Touch of Fate

Chapter 150: Slaying Goblins

Tom turned out to be a grizzled man in his forties who made a living as a hunter and trapper. Much like the other inhabitants of the sleepy pastoral village, he seemed generally unconcerned about the goblin infestation, and went on at great length to explain why the adventurers weren't really necessary.

"You see, it's cheaper for the village to pay a band of adventurers to clear out the goblins, than it would be to hire some townsfolk to do so, what with us being too sensible to risk our lives for such a small amount of money." Tom was expounding on his belief while casually walking along the forest trail.

"Uh-huh. Say how much longer do you think this is going to be?" Mike asked, unable to conceal his growing impatience with the infuriating man.

"Not long, nearly there. Anyway, folk around these parts are made of sterner stuff than your average city dweller. If it came right down to it, we'd come from all over the Lower Fold and wipe them wretched bastards from the face of Ea, but a measly score of goblins is hardly worth the effort. No, it's much more economical to get you adventurers to do it."

"You said it wasn't long a half of an hour ago. How much farther is it really?" Mike demanded, although he was a little surprised to hear the word 'economical' come out of this man. He assumed it must be some fluke of his translation magic.

"Now, now, young man. Don't be impatient. We've got another few hills to cover, and we'll be there. Speaking of hills, let me tell you, there is a family that lives in the hills to the northwest which makes the best moonshine." Mike started tuning the man out. He evidently didn't require an active audience.

[Well, I'm sure the other adventurers are doing fine. They'll probably be done with the request before I even get there at this rate.]

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"Fall back!" Morgan yelled, his voice garbled by the blood which dribbling from his mouth while he braced himself to block the attack of the Goblin Warrior.

Ruby took one last look at the Rank 4 adventurer, as the group of fleeing newbies rounded a bend in the cave, taking the light with them. She saw the silhouettes of the rest of their pursuers as they caught up with their de-facto rearguard. With a chill, she noticed the grotesque figure of the thing which had driven them to flee in the first place.

"Shit! They're in front of us!" Lonnie called, panic evident in his voice. He was fumbling with an arrow when two of the others surged past.

"They're just goblins! Quickly! We need to break through." Ophelia commanded, while stabbing forward with her spear, impaling one of the screeching monsters. Ethan followed closely behind, sword moving in a mechanical manner, a thin-lipped look of terror on his face.

Ruby tried to recall her training, but the sounds of scrabbling claws on the stone passage behind her was making it impossible to concentrate. All she wanted to do was get away, and when a gap appeared in the ranks of her party members, her feet pushed her forward of their own accord.

"Ruby! What are you doing?" Came Ophelia's cry of despair.

A goblin appeared in her path, armed with a sharpened stick, a wicked grin on its face. She lashed out with her staff instinctively, smashing the creature to the ground. It twitched a few times, then laid still, either unconscious or dead. However, she had no time to exult in this little victory, as the sounds of pursuit had gotten closer.

Breathing coming in panicked gasps, she clawed her way forward, past the road block of goblins and into the empty corridors, fear guiding her way forward.

"Wait! Ruby! The light!" Ophelia called after her.

She ran for her life, tears of despair and guilt coursing down her face. In her hands was the bloodstained staff with illumination crystal mounted at the top. The last source of light left to the group after they'd lost their torches. Ruby ran, leaving the other three in the dark.

However, she didn't make it far. In her panic, she barely paid attention to where she was going, so overpowering was the desire to simply get away. As such she slammed headfirst into a solid barrier, nearly breaking her nose in the process. Stunned, it took her a few moments to gather her wits. When she did, it was all she could do to control the rise of bile in her throat.

A Goblin Lord stood over her, one of the extremely rare goblins that had succeeded in reaching the third tier. They were well know amongst the members of the Guild as 'newbie killers,' due to their tendency to appear amongst their lesser kin when least expected.

"Nonononoooo!" She yelled, trying to crawl away as quickly as possible. Despair filled her heart, as an iron grip encircled one of her ankles, pulling her back. "Noooo!"

A distant part of her mind, not bound by terror, detected the sharp sound of wind, and suddenly the pressure on her leg disappeared. Scrambling until she hit a wall, she glanced back, and in the flickering light of the now cracked illumination crystal, she saw a pile of viscera where the Goblin Lord had once stood. Most horrifying, however, was the severed hand still clutching onto her ankle.

She attacked the thing with her hands, ripping it free from its death grasp, and flinging it away. Catching another glimpse of the piled body parts, her stomach twisted, and the contents of her lunch spilled across the floor.

"Hmm, no useful components, although I wasn't really expecting much. Anyway, are you alright miss?" A calm male voice penetrated the fog of her mind. Turning quickly, she caught the sight of a human male standing calmly by the vivisected Goblin Lord. His features were obscured by the hood of his cloak, with the exception of a pair of golden eyes that seemed to glow in the dim light. Despite this slightly disturbing feature, he had an aura that seemed to ooze confidence and power in a manner that was almost soothing, gentle.

Ruby was at a loss for words, as a well of emotions threatened to overwhelm her. Relief was foremost, since it no longer seemed like she would die in this stinking pit, however, guilt followed soon after. She had abandoned her comrades, leaving them in this cave of horrors without even a light to see by. They must be dead by now, and it was her fault.

Another surge of bile erupted from her stomach, as she doubled over again to vomit on the floor.

"Well, that's a new reaction for me. I'd say take a moment to calm down, but I suspect time is of the essence right now. Where's the rest of your group?" The man said with a long-suffering sigh, as if this was somehow a tiresome experience for him.

Between nauseated gasps, Ruby was able to squeeze a few words out. "I'm not sure...they were coming...I just ran.....I left them...oh gods..." Her vision blurred as a fresh batch of tears forced themselves out onto her cheeks.

The golden-eyed man frowned. "I see. Well, don't beat yourself up too much. This is all far beyond your capabilities. Can you walk?"

She nodded hesitantly, using her staff to leverage herself onto her feet, only to gasp in pain. Her injured ankle gave out, causing her to collapse down to her side as blinding spikes of agony streaked up her leg.

In the haze of suffering, she was dimly aware of the man drawing near. "Definitely broken, and it looks like it needs to be set. What a bother. Alright Ruby, what I'm about to do is going to hurt, but only for a second."

[How does he know my-]

Pure agony accompanied the sickening sound of bone grinding against bone, causing her consciousness to dim. After a few seconds the pain faded, and her strength returned. In fact she felt more energized than she had been for weeks. She looked down at her perfectly healed ankle in shock.

[A healer! And a powerful one at that.]

"Who..." She started.

"No time for questions. We have to save you companions, first. Once that's done with, we can worry about introductions"

Feeling ashamed for having forgotten at all, she stood and followed the strange man as he took off down the corridor.

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Mike took another look at the newbie he'd rescued, trying to figure out why she looked familiar.

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Ruby

Age: 19

Race: Beastman (Dragon)

Class: Apprentice Elementalist

Title: Water Touched

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[I really need to do some research on beastmen. There seem to be a lot of varieties.]

Ruby was slender and bronze skinned. Shoulder length, wavy red hair was left untied. A matching set of robes, now dirtied from her flight, revealed little of her lithe form. She clutched a strange staff topped with a cracked crystal that was glowing with flickering light. Patches of red scales could be seen on her arms, neck and cheeks.

[I could swear I've seen this combination of traits somewhere. Well, with the exception of her facial expression.]

Perhaps as could be expected of an adventurer who had abandoned her companions in the heat of battle, her features were twisted with a sort of horrified guilt that spoke of a lasting psychological trauma. He hoped that her friends were still alive, although considering some of the literature on goblins maybe that wouldn't a good thing.

"Hey, quick question. Do goblins by any chance keep people alive for any reason?" Mike asked, wanting to prepare himself for what he was about to walk in to.

"W-what do you mean?" The beastman replied confusedly, a hint of terror in her voice.

Sighing internally, and regretting this topic of conversation, Mike continued. "Like do the goblins use people for anything?"

"Um...food....sometimes." She answered, suddenly looking a great deal more drawn and horrified than before.

[I'm a little relieved, but I feel like I shouldn't be.]

A woman's scream echoed down the corridor. She sounded like she was in pain.

"Ophelia! That was one of my party members!" Ruby exclaimed.

"I'm picking up the pace. Try to keep up." Mike said quietly, speeding up his steps.

After a few moments, he heard Ruby's ragged breathing start to fall behind. He wasn't sure what he expected. One look told him that she was a classic mage-type, and therefore lacked in terms of physical fitness. He supposed he'd been spoiled by Tal's capabilities.

[Is this really a dragon beastman? I feel like they should be more athletically talented.]

He nevertheless pressed on, knowing that other lives were in the balance. Rounding a corner, he caught sight of an ongoing battle. Three figures were engaging in a ragged fighting retreat against a horde of skinny, green-skinned humanoid creatures the size of a human child.

The newbie adventurers were on the verge of being overrun, and each was covered in a host of wounds. It was surprising to see the spear wielding woman in front even moving, considering the dagger that had been planted in her ribs. Her wheezing, rattling breaths betrayed a collapsing lung, something that the surrounding goblins seemed to notice as well. They began to close in tighter, malicious grins on their faces.

Thinking about the situation for a moment, Mike concentrated his mana, sending it into the rock of the surrounding cavern. He needed to focus on this bit to avoid hitting the adventurers.

A gasping Ruby finally appeared in the room, and taking in the situation in front of them, managed to call out in horror. "Ophelia! No!"

The three adventurers fighting for their lives spared a brief moment to look in their direction, and Mike didn't fail to notice the expressions of animosity on the faces of the two men. The woman Ophelia looked too injured to notice.

While anticipating the awkward situations to come, Mike finished his magic. He simply summoned a wide pillar of stone, and forced it to rise suddenly, crushing the crowd of goblins against the ceiling of the cavern and nearly wiping them out in an instant. A few stragglers that managed to evade the fate of their fellows were dispatched with a round of wind blades.

Feeling the stares of the adventurers, including Ruby, he forced the pillar to dissipate, leaving a series of gory smears on the stone ceiling,.

"So, it looks like we ended up taking the same Open Request. I hope you don't mind if I join in." He announced cheerily, earning himself another round of blank stares.