The cave around them had become a dense maze of plant life, with thick vines crawling up the walls like skeletal fingers reaching from the darkness. The air grew damper as Kaden pressed on, the plants multiplying, their roots intertwining into a tangled web that blanketed the floor. The tendrils seemed to pulse with an eerie energy, their leaves shimmering with an otherworldly sheen.

With Slib draped over his shoulder, Kaden moved swiftly, his bony feet tapping a steady rhythm against the rocky ground. Slib kept squirming, but Kaden paid him no mind. The goblin’s frantic breathing was a constant reminder that danger was fast approaching.

"Master! Go slow!" Slib's voice was strained, muffled as he bounced on Kaden's shoulder. "Slib feel sick... very sick!"

Kaden kept his senses sharp, listening for any sound of pursuit. So far, he heard nothing. If the goblins were trailing them, they weren't close. They could afford to slow down and recover some stamina.

He set Slib down, the little goblin wobbling unsteadily. Reaching out, Kaden steadied him before he could collapse.

The cave had transformed into an underground jungle, a riot of color with every hue of the rainbow represented in a wild array of plants and flowers. A pale red flower had started showing up all around them, appearing in greater numbers the deeper they ventured.

Following behind, Slib was still a little unsteady. He stumbled, bumping into one of the blooms. The goblin reared back, coughing and spluttering.

As if the flower itself had suddenly come alive, a cloud of pale spores erupted from its center, a misty plume that spread far and wide in the damp air. Kaden instinctively stepped back, his empty eye sockets narrowing as he watched the spores swirl around Slib.

At first, Slib just blinked rapidly, rubbing at his eyes. Then, his movements became sluggish, his hands fluttering in the air as if he were trying to swat at invisible flies. His breathing grew heavier, his chest rising and falling with an unsteady rhythm. Kaden noticed the goblin’s pupils had dilated, his gaze turning unfocused and glassy.

“Slib?” Kaden asked, his voice echoing softly in the cavern.

Slib's mouth opened, but no coherent words came out. Instead, a slurred mumble tumbled from his lips, his expression shifting between confusion and wonder. He reached out with one trembling hand, as if trying to grasp something only he could see, his fingers curling around the empty air.

Kaden’s jaw tightened in concern, and he watched carefully, his skull tilting as he tried to make sense of the scene. The air was thick with the spores, their sweet, cloying scent heavy around him. He couldn’t feel their effect, but he could see it taking hold of Slib. The little goblin giggled suddenly, a high-pitched, almost childlike sound, his head swaying back and forth as if in a trance.

“Interesting,” Kaden murmured, more to himself than to Slib. He glanced back toward the tunnel behind them, where the sound of distant footsteps now echoed faintly. The goblins were coming.

Kaden carefully touched one of the pale red flowers. A few spores drifted off, floating lazily before settling on the ground. Kaden looked back at Slib, who was now twirling in place, lost in a hallucinatory dance.

"If it works on him..." Kaden muttered, his mind already racing with possibilities. The goblins behind them were relentless, and he knew he needed every advantage he could get.

Kaden's face shifted into a wry grin as his plan began to take shape. The flowers’ spores could be his key to slowing down the goblins or even incapacitating them entirely. He had no time to waste.

With a swift motion, Kaden tore a strip of cloth from Slib’s ragged shirt, who giggled uncontrollably, his eyes glazed and distant. The goblin hardly seemed to notice, too lost in whatever hallucination the spores had induced. Kaden tied the fabric around Slib’s mouth tightly, hoping it would protect him from inhaling any more of the spores.

"Stay quiet," Kaden hissed. "You're no use to me if you’re babbling."

Slib's head lolled to the side, but the makeshift gag stifled his sounds. Kaden hoisted him back onto his shoulder, moving quickly now, his eyes darting from side to side, searching for the perfect spot to lay his trap. The cave's interior seemed to stretch on forever, with the pale red flowers becoming denser. Ahead, a small clearing filled with the strange blooms caught his eye.

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There, Kaden thought. That will do.

He dashed forward, careful to avoid disturbing the flowers. Placing Slib down gently, he crouched low and began inspecting the ground, looking for any rocks or loose stones. He needed something to throw, something to create a distraction. His hand brushed against a small, jagged rock, and he picked it up, weighing it in his palm. Perfect.

Then he took a moment to survey the surroundings. He could already hear the distant chatter of the approaching goblins, their grunts and growls echoing through the cave. They were close. Too close. Kaden needed to act fast.

He positioned himself near the patch of flowers, crouching behind a large boulder that provided decent cover. With one hand, he held Slib down to keep the little goblin from wandering off. The other hand clutched the stone tightly, ready to launch it at the cluster of flowers when the moment was right.

The goblins' footsteps grew louder. Kaden could hear them clearly. Their guttural voices carried through the cave, a mix of impatience and anger.

Kaden readied himself. His grip tightened around the rock, his mind focused, his senses heightened. As soon as he saw the first flicker of movement at the edge of the tunnel, he hurled the rock toward the flowers with all his might.

The stone struck the base of one of the blooms, and, as he hoped, the flowers erupted in a cloud of spores. A thick, pale mist filled the air, spreading quickly through the confined space.

The goblins hesitated at the sight of the sudden cloud, their growls turning into confused mutters. They began to cough and swat at the spores, but it was already too late. One by one, they stumbled, their eyes widening, their limbs growing heavy. The same sluggishness that had taken hold of Slib now affected them. A few fell to their knees, their weapons clattering to the ground.

Kaden watched from his hiding spot, a satisfied grin forming on his skeletal face. The goblins were already swaying, their movements jerky and uncoordinated. The spores were working faster than he had anticipated.

"That’s right," he muttered, "breathe deep."

Within moments, the goblins were staggering, their eyes glazed over, mirroring Slib's earlier daze. Some of them giggled; others slumped to the ground, their bodies limp and unresponsive. Kaden didn’t know how long the effect would last, but for now, he had the advantage.

He stepped out from his hiding spot, moving with the fluid grace of one who had just outwitted his foes. Slib, still under the effects but more subdued with the gag in place, remained slumped behind the boulder. Kaden's grin widened as he looked down at the incapacitated goblins, sprawled out among the flowers, trapped in their hallucinatory dreamscape.

"Well done, my little friends," he chuckled softly, a mocking edge to his voice. "You've made this much easier for me."

Kaden's grin faded into a cold, calculating expression. His fingers flexed, his bony knuckles cracking in the dim light of the cave. There was no room for mercy. The world was an unforgiving place.

Without a word, he reached for one of the many weapons attached to his belt—a short sword. The blade gleamed with a dull, malevolent light, its jagged edge almost barbaric. He glanced at Slib, lost in his daze, and then back to the goblins sprawled across the ground, some of them giggling like children, others mumbling incoherently, all blissfully unaware of the death that loomed.

Kaden moved swiftly, his footsteps silent on the damp cave floor. The first goblin lay just a few feet away, its eyes half-closed, staring up at the ceiling as if it could see the stars beyond the stone. Kaden wasted no time. With a fluid motion, he plunged the sword into the goblin’s throat. A brief shudder, a gurgling noise, then stillness. No scream, no struggle—just the swift, brutal end of a life.

He pulled the blade free and moved to the next one. This goblin, slightly larger than the first, seemed to notice Kaden's approach, its glazed eyes flickering with a brief moment of recognition. But before it could react, the sword was already sliding between its ribs, piercing its heart. Its body twitched, a single gasp escaping its lips, and then it, too, fell silent.

Kaden worked methodically, moving from one goblin to the next, his skeletal frame a blur of motion in the dim light. Each strike was precise, each thrust aimed for a vital point. Throats, hearts, lungs—he knew where to strike, where to cut to ensure they would not rise again. The flowers’ spores still hung thick in the air, masking any scent of blood or death, and the goblins, caught in their hallucinatory stupor, offered no resistance.

He reached the fifth goblin, lying on its back with its mouth open in a silent laugh. Kaden paused briefly, watching the creature’s chest rise and fall in slow, shallow breaths. Its face, twisted into a manic grin, almost seemed peaceful, as if dreaming of something beautiful far beyond this cave. Dismissing the thought, Kaden brought the blade down.

One by one, he cut them down, a quiet, deadly efficiency guiding his hand. The last goblin, a scrawny creature with a missing ear and a tattered loincloth, seemed to sense the end coming. Its eyes widened, a flicker of fear crossing its face, but it was too far gone to move. Kaden ended it quickly, his blade sliding into its neck with a practiced ease.

Silence fell over the cave once more, broken only by the soft rustling of leaves and the distant drip of water. Kaden stood over the bodies, wiping his sword clean on a goblin's tattered clothes, before slipping it back into his belt.