Despite their confused and horrific screams, the horde of goblins gave no reply while kidnapping Midas and Gool.
The two were tied together by the torso, their arms also caught in the knot.
They were lifted on the shoulders of the goblin mob as they screamed for answers.
"What are you going to do to us!?" Midas screamed, obviously scared but also trying to gather any info he could.
Despite this predicament, he was not discouraged.
’I’m not going to die like this...’ He thought to himself.
"Which tribe do you belong to!? Take me to your king! You are making a mistake!" Gool attempted to bargain but to no avail.
The goblins took the two out of the War Pass and into the northeastern part of Demadur Island.
Gool recognized this, ’They are heading exactly where we need to go. That is a relief, but only if we survive to continue our journey...’
However, as the goblin mob seemed to encircle their destination, Gool became increasingly confused.
’Why are they taking each correct turn? It’s like they are heading straight to Ashen Hollow...’ Gool thought, at a loss.
The goblins tore through thick brush and tall bushes before finally arriving at an opening.
Midas and Gool had their jaws drop to the floor with surprise as they saw what lay before them.
A large stretch of land was at the center of the forest. At the very back of it all was a large and mostly decrepit monastery.
"The Ashen Hollow..." Midas muttered under his breath, his eyes wide with awe.
One of the goblins in the crowd below glanced at Midas with furrowed brows as he heard this.
Despite the grandeur of the monastery, Midas and Gool were not able to take in its glory uninterrupted.
They instead had to focus on the other confusing buildings that they were being taken to.
In front of the monastery were several goblin huts and establishments.
A few training grounds were spread throughout the treeless space. Most were flat and small, training equipment layered beside them.
One was massive, dominating the center of the area. It was circular in shape, looking like a small wooden coliseum.
All around the area were huts and tents set up by goblins. Fireplaces were scattered everywhere, forcing grass to mostly die out.
This meant that only dirt and dust remained on the ground.
Some goblin huts were large with bark-tiled roofs and clay walls, while others were smaller, having straw ceilings and walls of plank.
The goblins did not stop, taking the two straight into the collesuim at the center of the treeless area.
As they entered, they were greeted by a cheer.
Dozens of goblins sat in the seats that circled above the walls of the arena at the bottom of the colosseum. Others stood over the railing, shouting curses of excitement and eagerness.
"Who are these intruders!?"
"I say we feed them to Balbam!"
"Rip them limb from limb!"
"Drink their blood!"
Midas and Gool were thrown into the center of the arena and untied. They collected themselves as the thirty goblins surrounded them, but gave them a few feet of space.
Through the opposite entry of where they had come, another figure--one that forced goblins to make way.
A tall goblin head peeked above the crowd of goblins. A large goblin emerged from the midst, one with a crown of vine and sticks on his head.
He looked to be five feet (152cm) in stature, around two feet taller than the average goblin.
Midas and Gool stared at this goblin with amazement in their eyes. They seemed speechless.
The goblin was slightly more muscular than a normal one. He lifted his arm into the air with a flat palm.
At once, all noise echoing from the goblins around the entire coliseum stopped as a deafening silence fell over the entire arena.
The crowned goblin shot a glance left and right before lowering his hand and facing Midas and Gool.
Just then, Gool attempted to step forward and open his mouth.
With a swish, a bone dagger appeared inches from his lips. One of the goblins to the side stopped Gool from speaking or approaching.
The tall goblin narrowed his eyes and sneered with confidence, "A human who seems to be in a daze as if he has just seen a ghost," He turned to face Gool, "And you... I’ve seen your face before."
Gool furrowed his eyebrows in anger.
"Are you not the Wandering Fool?" The tall goblin smirked, "Yes... I believe you are!"
Gool gritted his teeth, irritated.
"The goblin known throughout Demadur for his foolish ambitions and crazy theories. The one who, in the end, was captured by orcs, and that was where his story ended. However... you seemed to have escaped their grasp." The tall goblin said, turning to Midas as his smile disappeared.
"And this monkey... he is a Player, right?" Now, a grin appeared on his face instead of a mere smirk, "You have done well, Gool. You have brought us a player!" The tall goblin rejoiced.
Gool was suddenly struck in the back of the head with a blunt rock, knocking him unconscious before he could say a word.
A few surrounding goblins quickly picked him up before beginning to carry his body out of the coliseum and out of sight.
Midas couldn’t say a word. He wasn’t tied up, but he was still at the mercy of dozens of goblins.
’There seems to be about 50 of them in total...’ He thought, his eyes scanning the perimeter.
’I can’t believe we got caught in such a trap. The circumstances were perfect! Almost... too perfect.’ He narrowed his eyelids as suspicion began to arise within him.
He wanted to fight back against this suspicion against Gool, but his subconscious refused to let go of the thought.
After all, Gool was the one to lead him straight into the War Pass. Above that, he was also the one to lead him into the exact chamber where a goblin trap happened to be set.
Many factors began to spin in Midas’s head, but he didn’t have the time to decipher through that right now.
"Player... what is your name?" The tall goblin asked. He wasn’t intrigued by Midas at all, but you could tell he was excited by the fact that he had a player in the palm of his hands.