"Beloved wake up!"
Goblin Slayer grunted as he slowly started to stir, the pain in his head was tolerable, but as he looked around saw Heavy Warrior and Female Knight nearby. He discovered that he and his colleagues were within the cage and they had since moved from the clearing in the woods.
"Where?"
"Unknown Beloved, we've been traveling through all the night and most of the morning. Once you were unconscious, those two men loaded your bodies into this cage and quickly departed."
Goblin Slayer looked off to the side to see two men off to the side conversing as the rested the horses. Goblin Slayer reached for his weapons but a quick check revealed all his weapons had been removed.
"If you're looking for your weapons, they're in the wagon…I feel you won't be needing them." Elder Animal Tracker commented in a cold tone.
Goblin Slayer proceeded to move and wake up Heavy Warrior who quickly went to cover up Female Knight nude form while waking her up. Once fully awake, and for Female Knight fully dressed, the three gripped the bars of the cage as they looked toward the two men. Heavy Warrior and Female Knight instantly recognized the thinner man as the man who took hold of the wolf that night in winter.
"You! What the hell do you think you're doing! Release us immediately!" Heavy Warrior angrily banged his fists against the bars.
"You can shout as much as you want, but it won't change the fact that you're not about to be released any time soon." Elder Animal Tracker turned his attention toward Goblin Slayer. "If you must blame someone for your predicament, then blame him."
"Goblin Slayer? What does he have to do with this?" Heavy Warrior looked toward his friend with raised eyebrows.
"Do you know these men Goblin Slayer?" Female Knight, trying to keep her body hidden, also had an unsure expression about her face.
Goblin Slayer looked towards the two men, trying to recall if he ever met them, he had gotten better at remembering faces, but could not place them.
"No. I've never seen these men before."
"I'm not surprised, I sure as hell wasn't going to let you find me after what you did to him!" Animal Wrangler was still afraid of this man, even behind the bars of the cage.
"Him?" Goblin Slayer was confused by the statement.
"My brother."
Goblin Slayer and the others turned their attention to the taller, slimmer man who was now clenching his fists tightly.
"I'm told that you beat my brother to death…that you laughed as you continued to pummel his corpse with your mace." Elder Animal Tracker turned his gaze towards Goblin Slayer, his eyes ablaze with anger. "The fact that you took pleasure in his death, in MY brother's death, infuriates me!"
"Goblin Slayer…laughing?" Female Knight could not picture the image, in her mind it was something impossible to imagine.
"I do not know who you are speaking of."
"Don't act like you don't know! You killed him and the others, trying to get that damn half-dragon brat back for that slut of a mother!" Animal Wrangler angrily spat as he pointed his stubby finger at Goblin Slayer.
Goblin Slayer paused for a moment as he thought about what was said before he narrowed his eyes and then gripped the bars of the cage tightly.
"You were part of the group that attacked the dragon mother and daughter." Goblin Slayer's response was cold with a hint of anger in his voice.
"You mean those two that helped us, these men were involved in making them suffer!" Female Knight suddenly found herself growling at these men.
"For you to want to make those two suffer, then it was right for Goblin Slayer to have killed your brother and those others!" Heavy Warrior too was growing angry as he realized these men were part of this group of raiders.
"We were just doing our job! Collecting rare…"
"Shut your damn mouth!" Elder Animal Tracker struck the other man with the back of his fist. "All you need to know is that you are going to pay for killing him."
"You damn son of a…" Heavy Warrior gritted his teeth as he tightened his grip around the bars.
"How surprising to find you two again, even more surprising that she is alive. I would have figured that either she'd have killed you or you killed her. I'm guessing that little ring of hers is designed to keep her from changing?" Elder Animal Tracker smiled as he looked over toward the barely clothed Female Knight.
"You filthy scum! Where is the wolf you caught?"
"Oh not to worry, it is still alive…somewhere. Not that you'll be able to find it anytime soon. In fact, where you're all going, I doubt you'll be able last more than a few hours. Do try and enjoy the journey, it will be a few days until we reach our final destination…and you all enter hell."
The massive dragon continued to watch the group unseen, she watched as these two men got back on the wagon and started moving once again. She managed to overhear most of their conversation, especially the part of them mentioning the oddly dressed man in armor had helped rescue a half-dragon mother and her daughter.
"I'm sure he had some ulterior motive for saving them, but he did aid fellow dragons nevertheless. Ahead of us lies the desert, so where are they taking these people?"
xxxx
"Goblin Slayer's been abducted!"
Spearman and the rest of the guild patrons were surprised to hear about the disappearance of Goblin Slayer. Over the last two years, he had changed so much, being highly welcomed at the guild, especially since he had become a big brother to Half-Dragon Mother's daughter. Cow Girl could feel the color drain from her face as she heard this, wondering what he could be going through and what could she do to help.
"Not just Orcbolg, but Heavy Warrior and the Female Knight as well."
"Are…are you certain they haven't been…killed?" Guild Girl struggled to get the words out as the unsettling thought went through her mind.
"Don't say such things!" Cow Girl was quick to shoot Guild Girl a frown as she heard her friend say this.
"It doesn't look as though they killed them, only abducted them for some reason. If they were part of the group that attacked my little granddaughter and her mother, they'll be out to get revenge against Beardcutter."
"I'm…I'm sorry, I never meant for big brother to get in trouble for rescuing me and mama." Half-Dragon Daughter nervously held her hands expecting to be scolded.
"You have nothing to apologize for my little one, Milord Goblin Slayer and I would gladly save you and your mother all over again." Lizard Priest was quick to comfort his daughter with a smile.
"But where would they have taken them?" Priestess was equally distraught at the thought of her teacher being tortured by these men.
"There's no real way to know at the moment, but it's likely that if it's the same slave trader group you all dealt with, they'd be going to sell them in one of the towns." Half-Demon Thief offered her best educated guess.
"A very sound suggestion, but where would we start?" Lizard Priest too worried, the more time they wasted, the less likely they were to find their comrades.
"We'll split up and head to different towns."
Everyone turned to find Spearman standing with a confident smile on his face and behind him were other adventurers ready to help as well.
"We can split up into different groups and hit various towns, and hopefully meet back here with Goblin Slayer and the others or a possible lead." Spearman smiled especially with Witch by his side.
"If we work…together…we'll find them…much faster." Witch had an alluring smile on her face as she blew out a stream of smoke.
"Thank you, I feel so helpless right now." Cow Girl sighed in frustration as she held her head down.
"We'll find him, don't you worry." Priestess took hold of her friend's hand and gently squeezed it.
"Perhaps we should head for Water Town first, maybe the Sword Maiden might have heard something about these slave traders." Dwarf Shaman frowned as he stroked his beard, in deep thought about what they could do to quickly get Goblin Slayer back.
"Then that's where we'll head first, time to make these bastards pay." Half-Demon Thief growled as she cracked her knuckles.
xxxx
The days on the road had been long and tiresome, the trio in the cage were forced to relieve themselves in the corner of the cage, given scarps of meat and small cups of water, their captors wanted to make sure they reached the location alive. The setting had changed from the forest to a more desert-like setting. Little to no vegetation, sand and rock as far as the eye could see, no real settlement from what they could see, with the rising heat, Heavy Warrior had since removed his armor. Females Knight's armor removed the night she had tried the silver ring in fear that she would transform once again, resting in the wagon along with their weapons. Now in his more common clothing sat beside his lover both far away from the waste in the corner.
"What the hell do they plan on doing, leave us out here to fend for ourselves?" Female Knight uncomfortably shuffled in the cage.
"Not sure, we've been traveling for so many days and nights, barely fed anything to keep us weak." Heavy Warrior grunted as he heard his stomach growl.
"We must be ready to strike the moment they open the cage."
Female Knight and Heavy Warrior turned toward Goblin Slayer who sat in another corner of the cage opposite of them, still fully clothed in his usual armor. For Goblin Slayer it was to ensure he was prepared to attack and free himself at the earliest moment, and to conceal the curse mark present on the left side of his body. Elder Animal Tracker was smart however, making no attempt to open the cage or getting within reach of their grasp.
It was late in the afternoon, after entering into a canyon, that the three could see what looked like a large campsite made up of several dozen tents of various sizes. Various men and women came to and from, some eating, others drinking, but they all shared the same cruel wicked smile as they observed this wagon coming into the encampment. Around them, they could see what looked like a series of cages lined up along either side of the cliffs. Towards the left side were numerous figures of various race, some covered in flimsy armor or chainmail while others wore torn clothing with their bits of armor off in the corner. To the right, these cages were covered with what looked like blood-stained cloths, various animal-like grunts and growls could be heard coming from thin them.
"Where the hell are we?" Heavy Warrior did not expect an answer to his question as he looked around at the whole scene around them.
The wagon soon came to a stop and the cage with it, the trio inside stood and looked through the bars at the encampment as several men walked up, laughing and talking amongst themselves as they looked over the trio, especially the scantly clad Female Knight. Elder Animal Tracker and Animal Wrangler dismounted the wagon and happily greeted the various men, pointing and talking about the trio in the cage. Heavy Warrior and Female Knight were growing rather mad as these men continued to laugh and talk about them as if they were some kind of animal or trophy. Goblin Slayer silently watched them, constantly studying these men, immediately being reminded of how goblins would cackle at the sight of captured prey. Before any of them could voice their outrage or threaten these men who leered at Female Knight when a female voice called out to them
"My, my…what lovely toys did you bring me today."
The voice was calm and sweet sounding, but the moment those outside the cage heard it, all went silent. Goblin Slayer and the others looked off to the side to see a thin woman, a body much like that of Female Knight, with long red hair calmly walk toward the front of the cage to observe the trio. She was a bit of an older woman, in her late thirties or early forties, she wore a red militaristic style uniform, black knee-high boots and white formal gloves on her hand, a small pair of glasses present on her face. Her skin was rather pale, much different from those around her who had healthy tans from being in the sun. What struck them the most was the expression she wore on her face, one that was very unsettling even to Heavy Warrior. The woman had a small innocent smile on her face, but behind her glasses they could see dull, cold blue eyes that seemed to be seeing them but at the same time was not.
"Let us see…he looks quite strong, yes a fine specimen of a man." Her gaze then shifted from Heavy Warrior toward Female Knight and her eyes widened. "Such a lovely creature, and look…you have blue eyes like mine…so beautiful."
The odd woman stretched out her hand toward Female Knight, her dull eyes solely focused on this beautiful creature before her. This of course caused Female Knight to recoil in fear and disgust, while Heavy Warrior gritted his teeth as he grew angrier and angrier.
"Get the hell away from her!"
The others around this woman looked towards her with worried looks, but for this woman she turned her head back towards Heavy Warrior, her small smile having grown wider and her dull pupils seemed to light up as they appeared dilated.
"I see…she is precious to you. I will remember that."
This woman had withdrawn her hand then finally walked to examine Goblin Slayer, her smiled faded as she looked at this man, a slight frown crossed her face as she tilted her head toward the side.
"This one…it is hard to determine what he is thinking do to his helmet. Such cheap and flimsy looking armor. Why do you wear such a helmet, surely it is too hot for you with that?"
"To keep from being knocked out by a blow to the head. Goblins like to employ that tactic quite often."
"Goblins?" She gently tapped a gloved finger on her right hand against her cheek. "This one…maybe be problematic."
"You see it don't you Beloved? That lifeless look in her eyes and smile on her face, she is one who has seen terrible things in her life. Those are the eyes of one who enjoys killing."
The woman then turned back toward Elder Animal Tracker, her small grin once again returned as her dull blue eyes looked at his.
"I hate having to deal with her…I was hoping to dump them off to one of her subordinates. She's completely insane." Elder Animal Tracker smiled as he bowed his head towards her. "A pleasure to see you again."
"Don't pretend to be happy to see me…I don't have patience for liars." Once again her eyes dilated as her smiled faded into a frown.
"My apologies mistress." Elder Animal Tracker once again bowed his head, a cold sweat running down his brow.
"How much do you want for these ones?" She still had a frown upon her face as she looked towards the trio in the cage, then back towards Elder Animal Tracker.
"Nothing." Elder Animal Tracker raised his head, his eyes narrowed. "I want that one in the armor to suffer before he dies. The other two were with him at the time, do with them as you wish. As an added bonus, the girl was bitten by a werewolf…that piece of silver on her hand is keeping her from turning into a blood thirsty monster."
Many of the men around the cage suddenly looked toward the woman and took a couple steps away from the cage. The odd woman's face looked shocked to hear this, but soon a wide grin crossed her face as she tilted her head to the right.
"How wonderful! What color is her fur? Does it match her beautiful blonde hair?" This odd woman's grin changed to a hysterical smile as her hands began to tremble and her eyes dilated.
"I have not seen her transformation myself, I shall leave that as a surprise for you. You will take care of them for me, yes?"
"Oh absolutely! First we must inspect them."
"Allow us to help with that." Elder Animal Tracker turned his attention toward Animal Wrangler. "Put them to sleep again."
Animal Wrangler nodded as he drew out another of the glass vials and motioned for the others to back away. As before he shattered the vials along the floor of the cage, try as they might, the trio could not hold their breath for long and eventually collapsed. Once they were unconscious, the strange woman with the wide hysterical smile, motioned for her men to unload her new toys. Once the trio were removed, Elder Animal Wrangler and Animal Wrangler quickly got under way back towards civilization.
"I don't understand, you don't want to see him torn apart at the games tonight?" Animal Wrangler looked toward Elder Animal Tracker with unsure eyes.
"There's no guarantee he'll die in the first round, besides…now that he's in her hands, he'll be in for a world of pain." Elder Animal Tracker smiled as the wagon departed from the canyon. "Did you notice how she looked at the knight? She's taken quite the liking with her…might even make her into her own personal slave."
"All I know is the sooner we're away from here the better, that woman scares me."
"Me too, she is…not quite right in the head that one. We're heading back to Water Town, see if we can find any other creatures for that Necromancer."
High above them the dragon had seen enough and decided to head for Crossroads. The sight of the humans down below capturing others and using them for their own pleasure sickened and infuriated the dragon.
"Damn humans…I really should wipe them all out. However, they are not my immediate concern, instead I'll hopefully find my friend in Crossroads, assuming she hasn't caused any further pranks."
xxxx
"He…he's missing." Sword Maiden was at a loss as she heard from the others what had happened to Goblin Slayer.
"Those responsible for attacking my daughter were looking for him and it would seem they took him along with two of our comrades."
"We have various groups spread out to try and find any leads on these men who were after Goblin Slayer." Priestess frowned as she tightened her grip around her sounding staff.
"I'll dispatch my acolytes as well. There more able-bodied people we have, the sooner we'll find him."
"We appreciate your assistance, but I know Beardcutter and the others won't go without a fight. I just wish we had some kind of idea of where they were taken."
Wolf whined as he looked around the area in search of the armored man, he soon felt someone stroke the top of his head and a quick glance showed him it was Sword Maiden.
"Don't worry, we'll find him."
xxxx
"Beloved…Beloved you need to wake up."
As before Goblin Slayer, grunted as he slowly stirred, he once again found himself in a cage, but this cage was much smaller than the one he had been in before and now he found himself alone. As he stood, he found Heavy Warrior in the cage to the right of him and Female Knight in the cage to the right of that. To his left, he found another male figure, this one was much shorter and had slightly pointed ears, a rhea, though Goblin Slayer only knew that he was not a goblin. He looked around to see other in several cages, many had tired defeated looks on their faces while others looked absolutely traumatized. Before him were some of the slavers talking amongst themselves as they walked toward one of the tents.
"That weird one in the armor, you notice that black mark on his arm and neck."
"Could be a disease, maybe a curse, who knows and who cares."
"That woman…man did I enjoy the feel of touching her body."
"Too bad she'll die tonight with those other two."
"I can't wait to see how long they last."
Goblin Slayer soon took notice that his armor had been left intact, most likely due to how "cheap" looking it appeared. Heavy Warrior and Female Knight had been dressed in simple leather armor, their much better equipment and weapons kept elsewhere. Goblin Slayer went about awakening Heavy Warrior who in turn work up Female Knight. Goblin Slayer soon noticed a strange leather collar around each of their necks and a simple touch revealed that he too had one, upon further examination he saw the same collar on each person's neck. Goblin Slayer attempted to remove the collar but the moment he started to pull the collar was surrounded by a green glow and an intense pain forcing him to release his grip and stumble backwards.
"Goblin Slayer! Are you okay?" Heavy Warrior was shocked and distressed to see his friend struggle in pain.
"I…I will manage."
"You can't remove the collars."
The trio turned toward the rhea in the other cage, his tired eyes looked toward Goblin Slayer and he shook his head while pointing at his own collar.
"You'll end up killing yourself if you try to remove it. She has them enchanted to ensure her toys don't escape."
"She…you mean that odd woman?" Female Knight could not help but shudder as she remembered that unsettling gaze that woman had when looking at her.
"Yes…the Mistress of the Game. A former slave who now controls the game for her own sick enjoyment. You'd do best not to cross her…you basically live as long as she finds joy in toying with you."
"I have no intention of being her plaything." Goblin Slayer sighed as he placed a hand upon his collar but did not make any attempt to pull it off.
"My apologies Beloved, I am unable to take physical form to prevent them who touching you with their filthy hands."
"You three are new right? That means you'll be thrown into the Great Maw then."
"The Great Maw?" Female Knight was slightly worried they would be fed to some giant monstrosity.
"The name for the pit where you will fight. Everyone fights for as long as they can…but no one can last forever. We're all going to die." Rhea Slave sighed as he returned to his vacant stare.
"If only we had our armor and weapons…I feel so damn weak at the moment." Heavy Warrior hissed as he hit his fist against the cage.
"If we use our heads, we will be fine." Goblin Slayer calmly backed up toward the back of the cage and carefully took in his surroundings.
Once the sun had gone down, a heavy set man chuckled as he walked toward the cage, upon his left hand was a ring with a green gem much like what Beast Master had been using. He walked right up the cages for Goblin Slayer, Heavy Warrior and Female Knight; the trio readied themselves to attack the moment the cage was open.
"I wouldn't think about it." Slave Handler smirked as he clenched his left fist.
The moment the ring began to glow, their collars were surrounded by the same light and all three collapsed to their hands and knees as an intense pain shot through their bodies. Slave Handler unclenched his fist and the pain dissipated as the three stood up.
"You understand right? You cross me or anyone here and I'll make you beg for death as I enjoy your suffering. Now then…" Slave Handler reached into his pouch and withdrew various items.
For Female Knight he tossed in a small dagger, for Heavy Warrior he was given a club, and for Goblin Slayer he was given a length of rope.
"It would seem that mistress has taken quite the liking to you, many don't get bladed weapons until after they've won ten fights in a row." Slave Handler chuckled then sneered as he looked toward Goblin Slayer. "How unfortunate for you, try to use that to the best of your ability."
"It will do."
Goblin Slayer's dispassionate reply caught Slave Handler off guard, but Heavy Warrior and Female Knight smiled knowing that these circumstances would not affect Goblin Slayer.
"Get to the pit you lot!" Slave Handler angrily snapped as he pointed the way for them to go.
Once the cage was open, the three slowly exited and walked toward their left. It felt as though they were going down a gentle slope and soon found the entrance to the Great Maw. It was a large dug out pit, the depth of the pit was twice the size of a man. Lining the top of the pit were dozens of large wooden stakes, some angle inward while others were angled outward. Upon many of the stakes were the remains of previous slaves, some fresh kills others nothing more than partial remains of skeletons.
"It really does look at though we're in the mouth of some monster." Female Knight grimaced as she looked toward a nearby corpse of a half-elf thrown upon the stakes.
As they walked in, the trio took notice of a large wooden down with metal stake nailed into it secured with ropes and nearby pullies.
"They can close and open the pit with that door. Keeps us from making a sudden escape." Heavy Warrior frowned as he noticed the dark red splotches across the metal stakes.
Above them were wooden rows that that resembled the seats one would watch when attending a play, dozens of men and women were seating in the rows who jeered and sneered as the trio entered into the pit. At the center of these rows was a large stone throne, and upon the throne sat the Mistress of the Games, by her side were children in rags serving her wine and fruits. As before, there was small smile on her face as her lifeless eyes took in the three figures in the pit. She stood and took a couple steps forward, the moment she was up the crowd fell silent.
"Welcome…to the Hell Games."
The crowd roared with delight as the trio could only look around distressed at the situation.
"Tonight…my newest toys shall play for your entertainment." She turned from left to right to see the look of those who came to her games then looked down at the trio. "Do try not to die too quickly."
She then returned back to her throne and continued to grin as she crossed her legs to comfortably watch the show below. While this was going on, several of the spectators started taking bets, many were betting on the trio to die, but it was a question of just how long they would last, few did actually think they might win, but did not bet heavily on it.
"No matter what, we fight together." Heavy Warrior tightened his grip on his club as he looked around at the people above.
"I'll always stand with you." Female Knight kept her dagger in her right hand.
"Agreed." Goblin Slayer held the rope tightly in his right hand while he made a fist with his left hand.
The trio then heard a strange growl coming from the entrance they had just come from, it sounded almost like a large bear, yet had a screeching to it as well. Two men could be seen dragging something with heavy ropes as they struggled to move the massive creature toward the entrance, but soon enough the trio saw something that had the head of a bird with its massive beak and feathers upon most of its body yet was also covered in brown fur as he stalked forward on all fours. The massive creature entered the pit rearing up on its hind legs to tower over the three adventurers. Once inside, the handlers cut the ropes short and ran to lower the door closing the entrance to the pit.
"Hmm…that's not a goblin."
"No…an owlbear." Heavy Warrior was started at the size of the massive creature.
"They want us to kill this beast with just these things?" Female Knight was also worried thinking how they could kill this massive wall of muscles and fat with just a dagger, club and rope.
"Can it be killed like a goblin?"
Heavy Warrior and Female Knight turned toward Goblin Slayer, they themselves caught off guard by his question.
"Y, yes."
"Good, then we need only look for the right opportunity to attack."
"That kind of confidence can be quite infectious…and I like that." Heavy Warrior smiled as he readied himself for the fight.
"Then let us kill this beast." Female Knight could feel her bestial instincts kick in as she saw the moons above.
"Beloved, you must be cautious with this one. It has quite the reach with its massive arms and can hit as hard as an ogre…or goblin champion as you probably forgot about the other one."
"Hmm."
The owlbear roared as it dropped back down on all fours and charged forward, snapping it massive beak at Heavy warrior who quickly leapt to the side. Female Knight rushed in and stabbed the beast over and over with her dagger along its back, but felt she wasn't doing enough damage. The owlbear turned its attention toward her and swiped with its massive claws, Goblin Slayer pushed her out of the way and was instead struck by the mighty arm. Goblin Slayer flew across the pit hitting the side of the rock hard enough that a bit of blood flew from his visor.
"Goblin Slayer!" Female Knight had wide eyes as she saw him slump to the floor.
"You damn son of a…" Heavy Warrior rushed forward and struck the beast across its face.
The owlbear screeched as it backed away slightly before roaring at Heavy Warrior and Female Knight. The patrons above cheered at the sight of Goblin Slayer being struck by the owlbear, for Mistress her own smile grew more twisted as she saw the battle unfold down below.
"Beloved! You must get back to your feet." Lich Queen struggled to get Goblin Slayer back to his feet. "You can't be so reckless Beloved! Study the situation clearly and look for your chance to strike."
Goblin Slayer spit the blood from his mouth as he got to his feet, though he struggled to keep himself balanced. He looked forward to see the massive creature swiping at the others at it slowly moved to corner them. With its back turned, Goblin Slayer saw his opportunity and pushed past the pain. He rushed forward with rope in hand leapt onto the owlbear's back and wrapped the rope around the creature's neck and pulled with all its strength. The owlbear struggled to screech as it moved back, even standing on its hindlegs in an attempt to shake the human off its back, but Goblin Slayer refused to release his grip.
The owlbear then tried to move its claws to get hold of the human, but Heavy Warrior rushed in and struck and the monster's joints, making its screech in pain and halt its attempts to dislodge Goblin Slayer from its back. Female Knight charged in plunged her dagger into the creature's chest over and over. The owlbear struggled against the three attacking and suddenly as it bent its head down to roar at them, Female Knight jammed her dagger upward. The blade entered under the creature's chin and straight into its brain. The owlbear let out a pitiful final roar as it began to sway, Female Knight and Heavy Warrior quickly backed away once they saw the owlbear began to fall forward. The massive beast hit the ground with a mighty thud, causing Goblin Slayer to roll off to the side.
"Goblin Slayer you okay?" Heavy Warrior quickly rushed to help him back to his feet.
"I'll live. Is it dead?"
"Yes…we got it." Female Knight's breathing was ragged as wiped the sweat from her brow. "Thank you…you saved me."
"You said we fight together, right?" Goblin Slayer looked toward the two adventurers.
"Damn straight." Heavy Warrior smiled as he gave Goblin Slayer's left shoulder a slap.
"And that's how we'll get through this too." Female Knight smiled as she nodded her head toward them.
The trio soon turned their attention to the crowd that observed them, all were silent as they looked at the scene below then turned their attention back toward Mistress of the Game. There was a look of utter shock on her face, her eyes dilated once again as she saw the dead owlbear down below and the three adventurers still standing. She started to slow her breathing down and little by little her eyes returned to their normal state, and soon her small grin returned to her face.
"Wonderful…simply wonderful." Mistress stood and began to clap at their performance. "My lovely knight has survived. Those two…that one in the armor especially…he did save my knight, but her praise should be directed toward me! I will teach you what it means to defy me!"
The patrons stood and clapped to acknowledge the adventurer's victory, as they had seen Mistress do, but were all aware that she was not happy with this outcome. Goblin Slayer, Heavy Warrior, and Female Knight took one look at these people around them and knew they were in for the fight for their lives, somehow they would have to find a way to escape from this hell hole, though they were unaware that their comrades were doing all in their power to try to reach them.
Author's Note: Welcome to the Hell Games, run by the sadistic Mistress of the Game. I'll be expanding on her backstory in the coming chapters and yes, some of you probably got that yandere vibe coming off her, all of it directed towards Female Knight. Credit for "The Great Maw" concept of the battle pit was inspired by " .1". Thanks for the suggestion.