DREADWOLF

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“Goblins on meee!” screamed the witch.

The Goblins who had been filtering around the tents roared and flung themselves forward. The giant of a Goblin from earlier charged through a tent, one of his arms was limp, dislocated, Rain was pleased to see he’d had some effect. 

Spears and swords rushed toward him, he didn't hesitate, he grabbed the witch and placed her between himself and them. Her eyes widened and she began to scream for them to stop but too late, a spear punctured her belly.

Rain backed off as the Goblins realised what they had done, their howls of rage just rose all the higher as the witch sunk to the ground.

She held her stomach wound and glared at Rain. 

“The spelled trinket didn’t work but I don't doubt you're a monster just as awful as what It was meant to stop.” She spat blood.

The witch held up a hand and a fireball began to coalesce in her palm. Fire. Suppressed memories tried to crawl into Rain’s mind, being forced to dance to Myra’s fire while she giggled at his pain, the flames licking up his leg, burning his hands as he desperately tried to put it out. 

He found himself moving before he was even aware of it, he acted so suddenly that the witch didn't have time to release her fireball and her mouth could only hang open as he flew through the air teeth first. His jaws came down on her neck and tore half of it away before she could move to stop him. The fire in her palms winked out as quickly as the light in her eyes. 

“Motherrrr!!!” screamed the large muscular Goblin as it stomped toward Rain, Its bad arm flapping at its side. A calloused hand wrapped around Rain’s neck tearing him from the witch’s corpse and slammed him onto the ground, the Goblin used its weight to pin him, their faces were close, snarling at each other like animals. The crazed look in the large Goblin’s eyes made it clear he intended to kill Rain at any cost. Having no arm to hurt Rain with other than the one pinning him down the Goblin instead went with the next best thing. Its teeth. Angular yellowed teeth bit down on Rain’s snout digging furrows and cutting to the bone. Rain screamed and struggled madly trying to get away from the terrible pressure and pain piercing his face. His claws raked at the Goblin’s sides but to no avail. Out of desperation Rain reverted to instinct. He lunged his head forward forcing his muzzle into the Goblins mouth and then closed his mouth over the Goblin’s lower jaw. The bone held for one second, two seconds, three seconds, and then with a noise like shattering china the Goblins jaw exploded under the sheer pressure Rain’s wolf jaws could exert. His teeth crunched down on splintered bone and teeth and he twisted his head tearing off the Goblin’s lower jaw entirely. 

The Goblin was left reeling, its tongue flopping from the massive gaping hole in its head where its jaw used to be. Rain pulled his feet back and managed to kick the Goblin in the chest flinging him off. The horde of Goblins seeing Rain prone on the ground jumped at the chance and surged over him. His view of the crystals on the cavern ceiling was swiftly blocked by screaming Goblin faces crowding over him, each Goblin carrying something sharp. He felt metal puncture his side, his shoulder, his stomach, he roared in agony desperately trying to get away but the sheer weight of Goblin flesh climbing over him and holding him down kept him from escaping. 

A knife flashed toward his eye and he ducked his head only enough for it to go through his ear. Now mindless with pain Rain stretched his neck and tore out the Goblin's throat, again with the next Goblin, two Goblins flopped back dead. But there was more, so much more, and he couldn't reach any more necks!

No matter. He could start with the extremities. 

He mouthed a Goblins hand and with a snap he severed it from the limb. He whipped to the right where a hand held him down at the shoulder. Snip. Forearm was now two parts and a dismembered arm flopped off his shoulder. A nearby leg, bite, gone. A stomach, torn open. He bit down on a shoulder and crushed the Goblin’s clavicle, it screamed until he managed to get its neck.

The dome of Goblin flesh united in keeping him down began to crumble as the screaming spread. He freed one of his arms and pulled down a Goblin until he could reach its neck. Another. Goblins who had been brave enough to hold him down as a team now panicked, and once the team started to fall things turned chaotic. Blood splashed across Rain’s body as he ripped and tore. A Goblin tried to escape and his paw snapped out and grabbed its ankle dragging it back screaming into the pile and into his teeth.

He kicked his legs and struggled. He was stronger than they were individually so the more their pin failed the more his advantage snowballed. By this point he was freely snatching at limbs and dragging screaming Goblins to his mouth as they climbed over each other desperate to escape. Unfortunately for them the press of bodies from Goblins on the edge of the crowd made that difficult so he had free reign to kill and kill and kill. Blood pooled between the bodies so thick that it came up over his feet. He crawled amongst the thrashing and the dying seeking more life to end. Blood ran into his eyes, his vision was red. But he wanted more.

Some time later he crawled free from a mound of corpses on his hands and knees.

He was beyond exhausted and on the verge of collapse. He somehow managed to wobble to his feet and take in the damage. 

First he looked at the camp. It was empty, thank the gods. 

Then he looked at his body. A half dozen knives stuck out of his flesh. His paw trembling he wrapped it around the handle of a stubby blade embedded in his belly. With a keening whine he slowly pulled it free, to his relief it was only shallow, in fact as he slowly moved over his body, plucking bits of metal from his flesh, he realised none of them went particularly deep. It seemed to be as before, a combination of the crude bluntness of the metal and his own toughened flesh prevented deeper injury. Still, it fucking hurt, and he was pleased to be rid of it all.

He limped around and stared at the pile of Goblin bodies, some were still alive but unable to move either due to injury or being crushed by the weight of their peers. He wanted to leave them, but he could feel unconsciousness flitting around the edges of his mind from sheer exhaustion. It limited his options. So with a stony heart he used one of the knives they had stabbed him with and gave the Goblins he could reach a swift end.

He dropped the knife and stepped away on shaky legs. He needed rest but somewhere he wouldn't get stabbed in his sleep. He didn't have much choice. He made his way to one of the Goblin tents that hadn't been damaged by the brawl and crawled inside its cramped quarters.

Five seconds later he was out like a light.