Chapter 4
You have entered: Goblins Den (Level 6)
A single line of message was all Ethan and Jim got as they entered the dark cave. Unable to see even a metre in front of them, the duo decided to get used to the darkness before resuming their trek deeper into the cave.
The shuffling of the two blind men echoed through the thin passageway as Ethan shuffled forward, head twitching at every sound. Surrounded by nothing but darkness; every oddly shaped rock seemed like a goblin just about to jump out at him. They had been in the cave for mere seconds, and yet Ethan was already sorely regretting his actions. The cave had thinned out, forcing Ethan to lead as Jim trailed behind, it wasn’t exactly what Ethan had hoped for, but he didn’t book any arguments.
The space around Ethan suddenly increased as the cavern expanded outwards, creating a large room. He had no idea what was in the room, or what it was used for, but there was comfort in not being in a claustrophobic corridor.
A rock fell from behind the duo, the sudden sound demanding their attention.
*STAB*
Something stabbed into Ethan’s leg as a burning pain quickly engulfed the area where a knife was lodged into his thigh. Relying on instinct, and still unable to see, Ethan lashed out and backhanded what had to be a goblin, sending it flying with his enhanced strength. The first attack landed, the room came alive as the rhythmic taps of feet alerted Ethan and Jim that they were surrounded.
Like a cornered animal, Ethan stabbed, cut, and prodded with his spear at every sound, yet he failed to land a single attack as the goblins laughed, sitting just out of reach. A mixture of pain and humiliation threatened to blow Ethan over, causing him to lose control right there and then. Perhaps the only reason he was able to keep his rationality was thanks to his experience with crippling pain.
Struggling to stay calm, a hand suddenly gripped Ethan’s shoulder, tugging him back. Torn between instinctually attacking or not, he vaguely saw the silhouette of Jim as the older man guided Ethan back the way they came. Reaching the thin passageway by scaring the goblins away, Ethan found himself being forced forwards as Jim held the goblins back.
“C’mon Ethan, move.” Desperation infected Jim’s voice as he stabbed forward blindly. Ethan was unable to see these efforts yet limped forward not wanting to be the reason they both died in this musty cave. Hand covering the back of his thigh where warm blood slowly trickled out, Ethan hobbled forward moving as fast as he could. Anxiety made the escape feel like an eternity, yet light gradually returned as they made their way back to the entrance of their cave.
The sounds of goblins had come to a still once they exited past the thin corridor, yet that did nothing to quell their anxiety as Jim supported Ethan to a safe distance from the cave. Hidden amongst some bushes, Ethan ate the rest of the sootheberries as Jim lost the little bit of calm he had remaining.
“Shit shit shit WhatdoIdo? We need to wrap it up, don’t we?” Ethan let Jims concerns wash over him as a pleasant warmth once again flowed through his body. Eventually pooling at his leg, the itching intensified to an almost unbearable degree as the wound attempted to close. Whilst not fully healed, the sootheberries managed to stop the bleeding and kickstart the recovery process.
“What the hell? How’d ya do that Ethan?” Unaware of the sootheberries it was like Jim had just seen a miracle performed in front of his eyes, well in a way it was a miracle.
“Found these ‘sootheberries’ earlier, they’re just little red ones you can find on bushes here and there. They heal you.” Choosing to tastefully leave out the side affect of constipation, the duo entered a brooding silence. Frankly, that was an absolute disaster. They went in with no plan, no backups and almost died because of it. Getting killed by an orc was one thing, but Ethan refused to die to goblins, even if it was just a fake death.
Ethan considered just leaving the den alone until they levelled up some more, after all it’s not like the cave is just going to up and leave.
“I should’ve made us a torch or something, I’m sorry Ethan. I didn’t realise how dark it would be in there.”
“…You know how to make a fire?”
“Yeah, my old man forced me into boys’ scouts.”
A part of Ethan wanted to berate Jim who was clearly feeling remorse, yet all his other parts went to a certain show where the main character uses fire to smoke out a cave of goblins.
What if…
Trying to pull of a stunt from a story was a great way to die, but the thought of using a fire was just the first stepping stone for the plan forming in Ethan’s mind. Pettiness is a hell of a motivator, and as thoughts of retreating entered his mind, the mocking laughter sounded in Ethan’s ears. Yeah, this was going to be his choice from the beginning.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Speaking up, Ethan easily convinced Jim who was set on getting some sweet rewards, so the two got to scheming.
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Hours later, the sun had begun to fall, casting a warm, amber gaze over the first floor. The sparse rays of sunlight managed to light up the entrance of the goblin’s cave which had undergone some major renovations in a very short amount of time.
Albeit being very risky, Jim and Ethan had gotten to work on their plans as they laboured away. Dragging piles of wood, the two young men stacked the wood up high in preparations for their plan, which luckily weren’t interrupted as the goblins were seemingly unbothered by the grunts of effort coming from the entrance of the cave. Their only visitors were a pair of guards, identical to the pair that had originally guarded the entrance. With little resistance, Jim and George completed their jobs, looking on in pride.
A dozen metres in from the entrance just where the light stopped, a large collection of wood sat. Piled up past their heads, Jim and Ethan had collected every scrap, every fallen branch, anything they could get their hands on and brought it over, resulting in this wooden blockade.
With darkness threatening to engulf the forest, Ethan and Jim nodded to each other as sweat lined their hands. The two had worked hard the past few hours, getting closer in response to their shared efforts.
Clenching a large wooden stick, Jim rubbed his hands with the stick in between on a pile of dry shrubbery. His newfound strength and agility caused a plume of smoke to form instantly as a small pile of embers quickly spread out. Not wasting the precious resource, Jim gently carried the burning pile and placed it right where Ethan had created a little nest for it. Blowing onto the pile, everything went dark for a moment… just before a small blaze appeared.
The fire had spread to a thin wooden stick and slowly ate the delicacy, in seconds the fire went from almost dying, to engulfing the entire blockade. Getting sent back from the heat that threatened to char their skins, a wave of red danced off Ethan’s and Jim’s eyes.
“Holy shit.”
“Holy shit indeed.”
The plan had been simple, smoke the goblins out. With no other caves or offshoot tunnels appearing nearby, Ethan and Jim felt confident that this den had only the single entrance. Although they had also come up with some other contingency plans, they would come later if the fire proved ineffective.
As the roaring flames quickly blocked out all other noise, Ethan and Jim stepped out of the cave and felt the cold air cool their skins. The fire was intense and raging on as it ate away at their stockpile of wood. Ethan had no idea how long it would take, but he was ready to wait it out all night if he needed, the fruits of his pettiness now taking full bloom.
Just as Ethan sat down with his back on the cold cavern wall, a large cracking sound came from the fire. The sound was violent and crisp as a small selection of burning logs was sent falling from a shock. The sound repeated a couple more times, spreading burning logs over the cave floor.
Eyes burning from staring at the violent flame, Ethan made out a purple figure between the burning branches. The figure became more prominent as it pushed the burning blockade away, collapsing to the ground in front of them.
Jim and Ethan watched in shock as the figures black robes burned into its skin, causing blisters to form and rupture along its body. The figure, still outlined in a supernatural purple glow, looked up with a burning fury in its eyes. It was difficult to tell because of the blisters and burnt skin adorning its face and body, but the goblin in front of them was no different to all the others they had come across so far. The only difference was this goblin being dressed in a set of black robes, different to the other goblins filthy rags they considered clothing.
Noticing them, the goblin screamed from the depths of its lungs as the effort sent it into a fit of coughing.
Jim and Ethan weren’t rookie enough to let go of such an opportunity, rushing at their incapacitated foe. Two spears rapidly approached the goblin before cracking in a storm of splinters, breaking around the tangible outline covering the goblins body. Surprised by the turn of events, the duo attempted to send more attacks flying with their secondary weapons before being interrupted.
A pulse originated from the goblin as its eyes regained focus, a black and purple blast sent Jim and Ethan flying back, crashing roughly into the cavern walls. Stunned by the sudden attack, Ethan pushed himself to his feet. That one attack had left his body feeling battered and bruised across every inch, yet yielding here meant agreeing to be killed, so he struggled with all he had.
The goblin finally stopped coughing as it set its sights on Jim who lay slumped against the wall, knocked out cold. The goblin had only vengeance on its mind as it stumbled over to him, the creature was also clearly on its last legs. With weapons being proven ineffective, Ethan was unsure of what to do as the goblin got closer to Jim.
Charging in without a plan would just get both him and Jim killed with nothing to show for it. Should he just run? Surely one of them living is better than both dying, right? Ethan entertained thoughts of fleeing, just before being interrupted by a maniacal laughter. A laughter that had already rang through his ears once today.
Flames danced in his eyes as a rough plan formed. Acting on the plan which seemed likely to end in his death, he rushed forward trying to remain quiet.
The goblin reached Jim as black chains lifted the man up, his wetsuit had torn, revealing a selection of cuts and bruises adorning his body. The goblin reached its gnarled and blistered hand out, ready to inflict untold pain upon the man. Or that was its plan, before a hand grabbed around the creature’s neck, Ethan managed to grab hold successfully, yet no damage was inflicted on the goblin as it smiled, assured of is victory. That was, until, its vision blurred as its small and light body found itself swinging through the air. Unable to compete with gravity, the goblin was sent flying right towards the still burning blockade.
Submerged into the sea of flames, the goblin reached its arm out one last time before being consumed by flames. With two critically injured patients, and a swarm of goblins potentially waiting for their escape, Ethan didn’t even wait to confirm the goblin mages death before dragging both his and Jim’s battered bodies out of the cave.
His muscles and bones creaked in discomfort, yet he continued to stumble away from the cave which left a clear trail of smoke along the dark, starry sky.
Collapsing in exhaustion and unable to take even a step further, Ethan lay face down in the dirt. Finally closing his eyes, notifications blitzed passed his eyes. A discrete burst of energy flooded his veins, but testing this new strength could come tomorrow. For now, sleep was the only thing on his mind.