Cygnus ran through the dark tunnel, his dull night vision guiding him forward. It was a suffocating, to the point that he couldn’t so much as extend both of his arms, and if held straight up, his mage-stick would scrape against the ceiling. While traps littered all goblin burrows, smaller pathways like this were usually safe. Most threats to a goblin wouldn't be able to fit.

  Earlier, he’d left the entrance tunnel after Burdenus was knocked onto the ground, floating down using a wooden plank. With all the attention on his lord, it proved trivial to slip by unnoticed. Yet, as he used his Wood Dance to float above the crowd, he realized that most of the nobody goblins were stuck at the bottom.

  If he wanted to find their gold-treasure, then he’d need to follow where the most important goblins were headed. Cygnus floated alongside the outskirts of the hub, his wooden plank shaking as he attempted to keep it still. He searched for any goblin mages.

  Cygnus spotted a large group of them flying down a small tunnel built into the side of the dirt wall. There were far too many of them to fight, so he continued to focus on his magic while looking for a better target.

  After a minute, he caught sight of a goblin mage running down a rickety wooden bridge. They had a mask of stone, carved into the appearance of a tiger, with two glimmering silver teeth placed in the fake mouth. Once he made sure no one else was headed towards the same tunnel as the mage, Cygnus held on tight to his wooden plank and flew forward.

  The goblin mage had been so focused on their own escape, and the massive dragon tearing apart the pillar city, that they had no awareness of Cygnus’s approach. The goblin mage ran deep inside the tunnel, only turning around once they believed themselves to be safe.

  They turned to see Cygnus falling off of his wooden plank, which continued to barrel forward from the built-up momentum. The flying chunk of wood tore into the goblin’s chest, a brutal lesson in physics and impalement. They were knocked to the floor, green paste pouring from the wound.

  Cygnus picked himself off of the ground, stumbling around the tunnel until he saw the half-dead goblin mage. Despite being impaled through the chest, their mage-stick was pointed at him, as they began to cast curse-magick. As quickly as possible, Cygnus tapped his mage-stick on the ground twice, chanting his own curse-words while pressing it against the dirt.

  Before the goblin mage could get their own curse-magick off, Cygnus cast Sticky Sap, launching a massive glob of tree sap across the tunnel. It landed onto the goblin’s head, knocking them flat on the ground. They dropped their mage-stick as their hands attempted to wipe off the viscous substance that suffocated them.

  In a matter of moments, the sap hardened, with the goblin’s hands frozen in the midst of freeing themselves. Cygnus watched as the enemy goblin eventually stopped struggling, their body falling limp. Suffocation was a sure-fire way to kill someone.

  “Dumb git,” Cygnus said before kicking the goblin in the side.

  He picked up the dead goblin’s mage-stick, a twisted piece of oak wood adorned with fangs impaling the sides. It was a powerful mage-stick, enough so that Cygnus brought it along with him. The goblin mages of the Avia Ree had high quality mage-sticks, useful for lessening the burden of curse-magick.

  With more loot gained, Cygnus continued down the tunnel. Not only was the tunnel cramped, but it also had countless twists and turns, no torches to give light, and nothing to show there was valuable gold-treasure ahead. This undoubtedly meant there was something valuable at the end of it.

  While he ran, Cygnus would occasionally feel the walls surrounding him shake. There was no mistaking that the hub, let alone the city, wouldn’t last for much longer. Cygnus just needed to be fast enough to escape in case it all collapsed.

  After a few minutes, he came to a dead end. The tunnel ended abruptly, with nothing there besides a crude shovel half-buried into the moist dirt. For most, this would be where their journey ends, turning back at the sight of nothingness. But Cygnus knew exactly what the goblins of the Avia Ree were attempting to hide.

  He dropped the two mage-sticks onto the ground before pulling out the shovel from the dirt. Despite its appearance, it was sturdy. Sturdy enough to do its job, at least. Cygnus began to dig into the wall, laughing with each chunk of dirt hurled behind him.

  Burdenus was in the middle of crashing into a pair of pillars when a new source of screaming filled the air. He turned midair only to see another Gobgantuar charging at him, far larger than the last. Its body pulsed with each breath, insides sloshing around like a water balloon.

  “Oh what the f-”

  The monster slammed into Burdenus, with a force far stronger than he’d expected. Each step crushed dozens of goblins underfoot while launching it with the speed of a catapult’s boulder. Burdenus felt himself smash into another pillar building which collapsed from the sudden collision.

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  Burdenus was dazed, and as he opened his mouth to speak, the Gobgantuar punched him in the jaw. His head snapped to the side as his eyes remained locked on the crying monster. When he turned his head back, the Gobgantuar unleashed a flurry of blows on his exposed stomach.

  It hurt. Burdenus suddenly found himself back in his childhood. His siblings would forcefully help him with fighting lessons, which amounted to nothing more than beating him up. With each desperate punch launched by the Gobgantuar, Burdenus thought back to his older sister, laughing at him while he cowered on the ground.

  From below, he could hear it. The goblins had stopped screaming and crying in fear. They were all cheering. Even as he did nothing but be hit, the crowd did nothing but demand for more bloodshed. For his blood. This was beginning to feel far too much like childhood.

  How dare these goblins believe they could actually kill him.

  Another punch was launched towards Burdenus’s jaw. He slammed his head forward, his forehead colliding with the Gobgantuar’s fist. The monster’s fist was crushed against the dragon’s skull, only managing to pull back by the time its entire forearm was nothing more than paste and torn skin.

  Burdenus watched as another fist shot forward, forcing him to swivel his head and open his jaw to catch it. He clamped his teeth onto the monster’s wrist, flesh tearing apart without so much as an ounce of resistance. The Gobangutuar attempted to pull its fist free as Burdenus tore into it.

  When it finally managed to pull out, there was nothing more than a stump at the end of its arm. Burdenus chewed the fist for a moment before swallowing it. As it finished falling down his throat, he stared into the crying eyes of the Gobgantuar.

  “Is that it?” he asked.

  The Gobgantuar planted one foot in the ground, swiveling around into a sudden kick with the other. Its leg knocked over a nearby pillar building, causing it to collapse on top of Burdenus. It was surprising, but as the rubble of the building fell to the ground, not a scratch of damage had been done.

  Burdenus launched himself forward, his front claws burying themselves inside the Gobgantuar’s shoulders. The Gobgantuar was knocked off of its feet, as it found itself suddenly lifted into the air by Burdenus. It punched at the dragon’s face with its mangled arms, while its legs desperately kneed the dragon's underbelly.

  Burdenus flew upwards, taking the two of them to the ceiling of the underground hub. “I really wish I could think of better words. But I guess it doesn’t matter. I hope this hurts.”

  With his claws buried inside of the gigantic monster’s shoulders, he pulled them in opposite directions. The Gobgantuar found its arms torn from its body, as it began to fall towards the ground. Still, it seemed dedicated to finding some possible way to survive the drop.

  Burdenus looked down at the monster, releasing a torrent of all-consuming flame aimed directly at the Gobgantuar’s chest. The monster didn’t let out any pained cries as it was turned to char, it only stared into Burdenus's eyes as it fell. For some reason, the dragon thought he saw gratitude in the monster's eyes.

  As it landed onto the ground below, whatever remained of it was splattered across the remains of the city. The intense cheering and support of the goblins below fell silent, as their only hope of survival now coated everyone unfortunate enough to still be alive.

  “Goblins of The Avia Ree,” Burdenus shouted down to them, with a voice unlike his own. One guided by rage. “Bring me all of your gold. All of your treasure. All of your magic. Otherwise, this city will be your grave.”

  The goblins had always been loud, no matter what was occurring. They alternated between shouting in pride and shrieking in fear, yet at no point in this battle were they silent. Now, the crowd down below was quiet, not a soul finding the words needed to respond.

  “Okay,” called out a scratchy voice, amplified across the room. It was familiar, but Burdenus wasn’t certain why. “All goblins, bring the remaining gold-treasure to the center of the city. I will bring to you my own collection of curse-magick. That is all we have to offer.”

  “While you’re at it, bring me a feast as well,” Burdenus demanded.

  Burdenus lowered himself from the ceiling of the cave, flying down to the center of the hub. He curled himself into a circle, doing his best to conceal the heavy breaths required from the constant exertion of his fight.

  There was little more than rubble left after the fight. Whatever survived his initial assault became a casualty in his conflict against the Gobgantuar. While he doubted it could have killed him, if they were to have another one attacking him, it’d have been far more inconvenient.

  Soon, the goblins approached the laying dragon, dumping entire bags and cartfuls of gold in front of him. The pile quickly began to grow, and as it did, he enjoyed a feast of beef presented to him by a group of goblins dressed in white. This was finally proving to have been a worthwhile adventure.

  As the offerings began to trickle down, the pile of gold had become a hoard large enough that Burdenus could use it as a proper pillow. With his eyes so focused on the shining pile of gold coins, bars, and jewelry, he barely paid attention to the goblin mage waiting in front of him.

  When he finally gave her notice, Burdenus remembered who she was. It was the goblin mage from earlier, though something about her seemed off. She was closer to gray than green and looked far feebler than before. Once she saw his gaze was focused on her, she tossed over the bag on her back.

  “These are some of the most powerful curse-magicks we goblins know, hundreds of lives of study written down on these bark tomes. You have won, and our history is now yours.”

  “Cool, is the goat spell in here? The one that makes them or something?” Burdenus asked, using a claw to lightly push the bag onto his gold pile.

  “Yes, sir dragon, it is there,” she answered. “Now, if you want, I can help you leave this place.”

  “That would be wonderful,” Burdenus said, remembering the winding passage which led him here. “You’re really helpful, would you ever consider working as a minion?”

  “I wouldn’t.”

  “That’s a shame, you’d be pretty useful. Alright, get me out of here.”

  “Yes, I will help you leave this mortal plane.”

  Before Burdenus could process the meaning of her words, a blast of energy shot from the top of her mage-stick, colliding with the roof of the hub. Dirt began to trickle down, thin streams growing larger with each passing second, until the entirety of the hub collapsed on top of them.