The cohort was glad to be together again. They were currently following the three guards who would lead them back to the queen. Logan and Rubina decided to keep the mana-filled room a secret and only told the rest that they had somehow made it out alive.
Luckily, Chloe and Kai didn't ask too many questions. They only wanted to exit the cave now that everyone was together and leave behind the stench of the goblins' nest.
It took less than half an hour to climb the tunnels and get back to the room with a collapsed section. As they reached the room, a loud squeal from one of the guards announced their arrival to the queen.
The large goblin did not seem too worried now that she knew the teenagers would not harm them and even offered some old, stale meat, which the cohort stowed away in their storage. Nevertheless, they tried their best to show appreciation by giving back a few tools and daggers the goblins could use.
Before trying to leave, the large goblin queen pointed to a stone in the ground. Everyone turned their gaze towards the strange jewel they had seen before.
It was the same one the blue hobgoblin had used to mutate the green goblins, so all the goblins in the room made sure to keep a good distance away from the object. The air around the jewel seemed to hum with a dark energy, and its malevolent glow reminded them of the dangers they had faced earlier.
Everyone on the team looked at each other, hoping one of them would have an idea of what to do with the strange object.
"Well, I think I will have to take it," said Chloe, noticing that none of the others wanted to touch it, just like the goblins.
She took out a small box from her personal special storage bag and used magic to lift the object with dirt. With precise movements, she encased it in a ball of dirt and then made the dirt ball go into the box.
"Well, that should do it. I tried compacting some of my own energy, so it should hold for a while—hopefully long enough for me to turn it over to one of the castle's archmages, who should be able to seal the dangerous power trying to get out," Chloe said while wiping beads of sweat that trickled down her cheek.
"All the more reason to get out of this place," Kai said with a worried expression. He bowed respectfully towards the goblin queen, trying to convey their gratitude for the help they had received while signaling the others to do the same.
Following Kai's lead, Logan, Rubina, and Chloe bowed in unison, acknowledging the queen's assistance. The goblin queen responded with a solemn nod, her eyes reflecting wisdom.
With their farewells exchanged, the group was about to turn around to exit the dreadful tunnel system that had caused them so many problems, but were stopped by a hoarse voice.
"Taku chu." The goblin queen stood up, pointing to a goblin. "Taku kix."
The goblin queen's voice echoed through the cavern, catching everyone's attention. The pointed goblin stepped forward, appearing hesitant but obedient to the queen's command.
Listening to her matriarch and the mother of most of the goblins in this nest, the young goblin went forward towards Logan and placed its head down as if bowing.
The queen spoke again, her tone softer but firm. "Khav kix," she said, trying to convey her intent. Seeing that it did not get through, she pointed at the fox and the salamander, who had rejoined the group after sleeping through most of the rescue mission.
Logan looked towards the young goblin who only had the hide of some beast to cover its important parts, much like the others in the room. He sort of knew what the goblin queen wanted but hesitated for a while before accepting the offer.
"Don't tell me…" Kai blurted out in a small voice from behind him.
"Let's not trample on their honor," Rubina said, understanding the goblin queen's gesture and accepting the creatures' way of trying to keep their pride.
Logan took a deep breath and then nodded, showing his acceptance. The young goblin seemed to brighten with the respect the humans were giving to its mother. It stared as the long-haired boy got close and placed a finger on its shoulder where she saw a small red dot.
A small drop was all it took for a link to be made as it looked in awe at her new master. [Thank you!] it sent her appreciation.
Logan froze for a second, hearing one of the clearest intentions that his non-human tamed beast had ever sent him.
The team of now eight individuals was left alone to leave the room; the goblins behind them cheered once again in their nasally language as the group headed off. The young goblin looked back towards its mother, who nodded, sending off one of her most beloved and smartest daughters.
When they finally reached the outside of the cave, they noticed the Everwind Falcon beginning to circle above them, its majestic wings cutting through the evening sky. The sight of the falcon, with the setting sun casting an amber glow on its feathers, filled them with a sense of relief.
They began to walk back towards the carriage area slowly, as most of them were tired and stressed from the whole ordeal.
"Just what crazy journey did you put us through, Logan? If I had known, I would have brought my sword at least. You know how hard it was to only use stone spears that break with a few hits," Kai said while helping Logan with his Scorchwyrm.
"Well, it's not like I knew this was going to happen, but thank you for joining us..." Logan replied, trying to balance the weight of the slime, his falcon perched on his shoulder, not wanting to leave him, and holding the small goblin by the hand to keep others from attacking her.
"Anyways, how many beasts can you tame, man? You should have told me! I would have brought a Terropod to lift all these tamed creatures you now have. The only problem would be how slow and slimy it would make the ground," Kai said, shaking his head with amusement.
"Why would you want one of those as a tame? They are disgusting…" Chloe added, trying to join in on the conversation.
"What do you mean? They are cute," Rubina said, laughing.
"What is a Terropod?" Logan questioned, a puzzled look on his face.
"You know, that large slug-looking monster we saw in the insect dome my father has," Rubina explained, a hint of nostalgia in her voice.
"Oh that…" Logan added, reluctant to continue.
The team continued to chat on their way back. Logan noticed that he was slowly changing in this new world. He had never had so many people around him, and even though one of them seemed to be working against him, at least today Chloe had helped him out and seemed truly worried when they had gone missing.
The trip back was much like the day before, with Chloe and Kai leaving just before they reached the Rosengard Estate, going their separate ways. Logan and Rubina had opened up a lot more today, speaking of various topics, many of them about Logan's world, his hobbies like video games, and the various musical genres each world had.
As they reached the mansion and got out, the earl ran towards them, his face a mix of relief and concern.
"Why did you both come so late today? Do you know how worried I was?" the earl exclaimed before looking at the new additions to the team. "Don't tell me you went into a goblin nest. Do you know how filthy that is?"
"We know that well, Father… but we weren't just in a regular goblin nest…" Rubina began to explain the day's events.
Logan nodded, adding, "It was more complex than we expected. We encountered the goblin queen, and she actually helped us."
The earl's eyes widened with a mix of surprise and skepticism. "The goblin queen helped you? That's unheard of. Tell me more as we head inside, we have other stuff to talk about."
The three of them entered the mansion. The two youths took a bath before having a meal, and their tired bodies finally relaxed after the long day's events.
"So, not only a goblin, but you also have a special slime!" the earl said with excitement.
Logan let the slime out. It looked interested in the scraps of food that were before it and dived into the middle of the table, leaving each plate clean. The only one that did not let it near their place was the young goblin who sat next to Logan, busy licking her own plate after a few servings.
After a good while, the earl finally turned serious. He breathed out a sigh and cleared his throat to indicate that he needed to say something important.
"As much as I would like to keep having you in my home as a guest, Logan, I actually need to inform you that the castle wants you back with the other heroes. Your new mentor has arrived…"