Deep in the Mines - Part III

Rubble sprayed the floor of the cave as the goblins pushed their way through. Sweat ran down Calum’s temple, showing his unease. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

A cloud of dirt filled the air and a green body nearly fell into the cave. Several goblins squeezed through the hole while others clawed to make it larger.

Kia cut down the few goblins that had made it into the tunnel. Right as the last body dropped, the dirt surrounding the hole collapsed, nearly tripling its size. A horde of goblins stampeded through the hole, instantly filling the surrounding area.

All of them had shortswords, like the goblins that came before them. Sneers and growls echoed off the walls. Kia soon disappeared amongst the horde of goblins.

Bracing himself, he charged at the crowd, easily cutting down several goblins. The closer he got to the center of the horde, the harder fighting became. There was no room to dodge, no room to swing, and no room to see anything but green. Every once in a while he saw flashes of Kia, but the goblins around him kept him too busy to get any closer to her.

Calum grunted as a shortsword sliced his arm. He turned, elbowing a goblin in the face. Many hands grabbed hold of Calum, rendering him immobile. Goblins jumped on top of him, one after the other, until the weight on his back pushed him to the dirt.

Pain ran along his body with the introduction of several sharp blades in his back. If he hadn’t used so much Divine Power against the borum, he would have easily been able to defeat these goblins. The weight of the goblins was too much for him to shake off. No matter how much he struggled, he was unable to get out from under them. “I need to be stronger…”

A light filled the tunnel, gradually increasing in intensity. The roaring of fire drew nearer, until a large ball of fire scorched the goblins in its path.

Shrieks echoed through the cave and the smell of burnt goblin flesh arose. A few of the monsters that were piled on top of Calum had stopped moving, singed by the massive fireball. The ones that had survived jumped off of him in a panic.

Taking the opportunity, Calum got to his feet and plunged his sword through the few goblins that were previously on top of him.

Farther down the tunnel, Kia had used a goblin as a shield against the fireball. Scorched bodies lay all around her. Some had obviously been killed by her, and others were destroyed by the fire.

A light filled the tunnel, this time coming from a harmless source. “Are you… alright?” Tilaya called, out of breath. She and Erik were running toward Calum. There was a ball of light above her hand that lit up the cave.

“Could be worse,” Calum responded. “You came at just the right time.”

More goblins flooded into the cave. Several of them snarled and immediately rushed at Calum.

“Keep them busy for a bit, I need time to cast my spell,” Tilaya commanded. She put her palms on either side of her new staff and bowed her head, whispering in the elvish tongue.

“We’ll do our best!” Calum cut down a few goblins that came at him, dodging the attacks of a few others.

Erik stopped by his side, slicing a goblin in half. “They can overwhelm you, but they can’t overwhelm two of us.”

“I beg to differ,” Calum blocked an attack from an enemy and retaliated, piercing its heart. He glanced at the large hole the goblins came from. Dozens more entered the tunnel, each one replacing their fallen brethren.

"We just have to defend Tilaya until her spell is ready," Erik reaffirmed, slicing the head off of yet another goblin.

"Should be easy enough. None of them are going for her."

Goblins surrounded the two, slowly closing in. Calum and Erik stood back to back, ready for the onslaught. In unison, the goblins gave a battle cry and charged.

Kia tumbled to the side, dodging several simultaneous attacks. Seven goblins had split from the rest of the group to fight her. Whenever it looked like she was about to finish them off, more goblins entered the fray. Compared to the number of goblins Calum and Erik were battling, she had it easy.

Specks of light appeared in the air, creating a glow that surrounded Tilaya. Her whispering ceased and she looked out at the battle. The light around her was replaced by electricity running down her arm. She shoved her arm out and the electricity shot at the nearest goblin.

As soon as it hit a creature, it bounced to the next while still shocking the previous. The goblins, including the army that was still in the cavern, were chained by the spell, all getting cooked by the electricity.

A minute later, the spell ended and the electricity faded. The smoking green bodies dropped to the earth, no longer a threat to anyone.

Calum stood beside Erik, a few inches from a few of the bodies. "Your magic never fails to impress, Tilaya."

Erik shook himself. "Though I did wish you wouldn't almost hit us with it."

"Then how about she hits you with it next time?" Kia joined the rest of the group. Blood from the goblins she killed had splashed onto her face. "You should be grateful that she just took out all of the enemies. If she didn't do that, you might not be standing right now."

"It's not that I'm ungrateful," Erik shot Tilaya a reassuring look before continuing. "It's just scary being that close to one of her spells."

Calum put his hand on Erik's shoulder and smiled. "Tilaya dedicated her life to studying magic. She knows what she's doing."

"That was some nice fighting you did back there, Calum." Kia had a hand on her hip. "You live up to your title."

"You did a lot more than me, though. I really didn't stand my own. I even had Erik helping me for the last parr of the fight. You were alone the entire time, and you don't seem to be very injured." He stared at the goblin blood on Kia's cheek and gave a nervous laugh. "It looks more like you slaughtered them."

She wiped the blood from her face, leaving a rusty streak of red behind. "You should give yourself more credit. You did good."

Tilaya nodded in affirmation. "You really should be more proud, Calum. You didn't make it this far just because you were chosen as the hero. You've put your heart and soul into fulfilling the role of hero."

Calum put a hand behind his head. "Thanks for your encouragement. However, today's encounter made me realize that I am definitely not ready to take on the Demon Lord."

"We should be getting out of here. Let's talk while we walk." Tilaya shined her magical light brighter and led the party toward the surface. "Since we're already getting equipment from the capital," she started, "why don't we also train there for a while? It's better to be late and prepared than early and not ready."

Footsteps echoed through the cave as Calum caught up to Tilaya. "That's a great idea. Do you already have a teacher in mind?'

At the bottom of the stairs, Tilaya turned toward Calum, a smug grin on her face. "As a matter of fact, I do."