"Come on people time to go" Amedia called out and walked out the tent.
Howlett looked up from his book.
"Call Fia would you" she asked as she walked out their tent.
"Yes boss" Howlett responded.
He set his book down, hopping to his feet. He grabbed his pack and weapons. He checked the hand-mirror on his desk to make sure his hair looked good. He ruffled it to give it more of a wild look.
"Fia!" he shouted.
Fia walked into their common area from her personal quarters. She looked tired, her clothes were ruffled, probably just woke up from a nap.
"Hurry up Fia! Let's not make Amedia mad" Howlett said.
"M'kay" Fia yawned "I'll just grab my spellbook".
"And your lantern!"
They gathered their things and left their tent, joining Amedia. They made their way towards their meeting place.
The village they were staying in was beautiful in the evening. Sloped tiled roofs lined the road the walked.
They promised him he could see fireflies sometimes. He hoped he could see some before they left.
Some children watched them as they made their way through the main road of the town. They were covered in mud from playing. Ahh, he missed those days.
Fia scrunched her nose. "I never got the appeal of playing in mud"
"It's fuuun. You're don't get hurt as much" Howlett said. "Plus it annoyed my mom"
This was his kinda place. None of that fake cleanliness from cities. He smiled and waved to children as they passed by.
Amedia strode through the crowd and they followed her to the city gates, where the guide said that he would meet them.
The guide was already at the gate. He was a tall, dark, muscular man with long, thick hair tied behind his head. He wore simple brown garbs.
"Are you well rested?" he asked.
"Yes" Amedia answered.
"Let us go then"
They climbed the mountain.
It wasn't snowy and he'd seen taller mountains. But there was something about this one; Lush, and filled with animals running through the trees.
He listened in on Ishtar talking to the guide.
"What do we know about this monster?" Ishtar asked.
"Not much I'm afraid. Only that it moves quick. And is very good at hiding" said the guide.
"Ugh, those are really annoying" said Fia.
Soon after, they arrived at the temple. It was grand, made of old stone and covered in moss. There were carvings of various animals lining it's structure. It was an open area, no hiding spots he could see. He looked around a bit to make sure.
"This is the temple of the beast god, Grol" said the guide. "The monster should be inside. I shall wait until sundown. If you are not back then, I will assume you have lost and head back to town."
"Don't worry. We can take care of ourselves" said Amedia.
"Yeah buddy. We're gonna be just fine" said Howlett.
He readied his weapons. Dual blades, the length of a long-knife, but the thickness of broadswords. He pushed the blade to make sure it was still strong. Then he wrapped the cloth around the hilts a bit more tighter. It was special-made for him, sharp and heavy. This was not a weapon someone couldn't wield without a lot of practice. And a lot of muscle.
Amedia wielded a Macuahuitl. A giant wooden sword with embedded obsidian. The damn thing was near as tall as her. One swing of it could do some serious damage.
Fia took out her her grimoire and pulled on the hood on her cloak. She looked more comfortable like that. She was also better at books than fighting. Part of his job was to make sure she didn't get hurt while she was casting her spells.
"Is everyone ready?" asked Amedia.
He nodded.
"Feeling awake yet Fia?" he asked.
"Yep" said Fia.
They headed inside.
It was darker and quieter than what he thought it would be. They lit their lanterns and used it's light to make their way deeper into the temple. He could hear the sound of water dripping deeper inside. As they progressed. He realised that the temple was becoming more naturalistic and cavelike.
"Look guys" Howlett whispered. "I think this place used to be a cave"
"I thought the same" said Amedia.
"Look, there are drawings on the walls now" said Fia, examining them with her lantern.
Part of the walls were covered in drawings of animals and monsters made with orange and yellow chalk. He touched the rough cave walls and felt the texture of the chalk as he walked by it. They started to see more and more art on the walls as they went deeper inside.
They started seeing drawings that told the tale of the beast god Grol. A giant hulking monster with long fangs snarling at monsters, and worshipped by people. Another drawing showed the god living in a cave.
"Holy shit. I think this god might have lived in here." said Howlett, pointing at the drawing.
Amadia frowned. "That could be any cave"
"Fair. But man, this shit is old. How old you think this is?"
"I'm not sure. We can ask the guide on the way back" said Amedia.
"Hey Howlie, maybe we shouldn't be too loud" said Fia.
"Relax Fia. We'll be fine" said Howlett.
A low rumble echoed from deeper in the cave...
"On second thought. Maybe I'll shut up" he whispered, putting his hand on one of his blades.
They descended deeper into the cave.