Merrick gathers Daniel, Halon, and me for the goblin cave mission. Stella is invited but vehemently refuses, opting to stay with Morah’s group, which will stay behind us until we have cleared out the pit fighting room that Morah wants to investigate.
Our group is standing by the cave entrance, doing last-minute checks on our gear before we walk into the glowing blue home of our enemy. I’m equipped with the looted spear from earlier and have plenty of mana to spare after we took our break. My spatial senses are able to constantly stay active with a range of about ten feet. Noticing that Halon is still invisible to my senses, I turn to him.
“Hey Halon, how come I can't feel you in my spatial perception bubble?”
The cloaked scout has his hood pulled over his head and replies in a monotone. “It’s a skill that lets me hide from perception abilities. It’s a must-have for scouts.”
Merrick slaps me on the back. “Don’t worry, Ray, spatial senses are the hardest to fool. I’m sure you’ll be able to see Halon whenever you want soon enough. But you might have to fight with Elsine for him.” He says with a grin, “In the meantime though, we need a plan. It doesn’t have to be great, as this tribe is pretty much on its last leg.”
Daniel speaks up, “Can Ray and I take the lead on this one? This seems like too good of a training opportunity to pass up getting as much as we can from it.”
Of course he wants to jump in headfirst, and he calls it training. I look back to the cage that has been my home for the last few days and steel myself to exterminate these goblins for what they did to us.
Merrick smiles and nods like a proud father at his son's first homerun. “Good, I like the initiative. Here's what we’ll do. Ray and Daniel will take the front, moving slowly and clearing room by room as we go further into the tunnel. Halon and I will make sure no goblins get behind us and be ready if something bigger comes out.”
Everyone agrees to the simple plan, and after a final check of our gear, we are moving through the tunnel. My nerves start to get to me, but I feel the reassuring pressure of the mana constantly building up in me, calming me down. As much as it hurts if I let it build too much, it also grants me a power I never could have dreamed of before.
Both of us in front are walking side by side, checking the floor, walls, and ceiling for any traps as we move deeper. The first three rooms we come across are unlocked and completely empty. They only have dirty old animal skins on the floor, most likely for sleeping, and they smell terrible, as bits of food scraps and bones are left out to rot in the corners. It isn’t until the fourth room, about halfway to the pit, that I notice something.
I signal Daniel to stop right outside the wooden door. I close my eyes as I concentrate my spatial senses on the inside of this room, scoping out what made me stop.
“There are two of the small goblins on the other side, on each side of the door. It looks like they have knives only.” I say as I open my eyes. “How do we want to do this?”
Daniel spins his hammer in his hand, nodding at what I told him. “The door opens inward, so I shove it open and keep pushing against it, pinning the left goblin between the door and wall. The other goblin sees me and charges, probably, and you stab it with your spear before that happens, and then we can easily kill the tapped goblin.” He claps and smiles at me with a wide grin.
“Are you okay with using yourself as bait?” I ask while getting ready.
“As long as you stab your goblin, I’ll be fine.”
“Ready when you are.”
Merrick is standing a few feet away, blank expression as he sees our plan unfold. I watch Daniel charge straight into the wooden door, hitting it with his shoulder and following its path all the way into the wall. A squeal and crunch sound from behind the door as I step forward and stab slightly to the right of the doorway where I can sense the goblin starting to move. Another squeal sounds from the second goblin as my spear enters its chest, draining the life from it. Daniel moves the door back slightly and swings into the free space with his hammer. Three wet whacks later, he is facing me again.
“That went better than I expected,” I mumble as I check the notification.
[You have slain a creature.]
[Level 4 forest goblin]
“If we couldn’t deal with a few goblins, we’d have died at that first ambush. Let’s keep moving.”
The next ambush is even more obvious. It’s only a single goblin that charges out of a room when it hears us approaching. I step forward and pierce it with a spear before it could get within range of anybody, killing it instantly.
“So, what is that pit anyway, Merrick?” I ask as I use the goblin's loincloth to clean my spear.
Merrick responds from behind me. “My sister thinks it’s some kind of ancient array. There are a few of them scattered around the island.”
Halon chimes in from wherever he is hiding, his voice coming from all directions, likely using some kind of skill to achieve the effect. “They are almost always in areas inhabited by monsters. That's why Merrick agreed to help his sister search for it.”
“Leave the excavation to the scholars is what I say. I’d much rather fight something strong and try to push my void abilities further.” Merrick adds.
“I hear that,” Daniel says. “Point me at the enemy, and I’m happy.”
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After another two failed goblin ambushes, our group of three, with an invisible Halon, is stopped by a barricade. It’s made out of rough wooden furniture piled up in the tunnel, just past the cavern that holds the fighting pit.
“We will be stopping here. Good luck.” Morah tells our group. “Don’t let my brother get you killed. Halon, keep them alive. They are too valuable to die now.” She turns and leads her group to the cavern holding the fighting pit.
Merrick turns to face me, a small smile tugging at the corners of his black lips. “Don’t worry about her. I’m sure she sees you as more than a valuable asset. She just takes her job too seriously.” He says with a dismissive wave. “Now, I'll deal with this barricade, and we can move on.”
He places his hands on the pile of wooden furniture, and a small path is cleared along the wall, just like when Morah freed Stella. But this time, I am close enough to pick it up with [Mana Sense]. For a moment, it feels like nothing exists where Merrick’s void touched, not even space. After his void left, the surrounding space rushed into the gap, filling it instantly.
“Why didn’t you just do that to break out of the goblin camp earlier? You could have left and told your sister about the pit.” I ask before we continue on.
“That was the plan, but then you and Stella, and those other two, were thrown in the cages before I left.” He explains. “I still could have left, but I didn’t think you or Stella would survive the escape attempt, whether you left with me or not. So I waited and knew that one of the scouts would find me before too long and tell my sister. Then she would send a rescue team, and I would tell her about the pit. She would be super grateful to her awesome brother, and everyone would be happy!”
I can’t even be surprised anymore. Wow, I’m so glad Merrick is not my brother. That was his whole grand plan? And who even are Merrick and his sister? Why was he sure a scout would find him and that his sister would send a rescue team?“Who are you, Merrick? They went through a lot of trouble to rescue a guy who apparently got himself captured on purpose.”
Halon answers before Merrick can say anything. “Merrick Baradia, firstborn son of Vlarick Baradia, the current patriarch of House Baradia of Last Rest. Merrick, unlike his sister, never takes his duties to his house seriously.” Halon's disembodied voice has a hint of teasing in it.
“Whatever, it’s not like I'm the heir. They already got my sister for that. They stick her with so many tasks and duties that I need to have enough fun for the both of us!” He says with mock exasperation. “Now let's get back to the task at hand. The shaman should be in the cavern just up ahead. You should expect her to have some guards and maybe some traps too.”
I nod to Daniel before we both step past the barricade, preparing myself for what’s to come. Thirty feet in front of us are two large stone doors that look far too ornate to be created by goblins. On them, carved into the stone with precise detail, is a massive dragon sitting on an even larger horde of wealth.
“Uh, there isn’t a dragon in there, right?” Daniel asks with skepticism in his voice.
“No, it’s been centuries since anyone has seen a dragon. It’s likely the last one left the planet for greener pastures.” Merrick answers in a melancholic tone. He walks up to the doors and starts to push them open with relative ease. The doors look heavy, reminding me that Merrick is likely far stronger than his demeanor leads one to believe. Soon we are looking into the now open cavern.
It’s about fifty feet to the other side, with four goblins between us and another door at the back of the room. Three hobgoblins in pieced-together, rusty, and ill-fitting plate armor stand in the middle of the room, facing us. Two of them are wielding large dual-headed axes, while the other has a short sword and shield. The shaman stands behind them and screeches as soon as she sees us.
Merrick starts speaking first. “Halon, don’t let the shaman cast more than once every ten seconds. I don’t think they have fought a caster before.” Halon makes no reply.
“The rest is up to you guys, but I think you should be fine.” He says with a big smile as he closes the doors and leans against them casually.
I look to the hobgoblins, nearly thirty feet away, and ready myself. This isn’t like when they caught us unaware in a night raid. I'm ready to fight to the death now.
I turn my head to the right, looking at Daniel, who is pulling a small metal object from the bandolier on his chest. He holds it flat in his gauntleted palm, pointing at one of the hobgoblins. He closes his eyes, and a look of concentration fills his face.
“Shoot,” he says right before a crack rings out, and the sound of metal punching through metal echoes in the cavern.
The hobgoblin wielding the shield falls backwards, not making any sounds. A finger-sized hole leaking blood is now on his chestplate. The other hobgoblins turn to look at their fallen companion. He is not moving.
I expand my spatial sense range to a twenty-foot bubble around me, burning far more mana from my reserves every second, but it’s worth it. Since I’ve been keeping spatial senses active nearly constantly, I have found out that the range of [Mana Sense] is expanded to anywhere my spatial senses touch.
The shaman points at Daniel while starting a chant, and I feel mana gathering under my friend's feet.
“From below!” I shout as I run towards the distracted axe-wielding hobgoblin on the left.
Daniel manages to move just in time thanks to my warning, barely dodging the earth spike that shoots up between where his feet used to be just a moment ago.
I steal a glance at the shaman behind the axe-wielding goblin, and it’s getting kicked in the back by a recently revealed Halon. Must have tried to cast another spell. I need to finish this goblin fast.
I stop in front of my target, just out of my spear's range, keeping my eyes on his axe head. I feel Daniel and his target exchanging blows to my right, so I step forward into a thrust aimed at the hobgoblin's face slit. My armored opponent quickly steps back, just out of reach, and knocks the spear to the side with the flat of his axehead.
It then moves forward with an attack of its own, a wide horizontal slash aiming to decapitate me. My eyes widen as my heartbeat pounds in my ears. I barely manage to scramble back out of reach of the weapon. He’s better in melee combat than me, and one hit will surely take me out. I just need to make an opening or catch him when he overextends.
I feel more mana gather below me as the goblin and I face each other, just a few feet apart. I dodge right as a lance of stone shoots up where I was once standing. That spell is fast and powerful. I’m glad Halon is limiting it.
The hobgoblin takes this opportunity to step in for another attack with its axe, intending to end this in one blow. But I’m ready for it, as I constantly keep part of my attention on following my enemies' movement through my spatial sense. When the axe is cocked back, over the hobgoblin's shoulder, I sprint forward, boosting my legs with mana and dropping my spear to the floor. I threw my whole weight into the armored opponent, who is still half a foot shorter than myself, and we both toppled to the ground, the axe clanging to the floor.
I reach behind my back with my right hand, unsheathing the dagger that was given to me earlier. Before I can find any gaps in my opponent’s armor, my spatial senses pick up that the hobgoblin has already grabbed its own dagger and is stabbing towards my head.
I react as fast as my body allows me, pushing mana into my left arm and hand to get it in the way of the blade. My left hand is pierced straight through by the dagger, sharp pain flaring from the wound as I press back against the hobgoblin's strength, desperate not to die here. I don’t have to fight for long, however, as my dagger soon finds its way under the helmet and into the neck of my armored enemy.