(A/N: I'm SO sorry for not updating sooner… School has started and there's a lot of homework. Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter. R&R!)

Chapter 2: My First Quest as a Bowman

"I just became a bowman, though," I protested. "Shouldn't we wait until I become a stronger bowman? I mean, I might die."

"Jack, outside of this building is a wizard, and by the looks of him, he's a wise and strong wizard. I am sure you can pass this quest easily." I looked at her with a confused face, "How did you know Merlin was there?"

"A strong power radiates off of him, and I can feel it. You could to, if you tried," Athena Pierce said. "Now, some equipment you need is a bow, a skill book, and some new armor. Go to the shop and your new armor will be waiting for you. Come back to me when you want to start the quest." Athena Pierce handed me a new bow, which was neatly carved and painted blue. It was a bit small for me, though. Then, she handed me a huge book. She dropped it into my arms and I almost fell to the wooden floor from the heavy weight. I nodded my thanks and left the building. Outside, it was bright as ever, and the wind was refreshing as it swept past my face. I breathed in the cool air and walked towards Merlin, my old wizard friend. He smiled when he saw me, "Ah Jack, I was starting to get impatient. What took you so long?"

"Athena Pierce wants us to have a quest, which I don't want," I answered, dropping the heavy book onto the grassy ground. The book made a soft thud, and Merlin said, "Why is that? Quests are good for you. You can get more reputation, money, and you could get a higher ranking." Merlin started to explain more but I cut him off, "All right, I understand. Athena Pierce told me to get new armor. Do you know where the store is?"

"Hold my hand," Merlin simply said. I grabbed his hand. Because he was an old man, his hands felt wrinkly and bony. Anyway, Merlin muttered a spell and in a flash, we landed on a wooden floor safely. I looked around and saw bows, arrows, and much other equipment. I ran all around the room, inspecting each bow. My favorite bow was the Dragon Shiner Bow. In the center of the bow was a golden dragon's head, and the rest of the bow was painted all gold, or maybe made out of real gold. Beside the dragon head was golden wings, so the bow looked like a dragon head with wings poking out at its sides. I was about to touch it until someone said, "No touching, unless you want to buy it." I looked around and saw a man. He looked old, with gray hair and wrinkly skin. He must've been the merchant.

"If you want to buy it, it will be… let's just say a lot," the seller replied.

"No, we do not wish to buy it; we only need armor sir," Merlin answered, "for beginner archers."

"Ooh, are you the one that Athena Pierce mentioned?" the old man asked. "I have the armor, but maybe you could tip me." Merlin sighed, and handed the greedy man an extra five mesos. The man looked annoyed, "Only this much?" Merlin nodded, "If you do not want it, I can always take it back." The man shook his hand with disappointment, "Fine, here's your armor." The man handed us the armor and handed it to Merlin, who passed it to me.

"Put it on, boy," Merlin ordered. The armor consisted of a green winter hat, a green archer's top, green hard leather boots, and archer's pants. It didn't seem stronger than my leather armor, but I shrugged and took my leather armor off. I quickly slipped my new "armor" on. It was nice and light, and I could run a lot faster with this armor.

"Let's make sure they didn't curse it," Merlin muttered. The old wizard muttered a spell and a blue claw appeared out of nowhere and slashed at my armor. I only staggered backwards and expected a huge gash on my stomach, but there was none and I was unhurt.

"Your old armor would have been too weak to block that attack, while that armor can," Merlin said. "It has a spell on it that can block certain attacks Jack. Don't doubt any kind of armor." I nodded, "This armor is great." Merlin smiled, "I thought so. Now come, we have to get back to Athena Pierce." We exited the building and teleported back to Athena's home. I entered while Merlin stayed outside, waiting for my other friends. The inside of the building was the same, and Athena Pierce was sitting at her desk.

"Ah, you have come back. Have you decided to accept the quest, or decline it?" the archer asked.

"I choose to accept," I answered. Athena Pierce nodded with approval, "Good, now your quest is to take the Mirror of Insight one of the Dual Blades most prized possessions."

"Who are the Dual Blades?" I asked curiously.

"They are a group of highly trained ninjas who pretend to be on the Dark Lord's side. They always try to overthrow the thief instructor, but so far, they have failed. So, the Dark Lord needs help and wants you to steal their mirror. Without it, they might not have the power to stop the Dark Lord," Athena Pierce explained. I nodded, "All right, then where is the Dual Blades' hideout?"

"In Kerning City. There, you will meet one of the Dark Lord's apprentices and he will show you to the Secret Garden. Now go, the taxi will be free for your party." I nodded with a small bow and exited the building. When I stepped outside, I saw my friends, all with new armor. But I had noticed something, Jennie wasn't there.

"Hey Jack, like my new armor?" John asked, showing off his armor. His armor was a torn, striped overall with a brown lagger slipper. He wore a light brown bandana and had a small pistol strapped at his side. He did not look nice.

"Eh… yeah, I like it," I muttered. When I looked Matthew, he had a mithril koif, a blue lolico pants, blue lolico armor, and sandals. He had a long sword strapped at his side and he looked tired. He also had a wooden buckler strapped to on his back.

"How about me?" Matthew asked. "Do I look better than John?"

"No, you look the same," I lied. Matthew definitely looked better, but I didn't want to hurt John's feelings.

"Anyway, Jack has something to tell you," Merlin said. John and Matthew stared at me.

"We're having a quest, a hard one," I answered.

(A/N: Well, I hope it was more descriptive, but not boring. Moon, if you say too much description… then oh well… Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Again, I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long. Please review!)

-APOLLOxx0909