35 Goblins!
As the next day arrived, it was time to tackle the quest.
It required a hike as the area they were sent to was in one of the opposing corners of the valley.
…Nobody mentioned this part! We’ve been walking for three hours straight! He thought.
To make matters worse, since they were climbing one of the trail-paved mountains around Yullim, he has to walk up an incline.
“—”
“C’mon, Emilio! Don’t tell me you’re tired already?” Julius yelled back at him with a smile.
There wasn’t a droplet of sweat gracing his father’s skin, but he on the other hand was sweating and breathing out like a dog.
Celly was ahead of him as well, though she was sweating a bit, she didn’t look strained.
He didn’t answer, mostly because he was so sparse on breath that he couldn’t spare the precious oxygen as his lungs worked overtime just for him to march on.
“Don’t worry, just a bit more to go,” Celly assured him with a smile, holding a map.
Angel, he thought.
There were excuses that ran through his head, like the outfit he wore not being appropriate for hiking: the gray, noble coat, decorated with a silver lace he wore and brown shorts—but, it was just that—excuses.
He was still just a pre-teen with a body that wasn’t built for physical activity of this degree. To make it worse, he was carrying a short sword with him, which added a bit of weight he wasn’t used to.
Even worse, a quick glance to the side should show him just how high up they were.
Swishhh.
The town below looked minuscule, obscured by the foggy air of the morning. It wasn’t as if they were even very far up the mountain, or aiming for it.
“Alright, we’re here,” Julius said.
Though he heard those words from his father, he didn’t see what they meant until he caught up a minute later, standing beside Celly and Julius as he peered into the shadow-crept hole in the side of the mountain trail.
An ominous howl emitted from the dark cave entrance, making his skin crawl for a moment as he gripped his wand tightly between his fingers.
“…This is it? How can you tell?” He asked.
Julius smiled, running his hands, which were wrapped in black-leather, fingerless gloves, along the threshold of the cave entrance, “This shoddy work is the doing of goblins. And, look right here.”
He stepped closer as his father knelt down, pointing to something near the entrance as he peered down as well.
It was a series of small footprints left in the gravel-covered dirt.
“…Footprints?” He mumbled.
Julius stood back up, “Yup. They’re fresh, too. I’d say we just missed them coming in, maybe half an hour ago, give or take.”
It was surprising–he never got to see this side of his father: the capable adventurer with years of experience beneath his belt.
“Have you hunted goblins before, Celly?” He asked.
Celly looked at him with a slight tilt of her head before glancing down the cave opening, “Not cave goblins. I’ve heard these types create homes in mountains or hills themselves…they don’t settle for natural caves.”
“That’s right. Gotta hand it to the little snots–they’re diligent bastards, at least,” Julius said, stepping inside, “Come on.”
Celly followed inside but he hesitated for a moment, feeling a certain unease swirl in his gut when looking down into that dark cave, but he stepped in as well.
The air was immediately different; cold and clammy. It stunk of wet stone, ammonia, and other repugnant odors he dared not to think too hard about.
“…Shouldn’t we have some light?” He asked in a whisper.
Julius glanced back at him, “If you need it, sure. Go ahead.”
For a moment he questioned how his father could see in such claustrophobic darkness, but he remembered hearing about it a few times–a unique skill his father possessed. One aspect of it allowed him to see in total darkness, apparently.
“Celly?” He asked.
“I can see just enough, but some light would help, Emilio,” Celly told him.
That was enough for him as he lifted his hand, conjuring a small flame on its end point that immediately stretched its luminescence outwards.
He held his wand up like a torch, looking at the walls of grimy, rigged stone as bits of water dripped from the ceiling.
“…There we go,” Julius said.
“–?”
He looked forward, seeing for himself what it was that his father noticed as his small, makeshift torch showed it to his eyes: they were unintelligible symbols drawn in blood.
“What’s that…?” He asked.
“Their way of communicating,” Julius answered, “We’re close now. Get ready, Emilio.”
He nodded silently, holding his flame-bearing wand up as he gulped.
From there, no words were exchanged as the three walked forward silently; Julius had his special, black-bladed sword out and Celly kept her staff tightly held in both of her hands.
After a bit more of the anxious walking he did behind the two, he found himself in a large, open space within the cave.
“–” Julius glanced around.
“…Aren’t there supposed to be goblins here?” He asked.
A few more seconds of the gnawing silence later–he jinxed himself. All of that silence was shattered all at once as the rapid footsteps of many beings sounded out, pattering against the rocky floors and coming from seemingly every direction.
“They’re coming!” Celly called out.
“Yeah–a whole lot of them, too,” Julius said.
Though the other two didn’t seem too bothered by this, but still cautious, he on the other hand gulped and felt his fingertips quivering as he held his torch-turned wand higher.
With the stretch of flame-born light, he saw the dozens of holes that were bored in the walls around the empty room in the cavern.
“Get that sword out, Emilio! It’s time to slay some goblins!” Julius called out.
Roll credits! He thought.
With the sounds of the cavern-dwelling fiends racing through the various tunnels, closing in on them as the three stood together, his fingers scrambled to draw his small sword from its sheath–getting stuck and nearly causing his scabbard itself to fall from his belt as he finally draw his blade.
“Gah!”
Just as he drew his shortsword, he looked up to find goblins already pouring out from the surrounding passageways.
They were as he expected from the goblins he saw in the media in his previous life: short and with dark-green skin, pointy ears, drooling and looking on with beady, black eyes.
But, there was just one thing–
Though goblins were known for their small stature, he wasn’t exactly big himself as a twelve-year-old who had yet to experience any sort of growth spurt.
They’re practically like orcs to me! He thought.