The barricade was wide enough to cover the entrance, but short enough to give the goblins some room at the top to crawl over. It was heavy enough to not be easily pushed over.
The goblins, being stupid, decided to climb over the barricade.
Raven and Rainheart hacked away at the goblins as they tried to climb and leap over the barricade, while Raven watched their surroundings for any goblins that might try and use the other exits.
In a few moments, enough goblins had died to block up the gap at the top of the barricade, and Raven and Rainheart could hear the goblins scuttling about.
Pushing some goblin bodies out of the way, Rainheart looked over the top of the barricade, and laughed. "Yeah, they're running back into the cave."
Raven blinked. "Huh. I thought they would leave through the other exits, and try and surround us."
Rainheart shrugged and began moving the barricade out of the way. "They probably think it will be easier to defend the cave. Well, it would, if we didn't have a plan."
Raven and Rainheart entered the goblin's base, scanning their surroundings for any goblins. After making sure the coast was clear, they walked up to inspect the cave.
A rough, jagged path led up into the dark depths of the mountain, curving slightly as it went up. The entrance of the cave was covered in a layer of dust and grime, and the air inside was thick and heavy. It smelled like shit and death, and the sounds of scuttling and chattering could be heard echoing from deeper within.
Rainheart grinned. "Yep, the cave goes up! Our plan will work!"
Raven sighed. "Man, we don't know the whole layout in there. Don't get too cocky. Anyways, I am going to get started. Yell if the goblins leave the cave."
Rainheart saluted Raven, striking a dramatic pose. "Will do, fellow adventurer! Prepare thyself, for our arduous journey is nearing its' end!!"
Raven turned and started jogging out of the base, muttering to himself. "He gets just a little taste of victory, and suddenly he's all cheery again..."
***
At the edge of the forest, just out of site from the goblin camp, the duo had collected a large number of thick sticks, dead shrubbery, and dry leaves. They had wrapped them up using vines from the sides of the mountain, creating large, heavy bundles that could be carried to the cave.
While Rainheart watched the entrance to the cave, Raven ran back and forth, placing the bundles far enough into the cave to be protected from the wind. In a few minutes, all the bundles had been moved in.
Then, Raven and Rainheart pulled out their waterskins, and began pouring their contents onto the pile. The dark poison splattered when hitting the wood, clumping together into sticky globs.
Rainheart used some flint and steel to ignite some dry leaves, and then left the cave.
The fire quickly spread throughout the dry material, and was soon engulfing the bundles in a fiery blaze. The flames reached the poison, and the smoke took on a purplish, sickening hue, rising up into the cave.
Raven and Rainheart would take turns. One would watch the cave entrance, while the other would fill up their waterskin with more poison from a nearby patch of Shadowbane. Then, they would pour it onto a goblin corpse, and the corpse would be tossed onto the burning pile.
As it turns out, goblin corpses make great kindling, and their burning flesh produces a lot of smoke.
After a dozen goblin corpses had been tossed onto the burning pile, huge, thick wafts of smoke were pouring into the cave, and Raven and Rainheart decided to take a break.
Sitting down close by to the cave, the two looked towards the cave.
Rainheart chuckled. "Man, we've been here for a couple of hours, and this is all it takes? I thought it would be harder."
Raven smirked. "Again, don't get cocky, the goblins could still come out at any moment. Although, if they were gonna, I think they would've done so already..."
Rainheart stretched, yawning. "I expected them to try and stop us, or attempt to put out the fire when it got started. Are they stupid?"
"Yes, but I don't think they're that stupid. I am guessing the poison might be deadlier than we thought. If it is a paralyzing poison, it could prevent them from even getting to the bonfire. Then they would be unable to do anything except breathe in more poison and smoke, and then die a painful death."
Rainheart nodded. "We also don't know how large the cave is. They could've decided to just keep retreating further into their cave."
Raven laid down. "If they did that, I would say we have a good chance. We still have a lot of corpses and shadow bane to use as fuel, and also the kindling the goblins used for their own fires. Well, it depends on the lethality of the poison and the size of the cave."
Rainheart sighed, a sad look on his face. "Still, it's a shame we couldn't have saved the people captured. If we went in to kill the goblins in a fair fight, we would have an even lower chance at saving them than when I was ambushing goblins in the forest. I hope the poison isn't too painful..."
Raven looked at Rainheart. "Huh. You are seriously immersed. You like to think of the AIs as real people?"
Rainheart scratched the back of his head, smiling shyly. "Yeah... I guess it is kinda dumb. It's just... I can't help but believe they are real. They talk, they have dreams, they have feelings." Rainheart laughed. "I already made more friends at the village I defended than I have in real life. So, maybe I am just a desperate loser."
Raven fiddled with a lock of hair. "You do you, buddy. You do you. If I can't understand, that's fine. Just... try and remember the game is not reality. They are just robots; a bundle of algorithms and equations."
Rainheart cocked his head. "... does that matter? We are just a bunch of neurons floating around in jelly. What makes us special?"
Raven frowned, taking a moment to think. "Fuck if I know. Hopefully, there is something more to it. I find the idea of us just being a bunch of cells... sad."
After saying that, they were both silent for a moment. Raven watched as the fire consumed the corpse of a goblin. Flesh shriveled and blackened, breaking away and dissipating into the air. As the flesh eroded, the pained expression on the goblin's face slowly disappeared, leaving behind a scorched, empty skull. Once all that was left was bones, there was no way to differentiate the goblin from any of the others.
'It's funny, in a way. Both me and Rainheart believe what we believe because of how it makes us feel, and yet we can both so easily produce arguments that justify these feelings.'
Raven sighed. 'Well, what does it matter? No matter what we believe, or how we act, the world will remain the same. Our lives will pass by, and eventually we will just be forgotten.'
'The human race exists to feast, breed, and die.'
Eventually, a ding sound was heard by both Raven and Rainheart.
"Quest Completed."