""Well I'll be, Sigmar is really listening!"
"Look at that Wutelgi, seems you were wrong about Sigmar."
"A little light does not prove the divinity of some long-dead barbarian."
The witch hunter ignored his companions' babbling as he continued his prayer, "Grant me the clarity of purpose so that I may better serve your cause and bring deliverance to those under your protection..."
"Darlings, get back!" The bright wizard's voice called out with urgency, finally breaking his concentration.
Saltzpyre hesitantly opened his eyes, only to find darkness.
'What foul trick is this!?' The witch hunter thought to himself with dread, worrying if he had somehow perished or if his soul had been dragged into realms of chaos, a punishment for the heresy of enacting the pilgrimage. Even more worrying was the thought of his companions, had they been taken into this realm just as he had? Did he, in his foolishness, lead them to damnation?
Before he could continue down that line of thought, Victor caught a glimpse of something; it was his hand, raised right in front of his face.
The witch hunter breathed a small sigh of relief realizing his predicament, the darkness he was surrounded by was just an ordinary one and his eyes were already beginning to adapt.
Now less panicked, it was then that Victor became aware of the sound of movement and breathing around him. Striking a match, the witch hunter lit the candles on his hat.
The goblins were unsure of what to make of the figure that had suddenly appeared before them.
On one hand, it was a human, one of their natural enemies, and a male one at that, meaning there was no use in keeping it alive.
On the other hand, the human's face bore a wicked visage, his clothes were covered in esoteric runes and symbols, not to mention that he was drenched in gore and smelled fouler than even them, and on top of all of that, the sinister skull motif of his outfit drew their attention.
From the latter part, along with his sudden teleportation into their lair, a sound conclusion was reached: the human before them must have been an evil sorcerer, here to lead them on some scheme to lay waste and pillage the world above them, which meant an abundance of food, loot, and women.
The thought of the impending pleasures beyond their cave caused them to cackle in sadistic delight, but they quieted at the sudden appearance of a flame at the human's fingertips.
It was unlike anything they'd ever known, to be able to cast spells without even speaking indicated a level of power beyond their imagination.
Now even more excited with their boon, they began cackling even louder, not expecting just pillaging, but perhaps even conquest of the overworld.
After lighting the occult candle on his hat, the sorcerer stood up and looked around, his face twisting into one even more sinister and malevolent than before.
Anticipating the sorcerer's commands, the group of goblins stood waiting in front of him as he pulled out a strange-looking wand.
Victor discharged the lower barrel of his heavy pistol, sending a blast of shrapnel right into the crowd of goblins before him, shredding through their bodies.
What few survivors that managed to avoid his ballistic wrath were writhing in pain and disorientation from the sound of the shot, which had been enhanced by the cave's echoing environment.
Had Saltzpyre not spent his entire career becoming acclimated to the deafening sound of blackpowder weaponry and fighting in sewers, along with other tunnel-like systems, he likely would be doing the same. But that was not the case, and there was filth before him that needed to be dealt with.
The witch hunter wasted no time, holstering the heavy firearm and drawing his rapier before cutting down the vile greenskins that surrounded him with as much proficiency as he had dealing with skaven.
The witch hunter's instinct allowed him to narrowly dodge an arrow that shot out from the darkness and he responded to it in kind with a shot from one of his pistols; from the wet thud that came after, it seemed to have hit its mark.
Recovering from their disorientation and realizing how outmatched they were, many of the surviving goblins retreated, going up through the cave tunnels, leaving behind only the most foolish and ambitious to fight the 'sorcerer'.
As Saltzpyre continued fighting off the goblins, the sound of strange chanting caught his attention. Looking in its direction revealed a strangely dressed goblin holding a primitive staff.
"Foul greenskin witch!" Victor said accusingly as he leveled a pistol to fire at the shaman. But before he could pull the trigger, a goblin that managed to sneak up on him used its club to smack the gun out of his hand, which was quickly responded to with a rapier stab through the goblin's eye. The creature's gambit had paid off, however, as the shaman had completed the incantation, sending a large fire hurling in the witch hunter's direction.
Saltzpyre dove out of the fireball's path, hoping that the explosion would only leave manageable singes at worst. After a few moments, he noticed that the anticipated blast hadn't occurred. Looking up, it seemed the fireball had suddenly changed direction. The flame trail led toward a familiar figure.
"Amateur work," Sienna remarked as she held the fireball in her hand, "But, I suppose it's adequate for a goblin."
The bright wizard tossed the fireball back at the shaman, incinerating the goblin and causing it to scream in agony. Then there was only the crackling of the fire.
"Feugonasus," Saltzpyre addressed with a solemn tone, lest he betrayed his true emotions of relief at seeing one of his companions had managed to get out safely.
"Missed me, darling?" The wizard said as she helped the witch hunter up to his feet.
"When did you arrive?" Saltzpyre questioned, wondering how he could have missed her in their environment.
"If I had to guess, probably the same as you," Sienna responded, pointing to a crude curtain, "Landed in the room behind there, wasn't a pleasant experience, to say the least."
"You encountered the greenskins in there as well?" The witch hunter asked, partially out of concern for the wizard, and partially to get more information on the situation.
"Yes, but they were much smaller than the ones you dealt with; snotlings most likely," The wizard answered, "The little pests burned all the same; a gaggle of them tried hiding in a covered-up hole, but I made short work of that too."
"That's rather diligent of you," Saltzpyre remarked.
"What can I say, some of your habits have rubbed off on me," Sienna responded, "Besides, you can't leave any space untreated when it comes to greenskins."
"On that, we agree," Saltzpyre stated, before another matter came to mind, "I don't suppose you found any sign of the others there?" He questioned, partially knowing the answer.
"Not that I could tell," Sienna answered, "Wherever they are, it isn't here with us."
Sienna's confirmation of his worries caused Saltzpyre's fears to return; Valient Kruber, Noble Goreksson, and even the elf were lost in Sigmar knows where, if they were even still alive. And it was his fault for ever even thinking about the Citadel of Eternity.
"I'm sure they'll be fine," Sienna added, sensing the witch hunter's ever-subtle signs of unease that were only noticeable from years of working and living with him, "They still have to decide what they'll call that story of theirs, after all."
Saltzpyre wanted to respond to the wizard's words of reassurance with a show of stoicism or anything to keep up appearances but found himself unable to.
A sudden human-sounding scream from the tunnel ahead of them caused the pair to snap out of their conversation. From what Saltzpyre recalled, it was the directions the fleeing goblins had headed.
"We must hurry," Saltzpyre commanded, focusing on the new purpose before them, "Onwards!"
"No complaint from me, darling," The bright wizard exclaimed enthusiastically as she followed the reinvigorated witch hunter.
Priestess watched in horror as the sadistic scene unfolded before her.
In mere moments, Wizard had been stabbed in an ambush and now Warrior was swarmed, being quickly overpowered and now butchered by the once underestimated creatures.
"I used heal, but she's not getting better, why?" Priestess said in worry and confusion as the Wizard remained incapacitated.
As the initial shock subsided, Fighter's face turned from terror to resolve.
"You two, run!" The tougher girl ordered
"B-but-!" Priestess began, but it fell on deaf ears as the martial artist advanced into the fray.
Taking the initiative, she was able to make a strong start, fending off the goblins with forceful strikes that landed true. But her momentum was stopped suddenly by the appearance of the hob, which easily stopped her roundhouse kick with its hand and grabbed her leg before slamming her twice across the wall, sending her to the floor.
The downed martial artist screamed in terror and pain as the goblins pinned her down and tore her clothes apart, with the last of her breaking will, she spoke weakly to the only standing member of her party left.
"R... run..."
But Priestess remained paralyzed with fear.
Just then, even more goblins entered the scene, but unlike the rest, they appeared scared.
No, scared was putting it too lightly. They were absolutely horrified.
One of the terrified goblins pulled at the loincloth of the hob, attempting to direct its attention to the tunnel it and the rest of its group had come from. In the distance, they could see what appeared to be a floating fire.
"SIGMAR!" A stern voice shouted as it was soon followed by a deafening roar that echoed through the cave.
Priestess shut her eyes in reaction to the pain in her ears, when she opened them again, she saw that the hob's head had exploded, coating the surrounding cave walls and goblins with blood and bits of gore.
Similar roars followed shortly after, with equally similar results, as four goblins suddenly exploded.
The goblins that had once been abusing Fighter and butchering Warrior, looked toward their advancing doom as several more of them suddenly burst into flames.
It was then that Priestess caught a glimpse of them.
From the tunnel, a tall figure coated in blood, covered in strange symbols, and bearing icons of skulls walked out, its eyes were covered in the shadow of its hat, leaving only the sight of its sneering mouth visible, the wand in its hand was still smoking from whatever fire spell it had cast.
Behind the figure came an even more horrifying sight. A shorter figure with burning orange eyes stared out from the darkness, its hand and head aflame, clothed in an infernal garb, and wielding a staff topped with a burning human skull.
It was clear what had come from deeper in the cave.
'D-demon!' Priestess screamed internally, having lost her voice from terror, as she panickedly stood up, carrying the incapacitated wizard with her shoulder and trying desperately to get out.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," The cleric repeated with tearful hysteria, as she wandered through the cave. As she looked one last time behind, her fears were confirmed as the demons approached the collapsed figure of Fighter.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," She repeated even more desperately, knowing that not only would the martial artist's life be taken, but possibly even her soul.
"The child is only unconscious," Saltzpyre announced, as he retrieved his healing draught, giving the girl a few drops out of the bottle. It was far too dangerous to administer anymore while she was unconscious, lest she choke on it, so for now it would have to do.
"Absolutely nasty what those little bastards did here," Sienna said as she took off her cloak, using it to cover up the girl and preserve her dignity.
"There were at least two others, children as well," Saltzpyre stated as he pointed down the tunnel, "They were headed in that direction."
"Seems to be the way out," Sienna commented watching the flame on her fingertip blow in the direction of the wind, "Might be best to follow them."
"That still begs the question, what were children doing in a greenskin-infested cave?" Saltzpyre questioned.
"It's not too much of a mystery, ignorant youths tend to get into danger," Sienna said sympathetically, speaking from experience.
"Ignorance of something, but perhaps not ignorance of the threat's presence," The witch hunter replied, looking at the fresh, ravaged corpse that lay not too far away, noticing the sword and armor plate that likely belonged to the poor soul.
It was then that a small glint caught the witch hunter's eye, and he moved to pick up a bloody pendant, rubbing the surface with his glove revealed its formerly white surface underneath, along with inscriptions that made the witch hunter's stomach drop.
"Did you find something, Saltzpyre?" Sienna asked with concern.
"It is something we will discuss later," Saltzpyre said, attempting to hide his unease as he carried the girl in his arms, noticing the same pendant hanging from her neck, "Right now we must prioritize this child's wellbeing."
"Can't argue with that," Sienna said, drawing her firey sword and taking the lead.
The pair walked through the tunnels, the breeze growing as they progressed, an indication that they were progressing toward their desired destination.
It was then that the pair came across a strange-looking totem.
"Vile heretical talisman," Saltzpyre spat as he eyed the shamanistic icon, knocking it over and stomping on it, breaking it into pieces with his boot.
"Seems we've arrived at a crossroads," Sienna commented, seeing two paths from where they came from
"We only need to keep following the breeze," Saltzpyre reminded, looking at the direction that the wizard's flames swayed, before pointing down a direction, "That way."
Just as they were about to leave, the taste in Sienna's mouth suddenly turned sour and the voice in the back of her mind spoke up again.
'Can you taste it in the air, dear sister?' The voice inquired.
"Why have you stopped, wizard!?" Saltzpyre asked, snapping Sienna out of her daze.
"I don't know how to explain this, darling," She began as she pointed down the opposite path, "But there's something wrong down there."
"You sense something with your magic?" Saltzpyre questioned, looking into the darkness inquisitively, "Another greenskin witch?"
"Might not be magic," Sienna replied, having grown familiar with the omens of the guest in her mind, "But I don't think it's something we should ignore."
Saltzpyre took a moment to think about their next action, they had no idea how long the tunnels stretched in either direction, checking the opposite tunnel meant staying longer, which meant the girl with them would be exposed to more danger, but not checking would leave them open to an ambush, which would lead to similar endangerment.
"You hold onto her, I will take the lead down there," The witch hunter decided, letting Sienna carry the girl on her shoulder.
"You're trusting me to handle her?" Sienna questioned, surprised, it was one thing for the witch hunter to trust her with his life, but a vulnerable child was a completely separate field; despite their disagreements on the subject of magic, and by extension mages, they both acknowledged the risk and volatility.
"You have not failed me so far, wizard," Saltzpyre replied as he drew his rapier and a pistol, "And it is for the best, I am more proficient in close combat and better accustomed to environments such as this."
"Lead the way then," Sienna said, following suit.
As the two carefully traversed down the dark path, they eventually came upon a vile site.
The bodies of multiple nude women lined the floor, all bore signs of beating and abuse: bruises, gashes, broken bones, missing fingers, and other sadistic maimings. Some writhed in agony, others didn't make any sound or movement.
Saltzpyre had seen some of the most vile acts of cruelty in his crusade against the enemies of humanity; he'd seen far worse, but that didn't lessen his disgust or anger, it only gave him the resolve to remain unshaken by sight.
The same could not be said of Sienna.
"B-bastards!" The battle wizard gagged in disgust before barking out in anger.
The handful of goblins present turned to look upon the sinister figures that had appeared at the entrance, surprisingly they did not react with immediate hostility, likely unaware of the fighting that had occurred in the rest of the cave.
Saltzpyre wasted no time, unleashing a rapid barrage of four shots all each of his pistols, taking down the nearest greenskins before using his rapier to dispatch the others in close range.
A few goblins in the back of the cave fired their bows at the witch hunter, but the armor on his arm and under his coat prevented the arrows from biting into his flesh.
Each of the archers faced rapid retaliation from Sienna, who flung a series of firey bolts, piercing each goblin and causing the body fluids surrounding the impact points to boil and burst, eliciting painful death cries before they fell.
With that, it was all over.
"Complete scum!" Sienna shouted as she incinerated a twitching goblin.
"You must remain in control, wizard," Saltzpyre scolded with concealed concern.
"Do you expect me to act as if none of this matters!?" The wizard retorted in frustration
"We must prioritize their safety," Saltzpyre responded, stamping out a fire that nearly singed one of the women, "You need to remain in control for that!"
Realizing how she could have potentially endangered the injured, the wizard's rage died down.
"You're right," Sienna said, her voice less aggressive than before, "We'll help them out of this awful hole first."
"We agree then," Victor said as he produced his healing draught and began tending to the barely living, offering each a sip from the bottle, "This should be adequate in staving off infection and treating moderate internal wounds."
"Let's hope so," Sienna said, producing her own draught and doing the same.
As Victor continued treating the women, he noticed a trend amongst them that implicated something dreadfully wrong.
All of them were bleeding heavily from between their legs, it was something that reminded Victor of the victims of the cultists of Slaanesh, but these were greenskins, not servants of the Dark Prince.
The witch hunter did not want to continue down the line of thought, but couldn't as they embedded themselves into the front of his mind.
Needing to confirm that his suspicions were wrong, he approached one of the few goblin corpses that Sienna hadn't turned to ash yet, lifting its loincloth with his rapier.
"Heresy! Absolute heresy!" The witch hunter shouted in disgust and disbelief.
"What? What happened?" Sienna asked, confused and concerned as she looked at the same sight.
The wizard's face turned to an even greater disgust before and began gagging at the implications of what they discovered.
"Ugh! Disgusting!" Sienna shouted while gagging, "Greenskins, they're not supposed to have-"
"Genitals?" The witch hunter finished, "Greenskins are fungal creatures, they reproduce through spores; they should have no use for such organs. These abominations are some kind of deviation, mutants likely and perhaps even influenced by the ruinous powers."
"Chaos greenskins?" Sienna asked disbelievingly, "Is that even possible."
"I've read that there have been a few cases where greenskins have fallen under the corruption of Nurgle," Saltzpyre answered, "The precedent is there, and from everything around us, it appears that this strain of greenskins was influenced by Slaanesh."
"At the very least, such cases are exceedingly rare, this cave's inhabitants are likely the only of its kind. Its destruction will also spell the extinction of these abominations," The witch hunter finished, as he turned to continue treating the women, "Once we are finished here, we will make sure every inch of this foul hole is sterilized with fire."
Sienna nodded at the witch hunter's words, before burning the goblin corpse in a controlled fire and going back to tending to the downed.
Priestess followed the armored veteran adventurer back into the cave.
It was against every part of her mind that screamed for her to turn away and flee, but there was a force in her soul that pushed her against doing so.
Part of it was because of her feelings of duty, she had pledged to heal and protect adventurers in the name of her goddess, The Earth Mother, and still had two miracles left. Another part of it was guilt, she had abandoned Fighter to the warlock and its demon as she fled carrying Wizard, who had turned out to be fatally poisoned. The only adequate penance was to save her, or at least give her a proper resting place had the worst happened. All of them deserved a proper burial.
As they walked through the tunnel, they eventually came to a fork in the path.
"Huh?" Priestess said in confusion, both at the sudden appearance of the second path along with the familiar totem, that was now on the floor in pieces. "There was only one path when we were here."
"The cave is dark and most adventurers only have a torch for light, some details end up blending into the shadows and overlooked," Goblin Slayer responded, "The goblins also use misdirection."
The veteran adventurer looked down at the talisman that lay shattered on the ground.
"A totem, a shaman is inhabiting this cave," Goblin Slayer commented, "Its placement here was meant to draw your attention, to distract you from noticing the second path."
"But there's something else too," Priestess spoke up, "We weren't the ones who broke it."
"Is that so?" Goblin Slayer thought aloud, pondering its meaning.
The veteran adventurer had heeded Priestess' warnings about the demon and warlock that came from deep in the cave, but if this was their doing, what did it mean?
The pair began moving down the path again, with Goblin Slayer carefully scouting ahead.
The sight they came across was shocking for both of them.
The corpses of goblins littered the area, many were heavily charred, some even to ashes, while others appeared as if their heads or sections of their body had exploded.
"The Hob's head is missing," Goblin Slayer noted, wondering how something so big could just disappear, even if it had been decapitated, it still wouldn't have rolled too far away.
"It exploded from the warlock's spell," Priestess spoke up with fear in her voice, remembering the brutal scene, "That's also how some of the other goblins were killed, then the warlock's d-demon burned the others."
As she finished giving her account of what happened, Priestess realized that someone was missing.
"She's not here," The cleric said with worry.
"Your other party member?" Goblin Slayer questioned, looking at the tunnel to the next section of the cave.
"They must've taken her d-down there," Priestess said dreadfully, "They came out from t-there."
Before they continued forward, Goblin Slayer checked the ravaged corpse of Warrior, only to notice something peculiar.
"His guild tag is missing," The veteran adventurer said, noting also that the sword and armor were untouched, "That's strange, goblins don't tend to take those, and they don't leave just equipment behind."
"Was it the warlock?" Priestess asked, "But why would he take the tag?"
"I don't know," Goblin Slayer answered, as they continued deeper into the final sections.
The scene at the end of the caves was similar to the previous one, blood stained the cave surfaces and goblin corpses were littered throughout. They were all unmistakably dead.
Goblin Slayer went to check one of the few things that stood out among the bodies: it was a charred mass that still had remnants of embers glowing on the surface. The singed staff and scraps of burned primitive robes revealed its identity.
"The shaman has also been killed," Goblin Slayer commented.
"I-it looks like the d-demon did it," Priestess said, now even more worried, from what she knew, magic users tended to be more resilient against magic than ordinary people. The fact that the demon was able to incinerate the shaman all the same did not bode well for them.
It was then that Goblin Slayer checked the final section of the cave, the space behind the curtain.
The sight was partially what he expected, and partially surprising.
There was a hiding hole, used as a final safeguard for goblin children, but it was already open, which meant they had either already escaped or that they had been dealt with.
Taking a closer look at the hiding space's interior confirmed one of Goblin Slayer's suspicions as four small, charred masses occupied the hole.
"She's not here either," Priestess said with confusion, "Does that mean they took her down the other path?"
"Maybe," Goblin Slayer stated, as he processed the information before him, "I believe we should go there."
"B-but, what will we do?" Priestess asked worriedly, "We can't fight the warlock and the demon with just us."
"We might not have to," Goblin Slayer said flatly as he began to move again, with Priestess reluctantly following.
When they came back to the crossroads, the sound of steps from down the second path could be heard by them.
"It's t-them. They're c-coming" Priestess said fearfully as she began muttering whispered prayers to the Earth Mother.
Goblin Slayer looked into the tunnel and caught sight of an approaching figure, carrying an unconscious girl wrapped in a fire-patterned cloak.
Noticing it wasn't a goblin, and having some idea of what the 'warlock' and 'demon' might actually be, Goblin Slayer kept his sword sheathed and addressed the tall figure.
"How many others are down there?"
Victor watched the armored figure warily as he approached. Initially, he assumed that he was yet another norscan marauder, albeit a relatively well-armored one, but the sight of the robed girl cowering behind him as if he was her guardian gave him second thoughts.
'A bounty hunter, perhaps,' The witch hunter thought, seeing similarities between the figure before him and bounty hunters he'd previously encountered throughout his career.
"How many others are down there?" The bounty hunter questioned flatly.
Saltzpyre was slightly surprised at how direct the bounty hunter was acting, but he supposed it wasn't too out of character for those in the profession. He was much more welcoming of the directness of bounty hunters than the bureaucracy of his colleagues and superiors anyway.
"There are eight that are likely to survive," Saltzpyre answered solemnly, "My companion and I treated them to the best of our capabilities, but some were beyond our help."
"I see," Goblin Slayer responded, "There is a village near here, we can transport them there."
Victor nodded before turning his head to look at the robed girl who still quivered behind the bounty hunter.
"You, girl," The witch hunter said, attempting a softer than usual tone, "What happened to the other girl you helped carry out?"
Despite his efforts to do otherwise, Saltzpyre's voice still carried the typical sternness of a witch hunter and his question of concern came out sounding more like an accusation.
"She... she..." Priestess stuttered fearfully before the imposing figure before her.
"She was poisoned, fatally," Goblin Slayer stated, "She couldn't be saved."
The witch hunter was silent for a moment, the death of the innocent was always tragic, even more so when it came to children, and though he'd witnessed it many times throughout his career, the bitter taste in his mouth never lessened.
"You have my condolences, girl," Saltzpyre said to Priestess as he lowered the unconscious body of Fighter for her to carry, "I presume she is your companion, deliver her to safety."
"I-I will, thank you for saving her!" Priestess said shouldering Fighter as she began shedding tears of relief that the girl who'd stayed behind to allow her escape had survived.
The sight gave some level of relief to Victor as well, no matter how much success he and his companions had in combating the forces of chaos, the world seemed to grow worse by the day. The seeming futility of their efforts gradually wore down his resolve, but moments like these reminded him that they did make a difference; no matter how small it was, it was there.
"Darling, what's going on?" Sienna asked, walking into the scene, carrying a woman over her shoulder.
"The righteous have come to aid us," Saltzpyre said as he re-entered the tunnel to carry out another of the survivors.