The air grew thick and cold the deeper we went, clinging to my skin like a wet shroud.
The only light came from the faint, sickly glow of moss on the walls, casting long, distorted shadows that seemed to reach for us with every step.
The silence was a physical presence, broken only by the soft scuff of our shoes on the damp stone and the occasional, maddening 'drip… drip…' of water echoing from some unseen cavern.
It was a sound that measured the passing seconds in a place where time felt suspended.
Tobias led from the front, a mountain of quiet confidence.
His massive claymore rested on his shoulder as if it weighed nothing, but his eyes, constantly scanning the darkness, missed nothing.
Behind him, Lily moved with the fluid grace of a stalking panther, her bow held loosely but her entire body coiled, ready to draw and fire in a heartbeat.
Marcus was little more than a whisper ahead, a phantom melting into the gloom, his passage marked only by a slight disturbance in the air.
I stayed close to Evelyn, her silver hair a pale beacon in the oppressive dark.
She held her staff with a tight grip, the crystal at its tip pulsing with a soft, steady light.
Every so often, she'd glance my way, her expression unreadable.
The tunnel finally widened, opening into a vast chamber.
The ceiling soared away into blackness, and the air smelled distinctly fouler, of smoke, unwashed bodies, and old blood.
Crude torches, sputtering and guttering, were jammed into cracks in the wall, casting a flickering, uneven light that made the shadows dance and writhe.
"Goblin territory," Tobias muttered, his voice a low rumble that didn't carry beyond our circle.
He raised a clenched fist, and we froze.
Marcus materialized from the darkness beside us, his usual smirk absent.
"Four scouts, two warriors," he breathed, his voice barely audible. "They're clustered near the next tunnel entrance. Lazy. Complacent."
Tobias gave a sharp nod, his jaw tightening.
"We take them fast and quiet. Lily, you and Marcus handle the scouts. I'll deal with the warriors. Allen," his eyes locked with mine, "stay back with Evelyn. Be ready to use your lightning if things go south."
I nodded.
The plan was simple. My role was simple. Wait. Watch. Be the backup.
Lily smirked, an arrow already nocked.
"This'll be over in seconds."
Marcus's grin returned, a flash of white in the dim light.
"I'll bet you a round at the tavern I take down more than you."
"You're on," Lily whispered, her eyes narrowing as she drew the bowstring taut.
There was no signal. One second there was tense silence, the next, chaos erupted with a whisper.
Lily's first arrow was a streak of motion, taking a scout square in the eye. It dropped without a sound.
Marcus was a blur, his daggers flashing. He flowed between two other scouts, and they fell, their crude knives clattering to the stone before they could even cry out.
The fourth scout turned, its mouth opening to screech an alarm, but Lily's second arrow silenced it forever, punching through its throat.
Tobias was already moving. He covered the ground in three powerful strides, his claymore a dark arc.
One warrior, larger than the others, managed to raise a notched axe. It didn't matter.
Tobias's blow cleaved through the weapon and the creature behind it with brutal efficiency.
The second warrior, enraged, let out a guttural roar and charged, its speed shocking.
For a heart-stopping moment, I saw an opening.
Tobias was recovering from his swing, off-balance. The warrior was going to reach him.
"Allen!" Tobias barked, his voice cutting through the din.
I didn't think. I reacted. My hand came up, palm open.
There was no much effort, or strain. I simply reached for the ocean of power inside me and let a single drop fall.
A bolt of lightning, no thicker than my finger, crackled from my fingertips.
The sound was a sharp, tearing 'CRACK' that echoed through the chamber.
It wasn't a wild blast; it was a precise, vicious strike.
It hit the charging warrior square in the chest.
There was no burn, no scorch mark. Where the bolt struck, a perfectly smooth, fist-sized hole simply appeared.
The creature's roar choked off. It stared down at the void in its torso for a stunned second, then crumpled to the ground, its charge ended mid-step.
Silence descended, heavier and more profound than before.
The acrid scent of ozone cut through the stench of goblin.
Tobias stared at the fallen warrior, then at me. He gave a single, curt nod.
"Nice shot." It was the highest praise I'd probably ever get from him.
"You've got potential, newbie," Marcus said, appearing beside me and clapping me on the back with a force that should've staggered me, but it didn't.
His grin was back, wider than ever.
"Not bad for your first time."
"Don't get cocky," Lily added as she retrieved her arrows, her tone teasing but her eyes lingering on the hole in the goblin's chest. "That was just a simple warm-up."
Evelyn moved past us, her face solemn. She knelt beside one of the fallen scouts, ignoring the gore, and placed a hand on its forehead, murmuring a quiet, melodic prayer.
It was a strange, gentle act in this place of violence.
She's an odd one.
The sentiment wasn't unkind. In this grim world, a little mercy, even for monsters, felt like a rebellion.
"Let's move," Tobias commanded, his voice pulling us back to the task. "The real fight is further in."
We regrouped, the brief moment of triumph fading as we faced the dark mouth of the next tunnel.
The new tunnel was narrower, twisting like a snake's burrow.
From the impenetrable blackness ahead, faint but unmistakable, came the sound of guttural growls and the scrape of claws on stone.
More of them. Many more.
"They know we're coming," Tobias said, his voice grim.
Marcus twirled a dagger, his eyes gleaming with a fierce light.
"Good," he replied. "Let them come."