Cry For a Hero

"Weird," Garrett said as he stared at a wall shortly after catching up with Min-Tul.

"Something interesting about this wall?" Min-Tul said, looking at the same wall as Garrett. He looked it over up and down before turning to Garrett. "Is there something behind it?" He put his ear up against the wall and knocked on it with his brass knuckles. "Sounds solid to me. Is there some kind of magical thing here?"

"No, I don't see anything like that at all," Garrett said, shaking his head. "Sorry, I thought I had seen something." He chuckled. Min-Tul shrugged and continued ahead. Garrett turned to the wall and put his palm against it. "Yeah, it's just gone. The room with the coffin I came out of is just gone. It doesn't look like it got sealed up or anything. How did that happen?" He shook his head. "I can't mull over it right now." He gripped his sword tightly and caught up with Min-Tul.

The footsteps of the two adventures echoed through the cave, along with the sound of dripping water every few seconds. The hallways seemed to twist and turn every which way as they got deeper and deeper into the Darge. Neither Garrett nor Min-Tul had much of a clue of which way they were going, so they went on Min-Tul's instincts. Eventually, the two of them found themselves deep in the Darge, utterly lost.

"So, the treasure of Amer-Turul," Garrett said, resting on the ground after walking for what felt like hours, "What are you going to do with it?" He couldn't quite let Min-Tul know that he didn't know what the treasure was, but this would be a good way to extract some information.

"I'm going to use it to help revive my town," Min-Tul said, taking a rest and adjusting his brass knuckles. He chuckled softly as he stared at the dried blood on his paws.

"If I may ask, what happened?"

Min-Tul stared at the blood more intensely before responding, not even turning to Garrett. "It all happened one day. My family and I were just enjoying our lives; our whole town really. We never really bothered anyone and our fighting prowess was for hunting food down and tackling the occasional monster request. Then, out of the blue, a stampede of marauders came and attacked the village." Min-Tul turned his attention to Garrett's sword. "My people believe in the power of the body. Weapons only serve as an extension of them. But, these weapons that were wielded by these savages were something beyond what we had known. We stood no chance."

Garrett looked down at his sword in both amazement and terror. He knew that weaponry was what made humans such a dominant species on Earth, so if any of that kind of higher-tech weapons came here, he doubted there was much that would stop them if they attacked someone who was unprepared.

"You know why they raided my village?" Min-Tul turned his gaze to Garrett and stared deeply into his eyes. "The puerile reason that my family was slaughtered and my friends' remains were scattered around in the streets?" Garrett gulped nervously. "Because the men of King Ewing the Fourth needed a place to blow off some steam." Garrett could see the fiery passion of revenge soared within Min-Tul's eyes. "They needed stress relief, and they came across my village. That is why I need the treasure of Amer-Turul. So I can make every. Single. Member of the King of Ewing pay for their crimes."

Garrett nodded in agreement and confusion. He was about to ask how the treasure of Amer-Turul would help when something interrupted them. The two of them turned their attention to the sounds coming from far down the hallway. Slowly, they crept closer to the corner to listen.

There were screams of anguish coming from around the corner. While Garrett couldn't quite identify it, he could discern that the cry was absolutely not human, but also not monstrous. It sounded like it was a good ways away, despite coming in clearly. Cautiously, Garrett peaked around the corner.

Against the wall, he could see openings that lead into a large room, illuminated orange by more crystals along the walls. Small shadows danced about on the wall, which looked similar to the goblins from before. However, there was also a large shadow of someone who appeared to be tied up. The cries were definitely coming from inside the room. Retreating back behind the corner, Garrett relayed the information to Min-Tul.

"I think someone is being tortured or tormented in there. We should try to help them," Garrett said, though his hands shook at the thought of running in there without being too prepared.

"It's reckless," Min-Tul said, looking down at Garrett's hands and his own paws. "There's no guarantee if there's a large fight that we can get out ourselves, much less another person." The wails of pain continued, echoing through the caverns. Min-Tul gritted his teeth as he listened. "Our best bet of survival and finding the treasure is to ignore it and keep going on." Garrett shot him a look of concern, but Min-Tul kept his resolve. "Look, we're adventurers. The risk of death is always there, looming over us like the moons. All we can do is do as much as we can before death grips us."

Garrett stared down at his sword as he remembered what Otris said to him before he went through the portal. He gripped the handle and turned to Min-Tul. "You're wrong," Garrett said as he stood up. "If it wasn't for me stepping in, you and I wouldn't be having this conversation. If I focused only on my own survival and ignored you, you'd be dead." Garrett adjusted his shield tightly onto his arm. "I don't want the guilt of knowing that I could have done something and I didn't. So, you're wrong, Min-Tul. We're not adventurers. You are an adventurer. I," Garrett said, walking around the corner, "am a hero."

Garrett crouched as he walked, trying to eliminate any noise of his armor. The shadows and voices didn't seem to notice him at all. He stepped closer and closer to an opening he was sure he could fit through easily. The voices continued to get louder and he could begin to hear the sounds of whips. The wails of pain were now more sobs of anguish, though Garrett couldn't understand what was being said. Carefully, he crept onto a ledge and peeked over the side.

At the base of the room were at least 20 goblins, all strewn about the room. They seemed to be playing with various adventuring equipment as if they were toys. In the center of the room was a large platform, which resembled gallows. However, instead of being used to hang someone, it appeared as though it was being used to restrain someone. Tied to the platform, and stretched out so they couldn't move any limbs, was a large blue creature. It didn't look like it was a larger goblin and it was the one crying and sobbing. It was wearing armor made from animal skin, that had been torn in many places; the source of which was a goblin whipping the large creature.

"20 Goblins?" Garrett said under his breath. He gripped his sword as he monitored them. He judged that the height from his position to the ground wouldn't be enough to injure him, especially if he rolled. The issue was whether or not he could fight off 20 goblins.

Before he could continue his train of thought, it was interrupted by the feel of cold steel pressed against the side of his face. He put his hands up in the air and slowly turned to see the source of it. Standing there was, what he assumed, was an elf, wearing something resembling a military uniform, holding a large sniper rifle pointed at Garrett's face.