[IC] Goblin Slayer: Newblood (CANCELLED)

[Kazemitsu]

Big Red's ear flicked back at the sound of a cry of pain. Which got him to turn his head as he flicked blood and meat from his hand. Archer Girl was kneeling, an arrow sticking out of her leg. If the pair was any closer they'd see his pupils turn into nearly invisible slits. But the girl fought on, loosing multiple arrows that caught two of the goblin archers but whiffed on the rising knife wielder.

His head snapped back to the goblins, one of which was panicking now and fired at his legs while the other two scrambled for their knives. Unfortunately for the goblins he wasn't an honorable fighter, nor was he merciful. With a prehistoric growl he thundered towards the pair despite another arrow sticking into his lower leg. The flying quill got stuck in the thick leg bone, but still he moved forward. Letting the new pain just fuel his anger more for such pitiful opponents.

Lunging he caught one of the goblins by its before it could get its weapon. Hauling it up while its fingers left furrows in the dirt his other hand caught it by the throat. The girls could only see his back, arms, and shoulders flexing along with the sound of raw meat ripping. Goblins were weak, but living tissue was difficult to pull apart, especially when it was struggling in the opposite direction.

With a harsh snap of his limbs the goblins leg flew off to the side while its neck was completely crushed. He launched the dying goblin away to impact somewhere. He didn't care. The final dagger wielding goblin was shaking at the sight of the blood drenched reptilian biped, its little knife clutched in trembling hands. But at the sound of Druid Girl asking if he was alright and then the patter of sandals on floor. She was running this way. She could be in trouble if this goblin or that archer got their hands on her!

Snarling he lunged forward as the goblin scramble backwards to try and escape him. But going backwards wasn't nearly as fast as going forwards. It got caught, that giants hand grabbing it by the back of its head. It had already seen the damage his hands could do and it tried its best to wrench itself free. But that grip was iron-like and the goblin was airborne for but a moment before Lizard Fighter thrust its head into the ground. Rupturing it like a rotten melon and leaving a single goblin left.

Unsurprisingly Big Red was breathing heavily with his newest set of kills. But was it from his rage, all the damage he took, or just blatant tiredness from working himself so much.

[The Irish Tree]

There was a feeling of panic as Steppe Archer felt magic enter her wound...but, that was soon washed away with the arrow. While it still hurt a great deal, enough to make her grit her teeth even though the arrow was painlessly pushed out, Steppe Archer managed a smile. It hurt like nothing else...well, except maybe Big Red's wounds, but nothing else like she'd ever experienced. But even still with her leg now un-wounded, Steppe Archer was no longer hamstrung. At the suggestion to drink an antidote, the nomad girl said: "Sounds good, but right now these goblins need to pay! For Big Red, and for that adventurer!" Rising once more from her proverbial ashes while trying REALLY hard not to scream from the pain as her brain screamed at her, the archer would draw one of her last four arrows.

Her lizardfolk friend was fighting fiercely as usual...if not moreso. Despite how aloof he seemed at times, it seems that the prospect of his allies getting hurt the amazingly strong fighter only found more strength to draw on. He was a dervish of destruction, but even he had his limits as shown by him puttering out with one goblin left. Well...good thing she had an arrow left. Before the goblin archer had time to flee, a well-placed arrow would find itself tearing through his eye. With a sickening sound it pierced through, the momentum carrying the goblin archer down to the ground, dirtying the hay further. With that settled, the Archer would take a step before she felt all her nerves alight. Pain was still there but right now she had no time to stop. Heading over to Big Red, she would try and keep him stably on his feet. "You can heal him too, right," she questioned, a look of great concern on her face as she looked at the Druid. She'd heard that spellcasters could only use certain spells so many times, and hoped she hadn't expended all her healing when their friend's injuries were numerous.

Maybe he'd need an antidote more than her...

[Xaltwind]

With Big Red lurching forth and approaching the last survivng goblin archer, the little long-nose began to panic and shriek... Only to be silenced with a glurgh-like sound, as the arrow from Steppe Archer wizzed by Big Red, and Druid Girl's, sides and pierced the little monster's eye, giving him a wicked letheal face-piercing. Interestingly, as the goblin flew backwards form the force of the shot that had killed it, it didn't land ontop of the hay like the rest around it. Instead, its body seemed to sink down into the dried grass and just... Vanish?

Druid Girl stopped her run towards the lizard, looking a bit confused at the strange sight. However, she was brought back to attention when the voice of Stppe Archer called out, asking if she could heal the red behemoth. Nodding, she trodded over to her allies and looked around them, making sure none of the goblin corpses were getting back up and readying a sneak-attack. When she was certain that none of the little blighters were just playing dead, she positioned herself infront of Big Red and gave him a look-over.

"H-how can you still keep standing?" She asked, blurting the words out with eyes as wide as dinner plates.

Truly, this fellow was incrdible. He got arrows sticking out of his stomach, shoulder, arm and lower leg, as well as having a big ol' gash close to his knee, but yet he remained standing on both legs and didn't show any signs of buckling under his own, immense weight. How was that even possible? Were lizardmen immune to pain or something? Her master hadn't taught her anything of the sort, but then again, he hadn't dealt a lot with the lizard-folk to begin with... In any case, the big lummox needed some TLC for sure!

"Alright, just hold still, okay?" The druid said, as she hung the sickle on her hip and handed her torch over to Steppe Archer.

With both hands extended, she chanted the same words as she had said prior when healing the nomad-girl. The faint blue-white light was once more radiating from her palms, aimed straight at Big Red's broad chest. Soon the reptile would feel a similar, although slightly slower, effect to that of what the archer had experienced. The arrowheads were slowly pushed out by an invisible force, and the gash across his leg from the hatchet also began to close. However, because he had suffered far more injuries and in multiple places, the healing spell took longer to work and finish on him.

Once the initial wave of healing was done, Druid Girl repeated the chant and process once more. Although the first wave of the spell had done little more than close his wounds, this second healing dulled and diminished the actual pain in his body. Of course, just like with Steppe Archer, the pain wasn't actually gone or dismissed, but it was lessened a decent bit, since he'd been given healing twice. Still though, this healing spell did have a price. Once she was done, Druid Girl slumped onto her own legs, leaning forward and keeping herself upright by using her arms as support-beams.

Looking at her, one could see beads of sweat on her neck, forehead, arms and back. She was breathing heavily, as if she'd just finished running a marathon and was all out of breath. After a few seconds of labored breathing, she turned her face up and gave her friends a sheepish smile.

"I... I think... I might be out of big spells for ... For the day... Eheh." She let out a little laugh to try and lessen any worries about her condition. "Well... What now? There doesn't seem to be anywhere else to go in here, and there doesn't seem like there any more goblins either." She asked, and pointed out - apparently having forgotten about the wooden bonk-noise Big Red had made earlier when sweeping
.

[Kazemitsu]

Big Red watched the final goblin fall with an arrow through the eye. A tricky shot to land in poor lighting and on something so small. Still it fell...and vanished. That didn't sit right but the two girls came rushing over. Archer Girl placed her hands on him to apparently help keep him steady, his scales were surprisingly hot under her small hands. He had heated up a good deal in the fighting. Her questioning of the Druid made him blink, could the caramel girl heal more than one? He hadn't thought of that. She could communicate with animals, apparently cast a type of cold spell, summon a fairy, and heal. How many charges of magic did she have?

Said spellcaster was looking at him with bewilderment when she got in front of him. "Flesh wounds, they didn't hit anything deep. They'd have better luck with a sling" He said as her magic pushed the arrows out of his body. He had to help with the one on his leg, it was stuck in the bone. So with a jerk, and a small spurt of blood, the crude arrow came out. Each one that popped free of his hide he snatched and promptly handed them to their Archer companion who was running low on arrows.

Using three healing spells back to back seemed to have taken the wind out of the Druid. Laying a hand on her head he gave the two girls a look. "You two rest, but keep an eye out just in case." He said as he started to walk. There were twinges of pain from the movement but he trudged on with a slight clenching of his teeth. Deep breathing and he was fine, he had had more time to catch his breath and deal with his pains than they had. He went to the start of it all, where the hay was all kicked up from his...brooms.

Brushing aside the dry straw revealed a platform with boards to stand on. A grumpy snort erupted from him, ambush tactics. It seemed that was all the goblins knew how to do. Lowering his torch showed a log ladder, but that was for goblins. Who were maybe...thirty pounds a piece? He was over three hundred. But the ground was close enough that bracing his hand on the edge of the hole he hoped in. A sloped tunnel leading down a bit. Crouching he shifted forward until he reached the bottom. It was clearly a set up for an ambush. They could have fit their whole 'horde' of goblins down here and attacked from the back.

But at the bottom was a body, human, male, black hair, clearly a fighter judging by his equipment. The girls were up top, and would probably frown on this, but he took the boys equipment. A set of leather spaulders and leather gloves were tucked away in his hip pouch to sell for later. Money would help the living, equipment didn't help the dead. He also took off the porcelain necklace and slipped it onto his own neck. Limited pack space and he didn't want it to break.

With his dirty deed done he grabbed the body and went back up, hoisting the corpse up and out of the hole with a grunt before hauling himself out after a jump up. Torch held in his mouth so he didn't cause a fire. "Dead end down there, just an ambush site..." He said once he was up and his torch back in his hand. There were two bodies of the previous group missing. The females of the previous adventuring party.

[The Irish Tree]

With the fighting done and the healing complete, the nomadic archer would pull the antidote free from her pack and chug it. The bitter liquid rolled down her throat, causing her to cough a bit after she finished it...but at least she was now sure that she wouldn't get rust poisoning or worse from those crude goblin arrows. Speaking of, Big Red saw fit to hand over the number that had been stuck in him so uh...ammo...get...? While she certainly appreciated the thought, the idea of using ammo that had spilt her comrade's blood turned her stomach a bit. But beggars weren't choosers, and her quiver would soon be stocked with the crap-goblin-arrows. "Thanks! If there are any more, I'll hit 'em with their own weapons," she said before following the lizard fighter's instruction and staying with the druid girl, offering a hand to support her since she looked unsteady. While the pain in her leg still nagged at her, the archer was radiating happiness from how amazing of a job the caramel skinned girl had done in treating their wounds. "You did amazing! Do you think you can teach me some of your magic sometime? I-If that's possible, that is. I'd like to help as much as you do...besides shooting arrows, and all," the archer said with a nervous chuckle.

Once their stalwart friend returned and informed them the ambush pit was a dead end, the archer scratched the back of her head. "Hmm...weird. Maybe we should keep looking? There's a lot of hay after all. And that last goblin seemed to sink right under it! Maybe they have a secret passage and are just waiting for us to leave before coming out. Some animals will block off a tunnel where their eggs are to keep them safe in case a predator attacks when they aren't around, so...maybe the goblins are hiding more tunnels," she reasoned, before quickly adding: "Oh yeah, Big Red you should drink your antidote! Even if you resist poison, rust is nasty in the blood."

[Xaltwind]

Grabbing onto Steppe Archer's hand, Druid Girl got back up onto her own two feet - her tiny pixie circling about overhead in a frantic state, only alming down oonce her summoner ws standing once more. It, at that point, flew over to Steppe Archer's face and gave her the most teeniest of unfeelable peck on the cheek, apparently showing affection to the nomad for having assisted her 'master'. This little scene caused Druid Girl to giggle, tiredly, but good naturedly.

"Someone's popular." She said, smiling.

At Steppe Archer's question about being taught spellcraft though, Druid Girl wrinkled her nose and scratched her own cheek with her free index finger. At this point, she hadn't even heard Big Red jump down into the goblin pit, as all her focus was given to answering the rather sudden and out-of-the-blue question. It wasn't that she didn't want to, or wasn't happy to be appreciated and relied upon, buuuut...

"I... I'm sorry." She said finally. "I really wouldn't know how. Druidic magic is something you need to learn from an Arch Druid, like my master. It's not something a novice like me could teach. Most I could do is tell yuo what plants you can and can't eat." The final bit was said with a bit of a laugh, as she rested one hand behind her head and gave a sheepish smile.

At that point, however, a loud thud caught her attention and the caramel-skinned girl spun around. Apparently, their lizard friend had found something down in the pit, and brought it back up to share with everone. Unfortunately, it was yet another body of what was most likely the party who had attempted this quest before they themselves. Druid Girl's cheery mood almost evaproated in an instant, a dour look in her eyes and her lips formed a frown. That was two out of four dead... But, hold on.

Just as she was about to state the obvious, Big Red told them something strange. The tunnel he'd gone into was a dead end? That didn't make sense... They hadn't come across anything that looked like a place where the goblins stored their equipment or kept their food or tools... Wait, did goblins even do that? Maybe they just dropped stuff on the ground and went to sleep on wherever? But then, where were the other two adventurers? Had they escaped somehow? That seemed unlikely... Surely they would've headed for that grumpy farmer's homestead, or made their way back to Palisade Town if that were the case.

At Steppe Archer's suggestion though, the girl snapped back to the present and nodded in agreement with her hunter-friend.

"Yes. You should drink an antidote, big fella. Those arrows and weapons looked... Usanitary..." Druid Girl grimaced as she tried to phrase things delicately.

On that note, she walked over to the crumpled heap that was the former swordsman. Kneeling down, she turned the youth onto his back and gave him a look-over. A boy, about the same age - perhaps just slightly older - than she and Steppe Archer. His eyes were widend and his mouth was agape. Arrows stucfk out of his lower back and his neck was limp and obviously broken. It was hard to tell, but most likely he had died from falling into the hidden pit and broken his neck, rather than the arrows having killed him. Not that it really mattered, poor guy was dead as a rock regardless. Strangely though, unlike the Priest they had encountered earlier, this one didn't have bite-marks or scratches all over him... Though he did smell of urine... Was it his own? Or had the goblins used him as a toilet after his demise? She... She really didn't want to think about that.

Standing back up, she moved around the cavernous room, walking over to the goblin bodies - or what reamined of them, after Big Red's rather savage treatment of them. She picked up the knives, the hatchet and the sword, walking back to her group and laying the weapons on the ground. She left the goblin bows alone, as they looked far inferior and much too shoddy to be something that Steppe ARcher would want.

"I suppose we can take these with us. No point in leaving them here. We'll uh... We'll need to clean them first though." She said, picking up one of the hunting knives and holding it out for the others to see. Her pixie flew down close to it, revealing something... Unpleasant.

The blade was covered in a layer of what looked to be muck, a brownish and yellowish color that was anything other than appealing to look at... Or smell for that matter. Druid Girl's face looked like she was straining herself to keep her own gag-reflex from kicking in.

"They've... Uhm... Coated these things in, what I can only assume, is their own urine and... well... uh... _feces... I'm guessing they've done that with the... err... arrowheads... too... Yeah... Be... Be careful when you handle them, alright? They could cause some really nasty infections." The nature-savvy girl warned, putting the knife back down in the small pile of weapons. "I don't think there's any other places to go besodes that pit though." She said, in response to the archer's idea of looking around for more tunnels. "If there were, the goblins would'be been a lot more careful when running at Big Red... And they probably wouldn't have all popped outta the same place either." She reasoned. "It's strange that there's just a dead end down there though... I... I'll have a look too." She finally stated, heading over to the hole.

Unlike Lizard Fighter, Druid Girl wasn't built to just take leaps of faith, her frame wasn't sturdy enough for that. Instead, she had to use the cruddy log-ladder that the goblins had made... And it wasn't easy. The grooves and cuts in it were uneven and shallow. Her standals weren't great for getting grip along the log's frayed and crumbling bark either, and about half-way down, she lost her footing and fell backwards, landing promptly on her squishy buttocks. The two above could hear a plethora of very unlady-like phrases being uttered in a rather loud and irritated voice, finished off with some concern about her butt now being bruised.

With her pixie-friend following her, Druid Girl gave the tunnel around her a proper once-over though. Like Big Red had said, there really wasn't much down here. A slightly inclined vertical shaft leading up, and a short tunnel leading up to a moss-covered wall. Wait a second...

"That's strange... Why's only that wall covered in moss? And all the way across? That doesn't seem right." She said aloud, walking closer to the strange, unnaturally occurring vegetation.

Placing a hand carefully upon the growing plantlife, she immediately realized something. This was dead. It wasn't growing so much as it had just been slapped onto the surface behind it. Brushing some of the vegetation aside woudl reveal planks. Wooden, shabby-looking planks. So, this was a door? A hidden blockade meant to make intruders turn back? Steppe Archer had been right on the money with that notion of her's!

"Hey! There's a door of some kind down here!" She called back up to her allies.

Attempts at forcing the blockage open though, proved unsuccessful. Druid Girl's shoulder and overall bodymass wasn't quite large or strong enough to knock the door down.. But that begged the question, how the heck did the goblins get in and out of there?

[Kazemitsu]

Big Red just shrugged at what Archer Girl had said. "It takes a long time to dig tunnels and I haven't seen any fresh earth. So its hidy hole was probably a fox hole." He said before tilting his head slightly. "A fox hole is...well its a shallow pit for long ranged combat. I've heard some travelers talk about them, commonly used by crossbowmen. He explained, his tone making it sound like he wasn't sure if the girls knew about them or not.

The magic user of the group gathered the well-crafted weapons of the goblins to reveal they were covered in the waste of the goblins while Archer Girl mentioned rust poisoning. A very basic and crude poisoning technique that any creature with any intelligence could employ. He probably had a large dosage of it, but should he drink now or once the goblins were fully cleared? Eh if he had to he could tough it out later, reaching into his small satchel he withdrew his antidote. Pulling the stopped out with his teeth he promptly drank it in a single gulp before returning stopped and bottle to his inventory. "Should probably leave the weapons here for mobilities sake...maybe under the boys body to keep them out of sight?" He said. Either way he slide the weapons in the crooks of the boys limbs and hid them with hay.

Druid Girl decided she'd check the hole just in case. He hadn't been very thorough in his investigation, so he just nodded after she inspected the body. Broken neck probably from getting surprise shot in the back and a tumble into the pit. Human necks were quite frail. He watched the caramel colored girl clamber down the rickety shit ladder the goblins made...until she fell down towards the bottom of it. His lips twitched slightly as she cussed and complained about potentially bruising her ass. Shaking his head he offers a hand to the Archer to lower her down.

With both girls in the pit he lowered himself in again. Just in time to hear Druid Girl say there was some kind of door. A soft thump let him know she had tried to shoulder it open. Shaking his head he shifted his way to the front of the group. "Not all doors are push...did you try pulling it?" He questioned as he found the edge and wedged his fingers in before starting to pull. It wasn't a hard pull, but there was consistent force so it didn't just fly open or smash open to leave them exposed.

[The Irish Tree]

The nomad girl couldn't help but feel a sense of dread as she looked at the opened door. "I'll go in first. I'm used to setting traps, so if there are any I can disarm them," she said, carefully stepping over the rock that had been placed behind the door to make it more difficult to open. Well, difficult in the normal way. Not in the "Big Red School of Door Destruction" way. Regardless, it posed no obstacle as she made her way inside with a torch in hand. In the distance there was a crate, but what caught her attention was the faint shadow of a person on the ground to her right. Turning her head, Steppe Archer had to keep herself from vomiting at the sight of the brutalized Padfoot that lay at her feet. Shakily she would bend down and place a finger to the girl's neck to try and feel for her pulse...nothing. She'd been stone cold dead for a long time, it seemed. There was...indication of her being "used" by the goblin, forcing Steppe Archer to shake her head as she looked away. The girl's face gave every indication that her death was a horrible one. ...This was the difference between a Beast and a Monster.

She would take care of the body once she was certain it was safe, carefully scanning the floor as she watched before her ears strained. Something in here was breathing. Approaching the source of the breathing, the nomad girl's eyes went wide as she saw the woman with dark red hair tied up. She was alive! Carefully inspecting the ground around the girl for traps, Steppe Archer would say: "One of them is alive! But they're badly hurt. Big Red, can you help me cut her down? I'm going to give her one of our potions." The woman was in bad shape, with a dislocated left foot and bruises and cuts all over. She kept making these...small noises. It was really uneasy just being in the room with her, but Steppe Archer couldn't just leave her. She would keep inspecting in case of traps...now she was certain that goblins were monstrous enough to use girls like these as bait for clever traps. One boy who had attempted to woo her back when she was a child showed her how to hunt dangerous game; by endangering their cubs. She broke that boy's nose that day. ...Worth it.

[Xaltwind]

At Big Red's comment about the door being a pull-y, rather than a push-y, Druid Girl just folded her arms and turned her face sideways, cheeks slightly tinged red.

"It's not like there's a handle..." She muttered quietly.

The reptilian man would manage to pull the 'door' open, although it was more accurate to call it a makeshift barricade than an actual door. The wooden planks slid across a muddy, soppy floor and, due to Big Red's rather careless and rough approach to the whole thing, the 'door' broke somewhat... Not that it really mattered, as the damn thing couldn't even be used for kindling anymore. Steppe Archer piped up next, stating that she'd go first to scout and disarm any potential traps. Although the druid understood that the savvy nomad had experience with such things, she still felt a bit anxious about letting her companion who got her leg hurt mere minutes ago go on ahead... But she decided to not protest.

After the huntress entered, the little pixie on Druid Girl's shoulder decided to take flight, leaping off the caramel skinned girl's shoulder and zipping into the dark chamber beyond. It seeemed this particular little fairy was either very brave, very restless or very fond of Steppe Archer. Regardless of the reason, Druid Girl poked her head in a bit afterwards, looking around the place while her tiny friend fluttered and floated about, shedding dim light everywhere it went.

To sum it all up, this chamber was far smaller than the one with all the hay that they had been in previously. The ceiling was also considerably lower - though still high enough for Big Red to stand fully upright. The ground was a mess of gravel, mud, packed dirt and stone, littered with the bones of small animals, tufts of fur and other useless rubbish and filth. In the dead center of the area was, strangely, a knocked over old chair... Perhaps something the goblins had stolen from the farm? Other then that, there seemed to be some sort of large, half-decomposed crate at the opposite end of the entrance from them and...

... Then, there were were the two obviously eye-catching and immediate attention-grabbers. On the right side, lying sprawled on the ground in an unceremonious and humiliating display, was a young padfoot girl. She had brown hair and sported both dog-like ears and a tail... Though the tail had suffered from having the fur pulled or torn off, and one half of one of her ears was missing, either cut or bitten off it seemed. In addition, the poor lass was covered in cuts, bruises, scratches, bite-marks and had splotches of some vile, goopy substance on various bits of her body. Her face was contorted into a horrible, frozen state of fear, pain and anguish.

However, it was the second girl, the one that Steppe Archer called out as being still alive, that garneered the full and complete investment of the druid. Rushing into the room without a secohnd glance or thought, she joined her archer-friend next to the poor thing.

The girl was, just like the two below her, a human girl. Roughly the same age as both as them as well. She had dark red hair, reaching down to her below her neck and green, glzed-over eyes. Like the padfoot on the opposite end of the roon, she was covered in small injuries, including having blood trickle from both nostrils and the corners of her mouth. She dangled, helplessly, from a rope that had been tied around her wrists and then attached to the rocky ceiling... Although how the goblins had managed such a feat was beyond comprehension, but now was not the time for such trifling details.

The poor girl was making strange, unpleasant noises, and it didn't seem like she even registered that the trio oi adventurers were present. She stared, vacantly, into nothingness, taking ragged, hoarse breaths and making weird, choking-like sounds, a mix of clucking and gagging, perhaps? Like the dead padfoot, she too had blotches and marks of some... Goo... On her, though far more prevalent than the other girl.

The druid stood horrified and disgusted. She could feel bile race up into her throat, but she somehow managed to force it back down. This... This was just too awful. What kind of monsters could do something like this? The girl's foot was dislocated and she looked like she'd been tortured and tormented for weeks, yet in reality it hadn't been more than a few days at most. What's worse was that she couldn't do anything to help! She couldn't reach the rope to cut the girl down, nor could she cast any of her magic to try and heal or soothe her wounds.

The little fairy buzzed over, noticing the commotion, and began to spiral and circle the poor, hanging red-head, casting light that only showed off more hideous and unpleasant injuries and signs of torment.

But what could they do? They could have Big Red take her down, but then what? There was no clean or comfprtable place to let her rest. They had no transport, so Big Red would - if they decided to bring her along - have to carry her all the way back to Palisade Town, which was hours away, and plus it was the dead of night by now! The situation felt so miserable and dismal that the Druid Girl's eyes watered a bit. This poor soul had suffered something unspeakable, and there was nothing she could do, nothing at all.

She could only wait for Big Red to get her down from that humiliating and cruel position, so that she could at least try and cover the girl up with something, and maybe look over her wounds... Or... Something!

[Kazemitsu]

Big Red didn't question the Archer when she mentioned going i9n first as he pried the door open. It dragged on the ground, so maybe he should have lifted while he pulled. Meh. Once it was open Archer Girl slipped in while Druid Girl huffed cutely. "Logic, Druid. If it doesn't go one way go the other." He murmured, keeping his voice down just in case. When no traps were found the pair slipped into the room to come to the sight of the remaining two members of the previous party.

The girl with canine features was dead, clearly tortured in multiple ways. The second was hanging from the ceiling by some rope, also having been abused and tortured. His eyes didn't linger on the two, not because of how horrible the sights were, but because the room wasn't cleared yet. Nothing was secured, and if you were dead or unconscious you couldn't help anyone.

"Priorities, you two. Druid keep an eye on the girls condition. Archer, with the fairy since it likes you, help me make sure there aren't any goblins left. Dead help is no help at all." He rumbled out as he began searching the room for crevices, nooks, another doorway. He honestly didn't expect the girls condition to worsen, but it might give Druid Girl a sense of purpose instead of focusing on what couldn't be undone. Same with Archer Girl. Productivity distracted the mind.

[The Irish Tree]

With everyone now in the merry death hole, Steppe Archer would relax a bit. At least until Big Red started mentioning that there may be more goblins and that helping the girl would have to wait a moment. She felt bad about leaving her like this, but there wasn't much they could do until they were certain the area was clear. They couldn't leave her, especially not alone. Remembering that they came super duper prepared with an antidote and potion each, Steppe Archer hurriedly dug through her sack and pulled out her liquid red vial. "Here. If her throat is fine enough to swallow anything, that should help her. I'd also check if she needs an antidote, if you can do that somehow," the nomad girl said, before hurrying back over to the Lizard Fighter with her fairy-light in tow.

She'd make sure they'd bring the girl back, even if she had to carry her back by herself. ...She totally could. Steppe girl strong!

[Xaltwind]

Druid Girl eventually broke away from staring at the battered, naked and dangling red head, taking note of her cimpanions' words and intentions. Taking the small flask from Steppe Archer, the dark-haired girl looked at the tiny bottle with the strange liquid inside it. Even if she had this little piece of foul-tasting instant treatment, there was no way she was going to be able to give it to the hardly-breathing goblin-victim until Big Red cut her down. Druid Girl wasn't tall enough, not even when standing on her tippy-toes, to reach the dangling girl's mouth with the flask. A fact that made the caramel-skinned girl feel even worse about having to wait to provide help to someone who was so clearly in undescribable pain.

Steppe Archer and Lizard Fighter would however find tha their investigation would be completely and utterly fruitless. The walls of the chamber were solid and there were no pitfalls, hidden doros or covered crevices for any further goblin ambushes. The ground didn't lend itself to digging, and the solid stone walls would have required tools like pickaxes or other mining equipment to get you anywhere. It didn't seem like the goblins had ever expected anyone to find this room, and if everyone had been as unobservant as the lizardman, they may have very well been right to assume such. Still, the only thing sapart from the two mauled girls present, were the knocked over chair and the battered crate. Otherwise, the area was void of anything intersting or meaningful.

"H-hey... If you're done looking around, can we cut her down now? Letting her hang like this can't good for her." The druid voice her opinion and concern, looking back over her shoulder at the two other adventurers.

[Kazemitsu]

There wasn't much to the room really, no extra doors, nothing tunneled out, and only some gear in the crate. Goblins were small creatures, and their young probably smaller still. So he was actually surprised there wasn't anything but items in the crate. While he had swept about the room Archer Girl gave Druid Girl one of her potions to give to the injured woman. The only survivor to their party. Which got him to thinking, why only keep one alive? Did the party get there before they could off her?

Druid Girl spoke up which got his attention once more. "Depends on how long she has been hanging. The rope is pretty thick so she should have kept blood flow to her hands." He said as he approached the dangling girl. If the girl had to lose her hands they might as well just off her now. Leaning down he sat the girl on his shoulder before rising up some, taking the pressure off her joints. Meanwhile his tail tugged his only blade from its sheathe and cut through the rope. With her loose he let the girl slide down only to catch her in his arm.

Glancing at Archer Girl he tilted his head to the crate. "Please gather the gear and tags in the box and then lets get out of this hole." He said as he started to move to the exit of the goblin safe room.

[The Irish Tree]

Steppe Archer was genuinely surprised that there were no more tricks seemingly in store. The fact that for once in this place a room was just a room was astounding...and somewhat worrying. Were the goblins so confident that they knew they didn't even need to booby trap this...breeding chamber? Regardless, Big Red and the druid girl had things under control. As such, the nomad girl would walk over to the crate nearby and begin compiling the gear that was worth retrieving and the porcelain tags that she had found. ...It was depressing to imagine that, much like the guard lady that she had adventured with on first coming to town, this young woman may find her career at an end due to ill fortune. This was the line between beasts and monsters; A beast would simply kill you or wound you badly. But a monster...does worse. A real monster does inexplicable things for reasons that don't exist, to people who have their whole lives full of life, light, and hope. Now this girl's friends were dead, and she'd suffered things that Steppe Archer imagined would break even her.

With everything securely on her person, Steppe Archer would return. "We should have the fairy scout ahead of us. Just in case there are any more ambushes." With her eyes wandering to the girl in Big Red's arms, Steppe Archer bit her lip as she tried to just...not think about how broken this girl was. "...You're going to be okay. We'll get you help. I promise," the nomad girl said, forcing her trademark smile to come out, in spite of her overwhelming urge to cry.

...Goblins were monstrous.

[Xaltwind]

As soon as the lizardman had cut the girl down, and promptly cradled her in his arms like a princess, Druid Girl was right next to them. Wasting no time, she uncorked the bitter-tasting, gag-inducing potion and with a firm, but careful, series of motions, began to pour the liquid into the ravished goblin-victim's mouth. The poor girl didn't even seem to notice that something was entering her mouth, making only reflexive gurgles and choke-noises as the concotion trickled down into he throat. Once she had administered Steppe Archer's potion, she quickly reached down into her own pouch and withdrew her own, repeating the process a second time.

The potions worked as potions do, right before their eyes the smaller cuts and bruises began to fade away like stains on white fabric that was slathered with bleach. However, potions of this lower quality could do nothing to restore the girl's dislocated foot, nor get rid of the deeper puncturings and scratches across her body. Speaking of her body, she was still naked. And in Lizard Fighter's arms... While the druid had no desire to view her companion as the type to take advantage of the situation, she still felt uneasy about a man (or in this case, male) hauling around a pretty and naked girl. This probably stemmed from her upbringing, where boys and girls only really interacted - as adolscents - if they were going to tie the knot, or were family. Carelessly and nonchalantly engaging the other sex was a sure-fire way to get a bad rep AND bring gossip and judgy glances down upon your family...

As such!

The caramel-skinned girl wasted no time in unhooking the belt that kept her slit, pelvic curtaining skirt up. With a sweeping move, she cast the fabric like a blanket up and over the girl, covering the poor lass' at least enough to keep prying eyes off of her crotch and chest-area... The only issue now was that Druid Girl was walking around with just her top-clothes and her underwear on full display...

They're white, by thr way.

Apparently she didn't seem too bothered by this though. Her own modesty seemed far less important than that of a complete stranger, or perhaps she was just too focused on the battered and beaten girl to fully realize what she was doing or how it might make her look...

Still, hearing the archer's words of comfort to the girl brought a frown to her own face. There was no way this girl was going to ever be 'fine' again. There was no way anyone could amke this 'alright' or 'better'. She couldn't even imagine what this poor girl had gone through, and frankly, she didn't want to either. It was far too unspeakable and far too horrible, the mere thought sent shivers and goosebums all throughout Druid Girl's body. Goblins were... They were just beyond vile. Surely, nature had no place for such dastardly and truly evil beings?

"It'll be dark when we get back outside, y'know?" She finally said, as they walked back out of the cavern and got to the spot with the shoddy log-ladder.

At this point, the little fairy seemed to have heard Big Red's words, and zipped on up ahead and away, leaving the group with only Steppe Archer as their torch-carrier. Well, at least until Druid Girl snapped out of her funk and took one for herself. That'd have to wait though, as now it was time for the climb out of the 'pitfall'. Climbing down had been a tremendous ordeal, complete with a butt-landing and bruising. The nature-mage didn't enjoy the prospect of trying to use this crappy thing to get back up, but she really didn't have much choice. Once Big Red and the girl were up and out, she'd probably settle for climbing up last, as she didn't enjoy the prospect of someone staring up at her near-naked ass from below, even if it was just the nomad-girl... No need to see that up close!

"Should we make camp at the cave entrance if nothing shows up? I'd like to get her, the girl I mean, back to town as soon as possible..." She bit her lower lip for a short while before going on. "But wandering around at night, in the dark, is just asking for trouble. There might be other goblins, or worse, lurking around out there at this time at night. Plus, the gates into town would be shut and locked by now..."

[Kazemitsu]

The lizard man watched the two with the wounded girl in his arms. Druid Girl administered two potions, but they only cleaned up and healed the most basic of wounds. There were still some punctures and deep scratches. "When we're out of the cave we'll need to clean up her wounds and fix her foot." He said as Archer Girl came back with the items from the crate and spoke to the unaware adventurer in his arms.

As much as the effort irked him, his tail coiled around the canine girls torso and pulled her along behind him. He only had two arms and he didn't think either girl would have the strength to lift a dead weight of probably one hundred pounds. Druid Girl mentioned it would be dark when they got outside, which got a shrug. "We can probably bug that farmer for lodging in his barn." He stated as he looked up out of the hiding pit of the goblins.

Sighing he adjusted the girl in his arms so she was held in one before using the claws on his fingers and feet to haul himself up and out with many a grumble and grunt. That 'ladder' wouldn't have held three peoples weight, hell it barely held Druid Girls earlier. At the mention of camp he shrugged his shoulders. "We could, but I plan to burn the bodies before leaving. Digging three graves would take too long." He said before gesturing to the Fighters dead body. "Grab the weapons from earlier. We'll decide on farm or camp when we get some fresh air..." He stated as he stated moving to leave the cave entirely.

[The Irish Tree]

Seeing as how the Druid Girl was now mostly naked save for her underwear, the nomad girl would take it upon herself to hurriedly dig through her pack and toss her tribal dress at her. If they were going to go talk to that farmer, they should do it fully dressed. Of course, now it would have made more sense to give the dress to the naked girl...but...didn't want to overstep and undo Druid Girl's gesture. A smile was on her lips as Big Red carried the girl, and had the decency to offer a final rite for the deceased. It eased her mind a bit that they would at least have a funeral of some kind, even if it was an impromptu cremation far away from their homes.

With torch in hand, the archer would carefully step through the cave's chambers as they ascended. Once the cool scent of the night's air broke the dank musk of the cavern, the archer would let out a sigh of relief. They'd still have to go get the two other adventurer corpses, but from here it looked like they were home free. "I can keep watch until we can move away from here. If you need to, by the way, you can cut some of my dress off for bandages. She needs it a lot more than I do," the archer said, not seeming to at all mind the idea of an important piece of her cultural identity getting scrapped for bandages. She just hoped that she could do good here...in reality, all she had managed to do was kill Goblins. She was of the mind right now that she was the weakest link amongst them; She didn't have the magical powers of the druid which, while only usable thrice had saved the Lizard Fighter's life, and the Lizard Fighter was possessed of a naturally resolute soul, capable of weathering pain and injury as if it was rain cascading off his scales. All she had was her bow.

She was almost certain that if the two had gone alone, they would have been fine without her if not a bit worse for wear. If she and the Druid girl were alone, they would be dead for sure. If her and the Lizard Fighter were alone, she doubted that both of them would make it back alive. Within the girl was the growing desire for strength to protect others, wrapping tightly around her heart. ...She needed to be better.

[Xaltwind]

The thought of going back to that man and his farm didn't exactly excite Druid Girl. She had not found the farmer partcularly pleasant nor accomodating during their trip with him, but now wasn't the time to bring up and argue petty matters like personal dislikes. Sleeping in a barn was probably safer than sleeping outdoors, close to a former goblin nest... Though one was far more susceptible to burning than the other...

Suddenly however, a piece of fabric came flying through the air and landed over Druid Girl's head. A short-lived moment of panic and confusion entailed, before the girl calmed down at hearing her nomad friend's words. Realizing her allies might not be too fond of one of their own struttijng around in her underwear, the Druid took the hint and slipped the horse-smelling dress on... Well, as best she could anyway, truth be told it was a bit snug and very tight over the chest... But she decided not to mention this, as she didn't want to seem ungrateful when a kind gesure was shown.

The trek back through the cave and up to the outside was uneventful and solemn. The druid wanted to have helped pull one of the dead along with them, but honestly, pulling a fully limp body was a lot harder and more weighty then one might actually imagine. Loathe as she was to admit it, it'd probably just be faster if Big Red went back inside and nabbed the remaining deceased by himself, rather than she and Steppe Archer trying to pull or carry one each. The outside was, as one could imagine, dark and foreboding. A few stars dotted the sky, but the moons hadn't quite xlimbed too high as of yet. The dead goblins were all still there, near the entrance, lying in puddles of their own blood. It seemed nobody had come to disturb things while they were down in the tunnels, which was a relief.

Making a clicking noise with her tongue, the little pixie came rushing over to the druid's side, circiling over her head a few times before landing in the girl's palm. Druid Girl said something quietly and the pixie saluted, taking off at high speed towards the treeline. Following not far behind, the druid began to gather and pick up dried branches and sticks, along with a few rocks and stones. She returned soon to the area just outside the cave's mouth, and set to work building a samll campfire, using one of the daggers she had grabbed before leaving the cave to make sparks. Once the fire was lit, she lay the remaining weapons - the hatchets and two knives, down on the ground and walked over to Big Red.

"Put her down over there, on the patch of dry dirt near the fire. I'll look after her while you go get the others." She said, looking over the brutalized red-haired girl in the lizard's arms. She then turned to Steppe Archer. "Hey, could you do me a favor? Can you go with the pixie and look for some Pipini Herbs? The milk from their stems and their leaves can be used to heal wounds." The carammel-skinned girl requested, not before adding a description of the flower, of course.

Apparently, Pipini herb was a sort of flower that grew near large rocks or boulders, with jagged-edged saw-like leaves and two small, red flowers at the very top. They could be found in almost any forest all throughout spring and summer. It was also one of the ingredients used in low-level healing potions... Of course, Druid Girl wasn't an alchemist, so her brewing some kind of recovery elixir was out of the question, but she could at least use the plant for some first aid.

"Oh, and there's no need to rip up your dress." She added before long. "Her wounds aren't bleeding bad enough and, well, I'd need a pot to boil the strips of cloth in to make them safe for wound-covering anyway." The girl explained. After all, using non-disinfected rags as bandages were just as likely to cause further issues as they were to actually doa ny good.

The little pixie zipped on over and spiralled around the nomad excitedly, landing on the lion-maned girl's shoulder and waving its arms energetically, apparently ready to go whenever.

[Kazemitsu]

The trip out of the cave was uneventful thankfully. There had been enough excitement and ambushes for the night, they didn't need any more. Not that he'd be able to do much except kick, his arms and hands were a little occupied. It was strange how the quality of air changed once they were out, it smelled...cleaner and less dark. The goblin corpses remained undisturbed, so nothing had come to loot or eat. Honestly what would eat one of these smelly unclean creatures?

Still the girls spoke up, Archer saying she can keep watch until they decide what to do, and Druid Girl making a small fire and telling him to set the girl down on a dry patch. Shrugging he did as he was told before eying the dislocated foot of the injured woman. "Herbs and potions aren't going to fix that..." He said quietly before pulling his club from its loop. He wrapped a strip of cloth around its handle before placing it in the catatonic girls mouth.

"I can reset it, but it's going to hurt more than the actual injury." He told the pair as he shifted himself. He was kneeling, on leg over on arm. The other foot holding down her other arm, and his tail was coiled around her uninjured leg. "As much as I don't want to waste anything...when I reset it you should probably give her the healing potion in my bag..." Big Red continued. He was no medic, no shaman, nor a doctor, but he could do something as basic as resetting a joint.

And that's what he did. The girls leg and foot looked positively dainty in his hands. With a fast flexing pull and twist, and a rather nasty sounding pop and crack, he had the girls joint back in place. But he rotated the girls foot, making sure it was truly in while holding down her limbs with weight and muscle. Once she calmed down, assuming she was even aware enough to register the pain, he got up and went to the cave.

It was time to get the remaining bodies and all the salvageable gear the goblins had. Daggers, knives, hatchets, whatever was metal was tucked into a loop or into his belt to be worked on later. The longsword he gave a once over. It was good quality. End...bringer? What a dumb name. A dumb name for a dumb sword... He thought as he shouldered the fighters corpse after getting the longsword in his belt. As he left he hoisted up the priests body like a sack of potatoes and was swift to leave the now worthless cave.

Each deceased body was laid out, the bodies right next to each other. They'd need dry wood to light the bodies up...

[The Irish Tree]

When told that Druid girl needed some herbs, Steppe Archer wasted absolutely no time in leaving with her little fairy friend to go and find them. "You got it!" she said before scampering off into the night with the fairy on her shoulder. With a description of the flower in question, the nomad girl headed off to the north of the goblin cave by following a constellation. It was easier to make her way back from coming North, since she just had to find the constellation again and walk in the opposite direction. Thankfully she would find a cluster of the flowers in place not too far away from the nest. With ginger precision she would pluck the flowers out from the roots, getting a grand total of eight of the herbs. She had no idea how many were needed, but she had to imagine that this many must be sufficient. And if she needed more, she could always circle the area...at least that's what she thought until her keen eyes caught the signs of old wolf tracks. They weren't close by, but it was a good indication that going further out meant venturing into dangerous territory.

With her bounty in hand, the archer would return after shooing off some badgers that seemed to be attracted to the smell about her. She was glad that animals seemed to steer clear from the goblin's nest, making her trek back fairly uneventful. When she came upon the druid girl once again, she proudly presented her eight herbs, asking: These are the ones, right? Do you need some more, or is this enough?"