The sight of over ten thousand clambering goblin bodies, punctuated by three-meter-high nether trolls has my blood swirling with anxiety as I survey the battlefield. Since before dawn we’ve been watching them gather on the hillside, their scouts perhaps seeing us do the same as we organize our troops for the final assault. It’s been a nonstop effort since getting a bit of rest and waking a few hours ago. General Lyons quickly mustered our troops and readied them for battle in five large platoons. My friends and I take our place within the first platoon, leading the assault alongside General Lyons and Lady Diana.

“Stay close, okay Gilly?”

I look behind me to see my girlfriend give me a nod. Her face is tense with focus, but there’s a hint of fear in those green eyes of hers as well. I use my Cover ability to protect her. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.”

Again Gilly only nods without saying anything, another clear sign of her nerves.

I can protect her from physical attacks using Cover, but for how long I don’t know. Val Helena, now on her Warrior class does the same for Mr. Keith who is standing next to me. The tough old miner looks as determined as ever, not a lick of fear in him as he stares almost vengefully at the enemy horde.

Although he looks unnerved I’m worried for both him and Gilly as we stand on the front lines. He’s our ticket into the mines, so his safety is paramount. I’m worried about Gilly too of course, but I know that’s more my emotions talking than my head. In truth we only need to get halfway across the battlefield before reaching this secret entrance to the mines and then wait for the Goblin Queen to commit to a full assault before slipping inside while her army pursues ours.

Or at least that’s the plan.

“Prepare!” General Lyons shouts from the head of the platoon and the army responds with a rattle of weapons as blades are unsheathed and mages start casting protection spells. Gilly does the same for our party as she raises her new Celestial Staff and I feel a new surge of energy course through me.

You gain the effect of Second Wind II!

You gain the effect of Goddess Blessing!

She tops that off with a Rejuvenation spell and then tucks herself even closer behind me. “That could be the last spell I cast. We’ll be charging into that aura soon.”

My mouth goes dry as she says it. We formed the army just outside the radius of the Dark Aura—the Goblin Queen not even giving us a chance to use our abilities within it by activating the orb nonstop as soon as she saw our forces gathering. Thankfully the limiting radius of the orb has kept her forces from attacking us as well. As they have been gathering, the ten thousand or more green-skinned goblins haven’t moved an inch beyond their queen’s protection.

“This is it, guys,” Maxis says and then glances to Mr. Keith. “You stick close to Val. She’s got you.”

“Aye,” he says looking up at the giantess with a smile. “I don’t think there’s much that can get through the likes of her.”

“Same goes for her thick head,” Aiko says with one of her stupid cackles, which gets a scowl from Val Helena.

“Will you shut up and focus?” Val Helena says with a scowl.

To my surprise Aiko’s cackle dies instantly and she goes completely silent, no retort at all. I look over at the two sisters before shooting a glance to Maxis who shakes his head, signally for me to stay out of it. I think back to how Aiko was picking on Blacktop earlier and wonder if her nerves are getting to her as well. She was probably trying to lighten the mood or something, but the timing was bad and the joke wasn’t funny at all. Still, I don’t want her going into combat with a messed up psyche. I send her a PM.

Me: Hey, don’t worry about it. We’re all a little tense. I know you were just teasing.

Aiko: Whatever. Screw Val if she can’t take a joke.

I decide to leave it at that. I can’t be unfocused for this either.

“Send the command,” General Lyons says.

A trumpeter then steps forward, presses a bugle to her lips and blows a steady note that pierces the air, silencing both our troops as well as the angry horde of goblins and trolls facing us. A few tense seconds of silence pass before it’s suddenly broken by a blast of cannon fire from behind.

I turn about to see Blacktop working his magic, firing our battery of artillery from the rear guard with a deafening volley. A hail of munitions whistle overhead, leaving smoke trails through the morning air as they soar towards the Goblin Queen’s front lines.

The twenty or so shots explode on impact, shattering their ranks with a second blast of thunder as huge fire balls sets the goblins and trolls alight. They scream and die quickly to the flames, their bodied falling to the ground. But just as quickly as they fall they are replaced by more goblins and trolls as the sea of green bodies surges forward, trampling over them. An answering warhorn then sounds from the Goblin Queen’s side, deep and sinister, as if accepting our challenge.

The entire goblin horde then rushes forward like a tidal wave, their shrill battle cries filling the air with a horrid din. Next to me, General Lyons, raises his sword and releases a battle cry of his own.

“Full charge!”

It’s more than just a command, my status bar illuminating with combat buffs to my health and attack. The entire army responds with an echoing battle cry and the air swells with a palpable energy that fills me with more confidence than the buffs ever could.

“It’s go time!” I say within the party chat to my friends. “Let’s do this!”

My heart races as we all break into a Sprint and I’m shocked to see how quickly we outpace our NPC companions as we dive towards the Goblin Queen’s army head on. The closer we get the more the ground trembles as the cries of the goblins rise to a fever pitch.

A sudden sickness hits the pit of my stomach as we pass through the Aura. It thankfully doesn’t remove any of our buffs already in place, but it’s mean I won’t be able to use Cover more than once as I protect Gilly. The thought fuels my determination as I prepare to go into full melee mode.

We need to protect each other at all costs.

The distance to the enemy closes on my HUD. A hundred feet away now.

Fifty…

Thiry…

Ten!

We slam into the first wave of Goblins and trolls with the force of a speeding train. Chaos and blood erupts. I lash out at the wall of green bodies attacking mostly on instinct, the damage number scrolling so fast across my HUD I dare not even look at them. My body moves as if of its own accord, dodging attacks with the power of my raw agility alone. But against so many opponents it’s not enough and I feel the bite of rusted iron as crude swords and axes nick me through my armor.

My Cover ability goes off and I automatedly deflect a speartip meant for Gilly’s head. Our eyes meet briefly and although she looks terrified, she doesn’t give me quarter to shelter her as she nocks a normal arrow in her spell bow and lets it fly. She’s still focus and full of fight, braver than I imagined. Aiko in contrast looks on the verge of fleeing, her eyes darting wildly back and forth as she keeps looking back over her shoulder towards the safety of the rear guard. She’s out of her element here, but there’s nothing I can do to protect her.

A huge yell comes from behind and I duck instinctively as Val Helena’s huge battle axe swings just above my head taking out a nether troll a few feet away. Her ward, Mr. Keith looks just as shocked by the raw display of power, huddling behind her huge frame as he uses a shield to keep himself protected. My brother is the exact opposite of him. Maxis flies in and out of the Goblin ranks like hummingbird, fists and feet moving too fast to see. It then dawns on me that he never uses many special abilities when he fights so this is probably normal to him.

The air suddenly explodes ahead of us with thunder and fire and instantly a huge swarm of goblins are flattened by another volley of cannon fire from Blacktop.

“Press forward!” General Lyons cries. “Fill the gap!”

We follow his commands, rushing towards the second line of goblin troops, having successfully broken through the first wave. As the space opens up, I ease somewhat and use the distance to leap forward. I attempt to pick off goblins with shots from my pistol, but nothing happens when I pull the trigger. Dang it…perhaps being within this strong of a magical aura is affecting it as well. I quickly switch back to my katana and lay into the horse with melee once more.

The battle rages on as minutes stretch into an hour. What was first nerve wracking and terrifying becomes a brutal slog as we charge into the opposing army again and again. General Lyons keeps us focused, shot calling the pushes and retreats. We do so at least a dozen such time before I being to lose count.

What I don’t lose count of however, are our losses. The toll on our numbers is evident with each push. Without heals from our mages the troops are falling by the dozens. The Goblin Queen’s army is falling by more than three times that number, but she has the numbers to spare and her trolls use unnatural regeneration to heal not abilities.

The only thing that keeps us on even keel with her forces are the volleys of cannon fire from Blacktop which forms a protective barrier around us every few seconds. We make good headway as a result and true to General Lyons’ prediction, with each false retreat, the Goblin Queen sends more and more trolls and Goblins out of the depths of the mines. I take a moment to focus on her, still standing vigil over the ominous dark orb. I can sense her seeking me out as she surveys the crowded battlefield, but I don’t feel her focus on me directly.

Not anymore.

The plan is working even better than I hoped. If we can get into the mines and to her quickly enough, she’ll still be looking for me on the battlefield and not expecting the attack from behind. I look to Mr. Keith who is now drenched with sweat and goblin blood.

“Are we nearly to it?” I shout to him.

“Almost!” Mr. Keith says and then he points to a half-collapsed wall about a hundred feet up the hill, just behind the next wave of goblins. “It’s just there.”

“Thank goodness!” Gilly says exasperated. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

“We’ll make the final push to get you to it and then sound the retreat,” General Lyons shouts to me. “Fall back when I sound the charge.”

General Lyons orders his trumpeter to sound the charge again and the blare of her horn causes a new energy to stir within the troops. My friends and I hold follow behind while General Lyons charges ahead with the bulk of the platoon following after him. The mass of soldiers form a wedge that cuts through the battle line and provides a natural wall of defense and concealment from the Goblin Queen’s eyes. We press on behind the charge and when we finally reach the spot Mr. Keith pointed to, we tuck ourselves behind the half-collapsed wall and look to him for further direction.

“What now?” I ask.

“Dig here, quickly,” the miner says, pointing to the fallen blocks of the collapsed wall and Val Helena and Maxis immediately go to work clearing the stone. They uncover a circular wooden hatch about five feet across and when Val Helena pulls it open I’m shocked to see a hole that’s filled completely with muddy water.

“What’s up with this?” Maxis says.

“What did you expect?” Mr. Keith says. “I told you it was an incomplete ventilation shaft. The bottom is still sealed and rainwater collects on top of it. Besides it’s a good two hundred feet down. You wouldn’t want to make that fall through air would you?”

“You’re telling me we have to swim down through 200 feet of muddy water?” Gilly says, her eyes wide with disbelief. “This is crazy!”

“Not all of us,” Keith says. “Just someone strong enough to break the seal at the bottom. The rest of us can ride the water down as it flows out.”

That has us all looking instinctively at Val Helena, but the big goddess balks, her face growing pale. “Uh… I guess, I could…” But her face begins to twist with terror. “I don’t do good in small spaced… Will I even be able to see down—?”

“Yo, I got this, babe,” Maxis says stepping forward. “Plus we all know I’m the strongest one here.”

He gives her a wink and Val Helena looks relieved, embarrassed and concerned all at the same time. Before she can even do or say anything, my brother suddenly leaps forward and dives headfirst into the muddy water.

“Mike!” I shout, but it’s too late as his body disappears out of sight.

My heart nearly stops as I watch the water splashing back and forth grow completely still. Another thirty seconds of stillness pass and we all begin to look at one another as worry begins to mount. On my HUD I see his health bar slowly depleting.

“Screw this!” Val Helena says. “I’ve got to go after him!”

But before she can take a step a huge bubble breaks the surface and all at once the water level begins to drop.

“He’s done it!” Keith shouts. “Go now before it’s too late!”

I grab Gilly’s hand and plunge into the frothing water, that begins to swirl like a vortex. Val Helena, Aiko and Mr. Keith all do the same. We all cry out as our fall accelerates and we drop down the shaft, the light from above quickly being snuffed out. We tumble and spin in the darkness. There’s no turning back now.

I pray for dear life as we get sucked straight into the belly of the Goblin Queen’s lair.