We decided that if we were to go inside that cave, it would be all three of us. No matter what. There was a long deliberation between Sylvar and Meuko. Meuko wanted to widen the opening of the cave, something that would definitely bring attention to us. Sylvar wanted to be quiet.
Since we do not know the number of goblins waiting inside that cave, bringing attention to us would be insane. Meuko thought that with the goblins we killed and the goblins the griffin killed, we should be fine. Their argument went back and forth, until eventually they both decided to have me make the final call.
“Volt, what do we do?” Meuko says calmly.
She is not trying to get me to agree.
“It appears the decision falls to you.” Sylvar adds.
They are not trying to convince me one way or the other. I was not expecting to make that call. I specifically tried to avoid having a say in this argument because I have no idea what the right call is.
“We have nothing to go on and if we do not return with some results… The Hunters will call us useless. We need something that convinces the Villagers that we are needed outside. We need to widen this gap. Or… We could… Burn them...”
Did I just… Yeah, I just suggested we eradicate an entire cave of goblins.
“Are you insane?” Sylvar says, too shocked to add anything to that.
“I mean… We do plan on killing them all.” Meuko says.
She is carrying broken branches and leaves towards the cave opening. I guess we are doing this.
“I suppose I do carry a flint stone with me. Let us get to work, then, my friends.” Sylvar says.
We have work to do. Meuko takes care of the carrying pretty easily. Sylvar and I take care of the positioning of the flammable material, making sure that it rests on the inside of the cave opening, while Meuko tries to find rocks small enough to fit inside the opening but big enough that they are not easily pushed outside.
She also reinforces the outside with as many rocks as possible, building a small makeshift hill of stones, leading all the way to the upper part of the cave entrance. This should help delay the goblins from getting out. Before we seal the cave completely, the hardest job needs to get done.
Sylvar will have to go inside the opening to light the fire and remain there long enough to ensure that it spreads throughout the entire kindling. I have to go inside as well to protect him.
“I insist you stay outside. This will be hard enough without you, I cannot worry about your safety as well as mine.” Sylvar says.
“Meuko… you know someone needs to stay in front of him so that they do not shoot arrows at him.” I say.
“You are right Volt. Take this goblin, use it as sh-”
“Shield, yeah, got it. I saw you do it more times than I would like.” I interrupt Meuko.
I enter the cave first. I need to push through the kindling to make it all the way inside, so we have effectively created a little hole. Dragging a goblin body does not make things easier. Sylvar comes through right after me. He is far more athletic than me. That, of course, does not mean I am bad at it. He is just… Too good.
The cave is dark, really dark. I can barely see ahead of me, just because of the natural light that merely graces the entrance. Sylvar takes a flint stone and starts hitting it against his short sword. There are some sparks, but not enough to light a flame. The sound echoes through the cave, so I have to assume that this is a rather large cave.
“Sylvar, why does the sound carry on for so long?” I whisper quickly.
I am terrified of this situation.
“It is because this cave in particular is rather large. Not only in size… It must be breaking into multiple paths, effectively creating a maze for us. Thank the tight entrance that we were not able to continue. You chose well.”
“Yeah, thank me by giving me some sort of light. Please.”
“If I do that, it would take even more time to-”
“Now.”
“Right away.”
Sylvar grabbed a gathering of branches and focused his efforts on that. As soon as the sparks turned the branches into a torch, he gave it to me. I drop the goblin body… It does not really work for me. We are in here for quite some time. To be fair… Even a few minutes are a lot right now.
Holding the torch up high revealed the ceiling. Seeing it slightly calmed me. Almost like I know where I am now. The sound of my makeshift torch’s fire and Sylvar’s attempt to light another one were being carried inside the entire cave or cave system. I hope it is not as Sylvar says and this is actually a small cave.
There is another sound… The terrifying sound of a goblin’s screeching. The goblins know we are here. The screeching multiplied. Every goblin inside this place knows. I can barely see ahead so I take a few steps forward and lay the torch on the side. That way I can stand in front of Sylvar and protect him while seeing what is coming. In a way… I do not want to know what is coming.
“Sylvar...”
“I know, my friend Volter. Just a few more minutes. Meuko, if you can hear me, get ready to close the entrance.”
I hope Sylvar’s suggestion was heard. I ready two knives. One to throw and one to kill. I do not want to use them. I just want make it ou- I see them. Three goblins in front of me. No bows, they are not being careful.
Two are running towards me, while the third is using the walls on the side to reach me. They can do that, apparently. The smoke from behind me reminds me why I am inside this place. I need to hold.
“Sylvar, they are here.”
“Just a small patch left to ensure it burns for a long time.” Sylvar says.
I throw a knife to the goblin that is using the wall. I hit it in the shoulder, causing it to fall down and stagger the second goblin. The one on the right takes a swipe at me. The fact that they are smaller means it is easier to dodge their strikes, but it is also easier for them to crowd you.
Eadwald said to focus on as many as possible, not just one. I pull out another throwing knife while dodging a second swipe, this one going for my torso. I use the goblin knife to cut my attacker’s arm clean off. It screams in pain, using the right hand to grab the wound I just made. I quickly kick it away. Blago told me to do that when I want an opening.
I throw the second knife in the direction of the other two goblins, hitting the same one. This time, I hit its leg. The screaming intensifies as it moves slowly over to the side, leaving room enough for the third goblin to throw a spear. I forgot they do that. I quickly drop to the floor, an instinct that made me forget that I am supposed to protect Sylvar. I turn around and see that Sylvar is safe.
The reason it took longer for him to light the kindling up is because he made sure to start from the sides, ensuring that I can safely climb out. Since he was over to the side, the spear was not even close when it landed. I smile while making eye contact with him, an extremely difficult effort, made so by the continuous smoke.
“Focus, Volter.” He says, as he grabs the spear and throws it over to me.
I quickly grab it in the air and turn around to face the goblins once again. The goblin that threw it made a lunge at me. I raise the spear up, bracing for the goblin. The goblin jumps straight to the edge of the wooden spear, impaling itself with force and pushing me to the ground… Again.
It finishes the lunge by stabbing me to the left shoulder, the one that is currently holding the spear it finds itself impaled on. I quickly stab the goblin in the neck and pull the knife out, taking the front side of its throat with it. The exposed wound drops parts of flesh and a lot of black blood on my head and torso.
A final gurgle and a knife stuck inside my shoulder are the only things the goblin gets to do before it dies. The pain is burning my entire left side, head to toe. I let the spear fall next to me, followed by a thudding sound made by the dead goblin. I get up, and quickly bandage the knife, making sure that it is stable so that it does not cut me more while moving.
Julie said that is a good trick if I am not able to pull an arrow out because of a bleed. I hope it works on knives as well. I know that I am unable to throw a knife with my left hand now, so I switch to a throwing knife in my right hand. The smoke makes it harder for me to breathe… Coughing is the only thing I can hear now. I have to calm down.
“We are done… Run, Volter.”
Before I have a chance to turn around, dozens of spears come flying towards me. I raise my hand, as if that would protect me. The other goblins must be too far away, because they barely reach the location of my torch. I quickly turn around, leaving the final goblin to bleed out, knowing that there are way more behind it.
Running to kill me, climbing the walls, the ceiling, readying more spears. Sylvar moves out as soon as I reach the base of the kindling. The flames are close, really close. I do not have to think of the heat. Being seconds away from being torn apart really gives me all the energy I need.
I could beat Blago right now… Maybe not that much energy. I jump to reach the opening, climbing most of the kindling but my left hand makes it way harder to make that final crawling through.
“Help, now, I will not-”
I reach for anyone outside with my right hand. Before finishing my sentence, Sylvar’s arm grabs me and pulls me. I throw one last look behind me to watch an entire cave be filled with green people, filled with the desire to kill me. They step over the bodies of their dead, as the arms pulling me now become two, big ones.
Thank Meuko. She quickly throws me out of the cave, into the ground. I hit it hard, screaming from the pain. I get it. She needs to make sure I am out of there as fast as possible. I look at them and not say a word as I focus on the pain.
Meuko throws the spear I gave her inside the cave, while I am climbing the rocks we brought here. Sylvar starts shooting arrows as fast as possible, never drawing the bow to full strength. Speed is essential I guess.
“Not yet.” He shouts, as he keeps shooting arrows.
Four, five, six, seven. Do they all hit their mark? I do not see any spears thrown at us, so they must be focusing on the fire. He is trying to make sure they burn. There is a notable amount of smoke coming out of the cave, but his eyes do not seem troubled by it.
Eight, nine. Meuko is waiting for Sylvar’s mark in order to push the final big rock, effectively sealing the cave. I climb next to Sylvar, making sure he has enough room to turn towards me when he needs to. Ten, eleven.
“Now.” He shouts, twisting his entire body away from the hole and dodging a spear.
Meuko lets out her usual scream as all her muscles bulge, revealing an intensely trained physique. To be honest, it was quite visible from before. The rock gets pushed into position. All three of us get around the entrance, prepared to guard it. We know the flames were not that strong. They will break through soon.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Did you miss any of these shots?” I ask, grabbing my shoulder.
“The first one… I was worried about them counter attacking.” Sylvar says.
“Be honest… I saw them.” Meuko says. “You could not miss even if you wanted to. They filled the entire entrance.”
“What?” I say.
“True, my friend Meuko. The first one was to draw their attention away from the fire. As soon as I realized they did not care about me… I made them care.”
“Are we really not gonna talk about their numbers?” I shout, obviously a bit shaken.
“Relax, Volt. We focus on the things we can do. That is all that matters. How is your wound?” Meuko asks.
“I can still fight… How do we... Fight this?” I ask, trying to catch my breath.
“I have an idea.” Sylvar says.
There is a bit of smoke escaping the tiny openings that the rocks naturally have. The goblins can be heard screaming, coughing and scratching. Soon… They will come out soon.
“We hold them right here, in this opening… They will come swarming out of this hole. Meuko is first, I will hit them with arrows from afar and you Volter… You support Meuko. But… Above all else, you stay safe.” Sylvar says.
His usual calm demeanor is replaced with a quick, sharp way of talking. He must be feeling the pressure as well.
“Agreed. Here, Outsider. Take all the extra arrows from the bag. You will need them.” Meuko says.
She passes the bag over to Sylvar as he retreats a bit further, resting the bag and taking note of what he needs. No way I stay in the back while they do all the fighting.
“No…” I say, wincing. “I am a part of this as well. Meuko, you stay in the left side and throw any goblins that annoy you behind you, as hard as you can. Sylvar, you shoot any goblins Meuko throws towards you while I use knives from the right side to keep them from swarming us. That should give us the opportunity to kill without being too exposed. Meuko, use stones… Any you can find, while we still have time.” Meuko immediately sprints towards the location of any rocks nearby. In less than a minute, she is ready. “Sylvar, you better shout if you run out of arrows and make sure you only kill the ones that cause me and Meuko trouble. We will retreat if they start taking out rocks from beneath us. Shall we?”
“As you say, Leader.” Sylvar says with a smile.
He looks… Proud.
“Do NOT let Alayne hear you say that. He will skin me alive.” I say.
I laugh, thinking of all the ways Modesta would kill me if he were to hear me say I am a leader.
“You certainly got older.” Meuko says while preparing the stones to be easily reachable when the fighting starts.
“We got this, Sis.” I say, weirdly open and emotional.
The injury must be affecting me more than I give it credit for. The burning sensation will not stop anytime soon.
“Stay safe, both of you.” Meuko says in a direct and strong manner, causing all three of us to get more serious. Just what we need.
“You should be more worried about yourself, my friend Meuko, not me.” Sylvar says.
Before she has a chance to answer, the rocks move and get violently pushed towards our side. Smoke hits me in the face, like it was waiting to breathe again, just like the goblins… Almost as if fire could be alive.
Meuko is unfazed and immediately picks up a stone, hitting the first goblin that comes through. Its head snaps, as the body is left limp there for a moment, before being pushed out by the rest of the goblins. They have barely made an opening, one that is even smaller than the one Meuko could not get through.
It is enough for the goblins to swarm out, however, probably being pushed by the waves of goblins behind them… The smoke keeps coming out, so I have to assume that the fire must be somewhat active. Two goblins emerge, one being pulled by Meuko.
“Let us see if I should worry now.” Meuko says, sending one goblin flying.
As soon as it hits the ground, Sylvar shoots an arrow in its head. I guess she found time to respond. The second stumbles towards me, which makes it easier for me to stab his lung, raise it high and throw it back towards the base of the rocks we put. Things will only get worse from here.
The rocks keep shaking. They are unstable. The goblins must be working below us. They push one more rock off, this one towards my side. That means more goblins will come for me. Three goblins emerge, I quickly kick one back. It manages to scratch my leg with its fingers. I can feel the bleeding. They must be really desperate… We did just burn down their home.
The other two get pulled by Meuko, who crushes their skulls by bashing them against one another, quickly discarding their bodies. We cannot let them pile up here. If that happens, we could get crushed by the sheer amount of bodies. Mostly me… I do not think it would be a problem for Meuko.
Another rock gets pushed out. At the same time, three goblins come out, blindly throwing spears. The smoke and the coughing makes them almost useless when it comes to aim. They can get lucky though… A chance I do not want to take. I keep my head low, before pulling a goblin towards me, then throwing it down the rocks.
The whistling sound of an arrow and cry of pain reassure me… Sylvar is there, waiting to cover my back. Meuko gets lunged at by the other two goblins. Their lack of weapons means that all they can do is scratch her face and cling on her body.
“Get… Off… My… FACE.” Meuko says.
All that training with Eadwald paid off. She uses her elbows to knock out the one grabbing her torso, while the other goblin keeps trying to blind her. She grabs the back of the goblin’s skull and rears her head… Then bashes the goblin with a headbutt. It dies instantly as bits of bone get stuck on Meuko’s face. Four more goblins emerge.
“Sylvar…” I shout, gesturing to Meuko.
I hope he gets my point. Meuko grabs a stone in order kill the knocked out goblin, ensuring that it will not be a problem. One of the four goblins gets hit before it tries to lunge at Meuko, thanks to Sylvar. The other three rush me. One of them slips, because of the unstable ground.
The fire must be affecting their senses as well. The other two attack me, the left one holding a knife and the right one unarmed. The one holding a weapon is going for my weak side… Of course. I try to remember any technique. No techniques will work here. I rush the armed goblin, hoping that the other one cannot do any significant amount of damage. I am holding a throwing knife but it should do the job.
I take a stab at the armed goblin. It deflects my strike, leaving me open for an attack. Before it has a chance to hit me, an arrow flies in front of its face. Sylvar missed. No matter… I twist my body and throw the knife, while it is reacting to the arrow, hitting its belly. It instantly shrieks, holding its belly while falling from the rocks.
“Sorry...” Sylvar shouts.
I owe him.
“Thanks.” I respond.
I turn to look to my right, hoping to catch a glimpse of the unarmed goblin. A crushing sensation brings my attention to my right leg, where the goblin decided to make a meal out of me. I pull out a wooden spear from my pouch, piercing the goblin’s skull from the side, making sure I do not stab my leg by accident.
I look over at the entrance. Meuko is fighting five more goblins. Two have grabbed her legs while she holds one goblin in her hand, using it to keep the remaining two at a distance. I throw a spear towards the two goblins that have not attacked her yet. I impale one, while the other one gets shot at by Sylvar, killing two of them, as if we were coordinating.
It must be hard on Sylvar… Keeping track of every one of us here, making sure to hit them without wasting arrows AND avoid friendly fire. Meuko rips the goblins she is holding in half. She then makes a strong jump, which makes the goblins scream and let her go. As she lands again, she uses one leg to crush a goblin and then grabs the head of the last one, crushing it instantly.
“Good one, Me-”
The rocks splitting apart and Meuko falling cuts me short.
“Meuko.” I shout, trying to reach her.
I pick up one more spear from my pouch as four goblins jump out from the hole. Sylvar hits one goblin in the neck, which falls back inside, probably hindering any other goblins trying to escape their smoky tomb. I make several thrusts with the spear, not trying to really kill any goblins but simply wanting to get their attention. It works.
All three goblins turn to me. Any goblin that has gotten out so far has been coughing repeatedly and very confused. The smoke has definitely helped us survive this. How many goblins has it been. Twenty? More?
One goblin gets hit in the torso with an arrow. One more to the count, I guess. I throw the spear towards the goblins, impaling one that is hissing at me. It keeps hissing even as it falls to its knees, slowly bleeding out.
The last one is unarmed, so it tries to pull the spear I used from its dead comrade. I rush it, reaching just as it turns to face me with the spear, thrusting towards me. I grab the spear with the left hand, completely ignoring every message my body sends in regards to pain.
My left hand is shaking, which means I cannot keep this struggle for long. I use my right hand to punch the goblin several times. It is not as effective as Meuko makes it out to be. Meuko… I have to reach her. I scream, punching as hard as I can, this time making the goblin flinch and let the spear go. I grab the weapon with my right arm and drive it through the goblin’s body. No vile creature could keep me from reaching Meuko now.
“Sylvar, cover me.” I shout, hoping his arrows will somehow keep me alive.
Meuko is not too far away, merely a couple of steps. However, the hole and the smoke simply make the trip longer and inconvenient. I see goblins trying to jump out. I push one back inside as I turn my back on them get over to where Meuko fell.
A whistling sound, again. Sylvar is on fire today. The day certainly seems to call for it. Smoke and dust comes out from where Meuko stood. Getting closer, I find Meuko, whose lower body is inside the rubble we have created.
“Can you stand?” I ask, looking behind me, seeing two goblins run towards me.
“One leg is stuck in the rocks, the other is free in the cave opening… Not free, not free, goblins are pulling.” Meuko explains, while I throw a knife towards a goblin and miss, only to have Sylvar hit the same one with an arrow.
I love that man.
“Focus on the leg stuck in the rocks.” I say, taking out the goblin knife.
I am currently facing a goblin with two knives, one that does not care about its safety. I have to buy time.
“Not that easy.” Meuko says.
I deflect an overhead attack, then go for a counter attack, only to be reminded that the goblin is holding two knives as it slashes with the other hand. I barely manage to pull my head out of that attack.
“Try raising some rocks with your hand.” I say, making a slashing feint motion, then changing to a thrust.
I catch the goblin off guard enough that I slash its left shoulder. It makes an upward slash as it rears back. My armor is enough to drive the second knife off course.
“I got you, Meuko. Take all the ti-”
I dodge an attack, then push the goblin back. There are others coming here. Sylvar is keeping them back with arrows.
“Time you need.” I finish my sentence.
The goblin I am facing drops the left knife, probably too tired to keep both of its weapons. I take my chances and throw the goblin knife. I am lucky enough. The knife’s blade gets stuck between the goblin’s leg and its waist, throwing it down on the ground.
I quickly grab the knife it dropped. I only have one spear and the goblin knife I picked up. This one seems of a lesser quality than the one I had. Maybe I should not have thrown it away.
“I did it. One leg is free.” Meuko declares, shouting as she puts all her strength in order to pull herself up from the rabble.
She is now starting to cough as well. I use my legs to make it easier for her to come up, pushing any rocks that could hinder her movement. She comes up. Her left leg looks fine, nothing but a few scrapes… Her right leg, though… The one the goblins were pulling… She is wounded badly, bleeding from what appears to be a lot of scratching and slashing wounds. She did not make a sound. Impressive discipline.
“We gotta go down, now.” I say, urging Meuko to climb down.
I turn towards the hole. Goblins keep pouring out. These ones are more tired than the previous ones. They are exhausted, spitting in the ground, falling on their knees, holding their throats, barely able to make a sound.
Sylvar is not shooting arrows. He has climbed the rocks, a few steps in front of the opening, using the short sword to slash any goblins. He does so with relative ease. Not many goblins are in a condition to resist and the ones that do… Do not live long, anyway. I help Meuko reach the supply bag, since she needs to bandage her wounds.
“Okay, are you good? I have to help Sylvar.” I say, handing Meuko some of the mixture that Julie said should stop the bleeding.
Sylvar’s bow is right next to the bag.
“Go, make sure he is safe. Julie will kill us if anything happens to him.” Meuko says chuckling, spreading the bandages.
“I can handle goblins… I cannot handle Julie.” I say, turning my back to Meuko and rushing towards Sylvar.
This was my plan, I need to see it through.
She is going to be fine. She has to. We have got to finish this quick and get her over to Julie. The opening is definitely wider now. The rocks have been effectively pushed over now, existing there simply as difficult terrain for us to tread.
Sylvar is busy slashing goblins and throwing them to his side. I pull out the last wooden spear I have. I see goblin bodies that have been struck by multiple arrows. He let go of accuracy for the sake of speed. The minute I spent trying to help Meuko really was hard on Sylvar.
He is probably out of arrows. I did not check for them when I was looking for Julie’s mixture. Before reaching him, I pull out a handful of arrows from goblins that rolled down the rock hill. Some are broke, but about four of them are useful. I join Sylvar, who is holding a short sword in his right hand and his hunting knife in his left hand.
As far as I know, he has never actually hunted food with that knife. It must be a gift from someone. He deflects a spear attack with his knife and quickly slashes the face of a goblin with the sword. The goblin’s lower mouth is hanging from a few strings of muscle in its face, only to be completely cut off when Sylvar makes a repetitive strike. His kind face is… Dark, full of blood and anger. This is Sylvar when he protects his family.
His clothes and findal armor are full of cuts. He has not suffered a serious injury, only a few superficial slashes. Sylvar taught me that word when he was trying to explain how bad my throwing technique was. That stuck with me.
His coat is almost shredded, with only the hood left completely untouched, still hanging on his back. The rest of it is cut and ripped and torn apart in various places. It still has the form of a coat… But it is like the coat is barely kept intact, through sheer will or something. He killed a lot of goblins, evident by the bodies that have piled up.
Some goblins are still bleeding out, with Sylvar satisfied enough that they are out of fighting capabilities. Killing them would only hinder his efforts. I join him, covering his left side with my last spear.
Before we have the chance to exchange words, all the rocks start shaking and giving in. The goblins are free. We start climbing down again. My knees hurt. I am bleeding. My eyes… They start closing… I cannot keep… Them… Ope-
“Not now.” Sylvar says, slapping me awake.
Something… I feel something rushing my veins, making me stronger. I have to hold on.
“Right.” I respond, making sure that my grip holds the spear tight.
We both dig our legs deep in the earth, knowing… This is getting worse than we thought.