Bonny woke up disoriented and nestled into a tangle of bodies. Almost everyone had cuddled together the night prior, with the exception of Eloisss, Freja, and Jaela. Violet was spread across all of them like a warm blanket.

Eloisss stood guard near the wagons with Sasa, one of the merchant guards.

Rustling leaves sounded from one side of the clearing, then a small figure stumbled into the firelight from behind a tree. It took a staggering step, then called out as it fell.

“Elp!”

“Goblinss!” Eloisss shouted the warning as she drew her falcata and moved to protect them.

“[Analysis!]” Bonny cast at the same time as Eloisss’ warning, mentally asking for both health and system information about the figure.

The goblin’s tiny form glowed with overlapping red auras indicating multiple injuries. There appeared to be numerous gashes and punctures from claws and teeth. The status screen displayed additional information.

=====

Status:

Name: Urs
Race/Species: Goblin
Age: 22 - Middle aged

Health: Moderately Injured - Mauled, Bitten, Envenomed
Soul: Torn

Titles: Spirit Caller
Achievements: 100 people killed, 500 people killed, 1000 people killed, 5000 people killed

Class: Shaman
Skills: Fire Bolt, Sense Motive, Shocking Touch, Spirit Guardian, Spirit Walk

Physical Power: Low, Control: Below Avg, Stamina: Below Avg
Magic Power: Average, Control: Average, Mana: Average

=====

“Wait!” Bonny yelled as she leapt up and raced the lamia to the fallen girl. “She has a status! She’s not bad! And she’s hurt.”

“Sshe is a goblin. More are coming. Sshe musst die.” Eloisss’ voice was full of venom.

“Elp.” The goblin’s plea was weaker, quieter.

Bonny knelt by the green skinned figure and placed a hand on her head.

“No. I think she’s alone. [Mending!] She’s being hunted, played with. She’s prey for something … bad. [Panacea!] Keep an ey-”

A quiet thump sounded behind her and her rage aura flared to life, sensing killing intent behind her.

“Bonny, du-” Eloisss called.

Bonny was already moving, dropping and rolling to the side. A whoosh of air marked something missing her, then pain stabbed into her arm and it went numb from the shoulder down. She rolled again, putting more distance between herself and the attacker, before twisting into a squat facing back to where she had been.

A large leopard with several snakes protruding from it’s shoulders was fighting with Eloisss. The two were a blur of scales and fur.

Eloisss let out a hiss of pain as the leopard's serpents struck at her again and again.

Bonny’s other companions were still waking up and gathering their gear, while the goblin lay where she fell, shivering and moaning.

Bonny concentrated on her own, already swollen, arm. Blood trickled out of the twin puncture wounds of a snakebite.

“[Panacea!][Mending!]”

Pain flared as the first skill neutralized the venom and she quickly followed with her enhanced healing spell. It took more mana than expected, despite the lowered cost and higher power due to Pride’s boon. Bonny investigated further and realized the venom contained an acidic element.

A glance at the goblin showed she was still injured as well. She was shivering and moaning, still laying where she fell.

Freja charged, shield held in front of her.

Eloisss disengaged and leaped back, leaving the monster cat alone in the centaur's path.

It whirled and leaped, setting a paw on the shield and using the Freja’s momentum to help propel it's jump, twisting up and away. It landed a moment later, several body lengths away, crouched and ready.

Bonny crawled toward the goblin. Her arm still ached, even after the healing, though her status showed she was uninjured. She reached out to touch the goblin and cast her healing spells again, then called out to Eloisss.

“[Panacea!][Mending!] Elss, do you need healing?”

Eloisss hissed in pain as she flexed her arms and shoulders and slithered over, keeping Freja between herself and the cat.

“Yessss! I … could usse ssome healing.”

Two snake bodies were curled on the ground where they had fallen after being severed during the brief skirmish, and one struck at the lamia as she passed. She hissed again and her sword flickered out, severing the head from the remnants of the body. She had to reach back and pull the head and fangs from her coils.

“Freja, sstay alert. It’ss venom iss nassty, even with my ressisstansce.” Eloisss warned.

“Thanks.”

Bonny reached out and cast again when Eloisss reached her. The lamia’s arms and shoulders were covered with snake bites, several of which oozed blood and a pale yellow substance that Bonny assumed was the venom.

“[Panacea!][Mending!][Analysis!]” Bonny checked Eloisss, then recast the two spells. “[Panacea!][Mending!]”

She mentally flipped on her cleansing aura and smiled when the venom and blood dried up and crumbled away. Most venom couldn’t be absorbed through skin, but if this had an acidic component, it could potentially open new wounds.

“Freja, try not to get any venom on you.”

“Okay, Bonny.”

Freja shifted closer to the cat, shield and spear ready.

The cat used to have six snake bodies growing in a line from shoulder to shoulder, but bloodied stumps were all that remained of two of them from the cat’s left shoulder.

Glowing arcane arrows flew from the camp and Bonny looked back to see Miu silhouetted against the fire, drawing her recurve bow back with another magical arrow, body taut with concentration.

The cat shifted sideways to avoid the arrows, but one of the snakes struck. It bit the arrow around the shaft, then recoiled as the arcane power burned through it. It coiled up, mouth smoking. The cat whined.

Jaela was drawing back her own bow, shield and spear beside her.

Sasa held a sword, but had withdrawn and stood beside the merchant’s wagon.

Kanae and Lupa were running toward Bonny, while her other companions were still waking up.

The cat backed up another step, then turned and vanished into the dark.

Bonny turned back to the goblin and rolled her onto her back when [Analysis] showed she was healthy.

The goblin was green and small, about three foot tall, and very thin. She was dressed in rags that were more holes than hide. She stared up at Bonny, yellow eyes wide.

“Can you understand me?” Bonny asked.

The goblin nodded.

“Good. Let’s get you back to camp and get you some food.”

“No!” Eloisss all but shouted the word. “It iss a goblin. Kill it.”

“Elss, this isn’t one of the goblins that attacked you. She has a system.”

“Bonny.” Eloisss growled. “Either you kill it or I will.”

Bonny stood and turned to face Eloisss and shouted back. “No!”

Eloisss glared, still holding her falcata, but not moving.

Bonny sighed. “I have questions for her. You will respect my decision or you will leave.”

“You choosse it over me?” The question was a quiet hiss, filled with killing intent.

“No. I will always choose you. You know that. But we need to know what that thing was. I didn’t sense demonic energy around it and I think it was playing with her. If it used the amount of venom on her that it did on you or me, she would be dead.”

Eloisss lifted her humanoid torso, high enough to glare over Bonny at the goblin, then shifted her eyes back down, meeting Bonny’s.

Bonny stepped forward and planted a kiss just above the lamia's scale line, on the soft skin of her lower belly, then hugged her tight around the waist as she looked up.

“Elss, I love you. Calm down. We can restrain her with the wand, talk to her, then decide what to do.”

Eloisss sighed, then sheathed her falcata and slowly lowered herself to Bonny’s height.

“Ass you wissh.”

“Thank you.”

Bonny squeezed Eloisss tight, kissed her, then let go and turned to the goblin, who had scrambled back and was crouching against the nearby tree.

“Come. You’ll be fine. Just move slow and steady.”

The goblin slowly climbed to her feet and followed as Bonny headed back to center of the camp. Kanae and Lupa flanked them, watching for any sudden or threatening moves.

Miu stood between them and the fire. She had jumped up from where they had been sleeping, without taking the time to gather anything but her bow. She was naked except for her collar and the firelight behind her lit up her long fur like a halo.

Bonny stopped for a moment to admire the backlit cat girl.

“Miu, you’re really pretty. It looks like your fur is glowing from here.”

Miu dropped her head and started preening, licking at her wrist and rubbing at her face and ears.

Bonny couldn’t see her face, but knew she was blushing.

A moment later, Kanae nudged Bonny from behind and the troop continued up to the campfire. Bonny grabbed the wand from the pool of purple slime and used it on the goblin.

“[Restraint!]”

This time, instead of just a pair of cuffs, Bonny imagined a full set of manacles. The arcane shackles appeared as envisioned, pulling the goblin's hands and feet together. A chain also ran down from her wrists to her ankles, preventing her from taking more than a half step at a time or raising her hands above her waist.

Bonny turned back to Eloisss to ask if that was enough, but found her on the edge of the light, talking with Freja, Jaela, and Sasa.

She decided they must be talking about security and keeping watch for the rest of the night, so turned back to the goblin.

“Your name is Urs?”

Urs nodded.

“Are the restraints comfortable?”

She waved her hands and wiggled her feet, rattling the chains, then nodded again.

“Good. I have a skill that lets me view status screens. It looks like you have a shaman class granted by the system.”

She nodded a third time, but still didn’t say anything.

“Can you tell me about it? How you got it?”

She hesitated, nodded, then squeaked out, “Tribe fight monster. Many die. Then spirits talk to …” She stopped speaking and stared behind Bonny.

Bonny turned to see Zeal lowering herself into a kneeling position for Bonny to sit on.

“Oh, thank you Zeal.”

Bonny sat and turned back to the goblin.

“Don’t worry about her. She won’t hurt you unless you threaten me. Or if you make me mad. Or … You know what, just stay calm and don’t do anything aggressive. You should be fine.” Bonny slapped Zeal’s ass. “Zeal, don’t hurt her.”

Urs nodded, and licked her lips nervously.

“Now, back to you. What was that thing? Why was it following you and why did you lead it here?”

Instead of answering, the goblin pointed at Zeal. “Angry dragon take many goblins.”

“Zeal did?” Bonny guessed Urs was talking about Wrath's army.

Urs nodded again.

“Why didn’t you go?”

“Guardian protect Urs. Angry spirit not welcome.”

“Angry? Do you mean that your spirit kept Wrath out?”

She nodded.

“Wrath. You apparently destroyed her tribe. Can you apologize to her?”

Wrath materialized on Bonny’s shoulder. She glared down at the chained up little goblin.

Urs cowered, ducking and shifting back. “You too?”

“No. Wrath doesn’t control me. Wrath what do you have to say to her?”

The little demon sighed, then growled. “Sorry.”

Bonny patted Wrath on the head with a fingertip, then addressed Urs again.

“I-we may have killed your tribe. I'm sorry. My friends and I fought Wrath and her army. She was captured and I just released her for good behavior. I’ll do the same for you if you want to stay. First though, you need to tell us about that monster.”

Urs shrugged and nodded. “It chased Urs. Many days, no sleep. Urs asked spirit for help. Spirit led here.”

“So someone brought you to me? Hmmm. Gods and demons, do any of you have something to say? What should we do with her?”

Lust materialized in her usual spot on Bonny’s breast. She started grinding against the bunny’s nipple and grinned up at Bonny.

“Fuck her.”

Bonny sighed. “I should have known you wouldn’t add anything useful to the conversation.”

Courage, Recovery, Justice, and Hope materialized on Bonny’s left shoulder. They all spoke at once in an unintelligible tangle of words.

Bonny sighed again. “Try again, one at a time, in order of your pledges to me.”

“Give her a trial. Challenge her, find her limits.”

“Teach her. There are few good goblins. They will listen to her since their tribes always need healers.”

“She has taken no lives undeservedly. Release her.”

“Teach her to teach. Let her bring trade and hope to her people.”

Bonny smiled at them, then at Urs. The goblin was staring up, wide eyed at the array of greater spirits advising Bonny.

“Well, that sounds good. We’re missing a couple though. Compassion? Pride? What do you have to say?”

When Compassion appeared, Urs gasped and rocked forward, bowing before the tiny goddess. “Thank you, spirit.”

Compassion turned to Bonny. “She has shown compassion to others. I knew you would offer the same to her.”

“Some warning would have been nice.”

“Trust was speaking with you. She woke you in time.”

“She’s been traveling for days. You could have warned us earlier. Or directed us to her.”

Compassion shook her head. “If you had found her earlier, Eloisss would have killed her. I did what I could.”

“Did you lead the cat monster to her?”

“No. I only stepped in when she needed help.”

“Well, fuck. How am I going to convince Eloisss that Urs needs to stay?”

Bonny turned to see the lamia had vanished. Miu and the centaurs were gone as well.