Whenever I stepped down on the glowing discs, they resisted pushing me up into the air, and I wobbled while walking up the stairs without touching them. What if there are traps?
At the very top was a huge unguarded doorway. Morosely crafted from dark wood, carved on either side with distinctive savage motifs, and drenched with grime.
"There's something bad in there, isn't there?" I sighed and summoned a sword out of nowhere. Wait. Let me use the bow. Nocking arrows still dripping with blood, I armed myself and opened the door a smidge with my foot.
Hovering above the ground, relying on rapidly decreasing magic, I took in the scenery from the slight crack in the door I'd created.
So there's a big, scary hobgoblin right there. But behind him is a door. A big door to the outside, hopefully. Several armed chatty goblins sit around him or pace the hall. I closed the door a little more to prevent any light from catching their attention.
No magic users, though. I don't see anything that makes me too worried. Maybe I'm overestimating myself, but overall I've been doing pretty well with the skillset I have. So, who should I attack first? Most of the goblins are level ten at most, but that hobgoblin is a problem.
[Undead Hobgoblin LvL 28]
[HP: 15,000/15,000]
[MP: 5,000/5,000]
Lovely. Unlike the other monsters, this one is huge, and its skin must be pretty thick. Not to mention, in games at least, Hobgoblins are pretty intelligent creatures. They're organized, disciplined, physically strong, capable of speech sometimes, and often a good leader to the other goblins.
So I'm fucked.
The only thing I can think of doing is an ambush or a distraction. Something to confuse and cause chaos amongst their ranks, while I slip outside through the door that most likely needs a key. Hopefully the distraction is enough to keep the leader busy too.
There's a high likelihood that the keys I have now are just for the cells. So, who has the keys in this room?
The hobgoblin shifts and swings his club to the side at a mischievous goblin. It jumps and gets back in formation.
Someone as disciplined as that wouldn't give keys to one of those idiots. If there are keys, they're in his hands or hiding somewhere only he knows.
Goddamn it.
I rolled my eyes and thought about possible decoys. What do I even have? It's not like I can just throw a grenade at them. Fire? Fire is a distraction. Fire to what? Ruminating over the layout, I ironed out a feasible plan: Set this entire hall on fire and close the door on them…
Which would either lead to them trying to escape through this door or…escaping through the other door. So how can I prevent them from escaping? More specifically, the Hobgoblin. A blockade could do it. I glanced at the sturdy door and nudged it with my bow.
Fire is just so convenient. Solves so many problems. Now…Let's go get those bodies. I have the best-worst idea ever.
Once I was done preparing the barricade, splashing the remains with oil and making a tiny fire next to it, I snuck inside the hall, pulled the barricade into place, effectively sealing the entrance 'magically', and hid behind a pillar. Armed with a flint rock and my knife, I sparked a flame onto a wooden board. Then, with my trusty olive oil, I gave a little splash at the door.
That's so not enough. In my heart, I wept but accepted the sacrifice. I only have two more bottles after this. Pouring the entire bottle out on the floor, wooden beams, and anywhere within a two-meter radius before the goblins could check for anything wrong.
Not wasting another second, I threw my burning tinder at the door and grinned.
"Boom."
The door immediately went up in flames; all of the pesky creatures shot up, looked at each other, took a sharp breath of air, and that's how the hall descended into utter chaos. The goblins chittered, held their heads, and squealed at each other. Mister Hobgoblin tried to calm them and get closer to the door, but the flames scared him.
Fun fact. Through much trial and error. Most unholy, undead, and ghostly monsters I've encountered don't like fire. Most aren't even badly affected by it. Zombies only experience some pain, and that's it. Charred skin and bones don't really limit their motility; it just makes them groan and scream. Undead goblins experience a lot of pain, but it doesn't do too much actual damage. They won't immediately die, even from suffocation from inhalation of smoke, because again they're undead. At least that's what I've figured from my brief encounter.
Back to the situation at hand, goblins screamed their heads off at the hobgoblin, and it roared back. It bravely stepped into the flames and used its club to hit the door. It splintered but didn't move. Good quality wood. Must have varnished it with something strong.
Mister, your club is on fire. He hit it again and again.
Until a body fell through the large hole he had made.
Oops.
The hobgoblin roared and turned around. In my direction. Stomping and furious, it marched over to my previous hiding spot.
Thankfully, I had cast my barrier and ran towards a couple of chairs near the possible exit door while it investigated the barricaded door. The goblins were too anxious about the fire to care, and I made it through just fine. However, my magic was running dangerously low.
Come on.
The hobgoblin sniffed and stomped around, obviously having caught the scent of another person in the room. Enraged, he shook his head and tried to think. Eyes darted everywhere, and hands clenched at their sides.
My eyes turned purple, and I begged him mentally. Just leave! Leave! Cut your losses. My barrier waned, and I flinched. What?
My eyes returned to their normal color, but I could feel a headache coming on. Please!
The hobgoblin stilled and pointed towards the door. He grunted and groaned a few orders, and the goblins sprinted to a wall. Using their swords, they popped a few bricks out of the wall until a wooden box was revealed.
The hobgoblin opened the box using a key on his leather belt and retrieved a small key that looked almost adorable in between his large fingers. What else is in there? Curious, I tried to peek without being seen.
Just looks like a wooden box. Nothing special.
The hobgoblin marched over to the door, and I maintained my barrier. Come on. He used the key to unlock a lock and chain on the door. The goblins jumped for joy and coughed from the smoke.
The hobgoblin went first and waited at the door like a gentleman for the goblins to skip through the threshold to safety.
Now's my chance.
I slipped into the single-file line and ran out the door, and it roared. Fat chance. I dispelled my barrier, used a tendril of power to grab the box, fumblingly palmed it like a football, and ran away. From behind me, I heard wind whistling, and ducked instinctively.
He threw his club at me! I hopped over it and ran harder. The goblins screamed behind me, and I kept running like my pants were on fire. Actually, they are. Just a little.
Doesn't matter, I'm outside!
Nighttime critters scattered from my path, and the moons were out, illuminating my path forward. I'm still in Allere, and it's cold out. Snow crunched under my feet, and I almost slipped. Need a place to hide. Trees. Dead trees are no good.
Wait. The marks.
What was it? Ghosts. Danger. Trees. Not in that order, but that's my best shot. Maybe there's a house or something around here I could hide in.
I stopped following the castle wall and darted towards the forest of dead trees. On my heels was the furious hobgoblin who was slower but a lot stronger than I. He smashed at trees and roared in breathtaking anger.
The goblins screamed in response and picked up the pace. What is in this box?!
The goblins almost nicked my hair with rocks, and I pumped my exhausted legs faster. Jerks! Until I tripped. I face-planted on wet grass and snow. Barrier. Barrier now!
I cast it just as their weapons came crashing down. Scooching back, I tried not to let them crowd me. My barrier rippled with the increased attacks, and I kept scooching back.
They laughed and screamed before…One of them noticed that their leader wasn't saying anything. He scratched his head and turned around. Only to become paralyzed with fear.