Doing his best to stifle any sound he made, Zeke snuck through the Garden of Hrund in full gear. Opposite to the sword buckled at the left side of his waist, his mace was buckled on his right. Every step he took made the two weapons clink against his breastplate. In addition to his weapons were two apple-sized metal spheres that were clipped onto the back of his belt. He didn’t expect that he’d need to use the burners, but experience taught him better. He removed his open face helm to adjust the piece of cloth covering his nose and mouth before placing it back upon his head.
‘The first step to longevity as an adventurer is preparation.’ Zeke quoted in his mind as his eyes scanned every direction for danger. ‘An adventurer who neglects to prepare is one who prepares for death.’ He gave a slight smile and glanced at the sky, ‘Gone but not forgotten. Are you watching me even now Sala?’ Zeke shook his head and continued his skulking through the forest, close behind the three rookies he had sighted earlier.
Zeke wanted to forgo his current path and brave the depths of the Garden of Hrund. But he had given an oath to an old friend long ago; an oath to help other adventurers in need at every opportunity. He crept silently just out of sight from the rearmost of the group. The long haired brunette struggled to keep up with the other two in her group, taking deep, exhausted breaths as she moved forward. Zeke shook his head, ‘Foolish.’
“Wait, look!” A voice called from ahead.
Zeke crept forward as the fatigued brunette caught up with the rest of her group. Treading softly, he snuck around a tree off to the side away from the group to see what had given them pause. ‘Ahh, Yellowcaps.’ Zeke grinned, ‘A great introduction.’ He leaned against the tree to watch as the two short haired group members charged towards their targets, ignoring their third group member.
Zeke grumbled to himself, these amateurs would need work.
“Ahhhh!”
“Yaahhhh!”
The two yelled out as they charged. ‘Idiots.’ Zeke thought as he scanned the area for additional threats. Luckily none showed. Zeke didn’t want to reveal himself too soon, and these kids needed to learn some valuable lessons about adventuring. He watched them attack the two small-sized Yellowcaps that stood at three feet tall and a foot wide. Their paralyzing spores would be pretty weak at such a young growth. But Zeke knew they could grow far more if they lived a long time.
The boy, Gerald, met his target first with a stab to the head of the Yellowcap. Zeke grinned, knowing what was about to follow.
“Blech!” Gerald yelled after being bombarded with a large amount of yellow powder that gushed from the Yellowcap’s wound. He collapsed right after, paralyzed from the large amount of spores that were spewed at him. Zeke bit into his knuckle to keep from revealing himself with his laughter.
“Gerald!” the short haired girl yelled as she turned from her target and moved to engage the wounded Yellowcap. Her following offensive proved useless against the squishy body of her foe. Zeke shook his head and looked towards the third group member. The long haired brunette could barely move. ‘Not surprised,’ he thought, ‘she doesn’t look very strong. Weakest of the three by far.’ It was a shameful thought, but one can’t hide from reality.
“Dawn…Watch out!” the long haired girl called to her friend which surprised Zeke.
‘Quite a bit of will in this one to resist the spores this long after gasping for air like she was earlier.’ Perhaps he had misjudged her? Zeke glanced over at the other girl, Dawn, in time to see her be knocked down by the second Yellowcap’s arm. ‘And down goes the second one.’
“Dawn!” the remaining girl yelled. Zeke quickly turned to face the girl, feeling the crackle of energy in the air. She extended her arm and… “Darkbolt.” Barely a whisper, but the word of power resounded through the nearby area for all to hear. A small ball of energy black as night shot from her hand and collided with the nearest Yellowcap. In seconds her target disintegrated in black flames.
“What power…” Zeke whispered in awe. He had encountered many who could channel magic, but never one who used black fire. “How very interesting…” He smirked and stared at the third girl who had collapsed, finally paralyzed by the spores that lingered in the air. The remaining Yellowcap slowly shambled up to Dawn and began to feed upon her. Zeke stepped forward and drew his sword, it was time.
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Frieda could only stare in horror at the beast that fed on her friend. No matter how she tried to look away or close her eyes they wouldn’t move. Frieda had always devoutly prayed at the small church in Opal Creek, giving thanks to The Three for keeping everyone safe from the beasts that roamed the world. Now she prayed as hard as she ever had in life, ‘Gods above please save my friends!’
As if in response to her prayer she heard the sound of footsteps followed by a metallic sound. ‘What…’ was all she could think as she strained to move her eyes in the direction of the sound. The mushroom that fed on her friend withdrew its arm from Dawn’s stomach and turned to face this new threat. The sound of footsteps increased to a run and soon a man in leather and metal armor entered her vision.
Time seemed to slow as she watched the man swing his blade, severing one arm from the mushroom. A second later he spun, fell to his knee and stabbed into the center of the mushroom. The mushroom’s second arm fell limp at its side and the man yanked his sword out. The man nodded, satisfied with his work and sheathed his blade before he knelt next to Dawn. Frieda watched as he pulled his pack from his back, set it next to him and pulled out a roll of bandages and a vial of pinkish liquid.
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The man lightly dripped a small bit of the liquid on the bandage before he re-corked the vial and placed it in his bag. Frieda blushed as the man lifted Dawn’s shirt and began to wrap the bandage around her stomach.
“Gonna sting like the hells for a bit. That’s how you know it works so don’t go ripping these off later.” The man muttered as he tied off the bandage and pulled Dawn’s shirt back down. Next he put the bandages back in his pack and then pulled out another vial, this one filled with dark yellow liquid. He gently lifted Dawn up to a seated position, opened her mouth and poured a few drops of the strange liquid in.
“This part ain’t so bad, stuff tastes like honey once you get used to it.” He tilted her head up to let the liquid slide into her stomach. Almost instantly Dawn began to cough. “Easy there, you’ll be able to move in a few moments so just sit tight till I get to everyone else.”
He rose and lifted his bag and approached Frieda.
“Your turn little mage.” He spoke gently as he did the same with her as he did with Dawn. Seconds later Frieda began to cough as the liquid slowly crawled down her throat. “Now for spore-face over there.” The man spoke with an amused tone as he patted Frieda on the shoulder.
Frieda could feel control coming back to her body as she moved her eyes to follow their savior’s movements. He walked over to Gerald who had fallen forward after being sprayed by a large amount of yellow powder. The man rolled him over, took out a piece of cloth and drenched it with water from a water skin. He then wiped Gerald’s face.
“Bet you haven’t been treated like this since you were a babe, eh kid?” The man chuckled to himself. After cleaning Gerald’s face the man sat him up and made him drink what remained in the vial. Before long Gerald began to cough and gag. “Better keep that medicine down boy, else you’ll have to wait till we get back to town for another vial of the stuff. And the girls’ll have to carry you the whole way there.”
Gerald shut his mouth and swallowed hard in response to the man’s words. Dawn slowly walked over to Gerald and knelt next to him. Frieda studied her friend from afar. Dawn’s face was filled with concern as she looked her brother over for any wounds. But her eyes frantically darted about the forest at every strange animal sound.
“She’s still in shock.” The man explained as he knelt beside the large mushroom that lay unmoving by Frieda. “She’ll come to her senses soon enough.” Frieda watched the man as he pulled the sword out from the cap of the mushroom. “Here, give this to the boy when he comes over here.” He spoke as he handed over Gerald’s sword. Frieda tentatively took it with her right hand, almost dropping it from being surprised at the weight. The man nodded towards her then drew a knife and began cutting apart the mushroom.
“Who are you?” Frieda asked with a whisper as her voice slowly came back.
“Zeke, an adventurer.” He responded simply as he cut into the cap of the mushroom.
“Thank you sir Zeke.” Frieda bowed towards him. The man made a dismissing wave,
“Just Zeke is fine.”
“Ok…Zeke…” She felt weird calling someone she had just met by their first name. “…What are you doing to that thing?” She questioned as the man reached into the cut he made with his knife with his free hand.
“Playing doctor.” Zeke deadpanned as he ripped out a large fleshy looking sac. He then held the sac next to his head and shook it lightly. “Damn, empty. Spore-face over there took the full blast.” He shook his head and tossed the sac away before cutting into the body of the mushroom.
“My name…isn’t spore-face!” Gerald complained as he shuffled towards Zeke and Frieda, supported by Dawn. Frieda held out Gerald’s sword for him, which he took with a nod and sheathed it at his waist. “Thanks Frie.” Frieda nodded,
“These are my friends Mr. Zeke. Gerald and Dawn. My name is Frieda.”
“A pleasure.” He responded as he cut the body of the mushroom into rectangular slices about three inches thick. After cutting the body into pieces he placed as many of the slices into his pack and handed the rest to the group that had watched him butcher in silence.
“Why’d you do all this?” Gerald asked as he held a few slices, no longer needing to lean on his sister for support. He glanced at his sister who shrugged in response.
“The meat from a Cap is worth a bit of coin to chefs and food merchants.” Zeke explained.
“A…cap?” Dawn asked as she stared at the remains of the mushroom monster that had been draining her insides. She began to dry-heave at the phantom pain she still felt from being stabbed in the chest.
“Caps are what we call the monstrous mushrooms. The ones that you fought were Yellowcaps, called that because of their yellow heads.” Zeke kicked the Yellowcap’s remains for emphasis. “These lovely beasts are the weakest monsters you’ll ever face in this forest.”
Together the three felt their blood freeze.
“Weakest…” Gerald whispered.
“That’s right. And you three almost died fighting them.” Zeke lowered the cloth that covered his nose and mouth and let it hang around his neck. He gave them all a bright smile, “Welcome to the life of an adventurer kids.”