They were catching up. Aaron knew he should not have mined that gemstone, but it was so beautiful that he could already picture it as the perfect core of his ornament! If only that stupid stone hadn’t fallen to the ground, he would have been long gone before the next of these little shits came around. He didn’t even know why there was a nest full of warped rats there.

If - no, he should think positively - when he returned home his old man would have to gather a few of his friends to clear this thing out. If these dens are left to grow as they like, they can quickly become a problem for the families living there.

While dwarves are able to move through mines with much more grace than their human peers, they still had the same amount of stamina as the taller species, so Aaron was growing tired.

He completed two more quick turns before allowing himself to look over his shoulder. The teenager almost wanted to laugh when he saw that only a single rat was still following him, but as it grew nearer he noticed that this one was nearly double the size of its brethren. How this rodent was able to bind so much magic to itself as to almost double its own size was a mystery to him but Aaron knew that he could not hope to outrun it.

Aaron thought that it would be better to try fighting it than to get hit in the back. Having already discarded his pickaxe as he began to run, Aaron pulls out the dagger his old man gave him before turning around to attack.

The pest was quicker. Aaron almost met his end before the fight had even properly begun. The rat narrowly missed his waist after jumping and hit the wall where the path took a slight turn.

Although he was shaken, Aaron's training did it’s job and he lashed out. The warped fucker - as Aaron has dubbed it - screeched out in pain when it was stabbed in it’s back. But by the time he could have retracted his arm, the rat had already dug it’s teeth deep into his empty hand.

Aaron cried out in pain and released the dagger with its blade still stuck. The animal was able to use his left arm to quickly move up Aaron's body. Once the rat finally reached his head, it began to scratch and bite everything in it’s path. He couldn’t do much as the long claws dug deep into his cheek.

The pain was almost unbearable. Aaron tried to find purchase on the hide to pull the rodent off his face. but it was too slippery. Finally, his fingers felt something cold to the touch and he pulled. The screech that followed might have been the best thing Aaron had ever heard in his entire life. He stabbed and stabbed until his ears could finally no longer perceive the cries of his enemy.

Only his own quiet sobs rang out in the quiet old mineshafts now. A long time went by before Aaron moved again. He used his uninjured hand to slowly open the bag he had with him and pull out a veil with a green liquid inside.

Aaron drank his only healing potion while trying not to think about how much money he wasted with his little stunt. He knew that it had cost his old man a small fortune to buy it and it was still not a good one. Without a good one his face would probably not heal perfectly but he already knew to keep his expectations in check.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Ha ha ha ha haaaa,” Aaron started laughing while his face still hurt like hell. In all the sixteen years of his life he had never felt such thrill. Aarons arms still shook like he had just spent the last few hours in the workshop hammering away. While this fight would surely haunt him in his nightmares, he couldn’t help but want more of it. More of the fight, thrill and glory.

After letting the concentration work for some more time, Aaron started to bind the rats' now unbound magic to himself so as not to let it go to waste. His mother had only just started teaching him about magic, so he still didn’t know any spells. But Aaron already knew how to bind magic to his own person.

In his mind, he pictured the idea of drawing in the magic of the warped rodent and binding it. It took a few tries, but after he succeeded, he finally felt the rush that accompanied a large binding.

With that taken care of, Aaron started to pack everything up and make his way back home. He decided that he would bring the dead rodent, as it might be useful for trading.

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“Mum, he is back,” cried out his sister Sarah as he made the last turn to get back to the cave his family called home. She quickly rushed up to him to give him a big hug.

“Well he better be, he has been gone for two weeks! That’s way longer than any ceremony I have ever heard about,” said his mother Julia as she rounded the corner and stopped dead in her tracks. “Aaron! What happened to your face?”

“I got attacked after i found my gemstone. But i beat it so it’s all good,” Aaron answered while showing of the corpse.

“It’s not all good young man! The Creation Ceremony should not be this dangerous. Now come here so I can look over your wounds,” his mother angrily declared.

Aaron quietly walked over to a chair and sat down to let his mother fuss over his wounds. He was finally back home again.

“My goodness, that’s a nasty scar. At least it won’t be as noticeable once you let your beard grow out a bit more,” was the last thing Julia said before they switched to lighter topics while waiting for the rest of their family to arrive.

They waited a few hours until his father and his brother came back from their mining trip. The moment Aaron heard voices from one of the tunnels he sat up straighter.

Once they rounded the corner, Aaron and his father Markus locked eyes. His father noticed the fresh scar on his cheek and grew quiet.

“What happened,” was the first thing his father asked.

With his whole family together, Aaron quickly launched into what he was up to the last two weeks. When it got to the fight, his parents sent his siblings to their rooms. Even though they complained, they still went to bed after a silent stare from the old man.

“I will go and gather a few of the other families. From what you told me, this is serious. If this grows too large, the army might even come down here.” Markus said after listening until the end.

Aaron was growing excited. “Great, dad! I will go get the hammers.”

“Oh no you don’t,” shouted both of his parents at the same time.

His father declared “This was already enough action for you. And you still have a ceremony to complete.”

“Your father is right. You will stay here until this is taken care of and your Creation Ceremony is complete,” Julia said.

“But-” Aaron wanted to protest, but before he could his father already dampened his fire of rebellion.

“If you want, I can teach you a bit about fighting once I return but this decision is final,” his father asserted with a heavy voice.

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Aaron watched as his old man vanished behind the corner of the tunnel that lead to the nearest family. He turned around and walked into the workshop with his bag.

He hadn’t shown anyone the stone yet, as was tradition. But Aaron swore to himself that he would make the best ornament he could with the unknown gemstone that had so much magic bound to it.

He would make his family proud!