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Gate Info:
Location: Cave system of the forgotten world.
Opening time: Once every 7 days for 10 days.
Danger level: D+++
Owners: Silvermane
Rewards: Iron, various minerals, water
Last clear: 3 weeks ago
Gate closing time: 00 00 25 38
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'The gate will close in less than 25 minutes... They planned this.' The more Eren thought about it. The more this whole situation felt like a trap. A well-executed trap. Something he assumed the goblins wouldn't be capable of pulling off; based on what he thought he knew about them.
Cunning, and malicious in intent. For even if the goblins did in fact have the hostages here. Eren wouldn't have the time to escape the gate before its closure. No, something darker lurked within these cavern walls. A malevolent and cruel thing was waiting. He could sense it.
The cave itself was wide and spacious. Stalagmites and stalactites of varying sizes. Pillars of natural rock formations that were both ancient and dull to Eren. Only an avid geologist would find any beauty in them.
*Sniff* *Sniff*
'That smell...' It was a thick, pungent odour. It assaulted the nose and forced its presence upon even the strongest of stomachs. It was the smell of corrupted air. A musky and putrid scent of rot, mould, and a wet atmosphere. It reeked of decay.
*Wrrrrr*
The shadows that surrounded him reacted with hostility. Their own hatred for the stench of such a disgusting place. They reflected the masters will. Eren was not the type of individual to feel any sort of revulsion. For this was not the first time, and certainly wouldn't be the last time that the putrid smell of death would fill the air.
Entering a wide-open cavern; the area was lit up in a dim blue glow of mushrooms and various types of bioluminescent creatures that scurried away. A thick layer of moss covered the rocky floor, soft underfoot and almost slippery. A pool of crystal-clear water lay in the centre of the room. Its surface was still, like a mirror.
*Scutter* *Scutter*
Tiny footsteps echoed out from a nearby tunnel. Small, ratlike eyes; dirty yellow teeth, and flesh of a dark green hue. One, then two, then more. More and more. Very soon Eren was surrounded by an army of goblins.
Taken straight out of a fantasy book, the goblins were small, with pointed ears, sharp claws, and wearing ragged clothes of animal skin. However, some had different characteristics that the others.
Some stood taller, others bulkier with muscles of sinewy strands. Some even with longer pointed ears, with eyes of human like appearance.
"Human... Give the stick. We return... humans." A raspy voice came from behind Eren.
Turning, Eren looked down at a goblin. This one was different, standing taller, and with almost human like face. A green hunched human rather than a traditional goblin.
"Where are they?" Eren asked, the deep and gruff mechanical voice of the reaper was all too familiar in the darkness. He scanned the room, looking for the hostages, but finding none. Only more goblins, ones that began to close in.
"Stick first... Then we will return... the humans."
*Step* *Step*
The sound of footsteps echoed through the caverns. More and more of those goblin-like creatures joined. They came from every entrance. Small and large, armed, and unarmed.
It was never going to be a negotiation. Trading intelligence for lives? The idea was ludicrous. The old-fashioned way was more prudent. Especially considering that these goblins likely wouldn't honour their agreement.
"Human... Give the-" *Crush*
A brute's hammer swung down, crushing the goblin. Its body squashed like a bug, bones and flesh turned to paste.
"The human has broken the deal!" A goblin yelled, the vermin began to swarm the reaper.
Eren didn't move. He didn't need to. From the shadows of the cave system, arrows flung upon the monsters. Piercing the soft bodies of the smaller ones, headshots that brought swift deaths.
"Not human." He corrected, before his forces emerged from behind the stalactites, descending upon the remaining goblins. The knights were outnumbered 3 - 1. But what they lacked in numbers, they made up for in ferocity and lethality of their attacks.
The first knights to charge forward, swords cleaving three apart with ease. Goblin's limbs were sent flying, their blood spraying in an arc of green. Then a flurry of arrows pierced the monsters that followed.
They had not known what was coming. For in the darkness beyond their own; came something far more terrifying.
---
"Get back to the - AHHHHHHH!" An arm was cut from the goblin, a sword had swung, cleaving through the soft flesh of its arm. More and more fell without so much as a fight. The brutes had joined, slamming down hammers of stone upon the fleeing goblins. Wolves also began to rip and tear apart the goblins. It was a slaughter.
"Run! Flee!" Goblins yelled in terror. Some tried to fight back, but their weapons were ineffective against the armour of the shadows.
Even Guren had arrived, using the blood of green to create blood rain. Using their own blood to near scald the goblins alive. Blood boiling, flesh melting off bones, a stench of burning green meat.
"Let one live..." The Reaper ordered.
Although he didn't know where to begin. The Reaper knew that these were the dregs. These were the cannon fodder sent to overwhelm and distract. Neither strong nor smart. He only needed one to lead him deeper. Inwards, and towards the heart of this goblin nest of scum and villainy.
"I need to tell... the queen..." A large bulky goblin muttered under its breath. This one had a large belly, but muscular arms. Eyes were more intelligent than the others, using its broods' deaths. It snuck through a tunnel.
"Finish them off. Then bring as many bodies as you can." Eren ordered, Guren nodded.
With the knights, wolves and Guren to finish up the stragglers. The Reaper followed the Goblin, deeper into the cave system. A long and narrow passage that had been carved out by thousands of years of flowing water. Smooth walls, stalactites dripping down from the roof, and stalagmites rising upwards from the floor.
"I made it... I must inform - ACK!" The goblin gasped; its airway constricted as the reaper wrapped a tight grip around the creature's throat. The goblin struggled, kicking its legs, and clawing at the leather of Reapers arm. It was useless.
"Where are they?" He asked, tightening the grip.
The goblin struggled against the grasp, gasping for air, but unable to get any. Its eyes bulging from lack of oxygen.
"The... queen..." It managed to speak. Eren tightened the grip even more, the sound of bones popping and muscles being stretched beyond their limits.
Eventually, the goblin stopped struggling.
'Nothing...' It was dead. His only remaining avenue; the gate that was before him. A swirling amber portal, the gate that these monsters had come from.
The rings system was unable to identify anything beyond the swirling portal. It was a blank slate. No information on what could be on the other side.
Any other time, it might have been a fun adventure. But with the lives of innocents on the line, and time was running thin.
*Step* *Step* *Step*
His forces had finished off the last of the goblins. Each one holding a dead goblin over its back. Even Guren, who was dragging multiple dead corpses.
"Put them down." They did. Pilling them up like cordwood. The bodies of the fallen were nothing more than sacks of flesh and blood.
The ring took them all within itself.
The rings hunger had grown, and no number of goblins seemed to be enough. It was an insatiable desire, and it needed more.
A great feast would take place upon the other side.