Entry 8
We finally had to leave Marr's Pass and go find our last drop of myrrh. Too bad, 'cuz I was having fun there…We ended up heading north, to the Cathurigian Mines. Apparently, the Lilties used to own the place. But once they used up all the metal, they left. That stinks. I was hoping to find something good here. Aw well.
Someone in town mentioned the abandoned Mines, so we decided to check it out. It's a pretty cruddy place. Dark, overheated, dirty, and full of orcs. Supposedly, there was a myrrh tree somewhere inside. I didn't buy it, though. How the heck could a tree grow under ground, in a place with practically no water? But hey, cactuar live in the desert, so who knows right?
I kept bumping into everyone, or stepping on their feet. I could barely see my hand in front of my face! The only light in the place was from a few lanterns hanging from the ceiling. But get this, they weren't really lanterns at all! They were these little fire monsters in cages! I wonder who put them there, the Lilties or the Orcs? We didn't have to worry about that for long though. Abadae found a Fire Magicite on an Orc Shaman we defeated. It wasn't very strong, but at least it was light.
I'm not sure how long we stayed down there. We kept getting lost, and the Orcs jumped out of nowhere to attack us. I dunno how they liked to stay in there. We ended up making to the a forge at the end of a long tunnel. Like it wasn't already hot enough. At least we had some light now, though. I looked down the next tunnel, trying to find a myrrh tree, when someone yelled, "Se Kan! Look OUT!" I turned around to find a giant hammer about to squash me! I rolled out of the way, and saw the Orc King swing and miss me. Boy, was he ever huge! Just as big as that huge crab back at the river, but twice as ugly. Plus, he was holding a hammer and an axe! A bunch of his minions ran down the tunnel towards us as he wound up for another swing. Tristan and me took on the King while Yusha and Kenach distracted his minions. Abadae ran around firing spells at whatever he could.
We fought each other to a standstill. Most of the minions were either dead or had run away, so it was just us and the King. He did something weird though. Instead of charging at us like I thought he would, he backed up to the forge. All of a sudden, he stuck his axe into the burner, and it started to smoke. Kenach swore, and yelled that it was going to explode! We tried to run, but the King chucked his hammer at the wall, and the tunnel caved in. I totally thought we were done for…
But then Abadae got the Fire Magicite he had found out of his bag. He told Yusha to cast a Clear spell on the Orc King on the count of 3. She seemed pretty confused. I was too, actually. I don't know too much about magic, but Clear is a healing spell, right? But she did as she was told. He counted to 3, and they cast their spells. Then, I dunno what the heck happened. A big, glowing orb appeared around the King…and the forge next to him. He started banging on it with his fists, but he was stuck inside! The forge exploded, killing the Orc King. It was pretty gory, to tell the truth…
As we dug our way out, I realized something. That King was willing to destroy himself just to stop us from hurting the anymore orcs. Even though he was a monster, he still cared about his brothers…
As it turns out, that orb was actually a "fusion spell" or something. I guess magic can be mixed. How weird. Abadae told me, since I was confused as a flan with feet. Since him and Yusha cast Clear and Fire together, it made some kind of barrier spell. I dunno. Magic is too complicated for me.
Se Kan
As our Selkie friend so kindly left out, there was indeed a myrrh tree in the Mine of Cathuriges. It's amazing how it could grow, even in conditions like these. Perhaps they are more than just trees…?
Abadae of the Yukes