Julius knocked on the harsh, metal door several times. The mercanries had arrived at the mages keep, the following morning. It was a strong, fortified area with a high stone fence located on the top of a hill, overlooking the village. The gates on the walls were open. Within the walls was only a small, metallic hut that still must have cost the mage a small fortune as it was entirely built out of a strong metal. The mercenaries had tried making conversation with the villagers but they simply ignored the travelling band and if the mage was mentioned they would quickly disappear into a nearby building.
"No wonder no one likes this filthy mage! I've been knocking on this door for 10 minutes and he hasn't answered!" said Julius angrily as he looked at the strong metal portal.
"Julius, has it ever occurred to you that maybe he isn't home?" smirked Arturo. Thor and Val burst out laughing.
"Silence human! I shall vanquish you!"
"Vanquish… big word, Julius," muttered Arturo. A fight between the two was brewing. Julius' sheer stupidity and Arturo's sharp tongue. All of a sudden the door creaked open revealing the mage. He was a human and by the looks of it, very old. He wore a blue robe, well kept yet still a faded because of age. A little white hair protruded from what was otherwise a bald head and his face was a mass of wrinkles except for two large emerald green eyes.
"Greetings brave warriors! Are you here for the advertisement I placed in the inn?" he croaked.
"Er yeh… that's us… are you sure that the payment is one-one-thousand gold pieces?" stuttered Val, unbelievably excited.
"Yes that's correct. Please come inside my abode! By the way I am Myojin." laughed the mage. The party entered the hut; it was a featureless room with a single spiralling staircase leading downwards, underground. They began to walk down the steps, the warriors eyeing their surroundings with great interest.
"So, tell us the details," grunted Val.
"Patience! When we reach the bottom," replied Myojin. A moment later they had arrived into a large, misty, underground room. The room was designed like a mine shaft with wooden beams holding up what was simply a dug out room. Oil lamps were strung along the walls at intervals. They cast a shadowy orange tinge over the room. Wooden tables, piled with glasses and bottles with pipes protruding from them were cluttered all across the room with lots of different sheets of paper. Strange concoctions of amazing colours were being brewed in these containers.
"Alchemists lair… "muttered Thor.
"Welcome! Now let's get straight to business, shall we. There's a strange plant found in the depths of the swamps of Cosmot that I need for research. However, it does not grow in the open. It is located in a secret temple amongst the swamps. What I want you to do is go and retrieve me some of this plant."
"And we'll receive one-thousand gold?" echoed Thor.
"That's correct. You will receive a down payment of three hundred gold and when you return, one-thousand! However, I recently discovered a week ago that I am allergic to the mud in the Cosmot swamps so I shan't be going with you."
"More like he's allergic to the beasts in that swamp if you know what I mean," whispered Julius. Arturo snickered.
"Won't there be… evil in that swamp?" spoke Zanatos for the first time.
"Yes… these are grim times my friends, that's why the payment is so good." said the Myojin and sinister smile crawling over his lips as he eyed Zanatos.
"Alright, sounds fair we can go straight away," chimed Val.
"That would be impossible me friend. You see, the plant feeds at night so it can only remain fresh at night. If it were to be picked at daylight the plant would rot within seconds."
"Er so?" asked Arturo.