We walked up the mountain and arrived at the dam ten minutes later. The dam was built of thick wood planks, likely reinforced by some sort of skill the [master trapper] had. The planks had been broken, which had let the water free to thunder through the path. It was massive for a monster-built pond(no longer filled with water) and was almost ten feet deep. A bridge crossed over it, presumably built by the [cobold]s, but built quite well. We took it to get to the other side of The Mudmule’s path.

Suddenly, Maladrain stopped. He leaned down then silently inspected the floor. After a grunt from him, he began taking meticulous, though still stumbling, steps across the bridge. After he evaded what I presumed to be a set of traps, we began tracking. Well, I say that, but it didn’t take long to find the lair. Well-traveled paths filled with tripwires, hidden bear traps, trees that fell upon the slightest touch, and pitfalls all led to a gaping alcove where a small bit of water trickled down from above, presumably moving toward the empty pond. A [cobold] probably stood on duty, so I slammed the brakes on Maladrain, then pointed around us, asking for him to look for stealthed foes. Sure enough, he pointed atop the alcove after a glance, where a [cobold] laid on the ground and covered in leaves, hiding. His [truesight] may have been unnecessary, but it seemed to keep us moving quickly.

He let me down behind a tree then walked off, pointing down for me to stay put. A few minutes later, I heard a scream, “Aaahhhhg! Arrak! FUUthhaa-!” The voice trailed out

“You can come out again.”

I peeked out to see that on the bottom of the alcove was a [cobold], fallen and dead. Maladrain would have leaped to the ground, but instead, he walked all the way around the alcove to avoid hurting his leg. He picked me up again and continued. Inside the alcove, a massive chiseled pedestal a few feet off the ground was layered in cobalt.

“Only a [cobalt dragon] can summon [cobold]s, so that must have been a throne of sorts for it.”

That was an interesting fun fact, but we probably only had two minutes on our pursuers. We needed to find their hoard or a defensible location.

To the left, there was a passageway lit by lightly glowing stone. [cobold]s could see in the dark or something, but it was too little light for a [human]. I took out the torch I picked up from the first [cobold] I killed and lit it as quickly as possible while we walked in.

You have gained [flame manipulation tier 2]!

You gained 1 Exp!

We walked down the tunnels that were mined into the mountain. There were three passageways, one forward, one left, and one right. I didn’t hesitate to point to the left. Left is always the right way!

A wooden door blocked our path. Maladrain pulled his sword out and hit the door handle off with its pommel before backing off as a volley of arrows flew past the front of the door. He then kicked it open and leaned against the wall as another volley came from the room and flew past us. It was rather uncomfortable for me since he was squishing me against the wall.

“Make the traps a little sparse to get us comfortable, then rip it all away and throw all too many at the same time. I’m not falling for that.” Whatever I said about him in the past, when Maladrain got serious, he could be pretty cool...I guess. Maybe I was calling nothing but raw confidence ‘cool’, but that’s just my tastes, ok!?

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He walked into the room and pointed out a pressure plate that was to the left of the door, within the room, “Pressure plates are usually the most deadly of traps, apparently. Considering how deadly the others have been, stepping on that plate could kill us easily.”

Inside was a fairly tall room about ten by ten feet. On the ground was a pile of raw cobalt, which shined a vibrant blue, “[cobalt dragon]s don’t just summon [cobold]s as a way of defending its lair, it also gains experience through the consumption of cobalt ore, so the [cobold]s naturally want to hoard the stuff.” Thanks for the biology lesson I guess, but is now the time to school me, Maladrain?

I looked up. The ceiling looks strange...It’s built of cobblestone? For a moment, I thought it was a trap, then I realized it could be a hidden stash. Or even both. I hit his shoulder again then pointed up.

“Oh...maybe that’s the pressure plate trap?”

I point up again, more vigorously.

“You want what...? Ohhhhh, I catch your drift, Saya.” We walked out of the room, then timidly pressed his foot on the pressure plate and hopped out of the room while closing the door.

A massive crash could be heard behind the door, causing the earth to quake. He opened the door again, letting some rocks slide out before looking in. As the dust settled, Maladrain climbed in. The room, as predicted, was a trap and a stash. He climbed up the loose rocks, which made a rough staircase into the real room. In it, there was a massive pile of cobalt stacked against the wall, fifteen feet tall and with various items, gizmos, and potions sticking out of it.

And chewing on a chunk of that cobalt, with an open, cracked egg next to it, was a baby [dragon]. So cuuute!

You better be on my side, or I’ll slaughter you, pest.

“Woah, I’ve never seen a baby [drake] before!” Maladrain said, a little enthralled by it. Wait, it wasn’t a [dragon]? It had no wings, extra-vicious claws, a set of sturdy molars, and its eyes were on the sides of its head like a goat, without the draconic edge [dragon]’s eyes were known for. It mostly ignored us, happily chewing on the stone before it with voraciousness.

“Maybe they didn’t realize that’s just a baby [drake] and not a dragon, or maybe they were just nostalgic, but I gotta’ wonder what the story behind this is. Hey kid, if we survive this...” he let me down and pointed to a health potion, picking one of his own out of the pile. “Let’s see if you can raise a mineivore. The cobolds are here. Cheers!” He popped the cork off his potion, then chugged it down while walking back down to the lower level before shutting the door and propping it closed with a massive rock. Then, he stumbled to the ground, sitting against the wall with a vague expression. I doubted that potions in a secret chamber would be poisoned, so...I chugged down the health potion. It was a little cold, but it also tasted like cold too. Was it made from peppermint?

A few seconds after, I lurched as my body went into overdrive. My heart rate increased, my [hope] anesthetic disappeared, though, even though pain enveloped my body, I felt cozy, somehow. It was like time was faster, and I was feeling my body‘s natural healing process in accelerated time. I fell to the floor, unable to stand the sensation.

A few seconds later, my wounds no longer hurt so much, and my ankle was healed. The potion hurt, but it was worth not being gravely injured for once in a lifetime...Or...no, it had been less than an hour.

I stood up a few seconds after Maladrain, who cracked his neck immediately after. “That was a greater healing potion, which they likely didn’t feel the need to carry around with them. It’s worth a small fortune each, but...y’know, we don’t have the luxury of worrying about money.” He readied his sword and walked fairly far from the door, standing on the rocks. “Hand me that shield.” He pointed to a shield in the pile, and I tossed it to him.

I heard the [cobold]s behind the door, speaking. I searched the pile of cobalt for a weapon. It wasn’t too much, but I did see a crossbow. There weren’t any bolts to go with it, though! I simply drew my wea-

BANG!

The door exploded in a deafening roar.

There wasn’t any running or ambushes anymore. Now, it was a simple fight to the death; us versus them.