Chapter 41 Finally Back To Bill's Cave

As the night passed and the morning came, the rain finally began to ease, reducing to a gentle sprinkle. The clouds were a bright grey, signaling that the storm had passed. Bill and Suzuka were still tired and sore from their journey, but they knew that it was time for them to head back to Bill's cave.

They packed up quickly, both of them silent, lost in their own thoughts. Bill couldn't help but think about the ruined castle and how easily goblins tricked him. Suzuka seemed distant, as if deep in thought about thinking how Bill hurt her.

As they began to make their way back to the cave, they could see that the morning was still cool and misty. The forest around them was quiet, the only sound that of the gentle sprinkle of rain on the leaves.

As they walked, they could see the damage caused by the storm, tree limbs were down, and mud and debris were scattered around, making the way a bit harder. They took their time, there was no rush. 

Finally, after what seemed like hours, they reached the cave. It was a welcome sight, and they both felt a sense of relief as they entered. The cave was dry and warm, and they set about making a fire and drying off. They sat in silence for a few moments, taking in their surroundings.

As Bill gazed through his cave, he noticed something was wrong. Some of his junk was missing, and all of his light crystals were gone. He immediately knew who had stolen them while he and Suzuka were away. Bill's eyes grew dark with anger, and he let out an outraged curse. His voice filled with anger.

"Dark Imps! These wretched little thieves! They stole Bill's things again!"

Suzuka looked around, taking in the scene, she could see the frustration and rage on Bill's face.  

"Are you sure it was them?"

"Who else could it be? They're always looking for a way to get into my cave! They take whatever they can get their raccoon little hands on."

 She knew that they were sly and cunning little monsters, always looking for ways to gain an advantage over others. She read about them on monsterpedia.

"So? What they stole? Anything of value?"

"To you! This may look like junk, but to us... to us, minotaurs... this is our treasure, everything we own is our treasure. We were created as a guardians, warriors, and protectors of the crystal mines. It is etched into our blood to protect... Ahhh! Sorry, I got heated up!" 

"Oh, no worries, Bill, I'm used to it by now. I would rather want to know what we do now. Are you going after them? What's the plan here?"

"They are weak, like rats! I would hunt them down and take back what they stole, but don't know where to look. Clever little creatures, they leave no tracks."

"We could go outside and check the surrounding area, at least, maybe they slip and left a clue." 

"Sure! We can try, that might happen." 

  As Bill and Suzuka began their search for the Dark Imps, it quickly became apparent that these creatures were as clever as Bill had feared. They had left no tracks behind, and there was no way to trace them back to their lair.

Bill scoured the surrounding area, looking for any signs of the Imps or where they might have taken his stolen crystals, but he found nothing. The frustration and anger that had driven him initially began to fade, replaced by a sense of resignation. 

He turned to Suzuka, shook his head, and said, "We're not going to find them, they're too clever for us. They'll be long gone by now."

 "What are we going to do then?"

"We're just going to have to let it go. They didn't steal anything that I can't live without. But we will need to find more glowing crystals to replace what we've lost."

Bill knew that the glowing crystals were essential to their survival, they were used to light the cave and provide warmth. 

"We'll need to visit some local caves. If we can't find any crystals there... then crystal mines it is."

Suzuka knew that it would be a dangerous journey. When she was a little girl, she had heard stories from blacksmith Gunther. About the local caves and mines, and she knew that they were full of all sorts of dangers.

"But the crystal mines pose a danger, Right Bill? They are full of all variants of golems. At least that's what I was told."

"Golems! Creatures made out of different kinds of materials. Could be rock, metal, or even flesh. They are dwellers of the mines, they can be aggressive, or they could be left to do as they please. They can be a real danger if they see any intruders as a threat. It all depends on the type you encounter."

Bill let out a sigh as he thought about it. He was not thrilled about the idea of going against golems. These hard, rock monsters were formidable opponents, and they had a tendency to dull his battle axe with their hard shell. He knew that it would not be an easy task to overcome the encounter with The Rock Golem himself. But as he was thinking his deep thought got interrupted by Suzuka. 

"I know it's important to look for light crystals and all... but... Look at me, I need to fix my leather armor. After that hard pounding, you gave me, when you dropped me down on the ground. Look at the armor, it's hanging on my body by a thread."

She could feel her worn-out armor rubbing against her skin. She had been in battle training against Bill in recent days. The armor took a lot of damage in the recent fight against Bill, and her armor never had a blacksmith touch since she found them. She knew it was in bad shape, but she didn't expect it to fall apart.

She start walking and as she was a few steps in, most of the last holding braces of her armor broke with a loud snap, and her armor fell to the ground. Suzuka looked down in shock, and her eyes grew wide with fear as she realized that she was now almost naked, with almost nothing to cover her body.

"Bill! Hey! Don't look! My armor just fell off!"

Bill turned around and saw Suzuka standing there, her arms crossed over her chest, trying to cover herself. He could see the fear in her eyes. Bill stood there and looked at her, a mixture of concern and humor on his face. 

"Hey! Bill! Stop staring at me with a smug face. Could you turn around, please?!" 

 Bill couldn't help but start to laugh at the comical sight. Seeing Suzuka standing there in her covering herself, looking embarrassed and ashamed, was a funny contrast to the fierce warrior he had seen fighting in the castle and while trying to contain his laughter he said, "I'm sorry, little girl! I didn't mean to laugh, it's just that, you looked so... out of place, standing there."

Suzuka looked a little bit offended, and with a sigh, she said, "I guess I deserved it, I knew that my armor was in bad shape but I didn't expect it to break just like that. And stop staring with your perverted eyes, turn away."

"Girl, Bill told you... Bill doesn't care about your body. Now if it was a mighty, tall, minotaur lady... hmmm... now that's a different story. You... you look more like a toothpick to me."

Suzuka was taken aback by the comment, she felt offended and humiliated. She tried to hide her feelings but her face turned red. Trying not to show her anger, she asked in a cold tone, "What do you mean by that?"

 He had meant it as a joke, but he could see that Suzuka had taken it the wrong way. He immediately backtracked. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I just meant that you're small and lightweight. You look like a toothpick that could easily snap, but I meant it in a good way."

Suzuka was triggered, trying to hide how hurt she felt she said in a frustrated tone, "In a good way?! I'm not a toothpick, I don't need you to insult my appearance. Just look at this body, it's beautiful."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, I was just trying to lighten the mood, I didn't mean anything by it."

Suzuka took a deep breath, trying to calm down. She knew that Bill had not meant to hurt her, and she didn't want to let this ruin their friendship.

 "Ahhh! Forget it, let's just forget it. I understand, let's just focus on the task ahead of us."

Bill brushed the cold sweat off of his forehead with an arm and said, "Grab your broken armor off the ground and come with me. I have some armor repair kits and some broken pieces of random leather armor that we can use to patch your armor."

Suzuka nodded and quickly gathered up her fallen armor. She was embarrassed and ashamed, but she knew that she couldn't afford to waste time.

As they entered the cave, Bill set to work immediately. He pulled out the repair kits and began to assess the damage to Suzuka's armor. It was clear that it would need a lot of work, but he was determined to get it done as quickly as possible. If he doesn't, the girl will nag him for days, and if she attempts to do it, she just gonna ruin it even more. Bill doesn't need that trouble now. 

The cave was dark and damp, the chill was trying to seep into Suzuka's bones, but her enhanced body kept her warm. She made her way toward the back of the cave, where Bill the Minotaur was hard at work. She called out, her voice echoing through the cavern.

"How's it coming along?"

Came the reply. Bill's voice was deep and rumbly, fitting for a creature of his size.

"Almost done!"

Suzuka drew closer, and she could see Bill sitting cross-legged on the ground, a pile of leather scraps and tools at his feet. He was working on her armor, carefully stitching together tears and patching up holes.

 While looking at her with his golden eyes he said, "It's not as good as new, but it'll do, you should be able to move freely in it again."

Suzuka grinned and went over to inspect the work. She put it on and felt that it is fit and flexible as before. 

"Hey! Bill! Nice work, thank you."

Bill shrugged.

 "It's nothing. I know how hard it is to find good armor around here. And we're partners in this quest, right? I need you in one piece if we're going to get those light crystals. But now, I think I need to rest for a few days. We're both still tired from that fight in the goblin castle. Crystals can wait a day or two."