The darkness lifted to early morning a certain distance from the haunted castle, but Grinless decided to chance it to avoid any more annoying people trying to join him. Sadly, who should find him but his self-proclaimed best friend, Krigga. The snaggle-toothed goblin went on, unasked for, into how he survived the Misty Woods and Belchy Bog by feasting on the blood of reptiles and rodents. "Know we only have ceremonial cup of hamster blood with every seven-day meal, but fresh wood critter blood—nothing like it! Tell ya, could live off blood stuff!" and though few would care, this is the origin of Krigga the Blood Drinker. Not that he was particularly good in battle; just at every chance he would drink the blood of something like a hobo vampire.

Krigga went on to say how it enhanced his sense of smell and hearing, just like a wood critter. "But one downside, Grinless buddy," he said to uncaring bat-ears, "Something happened to eyes while swimming in bog. Keep filming over with gunk. What you think should do?"

Grinless, who'd been trying to ignore and lose Krigga, harrumphed, "Go stick yer head in dung."

"Say, think that work? Got some here somewhere..." he began rummaging in his bag.

Trying to sneak off from Krigga, Grinless ran right into Goobdwib. Horribly, the dwarf hugged the goblin with joy. As Grinless squealed and squirmed to get away, the dense dwarf explained how he'd figured it all out. "Grinless, ye saved me life!"

Grinless protested angrily, “Did no such thing !”

But the dwarf went on, said he how realized the goblin killing his horse (and spooking the other horses into breaking free) caused Goobdwib to investigate and thus miss dying in the haunted castle like his party. Now Goobdwib saw Grinless as his personal savior and was indebted to him. "And a dwarf-oath is quite serious. We could follow someone on a life-debt our entire, long-lived, lives! All I need is the name of my savior to do the dwarf-oath proper."

Grinless thought, if he can just get away without revealing his--

"Grinless! There my buddy," called Krigga, arriving with a pile of animal droppings in hand. "Nearly lost you. Here, found the dung, so like you said-" and he promptly rubbed it into his eyes.

Grinless frown-chuckled while the dwarf blinked in confusion.

Goobdwib cleared his throat, "Right! Grinless is ye name. Now then," assuming a ceremonial pose with one arm still gripping Grinless tight he proclaimed,

"Grinless, I pledge to thee

for good deeds done

thru trouble and worry

respect and honor won

For brave and selfless acts

and staying straight and true

I be your companion axe

for all time attached to you."

The smiling dwarf looked Grinless in the eye and said, "Yer a true hero, Grinless!"

With that, Grinless screamed and clawed his way free. He took off running, no direction in mind but away from those tag-a-longs and the foolish idea of him as a hero.

Krigga pelted after saying, "Silly Grinless, forgot me again. Right behind buddy!"

Goobdwib gathered his things and followed loyally. "Oh, that brilliant goblin doesn't want to waste time getting to the next quest. He's so excited he nearly clawed me nose off. Goblins are strange, but can't argue with the results. I've got the rearguard, master Grinless!"

Grinless ran tirelessly. He ran by a caravan halted before a nest of vipers, stamping right over the deadly snakes, deaf to the caravan's thanks. Krigga grabbed the smashed snakes for a nice blood-snack on the run. Goobdwib followed shouting the name of the caravan's helper, "Grinless the goblin is ye savior's name. Spread the word of his heroics!" Confused but unable to deny what they saw, the caravan did just that.