The chamber was quiet now, the only sounds the heavy breathing of the wounded and the soft murmurs of the healer as she worked. I watched from my hiding place, my body pressed flat against the wall, barely moving.
The healer — Aria, I heard one of the others call her — moved between her fallen companions, her hands glowing with soft light as she poured healing magic into their wounds. She was exhausted, I could see that. Her face was pale, her hands trembling slightly, but she didn't stop.
The archer and thief were both down, unable to move. The archer had taken a goblin blade to the thigh, the wound deep enough to sever muscle and tendon. The thief had been stabbed multiple times, his leather armor shredded, his blood pooling beneath him. They were alive, but barely, and completely incapacitated.
The massive warrior sat against the wall nearby, his own wounds lesser but still serious. A goblin spear had pierced his shoulder, and he'd taken several cuts to his arms and legs. But he was stronger than the others, more resilient. He watched Aria work, his expression unreadable behind his helmet's visor.
The female warrior — a fierce woman with close-cropped hair and determined eyes — stood guard over them, her sword still drawn despite her own injuries. She'd taken a hard hit to her side, her chainmail dented and bloody, but she refused to sit, refused to rest while her companions were vulnerable.
[LoveGoddess]: They're hurt so badly… but they're together.
[HarvestGod]: The healer is giving everything she has. She won't last much longer.
[TricksterGod]: This is the dangerous part. After the battle. When they think they're safe.
I understood what he meant. The goblin memories whispered the same thing — many predators struck when prey was weakened, when they let their guard down. The adventurers had won the battle, but they were far from safe.
Aria finished healing the archer's wound, the glow fading from her hands as she slumped slightly, catching herself against the wall. The wound was closed, the bleeding stopped, but the archer was still too weak to move.
"It's the best I can do," she said, her voice soft with exhaustion. "They need rest. Real rest. Not just magic."
The warrior nodded slowly, then reached into his pack and pulled out two small glass bottles filled with a pale blue liquid. He tossed one to the female warrior, who caught it reflexively, and held the other out to Aria.
"Health potions," he said, his voice deep and gravelly. "Not as good as your magic, but they'll help with the exhaustion. Drink up. We need to be ready to move."
Aria accepted the bottle with a grateful nod, uncorking it and drinking quickly. The female warrior did the same, downing the liquid in one swallow. The chat reacted with approval:
[LoveGoddess]: See? They're taking care of each other!
[HarvestGod]: Health potions will help them recover faster.
[StormGod]: Good teamwork. They might actually make it out of here.
But something was wrong. I could feel it in the way the air shifted, in the subtle change in the warrior's posture. The goblin instincts whispered a warning:
Danger. Not from outside. From inside.
Aria and the female warrior finished their drinks, lowering the empty bottles. For a moment, nothing happened. Then Aria's eyes widened slightly, her hand going to her chest. The female warrior swayed, her sword dipping as her strength seemed to drain away.
"What…" Aria began, but her voice was weak, her words slurring. "What's…"
The warrior laughed. It was a cold, ugly sound that echoed through the chamber. He pushed himself to his feet, moving with sudden strength that belied his injuries.
"Not health potions," he said, his voice dripping with mockery. "Paralysis toxin. Mixed with a little something extra to make things more… interesting."
[TricksterGod]: What? NO!
[LoveGoddess]: What is he doing?!
[WarGod]: …betrayal. Interesting.
The chamber fell silent as the warrior's companions stared at him in disbelief. The archer and thief, unable to move, could only watch with widening eyes. Aria's face was pale with confusion and fear, her body trembling as the poison took hold.
"Why?" the female warrior demanded, her voice weak but filled with rage. "We fought together! We bled together!"
The warrior's laugh was cruel. "Fought together? Bled together? You really believe that?" He stepped closer to the two women, his massive frame looming over them. "I used you. All of you. You were bait to draw the goblins out, to thin their numbers so I could get to the real treasure."
"What treasure?" Aria whispered, her body barely able to hold itself upright.
"The treasure beneath this dungeon," the warrior said. "The ancient artifact hidden in the deepest level. I don't need a team to get it. I just needed cannon fodder to clear the way."
He turned to the archer and thief, who lay helpless on the ground. "And you two? You're just loose ends. Can't have you spreading stories about what happened here."
Before anyone could react, his greatsword flashed. One moment the archer was staring at him in horror, the next his throat was cut, his lifeblood spurting across the stone floor. The thief died seconds later, a sword through the heart ending his life before he could even draw breath.
[StormGod]: He's killing them! His own companions!
[WarGod]: Efficient. No witnesses.
[LoveGoddess]: MONSTER!
The female warrior let out a cry of rage, forcing her paralyzed body to move, to attack. But the poison was too strong. Her movements were sluggish, weak, and the warrior barely seemed to notice as he backhanded her across the face.
The impact sent her sprawling, her helmet flying off to reveal her face — contorted with pain and fury. She tried to rise, to fight, but another blow sent her crashing back to the ground.
"Paralysis toxin," the warrior said, standing over her. "Mixed with a powerful aphrodisiac. You won't be able to move, but you'll feel everything. Every touch. Every sensation. And you'll be completely aware of what's happening to you."
He turned his attention to Aria, who stood frozen, her body trembling with a combination of fear and the strange effects of the poison. Her skin was flushed, her breathing rapid, her eyes wide with confusion.
"And you," he said, reaching out to grab her by the hair. "You're the real prize. A healer with your level of magic? Worth more than all the rest of them combined."
He jerked her forward, and Aria stumbled, her body too weak to resist. With his free hand, he gripped the front of her robes and pulled, tearing the fabric apart with brutal strength.
The sound of ripping cloth echoed through the chamber. Aria's white robes fell away, revealing her body beneath. She was beautiful — more beautiful than I had imagined from a distance. Her skin was pale and soft, her figure curvy and voluptuous. And her breasts…
They were massive. Heavy, round, perfectly formed, they spilled free as her clothing was destroyed, bouncing slightly with the movement. Her nipples were a soft pink, already hardening from the cold air and the effects of the aphrodisiac.
[LustGod]: …yes. YES.
[TricksterGod]: Oh, this is bad. This is very, very bad.
[LoveGoddess]: STOP HIM! SOMEONE STOP HIM!
The warrior laughed again, his eyes fixed on Aria's exposed body. "Now that's what I'm talking about. You and I are going to have a lot of fun together, healer. And there's nothing you can do to stop me."
The female warrior tried to rise again, her body fighting against the paralysis, her rage giving her strength. But the warrior noticed her movement and turned, his fist crashing into her face with bone-shattering force.
She fell back, unconscious before she hit the ground. Her body lay limp, her breathing shallow but steady.
[WarGod]: Down for the count. Pity.
[HarvestGod]: He's going to rape the healer. Right there. While we watch.
[TricksterGod]: And there's nothing we can do about it. We're just observers.
I watched from my hiding place, my body rippling with unfamiliar emotions. Anger? Yes. But something else too — something deeper, more primal. The goblin instincts whispered inside me, painting pictures of violence and revenge, of making the warrior pay for what he'd done.
But I was still too small. Too weak. I couldn't fight a fully armored warrior, not yet.
The warrior reached for Aria again, his hands moving toward her exposed breasts, and I saw the fear in her eyes — the terror of someone who knew what was coming and was powerless to stop it.
Then, without warning, an arrow sprouted from the warrior's shoulder.