World Tree Online- the Endless Savanna- 3rd Dive

by M. A. Carlson

  Harrison snorted and laughed heartily. “That is funny. I suppose if my skin was green or red, I could be mistaken for an Orc. No, I am a Boarman, half-Boar, half-Human.”

  “Is that why you looked uncomfortable when Rose mentioned the ‘Endless Savanna’ earlier?” I asked.

  Harrison cringed again. “Ah, I suppose. That place is kind of a holy land for the Beastkin. It is said that the Beastkin were born there. Anyway, I have only been there once, and that was when I was a kid with my mother.” Harrison stopped there and got a faraway look in his eyes. “Anyway, I did not care for it and would prefer not to go back. However, I am no coward and a deal, is a deal.”

  “It has been a while since I last visited as well. Too many . . . dangers these days,” Nahid chimed in, appearing from ‘Stealth’ much like Heath would do, and just like Heath, she successfully startled us and nearly got stabbed for it.

  “Girlie, do not do that,” Harrison snapped before I could ask about the dangers Nahid mentioned.

  I was distracted further when my mind caught on the fact the girl just surprised me. I was especially surprised considering all the ‘anti-Stealth’ skills I learned last month to prevent exactly this from occurring. Nahid sneaking up on me shouldn’t have happened, then again, the girl might have had a skill I was unaware of that made her even more difficult to see or notice. It was something else I wanted to question but before I could, Nahid spoke again.

  “I do not care if you were distracted. It would be better if you were prepared for danger. For danger, she has found us,” the Catgirl stated, her ears flat against the top of her head.

  I was suddenly aware of the moving shadows that were quickly taking the form of humanoids and gaining nametags that all labelled them as something with levels between 10 at the low end and 28 at the highest.

  “Okay, Harrison, seeing as you don’t have much in the way of armor, can you guard Nahid?” I requested. I was already busy looking for the largest clump of the former love cult.

  “You think these weaklings can really hurt me?” Harrison challenged.

  “Probably not,” I said placatingly. I wasn’t honestly sure how much damage they could deal to Harrison, but I wasn’t willing to risk his life until I had a better measure of the Boarman’s ability. That and I didn’t know him well enough to trust him in a fight. “But I also know that Nahid is their target. If you protect her, that will leave Rose and me free to start eliminating the enemy.”

  “Fine, I suppose you have a point. I have not really had much chance to teach Red how to guard a target in open space,” Harrison relented.

  “I can fight for myself,” Nahid tried to protest.

  “So long as they are after you, the best thing we can do is use you to draw them in,” Harrison stated. “In other words, you get to be the bait.”

  Nahid crossed her arms and pouted. “Fine, but if any get close, I will scratch their eyes out.”

  “As long as it doesn’t put your life at risk, that’s fine,” I said. Seeing a large group of the cultists starting to move in, the two leading the way carried large shields, probably Warriors of some kind. Seeing they were revealed, the group started to pick up speed.

  It might have been predictable on my part by now, but whenever I have such perfect targets, I really just can’t help myself. I cast ‘Boar Charge’ and the carnage began.

  “Bye-bye has six pinned down,” Harrison yelled loudly. “Red, protect his left flank from the two incoming idiots.” I was surprised by how confident Harrison sounded. “Bye-bye, cut it early, most of them are almost dead. Target the healer in the center of that group, he is the real threat. Bring him low then try to get them to surrender if you know how. If not, just tell me when.”

  I don’t think I acknowledged the orders, but I followed them anyway, ending my spell early and running into the fray, hitting the priest first with ‘Beginner Holy Shock’ to stun him. The halted mid-cast, the mana from his spell dissipating into the air. I struck three times with my spear before I bellowed loudly, “Surrender or die!” I mentally triggered ‘Order: Surrender’ at the same time.

  Order: Surrender

  Level: N/A

  Experience: N/A

  Spell Duration: 30 seconds

  Spell Cast Speed: Instant Range: 20 yards

  Spell Mana Cost: 25

  Spell Effect (Active): You have an additional 40% chance to cause a non-combatant or weakened target below 10% health to surrender.

  And as one, all six dropped to their knees with their hands in the air.

  “No, you fools, get up and fight,” the screamed in frustration at losing half of his soldiers in a near instant. Thankfully, the Sub-Commander’s order was ineffective.

  “Bye-bye, on your right, get the ,” Harrison ordered.

  I looked to see what he was ordering me to attack. It was just a boy from his outward appearance. I didn’t see him as a threat, not with the way he was shaking with fear. But when I checked on Rose, she was facing off with three cultists, including an .

  “Do not worry about Rose, she can handle them,” Harrison yelled.

  I was conflicted, the boy wasn’t a threat. And yet, Harrison still insisted he be dealt with first. I didn’t understand why he would make that decision.

  “I got it, Jack, just deal with the other one,” Rose said, grunting as something loud clanged off one of her shields.

  I didn’t like it, but I followed orders if only because Rose said she was fine. Dealing with the level 12 took two hits to drop the boy to his knees in surrender.

  “Now, pick off the ,” Harrison ordered.

  Another weakling while Rose was getting beat on by the level 21. This time I didn’t follow orders, they didn’t make sense to me. Why wouldn’t I take out the bigger threat first. So instead, I attacked the , slowly whittling his health down, until suddenly, the other two peons started attacking me. The didn’t do much damage on his own nor did the , but the two of them together were able to do some damage. It also made me wonder how I had pulled aggro on them from Rose and why Rose hadn’t taunted them off me. I tried flipping away from the pair, but they covered for each other rather well, one moving in to attack and forcing me to move with the other waiting for it, attacking me in the air or in the middle of using ‘Shift’. Most of the hits were minor or glancing but it was starting to add up.

  “Rose, taunt one of them,” I said, feeling frustrated.

  “Can’t,” Rose replied, sounding strained.

  I wanted to ask why not, but a look in her direction told me why. Rose was now fighting the and the at the same time and doing everything she could to just survive.

  Meanwhile, another quick glance showed Harrison was standing back and doing nothing except standing protectively in front of Nahid. I would have yelled at him to help Rose but the way his eyes were darting around told me that he was looking for something else. Still, with his mastery of the ‘Shield-Wall’ I would have expected him to be able to help Rose and protect the girl.

  Finally, I flipped away again. I wasn’t being smart about this. I shouldn’t have problems with two lesser opponents and helping Rose at the same time. Looking at Rose’s fight again, I assumed the Sub-Commander would be immune to any kind of crowd control, but the Warrior shouldn’t be. So, he was my target, hitting him with ‘Lesser Heavenly Blade’ and pinning him in place with blades of burning light.

  Lesser Heavenly Blade

  Level: 1

  Experience: 15.00%

  Spell Damage: 4-5 per second Spell Duration: 15 seconds

  Spell Cast Speed: Instant Cooldown: 60 seconds Range: 20 yards

  Spell Mana Cost: 100

  Spell Effect (Active): Pierce a target with heavenly blades that burn with Holy Fire, pinni
ng the target to the ground and adding a stack of ‘Holy Fire’. Each cast of 'Holy Fire' resets the duration of 'Heavenly Blade' and resets the Cooldown timer. Any damage to the target other than ‘Holy Fire’ damage will break the pinning effect.

  Charm Earned Bonus (Passive): Caller of the Burning Blade - +10-Intellect, +10-Wisdom

  That was one problem down. The second problem was Rose’s health that was still steadily dropping. I cast a ‘Beginner Holy Shock’ on the Swordsman, stunning him and buying me a few seconds. I leaped back to Rose’s side and touched her shoulder just long enough to cast ‘Embrace of the Goddess’, restoring +2,236-HP in an instant, bringing her health from about a quarter full to just over half. I was out of Rose’s range less than a second later, leaping back to put some distance between us. It was just in time as my stunned opponent was on the move again.

  It was time to put my newest spell to work. As soon as the pair closed to within 5-yards, I let ‘Lesser Holy Blast’ fly. The spell was like a shotgun firing off bolts of holy energy, piercing through the two attackers, one taking -537-HP and the other taking -502-HP in an instant. And just like that, I had a new favorite spell. Especially when I used ‘Rapid Striking’ next and thanks to the bonus damage they suffered from my new spell’s secondary effect, they were not long for the fight and quickly surrendered.

  I cast a ‘Beginner Holy Fire’ on the Warrior just in time to renew the effect of my ‘Lesser Heavenly Blade’, buying us time to deal with the Sub-Commander.

  “Heal Red up before you start attacking,” Harrison ordered.

  I didn’t like being ordered around by Harrison. I didn’t know him very well and hadn’t built up a trust that would have made me feel comfortable that he knew what he was doing. That said, I was planning to heal Rose up as much as I could before attacking anyway. A few ‘Beginner Heal’ spells later and Rose was near full health again.

  I barely jumped in to attack the Sub-Commander when he screamed out, “Retreat!” A retreat which consisted of only him as the others had already surrendered.

  “Mind telling me why you disobeyed orders?” Harrison asked, before I even had a chance to start shackling the prisoners.

  “Rose was in more danger from the Warrior than the one you ordered me to attack,” I said.

  “That may have been true, but if you had taken out the two lesser opponents first, they would not have ganged up on you and the Sub-Commander would not have had the opening to attack Red,” Harrison replied.

  “And how was I supposed to know that?” I asked.

  “If you had any tactical sense you would have. If you had any respect for the chain of command, you would have listened to my orders,” Harrison replied.

  “What chain of command? You’re not a Patrolman anymore. I don’t know you and I don’t know your motives. For all I knew, you were sacrificing Rose to give the Ardentia the chance to win while you escaped with Nahid,” I replied hotly. “And why weren’t you helping Rose? You can’t tell me you don’t have the skill to help Rose and protect Nahid at the same time.”

  Harrison flinched when I pointed out he wasn’t a Patrolman. But quickly mastered himself. “First, I never betray a contract.”

  “Except when you punched out your commanding officer,” I pointed out. That was probably petty on my part, but I was tired of this guy insulting me and walking all over me. If I didn’t do something to put a stop to it, it might never end.

  Harrison flinched again. “That was . . . it was different and none of your business. Second, I was not helping Red because there was a stealthy bastard trying to sneak past me to kill Nahid. Whoever she was, I never got a good look at her, but I can tell you she was good and probably a higher level than even the Sub-Commander.”

  “Her name is Najah. She is my older sister and probably the current head of the Ardentia Guild,” Nahid chimed in then added. “She was also level 26 the last time I saw her.”

  That meant that in addition to the Sub-Commander getting away, so did this super Assassin. Which reminded me to make sure the Warrior that was still burning under my crowd control effect needed to be arrested.

  “We’re taking the prisoners to the barracks then we’re going back to the hotel,” I stated firmly, leaving no room for argument. I needed to consult with the rest of my friends and figure out how we were going to deal with this problem. With that said, we rounded up all the prisoners.

  “Jack,” Rose said softly, coming up next to me a little while later as we walked toward the hotel in silence. “You weren’t being very fair to Harrison.”

  “Rose, I don’t know him. I don’t know who he really serves. He’s part of the game, that means . . . It could be controlling him, and we wouldn’t know until it was too late,” I said. “I know you consider Harrison a friend, but I . . . I’m not comfortable trusting him that much. Not until I have a better handle on what . . . It is up to.”

  Rose frowned, clearly not liking what I said. “You can’t do that. You can’t let yourself be paranoid like that or it will eat you up and you’ll be jumping at every shadow that you see. I know It got inside your head but if you stop enjoying this world then It really will have won.”

  Was it wrong to hate that she was right?

  Rose stopped me and forced me to look her in the eyes. “Jack, we’re in this together, right? That means we trust each other. Trust that I’ll keep you safe just as I trust you to do the same for me. And as for Harrison working for It,” Rose could only shrug. “Trust your gut, it hasn’t steered us wrong yet.”

  I wanted to be obstinate and argue. Unfortunately, she was right again. I couldn’t worry about who Epic may or may not have influenced. I could only trust my intuition and hope I got it right.

  “Now, if you are done with your brooding, apologize to Harrison,” Rose ordered.

  I sighed and grumbled before doing as she ordered.

  “Harrison, I’m sorry for being so harsh. It was uncalled for,” I said.

  “Not entirely,” Harrison replied begrudgingly. “You were right, I am not a Patrolman anymore. And I did break the most important contract I ever signed when I punched out that bigoted piece of dragon dung. But I do know my way around a battlefield and battlefield strategy, so I expected you to listen to me, that was another mistake on my part. I haven’t done anything to earn your trust. Now, Red may have sprung me for the shield training, but it is clear that you and Red, and probably the rest of your group, need a few lessons in exactly that. Are you willing to give me a chance to teach you?”

  Quest Alert: Developing a Strategic Mind

  John Harrison is well versed in the management of a battlefield and the various strategies to be employed. He has offered you a chance to learn from his experience if you are willing to show him a little trust.

  Reward: Experience, Hidden

  Do you accept this Quest?

  Yes

  No

  I could see Harrison holding out his hand expectantly. Not sure if I was making a mistake, I shook his hand anyway, accepting the quest, knowing full well that Harrison still needed to prove himself to me if I was to trust him.

  Back at the hotel, my friends were still out shopping so I paid for another two rooms, one for Harrison and one for Nahid. We didn’t have much choice but to trust that Nahid wouldn’t run off in the night. Especially considering she was depending on us to stay alive. I felt confident she wouldn’t be going anywhere until she was completely safe.

  That left Rose and I finally alone and walking toward our own room. When we returned to the hotel, I was surprised when Rose insisted on continuing to share a room, not that I was going to complain, I liked the company.

  “Anyway, tomorrow morning we’ll head for Wally’s Sundry then make a quick stop by the Cartographer’s Guild for myself,” I said. “Did you want to stop by the University?”

  “Not this time. But I do need an Enchanting supply shop. I’m going to need a ton of ‘EP’ to do so many enchantments,” Rose replied.

  If
I remembered correctly, ‘EP’ was short for ‘Enchanting Powder’ which was the equivalent of ink for the ‘Enchanting’ profession. The one time I saw Rose use the stuff, she used it like it was ink, dipping a brush into a bottle of the stuff then writing out an intricate pattern on a cloth glove.

  “Anyway, I’m hungry, what do you say we order room service,” Rose insisted, pulling me along.

  “Sounds good. We should probably see about visiting an armorer tomorrow for Harrison while we are at it. Maybe for Nahid as well,” I said, following Rose into our room.

  I was barely in the room when Rose pounced. “That all sounds great, but right now there is no Dr. Frenchy-no-sex-allowed standing in the way, and you know what that means?” Rose asked rhetorically between kisses as she drove us both toward the bed, peeling away clothes as we went.

  Chapter 8

  “You don’t have to stare at me,” I said to the Minotaur sitting across from me. I just spent the last forty minutes telling him about Harrison and Nahid.

  “No, I really do,” Olaf replied. “We left you alone for an afternoon, and you come back with an Assassin that needs protection from another Assassin and a former Patrolman that agreed to train Rose and the rest of us for the next 90-days. How else am I supposed to react?”

  “How about ‘Gee, that’s swell Bye-bye. You’re the best!’?” I said sarcastically. “It’s not like it interferes with our plans to go to the ‘Endless Savanna’. It’s a couple of quests with free experience. Why are you complaining?”

  “I’m not complaining,” Olaf said. “I’m just amazed that even when you aren’t trying to find quests, you still manage to grab a few. I’m also kind of excited about working with Harrison, an actual master of a skill who is only a few levels above me. Having a second tank for our group won’t hurt us either.”

  “Then stop staring with that flat look and smile a little,” Rose said. “Jack helped us . . . again. Be happy and be grateful.”