The entire conversation must have taken less than a second; the words faded from his mind and the world came back into focus for the goblin as he continued to struggle and fight against the elf that held him down. His mind felt a little fuzzy, movements slow and sluggish as if waking up from a dream. He struggled and fought harder against the elf as he screamed again. He felt stronger.

But as a slender fist collided with his throat, he knew he wasn't strong enough.

His muscles lost their strength as he coughed, gasped and sputtered, his struggling was quickly reduced to a wriggle as his fingers twitched, scraping the ground as they tried to find purchase on the vines that bound him. The elf stepped back, her foot swinging forwards and cracking against Steal's ribs.

And with that, what little fight was left in him faded into a wisp, an ember. Then nothing. His blood stopped boiling, his scowls turned to whimpers. He stopped struggling, stopped wriggling, stopped growling and screaming.

He just groaned.

Satisfied with her work, the elf began dragging her captive along again, still wary of the mark that had burned on his chest. It was something she was unfamiliar with, and something she'd have to ask her father about.

With the goblin no longer struggling, she moved swiftly through the woods; with the goblin only occasionally snagging on something on the forest floor.

Still, Aera thought herself lucky. The Veera Forest was a dangerous place, even if it was her home, and the mere fact that on her rather loud travels through the forest she was yet to encounter any threats or be attacked by the more disgusting of her captive's kind was something she found to be a minor miracle.

Though the Kitt did not believe in miracles. If something turned out well, then it merely turned out well.

Much like her father, and her tribe, Aera strongly believed that the most important factor in success was one's own actions. Hoping for divine influence or relying on luck was a waste; it showed weakness. She mused for a moment that it was likely this goblin had prayed to a god whilst she was beating it senseless. Considering his current state, hogtied and physically broken, Aera thought that it was a pretty good confirmation of her beliefs.

A grunt escaped her lips as she stomped forwards. Grass began to give way to dirty cobbles as a stone path wound it's way upwards ahead of her.

She heard the sound of wood gently scraping against wood; a string creaking as it was pulled back.

An arrow being knocked.

"Cut it out Headr, you know it's me!" Aera's foot struck the goblin again as she called out "Have the guys I asked to come out brought back the two humans yet?"

A man, slimmer than Aera seemed to form from a bush off to one side of the stone path. Though as he stood to his full height, and the twigs and brush plastered to his back and other parts of his body with mud separated; it was clear that he was always the bush. Much like Aera, he was absent of all clothing, though unlike her, his body was unpainted, at least, not in the same way that she was painted. Instead; Headr had always had an odd affinity for camouflage and didn't take up their tribals patterns (with a lot of protest from the rest of the tribe) as he said they made his disguises more difficult.

Headr was always an odd Kitt in Aera's mind. His endless patience didn't suit her people. Whilst most Kitt of her tribe couldn't stay still for more than a few minutes, and often broke into a sprint after their prey when they got bored stalking them, Headr was most famously known for spending excessive amounts of time in absolute stillness when hunting.

"Yeah, Hagra and Baldr brought a human through a while ago... Haven't seen the second one though... If something went wrong or they couldn't find them, we should have heard them call out through the calling right? I'm sure that whoever got sent out for the other human is just taking their time getting back." Although he spoke with confidence, the waver of his brow and sudden flick of his eyes told Aera that the Kitt was worried. Though he was probably right, if something had gone wrong, they'd know already.

"Just, keep a watch out, tell me if you see them come back okay?"

Headr nodded, his eyes now locked on the blacked, bruised and beaten goblin that she was dragging behind her.

"That creature looks pretty beaten-"

"I needed the practice, are you sure you wouldn't rather spar with me later?" Aera tried to offer Headr a wry wink; though instead, the elf gulped and nearly took a step backwards, more threatened than romanced.

"Hehe... yeah, m-maybe later Aera" Headr made his way back to the edge of the road, frame shrinking as he knelt over and balled up slightly, now just a bush on the road, with two deep amber eyes barely showing beneath vibrant green leaves and branches.

"You're a strange one Headr, you really are" The girl was met with an acknowledging grunt, then she started to head off again; Two humans and a goblin that strangely allied with them.

It should be enough to impress father.

Should.

Steal's wounds had only multiplied as the elf dragged him further and further into the forest. He was barely listening as she spoke to some strange bushman, and still he held no protest as his little green head dragged on the stones.

Instead, he went limp, the restraints no longer hurt, his wrists and legs had long gone numb, even if they still bled in crimson trickles. The goblin merely let her drag him along, took weak to put up any resistance even if Steal felt like there was a point.

He didn't even notice he was falling until he struck the stones a few feet below him. He didn't bother to turn his face away from the stone, eyes watching each cobbleas it passed below him, the elf was yet to stop dragging him along.

He listened though, to the sound of metal striking metal, wood scraping wood. He was surrounded by so many, chattering away in a language he couldn't understand. Light left him as he heard something heavy be parted above him and he was dragged inside a building.

Cobblestone became filthy tiles. Steal squirmed angrily as he felt the vines that bound him release, cut. He kicked frantically, though something hard smashed against the back of his skull and made him go limp again. The goblin was lifted upwards, looking into the sharp, narrowed eyes of his captor. The soft green of her eyes betrayed the hardness of her glare. His hands were raised above his head, and his wrists were quickly bound around a thin metal beam with another thick vine.

The elf let him go, and the goblin merely dangled in the air, a foot off the ground as his legs kicked to no avail.

Shouting erupted outside. A voice with as much weight as Kor'Ak's, and as fierce as the wyverns.

"AERA!!!"

His captor grimaced before turning and leaving the dark, dreary stone cell.

"Coming!"

Steal was left alone. Finally, he had a chance to collect himself, although his body screamed and his muscles ached; he had a chance to think. Left in relative silence and no longer suffering constant wounds and beatings.

It was a chance he should capitalise on. But first, he had to figure out what sort of strength Maal had given him.

STATUS General Attributes Jobs/Classes Name Steal STR 26 Goblin 7 326/1139 XP Race Goblin DEX 41 Hunter 6 102/759 XP Age 3 Days AGI 34 Warlock 1 0/100 XP HP 82/113 (2.9/m) FRT 29 MP 78/78 (2.0/m) INT 26 Affiliation N/A WIS 26 ADVANCED STATUS Traits Skills Spells/Martial Arts Trait Level Skill Level Spell/Art Level School David 2 Sword Expertise 1 Daemon Bolt 1 Undermagic Fleet-Of-Foot 1 Trapping 1 Summon Familiar 1 Undermagic Wyrmslayer 1 Polearm Expertise 2 Magical Aptitude

(Minor) MAX Target Locked 1 Daemon-Tongue 1 Unholy Communion 1 Aptitude (Warlock) 1 Bloodfuel 1 Daemon-Touched Unholy Mark (Maal) Daemon Bolt

Undermagic Prerequisites: INT 20, Unholy Mark (Trait)

MP Cost: 15

Range: (1/3)INT x WIS Daemon Bolt does Unholy damage, equivalent to 1/3rd of the Caster's WIS + Any Modifiers. Unholy Mark (Maal): Daemon Bolt Deals Unholy Damage to The Caster Equal To Their Warlock Level. Daemon Bolt Deals An Extra 10% Of It's Damage as Fire Damage.

Many dark contracts allow a being to manifest a patrons powers; this spell is both a fierce and fleeting example of this.

Summon Familiar

Undermagic Prerequisites: INT 25, Unholy Mark (Trait)

MP Cost: 25% Of Max MP

Range: 5 Feet

Maximum Active Summons: 1

Summon Familiar will summon the caster's bound familiar within 5 Feet of them. Summoned familiars appearances, abilties and attributes depend on their species and casters Warlock Level.

If the caster does not already have a bound familiar, casting this spell will instead begin the process of binding a familiar.

If a summoned familiar is slain or dies, they are instead desummoned and can be resummoned again when their HP is at maximum. A non-active familiar's HP/m is derived from their own fortitude and any traits plus their summoner's warlock level. Perhaps the most defining thing about a Warlock is not their bolts of dark energy or daemonic patrons, but it is instead their infernal pets, that assist them in their often deemed as nefarious tasks.

These abilities were what caught Steal's attention the most, and, with some sense of lingering resentment, he begrudgingly followed Maal's advice.

"Somka Vamilka!"

And the demon spoke again, giggling to himself wildly.

Summoning a familiar? This will be entertaining.