Sounds echoed through the cave, so I quickly ran the tip of my sword through the goblin’s throat to finish him off then went into hiding again. The wound on my leg wasn’t too deep and I could manage, but it was still a hindrance, and considering a lot of my strength, speed, and agility as an immortal lich was now gone, I couldn’t afford to be brash. I wasn’t even used to Andre, my male vessel, just yet.

A gang of around ten goblins checked out the area, but they were horrible monsters in almost every sense of the word. I couldn’t very well use Dawnlight to see my grimoire properly, but I didn’t need it to know they had horrible eyesight and an unreliable sense of smell. They did though, have pretty good hearing. So, I had to remain really still. My sweat and bleeding wound felt so uncomfortable. Clean, the lifestyle spell, would disinfect the wound, but it wouldn’t heal me, so my back was against the wall with fighting for the moment.

The goblins roved about, and they were such pathetic monsters that a couple of them noticed me and glossed over me like I wasn’t even there. Their cowardice won out after checking the other goblin bodies lying about the place.

They, left? I peeked out. Finally! There was a bit of light coming from a platform about a floor higher. That’s the exit, but… I eyed intently hoping I could climb up, but it was no use. The walls were too smooth, so I had to take the longer path. But first, I grabbed up the buckler from the last goblin I slew.

I ventured slowly into the darkness, each step slow and deliberate, each breath quiet and cautious. After about five minutes of the slowest I ever walked in my entire life, I found four goblins. Two were seated around an outed campfire, and the other two appeared to be gambling using a couple rocks, the victor snickering away as he won the round. Now I was certain that the two goblins that spotted me didn’t let a whisper out; snitches get stitches after all, and considering the rather dead bodies they saw, they’d need a lot more than stitches to recover.

Ugh, what now? I was faced with an issue. My wound hadn’t stopped bleeding just yet, although it slowed considerably. I’m not lightheaded or anything yet. If I wanted to escape this damned cave, I had to get through them, but I couldn’t just sneak by because the light from the exit would just sell me out. Sure, their eyesight was bad, but that judgment was from near pitch-black conditions. Ugh, I mean, I already died once. What’s the worst that could happen?

I hit the hilt of my sword against the buckler rather softly, but apparently too soft. The gamblers didn’t hear a thing, and neither did the two guardsmen a bit farther off. I tried again, just a bit harder this time, and one of the gamblers stood upright and looked over like a flamingo. He mumbled something to his playmate and meandered over to the general direction of the sound.

The curvature of the downward bend blessed me with some subtly in the guise of darkness, and it also blessed the investigating goblin. He looked left, then right, then over yonder at the grounds below. I was a bit worried, because this guy put in much more effort into surveillance than the set of goblins that came looking to see what the noise was about before. But, again, a goblin was a goblin and apparently, they were all pathetic; he was just looking for a nice spot to take a piss without being seen.

Well, at least you saved me the trouble. Can’t fight back with your dick in your hand. I waited until I heard that beautiful sound of urine hitting the ground then began my prowl over to him. I got my footing, focused on where his lungs might be, aimed my sword, and smiled as I was ready to strike. However, the dumbass light from yet another skill undid all my effort because my sword was imbued with the buff from the skill this time. He was about to scream, but the precise and alacritous strike shut him up. Wasn’t too easy to yell if the lung was damaged after all. He panicked and fell over the unbarricaded pathway down into the floor below.

Shit! His clumsy tumble generated quite a bit of noise, so his buddy came looking for him, but I was hiding once again. I breathed slowly and tried to calm myself. So, I can’t focus too much on what I do, or it becomes a skill. That’s, a bit, weird. The tan goblin mate walked over, noticed that his friend was missing, and got suspicious. He unsheathed a dagger, a proper one, though it was a bit jagged from wear and tear. With whatever shitty eyesight he had, he surveyed his surroundings, his ears twitching as every little sound clung onto those huge flappers. Eventually though, a little groan escaped him, so he put his dagger back around his waist and proceeded to take a leak too.

Wow, wow, wow! Un-fucking-real. Every time these goblins surprised me with appearing intelligent, they’d ruin it soon after. So, like before, I snuck up on him, but this time I really wanted that dagger he had because it would make stealthy kills a lot easier on me. I banked on a skill activating and concentrated on my right hand and forearm. But it wouldn’t do it, my arm wouldn’t light up. What the fuck?! I kept at it, hoping to get something. Come on, come on! The loud splatters hitting the ground were growing weaker and softer as he emptied his bladder. I began to panic because he began the shaking ritual.

I raised my sword. Fuck it! Just as I gave up on it, my right hand and forearm lit up. To say I was addled was an understatement, but I didn’t bother to give the mystery of skill activation the pleasure of thought and returned to my original plan. I gripped his neck with titan strength, so much so that something broke, I wasn’t sure what. His body slowly fidgeted, but he died in my hand. Okie, great, I guess. I still stabbed him in the lung just to make sure the deed was done and then relieved him of his dagger.

Now how do I deal with those two?