Dalinah felt powerless. Her body numbed as she slowly bled out. Her wounds were beyond what even she could repair. Her friends were fairing no better. Her eyes dimmed and blurred. Yet even so she could see Gred holding onto her, fending off as many goblins as he could.
Sadness overtook her. Tears streamed down her pale cheek as the screams of Danica and Tov muffled in her ears.
"Dalinah no!" Gred looked at her. He was crying too.
As her thoughts began to fade, she prayed. To the Shards of the Gods. To the Shard of Life from which she drew her magic. If the Gods were indeed still with them, surely they would heed her call.
Surely they would answer her prayers.
Yet moments passed. Nothing. Gred was soon overwhelmed, dragged somewhere out of sight by the goblins. They swarmed around her, their hands tugging at her robes.
Regrets emerged from the back of her mind, while memories flashed before her eyes. She apologized to her masters, her friends, and her father.
She should've just listened.
The light from her staff dimmed, drowning the cave in darkness. And that was their fate.
Or so she thought.
A bright flash of golden light exploded from somewhere, basking the cave with its brilliance. It was as if the sun itself had appeared before them.
Currents of powerful magic swept through her body, somehow soothing the pain of her wounds and calming her mind. The muffled laughter of the goblins ceased, replaced by fearful babbling.
A sense of relief filled her chest. The gods had answered her prayers.
Or so she thought.
It was the next best thing. The man who killed them.
---
I was disgusted. Not angry, just disgusted. The scene I arrived at was nothing but disgusting. It offended me, yes, but it wasn't enough for me to care much more than I already did.
The little green monsters had swarmed over the adventurers, ripping away their armor and clothes. They were in a frenzy just a few moments ago, laughing and snarling as they attempted their vile intentions.
But it seemed like opening the portal startled them. Good. Be afraid.
As I moved through the portal, I made sure to cast a tier 7 healing spell around the area, making sure it only affected the adventurers. It took a second to tune it to the fact that: two of them were elves, one was a walking reptile, and the other was a dwarf.
How did I not notice that bushy beard? And the fact that he was small yet wide. No wonder he swung his spear around. His arms were too short to thrust effectively.
Or maybe he was just drunk. That would explain why I caught a whiff of alcohol in the air.
The little green creatures stepped back as I approached, their eyes shaking in fear.
I did not speak, nor did I want to. All they had to witness was the dread of their last moments.
A brave creature stepped forward, pointing a trembling knife at my person. It was a futile attempt to intimidate. However, it was more than likely an attempt to inspire his companions, and remind them that they outnumbered me. If they could swarm an adventurer party of four, why not a single man?
It worked. The startled mass of green monstrosities regained their laughter. They snarled as they found their momentum, rushing at me like an ocean wave breaching the shore.
I stood my ground, stretched out my hand, and swung.
My fist met its first victim, punching through its chest and emerging on the other side. With a quick turn I spun around and tore through a few more, blood and guts spilling everywhere.
This broke their momentum and they staggered. A big mistake. I dashed into the thick of the horde, punching through and caving skulls. I showered myself in their blood as I displayed no mercy to their kind. As I did, a group of the creatures attempted to jump me from behind, only for me to turn around and swipe them dead.
Many attempted to stab me, their knives crumbling in the attempt. My magic barrier was strong enough to withstand adamantite swords, let alone rusty knives and crumbling clubs.
Yet they continued.
They tried to use their numbers to their advantage, never charging alone. They came at me in waves, seeing that their initial charge was broken. They were relentless despite the fact I was tearing them out limb from limb.
At first I thought the sight of their obliteration would be enough to make them flee, but it seemed like they were under the misguided impression that their numbers would make a difference.
It would, yes. It would prolong the inevitable.
I slammed my fist into the ground, sending chunks of rock flying into the air as the floor was split like water and the ceiling buckled. The creatures lost their footing and stumbled, tumbling over each other as the floor cracked underneath their feet.
It was time to end this.
A swirling mass of molten magic formed around my palm as I raised it near my face. The dazed creatures looked at me, saw what I was holding, and promptly fled.
They frantically ran into the darkness, away from the light of my portal and the bristle of my spell. I could hear hundreds, no, thousands of them still laughing and babbling.
But there would be no escape.
With a snap of my fingers, the swirling mass of molten magic exploded into an expanding column of immense heat. It blew through the caverns and crevices of the cave like the wind, setting the creatures ablaze as they fled down their holes.
The entire cave lit up with the light of the damned. Their screams and wails echoing in a symphony of suffering.
But of course the cave was still vast, there were corners and places where my spell couldn't reach.
Nothing my golems couldn't fix.
Several dozen sentinels emerged from the portal, with Frank leading at the front. Their swords and spears smoldered in their arms, their armor glowing dimly against the orange light.
They lined up in front of me, awaiting my orders.
It was time to clean the cave, for good this time.
"Make sure they don't spill out into the forest. Leave none alive." I said. With that, the sentinels rushed off to exterminate the pests. Whatever those little green creatures were, the world was better without them.
The fact that they may also exist elsewhere could be a problem. But as far as I was concerned, that problem was out of my hands.
As I was about to head back, Frank tapped my shoulder.
"Yes?"
He pointed at the adventurers lying unconscious on the floor, their bodies wrapped around a protection spell.
"Oh, right."