Disclaimer: All rights are given to respective owners. I own nothing except the OC.
Chapter 3: Danger in the darkness.
My alarm clock went off loudly as I rise up to prepare for the next phase of mission. I go to the drawer to get my chest armor and quickly realize it was gone. One of the team might have taken it to get repaired or cleaned it of the blood. The armor was weak so it made no difference to me, however that left me with no shirt and anyone seeing me with all of these bandages might cause a panic. Ignoring my instinct to find a cover for my bandages, I left the inn and searched for Jack whom was nowhere to be found. I decided to check the liquor store since that was where i was supposed to go anyway. Low and behold, he was there accepting the job i was going to get him to do. "Jack!" I yelled for him. "I got a job to do at two in the morning. This should raise our reputation a lot." Jack said, his face beaming with pride. "In that case, we should explore around to see if the dwarfs have any other problems. It will raise the brigade's rep even higher if people knew we were helping protect the peace." I said that knowing where directly to go next. Eager to find another job, Jack and I looked for others to aid. The only other job was the mine infestation the dwarfs were having. Machines have appeared and went rogue on the dwarfs preventing them from getting the ore in the mine. We had only seven hours remaining to clear the mines before the job at the pub, so with gusto, Jack ran quickly into the mine.
The lights were dim and i had to catch up before Jack got into trouble. Since this is a possible abandoned mine, I could you all my spells and abilities i knew of to fight them, unless Jack was in the same room that is. As i walked into a large room with boxes, i could see Jack getting attacked by the rogue bots. "Time to test my new skill." I thought as i readied the spear at my side. "Mercurial Thrust" I screamed before dashing full charge into the bot that was attacking Jack. The bot smashed into the wall falling to pieces in the process. We still had ten more to drop which meant this fight was going to take a lot of time. "Time which we don't have." I thought grimly. Jack proved his skill was as good as a high-ranking knight by slashing down three of the bots before i could finish one. Four of the bots were in a row, so i let them burn with my sizz spell. All four were destroyed, however Jack was getting beat up by the remaining five bots. I made a mistake by chanting a heal spell instead of using a herb extract i found earlier. His wounds healed and Jack was able to destroy the remaining bots with plenty of his brute force. I feel like a parent watching their child grow up when he did that. My spell use, however brought him to light that i was not who i seemed to be. "Who or what are you? How could you do that and when did you learn how to fight like that? He said question after question. "Ok, I'll come clean provided you listen and do as i say. What i tell you will change your life forever. I am not a knight. I used my power of suggestion to make me become a knight when in reality, I'm not even mortal." I confessed. "The recent increase in monsters has worried the heavenly lord and he sent me down here to aid those that would help keep the monster population as low as possible. I am a celestrian. My spells that you see are proof of my lineage, however I did not lie when i said that i was a rookie. I too am getting stronger to be able to handle the problems caused by these threats. No one must ever know what i am or they will sentence me to death for my power being godlike." I told Jack. "I won't say a word about it. As long as you help me be a better knight then i will listen to you." Jack stated. "My job is to make those who aid me stronger, not to further their career. If that happens to make you a better knight, then that's good. If not, then that is not my problem. I trust your strength will help us both. I am your ally, so i will help you train when i possibly can." I said which he gave a nod. "That fight took a while to complete. We must hurry and further our power as fast as we can, then head to the bar to check for thieves." I told him. "Since you seem to see further than i can, do you know if we will find the culprits." He asked. "I'm not a telepath, I can't read into the future. All i know is that trouble is afoot and we need to be ready." I stated to Jack. "If that's the case, you need your armor then. Where is it?" He asked chuckling. "That i don't know. I assumed one of you took my armor to get it repaired or cleaned." I said while scratching my head embarrassed. "Well if it comes to that, you best buy a new set of upper body armor before the pub job." Jack said trying to stifle a laugh. I could tell my inexperience has gotten the best of me. I went too quickly to the job and forgot to buy new armor, and my clock says is nearing midnight. "Jack, this could be a rough fight for me. As long as no one except us is around, i can cast my heal spells. If someone enters the pub, I'll have to use herb extracts or they will think I'm a monster." I told him worryingly. "You seem to be a monster to my eyes, however you are a member of our brigade so i won't betray you." He reassured me. "Let's go or we will be late." I state while walking toward the exit.
After another run-in with the rogue bots, we escaped the mines. Jack dashed as fast he could to the pub while i followed along with him. The place was dark and we could hear voices coming from the room. Jack searched the area behind the counter while checked the barrels. Just as i was about to grab the barrel, i heard a sneeze. Readying my spear, I move the barrel to see three goblins staring back at me. Two of them bowled over me,and the third one ran into the counter in a daze. The goblin got up and pulled a set of claws out and slashed into me with anger in his eyes. After getting sliced four times, Jack shoved him off of me and the goblin ran away. The loss of blood was too much as i fell back into the darkness.
"What were you thinking, taking on goblins when you were outnumbered? Why didn't you call for help? Ganz said angrily. "We were not expecting goblins to be that vicious." Jack whined "Besides he was the one who told me to accept the job. Jack stated pointing towards me. Even when I'm out cold, I can still hear what the others are saying. "It was true, I made a bad error thinking the job was going to be simple." I thought to myself. I realized i nearly cost a friend his life. "He will be fine once he is patched up, however that means do not do anymore jobs unless you have approval from me. Do you understand master Jack? "I understand, we were going to try to clear out the mine, but the pub job took us away from that. By the way, where is Ridley?" Jack said while nodding. "She is at the dwarven pharmacy getting medical supplies to help him heal. She was not happy that i asked her to do that?" Ganz said while frowning. I startle them both when i woke up quickly. "She is a knight, not a nurse. Of course she is going to resent being sent for supplies." I said weakly. "And who's fault is that for not wearing armor?" Ganz said. "Someone took my armor from the spot next to my bed, otherwise i would have put it on." I said weakly. "Ridley took it to the smith's to get it repaired. None of us knew you were going to be up like that." Ganz explained. "I'll tease her later about that, but first we need to deal with the cargo. Is it ready yet? I asked. "No master Hale, we have to wait another day for the cargo to be done. In the meantime, you rest till Ridley gets back with the supplies." Ganz said. "Not going to happen. We need to clear the mine to raise our rep a little before leaving. This will give a good impression to the dwarfs that we are trustworthy like the other brigades." I said while calmly getting up. "We will help when you're healed up." Ganz said as Ridley entered the room. She saw me and ran the other way leaving the supplies in the bag on the floor. "She better get used to seeing me without a shirt soon. I'm getting tired of her bolting like that." I thought while chuckling. The dwarven doctors quickly bandaged me up all the while commenting on the injuries i suffered.
Once i left the inn. I made my way to the shop to buy a shirt and then went to the smithy to check on my armor. The armor looked different from before as it felt heavier as well. I look into the armor and discover it has a breastplate on it. "You made my leather armor into an iron breastplate? Why?" I asked. "Leather armor did not help you, so i fitted it with a chest protector. That will be four thousand eight hundred dagols for the repair." Brockle said. My jaw dropped when i heard the price, however i did not mind paying the cost since this will me help in the end. "Pleasure doing business with you." Brockle said while stroking his beard. I waved farewell as i left the smithy's and ran back to the inn to see if everyone was ready for the mine trip. "Not now master Hale. The cargo was just finished and we need to go to the top of the cliff to meet the driver." Ganz explained. I sighed as we made our way out the door and back onto the road. As we trekked up the cliff, Ridley paused in place. I looked to see her frowning. "What is wrong? Are you worried about the trip back?" I asked. "You nearly died twice in the last couple of days. The last thing i need is for the third time to be the charm. It would be a terrible blow to the brigade." Ridley explained to me. "I am better prepared this time around as far as armor is concerned and I sharpened my spear while at the armory so this should be no sweat." I said. "Just stay out of trouble and out of my way." Ridley said spitefully. I changed the subject. "Must have been tough carrying my armor with it covered in blood. I hope you weren't too worried about me dying." I said laughing a bit. I pressed my luck too far as i got slapped for my remark and her running with a beet red face. I already knew this was going to be a long trip.
This ends the chapter. Reviews are welcome. Next chapter is the return trip and a confrontation with the goblins and the lord chamberlain.