In the a mine, near the town where Fren just started his journey, rattling sounds of metal being force bent is disturbing the wild life, noises made by green small creatures.
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“Harry! nice to see you today, I need to ask you for a favor” Fren casually says as he approaches the smith. Harry looks at Dan with a odd look.
“What’s with the fancy words?"
“Da… Fren, Harry knows about… everyone in the village knows.” Dan says as he pulls Fren’s cloths.
“Knows about what?… wait… was it today? did it already happen?” Harry is in shock, he drops his beloved tongs from his hands a opens his mouth in shock.
“Harry, this is Fren… um… he’s the hope to save the village.” Dan awkwardly says, it is certainly a difficult thing to deal with for him, let alone the need to explain it to another. Harry, still in shock, kneels to lift the tongs but fails a few times as his eyes are fixed on Fren.
“Harry, I know this is a lot to handle, but I have been tasked with saving this village from an impending doom. I need weapons, and some armor if you have any.” Fren says to the smith.
A moment in thought passes for the smith and then he replies. “I’m afraid that cannot be done.”
He begins to explain “The mines used to gather iron are overrun with Goblins, even if I did have more experience with weapons and armor, nuts and bolts are all I can make.” Harry finishes with a sigh and a sad look to the ground. He absolutely wants to help, the hopelessness he has over the situation is… excruciating, to think that his dear friend Dali gave his life while Harry couldn't make anything of value for the same cause.
“Then I’ll have to clear the mine form them” Dan and Harry look at Fren with slight shock.
“With what? the family axe and naughty words to hurt their feelings?”
“From what I understand, what doom threatens the village is a hundred times worse than a handful of goblins. If I am supposed to save the village I will need to able to at least-” before he finishes he is interrupted by Dan.
“DAD NO! it’s too dangerous just like this… I know it’s…” but he cannot come up with an argument, he begins to question if bringing the outsider was even able to change things. It was a gambit, calling him hoping he will be stronger than whatever doom lies beneath but now he’s just a-
“I am not your dad” These words hurt Dan, “And I am not going to give up, I can at least try. I can’t bring back your father, but his sacrifice did not mean nothing.”
What astounding brave words! Conviction to help the cause, to try and help not only the living but the dead by making their lives worth more even after they’re finished. It excites me so much! These are the words that Dan needed to hear just then , but more importantly it was what Harry needed to hear in order to say
“I think… if Jade was here, he could do it. Old Rodrick was the one who brought him up, he was an adventurer too, once, maybe he can help.” Harry gives a suggestion.
“An adventurer… I think I understand what kind of place this is. Do you know the way, Dan?” Fren asks and Dan nods to mean yes.
Before they go Harry call to Fren “Come back after that, I might have a few gardening tools I can sharpen to look like a sword or a pike.”
Stolen story; please report.
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Tiny green men, with blisters and warts, walk in the abandoned mines. It is amazing they have the intellect to start a fire when they can hardly count with what fingers they have.
A few stand guard, or at least pretend to. Some hammer picks and shovels with rocks or with each other to make them more like weapons. Most others play by starting fights. Others enter the mines with dead boars and plenty of injuries.
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“I heard you the first time! no need to knock so loud” An unhappy voice makes it’s way to the door of a house with stone foundations, it stands out quite a bit in the village. The door opens and before Fren and Dan outside an old man is standing.
“Dali, and Dan too… wait, wasn’t today…”
Once again Dan needs to explain what they’re doing there and that Fren is not Dali but Fren starts to explain first. “Name’s Fren, I heard you were an adventurer once.” Fren leans in for a handshake which startles Rodrick, especially after hearing that he is indeed a stranger.
“Fren…” he quietly lets out staring shocked at Dan.
“Rodrick, you used to be an adventurer, right? you even taught Jade all he knows.” Dan excitedly asks Rodrick.
“I just saw he has potential and referred him, yes… referred means to tell someone else how good someone is so they hire them.” Rodrick explains the strange word to Dan who is just a village boy. “But what’s all this about? I’m not strong enough to fight the monster under the village. I can hardly lift my old gear. Gear is-“
“I know what gear is,” Fren stops him. “We need you for something else. There is an issue with goblins at the mine, without clearing them out there won’t be any way to make gear for me to save the village with.”
Rodrick has a curious look on his face “Alright then, come in, have a drink.” he welcomes them inside, soon enough they all sit next to a table.
“Goblins, well that’s fine, but don’t count on me to help you with any other endeavor… you know wh-“
“Yes, I know what endeavor means.” Fren says, Dan doesn’t know, but he quietly let’s it pass over him.
Rodrick begins a lecture, he plans on putting out all he remembers, this brings him back to his younger years when they had lectures like these in the guild. He was a hunter so he had pretty in depth training, but village folk can hardly tell between a hunter and an adventurer so the rank diminished when he decided to stay in the village.
“Goblins are small, weak and cowardly. The weapon of choice for that is a sword, the bigger the better, fighting many enemies at once is no easy task, even if they fall quick. They might be cowards but they are stupid too, they’ll sometimes surprise you with how dumb they are so intimidation alone isn’t enough.”
This one was brought from personal experience, he remembers his first encounter with goblins, one jumped to attack and was impaled on Rodrick’s sword without it being swung, if it weren’t for his fellow hunters he’d be dead before he could pull the sword out of the goblins chest as the other goblins saw this opportunity.
“They also know how to use tools, they won’t make more than sharp sticks on their own but if they found an abandoned mine, it’s probably safe to assume they will use picks and shovels.” Dan wanted to ask what the word ‘assume’ means but saw that Fren is too engrossed with the lecture.
“Lastly, if they barely have the smarts to band together, making an attack together at a mine is evident of them being banded by a superior , Goblins are very subservient to powerful monsters, it could be an orc, or a demon of some sort. Most likely it’s one I know of, his name is…”
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The boars are cooked and ready, but none of the goblins take a bite. They look at it with luscious eyes as it tantalizes them.
From the innards of the mine, a goblin appears, he is bigger than the rest and he adorns himself with some precious jewelry, and wields a big axe and a small round shield.
The rest cower from him, letting him reach the meal first. He drops the axe and shield and takes a big chunk from side of the bigger boar and bites into it, letting it’s juices sully his arms to his elbow and his face to his chin.
The food is already cold now, after he finishes he leaves back where he came. Only now do the others feast in a violent manner where speed is key for a good meal.
The huge goblin one returns to sit on his chair, unbeknown to him it is a wrecked wheelbarrow. With his arm and face dripping oil and fat he quietly sits, gripping his axe in one hand.
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…Gaveng”