I made good time on my way to the goblin staging area. My prior knowledge allowed me to get the drop on the goblin archers; they hadn't expected a human to come around the corner at a full charge and plant himself within their ranks. I had killed one by the time they thought to abandon their bows, and the others fell in short order.

Once again, the dumping area outside the goblin territory was unchanged, and I hesitated at the crossroads between Ruben's camp and the goblins. I had seen the man kill, at least by stealth, and I knew what an asset he could be. But the madness in his eyes worried me, and I was unsure of who would win if we were to fight. Especially if Ruben was the instigator. Would my magic be enough to block that knife of his if I didn't know it was coming?

Then again, what were my chances of freeing the slaves on my own? The hobgoblins were fearsome opponents and, while I was confident of my chances with one at a time, there were three of them. Four, including Wulthark. I would need Ruben's help, that much was certain, and I was far more comfortable risking his life than Sonja's, as callous as it was. I would need his help. But what did I have to trade that he would want?

I considered the three dead archers at my feet.

I rapped on the solid wood in the peculiar pattern I'd seen Ruben use while nursing a fresh wound. One of Ruben's traps had caught me by surprise and the spring-loaded stake had pierced my [Mage Armor] and buried itself in my side.

Paranoid bastard.

Two voices muttered on the inside, and I rapped again impatiently.

"It's Ciaphas." I called softly, not wanting my voice to carry. "I come bearing gifts."

The whispers came again, and after a quick exchange, they unlocked the string of locks and deadbolts. The door cracked open, and I saw a slice of Ruben's suspicious face.

"What kind of gifts?" His eyes ran over me, searching.

"Let me in and I'll show you."

He hesitated, noticing my wound, and checked the hallway behind me. Then pulled the door open and stepped aside.

"Get in, quick, before they see you."

I stepped in and nodded to Helmfrid, who stood in a corner, rubbing his hands together nervously. Then I pulled one of the goblin archers from my inventory and dropped it at Ruben's feet without ceremony. He licked his chops like a dog, and the way his eyes slid over the body made my skin crawl. Then he looked at me.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I need your help." I wanted to get this exchange over with. Misery and suffering hung in a cloud over the room. "I want to get into the goblin camp and kill as many as possible without getting caught."

Ruben's eyes gleamed with malicious excitement, and I noticed the butcher's knife in his hand for the first time. He'd been hiding it behind his leg, and it disturbed me I hadn't noticed. Had he planned on killing me when I came in?

"I do love killing those beasts, but doing it in their territory is a big risk. What's in it for me?"

He was already going to accept. I could see it in the way he kept swallowing, the saliva pooling in his mouth, and the way he fidgeted with the knife. But it wasn't in his nature not to take everything he could. There was no way I would allow this man near the others. I could only imagine what Sonja would do.

"Two more goblins now, and you can keep whatever we kill. I'll help you carry them out without slowing us down. Enough meat to feast for days. And…" I added at his excitement, reeling him in. "Have you seen the hobgoblins?"

Ruben nodded, a portion of his madness replaced with trepidation. So even he was afraid of them.

"I know how we can take three of them without a fight."

Ruben slid the knife between the ribs of the smith in one smooth motion, his hand smothering the cry of pain. The smith jerked once, then went limp. The man lowered it to the floor carefully, then crept back to me.

"Where's the others?" His voice was barely audible.

I pointed to the southwestern door, where I remembered seeing a pair of bunk beds before my last death. The movement strained my injury, and I swallowed a moan. I hadn't had the chance to heal it with [Drain Life], instead letting Ruben serve as the vanguard and kill the smith without a struggle.

It hurt like a bitch, though.

"There. Two of them they should be sleeping. The fourth is through the door beside it; they're connected. I'll finish up here and follow you through after you put them down."

Ruben jerked his head in acknowledgment, then slipped through the first door I had indicated. I let him go, busying myself with loading the dead smith into my inventory and gathering the masterwork bracers from the rack. Ruben had already executed one hobgoblin and was working on the second by the time I caught up. The room was a barracks, as expected, and while small, it was relatively comfortable. Hell, their beds were finer than the bedroll I had back at camp.

"There. That's three. I say we cut and run before our luck runs out."

That caught me off guard. I had expected Ruben's bloodlust to outweigh his caution. I'd seen it happen before, but apparently even the madman had his limits. But I hadn't come here to satisfy his impulses.

"What about the last one?" Ruben shook his head emphatically.

"Too risky. We've been lucky so far. It's time to go. Pack them up, I'm leaving."

I wanted to challenge him, but bit my tongue. We hadn't come to rescue the slaves today, just to lay the framework. I would lose all our progress if I died again and, loath as I was to admit, Ruben was right. It was time to go.

"Fine."

I touched the corpses, and they dissolved into quickly fading sparks, settling into my inventory beside the smith. Ruben tapped the flat of his butcher's knife against his thigh impatiently, watching the closed doors. We crept back through the tunnel and I celebrated our victory.

Then we blundered into a returning patrol. Four of them in a diamond formation, chattering away. We practically collided with each other as our groups rounded a corner at the same time. Just bad luck.

I didn't see Ruben throw the knife, or even where he drew it from. His butcher's knife was still in his hand, but the lead goblin had a second buried in his throat. The fight devolved from there. The surviving goblins rushed forward with blades and clubs to bring us down through sheer numbers. Their battle cries rang down the hallway, and I heard an answering cry behind us.

"More are coming!" I called, firing [Magic Missile] into the crowd, taking care not to hit Ruben while he fended off his attackers.

"I hear them!" He shouted back and swiped his blade across a goblin's throat. A thin red line blossomed on its skin, then it grabbed its neck as blood poured between its fingers. I finished it with a spell.

[Goblin killed. Exp gained.]

By the time we finished the last one, footsteps pounded behind us. More left than I had expected. Ruben glanced behind, then at me. His eyes lingered on my wounded side, and he rubbed his knife with his thumb. Then he noticed me watching and smiled reassuringly. It didn't reach his eyes.

"Let's split up." He said as we ran toward the crossroads. "I'll lure some into the traps. Make sure you bring those big ones like you promised."

I nodded, but saved my breath for running. Dying once today had been enough, and I had no intention of reliving it for a third time. True to his word, Ruben struck the hilt of his knife against the stone archway leading to his camp and shouted taunts to our pursuers. He shot me a final wink before I lost sight of him, and I felt his hungry eyes on my back as I ran.

My legs and lungs burned as I rounded the corner to my territory. It had been a few days since we'd seen a patrol this far west, so I leaned against a wall to catch my breath. There was no sign of pursuit behind me; the goblins must have taken the bait. With any luck, Ruben's traps would deal with quite a few more. Surely we had killed at least half of them by now, right? Wulthark had brought his patrols back to his own territory, and we had killed quite a few more after that, as well as the hobgoblins from today.

Soon I'll be able to get the slaves out of there.

I let my breathing stabilize before finishing the journey to the camp. No sense in alarming the others over a situation that was already under control. Philip was playing with his toy horse outside the secret entrance, and bounced to his feet when he saw me.

"Uncle Kai!"

He shot towards me, and I crouched down to lift him up into the air and onto my shoulders. He held on tightly with both hands, and I stepped over the horse he'd left on the ground as I walked inside.

"Hey there, Philip. Do Sonja and Teija know you're playing outside?"

"Uh-huh. Sonja is working at the forge and Teija was doing some cooking stuff next to her." He wrinkled his nose. "It smelled really bad. I hope it isn't for dinner."

He was probably talking about her alchemical work. I didn't blame him at all.

"I don't think it is. Hey, want to see something really cool? I found a ring the other day that makes you super strong. Check this out."

The look on Teija's face when she saw Philip lifting a stack of firewood larger than himself had us both laughing. We had more potatoes for dinner that night, boiled rather than fried, and while it was more filling than rice, it was no more flavorful. Memories of sizzling bacon, fried eggs, crisp vegetables, and spicy sauces taunted me as we made do with salt.

I spent the evening half-expecting an attack at any point after the day's events, but none came. It was almost alarming, but I contented myself with the quiet. The fighting and running had exhausted me, and while my injury had healed from my use of [Drain Life], the memory of the pain was still fresh. All I wanted was to sleep for a week.

Philip shook me awake during the night. The fire had died down to glowing embers, and everyone else was asleep. The boy's eyes were blurry; he must have just woken up.

"Uncle Kai, Horse is still outside. You have to get him." I blinked, trying to focus on the words.

"What? Horse?"

Right. The toy.

"He's outside, and he's scared. What if the goblins come and eat him?"

"He'll be fine, Philip. Horses sleep outside their whole life, and they are too fast for goblins to catch. He'll be okay for tonight, and we'll go get him in the morning, okay? Go back to sleep."

"You promise?" The boy's voice was pitiful, but I was exhausted, and didn't have the patience to worry about a wooden horse.

"Promise. Go back to sleep, okay?"

"'Kay…" I heard Philip pad back to his cot and crawl back under his covers. Glad to be done with it, I fell back asleep easily.

The next time I woke, it was to a bloodcurdling scream. I came awake instantly, staff in hand and searching for enemies. The room was hot, and light danced from the corridor outside the room we slept in. Sonja had also just woken up, and she had her hammer in hand as she looked around beside me. Teija screamed again. I recognized her voice this time, and we rushed out to see the hidden entrance was burning.

"Get water!" I shouted, getting Sonja's attention. She nodded and split off as I rushed to find Teija.

The alchemist had thrown the secret entrance open and was staring, horrified, at words painted in blood on the stone wall, illuminated by dancing flames.

BRING THE BOOK OR THE BOY DIES

[Rescue Philip]

I remembered my sleep addled conversation with Philip and cursed myself. Of course, he would have gone out looking for his toy alone. A goblin patrol, or one sent to stake out our base, must have seen him when he left and snatched him.

Teija turned to me, her face streaked with tears and full of terror.

"He's gone. They took him. Gods, they took Philip."

Sonja rushed through the passage behind us, and I heard her stagger to a stop as she saw the words. Her eyes grew hard, and the wooden handle of the bucket cracked in her grip.

"Ciaphas-"

"I know. Get your things. We're getting him back." I grabbed Teija's shoulders and shook her gently. "Teija, what alchemical items do you have ready?"

She stared at me blankly for a moment, lost in her terror, and I shook her again, repeating the question. Something in her mind flipped to an analytical state, and she rattled off a list.

"Two vials of alchemist's fire, three small potions of healing, a jar of grease… that's- that's it."

Not much, but it could help.

"Get them all and give them to Sonja. I need you to stay here and put the fire out. We're going to get Philip back."

Teija shook her head, still trembling, but with renewed strength.

"No. I won't stay behind while people run into danger. Not again."

"Teija, it-" She cut me off, chopping the air with her hand.

"We don't have time to argue. I'll put the fire out so the others have a safe place to flee to, but after that I'm coming to help. If you don't want me to be in danger, deal with the problem before I get there."

She rushed inside before I could respond, following beside Sonja who was heading for the workshop. I watched them go, then stared up at the bloody scrawl and struggled to calm down. It was time to be done with the goblins, once and for all.

Sonja returned soon after, fully armored in her breastplate and greaves. Her smith's hammer hung from a thick chain around her neck, a symbol of faith, and she had her large shield and war hammer ready. She looked every part a paladin from fantasy. A leather bandolier stretched across her torso, holding a set of vials within easy reach, courtesy of Teija, and she held my breastplate out to me. I pulled it on quickly, explaining my plan while she helped me tighten the straps.

"I think I know where they've taken him. If we spare the time, the madman may help us. He is good with a knife and he hates goblins. If nothing else, he could be an asset in the fight."

Sonja frowned, looking at the scrawl.

"Do we have time to stop? I worry about Philip."

My throat went dry, but I forced the words out.

"If he is still alive by now, they will wait for us to arrive. At least the extra few minutes it will take."

I tried not to think about the alternative. Sonja squeezed her eyes shut and nodded, then surprised me by stepping close to me and placing a hand on my shoulder. She squeezed the handle of her hammer as tightly as my shoulder.

"Sunfather, guide and protect us from harm as we journey into darkness. May your light lead us to the innocent and may your strength aid us as we shield them from harm. Give us the courage to stand against evil, and the resolve to do what is right."

That simple hammer, battered and worn, shone like a torch and pushed the darkness around us back like a physical force. My weariness vanished, and I was filled with a surge of confidence. I had heard Sonja talk of her faith and the Sunfather countless times, but I had never seen such overwhelming evidence of divine power. Or felt it.

When Sonja dropped her arm and opened her eyes, the fear and tension had been replaced with a fierce resolve.

"Let's go, then. Quickly."

We left at a run, leaving the burning entrance behind us and hoping we weren't already too late.