Appearing in the goblin hospital of Glimmer Bastion, Eli checked in with his party.

Eli: Have you spread the word that we need people to make a push for the fourth floor? We need everyone if we want to save the captives.

Simon: Yeah. That Acolyte was something else.

Cruella: On it.

Using Warp in the fight with the Acolyte, Eli learned he didn't have to first cast Warp, then select a location from the list. If he just thought of the location where he wanted to go and it was available on the list, the spell would send him there. It was a much quicker process, effectively skipping a step.

Heading inside the hospital, he looked around. It was full again. How did these goblins find time to get sick and injured so much? Inspecting the various goblins lying still in bed, he realized they all carried the curse. After casting Cleanse on each of them, he found a goblin doctor, who sat muttering by the desk, leafing through stacks of papers.

"That curse. Were these goblins working in the same place as those I helped before?" Eli asked, not bothering with introductions. This was the third goblin doctor he'd met, and he saw no trace of the other two.

"I don't know," the doctor grumbled. "You're Eli, I take it?"

"I am," Eli confirmed.

The goblin let out an exasperated sigh. "I have petitioned the council to stop all mining operations, but I'm having trouble getting a reply."

"Can't you talk directly with the council?"

"No one talks to the council. Not just like that. You have to send your petitions in writing, then wait," the doctor replied.

"I'm not much of a writer," Eli said, heading out.

He approached the building where he'd met the council before and walked up the steps to a closed door, knocking hard several times without an answer. Failing that, he pulled on the door, but it was locked.

"What are you doing?" a woman’s voice asked sharply.

Eli spun to face a woman wearing an official-looking uniform.

"I need to see the council," Eli explained.

"They are not in session today."

"Sameno, then," Eli asked. "Where can I find him?"

"What is your business with the council?"

"I just rescued one of your own from the clutches of lizardmen," Eli said. "Arti said he was taken when riding a railway cart. I think you are about to be overrun."

"The councilman's son?" the female goblin asked. "Is he well?"

"Arti is fine," Eli assured her. "Like he said, we saved him. If we hadn't shown up, I can't be sure what would have happened to him."

"I think there is some passage connecting the Temple of Rizari dungeon with Glimmer Bastion," he added.

The female goblin's long, green nose twitched twice in rapid succession. "That sounds unlikely to me, but I will take you to Sameno's residence, so you may speak with him."

"Thank you."

It turned out Sameno didn’t live far. Less than ten minutes later, the goblin woman led him to a two-story brick villa. Lights shone inside, but it took several minutes for someone to come and answer the door. Sameno himself opened, wearing what looked like casual wear—loose-fitting fabrics in muted colors.

"This is my one day of leisure," he said. "Why the intrusion?"

Sameno looked over the goblin's shoulder and saw Eli. "Healer Eli. Do you have more news of Solomon?"

"Not of Solomon, no," Eli replied. "May I come in?"

Sameno stepped out instead. "I think you would find the low roof of my dwelling uncomfortable. Let’s talk out here instead." He turned to Eli's escort. "You may leave."

Eli didn’t wait for her to go before giving his warning. "I think Glimmer Bastion is about to be overrun by lizardmen."

"What makes you say that?"

"The curse."

"The curse?" Sameno asked.

Eli nodded. "That’s right. First, I’ve seen it many times by now and always associated with the lizardmen in the temple of Rizari. Arti was taken by them in the rail tunnels. And more and more miners are becoming afflicted. If the lizardmen aren’t already in your tunnels making their way up to the city, I think they will be soon."

Sameno's eyes widened and his voice went up in pitch. "My son?"

"We've rescued him and he's on the way here," Eli said, calming the older goblin.

"You have my sincere thanks, but the council is keeping a watchful eye on the mining operations. We have received no reports of the teams breaking through the mineral walls. We haven’t had to deal with lizardmen in a long while," Sameno replied. "I thought the Temple of Rizari was filled with frogs?"

"That’s just the first level," Eli explained patiently. "Third level and below are full of lizardmen. Arti was found on the fourth level, and there are more being held on the fifth. Maybe goblins as well as humans—we don’t know yet."

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"This is concerning," Sameno admitted. "To think my own son would be taken… You have my word, I will look into this."

Sameno made as if to walk back into his house, but Eli put a hand on the goblin’s shoulder. "That’s not enough. You have to pull everyone back and make a perimeter, so you are at least warned. If the lizardmen are coming…"

Sameno immediately pulled free with a jerk on his shoulder, then spun back around to face Eli. He looked like he was about to shout something, then settled down and gave him a long look. "Fine," he said. "Let me get dressed. I'll take you there myself."

It took them quite a while to get to the tunnel, heading away from the town and toward one of the mining operations. Once they were down the tunnel, they soon made it to a second cavern. This one was rougher, with a lot less headspace, but at least Eli could walk upright. Sameno walked up to another goblin.

Rinks. Goblin. Level 14.

"This is Rinks," Sameno said, gesturing to the figure.

The many tools, clipboard, and head-light made Eli think of a foreman, and after a brief introduction, it turned out that was exactly what this goblin was.

"Anything to report?" Sameno asked.

"It's been quiet for a few days," the foreman said.

"How quiet?" Eli asked.

"Nothing to report from sites A, B, D, and F."

"And sites C and E?" Sameno asked.

"Site E was closed last week," the foreman replied.

"Closed? Why?" Sameno asked, his tone sharp. "Wasn't that one of our best producing sites?"

"It was," the foreman agreed, nodding and glancing down at his clipboard. "But the stone needs to settle after we've pulled so much from it."

Eli frowned. "What about C?"

"They should have reported in a few hours ago, but haven't," the foreman said. "I was just about to send someone to take a look."

Eli and Sameno exchanged a look. "Don't bother," Sameno said. "We're going to take a look ourselves."

"You shouldn't go alone. It's easy to get turned around in the tunnels."

"Then send a guide with us," Sameno replied firmly.

"Is that the site with miners coming back with afflictions?" Eli asked.

"That has been happening all over, actually," the foreman said, throwing a glance Sameno's way. "Terrible thing."

"Yet you keep digging," Eli said, his tone cold.

"The decision whether to stop or not is not mine to make," the foreman replied. He waved for a younger goblin to approach.

Felix. Goblin. Level 12.

"This here is my apprentice. He's a big lover of rocks—anything in the ground, really, and he's quick on his feet."

Felix, upon arrival, was barely listening to the foreman, as he was busy staring at Eli.

"Felix!" the foreman repeated, making the goblin jump into the air and turn around.

"Yes, boss?" Felix replied quickly.

"Please show them to Site C."

"Yes boss!"

The foreman let out a deep sigh as Felix said a hurried goodbye and showed the way. Without missing a beat, Felix led them off into one of the side tunnels. After a few minutes of excited chatting about rocks, Felix suddenly fell silent. "Do you hear that?" he asked.

Eli stopped and listened. He had heard something but wanted to be sure. There it was again—a hiss. One he recognized well by now.

"Lizardmen," Eli muttered.

"You must be joking," Sameno said. "We're still far from the site, aren't we, Felix?"

The young goblin's eyes were wide. "A few minutes out," he whispered.

"Is the C site connected to the other sites through tunnels?" Eli asked.

"Of course," Felix replied. "It wouldn't be safe just to have one tunnel."

"How many?" Eli pressed.

"Three," Felix said. "Very safe. There's a long tunnel drilled upward with an exit to the surface and two more connecting to site B and D. Each tunnel has three entrances—one dedicated to the outside and two more leading to other sites or to longer tunnels into the city proper."

Eli gave Sameno a look, horror spreading across the councilman's normally calm face. "Do any of the sites have exits leading to the rail tracks?"

"Not exactly," Felix said, thinking. "The tunnel out of F, the one that's closed down right now, is close to the tracks. The wall between them is mostly for show."

"So to summarize," Eli said grimly, "you have a lizardman near Site C, which means they can be anywhere. And since Arti was taken from the tracks, they're already spreading through our city. You're about to be overwhelmed."

"No, I—" Sameno began, but then fell silent.

Eli cut him off. "You have to evacuate the town. Now. There won't be any choke points to hold them back."

"How could they have reached this far? The dungeon is miles away," Sameno muttered, his voice tinged with disbelief.

"I'm guessing the dungeon is more sprawling than we anticipated," Eli said. "And you've dug too deep and far."

Out of the gloom, a lizardman came into the light of a nearby mana crystal. It was not a cursed one, but a regular type, the kind that showed up on the third floor of the dungeon. Felix let out a shriek of fright and turned to run, with Sameno following close behind, leaving Eli by himself. He leapt forward, engaging the lizardman and striking the low leveled monster down with nothing but his staff, but another soon took its place.

Eli quickly cast a Sigil of Light and ensured Aegis was active, before bolstering himself with Agility, Bless, and Embrace The Dying Light. His staff glowed faintly as he swung, striking another lizardman and doing decent damage. The creatures here were of a much lower level than him, but the sensation of effectively using his staff to kill something was new—and exhilarating. In another life, Eli thought, he might have made an excellent fighter.

Shaking off the thought, he triggered Aura of Suppression to slow the enemies. He also selected Aura of Defense to bolster his resilience and Aura of Victory to give himself another boost even if it wasn't strictly necessary against these weaker foes. The narrow tunnel only allowed one lizardman to attack at a time, which worked to his advantage. Still, Eli backed away cautiously.

Suddenly, an alarm blared somewhere far back in the distance.

Eli: Glimmer Bastion is under attack from lizardmen. It's gone past the point where they can contain it. Evacuation is hopefully underway. Some lizardmen might be coming over land toward you. Can you alert people to keep an eye out for any who make it to the office building?

James: I can do that.

Dana: Most people have headed off to the dungeon. They're eager to get down to the fourth floor after we told them about humans being held captive. Apparently, some people’s coworkers here never turned up. They're thinking maybe they're in cages underground.

Amy: That's awful.

Eli: Agreed. We'll free them soon.

Eli: What about you guys? Can you come here and help?

Simon: Of course we're coming.

Amy: We're coming too.

Cruella: I'm not running all that way. You better come and get us.

Eli: I'll pick you up. Amy, head to The Temple of Rizari and I'll gather you up first.

Amy: I do love being gathered up like a sack of potatoes.

Cruella: Let's kill some goblins!

Simon: We're trying to save the goblins.

Cruella: Let's save some goblins!

Eli had been slowly backing away while talking over group chat, but now he turned and ran. There was no point in holding the lizardmen back in this small tunnel leading to Site C. They must've already spread throughout the many, many tunnels. Like vermin.

Out of the shadows, another lizardman lunged. Eli struck it down, but knew this was only the beginning. The creatures would overwhelm the town unless the goblins evacuated immediately. A growing sense of urgency spurred him forward, his mind racing with the implications of how far the infestation might have spread.