I grabbed Bella’s face and planted a big, wet kiss onto her soft lips. “Say no more, dear,” I said to her. “You’re a goddamn genius.”
Chapter Two
Esmerelda was damn talented with fire magic. She roasted every square inch of the deer within just a few minutes.
Now, we were all gathered at the table with heaps of venison steak still smoking hot. It was more food than we could ever manage to eat ourselves, yet we made a great effort. I knew we’d have some tough times ahead, so I saw no reason why we shouldn’t plump ourselves up a bit before we got started.
As we ate, Layla was relaxed in her chair, one foot up on the table as she recounted how she’d ended up living with wood elves.
Like the rest of the Mananymphs, she’d been hunted once the Emperor came into power. “I’d been living in the Imperial City,” she said. “I’d been living there all my life, as a matter of fact.”
I was taken aback by that. Previously, she’d been so hostile when speaking about city folk that I could have sworn that she’d spent her entire life living in the woods.
She nodded to me. “Of course, Earthman, back then it wasn’t called the Imperial City. Only the Emperor harbored that name in his foul thoughts, right before he took absolute power and declared himself emperor-for-life.”
The newly formed Imperial Legion at once enforced their new Emperor’s law, banning free Mananymphs throughout the Empire. Under the cover of night, Layla sneaked out through the sewers.
“Imagine the foulness,” she said, smirking. “Even worse, there wasn’t as much as a blade of grass to help me along my journey.”
“But sister,” Bella said. “Couldn’t you have summoned the soil and roots to come crashing into the sewers, to help you escape?”
Layla shrugged. “I thought of it, yes, Bella,” she said. “But I wasn’t confident that the structure would hold. All the growing things in the world wouldn’t help me much if they caused the sewers to come tumbling down on top of me.”
“But how did you end up among the wood elves?” I asked. “Darkwood Forest is a long, long way from the Imperial City.”
“Well, everyone always said how much I resemble one of the wood elves,” she said. “True, I’m a bit too short, and my magical energies are a dead giveaway when I’m not in complete control of them. With some care, I managed to pass myself off as a young wood elf on her way to Silverton.”
“But you didn’t go to Silverton,” I said.
She shook her head. “The Imperial Legion was there, lots of them,” she said. “They were scouring the entire Empire for any sign of Mananymphs. While I can pass for a wood elf from afar, I knew that my ruse wouldn’t last under any scrutiny. So, I headed into the woods. My green magic worked to my advantage. Then, eventually, I fell in with the wood elves.”
As she explained, the notoriously isolationist wood elves from the forest were wary of her at first, but her green magic won them over. As the years wore on, she gained their trust, and even became one of their leaders.
“The wood elves who live in the trees don’t have dukes or emperors,” she said. “Instead, we have councils. These councils are chosen by the mer, smallfolk and noble alike, then charged with running the realms of the wood mer. I’ve been honored, time and again, by being chosen as a counselor. It’s not a task I take lightly.”
Corvus Gavrus seemed particularly fascinated by this. “By Mother Gaia, this is incredible,” he said. “I’ve been living in these woods for decades and have had many dealings with the wood elves. They’ve never let on that their society is so sophisticated.”
Indeed, the wood elves did have a reputation for being rather simplistic by nature. That wasn’t to say they were dumb or backward. Surely, they’d proven to be both intelligent, brave, and noble, that much was clear to me when I fought beside so many of them in the Siege of Silverton. But it seemed as though the wood elves had a strategy in mind.
“The more the wood elves keep allowing the city folk to think that they live a fairly primitive existence,” Layla explained, “the more secure they feel in being left alone. The Emperor doesn’t care about them one way or another, so long as he believes they’re mere hunters and gatherers.”
That gave me pause. “But Layla,” I said, “if that’s the way the wood elves feel, then how could you ever convince them to join us against the Emperor? Don’t get me wrong. I’d love to have the help, but I can’t see how any wood elf would want to get involved in our civil war.”
Pandora nodded. “I was thinking the same thing, sister,” she said. “The wood elves prefer to be isolationists, by and large. Why would they get tangled up in our affairs?”
Layla smiled. “Well, that’s up to Gamelord,” she said. “Because if you want the wood mer to join you, you’ll have to convince them it’s worth fighting alongside you.”
“Alright,” I said. “And how do I do that?”
Layla plucked a hunk of venison from her plate then chewed it thoughtfully. “Most city folk think the Darkwood Forest is inherently evil,” she said. She licked the juices from the steak off her fingers. “Nothing could be further from the truth. The seemingly bottomless evil that ripples out from the heart of the forest is no natural thing. If you’d like my wood elf friends to join you, Gamelord, you’ll have to help them in defeating this darkness.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. It wasn’t that I wouldn’t be willing to aid the wood elves against this strange force, it was that I didn’t know if we had the time. I had to worry about the Emperor, first and foremost.
When I explained as much to Layla, she shot me a knowing grin. “Of course, Champion,” she said. “But you can’t defeat the Emperor, not without a Gaia Stone.”
I smiled. “You can help me get one?”
“The dark, evil heart of the Darkwood Forest is a being known only as the Fairy Mother,” Layla said. “She’s a creature of truly immense power.”
I chuckled. “Aren’t they all?”
“Of course, over the centuries, she’s gone mad,” Layla said. “The Fairy Mother, through means unknown to anyone living, managed to get her hands on a Gaia Stone untold years ago. Though she can barely wield it directly, she uses the stone to impose her wicked will on the denizens of the forest.”
“I’ve never heard of this tale,” Corvus Gavrus said.
“Nor have I,” Pandora echoed.
“Because the woods have been so reviled that no one has ever put forth the effort to learn the truth,” Layla said. “For instance, city folk have long considered the spriggans to be nothing more than vengeful forest spirits. This, too, is false.”
Corvus nearly choked on his steak. “WHAT!?”
Layla merely nodded. “Those aggressive tree beings are no more or less monstrous than the average human or mer,” she said. “Their species, sadly, has been corrupted by the Fairy Mother. The same goes for the corrupted wood elves that live deeper in the forest. Even the goblins that reside there are made more vicious by the Fairy Mother’s wickedness that she spreads using the Spirit Stone.”
I laughed, downed my mug of water, and smiled. “You know, where I’m from, fairies are these cute pixie-looking girls that fly around teaching magic to kids,” I said. “Something tells me this Fairy Mother isn’t exactly that.”
Layla smiled right back at me. “Her claws are long and her wits are as sharp as her teeth, Earthman,” Layla said. “So tell me, will you help me? Will you help my wood elf friends?”
I kept laughing and pushed away from the table to make preparations for our next mission. “Let’s go find the Fairy Mother,” I said. “Because I’m already itching to clip off her wings.”
*****
Now, it was time for me to try something new.
Though my offensive magic capabilities had grown exponentially, I still wouldn’t feel comfortable in the field without an enchanted melee weapon. With my Dayfire longsword all but destroyed, my only option was the try to enchant my orcish war axe myself.
Though my enchantment skill itself wasn’t all that robust, I was hoping that my newfound magic talents would lend themselves to enchantment. I had the axe sitting on the desk in the guest bedroom and I was considering what, precisely, I should use to enchant it.
My extensive use of the Dayfire blade had gotten me accustomed to wielding a weapon enchanted with fire magic, but I thought it was time for a change.
This wasn’t just me being fickle. It had practical applications, as well. We were heading off to fight in the densest forest in the realm. I didn’t think it was prudent to go in there hurling fireballs everywhere. The wood elves wouldn’t be so eager to join the rebellion if I burned down their home in the process of killing the Fairy Mother.
At first, I’d considered enchanting the axe with a lightning spell. Of all the elemental destruction spells, lightning packed the most punch. Yet, when I pulled up my Second Sight to view the potential stats, I didn’t like what I saw.
ORCISH WAR AXE
WEIGHT: 10 LBS
DURABILITY: 1600/1600
ENCHANTMENT: 0/10
Yeah, it was a sturdy weapon, but I hadn’t considered that the orcish war axe didn’t hold much room for enchantment. Up until now, I never really had much reason to consider that aspect of an unenchanted weapon.
I frowned, scratching my chin. There had to be a way to expand its enchantment potential.
I recalled the conversation I had with Corvus, when I asked him to help me recharge the Dayfire longsword. He’d said that any mage could recharge a weapon, as long as the mage was willing to sacrifice a ton of mana to do it.
I wondered, if I channeled all of my mana into the weapon, would that boost its enchantment potential?
There were no drawbacks to me trying, of course. I’d regain my mana easily enough on my own with my passive attribute boost. I’d already chosen the regain mana skill perk. Plus, the mage’s robe that Corvus had given me would double the amount of mana that I’d regain over time.
I grabbed the axe with the Soulguard. I closed my eyes then reached deep within myself, feeling the magical energies surging through me. Through sheer force of will, I tapped into my own inner mana, squeezed my armored grip around the axe, and grit my teeth.
“UGH!” I grunted.
I staggered forward, the axe still in my hand, and I felt an electric sort of pins and needles running up and down my left arm. I’d always imagined that magic was more of a mental thing than a physical one, but transferring all that mana into the orcish war axe left me nearly exhausted.
I picked up the axe and inspected it again.
ORCISH WAR AXE
WEIGHT: 10 LBS
DURABILITY: 2000/2000
ENCHANTMENT: 2000/2000
Oh shit. I stopped and did a double-take. Not only did I wildly boost the axe’s enchantment potential, but I’d upped its durability rating, as well.
“Fucking nice,” I said, as I hadn’t even thought that would have been a possibility. I paced around the room for a few minutes. It didn’t take long for my mana gauge to become refilled completely.
Okay, so fire magic was a no-go. Lightning magic was very tempting, but when I pulled up my Second Sight, I frowned.
LIGHTNING ENCHANTED ORCISH WAR AXE
WEIGHT: 10 LBS
DURABILITY: 2000/2000
CHARGE: 2000/2000
EFFECT: LIGHTNING DAMAGE UPON STRIKE
-2100 CHARGE FOR EACH STRIKE
ENCHANTMENT CHARGE INSUFFICIENT FOR USE
IMPROVE ENCHANTMENT SKILL TO FINISH ENCHANTING WEAPON
Damn it. The charge required for a single strike was more than the entire charge that the axe held.
Although, I had to admit, it was pretty cool that I could now see the charge costs in my enchanted items. Previously, I had to estimate how much charge each use would cost. Now, I’d be able to see it the moment I inspected an item’s stats.
I tried scaling back the lightning damage, but it was no use. Lightning magic itself was the most powerful of the elemental magics, and I simply didn’t have the enchantment skills to properly wield it yet.
Next, I considered imbuing the axe with ice damage. I grinned when I saw the preview of the potential stats.
ICE ENCHANTED ORCISH WAR AXE
WEIGHT: 10 LBS
DURABILITY: 2000/2000
CHARGE: 2000/2000
EFFECT: ICE DAMAGE UPON STRIKE
-10 CHARGE FOR EACH STRIKE
Alright, now I was getting somewhere.
The disparity between the charge costs of ice magic versus lightning magic wasn’t, I assumed, solely due to the nature of the elemental magics themselves. The issue must have been my comparatively low-level enchantment skills.
Otherwise, the numbers just didn’t make sense. I made a mental note to fool around with enchantments more later, once I’d built up my skill some more.
Speaking of which…
Now that my mana was completely restored, it was time to finish with the axe. I gripped the handle tightly, gritting my teeth, and focused on my magical energy again.
More crackling pins and needles shot through my arm, down through my hand, right up to my fingertips. I saw sparks crackling at the armored fingertips of the Soulguard as a pulsing icy-blue energy thrummed throughout the orcish war axe.
I smiled to myself, pulled up my Second Sight, and this time, I very much liked what I saw.
GAMELORD’S FROZEN ORCISH WAR AXE
Heh. I even managed to subconsciously rename the weapon. And finally, rippling across my field of vision:
ENCHANTMENT SKILL INCREASED +1
Yeah, you could say that I was very much enjoying being a war mage. Seeing my skills come along even quicker than usual was damn satisfying. I was more than ready to see what limits I could push myself to reach during our hunt for the Fairy Mother.
Chapter Three
Though Bella would have to remain at Corvus’ cottage to continue sending her illusory eagles across the Empire, I resisted the urge to take all of the other Mananymphs into the forest with me.
I could have justified it, sure. Darkwood Forest was crawling with desperate Imperial Legion soldiers, all of whom had been wandering through Corvus’ illusions for over a day now. And that wasn’t even taking into consideration the myriad hostile creatures that populated the woods.
In the end, though, I decided to split our forces. Things were looking up for the moment, but I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.
Corvus Gavrus’ cottage was well-hidden but, then again, Homehold and Silverton had seemingly been secure after I killed the Necromancer. Yeah, ‘secure,’ at least until Therena came marching south with a division of Imperial Legion troops. Now, both Homehold and Silverton were under Imperial control and Duke Gladios was dead, among others. I never saw that coming.
Given all that had happened, I decided to leave Esmerelda and Sephara behind to guard Bella while she worked. In the off chance that any Imperials sniffed them out, Esmerelda was more than capable of holding them off with her destruction magic. Sephara could support her with restoration magic, while chipping in with her decent melee skills. Plus, Corvus Gavrus was no pushover with his illusion magic, either.
As for me, Pandora, and Layla, I thought our combined skills would be more than enough to face whatever Darkwood Forest could throw at us, at least if we were careful. Besides, Layla promised that it would only take us a day, maybe two, before we reached the first wood elf settlement.
“Once we’re there, we won’t want for food or arms,” Layla said. “And there will be plenty of room for us to sleep soundly and without fear.”
That would be a big advantage. The wood elves constructed their towns high up in the trees, far above the forest floor, where untold creatures roamed, looking for meat. Plus, knowing that we could supply ourselves there, we didn’t have to over-encumber ourselves with supplies.
Pandora was in charge of packing, mostly restore health and restore mana potions, along with e
nough food for three days, just to be on the safe side. While she divvied up the supplies between our packs, I took my hammer and tongs out back to make minor repairs on our weapons.
My enchanted war axe was in perfect condition, so I set that aside. For the time being, I was enjoying unarmored skill boosts of the war mage class, and besides, the glass armor that I’d been wearing was damaged beyond my skills to fix it.
However, there were still dings and dents and scuff marks on Pandora’s dragontooth daggers. I hammered them out easily enough.
Layla was watching me from the treeline, with her bow slung over her shoulder. “Can you make repairs on a bow, Earthman?” she asked.
I paused and set my tools aside. “Actually, I’m not sure,” I said. “My armorer skills are coming along, but I’ve never used a bow and arrow before.”
She crossed her arms, watching me. My eyes were drawn to her hips, to her curves that were on display just beneath her light armor made of vines and roots. Her hair tumbled down over one shoulder and her eyes were the shade of bright tree sap.
“Maybe you could show me the ins and outs of your bow,” I offered. “I’m sure with a little help, I’d be able to make some repairs for you.”
Layla chuckled and rolled her eyes sarcastically. “As if I’d ever let some clumsy Earthman handle my bow!” she shot back with a playful grin.
I laughed along with her. “Yeah? Well, suit yourself. You were firing off plenty of arrows at those Imperials you stumbled across. Don’t blame me if we get into a skirmish and your bow snaps in half.”
Her grin widened and she sauntered toward me, slowly pulling her bow off her shoulder. She looked over Pandora’s daggers, which I’d made damn close to brand new with my hammer and tongs. “I suppose I can give you a chance,” Layla said, then sat down next to me as she showed me her bow.
She identified the bow’s weak points, where the shaft should bend and how much. My armorer skills were decent enough that I was able to identify wear-and-tear points, but I wouldn’t have been able to fix her bow if she hadn’t shown it to me first.
Carefully, I got to work with my hammer and tongs. The wood elves were fond of their personal bows, and rarely let anyone else touch them. Given that Layla had lived among them for so long, I didn’t take the responsibility lightly.
Monstergirl Quest Book Three Page 2