As I started to lift the trapdoor, I could hear voices and heavy footsteps coming closer by the second. I decided to lower the door and wait it out as I walked back to hide in a few debris. The footsteps stopped over the trapdoor as it slowly lifted open, pouring light back into the tunnel. I peeked over my hiding spot to see people, but they weren't soldiers...
The three figures standing at the bottom of the steps were wearing armor fit of novice adventurers as one carried a torch and a sword, one carried a bow, and one carried a staff. They seemed to be nervous stepping down here. However, despite the novice adventurers, there may be a chance that stronger folk are nearby, so I decided to not show myself until I was sure they were alone.
"A-are you sure this place is safe? I-I know it's abandoned but it looks scary..." The female holding the staff spoke out. She seemed to be the pacifist of the group. The one with the sword and torch turned to face the one with the staff.
"Come on, this is a recently discovered ruin! There is bound to be treasures here!" The male with the sword spoke out. He seemed to be the confident leader of the group as he seemed determined to explore this place.
"Hey now...We were sent here to scout only." The female with the bow spoke out to interrupt the swordsman. Looks like she was the mature one out of all of them...
They kept chatting as they walked deeper into the tunnel. I walked out of my cover and looked at the trapdoor. It looked like they were alone as no one seemed to be following them, nor did I hear voices or any ambient sounds. It seemed safe to confront them. Besides, I didn't want them to discover the portal room...
I turned around and saw the light from their torch fade away into the distance. I wore my hood and used some concealment magic to shorten the distance between us while not revealing myself while doing it. The adventurers seemed to have reached the tunnel systems but something was off...
Sounds of swords hitting each other echoed throughout the caves. In a state of worry, I rushed to see what was happening. I hid behind a rock and peeked over. When I did, I saw the adventurers being attacked by a horde of goblins. The goblins seemed determined to go after the adventurers, and they seemed coordinated.
I was confused at first on how goblins now resided here, but then I remembered...I was gone for 3 weeks. A lot of things must've happened within that time that Rhythian and I were gone...
The adventurers seemed to be having a hard time trying to keep the goblins away. The female holding the bow was soon stabbed by one of the goblins and was pinned down. The female with the staff was soon cornered and the male with the sword was being caught up by some goblins. I let out a deep sigh and took a deep breath. I then jumped over my cover and decided to help them. I summoned my bow and shot the goblins surrounding the archer. Catching the attention of the goblins, they proceeded to attack me.
The goblins did seem coordinated as some of them took shot from a far while some of them attacked me with their weapons. I managed to dodge most of the attacks, but with the archers shooting me, I received some arrows and slashes, slowing me down a little bit, but not totally.
After dodging, I managed to get my footing and went on the offensive. I pulled out the dagger from my boots and slashed against the melee goblins, causing them to die almost instantly. As the goblins near me fell, I instantly rushed towards the archer goblins, killing them as I slashed one and stuck my dagger into the other's skull.
As the battle finished, I took a deep breath and fixed my posture. I flicked away the blood that was on my hands as I turned around to look for the rookie adventurers. The other two were tending the injured archer. I walked towards them as I stabilized my breathing.
"Hey, are you guys okay?" I asked as I kept my hood on. As soon as I said that, the swordsman and the mage, who was busy healing the archer, turned towards me. The swordsman stood up and looked at me.
"Who are you? You seem to have defeated those goblins like they were nothing. Are you some kind of a high rank or something?" The swordsman spoke out as he looked at the bloody scene behind me. From this distance, they seemed like adventurers a few years below my age...
"I'm Mileena, and no. I'm no adventurer, just a passerby. Is your friend okay?" I asked as I kept my true identity from them. These adventurers seemed like they would be afraid if they saw that I was a demi-human and not a pure human...
"N-no...To be honest, Emilia, our mage, only knows beginner level magic...Well, we all do..." The swordsman spoke out in a worried tone as they seemed to have saddened faces. I let out a sigh and knelt down beside the wounded archer. I looked at Emilia, the novice adventurer, she seemed saddened about the situation at hand.
I was about to roll up my sleeves, but remembered that it is better to keep my tattoo a secret for now. Trust between I and the adventurers still seemed little. Emilia kept her healing magic going as tears fell down her cheek as she looked at the Archer.
"Why...why did this have to happen? Why did Claire have to protect me..." Emilia cried out as she kept healing. I went over and grabbed her hands. She looked at me as I grew a smile and nodded, hinting that I would help her friend. She looked surprised as she looked at what I did.
I reached out with both my hands, facing towards Claire, the archer. I then focused my mana flow, causing a green aura to grow around me. As the aura focused around my hands, a clear flow of a green stream flowed from my arm and towards the unconscious Claire. The green stream then enveloped her, as soon as it did, her wounds closed up, her bruises were cleared and her scars disappeared.
As soon as the magic was finished, Claire soon opened her eyes slowly. The two adventurers soon saw this and grew a smile while dropping tears of joy. Claire sat upright, grasping her head.
"Wh-What happened..." She muttered as she looked at Emilia. She was confused at first as Emilia was crying a river. Emilia then soon threw herself towards Claire, hugging her while crying out. Claire, keeping that confused face, looked at the swordsman. The swordsman had a warm smile as he dropped a few tears as well. Claire then hugged Emilia back, burying her face into her.
I grew a smile watching this, reminding myself of some good memories. Minutes after the moment, I was leaning against a wooden pole supporting the tunnel system as Emilia and Claire seemed to be talking to each other. The swordsman walked towards me and stopped a few feet. He then took a deep breath and gave me a low bow. Because of this, I stood there in total shock.
"Thank You Mileena! If there is anyway that we can repay you, we will do so!" The swordsman kept his bow while he spoke out. His two comrades seemed to see this and walked to stand beside him. Emilia and Claire looked at each other before nodding in agreement. They then turned towards me and bowed the same was as the swordsman.
"Clark is right. If there is anyway we can repay you Ms.Mileena..." Emilia spoke out as she kept her bow.
"I will do anything as you ask Ms.Mileena. As a thanks to saving my life..." Claire spoke out in addition to their sentences.
I was totally put out in the spot as I didn't know what to say. Although, this did seem like the chance to gather information for what happened for the last 3 weeks I was stuck in that study. They might've been novice adventurers, but the building where they took up this job must know something...
"Alright, why don't you come and have a drink with me?" I spoke out. My request caused the three to lift their heads and look at each other in total confusion.