An elaborate ruse

It was dark again, which meant the humans were now blind. Flinch couldn’t believe his luck, if he played his cards right, this might turn out to be the best day of his life.

He moved quickly, using all his strength to drag the paralysed cleric into a tunnel where he tied her up in a secure hogtie with his leather bands. He also made sure to leave the staff in a hole where it wouldn’t be found without him. After double checking the straps, he carefully moved back to the crystal cave.

“Valery?”, Astra yelled out, “Are you alright? Can you make some light? I think the tunnel we came through collapsed.”. She was stumbling around in the dark, searching the floor where Valery had collapsed from Flinchs poison. She stopped moving when she heard his steps approaching. “Who are you? Are you the goblin from earlier? Show yourself!”, she was blindly waving around her sword. “Yes, I am.”, Flinch did his best to sound scared, “Y-Your friend she… she was hit by the bear and died.”. “What? No, no that can’t be…”, Astra looked devastated. “I am sorry.”, Flinch lied. “Why would you be?”, there was a bite in her voice, “You are just a monster.”. ‘Hurtful.’, Flinch thought and said, “You may think I am a monster, but I am an honest one, and a thankful one. You killed the bear that has wiped out my whole clan. The beast ate every one of them.”, he left a pause to let his lie hang in the air, Astra no longer looked as combative.

“I-well I’m sorry about that too.”, she sighed, “You are a very unusual goblin, aren’t you? You seem almost human.”. Flinchs smile showed wide needle-like teeth but she was blind, “Well, thank you. It isn’t possible for us to travel together, but I would like to offer you something. I could lead you through the dark and the partially collapsed tunnel system to the surface. There you leave without killing me.”.

Astra considered his offer for a moment, “You would do that for me?”, there was clear distrust in her voice, “Why? You could abandon me here and flee.”. Flinch replied immediately, “Because, as I said, you killed the creature who murdered everyone I ever knew. And I also can’t have you roaming around my cave.”. Astra paused for a second, “Okay, I will trust you for now. Let me say a prayer for my fallen comrade before we leave.”. She whispered some words; Flinch took great pleasure in then fact that the paralysed and bound Cleric could probably hear them as she was fully conscious. She was probably trying to scream out in this very moment, trying to warn her friend. ‘Well though luck.’, he thought, ‘Shouldn’t have tried to kill me in my own cave.’.