Goblins hauling in a half-elf prisoner

Warning: Threats of **** in this chapter (nothing **** occurs)

It was the noise at the gate that got Karlach's attention. It sounded like someone was arriving. More than that, though, she could almost feel the tadpole in her head wriggling at just the thought of investigating it. Whether listening to a mindflayer tadpole was a good idea was questionable. However, Karlach still decided to sneak her way over there.

Creeping around the corner of one of the buildings, Karlach found a good lookout spot behind some barrels. It was good timing, too, as the procession was just entering the blighted village.

The goblins coming into town had certainly seen better days. A few of them looked wounded, and all of them seemed exhausted. However, despite this, they seemed to be in rather high spirits. Karlach guess this was because of the prize they carried; a half-elf woman dragged along with them. Her wrists were bound with rope, tugged along by what appeared to be the goblin's leader. Behind her a worg kept her moving forward, snarling and snapping at her ankles whenever she stumbled.

The woman was quite pretty, Karlach observed. Her face was particularly beautiful, the strong yet soft features only disrupted by a scar that ran from her nose to her right cheek. She had long, straight hlack hair done up in a pony tail, with bangs on the front. She was wearing the armor of a cleric, or at least what was left of it. It had been heavily damaged by whatever battle they had been in, with rips and tears all over it. The one across her chest seemed especially intentional, leaving her perky breasts completely exposed.

As Karlach checked out the prisoner, she felt a throbbing sensation in her head. The pain of the tadpole amplified tenfold. Images flashed by her eyes, Alone in the forest, surrounded by wolves. Inside the mind flayer ship, pounding on the walls of the pod. A strange object that is a matter of life and ****. Defeated by goblins in the forest, dragged away as they retreated.

A single name, uttered by a woman in a haunting mask... Shadowheart...

Karlach quickly realized that the images were not hallucinations but memories. Her memories. She saw the half elf look similarly confused. She had experienced her own vision, though she did not know the source. This girl had been on the mind flayer ship. She was a fellow infected!

"Ah, look who it is. Returning with his head hung low!" One of the goblin scouts shouted, a woman on the roof. "Za'Krug and his band of losers!"

"Spare me your insults, bitch!" The leader of the arrivals shouted back. "We are to return to camp with our loot. Minthara's orders!" The arriving group were quickly surrounded by goblins from nearby buildings, non of whom seemed happy.

"Don't bullshit me!" The woman yelled back. "Your orders were to capture the runt mercenaries who got away, not find yourself a girlfriend!"

"The bitch is just a bonus!" Za'Krug shouted back. "We found an even juicer prize... the home of those flower-picking druids!" There was a murmur of excitement in the goblin crowd. Karlach was not sure why, but this gave her an intense feeling of dread.

"Well I'll be..." The woman on the room cocked an eyebrow. "You finally tracked 'em down, eh? But ya still don't have the mercenaries. So ya still failed yer mission!"

"This is bigger than the mission!" Za'Krug was getting frustrated. "Just let us pass and let Minthara decide for herself, why don't you! If she hears you held us up, I bet she'll be mighty pissed."

"Maybe..." The scout's eyes fell on the female prisoner. "...we can work out a deal. Leave the slut with my men and you can pass. We'll call it a toll!"

"Wait, what!" Shadowheart squealed. She looked nervously around at the nearby goblins, all eyeing her like a peace of meat. "You couldn't possibly mean-" The worg shut her up, cowing her into silence with its barks.

"Ya gotta be fucking kidding me," Za'Krug grumbled, looking mournfully at the bound half-elf. He clearly did not want to give her up. "Ah, hells! Fine, take her! Minthara will reward me with twenty bitches for the info I got!" Tossing her leash on the ground, the goblin's parted and let his group pass.

The tiefling watched as the party continued on without Shadowheart. It was clear what the goblin's intended to do with their new pet. Karlach knew she could not let these bastards have their way with the girl. Shadowheart was a fellow infected. Their chances of getting their tadpoles out were much better if they worked together. More than that, though, Karlach just couldn't stand by while these goblins **** the poor cleric. She had to act!

However, she also knew the reality of the situation. She was vastly outnumbered, even if they were just goblins. They also had much better positioning. They had scouts on the roofs and archers in the windows. She even thought she saw a spellcaster among them! The only advantage Karlach had was the element of surprise.

Would that be enough?