A Freshman's Tale II

3rd Person POV:

The city of Minos. The minotaur's capital in their society, the stronghold of the south. Broad stone walls barricade it to whoever dares to come close. It was the gateway to the badlands of the south. Beyond this lied the barren, rocky, dry, sweltering mountainous terrain of the ancient kingdom of Minotus.

The Everfree forest ended only a quarter mile from the great gates of Minos. In between was the infamous Minos bridge, spanning a great ravine miles deep. On the Minos side of the bridge lay the great minotaur marketplace, where kids would run and sing to their heart's content. Many good things were sold at this market.

There was a darker side of the market, too. This is where all the mini-businesses get their products. They use errand-boys, who do the dangerous jobs for money.

There was one highly mysterious but favored errand boy. Most of the citizens call him a bounty hunter, or the cloaked terror. There have been rumors about him, since he never took his hood off, like how he reveals himself only to things he was about to kill. They were usually afraid of him, but he'd do anything..........for the right price.

He would wander the market streets, hidden, and nobody noticed him due to his short size.

He was now.

He strutted through a busy street dodging hurrying shoppers, desperate merchants, and hiding from curious groups of kids. Then he saw his target - an upper classy looking minotaur with a black trench coat and a top hat, a monacle completed the look.

Wait, what?

Since when do minotaurs wear monacles?

Aah, never mind. The point is, he was a pretty rich looking motherfucker.

He smugly strolled up to the minotaur. "Excuse me, sir," he said in a calm tone. "Can you show me to the bathroom?" The rich dude just rolled his eyes. "Excuse me," he said to the vendor, who was nervously glancing down at the hooded figure then back. "Let me show this...........brat around." As he left, he plinked a couple of coins down on the vendor's counter. "Sorry for the inconvinience," he muttered. Then he followed the rich minotaur away.

After a couple of minutes walking and listening to the grumbling of the prissy minotaur, they came up on a row of rickety wooden outhouses. Why these guys use them, he would never know. He could only guess at how many splinters they got in their ass.

"Here they are," snapped the minotaur, "And now if you excuse me, I have to go back to my errands." As he turned, the cloaked figure growled, "Oh, we're not done yet." The rich dude raised an eyebrow.

The figure swung his foot around and knocked the minotaur off his feet. The figure dragged him behind the row of bathrooms. He unsheathed a dagger and pressed it to the minotaur's throat. "Thank you for treating me like garbage, by the way," said the cloaked figure. The minotaur looked at him, his emotions a mix of fear and confusion. "W-What?" he stammered.

The figure pulled down his hood. The minotaur's face went pale.

"It makes you so much easier to kill!" said Joey as he drove the dagger into the minotaur's neck. Joey scrunched up his nose. "Let's get this over with," he said. He looked on the inside of the dead minotaur's overcoat. Golden watches lined the inside.

"Joey three hundred, life zero," muttered Joey. He gathered up all the watches and stuffed them into his trinket bag. Then he peeked out from behind the bathrooms, looking for witnesses. Finding none, he slipped back into the crowds.

Joey's POV:

Joey dodged between minotaur shoppers, avoiding salesman and beggars. Finally, he ducked into a backway that went behind stalls. Soon, he came up on a big tan flannel tent. He walked up to the tent flaps, ooked around to see if anyone saw him, then went inside.

In this tent was a miniature workshop. There was a row of anvils lined up against the wall to the left, and a firepit took up the center. To the right was a long row of tables with tiny cogs and gears strewn across the surface along with metal plating and larger gears. Then, in the corner, was a short, hunched minotaur mumbling to himself, rushing all along the table picking up parts and trying to work them into...........well, whatever he was working on.

Joey smirked. "Scallius," he said, "I'm back." The minotaur jumped in fright, whipping around. He was pretty runty for a minotaur, having a hunched back and little goggles. For what he lacked in size he made up for brains.

When he saw Joey, his expression went from frightened to irritated. "Where have you been?" he scolded. "I've been waiting for you to come back all DAY!!" he wailed. Joey just rolled his eyes. "Quality work takes time," he smoothly replied. "Plus, I'm not supposed to be seen, remember?" Scallius sighed. "I guess you have your point," he muttered, "But you know how much I hate suspense." Joey chuckled. "Hey, I can't help it that I'm so good!" he remarked, making Scallius snort and roll his eyes.

"Hey, I saw that," Joey said, taking a step closer, grinning like crazy. "Not like YOU ever move your lazy ASS out of here!" Scallius laughed, fist bumping Joey. "True," he said.

Scallius and Joey had been friends ever since the fateful day he found Joey on the shore of the Everfree river. He was covered with bruises, and had an unusual amount of splinters. Scallius took him to his workshop and fixed him up, and ever since the two have been business partners. Occasionally Joey would work as an assassin for some of Scallius' friends, but only for a good price.

The thing that bugged Scallius was the fact that Joey had no idea how he got here. Joey told him about everything up until he ate the golden apple, and after that he had no idea what happened.

"Did you get the watches?" asked Scallius. Joey grinned and pulled out his trinket bag. He walked over to the table and dumped out eleven golden watches. "Stripped him clean of all watches," Joey said, folding his arms and smirking. "And you said I wasn't good," he added. Scallius just shook his head in disbelief. "You are one bold assassin," he chuckled, "You took out my main competitor! You, my friend, are a LIFE saver!!" He thumped Joey on the back.

"Ummm.......you're welcome?" Joey said, puzzled but smiling. Scallius turned to face Joey again. "And not only that, but you took the Watch of the Sparks!!" he exclaimed, shaking with excitement. Joey snorted, then chuckled, then broke out laughing. "The 'Watch of the Sparks?' Seriously?" he laughed. "Now that's just fucking STUPID." When he looked up, Scallius had an unimpressed look on his face.

He shook his head. "You don't understand," he said. "It's not the watch itself. It's what's inside." Then he picked it up, and smashed it on the ground. Joey wore a look of bewilderment. "You get all hyped up about the dumb watch, then you break it? You are weird," he said. Scallius ignored him and brushed through the broken parts. "Ah, here we go!" he said, holding up a small piece of paper. Joey raised an eyebrow.

"It's a map," Scallius explained, unfolding the paper. "According to legend, King Ascrot called upon his greatest tinkers to build him that watch-"

"That you destroyed," Joey added.

"Whatever. Anyway, in that watch he placed this map, which supposedly leads us to one of two mirrors that are portals to another world. If this is true, and we can profit from it, we could buy a new workshop! You could also get new weapons-"

"HELL no," Joey interrupted.

Scallius face palmed. "The point is, we'd be rich!" he wailed. "Please understand!!" Joey held up his hands, stepping back. "Alright, alright, calm your tits. I'll come," Joey said. "Jeez." Scallius grinned. "Pack up then," he said, "We're going for a trip.

Hours later, they left the marketplaces of Minos. They continued past the grand city and into the Badlands. The sun was setting, giving a somewhat eerie feel. They had traveled about five miles, when they stopped to eat.

"According to the map," Scallius said, mouth full of food, "That the mirror's chamber is right up there, near the summit of that mountain." Joey looked up, and dropped his jaw. "Out of all the mountains, it's the tallest one?" he said. "We have to fucking CLIMB that?" Scallius pulled out two backpacks with rockets on the end. "I never said we had to climb," he said, grinning.

"One time use jet-packs?" Joey questioned. "You're always prepared."

After they were done eating, they packed up and continued to the foot of the mountain. An hour went by. Once they reached it, they took another small water break.

"Wow," Joey remarked, gazing up at the mountain. He strapped on his jet-pack, then looked back at Scallius. "Do we drop our stuff?" he asked. Scallius nodded. "No reason we should bring it with us," he replied, strapping on his.

"Ready?" Scallius asked, priming his jet-pack. "Ready as ever," said Joey.

They both activated them at the same time, and they rocketed into the sky together. Joey's hair blew around wildly. Adrenaline pumped through his legs. The minutes seemed like seconds, and they landed at the mouth of a cliff side cavern. Joey peered in. About ten feet in, there was a huge stone door with a mural of King Ascrot wielding a mirror. "This is it," Joey muttered. Scallius nodded, proceeding to mess with the lock in the center of the door. "Good thing they had the combination on the map," Scallion grunted. After a couple more minutes, there was a huge CHINK from the door. Scallius stepped back, and the door slid open.

Inside was a huge chamber lined with murals. In the center was a nicely sculpted pedestal, with the mirror sitting on top. It was one of the most beautiful things Joey ever saw. The frame was made of gold twisted with aquamarine, and it seemed to radiate power. Scallius grinned.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Joey said, stepping up to the mirror. The instant he grabbed it, he was zapped with a small bolt of energy. "OW!!" he cried. He looked back at Scallius with a reasurring smile. "Don't worry, I'll be fine," he grunted at his worried friend. Scallius gulped. "Actually, NO, you're NOT."

"What?"

"LOOK!!!!"

Joey looked down, and instantly fear drenched him from head to toe. His fingers were disintegrating and were slowly being sucked into the mirror. Joey threw himself into a panic. Now his arms were dissolving. "SCALLIUS, DO SOMETHING!!!" he shrieked. Scallius immediately stepped forward to help, but by then it was to late.

Scallius watched in horror as his friend was completely sucked into the mirror.