I thought we were in a forest? When people escaped the dungeon they were by a river that I assumed were in the forest, then we were at a mansion that I thought was in the middle of a forest... It wasn't very clear.
Also Vert understood that he killed a lot of goblins. They gonna leave behind a camp or something. Also never said it was a cave. Also, doesn't matter what you put on a pike and what it's meant to scare off. Still gonna smell horrendous after awhile.