Ark ducked under Vral's opening slash. "Answer me! Why are you coming at us!"

  "Because you remind me of someone!" Vral's daggers were a blur as she pressed forward, her slashes carving wide arcs through the air. "And it pisses me off!"

  "What?!" Ark dodged and weaved, but she was losing ground with every hit, especially since Vral wasn't giving her time to draw her sword.

  "Boss!" One of the other four goblins yelped.

  "Use the fucking potions! The green ones!" Ark screamed, narrowly avoiding a dagger aimed at her eye. "Now!" She tore her sword from her hip and just barely parried a slash aimed at her liver.

  The other goblins scrambled for the vials at their belts.

  "Not happening!" Tristan shouted and extended her hand toward Lutz.

  [Holy Light]

  A wave of blinding light poured off of Tristan's outstretched hand and washed over him. The weird pickaxe-looking thing clattered to the ground as he screamed and stumbled backward, his body smoldering and his crooked fingers clawing at his eyes. His heel struck a small crystal, and the goblin went down hard. However, when he hit the dirt, he managed to pull a vial free and swallow it's contents.

  I burst from the bushes, shield up and sword ready. "Don't kill them!" I shouted.

  "What did you just say?!" Vral glared back at me. "Fuck that!"

  "We need to know where the prisoners are!" I started heading to the right.

  "That a good plan!" Tristan rushed past me, her mace held high, and charged straight at Lutz, who'd begun pushing himself up.

  "Agreed," Ro called out as he and Na-Ya flanked to the left, toward the other two. In seconds, they were locked in combat with the two goblins. From the look of it, the elves were dominating them.

  "Can I at least hurt her? Like, really bad?" Somehow, Vral managing to pout while brutally attacking Ark.

  "Sure." I rushed toward Grort, who'd brandished a sword and was making his way toward Ark and Vral.

  "Good!" She slashed at Ark again, opening a deep gash across the goblin's shoulder. "That's what I like to hear!"

  Ark hissed in pain and backpedaled. "Back off!"

  "You think you can get away from me?!" Vral buried her dagger hilt-deep into Ark's thigh.

  "Stop!" Ark fell to her ass. Holding her arms up, she pitifully screamed, "Just stop!"

  "Not so tough now, are you? Feels bad to be so helpless." Vral grinned, her canines glinting. "Now stay the fuck still before I do something my boss will regret."

  "Ark!" Grort roared as he charged at her.

  "Grort, help!" She called to her mate.

  I moved to engage Grort, but before I could reach him, a brilliant flash of light erupted from the right.

  [Holy Light]

  The light slammed into Grort's side. He screamed and stumbled but kept running toward his mate.

  "Nice one!" I called out as I moved to intercept him.

  "Thanks!" Tristan said back before reaching Lutz. Smacking him back down with her mace, she planted the head on his chest and said, "Don't move."

  "Okay, okay!" The goblin shrieked. "I'm not going anywhere!"

  "Come on!" Ark shouted at Lutz. "How are you idiots so useless?!"

  Vral took advantage of Ark's distraction and lunged forward, daggers forward. One of her daggers found its mark, slicing deep across Ark's ribs.

  Ark let out a cry. "Fucking—" Ark tried to grab another potion, but Vral was already on her again.

  In an instant, Vral's dagger was pressed against her throat. "Last chance."

  To her left, Ro had the goblins beaten. One of them, the smallest, yelped and ran. The other swung his sword in a wide arc, but Ro jumped over it and returned the strike with his own.

  [Swift Slash]

  Ro's sword cut through the goblin's arm just below the elbow. The limb hit the ground with a wet thump, and the goblin's sword clattered to the ground.

  The goblin stared at the stump of his arm for a moment, then let out a pained cry and yelled, "My arm!"

  "Go to sleep," Ro said calmly before slapping the flat of his sword against the goblin's head.

  The goblin's eyes rolled back, and he slumped to the ground.

  Na-Ya stepped forward, her staff glowing with golden light. She pointed it at Klart, the little goblin who'd stuck his arm in the sack earlier and who was currently trying to flee. As her spell took hold, her voice rang out with authority.

  [Command]

  "Down."

  Klart's eyes went wide. Then, his legs gave out. He hit the ground face-first.

  [Command]

  "Stay," Na-Ya added.

  He strained against the magic but couldn't move an inch. "Dark... Father..." He whimpered.

  "Grort!" Ark called again.

  "Hold on!" He shouted back.

  Before Grort could reach Vral, I intercepted him.

  "Move!" He tried to push past me, but my shield cut him off.

  "Easy, man. You don't have to get hurt like them." I nodded to his fellows.

  He looked around. Based on his expression, he could tell how screwed he was.

  "Just drop your sword." I stepped forward. "Or I'll make you drop it." While Vral was pure fire and battle lust, I knew most goblins prioritized self-preservation over glory. "Don't be stupid."

  "Hey, now..." The goblin dropped his sword and backed up, arms raised. "Let's talk about this. No need to do anything dramatic, right?" He smile, but all that did was make him look like a sleazy salesman.

  "Just lie down." I pointed my sword at the ground. "Now."

  "Grort!" Ark screamed. "Get your ass—"

  Vral's dagger opened a line across her throat.

  The little goblin gurgled as her neck knitted back together.

  Grort's face began twitching. "Look, man. You guys are strong. I can see that." He dropped to one knee. Then the other. "I'm ready to surrender. See?" He lowered his arms.

  "Keep your arms where I can—"

  Almost faster than I could follow, his hands darted to his belt, and he tore something free. Jumping back to his feet, he took a single step forward and screamed, "You're dea—"

  [Wind Slash]

  A blade of wind cut through both of his arms.

  He shrieked as he fell forward, directly on top of his severed arms. There was a flash of light. Then, he exploded.

  BOOM!

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  "Holy shit!" I raised my shield just in time to catch the wave of flying debris and goblin bits.

  "Are you okay?!" Tristan screamed.

  "Yeah." That was... Wild.

  "Damn it!" Tristan shouted.

  Turning, I watched as Lutz shoved her boot away, leaped through the air, his face crazed, and soared directly at the open sack on the ground.

  "Nope." I whirled and threw my shield.

  [Shield Throw]

  "Not today!" Ro slashed his sword through the air.

  [Wind Slash]

  My shield connected with Lutz's temple with a loud crunch. That sent the goblin spinning.

  At the same time, Ro's skill struck Lutz in the torso.

  Blood sprayed through the air as the goblin split in two. His lower half hit the ground, rolled, slipped into the mouth of the sack, and disappeared. His upper half thumped to the ground. His eyes were empty and still.

  "I thought you said no killing?!" Vral looked over her shoulder and glared at me. "That sure as shit looks like killing to me!"

  "He was going to esca—Vral!" As quickly as she'd turned to watch, Ark pushed Vral off, stood, and raised her sword high.

  "Look out!" Tristan screamed as she raised her hand. Light rolled off her fingers.

  [Sanctuary]

  A globe of white light washed over Vral.

  When Ark's sword struck the barrier, it shattered.

  Vral grinned a murderous grin. Without looking, she said, "You thought you had me, didn't you, loser?"

  "I, uh..." Ark's eyes went wide. "Mercy?"

  "No." Vral spun and slashed, opening two lines in Ark's stomach.

  For a moment, nothing happened. But, slowly, her leather armor fell open, revealing her ruined abdomen. As her insides started becoming outsides, Ark screamed, "Fuck!," spun around, and bolted toward the trees. As she ran, she threw back the contents of another vial.

  "Get back here!" Vral shouted as she leaped forward and sliced a long line across Ark's back.

  "What the hell did I do to you?" As fast as it had been cut open, Ark's shoulder knitted back together.

  Vral rushed at her. "I told you! It's your stupid fucking face!" She swung with both daggers.

  Ark threw herself into a long roll, leaped to her feet, and ran toward the largest crystal in her path. Leaping and kicking off the top, she sailed through the air before grabbing a branch. Pulling herself up, she screamed, "Go away!"

  Vral leaped at the same crystal Ark had used to jump up into the tree.

  Ark spun and, with a wicked grin, pulled her arm back. Her fingers were wrapping around something small and round.

  Without hesitation, I hurled my shield at the branch.

  [Shield Throw]

  My shield hummed as it cut through the air before it struck the branch directly under Ark's feet. The wood shattered, filling the air with a hail of wood chips.

  "Shit!" The goblin screamed as she plummeted, striking her head on a crystal as she fell before slamming into the ground with a loud thump.

  The thing she'd been holding soared through the air, bounced a couple of times, rolled to the base of the tree, and flashed.

  BOOM!

  A massive fireball filled the air.

  The tree shuddered, then groaned. With a loud crack, its trunk broke in half.

  "Look out!" Na-Ya shouted as the tree fell right toward us.

  Ro and I were blurs as we grabbed her and Tristan, along with the remaining goblins, and leaped away.

  The tree crashed to the ground behind us.

  For a long moment, the air was filled with smoke and sawdust. Then, as it cleared, I saw Vral dragging Ark around the tree. Both goblins were covered in dust, and Ark was twitching and smoking.

  Vral glared up at me. "That wasn't fair. She was mine!"

  "She was going to throw that thing at you!" I snapped back.

  "So?"

  "What do you mean, so?"

  "I could have taken it."

  With the biggest eye roll of my life, I said, "You're an idiot."

  She grinned. "Well, yeah. I ended up with you, didn't I?"

  "True."

  Tristan snorted. "You're both idiots."

  "Then what does that make you?" I grinned at her.

  She laughed. "The biggest idiot."

  "You got that right." Dragging the unconscious goblin to me, Vral threw the redhead unceremoniously at my feet. "So, is that it?"

  I looked around, searching for anyone or anything we might have missed, but I was pretty sure we'd cleared this fight. "Yeah, I think we did it."

  "A shame about the two that died," Tristan murmured.

  I set her down next to Vral. "Yeah. But also, eh."

  Vral laughed. "No real loss."

  Ro set Na-Ya down, dropped the disarmed goblin next to Ark, and said, "I'm going to look for that sack."

  "Sounds good." I dropped Klart to the ground.

  The instant his ass touched the earth, Klart threw himself onto his knees, planted his head in the dirt, and screeched, "Please! Please don't kill me! I'm sorry! I didn't want to do this! They made me! I swear!"

  I looked at the others.

  They believed him about as much as I did.

  All I could do was shrug.

  When I didn't say anything, he looked up, tears were streaming down his face, and started babbling incoherently.

  "Come on, man..." The armless goblin shook his head.

  "But Frik!"

  "Be a goddamn man." Vral kicked Klart in the side.

  Yelping, he covered his head with his arms and shuddered. "Don't kill me! I didn't mean anything by it!"

  "Ugh..." A voice said from where the tree's canopy was now littering the forest floor.

  Ro glanced up and toward the sound.

  "Ro, check that out," I called out.

  "On it." He walked toward the sound. Then he stopped, and his face went pale. "Uh, guys."

  "Yeah?" I asked. "What's up?"

  "You're not going to believe this. "He reached down and grabbed something. "You know that goblin that got cut in half? Well..." He hoisted the thing into the air. It was the goblin we'd cut in half. Except he wasn't cut in half anymore. He was nude from the waist down and murmuring, half-conscious.

  Tristan looked at Na-Ya. "What kind of potions could do something like that?"

  Na-Ya shook her head. "I have no idea."

  Ro reached down again and came back up with the sack. Walking back to us, he dropped the half-naked goblin beside the others and held up the sack. "And look at this thing."

  Inside the bag, it looked like there was an endless void swirling within.

  "What is it?" I asked.

  "Not sure. I've never seen a bag like this." He retied the top and placed it over a nearby crystal.

  "Neither have I," Na-Ya said. "Looks like Old Magic to me."

  "Old Magic?" I asked.

  "Yeah." She shook her head. "Back in the first era and second eras, before the system was a thing, the Goddess's laws were different. The people from that time could make wondrous items like this that aren't possible to make anymore. Similar to Arden's old ring and those collars they used down in the Pit."

  Arden's ring... A pang of guilt struck me. I promised to bring it back to him, but instead, a mountain fell on it. And now I knew there was no way to make a new one. "That's why those collars aren't used in every prison, huh?"

  "Yep." Na-Ya looked at the sack. "I've never heard of one looking so... plain, though."

  "Ro, grab one of those pickaxes, too."

  "Good idea." He turned and walked back to the tree.

  Vral frowned. "We don't need all of these idiots, do we?" She slapped Klart's back. "Let's start whittling them down with this one."

  "Please! Please don't kill me!" Klart continued wailing from the ground, his voice cracking. "I have a family! Three kids! Well, two. One died. But still!"

  "Shut up!" Vral kicked him again, but her eyes were fixed on Ark, who was starting to stir. "We both know no woman would ever lower herself to take the hand of pathetic worm like you."

  Klart whined but didn't disagree.

  "Ohh..." Ark moaned. Coughed. Her eyes fluttered open. "Wow..." She rubbed her eyes. There were dark circles under them, and her eyes were completely bloodshot. Not only that, but her hands and legs began shaking vioently. "Dark Father's breath..." She coughed again. "Fucking potions take a lot out of you." Wiping her face, she looked up.

  That's when she saw us.

  She gasped and immediately tried to roll away.

  Planting a boot on Ark's chest, Vral hissed, "Don't even think about it."

  Ark grinned. The smile plus the dark circles under her eyes made her look possessed. "Okay, okay. You win." She held her hands up. "I'll be good."

  "But you're not good." Vral pressed harder, until the air left Ark's lungs. "You're a piece of shit, just like all the rest of you Flamecallers."

  The redhead froze. "Flamecaller... How do you know my tribe?" Her entire body was jittering now like she was coming down off something.

  Vral reached down and yanked one of her dreadlocks. "The hair gives you away."

  Taking a slow breath, Ark asked, "Sure, but why do you know that? It's not like my tribe matters. We're nobodies from Volkash."

  Lowering her dagger to Ark's throat, she whispered, "I'm an Ash Eater."

  Ark's eyes widened. "Tu'Vigh tora dekt?!"

  Vral slapped the woman's face. "The very last one."

  Ark's stammered, "Wait. Wait, wait, wait!" She held up her hands. "Calm down! Calm—"

  A branch cracked behind me.

  "Ark!"

  I spun to see Grort charging toward me.

  "What the shit?" I shifted to face him. He'd exploded! Hadn't he?

  He was completely naked, and his sword, now cracked and smoking from the explosion, was raised high. "You're mine!" Behind the goblin, I could see an empty vial resting in the leaves.

  I barely got my shield up before his sword connected with it. The impact sent shockwaves up my arm.

  Grort swung again.

  I blocked with my shield, the force of it making my teeth rattle. "Ro! A little help here!"

  [Wind Slash]

  A wave of wind cut through the air, directly at Grort's neck.

  Ducking at the last second, the goblin sprang back up and swung at me again.

  This time, I sidestepped and brought my sword down, but he twisted away at the last second. "How is he even alive?" I shouted.

  "It has to have been the potions," Na-Ya shouted.

  "So powerful!" Tristan added.

  [Bless]

  White light washed over me. I felt invigorated.

  "No kidding!" Ro slashed at Grort, catching him across the stomach. Blood welled across his belly in a long line, but within seconds, the wound began to close.

  Grort grinned through the pain. "You can't kill me! I'm invincible!" Pulling another vial from... somewhere, he uncorked it with his teeth and tried to swallow it down.

  "Gross," I muttered. With a wide slash, I shattered the vial, then, with a reverse slash, I buried my sword into his thigh and twisted.

  That sent the goblin into the dirt.

  Behind me, I heard a shuffling sound. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Frik reaching for his belt, his fingers straining to reach one of his remaining potions.

  "Don't even think about it!" Tristan was on him in an instant. She grabbed his remaining wrist and twisted hard.

  Frik screamed. "My arm! You're breaking my arm!"

  "Then stop moving!" Tristan yanked the vial from his belt and hurled it into the trees.

  "I just want to drink the potion before it won't work anymore!" He looked up at her. "Please! I need my arm!"

  Tristan glanced down at his belt. "Which potion is it?"

  "The green one," the goblin groaned. "Looks like swamp water."

  Without letting go of his wrist, Tristan pulled the dark green potion from his belt. Uncorking it, she poured the stuff into his mouth.

  The instant he swallowed, his arm twisted and bent. Bones erupted out of his skin, muscle formed over them, and skin grew over that. In seconds, his arm was as good as new.

  "Thank you, priestess..." Frik dropped his head to the dirt. "I appreciate it."

  Tristan smiled lightly. "It's my duty. Go in the light, child."

  Frik sighed. "I've tried, but it never sticks."

  "You can try again." Tristan loosened his arm, if only a little. "Everyone can be better."

  "I hope so." He exhaled.

  "Rahhhh!" Grort tried to push himself up beside me.

  Ro planted his sword into the goblin's hip. Shoving, the blade dug into his bone and pushed him back down.

  "Ow!" The goblin yelped as his face got buried into the dirt.

  "Stay down," Ro commanded.

  "I... Can't..."

  When he shifted again, I brought my shield down on the back of his head. The metal shield cracked against the back of the goblin's head. He went limp and was finally still.

  "Well," I said, standing and taking stock of everything. The other goblins seemed pacified, and I didn't see any other threats. "That was something."