Fero had passed by a group of beautiful swordswomen on the way back to his tent. They were clearly impressed with his nearly nude physique. After he got back to his tent, he wiped himself down with a towel and put clothes on, he then walked over to the blacksmith.
"Do you think you could make me another sword like this? I want to try using two." Fero asked the smith while pointing at the sword on his back.
"You want THAT?! That thing would take up half of my inventory! I didn't pack enough to make something like that. Especially in only a few days' time." He complained while he scratched his head in thought. "Do you really want something that heavy? And do you have the coin for something like that?"
"Oh, I have the coin," Ferro responded.
He unsheathed the massive chunk of iron off of his back. Fero held it straight out with his right hand. He brought it all the way up and swung down. He stopped just before he hit the ground. He made the exact same movements with his left hand.
"Impressive. Uhhhhg. Fine, If you have the coin I'll see what I can do. Don't expect anything sharp." The blacksmith reluctantly agreed.
"I don't need sharp. The weight does most of the work. How does fifteen-hundred coin sound?" The blacksmith perked right out of his funk as Fero handed over a large sack full of coins.
"Holy lord. With this much coin, I could put gold trim on it!" The blacksmith replied with sparkles in his eyes.
"I don't need fancy. Make something that doesn't break." Fero requested. The blacksmith nodded his head as he counted the money.
"Hey, Fero!" A young knight called out from a distance. He ran closer and let Fero in on a current event. "There is a situation over by the hot springs. You are probably the best suited to get it sorted out. As far as we know, no one is in danger."
"Okay. I'll get right on it. Thanks for the heads up." Fero responded.
Fero's thoughts: 'What could have happened over there. Why am I the one to go? I wanted to do more training.'
Fero began his trek back to the hot springs.
As Fero drew closer to the hot springs, he began to see the steam. He heard voices in the distance. He continued walking.
"Is someone there?!" Stepha called out. "I think I hear footsteps. It's been a while since that guard left to find help."
"Yeah, I'm on my way. I can hear you but, I can't see you. Where ar... WHAOOO!"
Fero thought he took a misstep. He began to fall forward.
"WATCH O..." Kalisa started. Fero landed in the cavern with the girls. "Out... Uhg." Kalisa started rubbing her head in annoyance.
"Oh? Who is this?" Stepha asked.
Fero managed to land without injury. His sword made a loud clang when the tip hit the ground next to him.
"Holy shit! Why are you walking around with that?" Jenny asked.
Fero shook his head and stood up. He became rigid with eyes locked wide open.
"What are you looking at? Pervert." Rhia and Rhona both said together.
Fero turned around to avert his gaze from the twins sharing a single towel. This was a useless gesture as more women were behind him at the time and two of them had no towel.
"Ahh... I seem to be caught in..." Fero was struggling with his words.
"Just close your eyes for a minute," Viktoria demanded and rolled her eyes. Fero did as he was told. The girls moved to one side of the cave. Fero could hear whispering but couldn't understand what was being said. One of the girls put her hands on both of his shoulders from behind. He was directed to his right side.
"You can open your eyes but only look forward from there," Kasila informed him.
"If you look back this way, I'll shank you." Jenny lightly threatened.
Fero opened his eyes and found a woman trapped under some rubble and a large boulder.
"They can't move it. I'm stuck. My leg is caught and I can't get the leverage to move it myself."
"That's probably why I was the one sent for this job. What's your name? I'm Fero."
"I'm Litina. I've heard of you. You are supposed to be strong, right?" Fero could hear a bit of concern in the young woman's voice.
"Indeed I am. I'll have you out in a short while." He assured her. Fero showed his best confidant smile. He moved some smaller rocks but the main problem was the large boulder. He could probably move it with his bare hands but It would take all of his strength and it might not be the safest method.
"I'm gonna try to use my sword for leverage. If you feel your leg free, pull it out as fast as you can. Okay?"
"Okay." Litina confirmed.
"This will be fun to watch him struggle." Jenny snickered.
"Can he really lift that absurd metal thing on his back?" Stepha asked. Just as she did, Fero easily lifted his sword off of his back with one hand and placed it carefully in a good leverage position. Fero noted that the girls behind him had nothing else to say. Litina had a look of awe on her face. He began to push down on the hilt of the sword while the tip pushed up on the boulder. He had to put more effort into it than he thought.
"Almost..." Fero grunted. "Get ready..."
Litina felt her leg freed. She backed away quickly.
*SNAP!*
Everyone in the cavern covered their ears too late.
"AWWWW FUCK! Goddamit. I can't believe..." Fero cursed out loud over the loss of what could arguably be considered his best friend. Fero fell to his knees while holding the hilt and only 3 feet of his normally 6-foot-long sword.
"I guess that means we are out two people for the battle," Litina mumbled.
"Two?" Viktoria asked as she tilted her head.
"Well, his sword is broken and I think my leg is broken. I can't walk, let alone run. How am I expected to fight like this?" Litina pointed out.
"And we are still..." Rhia started.
"Stuck in this cave..." Rhona finished.
Trying to look at the bright side, Fero began thinking of ways to help. even without his sword. "I can get you out easy. I just need to..." Fero began to turn his head around forgetting about the situation of the women behind him.
"I told you not to look!" Jenny yelled as she punched him in the kidney. He held onto his side.
"Uhg.. Little girl has some fight. I was gonna say. I can throw you girls out. Maybe Litina last, so that someone is up there to catch her." Fero spoke through the pain.
"Yeah right, you just want an opportunity to peep at us." Jenny insisted.
Kasila walked up next to Fero.
"You can throw me first. I trust you." Kasila confided in Fero.