We were making good progress on the dishes. Which was to say it had been an hour and maybe a third of them were done. It really was a virtual mountain of bowls and spoons. Also, something about this stuff made it hard to get clean. It would be nice if we had soap, or cloths probably. That said, I also didn’t mind taking my time. It wasn’t like we had anything else to do. Even as I glanced over towards the man practically within arms reach...

Ignoring my less productive impulses for a moment I decided to ask, “We won’t get in trouble if we are too slow will we?”

“Hasn’t happened so far. I don’t think they really care as long as it gets done. They'll just put us in the dark when we are done anyway.” My fellow prisoner replied.

I nodded. That was reassuring. Honestly, I kind of liked it out here. It was maybe entering fall with a nice chill. The wind cut through the heat of the sun nicely. It was impossible to say for certain as I didn’t really know the area or geography but it was a nice day regardless. I liked it better than staying cooped up inside that room with the two tiger kin as well. Between the awkwardness of what I’d said, and the stifling nature of conversations with them it was hard not to feel locked into a corner around them. After all, I could set off some sort of goblin blood feud if I wasn’t careful. Though perhaps that wasn’t the whole of it. Kay in particular tickled at something deeper inside of me… Something I didn’t want to touch on. Maybe if I had actual memories I would know why, but as it was it made me quick to say things without thinking. Or maybe I was just trying to come up with excuses for my own stupidity?

As usual, I solved this problem by ignoring it. “How long have you been here?” I decided to ask to keep my mind away from the darker corners.

“Since the band marched out. I guess it's been… maybe sixty days? Something close to that at least.” He noted.

Basically two months… Longer than I’d been in this world.

“You happen to know what their plans are? Or why they are holding the tiger kin?” I asked feeling more naturally curious now that I didn’t need to watch what I was saying, or doing.

“Something about elves.” He noted, “As for the beast kin… I think they just want to avoid alerting them to our presence? Not that anyone tells me anything meaningful, I’ve been doing dishes for weeks.” He let out a long sigh.

“Aren't elves really good at scouting? Wouldn’t they find a camp this big?” I asked feeling that made sense.

“They got good ears for sure. I know we should be around a day and a half away, so I don’t think we’re all that close. So unless they have a reason to stray out this far they probably won’t find us.” He offered, though I could tell he wasn’t so certain of his assessment.

A day away? That didn’t sound far off at all to me. After all, he was talking about walking, or marching, which seemed quite a small distance. Especially when I considered my former elf lover, he had been fit in ways I’d found quite staggering. Still, I didn’t care about the semantics of the issue, so I avoided them and pressed in another way, “What if they had a reason?”

“You know something?” he asked back pausing his washing.

“Something about an elf woman who went missing.” I offered what little I knew.

“If they are looking for someone… well I guess that's not our worries huh? We are just prisoners.”

“True…” I nodded, only annoyed that this had only gone this far. In truth, I couldn’t help but be more than a little worried that an army of elves might descend on this place at any moment. The conversation lapsed and we just kept working. While I was scrubbing the slightly slimy film of soup from the bowls it was easy to glance up and around. Even if that meant I was doing the task itself mostly by feel. The forest was green, the leaves gently swaying in the wind. The water was clear and I could see the tiny multi-colored stones that made up the bottom of the stream easily. It was a nice view overall.

I was glancing around at the tree line and I spotted a few animals peeking out of the foliage. I recognized them as the usual fare that my goblins would bring back. I watched as they rushed out from their secure location out across the grass, their bodies tucked low. They dashed out, snatched something, then quickly dove back into the brush.

It was kind of cute, like a game they were playing, but it also made my stomach growl in a way that was distinctly unfortunate. I decided to stop watching them, and I swapped to the next bowl after a quick visual inspection. Next bowl in hand, I glanced ahead towards the tree line wondering if there were any birds or- Wait. What's that?

I narrowed my eyes trying to focus on a shape just inside the trees half-hidden. It seemed to notice me and slowly tilted itself from the shadow of the tree. There had been something moving in there… An elf? No...

I nearly cursed at the realization. Scout! What the hell are you doing here still! You’re supposed to be going back to the cave! Of course, I couldn’t yell, or project my thoughts at the goblin. Instead, I just stared bug-eyed at him.

I was just glad that the prisoner next to me was minding his own business, and that the people watching me were half a field away. No doubt I was about to do something stupid again…

“Hey… um… Should I go ask them to… um… pee?” I asked. Was this my only idea?

“Just go right here, no one cares.” The man at my side said.

I glanced at him with a disapproving glare.

He just grinned back at me, “So much for not being lady eh?”

The situation back in the first cabin had been awkward, but at least everyone was awkwardly helpful. Not like I was really that concerned about the privacy of course. This wasn't about that!

“I’m going to go ask the bowmen…” I asserted. I picked up my restraint and hobbled a good chunk of the distance. “Excuse me… Could I maybe go pee in the brush over there?” I asked gesturing towards the trees.

The man who had given me a malicious smirk earlier shrugged, “Sure, but you don’t come back right after... you’ll be my new target.” He said tapping an arrow to his bow.

I nodded and began wandering back in the other direction. In truth I didn’t trust him at all, honestly, I was second-guessing the whole thing. He seemed like the kind of guy to say I made a break for it just so he could shoot me. Yet all the same… I needed to talk to that stupid goblin!

I wandered over, and I avoided even going that far past a bush, just kneeling down and watching the archer who was eyeing me.

“Scout!” I forced out in a whisper under my breath. Nothing, I tried several more times.

“Anna slow.” A voice said from the ground next to me, practically staring up my loincloth.

I nearly jumped but somehow I managed not to. “Shit, you scared me…”

Scout just tilted his head, “Why?”

“Never mind… why haven't you gone back to the cave yet?”

He considered, “You said wait. I wait.”

I was about to argue, but I had probably also told him some time frame, and he had no idea what I was talking about. He’d just followed what he understood. I considered, and while I thought I relayed the basics, “I can’t leave. They put this on my leg.” I said setting the ball of iron down.

Scout reached over and poked it. He grimaced at the weight and his eyes widened, “Heavy…”

“Right… and that guy over there is watching me.” I said gesturing with a hand in a way I hoped the archer couldn’t see, “If I leave he’ll kill me.” It irked me to no end that Scout had been right after all about this place, maybe all my confidence in being “smart” was just my inner idiot pride…

“I kill him?” Scout half asked, half stated.

That surprised me a bit, and my annoyance diminished, “I wish it was easy, but he’d probably kill you before you could make it to him.”

“Night? Get closer.” he said almost insistent.

“There are probably hundreds of them, it's too much of a risk. Go back to the cave. Tell the cave I was captured by a military fort.”

“Mili.. Military?” He asked perplexed.

“Yes. I don’t know what to do, but I’ll try to do something… For now, just don’t get caught and get out of here.” I explained.

He nodded, if reluctantly, “I go.”

I set my hand on his head, “Thanks.” Since when did someone threatening murder deserve thanks? Well either way I appreciated that he wanted to help me, regardless of what that might mean.

Scout seemed a bit unsure about my words but slowly he crept back into the bushes. I left the brush and waddled back to the dishes. At least I managed to give the dungeon that much. If I tried to explain everything to the goblin he would probably muck it all up, so I’d tried to keep it simple.

“How was the bush?” My fellow prisoner asked when I returned.

“Itchy.” I replied scratching at my leg.