G didn't know what to say. Telling the hobgoblin the magic was part of his character's starting package didn't sound like it would go over very well in his mind.
"It was a gift when I came here," said G.
"A gift? That is a mighty gift. A magical link to the fabled Great Library of Vilmara is a rare gift indeed, " said Jowl Beard as he cast a spell. The dirt and bits of webbing still clinging to him fell to the ground. The hobgoblin wore some leather armor sewn into a heavy robe with strips of studded leather covering evenly around him like the creases of a pumpkin. It looked like he could move freely in the clothes and still have protection from physical attacks.
G didn't realize this was some special gift. It seemed pretty normal for all the games he had ever played. But when knowledge is power, restricting that knowledge is even more power. He still didn't trust this guy. Magical contract or no, he wasn't about to tell him more than he had to about Tocai or his abilities.
G pointed at the jacket Jowl Beard still wore.
"My jacket, please, " said G.
Jowl Beard looked down, shrugged, then gave G his jacket back.
"What is the Great Library of Vilamra?" asked G as he pulled his jacket back on.
Jowl Beard looked at G in puzzlement. He was clearly trying to figure out if G was joking. He flicked the last visible piece of the web off his clothes and spoke slowly with reverence, "There is a place that few know its location. It is said to contain all the secrets of existence, and the God of Knowledge Vilamra, catalogs and watches over all it contains. Even followers of Vilamra do not know its location. Most followers do not have any real power, though. They spend their days and nights with their noses stuck in books ignoring the world around them in their pursuit of some esoteric bit of knowledge about magic or the gods. "
G nodded, trying to look like he knew this but felt he was failing miserably, "Rest assured, I also have no idea where this Great Library is. " G paused a moment, "Hey, could you show me how to clean my clothes like that?" asked G. His clothes had been getting a bit pungent, and the sticky web bits were here and there on his arms and clothes.
Jowl Beard's face became a smirk. He must think G was insane or a liar, "You can commune with the Great Library, but you can't do a simple cleanliness spell? What kind of elf are you? "
G stood, "I'm an Aardsylvian if you must know. If you don't want to show me, that's fine. I don't need the sarcasm. " G started walking away to gather more of the bottles of water and any other useful items he could find before they left to find Ryan, the murderous devil worshiper his fate was tied to. "
Jowl Beard gave out a huff, "I did not mean to insult you. I do not understand how someone who cast raw mana at their enemies and called upon the Great Library wouldn't know such a simple spell. I will show you, and you can explain what an Aardsylvian is in exchange. In the city of Mirbor and most places, spells are sold, bought, or traded for. Magic is power, and power has a price. "
G mentally looked through his inventory. He had two silver and seven copper. It appeared in his hand. "I have this if you'd like. It is all I have. " He held his hand with the coins.
"That, that is what I'm talking about. How did you do that? " asked Jowl Beard with both eyebrows raised, "I didn't see you cast any spell, and I do not see any magic items about you. Are you a god or a lesser god? No god would be unaware of the dark pathways or how to clean their clothes. Tell me, elf, where are you from? I've never heard of Aardsylvian, and I wish to understand what I've just pledged myself to."
G thought about this. The hobgoblin hadn't been aggressive since he had freed him, and the magical contract looked pretty powerful, but what happened after he fulfilled the terms? G made a decision. He had never liked when people misled him or let him be misled. He was stuck here till, well, who knows how long, and the last thing he wanted was someone thinking he wasn't a man or an elf to be trusted. He stood there thinking about this as the silence dragged on uncomfortably long.
G spoke in a serious tone. His usual light voice disappeared as he told Jowl Beard the truth. "I am from far away. Much farther than I can describe. It was not my choice to come here; the person who caused this was your Queen's consort, Ryan. He killed some of my friends; if I do not stop him, he will destroy my world. I know very little about your world or the dark pathways. I need your help to accomplish my mission. " He watched the hobgoblin as Jowl Beard absorbed the information.
"Ryan summoned you? That explains a great deal. You do not appear to be a demon or a celestial. " Jowl Beard paused a moment before continuing. "I will help you find and kill this human. He has brought nothing but ill upon me, and when this is done, we will part ways. I will show you the magic of cleaning your clothes and help you until this is completed. You do not need to pay me as payment has already been received. " He raised the now empty bottle and then tossed it to G. "You should keep your secrets to yourself. Others will not be so kind or generous. Now, watch, and I will demonstrate."
G spent over an hour learning what turned out to be a simple spell. He realized halfway through that he knew nothing about magic, what foci powers were, and how the mana flowed. He picked up the spell, though, which shocked Jowl Beard, who G was certain now, thought of him as a complete idiot.
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Spell Learned!
Wizard Cantrip
Mana Cleansing - Mana 20, Range 3 meters.
This spell allows the novice caster to manipulate up to half a kilogram of dirt or water. The movement at rank one is 4 centimeters per minute plus 1 centimeter per rank of the spell.
G tried it on himself, thinking about the dirt leaving his clothes. Every bit of dirt, plus some he didn't know was there, moved away from his body a few centimeters. He stopped the spell, and the dirt and dust dropped or floated to the ground. Nice, that's a good spell. It didn't fix the holes in his outfit where the spider had damaged it, but he was happy to see everything, but the dried blood smear was removed.
Jowl Beard spoke, watching him cast, "When your skill improves, you will be able to clean other things, such as the dried blood and even keep dirt from getting on you in the first place. It's a good spell that most adepts learn in their earliest years. After learning this spell, hobgoblin adepts are sent through the halls to practice and clean as part of their daily tasks."
G nodded, "I'll keep practicing it. Thank you. "
Jowl Beard gave G a slight bow, "You are welcome."
"Let's finish gathering what we can use here. I know of a couple of doors that need opening if we can," said G, thinking of the two small metal doors in the hallway.
The two of them spent another couple of hours prying and banging the doors open in the corridor to find another almost empty room with several more broken chairs. The second room was a utility closet where G found a few handles for mops made of wood and a great deal of copper wire he stored. The holes in the walls indicated this was the electrical and network closet for the floor. Almost nothing remained that he could identify other than the copper wires.
Once they were done looking through the rooms, G led Jowl Beard to the big iron exit door and spun the wheel, releasing the bolts.
"This is the exit and near where you netted me. I can secure the door if you help me close it. It won't be much, but I don't think anyone will be able to get in unless they know how to open it. " said G. He and the Hobgoblin pulled the door back to allow them to slip out. Before G left, he pushed a bit of a chair onto the handle and wrapped two thick strands of wire around the wheel, one to open it and one to close it. It would only be a half turn, but it should be enough to hold it if nobody discovered the wire's ends in the groove under the door.
G closed it, pulled one of the wires till it locked, and kicked dirt over the ends of the wire in the groove under the door. G turned to join Jowl Beard, who watched the dark pathways tunnel leading into the darkness.
G looked down at Crewton. The dog hadn't done much more than sniff Jowl Beard once G released the hobgoblin. He didn't seem concerned about the mercenary once he had made that contract promise. Tocai hadn't said a word since G had started talking to the hobgoblin.
The group walked from the metal door of Area 51 into the dark pathways. It wasn't far when they came upon where the spiders had attacked the day before. The corpses were all gone, and there were smears of blood leading off into the tunnel ahead of them. He was expecting to find some smelly mess of rotting giant insects and goblins, but they were all gone.
Jowl Beard gave a throaty growl, "My sword is gone. " He looked at the floor of the cave. There were many different small prints in the blood and ichor. "These are Corpse Roaches. We don't want to follow them. They will leave us be if we stay out of their nesting area. There were several branches to the passage near here. We should not find them in the one we need to take. "
G looked through his inventory briefly. There were several of the goblin's hooked short swords and one larger sword that looked like a falchion. A large curved blade that narrowed as it reached the handle, a straight hilt with leather wrapped handle. He took it from his inventory, and it appeared in his hand.
"Is this yours? " asked G. He wasn't really comfortable giving Jowl Beard the sword but having an unarmed tag along wasn't a good idea either. Corpse Roaches? He really didn't even want to find out what those were. Spells were only good if you had time to cast them, and he would need some front-line work if he was going to have time to cast spells.
Jowl Beard looked at G, "That is it. Whatever magic you are using to hide these items, you should keep to yourself. If others find out you can do this, they will kill you just so you won't steal from them, or worse, they will kill or torture you to see what falls out. "
"Nothing falls out if they kill me, " said G.
Jowl Beard just nodded as he took his sword and gave it a few swings. He stuck it through the empty half sheath that G hadn't noticed before as it looked like the leather sewn into his robes.
"Did you manage to pick up any of the food that was in the camp? " asked Jowl Beard.
G looked in his inventory. He didn't see any packs or food. "I didn't find any food or bags if that is your question. "
Jowl Beard nodded, "The goblins must have returned before leaving to report to the Queen. I know our scout was down the tunnel a half-hour distance when the spiders attacked us. He would have found the bodies and gone back to report the mission failure. Your corpse was there to see. I do not know how you live now, but he will report back that you are dead, which will give us time to find a way into the city and kill this Ryan de Alb-"
G interrupted him, "That isn't his name. His name is Ryan Tenebris. The name he gave you is the city he must be from, " said G.
"That is wise of him. Giving others your true name would be dangerous. A capable magician or shaman could use it to harm him and you if you give your real name. I assume G isn't it, " said Jowl Beard.
G just smiled, he didn't know if the name on his character sheet mattered as his true name or not, but he wasn't about to give anyone his real name if he could help it. "G is good enough, " he said.
Jowl Beard nodded, "There is a mushroom grove a couple of hours from here. We should be able to find something edible there. We will need to be careful and quiet. Two alone is a dangerous number. It is best to travel these ways with large groups. Predators will avoid large groups of travelers. If we are lucky and quiet, we should make it. Follow, and I will lead. "
Jowl Beard turned and started down the dark blood smeared passage.
G looked down at Crewton. "What do you think, Crew? Should we follow this fellow into the dark? " G looked back the way they had come thinking about the safety of the Area 51 tunnels now that he had them cleared of spiders. He looked down at his dog as Crewton just sat there wagging his tail in the dust. G took a deep breath, turned, and followed the hobgoblin into the dark pathways.