A Tusk and a Crown

The brave Adventurer swings into the brush. Sticks and leaves go all into the air. After the swing, a meaty boar is revealed and Ash jumps back. David lunges at the boar and nicks its leg. The beast charges head first at David's legs. He jumps over it and swings at the back of the boar. Ash strikes at the face of the animal and scrapes its eye. David tackles the boar and Ash stabs the belly and kills the wild beast. They both stand up and cheer over the small victory. David takes out a dagger and skins the boar and hangs them up to dry. While, Ash is cutting off the tusks of it. They carve the carcass and pick out the best parts of meat that they can sell and keep the other meat for themselves.

They make their way back to the village. The sun is just hovering over the horizon and the cold air makes walking slightly more enjoyable. The Guild is still as full as it was. The Adventurers present the tusks to the Guildmaster. He smiles proudly and hands over ten gold pieces to both David and Ash. They nod their heads and leave the loud house. They then go and sell the rest of the meat to the butcher, Frank Ski, for a total of three gold coins and seven silver ones. Their stomachs are very satisfied and their bodies are tired. They walk along the marketplace and buy some bread. They enjoy each other's company and talk about what will happen next.

"So, we have our first quest done. Now we do the harder one." David said

"Sounds good, let's go find the Goblin Village and kill the chief, can't be too hard, right." Ash said

"We will need a mage in our squad soon. For obvious reasons." David said

"Should we search for one after this quest?" Ash asked

"Yeah, I think so." David said, leading Ash out of the village, "It will be a long hike to the Goblin Village. Good thing we bought some food."

They begin their journey south and prepare to raid the Goblin Village. There are no paths and they only have a compass and a map. David is leading the adventure. After a few hours of walking, they come across a small village of goblins. They are dirty and smell like sulfuric acid. A lot of them are drunk and rowdy. David walks up to the largest goblin and addresses him.

"Excuse me, may I speak with your leader?" David kindly asked

"What are you doing here, human?" The goblin asked.

"I am here to kill you!" David shouts while drawing his sword.

"You cannot kill us, humans!" the drunk goblin said

Ash and David simultaneously attack the large goblin. The goblin falls and a huge thud follows. All the goblins yell in fear and run towards the chieftain's tent.

David and Ash follow the goblins inside the tent and throw open the flap. In the center of the room, a giant green goblin is sleeping on the ground. David and Ash draw their swords and charge at the big goblin. The chieftain wakes up and throws the guards and a chair at David and Ash. They dodge and strike at the giant goblin. It quickly dodges and raises its arms and yells at Ash for attacking it.

"How dare you insult my honor? I am Chief Gookloo." Gookloo says

"Monsters! That's all you are!" Ash yells

The mighty chieftain charges at Ash and pushes him out of the tent. David follows. The Chieftain grabs his club and attacks Ash. Ash dodges out of the way and strikes the chief in the gut. The chieftain is hit by a strong blow and falls backwards onto the floor. David draws his blade and begins to fight the chieftain.

Gookloo yells at Ash and David, "You will pay for this!" He picks up a table and heaves it at David. David blocks the table with his shield, but the force makes him wobble in place. The chieftain then turns to Ash and hits him in the chest. The club is so blunt that it does no damage. Ash raises his sword and slices down the chieftain's neck. He falls dead to the ground.

As David and Ash look around the tent, they see that there are many goblins running away from them. David takes the crown off of the dead corpse and puts it in his bag. They begin their trek back to Azalea Village. The sun sets and they begin to get hungry. They stop briefly and eat some bread and drink water. They continue to walk through the forest and eventually make it back home. They stay at David's house and decide to sleep before turning in the Goblin's crown to the Guild. David goes to bed first and Ash follows him later. They fall asleep almost instantly and dream about the day's events.

"Ah, this is nice. We should do this more often." David says

"Yes, let's." Ash agrees, smiling.

They wake up early and head straight to the Guild. They are greeted with joyous applause when they bring in the Goblin's Crown. The Guildmaster is so happy to have another quest completed. He hands David and Ash twenty-five gold coins each as thanks for completing their quest. They smile happily and leave the Guildhouse.

"Before we get another quest from the Guild we should start looking for a mage." David said

"Let's go to the tavern. Maybe one is there." Ash suggested

"Sounds like a plan." David replied, leading Ash to the tavern.

They enter the Tavern and order some drinks. The barkeep brings out a jug full of ale. David and Ash take a swig and sigh.

"This is amazing! How could anyone drink anything else?" David exclaims.

"Maybe this will help us find a mage." Ash suggests, taking another drink.

After a while, someone walks into the bar. She is rather short and wears light leather armor and has a short red cape. She has long brunette hair and brown eyes. Her face is covered with freckles. She looks at David and Ash and smiles.

"Hello. May I join you?" She asks

"Sure. What can we get you?" David answers

"Hm..." she thinks deeply, thinking hard for a moment. Finally, she speaks again.

"Perhaps a glass of wine would be nice."

David gets up and brings over three glasses. After a few minutes, David began to ask her questions.

"What brings you to Azalea Village, Miss Mage?"

"My master instructed me to come here and search for a squad to join so I can become more powerful." she said

"Oh, really? Why don't you join us? We have been looking for a mage. What's your name and what Energy can you use the best?" David asks

"My name is Hazel Howard. I can use all the basic forms of Energy." Hazel said

"That's great! I'm David Corty and this is Ash Flame." David said

"Flame? As in Phoenix Flame?" Hazel's eyes grew

"Yeah, he is my father. My mom and dad live in Vypor." Ash said

"I see. Well, welcome to Azalea Village!" David said.

"Thank you for the warm welcome. It's very kind of you two." Hazel said

"We'd love to have you join our team." David said

"Hmm, okay." Hazel nods.

"Then let's begin!" David shouts

He jumps out of his seat and they rush to the Guild. All three of them are Copper ranks. David has a sword and a shield. Ash also uses a sword and shield. Hazel uses a staff that increases her energy output and makes her stronger.

They enter the Guild and request a quest from the Guildmaster. The Guildmaster gives them the letter and David opens it. The quest requires them to find some rare herbs and return them to the Guild. In exchange, the Guildmaster will give them five gold pieces each. They accept the quest and leave the Guildhouse.

They start looking for the herbs but unfortunately, they cannot find any. They then travel to the woods and search for the herbs there. After a while, they finally found some herbs. They take these back to the Guild and are rewarded with five gold pieces each. They head back to the tavern and sit down at a table and order some food.

"That was the lamest quest ever." Ash said

"We are still Copper. We won't get that many dangerous ones until we rank up to Silver." David said

"At least it was calming." Hazel added.