Mastery Is Earned

Raymond’s entire left side was nearly numb. The Greater Goblin’s arm had struck him beneath the left ribs, and his back had then slammed hard into the rock wall. Even walking left him short of breath. Fortunately, he could still manage it, though every step tugged painfully at his chest and back. Only after leaning against the wall and taking several deep breaths did he recover somewhat.

Henk’s hand-and-a-half sword was still up in the quarry hall, leaving him unarmed. Raymond handed him his arming sword and drew his shortsword for his own protection.

They were about twenty feet below the hall. A hoisting rope hung down from above, but when Henk gave it an experimental tug, the aged rope snapped at once. Climbing twenty feet up a rock wall with their bare hands was even less realistic. Besides, neither of them knew what was happening in the hall above, and going straight back up might be even more dangerous.

“There was already a Greater Goblin at the bottom of the shaft, so there must be another passage connecting this place to the quarry hall above,” Raymond said after looking around. “It couldn’t possibly climb up and down that rope every day.”

Henk nodded firmly. The two then headed deeper into the passage in the direction from which the Greater Goblin had come.

The farther they went, the darker it became. Even with lamps fueled by fat burning along both walls, they could barely make out the way ahead. Fortunately, Henk could see the path by their faint light, so he went first and cleared the way for Raymond.

Before long, they reached a broad stone chamber reeking of blood and filth. A wooden staircase spiraled upward on either side of the room, both leading to the level above.

The light was somewhat better here. Holding his breath, Raymond moved slowly and stayed close behind Henk. He could not help studying their surroundings, but what he saw made him stop, unease written across his face.

This was plainly the goblins’ dumping ground. Bones left from their meals and clutter of every size lay everywhere.

What truly horrified Raymond, however, were the mutilated human bodies scattered throughout the chamber. Severed arms, mutilated legs, and ruined torsos lay all around them. Somewhere in the room came the faintest hint of a moan.

Following the sound, Raymond spotted a young man lying helplessly on the ground. His lower body was mangled beyond recognition. His abdomen had been torn open, exposing part of his intestines.

When he saw someone approaching, the young man raised his head in despair. The moment he recognized Raymond, he choked up with emotion. His throat worked as he tried to speak, but no words would come.

Raymond crouched and slowly moved closer, his voice heavy. “I can’t save you. There’s no hope for you now. If you want a quick end, I’ll help you. It will be fast. Blink if you agree.”

The man’s eyes immediately filled with tears. Trembling, he raised his head and pointed toward a corner Raymond and Henk had overlooked, then forced himself to blink.

Raymond and Henk looked where he was pointing. Raymond nodded, tightened his grip on the shortsword, and met the man’s eyes.

Two streams of hot tears ran from the man’s eyes. He closed them and leaned quietly to one side.

Raymond’s strike was swift and clean. After putting the man to rest, he wiped the shortsword on the man’s clothes, then rose and went over to Henk.

The two exchanged a glance and walked toward the corner the man had indicated. A heavy wooden door stood there, locked somehow. Only the faintest sounds came from within.

Henk nodded to Raymond, then kicked the door open. The heavy slab flew inward and slammed against the stone wall behind it.

“Ah!”

The room beyond was pitch-black. They could see nothing inside, only hear a terrified cry. At the sound, both Raymond and Henk relaxed slightly, some of the tension leaving their bodies.

There were no goblins hiding inside, only a group of survivors imprisoned there. The goblins had likely kept them as a reserve of food. Most were cold and starving but had suffered no serious injuries.

“Please, don’t eat me!”

“Aaaah! Stay away from me, monster!”

The people in the room shouted in terror. Several even tried to push past Henk and escape.

Raymond hurriedly spoke up. “We’re not goblins. We’re here to rescue you. But it’s still dangerous outside, and these monsters haven’t all been killed yet. The safest thing you can do is stay inside for now. Once we’ve dealt with the monsters, we’ll come back for you!”

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At Raymond’s words, the confused cries in the dark room gradually subsided.

“Who are you?”

“Are you really here to rescue us?”

“Can you let us out?”

Raymond pushed the people trying to squeeze through back into the room and kept his tone light. “Trust me. This is the safest place for you. I’m going to close the door again. Wait here until we return.”

“You will come back, won’t you?”

“Of course. I promise.” Raymond gave Henk a look as he spoke. Henk nodded and pulled the heavy wooden door shut, closing the prisoners inside again.

The kick had bent the door’s hinges, leaving its bottom edge scraping hard against the floor. It took Henk some effort to close it fully.

The Greater Goblin had presumably been guarding the area. Even if the prisoners escaped the room, they would have had to face that monster. Before Raymond and Henk arrived, all they could do was hide inside and pray they would not be the next ones dragged away.

Raymond repeated his instructions through the door, telling them to stay hidden and make no sound. Then he and Henk climbed one of the wooden staircases.

The stairs were badly decayed. Every step produced a creak, but fortunately, the two reached the top without being attacked.

They appeared to have emerged into a rear storeroom piled high with all kinds of clutter. From somewhere in the distance came the repeated clash of weapons, the roars of monsters, and human battle cries, with Dario’s furious shouts mixed among them.

Raymond and Henk exchanged a glance, each seeing a trace of delight in the other’s eyes.

The goblins were plainly locked in a hard fight with Dario’s group. They either had not considered what might be happening behind them or had no time to spare it any attention. All Raymond and Henk had to do was strike from the rear and catch them off guard.

Raymond looked at Henk, leaned close, and whispered a few words into his ear. Henk’s eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly. When Raymond finished, the two carefully moved forward with weapons in hand.

It was certainly brighter here than on the level below. Seeing their surroundings was still difficult, but for Raymond, it was a vast improvement.

They hurried through an empty room and soon returned to the quarry hall.

One Greater Goblin, the Dragonblood Goblin, and a group of big goblins and ordinary goblins were locked in close combat with Dario and his men.

Many ordinary and big goblin corpses lay at Dario’s feet. Two human mercenaries had also fallen nearby, their bodies battered into bloody ruin. They were clearly dead. Dario’s group was at a complete disadvantage, barely holding out against the goblins.

On the side nearer Raymond, two goblins stood well away from the fighting and kept harassing Dario’s group with bows. They carried only ordinary wooden bows of limited power and posed little threat, but they still could not be ignored.

Raymond and Henk exchanged a glance, then each rushed toward the nearer goblin. The fighting was so intense that neither archer noticed anything amiss until the two men were already close behind them.

Raymond covered one goblin’s mouth and drove his shortsword sideways through its neck. Its legs kicked several times before it fell to the ground and went still.

Raymond turned toward Henk and found that his attack had been even more astonishing. Henk had taken the other goblin’s head off with a single stroke. With his raw strength behind it, even the otherwise ordinary arming sword had cut cleanly through the goblin’s neck.

Most of the soldiers, mercenaries, and goblins locked in battle failed to notice what had happened behind them. Only the Dragonblood Goblin’s ears suddenly twitched. It retreated several steps to open some distance, then turned to look.

Raymond was ready. He immediately slipped into the shadows, leaving only Henk exposed to the Dragonblood Goblin’s view.

The moment it spotted Henk approaching from behind, the Dragonblood Goblin barked a rapid string of orders. The Greater Goblin fighting the mercenaries heard the command, broke away from its opponents, and charged straight at Henk, brandishing a thick wooden club. The Dragonblood Goblin threw itself back into the fight against Dario’s group, attacking with its sharp draconic claws.

The Dragonblood Goblin’s claws were extremely sharp. No matter what protective gear Dario’s men wore, even a glancing strike tore a huge wound into the victim. The creature was not only powerfully built but had also grown much more agile. With the big goblins and ordinary goblins supporting it, its side remained evenly matched with Dario’s group even without the Greater Goblin.

Henk showed no fear. With a roar, he charged head-on at the oncoming Greater Goblin.

Just before they collided, Henk ducked abruptly and knocked the wooden club from the Greater Goblin’s hands with his sword, then slashed diagonally at its chest and abdomen. The Greater Goblin lurched backward. Henk’s blade grazed past its body and bit deep into a crack in the stone floor. The Greater Goblin immediately stamped down on the blade. Before Henk could let go of the hilt, the arming sword bent under the tremendous force and snapped.

Losing his weapon only made Henk more ferocious. He bent low, wrapped his arms around the Greater Goblin, and drove it toward the right side of the quarry hall. Then he hoisted it into the air and slammed it onto the pile of rubble there.

That section had already collapsed, leaving broken rocks heaped across the floor. Henk seized the Greater Goblin by the head and smashed it repeatedly against the jagged stone. Blood was soon streaming from its head.

The Dragonblood Goblin noticed Henk carrying the Greater Goblin toward the right side of the hall. Ever cautious with its own life, it edged toward the left, afraid of being caught in the struggle.

That played directly into Raymond’s hands, even better than he had imagined. While no one was looking, he had already crept along the left side toward the Dragonblood Goblin. Afraid of Henk, the creature kept retreating in that direction, drawing closer and closer to Raymond’s hiding place.

When the distance between them had narrowed enough, Raymond suddenly stood and shouted, “Henk!”

Henk roared, seized the fallen Greater Goblin in both hands, and hurled it with all his strength into the collapsed section overhead. The already fractured rock broke apart with a crash, and dazzling daylight flooded into the hall.

Raymond was hidden directly within the blind spot on the Dragonblood Goblin’s left. It heard his shout but could not see where he was. Before it could react, a tremendous crash came from the right. The creature instinctively turned toward it, and the sudden daylight stung its remaining eye, blurring its vision.

Raymond seized the moment. Enduring the severe pain in his chest and ribs, he took a sudden step forward, gripped his shortsword tightly in his right hand, and thrust straight at the Dragonblood Goblin’s remaining eye.