The map of ley lines.
I superimpose the magical map the chief gave me over the map of towns and landmarks and it paints a pretty good picture of where we need to look.
There are a total of thirteen human settlements across the island as well as two castles, one on the southern tip and one on the northern tip. A mountain pass separates the island in the middle. Curiously enough, the ley lines bypass every single settlement on the map, aside from the northern castle. It’s like the humans have no idea that there is a hotbed of magical activity underneath the surface.
This is good for us because it means we can stay away from humans as much as possible while we try to complete our goal.
The dungeons are hidden from the main map, but based on the way the magical veins converge in certain areas, I think we have a good shot at finding them. The faerie dungeon was right on top of a cluster of ley lines. Limery’s cave was over a small vein. He is the only one who might be of any help in locating the dungeons since he alone has knowledge of the world outside the forest.
It’s time to follow the map and see what comes of it.
We go south this time around. The original location of the eggs was northwest in the forest, and I don’t think it’s likely the wyrms went north into the mountain because of where we found the first two. Chief Rizza’s managed to find the forest rather quickly as well. There are more magical spots closer together in the south, so it should be easier to hit those first if we go south. If we manage to bind three wyrms, then we can save time by regrouping at the village on our way north.
It takes a little longer for us to reach the southernmost part of the forest and by the time we do, it is already dusk.
“Let us go ahead and camp under the safety of the forest tonight and we can leave first thing in the morning,” I say.
No one complains, not even Gord. They must all be incredibly anxious, whether or not they want to admit it. They might be seven feet tall and full of rippled muscle and destruction, but right now, they’re kids about to go to their first day of kindergarten.
I’m lost in thought when Yashi approaches.
“Would you like to accompany me to gather herbs? There are certain varieties that only bloom at night and they may aid me in potions for our journey. I would be glad to teach you.” There’s a twinkle in the small troll’s eye when she says it.
“Yeah, that sounds good.” I’d like to add more skills to my repertoire anyways and herb-gathering could be particularly useful.
I tell the others we’ll be gone for a bit and follow Yashi to the edge of the forest. The sun dips below the horizon and the edge of the forest takes on a silver hue, bathed in moonlight. The hoot of owls is calming and somewhere deep within the forest, howls sing across the night.
Yashi bends down next to a large oak and runs her green fingers along its mossy bark. The moss shimmers under the moonlight.
“Snowy moss,” she says, using her claw-like nail to cut the moss from the bark. Even in the moonlight, I can see how it gets its name. The moss has snow-white tips. “It’s used in perception potions. They will allow us to boost our Wisdom and see things we might normally miss. Now, you try.”
I extend my finger and run my claw underneath the moss. It peels it away from the bark like a sticker on a glass bottle.
Congratulations! You have unlocked the skill ‘Herbalism.’ You are now a level 1 Herbalist (Novice). Increase your skill and learn advanced techniques for herbalism by finding an advanced herbalist (Apprentice or above). Ranks: Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert, Artisan, Master, Grandmaster.
Suddenly, I’m able to spot snowy moss all along the forest’s edge. A faint green outline appears around it, almost like a notification. Yashi notices my reaction.
“The more herbs you learn, your ability to locate them will improve. Now, gather as much as you can so we may return to the others.”
We spend the next twenty minutes cutting moss from the trees until we have a sizable amount and return to our camp, where Gord is roasting some sort of meat over an open flame.
“Do you think it is safe to have a fire blazing at night?” I ask.
“No humans for miles.” He turns his back on me, returning to his roast.
“He’s right.” Tormara leans against a tree, sharpening her new daggers. “We should be safe.”
I don’t argue, but instead join Yashi as she pulls several clay pots from her bag and places them on the ground next to a mortar and pestle. Some of the pots are filled with a red liquid that looks like blood.
“Your snowy moss, please.”
I take it from my satchel and hand it to her. She rips a piece off and places it in the mortar, using the pestle to grind it to a fine pulp. Once the moss is ground up, she pours in some of the red liquid and continues until it forms a dark pink paste. Then she adds more, this time stirring until it becomes a milky-pink liquid and I can finally analyze it.
Item. Perception Potion. +2 Wisdom. This potion heightens awareness of details and that which might normally go unnoticed. Duration: 2 hours.
Yashi empties the contents into an empty pot and passes the mortar and pestle to me.
“Now, you.”
The moss rips easily in my hands as I take a small amount and place it in the mortar. I follow Yashi’s steps exactly until it is time to add the liquid.
“What is this?” I ask, carefully pouring it into the bowl.
“Jackal’s blood.”
That’s when I remember the jackal that spotted me on my first day in the game. It had known I was there even though I used Camouflage. It makes me wonder what other potions are possible in this world. What could we make using the toxic slime from the wyrms?
After mixing in the blood, I’m greeted with notifications.
You have created Perception Potion. Item. +2 Wisdom. This potion heightens awareness of details and that which might normally go unnoticed. Duration: 2 hours.
Congratulations! You have unlocked the skill ‘Potion-Making.’ You are now a level 1 Apothecary (Novice). Increase your skill and learn advanced techniques for potion-making by finding an advanced Apothecary (Apprentice or above). Ranks: Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert, Artisan, Master, Grandmaster.
Sweet, if I keep hanging out with Yashi, there’s no telling how much I’ll learn by the end of this trip.
Once we mix the entirety of our snowy moss, we all join around the fire to eat. The meat is juicy and fatty as we devour it with gusto. Limery’s sharp teeth rip through the meat like an imp possessed.
After dinner, we all lay down for the night. Limery curls up against my arms, using my Camouflage to conceal him from whatever may pass by in the night.
I’m awakened by Limery’s tiny hands shaking me and two pointy red ears bouncing in and out of my vision, an event I’ve grown accustomed to.
“Get up, Chods. It’s times to goes.” He’s like a needy younger brother waking up his sibling for Saturday morning cartoons. His bulbous yellow eyes radiate excitement.
Everyone else is already packed by the time I wipe the sleep from my eyes, even though the sun is just now breaking the horizon. They must be anxious to get off to an early start. I am, too. Once we find our first dungeon, I’m sure everyone will relax a little, but for now, the anticipation is like another member of our party.
“Morning,” I say.
Tormara cleans underneath her claws with her new daggers as she leans against an oak. Gord faces the rising sun with his massive shield strapped across his back. The eyes of the engraved ram’s head seem to stare at me ominously.
Yashi and Ismora talk quietly together, but when they notice I am up, Yashi runs over to me.
“We’re excited to get started.” She looks up at me. “I’ve been thinking, in order to save our perception potions, we should only take them when we are close to where we suspect a dungeon to be. That way we don’t waste it out in the open.”
“That’s a good idea.” If snowy moss is uncommon outside of t
he forest, then it might be a while before we find any more.
Ismora walks up beside her. “I would like to scout ahead if possible. My Boots of Swiftness will allow me to travel faster, and I can spot any trouble that may threaten our passage.”
They all have the same map that the chief gave me, so there’s no worry of her not knowing where we are going. It would be so much easier if we had party chat and she could just tell us what was ahead. Instead, we’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way.
“Go ahead. If you see any danger, return to us at once.” Ismora is a seasoned warrior and I trust her judgment.
Ismora is almost to the forest’s edge when Limery calls out to her.
“Waits!”
She stops and turns to the imp with a curious expression. He flies over to where she is and scrounges through his small pack, pulling out a small sphere made of clay. A short piece of string hangs from it.
“Limery, is that a bomb?” I ask.
“Noes. If they’s is trouble, lights this and we finds you.” He hands the item to Ismora and she looks it over.
Item. Signal Flare. 10 seconds after activating, a beam of light will explode into the sky.
“Sorry, little one, but we do not carry fire like you.” She attempts to hand the flare back to Limery, but he has his fingers to his chin, deep in thought.
“It’s okay. Don’t needs fire. Just pulls the string and throws it.” He flashes a toothy grin and flutters through the air to Ismora’s shoulder. “I goes with you. It’s okays, right, Chods?”
“Okay, buddy, you lead the way.”
Ismora and Limery take off ahead of us, the troll in a dead sprint and the imp flying close behind her. The boots give her noticeable movement speed, but I wonder if my natural boosts to Strength and Dexterity put me at much of a disadvantage. Either way, we will conserve our stamina for our first dungeon.
“Do you really think you’ll be able to control the wyrms when they are fully grown?” I ask Tormara as we walk.
It’s something that has concerned me since we left. The wyrm seemed well-behaved in the village, but what happens when it’s digging tunnels big enough for us to walk through?
Gord rolls his eyes, but he says nothing.
“You don’t understand, do you?” She spins a dagger around her finger, its glittery metal sparkling in the sun. “When we bond with a creature, our wishes and desires merge. The bonded creature becomes part of the tribe and would never do anything to hurt us.”
Never say never. “I guess that after seeing the mother wyrm in the forest, I have a hard time believing that. I mean, it was so big and powerful that I don’t see how anyone could control it.”
“One day, you will see.”
As we journey south, we pass through wooded areas populated sparsely with trees and bushes. Yashi identifies several new plants for me, such as demon tea leaf, brown creeper, witch’s mint, and bloodfennel, and before long, my herbalism skill is at level two. At level five, I will graduate from novice to apprentice.
Midday comes and goes until we aren’t more than a few miles from a large batch of congested magical veins. Ismora and Limery return, informing us that the terrain is about to change, and we all down our perception potions. Immediately, I notice a difference, particularly with my herbalism skill. The outline of the plants I can identify glow from further away, even some that are hidden between other plants where only a fraction of it is visible.
The area where the veins converge is full of rolling hills and scattered boulders. Gnarly trees reach out with branches that grasp like fingers at the sky.
We spread out and scan the area, searching for anything out of the ordinary. I cast my horrors, instructing them to move out and scour the area. Before long, our group looks like a search party combing the woods in a horror movie. My HP and Strength are boosted by the forty horrors that roam the hills like ants.
“Over here,” Gord’s deep voice rumbles.
I find him standing next to a stone entrance carved into one of the hills. The door is closed, and two gnarled trees extend from the top of the hill, their branches blocking the entrance.
Underground Dungeon. Would you like to enter?
I accept and wait for the branches to move out of the way.
Underground Dungeon is not currently available. Occupied.
26. Tales of Old
“Occupied? Someone is inside?” asks Tormara.
Gord tries to smash the gnarled branches that block the entrance to the dungeon with his axe, but they don’t give. The magic that powers the dungeon must be protecting them.
“Looks that way.” I hadn’t expected to encounter other players so soon. Thinking on it now, they have been here for an entire month before me, why wouldn’t they have spread out to explore the island? With so many human settlements, it was stupid of me to think they were all in the two nearest the forest.
“What do we do?” asks Ismora. Her warrior gauntlets clink together when she touches them.
“Well, either we stay and wait, hoping they fail the dungeon and it opens up for us, or we try to get a head start to the next magical area.”
Two of my horrors die off in a puff of smoke and I cast two more to take their place. The blue impish horror and the fat furry orange one join their siblings on a nearby hill.
Regional Event Alert! Jude Duggan and Michael Didato have slain a mana-infused wyrm. 15/20 remaining. 14 days remaining.
“You have got to be kidding me,” I mumble under my breath, knowing everyone else just received the same notification. Whoever is in that dungeon just killed a wyrm. “Everyone, take positions behind the hills. We don’t have time for anything else.”
We scatter to both sides of the narrow valley that leads into the dungeon. Yashi and Limery join me on one side, and Gord, Ismora, and Tormara take the other. For a long moment, all that can be heard are the soft grumbles of my horrors as they huddle together.
There’s a twist of a knob and the door to the dungeon opens. A group of four exits. They are laughing and cajoling one another even though they are covered in blood and gore. The branches rise, allowing the group to pass, then cross together once more.
Two of the men are the players who killed the dragon. Their stats display in my vision.
Jude Duggan
Level 14
Fighter
Human
Michael Didato
Level 14
Paladin
Human
Jude is broad shouldered with an unkempt beard and shaggy brown hair. He wears a brown boiled leather vest while carrying a small round shield and a shortsword. Several knives hang from his belt and a couple of glittering rings adorn his fingers, but there doesn’t appear to be anything remarkable about him. Michael, on the other hand, is clad in massive blue and silver armor with a billowing cape that flows to the ground. The armor swallows him whole and might actually fit me if I put it on. He carries a broadsword at least four feet long. His shield is nearly as big as Gord’s and is emblazoned with a white raven on a blue background. He screams heavenly power as his golden hair blows in the breeze, and somehow, he is the only one not drenched in blood. He must have the holy dry clean service on speed dial. The other two are level ten foot soldiers wearing the same blue and silver as the paladin, small white ravens adorning their chest pieces. One carries a spear and shield and the other wields a crossbow.
“Sorry about your friend,” says Michael the Paladin. He places his hand on the spearman’s shoulder. “He fought valiantly and will be reveled in the next life.”
“Price of doing business,” says Jude the Fighter.
The two soldiers nod.
“Glad to be of service,” one says.
“The king will be glad to know Timothy died for the cause,” says the other.
Gord’s head rises from behind the hill across from us and I suddenly remember they don’t understand what these men are saying. Limery and I are the only two with the communication stones.
“Where to now?” asks Jude.
“Do you think we should head back to the castle and try to round up a few more men for the next one? I hear that the Paltras Ruins are tougher than this dungeon. We might need the extra manpower. It would be smart to deposit these items as well.”
Several more of my horrors have vanished while we hide, but I don’t want to risk giving away our location, so I don’t cast anymore.
“Paltras Ruins? Is that the old castle by the sea? The one they say is haunted?” asks Jude.
“Good luck finding men to follow you there,” says one of the soldiers. “That place is cursed. They say the dead still roam the halls of the castle.”
“Ha.” Jude smacks the soldier on the back, knocking him forward. “The dead don’t bother us. Michael here is a paladin, for fuck’s sake. What do we have to worry about?”
“Paladin or not, not many men will risk their lives for Paltras. Not after what happened,” the other soldier chimes in.
“What happened?” asks Michael.
They all stop and listen to the soldier while he recounts his story.
“Trolls. It was many ages ago, back when there were four kingdoms on the island. The humans divided the south between Paltras and Vanaria, up north, the dwarves presided over Seascape, and the trolls ruled over all the forest, mountain, and desert between the humans and dwarves.”
“The entire thing? I thought there were barely any trolls left?” asked Jude, suddenly serious.
“Now, yes, but back then, trolls were the most populous race on the island. They had access to magic the others did not. While only some of the humans and dwarves possessed the power to use magic, the trolls were able to control it directly, as long as they had access to its source.”
“So what happened?” Michael moves in closer.
Sentenced to Troll Page 17