"What? You wouldn't dare eat me!"
He smiled at her, displaying teeth filed to points. "Truss her up. I'm famished. Let's get her back to the village, cleaned, and roasted."
The goblins bound her wrists, ankles, and knees with rough rope, and then tied her ankles and wrists to a long pole. The pole was hefted up onto the shoulders of a pair of goblins, with her hanging from it. Part of her prayed her friends would show up to rescue her, and another part pray they didn't. It would be so humiliating to be seen like that. Rand would never let her forget it.
It didn't take long to reach the village. Indeed, Asha realized she was heading straight for it. It kind of ticked her off the village wasn't shown on the map. That was critical information.
The goblin village consisted of two dozen round thatch huts. There was a small fire smoldering in front of most of them, with a large cook fire in the middle of the village. Asha spotted goblins of every age, from newborns to bent and feeble elders. Most of the villagers rushed to greet the warriors and fawn over the captured elfmaid.
"We feast tonight!" the big warrior declared. "Meat for everyone!"
"Wait, Dukk," an old goblin shouted. He was slowly walking towards them with a cane. "The elf is barely big enough to give us each a handful of meat. Why don't we sell her in town? She'll bring enough to buy a horse, and that'll be a lot more meat."
"True, but then we'd have to wait another day to eat, Elder Pok."
Pok shook his crooked cane at the warrior. "No one will die of starvation by waiting one day. More meat is better."
"Elf meat tastes better," Dukk replied.
"True, but still more is better."
"Listen to your elder," Asha said. "He's very wise."
Some goblins moved up close and poked at the elf. They pinched her legs, arms, buttocks as if judging how much meat she had to offer. Asha tried to appear smaller.
"Elves are strong. We could keep her as a slave," one of them said. "A couple of half-elf warriors wouldn't hurt the village, either."
"Hey! I'm not a brood mare!" She wondered if the Game could make her virtually pregnant, considered what she'd have to do to get pregnant, and struggled mightily for a moment. "I'd rather be eaten!"
They ignored her as more elders joined the discussion. Asha realized there were three factions arguing. One wanted to eat her. One wanted to sell her to buy a horse or cow. And the third wanted to keep her as a slave and breed her.
Finally, a new figure joined them to settle the stalemate. Asha calmed herself, with some effort, and then concentrated on the newcomer, who carried himself like he was royalty.
Goblin Shaman (Lvl 20). -7 Dark. PK: 1.
A mob, she thought. Asha studied the NPC as he approached. The shaman wore an elaborate fur and feathers headdress, and a rather nasty looking pelt loincloth. His body was covered in tattoos and ritual scaring. She noted several power fetishes hanging off his body. I can actually feel the magic radiating from him. Very powerful.
The shaman motioned for everyone to be quiet. He calmly listened to each side's argument, and then walked around Asha a few times.
"The spirits tell me this elfmaid is dangerous. The longer she lives, the more dangerous she is to us and our village," the shaman said. "Kill her. Eat her."
"Hey! Why aren't you arguing with him?" Asha asked the surrounding villagers. "You have a right to your opinions. Think of all the meat you'll get from a horse!"
"Cut her down and hold her still," Dukk said, pulling a very sharp steel knife. "I'll gut this mouthy elfmaid myself."
"Mouthy?" she cried. "You have no idea how much trouble you are actually in right now."
Asha's bindings were cut. Two warriors seized her arms, yanked the elf to her feet, and held her between them. Dukk came forward, thumbing the keen-edged knife with a look of satisfaction on his twisted face.
"Stay back," she said. Asha struggled, desperate to break free. "I'm warning you."
"I claim her heart," Dukk said. He caught and held her eyes. "I'm going to rip it from your chest, elfmaid, and eat it before your dying eyes."
"I'm not enjoying the game right now," she muttered, and hurriedly called up her HUD. Where is the exit? I have to exit the game before he kills me.
She couldn't find any way to pause or stop the game. No exit. No nothing.
"I'm going to rip someone a new arsehole tomorrow!"
Out of sheer desperation, Asha lashed out to the right with her foot. She connected with the side of goblin's knee, and heard a sickening snap. The goblin wailed in agony, releasing her arm. She punched the other goblin in the throat, breaking free of his weakened grip just seconds before Dukk charged in to kill her.
Ducking under Dukk, she snatched up a spear and dropped into a fighting stance. "I warned you little monsters that – "
Asha's breath whooshed out of her lungs as an arrow pierced her back, with the bloody arrowhead bursting from her chest, right between her boobs. She gawked at it as darkness started closing in all around.
"Oh, that hurts so much."
Blackness consumed her.
Stygian blackness everywhere, lit faintly by flashes of blood red. Nightmarish faces bared their teeth and shouted at her. Asha screamed and writhed, as brutal hands clutched at her body. Someone, or some thing, yanked her hair, while vicious talons ripped her flesh. Pain unimaginable registered when a demonic face sank six-inch fangs into her thigh…
"Aaaaggh!" Asha screamed, sitting up on a flat slab of rock. She was back in her Spawn Site, shaking uncontrollably. "What the hell just happened?"
Chapter 8
Killum slapped his neck, killing the little bloodsucker. He paused to scowl at his surroundings. Those were the biggest, oldest oaks he'd ever seen. The forest canopy was so high and thick barely any sunlight reached the forest floor. It was pleasantly cool down there in the shadows, but the closer to the river he got the more mosquitoes filled the air.
"I wonder who the comedian is who thought adding mosquitoes to the Game was a good idea?" He slapped another one on his left forearm, leaving a bloody smear. "I'd like to meet him in a dark alley."
The river was close. The sound of frogs and crickets increased with every step. Killum marveled at how loud they could be. The city was never that loud.
"I need a beer," he muttered. Thirst hit hard about an hour back. Despite the land being thick with trees, he hadn't crossed any kind of water. Thoughts of the river just made him thirstier. "I can't wait to reach Oxenbluff."
How he was going to pay for that beer or ale was another issue. Killum knew the Game, though, and it would throw something at him to kill. If the mob was sentient, he'd at least win a few coins. Weapons would be better.
"I can't believe they're making me start over from scratch." He shook a fist at the heavens. "I dedicated over two months of my life to Realm of Battle!" He grinned. "I feel much better now."