Part V: Hey Pest-o

'''Is there such a place as Goblin heaven?' thought Gubbinz. Would he even make it there if there was? He'd tried his best to live a good Goblin life. He hadn't directly killed anyone as far as he knew, and he was a good master to his beloved Growler.''

''All he'd really wanted was for someone to be his friend. He'd tried with Lord Gorgut, but his japes just didn't seem to work. Gorgut's bodyguards liked to push him around and Skabnoze was no fun. The less said about the rest of the Black Fang Orcs, the better.''

''In his despair he had reached out to these four. He felt uneasy around the Wizard, Dwarfs were Goblin's long-standing enemy, and you can never trust an Elf, but he thought the musclehead might at least find him amusing. He had tried, but there was a rage within the Barbarian that he couldn't seem to let go of. No fun there, best let Growler loose.''

''Lord Gorgut was mad when he told him about them, raging about "'ow 'ee woodn't let 'em get iz pries," or something. He knew better than to stick around when he was in one of his rages. So there he sat for a while, listening to the trolls' inane conversations.''

''Then they'd appeared again. He stayed in the shadows at first, wary of the hulking monstrosity, but then he'd noticed something about the Dwarf he hadn't noticed earlier. She was kind!''

''She'd actually managed to tolerate him for a while, he couldn't let the bungling Wizard freeze her to death while he was looking the other way. So he did the only thing he could - he did the old 'slip-shoe' trick. Worked a treat as well, until the Barbarian took it the wrong way.''

Now here he was, facing the end.

Seemed to be taking a long time.

A very long time.

Gubbinz cautiously opened one eye. Lying between his legs was a rather spiky ball. He peered around it to see a long stick protruding from it. He opened his other eye and glanced round at the scene of carnage in front of him.

The Warriors were fighting with 6 burly Orcs - the "lads" he had called for earlier had actually come to rescue him! Gubbinz heart filled with joy. Two of them had Trogdar pinned to the ground - the Barbarian reaching desperately for his mace as his face was pushed into the filthy stone.

Gubbinz grinned a wolfish grin as he locked eyes with the restrained warrior. Finally untangling his legs from the prone Wizard, he stood to his full height and jangled his Marotte, laughing as he did so.

He was most surprised therefore to see the two burly Orcs fly through the air as Trogdar slowly regained his footing.

"TROGDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!" bellowed around the room as the Barbarian strode purposefully towards Gubbinz.

"Eep!" exclaimed Gubbinz quietly. He wasn't going to be put in the same situation twice, and so promptly ran as fast as his legs would carry him, accidentally tripping the Dwarf as he went.

"Sorry!" he squealed as he ran back down the corridor towards his hiding place where he had encountered the Warriors again, the din of battle receding.

He cowered into the corner, pressing himself against the wall into a small hole he had carved for himself over the last few weeks. Several minutes passed as he listened to the furious clash of metal on metal and the roars of dying Orcs.

The sounds suddenly stopped to be replaced by dark mutterings and then, most surprisingly, a metallic hammering noise. Curiosity got the better of him, and he eased himself from the gap, walking slowly down the hallway. The noises continued for a while as he ever-so-carefully peeked round the doorway.

A mass of Orc bodies lay strewn around the room in various states of dismemberment. Of the Warriors there was no sign, but the noise continued from what was now a closed door beyond. Slowly, realisation dawned on Gubbinz as he walked across the room. They were sealing the door behind them, locking him out!

He panicked as he thought of Growler who he had last seen sleeping off a meal of snotlings in Gorgut's lair. He banged on the door in vain, calling for his faithful hound at the top of his voice.

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Trogdar smirked as he thought of the annoying little Goblin on the other side of the door. He continued to smile as he turned to the rest of the group.

"Great idea, eh?" he said with mirth as he began to stroll down the collapsed corridor. He held the lantern ahead of him to peer into the gloom as he did so. Suddenly, the Barbarian stopped in his tracks as the light glinted of something at the end of the corridor.

"What is it?" asked Jandyr, following closely behind.

The light slowly revealed two rows of glinting, razor-like teeth in the distance.

"Is that... Growler?" asked Short-arse, a note of panic in her voice.

"Eep," said Trogdar.