Chapter 24 Darkness

Kate approached in a crouch, her team spread out throughout the underbrush all around as they closed in on the massive cavern entrance. She stopped behind a moss covered tree stump, leaning against it with her hammer in hand. Glancing over, she could see the goblins standing at the entrance. Well, one of them was standing. The other one had chosen to sit, the creature hitting the ground with its small knife in a repeating pattern.

She couldn’t spot anything in the dark cavern behind, other than the sheer size of it. Close to the opening however, she could see two stakes, one adorned with a massive wolf’s head, the other one with that of a human. Kate grit her teeth as she moved her head back behind cover. Had she known the person? She heard a clicking sound and watched again, the twang of a crossbow resounding a few meters away, the bolt rushing out before it struck the sitting goblin in its chest. She got up and rushed forward, seeing a gray flash a few meters to her left where Grey rushed out, a clean slash of his blade cutting through the other goblin’s neck.

Kate reached the stumbling creature. It had let go of its blade in favor of clutching the bolt in its chest. Reckless Charge brought her close before she slammed her weapon down, making sure the creature couldn’t cry out or call for help. She looked over to Grey, the man looking back. A slight nod. She walked over to the stake on her side of the entrance while the others joined them.

The person had indeed been someone she had known, albeit in passing. An older woman who used to buy tons of vegetables in Lars’ shop. Always wondered how she ate all that alone… half of my veggies go bad in a week. The stake was a thick piece of wood, rammed deep into the ground. Kate ripped it out with a single pull, removing the head before she closed the woman’s eyes. She looked at the thing for a few seconds before a hand touched her shoulder.

“Later. We have a job to do,” Logan said, carefully taking the head out of her hands.

Kate still looked at her hands before she shivered. She wanted to say something but her mouth didn’t open, instead she ground her teeth.

“This isn’t a normal wolf,” Allison murmured.

“Focus. Get your headlamps. Kate to the front,” Logan said before tapping her shoulder.

She nodded, putting on the lamp before she flicked it on. Into the den of fire. She heard the words of her friend, wringing her hands around the heavy steel handle. “Try to keep up,” she said to the others. Mindless Ferocity activated as she took in a deep breath. Grey was next to her, Jon close behind. Logan was at the end of the formation, but she looked ahead, and walked into the depths.

She soon started hearing the dripping sounds of water, plenty of small alcoves and hiding places around but none of them occupied by any creatures. Taking out the guards in relative silence had certainly helped. Storming this place with an aware group of defenders would be a nightmare. Kate stopped a minute later, holding up a hand to the others. She glanced back and turned off her headlamp, looking at the group of humans standing in the tight corridor between stone walls.

She talked in a whisper. “I hear creatures sleeping… wait here, and come when you hear fighting.”

Gray nodded and relayed the information to the next person in a whisper.

Kate was already gone, very slowly moving through the darkness as she kept one hand on the wall. They knew the creatures were light sensitive and she didn’t plan to wake all of them up the moment she walked into that room. She could feel the tunnel opening up after the tight section they had just been through but she trusted her hearing. There were no guards. Their enemy didn’t expect intruders.

Silent.

Slow steps. She was getting closer. Another somewhat tight section. She was careful not to let her hammer scrape against the side of the wall. And she was inside, hearing dozens of sleeping creatures. Kate didn’t hesitate. She could hear the different pitches of the snores, going to the closer goblins first before she crouched down. She couldn’t see much of anything but based on the sounds she could make out where their faces were, based on the slightly shifting bodies, she could make out where the rest was. It took her a minute to make sure she wouldn’t step on anything and wake the creature. When she was sure, she slammed down the knife using both her hands, one still gripping the hammer.

A wet sound. Steel piercing flesh, crunching bone. She waited. And moved on to the next. First, she focused on the more isolated creatures. There were a few groups she didn’t want to risk as of yet.

Time passed. She had killed all the isolated ones, two of them even orcs based on the sounds. She didn’t check the messages yet, instead sneaking back to the others. Kate had to cover her eyes with a hand when she walked into the shining lights of their headlamps. “Grey, Logan, there are three groups still in there. Seven orcs in total, six more goblins. They’re too close together for me to kill them silently.”

“Can you lead us there without light?” Logan asked. “If they’re sleeping, we’ll all prepare and turn on the lights at once,” he said in a whisper. “Ethan, no fire down here.”

“Form a line and hold your hands. Move very slowly. Keep your feet close to the ground, there are corpses inside. When they wake up, you turn on the lights and finish whatever is left standing,” Kate said and grabbed Grey’s hand. He did the same with Jon’s, the line quickly forming. They were moving half a minute later.

Kate winced at their steps and scraping jackets against stone, but they managed to keep their weapons close, their breathing controlled. And soon they stood in the same cavern she had just been in. Kate removed Grey from the line and slowly moved with him to an unoccupied space near one of the groups, careful not to step on any of the corpses she had already left behind. Next was Jon, then Logan, and so on.

She chose the smallest group and unsheathed her bloodied knife once more. Close to one of the orcs, she hovered over its head and pushed down the weapon with all the strength she had. Again, the metal penetrated with ease, slamming through the skull with a wet crunch and killing the creature instantly. She didn’t wait this time, leaving the blade inside as she unsheathed another one of her hunting knives.

Another orc died and then a goblin. The creature’s leg twitched slightly, hitting the ground a few times in its death throes. The last goblin in the group woke up. It made a confused noise before a blade slashed into its face.

Kate didn’t get the angle quite right as the creature was moving. She did pierce its flesh but it cried out in pain, the other beings now rousing from their sleep. She let go of her knife and swung her hammer in a horizontal arc, striking the goblin down where it crawled.

Lights flashed in the dark cavern, confused guttural noises resounding from the two remaining groups as the monsters got their bearings, some reaching for their weapons.

A crossbow was fired, swords came down, and Kate rushed forward. She reached the next group where injured beings shielded themselves against the light. Her hammer cracked a knee, bringing down an orc before it blocked another hit against its skull. She kicked it down and struck a confused goblin in the back of the head, cracking the bone.

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She saw a broad greatsword cut halfway into the neck of an orc. Kate activated Furious Dance when she saw the remaining creatures grouping up, with their weapons ready. She reached the crawling orc, one hand clutching its leg as it cried out, roaring when it turned around and saw the hammer coming for its face. Three strikes and she left it unmoving. The spike of her hammer was ripped out, bloodied and wet. Kate turned to look at the illuminated group, her allies circling around as the enemies roared out.

Loud.

A bolt struck one of the orcs in its face. There were two remaining, and three goblins, the small creatures trying to hide behind the orcs.

One of the large ones was aware of all the attackers, its jagged sword held in a defensive stance. The other one was more aggressive, focused entirely on Grey.

Kate watched the latter one. Patience.

Silent.

She crouched slightly, waiting. A few seconds and the orc made its move, going for Grey with a few bold swings. Reckless Charge brought her close, her hammer held close as she slammed the head into the monster’s jaw. Three more hits and it stumbled. She ignored the slash it managed to get in on her shoulder, seeing Grey’s thin blade slice through the large orc’s neck as she stepped back to avoid one of the goblins.

Logan kept the other orc occupied with his long sword, a bolt striking the large creature in its leg.

It stumbled and growled.

Kate growled back, hitting the goblin before she splattered its head against the nearby wall. She saw the last two shiver in fear, their blades clutched close as they tried to get away from her. They reached the wall of the cavern. She didn’t stop.

Looking up, Kate saw the last orc had fallen to the combined efforts of her team. But she heard more coming, her skills pushing her forward.

“More…” she said. Her mouth moved. She wanted to say more but it was hard to focus. “A…” she gulped, walking closer to the entrance. “Ambush.” She grinned. Silent.

Patient.

Kate heard her allies say some things, the bright lights going out as they moved closer to the walls. Hiding. Bait?

She prepared to turn on her own lamp. She knew what they were planning. Monsters. Approaching. There were dozens of steps, some larger, some smaller. She waited, with her hammer ready. In an effort to protect herself, Kate grabbed one of the larger bodies and raised it up by the simple leather armor it wore.

Her enemies entered the cave. She heard their snarls and noises. She growled, the fast steps turning more wary, fanning out. Two of the creatures carried torches, illuminating the surroundings. Kate switched on her headlamp in turn and rushed forward, two arrows striking the body she held before she let go of it. Her hammer swung and struck a goblin’s head, teeth and blood flying to the side. Her allies joined in but she focused on the next monster, the next creature that stood in her way or slipped up.

Bones cracked and flesh tore. She lost herself in the battle. Lights swung around, shouts resounded, reverberating in her ears. She stumbled, the bloodied orc in front of her once again hitting her with his fist. The sword came down and she blocked it with the handle of her hammer. Her own fist struck back, the steel entangled. Reckless Charge activated, slamming her into the monster, the momentum and weight making them stumble and fall. She let go of the hammer and grabbed two knives. Kate ignored the hits, stabbing down with reckless abandon, cutting flesh and armor as the orc tried to stop her.

Her enemy’s efforts weakened as she continued, a nearby goblin running her way with its blade aimed for her head. She slapped it aside and stabbed the creature in its skull, leaving the knife in there and taking the monster’s weapon. She felt a sharp pain and looked down. The orc had taken one of her own knives and stabbed it into her stomach. She grit her teeth and dug her blades into its head, pushing down until she could feel the metal scrape against bone.

Kate wanted to rip out the blade but she stopped herself. Leave. She stumbled up, her vision slightly blurry. Hammer. She found the thing after a few seconds of searching, the battle around her still ongoing. She could hear pained noises, breathing, steel hitting stone and metal, a crossbow being fired. An arrow. She felt the thing strike her arm, the impact nearly making her stumble. Instead she found the goblin, growling once more before she ran at it, her steps quickly reaching the thing as it tried to fire once more. She struck its face with the butt of her weapon, a direct strike following after, the impact making the small creature slap against the stone floor. She went to one knee, breathing hard as she forced herself to get back up.

She took three steps and grabbed onto the arm of an injured orc, its head stabbed through by one of her allies a moment later. She let go and nearly fell with the dead creature. One last goblin fell when a large sword cut through its entire form, two halves falling to the blood covered stone floor, illuminated by torchlight and headlamps. She tried to hear, but her head swam. Something came up. Kate retched as she went down to one knee. There were no more enemies, though a few lay dying, gargling as they spattered out blood.

“Don’t move,” someone said, reaching her side.

She recognized the voice. Ally. She knew she could trust her. At the same time she knew there were more enemies down in the cavern. Somewhere. There had to be more.

“Bite down,” the voice said and put something into her mouth.

Kate did just that, a sharp pain following. She glared at the woman but endured, the pain followed by a strange heat, followed by intense itching. Her entire abdomen hurt. She had to focus not to fall on her face. Her magic waned, the pain intensifying as she bit down harder. Tears welled up in her eyes as her breathing quickened. Another sharp pain, the arrow gone from her arm, followed by the same heat and itching. She breathed harder still, now using her arm to stay sitting. The smell was horrible. Burning flesh, blood all around. Sweat. It was stuffy, hot. She tried to raise her shirt up to cover her nose. Someone puked. There was puke already.

She had to get out.

“Someone, help her up and out of here,” Melusine said, her headlamp swerving around before she moved on to the next person in need of healing. Kate hadn’t been the only one injured.

She winced at the pain but soon felt someone help her up. She glanced over and saw the pale face of Ethan, blood on his face and spittle on his chin. He shook a little and didn’t meet her eyes but he pulled her out, the two of them collapsing out in the broad cavern tunnel. She heard his breathing, his heartbeat. Her hand moved up to check on him, brushing away the sweaty hair. It wasn’t his blood. She helped him sit down against the nearby wall, resting next to him as she gripped his hand in hers. She could feel him shake, tears rolling down his cheeks as he gulped.

Kate herself focused on the pain and itching, the wood creaking in her mouth as she bit down harder. Though the fires. Though the fires may rage. All consuming. She rummaged in her pack and found a package of painkillers, taking out the wood before she downed two pills and drank some water. She looked over and held the bottle to Ethan’s face. “Drink,” she said with a slightly shaking voice.

Grey had joined them, the man standing nearby in silence, one hand on the handle of his blade, his headlamp aimed down into the darkness.

“Did…” Kate started but she focused on her hearing instead. It didn’t take her long to realize they were all alive. Logan was hurt, his breathing harder than usual, Melusine picking something out of his armor with Allison there to help. Jon sat down next to Kate. She gripped his hand as well.

“This is horrible,” the man murmured.

Kate took in a deep breath, her eye twitching at the healing magic in her stomach. She wanted to scratch out her insides.

They remained in silence for a long while, no more monsters coming for them as they waited and collected their breath.

“Use the time to level up and check your skills,” Grey said from the side. “And turn off your headlamps.”

Kate did as he said. It made sense after all. She turned off Ethan’s, the man still shaking slightly. His face was damp with sweat.

Jon did the same after he had reloaded his crossbow.

She tried to slow her breathing, forcing her body to calm down after the intense battle. Looking down the tunnel, the light reaching about twenty meters far, she knew there was more to come. Melusine joined, with Allison and Logan in tow.

The man seemed fine, though his armor had several dents and visible cuts. “Five minutes, then we move on,” he spoke, sounding tired.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Kate asked.

Logan chuckled, shining his headlamp her way. “You should see yourself, Kate.”

“Fuck off,” she answered with a tired smile, looking at her blood covered hands and hammer.