Chapter 2
A Quest Needs Money to Rest
Inside a castle, the five heroes knelt before the king of the land, with an army of knights at his command.
"Brave warriors, raise your faces. We have heard much of your great feats. Our lands would be ruined, if not for your heroism. Valiant Fighter, to have a warrior like you in our halls is a treasure," said the king.
"Sire, you honor me," replied Fighter.
"Blessed are we to have you with us Paladin, verily your feats of strength in battle are matched only by your exquisite beauty," continued the king.
"You humble me with your kind and generous praise, your majesty," replied Paladin.
"For one as young as you to have such mastery over magic, Mage you truly are a prodigy," the king said.
"Thank you, sire, your words are far too kind," smiled Mage.
"And you, Dark Elf, the tales of your intellect and prowess in combat reach far and wide," said the king.
"Even to this decaying ramshackle little town you call home," chuckled Dark Elf.
"You're so rude," hissed Fighter.
"And then, there's you, Reuben McGrath, while you are new to this kingdom, you have become the subject of gossip among the people for disposing of bandits that would dare threaten any town in the realm, even after you became Witcher," finished the king.
"Well, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. But these guys often had a large pile of cash just waiting for me to collect after I got rid of 'em. But, both me and my friends here will do whatever you say, sir," replied Reuben, who slowly stood up.
"Your skill and courage go unrivaled everywhere, if only your aid had arrived sooner, we wouldn't find ourselves plagued by such a tragic situation," said the king.
"My lord?" Fighter asked.
"So, what's the problem?" Reuben asked as well.
Our very existence now verges on the brink of destruction, no hope remains in this kingdom," answered the King.
"Fear not, sire. We're here now!" declared Fighter
"We fight to restore peace throughout the world, no matter what the personal cost may be," agreed Paladin.
"Whatever ails you and your people, we will not rest until we see justice done," added Mage.
"Whatever darkness will be no more, my liege!" stated Dark Elf.
"Yeah, together we'll overcome any obstacle that stands before us!" finished Reuben.
"We were wise to place such faith in you, our fate is in your hands now. Brave ones, defend us!" replied the King.
"RIGHT!" the five warriors said.
"Uh, sire?" Fighter spoke up.
"Yes, what's the problem? We assumed we were done speaking," replied the king.
"Sorry about that, but see the thing is we just can't go out and fight, we need equipment and supplies and stuff like that," said Fighter.
"Uh, Fighter, what are you doing?" muttered Reuben.
"Oh, in that case, our apologies. In that case, take some gold to aid you in your quest," replied the king.
Soon one of the knights showed them a stack of coins, instead of multiple stacks. The girls were confused, but Reuben slowly stepped forward.
"Pardon the interruption, sir, but I've been taking out bandits with these girls and collecting a lot of gold from the people they had ravaged and left for dead, as well as sold a lot of the gear they had, to accumulate a lot of cash," he said.
"Ah, of course. I see you've been doing a good job, young man. And what of your friends?" asked the king.
"Well, the thing is, we kind of been training him to be good with a sword, and even Dark Elf was teaching him to be pretty adept at using magic," replied Fighter.
"So you see, without me, they'd pretty much be goners in an instant," said Reuben, making the four of them, stand beside him
"I agree with Reuben, he may be human, but his kindness actually fills our hearts with happiness. After all, he's been taking care of bandits, and collecting their ill-gotten gains from them after he's disposed of them. But most important of all, he is quite handsome," smiled Dark Elf, wrapping her arms around him.
"Yeah, he sure is," giggled Paladin.
"But, we're more than happy to take a little extra," said Reuben.
"Very well then, now march forth brave heroes!" replied the king.
Once they left the castle, Mage slowly stepped forwards, her silver eyes meeting Reuben's.
"Hey, Reuben, thanks for dealing with those bandits for us," she said.
"No problem, Mage. If we succeed in taking on any challenges, then we can become stronger together. Because, you're not just beautiful, you mean a lot to me, and you give me a special kind of strength when we put our heads together. So, in a way, you're my greatest strength," replied Reuben.
"To be honest, you sounded very much like a diplomat, even though your speech patterns are very different from our own," admitted Dark Elf.
"Yeah, but at the same time, I wouldn't want to end up in the same cell with you if we pressured the king too much. Besides, it'd be really messed up if I was in the same cell with all of you," said Reuben.
"Fair point, Reuben. But still, without you we'd be kind of out of our league in dealing with some serious threats," replied Fighter.
"Yeah, you're not just smart, you're also very kind and considerate about what we want most of all. So, what we're trying to say is, thank you, for becoming part of our party," agreed Paladin.
"No problem, girls. Now, let's go hit an inn, get a bit of rest, and be ready for a big day tomorrow," said Reuben.
The four Bikini Warriors nodded in agreement, and together they spent the night in the same room with each other in separate beds, while Mage slept with Reuben in the same bed with him, feeling safe and protected in his arms, after she covered them up with the blanket. At the same time, Fighter, Paladin, and Dark Elf smiled at them, as they saw Mage's face right near Reuben's and gently kissed his cheek.
"Good night, Reuben," she whispered.
"Good night, Mage. Good night, everyone," said Reuben.
"Good night," replied the other Bikini Warriors, and they all fell asleep, knowing that a new adventure would come.
But, knowing Paladin, she'd look upon Reuben with Mage, and think that they were like siblings, looking out for each other, and making sure that they were truly happy to have each other, then she'd slowly lie her head back down, and fall asleep feeling content.