The echoing drips of water filled my ears. The ever encompassing darkness soon engulfed the area in its cold blanket. In a place with no direct sunlight, the absence of torch light was the natural day and night cycle of the prison. The monsters seemed to have taken a few years to adapt to this. It would make one wonder if they ever saw the outside.
One by one, the light from the torches in the camp went out, allowing just a bit more darkness to cover it.
The Goblins would leave to their tents. There was one for each Goblin. They don't have individual families. There is only one family, and that is the tribe.
I had no reason to check my items to see if I'm thoroughly prepared for the rescue attempt. The equipment I have should be perfect for what I have to do.
My armor is light enough to make me incredibly stealthy.
Hearing and sight have been heightened, so I shouldn't have a hard time noticing the smallest details. Not only that, but my natural reflexes have become better than before. I tried my hardest to train them in case I no longer needed my Fighting Instinct Skill.
My weapons are also perfect for this situation.
Bows are the ideal weapon for a stealth operation. I can use the tips of my arrows to slit the throats of the Goblins. It can't hurt to rack up a few experience points on the way to saving those people.
The Goblin Necklace around my neck helped with increasing the damage I deal against the Goblins. Sure, they didn't have much health in the first place, but this pretty much allowed for even a glancing blow to spell death for them.
The bow would be reserved for sudden appearances. I doubt that Goblins would be the kind to try and go for a midnight snack. . .
Unless the "snack" ends up being the people in the cages.
No, I can't get angry. It'll cloud my judgment and make me hasty. I can't have that happen.
Another section of the camp blew out the lights.
One more section to bring everything into darkness.
I cracked my knuckles at the same time as the echoed drops of water. My breathing became slow and steady as I both mentally and physically prepared myself. The darkness brought the cold in with it as an unwanted guest. The sheets covering my body helped with combating it.
I actually counted all the Goblins I could see in the camp. There were around twenty or so. Some could have already tried sleeping or be behind something such as the cage as it was covered by that collection of dirty, ragged sheets. I really wish I had some headphones right now so I could listen to some music to pass the time. Sadly, the world hasn't shown signs of being all that advanced. Then again, this prison could be hundreds of years old, only being preserved by the roots and vines that held it together.
All I did was recall some of the music I enjoyed back on Earth.
I enjoyed my rock and metal bands. That was really all I listened to. There were few rap songs that I enjoyed, and they were all by the same guy. Rock and metal was something I was always into. My parents pretty much got my into it and I naturally took a liking to those two genres and their associated sub genres.
While writing or drawing, I'd listen to that sort of music. I liked it when those things came together. Some listen to calming music when they read or right, but I prefer what I normally listen to when doing the things I'm passionate about. Plus, it's the only thing that gets my motivation and creativity flowing.
With reading, I flip flop between classical and my main two genres. It usually depends on my mood at that time.
Hmm. . .
Maybe when I'm out of this place with the prisoners, I'll see about picking back up those hobbies.
Hopefully, they could give me a hand in that.
The final portion blew out their light.
Before going in, I decided to pray.
I don't know the Gods of this world, if they were worth praying to or if they were willing to listen, I still did so.
My hands came together, and I closed my eyes. I put my head down.
In the cell I hid behind, I'd whisper, "I don't really know if this will be sent to anyone on account of me not knowing who to pray to, but I'll say this to whoever is there to listen. . ."
"Those people in the cages, the ones probably being used and abused in terrible ways. . . I want to save them. This is the first time in both my new life and my old life where I really want to help people without expecting a reward or gratitude coming from it. Whoever they are, they are scared. I need the strength to help them. Please, to whoever is listening, give me that strength."
I let out a deep breath. I slowly stood up from my crouched position and crossed my heart.
"Amen."
My eyes opened.
Reaching an arm back, I pulled out an arrow.
I had my doubts that anyone bothered to listen to that prayer, but hope outweighed that doubt. I reassured myself enough to hope that someone did. I myself believed in God back on Earth. Now, I wasn't the person to really go to church, but I still prayed to him. It's all about belief.
In this world of fantasy, it's all about hoping that someone out there at least kept an ear out.
*Sigh.*
This is the moment of truth.
As soon as I walk out of this cell, there's no turning back.
Not that I'd think about turning my back on the weak, I'm sort of just trying to get myself into the mood.
I'll start off with killing the Goblins in the immediate vicinity of the cage. The ones further away should have a hard time hearing what's going on. I will then notify the prisoners of my plan and kill the rest of the Goblins.
By my count, there were only five Goblin tents that were close to the cage.
Some Goblins seem to just be sleeping on the ground, though. Most likely due to the fact that they were lazy and weren't interested in sleeping in a tent.
Those die next since they are just asking to get killed.
I arrived at the front of the camp.
Blocking my way was a small gate made out of the wood from the makeshift beds in the other cells. Instead of laying the boards up vertically, they decided to place them horizontally. This confused me for a moment as the Goblins aren't very tall creatures. They are, at most, three feet tall. Placing the boards in the way that they did spoke volumes of how foolish they truly were. If they were placed the other way, I doubt other monsters would try to kill them aside from the strong ones.
What did surprise me was how they engineered the gate itself. The hinges for the doors were taken off and hammered with large nails into the boards.
Brownie points for them.
I did not dare go through the front. The hinges pierced the ears with their squeaking with even the slightest movement. It must have been years since they were tended to.
What caught my eye were some loose boards in the corner. I pulled them off and set them to the side and crawled in. They would be placed back as soon as I infiltrated the camp.
Okay. Good start. I am pretty happy with the starting results. Just need to keep hoping that nothing goes wrong.
I turned around and looked to see if any Goblins were around me already. I'll kill them along the way before killing the ones that surround the cage. I'd rather not make a mistake while they are around.
The tents were small, capable of barely having enough room to house a Goblin. It seemed they made do. I lifted up the sheet and acted as the entrance to the tent that belonged to one of the Goblins. They never really had necks, actually. It just looked like their heads rested on their shoulders. But, they were able to turn their heads so there must be something there.
Sadly, I wasn't able to see anything that I could get a clear shot at.
I instead resorted to stabbing them in the heart.
The flesh of a Goblin is soft and easily penetrable. Their cheats were where their skin was the thinnest. It was like the rest of their skin was in their stomachs.
The arrow, coupled with the buffs from the necklace, pierced the heart of the Goblin without much resistance. The increased damage helped a lot, as it looked like just piercing their skin killed them in an instant.
Stabbing their heart was just an extra precaution.
There was nothing to take aside from the drops that the Goblin left upon killing it. It didn't have any weapons in the tent, so I pulled my head out and went onto the next tent to kill another one. The next was just like the last: quick and easy.
I shouldn't get ahead of myself here. That usually leads to failure. There's too much riding on this, so I have to succeed no matter what.
It's crazy, actually. If this was something I did back home, my hands would be shaking. I'd mess up right at the start, no doubt. The best thing I did that saved a life was getting a girl out of the road. She was on the same side of the road as me, and a car was speeding down the road, gunning for her. I reached my hand out to grab her arm after running to help her. I pulled her away just before the car hit her. What followed after was a line of police cruisers pursuing the car that almost ended the life of a young girl.
She thanked me. The two of us then started talking.
That story can be told for another day. I was getting distracted by remembering the good times in my old life.
It seemed like my body was on auto-pilot. By the time I came back to my senses, it looked like I killed three Goblins already. These were the ones closest to the cage.
Speaking of the cage, the prisoners inside seem to have noticed me. They stared at me intently, with a slight twinkle of hope in their eyes. As I got closer to them, they didn't look human.
Their ears were pointed.
Could these guys be Elves? They definitely weren't Goblins. Those things had beady little eyes.
These guys, their faces were all different. Obviously, the trait they had in common were their ears. They were of different lengths and angles. By angles, I meant some were more at a 90° angle and others were at a 75° angle.
The one that was closest to me was an elderly man. I poked his shoulder and he turned to me.
This is the first time I talked to someone in a while.
"You guys okay?" I asked. They were clearly abused, I was merely asking for if someone was in critical condition. The Elder turned to me and stared into my eyes. His eyes were closed, and his face was wrinkled. He had fair skin and was incredibly skinny. That made it clear that they weren't being fed properly.
He responded with, "Why, isn't it obvious? My people are being torn to pieces by the Goblins. Be it their physical bodies being reduced to skin and bones, or the minds of the women being torn to shreds from their constant violation. We are powerless here."
So, I was right. Typical characteristics of Goblins. This is why I killed them all without mercy in video games. I hate them with a fiery passion. I said to the elder, "I'll be back. The camp will be destroyed after I kill the Goblins, okay? Make sure your people are prepared for an opening so that you can get out. Do not leave the entrance of the camp. I'll help lead you all to safety."
"And why, may I ask, are you willing to save my people, human? Elves and humans have never been on the greatest of terms." He responded.
"Because I'm not like most humans." I said before making my way to the rest of the Goblins. I felt the elder stare at me, like he was trying to read my true intentions.
These were my true intentions: saving the elves and making sure they stay alive to live their lives to the fullest. Not in some cage to rot away.