The collapsed entrance of the cave had scatted rocks inside forcing the two to climb through. Still, the path was illuminated enough to see the decorations across the sides with an occasional tree trunk like formation holding the ceiling up.

Adil and Seras walked in, trying to stay to the sides and gather the most darkness. In the distance shone a scattered assortment of torches and they could see tracks of the mage and Swift showing the direction they left. Drips of blood were scattered across the floor, Adil could see the after-image of the mage, stumbling as she walked.

Moving in further they saw how some of the tree like root formations holding up the ceiling were cracked. The occasional one showing a hollow inside, whatever was in there seemed to have broken out. Tracks suggested something smaller than goblins emerged from the cavities, but it was hard to tell or follow as they had not seen it before.

Adil moved further in down long corridors and rough-cut steps. The area seemed hastily built, large spaces in each corridor held up by the tree-like formations, hard as stone. Etched rocky decorations where half imprinted into the walls with the occasional broken torch hold.

Adil’s internal mapping let him know where he had been. He saw the tracks of the witch carry on down a pathway into a set of winding stairs, but he noticed on the map how a section of the cave system avoided an area. The paths would circle it in an odd way that took longer than it needed to.

“Let me see something.” He asked Seras.

She gave a nod and they took a slight detour to an area Adil had noticed. He arrived at a wall slightly out the way in a dead end. As he moved towards it he seemed to pass through a bubble-like illusion. He ended up in another pathway and was able to see everything behind him. Lights from gems in the walls and bright insects illuminated the path.

“Knew it.” He said.

“Where the fuck did you go!” Seras whispered. Kurt gave a mild grunt, still perched on Adil’s shoulder.

Adil stood there for a moment, only a meter away. He moved closer and quickly tapped the side of her shoulder.

Seras turned to face that direction “That shit is not funny.” She added. Still unable to see Adil.

“It’s not bad.” Kurt replied.

Adil quickly pulled her in and she went with a held in screech, she ended up in the secret path.

“Ready?” he said, smiling that he saw Seras do that. She gave a sly smile back and moved past him, punching his shoulder a bit harder than normal.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Adil had seen the way the mage went and noticed how he could take a shortcut down, avoiding the winding circular path the mage would have followed. Through the illuminated area, they came to an open space, looking into a large pit, the stairs the mage had walked were winding around it.

Over the edge and into the pit they saw a ritual taking hold. The dryad was facing the centre of the pit surrounded by a horde of goblins. The dryad mage twisted a crooked wooden staff in the air and began resonating with her black and white magic. tendrils of the black-white energy shone and spun in a cascading rhythm around the horde.

The goblins had dark wreathing masses along their backs and across their faces. She slammed the base of the staff to the ground and a stream of darkness shot from the goblins.

The black oozing essence pooled to the centre of the pit and as she lifted her staff it shot towards her staff and was absorbed by it. She let out a fit of coughs, spluttering blood across the arm of her robe. Then Adil noticed the blackness was gone from the goblins, the taint that marked them, and the goblins looked so young, they looked like goblin children, if that.

Swift was in the back, not restrained but walking freely. He came forward, to the side of the witch pulling forward an empty barrel. The goblins across the pit seemed to loose energy and collapse.

The witch poured out the liquid from her staff and ejected it into the barrel.

“So that’s how they get it.” Seras said.

Swift lit it on fire, the barrel erupted, a flame shooting to the sky. The still awake goblins seemed mesmerized and in awe, staring into the fire.

“The fucks going on.” Adil said to Seras.

“No clue.” She replied.

“Let’s just get Swift out of here and go.”

“We need to kill the witch, this is our best bet. Or we can’t get out of here anyway. Now, before the goblins get up.”

“Fine.”