As Daemon rushed the straggler Goblins, he swung his sword down, cutting several of them at once. Blood spewed everywhere and splattered all over the walls. The Goblins felt nothing but fear as their Hobgoblin leader was immediately cut down.
"Wipe them all out!" Daemon called, "If they call for reinforcements, we could have a horde on our hands!"
As he said this, Invidia fired off a barrage of arrows at several Goblins that were scattering around the Cavern, hitting them in the back of the head and instantly killing them.
She jumped away as one of the goblins slashed its knife at her feet in attempt to defend itself as it ran past her.
"You little fiend!" She said as she fired a quick shot in midair, "Die!"
The arrow struck it in its chest, dropping it instantly.
Azael and Zaphira were busy smashing down goblins as they tried to flee, Azael punching several down as the Mage stabbed them with her rapier.
"Haha!" Zaphira smirked, "Little critters! Drop down and die!"
"There's so many, they're like bugs running around when you lift a log up in the woods!" He exclaimed as he kicked several into a wall
Lydia wasn't killing them, she merely cut them down, avoiding their vitals as they dropped down.
"Is it necessary to kill them?" She asked
"Yes!" Both Invidia and Daemon responded to her
"They're vile pests, Lydia." Azael said as he stopped and looked at the young fighter, "If we let them alert the full horde, we'll be overrun in this small room."
Daemon stopped swinging his sword and looked up into the dark tunnel some managed to ran into, "Shit..." He said, "That stench...watch out, Wargs!!"
The group watched as several shadows jumped out from the dark tunnel, lunging straight at the Black Dragon.
Daemon swung his sword vertically, cutting one of the wolf-like beasts down with ease as the others crashed into the pieces.
Zaphira looked at the beasts, "Damn! They're fast!" She exclaimed as she lunged at one of them, "Were they on standby?"
She thrust her rapier and stabbed one of them in the head, killing it instantly as she pulled the blade out almost immediately. She then saw as a Warg lunged at her with frightening speed, it's maw open and ready to take a chunk out of her.
"Blue Flame Arrow"
In a swift motion, Zaphira pointed her rapier at her and fired a quick flame projectile that blew the War away, causing it to fall down and hit the ground hard.
As it got up, it was struck by an arrow that killed it, as it was lodged into its eye.
Azael had been attacked by another of the Goblins' hounds, but he had easily repelled it by punching it repeatedly against the wall.
Daemon turned to see that all of the Wargs that had suddenly appeared were quickly taken care of, Invidia had cut down the other ones with her dagger.
"Hm..." He said, "We have to keep moving, follow the trail."
Invidia straightened herself, "Agreed." she said, "If a Goblin Horde attacks us in here, we'll be in trouble."
"Let's keep going then." Daemon said
***********************************************
Several minutes later, after finding straggling goblins and killing them, the group managed to find a much large cavern, with open-air shafts that let fresh air down from the surface. This was a welcomed change as well as the small stream of water that was running by the side of this current room.
There were small lit torches littered around, they assumed they were either placed by patrolling scouts or goblins. It didn't matter to them, they provided a light source for them in this massive and somewhat dark place.
Daemon stood in front of the group, seeing another marking in the distance, the small torch with blue flames and an arrow pointing to a tunnel next to it.
"Well, there's the way." He said as he stopped completely
Lydia looked at him, "Okay, then we should keep moving right?" She asked as she held her sword in her arms, "Why're we stopping?"
Daemon scanned the entire cavern, it was relatively large and something told him that danger awaited them in the shadows as the only light was coming from the scattered torches. His instincts were telling him to take it easy and not go forward carelessly.
Invidia took a step forward, "We must move forward." She said, "Fortunately, this isn't a Goblin nest so there-"
"Wait." Daemon said quietly grabbing her arm, "Quiet down. Don't move."
Invidia looked at his arm as she scowled, "What?" She whispered back, "I don't hear or see anything in here. There are no Goblins or-"
"Shhh." Daemon put his finger on his lips, "Would you shut up?"
Invidia frowned and pulled free from his grasp, simply nodding.
Daemon crouched down and looked around the cavern, unable to shake a weird feeling.
Invidia did the same and placed her hand on the moist ground, trying to have a feel for something. To her annoyance, she didn't feel anything and looked at Daemon, wondering what he could possibly have picked up.
The others stood quietly behind them, not saying a word. They understood one thing; if Daemon tells you to be quiet, you should be quiet.
Daemon looked up at the top of the cavern, seeing a massive shadow, outlined by a light silver hue.
He gritted his teeth, "Shadowcat." He whispered, "Do not make a move."
Invidia widened her eyes, "S-Shadowcat????" She whispered frantically, "On the ceiling???"
"Can't see much, but I assume it's holding onto a Stalactite." Daemon whispered back, "Do not panic, it'll pick up on our vitals and pounce at the first moment of weakness."
Azael nodded slowly, "Has it noticed us?" He whispered
Daemon shrugged, "Don't know." He said, "It hasn't moved."
Zaphira looked up, "I...I think I see it..." She said quietly, "It....looks asleep...."
Lydia, who was standing still, didn't say anything, she was holding her lips shut as she tried her best to stay calm. She didn't know how or why a Shadowcat could be asleep on the ceiling of a cavern, holding onto a Stalactite.
Daemon nodded as he slowly took a step forward, "Easily, we move forward." He said, "Let's not disturb it. If it can sleep on the ceiling without falling, it's one of those that will be difficult to deal with...."
They were all speaking in a very hushed tone, able to barely hear each other.
Invidia nodded, "Easily...." She told the others as she took a step forward behind Daemon, "Let's take it easy...."
She then stepped on what sounded like a bone, a resounding snap heard throughout the cavern.
Daemon stopped as everyone else froze, completely shocked at this.
"Shit." Daemon said as he looked at Invidia's foot
He saw that it was indeed a bone that she stepped on.
Invidia was scowling, feeling nothing but shame and embarrassment as a Ranger.
They all looked up to see the Shadowcat's eyes slowly open, it's vicious blue hue looking straight down at them.
As it let out a low purr, the beast slowly moved down, and in a swift motion, it jumped down and landed in front of the group.
Surprised by the lack of noise at the landing, Lydia gulped down, "O-Oh...." She said as she sweated slightly
"Shit..." Daemon said as he looked at it, "Oh well...if there's one, there could be more."
"Right." Invidia said as she drew her bow, "There's no point in taking it cautiously.....except the fact that it can take the shadows like nothing."
The Shadowcat let out a growl as it took a step forward before freezing, it's eyes darting back as it glanced behind it.
Daemon immediately noticed a deeper and more powerful presence behind the Shadowcat, but he couldn't exactly see what it was.
The Shadowcat, ignoring the group, slowly turned around and began to growl viciously, its hairs standing up as it assumed a low stance.
"W-What? It's threatened by something???" She said, "I don't see or hear anything...."
Suddenly, off into the distance, barely visible in the torchlight, the ground burst open as massive claws shot through, startling the group. There was a loud screech coming from where the hand burst from, releasing a wave of pressure that the Shadowcat had to brace itself to not stumble from.
"What?" Zaphira exclaimed, "What is that?!"
Azael felt a strange and ominous power coming from the claws, "T-This..."
Daemon narrowed his eyes, "I...." He said, "What is that?"
Suddenly, the group burst even more, releasing a cloud of dust as a massive figure appeared, towering over the Shadowcat, even from a distance.
Invidia widened her eyes to see a massive creature with a goat's head emerge from the dust cloud. It had jagged teeth in its mouth as it snarled viciously, its glowing red eyes piercing straight through the Shadowcat. It had a scaly and furry body, massive scars covered its abdomen. Its lower half was completely reptilian as it still had a goat shape, a massive tail flicking around behind it.
Daemon noticed that there was a serpents head on the tail, hissing violently as it darted its eyes behind it.
"What the fuck...." He said as the beast took a step forward,
"What is that thing?!"