Give and Take - Ch. 04 by wet_special

Give and Take

A young newcomer, dreaming of adventure and a better life, crosses paths with a veteran who has lost himself. Can they help each other find what they seek? Or does their partnership only end in tragedy?

* * *

Chapter 4

"That's it right there." Jay's voice was monotone as always, as the human pointed a short way ahead of them.

Alice looked where the human was pointing, eager to see their next destination. It seemed frankly unremarkable, just a literal hole in the side of a hill, barely wide enough for two humans to enter. It was surrounded by a few rocks and boulders, which obscured it from a casual glance.

"That's it?" Alice glanced back at her mentor in disbelief. "It looks like some random cave."

Jay gave a mirthless smirk back to her.

"That's exactly what it would like you to think." He explained. "As I said, it's a young Hollow, it wants random passersby to stumble in, unprepared."

The goblin looked back at the entrance. Yea, if she was a few years younger and came upon it, she probably would have gone and taken a look inside out curiosity. It sent a small shudder down her spine.

"So older Hollows look different, then?"

"Yes. They want to attract powerful adventurers, so they often shape their entrances into grand buildings or imposing gates." The human glanced at her. "Were we to approach one of those, we would need to scout it out first, we couldn't just walk up to it."

"We couldn't?" Alice asked, confused.

"Older Hollows often have monsters outside guarding the entrance, both to catch adventures unaware, and to alert the Hollow of their approach. In fact, they'll sometimes-"

Jay stopped mid sentence, his hand flying to the hilt of his weapon over his shoulder. Alarmed, Alice spun around, turning to face the entrance of the Hollow. For a moment her stomach dropped, as something was comingoutof the cave.

Alice breathed a sigh of relief a second later, as the figures revealed themselves to be several humans, clearly adventurers. Jay also lowered his hand from his weapon, slowly.

As the figures stepped out into the sunlight, Alice couldn't help but gasp, stumbling back a half step. There were three of them: a man and two women. The man, bloodied and staggering, leaned heavily on the woman with the bow. His chainmail was torn, a sword dangling loosely at his hip, one hand pressed hard to a rag soaked in blood at his side.

Both of the women were also injured, though not as severely as the man. Their gear was torn and battered, one bearing a gash on her forehead, and the other holding a bloody arm.

Overall, it was a fairly gruesome picture, and Alice was quick to move out of the way as they approached.

"It's okay now Alan. We're out, we're safe." The woman with the bow was murmuring, trying to soothe the man. The other woman glanced at Alice and Jay, but didn't say anything, her body sagging with weariness.

The trio passed by the two adventurers, moving in the direction of Greenwood, leaving drops of blood on the grass in their wake.

"Never underestimate a Hollow." Jay said quietly, pulling the goblin's attention away from the injured adventurers. "Let your guard down even a single time, and you'll end up like them, or worse."

"What...what do you think happened?" Alice asked hesitantly, glancing back at the retreating figures.

"No way to know for sure." The human shrugged. "From the looks of them, they bit off more than they could chew. The man was likely injured first, and I'll wager the other two got hurt trying to get him to safety."

"Huh." The goblin ran a finger across the hilt of one of her blades, thinking. "Hey...couldn't you have healed them?"

"Easily."

"Then...why didn't you?" Alice looked at her partner, confused. It wasn't something she'd expect from most people, but Jay had proven remarkably altruistic since she had met him.

"It wouldn't be an act of kindness." The human shook his head. "Their wounds aren't fatal, but more than that, they either went in unprepared, or lost focus inside the Hollow. This is a lesson they won't soon forget, and it might be enough to turn them away from adventuring forever."

Alice frowned, her gaze following the trail of blood. "Oh." She turned the words over in her head. "You mean...the pain's part of the lesson."

"Exactly." Jay nodded. "If they don't learn that here, when they venture into an older Hollow, they'll most certainly die."

The dispassionate way he said it surprised the goblin, his tone almost cold. Before she could say anything, the drops of blood on the ground caught her eye, reminding her of just how serious this all was.

It wasn't training. It wasn't a game. And it sure as hell wasn't anything she'd ever faced before.

Alice closed her eyes for a moment. Those three adventurers had looked skilled, well-equipped... and still, look how they'd ended up. Alice clutched one of the hilts of her weapons, taking a deep breath. She also had good equipment, but the only thing she had ever cut was an old bale of hay in a field. The goblin's chest tightened, and she could feel a rising desire to call out to Jay, to tell him that she wanted to go back to the inn.

An image of her mother's sneering face flashed through Alice's mind, and she clenched her jaw, pushing down her fear and trepidation.

Alice opened her eyes to find Jay stopped and looking back at her, a few paces away. As usual, she couldn't read the expression on his face, but at the very least, it didn't seem to be doubt or pity.

"Let's get going." She said, the words coming out a lot more confidently than she expected they would. The human nodded once, then turned towards the entrance, the goblin trotting along to catch up with him.

* * *

"This feels... off," Alice murmured, glancing around.

The interior of the Hollow felt completely different than outside, as if she had just stepped through a magic portal rather than the entrance to a cave. The sounds of nature; birds singing, insects chirping, and the rustling of grass had all ceased, extinguished like a candle dropped into water. In their place came the slow drip of water, the distant rumble of shifting stone, and something else. Something that almost felt like...breathing.

"It's part of a Hollow's defenses." Jay explained, moving slowly through the cavelike room. "It wants to throw you off balance, to disorient and confuse you." The human stopped to check the ground, looking at something the goblin couldn't see. "Since this Hollow is still young, all it can do is make some disquieting sounds."

"Can older Hollows do more?" Alice whispered, feeling like the atmosphere of the cave was closing in on her.

"They can." Jay answered quietly. "You need to have the proper countermeasures when entering mature Hollows. Magic, or enchanted items, are needed to stop the atmosphere from completely disorienting you...or worse."

"Lovely." Alice murmured, sticking close to her partner.

"Alice." Jay's sudden calling of her name surprised the goblin. "I must admit, I know very little of your race. How well can you see in the dark?"

"Oh, uh..." She blinked at the unexpected question. "I mean, I can see pretty easily in here. Us goblins have pretty good vision in the dark. We're not perfect at it like elves or anything, but this much is no problem."

"Understood." Jay brought a hand near his face, a soft glow pulsing from his fingers for a moment. "In that case, I'll enhance my vision rather than conjuring light for us."

"Will that help?"

"The monsters in a Hollow are adapted to living here, so if we can see them in the dark, they will be able to see us as well." The human explained, glancing back at her. "However, this way, the glow won't give us away around corners."

By an unspoken understanding, the two fell silent, moving to the back of the room. Alice's eyes widened as the rough rock walls gave way to a hallway of what looked like cut stone blocks. Not even twenty paces down the hallway, there was a sharp turn to the right, the path beyond out of sight. She glanced up at Jay, her confusion plain upon her face.

The human dropped to one knee, bringing his face closer to hers, so she could hear his low murmur.

"This is the true Hollow. It tailored its layout to the types of monsters it has created."

"And just what type would that be?" Alice asked quietly, hoping her nerves wouldn't be evident in her voice.

"I cannot say for certain, but my guess would be something that wants to engage us up close." Jay's eyes went to the sharp turn ahead. "It seems like it doesn't want us using ranged attacks."

"Right, makes sense." Alice nodded.

The two continued through the Hollow, following the hallway. It wasn't quite a labyrinth, as there were no forks in the path, but the way it twisted and turned made the goblin feel more than a little claustrophobic. The walls themselves seemed like solid blocks of stone, but there was something...off about them. When the goblin put her hand on them, she could feel them slowly contracting and expanding the tiniest bit. It reminded her of the feeling of living flesh, and she couldn't help but shudder, a chill moving up her spine.

On the other hand, though, she felt a bit of pride. She had always been good at moving quietly, and she thought she might be making even less noise than Jay. The goblin was very thankful that Jay had made her break-in her armor so much. The leather had become smooth and flexible, no sounds of creaking or stretching coming from it.

In front of her, Jay stopped at a corner, raising his left fist. The goblin stopped immediately and moved to kneel behind him, the hand signals the human had drilled into her making the action almost instinctive. Jay moved slowly to peek around the corner, his right hand going to the hilt of his sword. Alice's stomach did a little flip, and she also lowered her hands to her weapons.

After a moment, the human slid back from the corner, catching the goblin's eye. Understanding his intent, she leaned in, waiting for him to speak.

"Enemies up ahead." He said simply, jerking his head towards the corner.

"Monsters? What kind?" There was an odd mix of fear and excitement in the goblin's belly.

"Take a peek." Jay shifted aside, letting her edge toward the corner.

Slowly, Alice peeked around the corner.

Down the next hallway were milling a few...well, it would be impossible to see them as anything other than goblins. But, they were...wrong. The things were short and green-skinned, and had the same yellow eyes with black pupils as she did, but that was where the similarities ended. Their faces were twisted and distorted, with long noses and fangs that jutted from their bottom lips. The creatures' bodies were thin and wiry, seemingly all tendon, muscle and bone. However, perhaps the strangest thing was that even though they were clearly male and they were all naked, they had just...nothing between their legs. Only smooth skin.

Alice was so taken back by their appearance, that it took her a moment to notice their behavior. They weren't patrolling, or eating, or standing watch, or even just resting or relaxing. No, they were just stumbling around the same area, seemingly without reason or purpose, like drunks on the verge of passing out. The things weren't even talking, just making odd, guttural growling noises at random.

"What...what in the nine hells are those?" She asked a moment later, making sure to keep her voice a whisper.

"They're goblins-" Jay began.

"No way, not a chance!" Alice hissed, eyes wide. Jay held up his hand, motioning her to allow him to finish.

"They're goblins as seen through the eyes of whatever monster bonded with the Hollow's core."

"...really?"

"Yes. And, judging from how distorted they are, the bonded monster is not very intelligent." Jay said, peering around the corner again.

"So the reason they look so...wrongis because..."

"That is how this particular monster perceives goblins."

"Does...does this ever happen with humans?" Alice asked tentatively.

"Of course." Jay shrugged. "In young Hollows or Hollows with an unintelligent core monster, they would look similar; something that vaguely resembles a human, but twisted and wrong."

"What if it's not?" Alice asked, eyes wide. "Like what if it's not a young Hollow?"

"It greatly depends on the bonded monster, but..." Jay closed his eyes for a moment. "Well, let's just say there have been those who claimed to run into other adventurers in a dungeon, only to realize there's something not quite right about them, not a moment too soon..."

"Yea, okay. Great." Alice said bleakly, slumping against the wall. She was surprised when Jay put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, we have a long way to go before we encounter anything like that." He motioned towards the corner. "And I promise you, those things over there look much more dangerous than they actually are."

"Really? You think so?" Alice asked skeptically. "What about what happened to those other adventurers we saw?"

Jay gave the goblin a wry grin, an expression she had never seen him make before.

"Come now. Have alittlemore faith in my training."

"Right...okay." Alice straightened up, drawing her weapons. "This is what we're here for, I guess."

"I'll be here to lend a hand if you need it, but I don't think you will."

There was a glint in the human's eyes that Alice couldn't quite place. Could he be...proud of her?

"If I can offer one piece of advice: move in quickly and quietly." Jay explained. "They'll see you, likely, but if you're fast enough you'll be able to take one down before they can really react."

"Right." Alice took one last deep breath, wanting to ride the momentum of her feelings.

She ducked around the corner and dashed into the small room, one blade leading, the other trailing low at her side. She kept low, boots whispering across the stone. Though she was focused on the monsters in front of her, a small part of her mind was shocked at just how quickly she was covering the open ground. True to Jay's words, the monsters had only just begun to turn to her when she reached the closest one.

The thing gave a snarl, raising the crude wooden club it was holding. Alice lunged, not wanting to give it even the smallest opening. Her lead blade drove straight into the creature's elbow, piercing the wiry flesh. It gave a shriek and the club started to tumble from its failing grip, but Alice's follow-through was already in motion. With the thing's weapon arm out of the way, she brought her second blade to bear, swiping upwards across her body. Alice's dagger sliced through the monster's emaciated neck as easily as it had cut through the sheets of parchment she had trained on.

The goblin monster fell to the floor with a gurgle, clutching at its ruined throat. Alice barely spared it a second glance, stepping over the thing and raising her blades once again. The other two monsters were charging at her now, both only around a dozen paces away. After a split-second of consideration, Alice dashed again, moving towards the monster on her right. The fake goblin on her left was wielding a primitive stone sword and wooden shield. Regardless of how shabby the thing's equipment looked, she couldn't afford to have her weapons get tangled up with its shield while there were still two enemies.

The adventurer closed in on the other goblin monster, this one just carrying a single curved sword. As she closed in on it, the thing gave an almost authentic sneer, looking out of place enough to nearly trip her up. It raised its weapon, making a lunging slash as soon as they drew close enough to each other, its face radiating a twisted confidence.

Alice almost couldn't believe her eyes. Compared to Jay's devastatingly quick and precise strikes, it almost felt like the monster's weapon was moving underwater. She raised her left arm, moving with the flow of the attack like she had been taught. It wasn't quite perfect, but she caught the attack with only a small amount of force, pushing outwards as the sword connected with her dagger. Diverted, the monster's sword whistled harmlessly past her. The thing's expression changed from triumph to confusion in an instant, as it staggered forwards, put off balance by its attack being deflected.

Alice took one more step forward, putting herself within spitting distance of the thing's body, and pumped her right arm upwards. Her dagger cleaved up into the thing's chin, sinking deep into its brain. Well, if it had a brain, that is. Regardless, it seemed to do the trick, as the monster immediately went limp, all strength instantly leaving its body, its weapon clattering to the floor.

The remaining fake goblin was almost upon her now, so she took another step to the right, her victim still impaled upon her weapon. When the thing's dead body was between her and her remaining opponent, she put a foot on the corpse's chest and pushed with all her might, sending the body flying into the last monster.

To the thing's credit, it managed to catch its former ally with its shield, and push the corpse away from itself. Unfortunately for it, Alice hadn't been idle. As soon as she sent the body flying, she dashed after it, and now the last monster's shield was in no position to protect from her attack. Seeing her opponent so far on the backfoot, the adventurer wasted no time in attacking with a sweep from each side of her body, her daggers whistling through the air towards its head.The thing actually managed to block one of her attacks, locking the dagger up with its crude sword. However, the goblin's other attack struck true, sinking into the thing's eye.

The shriek it gave was almost human.

Alice flinched and leapt back. Her breath caught in her throat, but the creature collapsed a heartbeat later, twitching once before going still.

Quickly shuffling backwards, Alice went back into her fighting stance, her eyes scanning the area for any other enemies, as she had been taught. After a long moment of silence, she straightened up, breathing a sigh of relief. She looked around, not quite believing what she was seeing. The three monsters lay dead, their blood still wet on her blade.

"I...I did it?" She asked as much as stated, feeling a little overwhelmed.

"You did." Jay's calm voice sounded from behind her, causing the goblin to spin around. The human approached, that same glint in his eyes. "How did it feel?"

"I'm, uh...not sure." Alice replied sheepishly. "I feel like the whole thing happened in a blur."

"Not an unusual reaction, for your first real fight." Jay said. He walked over to the bodies of the monsters. "You did well."

It was a simple compliment, but it caught the goblin off-guard, a sheepish grin appearing on her face.

"Your training works pretty well, I guess." She said airily, wanting to tease her mentor just a bit.

"And you catch on quick. Not many could do that well in their first fight." Jay said quietly, causing Alice's cheek to flush.

"Just don't let it get to your head." He added, as if reading her mind. "You've already seen the consequences of lowering your guard today."

The goblin's mind flashed back to the party of adventurers they passed by outside the Hollow, the memory sobering her up quickly.

"Right." She said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. After a moment she looked to her mentor again. "I guess I should clean my blades now, right?"

"No need." Jay gestured toward her hands.

Alice blinked and looked down--both of her daggers were pristine, as clean as when she'd bought them.

"Wha...how?" She looked to Jay, confused.

"As I said, these aren't living creatures." He motioned to the corpses. "They are magical constructs made to resemble them. Once they are 'killed', the magic binding them together dissipates."

Give and Take - Ch. 04

Discussion(0)