Miracula Luxia C4, P2- "A Helping Hand"

"A Helping Hand is the second Part of "Miracula Luxia" 's fourth Chapter- "Estavius". It was released on 02.10.2019.
== Plot ==
Jared and his father help the Mayor of Silvar with certain tasks that his soldiers are unable to do due to the difficulty.
They also find a few extra items to help them establish a better defense for the city.
== Story ==
The Mayor welcomed our heroes and told them about the problems which are tearing the security of Silvar apart.
Jared and Aleks listened to them.
"They don't seem too hard. But... mere guards like those around here are unable to complete them. They have to stay here and guard the city!"
"We have to help them. There is no other way."
With those thoughts in mind, Jared agreed to take on the first task- To take out a bunch of particularly nasty rats in the sewers, led by a stronger creature.
The Mayor thanked them and sent them on their way.
...
Soon, the two heroes arrived at the sewers and found a lot of the nasty, big rodents looking at them.
One of them jumped at Aleks, but he killed it with ease.
The other rats, sensing a potential chance for fresh meat did so as well.
One by one, the creatures were slain.
Jared and his father proceeded ahead, killing anything hostile- Rats, bugs and other such disgusting beasts and insects.
Until... they finally reached the source. He was standing in a dirty room with what looked like a machine to help manage the trash.
It was an Ogre Shaman- Only one of their kind could help such nasty creatures infest a sewer with ease.
His clothes... Well, they weren't a sight to see.
Bloody, wet, with a few permanent stains from bugs (Possibly from dead bugs? Or maybe something else?)
Anyway, he was quite a formidable opponent and our heroes had to do their best to stop him.
The creature raised its staff in the air and began to cast a spell. No dialogue. No mocking. He just wanted to fight and have the sewer for himself, with no intruders in it.
Aleks looked at his son. He knew he had to do something, so he doesn't get hurt (Too much).
He charged at the creature, unaware that some bugs were coming from the path they came from.
One of the bugs tried to pounce at Jared, but he noticed it before it could do so and casted an Ice spell.
Then he shattered it with his sword.
"Well, they are not that strong, after all."- He said to himself as he struck the nasty bug down.
He continued to destroy the rest of them as his father attacked the Ogre Shaman.
The green creature was annoyed that his pets were destroyed. He banged his staff on the ground. It emitted a worrying "Ding!" sound.
Aleks looked at him, alarmed. What in the Seven Heavens was he doing?!
Jared looked back and gasped. A stranger bug was coming their way. And it was bigger than your regular bug.
"Jared, run! It's a Chitrach!"- Aleks said to his son.
"Chitrach?"
"Nasty bug. Stronger than the ones we just defeated and can immobilize you if you give it a chance. Don't let it come close to you!"
Jared nodded and produced a Bow that he had received from the Mayor of Formello before he and his father left the city.
The Ogre Shaman laughed.
"No chance!"
"No chance?"- Aleks wondered what he meant.
"You haz no chance! Diz creature iz very ztrong and it'z undefeatable! You cannot win!"
"Say for yourself, weakling!"- Jared responded, smiling. He was confident that he could defeat it.
Well, at least it could provide some training for the young hero. 
He aimed his Bow at it. It tried to pounce at him, just like the other bugs, but didn't notice that Jared had loaded up his weapon with a flaming arrow instead of a normal arrow.
And then, Jared sniped the creature...
And...
HEADSHOT!
The arrow hit the huge bug in the head with ease and set it on fire. Soon the rest of its body will be burning as well.
It tried to get away, still alive (How? Did Jared not aim well?), but failed and fell down. It burned to a crisp only for a single minute. What a score!
Aleks smiled. He knew that his son could take out the creature, but... with such ease? His skills amazed him.
But he did not distract himself, because he had to defeat the Ogre Shaman. It was the next rule in the Codex of the Hero "Never do an accepted mission at all, or partially. Do it completely."
He swung his Keyblade at the creature as it tried to cast a spell.
Suddenly, it got very angry. It infused its staff with strange energy.
"Dad, look out!"- Jared tried to warn his father, but failed.
The creature swung its staff right at him, with full force.
He fell to the ground, seemingly unconscious.
The creature laughed, thinking it finally killed someone important.
However, he failed to notice an enraged Jared who suddenly stabbed him in the chest with his sword.
He looked at him shocked.
"You... "
Jared didn't let him say anything else. He plunged his blade deeper, killing him.
The Ogre Shaman slumped to the ground, dead.
Jared ran to his dad, tears in his eyes.
"Dad, please don't leave me! I still need your help! And advice!"- He said.
"Dad!"
His father smiled, slightly comforting him.
"Remember, son- Heroes never die! Not without a fight, at least. We are the protectors of the people, the saviors of the cities. When we fall down, we don't cry like a bunch of babies. We stand up, like real men. We continue to fight. That... is what we do!"
Jared's eyes sparkled. His father's speech motivated him to continue.
Aleks and his son looked at the dead Ogre.
"Well, one thing's for sure. It's dead. You finally killed it."
"Maybe it will get up? I heard that Shamans can stand up after their apparent "death". "
"No. They're just like every other creature. They live, they fight and they die. There is no difference between them and him. None at all."
Jared noticed the staff that the Ogre was fighting with and picked it up.
It was quite a beautiful weapon, made out of what looked like birch wood (However, Jared was not 100% sure what it was, since it was stained with all kinds of disgusting fluids) with a single blue gem set into it.
"He won't need this anymore."- Jared said as he put the staff in his backpack.
"That's... not very clean."- Aleks grumbled.
"It is okay, Dad! We will clean it after we get back up."
Aleks nodded and noticed a few other things, including a small red dagger.
Quite a find!
"Look, son."- Jared for his son to come closer- "It isn't dirty. We could actually use it without staining our hands!"
"Maybe he wasn't planning to use it?"- Jared wondered.
"Maybe."
"Or maybe he as planning to draw it out before we could kill it and counterattack. But his plan failed, because I distracted it too much."- The curious father said to himself.
"... Nevermind. Let's leave."
The heroes left the sewer and notified the Mayor of their victory.
The Mayor smiled.
"I knew that you are true heroes, from the moment that you passed out gates for the first time. Now, let me reward you for your service."
He produced a small white chain with a single blue gem inserted into it.
"This is your reward. Wear it, and it will enhance some of your abilities."
Jared noticed the color pattern and produced the staff from his backpack that he found in the sewers.
"So, you found the staff of the Priest of Silvar? But... how?"
"Well, the Ogre was using it as a weapon. It was quite deadly."
"Well, looks like it's better off in your hands. Use it wisely, Jared."- The mayor smiled.
Jared nodded and took the necklace from the mayor's hands.
After he gave the necklace to Jared, he spoke about the second mission which troubled Silvar:
Apparently, a shipment of wood and stone was coming from Formello to Silvar one week ago. It was supposed to arrive two days ago, but it didn't happen.
The mayor described the route which the caravan with the goods was supposed to pass in order to arrive in Silvar.
The heroes nodded and left Silvar to find the missing caravan.
It wasn't too hard. Soon, they found it guarded by a bunch of bandits who were trying to haul the precious supplies, but were unable to do so, due to their numbers.
It seems like the merchants who were carrying the supplies had gotten away after the bandits attacked them. Cowards.
The filthy wrongdoers noticed Jared and his father and attacked them.
It wasn't a very hard fight, thanks to the new dagger.
Jared easily killed the bandits and approached the ruined caravan.
It still had a fair bit of wood and stone. As well as a bunch of metal on top of them (Maybe this is the reason why the bandits were struggling to loot it?)
Our heroes returned to Silvar and informed the mayor that the caravan was safe.
"Bandits, eh? Sounds like they really needed the supplies. But... but why?"
"Maybe they wanted to make the improvement of Silvar impossible?"- Jared asked.
"Or maybe they're just a bunch of troublemakers that needed to be punished."- Aleks added.
"We will send some soldiers to recover the supplies. Now, to the next order of business.
The Mayor told Jared and Aleks about a strange machine installed in the sewers. It was supposed to organize the trash they left in there, but it started to malfunction, causing a strange phenomenon to happen- A ghostly phenomenon.
He also gave them a small white stone.
"This stone will bring them out. Just place it on the machinery and they will appear.
Jared and his father walked back into the sewer and found the room with the machinery- The same room where they defeated the Ogre Shaman.
However, his body was no longer on the floor. It seems like some of the soldiers came here and took it for burning (You never know when a necromancer will come here and revive it).
Jared noticed a slot in the machinery. It had a square shape, just like that of the stone.
He pulled out the stone from his pocket and inserted it.
As promised, the ghosts appeared. Or rather... were coming.
The heroes heard loud moans from behind them, as well as a horrible screeching sound.
They turned around only to find a few ghosts.
The ghosts were easy to dispatch. However, the creature that was following them was not.
It was a nasty Ghoul- A powerful creature with the ability to slow down its foes and even stun them, from time to time.
It emitted a horrible inaudible sound and charged at them.
Jared loaded his bow and Aleks rushed ahead to protect him from the creature.
With a few blows, Aleks was able to knock off one of its limbs.
The creature looked at the fallen limb. Suddenly, it raised its healthy limb and soon, after a few sparkles the limb was attached to the Ghoul's body once again.
"How?!"- Aleks was unsure how to react to that.
"We have to hit it harder. You know what they say- "Hit them hard enough and they will fall down- no matter how tough they are"!"- Jared suggested while shooting holy arrows at the undead creature.
Aleks nodded and thought about the current situation.
"Holy magic will take it down, for sure! But... what is the best way to cast it with maximum effectiveness?"
Then, he looked at his weapon.
That's it! If he infused it with the power of Light, he could deliver some nasty blows to the creature.
"Son, cover me!"- He shouted.
Jared nodded and tried to draw the Ghoul's attention away from his father.
It worked!
Aleks started to cast a spell to infuse his weapon with magical power...
Soon, the spell was ready. He casted it on his weapon. It began to shimmer and sparkle while also gaining a beautiful white glow.
It was now temporarily infused with the element of Light!
"Hey weirdo!"- Aleks called out the creature.
It turned around, emitted a long, low growl and attacked him.
Aleks swung his blade at it.
And...
*SWOOSH*
*SWISH*
*THUD*
 The creature was now on the ground.
"Finish him!"- Aleks said to his son.
Jared casted the "Arc Dancer" spell and unleashed it onto the Ghoul. Soon it was surrounded by a pair of dancing light blades which annihilated it with ease.
It emitted a final, guttural scream and dissipated into nothingness.
"It felt like it was just an illusion."- Jared noted.
Aleks nodded, but did not want to believe it. Ghosts may be a thing now, but not illusions. 
Or maybe they were? I guess we'll know the answer to that soon enough.
Anyway, the two heroes proceeded to take a strange dagger. It was glowing with a strange blue light. Very mysterious.
"Maybe it used that weapon when it was still alive?"- Jared wondered.
"Seems like the only logical explanation here. Sometimes, undead creatures like Ghouls and Ghasts reanimate while still holding their weapons (Or other possessions). That makes them deadlier than the usual Undead."- Aleks nodded.
They returned to the Mayor and produced the knife they had found.
"Interesting find, my friends! It feels like the whole world is slowing down when I look at it."
Aleks raised his eyebrow.
"I don't feel anything."
"Me neither."- Jared added.
"Well, maybe it only works on normal people- Like myself. It probably doesn't work on trained warriors or rogues."
"But there is only one way to figure that out!"
The Mayor wrote something on a piece of papyrus and gave it to Jared.
"I know it looks sloppy, but this is a Pass. I stationed some guards to the south. Show it to them and they will grant you passage to the Tower Colony. The people there can help you hone your skills."
"Anything else?"- Wondered Aleks, curious about any possible settlements he could help.
"Well, the road to the Tower of Magi is near the town of Mertis. They have bigger undead problems that we do. Much bigger."
Jared and his father nodded, clearly concerned about the town.
"But first... you must get stronger. Especially you, Jared. And in order for that to happen- you must go to the Tower of Magi."- The Mayor added.
"So farewell and good luck, heroes! May the goddess shine your path with her light."
"Thank you, Mayor. You watch out as well. The enemies might come back soon."- Aleks said.
The Mayor smiled and said:
"You don't worry about it. I've got my loyal soldiers here."
He looked at the two well-equipped guards to the left and right of him. They stood there motionlessly, ready to crush anyone who tries to harm the Mayor.
Jared and his father left the City Hall and proceeded through the gates of Silvar.
"Maybe they would know more about those rogues at the Tower?"- Jared wondered.
"They probably know about them. I'm sure that the attacks aren't just happening in this area or to the west- The south must be affected as well."- Aleks responded.
"But... I hope not."
Jared nodded and started to follow the road to the south with his father coming after him.
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It was almost midnight. The sun was setting down. Soon, the monsters will come out of their lairs to hunt for fresh food. 
Our two heroes have to be careful. In order to go to the south, they have to evade the creatures and only fight those who are in their way,
And so, the adventures of Jared and his father continue.
Where will the road take them? Will they help Mertis, or help the Tower of Magi?
Find out in the next Part of "Miracula Luxia"!
== Trivia ==
* The mysterious dagger which Jared and his father found after fighting with the Ghoul has another use, other than just slaying enemies. It will be revealed in the future.