Kim had spent a couple of days inside the cave. The healing that Sam provided was slowly doing its job and now she could move her upper body, like normal.


    They had been having a great time, but every attempt Kim had made to leave or send a message to her friends was met with a roadblock.


    Sam didn''t want to carry her to the city, since he was afraid of getting killed on site.


    This was something Kim had fully understood and even agreed with. She had also tried sending a message on her watch, but that broke in the fight.


    She didn''t mind being in this cave with Sam, but it did bother her that her friends had no idea if she was alive or dead.


    Other than worrying, she spent most of her time talking with her new friend, who never wanted to leave her side.


    She had learnt a lot about his life. He talked about how badly he was treated, even though he was more powerful than most of the camp.


    They beat him into submission every time he got out of line, and thousands of goblins raped him one after another. The Warlord watched it all and laughed at Sam''s cowering form.


    After hearing all this, Kim let him cry on her shoulder. She tried to comfort him as best as she could, but his trauma ran too deep to be fixed by a few days of conversation.


    It did help him when she opened up about her past as well. She told him about how her city got destroyed, and how her family died. She mentioned nothing about Sera, since at this point, she wasn''t angry at her.


    The story of Sam was eye opening in a way. What he lost, or more like never had, was much more awful than what she experienced. And, while she told her own story, the resentment that always gnawed at her inside was finally gone.


    She felt much more free and liberated, like a heavy weight she had been carrying was gone at last!


    They were fine together, and as the days passed, her spine was getting better, which meant she could leave in a couple more days.


    Sam wasn''t too fond of the idea, since he didn''t want to lose his only friend, but Kim assured him that she would never leave him.


    For obvious reasons, he didn''t believe her, and she hadn''t brought it up again.


    The truth was, she did not know what to do. Nobody would accept Sam, even though he was basically a human in a goblin''s skin.


    These problems seemed so far away for her, and as the days went by, she didn''t expect to find herself in a hard situation so soon.


    It was a simple night, like all the others. Kim rested her head on Sam''s shoulder while he made gentle strokes along her back. There was nothing sexual about this interaction. Kim was pretty sure that the goblin wouldn''t want to do anything like that for the rest of his life.


    They were listening to the crackling of the fire in comfortable silence, when a sound brought both of their attention away.


    It was the snap of a metallic trap, which Sam had placed in the cave entrance. A curse and a groan of pain followed it.


    Loud footsteps echoed in the small cave entrance. Sam jumped to his feet immediately and lifted his sword.


    In an instant, vines grew out of the ground, restricting even Astrid''s powerful body. She screamed and shouted in rage, but the vines were much stronger.


    From the wall on the opposite side, a large flower grew out, with an extremely beautiful woman inside. Her skin had a greenish tint to it, while her hair was long and brown. She had many different colored flowers growing all over her body.


    She wore a brown dress, which grew out of her skin, too. Her leaf green eyes scanned the room until they landed on Kim''s crumpled form.


    They then moved to Sam, kneeling before her. His face was still full of worry, and he was terrified.


    Unlike Kim or Astrid, Bea had a special connection to nature, and she noticed Sam''s origin instantly. Her face went from neutral to confused, then settled on calm and relieved.


    She walked to Sam with slow and comfortable steps. Each time her bare feet touched the ground, a grassy patch grew there.


    Sam didn''t say a word, just made sure to be between Bea and Kim.


    Bea walked in front of him and looked down with a small, comforting smile. He felt less on edge, but he still stayed between them.


    "Can I heal my friend? My daughter would be quite upset if she died."


    Her voice sounded like a warm summer breeze, or the sound a waterfall makes, or the rustle of leaves. It was the sound of nature.


    He still wasn''t sure, but upon looking down on Astrid''s struggling form, he didn''t think he had any other options. Deciding to trust this woman, he moved away a bit, but made sure to be close to Kim if anything happened.


    Bea didn''t fail to notice this either, and she smiled at him approvingly.


    She reached out her right hand, which got surrounded with green energy. After that, she gently placed it on Kim''s face.


    The energy entered her body. Sam watched in awe as it spread over her broken form, reaching every part.


    A few seconds later, Bea lifted her hand away, then placed it on Sam''s hand, where a large piece of his sword was imbedded.


    He didn''t even notice the pain, and just continued to stare at Kim''s rapidly healing from with uncontrollable happiness. It took her a few minutes to get healed, but when Kim stayed unconscious, Sam began to panic.


    "Don''t worry. She will be out for the next few hours. That''s plenty of time to get reach New Athens, and tell me your story."


    Sam visibly calmed for a moment, only to get anxious again. His eyes turned teary as he watched Kim sleep in peace.


    "I can''t... I''m a goblin... They would kill me..." he said in a sad voice.


    "No, they won''t, because I and my friends won''t let them. Now let''s get going, so Kim could rest in a proper bed."


    While Bea spoke, she typed something on her watch, and before Sam could''ve refused, they all ––including Astrid––got teleported away.