Chapter 8: Into the Caves

The goblin with the dagger was now dragging Sami back towards the fire and the entrance to the huge cave beyond.

*Quest 005 update: Rescue Sami, the smiths’ daughter, from the goblin caves.

So near, and yet so far, Ricky thought to himself as he backed away towards the cliff once again. Just at that moment, he recalled that the last goblin he had downed was stunned, and not killed.

He turned, raising his morning star. Sure enough, the goblin had got to its feet and was raising its shortbow. But it didn’t get far; before it could nock an arrow, a glowing yellow missile came flying through the air seemingly from nowhere. It hit the goblin directly in the chest, piercing its leather armor, and burrowing deep into its rib cage. With a strangled gasp, the creature fell to the ground, and moved no more.

At that moment, the wolf attacked – but rather than coming for Ricky, it pounced at the ogre. A vicious fight ensued; the ogre was hugely strong, but the wolf was fast. It landed one bite after another on its target, until at last, the monstrous humanoid collapsed to the ground.

Ricky had now had a chance to get a better idea of his surroundings. Around eight or ten warlike goblins were now hurrying back from the direction of the thorn bushes. Channia had presumably evaded them; she could now be seen approaching from the waterfall, the same way that Ricky had come. And to the left, near the bank of the small river, was the demonkind spellcaster that they had met back at the gulley. He was the source of the glowing missile, without doubt – for he now fired off another one directly into the ogre’s face.

Channia also shot out at the ogre, and Ricky realized that he needed to act, too. Raising his morning star, he moved around behind the brute to what he hoped was out of harm’s way, and brought his weapon down hard on the back of its massive leg with a crunch.

The ogre then staggered backwards towards Ricky; he rolled to the side, raising his shield, but as he stood and raised the weapon again, he saw that he had done enough.

*Combat event! You have slain an ogre (shared kill). +25XP

The wolf now stood over the dead ogre, snarling, its big paws on the monster’s chest, and then stepped back. Before his eyes, the beast transformed, and Ricky found himself once again looking at Gabriella, the tall human warrior, once again in her chainmail armor and holding her axe.

“You’re a shapeshifter,” he said, and then felt rather stupid to have said something so obvious.

She did not reply, instead looking around at the returning goblins. “Deal with the remainder, Xarok!”

The spellcaster didn’t waste any time. As the others looked on, he generated a glowing ball of flame in between the palms of his hands and then shot it out towards the advancing group of goblins. Soon they were all engulfed in an enormous fireball; their screams of distress were brief indeed before their burned bodies collapsed to the earth.

The battle was over.

Gabriella turned back towards Ricky. “Indeed. Nearly all of the players in the Tooth and Claw Guild are shapeshifters. That is just one of the types of power that I spoke of. We need every advantage we can get if we are to win this game and gain our freedom.”

Ricky looked down at the dead ogre. “Well, Gabriella, thank you for coming to my aid. You have made me see that your guild is honorable.”

“We meant what we said,” said Xarok, striding forward. “We will welcome you into our guild if you choose to join us. There are struggles afoot that are much greater than Barrowdale and its goblins. Our enemies are on the move, and we can only prevail if we band together.”

Meanwhile, Channia had released the other two prisoners from their bonds. The balding man was coming to his senses, but the elf was still unconscious. She muttered something under her breath, and a light-colored magical glow appeared on her hands. She placed her hands on the elven man’s chest, and after a few seconds he groaned and then sat up coughing.

The elven hireling then rose, and came over to Ricky. “I am not a great magic user by any means, but I have some powers of healing. Are you hurt?”

He nodded, and she put her still-glowing hands gently upon his chest. A feeling of peace filled him for a moment, rapidly followed by a notification:

*Achievement: Help from the healer! You have gained healing aid from another character. +10XP

*Healing report: You have gained 8 hit points (12 remain).

“Thank you, Channia.”

She nodded, and took a step back.

The elven man had now risen, and Channia turned to speak to him. “I recognize you – you are Lestacus of the Blackleaf Tribe, am I mistaken?”

He stepped towards her, sneering down his nose. “And you, girl, are of the Berrysprout Tribe, correct? Jungle dwellers from the forest’s edge.” He gave a snorting laugh, brushing down his muddied clothing as he spoke. “Your people practically live on the ocean’s shore. I must admit I feel embarrassed to find myself in your debt.”

“There is no debt,” she replied frostily, “and no need for thanks. Now, you’d best grab yourself a weapon from one of the fallen if you wish to protect yourself, as I don’t plan on doing so again.”

“Ugh – take a goblin bow? I’d rather be killed on my way home.” With that, Lestacus of the Blackleaf Tribe began to walk away without a backwards glance. Soon he had forded the river and was making his way southwards.

“Well, Ricky,” said Gabriella, as the elven man walked away. “Perhaps not everyone is so fussy. Don’t you want to loot your kills? They will surely have a few silvers, plus I think you could do better than that morning star.”

They spent a minute gathering coins from the fallen. Between them they found a bundle of coins which they split four ways, Ricky’s share being four gold, seven silver and twelve copper.

*World event – you have gained loot. +5XP

*World event – you have gained loot. +5XP

***

Wealth update

Gold: 5

Silver: 22

Copper: 23

***

Channia retrieved several of her arrows, too. Ricky found a fine-looking silver belt and gave it to his elven archer companion, and also took a well-balanced shortsword and scabbard for himself. It looked like it was a fairly recent acquisition for the goblin who had been wearing it, but following the rude elven man’s comments, he made sure to clean it in the river before attaching it to his own belt. He cleaned the goblin blood off the morning star, too, and placed it in his backpack.

***

New item

Item: katana-style short sword

Class: weapon

Type: one-handed

Damage range: 9–14

Resilience: 92

Prerequisites: strength 3+

Description: a fine-quality short sword of a type favored by travelers due to its light weight. This katana was forged by a master crafter in the Land of Ribex, and intended as a ceremonial weapon for one of his younger son. Unfortunately, not long after, the coastal town where they live was raided by corsair, and the sword along with many other weapons and treasures later found itself traded in the main market of the southern port city of Ramskull, where it was purchased by a rookie adventurer.

***

As the group gathered back near the entrance to the cave, Gabriella put a hand on Ricky’s shoulder. “So, what do you say to our offer? Because I think this must be your final chance. If the answer is ‘no’ we will leave this place in peace today, but the next time we meet, it may be as foes, unfortunately.”

Ricky thought for a moment, catching Channia’s eye while he hesitated. He then pulled the wolf token from his pocket and passed it from one hand to the other. “Gabriella, you and Xarok have shown yourselves to be brave and strong in battle, and have helped me with my current quest.” He paused, and then carefully hung the token around his own neck. “I will come to Imperialis, and meet with the Tooth and Claw Guild.”

*Buff: You have a standing invite to join a guild within the Dark Framework, and guild members will treat you as one of their own, prior to initiation, for up to one week.

Channia took a step closer to Ricky. “Imperialis? I hope you haven’t forgotten about our agreement.” She raised her eyebrows a couple of times as she spoke.

Ricky shook his head; in truth, he had forgotten. “Sorry. Of course, I will keep my word, regarding the forest...” He turned again to speak to the guild members. “Gabriella, I will come to the city, but I must also visit Channia’s tribe in the forest. And before that...” He pointed to the cave, where the goblin had been seen dragging Sami away.

The tall warrior sighed. “You still mean to rescue the girl from Barrowdale?” she said. “Very good, then. I know the way. Let’s get this over with.”

By the time they had followed the passageway back for about thirty yards, Xarok had cast a light spell on his own dagger. Leading the group, he began holding this up ahead of them like a torch.

“You might not realize it, my friend,” he said quietly, “but you are completing one of the first of three rituals which our guild requires of new members.”

“Really?” Ricky was just behind Xarok, with Channia next, and Gabriella bringing up the rear. “And what is that, exactly?”

“Newbies have to go on a mission together with at least one existing guild member,” he said. “We’ll count this as yours.”

Ricky nodded. “And the other two?”

“The first is simple,” said the demonkind man. “There is ceremony with the high-ranking guild members for them to approve you. A membership fee must be paid, but it’s not much. We know that new players haven’t had time to accumulate a lot of wealth. There’s a vote, too, but as Gabriella and I have invited you, that should be a formality.”

“All right, man,” said Ricky. He was speaking softly, too; they hadn’t yet seen any more goblins or further entrances, but they were deep under the hills by this point. “And the third ritual?”

“Ah... the most important of all. But let us explain that one on your arrival, friend, all right? Now, look up ahead.”

They had come to a point at which the corridor opened out into a round cavern, and then split into four separate entrance ways without tunnels. Channia stepped lightly forward and paused, listening. “It’s hard to tell,” she said after a moment. “I can hear goblin voices down all of them. I can’t hear the girl.”

Ricky looked at Gabriella. “You said you know these caves?”

She took a step forward, still clutching her axe as she peered into the gloom of the tunnels. “I am familiar with the layout, yes. But as to the precise movements of the goblins, that is not predetermined by the Dark Framework. There is an element of randomness, and also an element to which the behaviour of NPCs and creatures responds to that of players. For example, if the elf had shot that goblin and a different one had dragged the young woman away, then she might have been taken somewhere different.”

Ricky frowned. “Then we should split up. Each of us take one of the tunnels.”

“Brave, but too dangerous,” said Xarok. “Two groups – Ricky, you go with Gabriella. Here – take this dagger. The elf and I can see in the dark without it.”

Soon Ricky and Gabriella were proceeding down the tunnel on the far left. It was around five foot high with a ceiling very roughly carved out of stone in a rounded arch shape. The gritty floor suggested that the way may once have been an underground stream.

“As I said, I don’t know for sure which way that goblin went,” said the warrior, “but this would be my best bet. It leads to a holding area – a jail of sorts. I have seen them store prisoners here before.”

“When you said that the goblins will ‘respawn’... does that mean that none of our kills count?”

“That’s not it exactly,” she replied. “The ones we killed are gone, but new ones appear every day. They are infants for a day or two, and then become adults. I guess that was a simpler way of keeping up the challenge for players, rather than requiring the goblins to breed and raise children. Most things are highly realistic, but a few are simplified.”

“I see.”

Ricky paused, looking ahead. The passageway had started to curve to the left, and they couldn’t see much ahead of them, but they could hear voices – goblin voices. They both crept forward, with Gabriella keeping the glowing dagger partially behind her.

Peering around as the tunnel curved sharply, Ricky caught sight of two goblins arguing fiercely. One had Sami pinned to the ground, and was holding a dagger to her throat. The other was shouting and gesturing towards a row of cells which consisted of little more than metal bars that ran from floor to ceiling, separating off small areas of the cave, and with straw spread on the ground of each one. The shouting goblin also had a set of keys, and appeared to be a jailor.

Further back the area was an undecorated cave, with just a few log rounds to serve as chairs. The cells were to the west of the room, and there was a further door to the north, as well as a small grate and a couple of dirty-looking bedrolls on the floor in the southwest corner. Figures could be seen lying down in some of the cells at the back, though in the gloom it was hard to tell if they were alive or dead.

The pair of adventurers pulled back for a moment.

“If only Channia was with us,” whispered Ricky, “she could have shot those goblins before they could harm Sami. I don't think there's time to go back for her."

Gabriella nodded. “We’ll need to rush them – catch their attention before they can act.”

“Can you transform?”

She shook her head. “Only once per day, and that’s it. I’m done.”

“Then I’m worried that if we charge out, that one will just slit her throat before we come any further. I’m a pretty slow runner, you see.”

“Can you throw a knife?”

“Not to my knowledge... my nimbleness score is four.”

*Achievement: Know your limitations! You have recognized your weaker attributes, and allowed this to affect a plan. +10XP

“Better give it to me, then.”

Ricky handed over the glowing dagger; no sooner had he done so when Gabriella charged around the corner, leaving him scrambling to keep up.

The goblin captor looked up to see a strange glowing object arcing through the air towards its face.

Accumulated XP: 330