A Goblin Love Story

"Worm meat actually, from those Brulworms. I used some sauces, a little bit of honey and liquid smoke, and some peppers to flavor it." Beruna replied with a smile, taking a piece herself and chewing on it. "I'm glad you like it. Katine won't even try it."

Tayla stopped chewing and looked down at the meat. Now that she was paying attention it did seem... darker than normal beef or venison jerky. Looking to Katine she was annoyed when she saw the elf trying to hold back a laugh. Finally deciding to hell with it, Tayla shrugged and swallowed before taking another bite, a bit less enthusiastically than before. It was still delicious, despite its origins. "Sounds great. You should give me the recipe." Hesitating as she chewed, she finally swallowed and took a deep breath. While she had strongly considered just not telling them about Leo, he kept cropping up in her thoughts and she really wanted to talk to someone about it. "Look. I have something to confess. I wasn't exactly one hundred percent... on top of things during the whole affair."

"What do you mean?" Katine's face had dropped the smirk as she sat up straight. "You are ok, aren't you? Did that demon hurt you?"

"No, no. Nothing like that." Tayla once again felt that guilt when she saw how concerned her friends looked. "I mean, I'm just a little sore from sliding down that tree really. But when I set up a trap for him I kinda... underestimated him. He got pretty close to getting me. He even messed up Gnasher, obviously." Wanting to just push on through she took a deep breath and continued. "Things were looking pretty bad but this human showed up and... helped out. Shot the demon dead with a few arrows."

"A human with a bow? Is he one of the hunters here?" Beruna asked curiously.

Making a face, Tayla nodded. "Yeah. He says his name is Leo."

"Hmm. Leo? Yeah, I know of him. He stays in a tent up near the tower" Katine confirmed with a nod. "He kind of reminds me of you a little."

"What?!" Tayla demanded, sitting up straight. She could feel her face going red as she took another large drink to calm herself. "How am I like that guy?"

"Well, it's mostly that both of you like going out on missions alone to be honest." Katine's face was a teasing as she smirked. "So... why do you seem to get angry whenever he's brought up?"

Feeling annoyed now Tayla avoided Katine's gaze. "I mean sure he helped me and all but he was so infuriating about it. He was all like, 'wow it almost got you!' and stuff and then he just walked off! I swear..." Though she was angry Tayla felt that stupid guilt come back. "He even marched off before I could say thank you properly."

"He saved your life and you didn't even thank him?" Beruna looked disapproving as she finished her ale reached over to the keg. "That's some bad karma."

"She probably just lost her temper with him. It happens" Katine replied with a shrug.

"Hey, it's not like I didn't want to thank him or anything." Tayla ignored the comment about her temper though she really wanted to say something in return. "I was in a bit of shock after the whole ordeal, that's all. I even tried offering him some of the bounty but he turned it down."

"How much of the bounty?" Beruna asked, narrowing her eyes as she sat up straight. "Fifty percent?"

"Well. I mean. I did most of the work." Tayla muttered as she avoided Beruna's glare and drained her mug, leaning over to refill it. "Anyhow. I guess I've just been annoyed because I feel like I owe him one and I don't know what to do."

"You could always just forget about it" Katine said with a shrug. "I mean he's just some human, who cares?" Though Tayla did partially agree, she found herself frowning as she considered this.

Beruna rubbed her chin for a moment as she thought. "Hmm. If it were me, I would at least do something to show my appreciation. Try to make things even and all that."

"Even, huh?" Tayla mused, nodding. "Alright then. I'll think about it. Now then..." Tayla slowly tilted her mug upwards as she once again drained it in one go. She felt like changing the subject, she was supposed to be celebrating, not wallowing in pity. "Why don't we get around to finishing this keg?"

-

It was quite early in the morning two days later as Tayla sat on the floor in the Trueshot Lodge's stables. All of the hunters had their mounts kept here, and thankfully she was able to locate Leo's black and brown gryphon after a brief search of the place. She had thought long and hard yesterday about what to do and had finally come up with an idea, now all that was left was to wait for Leo to show up.

Thankfully she didn't have to wait too long. After a few hunters came and went with their mounts, she saw the familiar figure of Leo stroll casually into the stables as he ate a piece of bread. He stopped when he saw Tayla, and she was annoyed when he made a face. "Oh, hey. Good morning."

"Morning." Tayla stood up and brushed some loose straw from her pants as she took a deep breath. "Look, I'm going to be honest with you. I owe you one, and I hate being indebted to someone. So here's the deal! I'm gonna come with you for the next few days. You get into dangerous situations all the time I'll bet. All I gotta do is wait to save your life and I'll be off the hook." Grinning mischievously, Tayla leaned forward. "Of course, we'd split all profits during our brief partnership. Normally I'd charge you a service fee of 10% at least."

Leo looked less than amused as he finished off his piece of bread and just looked at her for a long minute before responding. "Look, if this is about saving you the other day then just forget about it. It wasn't a big deal, ok? I don't need a partner, or someone weighing me down." Brushing past Tayla, Leo opened the door to his gryphon's pen and stroked the beast gently as he applied the saddle and harness.

"Well I don't need to be indebted to some... stuck-up human who looks down on me!" Tayla cried back, stamping her foot in frustration. "Look, I am going to pay you back. And if I can't come with you then I'm gonna annoy you every damn day until I DO return the favor!" Crossing her arms, she glared even harder at him. "And by the way don't worry about me weighing YOU down. You should be glad I'm deciding to even do this for you."

For a moment Leo looked like he wanted to argue or complain. His mouth opened and shut, but eventually he just shrugged and looked back to his gryphon as he began to lead it out of the stable. "...Fine. Just meet me outside, ok?"

Feeling a savage sense of satisfaction, Tayla rushed to where her wyvern was kept. She would show him. She'd probably save his life before lunch and be back bragging about it to the girls.

-

Two weeks later, and as Tayla sat next to a campfire roasting a fish she couldn't believe how naive her past self had been. It had certainly been an eventful few weeks, and to be honest a profitable one as well, but she felt like she was no closer to her goal of paying Leo back. While they had certainly gone on dangerous missions together Leo hadn't exactly needed her help all that much. She had assisted on said missions since they had agreed to split the profits they made while partnered, but so far Leo hadn't been in any real life threatening situations. He was a lot more cautious than her, sometimes waiting hours for the perfect time to take a shot. While it was impressive how efficient his kills were, Tayla secretly hoped that they would get into a more perilous situation soon.

It was early that afternoon when her prayers seemed to be answered. The two of them were camped out by a river in Highmountain, Tayla eating a freshly-roasted fish as Leo busied himself with the pelt of the sabercat they had slain earlier for a bounty. She was just thinking that maybe she would lay down for a minute by the river when a sudden voice cut through the calm.

"H-help! Please!" Both hunters turned to see a Tauren rushing towards them, limping slightly as he slowed down and caught his breath. He had what looked like the remains of a spear, the haft smashed so it looked more like some kind of bizarre short sword. "My... my family. We were moving to Thunder Totem for protection, but we were ambushed by Drogbar. I only barely managed to escape their cave in the confusion. Please, I think they're going to feed my family to their brulworms... please, you must help me!"

"Of course we'll help!" Tayla got up at once, finishing off her fish on a few quick bites and throwing the remains in the river. "Just let us get our things."

"Hey, wait a second Tayla" Leo muttered, looking concerned as he walked closer to her. "Maybe we should take a moment to think about this, I-"

"Don't tell me you're chicken or something? Anyhow if we don't hurry they could be hurt, right?" Tayla shot back. She was excited now, maybe this would finally be the chance she was looking for to finally pay Leo back.

Nodding, Leo dropped what he was doing and grabbed his bow. "You're right. Sorry." Looking over his shoulder to the Tauren as he slipped his quiver on, he nodded. "Lead the way."

As the three of them quickly made their way to the nearby mountainside, the Tauren led them along as he moved at a brisk pace, scanning wildly for the cave entrance. After a few tense minutes of searching they finally found what must be it, two Drogbar posted at the entrance, and thankfully they were able to duck out of sight before they were noticed. Tayla was dismayed when she saw that apart from their quite bulky bodies, these Drogbar unmistakably had green glowing eyes, which meant that apart from everything else these creatures were likely infused with fel magic.

This didn't go unnoticed by Leo as he snorted in irritation, unslinging his bow as he withdrew two arrows. "Fel. They're going to be tough."

"ToughER you mean" Tayla replied with false bravado, loading her gun. "Well, they're not immune to bullets, so c'mon."

"One closer to us?" Leo asked, nocking the arrows.

Tayla snorted through her nose, laying down on the ground as she started lining up her shot. . "Obviously." Looking at Gnasher, she gave him the signal to get ready and the mechanical dog hunkered down, ready to spring.

Closing his eyes, Leo took a deep breath. Tayla tensed up, knowing this meant things were about to happen. "Three... two... one..." he counted down softly before suddenly stepping out from cover, lifting his bow as he aimed carefully. Leo fired, sending two arrows streaming towards the oblivious Drogbar. Hearing the twang of the bow she had been waiting for, Tayla let off a shot of her own from her first barrell as Gnasher took off towards the guards.

The effect was immediate as the Drogbar staggered from the attack. Leo's arrows had hit him in the chest while Tayla's bullet ripped through the thing's neck. It didn't fall at first as it began to stumble their way but thankfully it collapsed, clutching its neck with one hand. Tayla didn't have time to celebrate however as the other guard reacted almost at once, roaring in fury as he hefted a huge stone and started in their direction. He reared back and flung it Leo, who barely dodged behind cover as it went whizzing past.

Tayla turned her gun on the second Drogbar now and aimed her shot carefully. It was already reaching into a pouch and pulling out another throwing stone when she fired. The creature screamed and tripped as its kneecap exploded with the force of the bullet, sending the thing crashing to the ground. Leo wasted no time, stepping out from behind cover again with another arrow nocked. He aimed for a long moment as the creature screamed in pain and fired, striking it in the chest and silencing it forever.

Standing up with a smug expression, Tayla looked to Leo expectantly. "Nicely done" Leo said curtly with a nod, taking out another arrow as he moved towards the cave entrance without a glance back.

Feeling like she was due a little more than a 'nicely done', Tayla grumbled as she followed behind, applying a silencer to her gun. If she was going to be firing in a cave it'd be better not to completely blow her eardrums.

Though the cave wasn't too large, it took them a few minutes to find the captives. Leo was careful and quiet, killing as many of the Drogbar as he could with his bow as they made their way to the back. The Tauren with the broken spear had thankfully found a large hammer on one of the fallen guards, and he took up the rear as Leo did his work. Finally the tunnel they were in widened into a large open room, where three hooded Drogbar stood around the bound Tauren. A fiendish green circle was drawn on the dirt floor of the cave, and Tayla noticed for the first time that the ground here was strangely disturbed, as if it has been plowed recently. It looked like they were chanting something, and curiously even though one seemed to see them he didn't stop.

Both Tayla and Leo raised their weapons at once. "Stop what you're doing. Now!" Leo demanded. They waited only a moment, not expecting or receiving any sort of response before firing. Tayla's bullet hit the farthest hooded Drogar square in the chest. She wasted no time before firing again, a second hole appearing right next to the first. The thing stumbled, and amazingly it still tried to continue the ritual, raising its arms to the ceiling. But quickly the blood began to pour down its chest as it sank to the floor. Leo's arrow caught the second spellcaster in the back, followed swiftly by one to the head for good measure. The last spellcaster looked desperate now, almost screaming his words but he didn't move or even slow down as he continued. While Leo and Tayla each rushed to fire first, a bellow of rage startled them both. The Tauren rushed past them, hefting the hammer he had taken from earlier. With an angry snort he swung the hammer around and connected with the Drogbar's head, sending blood and teeth and bits of skull everywhere. Both Leo and Tayla lowered their weapons and gave each other a shocked look.

The Tauren wasted no time, dropping the hammer before taking out his broken spear head and using it to cut the members of his family free from their rope bonds, two females, a male and three children. Tayla figured the younger female Tauren must've been his wife, because as soon as she was freed she burst into tears and hugged him fiercely. He soothed her, holding her tight as he stroked her hair. "I'm so sorry, my love" he said quietly. Helping her to her feet, the Tauren nodded at both of them. "Thank you. I am... more grateful than words can say."

"It's no problem" Tayla said bashfully, feeling awkward as she thought about how to bring up the subject of a reward.

"We were glad to help" Leo said with a nod. "Why don't you get your family out of this place? We'll meet you at the entrance, I just want to make sure everything is clear in here first."

With another quick thanks the Tauren led the others out of the cave, leaving the two of them alone as Leo began to wander about the cave, frowning down at the green circle. Tayla felt annoyed as she waited near the exit, tapping her foot impatiently. "What are you doing exactly? Let's just go."

"I just wish we knew what they were up to," Leo said absentmindedly as he kicked at the lines making up the circle, knocking up a green dust as the pattern was further disturbed. "Yeah, let's-" he began, until he was cut off when the ground suddenly began to tremble violently. Eyes widening in panic, Leo started to run towards Tayla just a moment too late. The floor seemed to explode as a huge brulworm erupted from the earth, screeching loudly as it dripped a horrible green goo from its maw. Just the portion they could see was at least ten feet tall and five feet wide, it seemed to fill the whole cavern. Leo was sent flying, crashing to the ground and sending his bow and arrows clattering across the floor. The worm looked towards the fallen figure and snapped its jaws hungrily as it reared back to strike, Leo desperately scrambling to his feet.

As the creature lunged forward and Leo desperately dived for his bow, the sound of Tayla's gun firing twice echoed through the cave. Two holes appeared in the side of the worm's head and it screeched again in pain as it whipped around to focus on the goblin. Thankfully Gnasher was already bounding forward, legs compressing briefly before it sprang up high and latched itself to the creature where it began to shred the thing's flesh with its razor sharp metal claws. When the worm turned to deal with the new threat Tayla had already reloaded and took no time letting off another volley of shots before beginning to load another. By this time Leo had also got his bearings back and he began letting loose with arrow after arrow, backing away a safe distance.

The arrows must have particularly stung because the worm turned to face Leo again, mouth opening wide for a moment before letting out a stream of green fluid. Thankfully Leo managed to dodge in time and the stuff hit the floor instead where it began to bubble horribly. Feeling calm and confident, Tayla raised her gun and waited for her moment. As Leo once again backpedaled to keep his distance from the worm, it looked to her this time. "That's right, open your mouth you stupid piece of shit..." she muttered, finger on the trigger. Right on cue the thing opened wide, and Tayla could swear she could see more of the green slime bubbling in the back of its throat. She fired off both rounds of the rifle directly into the gaping maw, directly on target. Wasting no time she dodged to the left just in time as another stream of acid hit where she had been standing.

Springing to her feet Tayla moved to reload her gun, but paused when she actually observed the brulworm. It was swaying back and forth dangerously, making a horrible gurgling noise before it finally slumped over backwards, head crashing to the ground. Gnasher leapt off gracefully before being crushed, landing on the floor with a thump. Tayla could see from here that her shots had gone out the back of the thing's head, mortally wounding it. Feeling a sense of relief flow through her, Tayla let out a laugh as her body began to to relax. "I... I did it!" As Gnasher walked up to her Tayla reached out and patted its head, smiling. "And you did a very good job."

Leo, who was still trying to get his breath back, had sat down on the ground. He looked up at her, bewildered. "Huh?"

"I did it! I paid you back! I saved your life!" Beaming, Tayla felt just a little smug. "I told you we should have just left. There. Now we're even. Guess I wasn't 'weighing you down', huh?"

Tayla felt an immense sense of satisfaction as Leo's face went red and he glanced down at the ground. "No. No, you weren't weighing me down. ...I'm sorry I said that to you back then. I know that was rude of me."

Grinning, Tayla propped her gun on her shoulder. "Well, you should be sorry. I-" Something skimmed right over Tayla's head, cutting her off, and she jumped in shock as a rock smashed on the ground not far away. Whirling around Tayla located the source immediately, a Drogbar was perched on a small outcropping high up. He seemed to curse his bad luck as he hefted a much larger stone this time, eyes narrowing as he prepared to throw. Tayla felt frozen in place with panic but she managed to raise her rifle, aim despite her shaking and pull the trigger. The gun clicked as nothing happened. The bottom dropped from Tayla's stomach as she remembered, she hadn't reloaded after finishing off the worm. What a stupid, rookie mistake. Without thinking she moved to reload her gun, then realized that would be stupid and she should just dodge and...

As the Drogbar made to throw the stone, the sound of a bow string being released echoed out and as the creature released the rock he stumbled with an arrow buried in his forehead. He keeled forward, falling over the edge and hitting the ground with a thud. The rock he had thrown reached just short of Tayla, smashing to the ground, rolling past her stunned form and veering to the right. Tayla's heart was thundering in her chest as she tried to control her breathing.