"I'm sorry, Layla! I'm really sorry!" Orion ran as fast as he could, tears weeling up in the corners of his eyes.
"I swear... I swear to on my life that I will find help and rescue you! Please... just wait for me!" He wiped his tears using his sleeve.
And he ran... ran, ran and ran like there was no tommorow.
"How long is this cave?! I need to..." Suddenly, he fell to the ground, his body went numb in a moment.
"What the-..." His eyes widened as he saw a goblin standing in front of him.
It was just a normal goblin, but it was holding a small bag which was glowing green.
The goblin giggled in a monstrous and mischevious way, grabbing Orion by his leg.
"D-Don't..." He started feeling dizzy. "touch... me..." And then everything went black for him.
"Wake up..." A weird, annoying voice spoke to him. He also felt something poking his leg.
"Layla... don't... poke me... let me sleep... at least for once..." Orion muttered, his voice drowsy.
Suddenly he opened his eyes, which were wide in shock. He looked around, finding himself locked in an iron cage next to a young goblin.
He tackled the goblin, his eyes full of fury and confusion. "Who the hell are you?! Why can you speak?!"
The goblin's eyes filled up with tears. It didn't even try to fight back. "P-Please don't kill me! I mean no harm! In fact, we shouldn't be aggressive towards each other as we are in the same horrible situation!" The goblin pleaded with fear.
"K-Kill? I... I would never kill anyone... as long as they're thinking straight..." Orion looked the goblin up and down. It seemed different than the others, mainly because the others didn't have pupils, but that one had. "You... you aren't the one who captured me, right?" Orion asked with uncertainty in his voice.
The goblin nodded nervously, "Yes! It was one of those brutes, not me, I swear!" The goblin's eyes flicked across the goblins that were outside of the cage, cooking something in a big pot that was surrounded by so weird-looking green fungus, a huge fire under it.
After a moment of hesitation, Orion got off the goblin, sitting down on the ground in defeat.
The goblin looked at him with surprise, and after a moment of silence, it finally spoke. "Uhh... human adventurer... aren't you gonna ask me what is going on here or something like that?" The goblin asked.
Orion groaned, rolling his eyes. "Why would I need to ask about something that's obvious, huh?! I will be served as a dish to you damn monsters!" He grabbed his head in frustration. "My only friend, the only person I have is out there fighting something big and I was supposed to bring help, but I'm too damn weak to even do that!" He started to cry, hitting the ground with all the strength he had... but the only damage done was to his hands.
"I understand your frustration, human adventurer... but don't worry!" The goblin gave him a thumbs up, trying to reassure him. "At least you're not alone in all this! I will be served alongside you!"
Orion stared at the goblin for a moment. "They want to eat you too...? I mean... you seem different compared to those mindless monsters... you're... uhh... how do I say it? Oh! You're like a sentient monster!" He slowly wiped his tears.
A moment of realization hit the goblin as its smile faded. "Uhh... wait a second... you said that your friend is fighting something big..." It swallowed hard in terror. "Is your friend fighting the champion?!"
"It was a huge piece of meat... it looked powerful and was five times bigger than you! Layla seemed sure that she would defeat it... tho I'm still worried and wanted to bring help... I can't even imagine losing her..." He gripped the bars of the cage, veins popping out.
"I'm sorry to say that... but... your friend is probably dead... you've been asleep for at least two hours..." The goblin said quietly, trying to be as soft as possible.
Orion immediately pulled the bars with all the strength he had. "LAYLA! NO! NO! LAYLA! LET ME OUT! LET ME GO!" He kicked the bars, but he caused no damage at all.
He fell to his knees, crying into his hands while screaming out her name.
The goblin moved closer to him, but it kept enough distance for safety reasons. "H-Hey... now that I think about it... it may be insane... but the champion hasn't returned... so there's a chance that your friend is alive... it's thin, but it is what it is..." The goblin said, trying to reassure him.
Orion looked at the goblin. "You're right..." He slapped his own face. "We have no time to waste! Layla didn't sacrifice herself for me to be eaten by some stupid goblins!" He wiped his tears, his despair replaced with determination. "Uhh... yeah no offense!"
The goblin shook its head. "No, don't worry." He looked at the other goblins with hatred. "I don't even consider those animals a part of the same kind..."
The goblin held out a glass bottle with some water in it. "Are you thirsty?" It asked.
Orion stared at the bottle with confusion. "They gave you water? I thought that it's just a waste of resources for someone who's supposed to end up on the plate."
The goblin rolled its eyes. "Ehh... humans," it sighed. "You humans really underestimate us... I mean." It looked at the other goblins. "You are kinda right, those don't think, but they know that food tastes better if the ingredients are fresh and full." The goblin grabbed the green fungus and stuffed it into its mouth. "And it tastes good."
Orion plugged his nose in disgust. "It stinks like he'll! What even is this?!" He groaned.
The goblin smirked. "This is the Goblin Fungus, and it stinks because it's smell is poisonous to humans and can put them to sleep."
Orion stared at the fungus for some time and then something clicked in his brain. He took some flint and steel from out of his pocket, ripping his sleeve off afterwards.
"Hey uhhh... what are you exactly doing, human?" The goblin asked curiously, chewing on the fungus.
Orion snatched the glass bottle out of its hand, drinking some water from it.
"Hey! What are you doing! That was all we had!" The goblin said, frustrated out of its mind.
Orion placed the piece of cloth on the ground and pointed at it. "Put the fungus on it... I have an idea that will help us get out of here." He said calmly.
The goblin nodded and placed a fungus on the cloth, not saying anything.
Orion handed the glass bottle to the goblin. "Now... you need to somehow place it upside down and stuff the fungus inside like a plug so the water won't spill."
The goblin looked down at the bottle and then back at Orion. "I will try, but I want to know what we are exactly doing, human." The goblin said firmly.
"When water is boiled to a certain level it creates water vapor... if we will be lucky enough there is a slight chance that if we boil it with the fungus under it will create some kind of the fungus gas on the end of the bottle." Orion explained, not thinking about anything else but succes right now.
The goblin rolled his eyes and smirked, giving him a thumbs up. "I didn't exactly understand everything, but I trust you... as long as your plan will be a success."
The goblin closed its eyes for a moment and then opened them, focusing on flipping the water bottle and plugging it swiftly with only one move of its wrist.
And it was... successful.
"Thank God!" Orion yelled out of happiness.
The other goblins looked at them, but ignored whatever they were doing, minding their own buisness.
Orion used the flint and steel to light the cloth up, and so the two watched over the fire, making sure it remained there.
"Come on! Come on!" The goblin anticipated.
"Hey, goblin, is there any other way out of this place?" Orion changed the subject, his voice firm.
"Uhh... no... There is only one tunnel which leads to the surface..." It said with uncertainty, its eyes flicking between the fire and the other goblins, making sure they're off-guard.
Orion clenched his fist. "Layla... the first thing I will do is run to her... I don't care if the monster is still there... I made a mistake... no matter what she will say in the future... I won't run away again... even if I will be right before certain death!" He said, his voice full of determination and remorse.
The goblin sighed softly. "You keep saying that name 'Layla' over and over again and I just realized that you didn't say yours, human."
Orion looked at the goblin and smirked. "Orion, nice to meet you... uhh..." He tried to recall ever hearing the goblin's name.
The goblin shook its head. "I don't have a name. We goblins are the weakest monsters. So weak that our average life span is one month, two at most... We don't deserve such a thing." It said with sadness, looking down at the ground.
After a moment of hesitation, Orion smiled kindly and patted its shoulder. "Then it's settled, my friend. From now on you may refer to yourself as Gorrak!" He said loudly and proudly.
The goblin looked up at Orion, its sadness replaced with happiness, gratefulness, nd pride it felt after being named. "Gorrak... that's a nice name... thank you, hu-... Orion!"
A couple of minutes later the bottle had a thick green fog inside of it.
Gorrak stared at the bottle with confusion. "And what do we do now? You won't intoxicate them, they're all immune to the toxins!"
Orion put out the fire and waited until the bottle cooled down. He looked at the huge pot, and the soup inside was already boiling.
Suddenly, a goblin walked up to the cage, opening it with a pair of iron keys, smiling widely.
Orion didn't resist. He just looked down at the ground, seemingly defeated.
He let the goblins drag him toward the massive pot. The disgusting smell hitting his face.
Gorrak watched nervously from the cage, holding the bottle in his hand, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Just as they reached the pot, a goblin raised its club to shove Orion forward. Orion suddenly threw himself to the side, a few steps away from all the goblins,s which were all standing next to the pot.
"NOW! GORRAK!" He screamed.
Gorrak hurled the bottle with all his strength, aiming for the massive fire beneath the pot. The glass shattered instantly on impact.
And then a huge explosion errupted following a blast of green fire. The explosion killed most of the goblins, the survivors were slammed into the walls of the cave alongside Orion, but Orion himself wasn't as damaged because he was out of range.
Orion slowly got on his feet, feeling dizzy and sleepy. His body was aching, some of his bones probably broken.
He looked around, his insides twisting as he saw all the blood and body parts everywhere.
"I... I..."
As he was about to go to the cage, a goblin grabbed him by the ankle, gripping it tightly.
Orion fell to the ground in terror. He couldn't move out of fear. A small goblin knife was lying next to him.
"ORION! KILL IT! KILL IT BEFORE IT KILLS YOU! WE JUST SLIPPED OUT OF DEATH'S GRASP BY A MIRACLE... YOU CAN'T JUST LET IT KILL YOU AFTER EVERYTHING!" Gorrak yelled desperately, hitting the bars of the cage.
Orion teared up, kicking the goblin's hand, but it didn't want to let go of his ankle. "DON'T TOUCH ME! LET ME GO!" He screamed in teror.
"YOUR FRIEND MIGHT BE DYING OUT THERE AND YOU'RE UNABLE TO KILL A HELPLESS AND MINDLES MONSTER?! COME ON! YOU'RE BETTER THAN THIS, HUMAN! IT'S KILL OR BE KILLED HERE! DO IT! USE THE DAMN KNIFE!" Gorakk yelled even louder.
"He's right... I was a coward... I ran away because I was too scared... I was too scared of me being hurt... I'm... I can't... be like that... or else everyone I care for will die... just like ten years ago..." He curled his hand into a fist, hitting the floor. "I need to kill the old me! There is no place for pacifisim in this world!"
Orion grabbed the knife, his hands were shaking, but he had a determined look on his face. "I NEED TO GO HELP LAYLA! I CAN'T LOSE HER!" He screamed, closing his eyes and stabbing the goblin's head over and over again, its grip on his ankle loosening.
Orion looked down at his hands, which were covered in goblin blood. "It had to be done... There was no other way... just like Gorrak said... kill or be killed..."
Gorrak sighed in relief. "Okay, that was a little brutal, but still good job... now let's get out of here." He smirked.