Shadowguard

When faced with a giant, hulking monstrosity, the matters of Shroud, Mayor Ashburn's murder, and Windmore's treason seemed inconsequential. It wouldn't be a court-sanctioned execution or an unseen assassin that arranged her meeting with the Ferrier of Souls. It wouldn't be Windmore and his insatiable desire for revenge. Not even her own shortcomings would herald her demise.

No. Everna was certain the hand of stony death would crush her before Shroud had the chance.

Massive did not do the creature that clamored from the earth justice. At nearly thirty feet tall, its head brushed the roof of the cavern, crashing through the stalactites as if they were paper streamers. Arms bulging with muscles as large as boulders dangled from shoulders broad enough to block a city street. Its legs, thick as tree trunks, towered above her; her head barely reached the underside of its ankle. Eyes like pools of glowing silver stared down at her and when it smiled, it displayed a row of teeth that were perhaps as sharp as her sword.

Vina fainted.

She was out before she hit the floor, her body bowed as her legs buckled, and she crumpled into an ungraceful heap of limbs and flyaway hair. Lisette followed suit, arms trembling as she stumbled back onto her rear and scrambled as far away from the beast as her wobbly legs allowed. Everna couldn't move; her legs were so stiff with fear that even her knees refused to yield.

"I don't suppose there's anyway we can talk about this, is there?" The words tumbled from her lips as nothing more than a breathy squeak before she realized she'd spoken.

The monstrosity laughed. Loud and booming, its voice echoed through the cavern, reverberating off the walls. The sound drove straight through her, much like the thundering of the afternoon's storm. Her stomach churned, a violent sea raging within her. The creature's laugh lingered long after it finished, slowly diminishing in volume until it became nothing more than a distant whisper above the crackling flames that engulfed the village behind them.

All at once, the goblins flocked to the edge of the pit. They flung themselves to the floor, knobby knees bent beneath them and their heads pressed to the stone. A portly goblin draped in threadbare robes of faded white and stony gray shuffled to the front of the crowd carrying a gnarled tree branch topped with a bent gold coin. The leader, she presumed, waved the tip of its stick wildly in their direction, grunting and warbling excitedly.

"A sacrifice, you say?" the monstrosity said, bemused. It lifted its massive hand to its chin, as if entertaining the thought. This thing was intelligent. "I do like the taste of humans. A nice, crunchy snack. But what do you say, little human?"

"What?"

The monstrosity laughed again, and her knees shook beneath the tremors of its voice. "You asked to speak, did you not?"

Lisette turned to look at her, her face ashen with fear. "Everna, don't. Cavernbrutes don't bargain! It's toying with you! You can't—"

The cavernbrute angled its head, its shrewd gaze shifting to Lisette. "I did not give you permission to speak, human. Be silent, like that one." It pointed a massive finger at Vina.

"But you," it said, turning its attention back to Everna. "You amuse me, human. Even though you reek of fear and shake, you don't cower. You plead to bargain. It's been a long time since one of your kind had the courage to do so. Entertain me."

Everna swallowed the lump in her throat, albeit with great difficulty. Debating was one of the few things had a talent for, but there was a vast difference between debating law and policy in a mock courtroom and bargaining with a beast that saw her as an amusing snack. Her instructor wouldn't eat her if she lost a classroom debate.

She knew nothing of this creature. Her parents spoke of goblins and orcs and other such things, but never had they mentioned anything resembling a cavernbrute. It bore an eerie likeness to a human, save its dusky gray skin and bladed teeth, and possessed both intelligence and strength rarely seen beyond the typical creatures of the realm. With the ease it rent the stone beneath its hands, fighting it wasn't possible.

"Take your time, little human. I wish to hear an interesting argument for your salvation."

Her gaze fell on the goblins at its feet. They served the cavernbrute, if they didn't worship it. The goblins' leader allegedly mentioned a sacrifice. From that, she could conclude the goblins had captured them to feed them to their exalted 'deity.’ With the cavernbrute's intelligence, begging for freedom while offering nothing in return would get her nowhere. She needed to present something of equal, or greater value.

Or, make a suggestion so asinine the cavernbrute couldn't help but entertain her until she could think of another means of escape.

"Well," Everna said, her tongue darting out to wet her dry lips, "if it's a sacrifice you want, then I offer however many of these creatures here."

Lisette stared at her, aghast.

The cavernbrute frowned, the crease in its brow resembling a mountain ridge. "You offer me my own servants?"

"It just seemed to me that they aren't much good for anything else."

"That's your argument?" the cavernbrute questioned. "Perhaps I gave you too much credit."

Lisette's head whipped between her and the cavernbrute, and Everna saw the terror in her eyes — the grim realization that she would likely die here. Yet Everna ignored her and returned her attention to the beast before her. Her courage hung by a fraying thread. If she let distractions disrupt her focus, she'd never regain it.

It didn't matter if it was an absurd suggestion. She merely had to argue her point well enough to convince it to let them go, or confuse it so much that they could run for the exit while it tried to make sense of her proposition. Maybe if she dragged it out long enough, she could use Leah's ring to slip behind it and take out its ankles.

She'd rather let that remain an absolute last resort.

"The raging inferno behind me speaks for itself," Everna said, mustering her best courtly impression. "As does the fact that my friends and I are free of our confinements. Never mind their atrocious handling of the situation afterwards. They fought with each other rather than make any attempt to contain us."

The cavernbrute's gaze fell to the goblins, now trembling at its feet, its eyes narrowed. "Yes, there was quite a loud commotion that woke me from my slumber. And you're walking free where you shouldn't be."

The leader of the goblins scrambled to appease it, but a single look sent it into whimpering silence.

Everna stamped down the tiny pang of sympathy that rose at the sound. These creatures intended to throw them to their deaths. They created the situation. They would be the ones to suffer for it, not her.

She'd been the one to give too much credit. The cavernbrute was intelligent, but its intelligence paled when compared to the Inquisitors and Arbiters that ran the Courts of Inverness. They could pry secrets from the most tight-lipped individuals as gently as night fell — a gradual process that only the most perceptive noticed before it reached completion. The cavernbrute didn't have their mastery of words and manipulation; it had arrogance in abundance.

This creature demanded subservience from those beneath it. People — creatures, in this case — of that nature were the easiest to persuade. Many saw arrogance as an obstacle, but those who had a gift for manipulation saw it for what it was: a useful tool. So long as the arrogant remained the focus of the conversation, and they believed they benefited the most from the suggested solution, they were pliant. Malleable.

"Far be it from me to make such claims, but it seems someone of your prominence deserves more loyal and competent servants," she pressed. "They serve you, but it seems only when you turn your eyes upon them. It seemed to me they didn't care whether you received your dues."

The cavernbrute scowled. "Not for the first time. But where, little human, would I find more competent servants, hm? Are you offering yourselves in exchange?"

"All things considered, we'd be a far worse choice," she said, choosing her words with care. "However, these mountains are enormous, and I understand goblins are not the only creatures within these parts. I'm sure you could quickly find replacements."

The cavernbrute smiled again, the sight turning her stomach. "I could, but goblins are small. Humans are larger. More filling."

The image of her bones wedged between those wicked teeth leapt to the forefront of her mind, but she forced it aside with a calming, albeit shuddering, breath.. She needed to push the conversation back to the goblins.

"True as that might be, there are only three of us, and even as far as humans go, we're considerably small. Probably no more filling than two goblins," she argued. "There are more of them than there are of us. Besides, if they couldn't contain three measly women, they'd never successfully deliver a larger, more... suitable offering, should it stumble into their lap. The three of us aren't much better; after all, even these incompetent fools captured us."

A tense silence settled over the cavern. Everna ignored the muttered pleas of the goblins and Lisette's stunned look. Despite the trembling in her legs and the unrelenting urge to turn tail and run, she forced her feet to remain rooted to the stone. She wouldn't die here.

Everna was not proud of her knack for manipulation. She despised the thought of taking advantage of others, no matter how easy it could be for her. But, if that's what it took to ensure she survived this encounter, then so be it.

If she died, Shroud succeeded.

That thought alone gave her the strength not to faint on the spot when the creature responded.

The cavernbrute laughed. It laughed so hard it nearly staggered back into the ravine, a hand clutching its impossibly large belly. She could almost see tears in its eyes.

"You're bold, little human!" the cavernbrute cried between thunderous peals of laughter. "Offering my own servants for your lives? I've never heard of such an absurd suggestion!"

Had she gotten too confident? No, she knew this was a futile endeavor; Lisette warned her it was merely toying with her. She was the entertainment — the show before the meal. She gritted her teeth as its laughter once again shook the cavern. Did she truly believe she could—

"I like you," it said, an unabashed grin splitting its face. "I'll give you thirty seconds to run."