As Jonas opened his eyes, he couldn't help but feel strange. Part of his mind was telling him that he should be feeling pain somewhere, but he wasn't. It almost felt like he was waking up from being asleep rather than having been knocked out from the sudden fall that was the last thing he remembered.
He also couldn't help but recognize that there was a light source somewhere nearby. At first it didn't register to him as what it meant, since he couldn't remember being around a source of light that didn't come from the dungeon itself.
As his eyes focused, he could tell that he was in the hallways, which he couldn't help but find odd. He was quite sure that he'd reached the room in which they'd fought the troll previously. Yet, now he was back in the corridors?
The next thing he became aware of was the fact he was sitting with his back against the wall. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten this way, only it was another item on his list of things that just didn't add up.
As he leaned forward to try to stand up, suddenly the corridor started to spin and Jonas sat back. At least this felt more ordinary. Whatever happened he still apparently hadn't fully recovered.
So, he turned his head to see what was around him and saw Kim holding Elin in her arms, they younger woman soundly asleep and Kim was looking off into the distance. He wondered what she was thinking of briefly before looking the other direction where he saw Elmo, also soundly asleep.
When Jonas turned back to Kim, he saw she was looking at him. So, she'd clearly noticed he was awake. Not that he had any reason to keep that from her.
"What happened?" he asked quietly, hoping that she could shed some light on what was missing from when he was last conscious.
"Can't really say," Kim answered, just as quietly. "I just know that Elin was carrying you on her back holding that torch when she arrived. Then she was asleep before I could ask her anything."
Jonas nodded absently as he looked at the wall across the hallway from him. "What I last remember was seeing someone sitting on the stairs. Then the floor under me disappeared and then the next thing I knew I was waking up here."
"Sounds like you fell into a trap of some kind," Kim remarked.
"Probably," Jonas agreed. "Just wish I knew what happened after that."
"I'm not sure how long it's been, but I think it's been a couple hours since then. I let Elin sleep because I could tell she's exhausted and even if we wait until the dungeon lights up in the morning, I thought we should let her and Elmo sleep. They don't have as much stamina as we do."
"True, but shouldn't we try to end this sooner rather than later?"
"Probably, but if we push too hard, we might be the ones who get swept away," Kim answered somberly.
"So, what're you suggesting?" Jonas asked.
Kim shrugged. "Just that we let Elmo and Elin sleep for a while later and then we proceed. They're the mages in our group, so if we don't let them recover their stamina, who's to say what might happen with them?"
Jonas couldn't think of any argument against that. "Think I should go try to see how many goblins we're up against?"
Kim shook her head. "Before Elin came back, I noticed a light appear up ahead. I can't say if it's still there, but if it is, you'd have to get past however many goblins that're there before you could see how many are past farther in."
Jonas nodded. "Well, at least seeing how many are there could give us an idea of how many to expect anyway."
Kim shrugged. "Go ahead. Even if you look now, who's to say that more won't appear there?"
Jonas leaned forward to stand up again and this time the world around him didn't start to spin, so he carefully got to his feet and only needed a minute of steadying himself against the wall before he had his balance.
While he would have liked the darkness around him so he could use his skills to hide in them, he didn't mind the light. If he was discovered, it would allow him a way to confused the goblins as he would enter their shadows and attack from them. Only downside would be is how much of his limited MP it would cost.
So, he carefully made his way down the corridor. He could see the shadows of the goblins and couldn't help but be grateful for them having a torch. It meant they weren't wondering about a torch being with Jonas' group. For one thing, he couldn't help but wonder if Kim would have been able to hold off however many would go to investigate the light if they had been able to notice it.
Pushing the thought out of his mind, he carefully peeked around the corner, doing his best to let as little show of himself as he looked around the corner. Even though there was a torch in the room the goblins were relaxing in, he had a little trouble seeing the goblins because of the glare from looking towards the torch.
He could easily make out three goblins, but he couldn't say if there weren't any around where the torchlight was shining. While it wasn't as good as he would have liked, he was at least satisfied with what he could see. Yet, as he listened to the noised the goblins made, he couldn't help but estimate there were at least five goblins in there.
He wasn't sure how accurate the estimate was, but he thought it was at least better than nothing. It at least let him know that the torchlight was indeed a problem with getting a visual confirmation, but that wasn't what his goal at the moment was about. It was more to get a rough count of how many he might be able to expect in the room.
If he'd wanted a firm count, he'd have needed to find a way past these goblins so he could look in the other rooms, but there wasn't much else he could do at the moment. Especially since he was quite sure the room he was looking into was the room he'd encountered the minotaurs in previously. Which made him wonder what happened to them.
He doubted the goblins allowed the minotaurs to join them, so either they went somewhere else, or the goblins had eventually worn them down until they'd been killed.
Regardless of which occurred, he knew that the amount of goblins weren't going to be any different than they currently were. If he allowed the rest of his team a little longer to rest, he was sure they'd have no significant trouble dealing with the goblins, so long as they took it slow.
As he was about to head back to his group, he heard what sounded like another goblin entering the room with the other goblins. It said something and then the others started to get up.
Jonas paused to look around the corner again. If they were getting up, maybe they would leave that room and let him look around a little farther. After all, if it was the room he thought it was, then there would be a path that would branch off in multiple directions.
Yet, as he looked, he saw they were leaving the room. However, they were heading in his direction. At a casual pace, but that didn't mean anything since he couldn't hide without anything to hide behind. Then there was the fact that the rest of his team was behind him and were resting.
Jonas quickly made his way back to his group, wishing he had better news to deliver. Both Elin and Elmo were still sacked out, but Kim was still awake, though he could see how tired her eyes were. If the goblins weren't approaching right then, he'd have insisted that she get some sleep herself.
"What's wrong?" she asked quietly as Jonas came up quickly.
"The goblins are coming this way," Jonas answered just as quietly. "They're moving casually, but they'll be here in a minute or two."
"Think we could carry them back to the Troll's room?"
Jonas didn't have to ask what Kim meant. He merely shook his head. "We might, but I'm not sure if that would help us. After all, you did say that Elin had the torch with her when she came back. So, she had to get it from somewhere and I'm guessing she fought with some goblins on her own, which means this group would probably encounter those goblins and start searching," Jonas answered, then paused to take a breath. "Eventually they'd likely find us."
"Should we wake up Elmo and Elin or let them sleep if they can through the fight?"
"I'd say wake them up. If they're still asleep, they might look like tempting targets to the goblins."
Kim nodded before she started gently shaking Elin. Elin groaned softly as she shifted herself in Kim's arms and mumbled something that sounded like a protest but wasn't actual words, just sound.
Jonas shook Elmo and he jumped as he woke up. Jonas held his finger over his lips to indicate to Elmo to stay quiet. Then as he glanced back at Kim, he saw her almost making out with Elin, which seemed effective at getting Elin at least partially awake. Though, as Kim pulled away, Elin looked panicked at that and had to wake up more as she tried following Kim.
"Gotta get up, my gem," Kim whispered.
Elin slowly opened her eyes to be rewarded by another kiss from Kim. Though, that was much shorter. "Goblins are coming," she said when Elin looked like she was going to go back to sleep. Elin's eyes shot open at that statement.
Jonas could hear the goblins approaching. He motioned for Elmo and Elin to take the back of the group while he and Kim would take the front. They nodded and as they started to move into position, the goblins came around the corner.