Tania glanced down the right tunnel, "Maybe we can seal it off… we can probably dig our out, then loop around to the entrance. It would be safer than staying down here." 36 of them? Against 200? And if that was the headquarters there were bound to be mages and possibly a chief. 200 bombs going off would bring the mountain down.
Noelle watched the right tunnel, "Princess Lucera… do you have a poison we can blow down the tunnel? Something to incapacitate, kill, or weaken them?" None of Noelle's poisons could be administered through the air… they were all contact based.
Lucera grimaced, "Yes, but not enough for 200… we also don't know how large their headquarters is." Not to mention… their mages could push the poison back their way. In these tight tunnels, it would be dropping rocks on their own feet. She glanced up… or a mountain on their heads.
"We just need enough to fill this tunnel, send it down then collapse the tunnel. Then we can defend the choke points. Their numbers won't mean much if they have to come to us." Noelle reminded glancing around.
"Maybe we go check out the… the breeding chambers before we make a plan, for all we know the chambers could be connected on the other side." Dustin reminded as he warily glanced to Lord Rahm, "We could also send someone to check the length of the tunnel to the headquarters." No need to waste their limited resources.
Noelle watched Lord Rahm, his tail flicked periodically but he was otherwise still. "No, our task is to get the captives. If anyone wants to deal with the headquarters, we'll part ways here." It was only a moment, but she could have sworn there was a flash of approval in Lord Rahm's eyes.
Zane narrowed his eyes between Rahm and Noelle… "We'll go with, Lucera, lets get ready to collapse the tunnel." It was frustrating that Young Song had given him the task, but Rahm was deliberately working with everyone else… Zane wasn't sure if this was a power play between the beasts… or the foxes personal dislike of the Adar delegation. Either way, only the Adar delegation would face punishment…
Rommel had also noticed the moment Rahm slightly shifted his look down the tunnels. "I have some smoke bombs as well. Ten minutes to prepare? Then run like a river?"
"We have the goblin bombs as well, we can make a pile of 10-20, then have a fuse to set them off once we've gotten far enough away." Rowena reminded glancing at Monty. Her hackles were rising but she didn't show it. Noelle's statement had put the Adarian's and Princess Lucera on edge.
"Let's move, no telling when they will notice us." Zane agreed, he took Lamont and Lucera to set up the trap. This way the poison smoke would spread when the bombs went off. Lucera set up a small candle that would heat one of the bombs to set off a chain reaction with the poison smoke.
Rahm swept his tail along a wall before turning down the tunnel to the breeding chamber. He should reward good children… Rahm didn't have to travel more than forty feet down the tunnel before even the humans could hear the cries echoing along the walls so he let the princess take the lead.
Noelle hesitated until Lord Rahm used his tail to start pushing her forward. She took a deep breath as Lucera activated a sound dispersal ward around them. Everyone started drawing their weapons as they waited for the tunnels to rock from the explosions. Noelle thought it would take longer so they had to wait a few minutes, silently listening to the sounds of flesh slapping, muffled sobs, and inhuman taunting laughter echo around them.
Rommel had been so tense, when the tunnel rocked, he nearly tripped as everyone started charging forward. Hopefully no one noticed. Noelle threw two tiny daggers as they could see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Rommel belatedly realized two goblins had been standing watch, had being the operative word since they were now dead.
As soon as Noelle left the tunnel, she refused to focus on anything not green skinned. Torches were attached to the walls giving off a smoky light as a little over a dozen grotesque green faces turned in their direction. Noelle continued to throw her remaining eight daggers, regardless of what the goblins were doing…
Zane wasn't sure where to look, there were more than 30 women… and a few young girls. The women had thick metal collars that were chained to the ceiling of the cavern. Of the 18 goblins, 15 were actively using the women and children… the remaining three had been sitting off to the side, two asleep, one filling a troth with slop from a bucket.
Rommel nearly knocked Zane down as he passed, "Get it together!" Rommel hissed making his way toward the goblins who had looked up from raping… what looked like four girls between 10 and 13… one was obviously pregnant. Rommel didn't give them a chance to grab their weapons as he just swung with all his strength, decapitating two, and slicing through skulls of the other two. Rommel flinched as the blood and worse splattered all over the girls, but he kept going.
Tania had targeted the farthest goblin. She was easily the fastest without mana enhancements, so she didn't hesitate to dodge past the closer goblins. The one farthest back was also the largest of the group, easily five feet. As he looked up his eyes narrowed. When he stood there was blood on his crotch and loincloth.
Tania couldn't spare a glance to the limp, pregnant, bleeding woman, but her heart boiled with a rage she'd rarely ever felt. The goblin was a darker green, smarter because his spiked club was within arm's reach. He'd reacted just as the first of Noelle's daggers hit their targets.
Instead of attacking Tania like she'd expected, he raised his club over the limp woman threateningly. Tania kept charging as she threw her own dagger, but she was far from an expert. The goblin used his left hand to block the dagger as he roared.
"Grraargh!" Then the goblin lifted his club just a foot or so clearly intending to smash the woman to death. Tania wouldn't make it!
Lucera had also been watching the far side, she'd charged an ice arrow just to be safe. Unfortunately, she had added splash damage, but the lesser of two evils… "Ice arrow!" Better than having to start a whole new spell, just calling out the name would activate it. Lucera had deliberately aimed for the club, which was knocked back hitting the large goblin before he collapsed backwards frozen from arm to chest as ice spread out a full five feet around him.
Tania rushed to the limp naked woman, with her claws she cut through the chains then dragged her away from the spreading ice. All the other goblins had already been killed. Lucera was already charging another ice spell to her bracelet. "Hey, can you hear me?" Tania asked pulling a small spacial pouch out, while the pouch fit in her palm, the inside was as large enough to hold a chest. Inside were some cloaks, bandages, deer skin boots, and loose-fitting clothes.
Zane had only killed one goblin as he and Rommel made their way to the older women… best to let the princesses take care of the children. 34 women, 9 girls. Injured, half starved… 22 of the women were pregnant and the two oldest girls were as well.
Rommel's heart broke as the women and girls wept, some in relief, some… because they were begging to just be killed. All the chains connected to the ceiling had been broken but the collars couldn't be removed without hurting them.
"We found it!" One of the guards called out as a secret chamber was revealed close to where the frozen goblin had fallen. Inside were a dozen goblin infants and ten more women… these women were… could barely be considered alive.
None of them had legs… or teeth, their necks chained so close to the wall they couldn't even lean forward. Their hair had been haphazardly shaven leaving clumps of hair, and gouges of scalp missing. Of the ten women, only one bothered to even react to their entrance. While her expression didn't change, a few teers start to slowly pour down her grimy, bloody face. Her cheek, rib, shoulder, and wrist bones were so pronounced… it was hard to believe her body could produce milk at all.
Despite the horrific conditions of the women, goblin newborns suckled the mutilated bloody tits with gusto. Their arms were mostly intact as their wrists were bound to make easier perches for the goblins to settle. Tiny claws ripped what little was left of their flesh down to the bone in several places, infection was rampant as the women were covered in the goblin infant feces.
Rommel glanced to a slimy bucket probably used once or twice a day to clean the women. The ground was covered in watered down foul of all sorts… the floor was at an angle where a drain had clumps of slop, feces, flesh, and two dead bodies.
"By the Beast Gods above…" One of the guards murmured, then turned away to vomit outside the secret chamber. It was like a domino effect as nearly half the younger guards also turned away to vomit or dry heave out of sight.
Zane closed his eyes as he pulled out a dagger stepping forward. The suckling parasites didn't even glance up as Zane quickly started slitting throats, then tossing the bodies in the general direction of the drain, but away from the two women's bodies.
Rommel stepped into the foul to join Zane. Then he carefully moved the women's heads as far forward as he could before using the same dagger to break the links to free the women. The guards silently carried the women out where two mages prepared to give them a quick rinse and treat the worst of the wounds.
Zane had finished killing the last infant as he turned to the dead bodies… they were half eaten. Flesh stripped from the ribs and arms… the legs had all been sliced off midthigh and cauterized. Each step was like walking through muddy puddles… how anyone could survive down here with open wounds… let alone long enough to starve to death.
Rommel stepped up, "Highness, we are talking about how to get them all out of here safely." Zane had been staring that the dead bodies for a few moments… now was the time to focus. To save the ones they could… mourning had to wait.
Zane closed his eyes sending a silent prayer for their souls, then left the god forsaken secret chamber. Zane let the mages give his shoes a quick rinse before proceeding to the small meeting of royals.