Chapter 2 : Going on an adventure

He tried to get out.

The man chuckled.

"You have no chance of escaping from here, so why not accept my offer?"

"Why kidnap me? If you just wanted me to become your apprentice?.."

Clover asked the man why he had to kidnap him instead of asking him to join his business.

The man simply shrugs. "What do you want? Money? Power? Fame?"

Clover shook his head.

"Maybe freedom?!"

Clover yelled.

The man only laughed and left the room. Clover was confused. He tried to find the exit but it was no use.

Clover fell asleep, thinking about the things the man had told him.

What should i do?..

Clover awoke to a familiar smell.

It's bread! I've always loved bread!

Clover's face lit up when he smelled the sweet scent of freshly baked bread.

Clover follows the bread's scent. It leads him to a hallway. At the end of the hallway is a large wooden door, covered with a sheet of white cloth.

Clover takes a peek at the room on the other side of the door.

He saw the man from before, the one who had captured him, placing some bread onto a shelf. He looked exhausted.

Clover knocked on the door, startling the man.

"Oh, it's you."

...

"I made some bread, so have some. I know it's not much but I want you to understand how difficult it was to make."

The man picked up the tray of bread and gave it to Clover.

"Thanks...i guess.."

Clover took the tray of bread and thanked the man for making it for him.

The man just nodded, as if he knew that Clover didn't like him very much.

"I understand, kid."

Clover ate the bread. As he ate the bread, he thought (oh god, these are so delicious-)

The man walked up to him and asked. "Do you like it?"

Clover just nodded.

"I see, good." The man said as he was about to leave.

After a few hours, Clover was bored. He went around the kitchen to look for something else to eat. He found some cookies and took them back to the shelf, but then he found some papers scattered on the floor.

He picked up the papers and saw a drawing of himself.

"Huh, why are there drawings of me?"

Clover picks up the papers and shows them to the man.

The man, startled by the sudden question, took a look at the papers.

"I've never seen them before," he says, "but they look exactly like you."

"Well then why are they here??"

Clover asked the man what these papers were doing here.

"I don't know." He responded. "They just fell out of nowhere i guess."

Clover couldn't figure out the reason why there would be drawings of himself in the man's kitchen.

Clover is confused. He can't believe it. What are these? Who drew them?

He sits and starts to investigate the drawings.

Clover started looking at the papers more carefully. Isn't this how his father looked like when he was younger? Why the heck is it here?

He looks at the next picture. The man, a lot younger, with a sword by his side.

"Who is this."

Clover asks the man about the drawings.

The man only says, "It doesn't matter."

Clover gets angry. He asked him again.

"I said, Who is this."

The man said, "Kid, I said it's not important."

"Why do you always ignore my questions?"

"Because its none of your business. "

Clover is really upset. He yelled at the man and said, "Hey, don't talk to me like that! I am your apprentice, after all!" He said the last line sarcastically.

The man just looked at him and shook his head.

Clover went back to his sitting spot and went back to investigating the drawings.

The next picture shows the a young woman, sitting next to his father and his...friend?

Is this mother?..

Clover feels his heart racing as he looks at the picture. He didn't want to believe it but there's no denying it. The woman looks exactly like his mother.

He's only seen her once when she came home from her bakery job, but he would always

hug her when she came home and ask her about the pastries she made.

Clover can't believe what he is seeing right now. He was so happy about his mother's drawing that he didn't even notice that the man was right behind him, holding another drawing.

"Oh. Hi."

Clover said to the man who was right behind him.

The man looked at him and smiled.

"I'm glad you found them. These drawings are actually from my past. I kinda forgot about them a few minutes ago."

"Oh.. cool. Wait. What?!"

Is the man next to his father this guy??

Clover was so confused. He didn't know what to do.

"You don't have to worry about your father anymore. He is.. i dont know.. gone. i guess."

Clover was stunned. His father...is he..?

Clover is speechless. He couldn't believe it. His father, a skilled adventurer who never fails but disappeared on his way to search for treasure, was actually dead.

"How... How did you know my parents died??"

Clover was angry. He asks the man how he knows his parents are dead.

"Because they're dead." the man said again.

Clover didn't understand why the man was repeating himself.

"I asked you how did you know my parents died, stop repeating they're dead!"

Clover shouts at the man. He doesn't care about his parents anymore, he just wants to know how the man happened to know them. And what had happened to them.

The man looked at him for a while before answering.

"I know because I killed them."

"..."

Clover is shocked. He is at loss of words. The man had killed his mother and father?

Why? Why did he kill them? Why did..

"My name is Quinn, and I used to be a great swordsman." Quinn said as he opened the mask from his face.

"Why did you kill them? How did you know my parents?"

Quinn answered.

"I met them a long time ago, and they became my friends. But i was jealous of them for being so rich."

"What...?"

"I was jealous, that's all." Quinn responded. "It was because of my jealousy that i killed your father. And then i took his job."

Clover was furious. "You're so fucking heartless.."

Quinn smiled. "Heh. Swearing huh? Thats not quite good for a 15 year old~."

Clover sobbed.

Clover could no longer take it. He cried.

Quinn left him alone in the room and Clover just cried his heart out.

"I'm sorry Clover."

Clover stopped crying when he heard the man's voice.

"And you expect me to become your apprentice. Yeah no."

Clover said to the man, "I'm not your apprentice."

Quinn chuckled. "Oh? That's interesting."

"Why is everything interesting to you."

Clover asked the man why everything is interesting to him.

"By the way, i want to know you better."

Clover didn't want to be here.

"I dont understand.."

"I am going to make you into the greatest adventurer in the world."

Clover just wants to go back to his room.

Clover sighed and said

"No, I'm not going to be your apprentice."

Quinn asked him what he wanted to do then.

"What are you going to do then?"

"I don't know... do kid stuffs?"

"Kid stuffs? What kind of answer is that?"

Clover just shrugged.

Clover went to his room and thought about what to do.

"Oh yeah, tommorrow, we're going to do your first training as an adventurer."

"Huh?"

"I am going to find the Lost Chest of Kukuru, a legendary treasure that was created by the god of the elfs himself."

"Hm.. nah...im tired."

Clover said no to the man.

"That's a good decision, my dear."

Quinn just smiled at Clover.

Huh? Good decision? Clover thought. "Why is it a good desicion?"

He asks the man why.

"Because," Quinn started, "If you don't go, I'll still take you with me. By force."

"Wait what??"

Clover was confused. He asks what the man meant.

"I will find a way." Quinn said. "You're the only apprentice I have, so I can't afford to lose you"

"....."

Clover started to walk away.

Grim chuckled. "Going so soon? I hope you reconsider."

Clover looked back and saw that the man was still smiling.

"I swear i will get out soon and you will never find me..."

Clover whispers and goes to sleep. He's thinking about ways to escape, but he's too tired.

The next day, he woke up and Grim asked him if he's ready to go.

"...im ready ..i guess...."

Clover sighed and went out.

"Are you sure about this, kid? You know you're going to regret this later."

"Yeah sure." He said coldly.

Clover said he didn't care and went with Quinn.

Quinn and Clover rode on a carriage through the countryside, where they would later encounter a merchant.

Clover, however, was terrified of the horse.

"Why are we even riding these things anyway?"

Quinn was reading a book about the history of the legendary Chest of Kukuru, the legendary treasure that was lost in time.

"It's not the best method of transport, but it's better than walking, no?"

Clover thought again of ways to escape.

But he's still too tired so he just kept quiet.

"When are we going to be there? Im bored."

Clover asks Quinn when they would be at the city.

"Patience. We'll get there tonight."

Quinn answered.

"T-Tonight!?"

Clover was worried. He was going to have to travel in the dark, and he didn't want to stay outside with freakin' monsters!..

"There's a good chance we'll be attacked." Quinn said, as if reading Clover's mind. "I'll protect you, don't worry."

Clover groaned.

They rode for a while until they saw a house, where a merchant was standing. He looked at them, surprised.

"Oh, I didn't think I would see you here."

Grim looked at him, and said, "I see that you've gotten more serious about this business, huh?"

"Huh?"

Clover asked the man what they were talking about.

The man explained to Clover that he was just transporting some goods across the country, and he was surprised that he'd meet them here.

Clover felt nervous. What if he tried to do something bad?

Clover tried to ask the man not to harm him, but Quinn said that the merchant was harmless.

Clover was relieved.

After a while, the carriage stopped at a hill.

"Here we are." Quinn said as he got off the carriage.

"Finally."

Clover groaned and said that they finally got to the place.

Quinn helped him get out of the carriage. He led him to the other side of the hill, where there was a large crowd of people.

"Thats a lot people."

Quinn replied, "I see you recognize them."

Clover only nodded. He'd seen them somewhere before...

He remembers seeing them at the auction house.

Quinn told Clover to get into one of the cages with the other kobolds. Clover reluctantly went to a cage and saw an orange creature, cowering in fear.

Clover tried to calm down the creature.

"Hey, don't worry. Im not going to hurt you little guy."

The creature looked at him, and it suddenly growled.

Clover jumped in fear and asked if the creature was mad at him.

"Uhhh."

Clover said to the creature he didn't know how to talk to them.

"Are you hungry? I have food."

Clover said to the creature that he had food. He opened the cage and showed it some bread.

The creature slowly came closer, and it started sniffing at Clover.

"Uhhh."

Clover said to the creature "Ummmmmm?"

The creature was confused.

"Uhhhhhh." Clover said again, and the creature growled at him. He quickly takes the creature in the cage and went back to Quinn.

(My grammar is so bad omfg-)