Chapter 102: Battle for the Portal part 1
Elin certainly seemed to be in a bad mood and Kim couldn't figure out why. When she woke up from the effects of using for magic past what she had MP for, she had seemed calmer and hadn't been so upset. Yet, now she seemed like she was mad about something.
If she'd been asked beore, Kim would have said that Elin couldn't be like this, however she was seeing proof that Elin could be like this. She couldn't help but wish she knew why. Glancing behind her as they neared the top of the stairs, she noticed Elmo and wondered if she should try and use him to learn what it was that had gotten Elin so upset. If Elin was upset with Kim for something, asking Elin herself would likely make matters worse, but if she wasn't then Kim would be able to breathe easier.
While she still wouldn't understand, she'd at least be able to be relieved that it wasn't because of something she said or did. Not that she could think of anything she'd done to get Elin upset anyway, but at the same time, she had to acknowledge that Elin might not see it that way.
As she paused at the entrance to the room the stairs led to, Kim couldn't help but feel like this was just a big mistake, but she had said that Elin would get to decid. She just never thought that Elin would choose something so foolhardy. If she didn't know any better, she'd have thought that Jonas had somehow convinced Elin to be this reckless.
Yet, they were here and there wasn't any use in complaining now. Especially since while she could force Elin to not do this, she knew that she'd likely destroy any chance of getting Elin in bed again in the near future. Possibly ever again.
Kim pushed those thoughts out of her mind as she set herself to focus on what was going to happen in a moment. They still didn't know what waited them in the room, aside from the portal, but Kim knew that they were about to find out.
So, before she could lose her nerve and risk Elin hating her for the rest of her life by taking her bodily back down the stairs, Kim stepped into the room, her head on a swivel as she made sure that there weren't any other threats that could attack from directions other than they one they'd be paying attention to.
Fortunately, as Jonas came up beside her, she could tell that the only threats, currently, came from the two other goblins in front of her. One was clearly a hobgoblin, but the other wasn't one that she could identify. It had brownish-black skin and held a staff or gnarled wood that looked like it might have been a single branch to a tree at one point. However, despite those discrepancies, it was clearly a goblin.
On the positive side, both goblins seemed to be preoccupied with something and hadn't noticed Kim and the rest of her group enter the room. There was a cauldron in front of them and greenish-blue smoke or steam or whatever was coming out of the top of it and falling down the sides before disappearing. Kim couldn't help but feel uneasy as she looked at it.