Sprays of blood misted through the air with every swing and stab. Tab caught the next cave goblin with a strong slash, decapitating it, the wriggling body falling to the ground, twitching weakly. More rushed her, screeching wildly, sharp teeth gnashing.
A ball of fire slammed into them, turning their bodies into ash and charred bone. Tab took a look over her shoulder, up towards the top of a nearby slope.
Lily stood near the edge, her hands swirling through the air, creating another burst of flame. Her long brown dress swished around her boots to her movements as she guided the burst into another group of cave goblins, knocking them away from Bort. He looked up at her with appreciation and awe in his eyes. She nodded back, smiling slightly, wiping a bit of sweat from the glistening sheen on her forehead.
A screech came from behind Tab. She turned, swinging her sword, catching a goblin mid-leap. Several more followed it, their screeches angry.
Her sword felled a few. One dodged her strikes and jumped onto her back. She drew her dagger, but before she could stab, it dug its teeth into her shoulder, the sharp fangs cutting through both her jerkin and her shirt. Pain erupted, drawing a grunt from her. She stabbed the dagger over her shoulder, catching the goblin right between the eyes.
Another leapt at her. An arrow smacked into its neck, knocking it down, blood spurting out messily.
She glanced back up towards the top of the slope.
Kel was near Lily, scanning the area with a new arrow already nocked. Dozens of arrows protruded here and there amidst the carnage, sticking out from goblin corpses.
A roar came from nearby. She spun just in time to see Chanko cleave a leaping goblin in two with a hearty swing of his axe. Another leapt at him. He caught it in mid-air, his palm closing on its forehead, and crushed its skull, brains squelching onto his fingers. Five more rushed him. He threw the corpse at one, knocking it back. A fireball sizzled past, taking out the others, his formidable frame silhouetted by the flash.
"How many more of these bastards are there?" Bort yelled, decapitating a lunging goblin.
Chanko gestured towards the arm of the cave the group had slunk from not so long ago. His nostrils flared.
"I can smell more. A lot more."
A loud screeching sounded from that direction. A flash of flame illuminated the shadows enough to show countless goblins coming for them, chittering and growling.
"We need to get out of here!" Tab yelled.
Chanko glanced over at the nearby slope.
"You two climb!" he shouted. "I'll hold them off!"
Tab looked up to Lily, still guiding fireballs out across the area.
"Lily! Firestorm, now!"
She stared back with wide eyes.
"I can't! Not without burning you three!"
"Yes, you can!" Bort yelled up at her, slashing a goblin's throat open. "You can do it, you just have to focus!"
"I can't! It's hard enough controlling the fireballs!"
"We need to get out of here!" Tab shouted, cutting through a goblin's stomach. "Firestorm, now!"
"I can't!"
Chanko strode towards the arm of the cave, his axe swinging viciously through the air, finding goblins left and right.
"Just focus!" Bort told her, splitting open a goblin's skull. "Focus! You can do it!"
Lily shook her head, face pale with panic.
"I don't want to hurt you!"
The swarm of goblins burst from the arm of the cave, a mass of spindly limbs and gnashing jaws. Chanko looked back at Tab and Bort. Arrows flew past him, picking off goblins.
"Climb!" he roared.
"Do it, Lily!" Tab shouted, ramming her sword through a goblin's eye socket. "Firestorm, now! Or we're fucked!"
"You can do it!" Bort continued, nodding in encouragement. "Focus! You won't hurt us!"
Chanko snarled at the onrushing wave, his feet set, his axe held high.
"Do it, Lily!" Tab urged, chucking her dagger at a goblin, the blade lodging in its throat. "We'll be fine, we trust you!"
Lily took a deep breath, and held out her hands, panic still across her face. Her lips began to move, muttering incantations.
Chanko snarled again at the onrushing swarm of goblins. Tab edged back towards the slope, and glanced over at Bort, who was gazing expectantly up at Lily.
Fire burst to life all around them, shooting straight up from the ground, swallowing up the swarm of goblins, and other goblins in the area, the flaming roar drowning out their shrieks. The sudden rush of heat sent Chanko stumbling backwards and almost knocked Tab and Bort over. But no fire came near them, and the few goblins who escaped the inferno due to their proximity to them were summarily dispatched. The blaze roared on, sweat springing up all over Tab. Lily kept her hands extended, staring down, brows knitted together, a vein standing out on her forehead.
"Yes!" Bort cried, pumping his fist. "I knew you could do it!"
The fire burned for a few more seconds, a towering conflagration, and then dissipated, dying down to spots of flickering flame and then finally to nothing, leaving in its wake scorched dirt and piles of ash, bones, and severely charred goblin corpses. Only Tab, Bort, and Chanko remained standing.
Lily's eyes fluttered, and she slumped forward, her body going limp. She fell over the lip of the slope, and hit the dirt, sliding down. The trio raced towards her.
Bort reached her first, stopping her tumbling body.
"Lily!" he cried, pulling her into his arms, cradling her head.
Kel came down the slope much more gracefully, his pointed ears perking up.
"She's alright," he told them. "Just unconscious."
"Do you hear any more goblins?" Tab asked him.
He shook his head.
"Do you smell any?" she asked Chanko.
He shook his head.
"Then let's get out of here. Bort, carry her. Chanko and Kel, help me with the loot."
The trio made their way back up the slope to where the bags lay. Tab hoisted a few over her shoulders, hissing in pain from the goblin bite.
"Let me take a look at that," Chanko told her, hoisting up his own bags.
"After we get out of here."
Bort waited for them, carrying Lily carefully. Her slender frame was longer than his stout physique, resting awkwardly in his arms, her dark hair falling over one side, her long legs draped over the other. The group set off towards the arm of the cave, the acrid smell of burnt flesh hanging heavy in the air. Kel stopped here and there to retrieve arrows.
No more cave goblins challenged the group on their way out, and soon, the entrance to the cave itself beckoned.
But beyond, a storm of a different kind raged. Rain lashed relentlessly, thunder roared through the air, lightning illuminated the night in powerful flashes.
"We'll hunker down here until the morning," she told the group.
"What if more goblins come back?" Bort asked, adjusting Lily in his arms.
"Then we'll take our chances with the storm."
Bort nodded, putting Lily down gently and sitting beside her. Kel took off his quiver.
"I'll take first watch," she continued, trudging away from the entrance, deeper into the cave. "The rest of you, get a little rest."
"Let me take a look at that bite," Chanko called over.
She nodded, shrugging out of her jerkin, and then staying still to let him pull the collar of her shirt to the side.
Snoring started up behind them. Bort was fast asleep, a protective arm around Lily. Kel sat nearby, cleaning his arrows.
"That kid can sleep wherever," Chanko commented.
"We should all be so lucky."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Tab winced. Even with Chanko's appleroot poultice smeared over her bite wound, the cord of the bag rubbing against it through her shirt was still a painful sensation. She had kept her jerkin off, subtracting from the layers between cord and wound. Other aches arose here and there. The sweat and grime from last night stuck to her skin, adding to her overall discomfort, but she did her best to ignore the annoyances.
Bort walked along next to her, Lily still unconscious in his arms. Ahead of them, Kel and Chanko carried several bags.
The mountain path had become the forest road, and the forest road had become one of the several smaller roads that led to Muddymuck. This particular road brought the group past a few farms, bleating livestock offering a pastoral soundtrack.
A mile past the last farm stood a cottage. The rickety little house, painted a bright blue, contrasted with the rows of flowers blooming in the garden behind it. A thin trail of smoke unfurled from the chimney on the roof.
Tab knocked on the door. Bort stepped up next to her, shifting Lily in his arms.
The door swung open.
Granny squinted at them for a few seconds, taking in the bedraggled group. Her eyes landed on Lily last.
"What happened?" the wizened old woman asked, stepping aside to let them clomp inside.
"She did a firestorm," Tab told her. "Passed out once it was done."
"Passed out? Firestorm shouldn't knock her out like that."
"Well, she had to make sure we didn't get burned, so it probably took more out of her."
"Ah, a controlled firestorm. How long has she been out?"
"Since last night."
Granny gestured for Bort to place Lily on a nearby couch. He set her down, taking a few moments to adjust her position, arranging her arms at her sides and stretching her legs out. Her dress had ridden up slightly over her knees, showing her pale thighs, so he gently fixed the hem. Granny put a hand on her forehead, palm down, and shook her head in mild exasperation.
"All that power and still so much to learn. I could do a controlled firestorm in my sleep."
Kel and Chanko exchanged glances from by the door.
The old woman padded past Tab, but then stopped, and eyed her shoulder.
"You're bleeding."
"Cave goblin bite."
She nodded, changing direction, puttering towards a cabinet against the near wall.
"Let me give you something for that."
"Oh, Chanko already put a poultice on it. I'll reapply once I get home."
She scoffed, waving off the comment.
"I'll give you something."
"Will she be alright?" Bort asked.
"Of course," Granny replied dismissively, digging through the cabinet's drawers. "Cave goblins have nasty little mouths, but I know just the thing."
"No, I meant Lily."
"Oh. Yeah, she'll be fine too. The controlled firestorm knocked a lot from her. She just needs to rest up a bit more."
Bort nodded in relief.
"I assume you lot found something worthwhile up in the mountains," she continued, still rummaging through the contents of the drawers.
"Aye," Kel replied simply, setting two bags down on the floor. "That'll be Lily's portion."
She nodded in thanks without looking over.
"Do you know when she might wake up?" Bort asked next.
She shrugged.
"She'll be out a few more hours. Might even sleep through the day. You're welcome to come back in the evening and check up on her."
He nodded resolutely.
"If she wakes up before you come back, I'll send Willy to the inn to let you know."
A chirp came from the rafters, and the quartet peeked up to see a rotund sparrow peering down at them. Bort offered a little wave. Willy chirped again and withdrew from sight.
Granny plucked a small jar from a drawer, and puttered back towards Tab.
"Now, let me get a look at that bite. Take off your shirt."
