Chapter 25 Rough Hands

The only thing I could do was beg and hope. Crawling over to Kaka, I cradled his head in my arms, feeling the feeble rise and fall of his chest beneath my fingers. His mangled, scarred face lay limp against my shoulder, and I could barely hold back the sobs that threatened to choke me. My vision blurred with tears as I looked up at the master goblin, tears pouring from my eyes.

"Please, master," I begged, my voice breaking into a pitiful wail. Tears streamed down my face, mingling with the grime and blood that caked my skin.

"Don't butcher him. He is alive. A living being. He is my precious. Please, he's all I have left in this bleak realm. We have endured so much and suffered so many horrors, he is my only family. My Dada, my Muma. I'll do anything you ask, anything. Just please, spare him. Don't take him from me."

My grip tightened around Kaka's frail body as if my sheer willpower could shield him from the cruel fate that awaited. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat a painful reminder of the life slipping away in my arms. I could feel his shallow breaths, and hear the faint, pained whimpers that escaped his cracked lips. The thought of losing him, of seeing him butchered and fed to the hounds, was more than I could bear.

"Please, master," I continued, my voice hoarse and broken, each word drenched in agony.

"He's not just a caretaker to me. He's my family, my protector, the only reason I'm still alive. We have faced monsters and death together, and without him, I am nothing. I beg you, from the deepest pit of my soul, spare his life. I will work until my bones break, I will endure any punishment, but please, don't take him from me. Show mercy, I beg you."

I lowered my head, pressing my forehead to the ground in a gesture of utter submission and hopelessness. My tears soaked the dirt beneath me, and my body trembled with the force of my sobs. The master goblin's feet were a blur through my tear-filled eyes, but I didn't dare to look up. I clung to Kaka, feeling his weak heartbeat, a fragile rhythm that seemed to tether me to sanity.

I pressed my forehead against Kaka's, feeling the warmth of his skin and the faint pulse of his life slipping away. 

"He’s everything to me," I cried, my words choked by sobs.

 "Don't take him from me. We’ve faced monsters, starvation, and unimaginable pain together. We’ve survived so much. Please, master, don’t let it end like this. Not like this!"

 "Please," I whispered one last time, "Have mercy."

I begged cradling Kaka's mangled head in my arms, my tears falling onto his scarred face. But the master goblin's expression remained cold and indifferent. With a scoff, he said, "Shut up, you shitty runt, or you’ll join your shitty Kaka as hound feed. You are lucky I even considered letting you in, you useless wretch."

His words hit me like a ton of bricks, and for a moment, my heart stopped beating. The realization that Kaka's fate was sealed crushed me. Desperation clawed at my mind, and in a frantic rush, a single thought flashed through my brain: the rush apple tree Kaka and I had found in the forest. Kaka had told me how much the evil goblin value these apples and I decided to take a gamble.

With my heart pounding and my voice cracking with fear, I made a last desperate attempt to plea for Kaka's life. 

"Master goblin, please spare Kaka's life in exchange for rush apples."

The goblin master's expression shifted from annoyance to curiosity, a flicker of intrigue sparking in his eyes at the mere mention of rush apples. He leaned forward slightly, his voice calm and measured as he urged me to continue.

 "Rush apple? Hmmm... carry on, tell me more."

Grasping at this tiny thread of hope, I swallowed hard and forced myself to speak.

 "We found a rush apple tree deep in the forest, master. It’s hidden but I can lead you to it. The apples are fresh and plentiful, soon to be ripe. They’re rare and valuable, right? We can bring you as many as you want, just please, don’t kill Kaka."

The master goblin's eyes narrowed as he considered my words.

 "A rush apple tree, you say? Hidden deep in the forest? Interesting... very interesting."

"Yes, master," I replied, my voice trembling. 

"I can take you there. I can show you. Just spare Kaka’s life. Please. Just give Kaka a few days to recover, to heal. Just a few days to stand up to his feet, he will work and serve you right, he is the best caretaker. He will raise good hatchlings who will serve you right."

He stared at me for a moment, his gaze cold and calculating. Finally, he turned to one of his orc guards. 

"Get some goblins and get them ready to march to verify this runt's claim," he ordered.

 "If he's lying, I'll butcher him and his precious Kaka myself. Now go!"

The orc nodded and lumbered off, leaving me shaking with fear and hope. I clung to Kaka, praying silently that our discovery would be enough to save him.

As the master goblin turned to me, he spoke in a voice that brooked no argument.

 "If what you say is true, runt," he said, his tone dripping with disdain, "then I am willing to grant you this boon. You and your miserable caretaker will be granted entry to my farm, and you will receive a few days of rest and food to recover enough to be able to work."

Hearing these words, my tiny heart filled with hope but I knew all too well that evil goblins were not to be trusted, and I couldn't afford to take the master goblin's words at face value. With a trembling voice, I dared to ask him to promise me, knowing that among goblins, a promise was an unspoken rule that was not to be broken.

"Master, please, a promise. Promise not to be broken." 

As I made my request, Slasher saw an opportunity to inflict pain, using my insolence as a pretext to lash out. He raised his foot, poised to deliver a brutal kick to my frail form to put me in my place, but before he could deliver his brutal blow, the master goblin silenced him with a single glare, his eyes burning with fury.

Turning back to me, the master goblin approached, his gaze piercing.

 "If what you say proves to be true," he said, his voice low and dangerous, "then I promise you that Kaka will receive everything I have promised. No one will hurt you, and you will receive food for a few days until Kaka recovers. That is a promise, and a promise not to be broken."

I swallowed hard, feeling a glimmer of hope flicker in my chest at the master goblin's words. Though I knew better than to trust him completely, his promise offered a sliver of security in our dangerous situation. With a nod, I accepted his words.

With the master goblin's promise ringing in my ears, he turned to the guards nearby and barked his orders. 

"Don't just stand there, you lot! Get that sorry excuse for a slave inside the farm and toss him into an empty shed. He will be there, and no one is to touch him or hurt him until this shitty runt returns."

The guards exchanged wary glances, clearly reluctant to dirty their hands with the annoying task. But before any of them could volunteer, Slasher stepped forward eagerly, a twisted grin spreading across his face. 

"Boss! Allow me, I will take good care of him! Not even a single hair will fall from his bald head, I promise," he said, his voice dripping with malicious glee.

Without a moment's hesitation, Slasher grabbed Kaka by the leg and callously dragged him towards the farm. I watched in helpless horror as he purposefully maneuvered Kaka's broken body over every sharp rock and jagged piece of debris that stuck out from the ground. Kaka's weak moans of pain tore at my heart, but I could do nothing but watch as they disappeared from my sight.

Just as Slasher and Kaka vanished inside the farm, an orc and his small team of goblin hound riders emerged from the gates, marching up to the master goblin. 

"We are ready, boss. Just tell us when to go."

The master goblin pointed a gnarled finger at me. 

"Grab this shitty runt and make him show the way. If it turns out he was full of shit and lied to me, bring him back alive. I will gut him and make him watch how I gut his beloved caretaker before I send them both to the forest spirits."

Terror gripped my heart as the orc and his riders approached. Rough hands seized me, lifting me off the ground as if I weighed nothing. The goblin hound riders mounted their snarling beasts, and I was unceremoniously plopped onto the back of one of the hounds, my small body barely able to stay upright on the massive creature.

"Hold on tight, runt," the orc growled, his breath hot and foul against my ear. 

"If you fall off and break something, ain't our problem."

The hound riders urged their beasts forward, and we set off at a breakneck pace into the forest. The trees blurred past us as the hounds raced through the underbrush, their powerful legs devouring the ground beneath them. I clung desperately to the hound's coarse fur, barely keeping up pointing out the directions, my mind racing with thoughts of Kaka and the promise I had made.