You and Grim walk down the dimly lit path in the mine. The gems sparkle all along the walls, making the cave feel a little more inviting if it wasn't for the imposing monster hidden in the mine.
Grim grumbled. "Are you sure about this?"
You nod.
"Myah, let's just get this over with."
As you walk further in the mine, you hear the muttering monster just up ahead. You take a deep breath, readying yourself for the run of your life.
"H-hey, monster! I'm uh... I-I'm over here!" Grim called out.
The monster whipped towards the voice. "Grrraaawrrr! BEGOOOOONE!"
You wave your arms in the air to get its attention. "Right over here, monster! I'm going to steal your precious gems!!"
"Grrurgh? Thieeef thiiis waaay tooooo... Neeevvva giiive stooones! Neeevvvaaa!" The monster rushed towards you and Grim.
"He's comin' our way Y/N!"
"Let's lure him as far from the cave as we can."
You and Grim bolt towards the exit, the monster in hot pursuit.
"Begooone! BEGOOOOOOONE!"
You finally burst out of the cave with the monster right behind. You continue to lead it further from the mine.
"We got him a good distance away from the mine!" Grim called to you.
You nod in agreement. "Now's our chance!"
"You bet." Ace jumped from the tree he was hiding behind. "I got this! One extra-large gust of wind, comin' up!"
Ace waved his pen and a huge burst of wind swept around the monster, forming a tornado around it. Grim smirked as he prepared for his part.
"With a side of Grim's blazin'-hot fire! MYAAAH!" He shot a large fire ball towards the tornado. It hit the wall of wind, causing it to light up in a fiery tower. The monster shrieked inside the sweltering spiral of fiery wind.
Ace let out a laugh. "How's that taste?! With my winds fanning them, even Grim's feeble flames can become an inferno!"
Grim looked indignantly to Ace. "Whaddaya mean feeble? Ya really don't know how to shut yer mouth, do ya?"
"The monster's afraid of our flaming tornado!" You point out. "It's now or never!"
Deuce nodded at your statement. He took a deep breath. "Just stay calm, aim carefully, and pull out the biggest, heaviest thing I can think of... Get 'em, cauldron!" A massive cauldron appeared above the monster. It looked up as it started to fall towards it.
"Gwaaah?"
The cauldron landed with a heavy thud on top the monster. Crushed under the massive weight, it's unable to free itself.
Grim bursted out laughing. "Nailed it! The plan's workin'! Look, Y/N! That monster got smashed flat by a falling cauldron, just like Ace did!"
Ace grimaced at the memory. "Coulda done without the reminder, thanks! This has been one drag after another."
You chuckle as Deuce walks towards the mine entrance. "Quick! While it's distracted, we need to get that magestone!"
You all follow Deuce inside to collect your prize. The monster squirmed underneath the large pot, trying to grab at you.
"Guh?! Waaait! Nooooooo!" It screeched after you.
You don't feel afraid of the dark cave anymore now that you concurred the monster looming within. You can't help but smile at your accomplishment. The two boys notice the light in your step and grin, both thinking how cute you look.
You stop when you notice a brilliant sparkling gem, bigger than any you have seen. It's a mix of blue, red and green colors. You gingerly pry it from the rocks hold and held it up for the others to see. Ace let out a low whistle.
"That's it! That's a magestone!" Deuce confirmed.
"Dooon't tooouch thaaaaat!" The monsters screeches echo throughout the cave walls.
All of you walk out of the mine to see the monster scrambling to get free. It managed to get its torso unstuck.
"Uh-oh!" Ace looked at the struggle worryingly. "Looks like it's nearly wriggled free!"
"Hey, Deuce! You gotta add more weight!" Grim called out.
Deuce tilted his head. "Y-you mean something heavier? Uh... I summon thee, cauldron!"
Another large cauldron appeared on top of the first, crushing the monster further.
"Nnngaaaah!"
"And also, uh... Um... Another cauldron!"
"Guuuuhhh."
"And a cauldron on top of that! All the cauldrons!"
More cauldrons than you can imagine crushed the monster. Ace shook his head. "Is that the only thing you know how to summon?"
Deuce threw a glare at Ace. "Pipe down already! I'm worked up enough as it is!"
Grim triumphantly threw his paws in the air. "We got the magestone! Now let's get outta here!"
Ace nodded, agreeing with the cat. "Rodger that."
"MYYY STOOOOOOONE!" The monster weakly called out before collapsing into a black inky puddle.
Grim cautiously approached the inky mess and sniffed the air. "I think... we won? I think we did it!"
Deuce pumped a fist in the air. "All right!"
"Woohoo!" Ace cheered.
"Gimme a victory high-five!" Grim raised a paw in the air. You smile and bend down to give him a high five.
You glance over at the two boys, a smirk playing on your lips. "Shared adversity sure brings people together, huh?" The two immediately stopped their celebratory state. Deuce shook his head at your statement.
"Uh... I don't think that had anything to do with it."
"Yeah!" Ace waved off what you said. "Spare us the clichés Y/N!"
Grim puffed his chest proudly. "There's no "together" here! We won 'cause of me! This is all from me bein' a magical genius!"
You shake your head and smile at the three. You stood up and joined the two boys. Ace rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "Y'know, I hate to admit it, but..." Ace gave you a rare sincere smile. "We mostly won because of your plan Y/N."
Deuce nodded in agreement and put a hand on your shoulder. "Yeah... if you hadn't managed to keep your cool and tell us all what to do, we never would have got this magestone. Now I won't get expelled. And wow, is THAT a relief!"
You blush at the sudden attention. "Thanks guys, it only went well because we all worked together."
"Yeah, yeah, lessons were learned, et cetera." Ace dismissed. "Can we just go home already? I'm wiped."
"Usin' all that magic made me hungry!" Grim paused as he noticed something sparkling in the black goo. "Huh? What's this?"
Grim picked up a black gem, similar to the ones you saw in the mine. Deuce leaned over to inspect it.
"Is that a part of the monster we just beat? It looks like... a magestone? But it's black as coal! I've never seen one like that before."
Grim brought the dark gem to his nose. He gave it a few sniffs. "What IS this? It smells amazing!"
Ace recoiled in disgust. "Are you insane?"
"Must be some kinda fancy monster candy that it was hidin' from us! If this tastes half as good as it smells..." Grim shoved the black rock into his mouth.
"Did you seriously just eat that?" You rush over to Grim, kneeling down to get to get him to spit the gem out. "Spit it out! Out! Bad cat!" You pick up Grim only to see he swallowed the gem.
"MYAAAH!"
The boys beside you take a step back. "Are you okay?" Deuce asked.
"That's what you get for eating trash!" Ace shook his head.
"Oooooogh... Urrrgggh... That... was AMAZING!" Grim called out.
"What?" All three of you say in response.
Grim closed his eyes, savoring the flavor. "Rich in flavor and full-bodied... Like sweet, fragrant flowers burstin' into bloom on my tongue. A whole field of 'em! Right in my mouth!" You make a disgusted face as Grim describes the black stone like was tasting a fine wine.
"Gross." Ace gaged. "Monsters must have real weird tastes."
Deuce put a hand to his chin. "You might be onto something there. Most humans don't take random stuff they find on the ground and just pop it into their mouths."
"Are you okay Grim?" You inspect the little fluffy monster, seeing if anything is out of the ordinary. Grim only nodded.
"Myah ha ha ha! Man, was that great! Don't worry about me. I don't got a weak stomach like you humans do."
You sign in exasperation. Ace folds his arms across his chest. "Hmph. We'll see if you're so smug when you're sick later tonight."
Deuce help you stand up as you hold Grim close to you. "Okay, let's pull ourselves together. We need to get this magestone to the headmage!"
You meet the headmage in the Mirror Chamber. He stares bewildered as you present the magestone to him.
"Pardon? You're telling me you actually went to the Dwarfs' Mine in search of a magestone?"
"Uh, yes?" Ace and Deuce say.
The headmage brings a hand to his face, shaking his head in disbelief. "I didn't expect that you'd seriously do it. And never in my wildest imaginings did I think you would actually return with a magestone! And here I spent all evening preparing your expulsion documents."
"Are you serious?" Grim shouted in your arms. "While we were fightin' some crazy monster for you, you were expelling us?"
Crowley tilted his head questioningly. "Monster?"
"Yeah. There was a monster, all right. A big, nasty one. It nearly killed us!" Ace responded.
"Would you kindly relate this story in full?"