The trip toward the area that Warren had indicated wasn''t all that arduous. Most wildlife tended to steer clear of goblin encampments, especially when they numbered hundreds to thousands. There were a great many clans all brought under one banner for the goblin moot. It had been impossible, without spending a great deal of time there, to figure out how large each clan was, for they had all scattered through the surrounding countryside while their elders discussed the issue of Dogmother being missing.


    The mountains that came into view were a strange sight to Naya. The lands near her village of Lom-Itoti were very flat by comparison. She had never in her life seen such large formations of stone jutting from the ground. It was breathtaking and alien to her.


    The party went to the base of the mountain, where Echo very quickly zeroed in on a cave entrance. Naya shrugged it off as just luck that had led Echo so quickly to this section of the cave. The party descended together into the dark. The tunnel was, in fact, very large and long. Echo guided them in a certain direction without hesitation. Loud growling and barking from ahead of them alerted the group that they were not alone. Echo howled back at them as his hackles raised defiantly. Large dogs with deep maroon fur with red-violet flames emanating from their joints and cackling at the back of their throats.


    "Hellhounds," Alvec said while raising his buckler up. Though they didn''t look like the last hellhounds they had seen. The coloration was different, and even the flames danced more menacingly. "Somethings off about them, be on guard."


    "We''ll be handling them all the same," Illaria said as she drew her blade cleanly and dashed forward at them. She attempted to bait the one in front of her into attacking her. It moved with startling speed; she could not get her sword up in time to defend herself. It latched onto her arm. She let out a scream in pain as teeth easily three inches in length preceded an intense blast of fire. She dropped the blade from her sword arm and caught it in her other hand. At this angle, her arm pinned in its damned mouth, it was hard for her to attack, but she did so despite the awkward angle bringing the blade to rake across the creature''s face. It released her arm, and she hopped backward. It took the bait, lashing out at her again, but this time, she was ready. Her blade slapped against the side of its head, and she leaned in, throwing her weight behind her blade, landing a clean slash on its neck and shoulders before she was safely out of its range. Her right arm hung limp and oozing blood at her side.


    Bait dropped to one knee and fired off a barrage of shots, which struck the one she''d harmed. The bullets certainly seemed to piss the creature off as it turned its attention towards Bait. It dashed towards him, ignoring everyone else. The beast leaped onto him, knocking the gun from his hands. It pinned the goblin''s arms in place and took a deep breath before bringing its head down. A torrent of violet flames roiled over Bait''s small body, setting off the black powder pouch with a loud explosion, which knocked the creature off him.


    Mavec ran forward, acting as bait to draw the one that had been threatening Bait away from the crispy-looking goblin. He arced lightning through the air towards the beast, striking it and bringing the creature to the ground. Unfortunately for Mavec, another one came charging in at him. Through sheer luck, Mavec slipped just outside of its claws and threw his arms up to protect his vitals from the blast of fire that came his way. It hurt, but he toughed it out as best he could, knowing that relief would come soon from Sarbie''s efforts.


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    Echo squared off against two of them. Their fire scorched his fur and burned his flesh, but his teeth were sharp and his jaw strong. He returned the favor with vicious bites, tearing jagged bloody chunks away from these hell hounds. He wouldn''t be fighting them alone. Naya rushed in to join her companion; she had been following further back than normal and couldn''t close the gap in time. She spoke to the spirits of air, of storms, and lightning and called upon their help. Bolts of yellow-orange lightning flashed throughout the cave, striking the ones harassing Echo. Whatever hope of being stealthy they might once have had was completely gone.


    Alvec triangulated himself as best he could. Mavec had run too far, and there was sadly no way to include him in the spell he was casting, but the fire these hell-hounds spat was a big problem for the group as a whole. He wove his protective energies around all of them, mitigating some small measure of the attacks they were facing. Hopefully, it would be the difference that keeps everyone alive and well.


    For Sarbie, choosing where to go first was a lot more complicated. Illaria''s dangling sword arm should have been her primary concern. Restoring the use of her blade was critical to keeping everyone alive. On the other hand, Bait cried out in pain as his flesh was covered with burns, and the blood flowing from a wound of indeterminate size was calling her attention. She''d have to split the difference this time. She quickly called upon her power and pushed it out, bathing them in Kushang''s golden light. When applied this way, her magic wasn''t as strong as it would have been if she''d been able to focus it on just one of them, but both of their wounds were dire.


    Illaria gritted her teeth and pushed through the pain of her still injured arm. She took command of the battle and dashed in to aid Naya and Echo. She attempted the same maneuver again; this time, she''d adjusted to match their speed, and she just barely danced past both of the hell hounds engaged with Naya and Echo, raking her blade across them as she dashed on by.


    Bait stood up, one hand clutching a hole in his abdomen. He waddled over and grabbed his gun, which he aimed poorly with one hand. He fired off a single shot which missed by a wide margin. He cursed several goblin curses and used his musket to keep himself upright.


    Another hellhound from further down the hall dashed past Illaria, Naya, and Echo, sprinting toward Alvec. It released a blast of fire ahead of itself. His arcane defenses scattered the flames on the wind, and Alvec managed to get his shield up in time to weaken the claws that came down on him. They connected with his mithril buckler and slid off, gouging him slightly.


    Echo swept his head into one of the beasts, launched it towards Naya, and flipped it belly up. Naya didn''t miss a beat, pouncing upon the downed creature, raining blows from her swords rapidly down onto it. Her final blade ran clean through its arteries and ended the hellhound''s life.


    Sarbie moved to Bait''s side and focused her healing now fully upon the goblin; the hole in his stomach, still gushing blood, closed up slowly as the golden light of Kushang filled it. He stretched gingerly and gave her an approving nod of his head. He pulled out a spare batch of bullet packets and fired at the one that was attacking Mavec. Three bullets were more than enough to bring it down. Illaria and Echo attacked the final one remaining, and Blade and Fang quickly brought it low.


    The group gathered and took stock of their equipment and injuries. Thanks to Alvec and Sarbie, no one was too injured, and their magical protections from fire would last just a bit longer--an hour at most. "We''ll want to get moving quickly," Alvec said.


    "We''re certainly in the right place, for better or worse," Mavec replied.


    "Hell dogs no live in empire normally." Bait remarked.


    The group trudged into the dark.