It was the combination of drowsiness and a cold wind that made me hate winter mornings. Despite my enhanced constitution, I was just cold enough to shiver, but I was also too tired to do anything about it. Even though it had been 2 years straight of early mornings, I had never gotten used to them. The journey to the mines took us about half an hour, but it sure felt longer. I wasn't a coffee person back on earth, but damned if I didn't miss it.
We approached the entrance of the mine embedded on a hillside some distance south of Travelm. The journey had been uneventful, but at least the walk had woken me up. We did one last gear check before John nodded to me and I lit his torch with a fire spell. I would have preferred to carry one myself, but in the event of an ambush, I needed my hands free. John led the way with what little light the torch provided. Of course, my mutant eyes had no need for the pitiful light source, but John didn't know that.
The entrance was wide at first, but after some drop in elevation, the passages began to narrow. Every hour or so, our torch would start to dim, and we would be forced to swap to the next. Before long, an eerie silence overtook the place, and John broke the silence with small talk.
"So what brings a young talent like you around these parts? There ain't much to see in Travelm and even less to do." His voice echoed throughout the cave.
I pondered the question for a moment. My decision to visit the town was mostly on a whim, I didn't need to conceal my intentions for once, but I doubted he would be satisfied with the real answer. "I'm just passing through, I thought it would be best to wait out the winter down here in the south." I replied non-chalantly.
"Well you got that right, folks round here don't know how lucky they are that the winters are so mild." His voice trailed off as if he had more to say on the subject, but he didn't elaborate. "So… where are you heading to?" He followed up as if nothing happened.
"Casparia." I replied. It was the empire's capital and the biggest city on the continent of Aeterra. If I needed to further bullshit, there was almost nothing that couldn't be found in the capital. It was the perfect excuse of a destination.
"Casparia, you say? Well, be careful — the place ain't what it used to be. John replied with a sour tone.
"What do you mean?" I inquired further.
He paused for a moment, then opened his mouth. "Ah, what the hell, I'm already putting my life in your hands once—what more harm could it do? Look Brutus, I don't know where you're from, but surely you've heard the rumors about the Emperor." John asked.
Rumors? I had heard no such thing. My only source of knowledge on the empire had come from the many books I had read, and no one would dare slander an emperor then sign their name to it. It would be like signing their own death warrant.
"Where I come from, we don't get much news from outside our village." I replied.
"Well I'm sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, but everything's gone to shit. Emperor Tiberian has gone mad. He purged the senate, leaving no one but snakes and yes men left. He continues to escalate the losing wars against Mastria and Hearthon, while the very senators who heap praise upon him, conspire behind his back. If it wasn't for the hungry wolves at our borders, the empire would already be in civil war." He vented under the guise of informing me.
"Pardon my ignorance, but how could a blacksmith from a village that barely registers on the map know so much about the state of the imperial court?" I asked, careful not to insult his pride.
"You're no idiot kid, you think I got this good growing up in a town forsaken by the gods? I wasn't always this pathetic you know." His anger turned to sorrow, and his eyes wandered to places only he could see.
It was true, he was far too talented of a weaponsmith to have come from such an insignificant town. I wondered if it would be too far to press deeper into his personal background, but before I could decide, I felt a distant vibration through the ground. I lowered my ear to the ground in an effort to make heads or tails of it.
"What's wrong?" John asked, noticing my strange posture.
"Something's coming, get behind me!" I ordered John and began casting a spell. The rumbling only grew louder until I could discern a faint pair of outlines approaching us. Before long, I had realised what it was.
"It's a horde of kobolds! Stay behind me and whatever you do, don't draw attention to yourself." I turned to John and informed him. Kobolds were two legged lizard-like creatures, and a bit shorter than the average human. But every mention I had seen of them in the library described them as territorial creatures, so where were they going? And why in such a hurry?
The horde beared down upon us before I could find the answer to my question. I began a performative chant before it was too late. They grew closer and their growls soon filled the hall. When my chant had finished, I drew my sword and took a battle stance.
I didn't have to hold the spell long before the group of around 20 kobolds entered its effective range. They were disorganized and ragged, equipped with an assortment of junk, scrap armor, and poor weapons.
I released the tier 3 spell 'icicle volley' at the horde's center of mass. Icicle volley was almost identical to icicle hail, except that it resided on a two dimensional matrix which allowed for two major upgrades: The number of icicles that could be launched from the spell was 15, tripling the count from icicle hail, and the momentum and strength of the icicles was greater than those of the tier 2 spell.
A torrent of icicles ripped through the front lines of the kobolds, sending 10 of them sprawling onto the ground. 5 had died on the spot, and the remaining five were badly maimed. The rest of the volley didn't find a mark. Their gurgles and death cries echoed throughout the hall, breaking the peaceful atmosphere inside the cave. The shock of the attack brought the rest of the kobolds back to reality. The rest of the horde was still running towards us, but this time in battle formation. A wave of 5 tightly grouped kobolds surged at me with shields in hand. Before they could close the short distance that remained between us, I reached for three of my throwing knives. With a flick of my wrist, they each struck at the approaching wave's feet in quick succession. 3 of the kobolds fell to the floor, their thin legs buckling under the pain from the foreign objects now lodged inside of them.
Before they could recover, I lunged to finish the 3 off, but was intercepted by the remaining 2. I crossed blades with the one on my left flank while kicking the shield of the one on my right. My mana infused kick sent the little lizard flying into the cave wall and collapsing to the floor in a daze. With the remaining kobold's blade locked against my own, I tore away its shield with my free hand, leaving it exposed. Before it could recover, my knee found its way to the kobold's chest, sending it reeling back in pain. While it still had its sword lowered from the shock of the blow, I decapitated it with a swift follow up strike.
With 3 quick stabs I put the kobolds, who had yet to recover from my throwing knives, out of their misery. Just as I stabbed the last one, I was rushed by the remaining 6 standing kobolds. 5 assaulted from the front while the earlier kobold who had recovered from its daze resumed its attack on my right flank. With a rabid vengeance, all 6 of them collapsed on me at the same time. With no time to cast a spell, I was about to retreat when I stopped myself. I could have created space with a burst of quick feet, but John was still standing behind me. If I retreated too far, he would not fare well armed with just a torch. I clicked my tongue in annoyance, my own life was worth more to me, but I was not yet ready to give up. I wound up for a wide slash, hoping to deflect all 6 blades with one strike. It was a desperate gambit, but I didn't see any other choice.
"Watch out!" John yelled at me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw blaze erupt and strike the flanking kobold. The torch hit the poor creature, lighting its rags with ease and sending it onto the floor sprawling in pain. It screamed in agony as its flesh melted, but the sight did not deter the others. When their blades had reached me I unleashed my parry. Two of the blades were deflected and I ducked the third, but the 4th and 5th hit home. The 4th only managed a scratch on the top of my shoulder, but I had grabbed the 5th with my off hand. Had I not used quick hands, or the kobold had been a better swordsman, I may have lost my hand. But the sword still cut deep into my palm and the searing pain grabbed hold of my mind.
Every fiber in my hand burned, but I knew there was no time to address it. I grit my teeth and yanked the blade as hard as I could. Its wielder soon found his body impaled on my blade as a second wave of strikes came from the remaining enemies. I used the corpse as a shield and intercepted all 4 blades. With a burst of infusion magic to strengthen my legs and arms, I hurled the corpse at the remaining 4 kobolds with all the strength I could muster. They tried to escape, but the 2 in the middle could not dodge in time. Their weapons were knocked out of their hands as they fell to the floor, pinned by the corpse.
With haste, I lunged at one of the 2 remaining standing kobolds. He attempted to mount a defense, but he stood no chance. Within 3 strikes, My blade found his throat, and I had moved on to the final opponent. Before the last light of the burning corpse faded, I grabbed some of the flame using first tier magic. Light returned to the cave once more, and John seemed relieved. The kobold hissed at me, clearly more cautious than it had been at the beginning of the fight. I glared back at the lizard who to my surprise, proceeded to drop his sword and plead for his life. "W-wait, S-Scratch surrenders to s-s-strong human! If spare scratch life, debt scratch will owe you." The pitiful creature spoke in a broken human tongue.
"What could you possibly offer to me? After you and your friends tried to kill me, I'm not really in a trusting mood." I snarled at the creature. His eyes darted in thought for a moment as my patience ran thin. "Metals? Yes yes, humans come here, only one reason. Metals! Show them to you, Scratch can! Hehe?" The kobold offered frantically. I sat and pondered his words for a moment. I didn't trust the shifty kobold one bit, but he was hardly a threat all alone. If it turned out he was lying, disposing of him would be no challenge. I headed over to john and lit another torch from his bag. I dispelled my fire and looked at John for his opinion. "The decision is yours. Though I only trust him as far as I could throw him, you are the client of this exhibition." I handed the offer over to John.
"Naturally, I share your reservations Brutus, I truly do. But— if on the off-chance he's telling the truth, it would save us a lot of trouble. No one has explored these mines in years, without his help, we're just stumbling in the dark here. To tell you the truth, I truly expected to have found at least a small vein by now." John answered. Though it was the alias I had chosen, being called 'Brutus' caught me off guard.
"Fine." I exhaled in reluctance. I turned back to scratch and addressed him, "It's your lucky day, I'll give you one shot. But if you lead us to nowhere or look lost for even a second, I'll kill you where you stand." Scratch's eyes lit up with joy. "Thank you, human. Trust Scratch you can. Regret this, you won't. Come, come! Show you the way, Scratch will." The creature continued in his backwards speech. Seeing that their comrade had betrayed them, the remaining two kobolds which had finally managed to wrestle the corpse off of them, scurried off into the darkness leaving their maimed allies to bleed to death. Soon after, Scratch took to all fours and merrily led us further into the mine. The passages remained windy and varied. There was no sense of floors to the place, but I could tell we were descending. I healed my minor wounds with tier 2 light magic along the way to kill the time.
"So where were you and your clan in such a hurry to go earlier? Aren't your kind rather territorial in nature?" I interrogated Scratch, suspicious of our encounter. "Yes yes, smart human, once again. Long time, we live here— But king of shadows encroaches. Shadows bring death, so we flee. Scratch weak, King strong, must no fight." Scratch seemed to explain the best he could. "So you were fleeing this 'king of shadows' then?" I asked to confirm my understanding. "Yes yes, for attack you, Scratch is sorry. Here in cave, no friends, only family." Scratch responded. "So what you're saying is you're leading us back into danger?" I asked with concern. "Perhaps— Metals this way, so is king, but human strong, Scratch not worried." The creature explained himself.
I pinched my nose in disbelief. "We're gonna die here, aren't we?" I mumbled to myself outloud. "What?" John asked. "Nothing." I replied. Before long, Scratch had led us to our destination. A bright light shone in from a corridor at the end of the hall. I approached with caution, allowing my eyes to adjust to the light. I stepped into the room with only one thought on my mind, 'Here we fucking go again.'