“Bunch of rock heads. Calling us midgets. Can you believe it!? I know I am short but the way they said it was just insulting!” Cassandra vented to the group as they walked towards the dungeon.
“You didn’t need to jump on top of me and try to pick a fight with them.” Katia said.
“I couldn’t punch their faces without your help.”
“Sounds like you had an eventful day.” Shishen said.
“Stupid goliaths and their tall rock-like bodies. If I had a pickaxe I would be able to mine them.” Cassandra added, clearly angry.
“The city needs their materials to rebuild. At least your display and cursing got them to lower the prices a little. I think they are beginning to like you.” Katia said.
‘Yeah, yeah…”
“Klaws… What are those fishes?” Narissa asked, trying to steer the conversation away from Cassandra’s rage against the goliath merchants.
“Turns out there are a lot of normal fish in the sea if you get past all those monsters. These are Bastion Piranhas. They survive by eating small monsters.”
“And why do you have them?”
“You can eat them raw and they are delicious. I think Mia would like some.”
“What I meant is, how did you obtain them?”
“Oh, that. I cleaned the beach, really thoroughly. I think people will be able to fish and swim there for a while. Shame they stopped coming. The world needs to be cleansed of the sea-monsters.” Klaws said, the last part sounding a little too ominous. Everyone knew that Klaws, at least for now, really hated monsters coming from the sea due to them changing his job assignment, so they let it slide.
“Shishen, we didn’t see you until just before we were about to leave. What were you doing? I don’t think there were that many wounded.” Mathias asked.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Don’t know what makes you say that. Half of our troops were wounded in some shape or form. But that wasn’t why it took me so long. I was part of the team in charge of the most critical wounded. We managed to save most of them but we lost 15 people.” Shishen said, a little sad. Death was something she would have to familiarize herself with if she wanted to continue on the path she was on. Even the best healers couldn't save everyone, and she was far from the best right now.
“I’m not saying it was ok that people died but that is a terrifyingly low number if you take into account how many people were there.” Moon added.
“Yeah, I know. It just hurts a little that I probably could have saved those people if I had more mana.”
“Wait, so you were late because you ran out of mana?” Kaki asked.
“Yeah… It was not pleasant.”
“And you're alright now?” Luminus asked.
“Yeah. Couldn’t drink potions anymore at that point so I just slept for a while.”
“Why didn’t you say anything to me?” Narissa said, clearly worried for her friend.
“I was busy, dreaming of Mia in a cute dress.” Shishen joked.
“HA HA! Very funny. Seriously, at least send a messenger.”
“Next time, I will.”
“Try not to have a next time.”
With that, they began to move into the forest, in the direction of the dungeon.
Near the Dungeon entrance
“Looks like we finally have a winner. Before they come out, I need a report. What happened so far?” The hooded man commanded his group as he appeared from a portal in front of them.
“Fight took 6 days to finish. The dungeon is collapsing and will spill something shortly.” The sickly man informed.
“We can’t take the city anymore. The beast-girl got rid of our sleeper agents and the dwarf girl used some merchant magic that revitalized the entire economy of the city.” The elf woman reported.
“The nuisances that we planted on the beach were all rescued and the monsters wiped out.” The burly man reported.
“And the bandits?” The hooded man asked.
“Completely and utterly defeated. Those knight boys are something else. I felt their bloodlust. It got me so excited I almost jumped and took one for myself.” The human woman explained.
“I sent the guards back to the city. No one will interrupt us.” The elf man said.
“The secondary objectives don’t really matter in the great scheme of things. Get ready to recover the legacy!” The hooded man commanded with glee and bloodlust in his eyes.