I look in horror at Blaine as he sneezes. The worst part is that it is all my own fault for almost falling earlier. I was lucky Lyon even saw enough to stop me from falling flat on my face. Sarah looks like a trapped animal ready to explode but with nowhere to explode too and I can hear the goblins picking up speed a bit further down the tunnel. Blaine starts running, ignoring the sound he is making and we all follow after him.
“We need some real light if they catch us. I don’t think it’s a good idea to fight in the darkness.” He tells us in a normal volume.
“Slow down a bit so I can get the flint and steel from your backpack.” Lyon tells him and we all slow down.
“Continue guys, we’ll catch up.” Blaine urges us on. Me and Sarah do but I can’t help but not run very fast. I don’t want to leave them too far behind.
However Lyon is rather quick to get the tool out and they try and light the torch while running. It’s… not going great but at least we aren’t slowing down too much. It takes them about ten or more tries before a small flame appears. It then quickly transforms into a roaring flame that blinds me for a second, so used to the darkness I have become. My eyes take a second to adjust but it’s enough for my poor footing to rear its ugly head again and I trip on a rock I missed.
This time there is no Lyon to save me. The group stops and helps me up but it’s more than enough time for the goblins to appear at the other end of this straight stretch. They see us and are completely silent at the sight. It’s almost worse than if they had started screaming or something. I turn to see Blaine looking at the map we did of the tunnels we explored but in the darkness we already took a few turns. I’m not sure the map is going to help a lot now that we aren’t sure where we are on it.
“This way.” He tells us confidently and we follow him, the goblins hot on our tail. We follow the winding tunnels and turn here and there while Blaine tries to get us the hell out of here. But it doesn’t take us long to run into a bit of a problem. We all stop as we stand in front of a dead end.
“Shit I thought we were here.” Blaine groans as he points at the map. He turns to us with an apologetic expression on his face before he turns and I see his expression change as his eyes focus and his gaze hardens. I take out my own staff as I set myself up a bit behind them. I’m the support after all, and the only caster of the group.
The goblins stop as they see they have us cornered and our whole group has turned to face theirs. One of them chitters in their strange language but none of us speak goblin so we ignore it. It doesn’t take long for them to take up their own aggressive stance, but it looks like they aren’t as organized as us. We have Blaine in the middle flanked by the two agile fighters and me in the back. We have discussed our group strategy more than once but I’m nervous as we don’t have any real practice.
I know my role is key to our survival. If Blaine falls, the whole formation crumbles and I’m the one who is supposed to make sure he doesn’t. The goblins slowly advance on us as they spread out as much as they can. It’s not much as the tunnel isn’t that big here. About ten people can probably walk down side by side. In a fight however? It’s a lot smaller than they would have liked.
One of their warriors lunges towards Blaine who easily blocks it with his shield. Two of the others squeeze past their friend to prod his defenses and he blocks one and parries the other. However Sarah gets in a hit on one of them as he draws back. It’s a small wound but it keeps them on their toes. Two of them try to go for her as well but she is too quick for them to reach her.
I start chanting to prepare myself in case and to my dismay I spot one of the goblins in the back weaving magic together. Fire seems to gather around the hob’s staff as it chants in a low voice. The intonation is so different from my druidic magic, it’s guttural and raw in comparison. I know the others cannot protect themselves from it and I change the spell I was preparing.
The warriors continue to prod Blaine but are much more cautious now as they try to bait out any mistake from my three friends. It’s clear they are waiting for their spellcaster to do his thing. My spell is ready and I focus as I’ll have to react extremely well for this to work. I spot the front opening a path so he can throw the fireball at us and I immediately react. Using my hand as another tool of visualization I point one finger straight up as I feel the magical root in the ground follow suit and spear the empty air where there is now a gap. The root stretches itself as far as it can as I try to intercept the magical ball of fire.
The root is too short however and I know it won’t be enough so I concentrate and give it just a bit more. I draw on my reserves even more than I originally planned and manage to extend the root just a bit more as the ball of fire connects with it. It explodes and pushes the hobgoblins against the walls as my root is completely consumed by the fire. I heave as I desperately draw in as much air as I can.
The original plan wasn’t to use everything at once but to always keep a healthy reserve of mana to keep everyone safe. That plan is already out the window as I’m drained from forcing the spell to do more than it is intended. Blaine seems to have noticed and is pouncing on the distressed goblins, not letting the opening go to waste. Lyon and Sarah are a beat slower but soon join him, attacking the fallen hobs before they can regain their footing.
Blaine manages to plunge his sword into one of their bellies, making it bleed profusely before he turns to the next. However the not yet dead goblin manages to almost skewer him in turn and forces him back before it collapses from blood loss. Blaine, determined, jumps back in and uses a skill to take down another one that is trying to recover. Two slashes appear simultaneously and the goblin only manages to block one blow, the other one cutting deep in its shoulder.
However his reckless offensive isn’t a complete success as a sneaky goblin uses the opening to thrust a spear at Blaine. He doesn’t manage to avoid it completely and it plants itself in his side. Meanwhile Sarah managed to finish two of the ones on the ground with Lyon’s help, covering her from opportunists. The remaining goblins look at each other as they finally regain a proper footing. Four against four now, they all lock eyes with each other. Their shaman starts chanting and Blaine seems not too keen on letting him finish the spell.
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He charges, emboldened by our momentum in this fight but his slash goes wide and he takes two small wounds for his trouble even with Lyon and Sarah helping cover for him. Lyon breaks off and runs at the wall, somersaulting over one goblin in an amazing display of dexterity and body control. She slashes wildly with her two smaller swords as she flies above him but he still manages to defend himself. Sarah however uses the opening to plunge a dagger in the goblin’s throat while Blaine pushes the other two fighters so they cannot help their friend. He takes another wound but it keeps Lyon from getting rushed at.
With her behind the goblins however, all of them pause for a second, unsure how to go about it. Having recovered a bit I silently chant as I get ready to intervene. Two of the hobs rush my friend and Blaine and Sarah are cut off by the other two. I see Lyon struggling and taking hits as they overwhelm her. So far she dodges the worst of it but I notice one of them feint. I try to warn her but I fear it is too late already. She notices the real blow far too late and tries to move her head out of the way. Her body contorts almost too far to be natural but the axe still grazes her head in a rather concerning cut. Her constant beanie is thrown off her head and her hidden cat ears breathe for the first time in a long time.
Finally ready to support her, I cast [Ensnaring Roots] just at the right time and the hob trips as my root catches his foot as it leaves the ground. He topples face first into the ground and Lyon finally regains her footing as she backs off the other one. Digging deep I keep the roots alive and recast the spell for a far lesser cost, tripping up the hobs at key moments. In the meantime Sarah and Blaine managed to wound their opponents enough to gain an upper hand, forcing them back. With us now surrounding them, they don’t even manage to make a run for it before we overwhelm them.
The fight is basically decided but it takes a bit more time to truly finish them off. Once done we all greedily inhale air heavily as I see the grim result of our struggle. I quickly turn away from the blood and grime to look over my companions. Blaine has a rather nasty wound on his side and Lyon is bleeding heavily from her head. I treat Lyon’s wound first.
“I’m too drained to cast [Regrowth] on you just yet.” I tell her as I dress the wound as best I can. The cut isn’t as deep as I thought, even if it is rather long. From her human ear all the way to the top of her head. I turn to Blaine who is clearly now in pain as the adrenaline has left his system and after a few heavy breathes he finally looks up and I notice his eyes going wide. He hadn’t noticed Lyon’s cat ears before. I feel a pit in my stomach as I wait for him to say something, like so many before him.
“Whoa! So cool!” He tells her as he points at her ears before wincing in pain from moving too much. I sigh, relieved by his reaction before I see Sarah looking at Lyon with curious eyes, clearly far more aware of what it means to be a half-beast in these lands.
“You are a half-cat? I never knew. It’s my first time seeing a half-beast at all. You look so human. Why didn’t you tell us?” Blaine continues. Doesn’t he know? Maybe he doesn’t as he lived in a rather small village.
“Don’t you understand what it means?” Lyon is actually the one to tell him, like his reaction isn’t normal.
“Of course I do.” Blaine says solemnly.
“Even in a backwater village like my own we heard stories about half-beasts. Most depicting your kind as dangerous savages, but I’ve always known it was a bunch of crap.” He smiles widely at her and I’m rather surprised by his reaction. I thought he simply didn’t know and was… slow. Not that Blaine is stupid! It’s just that he looks like the kind of teenager that is too gullible. Naive. Maybe that isn’t really the case.
“Did you know that the most famous adventurer had a half-beast in it?” He says as he looks up, like he can see the sky. I see Sarah and Lyon patiently waiting to hear what Blaine is about to say and focus too.
“Ilradeg, the best spear user ever. It is said he was the one to split the mountains up north that created the shivering pass. One perfect thrust, or so the legend goes.” He continues, grinning from ear to ear. I… didn’t know that.
“I guess I figured that if half-beasts can be legendary adventurers, they can’t be that different from us and I think you have already proved that. Don’t you agree Sarah?” He asks and I’m surprised by his social acumen at this moment. He told that story as much for Lyon as for Sarah. I turn to look at her expression and I see her face soften as she opens her mouth.
“I agree. I honestly don’t care what you are, that somersault was sick.” She winks at Lyon whose face goes crimson at the compliment.
“Also explains why you see so well in the dark I guess?” Blaine asks. Lyon simply nods in return and I put an arm around her as I half-hug her. Isn’t it amazing? We found people who don’t care that you’re a half-beast! But I keep my mouth shut for now, even though I suspect she understood what I meant to convey anyway as she smiles shily.
“I think we should get going, no?” Sarah looks at us all, a bit worried now.
“Yes. Blaine, can I have the map?” I ask as I also want to be back on the surface yesterday. There is not enough nature down here and casting any spells requires me to make magical roots as I can’t use any existing ones. He gives the map with an apologetic smile and I take it from his hands.
“I think we are here.” He points at a dead end we mapped earlier. I try to remember the turns we took and I suspect he is actually right. We move out soon after and I study the map to make sure we are where we think. After a few turns our position is confirmed and we make our way out of this hole slowly. It doesn’t take long for us to finally be close to the main room we descended in. Just as we turn the corner and see the main cave we went down in Lyon stops us as her cat ears twitch. So cute! It’s rare for me to see them and I love it.
“Something is coming.” She tells us as she turns to look behind us. It takes a few more seconds but I soon hear it too. It’s hard to understand what it is exactly, but I’m clearly not the only one who doesn’t like it. We hurry up the last slope as we get out into the huge cave. The sound is getting closer a lot faster than I’m comfortable with. Tired and wounded as we are,Blaine decides to direct us to a side where we can hide. We creep behind a stalactite with a small alcove we can fit in. As the sound draws closer I notice the ground is shaking ever so lightly and I think I understand what it is we are hearing.
It doesn’t take that much longer before we see a few goblins run out of the opening into the larger cave. Are they after us? But it doesn’t look like it as they don’t even stop or anything. More goblins follow the first one until a stream of them comes pouring out. What is going on? I’m not an expert on goblin expressions but I think I see them all with a fairly similar expression. Fear. It finally hits me, they are running from something. But what could make what must be a huge goblin tribe to run away in a panic like that?
The stream of goblins comes to an end and I only see a few stragglers here and there. Meanwhile goblins are fighting over the ropes and the lone ladder out of here. I gape as I see more than a few fall off as they fight for a way out of here. That’s when I hear it, a sound so unnatural it makes all of my hair raise on their ends. A clicking sound that shouldn’t exist.