Chapter 9: Prologue (9)
The quest came as no surprise to me, and I could only accept it if I wanted access to Qingrad, which was the only settlement beneath a Noble's rule within dozens of miles, so unless I wanted to start playing a sandbox survival game, I was forced into this quest or forced to go search for another city to take me in.
And honestly, walking for dozens of miles to find said location to become my first base wasn't something I wanted to do, since that would hinder my progress and make things so much slower than they needed to be.
So I took the quest and joined the two squads of soldiers in their mission to exterminate the Goblin Den, even though I myself was severely under leveled and likely not ready for a raid of this caliber, but considering I had little choice since I hadn't found a shrine yet or gained access to a settlement for a Temple, again, I was stuck.
However, the journey towards the Goblin Den was one that made me comfortable with what was to happen, as both Trania and her blonde haired companion - Alessia - spoke to me as we ventured back into Yngrave together, the two squads of soldiers following behind us.
Trania and Alessia were 'Talon Masters' of the Corps of the Beast, a regiment of soldiers under the command of the Dukedom and situated throughout the entire Dukedom as the protectors.
Of the two, Trania was a prospect for promotion while Alessia was a perpetual Talon Master, her talent and skill at their ceilings already while her ability to lead was suited for squads only, not entire companies of soldiers.
Despite that, Alessia - past all the scars and serious expression - was a laid back, understanding woman as she made small talk on our way to the Goblin Den, asking me questions and being curious about me overall, while Trania was far more reserved and serious, contrasting her brighter, yet scarred companion.
I learned that Alessia had been in hundreds of engagements already against monsters and mortals alike, while Trania was relatively new but held immense promise, their superiors hoping that Alessia's experience would be imparted to the protege Catkin for when she was inevitably promoted.
In the midst of her regaling me of the time she had managed to decapitate three Cobrakin with one swing of her claymore, a group of five Goblins appeared in front of us, brandishing their weapons and shouting before charging at us.
Alessia growled softly before aiming her hand towards the Goblins, muttering "[Be bathed in Rosencrata's holy light!] and covering the area in golden rays, which coiled around the Goblins like tendrils before ripping them apart limb from limb, killing them quickly.
"Was that..?"
Looking back towards me, Alessia smirked as she nodded, saying "I have my faith and my steel. Miss Kira, would you mind?"
I nodded back to her, accepting the knife and moving forwards to slice off the Goblin's right ears, proof that they had been killed and earning the blonde five silvers, though she tossed one back to me with a smile before returning to her story.
With proof of her strength in the form of her Faith based incantation, I was even more confident about this raid, and we reached the Goblin Den in the midst of her third tale, the woman never needing to take a breath as she bragged about her feats, which were all so clearly embellished that I had to smile as I listened to how she accomplished heroic, impassive feats one after another.
It kept the journey short and upbeat, with many of the soldiers snickering behind us as they too listened to the stories, even though Trania frowned as she found the stories to be distracting.
Either way though, we reached the Goblin Den quickly and looked out over the cave entrance that led into the earth, multiple red skinned Goblins lingering around the entrance and patrolling, unaware of the two dozen soldiers watching them from behind the trees.
A few hand signs from both Alessia and Trania had the soldiers spreading out, and Alessia gestured for me to remain by her side as we waited for the signal from Trania, who was watching everything with her multicolored eyes.
My Falchion felt light in my grasp, and as soon as she lunged forwards with her dual blades in hand, I followed behind her with Alessia at my side, killing the Goblins quickly and quietly before we began our descent into the Den.
The sounds of Goblins snarling and grunting at one another as they moved about in the deep cavern was loud, but not as loud as the amused chuckle of a Goblin Chief as it stared down at two bound women, both of who were writhing around in agony as the Goblin Chief shrouded their bodies in mana, rendering them unconscious.
Trania once more led the charge, her twin blades cutting deep into the Goblin's flesh as she made her way towards the Chief, while Alessia took control of the soldiers and began to clean up the small horde that had festered inside this Den.
Dozens of Goblins lingered around the area, and I picked my battles wisely, nodding at Alessia and freeing the woman to go join Trania in the battle against the Chief, my part in this raid a small one.
My Falchion arced through the air quickly as I batted a Goblin's club aside and stabbed forwards, skewering it's throat and killing it in moments, only to have to move on to the next one as I began to fulfill my obligations.
I was under no pretense or delusion that I was some protagonist in this game, understanding my level thoroughly and acting accordingly as I stuck to the Goblins, even if the treasure trove of the Chief was just 30 feet in front of me.
No, I focused instead on what was on my level in the Goblins, cutting them down as they got closer or using my nature attuned spells to aid the others, getting nods of appreciation from the soldiers as they earned easier kills.
This was already a boon in and of itself as I reaped the benefits of assisting in so many kills, though I was curious to watch the combat unfold between the Chief, Trania, and Alessia, the three entangled in a deadly dance as blades crashed against mana.
Trania was swift and precise, her twin swords shrouded in bolts of lightning while Alessia was powerful and attention grabbing, her claymore imbued with holy light as she chanted prayers to her Deity, drawing agro from the Chief and giving her companion openings.
However, the Chief was using its earth mana to its advantage, empowering itself and taking advantage of its habitat well as it kept trading blow for blow with the two Talon Masters, growing more enraged as it occasionally saw its tribe slowly being eradicated around it.
But the Chief couldn't do anything about it as the two women kept it at bay, stabbing and slashing at it and forcing it to maintain vigilance against them, creating a stalemate that favored the two soldiers.
Its hulking red frame and constant use of such large amounts mana would tire the monster out far quicker than the two mortals, but it was still a large, dangerous monster on its own, so when we had the chance, we leapt to join in the fray.
With the tribe dead, the battle tilted into our favor exponentially, and before it could be killed off, I summoned a [Root Spiral] from the earth and stabbed its foot, making the Chief shriek in agony before falling quiet as Trania lopped off its head.
It wasn't much of a quest, but it would appear that this was a 'tutorial' or 'introductory' quest to the area, more of a participation event than a real quest...
Either way, I wasn't going to look down on free experience, so even if it felt like a mediocre use of time, I was content as I got to work cutting off the ears of the Goblins while the two Talon Masters freed the women, finishing our quest and allowing us to return to Qingrad.
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