Ever since the sun and moon passed, the adventurers become quite busy with their hands. True to Fuji’s words, they received ample amounts of argentum for their services.

At the workshop, Gargol lectured Corbin and Rez about the ways of the blacksmith. Every time Gargol rested from work, the two took over the blacksmith. Corbin did the heavy labor and smiting. Rez conversed with the customers and handled the financing. Gargol taught them to distinguish precious materials from refuse. Rez even shared his firearm blueprints with Gargol, and he modified his designs. He suggested Rez use better schematics. Rez traced the unrefined illustrations drafted by Gragol.

Several passages of the sun later, Gargol sent Corbin and Rez on a quest to retrieve the ores. The mine was at the northeastern boundary of the city.

“Take these maps, sacks, lamps, and pickaxes. You should collect only enough ore. Take the Frigg’s Tear, the blue-tinted ores. Not the pyrite, it’s trash. It has a bright yellow and white tint, like your mother’s pustule.”

“That’s too vivid for description.” Rez pretended to laugh along with the old troll.

“I’m always right, skinny. Don’t forget to defend yourselves. Monsters and bandits have been roaming around the mine recently. Maybe that darn sky crag is messing their minds.”

Corbin and Rez headed to the outskirts of the city. They brought their weapons, a large sack, lamps, and pickaxes. The city guards in the northeast greeted them and opened the western gate.

“Okay, you do the mining and I’ll do the navigation.” Rez mischievously planned to do a lighter load.

“We do both.” Corbin handed another bag, lamp, and pickaxe to Rex.

“Sheesh, take it easy!”

The western gate shut down and the ground was slightly shaken. The two trekked the mine on foot. Corbin focused on obtaining the ores while Rez enjoyed the peaceful scenery. The summer breeze and sun rays caressed both of them. The scent of grass and floraes tingled their noses. Corbin was not used to the peace he was experiencing right now. He remembers Gargol’s words about the monsters and bandits. Rez took everything moment for moment. He regretted not taking a vacation during the pleasant weather.

“Mind if we take a break, Corbin? Let’s have a cold beverage, I brought for two of us.”

The serious half-orc ignored Rez, so he caught up with him. Small talks won’t nudge Corbin on their goal.

Milas took another job of carrying cargo at the northern harbor. The bazaar was already full of porters. Her previous boss recommended her to another trustworthy foreman. Unlike the bazaar, the northern harbor was brimming with uninteresting cargoes. She only saw massive boxes, cages with poultry, nets filled with various piscis, and so much more. During her break, some women approached her. They began sharing their experience after mimicking her fighting techniques.

“Those nasty muggers? One dared to approach me last night, and I jabbed him on his stomach. He squirms like a grub and retreats!”

“I punched my annoying suitor. He’s only interested in my body and nothing else! Since that incident, he has never bugged me.”

“I lost some weight by what you call “pretend fighting!”

“I became more limber after days of following your routine.”

“That’s nice to hear from you. But remember, fighting is for protecting yourselves, not attacking others. Besides, you have more to learn other than observing me.” Milas looked proud of the women of Capital City.

“Can you show it to us?”

“Right after work. My boss has been demanding recently. They were having problems with the shipping.”

“We’ll send our men to take your place and teach us your ways. We’ll pay you handsomely.”

“Geez, that’s too much.”

“We don’t mind. Having you in Capital City was a blessing in disguise.”

Nia has been visiting the city library while the rest were gone. She wanted to broaden her horizons about the continent of Aeon Frigg. The librarian would also commission her to translate some Eastern documents. After spending some lengthy time reading about Arche and its culture, a group of magi approached her. They wear white robes with ochre and blue embezzlement. The back of their robes has the city’s emblem embedded. They give a warm and welcoming glance at Nia.

“Looks like we got a very curious visitor here.”

“How can I help you?”

“We are the Arche’s Magi Collective. We gather and share information to build better relationships among races. Your service would be valuable to us..”

Nia asked the assistant librarian to take some of the books back and hands her a payment. The assistant librarian gladly took the copper. With no hesitation, she brought the books back to their respective shelves. Nia left the library as the city magi patiently waited for her.

Nia arrived at the Magi Collective’s temple. The temple served as the Capital City’s place for discussions and debates. There were no rich or poor citizens inside the temple. The wise and ignorant were free to exchange ideas. Nia climbed from the temple stairs to the main room. There were no doors hiding the temple’s interior. The ceiling’s arches have gaps for the sun to shine. Inside the temple was a vast, white, and circular hall. The seats for the magi encircled the temple. Pillars stretched from the elevated floor to the ceiling. A raised platform stood in the middle of the room. Nia entered the temple hall and presented herself to the magi.

“Greetings, priestess of the east. How was your visit to the Florescent Woods? We all know th truth.”

“The source of malice has been cut off. Unfortunately, I have no idea who is the main perpetrator. One of their apostles calls himself a Messenger of the Visitors.”

“We concur. Our knowledge regarding them is also limited. The scholars are yet to write records about the Messenger and the Visitors. Only a few relics describe them clearly. Survivors murmur their names profusely. Madmen scream their names at the hospice. They are more threatening than what we have imagined.” A female head magi replied to Nia.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Can you share what you know about the East? Our scholars have gathered minimal information.” A bald magi inquired about Nia from the seats.

“I can only share a few pieces of information, but I’ll give my best. I came from a place that values secrecy.”

“You don’t have to force yourself if you have to protect something important. “

Nia accepted the magi’s offer of exchanging information. She provided general information about the East and its inhabitants. The East was an isolated continent that Arche attempted to conquer before. There live humans, Enlightened Ones, and the elusive Dragonkin. Their far-superior military, science, and magecraft prevented Arche from ever establishing connections. When the sixth civilization arrived, King Remus managed to reach the East by daring to travel overseas. He only brought a few fleets of goblin airships, bodyguards, and city magis. Upon showing his intention for peace, the East finally drops its blockade. Since then, commerce and diplomacy flourished. Despite their kindred friendship, Eastern denizens shared little merchandise. Anything coming from the East was expensive, from books to precious gems and even information.

Upon reaching the mines at noon, Corbin and Rez spotted the roaming monsters. The first layer of the mines has man-made scaffoldings, lamps, and broken railways. A cluster of giant arachnids crawled at the ceiling, waiting for prey at the surface. Kobold bandits were already scouting the mine for intruders. The Kobolds are a mixed breed of lacertilia and critters. They have scaly hides, slithering tongues, and diminutive limbs. They wear ragged leather armor and hand-sewn backpacks. Some kobolds were too distracted fighting a giant brown arachnid.

“There’s too many of them. Can’t just hurl explosives at them and call it a day.”

“Gargol said to secure the ores. Your explosives would destroy them.”

“If we could only distract the monsters and lure them away.”

“Let’s take the deeper route.” Corbin turned off his lamp to avoid catching attention.

Corbin and Rez investigated while evading the nearby threats. Rez read the map of the mine while squinting in the dim light. They can’t afford to get surrounded either by the kobolds or the arachnids. The upper section of the mines didn’t have Frigg’s Tears. Only coal, ferrum, copper, and pyrite. They traversed the man-made tunnels since they were safer than the detours. The tunnels were previously dug by the miners. Straying away from the tunnel could endanger them.

On their descent to the mine’s second layer, they found an abandoned dwarven encampment. They saw mine carts, stocks of ferrum ores, abandoned equipment, and open wooden chests. Due to his greediness, Rez picked up a sack of aurum ore, intending to sell one for extra profit.

While busily investigating the dwarven encampment, a horde of ghouls noticed them. Unlike their living brethren, they were already decomposing. Clad in mining uniforms and helmets, the two realized the ghouls were the missing miners. Fuji mentioned that the previous miners have been missing for many moons ago. The monsters took over the mines after their disappearance. A pale ghoul pointed out at Rez holding an aurum ore.

“MINE…” The pale ghoul murmured at Rez.

“Mine, mine, mine, MINE!!!”

“Gargol never warned us about ghouls!” Rez took an aurum ore and throws it at the ghoul.

“Let’s mow them over.” Corbin dropped his sack and pickaxe, drawing his training sword. He swiped them with the sword’s blunt side. Rez used only his left hand to shoot down the ghouls’ knees. The bag of aurum ore encumbered his busy hands.

The two narrowly escaped to the third underground layer. Unlike the first two layers, there were no tunnels, scaffoldings, or any signs of interaction from the outside. There were only natural rock formations and holes dug by underground critters.

A wild tusker roamed among the monsters underground. The four-legged beast was very bulky and well-protected by its tough hide. It was resting at a large mining vein. It bullied the smaller monsters, defending its newly established territory. A squashed arachne sat at the tusker’s humongous feet. Tiny insectums perched on its craggy back, feasting crumbs of monster carcasses. Behind the tusker was a rich vein of Frigg’s Tear. They were glistening with a blue tint and almost illuminated the tusker.

“Planning to get our treasure, eh?!” A kobold chief snuck behind Corbin and Rez. It was holding a club, warning the two adventurers.

“Can we talk about it? Maybe take the half.” Rez tried to negotiate with the kobold chief. He always found himself tangled with thieves, syndicates, and bandits.

“No, all is ours!”

“The chief’s right! What's yours is ours, and what's ours is ours!” The rest of the kobold bandits appeared from the darker part of the tunnel. Their eyes glare red.

“Can’t settle with kobolds,” Corbin remarked, and the kobolds’ chief hissed angrily at him.

“Not trying to be disrespectful, but we have to settle this the hard way.” Rez flipped his firearm and aimed at the kobolds.

Corbin was having difficulty swinging his sword. The tunnels were a poor place for swinging swords. It can get caught on the walls or ceiling. After stabbing a kobold, three tiny kobolds struck his back with shovels. He kicked them backward to push them off. Just as he is about to swing his sword sideways, it got caught on the wall. He attempted to pull the sword, but it broke. Rez ran out of bullets. He attempted to use his handgun as a club again, but it also broke. The kobold smartly parried his attack with its pike. The tusker noticed the commotion at the nearest tunnel and charged toward them.

“Great, now we’re unarmed! We got kobolds and a tusker at bay.”

“We do with what we have,” Corbin recalled one of Milas’s fighting techniques. Feet apart and both arms anticipating the attack. Slowly breathing, he successfully caught the tusker’s head and dragged it backward.

“Get the ores, I’ll take them!”

Corbin wrestled the massive beast and mustered his full orcish strength. Rez threw the rest of the aurum ores into the kobold. One lucky kobold caught the ore, but the others tried to steal it. The kobolds were fighting amongst each other for a piece of aurum ore. While distracted, Rez hurled the pickaxe into the mining vein. The pickaxe impaled itself into the wall.

“Got it!” Rez hurried to mine the blue-tinted ores and places them in the large sack. He gave his entire strength to take the ore from the vein. The ores chinked as they poured inside the sack. Rez felt the sack getting heavier. The Frigg’s Tear weighed heavier than aurum or ferrum.

“We got to go!”

Corbin was struggling to shove off the tusker. He felt his strength is draining down. Out of desperation, he decided to let loose. He growled and his muscles bulked up. Spotting the kobold fighting, he swung the tusker toward the crowd. The tusker then trampled the kobolds. It hit a wall from its momentum, shaking the mines.

“GO!”

“Easier said than done!” Rez got startled by the enraged Corbin. He huffed as he dragged the bag full of Frigg’s Tear. Corbin assisted him from exiting the third layer of the mines. Reaching the second layer, the two dropped their bag inside a mine cart. They pushed together with the last bit of their strength. Arriving at the first layer, the railway came to a halt. The tusker caught up from the mine’s third layer.

“TAKE THIS, THAT ONE IS MINE!.”

“Hey, can you break the tusker’s horn? It costs a lot of aurum.” Rez barked at Corbin to take the precious loot, if possible. He dragged the sack of ore while witnessing dead arachnids impaled with pikes. A tired and injured kobold ignored the two. Other kobolds were busy stealing the dead bodies of their companions.

Corbin, while his blood was boiling, mustered his strength to grab the tusker once again. After anticipating its tackle, he placed his arms around the tusker’s jaw, lifted it onto his right shoulder, and turned it upside-down. The tusker got lowered while Corbin gripped it firmly. He drove the beast’s head into the ground, breaking its precious horn. The tusker howled in pain, reverberating across the mines. It picked itself up and retreated to the mine’s inner crevices. The remaining kobold fled without acquiring any treasures. Colonies of chiroptera frantically flew across the ceiling. Corbin stopped, caught his breath, and snatched the broken horn. He followed Rez who was still dragging the heavy sack. They both carried the sack and Corbin threw the tusker horn inside it.

Emerging from the mine, Corbin and Rez reached the city gates by dusk. They were physically drained but refused to rest. Two other city guards looked at them and welcomed the weary adventurers.

“Easy there adventurers, what have you got?” Corbin showed the bag full of Frigg’s Tears and a broken tusker horn.

“Quite impressive, we’ll take care of the rest.” The city guards opened the western gate again so that Corbin and Rez can go inside. They carried the heavy bag by holding each end. Rez directed Corbin where to head. The two decided to head first to the adventurer’s lodge to retreat. With Frigg’s Tear secured, they can finally craft new equipment.