I stood frozen in shock as the sight of the bound and gagged women met our eyes.
Human. Definitely humans. They were the same as us.
For a second, a wave of relief washed over me.
We hadn't lost it; this wasn't Earth but it had the same type of people. The thought that we were alone had been slowly eating away at the back of my head. The idea of being completely isolated, of never again encountering other people like ourselves had been haunting me. Even if this was a different world altogether, seeing these people was a reassurance.
The relief, however, was soon swept away as the full situation registered in my mind. The women were in distress, their clothing tattered, and bruises and cuts marked their bodies.
The condition in which these women had been kept in was pitiful, bordering on criminal—then again, this wasn't the place to debate on what was or wasn't against the law. For a brief second, I was glad to see they didn't have any visible bite or stab wounds. Just what the goblins intended to do with them, I did not want to imagine, nor did I want to stick around long enough to find out.
"This is fucked up..." Oliver recoiled in disgust and anger. She, more than anyone else, knew what would've likely happened to those women had the goblins gotten a hold of them for long enough. "So fucked up."
"We should help them, yeah?" Jeremy whispered.
"Do we have another choice? If we let these fuckers get their hands on these girls, they're gonna wish we just killed them." Oliver spat, fury building in her words. Theo looked away.
I tightened my hold on my sword as I swept inside, as silent as the eye of a storm. I scanned the rest of the small space. Empty.
Good. We didn't have to worry about being interrupted, then.
We approached the girls. The light, that had momentarily poured inside during our entrance, had one of the captives briefly squint her eyes.
The moment one of them caught a glimpse of us, the panic in her eyes intensified and she shook the others to alert them.
As I carefully approached one of the bound girls, a blonde-haired woman whose features were partially hidden under layers of grime and dirt, I could feel her eyes widening in fear as her head snapped up at my movement.
Her face contorted with disgust, as though my mere proximity repulsed her.
She recoiled away as best as she could. A sharp inhale followed. She didn't speak, instead, her frantic breathing through her nose was enough to indicate that she was afraid of us.
"We're not goblins." I said in a hushed, soft tone. "I'm not going to do anything bad. Let me take that gag off." I reached to pull out the dirty gag that had been wedged uncomfortably into her mouth and stuffed with a rag that had been soaked. Probably a mix of mud and piss from what the rest of the place looked like.
She cringed as the taste hit her.
She gagged, her breath now hitching, as she fought to hold in an imminent retch.
Her eyes locked on to mine and her expression twisted with a mixture of anger, disbelief, and a sliver of something else—perhaps recognition?
"Where did you come from? You—" She swallowed thickly, her throat dry, but her plea earnest. "Please help us. Please, please... I've seen what they want to do to us and it's horrible." The desperation in her voice rang clear.
Her voice, despite being raw from being parched, held an almost refined quality, a contrast to her haggard and bedraggled state.
Jeremy and Theo were busy helping ungag the other two women. "It's okay." Theo spoke in that soft tone of hers. The girl was staring at her as though seeing some sort of deity that had descended. Considering the circumstances, perhaps to them, we really were something like heroes.
One of them even started to cry. Jeremy and I shared a look. With a mutual nod of agreement, we quickly untied the captives from the wooden pole where they'd been tied up to. We worked fast, yet methodical.
As the bonds around her hands and legs came loose, the blonde-haired woman winced. Angry, red welts marred her pale wrists, a stark contrast against her tattered clothing.
I could only imagine those green fiends clawing at these women's clothes with enough ferocity and breeding instinct to leave their bodies bruised and their dignity nearly completely stripped. The woman staggered to her feet, holding her arms across her breasts to hold them in place; the fabric of her dress strained and barely intact.
She trembled slightly, her voice thin and shaking as if she was about to crack under the pressure.
"Thank you…" She whispered. "Thank you…"
I opened my mouth to say something reassuring, maybe even meaningful, but my brain was a jumbled mess of rage, pity, confusion, and the overwhelming need to get the hell out of this goblin hellhole.
Then her scent hit me, and I had to hold my breath.
Her smell was so strong that it made my nostrils flare up and my stomach twist in ways that made me feel physically ill. She wasn't even close to smelling like how the goblin's stench did but, she just smelled awful. Unwashed skin, stale sweat and urine and other bodily odours clung to her like a thick, sickly sweet cloud that seemed to seep from every pore.
She must've been there for a while.
At least longer than we'd been here.
The other two women, with Oliver and Theo's help, managed to shuffle over towards us.
One was a dark-haired, athletic woman with tanned complexion. The other one was a bit shorter than her companion. She had short, curly brown hair and a soft round face.
All of their expressions were of absolute exhaustion. It didn't look like they'd eaten in days, maybe more, and the fear that was now slowly ebbing out of them was replaced with a daze.
"Let's get you guys out of here, quick." Theo spoke up. She was doing her best to mask her own distress from seeing the other girls in that condition.
We gathered the three rescued individuals, trying not to crowd around them. Their eyes were still wide, darting from each of us with uncertainty.
Oliver, in an uncharacteristic show of kindness, draped her jacket over one of the ladies—the tall and tanned brunette. She nodded her gratitude.
I opened my mouth to begin a round of questions, but this was neither the place nor the time. The priority now was to secure their safety and get the fuck out of there, fast. It would've been nice if we could've killed all the goblins first but there were still many around. It would be too much of a risk.
With a final tug of my weapon, we hurried back towards the entrance. My ears prickled with a nagging sensation that danger could be approaching.
The five of us quickly, cautiously exited, with our rescued prisoners trailing close behind. They were in such a degrading physical state that Oliver and Theo had to constantly assist them to keep up the pace.
It was hard to tell if these women were just normal villagers, but it didn't look like it. There was no actual basis for my assumption except for the fact that, malnourishment aside, their figures still had some athleticism to it.
Lean muscle. Old scars. Callouses.
As we sneaked around, I hoped the sound of our movements would be masked by the normal night time sounds—crickets chirping, frogs croaking, and an occasional howl in the distance from a creature we hadn't yet encountered.
Thankfully, nothing moved around in response to us.
The tension among the six of us was palpable as we navigated our way through the shadows.
I could feel their fear and anxiety as I glanced back to see them following closely.
The tension was shattered as Jeremy's bow twanged, launching an arrow directly at a goblin's throat that had emerged out of its tent, making a pained gargle sound that threatened to give us away before collapsing.
We collectively held our breath, waiting.
Nothing came for us. We didn't have a collective sigh of relief.
"We're good to move." Jeremy announced in a low voice as we picked up the pace.
With deliberate, quiet steps, we slipped between crooked tents and makeshift huts, doing our best not to disturb the slumbering filth around us.
The moonlight kissed the edge of the clearing ahead. Our exit was right there, just beyond a patch of overgrown weeds and two very unconscious goblin guards.
Or so we thought.
We were this close—freedom practically brushing our fingertips—when—
Shrieeeeeeeeeek!
A piercing screech shattered the night like glass under a sledgehammer.
The two guards, previously slumped like drunks, had apparently decided now was a great time to wake the hell up. We'd forgotten about them entirely. Just two ugly little bastards, snoring like pigs in a compost heap.
And now? Very much awake. Very much aware.
"Shit." I winced. We should've slit their throats when we had the chance. That was so careless of us.
They let out a second screech, this one more furious and bloodthirsty than the last—guttural, high-pitched, and absolutely revolting. Like nails dragged across rusted metal. Not for long, as Jeremy furiously nocked one arrow after the other and shot them down, right in the mouth.
Their screeching, though, did the one thing we absolutely didn't want. It roused their fucking buddies. The entire camp erupted like a kicked beehive. While the numbers had been culled during our nocturne stunt, there were still a dozen or so green pests to worry about. More than we could have taken in the heat of the moment, while also trying to guard the girls.
As for the girls we'd rescued, they jolted in terror, flinching at the noise.
"H-He's here..."
One of them spoke up, and by addressing one of the goblins as 'him', a male, no less, that was enough to let me know the big boy was here. We could've made a run for it, but the rescued trio wouldn't have been able to catch up to us. Worse, they would have slowed us down.
As if on cue, the big one made his entrance.
He burst from his own hut like a wrecking ball. It didn't have ears, which was a reminder from our brief spying earlier. His greatsword was clutched tightly in his claw. His eyes, wild and crimson, landed squarely on me. Guess I was his target.
Fine.
I exhaled slowly, tightening my grip on the sword.
"Well..." I muttered, my lips twitching into a grim smile. "Looks like we're getting that combat training we never asked for… but hey, at least it's hands-on."
Jeremy let out a short, breathless laugh—half disbelief, half adrenaline. "What is this? You cracking jokes at the sight of certain death now?"
"Coping mechanism." I shot back. "Some people cry. I get sarcastic and decapitate goblins."
"I would prefer crying, but we don't always have the choices we'd like, do we?" Theo quipped, her smile shaky but determined.
"You too, Theo?!" Jeremy gasped, glancing over with mock betrayal as she loosened another arrow.
A pained shriek followed. Bullseye.
Theo shrugged, blade in hand, eyes flicking to the lumbering giant stomping toward us like we'd personally insulted his mother. "Hey, if we're gonna die horribly, I might as well get a few one-liners in before the credits roll."
"Great. We're all developing coping mechanisms." Oliver muttered, yanking one of the rescued girls behind a crate for cover. "I can't wait for the PTSD bingo night."
"Let's try to avoid the dying part. Can't have a drink together later." I commented.
"Or, y'know, play our videogame again." Oliver rolled her shoulders.
"Alright, alright. Everyone's on the same shitty page, we get it." Jeremy jumped back from an incoming arrow and notched an arrow, returning the favour and hitting her mark in return. "Seb, I'd say it's time to show off that fancy sword you've been toting around."
I looked at the looming figure and his gang of green freaks, all running towards us. I didn't need a fucking excuse. "I'll see how good it can cut, then." I gripped the weapon tighter. "Just keep the small ones from interfering. I still have performance issues from time to time."
We all chortled.
…
Meanwhile, crouched behind the crate, the rescued captives exchanged glances—bewildered, wide-eyed, and visibly struggling to process what the actual hell they were witnessing.
"…Are they always like this?" The blonde asked in a hushed voice, inching closer to the others for safety.
The youngest, still trembling but managing to speak, blinked slowly. "I think... this... is their normal?"
"I... don't want to go near them anymore." The other replied.
"..."