18 Stinking Healing
A mixture of cheers and boos rise from our side. The goblins, however, can only stand and stare at the dozens we just wiped out.
(Are they booing because we took out a bunch of goblins, and that means we're getting more money than them? Guess some people are greedy bastards to the core.)
My head shakes back and forth before I head in Alcon's direction.
The grass around him is completely burnt up and fried, leaving mostly dirt and rocks.
The goblin general, previously kicking Alcon's ass, is now in a steaming heap covered in burns. Electricity sporadically jumps off of its body.
The rest of the goblins in the immediate area were either struck by lightning or are paralyzed from the area effect damage.
Bernadette goes to take care of the couple unaffected goblins while Ian makes sure the others are actually dead.
Meanwhile, I'm almost to Alcon, having 'checked' a few goblins on my way over. When I'm less than ten feet away from Alcon, I fling the blood off my sword and sheath it.
Cuts cover him head to toe, but it doesn't look like he took any major injuries. He hobbles over to me, using his sword like a cane.
A light tap of blood dripping off his body accompanies him.
Rolling my eyes, I duck under his shoulder and to help support him.
Reluctantly, he accepts my help.
"Why did you guys steal my kill?"
"Cause you obviously had it under control. Now let's get you over to Natalia."
He weakly shoves me away, planting his sword into the ground again.
"I don't need sarcasm from you! Fuck you and your shitty healing!"
I sigh in exasperation.
"Sorry for being an asshole. I didn't want to watch you die, are you happy with that?"
He starts walking away, so I wrack my brain for anything to help the situation.
"Listen, I bet you could take care of all the normal goblins, but think about if you run into the Chief? We have no clue how strong he is, so you won't be in the best shape if you don't get healed. Hell, you can barely walk! Also, if you let us help you take out the goblins, then you won't be as tired when you finally fight the Chief. Every little thing helps! So, you see, you need to get healed so you can defeat the Chief and be the hero of the army."
It's a bit of an exaggeration, and doesn't logically make sense.
But his brain connects my words in the way I knew he would, and now he's sitting in front of Natalia. He only grumbles a bit as she works her magic.
Taking a deep breath, I look back to the battle. About half of the goblins are left, and the remaining ones are being attacked ferociously by our side.
(There were about 200 to start with, but remarkably we've cut it down so its only about 4 goblins for every adventure we've got.)
After Natalia's done treating Alcon, she pulls a vial of blue liquid out of a pouch and downs it in one go. Matt does the same thing, color returning to both of their faces.
(Thank god for potions. With them, we can replenish our mana, heal, and even refresh our stamina. Too bad they're so expensive since you need a chemist to make them.)
Matt offers me one, but I wave him off.
It's not long before we're in the thick of battle again, Alcon and Bernadette each taking on multiple goblins while Ian and I take on the ones running around them.
Matt constantly casts spells to help lessen the number of goblins and blast any that try to attack us from behind. Natalia mainly provides buffs, but every once in a while she'll need to heal us.
Eventually, we fight our way to the edge of the forest. There are only a few goblins left, and the ones that are left are busy fighting the other party's.
So we decide to take a little water break
Natalia takes out a water skin and, after taking a drink herself, hands it to Bernadette. When she's done, it starts going around the miniature circle we've made.
She's also going around to heal any minor injuries out group has accumulated, drinking another mana potion as she goes.
Everyones clothes are coated in a mixture of blood, goblin fluids, and sweat.
(I wonder if there's a spell to instantly clean clothes?)
Silently pondering to myself, I almost don't notice the slight tremors running through the ground.
Snapping my head to the side, I gaze into the shadows of the forest.
As another tremor travels through the ground, I jump to my feet.
"Something big's coming!"
Everyone stands where they are and draws their weapons.
Looking around, I can see that everyone is exhausted despite the short break.
(Guess it wasn't long enough.)
The tremors shake the ground as two massive green figures slowly lumber out of the shadows.
Behind the two orcs is a massive goblin.
He's not quite as large as the orcs, but looks to be about as tall as Alcon or Bernadette. His skin has a slightly different tone to it than other goblins.
(If anything, he should be considered a Hobgoblin, which is more of a pain in the ass.)
A cape made out of animal hide sits on his shoulders, somehow complimenting his tattered, brown pants.
Purple war paint coats his chest, arms, and face, highlighting his scars and slim, muscular frame. Strapped to his chest is a heavily abused heart protector.
As he draws a large, cleaver like sword and points at us, I can swear he's smiling.
