Then he turned, crawling backward, and leapt to his feet in a single fluid motion. As he came toward them, he drew his sword. “That patrol we saw had most of them; there are two sleeping on the beds and two eating something out of a pot at the far end,” he said softly.
“I can take care of the ones who are eating without a sound,” said Jazhara.
“Good,” replied James. “I’ll silence the other two.”
Jazhara closed her eyes and James felt the hair on his arms rising again, in response to her magic. She remained motionless for a good two minutes, then opened her eyes. “I’m ready.”
Kendaric said, “What was that?”
“A slow cast. The spell is almost done. I need only to make a final incantation and it goes off. Very useful for accuracy. Not very useful if you’re in a hurry.”
“Ah,” he said as if he understood. But it was clear that he didn’t.
James motioned her forward. They reached the door and she stepped through. She spoke her phrase aloud.
One goblin heard the first words and his head came up. He started to rise, but Jazhara’s spell discharged and he was paralyzed, trapped like an insect in amber. His companion sat back on his haunches, his bowl in his lap and his hand halfway to his mouth.
They both remained motionless, caught in a sheer energy field of scintillating white, a field like gauze flecked with diamond dust.
James moved purposefully to the bunks where the two sleeping goblins lay, and quickly cut their throats. He then did the same to the two frozen goblins. To his companions he said,
“We must hurry. That patrol will almost certainly be back before the end of the day.”
They hurried to the far end of the barracks room and James opened a door. Beyond it, a kitchen stood empty, with a bubbling cauldron before a fire.
Kendaric went pale and had to clutch the doorjamb while Jazhara’s face also drained of color. On the butcher’s block rested the remains of what had once been a human torso. A head lay cast aside in the corner, along with a hand and foot.
“Mother of gods!” whispered Solon.
James was speechless. He merely motioned for them to follow him. Leaving the kitchen, they moved down a short, dark passage, and again James halted.
“Smell that?”
“Goblins?” asked Kendaric.
“Sweat and filth,” answered Jazhara.
They turned into a long hallway, carved into the rock. They could see light at the other end. They crept down the passage until they could clearly identify what lay ahead of them, then James held up his hand and moved forward alone. He reached an open doorway, and glanced around the room beyond it, then motioned the others forward. The room was square, with two passages crossing in the middle between four huge cages. A few dozen humans were packed in each cage. Most appeared to be sailors, though a few looked to be farmers or townspeople.
One of the prisoners looked up and elbowed the man next to him as James’s party moved into sight. They both leapt forward and gripped the bars.
One man whispered, “Thank Dala that you’ve come!”
James looked around the cages. Other prisoners started to spread the word and soon the bars were packed with eager people.
James held up his hands for silence. He knelt and inspected the locks, then asked, “Who has the key?”
“We don’t know his name,” said the man closest to the cage door. “He’s the leader of the goblins. We call him Jailer.”
“Probably out leading that patrol we saw earlier,” said Solon.
James took off his backpack. He rummaged around and pulled out a small pouch in which he had several picks. He selected one and tested the lock with it.
“Interesting,” observed Jazhara.
James didn’t take his eyes off the lock as he said, “Old habits.”
There was a click and the door opened. “Wait,” commanded James, “until I get the others.”
After a few more minutes, all four cages were open.
“Do you know the way out?” asked Jazhara.
“Yes, ma’am,” said a sailor. “We’re laborers here and when they don’t slaughter one of us for food, they have us cleaning up this place. It looks like they’re getting it ready for the arrival of more goblins.”
“Can you find weapons?”
“There’s a barracks nearby, with a weapons room, but there are goblins in there,” said a thin man.
“Only four,” answered James, “and they’re dead.”
The men muttered excitedly.
James was silent for a minute, then said, “Would you do us a service?”
The thin man said, “They were going to eat us if you didn’t come. They killed one of us each day. Of course we will. What would you have us do?”
“Wait here - I’ll leave the doors unlocked, but keep them closed - in case someone comes by before we’ve finished our mission. If you hear any sounds of fighting, run to the barracks room and get weapons, then fight your way out. If you don’t hear anything in, say, an hour’s time, you’re free to go. Is that agreeable?”
The man looked around and saw several others nod. “It is,” he said.