Eliron remembered vividly that there were seven girls said to have been reported missing, and yet, only six girls were before him.
When he saw their reaction to his question, his heart only grew colder.
"S-she was taken yestarday." One girl stuttered, tears forming in her eyes.
'So she was taken first…'
Eliron briefly left the building to give Yennefer the signal that he had found them.
'Are they still alive? Or has she already been eaten?' He thought as he returned to lead the girl out.
From his earlier discovery, the goblins were not exactly short on food, but that didn't mean she was safe.
"We'll have to look for her, but first, we need to take these six back to the cave…'
Yennefer softly landed on the ground next to him and checked the girls, concerned about if they had been injured in any way.
Using her magic, she healed every bruise that had gotten from the rough journey here, and the marks they had gotten from what must have been beatings.
Just as she was finishing, Ash and Artie arrived as well.
Ash's face was filled with relief when he saw them. But the moment the girls saw Artie, their eyes widened and they ran towards her.
"Lady Artie…"
"I thought I was going to die."
"Thank you for coming for us lady Artie."
They collectively sobbed.
"Don't worry, you're safe now." Artie said with a friendly smile on her face as she patted their heads, gently reassuring them.
Eliron stared at them from the side. 'Artie's influence is just as strong as ever…'
Although seeing him filled them with so much joy, it was still nothing compared to the genuine admiration they had for Artie.
To them, she was a benevolent saint who would do anything to see them happy.
It didn't help that Artie was taller than most elven ladies, which gave her the perfect appearance of a saint.
Little did they know that behind that version of Artie they knew, was someone driven by hard logic.
While she hid her true self behind a mask of good manners and sound judgment, Artie had been showing him that side of herself little by little over the past few days.
But Eliron didn't see it as an issue. On the contrary, he appreciated her honesty.
Although he was sure that even what she had shown him was just a shallow representation of her true nature.
"Weren't there seven of you?" Artie asked, her expression turning sombre. "Don't tell me…"
Eliron sighed. "We don't know if she's alive or not, but these girls take priority."
"Let's get them to the cave then we can return to clean things up here."
Artie nodded, agreeing with his statement.
Eliron then continued. "Ash, guard the rear, Artie, both of us will be at the front while Yennefer guides them from the center."
"Let's go."
While Eliron and the rest were rather silent, the girls they had rescued were a different story.
They would gasp, step on random things and one even screamed when a goblin suddenly woke up.
Thankfully, Yennefer was there to hold her mouth shut while Ash plunged his sword through the goblin's skull.
"Please, try to be quiet!" Yennefer sharply whispered while Ash shook the blood off his blade.
The girl nodded, and stumbled back. The more she stared at the body that had been skewered in front of her, and the blood that formed a thick pool around the goblin, the more she grew nauseous.
She covered her mouth with her hand as she gagged, trying to stop herself from throwing up.
"Try to breathe, okay? Don't worry, you'll soon be out of here." Yennefer said, stroking her back.
But she could not hold it any longer. She ran to the side of a hut and doubled over, just before falling on her knees, retching as she threw up.
She had not eaten for quite some time, which only made her gag more, the bitter taste of stomach acids filling her mouth.
The girl coughed as quietly as she could, her vision blurring from a mix of exhaustion, trauma and starvation.
But then, she saw a strange object on the floor.
"What is—?!"
It was a skull, a elf-like skull.
…Laid on the ground as though it was a mere decorative ornament. And now, she had thrown up all over it.
Her eyes widened as she stumbled back, sucking in a sharp breath.
"Wait, shhhh—no!" Yennefer leaped, trying to grab her, but she was not fast enough.
And right before their eyes, the girl unleashed a high pitched scream that boomed over the entire goblin enclave.
"What the hell?" Eliron exclaimed as he turned around to see the girl shaking with fear.
All around them, the goblins rose up like the undead, their yellow eyes locked on the anomaly that had now found its way to their camp.
"Ash! Artie! Keep them as far away as possible!" Eliron commanded, his eyes scanning the village.
"Follow me!"
He sprinted over to the girl who had screamed. She was sitting on the floor, still paralyzed with fear.
Her eyes widened as Eliron whisked her up and placed her on his shoulder just before unsheathing his blade.
"!MÁTALAS!"
(KILL THEM!)
Came a blood curdled scream from one of the goblins, just as Artie sank an arrow in its neck.
A goblin dashed towards them, a crazed smile on its face as it leaped towards the girl on his shoulders, all while three others jumped at his legs.
Slash!
Blood spewed into the air, goblin limbs flying as Eliron slashed with vigour, splitting the first goblin apart.
Then he pointed his sword at the other three.
"Wind slash!"
Swooosh!
An explosive gust of slicing wind burst forward, splitting all three goblins apart.
All around them were livid goblins, more joining them with each passing second.
"If this continues, we'll be swarmed at all sides!" He said through gritted teeth.
His plan was to initially take most of them all out with a tornado, but only after evacuating the girls.
Now if he was to do that in this mess, there was no telling if one of the girls wouldn't be sucked into it.
"We need to cut a path to that hut!" Eliron screamed to be heard, his sword pointing at one of the stone buildings.
Ash nodded fiercely. "Yes my lord!"
Yennefer took to the air, unleashing shots from the vantage point of the sky to take out the problematic goblins coming from all sides.
Ash was beside Eliron, his sword moving without ceasing as it cleaved through the goblins.
While Artie manned the back alone, sandwiching the girls between themselves.
She had slung her bow on her back and was now using her short sword to defend herself from the onslaught.
Already, their injuries were piling up. It was not that the goblins were powerful, it was trying to protect the girls that had led to most of their wounds.
Four people defending six girls…
It was the exact situation Eliron had hoped to avoid. But now that he was neck deep in the mess, he had no other option but to cut a way through, bathed in crimson rain.
And right now, their only salvation was the stone building before their eyes.