Alex Brim, Hero for Hire

Chapter 1 – Quest in Azurath

Alex Brim was finishing his lunch, together with his Party for that Quest. Gabriel Dawson got up after finishing his meal and said, “Before anything else, I need to pee. I will be right back to help with tidying the campsite.”

The Fairy Wenammy spoke while disguising a smile and trying to remain serious, “If you get in trouble, try not to scream like a little girl. It’s kind of embarrassing hearing such a big man scream like that.”

Gabriel grunted. “I didn’t scream like a little girl when those Goblins attacked us in the morning. I made out a very virile scream because of surprise!”

He went to the nearest bunch of trees as fast as he could while the others were laughing their hearts out.

Alex Brim munched on another piece of bread while glancing around to their partners, that hired him to help them in getting rid of a group of Goblins that terrorized that region of the ‘Kingdom of Bouria’.

Their Leader, James Macdonald, a Human Mage that paired up with Bethany Matthews, a powerful Mage woman. He was strong with Water Spells, but she was dangerous with Fire and Wind Spells. When she combined some of them against the Goblins she faced in the morning, those ugly things did not stand a chance.

Pearl Pearson, an Elf woman with incredibly beautiful golden skin and green hair that acted as an archer together with another woman, Anika Wright, a Mermaid archer with white skin and blue hair that could use a lot of Water Spells.

The Fairy Wenammy acted as a close combat fighter and used her Wind Spells to increase her speed and strength more perfectly and powerfully than the screaming Human, Gabriel Dawson, a man that also used Wind Spells in his close combat fighting.

James Macdonald noticed Alex’s gaze and asked, “What is in your mind, Mister Rented-Hero? You seem worried about something. You are looking at all of us very suspiciously. I do hope you are not thinking about doing something stupid, like robbing us, for instance.”

Alex took a sip of his tea and answered to the puzzled looks upon him, “You are mistaken if you think I would ruin my reputation by robbing you guys of the handful of tiny Orbs we took from those Goblins. My contract was very clear, five gold coins and one Orb of my choosing. Nothing more, nothing less. I was just thinking that I did not choose my Orb and strangely, those Goblins this morning did not have a leader, as they normally have. Besides, you should be more worried about your partner, Mister Gabriel Dawson. Unless he has some problem with his bladder, he is taking too long for a mere piss. Unless he was lying, and he has a… smelly problem.”

Before James Macdonald could say anything more, a girlish squeal filled the air for a brief moment, going silent immediately. Alex got up and kicked the edge of his shield that was on the ground next to him that went up and, after a couple of turns, his left hand grabbed the strap while his right hand took the sword. He then turned to the group of trees to where James Macdonald went minutes ago and saw the foliage of the nearby bushes shaking strongly. The others grabbed their weapons as well and saw in horror a group of twenty Goblins emerging from the bushes, followed by a huge Four-Armed Orc that was carrying a big wooden mace and dragging by his right foot the fainted Gabriel Dawson.

Everyone stood still for a moment until the big Orc slowly raised Gabriel while looking at Alex. He pointed the mace at him, and then at the members of his Party, one by one.

Alex squeezed the hilt of his sword and said, “There’s my Orb. You guys take care of his friends, the big one is all mine.”

Alex then shouted to the Orc, surprising everyone, “Eat him already! He is in my way! I want your head and the pretty Magical Orb you have inside you! You are not dead already because that dumbass is still there, but as soon as you kill him, you are all mine!”

The Orc let go of Gabriel’s foot, and he fell on the ground with a muffled bump. The Orc raised his mace to the sky and screamed, giving the signal for the Goblins to attack. At the same time, Alex whispered, “Give me a little of your strength, Shinatobe.”

A small dot of light near his right ear answered in a low voice, “As you say, Master.”

Alex became surrounded by an almost imperceptible light glow, and from his belt, he took daggers after daggers that he threw in quick succession, aimed at the Orc’s legs and arms, making him scream in pain and losing the mace.

That was the signal for the group of archers and Mages that began shooting arrows to the farthest Goblins while the Fairy Wenammy joined Alex on his run forward, landing a punch on a Goblin and a kick on another, opening a path for Alex that went straight to the Orc.

An endless rush of slashes cut off the Orc’s arms, one after the other, while Alex used his shield to fend off the powerful punches the Orc tried to land on him, and a powerful kick to the Orc’s groins made him bend over.

Alex approached the Orc and looked into his eyes, “This is p*****t for all the Farmers and villagers you and your group killed.”

A side s***h took the Orc’s head, which rolled on the floor. The Goblins that were still alive looked back, staring in surprise at the head of their powerful Leader, making them forget the fight and being killed easily by the others.

Alex stuck his sword in the Orc’s chest, a few centimetres below his heart and used the sword as a lever, to take out the Magical Orb that was, as usual, attached to the heart like if it was some weird extra organ that granted Magic to some Magical Monsters and that was probably the reason for the extra pair of arms.

Alex grabbed the Orb and cleaned it on the Orc’s loincloth. He took a quick look back to see if the others needed his help, and after checking that they were also removing the Orbs from the Goblins, he approached Gabriel Dawson and checked his wounds. A bump on his head was probably the reason he got knocked out, because there were no more wounds or blood.

After a few slaps, Gabriel woke up and looked around, a little confused. “I… didn’t have time to react. When I saw one of them, I felt a pain in my head and everything went dark. They used me as a hostage, right?”

“The big guy tried, but I told him I didn’t care less if he killed you or not. He got confused and angry, and he let you go, becoming an easy target for me. Can you get up? I want to take his arms and legs with us. We can sell his meat in the City.”

Gabriel grabbed the helping hand and wondered how that boy could lift him so effortlessly. He then asked, while picking up two arms, “What about the rest of his body? We will leave it like this?”

“Why not? The wolves and the crows deserve to eat as well. They liked to eat people, let them become food as well. Unless you want some pork chops, and if that’s the case, you don’t need my help for that, right? I already did a lot, by saving someone that screams like you! Man, you really need to do something about your scream. It doesn’t go well with your enormous size and beard!”

Gabriel made an awkward smile and asked, trying to change the subject, “Did you really kill him all alone? This guy was huge. I don’t know if I could defeat him, less alone kill him!”

“That’s why I am worth every gold coin. I could even kill all his friends before going to the Orc, but I don’t like to embarrass my employers. Besides, they also need to get some Magical Orbs to pay for expenses till their next Quest, right?”

“Like if you don’t need them! You also have expenses, right?”

Alex shrugged. “I guess, but the gold coins I am getting help me while I wait for my next contract. Besides, I don’t have so many expenses as you may think, and I don’t have an addiction that makes me waste money, like drinking or women.”

“What about… your family? They could use…”

Alex raised his right palm to shut him up. “Remember the clauses of my contract, Mister Gabriel. Personal inquiries are not needed. Now, more work and less talk, or we will not continue our voyage before nightfall! Man, I really need a bath, right now!”

Gabriel nodded and held the Orc’s arm that Alex was giving him, wondering how the heck he was able to cut those arms and legs large as logs so easily, and carry them like if they were nothing, while he was having difficulties walking just with three Orc arms.

When they finished and were tying the meat on the mules’ backs, Bethany Matthews and Anika Wright approached and Bethany asked, “You want to join us, Alex? We all need a bath right now, but in your case, it’s more urgent. You are all red, and you will be horribly smelly in a few minutes.”

Alex smiled, and Anika untied the first knot in his shirt. “Let me help you. It will be faster if you get rid of these clothes. I can wash them aside very quickly.”

Alex gently removed her hands from his chest and said with a slight smile, “Don’t seduce me so shamelessly like that, you beautiful Mermaid. At least pay me a drink before taking out my clothes! I just need a quick bath from one of your beautiful Water Spells and a fast dry with some Fire and Wind Spells with Miss Bethany’s help.”

Anika Wright made a kinky smile and caressed Alex’s left cheek. “You don’t need to be so shy near me. Life is too short for you Humans to be attached so strongly to your morals and shyness.”

Alex grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers gently. “I am not shy, beautiful Mermaid, I am just afraid of falling in love with you when we just met a few days ago. I know little about you, and you know nothing about me.”

That only made Anika approach even more, stopping only at a few millimetres from his lips. “And whose fault is that, Mister secretive? You puzzle me, and I am not easily puzzled. That makes you even more appealing to my eyes. But I won’t push myself on you. This is enough for now. We will have more opportunities in the future, and maybe on our next encounter, you will be more willing to accept my kind offer to share a bed with me.”

Anika was pulled away by a Fairy that was rolling up her eyes. Wenammy poked the Mermaid’s cleavage and spoke, “Stop pushing your big t**s against him, you horny Mermaid! Let the man breathe, will you?”

Anika poked Wenammy's flat chest and answered, “Jealousy is such an ugly sin, you flat board!”

“What did you call me, you cow? You need to be milked or what?”

Anika tilted her head sideways and asked, “You are strangely protective. Are you in love with me? Or with him?”

Wenammy turned bright red and stuttered, “N-no... I am n-not... in love with... h-him... n-no way! Or you! Take care of the Water, you annoying fish!”

Anika shrugged. “That’s a pity. I think you are rather pretty. I wouldn’t mind sharing a bed with him and you.”

Alex choked, and Wenammy froze. Anika raised both arms and mumbled her Spell. An enormous ball of Water formed at three meters high, and when she winked at Alex, the ball fell, washing them all by enveloping them and twirling, taking the blood from their bodies and clothes. The ball dispersed on the ground, and Bethany Matthews coughed. “Cough! Cough! At least give a warning before doing that! I thought I was going to drown!”

Anika looked back with a predatory expression, and her answer made Bethany shiver. “I always like to drown my victims before eating them. Why would I warn my food?”

James Macdonald placed one hand over Anika’s left shoulder and squeezed it a little. “Stop that! You know Bethany is afraid of you! Bethany, she was just joking. Take a deep breath and dry us up, ok? Or we will get a fever if we travel like this.”

Bethany Matthews slowly nodded and mumbled her Spells. A circle of Fire surrounded them, and a gentle breeze pushed the heat against their bodies. In minutes, they were all dry, and she dispersed the Fire. Alex asked James Macdonald while pointing with his thumb at the throwing-eye-daggers women behind him, “Those three are always like that? Because if they argue for the pettiest thing, and they don’t trust each other, sooner or later things are going to go wrong.”

“They like to mess with each other, but I wouldn’t want anyone else covering my back. Our voyages are always fun, like you noticed over the last few days that you were travelling with us because long voyages tend to be quite boring if there is no action in the middle. With them around, we always have plenty of opportunities for a laugh. You should worry about yourself because when a Fairy or a Mermaid set their eyes on a target, they don’t give up easily. And it seems you became a target for those two.”

Alex asked while going for his horse, “What do you suggest I do? I can always flee and avoid them forever.”

“That won’t work. They will outlive both of us, and they will eventually catch you. Either tomorrow, ten or twenty years from now. Time doesn’t matter to them. Besides, why would you want to escape? The love of a Mermaid or a Fairy can increase your life expectancy tremendously, and not every Human can make them fall in love. Unless, you already have a woman. That would be surprising for someone as young as you, but I couldn’t also believe when everyone at the Guild of the Adventurers recommended you.”