>>> PLAY <<<

  The goblin stared vacantly through the lens of the camera, his eyes disjointed, it’s not as if he was looking at a viewer of the video, but rather like he was looking right through the camera itself. His expression is oddly smooth, not scrunched in pain as you might expect. His breaths come short and quick, as if he was on the edge of panic despite the placid look on his face. If any doctor were there on the scene, or watching this video, they would think that the goblin had gone into shock.

  In this state, this goblin has minutes left, hours if he’s lucky enough to somehow get his wits about him.

  With the camera now stationary on the goblins face, it's impossible not to notice the differences between goblin and human. Most obviously, the green skin, a deep emerald color. Next to be noticed are the goblins eyes. They are an inhuman color, a light orange shade, and they’re massive; taking up half of his head and wrapping around far to the sides, where on a human their ears might start. Allowing a goblin to see just a bit behind their head without even turning to look.

  This goblin happens to be showing off another unique trait of goblin eyes. His left eye seems normal, staring straight ahead, his pupil and iris proportionate to the eye’s larger size. But his right eye isn’t like that at all. The pupil and iris of this eye is much smaller and split into two, one half wandering around the side of his head and the other looking vacantly straight ahead alongside the left eye. As the camera continues to record, the right eye merges back together and the left eye then splits off to check the other corner of the goblin’s vision.

  All of a sudden the goblins gaze sharpens coming back into focus, his breath slows becoming more controlled, and his mouth splits into a smile. His smile is much wider than a human’s and full of sharp teeth, although there are fewer teeth than a human might have. His ears, long triangles almost in the back of his head, flick up then down, showing a range of motion an elf would envy.

  The goblin sets down the camera, still facing him, on a rock nearby and uses two arms to lever himself up to a sitting position. He looks down at his legs and frowns, his ears drooping, the sad expression exaggerated by his large eyes and mouth.

  From the rock we can't see the goblins legs, only his arms and torso, but whatever the goblin sees can't be good as he doesn't even try to stand all the way up. He just shakes his head and looks up to the top of the hole, to a spot behind the camera.

  He sits there waiting, patient, expression occasionally crumbling as he deals with the pain of his shattered legs.

  >>> FAST FORWARD 2X <<<

  The goblin continues to wait, his eyelids drooping down and eyes splitting and becoming unfocused. Whenever this happens, he jabs a clawed hand down into his wounds. Each time he shrieks in pain and bolts upright, clawed fingers coming back stained green. Expression looking more and more pained every time.

  Then he sees what he was waiting for and his smile returns.

  >>> NORMAL SPEED <<<

  He grabs the camera and the recording becomes nauseatingly unwatchable for a while as the frame is wiped around, becoming a meaningless blur of green and gray.

  Then it pauses, taking in the view of another goblin standing on the lip of the hole holding a rope in their hands. Rope is a generous name for what the goblin is holding, but his intentions for the knotted collection of vines and rags are clear as he tosses it down the hole to the goblin below.

  The camera is set down, recording the stone wall as the two goblins chitter back and forth. Preparing to haul the injured goblin out of the pit. It doesn’t take long for the frame to begin moving again, approaching the wall it had been recording, as the goblin carrying it screams in ear-piercing pain.

  >>> VOLUME 0 <<<

  The frame lurches and sways, the goblin hugging the camera to his chest tight with both hands, some of his fingers covering the lens. The color of his fingers turn to a pale green as he death grips the camera, keeping it in his hands even as he passes out from the pain.

  After a brutal minute, the movement stops and the camera is set on the edge of the hole, pointed back at the goblin who had just suffered so much to get it here. He smiles, his eyes bloodshot and full of tears. He celebrates, raising a fist to the goblin who pulled him up. Before he can lose the rest of his strength, the goblin reaches out with his clawed hand and slices the rope - dropping back into the hole, his role fulfilled.

  END TRANSCRIPTION — — —

  Three days ago:

  One week ago: