As we left the city we had to delve even deeper into the Deep Dark at first before we could begin to ascend again. The hot and humid air hit me like a stone launched from Yath'zur's sling at first after our pleasant stay in the much more well tempered city. It was like night and day. I had to bear with it though. There simply was no way around it. It made wonder though in hindsight just how the goblins kept their city at a much more bearable temperature. It had to be either a grand feat of engineering or magic. Possibly both.
For now that was in the past anyway. What mattered now was that Gib and his squad knew this part of the Deep Dark like the insides of their pockets. They knew the way. They knew all the best spots for making camp and where clean water and which edible plant or cave dweller could be found. They held back on the though to not overtax the local flora and fauna. The fresh food was a nice complement for our rations though. There was no doubt about that.
As a result we made good progress. The mood was light as well. Yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that our escorts were constantly on guard. Most of the time we marched and climbed quietly but even when we were exchanging lighthearted banter they always kept their eyes open. We never made camp without a guard. Usually there were three shifts of two guards each, one goblin and one forgeborn. Supposedly their senses complemented each other and with two pairs of watchful eyes nothing nasty could creep up on us by taking out a single guard. Not that anything nasty had gotten close to us yet. Better safe rather than sorry though. With three shorter shifts no one was loosing too much sleep either anyway.
Another thing Gib was adamant about was that no one was to wander off alone. Ever. Never go anywhere with less than two people. Three would be better. That apparently was something of a sore spot with him and his team as they lost someone that way, in an embarrassing and entirely unnecessary incident, on one of their first missions together. No one wanted to go into any details but I could only imagine so many embarrassing ways one could fall victim to a body snatcher or something like that.
Soon after passing the deepest point of our journey, already several days into it, was the first time we encountered someone else. We heard them coming well before we saw them. I could only assume the reverse was true as well as we had just been resting in one of the slightly larger caverns, along a small creek that made its way through the underground. It was the goblin on guard duty who heard them first and raised a silent alarm. Those big ears had to be good for something after all.
Everyone spread out in groups of two to seek cover and held their breath in anticipation, their weapons readied. Gash'zur and I in turn were placed the furthest from whoever was approaching. The two of us were the hardest hitters, of that I was certain, but we didn't really have a clue what we would be dealing with thus neither I nor the giantess protested. If things went bad or worse we could still join the fray. In a way it was good that we were positioned in the back. That way we would have some time to get our bearings before joining an eventual fight.
Anywhere else I might have called them jumpy as we waited quite a while without anything happening. I didn't though. By now I could hear as well, that someone was approaching. Finally, I was afraid I might get cramps soon if I had to stay coiled to spring into action like this much longer, a single goblin squeezed out of one of several other entrances of the cavern. The young woman wore gear similar to the squad of scouts accompanying me and she looked like she had been in a fight recently. One that had been entirely too close for comfort.
She seemed confused and lost. She was out of breath as well. It took her a moment to get her bearings and notice the backpacks we had left in the spot we had been resting at.
None of our companions ventured forth to greet her or offer her any aid though, as she stumbled in that direction. Not right away anyway. Instead they just watched her closely.
I felt bad at first. Anywhere else but here in the Deep Dark it might have appeared as if we were bandits waiting to pounce a single, weary traveler. All I had seen and heard os far suggested that Gib and his squad had reason to be weary though. Thus I decided to watch her more closely as well.
She seemed injured and exhausted. Her gear, what little she still had on her was in disarray and her armor and clothes were torn and bloody in places. Something didn't seem right though. Was it the way she moved? Possible. I wasn't sure though. Was it that she was wounded but didn't sport any bandages or anything of that sort? Maybe. No, I realized, what really irked me was that she had no light on her.
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We all wore little crystal lanterns. In a pinch one could move without in many places thanks to the light spread by some of the plants but those didn't grow everywhere and the illumination provided by them was pretty dim anyway.
At long last, when she had already almost reached our packs one of Gib's squad broke cover to approach her. It was one of the forgeborn and he carried a metallic flask instead of a weapon. “Hey friend! Ye are one of Mae's squad, aren't ye? Ye look like you have seen a spot of trouble or two. Here, have a drink and catch yer breath.” The forgeborn opened the bottle and extended it in the direction of the stranger.
From my vantage point I could see her hand on the dagger he had sheathed at the back of his belt. This had to be a variation of the scene I had experienced at Hearth Forge's gate when we arrived there. In that case the bottle contained some of the goblin's strong spirit.
The stranger nodded at the forgeborn's question and accepted the bottle. It barely reached her mouth. Then the jig was up and I got my first look at what a living, breathing skinwalker looked like. Kind of. The stranger barely got a whiff of what was in the bottle when her features suddenly contorted. For the briefest of moments her features were in constant flux as she, or rather it, lost control. One moment it looked like a young goblin women who had been on the run entirely too long. Then it looked like a mix of a dozen or more people of all kinds. I saw a hint of more than two eyes. For just a moment her fingers distorted into actual claws and there was a hint of wriggling, writhing tentacles where her mouth should have been. It never got a chance to get itself back under control.
The forgeborn struck the moment the skinwalkers mimicry failed. Something that was neither real fingers nor real claws was sent flying as the forgeborn's dagger struck true. Oily blood splattered the cavern walls to that side in a wide arc. The next moment a crossbow bolt struck the thing. Then another and one more. The impacts sent it tumbling back a few steps.
It wasn't going down yet though. A goblin and a forgeborn equipped with halberds attacked next, jumping from cover to pin the thing to the ground. I had thought the weapons to be rather impractical in the closed confines down here, just as I thought that my weapon wasn't exactly best suited for these environs either, but now I could see their use.
Once the thing, that was now writing in pain, morphing through various shapes in desperate attempts to somehow get free, was properly pinned Gib sprung into action. He didn't bother with a weapon though. Instead I could feel him drawing upon the ambient Mana, casting a spell. “Burning Hands!” He discharged it into the thing almost at point blank range, bathing it in searing hot flames from heat to toe, or rather, from top to bottom. He didn't wait to see if that was enough to finish his opponent off either. Instead he drew in yet more Mana and cast the spell again. “Burning Hands!”
The one goblin who hadn't taken part in the skirmish was the one who happened to carry most of the medical supplies. The squad's healer, Xue. She had stayed at my and Gash'zur's side instead, observing everything closely.
Once the thing had stopped writhing and screeching Gib cast the spell one more time for good measure, just in case. Even as he retreated the others kept the charred remains, barely more than soot on cracked stone by this point, pinned in place.
They really didn't want to take any chances and after what I had just seen I could relate.
At long last we got out of cover as well to join the rest as they poured something acidic over what little was left of the skinwalker. It smelled terribly but no one seemed to mind thus I didn't speak up either. Gib was clenching his fists. He seemed upset.
I put a hand on his shoulder. “Problems? Beyond the obvious?”
He took a deep breath and nodded. “That narrow crack it squeezed out leads to a place we will have to go through as well. The colonnade. Ren's squad is supposed to be on patrol in that area and it looks like they ran into trouble. We might run into it as well tomorrow.”