I look at the goblins in the distance in horror as they manhandle our only way out of here. I turn to look at the three girls with me and wonder how this is all going to play out. None of the goblins seem to notice us, or they simply do not care as they are clearly way more afraid of what made them run out in the first place. The strange clicking sound is something I fear without understanding.

“Blaine.” Sarah whispers in horror as she points to show me the opening in the ceiling that some of the goblins are rapidly approaching and hope flares up in my chest at what I see, until understanding dawns on me and my face transforms into one of pure horror. Adventurers are up there and what do they see? A whole bunch of goblins trying to claw their way out of there. I hesitate to make it known that we are down here, but no one actually knows and it is risky to try and make us visible to everything that could try and kill us.

So I just stand there and watch as the first rope is cut and a bunch of goblins fall to their death. It’s almost funny to see the other goblins react if our only way out of here wasn’t being cut off. Some of them start to try and get back down while others somehow increase their pace upwards, and when they cross each other they either try and get around each other or just try to smack the other one away.

The ladder is the next to fall and it’s obvious to anyone looking that none of the goblins will make it. From the corner of my eyes I see that there are no more goblins coming out of the hole and I look at the other three adventurers with me and wonder if it’s wise to stay here. Now that there are no goblins coming out, maybe it’s time to move out ourselves, just in case.

I tug on them gently to bring them out of their shock and they follow me as we go towards the other end of the cave. Sure there are goblins, but it doesn’t seem to be the worst option right now. The strange clicking and gnawing sound is getting closer and we start running further away from the hole of doom. I think I know what it is, but I dearly hope that I’m wrong. If I’m not, I’m not sure how we will survive.

The beautiful stalagmites that dot the huge cave feel like a death trap and a maze now instead of the amazing constructs of time and dripping that they are. I mean some of them are as wide as a house, which I didn’t even know was possible. As we navigate through this seemingly endless maze I hear the clicking again and try to look back. I can’t see the entrance from here and decide to climb up a bit on a rather gentle incline to look over what is blocking my sight.

What I see freezes the blood in my veins as my worst fear is realized. I’ve always dreamed of clearing out hordes of them, but not this early in my adventuring career. It was more like a dream of what I would do once I’m already powerful and famous! This is way too early. I think it’s noticeable on my face because as I get down the girls all turn to me. Lyon is the fastest one to formulate the question.

“What is it?” She asks and I fear she knows the answer too already but doesn’t want it to be true. We’ve all heard horror stories about them when we were kids I’m sure. Unnatural beings that are notoriously hard to kill. Undead. Skeletons are coming out of that hole and despite their flimsy look, we all have heard the truth countless times. After all, didn’t every kid know that if they were naughty, the undead would come after them in the night?

The truth of the matter is of course very different. If an undead horde attacks a village, it’s basically done for, unless some very powerful adventurers are there, which they never are. The best adventurers that passed through my village were some low silvers trying their luck after someone had reported a sighting of an unknown monster. It had of course been nothing more than a misunderstanding and the adventurers left, pissed off. I was still awed by them back then, they were so cool.

The undead, rather than rushing after the goblins, actually spread out in the cave and I fear that they might find us, if they haven’t already. I’m not sure how good their sight is, or if they have another way of finding us. There are rumors but no one seems to agree. Sometimes they find everyone and leave no one alive. Other times they miss people who hide. These ones seem to know where to go and I urge the others to follow me.

It doesn’t take us long to find us face to face with a dead end. But I don’t think we have the time to go back. I look up a bit to see that the three huge formations that are blocking us aren’t actually that high. I think some climbing is in order. I get in position to help the girls use me as a climbing step and they oblige. Lyon is the first to nimbly and easily get all the way up. She then helps Elaine while Sarah manages without any help.

Lastly they catch my hands when I jump up as high as possible and drag me up. Once up there we see a lot of goblins close by who are looking at us with curious faces. I wave back at them trying to appear friendly. It’s not like it’s in any of our interests to fight right now. It would just be helping the undead.

I notice some skeletons are down there now and spot a small goblin running and screaming as he is running towards the dead end, only he has no one to help him. Feeling sorry for the little guy I decide to call out to him. He stops screaming for a second as he spots me and my dangling hand and what I think is a look of deep suspicion is on his face for a moment. A skeleton swings at him and he seems to try his luck with us humans despite his reservations. He jumps up for all he is worth but I fear it might be a bit short. A small something seems to pop out of the stone to give him footing and he manages to jump up the last bit and catch my hand despite everything. I notice Elyana muttering some words and being concentrated. It seems the goblin has to thank her for making it.

I easily drag him up as he is comparable to a ten year old in size and we stand up triumphantly as an arrow wizzes past my head and I duck. I turn around and see a goblin with a bow getting hit on the head by another who points at us and clearly yells at him. Another goblin joins in and kicks him not so gently on the butt. I turn back again and our little friend looks as awkward as can be at the whole situation. We would be enemies in any other situation, but right now I guess we can use all the help we can get.

Below us the undead are gathering in rather alarming numbers and are starting to climb on each other to slowly make it to the edge and we are reminded that we should probably do something about it. I take out my sword and shield and push the ones coming up, trying to slow them down. It feels like hitting steel and I barely manage to budge them.

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One of them finally manages to get over the edge only to find a dagger trying to crack its skull. Sarah charges the thing with her most powerful strike, dagger in hand. Dagger meets skull in a deafening blow and the skull explodes into several pieces as Sarah huffs from the effort. She used more than one skill for that blow I’m sure. To our collective horror, despite knowing this would happen, the skeleton continues on without its head. Worse, the pieces of its head are slowly coming together and reforming. In a few seconds all the damage done on the skeleton is a memory and it continues towards us.

I don’t even have to say anything as we all collectively and telepathically agree to get the hell out of there and run away. The goblin chitters in his strange language, pointing towards the other goblins and we don’t even hesitate as it is clear it might be our only chance. We jump down on the other side and make a run for it. A skeleton comes from behind a right bend and I manage to block it long enough for everyone to make it past it. The blow numbs my arm despite my shield and I don’t even try to fight it more as I leave and run after the others.

I hear goblins chittering and yelling towards us in the distance but we can’t see them right now and I don’t understand anything. It takes me a second to realize one of us can. The small goblin is lagging behind and I wait up on him as he huffs and puffs while pointing where to go, guided by his brethren. Skeletons are close on our asses and I fear we are only delaying the inevitable. Undead are strong, yes, but they aren’t the best fighters or the most amazing monsters. They are simply enduring beyond belief and won’t stop until you are dead.

We soon manage to get to where the other goblins are, on a sort of slightly higher plateau close to where the ropes were. They are clearly wary of us as we get close but as skeletons appear behind us the standoff is immediately a thing of the past as we take position with them. It’s going to be hard to fight without understanding each other but that is still alright. It’s the best shot we could hope for. There are a lot of goblins and more than a few hobs so I’m hopeful that we might hold out for quite some time. The only issue is that the skeletons won’t ever stop until we are all dead, or their magic runs out.

I don’t have any more time to think as the skeletons engage us on the slope up. We have a slight advantage with them trying to go up and I for one make sure to use it to my advantage. I swing my sword at the first one coming towards me and it’s clear it won’t be able to protect its head, nor does it try to, and it cracks but doesn’t shatter on my first blow. I block its axe with my shield and am happy I upgraded it to steel as I fear my old wooden shield would have split from that mere exchange.

A spear from behind me pokes the skeletons head and adds a small crack in turn and I swing again at the exposed weakness. This time the skull cracks and parts of it fall to the floor. However the skeleton doesn’t even seem to notice as I block another one of its blows. I’m considering dodging in the future as my shield arm already feels numb. I try to hit the arm swinging the axe instead and only manage a crack. It feels so strange that their bones are so goddamn sturdy. It looks like I should almost be able to blow on the thing to make it go flying, but sadly reality is a lot different.

The goblins supporting me seem to understand what I want to do and aim for the same bone I already hit. They miss it as they are using a spear and poking a moving arm is a lot harder than swinging a sword at it, but their spear does manage to stop the axe from swinging properly instead. I try to dodge the slower blow and am lucky it was even slowed down as I actually don’t have that much space to avoid it. I end up pushing a goblin to the ground behind me who grumbles but doesn’t seem to mind that much in the end.

Instead they seem more enraged at the skeletons now and we press back on the undead harder. I swing my sword hard at the arm and the bone between its shoulder and elbow breaks, dropping the arm on the ground. To my horror the arm still tries to swing the axe, but doesn’t have enough leverage to make anything dangerous happen, but it’s still terrifying to which degree it just doesn’t die.

We are offered a small respite while it is reforming, or so I think before another one steps over it trying to fix its arm. We continue to swiftly block and dodge and soon get into a rhythm against this hated foe. For a second I think they aren’t as dangerous as I’ve heard. Sure they hit hard and can take a beating, but we can beat them.

After about thirty minutes of fighting I finally slip up. My arms feel like lead and I can’t feel my shield arm at all. I get a nasty cut in my leg and back off from the front. I notice a look of respect from other resting goblins as they all look tired and beaten. Some have small cuts here and there and I realize we won’t hold much longer. Elyana was using her roots for a while to stop skeletons but it clearly strained her to hold them and other skeletons just climbed over their immobile friends so she stopped. Lyon and Sarah use rather short weapons and have had a hard time being that useful.

I look at it all and I can’t help but blame myself for not listening when Sarah told us we should get out. We would have gained enough time if we hadn’t started arguing to be the first ones back and maybe up those ropes instead of down here fighting for our lives. Fighting with goblins. It seems absurd in retrospect, even if it made perfect sense when it happened. The living often allies against the undead it seems. Maybe it is just a natural thing to do.

I see a goblin get wounded and chitter back to his friends. Even if I don’t understand the language, it’s clear he is asking for someone to take his place while he rests, only there are no more fresh fighters. Everyone is tired or wounded now. I look at the unfeeling skeletons continue their gruesome war against the living and get up despite having only rested for a few minutes.

My hate for them grows by the second as I grip my sword tighter. I leave my shield behind, my left arm is too tired anyway to be useful. There has to be a way to kill them, a way to win. I step up determined and start trying to feel more than just my sore muscles groaning. I’m trying to dig into something deeper I can feel under my skin. A skill, a power, something to help me take at least one of the godawful things to their true grave.

I swing my sword once and break a bone, most of them are a bit more fragile now after breaking over and over again, but I can see it reforming itself and I try to feel the energy it uses to do it. Because that is what I must kill. Not these frail bones they throw at us again and again. No, I must manage to kill that strange energy they use to fuel themselves. Breaking them forces them to use some of it to repair themselves but it isn’t an efficient method to kill them, that’s for sure. I take a small cut as I dodge too slowly only to get a weak blow on one of them.

I grit my teeth but try again, and again. This simply cannot be how I die. I’m supposed to become Blaine, legendary adventurer, hero of the people, not some dead nobody left to rot in a random cave.

Despair fights against my hope and will to survive as an hour passes, and still, the skeletons continue, while we start taking casualties. I know it won’t be long now, one way or another, this nightmare will end.