Get a glimpse at a section of "The Mighty Warrior's Magic" from The Dream Collection Volume 1! Fantasy, magic, goblins, and ancient ruins... what more is there to love? Like what you see? Consider checking out the full short story collection!
“Listen,” Galetel hissed suddenly, causing Keth to jump. “We must back out, this is not a task we were prepared for. We shall report back to the Guild and inform them we will need a bigger squad.”
Everyone was nodding, slowly sidling away from the goblin infested cavern. Keth didn’t. He had just had an idea. A wild one, but it might just work. He reached back and caught Ethii’s wrist.
“I’ve got an idea,” Keth whispered. Ethii nodded.
“Look, there’s a bonfire on that Yagan plinth in the back, next to the chieftain. See it?”
Ethii squinted for a moment, then nodded again.
“It's really close to the vines draped down the back wall,” Keth spoke quickly, noticing the others had already left the tunnel. “I think if you shot an arrow back there, it would create a path for the flames to follow to the vines. The whole cavern would catch fire and drive the goblins out, where the others can pick them off one by one.”
Ethii squinted again, calculating.
“What are you two doing?” Auyanna whispered suddenly, causing Keth to jump. “We’ve got to go! There’s way too many-”
“You still got that oil bottle on you?” Ethii interrupted.
“What oil? Shouldn’t we be leaving?” Auyanna replied, her expression turning to mild concern.
“The bottle of hair oil or whatever the sludge it’s called that your cousin gifted you,” Ethii elaborated. Her nose was wrinkled against the goblin smell, and her eyes were now watering slightly.
“Yeah,” Auyanna said slowly, fishing it out of her pouch. “You don’t even have hair, though!”
Ethii took the oil, choosing not to respond to Auyanna’s protests (or rather, being too busy holding her breath). She poured some over an arrow, handing the bottle over to Keth. She nocked the arrow in her bow. Keth grinned as he realized what Ethii was planning. He steered Auyanna back, giving Ethii room to shoot.
Ethii launched the arrow with precision. It ignited almost instantly, and the flames began quickly climbing the dry vines. It took the goblins a moment to realize what was happening. Suddenly, they were sprinting every which way, some collecting water, others screaming and panicking. Mostly, they caused each other trouble, knocking bowls of water from the grubby hands of others.
Keth didn’t hesitate. As Auyanna and Ethii took off to rejoin the squad, Keth darted into the cavern, towards the nearest, now-abandoned bonfire. He snatched up vines, set the ends alight, and backed towards the entry again. The vines were igniting quickly in his hands, much like the vines throughout the rest of the cavern; the air was already thick with black smoke.
Goblins made for the exit, glaring and hissing at Keth as he blocked the path to freedom. Keth hurriedly placed his bundle of burning vines in the doorway before he smashed the rest of the oil bottle in the flames. As the bottle shattered, it exploded in a surprisingly powerful flame burst that sent Keth stumbling backward. Hot shards of glass pelted his face, and more rang against his armor. Smoke trailed towards him, causing his eyes to sting.
No goblins pressed through the violent flames, not that they could survive it anyway. Keth didn’t wait any longer. He turned and barreled his way back up the tunnel, coughing and stumbling on loose tiles. He trailed a hand along the rough walls for stability. Goblins screamed behind him.
The ground shook suddenly. Keth risked a glance back to see bricks coming free, rocks tumbling from the ceiling.
Ah. The roots were probably holding the ruins together. Keth thought, grimacing, sprinting faster.
Rubble fell all around him. Stones pelted his armor, earth crusted his hair. Smoke continued to billow upward, making it difficult to press forward. Keth’s chest burned, his legs ached. He slipped on yet another tile, tumbling forward and rolling awkwardly into a standing position. His ankle rolled, but he gritted his teeth and kept going.
Up the slope was grey light, blocked by the silhouette of a person. Keth’s eyes watered, he couldn’t see properly. A large rock crashed against his shoulder, leaving a prominent dent in his plate pauldron. Keth launched himself forward out into the clean, cool air above.
The cave behind him crashed down, the hill visibly sagged and sank. Trees rocked. The hole became blocked by mounds of rock, brick, and a thick cloud of smoke.