Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Collecting the reward

Chapter 39: Collecting the reward

Just as they hoped, the rest of the way had not been marred by trouble. They left Arnold with Madeline, and then got Teri to the clinic in the village. He had to be operated on, which made the two remaining Slime party members anxious.

The reward for getting Arnold safely to and back from Orestria had been fifteen gold coins, and their treatment for free. It was a good deal, all things considered.

Still, the quest to Yaranhold gave Thomas no peace. He had taken the bag, now, he had to deliver it. Crossing the Mammoth graveyard was something he didn't want to do. Yet, he had no choice.

As they were visiting Teri after the operation, Thomas decided to drop the news on them.

"We have a new quest lined up," he spoke, and both Teri and Rina turned to stare at him.

"When did you take it?" Teri asked. He had not seen Thomas speaking to anyone these couple of days.

"Just this morning. There was this strange man at the inn that told me that some medicine had to be delivered to Yaranhold," both of his partners paled at that.

"You want us to go through the Mammoth graveyard?" Rina managed to get out. She had heard horror stories about that place.

"Tommy, this is way above our ranks," Teri protested. Sure, he liked to believe that he was competent, but going through the place where grudge-holding mammoths and nesting dragons roamed was not his idea of a good quest.

"There is a need for this medicine there," Thomas held up the bag. "People will die if we don't deliver it in a month's time."

"A month? How urgent could it be?" Rina asked. If the time for the quest was a month, then the pandemic must not be so serious.

"Perhaps they already have some medicine over there, and need this as extra?" The summoner suggested. He would brave the journey alone, accompanied only by his slimes, if he had to. Those people needed him.

"You are dead set on going?" The elf placed a hand on Thomas's shoulder, who nodded. "Then, we are coming with you. Right, Teri?"

"We can't leave you undefended, party leader. After this journey, we would definitely manage to rank up," Teri's lips turned up in a grin, and Thomas breathed a sigh of relief.

"You are going to Yaranhold, correct?" Madeline asked them, from the doorway.

"Yes, ma'am," Rina answered her, standing to attention.

"It would be good if you find a way to the city that is a bit safer than the mammoth's graveyard. We can pay you, if you connect us to the city of marble," Madeline then pulled out a heavy coin pouch. "Half now, half when the first caravans make the journey."

"We don't know if we can manage," Thomas told her. He knew that Yaranhold was quite wealthy. It was guarded by the ghost barrier that kept the monsters away from itself, and was situated at the coast of the North Sea. It practically had exclusive rights to trade with the island chain that was there.

"Try," Madeline placed the coin pouch on a table, and left.

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"Two quests to be done at the same time," Rina said, looking worried.

"I don't have high hopes for the second one. Unless we tunnel under the graveyard, there is no bypassing it," Teri spoke.

"What did you say?" Rina asked, turning to stare at Teri.

"Unless we tunnel under the graveyard?" Teri looked confused. That would take them months.

"There are rumors of a dungeon that is under the graveyard," Rina's eyes shone, and neither of her partners liked that look. "We can crush the core, and claim the tunnels for ourselves. I don't know about the two of you, but I rather take on goblins, than dragons."

"A dungeon like that must be very old," Teri was not convinced that they could pass through the dungeon.

"It is less risky than braving the dragon infested graveyard. It could see us with less of a travel time," Thomas mused out loud. "How is the dungeon called?"

"The Alchemist's Lair," Rina told him. At least, she was almost sure that was the name. "There are rumors of undiscovered potions in the tunnels. Whole fountains of them."

"If we can fill in enough flasks of the potions, then I think we can stand to profit," this sounded more and more enticing to Thomas. Yet, he knew that, seeing as they didn't have the backing of a guild, they couldn't claim the dungeon grounds.

"What do you know of the boss and the mini-bosses?" Teri asked. It hurt him to talk, yet he felt like he was the only one that saw the danger in this plan.

"Well, the dungeon likes snakes. There is a giant three-headed one, a single anaconda as big as a dragon. At least three other snake mini-bosses, but I don't know much about them," Rina said.

"You wanted to delve inside to prove that you are worthy of the Orestria guild, didn't you?" Teri asked. That sounded like something he would do, if he had been denied.

"Well, yes. No one has ever made it out of that dungeon alive. So, I figured that the loot should still be intact," Rina's voice wavered then. "Of course, I was going to search for a party, before going in."

"I doubt that the Orestria guild will take us in, even if we crushed that dungeon core," Thomas didn't like to rain on her parade, but they needed to be realistic. "Still, if we uncover the path to Yaranhold, we can do a great service to the nation."

"But first, we need to rest," Teri told them. He pointed at his bandaged stomach. "With how I am now, I don't believe I can go dungeon delving."

"We won't leave you behind. You are a slime now, Teri," Rina told him with a grin. Teri sighed.

"I rather be called something more dignified. Like, crocodile," Teri protested. Rina barked a laugh, and Thomas did let out a couple of chuckles at that.

Owen wouldn't mind for another person to call his barn a home. Or, the surrounding forest. Maybe, if the farmer was in a good mood, he would even let Teri rest in his house? At least, that was what Thomas hoped for.

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