When we reached the hole that the boy had spoken of, there was no sign of this prince of theirs. The hole was rather deep and quite foreboding. It certainly isn’t something I would want to fall into.

  Alastaire: “Are you absolutely sure that this is the right hole, Bo?”

  Bo: “Yes, sir.”

  Kristoff: “How the devil did he fall in? It appears to be something that one would have trouble missing.”

  Bo: “It wasn’t there to start with… it was a big patch of grass… then it all just, kind of, collapsed.”

  Damecus: “I will go down and look.”

  Before anybody could say anything Damecus had darted into the hole. Running down the wall on all fours. He was at the bottom in a flash. I know that the powers that these lizardmen possess do seem a tad uneven… but I have to admit, in this situation, the walking on walls is coming in quite handy.

  Kristoff: “Glad we brought him along. Would have taken me an age to climb down there safely.”

  Damecus came rushing back up the wall.

  Damecus: “There is a network of tunnels down there. The prince likely attempted to find his own way out by using one of the tunnels.”

  Alastaire: “Bo, how injured was the prince?”

  Bo: “He was knocked out during the fall. He wasn’t answering me when I shouted. But his leg looked pretty badly broken.”

  Kristoff: “How could you tell from all the way up here?”

  Bo: “Well, his leg should have been going one way… and it… wasn’t.”

  Alastaire: “In that case we are operating under the assumption that he was taken by either somebody or something. Sir Kristoff, take Bo back to the city and let the King know that the prince has been taken, but that we are in pursuit. Lizardman, help me down there and we shall endeavour to search these tunnels.”

  Kristoff: “It will be done, sir Alastaire.”

  Kristoff and Bo began to walk back towards the path to the city.

  Damecus: “As you wish, but I advise we bring the goblin. He is a good tracker. His nose will help.”

  Alastaire: “You may bring your pet, lizardman. But if it does not prove helpful, or is does anything I don’t like, then I will kill it.”

  Well, he’s absolutely charming… fuck’s sake… we’re trying to save his prince and all the while he’s thinking of killing me if I look at him funny. I know I’m a goblin and all… believe me, I get it… I do; I really do… I just miss my cowl. I bet it’s still outside that damn cave. When I had my cowl, people would just accept what I was saying… they’d be nice to me… they’d ask me for help. Now that I’ve lost it… is this what I’m going to get from now on? Immediate suspicion and distrust?

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Not that I blame him… I wouldn’t trust a goblin… not at all… I would absolutely be the first person to suggest that we kill the goblin first and ask questions later… but still. I feel like I can’t even speak around these people because I know that whatever I say will be disregarded.

  Damecus: “He will be of use, I assure you.”

  Phoenix: “Are you sure that you do not want Nomius with you? If there is a creature then you could use his strength.”

  Damecus: “We should be fine. We need people to stay here and guard the cart. We will need it to transport the prince if he is injured. Besides, if there are some dangerous creatures in these woods then you will need Nomius with you… just in case.”

  Nomius: (Signing) “Understood.”

  Phoenix: “Good luck.”

  Damecus: Nomius… the tunnels are too confined for me to use my club and shield. I require one of your axes.”

  Nomius handed Damecus one of the axes from his belt and off we went. Damecus carried me down first, then returned for Alastaire. It took him a bit longer with Alastaire because he was cumbersome in all that armour. So, I had a little scout around the tunnels to try and work out which tunnel the prince could have gone down.

  These tunnels smell odd. I’m struggling to pick up the boy’s scent… all I can smell are flowers… so many different flowers… it’s overpowering… why do these tunnels smell of flowers… flowers aren’t exactly known for being in dark tunnels.

  Damecus: “Any signs.”

  Dwynfel: “There are no signs of anybody being dragged and I can’t find any footprints of any kind. There is a very faint scent of a human male, in the early stages of puberty, coming from that tunnel there… but I can’t work out how, given the lack of tracks.”

  Damecus: “We will simply have to go in there and find out.”

  Alastaire: “You can tell age from the smell alone?”

  Dwynfel: “Not age specifically… more the level of body development. Young children don’t really smell that strong. As puberty begins the body takes on a stronger odour and by the end of puberty, males tend to have quite a strong natural scent.”

  Alastaire: “At least you know your smells, I suppose.”

  He turned to Damecus.

  Alastaire: “I suppose your goblin does have some merit. Let us hope he keeps it up. It would be a shame for me to have to kill him after such a promising start.”

  Urgh… I really don’t like this guy.