jake called out to the driver.

The driver waved, calling out over his shoulder. “I’ll come by once more before the sun sets. If you’re not finished by then, you’ll have to wait for the morning!”

The cart trotted out beyond shout range, and with that Jake finished his first task. There was no fanfare. No cheers and no pats on the back. No praise other than the passing one from the cart driver. This was the life of an Adventurer. Travel the world. Kill monsters along the way. Try to save the victims if you can, or put them in a cart if you can't. It sounded so numbing, so devoid of spirit. The attitude of the driver was enough to share that it truly was that way, too. Those girls weren’t his first dead bodies he’d ever retrieved, and they would not be his last.

There were more than two blankets in that cart.

Pressing his lips together, Jake pulled the map from his pocket that would lead him to the second nest. He looked ahead, then to his right, orienting himself with a few noticeable landmarks, and stepped off. There was no sense in letting himself get stuck in the downward mental spiral of contemplating the useless nature of this work. Monsters were as constant of an existence as any other form of life and so long as the Overworld produced them, there would be no changing it. And, so long as monsters existed, there would be individuals willing to hunt them. If lives could be saved by intervening and cleaning out nests or dens, he understood the willingness for Adventurers to risk death themselves. Blood for coin.

“Blood for coin…” Jake mumbled, glancing down at his stained glove. To think, he believed every word of his father.

Every story told to him as a child had always been shared with a hint of glamor and shine, spoken with the censorship of the loss and harsh nature of Adventuring. Jake’s father had left out the details of women being snatched, families being destroyed, and monsters devouring the weak. He had only ever shared stories of grandeur and the moments of glory his parties had basked in. Now, Jake could see it was done on purpose. How could a man explain such horrible, vicious things to a child? The nightmares lurking beneath the surface weren’t something a child should know of. That’s why Adventurers existed. To keep those nightmares buried, never to see the light of the surface.

Clenching his fists, Jake marched to the second nest. He reached it late in the afternoon as the sun began to tilt down toward the horizon. He arrived a little late but in time to make it back to the village for a proper meal so long as things went according to plan. He’d eaten both his rations already during his time spent waiting for the cart and during his walk to the nest. Doing so lightened his load and energized his body, replenishing the calories he’d burnt. Now, it was time to fill another stomach.

This nest wasn’t like the first. No, it was far more sinister looking. The nest wasn’t dug into the ground in a crudely shaped tunnel, torn from the earth by claw and nail. Rather there were four rolling hills connected together, each with a neatly dug out entrance that was guarded by a trio of Goblin sentries. From what Jake could see, it looked to be a community of Goblins all living together in an interconnected network of tunnels beneath the surface.

From just those entrances alone, Jake could tell that this was a much larger horde. One that dwarfed the first. Two of the entrances had bone totems stabbed into the ground outside of them. One of the remaining two had a bunch of human skulls stacked on a spear, while the last had an actual rotting corpse tied to a log erected beside it. From the diversity, Jake wondered if they had a meaning to them other than marking that the nests were Goblin nests.

Aside from the different markings, Jake found something else to be quite odd. These Goblins, they weren’t lazing about. They didn’t yawn or scrabble with one another nor were they just looking off into space, drifting away in their own daydreams. No, they were alert, wary of everything around them. Their weapons were held tight in their hands and they stood in such a way that allowed them wide sightlines that overlapped each other. It was the middle of the day and they weren’t slacking at all on their duties. Then, Jake sniffed the air as a breeze wafted through the trees and the gears clicked in his mind.

Iron. Metallic. Blood. It was fresh. The Goblin nest had been in a fight recently. Jake couldn’t see any signs of combat on the grass, nor were there any dead bodies lying around. However, that scent was hard to miss. Something had come through to put the sentries on their guard. Which made Jake wonder, did the Goblins already have their way and win? Was there a recent batch of victims now being handled within the nest? Or maybe a party had breached already, and these sentries were replacements?

Regardless of which it was, things were now just a hair more difficult. Sneaking in would be out of the question now. Even if Jake tried, he’d end up spotted by one of the sentries and they’d likely sound some kind of alarm. Or just scream. That would be what he’d do. So, he’d just have to work quickly.

Kill the guards. Seal the doors. Snuff out the remaining Goblins inside the nest. Recover any victims or hostages inside.

Curling a hand around the hilt of a knife, Jake drew in a slow breath.

Tick tock.

Conjuring a trio of Wind Cones, Jake darted out of the treeline and rushed the Goblin mounds. The Guards from the first mound spotted him and opened their mouths to screech, only for their skulls to blast apart. Hearing footsteps and the sound of bodies hitting the dirt, one of the next set of Guards whirled its head around. Spotting Jake, the creature yelped loudly and snatched his spear out from the earth. The other teams of Sentries were alerted and screeches echoed through the trees as they began chirping orders back and forth.

Gritting his teeth, Jake stomped onto the ground in front of the second goblin trio. They lunged first, thrusting two spears in his face. He knocked one aside and grabbed the other. Using his grip along with his other forearm for additional strength, Jake jerked the Goblin off the ground and bashed it into the other. His knife cut across as a follow-up, slashing flesh and exposing bone. Jake twirled the spear to bring the sharpened head to bear, then shoved it through the stomach of the third guard. As the Goblin’s mouth gurgled, Jake yanked the weapon free just to bury in the skull of one of the others he’d wounded. The third Goblin tried to run, only for Jake to split its skull open from behind with a thrown ax.

“Hurry up.” His mind whirled, his stare hardening as his mind focused. Before moving on, Jake used rock magic to seal the entrance, collapsing the ceiling and ripping the floor apart. Rock and stone exploded, debris spitting up into the air in a violent exhale as air rushed outwards.

From the next mound, one Goblin launched a rock at his face using a slingshot. The Goblin was rather skilled with the tool and Jake didn’t even hear the crack of the leather sling before he was hit. The rock smashed into his cheek, the impact rattling his senses. It cut open the skin, cracked the bone, and caused him to flinch. A painful series of events that brought rage to his eyes. His adrenaline dumped into his system, his blood boiling further with hate.

Jake snatched the rock out of the air and, using wind magic, returned to sender. The blast of wind sent the rock sailing like a bullet, blowing a hole through the Goblin’s face. The punching power of the rock caused it to hardly slow down, careening into the dirt beyond the collapsing body. The corpse snapped backwards from the inertia, its strings of life snatched away with hardly a whimper.

The Goblins chose this moment to stop in their tracks. The remaining two at the third hill watched their ally crumble, its face burrowed through and now rather religious in anatomy. Sensing something off, Jake similarly stopped. He squeezed his knife, clutching the handle securely in his hand as he flexed the muscles to keep them hot. His open hand spread wide, fingers wiggling a bit should he need to snatch or grab. Knowing something was up, he sunk into a defensive posture and prepared to react should something jump out at him. His eyes scanned the area and he conjured a set of Wind Cones over his shoulders. Spells primed to be sent in any direction should they need.

All for the Goblins directly in front of him to turn and screech at those defending the final entrance. Jake’s eyes snapped wide and he immediately moved to silence the call, pummeling the Goblins with the spells. Their bodies tore apart, their limbs scattering in the air and their chests bursting open as the wind cones drilled through them. Yet, it was too late.

“Fuck.” Jake darted forward, crushing the third entrance in his wake as he sprinted for the fourth. His boots slammed into the dirt, propelling him along in broad, long strides supplemented by wind magic pushing at his heels. Once in range, he twirled his knife to bring the razor edge forward. He sliced through the throat of one of the guards, fully severing its head from its feeble body. He snatched up the second goblin in his grip, crushing the goblin’s throat beneath his fingers. It gagged and clawed at his forearm, its weak fingers unable to free the vicious grip suffocating it.

The third sentry, however, was gone. Its feet tapped away into the darkness of the tunnel as it scrambled into the den. Shrieking as it went in order to awaken its allies. The noise echoed far and deep, well into the listening range of whoever was at the other end.

“Smart little runts,” Jake mumbled, dropping the gasping Goblin to the ground. He glared at the creature, watching it struggle and claw for air. Its neck was purple and black, its throat crushed and the windpipe collapsed. These creatures lived up to their description. It seemed that once they realized they were all going to be killed, alerting the nest to the intruder had become priority. As guards and sentries, their task wasn't just to protect but to also alert and alarm. Seeing as they were facing terrible odds in the open space, signaling for reinforcements and readying the horde was the only option left. Goblins weren’t stupid enough to just run away randomly out of fear, it seemed.

Jake huffed and collapsed the fourth entrance, crushing the goblin head that had rolled into the entrance beneath a pile of stone and dust. Jake let the sentry get away, conceding it the ability to rouse the rest of the nest. His original plan had been to silence the guards and keep the nest unaware of his infiltration. Though, Jake relished in the idea of them being fearful of him, or mounting a desperate defense to keep him out. It would be interesting to see them defy him.

With the horde awakened to the plight of an incoming force, what tactics would the goblins use? What skills, tools, or traps would be waiting for him? What expressions would be on their faces? Would they cower after watching their allies be decimated? Or would they fight to the last? The previous nest had been small but they had put up quite the fight at the end. Would this horde be the same?

Jake cleaned his knife of fat and blood before sheathing it with a subtle click. He picked up a pair of Goblin knives and also a spear that didn’t look to be in bad shape. He then knocked over the totems and used rock magic to create a grave for the unfortunate soul who had been used as one of them. The rotting corpse was far beyond recognition, so there was no need to mark the grave or perform any ritual rights. He made sure to check for an Adventurer Tag but the body had been stripped clean. With no way to identify them, Jake moved quickly. Bury the body, give them rest, then move on. There were goblins to kill.

As he waited for the sounds of the nest to come bubbling up to alert him of the awoken horde, Jake went about cutting the ears off the Goblins. Even with the looming threat of an impending fight, Jake remained dedicated to the task given to him by the Guild. While he was here to kill the creatures and cull their numbers, he was also here to get paid.

Jake finished his work and promptly headed for the first mound. Unlike the other three, he’d purposely left the entrance open, providing only one way in and hopefully only one way out. With no alternate escape for the creatures inside, he would smother them. They’d check the other exits, find them destroyed, and be forced to run up to meet him. A funnel to ensure they couldn’t escape and would have to face him in reduced numbers. The space was rather cramped, so only three or four goblins at a time would be able to rise and meet him.

Brandishing the goblin weapons he’d acquired, Jake stepped to the middle of the entrance and stared down into the maw. Surprisingly, he couldn’t hear anything yet. Even as he stood in silence, he didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary drifting out from the tunnel in front of him. No shrieks. No shouts. No outcries of life. Not a single sign that this place was inhabited by ugly green monsters. The sentry was probably either still running down, or the nest was still rousing to life.

If that latter were true, that meant he had time. The slowness of the horde to organize and become battle ready gave him a wider window to infiltrate and set up his own ambush. The deeper into the tunnel he could get, the easier it would be to catch them off guard. If there were additional sentries, he could kill them off in their smaller numbers without much effort.

If the sentry was simply still running and had yet to deliver his message, that meant these tunnels were a lot deeper than he expected. He would have a lot of ground cover, ground likely infested with Goblins.

For the moment, he gambled that it was simply the depth of the tunnel that was the cause of the eerie silence. Betting on that, he would need to get as deep as possible before the horde spotted and rushed him. The deeper Jake could reach, the more damage he could cause in one go. “Idiots,” he taunted, rumbling as the stench of goblin funk hit his nose. He squeezed the handles of the makeshift weapons and fed mana into his eyes. The darkness slipped away, pushed aside by his Sensory magic and night vision.

Though, it wasn’t his eyes that caught the first sign of a threat. Rather his ears did. After taking a few silent steps forward, Jake heard the familiar pattering of slapping meat against stone. A rhythmic and desperate scramble of steps approaching him from beyond the dark veil of the tunnel. Seconds later, Jake’s eyes began to pick out the silhouette of a small figure running towards him. A Goblin armed with a bow and a shoddy quiver filled with only a couple arrows. Easy prey.

Jake moved to the side of the tunnel and watched as the lone Goblin scrambled forward, its yellow eyes bulging as it scampered through the dark. Fixated on the exit mere meters away. It barked and sniffed, snarled and spit, running as quickly as it could up the length of the tunnel until it jerked to a sudden halt. After glancing around, its fat, thick nose tilted upward. Its nostrils flared as the monster inhaled deeply, sucking in the foul air as it practically tasted the particles paired with its snot.

Catching the strange scent of something else within the tunnel, the Goblin’s head snapped in Jake’s direction. Before it could open its mouth, a flying blade stabbed its throat. The Goblin choked and its eyelids split apart in fright. Jake, like a wraith, lunged from the wall and grabbed the creature by its drooling mouth. The Goblin gargled and shook, paralyzed by a mix of fright and surprise as the Adventurer controlled its mouth and head.

“Ssssh…” Jake whispered, driving a second knife into the Goblin’s skull.

Life faded from the creature’s eyes as its arms flopped to its side. Jake yanked the knife from the corpse’s skull, only for the brittle weapon to snap at the handle. He huffed and ditched it, instead retrieving the knife from the Goblin’s throat. He slid the knife loosely into his belt and then pulled the bow and arrow from the Goblin’s lifeless grip. He wasn’t trained or skilled in the weapon but he would at least give it a shot while he had the opportunity. It seemed simple enough.

As the goblins screeched from the den beyond, Jake fiddled with the bow. He tested the strength of the string to gauge how much pull strength was necessary to draw it tight. Then, he plucked an arrow from the quiver and nocked it, slotting the back of the arrow against the string. There was no notch, so he had to carefully pinch the wood in place with a delicate touch. Using his fingertips, he kept the arrow aligned and set the shaft against the bow. He aimed down the tunnel and pulled on the string, stretching it to full tension. When he released his fingers, the arrow whistled and the bow thumped in his hands.

“Ho…” Jake mumbled, watching the arrow vanish into the darkness. It had veered off from where he’d aimed and slammed into the wall off to his left. He wasn’t an individual who could pick up any weapon and use it just because he wanted to, but it was a learnable skill. With Goblins being easy targets, this would be a good place as any to practice.

An opportunity that presented itself almost immediately as a pair of Goblins came running out of the darkness, both unarmed but carrying quivers with some arrows in them. Jake plucked another arrow from the quiver on the ground and repeated the steps. He settled the bow ahead of him, bracing his left arm to support the impending stress. Then, he nocked the arrow and pinched it to the string with his fingers. Flexing his forearm, Jake pulled on the string to apply enough tension to keep the arrow set. Drawing his elbow back, the string stretched until it could go no further. Using his fingers, Jake guided the arrowhead, pointing it downrange.

The Goblins scrambled closer and closer, their feet slapping loudly on the floor as they stumbled along, hurrying to replenish arrows that they presumed were being used. Jake aimed at the Goblin on the right, turning his shoulders and aligning the arrowhead with his sight line, bringing the sight picture into focus.

Exhaling, Jake released the arrow. The string snapped forward. The shaft of the arrow dragged lightly across the top knuckle of his thumb. The feathers whisked over his fingertips. A faint crackle from the whipping of the string tickled his ear, followed by the snapping of wood against wood as the arrow shot forward.

Jake aimed for the Goblin’s face, but the arrow whirled and waggled. Both from poor composition and his likely shitty aim. It didn’t strike home and instead dug into the Goblin’s shoulder. Still, the impact knocked the Goblin off kilter and it tumbled over, scattering its cargo as it wailed in agony. Jake sucked his teeth at the failed strike but he wouldn’t be deterred. The second Goblin had stopped and turned to see what happened to its companion. When it looked forward for the source, it spotted the silhouette of the looming Adventurer.

The Goblin shrieked and dropped the quiver it cradled, turning on its heels in order to flee. Jake let loose another arrow, drilling the Goblin in the upper right shoulder blade. The Goblin stumbled to the floor but hadn’t quite eaten dust. It began clawing at the rock, quick to return to its feet to continue its run. Only for a Fire Spear to impact its spine. The sharp tip of the conjured fire skewered the Goblin, piercing through the creature’s frail body. Its eyes swelled as it watched its stomach burst open in a splatter, the scalding heat of the flame causing its blood to boil. Before its very eyes, the tip of the spear flashed and the explosive runes filled its vision.

Jake targeted both of the Goblins with spells, switching from the physical weapon to his magic in order to finish them off. Developing his archery skill would need to be done outside of this sort of environment. After messing up twice, Jake acknowledged the inefficiency of trying to continue using the weapon when the stakes were rather high. Time was of the essence, so fooling around would have to wait.. For now, he’d stick to what he knew. He tossed the bow aside and plucked the goblin knife from his hip. Using it, he carved the ears of his fresh kills then continued on.

Plunging further and further into the nest, his stride long but controlled, Jake came across markings on the walls of odd images. Then, a few small crevices that looked to be the beginnings of new tunnels. He passed a fork in the tunnels only to find that one led to a dead end, with no occupants. He backtracked and continued down the main route. There, he encountered a group of three Goblins sitting against the wall, asleep. He killed them all without a sound, acquired their ears, then continued.

One hundred meters. Two hundred meters. Three hundred meters. Every so often, killing a group of Goblins that he came across. Deeper and deeper until Jake felt the back of his jaws tingle. He clenched his teeth and stopped his descent. He turned to look behind him and fired a fire ball up the way he came, verifying that he wasn’t being followed. When the ball illuminated just stone and dirt, Jake huffed. Unsatisfied. Nothing was behind him and the ball sailed all the way back until the slope crested. This was a deep nest. Very deep.

He took a pause, tapping his teeth together as he considered the implications of this. Four entrances. Three Sentries per mound. He’d let one go and as of this moment, he still couldn’t quite hear the nest stirring. Every hundred meters or so, there was evidence of planned expansion to this tunnel with posted groups of goblins near them. At the entrance, there was also the archer that had been sent to reinforce the sentries. The only question was whether or not that Goblin archer had already been sent in motion in this direction, or if it was reactionary because of the sentry’s warning.

“...Hm.” Jake hummed softly and continued his descent. His feet clicked over the rocks, faint echoes of his footfalls tapping his ears as he tried to be as quiet as possible. Regardless of whatever suspicions he had or worries, he would get his answers whenever he found the horde.

Clang.

Jake stopped. He opened his ears and took in a long breath, holding it in as he listened. His eyes scanned the walls, piercing the darkness as he paused to verify the noise. It was faint but repetitive. At first he thought it might be the sound of metal striking rock, like the sound of digging. With the signs of tunnels being made, he thought there might be a group of Goblins working down below him. However, the pitch was higher. The impacts were too sharp and lacking in rhythm that matched laborious work. And, there were multiple different sounds.

Boom.

The floor shook as an explosion rocked the walls, causing loose pebbles to fall free. A wind gasped up the tunnel, a light breeze pushing against his face as the shockwave rolled by. That wasn’t Goblin.

Gripping the knife he held, Jake took off sprinting towards the noise. His feet shoved off the stone and he desperately rushed down the slope. Those noises were the song of combat. Someone was here already. He could hear metal striking metal, shouts and commands being hollered. Desperate screams in pain. Shrieks from the Goblins. A party was fighting.

“If there’s this, then what were the sentries for?” A fight was happening inside the nest, yet those guards had been posted outside of it, watching for additional invaders as if nothing was wron-No, no they weren’t standing by leisurely. Those guards were all standing at attention, on high alert. As if they had already been triggered prior, because the nest had been.

They weren’t looking for an invader. They were on alert for reinforcements.

“Shit,” Jake spat, the pieces falling into place. Now it made sense. The guards were sent out likely from another tunnel and put in place to box in the Adventurers already inside. The Archer was hurrying to add to their numbers, and the arrow bearers were just bringing additional ammunition with them for the impending duel that would happen outside. They must have slipped through the fighting ahead. Which meant the nest was taking precautions to the potential for more adventurers while simultaneously closing the door on the ones already inside.

Crafty bastards.

The end of the tunnel neared and evidence of light trickled up towards him. The darkness cleared and his eyes stung as his night vision gradually faded. The downward angle of the floor ceased, the tunnel flattening out before quickly opening to a massive room. Jake bolted through a threshold, darting out onto a ledge he almost overshot. His eyes filled with light and his ears filled with shrieks of chaos. He stood on a high ledge that circled the entire room, with torches spaced out evenly to illuminate the elevated walkway. On it, several Goblin archers manned positions with bows and quivers laid down by their feet, full of makeshift ammunition crafted from whatever materials they could piece into arrows.

Down below, beyond the ledge, Jake witnessed hell.

An average sized party of adventurers, eight in total, were being mobbed by dozens of Goblins from every angle. The room was perfectly circular, with wood being used for what Jake presumed to be furniture. There were some chairs, tables, benches, and racks for equipment. Barrels full of pickaxes, shovels, and poles. Around the circle, seemingly built randomly, several archways led off to other sections of the nest where Goblins continued to flood in from. If Jake could give a rough estimate, at least one hundred Goblins occupied the room.

Amongst them, at the far side, Jake spotted what he guessed was the leader. A large Goblin armed with a massive club sat in a large makeshift wooden throne. A pair of Goblin Shamans stood at its side, both of them grinning and cackling at the sight before them. In its lap, Jake spotted the body of an… elf. She had long, golden hair that was bloodied and patchy. Her fair skin reddened, blackened, and a leg twisted at a gross angle. She was motionless, but the Goblin kept a hand on her head, pinning it face down in his lap.

Gritting his teeth, Jake tore his eyes away from the distant sight and forced himself to look down at the party below. Of the eight, three were heavily armored with shields and swords. Two had half of the metal protection, exchanging full armor for mobility. One member was an archer in light armor, the last two were mages fitted in robes with staves. Of the eight, four were female and they were being slowly separated from the rest of the party. The Goblins were jumping from every angle, breaking the party up and running between them to cause as much disarray as possible in order to keep the Adventurers off balance. They were getting overru-Whoosh.

Midway through his evaluation, an arrow flew over Jake’s head. The arrow head slammed into the rocks behind him, the arrow breaking apart on impact. His eyes instantly looked up and he spotted a Goblin archer aiming at him. Beneath his enraged gaze, the Goblin froze. Jake’s eyes narrowed and his right arm snapped open and up. In a flash, a fire ball shot across the room and blew the Goblin’s skull into pieces.

“Fucker,” Jake snarled.

After announcing his presence, several of the Archers naturally took notice and turned to shoot at the new threat. In the quarrel below, the Goblin sitting on the throne craned its neck to look at the fresh guest, as did the Shamans who began screeching out orders to the others. The horde shifted, hungry eyes tilting to address the new, singular threat.

Additional arrows soared towards him, so Jake was forced to pick a direction. He moved right, circling around the room as he slung magic at the archers. The walls exploded with meat and stone as Jake dealt with them one at a time. As he moved, he used wind magic to knock their arrows out of the air, clearing the airspace of dangerous projectiles. He was forced to dodge one that came from directly in front of him. It was a close shot and nearly took his ear off. He returned the favor by shoving a knife into the Goblin’s eye. The hilt snapped as the blade broke off and he left the useless tool behind, resorting only to magic now that his hands were empty.

The Archers fell quickly, their numbers vanishing beneath the violent and precise artillery fire. Below, a few bystanders were caught beneath debris that fell on their heads. When Jake handled the last archer, he pulled his swords from his hips and twirled them as he scanned the battlefield below. The space was wide and high with little obstacles. He could let loose here.

“Arial!” A voice cried out. Jake’s attention snapped toward the other party. He watched as a woman was tackled to the floor by a fraction of the horde, her sword knocked away as the goblins overwhelmed her. They immediately set about trying to tear into her body and defile her.

“No! Please!” Another shout echoed out from the fray as one of the mages suffered a similar fate. The Goblins grabbed at her staff and yanked it from her hands, tossing it away and far out of reach. Weaponless, she was quickly jumped upon and the goblins began to pummel her face, claw her skin, and tear at her clothes.

Time was of the essence. Strategy here would have to be done on the fly.

Jake circled back, using his elevation to avoid the horde below. A number of Goblins were racing up a set of rocky steps ahead of him, racing up to his level. Knowing he’d be by them before they impeded his progress, he ignored them. They scrambled up onto the ledge and rushed in lines of two, weapons and claws swinging in anticipation.

Before they were even close, he jumped from the ledge. His hands squeezed the hilts of his swords and mana raged through their steel. The edges flared with color and danger. His Spell blade sizzled the air, hissing as the hot mana bubbled within the steel core. The runes etched into the weapon shimmered hungrily. His elven sword glowed a brilliant white as its edge became sharp enough to cut metal. A Goblin who had been rushing towards him squawked an alert. Those below looked up, just in time for Jake to slice one of them cleanly in half, split down the middle.

Taking in a long, controlled breath through his teeth, Jake put ice to the blazing heart in his chest. His blood eased, his mind cleared. His mana calmed. His wrists turned, the muscles in his arms flexing as his core tightened. The weapons in his fingers cut through the bodies of the Goblins, splitting them to pieces. Carving limbs from joints. Severing skulls from necks. A controlled rage. A beautiful dance of blood and violence as he swerved through their crumbling corpses. The feeble spears and sticks they used for weapons were nothing beneath the wrath of the Apostle. Like their bodies, Jake broke them, cutting the goblin weapons in half. Their daggers and knives were shattered. Axs snapped. Lives snatched away with a graceful glide of his swords.

The chaos went eerily quiet as Jake danced, the song of his warpath singing loudly as Goblins screamed in misery from his assault. In that haze, that euphoric state of calm and razor focus, Jake eliminated over a dozen Goblins. He cleared a space around the stolen mage, freeing her from the vile grip of her assailants.

“Alive?” He stood over the woman, his eyes staring down at her face for life.

Her large green eyes were wide open. Blood covered her face, a mix of splatter from the Goblins and her own injuries. Her robes were tattered and her body was lined with scratches and bite marks from where the Goblins had tried to clutch at her. But, her chest was heaving. Her body wasn’t broken. “Y-Yes!” She stared at him, surprised and dumbfounded at his appearance.

“Get up then.” Jake turned to the left and sliced another goblin through the midsection. He stepped forward and kicked the mage’s staff over for her to retrieve. “There’s fighting to do.” Jake twirled his swords and then stabbed the next goblin through the chest, slicing left to cut another across the face. Magic bubbled over his shoulders as he scattered a handful of fireballs into the horde, burning their skin and blowing the small creatures apart.

The mage scrambled to her feet, shaky but stable. She gripped onto her staff, clinging to it as her eyes swam across the horde. Jake saw the lack of effort on her part and the paralysis of fear in her expression. There was a dark spot in her groin area, fresh wetness. Her lack of awareness left her open to attack, and the Goblins pounced. Noticing them, she flinched and cowered behind her staff, squeezing her eyes closed.

“If you aren’t going to fight, then run and get out of the way.” Jake dispatched the creatures with magic, reducing the Goblins to nothing but screeching bodies on the floor. His flames coated their skin and they rolled around at her feet, crying and screaming until he put an end to their suffering and obnoxious noise. His swords cleanly sliced their throats. Blood splattered onto her once pristine robes. Robes that were now reduced to strips of fabric barely held together.

“S-Sorry…” The mage mumbled, watching Jake’s back as he turned away from her and began cutting into the horde once more.

Jake left her behind to deal with her mental handicap. He had other problems to worry about. Cutting and slashing, Jake carved a path to the party and utilized magic to blow apart a group of Goblins trying to drag away one of the other women. Their bodies scattered and Jake slashed apart the last of them. She was in the same mental state, terrified, but this one could fight. She was struggling even as Jake cut the goblins from her body.

“T-Thanks!” The girl breathed heavily as she scrambled to her feet. She immediately grabbed a knife from her boot and gripped it tight, determined not to lose her weapon again. Her hand shook fiercely as she tried to get her wits back. She also had a shield strapped to her arm still, one that she also clung to desperately.

“Stay with me,” Jake ordered. Seeing she was capable, he would be able to work with that. The woman nodded and followed behind him, her arms swinging as she sliced at any Goblins that got too close.

After a few swings, Jake cut a trio of goblins and found himself face to face with one of the armored adventurers. The other man heaved for air, gasping as sweat dripped off his face. The exhaustion of this man was evident. Beneath that helmet of his, he was barely keeping his sanity together.

“Get your party back against the wall.” Jake kicked to his right and then stomped onto a Goblin’s throat, crushing the airway. He looked at the Adventurer again, seeing nothing in the man’s eyes but confusion and paralysis. The same expression of being lost as the mage. “I said move to the wall!” Jake shouted, this time shoving the Adventurer backwards. “Now! Move!”

The Adventurer snapped to life as he stumbled, his arms flailing as he caught his balance. “To the wall! Everyone get back!” He shouted, repeating Jake’s order as he fumbled with his gear. The others listened to the yell and began to back off, stepping towards the rock wall with Jake’s help as the Goblins pressed in from all around. Jake stood firm and ushered the women in, shoving the scrambling mage passed him into the arms of one of the others.

Once they were all in one collected spot, Jake backed up and placed himself between the Adventurers and the Goblins. Having watched the new threat carve his way through their numbers, the Goblins hesitated to get involved with Jake. That moment of hesitation stopped the horde’s advances cold. Yet, they still worked to encircle the Adventurers, their eyes watching the new arrival in hopes of finding an opening. A gap in his defenses that would allow them another go at the quivering party behind him.

At his back, the Adventurers breathed heavily and looked around, uncertain of what to do. Cornered, tired, low on mana and stamina, their chances of getting out alive were close to none. The women were already quaking at the fear of what would happen to them shortly. Much like the Goblins, they looked at Jake’s stoic outline as they waited for what this stranger planned to do next.

Jake huffed and looked out across the room, surveying the number of Goblins still left to deal with. At least fifty to sixty were left. Even after his brawling to get to where he stood, he hadn’t killed as many as he’d hoped. The green mass hardly even looked cut into at first glance. However, the bodies at their feet and the blood splatters weren’t something to be ignored. The horde was getting thinned out. That was a fact. He would just need to get vicious if he wanted this to be quick. In front of him, there were no allies. It was a free fire zone.

He narrowed his eyes on the Goblin in the throne across from him. That large slob of a creature. Fat and vile. The ooze from its boils and the disgusting smile on its face made Jake’s stomach twist. Not with fear, but with disgust. In the momentary ceasefire, the creature dared to let out a deep throated cackle of laughter. One full of the assumption that this battle was finished.

How wrong he was.

“Fine. You first.” Jake scoffed and conjured a Stone Breaker over his shoulder. It formed in a blink, then cracked the air as it launched across the room. All eyes snapped to the sudden appearance of the magical object. The mages gasped and the warriors opened their jaws in awe. The Goblins simply stared, unknowing in the ways of magic.

At the other end, however, the Goblin in the throne didn’t even have time to react before the entire top half of its body was reduced to chunks. A loud, thunderous boom filled the room as the Stone Breaker smashed into the rock wall behind the throne, shattering the wall and cratering it. The Goblin leader died in an instant, the rest of its leftover body slumped over in the seat. The heft of its corpse melted into the chair and its arms fell limp at its sides. The elf girl in the Goblin’s lap flinched, jerking from the loud crack of noise over her head.

Time stopped. The room fell silent as the Goblin horde turned around to look at their dead leader. The Shamans blinked at the sides of the chair, their mouths hanging open as they bore witness to the full scene that just happened. A showing of magic their puny minds. The Adventurers at Jake’s back froze, their eyes taking in the sight of the instant death.

Before anyone could move, Jake collapsed the entrances to the side tunnels, closing them and sealing them shut. He then destroyed the stairs leading to the upper level, effectively trapping the horde in the room with him.

“Now then…” Jake’s nose lifted as his head tilted. He looked out at the myriad of expressions peering back at him. His mana bubbled to the surface of his skin, tingling and pouring into the air as he let his control slip just a bit. Igniting fire spears, Jake seethed. A hot breath slipped from his teeth as an arch of spears formed over his head and shoulders. They twisted and tilted, the tips orienting as he decided where to send them. The horde was a mess of green and filth. No matter where he looked, all he could see were creatures that needed erasing.

They weren’t Maedra, but they would die all the same.

“...Allow me to show how a real subjugation should be conducted.” Jake’s forearms flexed beneath his sleeves as he took a single step forward. The spears overhead triggered, launching into the horde.

The Goblins shrieked. The walls quaked. Metal met metal. The song of death radiated out into the tunnels leading to the surface as the horde was ruthlessly dismantled. With the threat of the creatures so low, Jake tossed tactics and strategy out of his mind. He focused entirely on killing them all as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Whether by sword or spell, he felled them all. His body vibrated and his spine tingled with elation as he moved through the sea of meat. Purging anything that moved and breathed. Blood coated his hands, his shirt, his pants. A thick layer of slick fat clung to his blades, forcing him to burn them clean with fire.

Some Goblins scrambled to the crumbled exits. They tried to dig their way out, their claws and nails scraping at the debris, but there was no escape. A violent end was inevitable. Something they were wholly deserving of. They deserved to suffer, to be purged in the most agonizing way possible. The horde collapsed on the single adventurer, their eyes flaring red with hate and rage as their desperation shifted from flight to their only remaining option- fight.

Rage from watching their kin be decimated bristled through their bodies, their minds twisting cruelly with visions of tearing this adventurer apart. If they could not escape him, then they would desecrate him! They’d tear his limbs apart, rip his flesh from his bones, and devour him!

And fight they did. For every inch, with every tool they had. Their nails and teeth. Their feeble axes and knives. Their shattered spears. Broken furniture. Rocks and stones. Bones from their fallen brothers. Anything the Goblins could wrap their fingers around, they snatched up and attacked Jake with malicious intent.

Yet they were not the only ones seeing red. Relishing in the chaos, Jake’s feet moved to the rhythm of his deathly song. His mind went numb, the sounds and thoughts in his head going silent. His breathing eased and a hollow chill flowed through his veins. The heat of his rage was terrifyingly cold, causing the hairs on his skin to raise. He stopped sweating. He stopped hesitating.

Instinct alone drove him forward. His eyes, wide and alert, visualized a path forward through the horde as his mana flow smited their pathetic souls. His fingers clung to his blades, holding their hilts firm and without fail. His ears listened for any brave souls who may try to jump at an opening. His mana pulsed and expanded to create a Sensory bubble around him, alerting Jake to the movement of his targets. He kept the bubble narrow, careful not to expend too much mana or overwhelm his mind with the noise.

His defense was not perfect and several of their strikes made it passed his twirling arms. The Goblins cut at his legs. Sliced at his back. They stabbed and thrust their spears at his arms and chest. Anything to get the monster in their midst to stumble or slow. A pathetic show of force, but one that caused Jake to eventually get bogged down in the middle of their numbers. Though he was quick. Though he was violent. Though he was strong and fierce- the green wave was massive, and they would overwhelm him too if he let them.

If he let them.

With a wide swipe, Jake eliminated two more, then kicked another in the face. He sliced a fourth, skewered a fifth. His boot knocked aside a sixth and then his sword decapitated it. Fire bristled from his teeth as he exhaled, the mana flowing off his tongue as he verbalized the ignition of the spell. Wind whirled around him as the dense flow spilled dangerously outwards.

“Ignarus!” The mana triggered, an orange spiral of rage and searing heat coiling around him. A hot wind spiraled outwards, guiding the flame in a tornado that filled the area where he danced. Dozens of Goblins found themselves trapped in the blaze, shrills of agony escaping their mouths only for the oxygen to be sucked from their lungs to feed the fire. Jake’s eyes reflected the light of the flame. In the middle of a turn, Jake met the eyes of one of the other adventurers.

The party leader, standing at the front of his group, watched in terrifying awe. Jake paused his dance, returning the gaze with a stoic expression of his own. He stared back at the eight of them. The goblins burning at his feet. For a brief moment, he wondered how he looked to them, but only for a moment.

Then, a goblin jumped at him, challenging the flames in a desperate lunge. Jake turned and shoved his blade through its stomach. It was persistent, however, and as it slid down his sword, the Goblin raised a knife. The creature stabbed Jake in the shoulder, burying the blade deep into the soft meat of his joint. Jake winced, locking his jaw before slicing his sword free and flinging the Goblin away from him. The blade came free as the Goblin failed to let go, allowing Jake’s recovery magic to properly work on the wound. He numbed it, sealed the opening shut to keep it from bleeding out, then rolled the joint to check the mobility. A minor injury. He’d live. His leather armor had protected him from a critical injury.

Only a few dozen Goblins remained. Unfinished with his work, Jake charged to meet them. They screamed and threw rocks before mounting their final stand against him. He hacked, slashed, and blasted them apart. Spell after spell. Swing after swing. Grinding their numbers down with a myriad of techniques at his disposal. From the simplest method of a sword through the heart, to a Stone Breaker through their face. His mana flourished beneath the surface, resonating with the natural rana leaking from the Overworld’s core. It energized him, fueled his spells, and exacerbated his courage.

In time, only two goblins remained. The Shamans, or the Goblin Mages. Their large staves, painted faces, and ornate bone masks awaited his presence beside the throne. They had largely remained in place, shouting and trying to direct the horde only for their orders to be ignored, drowned out by the explosions, or countered. Now, they stood silent. Trembling. Paralyzed. Uncertain of what to do.

Nowhere to run. No underlings to order. No king or leader above them to guide them. No spells that could hurt the Adventurer in front of them.

A dead end. The true scourge had come.

Jake burned the blood and fat off his spell blade, cleansing it of goblin filth before sheathing the weapon with a satisfying click. Brandishing the elven mithril in his left hand, he stepped towards the throne. He kicked aside one of the corpses that had fallen on the stairs and marched up the three short steps to the throne platform. The Goblins snarled and one thought it wise to begin an incantation. It wasn’t even close to finishing when Jake stabbed the creature in the throat.

The Shaman gargled, blood filling its mouth and throat. It grabbed the blade in its neck, clinging to it desperately as it tried to pull the weapon free. Rather than yank straight back, though, Jake twisted his wrist and sliced outwards. Doing so cut open the Goblin’s neck, severing an artery that would cause the creature to bleed out in mere seconds.

As for the final Shaman, Jake turned to face it and ended the massacre with a simple motion. He thrust the tip of his blade between the Shaman’s eyes, splitting its skull and piercing its brain. The creature collapsed in a heap.

The fighting ceased and Jake lowered his weapon.

Silence returned to the den and Jake let out another breath. One that was once more calm and collected, but forced. He eased his breathing and coerced his body to come down from the dangerous high it was on. His fingers tingled with adrenaline and his heart thumped in his chest. His body was scalding and his muscles burned from the exertion he now felt. With a brief burst of flame, Jake purified his elven blade and then sheathed it.

The other Adventurers, seeing the fighting finished, inched away from their small mound and began to spread out into the room. They poked at the goblins, stepping over the scattered bodies as they slowly made their way towards the throne. They mumbled and whispered to each other, exchanging looks as they examined the atrocity that had been committed in front of them. They had fought Goblins before. They had seen what the monsters could do to people and they had also seen what people could do to Goblins. This was not their first subjugation of the creatures…

…but, this wasn’t a subjugation. This was an extermination. They had never witnessed such a one-sided fight, let alone such a brutal display of violence. Even they had their limits. Kill the enemy, quick and clean. Jake had done something here that no other normal person would ever think of. It was almost monstrous in its own right.

“Who the hell are you…?” The knight at the front of the party stopped at the base of the throne’s few steps. Trembling as if frightened to get any closer to the being that had just saved him. He took off his dented helm and stared at Jake’s back, his eyes twitching out of both fear and curiosity.

Jake ignored him, his attention on the woman that had been in the Goblin’s lap. She was still breathing, her body wasn’t too broken other than the injured leg and she would clearly survive. What could not be fixed with healing magic, however, was the lack of life to her eyes. She was distant, defeated and broken in the mind from what had been done to her. But, she was alive, and he would help her.

Pulling his cloak from his shoulders, Jake wrapped the elven woman in the tattered cloth and pulled her gently into his arms. Lifting her up, Jake rose to his feet and turned to face the other adventurers. They met his gaze, a few of them grimacing.

…He wondered what they saw when they looked at him.

“An adventurer,” he answered. Stepping down from the throne. He extended the elven woman to the other man, depositing her into his grip. There was a visible pause before he let go. Assurance that he had her before Jake gave her away. “I’ve given her a bit of treatment for her injuries. She has a broken leg, a few cracked ribs, and some internal bruising, but she’ll live. She’s not carrying either so she’s safe to take to the surface.”

“Carrying…?” One of the others asked, a male, looking at his compatriot. The women frowned.

“What about you?” The knight took the woman from Jake, his eyes following as Jake stepped towards one of the collapsed tunnels.

Jake pulled his knives from his back and used magic to clear the debris, exposing the tunnel beyond. “Finishing the job.”

Without another word to the party, Jake stepped into the darkness. He vanished from their view, from the reach of the looming torches, and began his search of the tunnel for the other creatures lurking within. That room was one of many he would find. Every tunnel led to another. An interconnected web of an underground infestation of the Goblins. Though he did not come across another large mass of Goblins, he came across groups of three or four sporadically. At most he fought a squad of nine.

After clearing two more tunnels and their tributaries, Jake finally found the room he was searching for. Guarded by a group of five Goblins that were promptly dispatched, Jake stepped into the captive room. A room that was lit by five torches and depicted a true fate worse than death. A place of living torture.

Dozens of women were chained to the walls, dangling from the ceiling or shackled to the floor with makeshift restraints. Women of various race, color, shape and size. Some still had their adventurer tags around their necks. Others were naked, stripped of every possession. With just a cursory look, Jake could see that not a single woman in front of him would leave this place without a scar. Both physically, and mentally.

Their bodies were covered in wounds, some simple and some that would take extra attention. Some had broken bones, compound fractures that caused their limbs to bend in ugly ways. Others were mutilated beyond recognition, their faces scared, bodies clawed into and chewed on. Their womanhoods pillaged, ruined from the Goblin’s ruthless nature. A few unfortunate ones were carrying, as Jake detected additional life in their wombs. They were set aside, as if purposefully placed closer to the wooden door at the back of the room in preparation of the terminal expulsion of fresh members of the horde.

Along the right side, near the exit of the tunnel rotting corpses were piled up. Bodies waiting to be transported out of the nest and disposed of, or eaten. Women whose bodies were far too broken and those who died from the handiwork of the Goblins.

Swallowing the bile that bubbled in the back of his throat, Jake buried his emotions and set to work helping where he could. He conjured his mana, bringing it to his fingers, and began moving through the women. Captives no longer, they were now his patients. A few whimpered to him, pleading for him to put them out of their misery, yet he would not repeat that choice. The burden of life on his hands was already too great. These women could live. They had the strength to do so and Jake believed in their wills to survive. They had made it this far, and he would ensure they had another chance beyond this nest.

“That is a choice for you to make.” He mentioned to one of the women, loud enough for the others to hear. His hands worked their miracles, repairing lacerations, repairing burns, closing cuts and restoring bitten flesh. Some women screamed in agony as he reset bones, but he did his best to numb their pain. “Breathe,” he muttered to them, working hard to keep them from fainting on him. So long as they were breathing, he could help them.

He would not abandon them to their fates, not like the others had. He could see it in some of their eyes, the way they looked at him. Hope returned to a few, while others remained empty. Silent and broken. Husks that had wounds that no healing magic could ever fix. Only time would heal those, if it ever would.

Aside from the obvious injuries, most of the women were in terrible health. Their bodies were sunked, deteriorated, and frail. An elf, her body already thin in nature, was a mere skeleton before him. Yet she clung to the life he fed her, staring up at him with her grey blue eyes. A plea to not abandon her within the nest. These women could not walk on their own, they would need help. Most suffered from skin discoloration, hair that was falling out, gaunt eye sockets and cheeks. Stretched stomachs and permanently damaged womanhoods and anuses. Women who had been desecrated by the Goblins who would never be able to give birth to their own, natural children again.

He wondered how much help he could give these women. How much hope he could give them, if any. It made him push his recovery magic to its limit as he searched for every possible form of clerical work available to him. He repaired organs, tended to their very insides, and let his mana delve into their very cores in search of restoring what had been stolen from them. Anything to give them back what they’d lost.

In the midst of his work, one of them looked up at him, her eyes entirely empty of any light. Jake’s jaw locked as he met her vacant gaze and his throat clammed shut. He was cradling her in his arms, supporting her upper body with his right arm while his left hovered over her belly. Her eyes rolled unnaturally in her head, then they suddenly focused on his face. Her lips quivered, but nothing came out.

Staring into that pained, vacant gaze, he felt compelled to do something. To say something. He said he would not promise anything, but there was one thing he could promise.

“Let’s get you home,” he mumbled to her, whispering it softly but just loud enough for her to hear.

At first, she showed no signs of understanding. There was no twitch to her body, no sign of recognition. No response. Then, her head bobbed. A subtle, forced motion that seemed to take an incredible amount of strength. Her eyes then rolled away, staring off into the distance of the cave.

Determination burned in his core and Jake felt his eyes close. He gripped onto her, his fingers lightly pressing into her bony shoulder. His body shook as the mix of emotions rolled through him. Emotions he didn’t know how to register and understand, so many at once that he felt overwhelmed. Was this rage? Was this hatred for the Goblins? Was it sorrow for these women? Pain? Or was it all of them at once? A toxic cauldron of sensations that were burning his very soul. It both numbed him and burned him at the same time.

Then, he felt a hand on his. A gentle touch. Soft, warm. A grounding caress that brought him back. He opened his eyes and saw the woman in his arms, her hand resting atop his on her belly. Her eyes were still distant, looking off into the cave.

“Tha…nk… yo… u…”

Ah. Fuck.

He took in a slow breath and collected himself, settling the storm and focusing himself. He gave her hand a soft squeeze before resting it down on her belly. “Rest,” he said, coaxing her to no longer speak. He then lay her down, softly, and rose to his feet. Taking a look around, Jake recognized a small problem he would now have to face. So many bodies, but he only had two arms.

“For those that can stand and have the strength to do so, help the others. If you can’t, then wait here.” Jake paused and looked down at the woman laying in front of him. “I’ll come back for you, but you have to be patient.”

Some of the girls heard that and looked at him, fear in their eyes at the thought of being left behind. Meeting those eyes was difficult, but he had no choice. He could only carry one or two at a time.

“We’ll help.” One of the women suddenly spoke up from behind him. A woman with light brown hair, large round ears, and a chopped tail sprouting from her lower back. She was a race Jake had not seen before. She was taller than him, her body thicker that the others, having retained much of its strength. Yet she was not spared from the Goblin’s brutality. Her body bore many scars, her fingernails had been ripped out, and she was missing a canine from her upper row of teeth. “Come on girls. Help each other. We’re getting out of here.”.

At the call and show of resilience from the beast woman, some strength returned to the other women. Following her lead, those with enough grit and strength in their bodies reached into their hearts and pulled out a little extra. Just enough to help their sisters. Jake himself was left empty handed, without a damsel to assist as the girls clung to one another. Supporting each other in their own way as they whispered words of support. He waited, patiently until they were ready. When they were all standing, Jake walked to the back of the room.

A wooden door was conveniently placed against the wall and behind it, dozens of goblin children cowered in the dark. The women watched as Jake held out a hand and set fire to that hole, burning the very children they had all been forced to mother into the world. And not a single one raised a voice in contention as those bastard children screamed. Jake waited until the hole was swallowed in flame before sealing it. He wouldn’t waste time with their ears.

Satisfied, Jake turned away and verified that every living body was mobile. “Follow me.” Jake led them out, igniting a few Light balls to illuminate the tunnel for the women. As they walked, Jake took the ears from every Goblin he passed, filling his pouch with their marks. The women, though hasty to return to the surface, were mostly all adventurers. They remained quiet as they watched him work, not interrupting him as he collected his eventual payment for risking his life for them.

After a short while of walking in the dim light, the women grew uneasy. The beast woman noticed the tense air and their wandering gazes, so he took the opportunity to speak up for them. “Are there none left? The Goblins, I mean.” She asked. She walked directly behind Jake, assuming the role of the beacon of strength for the others behind her. She even forced herself to walk with her head as high as she could get it. Though, her legs ached and she felt like vomiting.

“No. I hunted them all. I found your group last. This was the last tunnel I had to clear.” Jake kicked one of the bodies after he finished cutting the ear off it. “This nest is empty.”

“I?” She echoed. “There’s no one else? Where are the others in your party?”

A few moments later, they stepped out into the main hall, where Jake’s brawl with the horde had occurred. The bodies were scattered in heaps, their numbers extensive and terrifying. Indeed, the other adventurers had left. They had taken a number of the ears with them but left the majority behind for Jake. They had been here first and killed some themselves. They also had their own expenses to cover so he wouldn’t throw a fit over a dozen less ears. There was plenty to go around.

“I came alone,” Jake declared without hesitation. “There was another party fighting in the room when I got here, but they weren’t prepared. They were surrounded and were about to be killed. If I hadn’t intervened, their women would have likely joined you all..” Jake stepped into the room and twirled his knife, starting the grueling task of harvesting the ears from the mountain of corpses in front of him. “They took another woman to the surface earlier. An elf. They should be waiting outside. Or they went back, I’m not sure. I didn’t give them instructions.”

Jake paused after removing a set of ears to turn and address the women. “Head to the surface. Follow the far right tunnel, as I closed the rest. If the party has already left, wait for me. It’s probably late so we’ll need to make camp and I’ll escort you to the village in the morning.”

The women filed into the room, all trying to get eyes on the sight before them. They looked around at the carnage as Jake casually returned to sorting through it. A few looked towards the massive corpse of the goblin leader. Well, half of a corpse. Others seemed uncertain where to look.

“They’re all… dead.” One of them mumbled.

“All of them.” Another whispered.

Then, one collapsed to her knees. The girls all jerked in her direction and Jake stood up to look as well. Her eyes welled with water and sobs fell from her lips. Unable to hold in her emotion, she cried, her dry throat cracking as she struggled to process the scene before her.

In a way, this sight was redemption for them. Revenge they could not exert on their own but an outcome that they had all been hoping for. This was a sign of their freedom, a sign that they wouldn’t die in this hole. It put truth to the words that they would be going home, that they could leave and be free from the Goblins. For some, they remained emotionless, their eyes simply acknowledging that this part of their lives was over, but that hell for them was only waiting just out of reach.

After a short while, some of the women began their ascent, following a stairway that the other Adventurers had created in order to escape the room. Jake remained behind, continuing his work of sorting through the bodies. A few chose to stay behind with him.

“Do you want help?” The beast woman spoke up from behind him as he knelt down beside a trio of bodies. She set down the woman in her arms against the wall, offering her hands to help.

He paused and looked at her, and noticed three others who had also stayed behind with ready hands. Part of him wanted to shoo them away, to order them to return to the surface where they could get some rest and enjoy the fresh air, but something tugged on his tongue, keeping him from dismissing them so readily. Maybe this would be a form of therapy for them. A way for them to come to terms with the change in their lives once more.

“Yea… I could use some.” Jake pulled his second knife off his lower back and stood up. He extended the knife to the woman, holding it out for her to take. He then offered the one he had been using to another girl. The third, unfortunately, Jake had to find a goblin knife for her to use. “Sorry. Only have two.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind.” A light smile crossed her face as she pulled the goblin weapon from him.

As the women started sorting through the corpses, slicing the meaty ears from their bodies, Jake felt something twist in his chest. Words bubbled in his throat, only to silently disperse without ever being spoken. A mess of apologies and fractured emotions of comfort that he forced himself not to share. They didn’t need his empty words. Not now.

Before he said anything stupid, Jake picked up another knife and returned to his task. They all worked in silence. The only noise being the sound of metal carving flesh.