Chapter Text
Miel huffed as he pushed open the door, being sure to be quiet about it. It was nearly 11p, and he didn’t want to wake Sebastian! He had been up in the mountain mines, and he couldn’t help a smile as he reached into his pocket to touch one of the items he had discovered: a frozen tear. It was a beautiful gem that looked exactly like its namesake, and he knew for a fact that Seb was extremely fond of them!
He looked around cautiously. He saw that the kitchen lights were on, but the bedroom was dark, with Seb nowhere in sight. He went to the fridge, getting out a bit of the fruit salad he had made with the fresh melons from the greenhouse, but paused as he heard noise behind him. He straightened, the bowl in his hands, but smiled when he saw it was the cat. “Oh hey, sweetie…” he greeted, sparing a hand to pet the little thing. It meowed happily and then trotted back into the bedroom.
Miel took a few minutes to eat a couple bites of the salad before he covered it and returned the rest to the fridge. A quick stop into the bathroom to wash off the mining dust, and he soon crawled into bed around midnight. Seb was quiet, and Miel was glad he hadn’t awoken him, falling into an exhausted sleep.
Unbeknownst to him, Seb lay awake, biting his lip and looking concerned.
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The next morning, Seb awoke before Miel, slipping out of the bed carefully. He took a moment to look down at his husband, sighing softly. He went to the kitchen and started to make coffee, looking outside.
Snow blanketed the ground, and there was a terrible chill in the air. Nothing was growing outside, except for a couple strange wintery roots and plants. Miel had managed to extract seeds from wild ones he had found in the forest, and was working to grow those in the cold, hard ground to help their income while the winter dragged on. The extra plants from the greenhouse helped, but not as much as Miel had hoped.
Due to the time the plants were taking, Miel had taken to going daily to the mines up in the mountains outside of town, and supplementing their finances with the geodes and precious stones he was able to hack from the stone there.
Getting a cup of coffee, Seb moved to the table by the window, sighing. He knew WHY Miel was doing this; for him. He wanted him to be comfortable, and that did mean having money to buy food that couldn’t be grown in the greenhouse, and leaving the house daily to get wood for the fire, fish for food and selling…
It was a LOT for one man to keep up with!
Frankly, Seb was amazed at Miel’s stamina for all this work, the man able to work on like a machine, but still spare time for Seb each day. While Seb admired him greatly for it, and it was one of the reasons he had agreed to marry him, he wanted Miel to take some time to relax for a while. But how?
Sipping the hot coffee, he had an idea. What if HE did a bit more work? Right now, his tasks centered around keeping the house clean, but in the winter, that was almost a moot point. He had tried to add on other chores, like fixing fences, watering the plants, and even helping to harvest, but Miel had gotten sprinklers, made metal fences, and now with there being nothing ready to harvest, there was nothing for him to do!
What if HE went to the mine to get some supplies for a change? Let Miel stay at home and relax?
Seb smiled. Yeah… He eyed the bedroom, knowing that Miel wouldn’t wake for a little bit. The man would always wake at 6a like clockwork, and it was only 5.30a now. He had just enough time!
Finishing his coffee, Seb got up, a spring in his step. He had been to the mines many times before, and he knew that while they were dangerous, if he stayed on the upper levels, he wouldn’t have to contend with the monsters that Marlon always spoke about on the lower levels!
Moving to the chest in the corner of the room, near the door where Miel liked it to be readily accessible when he was about to go out, Seb found a spare iron pickaxe, a steel sword, a small glow ring, and also some old combat boots. He slipped them on, and stealthily slipped back into the bedroom to grab his winter coat.
Miel slept on like a dead thing, so utterly exhausted.
Seb watched him a moment, smiling. After being in the mines, he would take him to the spa. That would help perk him up!
Slipping back into the kitchen, Seb fed the cat, and then left a note for Miel, telling him to take it easy and that he’d meet him at the spa around 8p. Smiling hugely, he left the house, closing the door firmly behind him.
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When Miel awoke a small while later, he wasn’t too surprised to see Seb wasn’t in bed. The man had been slowly adjusting his sleeping schedule, and sometimes didn’t sleep well, so it wasn’t uncommon for Miel to wake alone.
He slowly crawled out of bed, feeling sore and very tired. He didn’t feel like he had regained all his energy the night before. He had gone to bed too late, it seems…
Getting into the kitchen, he paused at not seeing Seb, and instead he quickly found the note. He read through it, and couldn’t help a huge smile coming to his face. What a sweetheart… He chuckled as he put the note down and got some coffee.
He wasn’t worried about Seb in the slightest. The man always told him about how he would regularly take trips to the mine when he couldn’t sleep at night, even bringing back monster loot at times! A quick check in the tool chest confirmed this due to the missing items and Miel smiled. Seb would be fine!
Finishing his coffee, he got his coat on and headed outside, checking that the cat door was open to let the little beast come and go as it pleased. But as he spied it settled warmly on the bed, he had to laugh and went outside.
He first checked on the odd winter sprouts, but despite the frozen earth, and the water sprinklers icing over at the edges, the little sprouts looked healthy! How odd… He could only hope they could get good money for them once they had grown and sprouted! He cleared off the ice and moved to one of the chests by the house, withdrawing from it an interesting item; a sea cucumber. He had fished the creature up a few nights ago, and after sealing it in a chest, had left it alone, planning to sell it. But then, the other day, he had gotten a letter from the wizard, asking him to bring him the sea cucumber, if he didn’t mind, and that it would be worth his time.
Initially, Miel had wondered how ON EARTH the wizard would have known about his catch, but he had soon shrugged it off. The wizard himself had admitted in the past that he watched the townsfolk. Was it so unbelievable that he had since added Miel to his watch list?
Grabbing the cold package, he put it into his backpack and headed south, to where the wizard’s tower stood. It took some time, and along the way he was able to pick up a few more crystal fruits and crocus. When he arrived at the tower, he knocked politely, and soon heard the wizard calling him to come inside.
Opening the door caused Miel to pause in shock as a very powerful odor came to him. It didn’t smell good, like low tide, and he gagged a bit. “Oh my goodness, what IS that?!”
“Come in and shut the door!” M. Rasmodius was standing over the huge cauldron, and looked stern as he spoke.
Miel did as told, coughing as he pinched his nose. “What…?”
“Did you bring the sea cucumber?”
Miel paused at the question, and stared at the wizard’s expectant hand. Then it clicked. “Oh! Oh, right, yes… Yes, I did…” He held out the package with the cold, slimy creature, and watched in confusion as the wizard tore open the package, sniffed the thing, and then dumped it right into the bubbling cauldron! “Hey!” Miel shouted reflexively. “It took me an hour to reel that in!”
“As it should have!” the wizard nodded, smiling. “That was a prime specimen, EXACTLY what I needed!”
“For what?!” Miel asked, a bit horrified and so very confused now.
The wizard turned away from the cauldron and as he spoke, he started to get various items from the shelf, adding them to the brew. “You may have heard tell of the meal called ‘Lucky Lunch’? It was mentioned on the recipe channel, and it’s meant to bring you good fortune.”
Miel nodded. He had heard of it last spring, and recalled scoffing at it. It had mentioned something about ‘attracting a good spirit into your belly, where it will bless you with good fortune’. Ridiculous…
The wizard paused and saw his expression, chuckling. “I know, it sounds unbelievable… The dish itself is just a fabrication, and the effects are a placebo, but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who agrees with me!” He laughed as he added another item into the cauldron, causing it to turn purple and bubble gently.
“But the interesting thing…” The wizard stated. “Is that the dish IS based off of a true spell…”
Miel looked at him in confusion. “Wait, is it?”
The wizard nodded as he stirred the concoction smoothly, saying, “The idea of ‘inviting a lucky spirit’ to you is a bit… romanticized, to be honest. But the idea about it affecting someone from within their belly is quite real!” He eyed the liquid, and went to add a few yellow leaves to it, crumpling them into dust as he mixed them in. “In reality, the potion would grant the consumer great amounts of energy and protection, which in the olden days was used for those who built kingdoms from the mines. It allowed for workers to safely navigate the dangerous underground as they hacked and hewed precious stones and sturdy rock for buildings and ornaments. The luck factor was added later because due to their added energy, they just had more energy and time to find more items, making those unfamiliar with the spell to call it a luck enhancer!”
He tested the liquid with a finger, and muttering, went to get something else off the shelf, adding what looked like a foot of some reptile into the mix, saying as he stirred. “The protection part of the spell is also quite powerful… You must be familiar with those beasts deep in the mine that spew those acidic green fireballs?”
Miel nodded distastefully. “Marlon calls them ‘Shadow Shaman’.”
Rasmodius nodded. “Yes indeed. Well, part of the reason this spell was created was to neutralize and counterbalance that spell of theirs. Wizards of old were able to increase the potency of the protection to even save the lives of workers who happened upon lava, or areas with pockets of toxic sulfur springs.”
Miel listened quietly to this, stunned and intrigued. “That’s very interesting!”
“Here…” The wizard was now offering to Miel a small glass bottle, filled with some of the purple liquid. When Miel hesitated, the wizard smiled. “No, please, I insist. You have worked so hard for this valley, and have made yourself on very good terms with the Junimos! They feel you are worthy of trust to know this secret. I know the winter is a hard time for you and your husband. I can only hope that this will grant you the energy you need to succeed with your farm and continue to bring such prosperity to the valley.”
Quietly, Miel took the bottle, stunned, asking, “But… is it… safe?”
The wizard nodded. “Very safe. Even if the beasts attacked you while you were under the spell’s protection, you would be unharmed. The spell would adapt to help you escape.” He gave Miel a stern look. “But do not misunderstand. This is not a weapon. This is used to protect, not to attack. Do not expect it to protect you if you thrust yourself needlessly into danger. Understood?”
Miel felt uncomfortable as the stern eyes bored into him, and he nodded. “Yeah… Yes, I understand.”
“Good. On your way. I have business to attend to.” The wizard waved his hand, and Miel, a bit shocked, left the tower as asked.
After speaking with the wizard, Miel headed down to the beach, pausing as he worked to comb for a while, managing to find a few washed up nautilus shells. He put them into his bag, pleased, knowing they would fetch a good price when sold. He found a few other items of interest, and took the time to speak with Elliott. The man was outside of his cabin, enjoying the heat of the fire he had made.
For the rest of the day, Miel walked all around the valley, gathering up any useful items he found on the ground, even digging under the snow in places when there was a hint of something hidden beneath. He also took some time to speak with the various town folks, do some fishing, and even managed to get to the quarry before it got too dark to find a few copper ores that had fallen into the quarry.
Miel felt so tired from the long day, feeling like his energy had almost been depleted, and as he headed west to the spa, across the mountain base, he started to smile, excited to meet up with Seb. He had missed him as he had been working, and he was looking forwards to relaxing.
At about 8p, he finally arrived at the spa, and hurried inside. It was warm and a bit humid, and he was eager as he went into the locker room, but found no one there. “Seb?” he called out. There was no reply, and cautiously, he peeked into the pool area. No one there either!
He frowned, but then shrugged. Maybe Seb had stopped by his parents’ place for a chat.
Patiently, Miel went back to the entrance of the spa and slumped against the wall, sighing softly as he waited. But as half an hour passed, and then an hour… he started to get a bit worried.
Finally, Miel got up. Getting his pack back on, Miel set out to the mines, making sure to get his glow ring on, which gave him enough light to see by.
It took him some time trudging through the snow, but he eventually stumbled into the mine, tapping the snow from his boots. “Seb?!” he called instantly.
No answer.
Shaking, Miel ran to the small room attached to the main hall, and found the dwarf sitting there, appearing to be in a doze. Coughing gently to wake the dwarf without risking startling them, Miel smiled, asking politely in the dwarvish he recalled from the scrolls and the Dwarvish Translation Guide that Gunther had given him. “Hello again. How are you tonight?”
The dwarf seemed to chuckle. “As well as ever. Have you come to buy more mining supplies? I have acquired more Miner’s Treats!“ The dwarf opened the box nearby and showed off a few of the sweet treats.
But Miel shook his head. “No, thank you. I’m looking for someone.“ He opened his wallet, and took out the picture of him and Seb on their wedding day. He showed it to the dwarf. “Has that other man come by tonight?“
The dwarf took the picture and squinted at it. “Yes. He came by before night fell and went into the elevator. He didn’t stop to speak with me.”
Miel felt his pulse quicken as he took the picture back. “When did he come back out?”
The dwarf frowned. “He didn’t.”
“Oh no…”
Seeing the man’s horrified face, the dwarf offered, “I think he went down to level 30. I am not sure… it could have been lower.”
Miel hastily thanked the dwarf and then rushed out to the elevator, wrenching the door open in his hurry. He punched in level 30 and as the machine descended, he hurriedly got out his sword, trembling.
Something had happened. But what? Was Seb just mining and had lost track of time? Had a monster attacked him? Had he gotten hurt and was unable to call for help!?
As the machine landed with a thud, Miel was racing out of the door, looking around. “SEB?!”
Still no answer, but he saw a nearby ladder jutting from a hole in the floor. Seb had been here! Rushing Miel scrambled down the ladder to the next floor, but found a similar scene. He followed Seb’s trail deeper and deeper into the mine, but then, when he dropped down into the next level, a foul stench came to his nose, making him cry out and cover his face. He knew this smell!
The area was infested with monsters!
He shuddered, looking around warily, and slowly got accustomed to breathing the awful smell, looking around, cautiously. He spun around as a huge mine fly came swooping in at him, but he easily swung the blade and cut the beast into two pieces that fell to the floor with a sickening thud.
“HELP!”
Miel whirled as he heard the call, screaming, “SEB!” and dashed towards it. As he came around the corner, Miel felt his heart drop.
There, in the corner of the room, shielded only by a small boulder, was Seb, cowering and lashing out at the beasts as they tried to attack, and while the boulder did offer some protection, Seb wasn’t doing well. There were several of the mine flies trying to get in close, as well as a few decent-sized slimes. Seb looked woozy and his movements were weak and shaky. As Seb crashed to the floor and the insects tried to dive, there was a loud, angry SHRIEK as Miel leapt into the battle, slashing at the monsters in a rage.
Thankfully, his surprise attack into the fray caught all of the monsters off guard, and as they fumbled and crashed into each other in shock, Miel was able to slash and hack, and eventually, dispatched them all.
The sword clattered to the ground as Miel immediately turned to Seb, helping him to sit up and holding him close. “Oh my god, Seb, are you okay?! What happened?!”
Miel froze as he smelled blood and looking down, saw a nasty gash on Seb’s arm, coated with green ooze. He grimaced and quickly took out some cloth and water and began to clean and bandage the wound as Seb coughed and spoke. “I… I just was mining… and when I came here… they got the jump on me…” He shuddered and when he looked at Miel, the farmer shuddered as he saw Seb’s eyes were hugely dilated, even in the strong light of the rings. “Dear? I… I don’t feel good…”
Miel shuddered and smiled weakly. “It’s okay, Love… I have some elixir that will help, just--”
A loud sudden squashing noise made them both jump and around the corner came a huge, shiny, slimy mass. Miel looked down at Seb instantly, his mind racing. He couldn’t carry Seb to safety while that monster was attacking them, and in this state, Seb couldn’t help in the fight! But he had to protect him somehow!
Protect…
Miel’s eyes widened as he dug into his pack.
“Miel… Miel…” Seb’s voice was getting urgent as the slime started to come closer to them, sensing their presence.
“I’ve got it…” Miel hissed back, and he gasped as he found the bottle. He turned to Seb, and uncorking it, pushed it to his mouth. “Drink some!” Though confused, Seb obeyed instantly, gulping down a mouthful. He lay there and shivered as Miel corked the bottle and returned it to his pack, and then without warning, rushed at the slime, slashing at it with his sword.
There was a squashy, squelchy kind of noise as the sword clove deep into the gelatinous beast, making it stop it’s advance. As Miel stepped aside, he slashed at it again, trying to draw it away. “Yeah, come on! Come get me!”
The beast seemed to hesitate, and then started to squish and squash its way… towards Seb.
“NO!” Miel rushed forwards again, putting himself between the beast and Seb, slashing at it to halt its advance, as he called out, “Seb, get behind the boulder if you can!” But as he looked over his shoulder, his heart sunk as he saw Seb had slumped sideways and wasn’t responding.
The slime lunged at him, and Miel shouted as he was knocked to the floor, the rocks and stones scratching and cutting deep into his shirt, shredding the cloth and cutting at his chest and belly. Hissing in pain, he got up again, but then saw that Seb was GONE! He heaved a sigh of relief, glad that he had recovered enough to crawl behind the rock and started to edge towards it, keeping the slime at bay. He had to see what kind of state he was in…
As he got close to the boulder, he paused as his attention was drawn to a small creature on the floor. It looked like a doll?
But as the doll started to move and sat up, coughing weakly, Miel felt his body seize up as he realized it was SEB! Only a few inches tall!?!?
He wasn’t given time to think about this as the slime lunged towards them, and he shuddered as he reached down, grabbed Seb’s now-tiny form, and leapt off the boulder OVER the slime, dashing off. He felt some panicked, terrified kicks against his hand and body as he held the man small close to his chest, and he panted, “Seb, it’s okay! It’s okay! Trust me!”
He couldn’t hear Seb’s response, but he felt it as the little man went still, but was shaking.
Miel panted as he ran around the rocky corner, Seb held close to his chest, his sword out and ready for any further threats. He could hear the distant gloppy and squashy noises of the blob of slime approach, but while it was quick for short lunges, it did need time to travel longer distances.
He took a moment to breathe, cuddling the small man to his chest, feeling him shivering and shaking. He looked down at him, lifting him up so the glow from his ring was able to illuminate him better. “Oh no…” He touched a finger to the tiny forehead. “You’re feverish…”
Seb coughed and shivered, looking up at Miel with half-lidded eyes. “What… what happened…?”
Miel gave a weak chuckle. “I gave you a wizard’s potion… you’ll be safe, but it’s… made you tiny.”
The little man was clearly far too ill and feverish to even process that thought, just mumbling out weakly, “I… I just… wanted to help…”
Miel couldn’t help a tight smile and bent his head to nuzzle the tiny form, feeling how desperately the small, 6-inch man tried to cling to his face. “I know, love, I know… but I think you got a little out of your depth on this one.”
He heard the squashing, and holding Seb to his chest, resumed running, trying to get back to the ladder. He knew that it had dropped him in here, but could he jump up enough to climb back up? Or could he find another ladder to go down and escape this level?
Miel soon met with a rock wall, a dead end, but the squashing was far enough away now that he felt safe enough to sit down, panting as he held Seb close. What to do? He knew he could beat the creature, but there was a technique to it. The huge slime was very good at short lunges, but one could dodge around it and using their speed, slash at it as it recuperated from a strike, and eventually rupture it. But he couldn’t do that with Seb like this! He had left his pack behind, and any pockets he had were tight to his body, meaning Seb would be crushed. He considered putting Seb into his shirt to keep him safe, but as he recalled how his shirt was in tatters, he knew that wasn’t an option either. Maybe he could rip off one of the strips of cloth and use it to tie Seb to his neck, like a life-line or something?
Miel froze as he heard the squashing noises getting closer and knew he was backed into a corner. No time to think! He shuddered, but then looked down at Seb, who looked up at him woefully. Miel grit his teeth. No one was going to hurt Seb again! He stood up slowly, whispering softly, “Seb, this is going to be scary, but I want you to stay still. I’ll put you in my mouth, and I need you to curl up good and small, okay? I need to fight past this thing.” He looked down at him. “Can you do that?”
Seb looked horrified, but if that was because he understood what was being asked of him, or some feverish nightmare, Miel wasn’t sure.
The blue-green blob slithered around the corner, and Miel reacted instantly. With no time to spare, he shoved Seb into his mouth, and while he gagged at such a huge mouthful, he kept his mouth closed, swinging the sword with both hands viciously.
The blade hesitated on the tough surface, but with the added force of the two-handed strike, it cleaved through, cutting deep into the gelatinous innards of the creature. Miel half-expected a cry, a reaction of some kind to this wound, but the slime only quivered, and then suddenly lunged at him.
Startled at the swiftness of the attack, Miel swung the blade as he backed up, but then flailed as his foot caught on a rock, tumbling him backwards to collide with a bit of the rock walls. He felt a sudden panic as he realized he couldn’t breathe, clutching at his neck as the slime crept closer, compressing and readying for another attack. Miel desperately thumped at his chest with the hilt of the sword, trying to dislodge whatever was suffocating him, and as the slime lunged he swung wildly and blindly.
There was a rush of oxygen as the offending item moved enough for him to take a desperate breath, and Miel swung the sword as the slime tried to attack. The blade cut deep into the gooey mass, almost severing it in two! As the slime quivered and worked to regroup itself, Miel, coughing and gasping for air, turned and fled up the tunnel.
As he rounded the bend, Miel leaned heavily on the wall, his hand flying up to his mouth, wanting to get Seb out of there and comfort hi--
His mouth was empty.
Miel froze, his heart going icy cold. Seb wasn’t in his mouth anymore! How had he not noticed it!? It must have happened during the fight! He must have been knocked out and that blob had gotten him! He trusted the potion to keep him safe, but what if he was crushed or drowned in that goo!? He turned, nearly about to round the corner, his teeth grit angrily, when he heard something that stopped him in his tracks.
“Miel, let me OUT!”
Trembling as he recognized the voice, he turned in a circle. “Seb! Seb, where are you?!”
“In here! I’m in here!”
The voice was so small and weak, and Miel felt his heart ache. He looked around, trying to see a hole in the wall, some place small enough for Seb to hide. “Where?!” he asked, his heart racing as he could hear the distant goopy sloshes of the slime reforming for another attack.
“IN HERE!”
That time, however, Miel froze as he felt something in addition to the little cry. It was a kick, a kick from tiny legs, much like the one Seb had given him when he had first found him, terrified out of his mind. The kick itself wasn’t shocking, but it’s location was.
Miel slowly looked down at himself, and stared at his belly, where he had felt the tiny kick come from inside.
He trembled, and reaching with his fingers, touched at his belly, asking softly in horror, “S-Seb…?”
[To Be Continued...]