"Join your pack?" Half-Demon Thief raised an eyebrow at the comment.

"Remember though, I'm the boss!" Smaller Wolf-Girl proudly placed her hands on her hips as she laughed.

"I've already told you before, we don't invite non-wolf padfoots to join our pack! Besides, I'm the boss of our pack." Larger Wolf-Girl frowned as she literally looked down on her younger sister.

"I'm going to form my own pack then!" Smaller Wolf-Girl too frowned back at her sister.

"You dare challenge your boss!" Larger Wolf-Girl was practically snarling at her sister.

"You be boss of your pack and I'll be boss of mine!" Smaller-Wolf Girl snarled back.

While the two wolf-girls growled at one another, the rest of the party could only look on with puzzled expressions.

"They're like two dogs arguing over the same piece of meat." Scout Boy whispered to Half-Elf Light Warrior and Druid Girl.

"Perhaps we should stop them." Priestess was not sure if the two were only playing or truly ready to start fighting.

"Two alphas fighting for dominance." Goblin Slayer's tone carried a hint of annoyance as he continued to watch them argue.

"So how do we stop them Orcbolg? If they're like wolves, I would rather not get bit."

Goblin Slayer was silent for a moment, then looked toward Wolf and Snow and though about the best way he was able to calm the two dire wolves when they were agitated. Finally, Goblin Slayer calmly walked forward toward the two girls who continued to growl at one another, now completely oblivious of this man. Goblin Slayer reached out with both hands and placed them atop the girl's heads and gave them a few gentle pats. The actions quickly brought the two girls back to reality as a slightly blush crossed their faces as they looked toward the armored man.

"Clam down."

Goblin Slayer then removed his hands as the two wolf-girls soon returned to their normal standing positions, though they tried to put on a strong face, the blush on their faces and their wagging tails gave away their feelings.

"Th, thank you. Sorry for that." Larger Wolf-Girl gave a cough as she did her best to regain her composure.

"Yes…thank you." Smaller Wolf-Girl looked down ground.

"P, perhaps you could be allowed into our pack. You do seem like a wolf…you even smell like a wolf." Larger Wolf-Girl sniffed the armored man.

"That would be the scent of the dire wolves."

"Dire Wolves?" Smaller Wolf-Girl now raised her own eyebrow then spotted the two dire wolves beside the man.

The two wolf-girl padfoots moved forward, sniffing at the two dire wolves who returned the action. This continued for a few moments more until the wolf-girl padfoots and the dire wolves started the wag their tails.

"What fine wolves you have there…they're not your slaves are they?" Larger Wolf-Girl had a slight frown as she looked back toward the armored man.

"No, I aided them and they chose to accompany me."

"I see, that would explain why they are so calm around you and the others. You have earned my respect adventurer." Larger Wolf-Girl smiled as she bowed her head toward the adventurer.

"Then it's settles I shall allow one who values wolves into my pack. Remember that I am your…"

"You're part of my pack little sister!" Larger Wolf-Girl growled as she looked back to her little sister.

"Uh please, before you go back to arguing, we could really use your assistance?" Priestess was quite nervous the two would go right back to their earlier.

The two wolf-girls turned their attention back to the large group of adventurers to see them quickly recomposed themselves, wishing to avoid any other embarrassment.

"My apology, now how can we be help such a fine group of adventurers?" Larger Wolf-Girl smiled as she looked over the group.

"My comrade requires the expertise of the wolf-tribe padfoots." Heavy Warrior motioned toward Female Knight.

Smaller Wolf-Girl moved toward Female Knight, sniffing the young woman, curious that she could smell a different wolf scent coming off her.

"You smell like a wolf, but…something's different?"

"I was bitten by a werewolf sometime ago, we've been trying to find the one who bit me but have had no luck. Do you know of any particular method that I could try or use to remove the wolf's curse?"

"Why would anyone want to remove part of the wolf from them?" Smaller Wolf-Girl shook her head.

"A werwolf's curse can initially be problematic, the changes are caused by phases of the moon. The red moon or "blood moon" can be the most difficult for werewolves to control." Larger Wolf-Girl placed a hand upon her chin as she thought about the curse.

"What's wrong with the "blood moon"?" High Elf Archer asked as she crossed her arms.

"The "blood moon" increases the bloodlust of curses animals. Wolf Padfoots are also affected by the phases of the moon, but we have long since learned control our emotions." Larger Wolf-Girl then turned her attention back toward Female Knight. "Only the death of the one who bit you will remove the curse. My apology."

"Is there nothing else I can do?" Female Knight was rather distraught as she heard this.

"Undoing the curse is not the only choice left to you, you too can learn to control the inner beast in you."

"Control the beast?" Female Knight was confused upon hearing this.

"Just the same way these wolves are calm around all these people, you too can establish this trust with the wolf side to where the werewolf would have your mind." Smaller Wolf-Girl smiled as she reached over the pet the two large dire wolves.

"What about silver, could silver be used to control the inner beast?" Heavy warrior thought back to what Goblin Slayer mentioned and to the ring he asked the Blacksmith to create before leaving.

"Hmm…I'm not sure of that myself, but it might be worth a try I imagine." Larger Wolf-Girl shrugged her shoulders.

"I wish to thank you for your aid." Female Knight bowed her head toward the two wolf padfoots then looked back to Heavy Warrior. "Then we should continue what you were trying these last few nights until we find the werewolf or that man who took it away."

"Yes. Thank you for all your advice, we'd like to treat you all to some food before we depart." Heavy Warrior smiled toward the two wolf padfoot girls and the Harpy Mother and Daughter.

"Meat!" Smaller Wolf-Girl's eyes lit up as she began to salivate at the thought of getting some meat.

"We'll gladly accept your generosity." Larger Wolf-Girl smiled with a slight nod.

"As will we." Harpy Mother smiled as well.

Harpy Mother and Half-Dragon Mother led the party towards a nearby building which housed a large tavern and banquet hall. Goblin Slayer followed behind the party when he felt someone squeeze his hand, he looked down to see Half-Dragon Daughter and Harpy Daughter looking up at him.

"What is it?"

"Big Brother, would it be okay for my friend to pet Wolf and Snow?" Half-Dragon Daughter smiled as she looked up toward her Big Brother.

Harpy Daughter was a little unnerved as she looked at this man in armor, with his helmet on there was no way to determine what he was thinking, her only hope was to trust in what her friend said.

"Do as you wish."

Harpy Daughter was a little confused the response, it sounded like the armored man did not care, but her friend took hold of her hand with a large smile and they moved toward the two dire wolves. Harpy Daughter was slightly nervous at the sight of these large wolves but soon smiled as she was able to pet the wolves. Larger Wolf-Girl saw this and smiled, then she and his sister walked forward where she then placed a hand on Goblin Slayer left shoulder.

"Yes?"

"My offer still stands, you are free to join our pack should you desire to. Before you go…my sister and I have one request of you."

"I can't promise anything, but what do you need?"

"Would…would you pet our heads one more time?"

The parties dined and gathered the necessary supplies for the journey back, Half-Dragon Mother inviting her friend and the two wolf girls to come and visit them in Frontier Town if given the opportunity. Harpy Daughter was happy as she got to pet the two dire wolves and made sure to thank the armored man for the opportunity. Late in the afternoon, the party departed from Crossroads, Heavy Warrior continued to try and build trust with the werewolf side of Female Knight, even contemplating the idea of entering the cage with her during the transformation. Little did the party know that as they were traveling back home, two new faces had just arrived in their town.

The next morning, two individuals entered the guild for the first time, both were middle-aged men, one was clean shaven wearing a long-brimmed hat while the others was shorter and bearded. The men cautiously looked over the guild, searching for a particular individual, but at first glance they could not find him.

"Good morning, may I help you?"

It was a bright cheerful voice that called to them, both men looked forward to see the smiling face of the young girl at the front desk, her light brown hair made up into a braid that rested on her right shoulder. The bearded man smiled at the sight of the pretty girl, in his mind were several dark thoughts, but for the other man his only interest was finding this man. The two approached the desk, their eyes carefully scanning the area.

"Welcome, do you have a quest you'd like to submit?" Guild Girl put forward her usual smiling face, though something about these men bothered her.

"Not exactly, we're just passing through, but wanted to know if there was a particular adventure that frequented this establishment?" The taller of the two men kept a very neutral face as he looked toward Guild Girl.

"I'll try to help you the best I can. What is the adventurer's name?"

"I believe he goes by the title of Goblin Slayer."

"Oh, Goblin Slayer! Yes, he is registered here at this establishment, unfortunately he is out at the moment. I don't know when he will be due back." Guild Girl smiled but then frowned when she thought about Goblin Slayer not being here.

The bearded man's eyes were wide with fear upon hearing that Goblin Slayer was here, and he began to look around nervously. The other man narrowed his gaze upon the young woman in front of him and a small smile crossed his face.

"Uh…would you like for me to let Goblin Slayer know you were seeking him out. Did you have a quest specifically for him?" Guild Girl grew rather nervous at the two men's strange behavior.

"No. Thank you."

The taller man turned and proceeded to make his way towards the door, the shorter man immediately followed behind. Once they exited the Guild, Guild Girl dropped her smile and genuinely looked concerned, wondering just what these men wanted. The moment she was able, she would inform Goblin Slayer of the two strange men who sought him out.

xxxx

After six days on the road and hours of socializing, Goblin Slayer and his party finally returned back to Frontier Town. Goblin Slayer and the two dire wolves opted to return to the farm, despite it being late out, while Heavy Warrior and his party would camp outside of the town as they had before. The werewolf had calmed down quite a bit, no longer growling at the people in front of her, it even seemed to be whining as it looked over at Heavy Warrior. In the days traveling back, Heavy Warrior had still not had direct interactions with his comrade when she was in this state that was not outside the cage.

"I want to believe that I could enter the cage with her, but…I'm still unsure of the beast and what it might do. Tomorrow, I shall try the silver ring and see how well that fares."

The next morning, Goblin Slayer had gone about making his usual rounds, but upon checking the fence had to pause as a sudden pain flared up in his shoulder, the pain was so extreme it forced him to drop to one knee.

"Beloved! Are you okay?" Lich Queen quickly appeared by his side to help him stand back up.

"The pain…it is getting worse."

"My curse mark…I am sorry Beloved that I am causing you pain."

Goblin Slayer grunted as he got back to his feet then looked over toward Lich Queen, though hidden behind his helmet, there was a slightly puzzled look on his face. Lich Queen could see this and sighed as she lowered her head.

"It is true I wanted revenge against you, but…the time I've spent with you and the others, has changed me. I wish there was a way for me to stop your suffering." Lich Queen then looked back toward Goblin Slayer with a light smile on her face. "I blame you and the others for making me recall my lost humanity…I don't seem like much of a Lich now do I?"

"Is that so?" Goblin Slayer continued with his rounds but now his thoughts were not only on the goblins but how much time did he have before he would be consumed by the darkness.

While Goblin Slayer was finishing with his morning duties and having breakfast, the others at the Guild were already busy with their normal business. Heavy Warrior had gone to the Blacksmith to see if the silver ring was complete and to his relief found the shiny piece of jewelry ready.

"Be sure you use it at just the right moment son." Blacksmith had a big smile on his face as Heavy Warrior nervously tucked the ring into his pouch.

"I tell you it's not like that. Thank you for your hard work." Heavy Warrior was quick to depart and present the ring to his partner.

Half-Dragon Mother was back to her old happy self as she greeted the patrons of the tavern, especially the tall lizardman partnered with the high elf ranger and the dwarf shaman. Her daughter was happy to be back, she enjoyed the journey and seeing her friend once again but had grown to love interacting with all the different people here at the guild. Padfoot Waitress then came out with a small tray containing, atop it were two porcelain cups with tea inside of them.

"Hey sweetie, could you take this for the two at the front desk?" Padfoot Waitress carefully handed the tray to the young dragon.

"Sure thing." Half-Dragon Daughter smiled brightly as he carefully maneuvered through the crowded tavern.

Up toward the front, Guild Girl and Inspector were busy going through the paperwork of various quests and interacting with the adventurers and those who came to submit new quests. In between the people who came in, was Bearded Animal Wrangler who leered at the two cute women at the front desk.

"If given the chance I'd use that gas to incapacitate those two and make them my slaves. It's good enough to knock out the wild beasts we catch, so it should work on humans as well." Bearded Animal Wrangler made his way toward the front desk. "I'll just ask about that Goblin Slayer, gives me an excuse to ogle those two and their well-proportioned bodies."

"Oh good morning, welcome back." Guild Girl smiled toward the man, but internally was disgusted to see this man again. "I can at least tolerate the other man."

"Well hello again, I see there's now two of you lovely young ladies." A smirk crossed his face as he looked over both Guild Girl and Inspector. "Has Goblin Slayer returned?"

"His party returned last night, so he should be in a bit." Guild Girl smiled though wished Goblin Slayer would pop in to save her from this odd man.

"I have your…"

Half-Dragon Daughter rounded the corner with tray in hand, but the smile on her face quickly vanished as she laid eyes upon the bearded man at the front desk. She dropped the tray, the porcelain cups breaking as they hit the floor drawing everyone attention toward her. Animal Wrangler gasped as his eyes widened when he caught of the small girl, the same girl they caught when Goblin Slayer's party attacked.

"If she's here than those others must be here too. I've got to get out of here before they find me!" Animal Wrangler started to slowly back away while the others were distracted by the girl.

Guild Girl and Inspector quickly rushed toward the young girl's side, Half-Dragon Daughter trembling with fear at the sight of that man again. In the middle of the confusion, Animal Wrangler quickly rushed out of the guild hall.

"What's wrong?" Guild Girl placed both hands on her little sister's shoulders in an attempt to calm her.

"Th…that man, he…he's one of the men who captured me and hurt mama!" Half-Dragon Daughter stuttered in fear as tears ran down her face, the trauma of her capture flooding her mind.

"What!"

Guild Girl turned to find the man was now gone, she quickly searched the guild hall but could not spot him. She turned back toward her little sister, still seeing the young girl tremble with fear, and embraced her.

"Don't you worry, I won't let him come near you."

Half-Dragon Mother and the others soon came toward the front when they heard the sound of the broken dishes and were distraught to see the young girl so scared. They soon learned about the surviving raider and Lizard Priest grew angry as he exited the guild hall and looked around the immediate area for any signs of this man.

"I don't see this man, but the moment we find him, he will pay for the harm he has caused you two." Lizard Priest placed a hand on his wife's and daughter's shoulders.

"Thank you." Half-Dragon Mother smiled as she placed her own hand upon his and squeezed.

"Thank you papa." Half-Dragon Daughter quickly rushed to hug her father.

"Are these those raiders you mentioned?" Priestess was slightly confused by this turn of events.

"Yes, the ones responsible for hurting Priest's wife and daughter. What was he even doing here? He must have known we'd been here too." High Elf Archer frowned at the thought of such a disgusting man entering the guild hall.

"He and the other man came in a few days ago asking about Goblin Slayer." Guild Girl turned toward the others with a look of concern on her face.

"The other one…you mean there was two of them?" High Elf archer was surprised to hear about that

"Goblin Slayer? What did they want with him?" Half-Demon Thief too was growing nervous as she pondered what they would want Goblin Slayer for.

"We need to let Beardcutter know immediately."

xxxx

Goblin Slayer calmly walked down the road toward Frontier Town, his acquired sword and mace left behind in his workshop as he carried his more familiar sword, his concern was if were to turn, he would not want to be carrying his more durable weapons.

"I have not given up, but I must be prepared."

Goblin Slayer decided that it would be best to finally let his comrades know what he was suffering with, they need be prepared to do what is necessary. Just as he drew closer to the guild he heard a voice call out to him.

"Goblin Slayer!"

Goblin Slayer turned to find Heavy Warrior nearby with a small smile on his face, Goblin Slayer nodded toward the fellow adventurer before going along with the adventurer.

"I finally have it finished." Heavy Warrior held out the ring in his hand.

"Silver?"

"Yes, I plan to try this tonight to see if it will help her. Would you come tonight?"

"Why not ask your other party members?"

"They've been put through much over these past two months, I have told them to stay and rest at the guild. As a fellow Silver and one who helped me, I'd want you to be there to see if all goes well."

"What about my other party members?"

"Only if it's successful, then I can share the good news with them."

"Very well."

"I appreciate all your assistance; we'll meet in the same spot after dark."

As Goblin Slayer and Heavy Warrior concluded their conversation, little did either know of the two individuals off to the side carefully observing them. Elder Animal Tracker and Animal Wrangler watched these two men, for Elder Animal Tracker he remembered the big guy from his dealings with the werewolf back in the winter, but for Animal Wrangler there was a look of pure horror upon his face.

"That's him…Goblin Slayer." Animal Wrangler trembled at the sight of the armored man, thinking there could not be enough distance between the two of them.

"So that's Goblin Slayer? That's the man who killed my brother while laughing you say?" Elder Animal Tracker glared at the man clenching his fists as he imagined this man laughing as he killed his brother.

"Yeah, so…what are we going to do?"

"We need to keep a low profile especially since you've been exposed in the guild. You and your damn lustful side have put us in quite a bit of trouble. You have the gas ready?"

"Yes sir."

"The moment we get him alone, I want him incapacitated."

"Then you'll kill him."

"No. I plan to drop him into the very depths of hell to suffer."

xxxx

Goblin Slayer's party was quick to caution him of a survivor of the raider party that had attacked Half-Dragon Mother and Daughter some time ago.

"Are you alright?" Goblin Slayer looked down toward his little sister.

"I'm fine, he didn't do anything, but…I remembered…"

She found herself trembling once again, but soon felt a heavy hand atop her head and looked up to see her big brother gently patting her head.

"Don't worry, we are here."

Half-Dragon Daughter looked up at her brother with wide eyes, then smiled as she nodded her head happy to know that her family was there to look out for her. Given everyone's attitude at the time, he chose not to mention his curse, there was enough to worry about without telling them that. As dusk quickly approached, Goblin Slayer took his leave and proceeded to make his way out of town to meet with Heavy Warrior. Elder Animal Tracker and Animal Wrangler silently followed Goblin Slayer from the shadows as they waited for the perfect opportunity to strike, they soon noticed he was meeting up with the large adventurer from before and another female adventurer within a cage.

"What's with that girl in the cage, is that other one a slave trader?" Animal Wrangler was confused at the sight before them.

"No, I recognize both of them. She was the one bitten by the werewolf, I figured they would have killed her. If they have that cage here, then it means she's still cursed…this may prove to be more enjoyable than I first imagined."

xxxx

"It's a beautiful ring." Female Knight had a slight blush on her face as she looked at the ring upon her left middle finger.

"Do you feel different?"

"I…I don't know. I still feel the same so far."

All three then looked off to the side to see the two moons rising in the distance. Female Knight looked toward the moons with wide eyes then calmly gripped the bars of her cage, Heavy Warrior looked on worried that she would change like before. Goblin Slayer was silent as he looked on with neutral eyes at his colleague within the cage. Female Knight's breathing quickened as he tightened her grip on the cage as she prepared for the change, but nothing happened. She removed her hands from the bars of the cage and looked down to see they were still human and then looked toward Heavy Warrior and Goblin Slayer with a smile on her face.

"I…I didn't change."

"The silver worked!" Heavy Warrior could not but cheer as he saw his partner had not transformed.

Female Knight suddenly found herself staring at Heavy Warrior with hungry eyes, her breathing began to quicken once again as she gripped the bars of the cage.

"What…what's wrong?" Heavy Warrior saw this sudden change and worried all their celebrations were premature.

"My love…the silver has worked." Female Knight was quick to begin stripping out of her clothing exposing herself as she thrust her body against the bars of the cage. "Come…let us be together. My love…mate with me!"

Heavy Warrior stood there with mouth open as a large blush crossed his face seeing his lover act in this manner. He then looked over toward Goblin Slayer who remained silent during all of this before turning his attention toward Heavy Warrior.

"Is this normal?"

"O, of course not you damn fool! You've seen her, she would never act in such a manner." Heavy Warrior shook his head, doing his best not to stare at his lover's body in that this state. "Don't stare at her!"

"Perhaps a side effect of the werewolf bite. The silver kept her from changing but did not completely subdue her bestial side."

"You think that's what it is?" Heavy Warrior looked back at Female Knight still embarrassed at her lustful behavior.

"Is this a bad thing?"

"Well no but…what the hell are you asking! This is hardly the behavior of a future paladin!" Heavy Warrior sighed as he looked from Goblin Slayer back to his love and smiled. "If alone…this would certainly not be such a bad thing."

Female Knight licked her lips as she stared at Heavy Warrior, when suddenly her ears started to twitch, her ears could pick up the sounds of someone approaching. She took in a deep breath through her nose and could pick up the scents of unknown men nearby.

"Someone else is here." Female Knight growled as she looked around the area.

The others reached for their weapons and looked around only to see a small glass vial fly forward and shattered against the cage. The moment it was broken, a strange smell enveloped the area around the cage. The three adventurers began to cough as the strange fumes surrounded them, but soon enough they collapsed as the gas knocked them out. As the gas began to disperse Elder Animal Tracker and Animal Wrangler approached the downed adventurers.

"You pathetic pile of shit." Elder Animal Tracker gave the unconscious Goblin Slayer a swift kick along his side. "I'm sure you took great pleasure in making my little brother suffer and I am here to return the favor."

"What shall we do now." Animal Wrangler turned toward Elder Animal Tracker while still keeping an eye Goblin Slayer. "Even unconscious, I still don't feel safe around him."

"Well we have the cage, load them up…we're going to make a brief visit to the desert."

High above in the sky, a large figure observed the actions down below, though it remained unseen through the use of Perception Blocking. The men down below did not know of the massive dragon that watched as they loaded the unconscious individuals into the cage.

"Humans…such a disgusting race, they constant try to destroy one another. I should wipe them all out before they come to threaten my kind." The massive dragon spoken in a deep feminine voice as she thought back to her former friend who acted as a deity to the humans for a time. "I wonder if that is my only destiny as a Chaos Dragon? Perhaps I will find my friend in Crossroads, but first…let me see where these humans are going."

xxxx

The next morning, Cow Girl awoke to find Wolf and Snow roaming around the field, but no sign of Goblin Slayer doing his normal rounds. She was a bit worried, it was not like him to leave Wolf and Snow out and decided to check with her Uncle.

"I haven't seen him this morning, come to think of it I'm not sure he came home last night."

"Maybe he accepted a quest yesterday…I'm going to go and check with the Guild."

Cow Girl and the two dire wolves quickly made their way into town to check in with Guild Girl.

"Goblin Slayer, no he didn't take on any quests from yesterday. Why…was he not at home today?"

"No, he didn't come home last night."

"You all say something about Orcbolg?"

The two girls turned to see the rest of Goblin Slayer's party and the two Half-Dragons coming down the stairs.

"Wolf! Snow!" Half-Dragon Daughter was quick to rush and pet the two dire wolves who eagerly returned the affection.

"Good Morning, you all haven't seen Goblin Slayer have you?" Guild Girl had a concerned look on her face.

"Beardcutter isn't at home?"

"He didn't come home last night, and I didn't see him this morning." Cow Girl now had the same worried expression on her face.

"Wait…those men who were looking for Goblin Slayer, the ones who attacked my little sister, you don't think…" Half-Demon Thief had a sudden troublesome idea pop into her head.

The others all looked toward Half-Demon Thief with wide eyes at the sudden though of these men having something to do Goblin Slayer's disappearance. Cow Girl was quickly brought up to speed and the revelation terrified her.

"Surely Goblin Slayer…would not a problem with them, right?" Priestess grew nervous as she clutched her sounding staff.

"Hey, you haven't seen our party members have you?"

The others turned to find Half-Elf Light Warrior, Scout Boy and Druid Girl coming out of the tavern, but Heavy Warrior and Female Knight were not with them.

"Your party members are missing too?" High Elf Archer grew more concerned by the second.

"What do you mean too? Is Goblin Slayer missing?" Scout Boy was confused by comment.

"Our party members said they would be out trying…trying something to help and that we should rest tonight." Druid Girl wanted to make sure she kept the fact that Female Knight was a werewolf hidden from Cow Girl and Guild Girl. "We haven't seen them all morning."

"Goblin Slayer is missing too." Priestess was quick to jump in her trembling evident as her sounding staff rattled loudly.

"We need to investigate the spot where they were last." Lizard Priest tried his best to be rational about the situation.

"But where would that be Scaly?"

"The spot you found us last time, it's far enough away from town that nobody should have bothered them." Scout Boy offered the only explanation that made sense to him at the time.

"Right, you all stay here on the off chance they come in and we're overreacting." High Elf Archer calmly gave her directions towards Cow Girl, Guild Girl, Half-Dragon Mother and Daughter.

The four women did not like the idea of being left out, but reluctantly agreed as the rest of the adventurers rushed out of the guild hall. It took them a while, but the eventually reached the location of the clearing outside of town. A quick observation showed no signs of the wagon used to move the cage around or the cage itself. The adventurers quickly went about investigating the area, until Wolf and Snow howled to get their attention. The others rushed over to see signs of wheel marks where the wagon would have been as well as the remains of a broken vial along the ground.

"Good job you two." Dwarf Shaman was quick to give them both a gentle pat before picking up the glass shards.

"What is it?" Priestess hoped this might give them a clue as to the where abouts of Goblin Slayer.

Dwarf Shaman gave the glass shards a few sniffs before scrunching his nose at the lingering odor.

"There's an odd smell coming from it, this is not one of Beardcutter's vials."

"The marks of the wheels lead away from her to the main road, but…I can't tell where they went from here." Half-Elf Light Warrior looked left and right along the ground in hopes of finding something that would point him in the right direction.

"Damn it, if they left with the wagon at night, we've lost several hours. Where the hell would they have taken them?" High Elf Archer slammed her right fist into her left palm.

"O Earth Mother, please guide and assist us in finding our lost companions…and keep them safe." Priestess quickly closed her eyes and quietly spoke her prayer hoping the Earth Mother heard her petition.

xxxx

Atop the wagon, Elder Animal Tracker gave the reigns a crack as the horses pushed on down the road. Animal Wrangler remained in the back watching the unconscious adventurers bounce around in the cage.

"With every bump we hit, I can clearly see something bouncing on that blonde beauty." A wicked smile crossed his face as he looked at the Female Knight's form.

"Are they still out?"

"Oh yes they are, that gas is strong enough to knock out griffin, they'll be out for a few hours and when they wake up, they're in for one hell of a headache."

"Good, I don't need them making any noise to draw attention until we're further away from the main roads. There's still too many people around."

"By the way, why travel to the desert, you plan on leaving them to wander and die of dehydration or starvation?"

"No, you know full well what else is out there in the desert, far away from the laws and protection of the King."

Animal Wrangler was at first confused, but soon realized what Elder Animal Tracker was implying and suddenly felt bad for Female Knight.

"How unfortunate, such a lovely specimen will be kill for the enjoyment of others, she'd make a fine slave to service my every need." Animal Wrangler was quick to refocus on the task at hand as he asked his next question. "You don't mean to sell them to her do you?"

"No, I'll give them to her for free, I just want him to suffer before he finally dies. Once he and the others are thrown into the Hell Games, then they'll know what true suffering is like and will be begging for the sweet embrace of death."

Author's Note: I threw in one final cameo in the form of a particular dragon who can conceal herself from others…who just so happened to see everything down below. Next chapter will begin the Hell Games Arc. How low can the levels of human depravity sink as they watch the suffering of others for their own enjoyment? How long can our trio endure this until their comrades come for them…or rather IF they come for them.