(Samuel's POV)
I walked into the street, "Alright..." I said, "Should I go to Marissa's room already? I think I am prepared for now...."
As I took a step, I heard a bit of commotion behind me. I turned to see some men gathered in a building further down the street. They were speaking to someone who was standing atop a barrel, shouting at them as the men were shouting back.
I couldn't help but walk over, my curiosity getting the better of me. The closer I got, the clearer their shouting got.
"I'm telling you all!" The man on the barrel said, "Until further notice, we will close the mine! Unless you all want to work in such terrible conditions! I don't make the rules here, the Sherriff and the Mayor themselves told me this!!"
"Get someone to deal with it then!!" a man shouted, "If we miss a single day of work, it'll throw everything off equilibrium dammit! We need the money for our families!"
"Yea!!" the rest said
"Not just that!" another said, "If we don't get enough dust to fertilize the Warding Roots even for a single day, we'll get Terror Birds on the town!"
"First of all, we have enough dust to last use three weeks, okay." the Man said, "And second of all, we already had a Terror Bird attack already, it was dealt with. We don't have anything to worry about. We have a Terror Rifle, we can handle any of them with ease, don't worry about a thing!"
"Fuck that!!!" one of the miners exclaimed, "We need to keep working, dammit! How are we going to meet the quota for this month's delivery, huh?! This is terrible! you know that!"
"Wait." one of the other said, "What do you mean a Terror Bird attacked already? I didn't hear no Terror Rifle go off, who killed it?!"
I cleared my throat, "I did."
They all stopped and turned to look at me, the group of grimy miners who had scowls on their faces. One of them scanned me up and down, a bit annoyed at the sound of my voice.
"You?" One of them said as he spat on the ground, "You killed a Terror Bird?"
"A juvenile one, but yes." I nodded, unbuttoning my shirt halfway and showing them my bandages, "It almost got me, but I managed to get him. It had this nice gun belt in it's belly, so I kept it."
"What the fuck.....?" One of them said, "How is he alive with that kind of wound?"
"Who're you anyway?" a tall, dark skinned man said, "I don't recognize you."
"Name's Samuel." I said, "I'm just a passerby."
"I see." he said with a frown
"What's going on here?" I asked, "Some sort of trouble?"
"Listen, pal." The guy on the barrel said with a scowl, his brown hair getting in front of his face, "Carry along, this doesn't concern you."
"Now, wait a minute, Donnie." The Tall Miner said, "If this young man killed a Terror Bird, he can definitely help us with the problem in the Mines."
"Absolutely not." Donnie scowled, "We don't even know him!"
"Yes, but he helped the town against a Terror Bird, dammit." the Miner said, "He may help us if we pay him."
"With what gold, you buffoon?!" Donnie said, "We're getting in a terrible shitstorm by shutting the mines down as it is, you want to pay this man???"
"You're the buffoon, Donnie!" another one said, "The faster we clear up the mines, the better! We'll make the coin back easy if we get more loads than usual!"
"I don't want to hear it!" Donnie said, "It is final!"
I noticed the System appearing, showing me a message:
[Task Unlocked]
- Find and Clear The Mining Dungeon
- Rewards: 2 Points and An Aspect Shard
A Dungeon?
2 points and an Aspect Shard? Yea, I'm definitely doing that. There is no way I am going to refuse this task. I need to do this and level up.
But Marissa.....
How long would a Dungeon last anyway? Marissa had a job for me...
And there was my wound, it's still hurting.
Okay, I can go to Marissa, have her apply more ointment on me and I'll tell her that I am going to do this Dungeon first. Afterwards, I can come back and tell her I will take the job she's offering. Something tells me I will probably have a harder time with her job than this Dungeon.
I cleared my throat, "Listen, I'll love to help." I said, "I'll do it dirt cheap too....."
"Oh yea?" Donnie raised an eyebrow
I looked at the Tall Miner, "Is three gold cheap?"
He looked at me, "Somewhat, yes...." He whispered, "But that's too cheap for this job. Squeeze him for 10."
"10?" I asked, "You sure?"
"Yes." He nodded, "We get paid 10 gold a week. 10 is nowhere enough for what you'll have to do, but it's dirt cheap."
I nodded in agreement, "Alright." I said as I looked at Donnie, "10 gold and a hat."
"10 gold and a hat?!" Donnie said, "Do you understand what you're fucking asking me?! You want a damn hat too?! What kind of hat, I only got a Miner's hat!!!"
"Hey, watch your tone, bucko." I said with a scowl, "I'm being generous here. I can tell by the sounds of these protesting men that this problem is serious. Something tells me that they're frustrated that the Sheriff and Mayor haven't sent someone to deal with whatever it is that's in there."
"Yea!" one of the others said, "We are! They're supposed to protect us! At least hire someone to deal with problems like these."
"Yep." I said as I pointed at myself, "And here's your hire. 10 gold and a hat, that is all."
"I got the 10 gold, I ain't got a damn fucking hat." Donnie muttered
"Cash some of your fucking favors, Donnie!" the Tall one said, "Get the man a hat!"
"Shut up, Mathias!" Donnie said as he dropped down from the barrel, "I'll see what I can do. What's your name again?"
"Samuel." I said
"Listen Samuel, don't be a fucking idiot." Donnie said seriously, "What's down there is as bad as a Terror Bird."
I shrugged, "I'll see about that."
"Mathias, take two more guys and guide him to the sealed tunnel." Donnie said as he pointed at me, "And you. If you die, I won't be responsible."
"If I die, you won't have to worry about payment." I said with a chuckle, "I'll take this job."
"Okay." He nodded before walking away, "Best have it done by today so the men can start their shifts tomorrow."
Mathias let out a sigh, "Thanks for volunteering, Pal." He said as he looked at me, "This is not something any of us would do..."
I nodded, "Don't worry." I said, "I just have to go and do something before I go in there, if that is fine."
"How long would you take?" He asked
"I don't know, an hour at most." I said, "Don't worry, I plan on getting this done quickly. I am looking forward to that hat, honestly."
"Haha..." He chuckled, "Meet us at the mine entrance then, outside of the town."
I nodded, "Yea." I said, "Hey, any chance you all know what's down there?"
He gave me a serious expression, "Spiders." He told me,
"Giant man-killing spiders."