Chapter 5

I followed Silvy back into the room where she kept both her bed and the table with the magical items. Her cave-house only seemed to have two rooms, so I wasn't sure if she had names for them, but I decided to just call this one the bedroom and the other room the kitchen. Anyways, I followed her into the bedroom.

"Now, let's see here," she muttered as she rummaged through all the things on the table.

Standing where I was, right behind her, I finally got a good look at the table and its contents. A stack of scrolls and loose sheets of parchment were in a stack on the far left, with a pile of magic wands right next to it. On the right side of the table was a large bowl filled with egg-sized stones in every color of the rainbow. An assortment of different items were piled in the center of the table, everything from a few daggers to various bits of clothing and a couple small figurines. 

Silvy sorted through the bowl of stones and finally selected one slightly smaller than the rest, mottled gray in color. She held it up, examining it, and uttered a few magical words under her breath. With a nod of satisfaction, she turned, blinking in surprise when she noticed me standing right there.

"Here," she said, handing me the stone.

I held out my hand and she placed the stone in my palm. It was cool against my skin, with nothing suggesting it was magical in any way.

"So, what do I do?" I asked, examining the stone. Its well-polished surface was as smooth as glass.

"Simple," Silvy said as she grabbed a canvas sack from beneath the table. She handed me the sack before continuing. "You hold that stone in your mouth, and as long as you are in the shadows, you will blend in with your surroundings and become invisible. Well, basically invisible."

"Um, okay," I said, looking down at the stone in my palm. "So, I just hold it in my mouth and creep down the tunnel and they won't see me?"

"You can walk normally if you'd like," she said. "But if any of the guards are nearby, you should move quickly while being as silent as possible." She reached up and tapped her large ear. "We have sharp hearing, after all, and our sense of smell is powerful as well."

I suddenly looked down at myself and smelled my armpit. It wasn't bad, but I could use a bath.

"Yes, you smell like a young man that just had sex and hasn't cleaned up yet," Silvy said when she saw me smelling myself. "We can worry about that later. For now, you're going to fetch me some food. Come here."

I followed her into the kitchen, where she pointed out several things. She handed me a root vegetable that looked like a potato, but orange. It very clearly wasn't a sweet potato, but a regular potato in a different color. She also handed me some sprigs of herbs that she said grew in the area, with instructions to bring the entire plant, root and all, if I found specific ones.

"Won't they die down here in the darkness?" I asked.

"You just let me worry about that," she said. "Now, let's get going. You need to get this done before the sun sets and you can't see anything with those small, human eyes of yours.

I let myself be herded to the door at the side of the kitchen. My head just barely cleared it, and I hurried through and held the door for her. After that, I turned and looked behind me.

We stood in a giant cave, a hundred feet tall and easily five hundred feet wide. What looked like glowing moss grew in patches on the ceiling of the cave, preventing everything from being plunged into darkness. 

Silvy's home was on the far edge of the giant cave, carved deeply into the stone of the mountain. On the floor of the cave, hundreds of buildings had been built from stone and brick, some towering five or six stories high. Small orbs glowed orange atop poles at every intersection, like magical street lamps. Even from this distance, I saw hundreds of goblins walking around the city, and against one of the far walls a large opening that led into darkness.

"Does that lead to another cave?" I asked.

Silvy nodded. "There are about a dozen like this, although I believe workers are building two more on the lower levels as we speak. Ralcor lives in the royal city, which is above us. There are more beneath this one."

"Hold on," I said. "So there is another city like this but above us?" I looked up at the stone ceiling. "As in, carved into the stone up there?"

Silvy nodded. "Yes, the king lives on top of everyone. Most people live below this level."

"Holy shit," I said. "You've got an entire city carved into this mountain."

Silvy shrugged as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. "Where else would we live?"

I followed her along a path that traced the very edge of the cave. There was just enough light for me to get a glimpse of her ass undulating with each step. I grinned like a kid in a candy shop watching her walk. I could have my own harem of women like her. All I had to do was defeat a centuries-old goblin man known for his strength and cruelty. No pressure or anything.

The well-worn path curved to the left and suddenly we stood before a large tunnel opening. Silvy stood there for a moment, hands on her hips, then turned to me.

"I don't hear anything, but you never know who's in there. Go ahead and put the shadow stone in your mouth and get out there."

I looked at the stone in my hand and grimaced. "Why can't this magic be like what we did earlier?"

Silvy chuckled. "Oh, like me casting a spell on you with my pussy?"

I grinned. "Sounds like my kind of magic. If you need to practice that, just let me know." With that, I popped the stone in my mouth.

Silvy laughed. "Oh, Aaron. You are a delight, at times."

From the way her eyes focused on something far away, I could tell she couldn't see me any longer. For that matter, I looked down at myself and saw nothing but the cold stone floor.

"Well, that's interesting," I said, flexing my hand right in front of my face without seeing it.

"Listen, Aaron," Silvy said, holding a hand out to me. I took her hand in mine and stepped closer to her. She smiled, still unable to see me. "Be careful out there, okay? You're the answer to my prayers, so I can't lose you. But more than that, all of my people are depending on you, even if they don't yet know it."

"I'll be careful," I told her. 

Silvy yelped as I used my grip on her hand to pull her close to me. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her, thoroughly and deeply. She giggled in delight and pushed away from me.

"You're a real scoundrel, you know that?" she said. "Perhaps the gods sent you to me to punish me. Now, off with you. And be careful."

"I will, I promise," I said.

Stepping as lightly as possible, I crept by her. I was tempted to reach out and slap her on the ass as I passed by, but decided to calm myself a bit. There was no use pushing things too far with my only friend in this strange new world. Even if she did have a magnificently round ass.

I entered the mouth of the tunnel, grateful for the small, glowing orbs set against one wall that provided faint illumination. I made sure to stay against the opposite wall and hurried down the tunnel. As long as I remained in the shadows, I would be invisible, she said. 

The tunnel was surprisingly long and gently sloped down as I continued. I realized after a moment that if the tunnel had sloped the other way, water would flow into the underground city every time it rained. Good thinking on their part.

I held my hand in front of my face as I passed by one of the glowing orbs. The light wasn't bright, but it was enough to give me concerns about the effectiveness of the shadow stone. Sure enough, when I stood even with the light, my hand shimmered in front of my face. After taking a few steps further down the tunnel, I disappeared again.

That bit of knowledge came in handy when I saw a goblin man down the tunnel, approaching me with a militant stride. Simple armor covered his torso, with mail hanging to his knees. An open-faced helmet covered his head, with a row of spikes along the top like a mohawk. He carried a spear in one hand, with his other hand resting upon his sword hilt.

My heart pounded against my ribs so loudly that I feared the guard would hear it. There was a light set against the tunnel about twenty feet in front of me. I looked back over my shoulder at the light I had just passed, and took a few steps forwards so that I was equidistant between them.

I flattened myself against the wall as the goblin guard approached. His hard, angular face was twisted into a permanent frown. A thick scar ran down the side of his face, just visible beneath his helmet. The guy looked like he chewed rocks for a hobby.

As carefully and quietly as possible, I slid to the side, trying to get further down the tunnel. My heart sank when the guard suddenly halted. He looked around, sniffing the air. 

"Smells like sex in here," he muttered. He smelled his own armpit, then shook his head. 

I tried to continue down the tunnel, wincing as a small stone ground against the tunnel floor with my next step.

The goblin guard's head snapped around, right towards me. His grip tightened on the haft of his spear and he raised it in front of him as his eyes scanned the area. He bared his teeth in a silent snarl as he took a step closer to me.

The futility of this suddenly dawned on me. This guy may have only been five feet tall, but he was absolutely terrifying. I would have to defeat dozens of these guys in order to replace the king like Silvy wanted. At that moment, I felt like learning to fly would be more realistic.

Taking a deep breath, I took another step, then bolted down the tunnel. The goblin thrust his spear and swung it to the side, scoring a line across the back of my shoulder as I felt. It was only a scratch, but it hurt like a son of a bitch. I kept my mouth shut and sprinted down the tunnel, letting my long legs carry me away from the shouting goblin man.

"Foul demon!" he shouted. "I know you're in here!" He ran a few steps towards me, thrusting his spear into the air, hoping to kill what he couldn't see.

As for me, I just kept running.