Trudging through the mossy tunnel, a cloaked figure chose his steps, careful not to slip or fall on the moist surface rich in algae and lichens. His mismatched eyes glowed in the dim lighting, reflecting the bioluminescence of the occasional mushrooms and berries lining the walls and floor as he peered through the rift in front of him to discern the way forward.

  The ambience of the tunnel worsened the deeper he ventured into it, devolving into a mixture of pungent smells. The sounds were equally as uninviting, with each drip of water and scurry of wayward rodents echoing far beyond their normal reach. At times, the path ahead would get narrower and he would have to hunch down on his knees to crawl through safely. At others, the tunnel would suddenly open into caverns lined with limestone stalactites and stalagmites demanding soft yet agile footwork to achieve safe passage.

  The adventurer was well prepared for the venture from the looks of it, unperturbed by the darkness of his surroundings and the nauseating sense of being deep underground, surrounded by rocky walls on all sides. With steps nimble enough to not disturb any loose stalactites and a cloak which flowed like silk between the jagged outcroppings of terrain underneath, he made his way through the depths. As he delved deeper, the multitude of ambient echoes were overshadowed by a much deeper noise, reverberating through the tunnels at regular intervals. It seemed to grow in magnitude the deeper he ventured in, showing no signs of abating anytime soon.

  The overbearing, rhythmic echoes of the sounds he was following were not his only objective. Occasionally, he would take a detour among the tunnels in search of glowing mushrooms, low-hanging berries and other foliage hidden in the darkness of the earthen corridors. It was akin to a ritual each time he took a knee or climbed up using an adjacent foothold to reach the right surfaces and crevices. After gathering a handful of shrubbery, the adventurer wiped it off his grey gloves into one of many velvet pouches fastened under his cloak before returning his attention towards the ever-present echoes of something deep in the darkness.

  After what felt like many, many hours, he was finally met with a semblance of proper lighting – the tunnel opened into a massive, lush cavern lit up by bioluminescent vegetation along its roof. A large pool of water reflected the foliage above, bathing the cavern below in subliminal lighting, as if illuminated by moonlight. The tunnel’s footing ended not long after opening into the cave, barely reaching a few meters before ending abruptly into a dangerous fall directly into deadly stalagmites underneath.

  He had also found the apparent source of the drafts of wind he had been following in the form of two large figures hunched over near the edges of the pool. Their bodies gradually rose and fell as they slept, their loud snores causing the cavern floor to shake slightly with each breath. The adventurer’s eyes narrowed through a pair of slits in the white mask covering his entire face as he honed in on them, preparing his plan of action.

  “Found the cave trolls, Nik?” a female voice whispered from behind him. A small figure peeked out of his backpack, wriggling out and floating next to him. The voice had come from what seemed to be a lifelike wooden doll, conveying the tone of a mature, older woman. “I suppose taking this approach was part of your plan?”

  “Jump on one of them,” Nikolas replied with a slight nod of his head. “Then figure out what to do with the other. Sounds good to you, Sera?” he asked, unsheathing from his belt what seemed to be a sword broken right after its blade began.

  “Success depends only on your resolve,” Sera replied, before returning to the safety of his backpack and shutting it on the way in.

  Nikolas flicked the broken sword once - it lit up brightly and glowing energy rose from its broken edge, forming a proper sword. Plumes of blueish energy danced back and forth from the sword like the tip of a flame, save for its edge which remained unwavering. There was a sense of certainty in Nikolas’s eyes as he took a few steps back into the tunnel.

  With a running start, he leaped off of the edge of the tunnel and into the cavern below, speeding feet-first towards one of the sleeping trolls. Holding the sword in a plunging motion with its blade pointed downward, Nikolas landed on one of the trolls and drove the blade into its skull.

  ACK!

  The troll died almost instantly, its body making a final involuntary motion before slumping back to the ground. Nikolas was able to unsheathe the blade from its skull in a smooth motion, its very blood burning up when exposed to the blade’s surface. The rest of it began to form a puddle underneath, eventually contaminating the cavern’s pool.

  The other troll which had been sleeping on the far side of the cave now rolled over. It looked around itself in a daze from the abrupt interruption, scratching its head for a few seconds before realizing that an uninvited guest had dared to enter their territory. Upon smelling the fresh blood of its companion in the water, the troll stood up and raised its fists with a mighty roar that made the cavern shudder.

  Nikolas was unperturbed by the development, diminishing his blade to its cracked edge before sidestepping to dodge a falling stalactite. A cursory glance above them told him that more were to follow if the troll kept up its cries of rage. He promptly broke into a run towards his 50-foot adversary while weaving past the raining rocks with deft strafes and turns.

  The troll lunged forward at Nikolas with another roar, using its large stature to close the gap between them. It used both hands to swipe at him twice in quick succession. Already working with a narrow path of safety, Nikolas managed to dodge the first swipe by rolling past it. The second swipe seemed to catch him off-guard from behind, but a quick ignition of his blade from under his cloak made short work of the troll’s fingers. The cut was effortless, the glowing edge of the blade passed through skin and bone alike similar to a hot knife through butter.

  The troll howled in pain, holding its dismembered fist in shock before beginning to stomp all around it in a fit of rage. While more stalactites fell by nature of its cries, Nikolas used the precious seconds bought by his maneuver to reposition himself behind the bleeding beast and fished out a shiny glass vial from his cloak.

  It was inevitable that among the chaos, Nikolas would once more catch the ire of his rampaging adversary. This time, however, he wanted to be seen. Balancing himself on the stub of a broken stalagmite, he held his glowing blade horizontally above his head to catch the troll’s attention.

  The troll raised both its fists, when it was intercepted by the glass vial Nikolas had been holding. Thrown directly at its face, the vial exploded on contact to release an opaque mist all around itself. The monster brought its fists crashing down into the rubble regardless, but only managed to hurt itself on the stalagmites.

  Nikolas dashed towards his blinded foe, whipping out a small dagger from under his sleeve. The dagger had a pair of blades attached to it which extended to either side when pulled back, and a thin, razor-sharp wire flowing from the handle into his sleeve to facilitate that very function. As he passed by the troll’s legs, he jabbed the dagger into one of its ankles and ran past, yanking the wire as he did.

  Momentum and strength combined in a single jerk to throw the troll’s gait off, letting it crash face-first into the array of stalagmites. There was a final, deafening roar from the troll as it fell, followed by silence as its body went limp. Blood soaked the stalagmites and flowed down the crevices of the cavern’s rocky surface, meandering its way towards the pool akin to that of its companion.

  “Done and done,” Nikolas spoke to himself in a blank tone, congratulating himself for a moment before returning to a lackluster attitude. He pulled on the wire connecting to the dagger lodged in the troll’s leg twice in quick succession, and it began to wind itself back up his sleeve.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “That was quick for a long trip,” Sera noted, peeking out of his backpack again after noting his triumph, and floating out of it upon seeing the corpses of two trolls on either side of the cave. “Now for what we came down here for…”

  “We could’ve gotten here way faster if we used the larger main tunnels,” Nikolas stated, walking over to the corpse of the first troll and taking out a few empty vials from his cloak. He patiently waited for them to fill up with the dripping blood of the troll before walking into the far back end of the cave, where there was a large patch of strange-looking plants. “But then fighting both of them at once could have been problematic.”

  “This was the right decision,” Sera agreed, nodding approvingly. “I was worried that we would’ve been lost in the other tunnels for too long,” She floated over to the patch of foliage and looked over them, spotting their objective. “Aha- it’s here.”

  Nikolas knelt down next to the peculiar-looking mushrooms and picked up some of them to stow away in his backpack, along with also picking up a few of everything else that had been growing in the patch. “Good thing the brutes haven’t gotten around to eating these to stay alive.”

  Once everything had been gathered, Nikolas headed on his way out of the cave with Sera tucked away into his backpack, leaving behind the corpses to eventually decompose and become part of the underground ecosystem.

  With a shady dawn shining through the layers of fog which blanketed the sky, the streets of Junnhaven were gradually waking up from their nightly repose. Some early merchants had opened their stalls and were stocking their goods in crates and barrels, while others pushed carts piled with fruits and spices out from their warehouses. Shops selling some of the more sophisticated wares were still closed, waiting for their high-end clientele to awaken. Walking down the cobbled streets, Nikolas was one of the few adventurers who could be seen outside this early in the morning.

  What would have been seen as an unusual outfit among civilians blended in well in an adventuring city in Nikolas’s case, with his light leather armor, brown pants with a multitude of pockets and a low reaching cloak being a staple of Junnhaven’s amateur adventurers. Besides them, a white mask hid his face with slits for his eyes, mouth and a pair of fox-like ears resided atop his head. A purple, button-less shirt with long sleeves underneath everything else completed his attire. Really, the only truly distinguishing characteristic about his person were his mismatched eyes – the left one glowing a deep purple while the right shimmered in the early dusk, rich in cyan.

  The streets opened into the main city square, where the heart of Junnhaven’s economy resided. An ornate marble fountain decorated the center of the square, with guardsmen clad in wrought iron armor sitting atop their steeds, keeping things in order. Around the square, merchants and craftsmen ferried currency and goods from building to building, preparing themselves for the incoming day of business. Even well into the morn, the atmosphere was dark enough to warrant the use of lanterns to highlight well-off establishments.

  The most prominent building around the square was the guild, its imposing iron and stone architecture standing tall despite years of adventurers passing through its halls. The entrance to the guild began with a great stone arch with carved wooden statues of great guild masters of the past on either side, leading into the main building - one of many halls. There was already activity bustling inside the main hall, with adventurers going in and out between the halls visible through the glass windows lining the walls.

  Nikolas walked through the arch and into the guild, looking to either side and recognizing some of the regulars and amateur adventurers. Most of them were away on their own quests and expeditions, but the others were still loitering around, some looking for their next missions and others licking their wounds from past ones. Nikolas simply gazed past the frequenters without particularly acknowledging any of them as he made his way to the front desk of the establishment.

  “Nikolas! You’re… back,” a blond-haired woman perched behind the front desk spoke, her tone changing from cheerful to worried in a matter of seconds. “Already?” she asked, tilting her head slightly and pushing her glasses back up as she shifted a stack of paperwork across her desk and leaned forward to talk to him. “Did something go wrong? You only left last night.” As she moved the papers, her nameplate on the desk shifted slightly as well, reflecting the early morning sun through the windows. The plate read her name, Rika, followed by her position - guild receptionist.

  “I completed the quest,” Nikolas replied blankly, unslinging his backpack and rummaging inside it to pick out the bag of mushrooms and other foliage he had collected from the trolls’ cavern. “As requested, I only picked out enough to let the rest regrow in the spring.”

  “C-completed?” Rika was taken aback, quickly reaching out for the bag Nikolas had brought and pulling it open to check its contents. After about a minute of sifting through the foliage inside, she looked up at him with an expression of disbelief. “It usually takes a party of 4 at least a couple of days to do this quest. Still, you’ve got the items the quest asked for… impressive,” she grinned from ear to ear, closing the bag and placing it underneath her desk. “Stay right here, I’ll get your payment in a moment.”

  Nikolas simply nodded, waiting in front of the desk while she briefly disappeared into the back room of the hall. Looking around, the guild was the same as ever - a polished stone interior supported by large wooden beams on either side up to the rooftop, where a network of beams held up the ceiling. Chandeliers lowered from the ceiling, lighting up both levels of the main hall, and the walls were adorned with intricate tapestries - some depicting notable moments of history, and others advertising the logos of well-known guilds, always looking to improve their ranks.

  To one side, rows of tables and benches had been arranged in an inviting manner for parties of adventurers to sit at and reminisce of their old exploits while planning to make new ones alongside each other. On the other, there was a long bar-table with individual seats, overseen by the bartender standing in front of rows of kegs lined up against the back wall. However, the main attraction as far as Nikolas was concerned was right next to the main desk itself - a large bulletin board where quests would be pinned up to be claimed by adventurers.

  “Empty.” Nikolas groaned under his breath, disappointed by the lack of available quests on the board which would be constantly swarmed by adventurers taking up job requests on a usual day. That was why everyone had apparently been biding their time - a strange lack of quests up for grabs.

  “Here you go!” Rika’s voice broke the silence of the hall as she came back to the desk and placed a small pouch of currency on it, sliding it towards him. “45 silver and 70 copper coins. Thanks for your help! I’m sure our client will be happy to hear that their materials are ready so soon. Is there anything else I can help you with today?”

  Nikolas picked up the pouch of currency, pocketing it under his cloak. “I know there’s no quests on the downstairs board right now but do you have any other jobs I can take up?” he asked, glancing towards the upper floor of the hall, but not much of it was visible from below.

  “I’m sorry,” she replied with a frown, following her gesture up with an apologetic bow. “We’ve run low on quests for now. Maybe you can check in tomorrow?”

  “What about the upstairs board?” he asked, now looking at the staircase going up which was located behind her desk.

  Rika seemed confused by his question. “I know you’re more capable than the average bronze rank adventurer…” she said, thinking about how quickly he had finished the last quest. “But we have to wait until the annual promotion exams to be able to rank you up. The upstairs are only accessible to gold ranks and above.”

  “I understand,” Nikolas replied with a nod, turning to go on his way. “I’ll be back tomorrow then.”

  Rika let out a melancholy sigh, glancing at the stack of paperwork beside her and moving the quest Nikolas completed into a different pile from the rest of them. Watching him getting closer to the door, she suddenly spoke up. “Actually, could you do me a favor? It’s not exactly a quest, but I’d really appreciate the help!”

  Nikolas’s ears perked up, turning towards Rika the moment she began talking. He turned around shortly after, walking back to the desk. “What do you need help with?” he asked, his interest piqued by the potential opportunity of another quest.

  “It’s about another adventurer…” Rika began, speaking in a concerned tone. “She left yesterday morning on what was supposed to be a quick quest, and I was expecting her to return by the same evening. She’s just a copper rank, so I’m a little worried about her. She was supposed to go to the forest in the north, so it would be great if you could check in on her. If she’s still not done, she could probably use some help.”

  “Hmm… I can do that,” he replied, nodding despite a faint hint of distaste in his voice at the mention of working with other adventurers, much less a copper rank. “Any other details I should know of before I go?”

  “I can’t tell you more about the quest itself due to our regulations,” Rika replied with another apologetic bow. “But I’m sure it’ll be easy for you to handle.”

  “Right. Thanks for the opportunity,” Nikolas said, aware of the rules surrounding disclosure of quests due to the privacy of clients. After a quick inspection of the contents of his backpack, the fox-eared adventurer was off again, on his way towards the forests north of Junnhaven.

  Thank you for reading!

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