Ch.2 Rookie Savers
The night went by quickly with Priestess staying inside Hunter's room, but the tension never left her heart with that confrontation yesterday. She can only imagine Goblin Slayer's reaction, if any. But she thinks that he has felt something, confusion at the very least. She finds herself going to the guild's main area, where Guild Girl is talking to a client, who is filing for a quest. She overhears them for a moment, but it has nothing to do with goblins, so Goblin wouldn't be interested. The man himself is nowhere to be seen for now, so she simply makes her way to an empty seat, waiting for a quest to come along.
A little time passes, and so she takes the time to look at her current wallet, which does have a few coins, from previous rewards, on her person.
"Oh, looking over your costs?"
A kindly feminine voice appears from nowhere. Priestess looks up and sees a young woman wearing a sleeveless navy shirt, baggy black pants with a red sash and what appears to be bruises on her forearms which she only wears fingerless dark gloves. She has short light-brown hair with red eyes, and her expression is kind.
Priestess just calmly smiles at her and shakes her head.
"No, just checking how much I have."
The young woman sits down and appears she wants to say something.
"You're a priestess, yeah?"
"That's correct."
"Good, I actually wanted to ask you if you'd come along with me and my brother on a quest."
The randomness of this is a little strange to Priestess, she looks around notices that there are other people right now looking like they're wearing holy vestments, much more experienced healers that look like they're ready to go on a quest a bit more prepared, so why her?
"I'm sorry, but why ask me of all people here.?"
The young woman points at Priestess' adventurer tag.
"Because these people are highly ranked for what we're asking for. We're going on a goblin quest."
At this moment, Priestess recalls her first quest, and the hubris of the young swordsman who invited her. She's tempted to accept, but is also a bit scared, wanting to discourage them, but before Priestess can say anything.
"Hear me out. Me and my brother want to help these two new people on their first goblin quest. We're trying to make sure they come home alive. Most rookies make big mistakes, and we're trying to help them."
These words strike at Priestess. If her party knew what she does now, they'd probably still be alive, besides Fighter, whom she still lacks courage to speak to. She looks and sees the color of her tag, emerald. It was strange for a higher ranked adventurer to be so willing to take a goblin slaying quest, but this piques Priestess' interest, but Hunter is still out cold, and she still wishes to talk with her. Conflicted Priestess can't answer. The woman stands up, pats her on the shoulder, and is absolutely polite to her.
"Look, don't feel obligated, if you don't want to, we'll make do."
She walks over to a couple of young adventurers, one with daggers and another with a book, both with porcelain tags, but another person who looks identical to her shows up and he wears a black shirt and green pants with thin armor on his arms and legs with multiple swords at his sides that appear to be different lengths and he has a backpack on that looks pretty full of items, and his tag is sapphire. It is obvious that they want to be prepared for anything. Priestess can't help but watch as the four sit at their own table. The backpack is unloaded, and it seems like the two higher ranked adventurers are teaching them about items. The sapphire adventurer explains items to them, but also teaches him about goblins.
Priestess remembers it all too well. They teach them about weapon length in a cave, recalling Warrior's sword banging the ceiling of the cave as his final act, about how goblins use poison and to carry antidotes, which could have saved Wizard, and they don't sugar coat even what Goblin's do to people, recalling Fighter's horrible experience.
These two higher adventurers are educating these rookies extensively, even one asking.
"Wow, just all this for goblins?"
The sapphire adventurer lectures them further.
"Listen, you two are promising because you're willing to listen to us, but some don't. Goblins are awful creatures that will do unspeakable things to anyone foolish enough to approach them, so we have to make sure that everyone here knows about it."
Not being able to contain her own feelings, Priestess stands up and approaches the table, and sternly tells the two rookies.
"That's right. Goblins are nastier than anybody realizes, except to those who experience it, and are lucky enough to come home from it."
Her body shivers recalling that awful adventure when she met Goblin Slayer, so she looks to the small group and, possibly in a moment of impulse, agrees to accompany them, making them happy. They then exchange their classes. The sapphire ranked one is a Monk, and her brother is a Swashbuckler. The two rookies are a female mage and a male thief.
The five of them go to the desk once quests open up again, and when they do, Guild Girl sees Priestess with them.
"Ah, going without him on this one, huh?"
Priestess nods.
"Yes, I think it's I did my part to help others too."
Guild Girl nods but then notices that Monk and Swashbuckler are staring at her.
"Oh, do you both need to say something to me?"
They look at each other for a moment, then, spontaneously, they both begin laughing, confusing both Priestess and Guild Girl. Monk stops laughing first to explain.
"Oh, sorry, but I think me, and my brother notice that kind of look like our mom."
"Do I?"
"Yes, but our mom is definitely older than you. You'd be more like, our little sister if we were related."
Guild Girl then reaches for something and being a saleswoman, holds up a potion.
"Then would you help your sister by buying one of our stamina potions?"
Swashbuckler pulls out a few of those from his backpack, showing that they've already got it covered. Before they leave, Priestess asks Guild Girl to tell Hunter that she'll be back before long, something tells her that she'll want to talk as well. But as they leave, Guild Girl's face looks a bit confused, possibly from their earlier comment, maybe she felt something about them as well.
The group catches a wagon to take them to the village where the quest is supposed to start. They have a pretty decent conversation about maintaining a budget as well gear to keep in mind for other hunts. But for Priestess, it all roundabouts to that first adventure, the one that changed her life. She tries to engage in conversation with her peers for this quest, but when she looks at the group of four, she only sees her comrades in them and their fates.
Monk takes a seat next to Priestess and nudges her shoulder.
"Hey, what's with the gloom? Worried about the goblins?"
Priestess fails to respond, so Monk tries to act assuring to her.
"Come on, if anything goes wrong, I can take them out with my bare hands."
Hearing that statement, Priestess thinks of Fighter, who said the same thing and she shudders further, remembering her bold claims, only to have been subjected to unspeakable treatment. She, and the others were promising, they had great ambition, great potential, and they seemed like good people, only to have been broken by one ill-fated quest. She's been with Goblin Slayer as his ally for a while, but the horror of that day still haunts her.
Sensing her peers fear, Monk keeps her calm and caringly gets closer.
"Hey, if you're worried about the goblins, don't be. We don't make the mistakes rookies do, and we'll teach you everything you need to know."
While traveling, the twin adventurers convey to Priestess facts she already knows, but the way they describe is basically the same things that Goblin Slayer taught her, like what times of day the goblins are out. About misconceptions about them like underestimating their learning, and about their weapons. It seems like hours pass by as minutes with these little facts that even the Mage and Thief seem to take to heart, but this should be a given, thieves and mages need information for their class to be effective, but others probably wouldn't soak up like them. Priestess, however, doesn't have the heart to tell the two enthusiastic adventurers about her current knowledge of goblins.
They arrive at the destination, and as they exit the wagon, Monk and Swashbuckler discuss the layout of the village, and the latter looks at Priestess, his eyes serious, and his tone even a little cold.
"We'll protect you, but be aware, we won't leave until all the goblins are dead."
Priestess nods as she exits with her peers, but the mage and thief seem a bit cocky as they seem to just think everything will be beyond easy with the knowledge they've got, along with two higher ranked adventurers alongside them. But as any adventurer could tell them, teamwork is crucial, meaning everyone.
The village is a humble place of vegetable farmers, easy-going citizens that sell vegetables to the cities for profit, and some livestock of a more modest nature with some cows and chickens.
Going to work, Monk talks to the townspeople about the goblins and what's been going missing with Priestess accompanying her. Before they even talk about it, Priestess thinks "Livestock, crops, and women…" recalling Goblin Slayer's words further. Swashbuckler begins looking for tracks and signs of goblin activity, spotting damages in fences and some footprints outside the village, the work of scouts and not wanderers since the prints are in mass, and the number of crops missing signify more than belly to fill. Mage and Thief seem to relax, not even bothering with the information gathering and are just lazing about, their confidence boasting into egotism.
After getting back together, Monk and Swashbuckler give their information. Priestess contributes after finding some stuff of her own like hearing about rattling outside the doors of the houses with women in them, but none have gone missing, fortunately. But it becomes clear that mage and thief aren't applying their lessons.
"We got enough info. We don't need the ins and outs of this place." Thief states in a nonchalant voice.
Swashbuckler approaches him, irritation radiates his eyes like his intelligence is being mocked by this rookie's hubris, a sentiment Monk shares with an equal glare.
"Did I tell you to not underestimate the goblins?" The kinds of horrid things they do to people?"
"Hey, come on, the tips we're great for hunting and all, but they can't be that bad, can they?"
Monk places her hand on her brother's shoulder, and disapprovingly shakes her head.
"No, brother. They couldn't know like us."
He takes a breath and calms down a bit. But there is a bit of tension in the air. But the way to the goblins is filled with a little more displeasure, as Mage and Thief complain a bit about the reward being puny for the job. Who could truly blame them, goblin quests are for rookies, the pay is small, and work foul. However, anyone who truly knows about goblins, rookies, veterans, or otherwise, know that they are indeed terrifying, something that Priestess knows very well, despite her fortunes in dealing with them.
Daybreak begins to make itself known as the adventurers make their way to what appears to be an abandoned mineshaft. They can tell because the entrance has a wooden frame for structure and a few tacks for minecarts. From what they've heard, the mines were once full of minerals, but were abandoned when it was deemed non-profitable after a time.
Swashbuckler and Monk pull out a pair of bows with a few arrows as they make out a few shadows in the entrance. They hide among bushes and trees to not alert any guards. Surely enough, a couple of goblins emerge from the entrance, but they pull out a minecart and hop inside it while poking their heads out.
"Clever little bastards."
Monk expresses a bit of annoyances at the limited use of their bows without a precise shot. Priestess thinks about High Elf Archer, as she could easily hit the goblins with her amazing skills. However, Swashbuckler has an idea, looking to Thief and tells him a plan.
"Get up on the top of the door and wait for a sound." He looks around and sees a bird perched on a branch, apparently resting. "Wait for the bird's loud chirping and throw a rock to the side."
Despite being a rookie, Thief moves about with good precision, avoiding being spotted as he ducks low, avoids branches, and makes very little noise. Fortunately, the goblins can't detect him through his scent as it cautioned to not bath and to not eat odorous foods. Within moments, he makes it to the top of the entrance, but hides himself to avoid detection at such close ranger, but he is seen by his allies. Nodding, Swashbuckler readies his bow by pulling it back with one arm, grabs a nearby rock, and waits for his sister to ready her bow. He then throws the rock near the tree, avoiding hitting the canary, making it wake up, and begin chirping scared, and making the goblins startled. Thief hops into the minecart and pulls out a dagger at his side. With swift move, he cuts one of the goblins at the side, making blood gush from his side. However, he fails to deliver a mortal wound as the goblin angrily takes its own weapon, a small sword, and stabs it in his leg, making him yell out in pain. The second goblin tries to leave the cart, but as soon as he hops out, Monk fires an arrow towards him, but only manages to pierce his nose which embeds itself in the wooden frame, making blood gush from its bloodied nub of a nose making it cry in pain as it writhes on the side of the cart. Swashbuckler takes his shot, and hits the goblin in the left temple, piercing his skull and killing him instantly as his small corpse falls out of the cart.
Inside the cart, Thief stabs his foe in the chest, cutting him open, and his entrails spill as his struggles prove futile as he fails to move any more. After the small struggle has concluded, the party makes their way to the cart and looks at Thief, who is clearly suffering from his wound. He yells out a bit while Monk hops into the cart and checks the weapon used to attack him, surely enough, it is coated in poison and his wound deep enough that Monk can see his muscles and meat.
"Brother, antidote. Priestess, healing spell."
Without any words needed, Swashbuckler reaches into a pouch on his hip and tosses a vial with an antidote to Monk and Priestess gets into the cart and chants for her healing spell. She gently pours the liquid down his throat, thus curing his poison.
"You're going to be okay."
Monk is very caring in treating her ally's wounds like a pro, with a special thanks to Priestess for her miracles. The thief takes a few breaths and takes a moment to check his wound.
"Wow, that really hurt."
His shock at how such a small creature with one small crude weapon and the pain from the poison was already intense, like being burned with an iron. Checking their items, Swashbuckler produces torches and lights one while leaving some for his allies, and his gear appears to be bloody, despite not even sustaining a single wound.
"I'll go scout ahead. Make sure to cover your scents before coming in."
A small grimace forms on Priestess' face.
"So, they do it too, oh boy."
Confused, Thief and Mage watch as Monk grabs a goblin's corpse, drags closer and pulls out a knife as she plunges it into its dead carcass, soaks up some blood with a rag and says what Priestess is expecting.
"Okay, let's cover our scents."
Making Mage and Thief confused as Priestess can only comment.
"It's not that bad…. once you get used to it…."
A minute later, Thief and Mage groan, mostly Mage as she complains the loudest.
"Come on, these clothes were a graduation gift."
Her nice clothes stained in blood to hide her scent. Monk stops them in their tracks and back up a bit, she is now equipped with a pair of metal gloves with claws on the fingers, like that of a beast, and greaves that serrated edges, like a saw. Thief holds their torch as he stays at Monk's side, following her lead. Monk looks up and sees something embedded in the wall, a dagger, but it looks unique because it seems to be marked with three blue stripes. Monk inspects it.
"So, three hobs, no shamans, probably a brutish bunch."
She looks forward, expecting her brother a bit further down. The come to a crossroad with a couple of different shaft tunnels. Once more, Monk looks to the ceiling and spots another dagger embedded in it, but this one has a single yellow stripe.
"One unknown monster…. not good."
She looks a bit uneasy and mentions.
"We should avoid this tunnel for now."
She then pulls out a small bag and uses her gauntlets to dig into the ground lightly and buries the bag in the ground lightly, but just to the point that it looks like a small bump. She does these two more times with two more bags.
They then leave to the other shaft, following Monk's lead. The four adventurers make sure to keep in mind that they're in an enclosed area. Now, they begin to encounter signs of a battle as they find Goblin corpses on the ground with single slashes to their throats, but it appears they were caught off guard, sleeping probably. They look and see a Hob Goblin looking menacingly at them, like he's ready to charge, but he is only making slight breath noises, like he wants to scream but can't. Then then see something on his neck, a metallic rope tightening around his neck, and they hear a loud "SNAP!" as his head seemingly bends forward and his body drops to the ground, unresponsive. They see Swashbuckler standing, holding the metallic rope, and putting it back into his bag.
"Sorry, make the two hobs."
They see his torch on the ground, still lit, barely, and he picks it up.
"I only caught a glimpse, but I think I saw a lizard with them."
Priestess thinks for a moment, but because of her adventures with Goblin Slayer, she has very little knowledge of monsters outside the goblin species. But Monk quickly guesses.
"Probably a salamander."
A fire breathing lizard creature, salamanders being tamed by goblins would be unusual, but by the looks of Swashbuckler and Monk, they seem to know about it. Priestess can't imagine one, but she's heard some things about them, some people did come to the temple with burn wounds that she helped with treatment for.
Mage stands back a bit, her face showing fear.
"Whoa, a salamander!? I can't deal with one of those. They're more experienced level stuff."
It looks like she's ready to flee, but Monk puts her hands on her shoulders.
"Listen, don't sell yourself short. Salamanders are just monsters, they're not smart, and they can be tricked, just follow us, and you'll be fine."
Mage calms down a bit, but Thief seems unconvinced.
"Look, we should just end it here and tell the guild about this. I'm not risking my life for chump change."
He turns around and leaves, holding the torch with Swashbuckler yelling.
"Hey, don't you dare leave without us!"
But Thief refuses to listen and runs out of the shaft, his torch illuminating his figure which eventually disappears. Mage doesn't even try to stop him, showing the rest the little the relationship they have really is.
"I only met him a few days ago, but I'm not leaving here alone."
Priestess doesn't like letting him leave alone, but Monk assures her.
"He'll be fine, I don't think the goblins will get to him before he gets out."
Mage looks back to the shaft but continues with her group. Swashbuckler lights another torch and carries it himself as the navigates a bit more, trying to find a vantage point. They find the end of the tunnel and are now on a cliff within the mines, probably used for transporting minerals via rope and bucket. Monk and Swashbuckler look towards the bottom and sees a group of goblins talking with two big ones arguing. Between them is a large red lizard creature. That has steam coming from its mouth.
There is a fire below with some roasting meat, so it's easier to see their group, but it looks small about ten or fifteen goblins, probably because they haven't taken any women yet. But it means that this is the perfect time, something Priestess believes at least. Monk looks at Mage and asks her.
"Spells, how many, and which ones?"
Mage nods and nervously answers.
"I can use lightning arrow and icicle if there's moisture in the air, and only twice a day."
Before they can act, however, they hear a loud explosion which causes the mines to shake a bit.
"Oh, boy, I didn't expect that so soon."
Monk comments as the goblins below are immediately alerted with them charging for a shaft entrance, but the two hobs hop onto the salamander, with one being shaken off because of the weight as it yells at the lizard, but it begins climbing the wall, and up towards the party's location. This makes them run backwards towards the entrance.
Swashbuckler tells them about what he saw.
"When I checked the other path, there were a few goblins, but it led down there really quickly, it'll only be a couple of minutes before they catch us there."
After a short time, the party of four are back at the fork, only the opposite side is caved in with bits of goblin bits surrounding it, and the smell of gunpowder in the air. Monk's apparent trap worked, making it harder for the goblins to get them.
They turn around and see a flickering flame following where' they came from. Monk devises a plan quickly as she tells Mage.
"Make an icicle and aim it towards the top of the wall."
Confused, but not questioning, Mage chants her spell, and right before the salamander exits with it's rider, the icicle shoots out, but at the exact moment, the salamander exits, and is it does so, the hob goblin, who was ducking his head to fit inside the shaft, raises his head, and the icicle immediately launches itself towards his head and impales right next to his left part of his head, and takes out his eye as he quickly falls to the ground, dead, as blood pools around him.
"I…. killed him…."
Mage is speechless at her kill, a hob goblin with one spell and one shot. But she's caught up in the moment that she fails to notice the salamander, still very much alive, as it breathes fire towards her, but Monk quickly ducks, and pulls down Mage by her clothes, barely avoiding the flame. Priestess gets near them, knowing the salamander has more breath as it leans back to breathe again, but Priestess helps out, chanting a spell.
"Protection!"
She announces the spell as a protective wall form around them, shielding them from the furious flame, and to Priestess, this simple creature's flame is like a flicker compared to the ogre's fire spell from a previous fight.
The salamander lets up and Swashbuckler makes his move as it needs to catch it's breath before attacking again, he rushes to it, hops on it's back like the hob goblin did, and it fights him, even slamming him against the ceiling, but it barely stops him as he pulls out a short sword, and stabs it into the lizard's skull and twists it, making it yell in pain as he twists the blade deeper, striking it's brain and making it's eyes roll back as it's death is apparent, finishing it's struggle.
After defeating it, they hear rocks falling and turn back to see goblins now spilling out of the caved-in entrance, flocking out. Monk stands straight up and takes a stance as the goblins seem to flock to her a bit, since she stands out the most. They charge with daggers and axes, but she easily deflects them, punching at them without cutting her hands with her claws. She even strikes them to the ground, and stomps on their heads, crushing them like grapes, making their deaths swift. She kills six goblins swiftly with this motion, but as soon she gets a rhythm, she attempts a kick, but as soon as she does, her leg gets grabbed.
Priestess sees this, and another flashback occurs, of when Fighter's leg got grabbed by a hob goblin, making her vulnerable.
"Watch out!"
Priestess shouts out of impulse, but Monk doesn't seem worried.
"Won't fall for this old trick."
She then reaches at her pants and pulls a string and then four blades stand up at the legs of her pants, shredding through the hob's hand, cutting it up as it loses its group, blood gushing from the nasty wounds inflicted on it by the blades. Monk slides the string, and the blades retract.
"Like you're the first hob I've dealt with."
She mockingly states as she punches towards the hob's chest as a faint blue glow comes from her hand as it contacts with the hob's chest and then it pauses for a moment, and then suddenly, blood gushes from its mouth, its life gone already after one punch, and it falls to never move again.
Swashbuckler pulls out a pair of short swords, perfect for a cave of mine shaft, and engages the remaining goblins, parrying their crude tactics and every time the try to attack, he deals another one in an instant, slicing them deep enough for fatal ones, killing the remaining ones.
However, Mage turns and sees a goblin running from the entrance and she casts another spell.
"Lightning Arrow!"
As a small shot of electricity shoots at the goblin, electrocuting it making its normally green skin a brown color as it writhes from the jolt until it ceases its moves permanently. It takes a moment, but the adrenaline wears off as everyone takes a breath. Swashbuckler moves around the mines to check for surviving goblins while the rest check for wounds. There are some scorch marks on their clothing, but injuries are minimal. But something occurs to Priestess when she looks at the former debris-ridden shaft.
"Hey, why did set a trap there?"
Monk stretches her arms a bit and limbers herself a bit.
"I thought they might ambush us from that direction, so I took a chance. Plus, never know when a rookie loses it."
Laying a trap on two hypotheticals may seem cautious, but most adventurers should understand that taking caution is never simple paranoia when it comes to survival, as when Priestess thinks about it, Thief could have been ambushed if not for Monk's little trap. After Swashbuckler returns from his scouting, the group has no further recourse but to return back to the guild and report the quest.
Most adventurers would face issues with goblins, and most newcomers aren't fortunate Tragedies do occur, Priestess was filled so much regret for her peers. What were their final thoughts, and what did they work so hard for? But as she looks into the eyes of the higher ranked adventurers, she sees nothing but sincerity, like they truly care for their allies, even the Thief that abandoned them. After all, any person who would betray their peers are not worthy of being adventurers, speaking of which….
"What!? You're banning me from adventuring!?"
Thief stands before Guild Girl, who has a stern expression on her face.
"Your teammates filed a complaint against you, and all corroborate the story. You abandon them in the middle of quest for selfish reasons."
Guild Girl is filing paperwork to assure Thief's banning from the guild after Monk filed a complaint against him with everyone, even Priestess verifying their story. He argues with Guild Girl, but she won't adhere to it, rightfully explaining that his actions make him untrustworthy of his title and that he could endanger potential clients and fellow adventurers. Monk and Swashbuckler watch and nod as Thief storms out of the building, clearly unhappy with this outcome.
After this scene, Monk claims the reward from the desk and equally divides it among the four of them. The village even threw in a bonus for the salamander. It isn't much, but will provide some supplies, a meal, and a night in the inn.
Speaking of the inn, Priestess goes back to the desk and asks about Hunter.
"Oh, I haven't seen her come down yet, but you're free to check."
Going back to the upstairs rooms, Priestess knocks on the door where Hunter is staying. When she doesn't hear anything, she opens the door, but to her relief, Hunter is still in the room, but she seems to be staring at something. She puts it down and doesn't face Priestess.
"Sorry about yesterday."
Priestess sits next to her, and her questions only come out as one.
"Is Goblin Slayer related to you?"
She nods and looks up to the ceiling.
"My father was called that. I freaked out when I saw that face."
She shivers a bit just remembering seeing Goblin Slayer's face yesterday, but it seems like she wants to talk to him, but Priestess has to know.
"Hey, um, do you think you're from a time far off?"
But Hunter seems bewildered by the idea.
"No, as far as I've researched, time magic doesn't exist on that level. Otherwise I would have found a way to do so to fix some things."
She stands up, walks to the windowsill grips it tightly, and explains herself a bit.
"I'm the middle child of five sisters. My grandpa always disliked my father, and said he lost his mind. He's actually my mother's uncle, but he raised us like his grandchildren. I even heard he got upset with her and my dad when they started having us. But everything changed one adventure; he never came home, and I took his name…."
But before she can finish her story, she shivers more and sits back down, not looking like she wants to finish at all. But, Priestess hears a different noise, the sound of their stomachs.
"How about we get something to eat?"
Not objecting, Hunter gets her clothes on and follows Priestess to the tavern, and fortunately Monk and Swashbuckler are still around as they wave to Priestess and invites the two them to eat dinner together. It seems like Hunter enjoys the company, and Priestess smiles at the company of new companions and a successful adventure. She looks to the side and sees Mage, who is now talking with a small group of rookies like herself. Mage looks at her teammates from her first venture, smiles, and looks to joining new friends, and Priestess feels relief for her, but an image of Wizard appears for a moment, giving a scowl. But Priestess doesn't react negatively to it.
"Never again."
She says to herself and looks at the two adventurers who never lost confidence and helped that Mage survive, and feels proud of her work and her devotion to the Earth Mother.