"Ugh!"
"Seb. You're awake."
The first thing that greeted my returning consciousness was pain.
First, all of my arm muscles felt like they had been thoroughly thrashed by a large wooden hammer, with the psycho wielding it stopping just short of truly turning them into mush.
My legs and upper chest felt a little bit better, but not by much.
At least the rest of my body, while aching, was still in a moderately good shape.
The second thing that greeted me was the halfling's voice, although I almost didn't recognize it for a second.
Gone was his usual cheerfulness. His voice was dejected, tone nearly flat, with a faint glimmer of relief, at least when he spoke to me.
"Ho- khhm! How… keh! How long was I out?"
My throat was dry, making my voice coarse and causing me to cough before asking the question.
"I don't know. When you collapsed, I managed to carry you over to this wall. Then I stood guard for a while, but fell asleep myself. I just woke up, maybe half an hour ago. Nothing changed with the.."
The halfling's voice faded.
With a groan, I lifted myself up, getting off the ground and taking a look around.
The first thing I noticed was everything being significantly darker. This surprised me for a second, until I remembered the darkvision buff only lasted 4 hours.
'Guess I slept over 3.5 hours.. probably longer, though.'
Despite my regular vision, the cavern had plenty of arcane moss growing all around it, so I could still make out the bodies laying on the ground – as well as the large dark puddles around them. Although, does something dry still count as a puddle? Those large stains no longer reflected the dim teal light.
"Timmy… he's…"
One of those corpses, the first one to emerge from this battle, was laying further ahead, right where it was since the start.
With unsteady steps, I made my way closer to Tim's body, laying motionlessly on the cold stone surface.
The barbed spear was removed from his chest, laying nearby. His eyes were closed, and his hands were resting on his chest in a position that looked almost peaceful, if not for the rough gaping hole behind them.
I stood there for a while, no coherent thoughts forming in my mind.
The only things that came were memories of this young man, basically a kid, laughing and chatting with us in the guild hall, filling up some of my gaps in common adventurer knowledge, or casually telling me, during our forest trip, about some local seasonal food stalls that he managed to witness in town during early spring, but were no longer around by now. He said there were still fresh berries by then, so some people sold amazing berry pies and similar delicacies. He said I really had to try it if I was still here by late fall. Of course, I never planned staying here this long, but I still nodded and told him I'd like to try some if I'm still around by then.
'Not now! You have no idea what's hiding in those tunnels. Get a grip!'
I took a very deep breath, slowly exhaling the air. It felt like I was pushing aside something important, and the tight feeling in my chest didn't disappear, but I knew I had no choice.
I threw a glance at the wall we descended earlier. Before, jumping and pulling myself back up felt trivial, but now, I wasn't sure I could even force my legs to jump that high, let alone use my arms afterwards.
'Wait, maybe…'
My current state went well beyond regular fatigue – I was certain I had torn quite a few muscles and sustained other minor internal injuries.
And I still had a certain small sturdy case on my belt…
I slowly took out a half-full vial, the bright-red color of its contents appearing closer to dark purple under the current lighting.
100 gold. That's how much the current amount was worth.
Well, probably less than half that if I wanted to sell it here, and probably elsewhere, too.
Regardless, based on its potency, I had no intention of using up everything, so 20 gold coins worth would probably be enough.
I considered the alternatives:
I could probably lift the halfling high enough for him to climb over the wall.
From that point, he would be able to secure a climbing rope.
Still, I wasn't sure I would be capable of climbing that rope today, maybe not even tomorrow, based on my natural recovery speed.
Moreover, looking around, especially at the hobgoblin's chainmail and greatsword, there was a lot of loot to carry out of here – not to mention, we were now down to two people, so we'd have even less manpower even if I was at full health.
Finally, every extra hour I stayed here was an extra risk of something suddenly jumping out of one of those tunnels – from more goblins, to some of the hobgoblin's friends, to hell knows what kind of monsters.
Setting aside my greed, I gulped down roughly ⅕-th of the liquid.
It felt bitter on the tongue, but turned strangely warm as it tickled further down my throat.
Within a second, I felt the warmth spread throughout my body, and it almost felt as if something was subtly moving, rearranging itself under my skin.
Suddenly, standing up straight became much easier. I took a few steps, only to notice most of the strain previously felt with each one was now gone.
I moved my arms, making a few stretches and circular motions, and found that beside a bit of fatigue, they felt completely normal.
'Those high grade healing potions really are no joke.'
I could now see why a full tiny vial of this stuff was worth 200 gold.
'When I have enough money, I should at least buy a cheaper potion as well.'
A single sip instantly made me appreciate the value of those potions even more.
'Speaking of buying things, it's time to sort out the loot.'
Feeling invigorated, I returned to the halfling, who was staring at a small patch of shiny blue moss with a blank expression.
"Pinpin."
"...Ah. Yes?"
The sound of his nickname drew him away from his thoughts, turning his attention to me.
"I took a bit of my potion, so I feel better now. Let's get out of here right away."
"...yes. Let's go."
He was clearly still a bit disoriented, but stood up, walking towards the wall as if on autopilot.
I walked there as well, helping the bard climb over my sounders, and up to the higher tunnel.
"Is everything we left still there?"
"Yes."
"Any chance… you could play that tune again? The one that helped us see in the dark."
A few seconds of silence passed before the bard finally spoke.
"...I'll try. I… don't know if my fingers could bring a melody to life right now."
For the first time, his voice contained a distinct emotion - deep, thick sorrow.
"That… never mind. We should still have torches. Can you light one up and shine it from up there?"
I would do a lot in the name of survival, but I wouldn't force a grieving party member to play a tune just for the sake of convenience.
A minute later, a crimson torch was lit up, adding its yellow-red light to the cavern's dim teal illumination, creating an eerie combination - but one that helped me see a little better.
I dragged the hobgoblin's body, as well as Tim's body, closer to the wall.
First, I threw over the spear and greatsword. The hobgoblin actually had a scabbard for his sword stripped to his back, so I detached the strip with it, sheathed the greatsword, and threw the whole thing as is.
Then, I thoroughly searched the hobgoblin.
Unfortunately, apart from the spear, his sword, his helmet and his chainmail, he really hadn't carried anything.
Just in case, I decided to strip his shirt and pants and put them into a sack – although stained with blood, perhaps this tough, thick fabric was valuable.
I also put the chainmail and helmet in the same sack, which was now heavy and full to the brim, before throwing it over to Pinpin.
Finally, I took out my sword, and cut off his head, which was already hanging by a thread, and put it into the sack with the goblin ears. I already harvested the 4 smaller trophies by now, too.
At last, I looked at Tim's body, and silently turned my head towards the halfling.
"...Are you planning to carry it?"
His tone contained neither condemnation nor hope - just a flat question.
"...sorry. We'll have to leave some of hid things behind, too."
I really wished I could say yes, but I was still alive, and unlike the dead, I had a need for worldly possessions.
"..."
The bard just silently stared at me. His eyes held no hostility, but perhaps in my head, I could see the judgemental gaze beneath the empty expression.
"Didn't he say he needed the money? Was it for himself, or?.."
"...he had a younger sister. She is still at the orphanage."
"Then we should get as much loot as we can, no? He still has a share, after all."
"...yes. Yes, you're right, Sebastian."
The halfling's voice did not sound hostile or cold, not even subtly sarcastic. It just sounded incredibly tired, as if he had suddenly aged by 20 years.
Without wasting any more time, I stripped Tim's armor, and threw it over. I also threw his short sword, which I brought earlier.
A quick body search revealed two things – a small pouch with a bit more than 20 gold coins, and a clunky locket, seemingly made of very cheap metal with very poor craftsmanship, containing a small black ink painting, which portrayed the head of a young girl with long hair, smiling happily.
I tossed the two items over, before finally climbing out of the cavern myself.
"..."
The halfling was still digesting what happened, so decided to not force any conversation, and instead focused on the loot.
Some of it, like the sacks with the trophies and apparel, were easy to carry.
Some, mainly the weapons, were a problem.
After thinking a bit, I found a solution. After throwing another glance at Pinpin, approached Tim's backpack.
After putting his coin pouch and locket into its side compartment, I opened the main one, and began rummaging through it, removing anything cheap and bulky or heavy, such as his sleeping bag.
Once sufficient space was freed, I shoved the sheathed greatsword and the spear inside, as well as my own sword. Since there was enough space left, I also shoved the chainmail into the sack.
I knew I'd be the one to carry most stuff anyway, and even just strapping my own sword plus a single backpack to my back was already somewhat cumbersome.
Trying to travel with two backpacks and two swords on my back would just be impossible.
So, I arranged the weapons in an X shape, with the upper half of their scabbards (or shaft) peeking from either side, using the second backpack as a makeshift weapons bag.
By the time I was finished, I noticed the halfling was looking my way again.
Under the torchlight, his weary eyes silently met with mine.
"Do you need more rest?"
"No… there is no need. Let's go."
The halfling picked up his own bag, as well as the trophy sack, and started marching forward, away from the cavern filled with dim teal light, the smell of blood, and unwanted memories that would forever remain in his heart.
***
Just like before, we traveled through the tunnels in complete silence. However, this time, the silence was far less tense, yet even more suffocating.
We reached the Dark Region tunnels' exit without any incidents, and continued onward towards the nest's exit. This time, without any sneaking or looking for traps, as well as choosing the shortest paths, the combined journey took slightly over an hour. I also decided to make it a habit to fasten my biggest hourglass (which wasn't really that big) to my belt, and measure the approximate passage of time during missions.
As we reached the exit, the light outside suggested the time was somewhere around noon – stepping outside and looking up at the sun confirmed this assumption.
"We might make it to town not long after sunset if we use the same route and march without rest."
The guide finally spoke, giving his professional estimate.
"Lets eat and rest for 10 minutes. Then, we'll do just that."
When I woke up after that battle, I barely had any appetite, only drinking half my waterskin and grabbing a piece of jerky to chew on the way.
However, by now, I could feel my stomach starting to awaken, demanding it's rightful due.
"Alright."
Facing no objections, I sat by the cave's entrance, leaning on a nearby tree trunk, and put down my backpacks, finally ready to eat my fill.
"...thank you."
For the first time since we left that cavern, the halfling took the initiative to say something - something that wasn't related to navigation, that is.
"..?"
"If it wasn't for you… I, too, would be lying in that cave. Thank you for that."
"I could say the same thing. If not for your last shot, even if I managed to kill the hobgoblin, the sword in this bag right here would probably be embedded deep in my body. At best, I would be sitting here with no potion left, and no right arm either. So, you helped me just as much as I helped you."
"Heh.. he he.. ha ha ha! Haa.."
The halfling laughed, for the first time in a while, but his laughter was bitter, filled with self depreciation.
"This might be true, but even if there were another two- no, another five of me instead of you, this battle would probably end with us laying in the pools of our own blood. Just like.."
The last word faded into nothingness before it could leave his mouth.
We sat in silence for a while, except the sounds of me chewing on jerky and gulping some water.
"...I actually remember now."
The halfling quietly mumbled, making me put aside the jerky once more.
"In passing, from another bard, when I was staying at a tavern in Silverveil. We shared tales truly magnificent, and ideas for songs truly splendid!.. Ah… if only I remembered a certain part from one of his tales. That in the distant past, when a hobgoblin nation still existed, they would lead squads, sometimes even battalions of goblins. If only I remembered this tiny detail, back when you asked. Back before we entered that accursed tunnel…"
The bard grew quiet again.
I felt obligated to at least say something.
"I, too, could have completely vetoed it. All three of us knew something was up, but not one of us forced the others to stop. No, we couldn't even force ourselves to stop. You are not to blame for this any more than the rest of us. We all made a mistake. Only two of us managed to get out without paying the price."
After some point, I realized my short reassurance became a full fledged monologue, but decided to finish it anyway. Perhaps it was me who wanted to hear those words more than the bard.
"mmm…"
Pinpin just gave me a complicated look, neither agreeing nor disputing my claims, and simply turned his head upwards, his gaze directed somewhere beyond the treetops.
After a few more minutes, we finished our food (with the halfling ending up reluctantly eating a single piece of jerky), and began our way back.
We took the same shortcut as before – in fact, I even recognized that cursed hill, which I had even less motivation to approach than before.
By the time we reached the original trail, it was already three or four in the afternoon. If we made our way back to town at the same pace as when we came here, we'd have to travel a few hours past sunset. However, I no intention to waste even a second on plant harvesting, and so, with no goblin tribe jumping at us from the bushes, and no wolf pack suddenly deciding to make us its prey, when the sun had set, we simply took out a torch, and walked for another 30 minutes through the forest's outskirts, until the trees and bushes cut off in front of a large field.
Two days and one night, which somehow felt like they could stretch endlessly, were finally over. We were back.