"You want us to what?" Frik's voice cracked.

  "I want your help tracking the beast that made these crystals," I repeated.

  The five goblins exchanged glances before Ark spoke up. "Boss, I know we're bound to you and all now, but..." She frowned. "That thing killed almost half our crew. Frillik and Grot didn't even have time to scream, and Hurp..." She shuddered.

  "Poor Hurp," Grort said.

  "You said that before, Grort," Tristan said, her voice soft and filled with compassion. "Was Hurp a close friend of yours?"

  Grort laughed. "No, Hurp was a piece of shit." He shook his head. "It's just... after he got bitten in half, he just... kept going."

  "For a while," Lutz added.

  Ark rubbed her arms. "Then he got smooshed."

  "O-oh, okay..." Tristan bit her lip. "That's sad. I think."

  "I'm not asking you to fight it." I looked each of them in the eyes. "Frik's the best tracker around, right? And you all have skills related to finding animals and monsters? So help us find it. After that, you all can back off. We'll fight it, whatever it is."

  "Ugh," Frik grumbled. "I don't like this."

  "Me neither," Grort agreed.

  "Bound or not," Ark pointed at her arm, "If you try to feed us to that thing, I'll cut your hamstrings and run. I might be stuck with you, but I won't die for you. Got it?"

  "Yeah!" Klart screamed. "You got that, big man?!"

  "I got it, I got it." Holding my hands up, I continued, "I'll never ask you to fight for me. That's my job. I'll make sure to keep you all safe."

  In a soothing tone, Tristan said, "We just want to help the people who live here. Would you help us find this monster? Please? I promise we'll protect you."

  At Tristan's words, Frik's eyes trailed to the ground, and his face turned a deeper shade of green. "Yeah. I can do that for you, my lady."

  "Thank you, Frik." She put a hand on his shoulder. "We appreciate you."

  His face turned three shades darker. "No sweat."

  "I don't know why you're all worried," Vral said. "You won't die."

  "How can we be sure?" Ark asked. "We don't even know you."

  Vral put her fists on her hips and puffed her chest out. "I know because I'll be there."

  "So?" Ark laughed. "The hell are you gonna do?"

  Vral scoffed. "I'm better than all of you combined."

  "That's debatable," Ark muttered.

  "You take that back." Vral bared her teeth.

  "Make me." Ark smirked.

  "Alright, you damn wildcats," Frik glared at Vral and Ark. "I've agreed to do this thing, but we're almost out of light. We can waste our time watching you two claw one another's eyes out, or we can get moving."

  Both of the women froze. Then, at the exact same time, they turned toward him. Their eyes promised murder.

  "I think that's a great idea, Frik." I started toward him, ruffling Vral's hair as I walked past her.

  "Me too!" Tristan jogged up beside me.

  Stopping between Vral and Frik, I gave him a nod and a small thumbs up. Tristan stopped beside me, blocking Ark's view next.

  He inclined his head just enough that I could see it. His eyes told me that he knew we'd just saved his life.

  "Hey Tris, are you sure you don't want to be princess carried again?" Na-Ya sauntered up and nudged Tristan's ribs with her elbow. "Vral told me all about how Alex carried you to Fairbrook when we were scouting."

  Tristan blushed. "Don't judge! It's romantic."

  Laughing, I added, "I also carried Vral."

  "Don't tell her that!" Vral squeaked.

  "I thought her story was a little one sided..." Na-Ya looked back at Ro. "Ro, I want to be princess carried sometime."

  With a broad smile, he walked up to her and swept her off her feet. "How about right now, princess?"

  Na-Ya's fair cheeks turned beet red as she kicked and squirmed in his arms. "Not in front of everyone!"

  ***

  As we followed Frik through the forest, I explained the quest we'd gotten from Nivan and Nel. The goblins had a dozen clarifying questions, most of which revolved around the theme of "Why did we care what happened to the villages?" We tried explaining it in a dozen different directions, but it took Vral saying, "Because they're goodie goodies," for the goblins to finally get it.

  After that, once I could tell that they understood our quest, they started asking us questions about our life. I answered everything they threw at me. Eventually, that turned into me explaining how I got here, so beat by beat, I talked about my hard arrival in Reial, our time in the Pit, my first time drinking Breskaya, the whole black blade fiasco, and now this quest.

  From the looks the goblins gave me, I could tell that I was winning them over. By the time the Orb of Light began dimming in the sky, they seemed a lot more relaxed and friendly than when we'd first talked. It was nice.

  Before long, Frik managed to track down the freshest tracks left by the unknown monster prowling around in the area. That, and a trail of crystals. Those lead us even farther northwest and far deeper into the forest.

  Unfortunately, darkness fell faster than we expected. The forest was so thick that the canopy blocked out most of the light of dusk and, after that, the stars, leaving me stumbling over what felt like every single root, rock, and stump in the forest.

  "We should make camp," Ro said when he tripped over a rock of his own. "Tracking in the dark is dangerous."

  "Especially being so far from civilization," Na-Ya said.

  "Yeah," Frik said ahead of us. "I was thinking the same thing."

  "Our camp's not far from here," Ark offered. "We can hole up there for the night and head out at first light."

  "The critters we caught are there, too," Klart added nervously. "We should... probably let them go, right? Since we're not poachers anymore?"

  "Once we're done with this quest, and after we figure out how to break this magic, you five can be whatever you want to be." I scratched at my brand and sighed. After spending time with them, I realized this crew was mostly harmless. A little unscrupulous, sure, but harmless all the same. "But yeah, we'll be letting them go tonight."

  "When we part, I hope you all will choose a better path," Tristan said.

  "Yeah, because we goblins have all the best choices in life, right?" Grort scoffed. "We've always done what we've had to do to survive."

  Tristan's blue eyes shone in the dim light. "Then why don't you come back to the temple with us? You might find new choices there."

  "No," Vral muttered. "They're not welcome."

  "Shush, Vral." Na-Ya swatted her. "Light's Hope is home to all people, even brats like you."

  "Ow!" She rubbed the back of her head. "I was just kidding!"

  Frik looked back at us, his eyes glowing yellow like a predator's. "Would you... would you actually want me there?"

  "Of course!" Tristan's voice was so pure. "Everyone is welcome in Light's Hope Temple! And you're an amazing tracker. I know a ranger who might really appreciate your skills. She's one of my best friends!"

  He blinked. "I'll, uh... I'll have to think about that."

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "I want to go!" Klart shouted. "It sounds way nicer than our stupid hut back in Brightwater!"

  "What, you don't miss the fleas, Klart?" Lutz chuckled. "Also, shush, you dumb ass."

  "No. I hate the fleas." Klart lowered his voice and started scratching at his arms. "They bite my elbows."

  "Yeah, the fleas aren't my favorite either," Lutz laughed. "Fishing's good in the swamp, though." He looked up at me. "You got good fish in Calvareth?"

  "I haven't had much time to fish since I got here, but there is a river running along the north side of the temple grounds, and there's a nice bridge to fish off of." I'd been wanting to do that for a while. "If you come back with us, we could try it out sometime."

  Slowly, he nodded. "Yeah. We could try that out. Might be fun."

  Ark sighed. "Everyone says they want us around until we actually show up."

  Grort sniffed. "Maybe it'll be different this time?"

  Ark hesitated. "Are you actually thinking about trying it out?"

  He shrugged. "It's not like we have much of a life back in Velmire. Why not?" He pointed at Vral. "Also, she's one of them. Doesn't that count for something?"

  Vral's face twisted the way it always did when she was about to say something snarky. However, by the sheer grace of the Goddess, and after a sharp glare from Na-Ya, her face untwisted, and she said, "There are worse places to be." She nudged my hip with her shoulder. "And when this guy's with me, things tend to work out. My life's actually gotten better with him around."

  "You've got it bad, huh, girlie?" Ark was grinning at her.

  "I'll actually kill you." Vral huffed and marched faster. "No more talking. Let's get to this stupid campsite, let these stupid animals out, and get some stupid sleep!"

  ***

  "Here's our camp," Frik said, pulling aside a branch covered in thick leaves, revealing a dim clearing beyond.

  "Thanks, Frik." I patted his shoulder. "Great job tonight."

  By the movement of his glowing eyes and the tone of his voice, I could tell he appreciated the compliment. "You got it, boss."

  One by one, we walked into the clearing. Squinting, I did my best to see in the gloom, but I couldn't really make anything out aside from the basic shape of the clearing and the faint outline of cages. The smell though... Right when I sniffed, I heard something growl to my left.

  "Goddess..." Na-Ya whispered. "You have so many."

  "What is it?" I moved closer to the nearest cage. "Is it a wolf?" After my time in the Pit, I hated cages. I'd set them all free.

  "Don't get too close, boss." Ark stepped in front of me. "They bite."

  "I know that smell." Ro turned beside me. "Is that what I think it is?"

  "What do you smell?" I'd always assumed Ro could see as well as Na-Ya, whose eyes were only slightly worse than Vral's, in the dark. However, I'd learned on this trip that, as a sun elf, his eyes weren't much better than mine at night. His senses were just a lot sharper.

  "I can't make it all out, but..." Tristan's sapphire eyes squinted. "Ark, why are there monsters in these cages?"

  Vral's glowing eyes took in the cages. "I thought you all poached wolves and shit?"

  Ark laughed nervously. "We poach what we can find. Whatever sells." She stepped closer to the nearest cage. "This is what we could find this trip."

  I'd been holding off on having the girls use their magic, but I couldn't keep operating in the dark. "Tris, can you cast [Light]?

  "Do you think I should?" She asked.

  "Yeah, just until we figure some things out." If someone was out here and could see us, so be it.

  She whispered some words in the Goddess's tongue.

  [Light]

  Light rippled off her, illuminating the clearing in pale white light.

  "Thanks, Tris." I took a look around and immediately saw what they were talking about. "Ah..." The clearing was larger than I'd expected, roughly circular, with six crude cages arranged around a cold fire pit. No, there were seven cages. A tiny one set off to the side. The nearest cage, one of the six large ones, held something I didn't recognize. It had a segmented body, with each segment sporting a set of black eyes and far, far too many legs. Squirming and crawling along the bars like a giant centipede, it chittered and hissed.

  "What is it?" I asked. I'd never heard of a monster like that.

  "It's disgusting, that's what," Na-Ya hissed.

  "It's horrific," Tristan took a step backward and rubbed her arms.

  "It's called a nightcrawler," Ark said. "They aren't common in Calvareth, but they're all over in Velmire."

  "I've never seen one of these in person before." Ro approached its cage. "They're venomous, right?"

  "Very," Grort grunted. "Don't get stung. It won't kill you, but you'll be paralyzed for hours."

  "Huh." I looked at the rest of the cages. One cage held a couple of sickly-looking gloomfangs. The cage beside it contained about a dozen skitterslinks, half of which looked sickly and matted. The cage across from that one held some shriekers, the next was empty, and the last... "How'd you all catch a harpy?!"

  "That beauty?" Grort stepped up the cage. "We got her courtesy of that mage's potions. One of the blue ones made me invisible. I snuck into her nest and hit her with some sedative."

  "Interesting." I looked down at the belt Kasimir had shoved in my mouth, which was now belted around my waist. Looking at each vial, I searched for a blue potion, but unfortunately, he hadn't given me one like that. Satisfied, I looked back up and took the harpy in.

  She was humanoid from the knees up, with tanned skin; long, messy black hair; fairly large, well-shaped breasts; and an angular, human-like face. But where her arms should be, there were massive feathered wings, each of which ended in talons that vaguely resembled hands, and her legs ended in similar feet that resembled bird feet. She was wearing a torn brown tunic up top and a simple leather loincloth covering her groin. Slumped against the far side of the cage, her head pressed to the iron bars, she was breathing shallow, rattling breaths, her eyes sunken and glazed.

  "You caught a harpy?" Ro's hand went to his sword. "Do you have any idea how dangerous—"

  "She's sedated," Grort said as he quickly stepped between her cage and the Templar. "We've been keeping her that way since we caught her."

  "Still." Ro eyes the harpy warily. "I'm surprised that the cage can even hold her."

  "Yeah, we already lost one." The goblin pointed to the far side of the clearing, where bent iron bars were piled in a jagged heap. It wasn't easy getting her into a second one."

  "How did you even get these cages out here?" Tristan marveled at their camp. "You don't have a wagon or animals or anything."

  Ark smirked as she pulled a short wand from her belt pouch. "Watch this." She pointed the wand at the cage filled with skitterslinks. With a sharp word, a bolt of pale light shot from its tip and struck the cage. When it did, the cage shuddered, creaked, then shrank. The rat monsters squeaked as the cage closed around them, but when the bars touched their bodies, they started shrinking with it. In seconds, the entire cage went from eight feet tall to the size of a small bird cage. Walking up to the thing, she picked it up by a small handle fixed to the top and held it up in the light. "Pretty neat, huh?"

  "That's incredible." My entire party closed in around her with me. "May I?" I reached for the handle.

  "Sure." She handed me the cage.

  When the handle slipped into my hand, I realized why they were so worried about getting the monsters back to Velmire. "It's heavy, even for me."

  "That's the problem. These cages aren't as heavy when they're small, but they're still heavy as shit, especially when they're full." Grort thrust his chin at the others. "We have to move real slow since Ark and I are the only ones strong enough to carry them."

  Nodding, I pointed to the other cages. "Does that..." What was her rod even called? "Does that shrink ray of yours work on everything, or just these cages?"

  "It's not a shrink ray. It just controls these cages." She twirled the object in her fingers.

  "Then how do the monsters inside shrink?"

  "When the cages shrink, they also shrink anything you put inside of them." With a dramatic flourish, Ark holstered the wand on her hip.

  "Are these cages common?"

  "Common enough, at least in Velmire."

  For a moment, I took the cages in. Then, an idea struck me. "I want to try something."

  "What's that?" She asked.

  "Watch this." It was my turn to show off. Opening my inventory, I slipped the cage inside. Letting go, I watched as my hand slipped out of the space, and the hole closed. I could feel the extra weight on my body, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.

  "Whoa!" The three goblins who hadn't mined crystals with me shouted when they saw my skill.

  "Neat, huh?" I laughed. "Now, let's see if my idea worked." I reached back into my inventory and pulled the cage back out.

  It looked just like it had, and while the miniature skitterslinks looked spooked, they seemed no worse for wear.

  "That's good to know."

  "What did you do?" Ark eyed the rat monsters with clear interest.

  "It looks like monsters can exist inside my inventory." I held them up to the light. "I tried doing the same thing with worms a while back, but they all died before I pulled them back out. It looks like monsters are different." I wondered if that meant monsters didn't breathe? Setting the cage back into its spot, I pointed at her wand. "Why don't you keep these cages small all the time? Wouldn't it make it easier to hide these monsters?"

  She shook her head and said, "The magic's unreliable. Sometimes it lasts for a day, and other times it lasts for a few hours. Also," She looked at the skitterslinks. "Sometimes the monsters start growing before the cage does. I lost some good merchandise that way in the past. That's why I always keep the cages big, and I try to stick around when they're shrunk. That way, if anything goes wrong, I can fix it before it turns bad."

  "Does it work on people?" Tristan asked.

  She nodded. "Yeah. But not for long. Maybe a few minutes."

  "What about animals?"

  "Most animals last for a few hours. Monsters stay shrunk the longest."

  Na-Ya walked up to the harpy's cage. "This monster seems so... human."

  The harpy's head tilted, her lips pulled back, revealing her sharp teeth, and she croaked, "Hoooo... mannnn..."

  Na-Ya darted backward. "It can speak?!"

  "Creepy, isn't it?" Grort cackled. "The night after we captured her, I damn near had a heart attack when she did that."

  "I didn't think monsters could speak." Her eyes stayed fixed on the harpy. "How is that even possible?"

  Remembering the entry on harpies from the Monster Manual that Arden had me translate, I said, "Harpies aren't really monsters. They were created by one of the old gods... Vaerune, I think. They used to carry messages between the towers, being considered messengers of the Goddess's word."

  When I said the name "Vaerune," the harpy's eyes locked onto mine.

  "What happened?" Tristan asked. "Why did they become like... that?" She pointed at the harpy.

  "A long time ago, I think sometime in the second era, one of their nesting grounds was discovered. They were enslaved by the people of an empire that existed back then. To punish us mortals, Vaerune transformed all of her creations into harpies, who hunted us and ate our flesh. At least, that's the story." That was all that I remembered.

  "Wow, you're actually kind of smart." Vral patted my leg. "How'd you learn all that?"

  "Since I was so interested in monsters, Arden had me translate a book about them from common to English, then back again. Twice. It took forever, but I learned a lot."

  "Damn..." She bit her thumbnail. "I really need to learn how to read, don't I?"

  At the word Vaerune, the harpy's head perked up. Lifting her face to the sky, she screamed, "VAEERUUUUNE!!!" before collapsing again.

  At her piercing cry, the others scrambled for their weapons and began casting spells.

  "Hold on!" I held my hands up. "It was just the harpy."

  "Goddess..." Tristan breathed in my ear. She was pressed into my back and shaking. "That was terrifying."

  Ro, who'd jumped in front of Na-Ya, let go of his sword and exhaled. "I don't like this."

  "I hated that." Na-Ya's face was white as she flicked away the light that was circling her fingertips.

  "It's okay. We're alright." Giving everyone a few moments to calm down, I eventually asked, "Ark, who buys these things?"

  Ark shifted. "Collectors. Mages, too. The Crimson Kingdom, sometimes, for their fighting pits." She avoided meeting my eyes. "The pay's good, even if the work's shit."

  "I see." Pointing at the final cage, the tiny one, I asked, "So what's in the little cage?"

  She shrugged. "I don't honestly know. I've never seen anything like it."

  "Can I take a look?"

  "Sure."

  Walking to it, I crouched down and looked inside.

  The largest, shiniest, cutest eyes I'd ever seen were looking back at me.

  "P-r-r-r-r-owr?"