Chapter 24
Wrenching himself backwards, Gideon narrowly dodged a clumsy swing from the foul little dark green creature before him. Taking a deep breath, he watched the goblin call to its kin in a mocking tone, rallying the other four dark green creatures to press onwards and kill the two before them. Gideon ignored the taunt, focusing on trying to grab the dagger from the creature as he didn't have a weapon himself.
They had found the farm after managing to get themselves lost and approached a group of farmers, believing them to be the client only to be dismayed and turned around. The client's family had run that farm for several generations and they never had an issue with goblins before, the occasional wolf eating one of their livestock or passing travellers stealing what they can as they didn't pack enough provisions for their journey. When the goblins arrived, they lost a considerable number of livestock and grain overnight, even some of the workers had been viciously attacked.
Its was when the client's own daughter had nearly been taken by the evil beasts, did they finally reach out to the adventurer's guild for help. A feat that most farmers avoid at all cost, not from fear or lack of coin, rather low levelled adventurers try to take advantage of the weak and gain a greater commission fee. It was a risk that all commoners or those without adequate protection have to take when posting a quest to the adventurer's guild.
Gideon and Rhordan were both appalled when they were confronted for an apparent act performed by the vast majority of new or low ranked adventurers, they didn't believe that such a thing could be the norm with the adventurer's guild though their previous run in with the other inhabitants of this new world dissuaded them from trying to convince the farmers that they weren't a threat. Instead, they pressed onwards to the location that the goblins had been last sighted, still conflicted of the prospect of taking a life, even one such as these evil little creatures.
Rhordan kept her distance, though her speed and evasion far surpassed Gideon's, the goblins recklessly and wildly attacked with nothing but primal rage, a fighting style that Gideon knew all too well. Gideon used his size to intimidate the smaller creatures into banding together, a tactic generally not favoured when facing more than three opponents, though in face of five opponents they were sent to kill, it was all he could do to prolong the fight until they could work out a solution.
A tactic that swiftly proved disastrous when two previously unseen goblins exploded from a dense patch of bushes on the edge of the farmers land right beside where Rhordan had been observing the tense fight, fighting her own desire to avoiding killing any sentient creature unjustifiably. Her internal struggle over her will to survive and her guiding morals prevented her from noticing the largely incompetent dark green creatures vain attempt at an ambush. They had broken off from the main group when they heard the bleating cries of the unusual livestock, hoping to make a quick meal out of very little effort, something that to them was practically unheard of.
Goblins had to remain far from many human settlements lest they run the risk of becoming easy pickings for adventurers, some even going as far as setting themselves up close to larger and much more dangerous magical beast's nests for safety. This type of lifestyle usually incurs starvation and widespread disease, unable to find food or understand the basics of maintaining their own personal hygiene, many of the younger generations born unto these groups strike out on their own in youthful vigour. Their hopes and dreams, encouraging them to continue onwards regardless of the cost or suffering they have to endure, praying that one day they come across a promised land where all of their troubles would be a distant memory.
Upon finding the farm and its abundant resources, the goblin group were all ablaze with enthusiasm and delight, ecstatic that they had found their promised land. Though there were larger pink skinned individuals that tried to scare them from their promised land, they stayed resolute in their endeavours to keep what they believed to be theirs. So, when two new identical pink skinned individuals tried their hand at driving them from their promised land, they adamantly refused to give up until the two before them were dead.
When the two who had split off from the group heard the commotion between the main group of goblins and the supposed intruder, they rushed towards them until they saw two distinct sides to the battle, opting instead of joining the main group to attack the supposed intruders from the side.
Rhordan had hardly noticed the rustling sounds the two goblins made as they vainly snuck up on her, the amount of mental battles she had to face since her arrival here in this new world was slowly taking its toll on her, reducing her senses causing her mind to reel with each passing thought. As the two goblins exploded out from bushes, startling her from her reverie, she couldn't think on how to react. Only her natural responses to a sudden perceived threat were to avoid the attack at all costs, and that at that moment, was hurling herself backwards onto her backside and to stare dumbfoundedly at the two new dark green creatures landing where she had been not seconds before.
Though the goblins weren't exactly expecting the one they were sneaking up upon to stay in the spot that they had first seen them, what they were surprised at was the sudden swiftness of the other figure. The moment the first figure fighting the main group had heard the other two goblins vainly sneaking up on the second figure, they had exploded into a violent outburst of movement, snatching the dagger from the lead goblin and spun around to engage the two new combatants.
Gideon's senses may no longer have his animalistic powers nor his animal instincts, but from many years of becoming animals, and at one point living among them, had ingrained a set of instincts in his human side that he relied upon when his animal instincts refused to cooperate with him. Upon hearing the rustling sounds, Gideon reacted like a mother protecting its cub, forgoing any rational thought and acting purely on those ingrained instincts he had launched himself forward and grappled the lead goblin with the knife.
Wrenching the weapon from its grubby little paws, he spun on the ball of his foot, extending his other leg out and thrust it directly into the face of the goblin that he had stolen the weapon from, and rounding onto the two that had suddenly arrived. Launching himself forward, he closed the gap within the split second that the goblins had landed and were trying to recover from missing their target. The moment he reached them, all thought left his mind as he caught Rhordan in the corner of his eye stunned at the sudden and unexpected ambush, the ingrained instincts taking over his mind and propelling him into action.
Without a second thought, he thrusted the crude and rusted blade deep into the throat of the closest goblin to him, its equally dark green blood oozed out over his hand as the creature gurgled its last breath, blood gushing out of its mouth. Before the second goblin had a chance to react, Gideon ripped the dagger from the throat of the first goblin and dashed forward the short distance between the two. Unable to react, the goblin tried in vain to wrench itself backwards, only to find the dagger immediately protruding from its chest before it was thrusted upwards to its neck. The old rusty dagger had long lost its sharpness, comparable to a blunt strip of metal with a jagged edge, one that shredded through the goblins soft skin and viciously tearing it apart with nothing more than the pure strength of Gideon.
The goblins guts spilled out onto the ground, staining the green grass a sinister darker shade, stunning the other goblins at the brutality displayed by Gideon. As realisation suddenly dawned on him, Gideon wanted to crawl into himself and blot out all of existence, finding some way to rationalise the viciousness he displayed. Though, he wasn't given the opportunity as a sudden noise brought his attention back to the five remaining goblins who were now enraged at the pair for killing their kin.
The lead goblin stole a dagger from one of its comrades, launching itself at Gideon with burning hatred blazing in its eyes. Gideon's speed and ferocity would have made short work of it, yet with his mind in utter turmoil, he merely stared wide eyed at the dark green creature leaping at him. It was seconds away from plunging that knife into his neck when he felt something snatch the dagger from his hand and swiftly jam it into the eye of the lead goblin.
Rhordan, though stunned by the sudden ambush and the brutality of Gideon, came to her sense the moment she saw the lead goblin charge at Gideon, she could see the abject horror at his own actions in his eyes. Wrenching the dagger from Gideon's hand, she plunged it into the eye of the lead goblin, killing it instantly and dropping the dagger as the weight of both it and the goblin drew it to the earth.
Sharing a brief look of gratitude between them, Gideon and Rhordan stared down the last remaining four, hope hidden within them that they would leave out of fear. That hope proved foolish as the remaining four desired to avenge their fallen leading, brandishing their weapons, they charged at the pair, praying they take them both down before all of them were killed.
A grim look adorned their faces as they quickly collected themselves, both knowing what needed to be done though neither wanting to commit such actions. Rhordan tossed the dagger back to Gideon, settling herself to take on two goblins while Gideon took care of the other two, eyeing the dagger in the hand of the goblin nearest to her. Gideon flip the dagger over in his hand, he held the dagger with the blade facing away from him, tucking his arms closer together and prepared to spring forward at a moments notice.
Watching the goblins deciding which target to go for, the pair waited for them to act first, opting to use their own tactic against them and bring them down swiftly. The goblins split to tackle each of them, three choose to fight Gideon while the last and largest goblin went after Rhordan.
Gideon dashed forward and somersaulted over all three quickly, breaking their pathetic attempt of a formation as they tried in vain to recollect themselves. Lashing out promptly upon landing, Gideon slashed the throat of nearest goblin instantly, using the dagger like an extended claw. With his right arm far extended over to his left, he targeted the next goblin and quickly launched himself forward, stabbing the dagger into the head of the next goblin with backhand strike.
The last of the three goblins could not react to Gideon's speed, it merely stood stupefied at the sudden deaths of its comrades. However, before it could decide whether to run or fight, Gideon rounded on it and flipped the knife forward in his hand, thrusting it deep into its neck. The goblin died staring into two emerald orbs filled with nothing but coldness and heartlessness, fear etching its entire being as darkness crept into its vision, its soul leaving it body.
Rhordan faired slightly worse than Gideon, the larger goblin proved difficult to handle as it constantly charged at her, giving her no room to evade. She finally managed to gain the upper hand when the death cry of the first two goblins killed by Gideon drew its attention, harshly kicking the goblins hand holding the dagger, she swiftly snatched it out of the air. Retreating backwards, she let the goblin charge at her one last time as she twirled around it easily and plunging the blade deep into the back of the neck of the goblin, it died long before it hit the ground.
The edge of the forest grew deathly quiet, the farmlands beside them laid still and lifeless, the trees and bushes swayed slightly in the soft breeze. Nothing moved nor made a sound as the two stood there staring at their victims, neither knew how to feel after the ordeal ended.
"Remember this feeling Rhordan, commit it to memory. From here on out, we are going to have to kill a lot more than just goblins." Gideon morosely stated, a flash of memory from his past caused him to flinch violently, a deep sense of self hatred filled him. Lifting her darkened gaze, Rhordan weakly stared at her twin brother, trying to understand the meaning of his words. "When people are forced to kill many times, there are some that take a liking to it. Remember this feeling and commit it to memory, that way you will never lose yourself or who you are."
A slight tremor of fear shook Rhordan's heart, a part of her knew that this wasn't the first time he had said those words, or that the advice was meant for both of them. She wondered how many times he had killed before, and for what reason had forced him to do so.
"We have completed the mission, lets head back and get the reward money." Rhordan shook herself free from her despair filled musing, determined to leave this place and distract herself with something else. She was moments from turning away and heading back towards the farm when she noticed Gideon still staring at the goblin corpses, a sorrowful expression gracing his features. "What's the matter?"
"The ears of these goblins garner more money, if our situation wasn't dire then I wouldn't be suggesting this." Gideon shifted his gaze to her, hoping that she understood his meaning without him having to explain himself. A dark expression graced her face, similar to Gideon's own as she stared at the pointed ears of the dark green creatures, trying to contain what little food remained in her stomach. "You take three and I'll take four, we'll split the work. If we both do this then we can learn to cope with it if we ever have to go another quest like this one."
Rhordan wanted to yell or argue with him, yet she knew he was right. They will be pulling quest after quest just to get enough money to travel to Larravass, some of which would include gruesome work such as what they both wished to avoid. Gripping the dagger tightly, she knelt by the nearest goblin to her, taking hold of its ear and placing the dagger's blade to it. She steeled her nerves and took a deep breath, forcing her eyes open, she watched herself slice the ear off and the dark green blood oozed out somewhat as the goblin's body was still fresh.
Working quickly, they soon had the seven ears of the goblins, neither looking at the other as they walked back towards the farm. Their deathly silent march stilled the hearts of the unlucky creatures that happened upon them, even the client didn't dare to open his mouth as he handed over the payment for the quest. Aurelia couldn't help but feel sad for Rhordan, nestling herself against her neck and trying her best to comfort her friend.
Usually, the adventurer's guild held the reward for quests, a way to guarantee that the adventurers get paid for their work. However, low ranked quest or those below a certain amount of money were exempted from this rule, forcing clients to provide the fee directly to the adventurers. There were some rich clients and officials of kingdoms that wished to deal with adventurers' themselves, giving them a chance to bask in their wealth and power by lording it over adventurers.
The pair were making their way back to Bardia, not a word spoke since the forest's edge, though a thought occurred to both of them. The client had handed over a handful of copper pieces, a weird emblem engraved on each piece. They had accepted it without counting it, an act that stunned the farmer as he watched them leave as quietly as they have returned from killing the goblins, he had known instantly of their success from the ears and daggers in their hands. Before they had left, the client handed them a crude brown sack for them to store the ears within, the daggers were stored into their backpacks.
The sun was low on the horizon as they made it back into Bardia, the quest may not have been a long one but their little mishap with directions costed them time. Walking through the town, the pair pensively thought about the many lives the people who happily walked by them had killed. Watching these people go about their lives as if the horrors of death and destruction were nothing to them, that they could kill another in a heartbeat and still sleep peacefully, it hardened the pair's hearts.
Their new harsh reality settled in, they would never be able to return home if they stubbornly stuck to their old ways. A new mindset and a hardened heart would be their only chance at survival, otherwise they would never have a chance at seeing home again.
Reaching the guild, they found Chrysanthis busily chatting with an adventurer, writing down details for whatever they were talking about. She swiftly shooed the adventurer away once she noticed the pair at the doorway, rushing over to them immediately.
"Difficult quest, huh?" Chrysanthis rhetorically asked, quickly driving them over to the side and out of the way of adventurers coming and going through the main doors. She smiled warmly at them, her cheery mood furthering the hardening of their hearts.
"You can say that… how much are these worth?" Gideon handed over the sack containing the ears over to Chrysanthis. She checked each of them to ensure they were from seven different goblins before smiling at the pair, a tinge of glee in her eye as she was reassured of their ability to get the job down. Especially facing off against seven goblins on their first quest.
"Seven ears, each ear is ten copper, seventy copper on top of the fifty copper from the quest… you did get the reward from the client, right?" A slight worried look crossed her features for the seconds it took for Rhordan to withdraw the reward money from her backpack, Chrysanthis swiftly counted the copper pieces before smiling at the pair. "Yep, all fifty is here!"
"Sorry if this is a ridiculous question but… how does the money work here?" Gideon dared to ask, trying to formulate a reasonable excuse as to why they didn't know the currency of this world despite their claims of living on a farm and working with another to create adventurer and merchant lodgings.
"Apologies for my idiotic brother, he tends to forget his manners." Rhordan interrupted, trying her best to smile brightly despite her current mood. "We never really had need to learn much working the farmlands, could you please help educate us?"
"No worries, it would be my pleasure." Chrysanthis beaming smile could easily rival Starfire's. "Copper pieces are the basic unit, one hundred copper makes a silver piece, and a hundred silver makes one gold. There are values beyond this but starting adventurer's rarely get a single gold piece within their first year."
"So, we have one silver and twenty copper, what can that afford us?" Rhordan asked inquisitively, excited at learning a new facet of information and keen for the distraction.
"Eight copper gets a decent meal and fifteen for a night at the Blue Cat Inn, as for weapons, the cheapest sword goes for roughly forty copper and armour for double that." Chrysanthis listed off with practice ease, the line was used by all receptionist for starting out adventurer's, it wasn't for promotion rather to help adventurer's start out before they got themselves on their feet. "Though I would recommend the sword or armour, they tend to fall to pieces upon the first or second hit. A decent sword would be five to ten silver while decent armour goes for nearly five times that."
"With a few more quests, we can get a good sword… great… I hope these daggers hold up till then." Gideon groaned, the crude daggers weren't viable as actually weapons despite their current usefulness.
"Don't worry to much, kill quests aren't that abundant in the lower ranks, its usually gathering quests or transport quests." Chrysanthis allayed their fears over their current gear, they would need to acquire a decent amount of silver before they could get any good gear. "The kill quests offer the highest reward out of all bronze ranked quests, they are good for getting a good amount of copper and silver though they are highly sought after by all bronze rank adventurers."
"Can you take multiple quests?" Rhordan enquired, wondering if they could stack up quests and complete them altogether, though she somewhat knew the answer to that question.
"Not really, each quest is an obligation to carry out the task set by client. It would give the guild a bad face if they didn't complete their quests within the shortest amount of time possible, and to the best standards." The practiced ease she spoke with told of how often she had been asked that question, she was an employee of the guild and she had to have their interest in mind. "If adventurers could take multiple quest then there wouldn't be anything left for others, the low ranked quests don't get that many clients other than officials from kingdoms or towns."
"Understood… is there a restriction on how many quests one can complete in a day?" Rhordan continued her investigation, hoping to garner as much information as she can before Chrysanthis had to return to her day job.
"Not really, the most amount of time taken is going from here to the quest location and back. If that wasn't the case then yes, you can take one after another." The subtle note of surprise hidden in her tone spoke of how often she was asked that question, not many adventurer's try to complete more than one quest per day. Though some quests take days, weeks, or even months to complete, therefore their rewards were much higher.
"Thanks, Chrysanthis, if you wouldn't mind pointing us to the Blue Cat Inn then we will see you in the morning." Rhordan reluctantly concluded, she had a litany of questions waiting to be answered but if she overwhelmed the red-haired receptionist in one fell swoop then not only could they lose her friendship, but also run the risk of exposing themselves. Chrysanthis spared her a strange look, puzzled at her words until a light shone in her eyes, tapping herself in the head as a mock expression of forgetting.
"You guys must have had a hard day to forget our teaching lessons, how about you guys get something to eat and I'll meet you at the Blue Cat Inn?" Chrysanthis cheerly smiled at them, somewhat amused as realisation dawned of the both of them, the pair wanted to apologies though were cut short by Chrysanthis ushering them out the front door. "Now now, just go and get yourself sorted and have a nice meal. The Blue Cat Inn is down the same road you took to go to the farm, at the outskirts of Bardia there is a row of buildings just off to the left when leaving Bardia. You are looking for the sign with a blue paw print on it, show them your adventurer's cards."
Before either of them can say a word, Chrysanthis disappeared back within the boundary of the guild building, diligently returning to her work. The pair stood there, befuddled slightly, trying to understand Chrysanthis' personality when she came bursting out of the guild build, a slight redness glowing in her cheeks.
"Sorry! I forgot to pay you for the goblin ears." She handed them a small pouch filled with copper pieces, flashing them both another of her bright smiles, she once again disappeared into the guild building. A small smile sneakily grew on both of the pair's faces, a bubbling feeling of home grew within them as they fondle remembered how Starfire could be so jubilant and so forgetful.
"Come on, let's get ourselves something to eat, I am starving!" Gideon grinned, waiting patiently for Rhordan to secure the copper pieces within in her backpack before they left for the inn. Their sullen moods lifting slightly as they walked, Rhordan more so than Gideon, the thought of learning a new written language buzzing in her mind.
The Blue Cat Inn was exactly as it was described by the prices, the exterior mimicked that of a dilapidated barn that had been constantly repaired rather than rebuilt. Patches of different coloured wood glared out from its once dark brown colour, the front door held on by mere scraps of wood was left open, and from the state of it one could assume that they never had been closed in an exceedingly long time. Within laid haphazardly placed tables and chairs, the floor a mixture of what looked to be hay and gravel, the low ceiling following on from the exterior's mismatched colours.
Many different people sat at the tables, some looked akin to the adventurers they saw in the examination room while others looked to be workers or farmhands enjoying a night out with cheap ale. The noisy room felt much like that of a normal tavern back on their own world, loud people chatting merrily while others sat nursing their drinks and brooding over whatever mattered ailed them.
The pair's arrival didn't attract attention, rather they looked to be a common sight among those that resided within the old building's walls. Walking cautiously to the downtrodden bar at the far end, they surveyed the many individuals drinking and chatting, cautious after the last time within the walls of an inn. Behind the bar grumpily stood a hulking brute of man, his shock white hair slicked back, and his ashen blue eyes pierced the two as they walked towards him. He stood as nearly as tall as the ceiling, his size dwarfing all within the room, as did his shoulders which looked to be nearly as wide as one of the two huge doors to the inn.
The brute had olden features and a weathered look about him, his clothes a mixture of armour and standard commoner attire and resting comfortably on his back was a sword nearly as big and wide as Gideon himself. The overall image of the brute dissuades any who would dare try to rob this place, or cause a commotion, the sword alone silenced those who wanted to act tough before him.
"What can I get ye?" The thunderous voice of the brute rumbled with such a great intensity that it nearly shook the foundations of the building itself, yet the volume of the brute was no more than enough for the two to hear him and those closest to the bar. Startled, the pair gawked at the titanic brute, a slight note of fear etched into the hearts as the hulking behemoth painfully slowly bent over the bar to look at them.
"Umm… could we get a single room for the night and two meals?" Gideon barely managed to quell the trembling within him to answer the brute's question, he fumbled with his backpack to pull out his own adventurer's card.
"Hmph! A bit young for adventurers… brothers?" The brute's words short but accurate, speaking only what was needed to be said and nothing more. Breaking down any form of small talk that would normally happen between client and inn keeper.
"Twins. I'm Amethyst and this is Emerald." Rhordan answered, her voiced trembled somewhat as she fought the fear within her.
"Hmm… That'll be twenty-six copper pieces." The brute glared at them, holding out one of his hulking hands before them, its size rivalled the size of their own heads. An ominous thought crossed through both of them that this brute could crush their skulls with one hand. Rhordan quickly fished out the copper pieces and handed them over to the brute without question, trying her hardest not to gulp in fear. "Hmph! Take a table, food will be out shortly along with a key. I'm am Bob by the way."
Lumbering away from them, the brute quietly disappeared behind the door next to the bar, leaving the pair stunned as they stumbled towards a table by the wall. Sitting opposite from each other, they quietly awaited their food, trying to get over Bob's huge size and threatening demeanour.
"You shouldn't be afraid of dear old bob!" A cheery voice broke their brooding, bringing their attention to the table nearest to them which held three normal looking men with pints of ale in their hands, they grinned as they had watched the ordeal between Bob and the pair, knowing full well that it only ever happens between newcomers and their first time seeing the hulking behemoth. "Bob's a big softie… so long as you don't damage his inn or cause a commotion then your fine, otherwise…"
The man trailed off his words, passing a knowing smile at the pair that spoke volume to the pain suffering the hulking behemoth can visit upon someone that foolishly damaged his inn. The pair breathed a sigh of relief as they heard this, neither realising they had been holding it since they encountered the hulking brute.
"New adventurers', huh?" The man inquisitively asked, taking a sip from his wooden tankard as he awaited an answer.
"Yeah, just started out this morning." Gideon replied, sparking up a friendly conversation with the workers, hoping in part for something to distract him from their day and to garner any form of information they could.
"A bit young aren't ya! No worries, just stick to the gathering quests and you'll do fine!" The man happily offered his advice, not to interested in delving into their reasons for becoming adventurers.
"We're new to this town, wouldn't have any other advice for us?" Gideon pried, turning himself to face the group of men. They each turned to look at one another when one of them spoke, the lead talker returned to his drink as he listened in.
"Nothing much, the decent crafters are in the town centre where the adventurer's guild is, a few do exist around the outskirts, but you go there under your own peril." The man grunted, taking a sip from his tankard before continuing. "Bardia ain't much but she is a decent place. Stay away from the eastern side and you do fine, the nobles don't take to kindly to commoners."
"Good to know." Gideon thanked them as Bob lumbered out of the back room carrying two plates of food, placing them before the pair. The plate had a large chunk of meat and small loaf of bread. Bob disappeared quickly before returning with two tankards of ale, grunting at the pair and dropping a key onto the table as he walked away.
Puzzled at the ale before them, they figured that Bob wouldn't have given it to them if they weren't allowed to drink it. Taking a tentative sip, the bitter strong liquid had a hint of apple and cinnamon, a pleasant taste that eased their troubles after the day they had had. They tucked into their food carefully, reminding themselves to eat slowly and savour the food. Rhordan did occasionally offer a piece to Aurelia, who happily pecked away at few pieces of breadcrumbs and even some of the meat. With no cutlery, they had to use their hands to tuck into the food, tearing off pieces of meat and combining it with the bread before washing it down with the ale. A combination that, although simplistic, tasted absolutely fantastic. Even though Gideon winced each time he swallowed the meat, he couldn't deny the flavourful taste.
Finishing their meal, they sat slowly sipping the remaining ale, waiting for Chrysanthis to join them. They held some small talk with the other patrons, some were residents of the inn and stayed as long as the pair while others came and went quickly. They learned that adventurers don't hold much status in the lower ranks, only at the Onyx rank do they even acknowledge them, and even then, it's just a status somewhat greater than a servant.
Only the ranks above Onyx have any sort of status similar to some lower nobles, though to reach diamond rank requires passing an insanely difficult test. From bronze to gold rank, one needs to pass a certain number of quests or prove their strength in an examination, but diamond and ranks above are different. To reach diamond, a challenge is set that would test everything an adventurer has learned, and to prove that they are capable of taking on even higher difficulty quests. Onyx rank is similar to the method of rising from bronze to gold, with the exception that the vast majority of quests are strictly kill quests, and the higher ranks supposedly have even worse challenges to pass them.
The few adventurers happening upon the Blue Cat Inn were all within the bronze and silver ranks, so most of the information they gathered was strictly hearsay as none of them had ever experienced the challenges further on. Though they were surprised at how the twins were able to reach high bronze rank on their first day, something they mockingly joked about during their merry conversations.
The sun was dipping below the horizon, casting a dull orange hue across the land, when Chrysanthis entered the bar. She merely gave Bob a friendly nod before escorting the pair up to the room that had been specified on the key, an apparent friendship between two existed that drew the curiosity of the pair.
Their room was somewhat similar to that they had met Alex in, it was smaller and had the same mismatched patchwork walls, flooring and ceiling as the rest of the inn. An old cot rested in the corner and a set of draws in line with it, both taking up one side of the room and barely giving enough room for the door to be opened all the way.
Chrysanthis and Rhordan sat themselves on the cot while Gideon rested on the floor, the hard wood somewhat uncomfortable though reassuring as they listened intently to Chrysanthis, finding an undemanding peace of being within a room that they knew was theirs for only the night.
Author's Note: The long upload was a break from writing over Christmas and working up a more detailed notes for the summoner and the enchantress, plus I have other stories to work on.
Anyway, this is a far darker chapter but one that is needed to show the evolution of their characters. I do feel that I thrusted them into the killing a bit too easy, yet I imagine that being with the titans that Robin has made sure to teach them that things can go bad and the only way to survive is to press onwards.
I have finally worked out a magic system that is very complicated but works, though it will be a while before I introduce it yet. It incorporates a few things that will explain how the pair act and work in the next chapters, but I cannot explain it till later.
Comments
Frog31791 – Thank you for the comment. I hope so too, though things take different turns and after this chapter I think they put it on the back burner for now to focus on the present. Even though I want to explore this opening, they have to get themselves sorted first before they could delve into their pasts. For now, I will put it aside and focus on progression until I have them somewhat situated. As for pieces of Garfield's past, I hope the opening of this chapter revealed a few things about his past, a few dark things.
Eris – Thank you for the comment. I always thought that Garfield had the darkest past out of all of them, aside from Cyborg but that was only a single incident while Garfield had multiple over the course of years. I do plan on bringing out more details but not anytime soon as after their first mission, they will need to focus on get stronger and climbing the ranks in order to achieve anything. So for now its on the back burner for a bit, though I hope the opening of the chapter does speak to some elements of Garfield's past.
I do plan on bringing up some of the things that Galtry forced Garfield to do, it is something that can bring out his true personality though I need to be careful that I don't paint him as the kid in all evil gangs crew that is naively in for the ride.
Thank you for reminding me of the tribe that Garfield and his family were friends with, I completely forgot about them, and they would be useful in building up Garfield's backstory. I know that I jumped over Garfield losing his parents to going into Galtry's care, that is only because I want him to hide his time in the jungle as it may play a part in the upcoming story (not saying it will, but I do have some ideas. Especially your idea of hidden secrets in Africa, it is an interesting idea to play around with.)
As for the African magic, I have finally completed work on a somewhat stable magic system that I think will work, unfortunately I didn't add in anything that could relate to that but I do have some ideas about the myth and fables around Africa.