by Tim Johnson
They stuck to the path, passing traders who cleared out their way. In the distance Christian saw farmers toiling. Eventually, the cobbled road petered out into a red clay path.
They followed it up a small hill. On the top was a small rocky outcrop. From far away it looked like a collection of massive boulders, but in the center was a thick dark cut, the opening of a cave. Beside the cave mouth were six or seven scattered tents bearing the flags of the Red Fist. Christian could see Sulfur’s men camped outside. Fires burned. It seemed like the camp had been here for a while.
They trotted their horses through the camp and Sulfur’s men stood in respect as they passed. Level 15s. They eyed Christian coldly and he could feel them leer at Alexia as she passed.
Finally, they reached the edge of the cave and dismounted.
“Welcome to the Astral Caves,” Sulfur said. “Beneath this red dirt is an expansive cave system filled with precious gems and Goblin scum. We’ve explored much of it, but today we will go deeper than ever before. We are looking for the Goblin Lord’s treasures, and we know they are down there, somewhere. Knight Lord Sark wants them and so we won’t be coming back until we have them.”
It felt like to Christian that everyone received the quest notification at the same time.
Quest: Astral Caves Treasure Raid.
Inside these caves great treasures lie, but go wary in the dark. You must survive and find the Astral Diamond for Knight Lord Sark.
Sulfur held out his palm and a wooden stake appeared in it, the tip wrapped in rags. It ignited by itself. “Christian, you will be our light bearer. Lead the way.”
Christian stepped forward, feeling the eyes of everyone on him as they gave him the most dangerous job. He snatched the torch from Sulfur and walked forward into the darkness of the cave.
11
Christian squinted in the gloom, trying to make out movement ahead. The dancing flame of the torch made it seem like every surface was alive and in his mind’s eye he imagined grotesque creatures coming at him, screaming from the dark.
He heard a scuffling, scampering sound ahead and froze.
Sulfur shoved him in the back. “What are you scared of? You can’t truly die, wanderer, so get a move on.”
The corridor was tight and set with fixed timber beams above them. The war party had to go down the slippery red rocks one at a time. It felt foolish to Christian to rush down into the darkness like this.
They had been walking steadily downhill for hours, deeper and deeper into the cave system. They’d made several turns and at times the tunnel had widened before narrowing again but it always sloped down.
At first Christian could see the debris of mining, but that had quickly morphed into the echoes of former battles. Arrows, bones and discarded broken weapons littered the place. They found the littered remains of a man, his bones shiny, like they had been licked clean. As they went deeper the rocks had turned from red clay to black.
In the war party was Christian, Alexia, Kit the Samurai, Kari the Ranger, and the Archer, Ardios. The rest of Sulfur’s men had stayed up above.
The tunnel branched into three corridors.
“Stop here,” Sulfur said.
They passed round a water skin as they rested.
A map materialized in Sulfur’s hand. He opened it up and, as he did, the dungeon map appeared as a projection in Christian’s vision. Reaching forward Christian could interact with it, pinching in and out to magnify or zoom out.
Finally, something I understand.
He could see the areas that had already been explored, and places where the routes abruptly ended and where Sulfur’s exploration had cut off.
Maps are something that Christian understood very well. Prior to missions they would always memorize an area and it was something he could do faster than anyone else.
He saw where the straight manmade mines had met the organic twisting tunnels of the Goblins. He blocked out the paths in his head, seeing them as shapes.
Within two minutes he had the entire cave system memorized. Not just that, but he had seen a pattern.
Several very angular paths from deep in the system emanated from the same direction. To the untrained eye they might be nothing, as they were tunneled around tough rock. But to Christian’s trained eye the way tunnels switched back on each other was very deliberate. They created blind spots every fifty feet or so. An enemy in pursuit couldn’t get a clean shot off, and, if need be, you could leave just a single man behind to cause a lot of trouble. They were escape tunnels.
Two of these paths led in the same direction, deep into the dungeon before they were cut off, unexplored.
Looking at the thicker corridors, only one led off in a similar direction to the
escape tunnels, again unexplored. From that, Christian could make an educated guess at where the central part of the cave would be. Or at least the spot where he would create his base if he was living down here. If he had to deduce where the Goblin Lord’s treasure would be, he would say it was there.
He zoomed out. They needed to go back and take an earlier left to meet up with that part of the cave system. They were already facing in totally the wrong direction.
Sulfur closed the map and pursed his lips. “We will take this center path ahead.”
Christian looked over at Alexia. She gave him a questioning look and seemed to understand he had something to say to her.
As they walked, he thought on how he could use this knowledge to his advantage. Should he try and break off and complete the quest by himself? He had a feeling he wouldn’t get far. He could tell Sulfur his reasoning, but Sulfur would probably take it as an offense. So, he decided to sit on it for now and see if there would be a way to leverage it later. He was grossly outmatched and needed every advantage he could get down here.
They pushed down the center corridor. Christian lit the way, with Sulfur directly behind him.
“Enemy ahead,” Ardios said, his voice a scratchy rasp; the Archer must have a detection ability. Weapons scraped from sheathes and Christian drew his in turn.
Ahead, he heard the scuffle and tell-tale clink of armor in the dark.
Here it comes.
Next to him, Kari held her hand out and one of the glowing orange baubles emerged from her palm, lifting from her fingers and floating up in the air. It followed their every move. Christian hid the burning torch inside his Inventory.
They moved ahead, the glowing bauble lighting the way. In the darkness ahead Christian saw reflections, the orange glow of the light glinting against the edges of a dozen sharp weapons.
Then all hell broke loose.
The tip of Sulfur’s sword erupted, the laser cutting through the air like lightning in the night, and for a second the tunnel was bright as day. Lit up were dozens of Goblins. Standing five feet five tall, their skin black and shiny, sinewy with muscle and their eyes huge and bulbous. Their torn ears flapped against their heads as they screeched and leapt away from the laser, a few unlucky ones sliced in half by its power. They quickly recovered and charged forward. Their armor was black barbed with black spikes. They raised their clubs and axes with an ear-piercing scream and sprinted forwards. Their descriptions came into Christian’s vision. All were level 3’s to 5’s.
Christian raised his sword just in time to meet the powerful downward strike of a club from one of the creatures. He parried the blow and shunted forward, trying to knock it back with a shoulder-barge. It was like hitting a small wall and it was Christian that fell back from the smaller creature.
It must have a much higher strength stat than me.
The monster roared, drool swinging from its thick lips and it went to lift its club again, but Christian was faster, swinging his sword and catching the Goblin across the chest.
Christian’s strike had taken about a third of Goblin’s health. He followed up with another attack, but the goblin parried his blow. Their weapons locked and for a moment Christian was face-to-face with the monster. The Goblin was tw
ice as strong as Christian and shoved Christian back with ease. Christian felt the thrum of an arrow pass his ear and it struck the Goblin in the neck. The Goblin stumbled backwards, holding onto the arrow shaft and then the arrow exploded, killing the creature instantly.
Level Up!
Congratulations, you are now Level 3!
+5 Stat points to distribute.
New skill unlocked: Frost Bolt I
Christian didn’t have a moment to savor the victory, nor the new skill. As the Goblin fell, another replaced it; this one wider, more muscular and taller than the rest. ‘Level 5’ hung above its head.
Damn.
It swung its ax. Christian parried the blow, but it was too powerful. Christian’s block collapsed and the ax-head met Christian’s chest plate.
Damage: 15
Christian’s Health: 75/100
Christian stumbled from the impact, while the beast lifted its ax up for another blow.
Alexia slipped forward next to Christian and shot it point-blank. The Goblin screamed. Christian swung his sword, which bit though half the creature’s arm. It howled and another arrow from Alexia penetrated its skull to silence it.
Christian stood side by side with Alexia, his respect for her rising to new heights. She is no mere civilian at all but an angel of death with that bow.
Beside him, Sulfur was cleaving through the monsters like they were made of black butter. His armor was covered in Goblin gore.
Soon there were just three Goblins left. Kari ran one through and the Samurai decapitated the other. The last one fled, turning and running away on all fours back down the tunnel.
Christian could hear the scampering of its feet away down the tunnel into the black.
“Get after it,” Sulfur growled. “First one to catch that little bastard gets twenty gold.”
The quest notification pinged in Christian’s vision and, as one, the team charged. The bauble lit the corridor perfectly, flying through the corridor and following their every move. Ahead in the gloom they caught the glimpse of two black hind legs as the creature rounded the tunnel ahead.
Sulfur pushed past Christian, charging like a bull. They rounded another corridor, the little monster was ahead, still in their vision. It was galloping on all fours like a hairless, slimy black dog. Sulfur’s sword glowed blue and the laser blast from the tip caught nothing but the rock of the tunnel. Above, dust and debris cascaded down.
“Damnit!” Sulfur shouted.
Hot headed idiot, Christian thought, doubting the structural engineering abilities of a horde of Goblins.
They followed the sound of the Goblin’s claws on stone. Christian heard a faint ‘pop’ and suddenly they were plunged into darkness again. Kari’s glowing baubles only had a limited lifetime.
“Keep running,” Sulfur roared. “Christian, light the way.”
Christian managed to re-equip his burning torch without falling ass over heels.
The flame was enough to uncover the next few meters ahead. They followed the corridor at a breakneck speed, when the sides of the tunnel abruptly fell away.
They had made it into a large cavern. It seemed to be a dead-end. On the far side they saw Goblins scaling the top of the cavern wall. There was a ledge and he could just about make out a small gap in the rock. The creature ran the length of the ledge and pushed itself though the tiny hole, escaping them unscathed.
The team stopped, panting. A deep groan echoed out in the gloom, so deep he felt it in his belly as much as heard it.
Christian lifted his torch high, and the huge stalactites on the high cavern ceiling cast long dancing shadows across the space. He thought he could see something move slowly, unfolding in the dark at the back corner of the cavern.
“Ardios, Alexia, get behind us,” Sulfur said. His voice sounded flat; his bravado wiped away. “Kari, on my right. Give us some light. Kit, on my left. Christian, get behind.”
Christian moved as instructed. Kari threw a bauble up into the air which bathed the cavern in a warm orange glow.
The creature before them was a giant Goblin. Twelve feet at least, and whereas its brethren’s eyes were huge and bulbous, its eyes were tiny and pig-like, deep set under a sloped brow. Long arms hung down at its sides and it carried a massive war hammer. Drool swung from its lower jaw as it let out a deep menacing growl.
Goblin Savage
Level 25
Level 25? Christian thought miserably.
“Archers!” Sulfur called.
A volley of arrows flew. Alexia’s hands moved in a blur, likely some special ability she had, making it almost too fast for his eye to follow. Under the cover of arrows, Sulfur, Kari and Kit ran towards the creature. Christian followed behind.
The monster seemed to sense Sulfur was the main threat and targeted him first. He swept his war hammer in an arc directly at Sulfur who had to dive out the way to avoid the blow.
Christian tried to flank the monster, but it turned, fast for a such a big creature, and swatted him, almost lazily. Christian spun across the cavern floor.
Savage Slap
Damage: 20
Christian’s Health: 55/100
He gritted his teeth and pushed himself up again. Ahead Kit was elegantly spinning, dancing and dodging blow after blow as the monster tried unsuccessfully to whack him.
Another volley of arrows hit the creature. Kari threw one of the glowing baubles at the creature and it exploded like a grenade. The grenade did 50 damage, taking off less than 5 percent of the monster’s health.
So, it has a health of over 1000.
The monster stumbled from the impact of the grenade, stepping past Kit, now with nothing between it and the archers. Kari already had another fire bauble in her palm, but the monster roared and swung at her. She stupidly tried to parry the blow, but the hammer lifted her off her feet and sent her smashing into the side of the cavern wall, sending the fire bauble bouncing along the cavern floor.
There was now nothing between the Goblin Savage and the archers. Ardios leapt forward, passing beneath the monster’s long legs. Alexia froze, her hands trembling as she notched her bow, while the monster lifted its war hammer. She let her arrow fly and it hit the monster square in the face, exploding as it did. The creature staggered back, wiping its face and roaring in pain.
Christian charged forward with a shout, channeling his icy anger into his blow. He stuck his sword deep into the creature’s side.
Ice Strike I
Damage: 30
Mana Cost: 25
Mana: 75/100
The creature pivoted and saw Christian. It swung its hammer at him, but he managed to dive out of the way, so the hammer only grazed.
Glancing Blow
Damage: 30
Christian’s Health: 25/100
He rolled and felt the hammer pound the dirt where his head had been.
Alexia used the distraction to reload and shot the creature in the back. Irate, the Goblin turned clumsily, swinging at thin air, for Alexia had run past it, stopping to pull Christian up to his feet.
Sulfur and Kit pushed forward, and Christian saw the tip of Sulfur’s sword start to shine blue.
About damn time.
Sulfur held out his sword and the laser cut through the air, catching the Goblin Savage full in the chest. Christian watched as its Health Bar was decimated, losing nearly a quarter of its remaining health in one shot.
Sulfur’s laser must do around 200 damage. Enough to kill me twice over.
The monster staggered back, leaning against the mouth of the tunnel the way they had come in.
The party rallied behind Sulfur. The Goblin Savage then held up its war hammer. From the top of the weapon, a green smoke cascaded down.
What is this? Poison?
Christian watched in horror as the creature’s Health Bar re-filled to the max 1000/1000.
The entire party was now at the back of the cavern, cut off from the way they had come, and with a fully regenerated Goblin Savage closin
g in on them.
Kari had limped to Sulfur’s side. Kit was on the other side of Sulfur, readying his katana.
Christian ran to Alexia, staring up the cavern wall, the way the little Goblin had gone.
By his foot was the discarded bauble that had been struck out of Kari’s hand. Suddenly an idea formed in his mind.
“Alexia, we need to get to higher ground. Climb up with me.”
He placed the bauble in his inventory and then threw himself up the craggy face of the back wall. He could hear the roar of Goblin Savage while he and Alexia frantically shimmied up the wall. The wall was about fifteen feet high with easy footholds. They wouldn’t be safe from the creature on the little ledge above, but it would give them the height advantage he needed for his plan.
They were now above the battle. The Savage was defending itself from the team’s coordinated attacks.
“There,” Christian said, pointing to a massive stalactite that dominated the center of the cavern’s ceiling. “Can you use the explosive shot?”
Alexia smiled. Her arrow zipped through the cavern, pinged off the stalactite and exploded at the back of the cavern. Shards and chunks of rock tumbled down from the ceiling above. It seemed like the entire cavern was unstable, yet somehow the stalactite stood firm.
Damnit. Now what?
The battle waged on below. The team had the monster surrounded, but it launched another special attack, swinging its war hammer around in a great whirlwind.
The move sent Sulfur reeling, Kit spinning away and Kari rolling out of range. Suddenly, the party was on the other side of the Goblin Savage, away from the cavern wall and back to the entrance.
Sulfur waved up at Christian and Alexia, gesturing with his other hand for his team to get behind him.