So this is the first chapter from one of my original ideas!
Have fun reading it! I had a lot of fun writing this one.
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Chapter one: Treasure Hunt!
As the sun rose, as always it has to be, a new day started in Edred.
It was a small, decent enough village, located in the slopes of the eastern mountains. It had everything it needed to sustain itself, a clean, big river that crossed just outside the village, trees growing everywhere and also it had a safe path that lead to a bigger city, the one they used to trade with, the city of Cenera.
Also, enough people lived in there. The old Endrow, Gavek the Scoundrel, among more of all kinds and types, and, of course, among them was young Rein.
Since the day just began, Rein also just opened his eyes. His vision met the ceiling of his room, and his senses told him it was his house.
He had troubles to wake up at the morning, though. As he realized someone was throwing rocks at his window, Rein stood up from his hay bed, yawned and busted the window open with a singular smack.
“Who is the kind that would wake me up in this unholy hour!??” He launched as another rock hit, this time, his forehead. “Weinel, what in the world is this time?”
He gazed at the teenager in important-looking clothing just below, with a bunch of rocks in his hand. He was a blonde, straight-faced man, pretty much like anyone else would be. “The bridge isn’t fixed yet; I thought you said you’d fix it yesterday?”
Rein buffed. “Yes, I said. Truth is, I don’t have materials to fix it. By the way, finding that is YOUR job, isn’t it Weinel?”
“Are you insane? It is Prowl Season, it is impossible to send any trading parties to Cenera at the moment.”
Rein looked at the woods around him. Yes... The scent of Monsters filled the breeze that hit his face.
“It’s their ‘Party Time’ then, huh? No wonder the guards are in full alert right now.”
“So, what you plan on doing? We need that bridge fixed.”
Rein scratched his head as he jumped off the window, gripping on the iron pole that hanged just outside, using it to swirl down to the ground at a reasonable speed. He landed right next to Weinel, and started to walk in another direction indifferently.
“Rein! Don’t ignore me!”
“Why don’t you ask another guy? I am not an engineer, man. I don’t plan to make this my living.”
“Oh?” Weinel grumbled as he chased after Rein, raising his hand to his head. “And what are your plans, then?”
Rein smiled and pointed to the mountains. His back arched in the mere thought of his dream, his eyes sparkling even more than it usually should. He filled his own thorax with air proudly, while standing ground pointing outside the city gates.
“…What? The mountain?”
“The horizon, man! I don’t want to stay in Edred forever like you will. I’m going to be an explorer one day!”
Weinel sighed as he raised his hands again. “…Stop saying idiotic things like that, Rein. You are an engineer of great talent, you should search the horizon that lies before you, and not one that is so far away.”
“How come? The horizon is always far away. That is why explorers and adventurers always travel! To try to reach it one day! Did you know that the Maps we have today are all thanks to Adventurers that walk everywhere in the world!?”
“I believe Magi and their Scrying are responsible for that. Seriously, Rein, you should stop dreaming stupidities.”
Rein lowered his hand as Weinel handed him over some papers. “Here you go. This is what we need to fix the Bridge… Think we need something else?”
He sighed at the statement of his childhood friend, but still picked up the document and analyzed it. “We have everything we need, right?”
“No. The bridge might fall again with the resources at hand. This was the twelfth time it has collapsed.”
“…Means the sustaining pillar was bullshit. I’m going to find something better to use next time.” Rein handed over the paper to Weinel as he walked to the northern part of town.
“Wait! Rein, where you going?”
“To the Mines. I might find something in there that can be used.”
The blonde man sighed loudly as he shouted at the already far away Rein. “Don’t do anything stupid! That mine has collapsed and is abandoned for aeons now!”
And then they lost sight of each other. Rein was well-aware of how his friend’s mind worked, but he couldn’t help but feeling down at his point of view.
For him, engineering was a hobby he enjoyed, but never would want to make it a living.
For Weinel, he was born to do what he could do and don’t dream on something bigger.
“Life was meant to be the way it is.” That’s what he would say. “Life was meant to be lived the way you want.” That’s what Rein would say.
In other words, they had totally opposite points of view. Still, Rein liked his friend a lot, because unlike a lot of people, he actually speaks his mind.
After walking for an hour, going up from the village, Rein finally arrived at the place that triggered his will for exploring and adventuring.
The mines of Edred.
The entrance to the mine, that went right into the mountain, was really old-looking and damaged through the course of time. The wooden rafts that kept the mine open were still in pretty good shape thanks to Rein’s intervention. He preserved this place enough so it wouldn’t collapse, allowing him to go inside and ransack what minerals and materials for construction he needed.
In one of those infiltrations he made into the mine, he found so much pleasuring to search and find for treasure and hidden interesting objects within. From there forward, he grew fond of exploring and searching… Eventually, becoming the main goal of his life, to live as an explorer, or an adventurer.
Maybe this dream just popped out of nowhere like it seems like it did, but...
Why does Rein's chest beat so hard when he thinks about leaving? About exploring?
Never did he notice, but Edred always seemed small to him. Even if it was the biggest village up the mountain range of the east, he never really felt like living all his life in that place. Fixing things and playing with different types of minerals was the only thing that would make his head forget about the cramped space of Edred, and with that he eventually became the best engineer of the East.
At least that's what people say.
Rein stood there and looked at the mine entrance for a few seconds before stepping inside. It wasn't dark, and thanks to some refraction crystals, the only mineral with plant-like behavior in the entire world (making it the easiest to find as well), the cave was illuminated. The ceiling was in pretty rough shape before Rein fixed it enough for it not to collapse anytime soon.
That place was probably used to mine Iron Ore. The miners most likely thought they ran out of it at a certain point, or maybe too many monsters overran them eventually. The only thing certain is: the mine was utterly abandoned and there is still a lot of things to scavenge inside of it. May it be Iron Ore or may it even be Blanks of Titanium! But even with so many things to get inside of it, no one ever returned to reclaim it. Better for Rein, so he could go in there looking for metal or other materials he needed to fix and build things at Edred.
Rein strolled inside the mine for a few hours picking up what he noticed would be most appropriate to fix the bridge at Edred. Of course, he realized that material wouldn't make up for its weight, neither for its use. He needed something more powerful, but whatever he found in Edred wasn't just enough to fix a bridge that's older than he is.
“Hah. Well, it's quite obvious, isn't it?” He stopped and took a look at the mines. They were old and clearly made to mine Iron Ore. He would never find something bigger and rarer in here. Stronger, for all that matters.
“Oh well... Let's go back, then. With this I guess it'll be enough to keep the bridge standing, at least.”
Dissatisfied with the loot he had, Rein packed the metal in a rather big leather sack and moved outside with it over his shoulder. He knew the mines pretty well, so he would never...
whoooooooo
...And there is that sound again.
He always wondered where did that come from. This echoing came from the depths of the mine, but he went there so many times already, and he could never find out where that would come from.
...Oh well.
He pulled the leather sack up once more and left the mines.
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The mountainside was as beautiful as ever. The trees were really sturdy up so high – maybe because of the rather tough conditions on the slopes. Still, it was a sight to behold, every time he left the mines.
“Well, better go back before Weinel talks my ears off again.” Rein laughed to himself as he went down the path to the main roadway again. As he stepped over the soft path, he started to walk towards Edred...
...Soft?
Rein immediately turned around and his eyes saw two people laying on the road, their faces quite literally kissing the dust. Time felt like it froze for a few seconds before Rein approached them reluctantly.
“Hello...? Are you... Two alive or something?”
Rein looked at the two people laying on the ground. One of them was a rather well-built man, his hair red like fire. He was wearing armor – Feather Mail as it was known, due to the fact it would protect you, but it wouldn't stand out as armor itself would. And he also had a rather strangely designed two-handed sword, as the hilt and the blade were solely separated by a small handler.
The other one was a girl, her hair was dark brown, straight and long to her hips. She wore bluish robes, whose had rather long and large sleeves – seemed a lot like those warriors from the southern banks Rein heard about. She had tied to her belt two swords: one of them was longer than the other. He recognized the style, it was made that way so only one side of the blade would cut. Her neck was protected on the back by a metal protector that extended to her shoulders.
A grump followed by a sudden reanimation of the two made Rein jump backwards in reflex. The girl and the man had faces like they spent a whole month without any kind of food, and they glared at Rein's soul like he was edible.
“Um...”
“FOOD!!” The immediately jumped towards him, grabbing his legs and crawling on his back.
“Wait, what!? Get off me! Hey, what the...!!”
They stopped. The girl sniffed him once before letting him go. “Gah... It's a human. Hey Lash, stop munching on his ear.”
“Oh. Damn, I knew something was up.” They let him go and proceeded to lay in the ground again.
...A few seconds, maybe a whole minute passed without any movement from their part. Rein looked at those two again before regaining his composure.
“Ah... You guys... Are hungry? My village is nearby, and...”
“PLEASE TAKE US THERE, MASTER!!!” They reacted so quickly it made Rein jerk back even more.
...Just what kind of people...?
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“So, Rein? Did you manage to get the things for the bridge?” Weinel greeted his friend as he saw him fixing the bridge... Again.
“Ah, quite. This material is crap, though. If we only had something better to make this stand up instead of stand down, then we wouldn't have to worry much about this thing collapsing ever again.”
“Didn't I let you know that contact with other cities is impossible at this point?”
“You did, and quite frankly, it's annoying.” Rein continued to fix the bridge without taking his eyes off his job. “Can you pass that rather big screw for me?”
Weinel sighed as he did. He watched Rein do his job in silence for a few minutes, contemplating his friend's abilities.
“...So, how much can this bridge take?”
“Not much, I'm afraid... I assume something next to 100 Kg.”
Weinel face palmed. “That is terrible. Only one person at a time, and they shouldn't carry anything with them while they cross it.”
“Sorry, man. But this is everything I can do with the materials I got.”
“I know.” Weinel stood up and admired the poor old bridge “It's standing again. You have talent for this, you know... With a handful of scrap metal you turned nothing into something.”
“Too bad this something isn't good enough, eh?” Rein hissed sarcastically while getting off his oldest project “...If only I had decent steel...”
“Don't worry about it. I'll debrief everyone about the bridge... Your payment will be at your home as usual... Oh, and what about your two guests?”
“They are emptying my food stocks. No idea where they come from, but they seemed desperate for food, and they are looking for something.”
“Adventurers, huh? Well, it's not rare for them to come to Edred, but on such a season it's better to welcome them. See you later, Rein.”
“Sure.” Rein watched as his friend made his way back to the village square. He sighed and disapprovingly looked at the bridge before taking off back home.
When he reached home, he found everything was... Clean and tidy. His kitchen was strangely organized, and he found those two actually resting in his couch by the window.
“So... You guys just tend to clean up other people's houses when they offer you food?”
“Not really, but you saved out lives basically.” The red-haired man raised his head and faced Rein. He had yellow-colored eyes, meaning he had Highland blood.
“And by the way, we didn't introduce ourselves yet. I'm Lashet Tristan. Ya can call me Lash.”
He sounded really carefree and simple. The girl stood up and pointed her her own chest.
“I'm Ashquith Mortein, an elf.” She then pulled her hair aside slightly and revealed her rather pointy and slightly bigger-than-your-average-human's ear. “You would do yourself a favor if you just called me Ash. That's what everyone does, anyway.”
“So... What are two adventurers doing up so far in Edred?” Rein asked while sitting in one of his chairs. “Is there something of interest up here that I don't know about?”
“You tell me, we're following our guts.” Ash said while putting on reddish earrings “More or less, there is supposed to be a treasure grove somewhere up in the mountains, but...”
“Problem is: We've no idea how to climb it.” Lash completed it with the golden key.
...So they are...
“...Treasure Hunters?” These words escaped Reins' lips automatically, like he was stabbed in the gut by the blade of reveal.
“Hahah! Yes! That's correct, Rein.” Lash said with a big smile on his face. “We are looking for another piece to our collection, really. We got this map in Ardea telling that there is a rather big Mine somewhere around here, and that its filled with uncommon treasury. We felt interested, and that's how we came here.”
“Completely unprepared.”
“Without any supplies.”
“Without knowing the region.”
“Without any mountain climbing equipment.”
“And without any directions to start with.” They spoke one after another, completing their own statements with more exposition on their failure.
“...A mine you said?” Rein muttered as he looked back to where he always went to gather materials.
...That place, with treasury? Are you serious?
“I... Happen to know that mine pretty well.”
And they all looked into each other faces. They had the same glittering light in their pupils, screaming out loud...
“Mind if you take us there?” Ash and Lash said at the very same time.
Rein smiled from the bottom of his heart. The balloon of excitement he was feeling right now didn't compare to anything before.
Yes... He was... He was going to a treasure hunt!!
