"Lachlan, look." Zhenyel said in a quiet voice, tugging at Winford's sleeve while pointing at the Lumina Ores behind the group of patrolling gremlins.
He grabbed Zhenyel by the waist, took out a cloth from his inventory and draped it over his and Zhenyel's frame. He pressed his body flushed with hers against the uneven bumps of the wall, giving her an apologetic smile.
He made sure that the group of gremlins was already out of earshot before he continued deeper inside the cave, holding Zhenyel close to him while they made a map of the cave's layout and resources as well as dangers, drawing a mark to each point.
Then when they finished the whole layout, Zhenyel went near the tunnel entrance to the chamber they were in.
She stood on standby, serving as a lookout for Winford while he was mining a bit of the Lumina Ores to serve as proof for the quest requirements, her eyes flickering between his sweaty form and the distance.
Just as soon as Winford finished extracting, he stored everything back in his inventory and grabbed Zhenyel by the hand.
He took out the enchanted blanket again and draped it over both of them, navigating back to the entrance of the cave while passing by a lone gremlin.
Winford realized that the gremlin would check the ores in the deepest chamber where they had been just in earlier, most probably figuring out that they were an intruder.
So Winford muttered a quiet apology for his next action, picking up Zhenyel and propelling his body forward. He ran through the cave with quick steps on his feet, Zhenyel holding her enchanted cloth over them both and making sure it covers Winford while he runs.
Much to Winford's dismay, his realization was correct. Amidst his fleeing, the gremlins roared angrily.
They began patrolling heavily near the entrance to ensure their intruder won't be able to leave immediately, stomping their foot on the ground and slamming their clubs and weapons along in a display of agitation and taunt.
Zhenyel became worried as she tapped Winford's shoulder to ask him to put her down silently.
Winford shook his head and picked up the pace; he skillfully evaded the gremlins while they remained ignorant of his presence. Only then, when they reached the 3rd chamber from the entrance of the cave, did the gremlins notice their presence was nearly out of the tunnel.
One of them was smart enough to place a trip wire so low in the ground that even Winford missed it.
The enchanted blanket got caught on the sticky trip wire while Winford stepped on it, alerting the gremlins nearby as Winford cussed under his breath for his unusual blunder.
"Oh no. I'm sorry." Zhenyel said quietly when she realized that the cloth touched the almost invisible trip wire, acknowledging her mistake.
Winford shook his head, holding her tighter in his arms while he watched the gremlins hastily swing their weapons in the air.
"No. I'm also at fault. I didn't notice the trip wire and stepped on it." He said roughly while jumping away from the attacks, being careful not to speak too loudly for the gremlins to hear as he dodged them. He ran towards the wall, sprinting on the uneven surface and jumping off.
His boots scrunched the small particles and pebbles under his soles, grabbing the attention of the gremlins while his footwear peeked out of the cloth when he landed.
The gremlins snarled as Winford rushed out of the cave. He ignored the angered roars of the creatures while he got momentarily blinded by the sun's rays, but he didn't stop running. Zhenyel clung to his clothes and shoulder in fear that she might fall because of his deft movements, tightening her hold around him especially when she heard the gremlins run after them.
"They're on your trail." She said calmly, and she removed the enchanted cloth over them. She folded it neatly before handing it to Winford when he stopped at a clearing.
Zhenyel jumped off his arms and asked for her weapon, catching it in the air and dexterously spinning the staff in her palm, openly taunting the gremlins as she raised her hand and wordlessly gestured them to attack with a mocking smirk.
"Shihoa… I didn't know you can be taunting at times…" Winford murmured faintly as he watched Zhenyel's back, blinking in surprise and disbelief at her practiced motion.
His comment was ignored by her while she darts towards the nearest gremlin, swinging her sword staff upward and cutting the creature deep in the chest as it lets out a pained cry. It's blood spilled nearby and gave a frightening first move against the gremlins.
Winford snapped out of his trance and joined Zhenyel. They worked wonderfully with each other; Zhenyel took over the sharp damage, swiftly dealing with enemies in her blade's reach while Winford served as a semi-tank and dealt area damage.
Both of them quickly finished the gremlins and scared the rest back into the cave. When the two made sure that no more would come out, they immediately left and searched for a resting spot.
"Shihoa… Do you have combat experience? I noticed that you move like a trained fighter." Winford said as he materialized a water bottle from his inventory and handed her one while drinking himself from a different bottle.
He watched her drink the water he offered before going back to wiping the stained blade of her weapon, humming in contemplation and glancing at him.
"Well… I don't have real experience. However, I was taught by my master." She said softly, finishing up her work, then holding the staff in front of her and stared at it. The weapon was a staff with a blade on the other end that she used for melee combat.
Her words made Winford even more curious about her as he murmured in interest, grabbing the swordstaff from her and storing it in his inventory.