That night, you retire as is customary, to the cave you have given to the goblins. Their claim hasn't resulted in anything just yet – you haven't given them leave to collect items for their own use yet after all, and until you set up somewhere for yourself and the kobolds, you'll all be slumming together anyway. Your bed is untouched, and you warm it gently while watching the others come in from work.

The goblin males bunk together near the old cheifteness, who seemingly subconsciously moves over to them and begins to *CENSORED* , filling the cavern with a rhythmic, wet suckling noise. The two kobolds you manifested from nothing curl up as far from the goblins as they can, close together. Feathers walks up the steps and claims a spot a little way from your own bed. She winks at you as she strips out of her loincloth and bundles it as a pillow. Finally, Sapphire rides Hyena into the room. Hyena settles in the centre of the lower section, a single growl enough to stop the goblins from continuing *CENSORED* . Sapphire herself rubs Hyena down and feeds him a strip of some kind of meat before joining you.

She doesn't even work up the courage to ask before you've gently nudged her onto your bed and flopped down around her. She smiles shyly up at you and hugs your arm. After a second, you raise it, and she wriggles underneath so her back is against your chest. You lower your arm slowly, until you have her held against you. She cranes her head up at you and smiles again, this one softer, somehow more real, and for a second she wriggles her *CENSORED* back against you. She's far to small compared to you, with your comparative positions, for her shifting derrière to come close to manually arousing you, but... the promise was there. Something had changed as she watched you *CENSORED* .

As if she was reading your mind, one of her hands reached up and cupped your face as she whispered, quieter than even her normal speaking voice. *CENSORED*

You lean down to her, and rumble, as quiet as you can really manage. “I know.”

She presses her lips against yours, for the briefest of moments. “Maybe someday, I'd like you to do that to me.”

You stare into her eyes. “I know. I've seen you, in the mornings.”

Her eyes are huge in the darkness as she stares back at you, nearly luminous. “I know. You were meant to.”

With that, her eyes close, and her breathing begins to even out.

You join her in slumber, shortly after.

You awake, some indeterminable time later, to the sound of voices.

“Ah! What the fuck?” The voice is gruff, male, but hushed.

“Dude, quiet! You're gonna wake somebody!” came a second voice. Lighter in tone and pitch, but currently bent towards seriousness, and just as hushed.

Very carefully you cover sapphire's mouth and gently shake her awake. It takes very little before she's looking up at you, cocking her head.

“I think this goblin is trying to suck me off!” came the first voice again. You inch your wing over up, just enough to see down into the cavern's lower layer. Two humanoid figures stand next to each other. Sure enough, the old cheiftness appears to be sleepily attempting to *CENSORED* , the one belonging to a man dressed in boiled leather plates, with a hide shield and a spear in his hands. The other figure was dressed in black cloth and holding two daggers – he couldn't have been more obviously a rogue if he'd been picking his friend's pocket.

Sapphire crawls to the lip of your bed and peers down next to you. You see her eyes narrow and her hand reaches for her shortbow. You still her with one arm and gesture towards Feathers. She nods, and picks up a pebble from your bed.

It sails through the air silently and impacts on Feather's shoulder with a hollow thump. Unfortunately it then bounces onto the stone floor, producing a scratching noise, and Feathers herself wakes up with a surprised shout.

That seems to be the signal for all hell to break loose.

The fur clad fighter jerks in surprise and lets out a curse. The old chiefteness is skewered by his spear before you can get to your feet.

And not in the way she'd been hoping for.

Her wail, slowly tapering off, wakes the three goblin males and Hyena. You can't even see the kobolds – either they were already dead or hiding. You hoped it was the later. Sapphire launched herself off the edge of the small cliff in the cavern, aiming for Hyena's back. The thee goblin males, in contrast, launched themselves at the fighter. Non of them were armed with anything more than a knife, but they made a valiant effort at staying inside his guard, where his thrashing spear would have difficulty reaching, and clawing at any perceived weak-spot.

Feathers, to her credit, realises the situation quickly and readies her dwarven blade, eyes scanning the fighting below, looking for an opening. Sapphire, now firmly riding Hyena, is harrying the rogue with arrows and fang, forcing him to stay on the move and unable to move in to support his companion. You wonder where your intervention is most needed.

After a moment, you decide to trust Sapphire's ability for now, and with a flap of your winglets, you propel yourself into the fighter's back, exhaling a sheet of flame as you go.

The stench of burning hair fills the cavern as the fur armour starts to smoulder, and the fighter lets out a shout of surprise as your weight slams him forwards a step. The goblins take advantage of the momentary distraction to lay into his legs, and between two four of you he falls to the floor. You take a moment to look at his level

Rodney Rockle, Level 10 fighter

Hero, Human, Active, Explicit

Not ideal. But between the four of you, you could do this!

The goblins piled onto the fighter with stones and dagger, attacking with a fury known only to the small and frequently slaughtered. You clawed your way up his struggling form until you were in position to deliver a coup de grace, your jaws hovering over his extended and unprotected neck when you heard three sounds, nearly simultaneously.

First was a canine whimper of pain.

Second was a small, half whispered gasp.

Third was a voice. A slightly high pitched voice, but now commanding in tone. “Leave him, or she gets it!”

You turn, slowly, already knowing what you're going to see.

On the ground, barely moving, Hyena lies in the centre of a slowly expanding puddle of blood. Next to him, holding Sapphire in one hand and a knife in the other, is the rogue.

Azar0th Darkblade, Level 23 Rogue

Hero, Human, Active, Explicit

“Why don't you get off of my friend there, hmm? And we can discuss this like civil folk.” The man's voice was oozing smarmy malice, but what choice did you have? You know that you'll respawn, but you have no such assurance for Sapphire – she's changed so much since her last spawn up in the kobold settlements. Would she remember you if she died?

Slowly, carefully, you slink off of the prone fighter, and the goblins follow your lead. He pulls himself to his feet and stomps over to his companion, looking murderous.

“Good. Good. See, we can be friends here.” the rogue continues, and then gives a short bark of laughter. “Well, no. But you can be dumb. Rod, the honours?”

With a contemptuous flick of the wrist, Sapphire is flung into the air. The spear has no problem striking her anyway.

You hear a scream of rage and for a second think it must be coming from you, but you are silent. Feathers, however, is not. Her undulating war cry seems to stir the goblin males around you, and they launch another offensive, this time aided by the whirling madwoman that is Feathers.

You look on in dispassionate shock as they beat the adventurers back. Even now it's obvious you wont win. Once the shock wares off, your goblins will die. And then so will you. You stare at Sapphire's body, barely hearing the fighting as blood pounds in your ears.

Sapphire, Level 3 Kobold Runt Beastmaster

Dying

Dying. Fire returns to your limbs.

Dying. You stand and walk to her body.

Dying. You open your fame menu as battle whirls around you. Feathers buying you every second she can with blood and blade.

Dying, not dead.

Elect Champion – Sapphire?