We treaded through the dark narrow corridor with the same formation that led us back to the wider passage which we left behind to get here. We didn’t talk, only the occasional grunt could be heard in the tight space.

My ears twitched anxiously, but I couldn’t catch any unusual noise, which somewhat frustrated me. Yet in the end I brushed it off, as being paranoid or me being unused to my new body.

After traveling quite some time, we could finally see the entrance to the main passage that led back to the outpost.

My ears twitched again, catching the pitter patter sounds of kicked up gravel. An ominous sensation took root in my stomach and I instinctively grasped onto the shoulder of Emrum, who was walking right in front of me, just behind Tum.

I whispered into his ears in a serious tone. — “Something is wrong…”

Emrum immediately grabbed onto Tum’s shoulder, stopping him from moving forward. Our entire column stopped descending into a nervous silence. The dwarfs grasped the handle of their weapons or shields, glancing either behind us or forward to the end of the narrow tunnel.

Skod spoke up behind me. — “There is nowhere to go, but forward. If we turn around now, we won’t find our way back to the outpost before night.”

I heard Tymur voice speaking from further back. — “That’s true, but walking into an ambush doesn’t sit well with me either.”

Tum said to that. — “There is no certainty if there is truly an ambush though.” — He paused, then added a few more words. — “Still, she is an elf. If anyone among us could sense it, it’s her.”

Emrum smiled, ominously. As he turned around, half way grabbing my shoulder and pulled me closer. I was quite surprised by his action and didn’t really know how to react, only blinking stupidly at him.

“… Say Lora, have you rested enough to repeat that burst of light thing you did back in the cavern?” — The man whispered into my ear and my eyes widened with a new realization.

Nodding quickly, whispering back. — “Yes, I think so.”

He squeezed my arm and said. — “Then do it when I say so.” — Then he turned to the rest of the team, whispering a few words to them before we resumed our progress..

I had a good enough idea about his plan, grasping my staff in my sweaty palms. Heartbeat surprisingly steady for the circumstances. I was too focused on casting my spell right, didn’t have the spare time to panic.

As we neared the end of the narrow tunnel, I heard the loud voice of Emrum, cutting through the still silence of the cave. — “Lora, now!”

I raised my staff above our heads and channeled a burst of power into the silver rod, which immediately reacted with a silvery burst of light.

Right before we entered the wider corridor, filling it with a sharp, blinding sphere of light so alien in this constant darkness.

As if on cue, I heard the unholy screeches of various humanoid beings. The sounds made my skin crawl, and I was immediately overcome with goosebumps. I looked around, seeing the small thin figures grasping their faces in an attempt to hide their eyes from the sharp light.

Then I was pushed out of the way, as Skod and Tymur ran past me, straight into the line of struggling creatures.

I looked after their silhouettes in a daze, noticing that Emrum, and Tum had already run ahead. Then the first earsplitting screams cut through the musty air.

“SCRAAAAAAAAAEEEE!”

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Heavy slashes of metal clashing against skin and meat, screams followed by the numb sounds of falling bodies, and sounds of death were the only things that surrounded me in a matter of seconds.

I grasped my staff, with all my strength channeling my waning reserves into the powerful light spell. That was the only thing which held back the strange gray creatures. Which I suspected to be goblins. There were at least ten of the deceptively human like things armed with surprisingly sophisticated weapons. Their bodies were even covered in crudely made leather armor in most places.

Luckily, half of the goblins were already laying on the ground in their own pool of black blood.

I shuddered seeing the familiar poisonous looking substance. I saw it on Emrum’s sword when I first ran into him a week ago.

Cold sweat covered my body as I noticed a tight feeling growing around my temples. Then, just like that, my spell gave out, my knees crumbling under my weight. I slid down to the ground, grasping my staff desperately for support.

“Oh… shit, no-no-no… not right now! Stand up!” — I commanded my legs, but it was for naught. They didn’t budge.

I glanced around the suddenly much darker and much scarier cave. Only now realizing that a few lit torches had been thrown down to the cave floor, allowing the dwarfs just enough light to continue their battle without pause.

I didn’t even notice when that happened. None the less, I heaved a sigh of relief.

Pulling myself together, I decided to crawl behind a nearby rock in an attempt to get out of the enemy’s sight. Since the disappearance of my spell, the battle wasn’t half as one sided after all.

The goblins or whatever they were fought back with the ferociousness of rabid animals, except there was a cunning intelligence glinting in their black eyes. Still, they knew when to back off, at least to some extent.

Six of the goblins were dead, or were soon to be. The remaining five didn’t seem too eager to take on the four dwarfs, who clearly had the better equipment in every sense of the word.

I felt a chill run up my back, peeking around the rock which I used as a cover. I looked around, ears twitching in anxiety until my eyes met with one of the goblins. He was looking straight into my eyes, a white skull like pattern painted on his face, making those hollow black eyes look like I stared right into the face of death.

The creature made an unmistakable gesture towards me when he pulled his bloody thumb in front of his throat in a cutting motion while grinning at me with dripping rage and blood thirst.

I gulped while leaning back into the cover of the rock, unconsciously.

Then the remaining four goblins retreated. In the meantime, another one was cut down through the combined effort of the dwarfs, making it to a total of seven.

I didn’t know how long I was staring after the escaped goblins. The next thing I remember was that I felt a heavy hand grasping my shoulder, and a soft voice talking into my ear.

“Lora, are you all right?” — Emrum’s familiar voice spoke to me. I nodded rigidly. Still staring after the goblins, as if they would come back at any moment. — “Look at me, girl.” — Yes, I am a girl now… I felt a gentle hand grab my chin and turn it towards the man.

I winced seeing the blood and dirt covered sight of my friend, then the possibility of them being injured came to my mind and I tried to stand up, with little success.

“Are any of you injured?” — I asked quickly, unsure if I could do anything about it even if they were.

Emrum, smiled, seeing my reaction, and patted my head, which I barely noticed at the time.

“Calm your horses, lass. We are fine. Only superficial injuries, expected from any combat. Once again, thanks to you.” — I blinked but nodded, appreciatingly. I have seen firsthand the effect of my light spell on those creatures. This situation could have easily ended up with us being the ones laying on the cold floor of the cave.

The image of that terrifying goblin jumped to the forefront of my mind, and the possible things that it might do to me… I was a girl now, a thing I still tended to forget… I felt bile coming up my throat, but I forcefully swallowed it back.

I felt a pair of hands slip under my knees and back, lifting me off the ground with familiar ease.

This time, I didn’t struggle against his hold.

“You are shivering…” — Emrum noted in a low tone, but turned silent after I gave him a warning glance.

With that done, the others picked up some of the useful gear from the killed goblins and cut off their right ears.

Tymur, catching my disgusted glance, explained monotonously that proof of a killed monster could be exchanged for extra payment, both in status and money.

Only then did we head back to the outpost. The rest of the way was thankfully uneventful.

Still, I couldn’t shake off the sensation that something was watching us from the darkness.

Also, with recent reminders of my new gender… I finally realized what Skod meant by introducing his son to me…

Then I felt like crying.