Chapter 223: The Goblin Lair

We heard the goblin lair well before we saw it. Loud, harsh clangs and shouts rang through the air, filling the air with the sound of battle. I jumped as a deafening scream cut off in a wet gurgle, sending chills down my spine.

"What's happening?" Sorrin asked softly, glancing at Rasce.

The ranger shook his head and frowned. "Not sure, but it sounds like fighting."

Dyson fingered the hilts of his twin short swords. "No other adventuring team's been dispatched to the area, so a raid's unlikely. Perhaps it's infighting."

Following Rasce's lead, we crept closer. The ground sloped upward at a gentle angle, and the trees parted to reveal a low mountain. A jagged chasm split the cliffs nearly a hundred feet above us, snaking down and widening just enough to reveal the entrance to the cavernous lair—a gaping maw set within the heart of the mountain. Its jagged edges seemed to devour the surrounding landscape, casting a sinister shadow across the area.