Baptism of fire (Fantasy Verse by Ratchetanon).

"In hindsight, I really should've taken more time to think this through before I left home." mused Marla to herself as she sat down on a large stone, clad in nothing but a simple set of leather armor while tapping a mace made of iron on the ground.

When she originally set out in order to earn money for her family as a mercenary, she thought it would be easy - find a few jobs, complete them and get paid, then send the money back home. Simple. What she had forgotten, however, was the fact that she would need money to cover her expenses as a travelling sellsword.

It had been a week since she had left home and she was starting running out of supplies. If she had to be honest with herself, it was a miracle she had managed to make them last this long.

As she continued to think about what she was going to do in order to fix this problem, her eyes caught onto a peculiar sight - a farm with several dead farmhands and animals littering the ground while a dark-skinned man stared at the sight with a distraught look on his face.

Marla immediately recognized this man, having heard about him from her mother. He was Lord Bumper Yates the Second, the current head of House Yates following his father's passing three years ago.

From what she remembered about House Yates, they were mainly known for owning several productive farms that provided food to everyone else in Royalwood, which in turn led to the family becoming one of the wealthier ones in the entire kingdom. Lord Bumper was also known for being rather generous and pleasant with the smallfolk living under his rule, making him and his family well-loved by the people.

'Doesn't seem like he's in a good mood right now, based on the bloodbath in front of him. What the hell happened here?' thought Marla to herself as she stepped closer to get a better look at the carnage, only to stop when the stench of death filled her nostrils, causing her to retch before running over to a nearby bush to throw up.

While she was emptying her stomach, Bumper had finally taken notice of her and walked over, asking "...What are you doing here, young lady? This is no place for a child like yourself to be."

After wiping her mouth, Marla groaned "Just thought I'd come and see what happened here. Didn't expect the stench to hit me that hard, though." as she pulled her head out of the bush in order to face him. "I'm assuming that this farm belongs to you?"

"One of the many I own, yes." replied Bumper, nodding before turning his attention back towards the carnage.

"What happened here? Did a wild animal come through?"

"No. No wild animal could do this much damage overnight." answered Bumper with a shake of his head before pointing at an empty storehouse, which only had a few meager vegetables inside of it. "See that building over there?"

"I see it. I'm guessing that your workers kept their crops in it?"

"Yes. And as you can see, it's been forced open and completely ransacked."

"Which means that brigands are probably responsible for this, then." assumed Marla, only to blink in surprise when Bumper once again shook his head. "No?"

"No. Aside from the crops, nothing else was stolen. Furthermore..." said Bumper before pointing at a crude-looking sword that was buried halfway through a farmhand's chest. "Do you see that sword?"

"I see it."

"It's a goblin-made sword, which means that those wretched little beasts were responsible for the deaths of my people and their livestock." said Bumper as his distraught expression turned to one of anger. "They even had the nerve to steal the crops that were going to be delivered to the smallfolk at the end of this season."

Arms crossed, Marla answers "Well, I'm pretty sure that you're not going to get that food back. My mother told me that goblins are ravenous creatures - they'd probably have it eaten up by the time someone manages to find their nest."

"I'm aware of that, unfortunately." answered Bumper before a steely glint formed in his eyes. "That's why I'm not looking to get my food back. I'm looking for someone to wipe the nest out so that this doesn't happen again."

Eyebrow raised in interest, Marla asked "Oh?"

"The food isn't...well, it's important, but the fact that they took the lives of my people and their livestock like this is something I'm not going to let stand. Knowing that people under my watch had died at the hands of those creatures...I can't just let that go."

"...You really care about the people that used to live here, huh?"

"I care about everyone that's under my watch, even if they're not related to House Yates by blood."

While Bumper turned his attention back to his fallen subjects, Marla stood there, deep in thought about his words.

'So he needs someone to find this nest and wipe it out, huh...' thought the long-nosed teen to herself before recalling her earlier predicament. "...That goblin nest you were talking about earlier...where is it?"

"Around one or two miles north of here, I'd say. Why do you ask?"

"Have you hired anyone to deal with them yet?"

"Not yet." answered Bumper, shaking his head. "I intend to contact the Guild later on today so I can hire an adventurer or two to wipe the nest out."

"Well, you're in luck. I'm looking for work and I'd be willing to deal with this nest for you for a price."

"You? No offence intended, but I honestly think that you're too young to handle a job like this. Leave the fighting to the adults."

"I'm fourteen!"

"That's still too young, in my opinion." countered Bumper, arms crossed. "Why do you even want this job? You do realize that delving into a goblin nest is very dangerous, yes?"

Sighing, Marla answers "Like yourself, I've got a family back home that I care about a great deal - one that's been financially struggling as of late. And since my mom's retired due to a leg injury..."

"You're taking it upon yourself to make sure your family will be able to keep food on the table. I see. But you're..."

"If it helps, I studied as a squire under the Royalwood Kingdom's Knight-Commander before. I know how to fight."

"...I'm still not sure about this. I really don't want to have your death on my conscience should you fail."

"And I don't want my family's death on mine because I wasn't able to send them the gold they needed in time. Please...give me this job. I can handle it."

After a few moments, Bumper sighs before nodding his head.

"...Alright, I'll let you handle it. But please...if the job turns out to be too much for you to handle, get out of the nest as soon as possible."

"I'll keep that in mind, Lord Yates. Thank you." replied Marla, nodding in satisfaction. "We'll talk about the price of my services after I'm done with the nest."

"Of course. Just remember - be careful."

"I will."

It had taken her a couple of hours, but Marla finally reached the goblin nest that Lord Yates was referring to - a cavern at the foot of a large, craggy hill with two goblins standing guard at the entrance.

"Two lookouts standing guard in front of the nest..." mused Marla to herself as she watched the pair from behind a rock. "I think I remember the Knight-Commander mentioning something about this -  something about one of them keeping the intruder busy while the other runs off to call for reinforcements."

Nodding in appreciation at the clever tactic, she adds "If that's what these two are doing, then they're a lot smarter than I thought they would be. And here I was thinking that goblins were brainless beasts." before picking up a nearby stone.

"Well, clever or not, they have to go so I can clear out the nest. So..."

With that said, the long-nosed teen chucked the rock at a nearby patch of bushes, causing the goblins to stare for a few minutes before one of them goes over to investigate while the other waited for the signal to call for reinforcements.

Which gave Marla the opportunity she needed to get rid of it.

While the goblin by the nest's entrance was distracted, Marla snuck up behind it, mace poised to strike. In one swift movement, she grabs the foul creature's neck and pulls it away from the nest, causing it to let out a gurgled cry of surprise.

Before it could start calling for help, the teen swung her mace hard, causing a sickening crack to ring out as the heavy weapon caved in the beast's skull.

'One down, one to go.' thought Marla to herself, ignoring the twitching carcass on the ground beside her. Spotting the other goblin coming back from his investigation, she smirks before letting out a whistle, catching it's attention. "Looking for me?"

After spotting the dead body at Marla's feet, the goblin lets out a screech of rage before rushing toward her with a club in hand, intent on avenging it's comrade.

Before it could even get close enough to attack her however, a fireball suddenly comes out of nowhere and slams into the goblin, setting it alight.

Clenching her mace tightly as she looked around for the source of the sudden attack, Marla snarls "Where are you!? Show yourself!"

Almost as if on cue, a dark-haired girl clad in a witch's hat and a dark-colored robe that barely seemed to cover her sizable bust scurries over with a smoking staff in her right hand.

"Are you okay? That goblin was very close to attacking you..."

"I had everything under control. I didn't need your help." stated Marla firmly as she glared at the other girl with narrowed eyes. "But enough about me. Who are you?"

"Me?" asked the girl, pointing at herself.

"No, I was talking to the invisible person standing behind you. Of course I mean you!"

"Oh. Well, I'm Gloom of House Forryster." replied the girl, smiling as she extended her free arm out for a handshake. "It's nice to meet you...er..."

Giving Gloom a half-hearted shake, Marla answers "Marla of House Robyrts."

"House Robyrts...you wouldn't happen to be related to Ser Margo of the Royal Knights, would you?"

"I am. So...going by that staff in your hand, I'm guessing you're a mage?"

"Uh-huh. I'm still learning how to use it properly, though. My mother and sister are better at it than I am."

"We all have to begin somewhere." replied Marla before turning her attention to the charred remains of the other goblin. Nudging the body with her boot, she adds "Well, even though I didn't need your help, you certainly saved me the trouble of having to kill this one. Nice work."

"Thank you. So what are you doing here anyway? Don't you know that goblin nests are dangerous?"

"Of course I know that. That's why I'm here to clear it out." replied Marla before making her way towards the nest's entrance. "And speaking of which, I better get started on that. It was nice talking to you or whatever, but I've got a job to do."

"Wait!"

"What now?"

"Let me help you. If you're going to go into a goblin nest, at least let me come in with you so you'll have someone watching your back." said Gloom, hurrying over to catch up with the mace-wielding teen.

"We've only just met. Why do you want to help me out with this?"

"Well, going into a nest is very dangerous, for one." said Gloom, pointing her staff at the nest's entrance. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just let you go in there alone."

"We've only known each other for roughly five minutes." answered Marla dryly.

"And that five minutes was more than enough to convince me that I should help you." said Gloom before wiggling her staff around. "Besides, I think you'll need my help - alongside my Fireball spell, I know how to use a few healing spells, too. I can patch you up if you get hurt."

At this, Marla had to admit that bringing Gloom along would be a good idea. She was running low on healing poultices and having a healer around would keep her alive long after they were used up. Gloom's Fireball spell was also a good selling point, considering how quickly it had killed that goblin from before.

"...Alright, you're in. Just try not to stray off while we're in there."

"Oh, thank you! You won't regret bringing me along, I promise!" said Gloom happily before hugging Marla, causing the long-nosed teen to look at her with annoyance.

"Hey, enough of the hugging! Knock it off!"

Blushing in embarrassment as she moved away from Marla, Gloom mumbles "Sorry about that...hugging other people is a bad habit of mine."

Jabbing a finger in Gloom's face, Marla says "...I'll let it slide this time since we just met, but if you hug me again without my permission, I'm going to deck you. Are we clear?"

Slightly intimidated by the aggressive gesture, Gloom squeaks "Crystal."

"Good. And while we're in the nest, don't go hugging the goblins in there, either. They'll probably end up trying to kill you or attempt to take you as their breeding stock or something."

"They'd actually do that to me?!"

"Maybe. I dunno." replied Marla with a shrug as she peered into the pitch-dark entrance of the nest. "You got any spells that can light up dark places?"

"I've got a Glowlight spell. It's not much, but it should be enough to help us find our way through the nest." answered Gloom before firing a softly glowing ball of light into the nest.

"Nice." said Marla, nodding in satisfaction as the ball of light's soft glow illuminated the nest's interior. "How many times can you cast that spell?"

"It's an easy spell to use - one of the first ones I learned at the Mage's Academy - so I can use it as often as you need me to." said Gloom before taking a small phial out of one of her robe's pockets. "And I've got this just in case my Mana runs out."

"Good to know." said Marla, nodding again. "Well, let's get to it then. I want to get this over with and done so I can get my pay."

"Lead the way. Uh...by the way..."

"Yeah?"

"The goblins...they really wouldn't use me as breeding stock, would they?"

"Keep your distance from them and you won't have to find out. Just focus on cooking them with that magic of yours."

Finding their way through the nest was the easy part of the job. With the Glowlight spell lighting things up for them, the two girls easily found their way through the nest's dark, murky depths.
The hard part came around when the goblins eventually realized that they had intruders in their home and decided to swarm them in an all-out attack.

"Is that all you've got, you bunch of weaklings!?" taunted Marla with a smirk as she deflected an attack from a goblin before grabbing it by the face and hurling it into another one, sending them both crashing into the ground. "I can do this all day!"

Despite their larger numbers, the goblins were fairly weak, relying more on sheer quantity than actual strength to overwhelm their foes. It had only been an hour and almost half of the nest had been wiped out. And thankfully for Gloom, they were much more focused on trying to kill her, easing whatever concerns she had about them trying to use her for breeding.

'Though that doesn't do anything to make our current situation any better...' thought the raven-haired mage to herself as she launched a Fireball spell at a goblin, setting it aflame. "Are you holding up over there, Marla?"

"Please. Finding this place was harder than actually dealing with these chumps." boasted Marla as she smacked another goblin aside with her mace. "How are you holding up?"

"Running a little low on Mana, but I'll be okay. Are we almost done?"

"Their numbers are starting to wear thin, so yeah, I think we're almost done. Looks like this was one of the smaller nests."

"Smaller?" questioned Gloom in a struggling voice as she attempted to use her staff to block an oncoming attack.

"Yeah. This den is fairly small compared to the bigger ones I've heard about from my mom. Those have thousands of these little pests living inside of them, if not more." said Marla as she swung her mace again, crushing the goblin's skull and causing Gloom to let out a sigh of relief. "We really lucked out with this job."

"Really lucky. I don't know if we would've been able to handle thousands of goblins. I was barely able to handle the amount we fought today." said Gloom before firing another Fireball spell, killing yet another goblin. Seeing no more of the wretched creatures coming out of the darkness, she sighs before saying "Looks like that's it. I think we got them all."

"Looks like it." said Marla, nodding in satisfaction. "You still have that potion of yours?"

"Right here." replied Gloom before taking her phial out of her pocket and drinking the mixture inside. As the potion started to take effect on her body's Mana, she started to blush while a blissful look appeared on her face.

Eyebrow raised, Marla says "...Wow. That must be one hell of a potion if you're acting like that after drinking it."

"It's not that." said Gloom before lifting up her breasts, making them look more prominent. "When it comes to female mages, Mana is primarily created and stored in their breasts. And a larger pair of breasts means a larger quantity of Mana."

"That explains why you were able to cast so many spells earlier. So what about the potion?"

"Well, when I drink it, it forces my body to speed up Mana generation. And well...that effects my chest in more ways than one, to put it politely."

Deciding not to inquire further, Marla says "...Right. In any case, we're done here, so let's head back to..." before her eyes catch onto what appeared to be a hoard of assorted items sitting in a nearby cavern. "...What's this?"

"Looks like it's the hoard of the nest. Probably full of things that they've stolen from people over the years." commented Gloom, eyeing the numerous items with interest.

"Then what are we waiting for? The goblins are dead - they're not going to need this stuff!" said Marla excitedly before running over and picking through the hoard's contents. "Let's see what we've got here..."

After tossing a few worthless trinkets and torn articles of clothing aside, she finally found something that had caught her interest - a full set of steel-plated armor with a shield.

"Looks to be in pretty good condition." said Marla as she eyed the gleaming armor for a few seconds before picking up one of the gauntlets and looking it over. "...Really good condition. Doesn't even look or smell like it's been used."

"I think I've seen a merchant selling a set like that in town once." commented Gloom, nodding. "Are you going to keep it?"

"Of course I'm going to keep it! You really think I'd leave a perfectly good set of armor behind?" answered Marla before picking up the shield with a grin on her face. "I think I'll take this shield, too. A mace isn't going to be enough to get the job done by itself."

Giving the raven-haired girl a smirk, she asks "You going to take anything from this? It's not like the goblins are going to need it where they're going."

"I'll pass. So are we done here?"
"Almost. Here, hold these for me, will you?" asked Marla before shoving several pouches of gold into Gloom's arms, causing her to look at them for a moment before shrugging and tucking them into her cleavage.

After lopping off one of the goblin's heads to bring back as proof that she had finished her mission, Marla nods before motioning for Gloom to follow her out of the nest.

Upon seeing Marla and Gloom coming back, Bumper hurries over with a relieved smile on his face, happy to see the long-nosed teenager safe and sound.

"Oh, thank the Gods you're alright! I was worried about you!" said the clearly relieved Lord before turning to face Gloom. "Who's this?"

"She helped me out with clearing the goblin nest you mentioned before. And speaking of which..." replied Marla before dropping the goblin's head on the ground. "There you go. Proof that the job's done."

"You could've just told me that you had finished the job instead of bringing this back to me..." groaned Bumper, wrinkling his nose at the sight. "...Did you find any of my crops, perchance?"

"Unfortunately not. We found a few items of value in the nest's hoard, but no sign of the food they stole."

"Shame. Well, at least I can rest easy knowing that those goblins won't be able to hurt my people anymore." said Bumper before a smile formed on his face as he took a pouch of gold out of his robes. "On behalf of House Yates and my people, I'd like to offer you this. You've earned it, both of you."

Taking the pouch, Marla grins before opening the pouch, revealing several Gold Roosters inside of it.

"It was good doing business with you, Lord Yates."

"Likewise. If I ever need to hire someone for work like this again, well...I'll know who to ask for." replied Bumper with a nod before waving the pair off. "Safe travels, you two. And thank you again."

"You're welcome!" chirped Gloom cheerfully before turning to face Marla, who was still grinning as she counted the numerous coins in the pouch. "So how'd we do?"

"50 Gold Roosters. Not bad for a first job, I'd say." replied Marla before taking twenty-five of the coins out of the pouch and handing them over. "There's your half. You did help me out after all."

"Thanks. So what now?"

"Now we go our separate ways."  replied Marla, nodding before giving Gloom a raised eyebrow. "Unless you feel like tagging along with me, that is."

"You want me to come along with you?" asked Gloom, surprised.

"It'll be useful to have a mage around, even one as inexperienced as yourself." said Marla, nodding. "And you'll need someone that'll be able to watch your back, too. We'll both get something out of this."

After taking a moment to think the offer over, Gloom smiles and says "Sure, I'll come along with you! Just means I'll get to stick around with my new friend a bit longer!" before moving closer to hug the long-nosed teen, who simply stared at her.

Flinching at this, the raven-haired mage muttered "...Right. You don't want any hugs. Sorry about that."

"...I'll allow it just this once, but don't push your luck after that."

Eyes lighting up in delight, Gloom shouts "Yes! Come here, you!" before pulling Marla into a tight hug, causing the older girl to grimace in response.

"...A-alright, hug time's over. Let go before you break something..."

"Sorry about that." apologized Gloom, quickly letting her new friend go. "So where are we going next? Another job?"

"No. We're going to hit the White Rabbit Tavern in Royalwood."

"Why are we going there?"

"To look for someone else to come along with us. You and I work pretty well together, but I think we'll be better off if we bring a few more people with us." said Marla, causing Gloom to nod in understanding.

"And you think we'll find who we're looking for there, right?"

"Yep. Adventurers of all kinds come and go through that place, so it's the best spot to start our search." replied Marla before jostling the pouch of coins she was holding, causing the coins to let out delightful jingling sounds. "That and I could use a drink after today."

"Aren't you too young to drink, Marla?"

"Old enough to kill goblins for a living, old enough to drink. Now come on, let's get going."

(END)