"Be on you best behavior and try not be a burden. They already have enough problems as it is." It felt like a father warning their children, the two letting the words fly past them. The thrusters roared to life as the aircraft rose to the sky before dissapearing into the clouds.
"You two must be Jarren Velros and Callista Vaewlyn, it would be my honor to have you two here." Neil smiled as he headed towards his horse, two others were brought for the two to ride. "But of course, it is our duty to protect Reuthar and those in need." Platitudes Jarren spat for face, his mind already picturing his slaughter fest.
"I couldn't help but wonder Neil about your performance. To be able to ward off those demons for so long is no easy feat." The sound of hooves clobbered on the makeshift gravel of a path. With two soldiers flanking from the front and the back, it felt more like a stroll rather than a military expedition.
"Why thank you Jarren, I'm sure with your help that we could manage to keep those beasts at bay." Neil said, his voice calm as his body bobbed to the horse beneath him. A light breeze and vast plains, it was hard to picture that a battle was unfolding not far from where they were. "However as of late there has been a shift and you've lost a lot of soldiers. The rate of your loss is too abnormal."
"It's clear that you have a traitor in your ranks helping the demon." Neil wasn't fazed by this as he too had come to such a conclusion. "But what form of profit would one get from this? A deal with a demon was as good as a losing gamble." Neil added hoping for Jarren to shed some light in this regard.
"Well a deal would be wishy-washy but for one to make it would mean that they're already paid. With the mines being such a valuable asset to Reuthar, if the demons were to get their hands on this then it would be a loss for us. They could corrupt the malcore and use it as a money making machine for red malcore shards."
Red malcore shards were a form of currency alongside gold in the underworld. Red malcore shards were tainted green or blue cores doused in demonic corruption. However this could be enacted when the cores were newly found, an already refined shard would shatter when imbued with demonic aura.
Not only that but the demon had to be of a Malgrave rank or higher to successfully bewitch malcore for it to be corrupted. Thus red malcore shards were hard to come by, their flow under strict observation by the demons in the shadows and the elites.
"However the mine has been in decline for the past four years, the amount of green core shards diminishing with each year. If the demons were to take hold of such a cave then it would be of use to them for about a couple of months before exhaustion." Neil added, curious as to why the demons were so persistent with their capture.
"For the demons to bother for two months then that would implicate the presence of something of greater value within the caves. Can you take me there?" Jarren asked, his eyes already landing it's sight on his target. 'To think that such a piece of gem could be here.'
A faint smile formed in his face, not of greed but intrigue. The horses picked up pace before falling into gallops speeding past the plains. On their way they were met with waving residents busy on the farms. Waving them off, the party finally made their arrival at the cave. About fifty soldiers stood at the entrance their gazes sharp falling on Neil.
In perfect unison they made a respectful bow as they alighted off the horses. Making a quick explanation of their presence, the four headed inside. Jarren's eyes darted all over place, be it the floors to the ceiling and walls alike. Callista silently followed, in her mind already exhausted from the game he was playing.
'Let's already go there, I can sense it from here Jarren!' Jarren went on with his game. 'Well finding it too soon would be a bit of a shock to the man, don't you think?' Echoing back, the four of them went deeper before coming to section drowning in darkness had it not been for the cores illuminating the cave.
The cores glimmered jade, alluring and pleasing for a breakthrough however the two didn't linger for long. "Here it is." Jarren pointed to the floor, mundane in appearance eliciting strange gazes from Neil and Geraint. A glyph flickered on his finger.
*Boom*
The cave rattled, threatening to crumble however the cause didn't seem bothered but rather pleased with his work. "There it is, blue malcore crystals and a huge stash of them as well. However there's glyph shielding the crystals." Callista looked at the crystals, not a rouse of interest flickered on her face.
"That's... but how did you manage to find it ? We've had experts search the cave and they found nothing!" Neil asked, his mind now dawning the realization of the demons. "From this glyphwork, it's clear that the caster came here a long time ago and left and now they're back. A few more blows to it should shatter it." A flame burnt at the edge of his finger.
"Jarren! If you launch another attack like that then the cave itself might collapse in on us and it would be hard to make it back to here." Geraint interrupted, his voice filled with concern. "No need to worry Geraint, I wasn't going to blow it up."
*Whoosh*
This time it wasn't an explosion but a beam that scorched the ground around the crystal. It's glaring heat making it hard to breathe let alone activate any form of malcore. The process dragged on for five minutes before coming to a stop. With the beam, a larger chunk of the crystal was revealed.
And more than that a path came to be. From where they were they could see a dozen of blue malcore crystals descend till the bottom was out of sight. The process much calmer and cleaner. "With a stash like this, the demons would be satiated for more than just two months, this could go on for years."
His voice filling the air, the glyph in his hand dissipating like air. "...If the nearby capital came to learn of this then they would instantly send reinforcements! They would be here in less than a month." With technology slowly creeping into this world, currency was going to be a necessity for it to be.
"Can we head back to the town? I want to see the damage dealt by the last wave of demons." His voice calm as he dismissed the abundant cave filled to the brim with blue malcore crystals. "Of- of course! Right at once!" A smile that refused to fade off Neil's face should be seen, glad with this revelation.
'When a man finds purpose, it's as if they're not the same person. Battling for two months with no real goal, this new pocket of malcore crystals should give him the driving edge that he needed.' Jarren thought, the four making their way back to the entrance of the cave.
"Commander!! We've had an attack on the west side of the town! Swarms of Gorekins and Brandmarks are trying to breach the walls. 'Guess he's sensitive about his crystals.' Callista chuckled receiving weird glances. She didn't bother clarifying nor did she have a reason to. "They're trying to lure us away from the cave. We can't leave it unguarded!"
Neil cursed as the smile quickly vanishes off his face. "Callista could handle this with relative ease while we wait here." Jarren proposed, receiving an odd stare from Neil. "I don't think that sending her would be-" Callista didn't need to wait for a response as she hopped on her horse and headed for the town.
"I'll be here with Geraint. Don't worry, it's in good hands." His words sweet akin to the devil as his unnerving smile persisted. "Damn it!" Neil curses inwardly. "Fine, Geraint! Make sure that Jarren doesn't have any harm come to him." Geraint agreed to do his best before Neil left the scene.
Behind him was some of the soldiers leaving two at the mines. "With Neil gone, it would be better for us to come up with a logical plan. Jarren, since you have a keen eye what do you have?" Geraint asked, the other two guards looked at Jarren with suspicion.
They thought that someone of his age being at a place like this was odd but so far he had proven his usefulness. "l don't have one. Simply defend it with my flames was what I had in mind." His voice flat as he sat down on a nearby rock. "Ugh! Here's what we'll do. I'll cast a barrier to hold off any swarms of demons, I cover the back, Jarren the sides and you two the front."
With the snarls of demons slowly filling the air, the two could only blindly agree. Taking their positions, a glyph formed at Geraint's feet and...
*Whoosh*
A barrier constituted of wind came into view shielding the entrance. The first beast that managed to crawl through the thicket of the forest was a single Gorekin, making the two at the front sigh in relief however from the shadows numerous eyes popped up. The two had buckets of sweat trickle down their faces.
"Can we even survive this?" Both were Wrymkindled, stronger than the wave that blindly charged at them but greatly outnumbered. From the shadows an individual watched the seen, a smile on their face dark and malicious. "I didn't think that they would find the hidden cavern so quickly but this should be more than enough."
*Bam*
The Gorekins crashed onto the barrier, instantly diced by wind blades, some pushed back but their numbers made Geraint quickly burn through his malcore, the two at the front shot their attacks, stalling the inevitable if nothing changed.
Jarren on the other hand sat quietly as if not in the scene. He watched their efforts, his gaze admiring their effort. "Jarren do something! I need cover for me to replenish my malcore." Geraint shouted as he beads of sweat trailed his brows. Jarren showed no signs of moving as he remained completely still.
Amidst the high thrill situation, a cry made the three wish for death. From afar a new swarm of Brandmarks appeared. Stronger than Gorekins but weaker than Dreadhorns. Their bodies were etched with runes that spoke of gibberish.
They had crude basics of elements but not enough to effectively use them in battle.
*Bam*
The wind barrier crashed, making the pair at the front line to retreat. Jarren wore his smile whereas Geraint finally gave way collapsing to the ground. Forcing himself to his feet, he too started making his way towards the cave.
Jarren watched his figure disappear before finally making his move. His finger exuded his mind boggling glyph, the guards perplexed what he would do with such a tiny flame unaware that that would be their last thoughts.
*Whoosh*
The blast wasn't as controlled as the one prior filling his entire peripheral. The guards burnt to a crisp with no screams, their body reduced to ash. The Brandmarks and Gorekins weren't spared either as they were all engulfed in flames. The pillar towered a few feet high and wide incinerating everything it touched.
"Eh-" The one in the shadows wasn't lucky either as they took were bathed in flames. And with a rise of his finger, not only was the entire swarm gone but the forest as well. The ground was scorched black, trees and shrubs instantly vaporized by the heat which lasted for a minute before dying out.
'That's a start.' His mind focused on the death of the two rather than the hoarde of demons behind them. He looked at the distance, watching what Callista would enact.