The dungeon was eerily quiet when we descended into the depths, the stone underfoot slick with the remnants of previous battles. Goblin corpses y scattered across the uneven floor, their crude weapons abandoned in the dust. The cavern's ceilings stretched high above, jagged stactites hanging like the teeth of some great beast. The cool, damp air carried a faint scent of decay—the unmistakable smell of death that seemed to seep into the very walls of the dungeon.It felt like we'd been fighting forever, the weight of our exhaustion pressing down on our shoulders like a suffocating bnket. Our movements were sluggish, our muscles sore, but there was no stopping.We pressed on.Ahead, a group of elite goblins, wearing makeshift armor and wielding better weaponry, emerged from the shadows. These goblins were bigger, their eyes gleaming with intelligence, and they seemed to be waiting for us. They must have known we were coming.I gnced at Elise, who stood beside me. Her face was streaked with dirt and blood, but her expression was one of steely determination. Her grip tightened on her mace, and I could see the subtle tremor in her hand—a sign of just how tired she was."Ready?" I muttered, wiping the sweat from my brow.She nodded, her jaw set. "Yep."The goblins charged.A blur of movement. I dodged one of their swings, my hatchet coming up in a wide arc to cleave through the air. It struck the goblin's chest, the edge biting deep into its armor, sending it sprawling backward.

  But before I could recover, another one lunged at me with a spear, the sharp tip aimed straight at my chest. I barely had time to sidestep, feeling the wind of the spear's passage against my face."Elise!" I yelled, and she was there in an instant.Her shield collided with the goblin's spear, deflecting it just enough for me to press the advantage. She followed up with a powerful strike of her mace, catching the goblin square in the ribs. The sickening crunch of breaking bones rang through the cavern.But more were coming.One goblin, cloaked in dark furs and leather, raised its axe high, the bde glinting dangerously in the low light. I didn't hesitate. I hurled my throwing axe at it, the weapon spinning through the air like a deadly missile.The axe embedded itself deep into the goblin's shoulder, and it howled in pain. That was enough to give Elise the opening she needed. With a sharp, brutal swing, she brought her mace down onto its head, crushing its skull with a single blow. The goblin crumpled like a ragdoll.But the battle wasn't over. We were surrounded.We fought for what felt like hours, our bodies screaming in protest with every movement. But eventually, the goblins fell one by one, their bodies joining the others in a grim testament to our struggle. The st of the goblins slumped to the ground, its eyes wide in disbelief as Elise drove her mace through its chest.I slumped against the cave wall, panting heavily. My entire body felt like it was made of lead. Every breath was ragged, every muscle aches."We made it," Elise muttered, her voice hoarse. She wiped sweat and blood from her brow.I looked around the cavern—the smell of blood heavy in the air, the flickering light from the crystals casting long, dark shadows across the bodies. We had made it through. But the price had been high.I gnced at Elise, giving her a tired nod. "Let's get out of here."We finally made our way out of the dungeon, our exhausted bodies dragging behind us. The bright daylight of the city outside felt like a sp to the face after the oppressive darkness of the cave. But we were alive.As we stepped into the city center, the usual crowd was present—onlookers whispering among themselves, eyeing us with the same mix of curiosity and disbelief that had become all too familiar. Our clothes were ragged, our faces grimy and streaked with blood, but we didn't care. We just wanted to rest.After exchanging our loots—keeping the medium gems for ourselves—we headed toward the market district, making our way to the potion shop Bck Rose. The shop was tucked between two rger buildings, its sign hanging crookedly over the door.Inside, the air was thick with the smell of herbs and burning incense. Zyra, the shopkeeper, was standing behind the counter, her sharp eyes scanning us as we entered. She didn't speak right away, just gave a slow, calcuting look at the two of us. Her dark eyes seemed to weigh us like we were pieces of meat."The usual?" she asked.I nodded, pulling out ten silvers from my pouch. "Same as st time."She didn't say anything else. Instead, she moved to the back of the store, retrieving the two bottles of dark red wine with a swift motion. She pced them on the counter and slid them toward us without a word."Tell Old man Orm i said hi" she added with a smile.Elise and I gave a small nod, taking the bottles without hesitation.Our next stop was Orm's forge, Bear Paw, the familiar cng of hammer against metal ringing in the air as we approached. Orm was busy at his anvil, polishing the bde of a massive weapon that looked like an axe—he never seemed to rest.When we entered, he barely looked up from his work. "Sui is waiting in the red room," he muttered.We gave him a brief wave and turned to head toward the back of the shop, where the red room awaited. Sui was there, doing his usual routine—dancing, swinging his hands in strange motions, jumping around with his eyes closed. The faint hum of magia seemed to radiate off him like an invisible force."Here's the booze." I said, handing him the bottles.Sui took them without a word, simply nodding. Then he waved us off. "Go on, rest the dungeon's waiting for you again tomorrow."Elise and I didn't argue. We knew better than to question him when he was in that mood.We made our way back through the bustling city streets, the market district alive with the sounds of merchants shouting and people haggling over goods. The sun was beginning to dip low in the sky, casting an orange hue over the buildings as we walked in silence.Eventually, we reached my house, a two-story brick structure at the outskirts of the vilge. It wasn't much, but it was home."I'm home," I called, gncing at Elise as she stood at the door, her face still marked by the weariness of the day's battle."You made it through today." My mother gave me a half-smile, though her eyes were distant.I nodded. "We did."