Half A Hero

1

The sunshine in the capital was far too different than what he saw in his hometown. Its bright and golden rays were regal, and its warmth felt royal than the regular sunshine, Ghwyr experienced at home.

It was still the very early hours of the morning, and yet the streets were already filled with carriages and people in both grandiose and simple clothing walking on and about. It was far too different from the serene hometown of Gayaham, where he once lived.

The capital never rested, not even for a blink. The people walked fast, never looking back to check whether someone might be calling them or if they left something. The people were cold, matter of fact, to the point of being heartless. It was a different place.

However, he wasn’t there to cry and ask for pity, nor complain about how the citizens of this huge capital treat each other. He was there because he wanted to fulfill his dream of becoming a hero. He wanted to be recognized and become a member of a party, traveling the scourged continents and stopping the evil forces from advancing to the last kingdom of hope, Evalom.

Unfortunately, that dream was nothing more than a far-fetched and far-flung thought that he told himself when he entered the capital three years ago. Three years passed, and he still hadn’t found a party. He was still also a copper-rank, no matter how many times he tried to get a better mission, no one would ever party with him.

Aside from people being cold and cutthroat in this city, most parties didn’t like to tag with people who didn’t have a previous experience in raiding, looting, and or fighting. Well, that shouldn’t be a problem for him, since he was a townsguard before, and there were some instances where he defended his town against a small group of goblins, lost bandits, and some dire monsters from the forest. But due to his size, no one would believe him.

People look at him and tell him he was too ambitious for a young dwarf to be part in a party. Some would even tell him to grow a beard first, before they hire him. The sad thing about those statements was the fact that he wasn’t even a dwarf. He was halfling, never a distant relative to the short lot, nor a direct descendant of the mountain kings.

It would’ve been nice if this day would be his lucky day. Maybe find a powerful artifact he could claim or slay a monster or two so he could show it to the Guild Master for his rank enhancement, but he would just be dreaming by then.

He took a sharp left into the dim alleyway near the merchant square and ran until he found a rusty gate around a big windowless structure.

“Sewer.” He read.

He immediately opened the creaking door and went down the mossy steps below, where a group of men were waiting for him from a small passageway. They were speaking discreetly under the cloth they covered their nose and mouth with.

“A great!” One man scoffed after seeing him. “A midget! Did the GM know how flooded sewers can be?” He asked another man.

“We are currently short of people.” The other one replied. “We’ll have to make do.” He added.

“I love your pun!” He punched the other man’s shoulder and laughed. “If that is the case, then don’t drown on us, kid!” He looked at Ghwyr with a mocking stare.

Ghwyr wasn’t fazed by him. He nodded his head and answered back.

“I won’t drown or be a dead-weight, I promise.” He sighed. “So don’t be.” He jabbed back.

The man’s happy demeanor was gone in an instant. He didn’t like the way Ghwyr spoke to him. He glared at him from across the room and was about to approach him when they heard loud footsteps descending the ladder.

“Good morning, gentlemen!” The man’s husky yet booming voice echoed throughout the passageway. “I presume everyone has had breakfast and is well acquainted with each other already?” His voice was warm, yet commanding.

 “Oh, absolutely… Old Man Logue.” One man answered. “There was just a little problem earlier, but I think they had settled it now.” He said.

“Little problem? What do you mean by lil—” The old man saw Ghwyr and immediately understood the situation. “Oh, well… we need every hand we could possibly get. So, please, treat him well.” The old man pleaded.

The rest of the men nodded silently. After a few minutes of waiting, the old man counted the men inside the passageway. There were 15 of them, but as someone joked, fourteen and a half. Everyone laughed, except for Ghwyr. He knew the joke was targeted on him.

The old man called out to someone from the surface, and not a minute later, a few men carrying huge sacks descended.

“Listen, gentlemen.” Old man Logue asked for their attention. “We are to clean the clogged main drainages of the city sewer. Please wear your cloth masks and bring this with you.” He kicked the sack to expose sharp spades and swords inside it. “This will be your weapons, for the shit and anything else that we might bump right into…. Hopefully, it’s only rats.” He whispered the last line under his breath.

After each one of them got their spade and blade, they holstered them and carried them deeper into sewers. Ghwyr, unfortunately, had a difficult time carrying the spade and sword since it was off his height. The spade was bigger than him, and carrying it on his shoulder meant that it would hit anyone else following him from behind. He dragged the spade, but it was too noisy. The only solution he found for it was to carry it like a baby, cradled in his arms as he walked through the muck and miasmic waters.

Most of the sewer passageways were well lit. They were able to see the mossy and muddy path from the waterway beside it. However, as they went deeper into the sewer, the dark, murky water was cloaking their way.

It didn’t help that the lit passageways were becoming dimmer as they went further. The water was also getting higher, and it was worrying him. Just as they reached the main tunnel, the water was already waist deep for the normal persons, which was chest deep for him.

The stinky and sludge explained the reason for the blockage. The water here was as thick as mud and filled with wastes of all sorts. The stench was unbelievably horrible that some of the man gagged from its overwhelming miasma. Fortunately, he didn’t.

“Men, strengthen your stomachs. This might take a while.” Old Man Logue said. “We need to find the blockage in one of these main waterways and unblock it. We shall start with here!” He pointed at the farthest tunnel to the right. “Be ready! We might have an unwanted guest or two.” He added.

The water was relatively of the same depth, but the floor they were walking on was too slippery and muddy. They slowly progressed their way into the first drainage until they finally arrived.

“There! That huge chunk of matter has to be removed!” The old man commanded. They moved closer to the huge block of fecal matter plugging the way.

At this point, the old man discouraged them from using any sort of fire, in case the miasma would catch it. They had to rely on his light casting spell to see through the dark. But as they moved closer, they noticed the ten-foot chunk of waste moved.

The old man signaled them to halt and instead, used his magical light source to approach the huge pile. As one of his little fireflies hovered closer, a huge mouth opened from the darkness and swallowed it whole. Multiple red eyes glowed in the dark and slowly crept forward. Their monstrous silhouette stood at around 6 feet tall, and their tails were long and rigid.

“Giant rats!” One man shouted and pointed his spade at them.

“Everyone ready your weapons!” The old man’s voice boomed as he took out his sword. “We have company!” He controlled his fireflies once again and made them hover as high as he could enough for the entire place to be illuminated. “I… c-can’t… hold this… for too long… kill those rats before I lose my consciousness.” He said.

Although struggling, Ghwyr raised his spade and tiptoed on the muddy floor as the monstrous rats were coming closer to them.