World Tree Online: The Duchess of Hammers: 2nd Dive Begins

by M. A. Carlson

  Chapter 10

  “Well, I am knackered,” said Mardi, drawing my attention away from my new spear.

  “We all are, mate,” said Heath, tucking his ‘Mana Crystal’ back into his bag, then turning to me and asking, “So, is your new stick pretty good?”

  I shrugged, trying to down play it.

  “Don’t you dare shrug,” said Rose. “That thing better be the most epic spear of all time or so help me I’ll take it away from you and use it myself.”

  “Mine,” I hissed, hugging the spear closer. “Plus, it’s soulbound, that means you can’t steal it.”

  “Oh, so it is good?” Heath asked, grinning.

  “Fine . . . it’s absolutely fantastic,” I gushed excitedly.

  “It sure doesn’t look like much,” said Rose, observing the spear.

  Rose was right, it wasn’t much to look at. A simple white pole with a short rectangular spear tip, all of it one seamless piece. There was no filigree or intricacy to be seen or felt. The only thing that made it seem special was its subtle white glow. It was also thin, at least half the thickness of my other spears, if I had to guess that was to give it room to grow or add layers.

  “It is only in its first stage,” volunteered Mardi. “If Bye-bye ever manages to find the next blueprint and the materials needed to upgrade it, the appearance will improve.”

  “So, I get the next legendary, right?” Rose asked. “I hear Excalibur exists somewhere in the World Tree.”

  Mardi scoffed. “Excalibur is junk. You want a real sword, find Gram. Last I heard, the sword was taken by the descendant of Fafnir in revenge on Sigurd’s line. Now that, is a worthy sword.”

  “What’s a fan-fire?” Heath asked.

  “Fafnir,” snapped Mardi. “Fafnir is a dragon . . . was a dragon. It was killed by Sigurd. When Sigurd’s blade, a sword he named Gram, killed the dragon and was bathed in the blood of an elder dragon, it was imbued with great power.”

  “Besides,” I interrupted. “I thought you were going to look into Duel Shields?”

  “Oh, going to learn the ‘Shield Wall’ skill, eh?” Mardi asked, nodding approvingly. “Not sure what there are for legendary shields.”

  “Well, I have some research to do now,” complained Rose, though I could see she really wasn’t that put out by it, if the small twitch at the corners of her mouth were anything to go by.

  “Right, well, I am ready to head home and sleep,” said Mardi, ushering us out of the temple and back into the fresh air.

  Much as I really wanted to protest, if only because I really wanted to take my new ‘spear of epic winning’ for a test drive, I kept quiet. The Duchess . . . no, Mardi, had done something incredible for me. I would keep her safe today, my spear wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Anyone else hungry?” Heath asked. “I’ve worked up quite an appetite today, lots of excitement.”

  “Let’s get back to the house,” said Rose.

  Heath saluted mockingly and vanished from sight.

  The return to the manor was uneventful, no attacks or suspicious followers from what I could see. It was a slow walk back, mostly because Mardi was exhausted. I hoped when we returned to the manor she would be ready to sit down and tell us her story. More specifically, how she came to be a mortal?

  Olaf was sitting guard just inside the entrance to the manor, both of his hand-cannons resting on a pair of side tables he positioned on either side of an ogre sized chair.

  “Evening Olaf, everything okay?” I asked entering, wondering if there had been an attack while we were gone.

  “Certainly is,” the ogre answered jovially.

  “Is there a reason you’re sitting guard?” I asked.

  “Just in case,” Olaf answered. “Everything go alright on your end?”

  “Yes,” I replied, trying not to grin like an idiot.

  “I am going to sleep,” said Mardi, trying to leave us in a hurry but Rose wasn’t having it.

  “Oh no you don’t,” Rose said, intercepting Mardi before she could retreat. “You are going to sit down with us and explain yourself. This is non-negotiable, I don’t care how royal you might be or that you used to be a Goddess.”

  “Used to be a Goddess?” questioned Olaf, looking to me for answers.

  I could only shrug, I didn’t have much in the way of answers yet either.

  Mardi groaned irritably. “I do not want to,” she whined, pouting like a child.

  “Too bad, you dumped a lot on us with that stunt earlier. We deserve an explanation,” insisted Rose.

  I happened to agree.

  “Fine,” she said with a heavy sigh of reluctant acceptance. “Can we at least eat first?”

  “Food sounds like a good idea,” I volunteered.

  “Fine,” accepted Rose. “But no more stalling, we eat, then you talk.”

  It was nice to sit with my friends and chat about whatever came up as well as just having a good meal, making sure we raised a mug to Baby for earning level 10, something we missed in the earlier excitement of the day.

  Dessert was delicious, but the conversation turned more serious as I filled my friends in on the conversation with Ivaldi and Mardi’s role in it. When the last plate was cleared by the house staff, we all looked to Mardi to start explaining.

  “Fine, I was a Goddess, I quit, enough said,” she stated simply and shortly.

  “Not enough said,” protested Rose.

  I agreed wholehearted, not nearly enough said.

  Mardi sighed again. “I was young, impetuous even. I hated the responsibility that comes with being a Goddess. All the prayers for hammers to strike true, to never break, to help create their greatest works. It was hammers in the morning, hammers in the afternoon and hammers in the evening, much as I love my hammers, it was too much. Barely a thousand years old and I was already weary and worn of being the Goddess of Hammers.”

  “So, what happened? Why quit?” I asked.

  “One day I met a young smith. I was in lust . . . oh boy was I ever,” Mardi replied, her cheeks suddenly aflame. “I thought it was love. I was stupid enough to think that giving up my divinity, just so we could be together, meant something. The passion was wonderful, what came after was not.”

  Mardi paused looking sad for a moment. “I did not know who he was, not really. I did not know the heartache I could feel. When I gave up my divinity to be with him, he gave up on me. Said he had no use for a mortal. It was a plot on his part, he was hoping to turn me into a fallen Goddess.”

  “Why would he tell you that?” Olaf asked, taking the words out of my mouth.

  “He said his failure would mean his life anyway. He said, if he was going to die for his failure, then he was going to hurt me as much as possible first. He most assuredly accomplished that goal. Anyway, that is the story of becoming mortal. Happy?” Mardi asked, sounding a little bitter.

  “No, not even a little. That wasn’t fair or right,” said Rose heatedly, her eyes rimmed red as if she was fighting back tears with fury. “No one deserves that kind of heartbreak.”

  I heard the wood of the table creaking a little, expected Olaf or Micaela to be gripping the table hard enough to crack it. I was surprised to see it was Heath, white knuckled as he dug his fingers into the hard wood of the table.

  “He dead?” Heath asked, a cold detachment in his voice, no accent present.

  “Ay, he’s long dead, more than hundred years since,” said Mardi solemnly.

  Heath nodded then vanished from view.

  Something about Mardi’s story had clearly upset him, I wanted to call after him, but there was no telling where he had gotten off to.

  “Which brings us back to the question we asked you this afternoon,” said Olaf. “Who is after you now?”

  “I do not know, not for sure,” Mardi answered. “I do not know who got it into his fool mind of his that we are destined to be together. Whoever it was must be rich and probably someone of influence, he would have to be to hire the Ardentia Guild and
to keep sending them after me for as long as he has.”

  “I’m sorry for your troubles. If we can, we’ll find a way to stop them,” I promised.

  “I can only hope,” Mardi said, sounding slightly defeated. “Whoever he is, he is a real thorn in my side. I am hounded by those blasted Ardentia Guild members at all hours of the day both here and back at home in Hammerton. If things were not so dire back home I never would have risked the trip. Worse, this entire trip may have been a complete waste of time and effort. I do not think Leopold will be able to help me.”

  “Which brings me to the next topic of conversation,” I said. “The quest your father gave us to help you resolve the problems you are facing in Hammerton. What problems?”

  “Not problems, one problem, Anvilton,” growled Mardi.

  “What is Anvilton?” Micaela asked.

  “Anvilton is . . . was the sister city to Hammerton. In the Hammer and Anvil Mountain Valley there are two cities sitting on opposite sides of the valley. To the north lies Hammerton, a shining jewel and the city I was once patron to. Home to the Bronze Dwarves and my people,” explained Mardi.

  “And Anvilton lies to the south,” I guessed.

  “That is exactly right. It is a backwards place and one I wish so very badly to burn to the ground,” said Mardi, anger seeping easily into her voice.

  “Why?” asked Baby. “Why do you want to destroy another city?”

  “Remember that dwarf I thought I loved? He was the son of a Duke, more specifically, he was the son of the Duke of Anvilton. The Shale Dwarves that call that pit home are just as responsible for his betrayal. For a hundred years we’ve feuded, then we fought and skirmished with each other and now we are on the verge of a full-scale war,” Mardi explained. “I came here to ask Leopold for help. I have been trying to barter for conscripts and food. I would even settle for mercenaries, alas, all he has said so far is that as the leader of a people it would not be right for him to side with one Dwarven Dukedom over another.” She scoffed then continued, “We’ve been allies for years and that is how he responds. Which brings us to the quest my father issued to you all. I was hoping to regain my divinity, then I could ensure my people’s safety better than I will ever be able to as a mortal.”

  Mardi paused for a moment before staring at me. Then she said, “You will have to do.”

  “That is a lot to take in,” said Olaf, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Then looking to me he asked, “And you said the quest is for level 8 to 10?”

  “Yeah, I’m not even halfway to level 8,” I added, a quick glance at my status page said as much.

  Level:

  7

  Experience:

  45.88%

  Olaf frowned. “We need to level up and fast, we all need to get to level 8 as quickly as we can, all of us are at least level 6 so that helps but we need to grow faster.”

  “We should be able to get some training quests at the barracks,” volunteered Rose.

  “And joining the city watch on patrol is a repeatable quest, or it is for me,” I added.

  “It won’t be enough,” said Olaf.

  “It will have to be,” said Rose. “I know I leapt into this quest for us, but I know we can do it. The Hammer and Anvil Mountain Valley province is recommended for level 5-10. We can farm monsters in the wilderness when we get there if it’s absolutely necessary. And even if we can’t do that I know we’ll still succeed. We are a great team, I believe that, I really do.”

  Rose was mesmerizing, I couldn’t help but admire her passion. “Rose is right, we are a great team. And we have a week, or almost a week to prepare. With my luck, I am sure I will drag us into some kind of crazy adventure,” I added optimistically. “We’ll be able to better evaluate if we survive the week. Let’s focus on that first.”

  Rose smiled gratefully at me, making me feel warn.

  “Bye-bye is right, look what he’s already dragged us into after just one day in Root City,” added Micaela, championing our cause.

  “Plus, I’m already level 10,” said Baby. “I’ll keep you all alive or die trying.”

  Olaf tried not to grin, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. “With his motley crew, how can we fail?”

  I knew the answer to that was ‘very easily’ but I wasn’t about to rain on our party. Everything said was true, we are a really good team. But in games, there was always room for failure . . . always.

  “Well, if you are all that determined to help me then the least I can do is offer you my own quest and reward,” said Mardi. “So here you go, do not let me down.”

  Quest Alert: Mardi’s Quest (Recommended Level 6-8)

  Mardi has asked all of you to see her through the week to the best of your ability. She has planned a number of trips to her father’s forge, the crafting bug has bitten her once more and she’s feeling generous.

  Reward: Experience, Blacksmith Forged High Quality Piece of Gear of your choice

  Do you accept this Quest?

  Yes

  No

  “Blimey, you bet we’ll do it,” said Olaf, happy to accept the quest for all of us.

  “Okay, if all the serious stuff is done, I want to see Bye-bye’s pointy stick,” said Micaela excitedly, making me blush bright red. Realizing what she said, she too blushed. “His spear!” she shouted before realizing that was almost worse. “I mean his weapon,” she clarified, earning more laughter from the assembled group and breaking the tension that had built up, getting us all to laugh heartily, even Mardi.

  The rest of the evening was considerably more relaxed as we shared a few laughs and drinks. It wasn’t even 7:00 when we all chose to retire for the evening.

  After a quick shower, thank you manor house for providing robes and towels, I returned to my room intent to do a little reading, the Goddess Issara would not have recommended these books if there wasn’t something worthwhile to be found in them.

  I had barely sat down when Heath appeared, nearly scaring me to death, especially when he covered my mouth.

  “Shh,” Heath hissed, then reaching over with his free hand he extinguished my lone reading candle. Seemingly satisfied I wasn’t going to make a bunch of noise Heath stopped covering my mouth and motioned for me to come to the window.

  Outside the window, I saw what he wanted me to see. In the alley across the street from the manor was a half-dozen assorted Ardentia Guild members, seemingly gearing up for a raid, all of them between level 6 and 8.

  “How do you want to play this boss?” Heath whispered softly.

  “We reverse the ambush,” I whispered back.

  “Out the back door and circle around behind them?” Heath asked.

  I nodded. “Need to get Olaf and Rose to the front door while you and I sneak around.”

  “Can you get Rose without causing a ruckus?” Heath asked, his voice still hushed.

  I nodded again.

  “Okay, I’ll get Olaf,” Heath promised, vanishing from sight.

  I moved swiftly and quietly down the hall to Rose and Baby’s shared room. I tapped gently on the door, praying that whoever answered was quiet about it.

  Thankfully Baby opened the door, cracking it slightly.

  I held a finger to my lips, hopefully warning her to be quiet.

  Baby giggled instead, confusing me.

  It took me a minute to realize she thought I was playing a prank on Rose. I shook my head vehemently before whispering, “Danger.”

  Baby’s giggle halted in an instant and she opened the door the rest of way allowing me in.

  Rose looked up from her own book and was about to greet me, I had to act quickly again to warn her to be quiet.

  I pointed to the candle and motioned to blow it out.

  Rose nodded but looked confused even as she blew out the candle.

  I motioned for the pair to come to the window with me. At the window I pointed to the alley across the way.

  “Ardentia,” hissed Rose softly.

  “You two, Olaf and Mic
are going to cover the front door. Heath and I are sneaking out the back, we’re going to try to get behind them,” I explained quietly.

  “Why are we whispering?” Baby asked. “If they are across the street then they probably can’t hear us.” The fairy had a point.

  I shrugged. “Heath whispered, he must have his reasons.”

  It was Baby’s turn to shrug.

  “Let’s get going,” I said.

  “Hey Jack,” whispered Rose, grinning dangerously.

  “Yeah?” I replied.

  “Put some clothes on first,” she joked, giggling in spite of herself.

  I blushed a little but nodded.

  After dressing and re-equipping my gear, I met everyone downstairs as planned.

  “Good, we’re all here,” started Olaf as softly as he could, which was still a little loud with the way his voice usually booms. “Heath filled me in on the plan. I’m in favor.”

  “Ooh, ooh, let me come too,” whispered Vision, the little blue spirit wolf, jumping down from Micaela’s shoulder and padding over to Heath and I.

  “Can you stealth?” Heath asked.

  The little wolf replied by dispersing into a thin, barely visible, mist and spreading out through the room.

  “Better than you,” boasted the little wolf, his voice coming from all around us.

  “He gets my vote,” whispered Heath.

  “Keep him safe?” Micaela asked softly.

  “You got it,” Heath replied, nodding once.

  “Okay, move out you two,” ordered Olaf. “We’ll attack as soon as you do. If they attack first, then I expect you two to attack them from behind.”

  Heath and I both nodded.

  The backdoor of the manor was right off the kitchen. Running into a pair of with a squirming sack being carried between them was not expected.