“I swear if we don’t get a bed tonight,” Myra grumbled pulling out her dagger. “I’m gonna shank a few fools.”
“If the people that joined the Crimson Army are players, does that mean we’re becoming player killers by killing them?” Adrianna pondered and the other three frowned.
“Then let's try not to kill them,” Myra said with a determined look. “Let’s get you out of here.”
Going outside the tavern was strange. All of the NPCs had been frozen in place and more Red Robes ran towards their location. Tomas whipped his staff around, sending pulses of energy all around as they yelled a chorus of “Traitor” filling the overcast night air.
“Why are just the NPCs frozen?” Adrianna asked to no one in particular. “Why aren’t we?”
“It doesn’t matter!” Hancock summoned his sword. “I’ll buy you time, you all get out of here.”
“Hancock, I swear--!” Myra threatened.
“Don’t worry,” he glanced at her with a small smile. “I’ll be just fine.”
Parrish pulled Adrianna forward and they started to run. No rendezvous point, just running. One glance back told her that Tomas and Hancock would be fine. They moved like a well oiled machine, each person covering each others backs with a fluid motion. It was almost mesmerising to watch in the torchlight, but Adrianna forced herself to look away as they ran deep into the darkness.
Almost thirty minutes passed before they stopped running, leaving the town of Badger Flat far behind. Adrianna checked her party sheet. Would their names disappear if they died? They heaved in great draughts of air as they looked around.
“What’s over there?” Myra pointed to a small opening in a rock outcropping. It was a small cave big enough for all of them to huddle in. Adrenaline slowly resumed a normal level and they sagged to the floor.
“I’ll send a message to them in a little bit.” Parrish reassured. “Until then, we’ll stay in this cave. It might rain tomorrow.”
Adrianna nodded as all of them sat, letting their breath return to a more normal level. Parrish subsequently nodded off, much to Myra’s amusement.
“How are you doing?” Myra glanced at her.
Adrianna shrugged. “Okay, I guess. A lot has happened and I’ve barely had time to process it. It’s like every time I want to figure something out, the Quell throws something else at me. I don’t know. My first adventure has been pretty wild so far. It’s not like I imagined.”
“It rarely is.” Myra gave her a small smile. “Especially when you’ve got someone like Kelly Hancock as your psudeo-mentor.”
The world around them pulsed for a moment before suddenly Hancock and Tomas appeared in front of them. Tomas’ staff was steaming with residue energy. “Made it.”
Hancock stashed his sword and huddled underneath the cave.
“Speak of the devil,” Myra chuckled.
“I’ll be right back,” Tomas said. “I will secure the perimeter and make sure no one followed us.”
“I can go,” Hancock started to stand up again, but he fell back down.
“I’m a non-player character now.” Tomas raised his hand. “Lack of sleep doesn’t really affect me the same way that it does you.”
He nodded and Myra took that as an opportunity to curl up in her own corner. Minutes passed.
The night started to bring rain again as Hancock turned to Adrianna. “I had a little sister.”
“Huh?” she looked at him and saw the far away look in his eyes.
“Her name was Lily,” he continued. “She was a Seeker just like you. And a brilliant one at that.”
Adrianna settled in and immediately started taking mental notes.
“You remind me of her in a lot of ways. You both have a thirst for knowledge and a big heart for people around you. Always going off on your own and doing something,” Hancock grimaced. “That was up until the role of being a Seeker consumed her. She couldn’t get enough, could never rest and kept looking for things that were bigger and better than the last thing. She thought she was invincible. That’s what ended up being the thing that killed her. She didn’t think about how it would affect those around her. My point is I don't want to see the same thing happen to you. There’s a lot of things…” he paused for a moment. “I guess I’m trying to say sorry. I judged you as though you were going to be someone like that and it wasn’t fair to you.”
“I don’t want this to end so suddenly without saying what needs to be said. This Crimson Army is no joke. They’re extensive and more than willing to lay down their lives for their cause...and I don’t know if we’re gonna get out of this. If I’m going to get out of this.”
“Don’t you have to die to become an NPC anyway?” Adrianna asked. “Isn’t that what you...wanted?”
“I’ve been…” he let out a sigh. “I’m thinking about it. I haven’t committed to anything yet.”
“Is that why you didn’t level up with the rest of us?” Adrianna whispered, starting to make connections and Hancock frowned at her. “I noticed.”
“Yeah. Actually it is.” Hancock pulled out a trinket from his pocket and held it up. “This is an everstone. It prevents me from gaining any more experience points. I don’t know if I’m ready to go down that path. I didn’t really have anything to do after she died, so I wandered. Lily didn’t have a Player’s Guide, and I made it my mission to go find one. Then I started training other newbies from town to town inside the Quell and that’s what led me to you. Why I was starting to become an NPC. Now I’m not so sure.”
“We don’t have to talk about this yet,” Adrianna decided. “Tell me when you’ve made a decision and we’ll deal with it then.”
“Adrianna, this is important.”
“I know. I just...You don’t have to leave. You don’t have to do the same things over an over and stop living like a person.”
“That’s not how it works.”
“Then tell me how it works.” Adrianna hissed, tears filling the edges of her vision.
STATUS: patched up, stable, exhausted
“NPCs just do the same things over and over. It’s not that I’ll stop living…” Hancock sighed, his eyes were just as watered, but Adrianna was sure it was for different reasons. “Now it’s more like I’ve stopped moving forward, started to become one with the Quell. I don’t stop being me because of it.”
She went quiet. “I guess I just don’t want you to go. You were my first friend and I was supposed to lead you guys.”
“I know,” he sighed. “But you can’t make decisions for me.”
You have completed a quest: The Secrets of Kelly Hancock
Does knowing change anything?
Reward: +75 xp
After a beat of silence, she stood up. Is that what it took to discover someone’s secret? The pain and fear and despair? Thoughts were running through her head at a million miles an hour and she needed some time to think. “I’m going to go check on Myra.”
“Adrianna--”
“I’ll be fine.” she reassured him and saddled over to the corner, tapping her shoulder. “Are you awake?”
“Yeah,” Myra turned to one side, eyes bleary.
“I just talked to Hancock,” Adrianna whispered.
“Oh?” Myra turned over fully, pulling the blanket over the two of them. “About?”
“Him and this NPC thing and being the way he is about Seekers and stuff and how he’s just largely an irrational piece of…” she huffed and curled into the cover, stealing some of it. “I’m angry at him for just thinking that he’d want to leave. I feel like I’m..being selfish. And this whole thing is just so stupid. I wish this could have been just a simple quest to save some princess in a castle or go treasure hunting. Treasure hunting would have been the best. But instead the Quell thinks it’s better that I deal with...this. My whole life has been shrouded in one big smoke screen, and on top of that…” she huffed again. “I hate leading and not knowing what in the Quell I’m doing.”
Myra yawned, and
slowly nodded. “When I first saw you I saw a spunky little girl who was bright eyed and ready for all of the Quell to reveal its wonders. I could tell you needed some help and however well meaning he is, Hancock isn’t exactly the ideal person to support you in all matters of the heart.”
Adrianna chuckled. “That...that’s true.”
“I’m here for you Adrianna. I know I made a promise to help you until you found your uncle, but I think my promise is going to go beyond that.” Myra yawned again. “I’m going to stick with you no matter what. You’re worth it.”
“I’m worth it?”
“Definitely,” Myra nodded. “No matter what sort of pain and challenges we’ll go through, I plan to stick the landing with you, no matter what.”
“I’m not a big fan of pain,” Adrianna said in a small whisper as her eyes started to droop.
“It’s not a very popular feeling,” Myra agreed and hugged her Seeker friend. The two fell into a blissful sleep, free of interruption.
Chapter 29: To Merc’y Springs
The journey to the Springs was short, every couple of hours presented a single soldier of the Crimson Army popping up and everyone making quick work knocking them out. Between Adrianna’s waypoint and Tomas’ memory, the party easily kept working forward.
It wasn’t until Parrish decided to search one of the Red Robes that they discovered the compass and the note.
“This is an order by the decree of the Red Sisters,” Parrish read out loud. “Bring back Tomas Oban, dead or alive. The one who completes this task will be greatly rewarded and the treasures of True Earth and the Blessing of the All-Mother shall be theirs.”
“They really have it out for you,” Myra snorted.
“So they do,” Tomas nodded solemnly.
“‘Treasures of True Earth’?” Adrianna repeated. “What do you think that means?”
“I’m more interested in why these girls want your head on a platter.” Parrish folded the letter and handed the compass to Hancock who began to study it.
“As it were,” he started. “I am an encyclopedia of information about them. I’m a loose end, a liability. I know their camp and their tactics. At least their old ones. They may have changed. But I know enough to elicit their need to eliminate me as a person.”
“Okay, can you at least briefly explain what they want with, Ari?” Parrish pressed on. “What happens if they find out about her?”
He hesitated then looked at Adrianna. “I didn’t want to tell you before because I didn’t want to scare you. But they want your heart. It’s the source of your mix between being human and being an elf. Both apart and connected to the Quell. They believe it will be the key to raising their god.”
“Does this god have a name?”
“None that I know.” Tomas shook his head. “She had a title though. The All-Mother.”
“Ohh,” Adrianna glanced at Parrish who made a face in reply. That was enough to be said about that for now.
The last approach to Merc’y Springs was uphill and rougher than the journey there. The rocks were as unforgiving as the sharp drop offs that surrounded it. Adrianna recalled how at the start of the Quell’s creation, the very foundation of the earth had been changed. Who knew what this had been like before hand, but littered off the edges of the rocky edges remains of human bodies and various misplaced items were testimony to the ones who weren’t careful with their step. Between her Wayfinder trait and Internal Compass, her small body easily traveled from surface to surface, making it easy to keep up with everyone else.
Tomas was the fastest of them all, using his staff to float his way over rough terrain until he breached the summit.
“You couldn’t have done that for all of us?” Parrish complained.
“And use up perfectly good magic for what is to come?” Tomas gave him an amused smile. “Come now, it wasn’t so bad. We all need a little exercise.”
From this vantage point Merc’y Springs looked beautiful with lush grass that surrounded gaping holes which fell deep into the ground. A large burst of water erupted from one of those holes and sprayed a light coating of hot water across the ground at their feet. Geysers! Adrianna thought excitedly.
“Here we are.” Tomas waited for the spring to blast again, sending its beautiful spray into the overcast sky. “I’ll see you at the bottom! Don’t get burnt!” He jumped in after the water.
The others hesitated, but Adrianna was only waiting for the gushing to stop before she too jumped in and yelled, “Last one to the bottom is a dead manticore!”
“Bad deal, Ari!” Myra yelled after her, but her voice was lost in the rush of the fall.
Adrianna tumbled from side to side, smacking against the walls of the geyser until she rolled to the bottom, sticking the landing by a margin and sliding to a stop just as a stream of water shot up behind her. She could feel the steam roll off her back and she stumbled forward to avoid getting scalded.
She looked up and gasped as Tomas illuminated the tip of his staff.
Location Discovered: The House of Knowledge.
The House of Knowledge was a large concrete building with pillars and steps that led up either side to a multi-doored establishment. She counted four stories and could barely fathom what was behind it all.
“It has been years since I laid my eyes on this,” he sighed. “I used to be the head archivist, you know. Helped store all of their stuff before your mother came and found me down here. I was born into the Crimson Army, and she showed me a new way.”
Adrianna looked at her uncle and let out a sigh as the hollers of her friends announced their tumble down the geyser one by one. She could barely contain her curiosity about her parents. Surely their challenges would soon slow down enough for her to drill her uncle until he told her everything she wanted to know.
“When we make it inside, we’ll have to sneak our way through.” Tomas started to explain. “I can make a diversion, posing as one of them, but in the end, they will out number us in there.”
“If there are supposed to be people in there, why aren’t any of the lights on?” Hancock pointed out.
“Oh,” Tomas frowned. “That is a very good question.”
“Let’s just go up and find out,” Adrianna said and started forward. She stopped and turned to look over her shoulder. Her whole party was moving with her, just as curious and she let go a breath she didn’t know she was holding. They would still be with her--even if she ran ahead.
Chapter 30: The Bookkeeper
“Hey did anyone else notice that we never made it out of combat initiative?” Parrish asked, as they went up the stairs. “It never said we were safe. Usually it does when there aren’t anymore monsters or people trying to kill us.”
“Maybe because we’re still being hunted,” Myra pointed out. “Those Crimson people want the uncle’s head on a silver platter, so we might be in combat initiative for a long while.”
Parrish nodded, but didn’t look convinced.
The doors were made of glass and Adrianna pushed one open. The foyer was dark, yet Adrianna could tell it was vast. “Look at that roof,” she pointed as their eyes tried to adjust to the dark.
“I hate how you can literally see everything in the dark,” Myra joked.
“I think it’s the Elf part of me, if I’m honest,” Adrianna shrugged peering at the archways and architectural designs.
“You would be correct,” Tomas nodded. The foyer suddenly lit up and light from some unknown source poured into the room. The light illuminated an old marble floor with geometric designs on it. The House of Knowledge had steps going up either side of the vast entry room with halls crowded with enormous bookshelves filled with books. “I suppose there really is no one here.”
“Whoa,” Adrianna murmured. She suddenly heard the fluttering of wings, making her hair stand on end. “What was that?”
“I heard it too,” Parrish frowned.
A huge stork spiraled down towards them and landed. Its legs were three times
Ari’s height and its wingspan stretched across the whole room. “I am the Bookkeeper.” It boomed. “Speak your business here.”
“Bookkeeper,” Tomas stepped forward. “I have returned.”
“Ah yes. Little Tomas. Though you are not so little anymore.” It folded its wings. “Who have you brought with you?”
“My...niece and her friends,” Tomas gave it a knowing stare and it seemed to get the message.
“We’ve come searching for knowledge,” Hancock said, stepping forward.
“You may search for your knowledge for a price.” The large stork tilted its head. “What do you have to offer?”
Myra immediately lifted up her hand and said, “I have a poem.”
“Ah yes,” The Bookkeeper nodded waving a feather over it. “Your defining work all those years ago. Yes, yes, I accept. Your words are powerful things.”
“But I didn’t…”
“You didn’t need to.”
“I think I have a book to give,” she pulled up the Book of Survival and handed it to the Bookkeeper.
“Ah yes, I see we are returning books to my library now,” it seemed to chortle.
“Oh, I’m not looking for anything.” Parrish said. “I’ll stand by the door and keep watch if that’s alright with you guys.”
“Very well then,” the Bookkeeper lifted its wings and turned away.
Hancock frowned as his team members looked at him. . “I didn’t…”
“It is alright,” the stork bowed its head. “You were with Tomas, so your price has already been paid. You are free to explore as you please.”
Hancock gave a small frown, and Adrianna wished that her uncle would just tell him. The excitement of the prospect of new information made her heart pound faster.
“How long have you had a Player’s Guide?” Hancock suddenly asked, his jaw tensed.
“Uh,” Adrianna frowned. “You mean the Book of Survival? I’ve read that thing hundreds of times. Practically memorized it.” She turned his words over in her head for a moment, slowly connecting the dots. “I had no idea they were the same thing. My uncle, Tomas, said to hide it from everyone.”
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