Emergency Retreat

Emma breathed out, lowering her bow as she stood up, "Alright, that's all of them."

"Nice work," Blake complimented. 

The archer carefully moved over, performing the unsightly, but necessary procedure of retrieving each arrow from the fiendish corpses. 

"That's a big downside to relying on a bow, I'd say," Blake quietly remarked, watching as the girl struggled to retrieve the last arrow. 

Emma strained, tugging on the shaft of the projectile, "Yeah, well I've gotten used to—ahh!" 

The green-skinned fiend that laid limp suddenly lashed out, releasing gargled yells. It took the young woman by surprise, grabbing onto her leg before it sank its teeth into her calf. 

"Nnaaaah!" Emma shrieked in pain as the foul goblin's teeth dug in with a squelch of blood. 

Blake was shocked for a second before taking action, having to steady his breathing as he held his sword up. 

"Do it—! Aaahn!" Emma cried out. 

"I'm trying! I just have to…line it up!" Blake said, holding his sword over his head as he looked down. 

In the midst of the sudden panic, the rabid goblin and the frantic movements of the archer as she tried to beat the fiend's head with the bow made it difficult to aim his strike. 

Through the snarls of the goblin and the cries of pain from the girl, he brought his blade down—squelch. 

All of the noise stopped aside from the smooth sound of blood leaking out. 

The goblin's head was parted from its shoulders, releasing its jaws from the archer's leg. 

Emma collapsed onto a knee, breathing heavily as tears ran down her cheek, "Shit…! It hurts…" 

"I've got you," he assured her, kneeling beside her as he sat his backpack down. "There's bandages and ointments in here, hold on—"

"Blake…!" Emma sharply called his name in a panic. 

While he rushed to try and treat her wound, he forgot the fact that the lair was likely home to more than just that small group. 

"Shit!" He let out in disgust at the situation, hearing the yells of goblins throughout the lair, though not yet seeing them through the darkness. 

Between his wounded companion and the pressing threat of the goblins, he didn't know what to do. It was the first time he'd been placed in such a situation, one of such adrenaline and lethality. 

"Blake…" Emma said feebly, hardly able to even keep herself upright. 

He quickly placed his hand against her forehead to check her temperature, feeling that it was already far too hot. 

'She's burning up…A single bite is catching up this quickly?' He questioned. 

There was only one option he could think of as he sheathed his sword and scooped her up in his arms. Feeling the malice of those that lurked in the dark, he ran through the shadow-filled chamber. 

'The nymph—I need to make it back to her,' the panicked thought raced to the forefront of his mind. 

As he ran with all of his strength, he felt the hands of the agonized girl gripping onto his coat as she cried. At the same time, he listened to the echoing war cries of the goblins; mixed with their high-pitched yells were shouts of something much larger. 

"Shit…!" He muttered in an exhale, stumbling over a piece of wood in the darkness. 

"Nnhaaah!" Emma's cries continued, echoing through the chamber. 

It all happened so fast, leaving him without much to know besides the fact that the girl was in pain. He watched her writing in his arms while he ran with all of his strength. Out of the lair, he wasted no moment taking a sharp left down the familiar corridor; alongside the frantic steps of the fiends that chased him, his own heartbeat filled his ears. 

"Emma," he said her name, keeping his hand under her head. 

As he brought her focus to him with that calm utterance of his name, their eyes met. 

"Go to sleep," he softly commanded. 

[Hypnosis successful.] 

[EXP: +10] [82/100] 

The girl's eyes fluttered as her wails of pain came to a stop, slowly closing her eyelids as a deep sleep was entered. It was the best he could do for her at the moment. 

It took every ounce of focus to retrace his way in the midst of the panicked run, taking sharp turns around each corner while keeping the slumbering girl held carefully. Through enough desperate turns, he found it again: the room claimed by nature. 

'...There!' He thought. 

He didn't hesitate to run straight for the flower-covered hut, coming in without any warning. The many mandragoras chirped at him, raising their small limbs in clear hostility at the sudden intrusion. 

The threat of the plants was ignored as he found that the nymph was still there, nurturing a bed of flowers with her hands. She looked up in slight surprise at the arrival of the panicked man, seeing the girl in his arms. 

"Basil! Can you help her?!" He pleaded. 

The nymph walked over, passing the mandragoras that she calmed with a gentle wave of her hand, "Set her down, young human." Basil softly asked of him. 

He carefully placed the slumbering girl down, watching as the woman of mystical origin kneel down to check on her. All the while, the curious plants did the same, chirping at the confusing situation. 

"She's been afflicted by the Strand," Basil told him, running her hand over the wounded leg of the girl. 

"The Strand?" He repeated, feeling his stomach sink at such a daunting name. 

"It's a disease that the goblins living in this mountain carry. A lethal affliction if not snuffed out with haste," Basil explained, "Fortunately, I am capable of tending such pests."

"You can heal her–?" Blake said. 

"I can, but you see…your arrival here has dragged along some uninvited guests. I'll need you to handle them while I tend to your friend here," Basil told him. 

"Alright, I can do that," he nodded his head. 

The labored breaths of his unconscious companion left him worried as he touched her head before standing himself back up, entrusting her wellbeing to the hospitable nymph. 

As he took his leave from the hut, he heard the nuisances described by the keeper of the garden; the growls of goblins drew near. 

'I can do this. I wasn't brought to this world just to die a loser again–I'm here to be somebody greater,' the resolve steeled itself in his mind as he drew his sword.