The Deceit of Goblins

After the short break, it was onward into the depths of the mountainous labyrinth once again. A series of turns led into a portion of the expansive dungeon unlike other rooms: 

He led the way into a dark, vast area, finding there to be small, built homes of wood that hardly looked made by capable carpentry. As he looked around, he found himself suddenly tugged on the shoulder by his companion, pulled down. 

"What–?" He whispered harshly at the abrasive gesture. 

Emma crouched beside him, putting a finger to her lips, "I recognize these kinds of crafts–this is the lair of goblins." She whispered. 

"I can handle goblins," he responded, carefully drawing his sword. 

"I doubt it's just goblins–even if it is just them, I'd rather avoid an encounter if we can," Emma advised him, grabbing onto his arm with worry. 

He looked back at his companion, seeing the look in her emerald eyes before giving in, letting out a sigh as he settled down, "Alright. Let's just look around." 

It was difficult to see in the lightless lair, having to stay crouched as he let his steps stay silent. As he moved along, shuffling past a bundle of bloodied fabric, a soft sound met his ears, bringing him to a stop. 

"What is it?" Emma whispered, stopping behind him. 

He glanced over to the side, making out in the darkness a discovery: a group of a half-dozen goblins were soundly asleep, snoring on mats of grass and pieced-up fabric. 

"There's some over there. They're out cold," he quietly told the archer. 

As he looked at her, the intent he had in his look told her what he was thinking without him having to say anything. 

Emma nodded her head, drawing an arrow from her quiver as she pulled it along her bow's string, "Huuuu…" 

The quiet, condensed exhale allowed the sharp-eyed girl to focus before releasing the arrow. It silently traveled through the dark lair before striking the head of one of the slumbering goblins. There was a short convulsion from the fiend as it groaned, though quickly passed on. 

Perhaps it was a cruel act, though to the adventurers, it was seen as both the more merciful and wise act; a painless way to dispatch the monsters, while avoiding an all-out fight. 

–One

–Two

–...Six 

Just like that, that number of goblins had been silently taken out without so much as a disturbance being made to the shadow-filled lair. 

Emma breathed out, lowering her bow as she stood up, "Alright, that's all of them."

"Nice work," Blake complimented. 

The archer carefully moved over, performing the unsightly, but necessary procedure of retrieving each arrow from the fiendish corpses. 

"That's a big downside to relying on a bow, I'd say," Blake quietly remarked, watching as the girl struggled to retrieve the last arrow. 

Emma strained, tugging on the shaft of the projectile, "Yeah, well I've gotten used to—ahh!" 

The green-skinned fiend that laid limp suddenly lashed out, releasing gargled yells. It took the young woman by surprise, grabbing onto her leg before it sank its teeth into her calf. 

"Nnaaaah!" Emma shrieked in pain as the foul goblin's teeth dug in with a squelch of blood. 

Blake was shocked for a second before taking action, having to steady his breathing as he held his sword up. 

"Do it—! Aaahn!" Emma cried out. 

"I'm trying! I just have to…line it up!" Blake said, holding his sword over his head as he looked down. 

In the midst of the sudden panic, the rabid goblin and the frantic movements of the archer as she tried to beat the fiend's head with the bow made it difficult to aim his strike. 

Through the snarls of the goblin and the cries of pain from the girl, he brought his blade down—squelch. 

All of the noise stopped aside from the smooth sound of blood leaking out. 

The goblin's head was parted from its shoulders, releasing its jaws from the archer's leg. 

Emma collapsed onto a knee, breathing heavily as tears ran down her cheek, "Shit…! It hurts…" 

"I've got you," he assured her, kneeling beside her as he sat his backpack down. "There's bandages and ointments in here, hold on—"

"Blake…!" Emma sharply called his name in a panic. 

While he rushed to try and treat her wound, he forgot the fact that the lair was likely home to more than just that small group. 

"Shit!" He let out in disgust at the situation, hearing the yells of goblins throughout the lair, though not yet seeing them through the darkness. 

Between his wounded companion and the pressing threat of the goblins, he didn't know what to do. It was the first time he'd been placed in such a situation, one of such adrenaline and lethality. 

"Blake…" Emma said feebly, hardly able to even keep herself upright. 

He quickly placed his hand against her forehead to check her temperature, feeling that it was already far too hot. 

'She's burning up…A single bite is catching up this quickly?' He questioned. 

There was only one option he could think of as he sheathed his sword and scooped her up in his arms. Feeling the malice of those that lurked in the dark, he ran through the shadow-filled chamber. 

'The nymph—I need to make it back to her,' the panicked thought raced to the forefront of his mind. 

As he ran with all of his strength, he felt the hands of the agonized girl gripping onto his coat as she cried. At the same time, he listened to the echoing war cries of the goblins; mixed with their high-pitched yells were shouts of something much larger. 

"Shit…!" He muttered in an exhale, stumbling over a piece of wood in the darkness. 

"Nnhaaah!" Emma's cries continued, echoing through the chamber. 

It all happened so fast, leaving him without much to know besides the fact that the girl was in pain. He watched her writing in his arms while he ran with all of his strength. Out of the lair, he wasted no moment taking a sharp left down the familiar corridor; alongside the frantic steps of the fiends that chased him, his own heartbeat filled his ears. 

"Emma," he said her name, keeping his hand under her head. 

As he brought her focus to him with that calm utterance of his name, their eyes met. 

"Go to sleep," he softly commanded. 

[Hypnosis successful.] 

[EXP: +10] [82/100] 

The girl's eyes fluttered as her wails of pain came to a stop, slowly closing her eyelids as a deep sleep was entered. It was the best he could do for her at the moment.