by Pdmac
“I think that’s probably enough,” Karl announced, standing back and tilting his head to study the smooth sapwood.
Cirissa ticked her head at Lana to begin carving. Ten minutes later, the runes chiseled into the tree, Annabeth stood back to allow Cirissa to approve her work. With a satisfied nod, she waved for the two women to follow her.
“Wait a minute,” Karl called out causing Cirissa to stop and turn around. “What am I supposed to do?”
“Call upon your goddess,” she replied with a frown, the answer too obvious.
“How do I do that?”
With a pained sigh and jamming a hand on her hip, she narrowed her gaze at him. “You figure it out. We’ll wait for you just down the path a bit.” Brooking no further discussion, she spun on her heels and marched away, Lana and Annabeth in a single file behind her.
By now, the sun had disappeared and the last remnants of daylight were rapidly fading. Stalking around the carved portion of the tree, Karl shook his head, running his hands through his hair, struggling to think of what to do. Casting a glance in the direction of the three women, they were already lost in the darkness.
“OK. This is crazy. What the hell am I supposed to do?” He abruptly stopped. “This is crazy. I’m talking to myself.”
Pausing before the runes, he pressed a hand upon the letters.
How the hell does one call up a goddess? It’s not like she’s everywhere at once. Suppose she’s having dinner somewhere. Does she hear my call and mid-chew jumps up from the table? ‘Oh, excuse me. The barbeque is delicious, but some pathetic supplicant has just cried out for my help.’ And what if two people call her at the same time? Does she put one of them on hold? ‘Hi. This is Freya. I’m busy at the moment. Just leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.’
Karl snickered at the imaginary scene, tilted his head back and laughed. “Yo, Freya.”
“Yes.”
“Holy shit,” he bellowed, whirling around, his sword halfway out of the scabbard. His shock quickly morphed to awe and his mouth gaped open at the ravishing beauty wrapped in a glimmering aura, hovering midair before him.
Her long flowing blond hair, held back with a garland of flowers, and gossamer dress that did little to hide her voluptuous body, billowed lazily though Karl could feel no wind. Her smile and the intense gaze of sky-blue eyes made him feel she cared for no one but him.
“You called me,” she said, her voice warm and melodious.
“Y… yes, I did,” he replied, swallowing hard.
“How may I help you?”
“I… I want you to be my goddess, my… uh, patron,” he lamely answered.
“You wish to be my loyal devotee?” she said, her eyes bright.
“Yes.”
“How wonderful,” she smiled, gleefully clapping her hands.
“So,” Karl ventured, “how does this work?”
Freya glided closer to him so that she stood an arm’s length away. Reaching a hand up, she tenderly pressed a finger to his forehead.
Karl felt an instant sting like an inoculation shot, followed by encompassing warmth.
“There,” she cooed. “You are marked as mine.”
Karl instinctively touched his forehead.
“You can’t see or feel it,” she smiled, her laugh enchanting. “But other gods and goddesses can. It tells them that you belong to me.”
“Now what?” He felt like an awkward freshman when the prom queen suddenly notices him.
“Now you may call upon me to help you whenever you need help,” she replied, leaning in and kissing him.
The universe abruptly exploded inside him and Karl’s knees weakened as he struggled to remain standing.
She stood back and demurely gazed at him, an impish smile curling her lips. “You have quite the unbridled passion inside you. I may have to partake of that sometime. In the meantime, as you continue your quests, you may call upon me at any time to help you in time of need.”
“What do I do in return?” he asked, catching his breath.
“When the time comes,” she answered, holding his gaze with hers, “you will do whatever I ask.”
“Like what?”
“That is not yours to wonder,” she pointedly replied. “Do I have your unwavering loyalty?”
Karl paused only a moment before answering, “Yes.”
“Then I will leave you for now, Karl the Viking. I am pleased you have chosen me.” She winked at him. “Tell your sorceress that she may have to share you with your goddess.”
In an instant, Karl was alone, the silence of the forest enveloping him, which was then pierced by another woman’s voice.
“I heard that,” Annabeth loudly complained, striding into the clearing now illuminated by vibrant moonlight. “Who does she think she is?”
“A goddess,” Karl chuckled.
“Yeah, well, she better not get any ideas. It was bad enough we had to rescue you from Gwen.”
Cirissa led the way back to the city. Once inside her home, she took note of increased amounts of food and ale, as well as the barely concealed anticipation of the group.
“I see you are ready to move on,” she observed.
“We saw no sense in delaying,” Dieter replied. “Once we can see well enough in the mist in the morning, we’ll be moving out. There is extra food and ale for you.” He pointed to a separate stack of grains and kegs.
“That was kind of you,” she said then beckoned Karl. “Remember, Mavie is dangerous, but now that you have your goddess with you, she can be defeated.”
“Yeah,” Conrad piped up. “What happened out there?”
“I’ll tell you later,” Karl said, suddenly tired.
“You said you’d help get us to the bridge,” Raquel said to Cirissa. “If we’re in Tal Olca, that means we’ll have to come back here to get you.”
“Use your skills, Ranger,” Cirissa huffed. “Send a bird or falcon back to fetch me.”
“Oh… yeah,” she replied with a weak smile. “I keep forgetting.”
“Well it’s about time you started remembering,” Cirissa chastised. “And that goes for the lot of you. You need to start using your gifts and skills instead of having to be reminded of them. What have you been doing all the time you’ve been here?”
“Surviving spider attacks, combating goblins, killing orcs and trolls, and saving a kingdom from destruction,” Karl shot back. “Other than that we’ve been goofing off.” Turning his back to her, he addressed the group. “Get some sleep. We got a long road ahead of us tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry,” Cirissa contritely said. “I forgot what it took for you to get here.”
“Forget it. We’re all tired.”
As Karl searched for a place to stretch out, Raquel sidled up to Annabeth. “So? What happened?”
“It was awesome,” Annabeth quietly replied. “Well, most of it was.” She then explained about the goddess’ appearance and the interaction between Karl and the gorgeous Freya.
“She’s beautiful?”
“Oh yeah,” Annabeth answered with a resigned nod. “And I think she has designs on our Viking.”
“Just damn,” Raquel groused. “It’s getting so you can’t share a Viking anymore without someone else wanting to get in on the action.”
“And she’s a goddess too,” Annabeth moaned.
“We’ll think of something,” Raquel reassured her, “like we did with Gwen.”
“What are you two scheming?” Karl asked with a yawn.
“Nothing, Sweetie,” Annabeth sweetly replied. “Go to sleep.”
Karl and the team were on the road as the mist was thinning. At first, the going was slow, despite the daylight as they couldn’t see more than a few meters ahead of them. The pace picked up as the morning progressed and the mist dissipated. By the time the last traces of fog wisped away, they were at a double time, Karl out front.
It felt good to be moving and Karl inhaled the morning air, savoring the bou
quet of things growing. Beside him, Raquel loped along with ease. After about an hour at the double time, she looked back and saw some struggling to keep pace. Carole had already climbed into the wagon.
“We may want to slow it down,” she suggested.
Karl looked over his shoulder and immediately slowed to a brisk walk, much to the relief of the others. “What’s with Carole? I figured she should be back to normal by now.”
“She’s still suffering from the spider bite,” Raquel said.
“I know that,” Karl replied. “I just assumed that once you were healed, you were healed. That’s what happens when Tina and Kendra use their healing skills. We get immediate healing. Gwen healed Carole but she’s still suffering.”
Raquel cast him a sideways glance. “Maybe she didn’t fully heal her. Maybe she left poison in her on purpose so that it would slow us down.”
“That would assume she had designs on me the moment she saw us,” Karl countered.
Raquel shook her head and gave him a pitying stare. “Sometimes you are so clueless. I saw through her right away. I just didn’t realize the lengths she would go to keep you. I’m surprised she didn’t imprison the whole team just so you would stay there.” She glanced over her shoulder to where Carole sat next to Tina, vacantly staring at the passing scenery. “I wonder if we should have just let her die and respawn,” Raquel quietly said. “She’s holding us back.”
“Too late now,” Karl sighed.
“Maybe we can convince her to stay in Tal Olca. Besides, she’s a lore-keeper. What use is that to us when the going gets tough?”
“My my,” Karl grinned, “aren’t we the hard core soldier.”
“I’m just saying,” she smiled back.
Annabeth came up between them and slipped an arm in each of their arms. “So what devilish plots are you two up to?”
“Just wondering about Carole,” Raquel answered.
“She is pretty puny these days,” Annabeth agreed. “Why not just dump her off on the side of the road?”
Karl twisted his head to stare at her, waiting for the punchline. “You’re serious.”
“Yeah… sort of,” she said, letting go and moving around to Karl’s other side. “It’s obvious she’s not going to be an asset. She stayed in the castle the entire time we were there, including the battle. Fortunately she had a safe place to stay. Had Cyril’s soldiers broke through and stormed the castle, she’d have been killed. She’s still suffering from the poison. And y’know, I don’t think Gwen really healed her all that well.”
Karl narrowed his gaze at her then switched to Raquel then back to Annabeth. “You two talked about this before now, didn’t you.”
“Maybe a little,” Annabeth innocently smiled then turned serious. “There are some grumblings in the group.”
“Like what?”
“A few didn’t like what happened to Ross. They’re afraid the same could happen to them.”
“Names?”
Annabeth spun around so she was walking backwards and keeping pace next to Karl, at the same time surveying the group. “Well, how about I tell you the ones I know we can count on.”
“OK,” he replied his focus straight ahead.
“There’s us three, Dieter and his Elena, Sakura, Lana. Those are the ones I’m sure of.”
“Brad?”
Annabeth turned back around and leaned forward to catch Raquel’s eye. “He’s upset that you won’t share.”
Karl’s jaw tightened. “I told him it wasn’t my decision to make.”
“We told him the same thing,” Raquel said. “I also think he feels he’s in the background too much, that no one appreciates him. I have a feeling he’s having visions of grandeur and wants a team of his own.”
“While you were occupied with her royalness,” Annabeth said, “he was working the group for his own designs. I think he succeeded with the elves.”
“Conrad and the other dwarves?”
“I think,” Raquel answered, “that they wished they had stayed in Marbeck. Now that they are two couples, they have everything they want. Living in Marbeck would have been stress free.”
Karl pursed his lips, musing that he was failing as a leader. Half his company was deserting him. But, he rationalized, that meant they were never really part of the team to begin with. With a shrug, he said, “We’ll get things settled when we get to Tal Olca. Hopefully the dwarves will come with us. We can use the healers.”
“Which is another reason Conrad and Wendell will want to stay,” Raquel opined. “They view themselves as unnecessary and hate being reminded of it.”
Karl did a quick calculation of who remained. He had himself, a Berserker, a Ranger, a Sorceress, an Assassin, and a Druid, plus an NPC who could cook. The team actually had strong members who wanted to be there. All they needed now was a medic, a healer.
They traveled in silence, each lost in his or her own thoughts. By early afternoon, the scenery changed to undulating hills of large farms. At one point, the road curved close to the sea, and they paused en masse to take in the view, inhaling the salty crispness. Seagulls crested the winds and Karl and a few others crept close to the edge to gaze over the rim to the crashing waves below.
Karl noted a pebbly beach littered with driftwood. Then a shape caught his eye and he realized it was a spar from a ship, the remains of the vessel scattered among the rocks farther out in the water, the ribs of the battered hull barely visible.
His first though was of the injunction that the only way to get to the next island was via the bridge. Someone had built a boat… or was it merely a tease for those wishing to attempt another way?
Deciding that he’d rather trust his future to good solid ground, he turned away only to hear someone say, “Maybe we should hire a boat to get to the next island,” followed by a low voiced, “Not sure I’m ready to go anywhere quite yet.”
They continued on the main road, which meandered near the coast then inland then back along the coast. By early afternoon, the road consistently stayed away from the coast rising and falling with the rolling hills dotted with forests and small farms.
Calling a midday halt, Karl reminded the group, “We’ll steer clear of Hillfurt and head to Tal Olca. I have a feeling we may want to avoid the main road here for fear of being spotted and our presence relayed to those in Hillfurt.”
“How far is it to the bridge?” Wendell asked.
“You can figure that out for yourselves,” Karl said with a forced smile. “Go ahead and do it now. Also, where is everyone’s bind spot?”
“I changed it to Cirissa’s place in Berismo,” Raquel said. Annabeth and most of the others sounded their agreement while Kendra and Wendell quickly corrected their location to Berismo.
“Looks like we’re getting closer to the bridge,” Conrad said, staring at his screen. “According to what I can figure out, we could be there in less than three days, barring any interruptions. What say we just bypass the sorceress in Tal Olca and head on to the bridge?”
This was met with resounding support.
Karl held up placating hands. “Part of me agrees with you. It certainly would seem to be the easy way out. The one problem I see is that we don’t know what level you have to be to cross. As a pure guess, I’d say we have to be a level 10 to cross.”
“Why?” argued Brad.
“When I was put into the game, I asked about the number of islands and was told there were ten. As the highest level is 100, I just divided 100 by ten. It’s logical and easy,” he shrugged. “If anyone has a better or more logical answer, I’m willing to listen.”
“We won’t know until we get there,” Brad stated. “I asked the same thing and was told that they’d be adding more islands as time goes on. So for all we know, right now a level 5 could work.”
“Yeah,” several others agreed.
Karl paused before saying, “What’s the rush? If it’s level 5 or 10, what does it matter as long as we are as high as possible as we continue.�
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“You’re the one who was in such a rush to get to the next island,” Brad pointed out.
“Fair enough,” Karl agreed. “Team leaders, let’s talk.”
“Why not talk right now,” Brad demanded. “Why do you have to talk to the two team leaders? Why not just let it all out now, to all of us?”
“Because it doesn’t work that way,” Karl intoned. “But, in this instance I’m going to make an exception. I’m going to Tal Olca. Who else is coming with me?”
Needing no prompting, Dieter, Elena, Annabeth, Raquel, Lana, and Sakura immediately moved behind Karl. After a fleeting moment, Conrad and the other three dwarves followed suit. That left Brad and the three elves, but just as quickly Brad remained by himself as Carole first then the other two meandered over to stand with the others.
With a gruff sigh, Brad frowned and shook his head. “Fine. Have it your way.”
“Good. Let’s move out.” Karl led the way deeper into the hills and forests, taking note of the increasing traffic on the feeder roads to the main road heading to Hillfurt.
As the day wore on, their progress slowed as they kept to the forests, avoiding roads and houses. Through vigilant movement, they managed to avoid discovery. Two hours beyond Hillfurt, Karl called halt at an abandoned house whose foot path was overgrown from disuse.
“We stay here tonight. Sakura and Dieter, take your teams and do a recon around the house while the rest of us check the interior.”
While the two teams began a wide sweep of the surrounding forest, Karl led the others into the home. Like so many others, it was a small two room affair. However, unlike the others, a thick layer of dust covered everything. A small table sat in the middle, one ladder back chair to the side. The other chair lay on its side, two of the legs broken, apparently used for firewood. The entrance to the other room gapped open as the door skewed awkwardly, held only by the bottom hinge. When Raquel went to check the room, the door fell off into her hands.
Annabeth checked the fire pit, noting the pitted and rusted cooking pot. Curling her lip, she commented, “Not sure I’d use this, unless you wanted to get ptomaine poisoning.” She studied the charred wood in the fire place. “Doesn’t look like anyone’s been here in a while.”