Ariane felt a light draft from one tunnel.

The sorceress strained her eyes to see in the darkness, not sure which way to go.

The noble girl came up behind her, “What is it? Don’t you know the way?”

“Give me a second,” Ariane said and went to each of the entrances. Standing at the middle one, she shivered slightly. The hair on her flesh standing up slightly. It was a slight draft of air coming from that tunnel. “This one, has to be,” she said. Going back to the rest she grabbed the hand of the leading girl and led them down that way.

… In the cavern ...

The impressive beast was flinging goblins around the cavern like ants. They swarmed his imposing frame and climbed on him but he threw them off and stomped whoever he could get in his grasp.

The other goblins tried their damnedest to reach the passage where their women had fled to, but they were felled one-by-one. Mira sword drank goblin blood by the gallon that day. Lex did his part too, shooting more goblins than he had ever seen in his life. But his quiver wasn’t infinite, he’d have to switch to his spear soon. The last of the enslaved women entered the tunnel and Mira turned to Khala, “Go with them, we’ll go in after you and stall them.”

Khala nodded, she didn’t want to leave her friends but she wasn’t the biggest help armed with only a shovel. Khala brought up the rear of the column of women.

Mira looked up at Lex, “Come on, get down here. We are leaving this hellhole!”

“What about you armour?” Lex asked as he notched another arrow, driving it into the heart of a charging goblin with ease.

“Forget it, we don’t have any time,” Mira shouted back.

The ranger put his bow on his back and leaped from his perch. Landing sure of foot beside Mira, he looked to her, “One second, I have an idea.” The ranger sprinted to one of the mining crates with an awesome speed.

“Wh-What don’t be stu—” Mira wanted to halt him but he was going already.

Weaving between goblins slashes and piercing one or two with his spear on the way, Lex came back with a stick of Alchemist’s fire, “We can blow the tunnel behind us with this!”

“Good idea, but wait till we are out, I don’t want to be buried alive!” Mira said and turned to the tunnel.

The two of them entered behind Khala and held the rear together, goblin corpses clogging the way to the cavern as they advanced backwards. Some of the goblins even got lucky, drawing blood on Mira’s already scarred arms and legs. Lex also didn’t get away without pain. One of the goblins managed to nearly impale his face. The only reason it only grazed his cheek and gave him a deep cut was Mira disembowelling the goblin with a quick slash of her sword.

Behind them in the cavern, the great troll was struggling. He was giving the goblin tribe the fight of their lives, they could tell of this in their legends for generation if they survived. The green creatures just kept coming, only the demons of all the hells could be more numerous. Even a mighty beast like a troll had its limits, he fell to the ground with a thunderous sound that shook the entire mountain and the goblins fell on him like a tidal wave. With the troll defeated, the whole horde of goblins turned around and tried to squeeze in to the tunnel to the secret exit.

… up in the tunnels ...

Ariane had picked wisely and they reached the exit of the tunnels in the cave, “We did it. Get them out. Come on, everybody get going!” The sorceress let the noble daughter lead them out of the tunnel and into the cave. She waited and let them all past, looking for her friends. Khala brought up the rear and Ariane looked like a heavy weight was taken off her chest, “Khala, thank god. Where are Mira and Lex?”

“They are stalling the goblins and fighting their way here,” Khala said, “I’ll grab my bow and help them.” She rushed past Ariane and picked up her bow and quiver, which she had set aside for the night. Armed but still in the nude, Khala went back into the tunnel.

Ariane cursed herself and that damn mage again, she could really use her illusion powers to good effect in those tunnels. In her situation, she could not do much to help, “Be careful, little one.”

Khala rushed down the tunnel she had just traversed and followed the sound of dying goblins.