Mastery Is Earned

The moment the Dragonblood Goblin fled into the tunnel, the others lost all courage to fight. They dared not run back into the tunnel, but neither could they bring themselves to charge Raymond’s group again. Instead, they scattered throughout the open-pit quarry in blind panic.

This gave the archers and crossbowmen on the high ground perfect targets. The few goblins hiding beneath the sheds were soon found as well. Before long, the ranged fighters, Raymond, and the others had eliminated every goblin remaining outside the mine. Only then did the four archers and crossbowmen descend from the stone stairways.

The fires had been brought under control, but the casualties were severe. Two people had died on the spot. Three others had suffered terrible burns and were completely unable to fight; they could barely even walk. Several more had sustained minor burns but remained capable of fighting. Those who had not been directly caught in the fiery breath were unharmed.

Dario’s face was livid. As he poured water from a waterskin over the victims’ burns, he ordered several people to carry the three badly wounded fighters to safety outside the quarry and leave them with the soldier and physician stationed there. The two bodies were placed together nearby and would be taken back to Blackstone after the battle.

“What do we do now, Captain?” one soldier asked.

“Damn them! Damn them! Those damned goblins!” Dario cursed under his breath.

“Captain, these goblins are extremely dangerous. Should we retreat?” a mercenary asked tentatively. “They’re hiding inside the mine, and we have no idea what’s waiting in there.”

“Shut up!” Dario roared. “Everyone is going in with me. We’ll kill them all!”

“How?”

“What if we start a fire and burn everything inside?”

“The whole place is stone. What are you going to burn?”

Everyone began talking over one another about what to do next. No one could reach a decision, but one thing was clear: neither the mercenaries nor the soldiers wanted to risk venturing deep into the quarry.

Raymond moved beside Henk and whispered to him for a moment, then slowly stepped in front of the group. “Everyone, quiet down and listen.”

Raymond’s performance in the quarry battle had been plain for all to see. At his words, everyone fell silent and turned toward him.

Raymond cleared his throat and spoke deliberately. “A little over a month ago, I encountered that fire-breathing goblin. Captain Dario can confirm it. Many of you know Carter. That goblin caused his burns. And today, all of you saw how deadly its fire can be.”

“But when I first saw it over a month ago, it was nothing like this. It was shorter and much thinner. Breathing fire once left it exhausted. It struggled even to muster a second blast and ultimately failed to produce any flame at all. If Henk hadn’t frightened it away today, who knows whether it could have breathed fire a third or fourth time?”

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“My point is this: in barely more than a month, a goblin that weak grew into what we just faced. If we let it escape again, what will we be fighting next time? It is an undeniable threat to all of Blackstone. We have to kill it today. That’s my view.”

Raymond’s words silenced the group. His analysis made the severity of the threat clear to everyone. Even Dario, who had been on the verge of exploding with rage, gradually calmed down.

“Easy for you to say. How are we supposed to kill it?” a mercenary scoffed. “Do you know how dark it is inside that mine? We can’t see like the goblins can.”

“There is a light source inside. I’m certain,” Henk suddenly said.

The mercenary looked him over. “You’re certain? Based on what? How could you possibly know there’s light inside? You’re nothing but a...” He seemed to remember something and abruptly closed his mouth.

“Low-light vision. I have low-light vision too.” Henk showed no offense and merely pointed at his eyes. “It isn’t true night vision. I still need a light source to see in the dark.”

Dario abruptly rose and stared at the tunnel entrance. “Ordinary goblins pose no threat to us. The only real dangers are Greater Goblins, those big goblins, and, of course, the one-eyed goblin.” He swallowed. “Even if there are Greater Goblins inside, there can be no more than one or two. With our strength, we can handle them. We go in, and we kill them all!”

The soldiers answered immediately. “Yes, sir!”

The surviving mercenaries, however, stared at one another. One of them asked uncertainly, “Then who’s going in first? It’s so dark inside. What if...”

“Me! I’ll go first!” Henk stepped forward with his hand-and-a-half sword.

Raymond stepped forward as well. “I’ll follow behind Henk.”

“Good! That’s the spirit!” Dario praised them. “Then it’s settled. Everyone else follows behind them, with the archers and crossbowmen bringing up the rear. Stay alert and watch your surroundings!”

“Yes!”

Dario took out the map and showed it to the group. The old man’s drawing was extremely crude, but simple enough to understand. A previous collapse had buried many of the quarry’s long, narrow passages. All that remained accessible were the main quarry hall, the stone-hauling passage, the hoisting shaft, and several small rooms that had escaped the collapse.

Once everyone had a general sense of the map, they headed directly toward the tunnel in the depths of the quarry.

Henk led the way. Powerful as he was, even he slowed when he entered the tunnel and tightened both hands around his sword. Raymond followed five paces behind.

The moment Raymond stepped inside, darkness seemed to swallow his entire field of vision. Several lamps fueled with fat burned within the tunnel, providing only a faint glow.

After passing through a corridor, Henk entered the quarry hall first, with Raymond close behind.

Several massive stone pillars stood in the center of the hall. To one side lay an abandoned hoisting shaft. The remains of a rotting winch stood above it, with a thick rope descending along the shaft wall into the darkness. Though the depths of the shaft were pitch-black, a faint light glimmered somewhere below. To the left of the hall lay a collapsed section of rubble, where several beams of daylight shone through cracks into the chamber.

A tremendous crash rang out the moment Henk entered the hall.

A Greater Goblin had been hiding behind one of the stone pillars. With Henk’s view obstructed, it suddenly lunged from the side and locked both arms around him. Taken by surprise, Henk had no time to break free before the creature drove him forward in a headlong charge.

Henk’s hand-and-a-half sword came free from his grasp amid the collision and fell beside the shaft. The pair then smashed through the rotting railing and plunged into the darkness together. A moment later, a heavy impact sounded from below.

The Greater Goblin that had fallen with Henk roared in pain. Almost simultaneously, a second, distinctly different roar sounded from even deeper in the shaft.

There was another Greater Goblin below!

Gooseflesh rose across Raymond’s body. Henk had been driven straight into the shaft by a Greater Goblin, and his weapon remained above. Even with Henk’s strength, facing two Greater Goblins barehanded would be extraordinarily dangerous.

“Raymond! Don’t!” Dario shouted from behind him.

Raymond ignored him. He seized the rope hanging at the edge, vaulted over the broken railing, and rapidly slid down into the depths of the shaft.