Strength born of panic flooded Jade's body as Groll hacked at the chain, the lifeline she clung to high above the concrete floor of the churning factory. She lurched, flinging herself to the side with all her might just as the harsh clang of snapping metal broke the air. Falling. She was falling. Wind rushed by in a fearsome stream as she plummeted earthward, limbs flailing.

CRASH

Jade's fall was arrested by something cold and hard. A metal catwalk one level down from where she'd been fighting Groll. She had managed to half leap, half fall the distance, narrowly avoiding the 50 foot drop to the concrete floor far below. She gasped, rolling onto her side as stars clouded her vision. Everything hurt. Pain bloomed like fire along the entire right side of her body, and her lungs seemed to have forgotten how to breath. Jade blinked, vision clearing slowly, and fumbled for the potions in her backpack.

They weren't there. She had dropped her pack up above, before engaging Groll.

Fuck… Her thoughts were sluggish, the pain a thick fog that clouded her mind. She whimpered, clutching her side, eyes squeezed shut against the agony. Then, unexpectedly, something warm and light blossomed within her. The pain eased a little, more with each passing moment. Jade blinked, awareness returning to her. She could hear something in the distance, a lilting melody that cut through the crashing sounds of heavy machinery.

"With soothing sound, let health abound!" That was Naomi's voice, wafting down from the catwalk above her. She stood back from where Luis had rejoined in battle with Groll, strumming her guitar and singing down to where Jade lay stunned. A soft light surrounded the Idol, like a sourceless spotlight. Jade realized she was glowing too. It was pulsing with the tune, her pain easing with each beat of the rhythm.

"Jade, get up, we need you! Don't give up!" She continued to sing, faster and faster. The health status bars in the corner of Jade's vision, most of which were in the red or orange, began to slowly fill. Some transitioned back to green, though most only made it to yellow. As the pain subsided, clarity returned to Jade's thoughts. The healing spell's effects were nothing short of miraculous, if a little slow, and she wasted precious moments marveling at her sudden restoration.

Focus! You're not out of this yet!

She snapped out of it, leaping to her feet. Or rather, that was her intention. Jade managed more of a stiff scramble, one of her legs still aching and a little slow. It would have to do. She was standing on a narrow catwalk positioned directly above one of the many assembly lines that crisscrossed the air inside the factory. This one carried enormous gears of varying sizes, ferrying them through a number of mechanical arms and other apparatus that worked to shape them. Jade looked around, trying to find a way back up to rejoin the fight. That quickly proved wholly unnecessary.

"Rraaaaghhhh!" Groll roared in a fury, having finally noticed that Jade hadn't fallen to her death. "You don't know when to quit!"

Enraged, the goblin completely ignored Luis even as he was slashed across the back by the warrior's sword. Instead, blazing eyes set on Jade, he leapt off the high catwalk, plunging down towards her with his blade held high, screaming a battle cry.

Jade dove out of the way, as surprised as she was frightened by the insane attack. The goblin chief hit the platform like a meteor, his blade cleaving clean through the corrugated metal where Jade had been standing as if it were paper. The platform shook violently under the impact, the entire section collapsing out from under their feet and spilling them down onto the assembly line below in a shower of sparks and debris.

Oh fuck! Fuck fuck fuck! This guy is insane! Were some of the thoughts going through Jade's head as she fell, again. This time the fall was much shorter, however. Years of gymnastics proved their worth as her instincts took over. Without concious thought Jade tucked her shoulder as she hit the moving belt, landing in a roll that softened the impact. The sudden stop still rattled her, the maneuver impeded by the presence of her wings, but she endured it. Debris and metal rained down from above as more of the walkway collapsed down around them. A metal bar slammed into the belt right in front of Jade, nearly skewering her. Mechanical arms and machinery whirred, swinging back and forth across the moving assembly line. Jade knew that if she didn't get out of here soon, she wasn't going to.

Groll roared again, heaving a metal girder off his back and shoving it off the belt to fall with a crash to the factory floor far below. He rose to his feet, having fallen some 10 feet away from Jade, and started towards her. His steps were a little slower, his wounds finally beginning to catch up to him. The goblin still had her dagger sticking out of his arm. He'd lost his sword in the fall, but Jade knew that this creature didn't need a weapon to hurt her. She backed away, ducking under an articulating arm carrying a large drill, frantically searching for a path that would take her back up to her companions.

"Noctis!"

Jade's head began to ache as her mana was drained further. The spell hit home but, once again, her foe resisted its effects. She cursed, continuing to back away and dodge machinery as an enraged Groll pursued her across the conveyer belt.

"Hang on Jade! We're coming!"

She barely heard Naomi's distant voice. Jade's full focus was on the approaching enemy. There was nowhere left to go, this platform led to a dead end that dumped the finished gears into a large container below. She'd have to fight her way out.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Way." She growled, glaring at the goblin.

His only response was a pained snarl. Rage burned behind the creature's eyes. The goblin had looked bestial before, but now Groll was truly monstrous. Without another word, he charged.

---

Naomi was on the verge on panicking. She stood high up on the topmost platform of the factory chamber, looking down on Jade and Groll as they battled it out a dozen or so feet below. Luis had said something about trying to jump the distance to join her, but it was just too far. And if he missed... Naomi remembered the visceral crunch the two golblins had made when she'd blasted them off the platform and shuddered. No, jumping wasn't an option. Instead, Luis was scrambling down ladders, trying to find a better path to her. Naomi had never been especially athletic and she had little confidence in her ability to keep up with him. Despite his bulk, Luis was surprisingly agile. Instead, she focused on trying to keep her head. She had just successfully cast her first spells, channeling that strange new reserve of latent power from her mind through the notes she had sung. For something as esoteric as magic, it had been a lot more intuitive than she'd expected. Naomi had been singing and making music since she'd been a small girl, and the way her newfound magic manifested in the tones and notes of melody felt almost familiar, like she'd been doing it for years already.

That sensation came with a small confidence boost, which was enough to keep her from fully freezing up like she had back in the goblin camp. That, and she'd made a promise to her companions. She wouldn't let them down again. But what could she do? The handful of other goblins in the factory were far below her, still making their way up to the conflict. Naomi's sonic boom spell had been horrifyingly effective at knocking some of them off the platforms earlier, but she had to be pretty close to do that. The healing spell that she had just cast on Jade had eaten a substantial chunk of her mana, forcing her to stop. That only left one spell.

• Fleetfoot
• Rating: D Level Spell
• Cost: Low Mana Over Time
• Duration: Continuous
• Cooldown: None
• Effect: Temporarily increase the agility of all allies who hear this tune. Effect increases with higher volume. Requires an instrument. This is a melody.

 

"I hope this helps…" She whispered, setting her fingers on the neck of her guitar and strumming a chord. The instrument buzzed with an energetic sound. To her ears it was eager, like it wanted to be played. As far as she could tell, there was no specific song or melody she had to sing or play to trigger her spells. It was the feel of it that mattered. For a spell like this, she would have to play something fast and with energy. Focusing on music helped calm her, and a grin tugged at the corner of Naomi's lips. She knew just what to play.

The first few chords were hard and loud, but not loud enough over the general mechanical clatter. Gritting her teeth, Naomi tapped into another one of her powers, the core ability her idol class had given her at first level. She had only briefly mentioned it to the others as it didn't sound very impressive but Shari, their Labyrinth attendant, had gushed over it.

 

Ability:

• Superstar: You may magically amplify the sound of all music you create. You can magically amplify your voice. All targets of your choice that can hear music you are creating feel a minor compulsion to focus on their attention on you. This is a charm effect.
• All talents and spells increase in power proportionally to the number of people actively watching you perform. Maximum increase: 2 ranks. Thresholds required for rank increases vary based on the spell and talent.

 

It took her a few tries to get the ability to activate, but Naomi was a fast learner. Focusing on the music, she was able to will the sound levels higher and higher, until the chords of her song, Eye of the Tiger, blasted out through the entire factory. The threads of magic woven into the notes spread throughout the room, infusing Luis, Jade, and Naomi herself with the Fleetfoot spell. She felt herself grow light on her feet, filled with new reserves of energy as she continued to play. Yes. Yes! She could do this.

Down below, Jade was fighting for her life. A little ways away, Luis was climbing towards her as fast as he could. But now they were moving faster, more smoothly, bolstered by the spell. Naomi was still scared, she didn't know what was going on or why she was here, but she did know one thing. She wasn't going to let those two down again. Standing at the apex of the room, she played for all she was worth.

---

Jade danced back, avoiding another one of Groll's wild swings. Her side ached from where she'd landed on it earlier, and the goblin had landed a couple of solid hits on her, but she fought on. Naomi's music energized her, making her agile and light. The sensation would have been thrilling if she weren't fully occupied with fighting a bloodthirsty monster. As it was, her entire attention was on the battle. Their battle had raged from one platform to another, Groll pursuing her with unsettling fervor. She'd grabbed a jagged metal bar from one of the conveyer belts and was now using it to clobber the goblin with hit after hit every time she dodged one of his strikes. The impacts were heavy enough to jar her arms, which were already burning from wielding such a heavy and poorly balanced weapon, but to her dismay they seemed to be having little effect on her foe.

How much more…! She thought as she swung again, this time nailing Groll in the knee. Can this bastard take?!

She suspected she would have to get a solid strike in at one of his vulnerable points to bring him down. Jade recast Vital Sight, trying again to find an opening to land a decisive blow. But for all of Groll's enraged punches and swipes, he was clearly a trained fighter. The goblin guarded himself well, never giving her the chance she sought. Even with Naomi's boost, Jade was starting to grow fatigued. Her legs burned as she leaped atop a stack of stamped metal sheets, avoiding another attack. She lacked the stamina to do this forever. It was time to go on the offensive.

Jade took a deep breath, clutching the pole tightly in her hands as Groll came at her again. The belt they were currently on was ferrying both of them up a ramp to the next level so, even crouched, she was looking down at the tall goblin. Just as he came within reach, Jade cocked back her arm and threw the metal pole right at the goblin's head like a javelin. Groll flinched back, surprised, and raised his hands to bat the projectile away.

Now!

Jade lunged forward just as Groll deflected her attack. In his brief moment of distracted surprise, she seized the hilt of the dagger in his arm and yanked it free. Then, still hastened by the pounding music of Naomi's spell, she rammed the blade hilt deep into Groll's highlighted neck. The entire maneuver took less than a second. Jade danced back out of reach, almost falling off the lump of metal, charged with adrenaline.

She expected the goblin to fall lifelessly to the ground, or maybe to flail and fall off the edge of the belt. To her astonishment, Groll merely stumbled back a few steps, hands clutching at the weapon buried in his neck. He roared, or rather, tried to roar. Instead, it came out as a disgusting wet gurgling noise that sent a spike of nausea through Jade's stomach. That just seemed to make him angrier. He lunged towards Jade, bloodshot eyes wide and crazed, slamming his fists down towards her in a reckless, leaping attack. Shocked that her foe could still even stand, let alone fight, she was only just barely able to dive back from the heavy blow. His fists dented the metal block where she'd been, the entire platform shuddering violently from the impact. Jade stumbled, crashing to the conveyer belt and landing painfully atop her wings. Groll was looming over her before she could recover. He snarled, wrenching the dagger free from his neck. Black blood showered down on her, warm and foul.

"I'm a berserker." He growled, his words barely intelligible through his punctured windpipe. "You'll never be able to kill me."

He raised his foot to smash down on her. Jade rolled to the side, heart pounding wildly. She couldn't-!

Whoosh!

A translucent bubble appeared around her, forming a barrier that intercepted the goblin chief's attack. The magical shield shattered under his strength, but it was enough. Jade slipped away, surging to her feet just as Luis charged Groll from the rear, sword held high. The goblin roared in rage, stumbling back from Jade as the shield burst. He grabbed the metal pole Jade had thrown at him and turned to face Luis.

"Noctis!" Jade shouted, pointing at him as he turned away from her. She wasn't using her wand, but she was so close that it didn't matter. The bolt of darkness lanced out from her palm and struck Groll in the shoulder. This time, finally, it took hold. The dark shroud flowed up over the goblin's body, clouding his sight. Jade's head pounded as she exhausted the last of her mana, but it had been worth it. For the next few moments, Groll was blind.

Luis didn't waste the opening. He ducked under a wild swing from the blinded goblin chief, then struck him with a powerful blow.

"Haaaaa!!"

The greatsword caught the goblin in the shoulder, cleaving him across his entire torso. Blood sprayed into the air, splattering across both Jade and Luis as Groll screeched in pain and rage. Somehow, despite his grievous wounds, he was still standing. Jade was slowly growing accustomed to a world filled with the supernatural, but she could still hardly believe what she was seeing. The man… creature… should've been long dead. Blood poured from his wounds, pooling at his feat in congealing puddles. He tried to say something, but the hole in his throat prevented him from forming real words. Jade could only stare, horrified, as the monstrosity lurched towards her.

How…? How is he…-?

She never completed the thought. Before Groll could get to her, Luis was beside him. With one solid shove, he sent the blinded goblin chief tumbling off the edge of the platform. He didn't scream, just plunged silently all the way to the ground. Jade didn't hear the impact, the room was too loud. But looking down, she and Luis could see his remains. The large goblin's broken body was bent in unnatural angles, blood seeping from his crushed and mangled form to stain the floor. He was dead. Finally dead.

Jade realized her hands were shaking. She tried to get them to still, but they wouldn't.

"Thanks." She said to Luis.

"Yeah." He replied solemnly, also looking down at the body. His usual cheer was nowhere to be found.

The handful of goblins left were fleeing now that their leader was dead. The ones that had been climbing the conveyer system had turned around and were running for the exit back to the scrapyard. The ones that had been on the factory floor were already gone. More notifications flashed across Jade's vision, but she pushed them aside for the moment. She looked closer at Luis. He was pale.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." He nodded. "It's just…"

Jade knew what he meant. She felt it too.

"That was a lot." She said.

"Yeah…" He repeated. Then he gave her a weak smile. "Guess those wings of yours are just for show, huh?"

Jade laughed. She couldn't help it. There was a shrill note to it, but also genuine mirth.

"You can say that again." She grumbled, giving them a flap. "It's crap, isn't it?"

"Jade! Luis!" Another voice called. Jade looked up to see Naomi running towards them along the catwalk that lead towards the conveyer they were standing on. "Are you two alright?!"

"We're still kickin'." Luis said, slinging his sword over his back. It was so ridiculously long that it almost dragged along the ground. He clenched and unclenched his fists once, then forced a smile. “Was that your speed spell? Damn amiga, I’m gonna need more of that.”

Jade nodded in agreement, and Naomi's cheeks colored.

"T-thanks…" She said, slowing to a stop next to them. She handed Jade her backpack, which she'd had the foresight to grab on her way down to meet them. "It was the only way I could think to help."

“I didn’t know you could make it that loud.” Jade said, shouldering her pack. “I thought we’d have to be closer for it to work. That’s pretty useful.”

“One of my abilities let’s me amplify my music. I just figured out how to get it to work.” Naomi said. “Did we… get all of them?”

She hesitated before saying ‘get’. Jade wondered at that. All of them seemed to be avoiding thinking about the fact that they’d just killed several people. The goblins were acting enough like humans that she couldn’t call them anything else, even to herself. Then again, they’d all been trying to murder them. She found that she didn’t feel that bad about it. That surprised her. But she hadn't sought out that conflict, they'd been fighting to survive. If someone was going to try and hurt her or her friends, she would do whatever it took to stop them.

If that means I'm not a good person, then I don't care. She thought.

"We should leave." Naomi was saying. "Before any more of them come looking for us."

"I'm with you there." Luis said. "But where? We don't know where we are, or where to go. Unless you do…?" He looked at Jade. She shook her head.

"No. I started not far from here, and this is the first place I found."

"Exploring it is then." Luis proclaimed, his usual cheer a little forced. "I always wanted to be an explorer. Let's see if the next place we find is a little nicer, yeah?"

"That's a pretty low bar." Jade said.

"Keep your expectations low. That way, if you're surprised, it'll be a good one. That's what my Uncle Julio always said."

"Sounds like a smart guy." Jade said, starting down the ladders and making her way to the ground floor. Luis came after her and Naomi brought up the rear, following quietly as the other two talked.

"Oh he was great. Always had lots of wise words for me."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Jade wasn't normally one for small talk, but Naomi was looking a little shell shocked. She wanted to distract her, if she could.

"Definitely. He had another big saying. 'Just call all your mistakes "experiments". That's what scientists do.'"

Naomi snorted softly. "I don't think your uncle knows much about science."

"Maybe not. But he's good at making people think he does. That's the next best thing, yeah?"

"…Sure."

They reached the floor of the factory, which was cluttered with large machinery and support pillars. A few goblin bodies were strewn about, having been knocked off the walkways high above during the battle by Naomi and Luis. Naomi avoided looking at any of them. Jade was inclined to do the same, but knew it would be smarter to look through the remains. The goblin leader, at least, may have been carrying something useful. Besides, she needed to retrieve the dagger that had fallen with him.

"Hang on." Jade said, starting towards Groll's corpse.

"Jade?" Luis asked.

"Just taking a look."

Jade gave Luis a glance, nodding to Naomi. He nodded in turn, stepping up beside her. The two of them hung back together as Jade searched through the disgusting, mangled remnants of the goblin boss's body. It didn't take long, his only clothes were a loose fitting torn shirt and a loincloth. She retrieved her dagger, which had somehow survived the drop undamaged, and found a pouch of crescent coins similar to the ones that she had looted from the monsters earlier. There was also a brass ring on his finger, etched with strange symbols that she couldn't decipher. Jade took the pouch, which seemed to have a hundred or so coins in it, and then swiped the ring. She examined it.

 

-Ring of Minor Strength

-Rarity: Common

-Hitting the gym every day is such a time sink. Really, who has time for that? Well, now you can get all the benefits with none of the work! Equipping this ring gives the following benefits:

• +3 to strength.

 

Jade shook her head at the description. She really wanted to know who, or what, was generating them. Another question for Damos, if they could find him. She tossed the ring to Luis, who caught it.

"That'll be good for you." She said. "It gives a +3 to strength."

He took a look at it, then grinned. "Thanks. I'll put this to good use." He slipped it on. "Woah."

"Feel different?"

"Feels good."

"When people start bringing things like that back to Earth, it's going to change the world." Naomi said after examining it herself, staring at the ring.

"Not to mention magic in general." Jade added. "Or people that aren't human."

Jade had wanted to look through the other goblin remains, but found she didn't have the stomach for it. Besides, it hadn't looked like any of them were carrying anything more valuable than a crude club. The system didn't seem to let them loot these creatures like it had the automatons earlier. Another mystery. She still had so much to learn about how this place worked.

"Let's go." Naomi said. "I never want to see this place again."

Jade let Luis pick one of the several unexplored doors leading away from the large factory room, following him and Naomi to it. He opened it without fanfare, revealing a long, torch-lit stone hallway similar to the one Jade had first appeared in, although this one was made of darker stone. They stepped through the threshold together, leaving the factory behind.