From Liverpool To Athena

chapter 6

"you will have to lead the way Timothy," I told him, we had just left the guild and he stood there looking nervous, "I don't know where we are going"

"Oh. O.....Kay, follow me" Timothy shuffled past me staring at the floor, I feel so sorry for him, I don't know what is going on with him but he has no confidence.

We walked in silence down the street, people avoided him, making it very obvious what they were doing.

"Hey Tim, can you do magic?" I asked him, I wanted to break the ice and see if I could get him talking, he stopped dead and turned to look at me, nodded his head and then spun back around and carried on walking.

"That's cool, I can't use magic, well I can and I can't, but I can punch hard" I laughed to myself and did a little bit of shadow boxing as walked.

"I have fire magic, but it's not strong"

"No way that is awesome lad! Can you show me?"

"I don't like doing magic with people around"

"HEY ITS FAT TIMMY!" Some bellend shouted from inside a doorway, Timothy's head dropped and his eyes glistened.

"Yo! Shut the fuck up, you absolute spunk bubble, can't be calling people names with ears like that lad, I bet you can hear what he is thinking" The guy next to him caught a fit of giggles and then sudden big ears ran towards me, silly nobhead, I'm from Liverpool you can't run at me, he came closer with a furious look on his face and one long eyebrow and no lips, what did this guy to piss god off for him to look like that. I headbutted him. He should not have run at me.

He hit the floor in a heap, "Keep Tim's out of your fucking mouth okay, let's go Tim". I heard sounds of gasps as we walked, I don't give a damn if we get in trouble I can't stand bullies.

We made it to a heavily guarded set of steps, that resembles a staircase that leads down to an underground train station.

"Hello, excuse me" Timothy whispered, so quietly that the guard in front dressed in an all-red uniform, with a sword on his hip, could barely him. "we are from the Hillcrest guild and wish to enter".

The guard nodded and stepped aside, and we walked down the steps, this was a weird sensation it was still in the city but the noise of it slowly started to disappear, we got to the bottom and it looked like a cave, lights up by glowing crystals embedded into the walls.

"Glowroot is on the second floor," Timothy said, "we have to walk through and find the steps to the next floor, and please b....careful, the monster can jump out at any point"

"Not a problem, thank you for telling me" I slipped my hands into my pockets and clasped the green crystals, they instantly began to suck my hands around them.

"Tha....thank you for sticking up for me" I looked at Tim, but he didn't look at me his eyes were fixed on the floor.

"Don't worry about it, we are partners lad, we have to help each other out" I could see a weak smile form on Tim's face.

We walked through the dungeon, in silence obviously, the smell of cold wet stone filled my nose and now rabbits?

"Watch out!" Tim yelled, a 3-foot high rabbit carrying a dagger dove at me, what the fuck is that, it was slow, I managed to move out of the way and catch it back the back of the head. "Kill it!" I threw it with force at the wall but to my surprise, I was expecting it to, well. splat against it. But it burst into a cloud of purple dust and a small purple crystal landed on the floor.

"What that?" I asked Tim.

"A magic crystal," he said so casually.

"Why is that there? And where is the body?" Tim finally looked at me, I think the realisation that I don't know much is dawning on him. I need to give him a reason to tell me. "mate I am new to all of this, I don't know what is going on or whatever this is, can you explain it please?"

"Erm... This is a dungeon, no one knows where they come from" Tim leaned over picked the crystal up and put into into a pouch he has on his hip. "But at the lowest floor is a big magic crystal and treasure, so guild adventures and hunters try to get there, that monster you just killed is real and isn't, it's made of magic and is spanned from the dungeon, no one know how the dungeons do that, some dungeons grow plants, and that what we are after, and oh yeah the crystals that monsters drop we can sell for money, we can do the normal split, 95% for you". Normal is 95% for me no wonder he hasn't moved out of the barns yet.

"95% Nah, fuck off mate me and you are going 50-50, we are partners okay?" Tim's eyes met mine and he has tears falling down his face.

"R.....really?"

"Of course mate!"

Tim had about more of a spring in his step as walked through the dungeon, I killed more of these rabbits, they explode when I punch them it's insane, Tim didn't fight much but he did use his magic to help me when 5 rabbits turned up at once.

"The second floor is over there and Glowroot should be at the bottom of the steps" I got excited I was about to complete my first quest, I ran down the steps and Timothy, followed me,

"Where are they?" I looked around but I couldn't see any Glowroot, actually I don't even know what they look like, but I couldn't see any plant.

"We are too late, a different guild got here first"

"A different guild? Are there more?"

"Yes, Hillcrest has a few guilds, they are all associated with noble families"

"What do we do now? Is there any more Glowroot?"

"On the 5th floor"

"Okay let's go"

"We can't, we need more than just the two of us"

"Tim, I think we should try, we can go floor by floor, and if it feels like we can do it, we can always go back. What do you think?"

"I don't know"

"There will be more crystals for you to pick up, so more money too" I winked at him and rubbed my hands together.

"Okay let's try"