The adventurer's guild buzzed with chatter, like any normal day with nothing going on. All the low ranking requests were cleared out, leaving only the medium and higher ranked requests to be done. The receptionist did their usual jobs of receiving requests and marking them in their systems, although one was doing something else as he was walking with an elevated pace through the halls.
His gaze lingered on the papers in his hands, he flipped to another page as he finished the current one, then so forth. His pace slowed as he neared a door, only taking a glance up to read the room number. Once he mentally checked if it was the right one, he opened the door and walked through.
"Good morning, Sirs. I hope you find your drinks satisfactory." He said to the two men sitting on a couch, on the table in front of them two mugs, one was completely full, the other was empty.
"Thank you for the drinks, mine was pretty good." A young man with short blonde hair responded with a smile. He was donned in brown leather armor, a short sword leaned against his thigh. He was leaning backwards with his arms spread far along the couch's back.
"Thank you, as well, although I don't like this type of drink." The other man, whose hair was a dark brown, responded in a monotonous tone. His particular type of clothes painted him as a wizard, he was wearing a brown robe, and a decent sized staff rested on the arm of the couch. He sat with his back straight and his arms were crossed.
"That's great to hear, Sir Alex, and next time we will make sure to accommodate to your tastes, Sir Tim." Thran said with an understanding smile. He walked towards the other couch on the opposite side of the table and set the papers down."Now that the formalities are out of the way, you two wanted to take on a subjugation request, and you need to find other members, correct?"
Both men nodded, the one in leather armor crossed his legs before he said anything
"Yes, although I don't understand why we need extra members; they're just goblins, one of the lowest ranking monsters, if not the lowest. Us two would suffice." He said with utmost confidence. His words caused Thran's smile to crack.
"Well, yes I understand your confusion here. However, you've only hunted slimes and giant rats, goblins are something else and they come in much larger packs." Thran explained, he then pushed one paper forward so they could read it. "You can read all about them on this, I guarantee it will make you understand why."
Alex pushed the paper back and shook his head. "Sir Thran, everyone knows how goblins are, they may come in packs but, their feeble minds and weak constitutions are unlike us; they won't stand a chance." During his statement he patted his trusty sword.
Thran sighed before taking the paper back. His frustrations started to grow when listening to Alex. He can understand his confidence, but he has seen many adventurer's like him. Even if they can hold themselves in a fight, underestimating monsters can be the main cause of someone's life fading away.
"I understand that, but please do not rush in blind."
"We'll be fine. Nevermind what we're hunting, do we really need extra members?"
"You do, it's a required condition under the adventurer's rulebook, to take on subjugation requests you will need a minimum of four party members."
Alex and Tim looked at each other for a moment before shrugging their shoulders. Neither of them read the entirety of the rulebook, so they had no evidence to disprove Thran's claim.
"If you say so, but we don't know anyone to join us, do you know if we can find any?"
"I already have two to join you, you can find their information on these two sheets." Thran explained then he passed two sheets with familiar names on them. The twos' faces scrunched as they reviewed the information on them. A slight disgusted frown could be seen on their faces once they read the second sheet. 'I am sorry, you two, you will have to deal with these ones for the time being.' Thran closed his eyes, he readied his ears for protests that never came.
During his meeting, both Fei and Lucian prepared for the day. As usual, Lucian waited outside of the house, this time he fiddled with the dagger he bought nearly a week ago. His smile was reflected onto the blade. Today was different from the others, he donned a dark long sleeved shirt, with a dark pair of pants.
The sounds of the door opening to his side signaled for him to put it away. He turned his head to see Fei stepping through the doorway. She didn't wear anything special today, just a simple blue shirt and a white skirt, contrasting her skirt she wore a pair of black tights. In her free hand, she held her staff.
"Took you long enough." Lucian said to her with a teasing tone.
"I-I'm s-sorry…" Fei responded while lowering her head. "I-It took me a, a b-bit to find s-something t-to wear." She elaborated, her hands tightened around her staff. And her ears lowered to the sides.
"I-I was joking, we have time before we need to see Thran." Lucian quickly explained, his attempt to make Fei feel slightly better worked. "Are you ready to go?" He asked moments later when he saw Fei's grip loosen and her ears perked up to their normal.
"Y-Yes."
They made one stop before heading to the adventurer's guild. Lucian slightly hesitated before opening the door to the shop.
"Ay, welcome back you two! It's been a bit since I saw her." The shopkeeper welcomed them as usual, his later comment caused Lucian to stiffen up. "Anyways, how can I help you two? You looking for new gear?"
"Y-Yeah, we need to buy some warm gear." Lucian said. He felt a sudden temperature drop behind him. 'He needs to work on what he's saying!' Lucian internally cried out.
"Lucian…" Fei called out his name in a low voice, sending an intense shiver down his spine. "What does he mean by that…?"
"N-Nothing! We haven't been here for a while, that's why he said that!"
Fei glared at him, obviously not buying what excuse he just said.
"It's true! Isn't it?! Right?!"
The shopkeeper merely shrugged and turned his head.
"Lu...Ci... An, tell me the truth." Fei's inflection of her words made Lucian stumble backwards. The cold air around her grew. "You've been acting weird about this place every time we come here. And ever since we first came here, you've been leaving the house every three days…"
Lucian gulped when he felt his back hit the counter, the frigid air around Fei worsened. His breath was visible when Fei was just a few inches away from him.
"A-ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! I'VE BEEN COMING HERE JUST TO LOOK AT THINGS! I SWEAR I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING OR BOUGHT ANYTHING!" Lucian yelled, his entire body shivered in fear due to Fei's anger… And the freezing air enveloping him. The shopkeeper watched this odd sight, just a meter or two further away. He silently wished he had something to snack on just to watch this entire fiasco.
'You reap what you sow.' He thought before turning away.
"Hm…" Fei eyed Lucian for a few moments before stepping back. "I don't believe you, but I'll accept that excuse." She continued.
'Good save…'
"However, if I hear the full truth from," she pointed at Lucian. "You," she pointed towards the shopkeeper keeping her eyes glued on Lucian.. "Or him, I won't forgive you." Her proclamation struck his heart.
"O-O-Okay…" Lucian nodded quickly, his heart raced upon Fei's insanely serious expression. "I-I'm sorry…"
"Hmph…" She huffed while crossing her arms.
"You two are very lively today. You said you were looking for warm clothes, right?"
"Y-Yeah, we are."
"Give me a moment, I have some garments in the back."
The shopkeeper left the room, leaving them to each other's company. Normally, Lucian would try to start a conversation, but he felt it would be odd to do so; Fei completely had her head not facing towards him, rather she stared at the weapons lining the walls.
"Ah, you better try to cheer her up, you won't have a good day if she stays like that." The shopkeeper said as soon as he got back with a couple pieces of clothes on his arms. "What? Don't give me that look, I'm just giving you advice."
"I guess. Fei come on, pick one out."
A few more calls later, Fei finally listened to him. Eventually, she decided on a black coat. Following his own words, Lucian decided on a grey coat. After getting the total, Lucian forked over 8 coins.
Once they set foot out of the shop, they put on their coats. Fei rather looked cute with hers on, it was too big on her, it fell just on her thighs and the collar clung half way up her neck. This tempted Lucian to tease her, but he didn't have a death wish. There was only one fear he had, angering Fei. He has done it so many times ever since they met, each time he felt the same fear.
Yet again, they stayed silent. Even when they stood in front of the guild.
"Hopefully, Thran didn't lie this time." Lucian's thoughts were blurted out as he stared at the doors. After the last hunting escapade, Thran's trustworthiness dwindled in their eyes.
"H-Hopefully…" Fei agreed on his words. Her anger that she felt subsided, bringing her back to her old self. 'Will we be good enough, if it was true…?' Fei thought, her ears began to twitch slightly. She switched her view to her staff, looking at it with hesitance. 'I haven't used this… Will I be able to contribute in any way?' Her inner demons were silenced by the door opening.
"Are you ready?" Lucian looked at her with a smile. Fei felt a hole in her chest, when looking at him. "We'll be fine, I'm sure Thran won't give us anything hard since we're still new."
"O-Okay…"
Thran stood at the receptionist table, he as usual was signing papers with a bored expression. His posture and expression changed once they stood in front of him.
"Welcome back, are you two ready for your first subjugation request?"
"Yes, and just for clarification; are you being serious about it?"
"I swear, you won't be hunting vegetables this time. Follow me to the back and I'l inform you what you'll be hunting today."
Stepping out from the counter, he led them to a door. That door led to a hall that had countless doors going into different rooms. It looked extremely extravagant, windows sparsely populated the walls. Lamps sat on either side of every window, illuminating the hallway whenever it darkened. A red carpet separated the middle of the walkway, which Thran had them follow on until he found an empty room.
Inside, he sat them down on a couch. As per the guild's design, every room held a space for the receptionist, or representatives to talk to adventurers. Two couches sat facing each other, and a table separating them. Of course, there was more to this room but Thran pointed their focus on the couches.
"I already talked to the other members you will be joining…" Thran fished in his clothes pocket, then pulled out four folded pieces of papers. "These two will be information on them." He continued after sorting them out. He slid two to them. "It'll tell you everything about them, preferred weapons, level and who their representative is and more."
"Tim and Alex…" Lucian mumbled the names on them, then showed a curious Fei.
"Yes, I recommend you familiarize yourself with that information."
"Thank you, what else do we need to know?"
"This, you will be hunting goblins. I recommend again that you familiarize yourself with them. Here is the information on the subjugation request, it will take all day but the rewards are worth it."
*A small goblin village has been sighted outside the kingdom's borders; the location is north of the capital, in the small forest. The rewards for finishing this will be split equally amongst the brave adventurers who complete this task.
Contributions to the total reward: 10 coppers per monster core, 5 coppers per pair of goblin ears.
Upon submission, the rewards will be handed out.*
"Our intel estimates there to be around 20 goblins. Although it may not be much, goblins reproduce at an alarming rate so there may be more when you get there." Thran elaborated, he tapped on the paper during so. They nodded their heads in unison, clearly understanding his worries.
They left the room after talking for a bit longer. Thran had them follow him into a separate room. The two men he had a meeting with sat in the same room, Alex's leg moved up and down rapidly signaling his impatience. On the contrary, Tim was inspecting his staff with an intrigued look.
"Ah! Sir Thran welcome back, are those the two you talked about?" Alex exclaimed when he heard the door snap shut. He looked at the three, his frown clearly portrayed his emotions. "Welcome aboard you two, I hope we can get along." He raised his arm to wave at Lucian and Fei, his lips curled into an unnatural smile.
"Thank you for having us, and we hope so too." Lucian spoke up.
"My pleasure, by that sheath on your hip, I assume you use a dagger? Ah, nevermind answering that, we have to get going; let's talk on our way there."
Alex bolted out of his seat and rushed to the door, pushing Fei slightly out of the way. Unwilling to wait for everyone else, he briskly walked down the hall with the rest of them falling behind his pace.
'I can't keep up…'
Fei tried her hardest to keep up with the pace, but the distance kept growing between her and Lucian. Sweat beads formed on her forehead the longer they went, eventually her breath began to fail her.
A realization struck Lucian moments later, he turned around and dashed towards Fei. Her face was sticky with sweat, and her breathing was labored. Fei, although she can walk for a few hours, it was due to her speed; it wasn't her fault, her strides were smaller due to her short stature and her race played a key factor.
He forced her to climb on his back, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist. Just for extra safety, Lucian kept his arms under them.
—--------------
"Ah, you're finally here, took you two long enough? She couldn't keep up, huh? That's to be expected." Alex bluntly said when they caught up to him. They stopped at the southern gate, the closest gate to the guild. "Seeing as to how far the destination is, good luck carrying her the entire way there." He continued in a mocking way.
"Maybe we should slow our speed down, remember what the papers said; these two are rookies, they've been with the guild for a little more than a week."
"Whatever, let's get going already."
They left the gate, thankfully at a slower stride. An embarrassed Fei tried to motion for Lucian to put her down, but he ignored it due to the quiet labored breathing he still heard.
'Please… set me down!' Fei internally requested Lucian. Her heart pounded at her chest, this wasn't the first time he did it; in fact he's done it many times when they need to rush places. Her embarrassment stayed the same every time. Her silent protests went nowhere until she kicked Lucians rips slightly.
"Alright, alright, no need to kick me." Lucian chuckled after feeling her kicks.
"You've got some strength, kid." Alex commented. Only thirty minutes passed since they left the gate. He watched them silently, not once did he see a bit of strain coming from Lucian. "What did you do before becoming an adventurer? Blacksmithing or?"
"I've only worked odd jobs." He responded. His voice was monotonous, underneath his irritance towards Alex hid. Lucian had met people like him before, only friendly towards him and the complete opposite to Fei. Once this day was over, he'd rather work with others.
For the next hour, Alex pestered him with personal questions, his insistence increased with every short answer he got. Both Fei and Tim listened in for entertainment.
'When is he going to stop?' Lucian groaned inside, his ears felt like they were going to burst after non-stop questioning. His prayers for peace were answered after twenty more minutes.
"Aha, that's the destination before we make this final stretch, let's take a small break." Alex suggested when turning to the rest. Collectively agreeing, all sat on the grassy field.
On her lap, Fei caressed her staff. She felt a small smudgen of excitement to test it out. Along with that, she felt scared and worried if she isn't compatible with it. Nor did she know if she could use it, her magic was an anomaly. Most magic users would need a catalyst- the crystal that was melded to the tip was one. They would need to pour their mana into it to cause a reaction.
A chant was necessary for the spell to be completed. If it wasn't done, nothing would happen. She was different, ever since she was little she never had to do a chant for her magic to come forth. Lucian asked her many times how she did it, every time she never had an answer.
"Have you ever used a staff before?" Tim asked her. "If you haven't I can show you a little bit." He smiled a bit, seeing her nervously shake her head. He raised his personal staff, he then explained, "pour your mana into the base of the staff."
Fei followed his instructions, a slight mist formed on the staff.
"Good, you know that much about your mana. Now, try to move it to the crystal."
His staff's crystal glowed a warm green color. He watched fei expecting nothing to happen.
What he hadn't told her, getting to do that was insanely tough. It felt like pushing against a stone wall, nothing budged no matter how hard she tried to move it. She kept trying until she was stopped and told to take a moment. Going back at it, she finally moved her mana slightly, then more until it reached the crystal which glowed a bright baby blue.
"Impressive."
Lucian gave her a thumbs up, followed by a proud smile.
"That's nothing to be proud of, let's see if you can actually cast a spell." Tim pointed in the direction of the forest and continued, "aim over there and cast your spell."
Mumbling complete gibberish under her breath, she completed her "chant" with a "I-I-Ice chain." As a result of her inexperience, she felt a crushing sensation on her tail. Her spell completely backfired as her ice chains, which looked pathetic, encroached her tail's personal space.
Ten minutes later, they stopped her training and neared the forest. The first to enter were the two guys, Lucian followed in toe.
"We'll be fine, come on." Lucian turned towards Fei with a content smile on his face. "I promise you won't get hurt." He gave her a thumbs up in reassurance. "Trust me."
"O-Okay…" Fei mumbled. Once the darkness of the forest swallowed her, her fear increased hundreds fold.
Silently, they maneuvered through the forest.
"Shhh, that's the goblin village." Alex put his arm out.
5 tiny huts were built in the clearing. The appearance of the populace fit the description on the paper. Long-pointed ears, crooked noses like a bird's beak, sunken in yellow eyes, rotten teeth-small stature and almost skin and bones. Both Lucian and Fei gulped at the sight of the goblins.
Quickly counting the amount, like Thran had commented they do reproduce quickly as the numbers surpass the twenty mark.
Alex suddenly rushed towards the goblins with his sword drawn. All the goblins snapped their necks at the view of the sudden intruder. Nearly all of them grabbed the weapons that lined their huts and rushed back at him.
"That dumbass." Lucian gritted his teeth before following his actions. He drew his knife sprinted towards the hoard. He raised his foot and shot it forward at a goblin's head. Striking its mark, the target goblins body flew backwards into a few others
"Good save!"
Alex proceeded to swing his blade madly, a few unfortunate goblins met each swing with their bodies.
Lucian took a few steps back as the goblins he hit turned their focus towards him. With a weapon in each of their hands, they rushed towards him swinging their weapons like madmen.
Seeing no opening Lucian could only stay out of their way, hoping to exhaust their stamina.
Before losing his footing, chains of ice slowly were created from the floor. With one snared the others stared at the formation with bewilderment.
'Good work Fei!' Lucian internally exclaimed as he seized the moment.
Appearing just before them, he jammed the dagger straight into the ensnared goblin's neck
Warm, green blood spurted from the wound, and its mouth. It slumped backwards soon after its life was lost.
Not giving the rest a chance, he stomped one onto the ground and pierced its heart in one swift motion.
"LUCIAN WATCH OUT!"
A loud screech entered his ears as a cold feeling swept the side of his forearm.
From afar, Fei watched the entire scene happen. Lucian hobbled backwards, blood poured from his forearm. She raised her staff and poured mana into the tip, and focused on the goblin closest to him.
The last goblin he faced let out a mighty roar and lunged towards him.
Chains made out of ice caught the goblin just a few inches from him. It tried to move its arms wildly, yet the chains locked it down in place.
Its voice died down as he gave it the same death as the first goblin.
"That son of a b… Ow, ow ow…" Lucian grunted. He put pressure on his wound with his other hand, causing blood to pool in between his fingers.
It looked surface level, but the pain of the cut jabbed at him. He took a second breather before plucking his dagger from off the ground and joined Alex on the frontlines
The number of goblins quickly dwindled, majority from Alex as he swung his sword in wide arcs, splitting the skulls of the many goblins in front of him. A devilish grin was plastered on his face as blood pooled and splattered on the ground around him.
As the last few goblins cowered, they wobbled backwards as Alex stepped forward. A loud scream broke his attention.
"GET DOWN YOU MORON!" Tim screamed before pushing Fei to the ground. An alarming yelp came from Fei as her body crashed to the ground. He raised his staff and chanted quickly. "Barrier!" He exclaimed. A beautiful golden wall formed in front of him.
Tink! Tink! Tink!
Arrows shattered into millions of splinters on the wall.
"KILL THOSE ARCHERS! THIS BARRIER DRAINS MY MANA!" Tim yelled. Sweat immediately caked his entire body. "DON'T JUST STAND THERE! DO YOU WANT YOUR STUPID DEMI-HUMAN TO DIE?" His words removed Lucian's stupor.
With Tim's guidance Lucian located the goblin archers.
He struggled to near them, the trees around him worked as his cover when he expected them to shoot.
He gripped the first goblin's head, and slammed it into a nearby tree. Its body slid down the base, along with blood marking its trail.
He moved to the side as the next goblin shot an arrow in his direction. A second arrow whizzed by, causing another cut to appear on his arm.
Sucking his teeth, he dispatched the next goblin then the last with relative ease. Afterwards he fell to his knees, clutching his injured arm. His breath wavered, as he gritted his teeth. Fighting living monsters felt different than what he had expected, he was expecting to kill them with ease; he was wrong.
He looked at his bloody palm, the sounds of the sword clashes stopping brought his attention back.
"Are you done over there? We have to collect the goblin ears." Alex called out to him, he sounded chipper as if he's done this multiple times.
"Yes." Lucian responded, once he entered their view they threw a bag at him. "What's this for?" His question warranted stupefied looks from the two guys.
"You obviously use them for the goblin ears."
"Right…"
Rounding up the corpses, they cut the ears of each goblin and tossed them into the bags. During their collection, Alex cut the chest of a deceased goblin open and dug around for a moment.
"Hm… Nothing." He muttered before wiping his glove off.
Not bothering to ask, Lucian continued his desecration of the corpses. His bag quickly filled with the ears of each goblin. The final count of his gathering, around 30 ears he rounded up. Fei watched him yet again from the side, her ears were completely flat.
Once everything was gathered up, they set off back to the guild. During their trek back, Fei used her mana in secret and froze Lucian's wounds. At first he flinched and tried to call out her name, but quickly shushed once he understood.
Thran welcomed the four once they entered the guild. Lucian and Fei wondered if he was the only active receptionist, every time they got back he was there. They submitted the request. As proof they opened the bags filled with ears to Thran who looked at it with shock.
"Good work you four, you managed to 32 goblins down!" Thran exclaimed, his tired look from before was replaced with a proud smile. "That will be 160 copper in total, 40 for each of you."
"Wait, why are they getting 80? Most of it should go to Tim and I, they practically did nothing!" Alex exclaimed, he slammed his fist onto the counter. "That useless, whatever his name is, only killed 9 goblins, and his demi-human she only ensnared a few! Out of the entire battle only a few! Nothing else!"
Ignoring his qualms, Thran slid a small pouch to Lucian. As Alex threw his fit, Lucian took the bag from under his nose and turned to leave with Fei.
"THRAN ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?! HOW DARE YOU REWARD ThEM THE SAME AMOUNT!" Alex's screams continued until 20 minutes had passed.
"Sir Alex, Sir Tim I know you do not like the idea of equally sharing the rewards, but the request clearly stated it will be split amongst everyone." Thran elaborated while showing them the request. "You agreed to the terms, and next time read it fully."
The two guys huffed and stormed off after getting their share of the reward. Thran turned and submitted the completion form, then he pulled out a notebook and quill and checked a part off before setting it back down.