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

by M. A. Carlson

“It’s a noble thing you did there, Bye-bye,” said Winky. “A very expensive, noble thing. Anyway, I’ve already signed on with Hammerton, I’ll be heading for the portal this afternoon. Going to go rustle up some of my friends and convince them to join in on the fun.”

  “Thanks, Winky, I appreciate it,” I said.

  Rose and I went straight to the closest jump point and returned to the barracks, then rushed to the library, the second of our stops for the day.

  We met with the snakeman librarian, Sirac. He was sitting as usual at the front desk, a large tome open in front of him.

  “Welcome back, friendss,” he hissed in greetings.

  “Glad to be back,” I hissed in return, setting my books on the counter.

  “Nice to ssee you again, Ssirac,” hissed Rose.

  “You finisshed?” Sirac asked. “And did you learn anything?”

  “Oh yeah,” I said grinning.

  “And are you going to sshare with me?” Sirac hissed impatiently.

  This time I didn’t mind sharing as this was knowledge that would help a lot of people and hurt no one. “I learned the ‘Lore’ ssubsskill ‘Provincial Portalss I’ which allowss me to read the portal information up to level 15.”

  “Fantasstic,” Sirac hissed. “You have more than lived up to my challenge. Pleasse, follow me.”

  Sirac led us through the maze of knowledge and into a back room dominated by a large vault door. It took a minute for him to open it but when he did, the room beyond was sparse. There were ten pillars, each with a single book or tome.

  “Thiss knowledge iss my private collection. For having sshared such knowledge with me, I would like to sshare my knowledge with you. Pleasse choosse one,” Sirac offered, motioning to the books held inside the vault.

  Rose looked me in the eyes then tapped on her wrist, reminding me we were in a time crunch. Not that it mattered. On the second pillar I saw a book that look very similar to two others I had already come across. I picked it up without hesitating.

  “Are you ssure?” Sirac asked.

  “Very,” I replied.

  “Then I thank you my friend. I look forward to the next time we meet,” said Sirac, bowing slightly.

  Quest Alert: Mystery of the Tomes 2 – Completed!

  The librarian has asked for information on the books you have requested. Will you tell him who recommended them? Will you keep it a secret? Or will you mislead him?

  Reward: +10,000-Experience, Blueprints: Spear of Gungnir IV

  Sure, I couldn’t use the blueprints for the fourth iteration of my spear for a long time, but at least I wouldn’t be forced to go hunting for the darn thing later.

  Congratulations! You’ve reached Level 10!

  +1 to bonus Holy Spells, +1 Intellect, +1 Charisma

  “And I just caught up to your level too,” complained Rose, seeing my level rise.

  “It’s not like I planned for it. Do you know how many quests we’ve turned in, in the last few days?” I asked, not really wanting an answer but more proving my point.

  Rose looked like she wanted to argue but held her tongue. “Come on, we need to get moving or we’ll be late.”

  I took a moment to check my stats and found I was way behind. I had gained way more levels in the last few days than I thought was possible, and this was supposed to be a safe zone.

  Level:

  10

  Experience:

  6.40%

  HP (Health Points):

  2,000/2,000

  MP (Mana Points):

  2,000/2,000

  SP (Stamina Points):

  1,240/1,240

  Strength:

  100

  - Melee Damage Modifier

  +100

  Dexterity:

  112

  - Melee Critical Strike Chance

  11.20%

  - Hit Chance

  65.60%

  - Dodge Chance

  11.20%

  Endurance:

  201

  Stamina:

  124

  Intellect:

  200

  - Spell Critical Strike Chance

  20.00%

  Wisdom:

  120

  Charisma:

  112

  Health Regeneration per minute:

  111

  Mana Regeneration per minute:

  70

  Stamina Regeneration per minute:

  62

  Holy Spell Damage Bonus:

  235

  Holy Spell Healing Bonus:

  190

  Carrying Capacity in Lbs.:

  500

  I would need to put in some serious effort the rest of the month to bring my stats up. I shuddered a little as I thought about all the grinding ahead of me.

  Racing to the temple district to meet our friends, Rose and I were once again dodging pedestrians as we ran.

  When we arrived, Olaf was standing guard outside the temple, just because we were no longer under threat from a love cult or dwarven mafia didn’t mean we could slack off. Seeing only Olaf, I assumed Micaela, Heath and Baby were all inside with Mardi.

  “How’d it go?” Olaf asked when we got closer.

  “Bad things are coming our way,” I said.

  “We should talk inside,” said Rose.

  Inside, I explained the situation from the lawyer’s office, including the hiring of mercenary players.

  “Bye-bye,” started Mardi. “I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your generosity. But I just do not have that kind of money to repay you. My city is not that wealthy, we’ve been at odds with Anvilton for years. Which makes me wonder where they got the money to pay such a price.”

  Yeah, that hurt to hear I wasn’t going to be reimbursed, even if I made the decision to hire the mercenaries without any forethought of getting reimbursed.

  “Bye-bye, lately, have I told you how much I love you,” sang Heath, grinning from ear to ear not that I could blame him. PvP was kind of his element. The place where he thrived best.

  “Heath’s creepy song aside, this is a really serious issue,” said Baby.

  “Aye, it is. But there is nothing to be done about it. You either fight with me to save my people or you run away like cowards. I cannot really begrudge you either way, but I know which one I would prefer. And if it helps, I might be able to make you each a new toy to help you along,” said Mardi, activating another quest completion for us.

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

  Mardi has 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: +10,000-Experience, Blacksmith Forged High Quality Piece of Gear of your choice

  “You tell me what you want, and I will make it for you,” Mardi promised. “But we do not really have time right now. From the sound of it, we need to get back to Hammerton as soon as possible.”

  “One last stop,” I said, I had just one more quest to be turned in.

  “Right, right, the Temple of the Goddess Issara,” said Mardi, not really seeming to care. “Just be quick about it.”

  It took a little time to walk from the Temple of the God Ivaldi to the Temple of the Goddess Issara. I walked straight into the temple and into the inner cloister unhindered.

  “Goddess Issara, I’m here,” I said, looking up at the statue. But it didn’t move. At first, I was puzzled then I remembered her demand from last time. A proper tribute. “I brought candy, all kinds of it,” I said, holding up the two largest sacks I could buy from Wally’s Sundry.

  The statue twitched a little, the Goddess Issara’s head tilting toward me ever so slightly, an eye trying to subtly look down at the candy. With a cry of “Candy!”, the Goddess Issara morphed into the form of a little girl, falling towards the two large bags I brought her. I wasn’t expecting to be drop kicked by the miniature missile, her feet imp
acted my chest, sending me skidding across the polished floor and slamming into the wall, my HP dropping precariously low and suddenly finding it very hard to breath.

  “Wh . .. wh . . wh . . . why?” I barely gasped out.

  “Dwarves and Greeks,” said the Goddess Issara, her cheeks puffed out from all the candy she had crammed into her mouth. “What do these two things have in common?”

  What did I do? What do the Dwarves and Greeks have to do with anything? Why was I in so much pain? Where was the muted pain levels when you need them most? I was trying to think but found the lack of oxygen to be preventing me from thinking clearly as black began to creep into my vision.

  “I suppose, you have a point . . . about needing air,” The Goddess Issara said, snapping her fingers, causing all the damage I suffered to vanish.

  I was suddenly pulling in great gasps of air, my brain and body both thanking me for restoring that life-giving element. As my brain started processing things again, I noticed immediately that my Goddess, the Goddess Issara was glaring at me while stuffing her chipmunk cheeks with more and more candy, something that should have been completely impossible by this point, it looked like something out of an old cartoon. Right, the glare. I was supposed to be figuring out why she was mad at me for something to do with the Greeks and Dwarves. I don’t think she was mad at me for any of the quests I completed, she was pettier than that. That meant it had to be something small and mostly inconsequential. Something directly related to me or possibly one of my skills . . .

  “Aw nuts,” I said, putting it together.

  “You learned, Dwarven history, language and myths before you learned your own Goddess’s pantheon. And then you went and learned the Greeks as well. Do you have any idea . . . I mean any idea, how much teasing I have had to endure from Nemesis. Not to mention Jalandi . . .” at the mere mention of the name, the Goddess Issara shuddered.

  “I will correct this oversight as soon as possible,” I promised.

  “You better,” said the Goddess Issara, swallowing once, the candy from her oversized, cartoonish cheeks vanishing. “Now, I know why you are here. First, your quest, good work.”

  Class Quest Alert: The Hammer of Dark Tidings – Completed!

  Continue to guard the Duchess of Hammerton but be alert and be wary, all is not as it seems. Find the agent of chaos plotting from the shadows.

  Reward: +20,000-Experience, Sigil of Issara x5

  “Second, no,” the Goddess Issara said crossing her arms.

  “No what?” I said confused.

  “No, you cannot access the Justice shop. I am not going to send you out there with more spells that you just will not use. So, until you make your magic a priority, the Justice Shop will remain closed,” the Goddess Issara explained, refusing to look me in the eyes.

  And my lack of magical practice strikes again.

  “I’ll practice, I promise,” I said.

  “Good, but still not getting access,” the Goddess Issara insisted.

  I could see this wasn’t going anywhere and I would have no choice but to accept the situation.

  “I guess I should be going now,” I said, turning toward the door when I was surprised to feel two arms wrap around me.

  “Bye-bye,” said the Goddess Issara softly. “Promise me you will be careful. I know you are going to the Hammer and Anvil Mountain Valley province. There is . . . something there . . . something dangerous. I do not know what it is but . . . whatever it is, it can block my sight. Promise me, promise you will find a way through this, and that you will win.”

  Class Quest Alert: Survive!

  The Goddess Issara has asked that you survive whatever is awaiting you in the Hammer and Anvil Mountain Valley. More than that, the Goddess Issara has asked you to win.

  Reward: Experience, Sigils of the Goddess Issara

  Do you accept this Quest?

  Yes

  No

  Something about this terrified me to my core. The Goddess Issara was supposed to be one of the all powerful Artificial Intelligences that govern this world. And yet, she just said something stronger than her . . . maybe stronger than her was there. And worse, she sounded afraid.

  “I promise,” I said, I didn’t care that I couldn’t refuse the quest. I would do whatever I could to keep that promise.

  I felt her arms unwrapped then a gentle hand shoved me in the back and I was outside the doors that led into the inner cloister, looking at my waiting friends but afraid to tell them what I was just told.

  “Well, daylight is wasting,” said Mardi. “We should be going. I hired a portal mage to take us to the Seventh Ring.”

  Epilogue

  The portal to the Hammer and Anvil Mountain Valley looked like any other portal I had seen. With one exception, by just looking at the portal I got the provinces details.

  Hammer and Anvil Mountain Valley – Level 5-10 *Recommended Level 10-15 due to current conflict*

  The dwarves of the Hammer mountain have been at odds with the dwarves of Anvil mountain for years and the valley that separates them is on the verge of becoming a battlefield. If that weren’t enough, the Rock Giant tribes have become agitated and have begun attacking at random. *Chaos has taken up residence, travelers be wary*

  That didn’t sound ominous or anything. I wondered briefly if the asterisk in the description was the additional information my skill said there was a chance to see.

  “No time like the present,” said Mardi, starting for the portal first, except I blocked her path with my spear.

  “We should let Rose go first, just in case,” I said. “If everything is good, she’ll come back and let us know.”

  “Better safe than sorry,” said Rose, equipping her shields and stepping through. She returned a minute later, “All clear.”

  “Okay, Rose first, then Baby, me, Mardi, Micaela, and Olaf. Heath will go through whenever he wants I suppose,” I said, setting an order to travel. I don’t know why I was so on edge, but I just couldn’t shake the bad feeling that had permeated the air around me since I left the Temple of the Goddess Issara.

  One by one we went through appearing on the other side of the portal. When I arrived on the other side, I looked around briefly, scanning for any enemies but saw none. Feeling it was safe for now, I looked out on the valley stretching below the portal platform. To my right I could see what I assumed was Hammerton. There as a massive tower built up out of the mountain that very strongly resembled a hammer. Across the valley and to my right sat Anvilton. As if competing with one another, Anvilton had an equally large structure though theirs was in the shape of an anvil.

  “Think they’re compensating for something?” Heath asked, completely ruining the moment.

  “Don’t know, you should ask the Duchess,” I replied, shaking my head.

  “It is a short trip down. We should not have any trouble with the wild life around here, not at your levels anyway,” said Mardi.

  I froze. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something moving, like a mirage, something that definitely didn’t belong and now that I saw it, I realized it was getting closer.

  I leapt toward the mirage using ‘Body Control’ my spear hitting something solid just on the other side of it, shattering the illusion. My spear was impaling a level 20 adventure.

  “Spell broke!” another player yelled. “Kill the Duchess!”

  I kicked off the higher-level player, tearing my spear free, thankfully the guy I attacked was a mage of some kind or that attack wouldn’t have killed him.

  “Justice Bringer,” I yelled, slamming my spear into the ground and balancing the playing field. “Get the Duchess back to Hammerton!” I yelled, already moving to attack the closest target to the duchess, leaping in again, my spear clanging against his shield but still taking out a good chunk of his health.

  “Rose, Baby, take Mardi and go,” ordered Olaf, firing point blank into another player’s face, removing face and head alike. When the field was fair, very few players were going to b
e able to stand up to Olaf’s hand-cannons.

  “Rose, go,” I shouted, seeing her frozen.

  Rose blinked as if slapped. “Baby, wards on everyone, then we run. Mardi, you’re to stay with me all the way.”

  Mardi could only nod.

  I didn’t have time to watch them make their escape. I was too busy throwing up as many buffs as I could between dodging attacks and stabbing players with the pointy end of my spear.

  “Bye-bye, we need to slow them down, fall back the way Rose went,” ordered Olaf, switching from hand-cannon to maul seamlessly, the blunt head smashing into a player in full plate, the chest of the armor completely crushed and giving Olaf time to reload his hand-cannons, a single shot finishing the player off.

  I vaguely saw a rogue or archer trying to sneak past to chase after Rose and Mardi. I leapt again, spearing him . . . her through the back of the neck, not quite killing her. ‘Lesser Holy Shock’ finished her off.

  As I continued to fight I was vaguely aware of the damage starting to accumulate. As hard as we fought, we were bound to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume arrayed against us.

  “What I wouldn’t give for a slowing totem of some kind,” complained Micaela, bleeding from several superficial wounds, her HP steadily dropping lower and lower. “What do you think? A sloth spirit? That should have a good slowing effect.”

  “Sounds great, Babe, we’ll find one later, for now, just keep killing the other guys,” said Olaf, blasting away, a cacophony of sound filling the mountainside, thank the Goddess he refilled his ammo pack.

  Still I fought, constantly running away then attacking, slowing the impending doom every chance I got.

  I had grown used to the sound of Olaf’s hand-cannons firing, so much so, I didn’t even hear them anymore. When I looked toward Olaf to see how he was fairing, I found he was gone, his HP bar showed zero, same for Micaela. Heath was still alive but fading. Thankfully, my party status still showed Rose and Baby in the green which was a good sign they made it safely to Hammerton or at least had enough of a head start on the player horde. I really hoped they got away. It would be a real downer if we went through all this just to fail now.