Arad crawled underneath the mine, keeping his ears open for any movement above the surface. With each claw strike, his scales tingled, sensing the steps above as tremors in the ground.
“I can hear them growling above. Tens, if not hundreds, of goblins, live in the tunnels.” Aella whispered to Arad, “We can’t get in without a distraction,”
Arad stopped digging and closed his eyes, focusing as hard as possible. There was a single way to it. Using his claws, he widened the hole and laid Aella down.
Aella stared at Arad’s body as it shifted. His scales shifted and sunk into his body and revealing a pitch-black emptiness. The smooth look of his body resembled gems, and Aella instinctively reached with her hand to touch him.
FISHHH! The moment her fingertips touched Arad, her skin disintegrated, consumed by the empty void. AW! She quickly pulled her head. She looked at Arad, and he shook his head.
“Sorry, I won’t touch you again,” Aella said, staring at the ground.
[Be wary. You’re as squishy as a naked human without your scales. But in return, anything that touches your body would disintegrate, except for the palms of your claws. Those are left so you can walk.]
The void is emptiness. It strives to fill itself by consuming anything it touches. Void dragon bodies are the same, made of the void. Even light cannot escape their darkness, giving their bodies the pure black color they have.
The older they get, and the more matter their bodies absorb, a tiny flicker of light will appear inside, giving them the look of the night sky. Those lights are akin to stars, a flash of a new beginning.
Arad turned around, dug a tunnel, and proceeded alone. He left a path for Aella to follow him if she wanted, but he wouldn’t like it if she did. He could blend with the darkness, and she couldn’t.
Crack! Arad slowly dug a tiny hole, peeking through it. He was right behind a goblin. He looked around, seeing the room to be mostly empty. ^No stones? I should move away.^ Arad’s plan was simple.
Find a room with what he wants and kill everyone silently. He then would take all of what he needed. And lastly, get the hell out.
A simple plan. True, but to enact it without alerting the whole mine was the problem.
Arad kept digging, looking for a room full of magic stones, and he did find one. A large room full of green-stinky goblins, dining on the corpses of animals they hunted around the mine.
[They are like crows. If it shines, they keep it,] Mom explained. The goblins got fascinated by the magic stones’ mystical glow, so they hoarded it in one room.
^Killing all of them at once is impossible. Mom, do you have a plan?^ Arad asked.
[Go to one of the rooms on the opposite side of the mine and injure one of the goblins to distract them.]
^So when they scream for help and draw everyone. I can come here and clear the stones. What about the hole I will leave? They would know that something dug a hole, and they refilled it.^
[Goblins aren’t that smart. I doubt they will guess it, and even if they did, they only know how to dig with their hands.]
^So I should mix some stones to make it harder for them,^ Arad dug to the other side of the mine and found a nice room with one goblin taking care of his business. .
Arad silently emerged from behind the goblin, grabbing him by the head and slashing his eyes and legs. “GRWAAAAAAAA!” The goblin growled, and his screech filled the whole mine.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Arad heard the goblins rush in immediately, so he leaped back into the hole and closed it, leaving the goblin writhing in pain.
When Arad reached the other side, he found the room almost empty. Some goblins stayed eating, ignoring the screams. ^You friend is calling go!^ Arad growled inside his head. Why won’t those idiots leave?
Using the cover of the darkness, Arad emerged, walking on the tip of his paws like a cat. CRACK! With a single bite, he crushed a goblin’s head and absorbed him into his stomach.
The other goblins who heard the strange sound looked in Arad’s direction. But they saw nothing, even with their night vision. They only noticed a small spot, slightly darker than the rest.
A second goblin approached the darkness. CRACK! He disappeared without a trace, and the other goblins got even more confused.
The dark spot moved a bit and then disappeared. CRACK! CRACK! It appeared on the other side of the room, and two goblins were missing.
The little green monsters started to shake, glaring at each other and growling. Terror slowly seeped into their bones. CRACK! Another goblin lost his short life.
“AH…” A goblin tried to scream, but the dark spot teleported to him. CRACK! His became past tense.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! Arad finished the rest, prioritizing those who wanted to scream or run away.
Arad stared at the stones smiling. ^Barrels over barrels, I take everything!^ He smiled inside, sucking everything into his stomach.
BAM! BAM! BAM! Arad stopped, recognizing the sound. His head jerked back. ^Aella’s bow?^
[She’s a few rooms away. Why did she get out?]
Thud! Arad rushed out in her direction. ^Aella is a ranged fighter. She can get overwhelmed in such a small space.^
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Arad’s body raced across the mine. A goblin was running ahead of him, so he attacked and hit while running. All he needed was a claw strike and absorbing the corpse into his stomach.
CRACK! Arad eliminated the goblin. And any other one in his way without leaving a single corpse behind.
[The cave is getting tighter. Exhale so you can pass through the squeeze.]
Arad took a deep breath and then exhaled, emptying all the air in his lungs and looking forward. The crack ahead of him was enough for a single human to use, and even with that, it was a tight fit.
CREEK! Arad’s body slipped right through, his void skin nibbling on the stones as he pushed through. He had no choice since it was faster than digging.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Arad got closer to Aella’s location. He could finally see her in the distance. She stood to the corner, aiming her bow toward a horde of goblins.
^Is she an idiot? Why did she…^ Before long, Arad saw what was behind her. It was four faces that he knew and even more.
Nigel and his party lay there, bloodied. And behind them, two men, four women, and a few children.
[Don’t worry, they can’t see in the dark, and even if they did, they can’t see you,]
Arad rushed forward, using his claws to run on the wall and the ceiling. Thud! He leaped down like a leopard, stomping into two goblins. The moment Aella saw two of her targets disappear, she knew it was Arad.
CRACK! CRACK! Arad started killing the goblins left and right, tearing them apart without much care.
Aella turned back, “We’re leaving. Follow me.” She said. Slapping Nigel a few times, “You’re a fighter. Wake them up,”
Nigel coughed blood, the knife in his side hurt like hell, yet he stood grinding his teeth, “I can move,” He growled with shaking legs.
“Good!” Aella lifted the two girls while Nigle carried Chester. The other prisoners ran after them.
Arad looked at them run away. ^Good, you better be out Then here.
FLASH! A crimson flame illuminated the cave as Chester opened his eyes, staring from Nigel’s back.
Arad stood between the hordes of goblins, swinging his fiery fists around like a madman and tearing them apart. “Don’t…leave him…alone,” He growled.
FLAP! Arad opened his arms, “See you on the other side!” KA-BOOM! The entire room exploded as Everyone left.
[Why the show?] Mom asked.
^They wouldn’t let me rest if they thought Aella was alone. Since I already missed my moment to appear, I better be the last one standing there.^
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Goblins surrounded him, growling and screaming as they flailed their stolen weapons.
Arad stared at the goblins with a smile, his head slightly tilted as flame gushed flared between his teeth. His eyes glow with a faint red fire, crackling with magic.
“Everyone is here? Good!” Arad smiled, lifting his palm and conjuring a small fireball, “I need to make it look like I fought to the death. You can’t have a bad reputation if you intend on having multiple wives, do you?.” With Arad smiling, he rushed forward, throwing the fireball at the goblins. [Firebolt] KA-BOM!
KA-DON! KA-DON! KA-DON! KA-DON! KA-DON! With punches and kicks, Arad leaped around, sending the goblins into the afterlife. That kept going until the little bastards figured out something called (Attack at the same time)
All the goblins leaped at Arad at the same time. GROW! GROW! They groaned, climbing on his body, scratching from every corner. “Good, time to end this,” BOOM! His body exploded in flames, morphing into his draconic form. ^Time for play is over,^
Arad glared at them, with flame covering his draconic body.
***
Outside, everyone reached safety. Coughing blood, Chester, who had been stabbed multiple times in the stomach, growled, “You left him inside!”
“It’s Arad. He would be fine,” Aella said, looking through the party stuff for healing potions.
Chester tried to stand, but he couldn’t.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Like everyone, Arad walked out of the Mine entrance, topless with his torso all cut and scratched. A tiny stream of fire rushed from his mouth as smoke rose from the door behind him.