Greenways Goblins (Resurrection Quest Book 1)

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “That’s still really generous,” Dick said.

  “It’s our way of helping,” John shrugged. “Consider it payment for exclusive rights to your stories.”

  “Heh, you learned that from Spamazon, from when you tried to self-publish a book,” Harry snickered.

  “We accept,” Dick said, splitting the coins into six piles. “Thirty-three coins for each of us, and the extra coppers go into the group fund.”

  “Works,” Tom said, collecting his. “You two are going to be in need of armor. I get to skip that, at least.”

  “And weapons,” Harry rolled his eyes. “Our tank is the least armored and has fewest weapons.”

  “Not true,” Dick pointed out. “I only have one axe, while he has two.”

  “Semantics,” Harry sighed.

  “Leave the Jews out of it,” Tom quipped.

  John rubbed his face, “That joke still hurts.”

  “That’s why he does it,” Dick sighed.

  The door to the inn opened and the villagers started filing in. Everyone was there early, wanting one more night of John’s entertainment.

  John took the stage, and with his new level, he put on an even better show than he had previously. Copper coins landed on the stage while he played as the villagers showed their thanks to him one more time.

  The group was roundly celebrated and many toasts were made in their honor throughout the night. In time, everyone left, and the group went off to bed. Tom made sure to take a pitcher of pre-boiled water with him, drinking it as he staggered down the hall.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Charlie was out in the yard when the group arrived at his gate. Tom, Dick, and Harry waved at him as he hurried over.

  “Darkness, it looks like you’re multiplying,” Charlie laughed, going over to open the gate.

  “These are some of our friends. They helped us take out the hoblins,” Dick replied, shaking hands with the brewer. “John is an entertainer, and Marie is a knowledge magi.”

  “They’ve advanced, eh? What about you three?”

  “I’m an innate magi,” Dick replied.

  “We grew, as well,” Tom said. “Dick came back so he could train with Sara again.”

  “I’ll just have to see what you two learned,” Charlie grinned.

  “John wants to join in,” Harry added. “He’s going to be safe in a town or city most of the time, but he should still work on his combat ability.”

  Charlie’s smile grew wider, “An entertainer who wishes to learn combat… I agree to train you.”

  John stumbled forward when Charlie’s large hand slapped his back. “Oof,” he wheezed, “thanks.”

  “Welcome back, and with friends,” Sara said, coming to see what the fuss was about.

  “Sara, this is Marie. She is our friend and a knowledge magi,” Dick said, introducing them. “I’m not sure what path Sara follows. I’m an innate magi now.”

  “The hoblins have been dealt with?” Sara asked as she hugged Marie.

  “All of them are dead,” Tom said. “A greater vargr is still out there somewhere, though.”

  “Those beasts are cunning,” Charlie said, following the others. “Michael and the others will have their hands full if one of them is roaming loose.”

  “Michael might be okay,” Harry said. “He became a scout after he helped us.”

  “Did he, now?” Charlie said with a smirk. “I’ll have to invite him out in the next few weeks.”

  “Poor man just wants to train with others,” Sara shook her head and led them into the house. “I was just preparing to cook. I’ll have a soup ready in a bit.”

  “Can I help?” Marie asked. “I haven’t cooked in weeks and would like to help.”

  “That would be lovely,” Sara said. “First, let’s get the boys out of our hair, shall we?” Looking back at Charlie, she smiled, “Love, why not take them out into the yard and have them show you what they’ve learned? I’ll call when dinner is ready.”

  “Woman, you have the best ideas,” Charlie laughed. “Come on guys, better make ourselves scarce.”

  “Oh, gods,” Harry muttered.

  “That means Dick and John, too,” Tom added. “I’m good if they’re joining us.”

  Dick winced and John looked nervous, making Charlie laugh as he ushered them out. “Come along, it won’t be for long. Not tonight, anyway.”

  ~*~*~

  Sara called for the men after an hour. They headed inside, Harry and Tom a little disappointed that Charlie was in such a good mood. Instead of Dick and John seeing what a demon Charlie could be, he had instead just paired them off to show him what they could do.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be training you all hard tomorrow,” Charlie laughed, seeing the two frowning. “I didn’t know you missed it so much.”

  “We were hoping the other two would get the authentic treatment,” Tom grumbled.

  Dick laughed, “Skated by that one.”

  “Fucker,” Harry sighed.

  “That wasn’t what you were thinking of?” John asked, looking worried again because Charlie had been quick to correct him when they were training.

  “Not even close,” Tom said.

  “There’s a basin of water right there,” Sara said, pointing to a small table by the door. “Clean your hands and faces first.”

  “I swear, woman, you act like a little dirt is a bad thing,” Charlie said, the first to use the basin.

  “Took it easy on them?” Sara asked with a raised eyebrow. “I’m surprised the four of you can still stand.”

  “I was getting an idea of what they advanced in so I could plan my training out,” Charlie replied.

  “I’ll be teaching Marie and Dick magic for the next week,” Sara told him. “The other three can train with you.”

  Tom, Harry, and John grew uneasy at Charlie’s wide smile. “Good, I’ll be able to show them a lot of different things. While you all get ready, I’ll go fetch some special stock.”

  “That is what makes all this worth it,” Tom said.

  “John, are you okay?” Marie asked.

  “For now. From what I’m hearing, I might need help tomorrow.”

  “It only feels like a meat grinder. He doesn’t actually kill us,” Harry said.

  “He does train in the roughest way, but it has always produced results,” Sara said as she carried a large pot to the table. “Don’t worry, Marie. My husband won’t do more than hurt their pride.”

  “And our backs, knees, arms…” Harry murmured under his breath.

  Dick snickered, “I’d join you guys, but I need to meditate.”

  Tom flipped him off and took a seat at the table. “Fucking magi, present female company excluded.”

  Marie rolled her eyes, “Please, we are in someone else’s house.”

  “Here we go— a bottle of wine for the women, and some good dark ale for us men,” Charlie said as he carried a bottle and small keg into the room.

  “I’ll take some of the wine,” Dick said. “I prefer it over ale.”

  “Elves,” Tom deadpanned with disdain.

  “Right?” Charlie laughed as he handed the bottle to Sara. Placing the small keg on the kitchen counter, he tapped it and filled mugs for anyone who wanted ale.

  Dinner was good, and afterward, John retold the story of the hoblins for their hosts. Charlie and Sara were engrossed, offering up advice about different tactics they could have used in some places. When John finished the story, the sun had been down for hours and Sara was yawning.

  “It’s nice to have company, but tomorrow will be here soon. Let me get you some blankets. We don’t have a guest room, so you’ll need to find space here in the main room,” Sara said, standing up.

  “We have our own blankets and bedrolls now,” Dick said. “Thank you for offering, but you should get some sleep, Sara.”

  “Come on, woman, we should let them get as much sleep as they can. I’ll be seeing you three soon,” Charlie looked at Tom, Harry, and John
, laughing as he walked off to the bedroom.

  “You think he’ll try it?” Tom asked Harry.

  “Probably,” Harry replied.

  “Get your sleep,” Dick chuckled. “I’ll wake you when he comes out.”

  “Least you could do,” Tom said as he went to the far side of the room and made himself a spot.

  “Thanks,” Harry told Dick before he moved off to another corner and got ready for bed.

  John and Marie took the spot near the table, because it had the largest open floor space. Dick went to the front door and opened his bedroll in front of it. It was not long before snores began to emanate from the various group members, sleep taking them all swiftly.

  ~*~*~

  The week flew by for Dick and Marie while they learned safe consumption from Sara. They knew it would be useful to have; the spell made all food and drink in a five-foot sphere around the caster free of non-magical poison and disease.

  That same week was a long, cruel slog for Tom, Harry, and John. Charlie worked them hard, all but breaking them each day. Tom and Harry improved on their teamwork, even managing to surprise Charlie a few times. John had it the worst— he was never meant to be a fighter, but he survived and knew that in time, the training would pay off for him.

  Sara and Marie made a big dinner for their last evening together. Charlie brought out his very best wine and ale for the feast. They traded rounds of toasts, from serious to silly as the meal progressed. Laughter echoed through the house as they recounted funny moments during training over the past week.

  Once dessert had been enjoyed and the dishes cleared away, Sara asked them, “What are your plans from here?”

  “We’re heading on to the next village to the west, and eventually, on to the cities out that way,” Dick said. “I thought most of the adventures could be found to the north, so we don’t want to go south.”

  “The south has adventure in plenty as well, but your friends would not like it as much,” Charlie replied. “I’d suggest you head to Flendis; it’s the first decently large town to the west. It’s a hub for young adventurers who are looking to advance.”

  “Sounds like a good place to go,” Tom said.

  “Why are you committed to this life?” Sara asked.

  Harry looked down, “We have a quest. Our goal is to become powerful enough to bring my brother back from the dead.”

  “You said that before,” Charlie said, his normal jovial expression replaced by a serious one. “It’s a steep climb. Few ever reach those heights.”

  “We’ll make it,” Dick said. “This was what we agreed to when we decided to adventure. It might take a dozen years or more, but we’ll manage it.”

  “To family, and to friends who will stare death in the face for their loved ones,” Charlie said softly, raising his mug.

  “Loved ones,” the others murmured before drinking.

  “Thank you for staying with us,” Sara said. “I’ll make sure there’s a hearty breakfast to send you off. Please keep us in mind, and if you ever come back this way, stop in again.”

  “We will,” Dick said. “Maybe by then, we can train you two.”

  “It’s good to have dreams,” Charlie chuckled softly. “Night to you.”

  When the couple retired, the rest of them stayed up a little longer.

  “Do you think it’ll be as hard as he made it sound?” Marie asked.

  “Harder,” Harry replied. “We’ll need to be ten times stronger to do what we’re talking about.”

  “A little less than that, but he’s not off by much,” Dick said.

  “We’ll do it,” Tom said, starting for the corner he had claimed as his own. “Once we do that, maybe we’ll find a village of our own and rule over it like feudal lords.”

  “Why the hell not?” Dick snorted. “I’ll build a magi tower that will be remembered for generations. John will make sure that the songs get sung.”

  “I will,” John said. “A dozen years of being an entertainer… I’m okay with that.”

  “Then you’ll be our court jester,” Tom said.

  “Okay, maybe not that,” John sighed.

  “Let’s sleep, dear,” Marie giggled. “Let him have his dreams.”

  Dick was still awake when the others fell asleep. It might take more than a dozen years... we don’t know how long it takes to advance normally. Not that it matters. We’ll do it all the same. Exhaling deeply, he finally slept.

  ~*~*~

  Charlie and Sara saw them off the next morning after a big breakfast. Both sides said goodbye a dozen times before the group walked off down the road. The couple stayed by the gate, watching the five friends start on their next adventure.

  “Do you think they know how hard it normally is to reach the advancement tier that can bring the dead back?” Sara asked.

  “No,” Charlie replied. “They seem oddly ignorant of lots of things, and some of their speech patterns are different. I don’t know where they came from, but I have an odd feeling that we’ll hear their names in the years to come.”

  “Yes, John will make sure of that; he is quite talented. Marie will help keep him grounded, but those two might not be prepared for the troubles they’re bound to face.”

  “He’ll definitely catch the eye of anyone powerful that wishes to promote themselves,” Charlie agreed. “It might take longer than normal if he sticks to places where adventurers normally hang out, but it will happen.”

  “What about the other three?”

  “The trow and dwarf have a solid grasp of how to work together, almost as if they’ve done so for years. And then, when you don’t expect it, they’re as green as a farmer picking up his first blade. If Dick is half the magi you were at that point, they’ll match us in time.”

  “High praise from my dour husband. Will they manage their quest?”

  “It would take a miracle,” Charlie replied, waving at the friends who had paused and waved back at them just before the curve of the road blocked their view. “Come on, woman. We’ve neglected our retirement for a week.”

  ~*~*~

  The group was in good spirits as they walked down the road. They waved one final time at the couple who had been generous enough to house them and train them for a week. When Charlie and Sara waved back, they smiled and set their feet to the west.

  “Twenty-two days,” John commented.

  “Huh?” Tom said.

  “It’s been twenty-two days since we came to this world.”

  “Christ, it seems so much longer,” Harry said.

  “A lifetime,” Dick agreed. “With a whole lifetime ahead of us to reach our goal.”

  “Three lives to bring back,” Marie said softly.

  “How hard do you think it’ll be?” Tom asked. “We reached level two in under a month.”

  “Each level gets harder to obtain,” John reminded him. “Besides, we’ll have real downtime here, not just a five minute gloss-over of how a month went by while we wait for armor and weapons to be made for us.”

  “Fair point,” Dick nodded. “We’ll need that downtime, too. For training and to decompress.”

  “Agreed,” Tom added. “We’ll need it even more as we get more powerful and the things that we have to face become bigger, scarier, and deadlier.”

  “I don’t care if it takes twenty years,” Harry said, “just as long as we can do it.”

  “For Kevin,” Tom said.

  “As well as Carl and Kattie,” Marie added.

  “Them, too,” Dick agreed.

  “How far is it to Flendis? What was the town that Charlie told us about?” Tom asked.

  “A few days to Flendis, and two weeks to Glendra,” Dick replied.

  “Lots of walking,” Harry chuckled. “Remember how we always complained about the boring travel time in the games? I kind of hope it’s true here.”

  “Right?” Dick laughed.

  “Could use a few small fights just to keep honed,” Tom said. “But I’ll pass while Marie is with us.
”

  “We all will,” John smiled.

  “I’m not glass,” Marie replied, but she was wearing a happy smile.

  “Let’s hope it’s an uneventful trip,” Harry said as he took the lead. “I’ll just scout a little.”