Life in a new Kingdom

Our steps covered by the goblins' chanting, we quickly dashed to the side and entered what was a long, crudely built chamber. A long hall of torches was placed along the walls where each cell lined up.

"Would they have their prisoners so close to the center of the nest?" I question.

"These tunnels are probably connected to many other tribes, either from naturally formed structures or because they dug them out themselves. The latter seems less likely, considering how sophisticated these pathways become. We might have an exit through here; if it leads to one of the other tribes, we could escape in the ensuing chaos, especially if we can cover the entrance here as we leave."

"It sounds solid enough. I hope you have something in mind."

"Don't worry, I can handle that."

Proceeding down the path, we check each cell, looking for the survivors or anyone for that matter. Each cell was either empty with dried blood staining the ground, or they had rotting corpses that were just left there without a second thought.

"Do you see anyone?" I ask, hoping we can find anyone.

"Just death. The smell is hard to ignore." She covered her nose while observing each cell that is passed.

"Who's there?" A weak but female voice calls out from a cell further down. Wasting no time to run to the person, we uncover one of the surviving party members.

"Hey, don't be afraid," I call out.

"C-Caleb? Is that you?" She reaches out and grabs the bars. Her face is bruised and bleeding. It is her, Eriie, one of the elves in the Scarlet Hunters party.

"Yes, it is, we have come to get you out of here Eriie. Is there anyone else with you? What happened to Uzel, anyone." I gently hold her hand to comfort her. Nana nods to my stare as she begins to work on the door.

"Uzel was taken when their leader defeated him. He didn't stand a chance against his magic. I tried to fight back, but they weren't gentle." She gently rubs her wounds, clearly from a club or fist that took her down. "Yorn stood by with us, but I don't know if he was captured; he could be dead for all I know. He might be in one of these cells as well as Uzel."

"What of your sister, Syphine? Was she with you?" Nana speaks as she forces the lock on the door to break. It swings open, and Eriie slowly approaches us.

"T-They took her; the big one grabbed her and dragged her off. Her screams...God... I need to find her! I have to save her!" Nana grabs her arm before she takes off. She struggles and cries out, quickly being shushed by Nana.

"Was it the Hobgoblin that took her?" Nana asks.

"I-It was a big ugly one; he smelled horrible, and he was bigger than their leader."

"It must be an ogre or a subspecies. Either way, it spells a lot of trouble besides their leader," I comment.

"Caleb, what do we do? I don't know what they want to do with us but...their leader was very excited to see me and my sister... Almost like he was beyond thrilled. Please tell me my sister will be okay!"

"I'm sorry, but she is going to be used in a ritual. We need to save her at all costs."

"Or we can make sure they can't use her for it."

"W-What are you suggesting, Nana? Aren't you the Guild Master? You are supposed to watch out for them!" I shout.

"Do you remember how many there are? Even if we recover her, we have a whole army. I can probably hold them off but if that ogre or their leader joins the fight, there is no telling where it would go. At the very least, we could prevent her from going through the worst fate imaginable."

"That's my sister!" Eriie lashes out.

"Tsk, and I have to make sure the village is safe first!" Nana shouts and grips her hard. "I want to save her, I really do, but we need to focus on getting out alive."

"B-But...she... I can't..." Tears fill her eyes; Nana gently wraps her arms around her. I clench my fists, until a soft groan is heard a ways down.

"U-ugh..!" It is a familiar voice.

"Uzel?" Eriie softly speaks.

"C-Can someone help me here... I can't...see...a thing."

"Hold on, let me come to you," I say while jogging to the cell. Upon reaching the cell, a strike of horror fills me. My hand shakes before I grip it to make it stop. A painful feeling swirls in my stomach that makes me nauseous. I let out a loud gasp before backing away a few steps.

"W-What is it..? Can you see me? I can't tell where I am; it's dark..." Uzel, stumbling forward into the light, revealing even in more detail the extent of his condition. The horrific image of the beast man seared into my mind as the bleeding gaping holes where his eyes used to be inks a deep crimson. They were ripped out viciously. One of his ears was heavily damaged, along with a broken nose. The goblins had used him as a toy and nearly killed him. Nana and Eriie approach, and I quickly raise my hand to stop them.

"D-don't look, you guys." My voice was raspy and squeaking.

"D-Do I look alright..? C-Caleb, what happened to me..! T-tell me!" Finding the bars in his blindness, he grips them and rattles them; feeling at his face, he recoils from the pain and discovers his missing eyes... "T-There gone.....! Oh...God! My eyes! Ahhh! MY EYES!!" Panic fills his heart and mind. He thrashes around until falling to the ground. Unable to let it continue, Nana storms up and kicks down the door, unconcerned by the noise. I prevent Eriie from seeing it.

"Caleb..." Nana asks with a plain tone.

"Yes?"

"I want to kill them. But I know we will die. If you have a plan, I am all ears. If you need to think one up, do so while helping him. I'm going to take Eriie and find her gear if it's here." Simply walking out of the cell, she grabs Eriie, who nods and walks with her. This is both a test for me and Nana herself. I swallow my fear and approach the sobbing man; his tears are replaced with blood, and he helplessly cries out.

"I'm here, Uzel. Don't worry; we are going to get you out of here. But first, I need you to calm down so I can stop any further bleeding." Gently holding his head, I pull out some bandages left in my supplies and wrap them around his wound. Blood seeps through the bandages, but it does the job. Uzel frantically shakes and tries to stay still. "Does that feel alright?"

"I-It's...fine." Barely any strength left within him, Uzel slumps his head.

"I am sorry. I did not expect such a powerful force to be here. I allowed you all to go out, and now this has happened." I gently pat his shoulder before fighting back my guilt.

"I tried to...turn back when we saw the goblins. Something was wrong...and I continued anyways."

"Don't say that. You couldn't have known."

"Neither did you... But I made the choice... I let everyone down..!"

"Uzel..."

"You shouldn't waste time on me... Let me die..."

"I swore to everyone in the village and Hinnia that I will bring you guys back alive if I can!"

"Hinnia...? S-She's alright?"

"Nana found her and saved her. She's safe and sound at Saiana."

"Thank God... I stayed with everyone to make sure she could escape... I am glad she did. She didn't want me to leave her alone, but I had to go back for everyone... I drew what attention I could before this...happened."

"You did good; You saved one."

"I knew Hinnia for a long while... She is so beautiful... I don't know why I asked her to join me in being a party... I just thought... It would be fun..." His voice grows softer, his strength fading with each breath. "Now... I won't be able to see her anymore... I can't see her... I cannot see how she looks at me... Her smile... Just gone...!" His hands grip on my shoulders.

"If you want to meet her again, you better not die here. Not in this place. You can still touch her and hear her voice. You just need to survive." My hands grip onto his shoulders as I shake him. "You want to go back to her, don't you?!"

"I-I do..!"

"Then you need to hang on! Because I am getting you three out of here today! I have a plan, and Nana can help secure us an escape from the horde. But you need to have the strength to fight and live!"

"C-Can you really get us out of here?"

"Damn right! I am not the lord of Saiana for nothing! Come on! I'll make sure you can get back to Hinnia; I am sure she would want you back regardless of how you are now." Pulling him to his feet, Uzel finds the strength within to stand on his own with my support.

"Y-You're right...I need to get back to her."

"That's the spirit. Now come on, I am going to save Syphine and I need you able to move. You beast man can rely on your other senses to navigate."

"My smell is gone-"

"Use your ears, hand, anything else. Anything that you are gifted with to see. I don't care how you do it; just you need to figure it out now!"

Carrying him down to find a fully dressed and geared Eriie and a focused Nana waiting for us. I let Eriie hold onto him while I approach Nana.

"Are you okay, Eriie?" Uzel speaks to her.

"I-I am alright. I'm more worried about you..."

"Don't mind me; I just need to adjust as best as I can..."

Nana takes my shoulder and drags me forward to watch as the goblins have begun something. We both watch as the ritual is nearing its final stages.

"It's about to start; we are running out of time." She says, grinding her teeth.

"At least this falls under my plans."

"Do you?"

"I do. It's not going to be easy, but I think we can pull it off with blind luck."

"That gives me a lot of confidence."

"Well, either way, we won't reach the chamber where she is being held without being spotted, so we need to grab her when they are carrying her to the center. Then you break some of the pillars that are in this place and collapse rocks on top of them. With the confusion and panic, I will rush in and grab her."

"That is asking a lot. Won't they realize you before you reach her?"

"Then I guess I got to be faster than them. Don't worry; I know you won't fail."

"All riding on you to grab her before it's too late?"

"Exactly. Do you think you can help me with this?"

"If you told me if we were going to die no matter what, I wouldn't consider it, but I can see in your eyes, you are sick of this shit. Me too, time to crush these bastards."

"Good; we should tell Uzel and Eriie about the plan and how we will escape."

"After you."

Turning back, we discuss and explain the plan with them. Putting their faith into this plan was all I could ask for. Nana nods to me as she sets off and retraces our steps to reach one of the pillars. I pray that she can take down three before having to retreat to our escape. So, we wait for a moment until a loud bell chimes int he distances. A roar of the goblins announces the presence of their leader, the Hobgoblin. Stepping out, he is tall. Taller than Nana, as he walks with confidence, his pinkish-red skin shines under the torch light. Wearing dark armor and wielding a staff in his hand, he commands the goblins behind him to carry the unconscious Syphine...