"Derrik, did you check if you packed everything?"
"Yes, for the third time, I made sure that everything is still there"
"Not this again. You two, how many times are you gonna fight before we reach our destination?"
A group of three, two men and one woman, causally walked along a dirt road arguing among each other.
Soft clanking noises came from the man in front, whose armor and weapons bumped into each other every few steps. Being a fighter he had learnt to ignore the clanking over time, but Derrik had told him many times to watch the way he moves or else he would ruin any stealth they attempt. Since his armor was made out of hardened leather and metal plates, such as a chest piece or an arm guard. He could avoid making noise, so long as he moves with careful and measured steps, but that required concentration which he would rather use to watch his surroundings.
It was for this reason, that the other two followed his lead, even as they argued.
"What? Someone has to make sure this idiot didn't forget something important again. Remember the mission in the poison swamp?" The woman snapped back at the leader of their group and shot an accusatory look his way. The long robe and large hat she wore, waved in the wind, as she tapped the wooden staff in her hand against the ground to accentuate her point.
The leader Jona flinched at that statement, while Derrik turned his head to the side, as if the trees they passed had suddenly become really interesting.
Seeing their reaction she sighed and added "We need a few important items to safely complete this mission, so I'll ask even if it annoys you"
""Sorry"" Jona and Derrik looked don with an apologetic expression. Jona, being the leader of the group, turned his head and said "Derrik, do a full check and we'll consider the matter settled"
The woman, Hannah, smiled satisfied and nodded in agreement.
"Sure thing, boss" Derrik answered and shrugged.
As the rogue he carried a large bag full of materials to quickly build makeshift traps and the others weren't shy about using this fact to make him carry their stuff, which is why he was had all their supplies.
While he complained about it constantly, he was only half serious since their group was pretty good at supporting each other. He bore the burden of transporting everybodies supplies but when he needed to be a sneaky rogue, he passed the bag to Jona, who would then complain about it being heavy despite being partially at fault.
"Alright, lets see. Four torches, six fire resistance potions and one flame retardant bag. We're good"
Derrik listed the items they would need while looking through his bag and then at the end gave a thumbs up.
"Alright, if we're set, lets keep going. I want to reach our destination before sunset" Jona said pointing forward.
Hannah pouted upon hearing Jonas remark, thinking she was the reason the group had stopped wasting valuable sunlight. After all the forest road they were traveling through would become much more dangerous at night.
Jona saw her face from the corner of his eyes.
"It's all good, you know. I'm sure Derrik is happy about a small break" He said, while watching Derrik sling the bag over his shoulder and nearly falling backwards.
"I wish we could hire a porter though" He grunted because of the bags weight.
"What do you mean? You're already part of the team" Jona said jokingly.
Hannah chuckled, while Derrik rolled his eyes.
"What I mean is that scummy noble could have paid a porter, since we're procuring an important item for him"
"You know how stingy they are with money. If he hired a porter, he would have to hire bodyguards for him as well, since we'll be to busy to protect him. Also don't ever call a noble scummy in public. I don't wanna deal with a mess like that" Jona explained patiently, since he knew that Derrik was already aware of the reason. Like someone complaining about the weather he simply wanted to vent some frustration.
"At least we got some money for the fire resistance potions" Hannah commented.
"That's the least he could do for this mission, since he wants us to face a Salamander queen inside of a freaking volcano" Derrik made an exaggerated gesture to express exasperation "Don't you agree, Jona?" He turned towards their leader.
"Well yeah, since the United Frontier Association set a minimum requirement for missions to prevent unnecessary deaths. But still … you should make a habit of not talking about this out loud"
"Fine, but we should still have asked for more" Derrik sighed and shrugged, but a second later saw Jona smirk at him with side glance.
"That's why, when we get there we'll smear some dirt on ourselves and say we encountered a lot more push back then expected. Additional compensation has to be paid for missions that turn out a lot more difficult than initially reported"
"Now that's the boss I know" He exclaimed happily.
"You guys …" Hannah wanted to chide them but the more she thought about it, the more she was happy to go along with it.
The group continued discussing how to get more money from this mission, while marching towards their destination.
A few hours later they stood in front of a massive mountain that extended into a small mountain range.
With the sun slowly setting from behind, the rays of sunshine shining on the mountain to create a picturesque image, as if the light set it ablaze.
"So this is Mount Ignaz. It certainly looks … impressive" Derrik commented.
The other two felt obliged to agreed but didn't put the feeling into words, lest they allow the mountain intimidate them.
"This is the first bronze rank mission we are undertaking, since we become bronze rank ourselves" Jona gave a resolute look to his companions "If we do this right we'll be able to get better missions from the Association, so stay alert" He saw them nod at his statement and he continued "According to the Associations records there should be an entrance nearby. Let's go find it before sun down"
Several entrances were documented in the Associations records, but they also depicted the dangers contained in each of them.
There was a simply reason they had to find it before sun down, since other beast would avoid the entrances. Normally dodging one danger by running head first into something worse would be nothing short of suicidal, however these dangers came with unexpectedly easy solutions.
"There it is" Hannah pointed towards a crevice along the mountains wall, after the group spent nearly an hour searching.
"Good job" Jona praised her with a relieved expression.
"Well done, now comes my part" Derrik said while he rummaged through his bag.
He pulled out one of the torches and lit it before the group headed inside.
The crevice they entered seemed narrow enough to only allow them to walk in single file at first, but once inside it widened into a tunnel like structure.
"Seems the teams before us did a good of creating a passage" Hannah commented to herself while looking around in surprise "They even made the entrance like this, so beast can't enter easily"
"Don't forget to use your skill regularly" Jona insisted and tapped his companions shoulder.
"I know, I know, I'm on it"
[Trap Detect]
Derriks eyes glew for a second when he activated his skill and suddenly certain lines strewn all over the tunnel.
"Alright, I can see them. Make sure to follow my footsteps" Derrik said and started rubbing his feet on the ground with each step to create visible marks.
"Do you think they'll really show up? Shouldn't the torch keep them away?" Hannah asked, while she activated a skill of her own and created a small orb of light that hovered above her staff.
"Didn't you read the records? These bastards are not only meticulous with their traps, they are also persistent. They'll wait for hours if need be"
"We've taken countermeasures against them, so let's hope no Shadow stalkers show up. But if they do, then we'll have to deal with them right then and there" Jona intervined "For now we focus on our mission"
"Boss do you think we can do a quick side mission while we're here?" Derrik asked.
"You got something in mind?"
"Yeah, the Heatglider toxins are, like, really useful" He explained "So I'd want to get my hands on some, for my traps, you know"
"Sure, feel free to milk them dry, if we get the chance. But depending on the situation, you might have to give up it" Jona shrugged.
"Hahaha, I'll keep an eye out for stragglers then" Derrik laughed, as the group continued forward, unaware of the eyes watching them from the shadows.