Chapter 3: An Ardent Visit
As a loud noise echoed through the cave, every goblin became alert. Humans had invaded the cave. This cave is fairly well hidden between grass and plants, so at best, only wild animals had invaded it yet. This kind of thing was new, so naturally, every goblin was anxious, not knowing how to move.
But once Klun heard there were humans, he couldn't help but want to check. He couldn't remember his past life very well, but knew he used to be a human, so maybe they could reach an understanding.
He slowly approached the entrance, trying to hide between the rocks, when he saw three human figures. It was the first time Klun had seen humans at all since being born as a goblin, but he still instinctively felt a connection with them, and moved in their direction.
"Hello." He said quietly, while waving his hand.
A very human-like greeting, but their reaction was to stop their bodies. They said something to each other, but Klun couldn't understand it at all. Because of course, they spoke a different language. Once they unsheated their weapons, he realized the situation he was in, and shook in fear. One of them wielded a sword and shiny armor, another a bow, and the other a staff and a robe. They stared at Klun as if they were looking at something dangerous and filthy.
The archer then fired an arrow in his direction. Klun could barely move in time, but the arrow pierced his hand. The pierce was deep, and from it, blood came out.
Then, as if that was the trigger, many goblins came out from hiding and leaped at the humans. Most goblins warriors were only wielding wooden clubs or spears, which paled in comparison to the humans' refined equipment.
Even the leader of the cave, Hort, came out to fight, followed by a few dozen goblins. Unlike the other goblins, he had an iron weapon and some protection. The goblins used their numbers to swarm the humans.
But the humans were just too strong. It wasn't just a matter of physical strength, they seemed to know skills or magic that completely overwhelmed the goblins. Even Hort, who seemed like he could put up a fight, was easily defeated. The goblins were dropping out like flies and the cave was soon filled with blood.
Then, in his state of shock, someone grabbed Klun's hand from behind.
"Quickly, hide in here." It was his mom. She took the arrow out of his right hand and pushed him into a hidden hole in the cave. "It's going to be alright." She said, then left to the human's direction, with a spear in hand.
"Ah…" That was all Klun could muster in response to the situation. It's like his mind still couldn't process what was happening.
Beside him, there were a lot of other goblins. Mostly children and babies. His younger brother, Trok, was also there. Most of them looked scared.
Even from that room, they could still hear the sounds of screams and blades.
After a few minutes, which felt like hours for those who could do nothing but listen, the sounds stopped. But then, smoke started coming out from the rest of the cave, invading the room. It seemed like the whole cave was on fire.
"...We need to leave here." That was the first full sentence Klun had spoken since being thrown here.
The smoke had already filled the whole room, and some goblins started coughing. Eventually, most of them got up, and followed Klun. But some of them remained lying on the floor, unmoving. They could be dead already, or maybe they simply couldn't muster the energy to get up. But there was no time to worry about them now.
"Let's leave through this hole." He pointed at one of the exits. The cave had many holes and secret passages, though most of them were already on fire by now, and only a few were still safe to go through, even if they were filled to the brim with smoke. They moved in anyway, with Klun holding his younger brother's hand.
Somehow most of them managed to leave the cave safely. But as Klun looked at how many of them still remained, he could only see a bit above 30 goblins, nowhere near as many as there were with him inside the room. And most of them were hurt, or still coughing from the smoke.
From where they were, they could still see the main entrance of the cave. The humans were nowhere to be seen anymore, but there were many goblins corpses inside, and the fire was still going strong.
They stared at the flames silently, as if they were expecting someone to come out, or a miracle to happen. But nothing happened, no matter how long they stared at it.
Klun looked at his right hand, still bleeding from the hole caused by the arrow. Such injury would surely leave a scar. As he looked at it and the flames, he was reminded once again that he was no longer a human, but a goblin, and that was something he should never forget.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone