Rescue and attatchment

You race down the hall alongside Maya, careful not to outpace her or the rest of the group. Following Ethan’s guidance, you find the door before running into trouble. You quickly find the key and get inside. You hear footsteps approach as you slam and lock the door.

Looking around, you find more cages, and Ethan cocks his head. “I hear something, this way.”

“Let’s go then, it won’t be long before they get here.” With that, you head down the rows of empty cages. The girls look around sadly, obviously wondering why they need so many.

Rounding the last corner, you duck back. There’s a pair of people at the end of the row, in front of a cage, and a heavy door across from it. You listen in on their hurried conversation.

“Someone broke in, what do we do, sir?”

“We can’t let whoever it is get into the quarantine cell. That one is needed. These others...get rid of them.”

That’s all you needed to hear. You and Maya burst around the corner. The figures react, one pulling a knife, and the other points a finger at you. Instinctively, you throw up your shield, and you feel the impact of several darts of ****. The shield holds long enough for you and Maya to close the distance, and you grab the magic user by the hand, stunning him. You turn to Maya who has disarmed the knife wielding man and is grinning as she begins knocking him around.

By the time you finally subdue him, you hear more approaching, and Anna runs up to you with Ethan. “M-master, we need to hurry!” You and Ethan turn to the nearby cage, and he shouts with joy.

“Girls! Are you ok? We’re getting you out!”

Inside the cage are a centaur, harpy and lamia, looking surprised but unhurt. You unlock the cage and they pile out, hugging Ethan. As they greet each other, you hear a commotion in the hall, a crash, followed by a gasp. You look down the hall towards the sound and see Elys, hand over her mouth. You run to her, and stop short at the sight in the hallway. What appears to be three statues of burly men, and a fourth shattered on the ground. Elys turns to you, panic in her eyes.

“I-I’m sssorry...there were too many, I panicked...I didn’t want to kill them....”

You gather Elys in a hug, comforting her as much as you can. “Sometimes it has to be done. You did the right thing. We can talk about it when we get out of here, ok?”

Elys nods, wiping a tear away. You turn back as Maya shouts, “Josh, there’s one more through here!”

You race to the heavy door, and glancing through the small window you see some blankets covering a small form. Working through the keys , you finally find the correct one and throw the door open. You hear crying as you approach.

“Hello? My name is Josh, I’m here to free you, whoever you are...”

There’s a scrambling under the blankets, and they quickly stand and back against the wall. It’s a tiny woman, wearing a simple dress. She has green skin, large pointed ears, brown hair and most strikingly, vibrant purple eyes.

A goblin! A cute one too, you tell yourself. She looks up at you with wet eyes. “Y-you mean it? You c-can get me out?”

You nod, and she flings herself on you, clinging tightly to you. She’s short, her head doesn’t even reach your chest. She also refuses to let go.

“Ok, we need to leave. Anna, I think you’re going to need to drive. Ethan, I’m calling the van for you and your girls. Maya, Elys....if anyone gets in our way, don’t hesitate.”

With the goblin girl clinging to you like a drowning sailor to a spar of wood, you all rush to the exit.