Sasha handed Todd the magic explosives they had brought as a contingency just in case Todd’s murderers hadn’t found their way to the old forgotten temple. He hurled it with all his might towards the enemy. The hooded man and the frail one dodged the incoming bomb with ease. The fat captor wasn’t so fortunate. His massive size and broken leg prevented him from escaping the blast radius.

Wisps of blue mana erupted from the mana contraption, vaporizing the fat captor into dust. Chunks of stone shrapnel clacked against the walls surrounding the arena, nearly hitting the frail thug. Todd didn’t have anytime to appreciate the destruction the mana bomb created, because the hooded man was sprinting toward Todd with a short sword in his hand.

Todd sidestepped the blow, but he was too slow. The short sword sliced into his left bicep, causing Todd to scream in pain. A kick landed onto the thuggish brute causing him to lose his balance. Todd, being an opportunist, pounced on the hooded man. In and out the dagger plunged into the back of his enemy’s leather armour. It wasn’t elegant but it was effective.

The hooded figure reached back and pried the dagger out of Todd’s hand, flinging it across the coliseum floor. Todd narrowly dodged an elbow to his face and pinned the injured assailant to the floor. Todd took a quick glance up to see Sasha had taken care of the frail man a while ago and was watching Todd struggle like a fish flopping around.

“Are you gonna help or are you just going to stand there?” Todd said slightly frustrated

“I can’t do all the work. If I did you wouldn’t have a way to repay me” Sasha replied

Gradually the hooded man became easier for Todd to pin down as the blood from his body slowly oozed out of him. Todd was a bit squeamish so he didn’t like the idea of taking the disgusting blood covered armour off the dead man’s body. So he decided to leave that.

Reaching into the hooded man’s pockets, Todd found a small coin purse, a small note, and the magical equivalent to a box of matches. He unfolded the small piece of paper which read:

I wish you luck on finding a way to pay back are landlord Went. I hope you return safely. Don’t worry Mia and I will be waiting here for you.

The note saddened Todd a little. While it’s hard to justify some of the actions the man committed, it did show that desperation could easily lead a person down the wrong path. Even villains have reasons for their madness.

Todd retrieved Sasha’s dagger and claimed his new short sword. It wasn’t the prettiest or the sharpest sword Todd had ever seen and its quality definitely paled in comparison to Sasha’s equipment, but it was something and something was better than nothing.

Luckily Sasha carried some bandages and was able to mend the wound on Todd’s arm. Sasha was untouched, which showed Todd just showed how much experience she had. He secretly wished he had spent his youth learning martial arts or some other outdoor skill.

The room rumbled for a second time. Out of the ground an entrance emerged, leading further down into the temple. They proceeded to make their way down to the next floor.

This room was well-lit, torches lined the side of the walls. Their gold handles glowed and the diamonds set in them sparkled as the flames flickered. Treasure strewn throughout the room glistened gold with speckles of vibrant sapphire blue and emerald green. A marble podium stood proudly with a elegantly bound book lying open. The pages were blank.

The familiar podium reminded Todd of a more humble one carved from stone. One that came with warning attached. Todd looked over to see Sasha barely containing herself. This was by far the biggest find she had ever had by a longshot.

“Wait. Don’t touch anything” said Todd

“Why not? We made it this far might as well reap the rewards” Sasha responded

“I think this is another trial.”

“I don’t know about that. This gold seems pretty real to me. I’m pretty sure I know illusion magic when I see it” said Sasha who bit down on a gold piece.

“Remember the stone podium that talked about patience?”

“Oh yeah, that wasn’t much of a reward.”

“Well, don’t you think it could apply to this room since it shares a podium?”

“I guess we could try waiting” huffed Sasha

Time passed slowly and gradually Todd started to doubt himself. He was beginning to think he was an idiot and was mentally preparing himself to get roasted by Sasha. Sasha had finally had enough of the waiting game and went to fill her bag with her hard earned loot.

*BOOM*

“Congratulations you’ve passed the final test and set a new record for time waited. It’s quite remarkable. Rarely do people ever beat the record let alone by 37 minutes. I’m impressed.” stated the mysterious deity

“Just get on with it” shouted the now impatient Sasha

“Oh ahem, I Ulfric god of endurance and persistence reward you travellers with a boon. In return for my utmost generosity you must seek the wizard Malfus and return my winged boots of travel.”

“Deal” said Todd before Sasha could even interject

Sasha gave Todd her infamous stink eyes.

In the corner of their vision a small pop-up appeared:

Ulfric’s Boon - 25% increase to all endurance based abilities and a 10% chance of surviving a fatal blow

Quest Accepted: Steal back what was stolen from the mighty Ulfric. Bonus points if you can make the wimpy mage squeal.

Magic surrounded Todd and Sasha and whisked them away to the entrance of Khor Mines.