The Curse of Hurlig Ridge_World Tree Online_1st Dive

by M. A. Carlson

  “It sucks,” said Olaf. “But we’re also here to make a living Babe. If we can get even a little bit of an edge toward that goal, then I’m for it. We’re not just in this for us either. Da- Our daughter is at university and that bill isn’t getting any smaller.”

  That seemed to be a massive blow to any resistance Micaela may have had. “Okay, I’m in. But we will share with any new players, if they make it through our vetting process, Q.E.D. become our friends.”

  “That is more than a reasonable vetting process,” I added, feeling relieved we all seemed to be on the same page now.

  “We should totally make an Order,” said Olaf earning an odd look from myself and Micaela. “Look, with Bye-bye’s awesomeness and ability to figure out all these little details, I have no interest in joining any Order that he’s not a part of. I get the feeling, if we follow this guy around we’re going to get into some fantastic adventures along the way. Probably get rich doing it too. I know this is coming out of nowhere, but my gut is speaking, and I’m listening.”

  “Are you sure it isn’t the booze from last night acting up again?” I asked, feeling decidedly uncomfortable with the attention.

  “It’s not, I happen to agree with him,” said Micaela, her smile restored and the pixyish glint in her eyes dancing in merriment.

  Now it was my turn to frown. I just want to explore the game and see cool stuff, but now I’m being drawn into forming an Order. Plus the duties, I’m going to assume, will come with being a Warrior Priest of Issara. It would seem the game is working against my interests.

  “Guys, I appreciate it. I enjoy hanging out with you two as well. I’ll even be happy to join whatever Order you want, but I want . . . this is going to sound selfish, I want to be able to explore the game and find new and hidden adventures. I don’t see that happening if I have to help manage an Order,” I said, trying to convey what I wanted most without sounding like a jerk.

  Olaf just laughed. “Goodness Bye-bye, I don’t want you to lead the Order. I want you out finding those hidden adventures. I just want you to bring us along. The reason to form an Order is that I have no doubt, some of the adventures you are going to find will need a small army to navigate.”

  Well, that was a relief. Seriously, big relief. I don’t want to lead anything. But he did have a point. There were times in other games I’d find something rare or hidden, and not been able to complete or defeat the objective by myself, which was always disappointing cause failure meant whatever I’d found would disappear, sometimes forever.

  “I’m in,” I answered. “But no responsibility, finding cool stuff to do only.”

  “Deal, I’ll even create a cool title for you. How does ‘Lore Master’ sound to you?” Olaf offered.

  “I like it,” said Micaela. “I was thinking ‘Cool Stuff Finder’ was a good title but yours works better.”

  I couldn’t stop the laugh coming out of my mouth, which the pair were both quick to join in on.

  Once the laughter settled, I asked the next question. “What do you plan to call this Order?”

  “No idea, but it will be Epic,” he replied.

  “Ooh, I have it,” said Micaela excitedly. “As long as the name isn’t taken yet, we should be the ‘The Order of Epic Adventures’.”

  “Sounds a bit . . . um childish,” I responded as politely as I could.

  “It’s not terrible but it could be considered . . . erm . . . kiddy,” added Olaf.

  Micaela harrumphed and stomped ahead of us.

  “We’re totally going to end up naming it that, aren’t we?” I asked, looking at Olaf sadly.

  Olaf just sighed. “Probably, but if we’re lucky, she’ll come up with a dozen more names and forget all about it.”

  “Where’s a luck stat when you need it?” I wished.

  Olaf barked out a loud laugh then shook his head. “We’d better catch up to her or she’s going to terrify the priestess.”

  “I wouldn’t count on it. Trinico is one scary lady when she wants to be,” I replied. While I had no personal account of having seen her in action, the fact she not only served on the battlefield during a demon incursion but also survived, spoke volumes to me as to just how formidable she might be.

  “So is my wife,” replied Olaf.

  “So, we should hurry,” I added, quickly picking up my pace.

  We caught up with Micaela though she refused to acknowledge either of us, instead choosing to pout the rest of the walk.

  “Welcome back, Bye-bye,” greeted Trinico when I entered the temple. “I see you have brought guests, welcome to you as well.”

  “Hello Trini,” I greeted her with a friendly smile, only for her to pelt me with her staff.

  “Priestess Trinico while on duty if you please,” she instructed, the kind smile never leaving her face despite me now holding my head and rubbing the spot where she bashed me.

  “Greetings Priestess Trinico,” Olaf and Micaela greeted her as one.

  “Now, I know what the rude one is here for, how may I assist you?” she asked, ignoring me at this point.

  “Sergeant Butters said we should come with Bye-bye for training with you,” replied Olaf, humbling himself before the rather slight human woman.

  “All are welcome for training in this temple. Are you seeking to become priests?”

  “No ma’am,” answered Olaf. “I’m an Ogre Artillery.”

  “Ah, then you are here to train your mind, same as this rude one,” she said.

  This time she jabbed me in the stomach with the tip of her staff, knocking all of the air from my lungs and dropping me to the floor, gasping for breath. I just knew this woman had to be powerful, but why did she have to make an example of me.

  “How about you, young miss?” Trinico asked.

  “I’m a shaman,” Micaela replied nervously, her eyes wide and staring at my crumpled form.

  “Wonderful, we have not had a shaman around these parts in some time. Have you crafted your first totem yet?” asked Trinico sweetly.

  “Not yet,” answered Micaela.

  “Fantastic, let me get your mate and the rude boy on the floor started in their training, then we can go for a walk,” said Trinico, her ever-present smile, still firmly in place.

  Thankfully Olaf picked me up from the floor, where I was still struggling to regain my breath from whatever she had done to me.

  “Please place Bye-bye in the room to the left,” said Trinico, when we came to the end of a short hallway.

  “I think I can walk now,” I told Olaf, letting the man set me on my feet. I walked into the room to the left. It was a domed room maybe twenty-feet to the top. There was no floor, only a pool of water with a path of stepping stones leading out to a small island in the center. There were no lights, not that I could see anyway, yet the room was well lit. There were no plants and I could not see any fish in the water.

  “Sit in the center, I will be back in a moment,” said Trinico, closing the door. I assumed she was setting Olaf up in one of the other rooms, giving him instruction first.

  I was careful to walk along the stepping stones, doing my best not to disturb the completely calm water. The island in the center was small, I could probably lay across it from head to toe, but not much further. It was covered in soft well-trimmed grass but offered no other seating. So, I sat down to wait for Trinico to return.

  Welcome to the Puzzle Room.

  Are you ready to begin?

  Yes

  No

  Huh, how about that. Yes, I am.

  Solve as many puzzles as possible. (Limit: 2-hours per 24-hour period)

  Beginning in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 GO!

  Sweet!

  Chapter 12

  “Well now, it seems Bye-bye figured it out himself,” said Trinico, feeling all too pleased with herself.

  “Figured what out?” asked Micaela, nervously. She couldn’t not feel nervous, seeing the doors to the rooms her husband and Bye-bye entered vanish, replaced by a smoothed-
over wall.

  “How to activate the Puzzle Room,” answered Trinico.

  “So, what will I be doing, Priestess Trinico?” asked Micaela, slightly worried.

  “Please dearie, as long as it is just us, call me Trini, most everyone else does,” replied the older woman.

  “But didn’t you just-“ started Micaela.

  “Bye-bye needed a good thrashing and a lesson on propriety. Truthfully, while I am fine with him calling me Trini, I need to start working on his etiquette. Especially if he is going to be in service to a goddess,” explained Trinico.

  “That’s right, he’s a Warrior Priest, he has to serve a god or goddess, right?” asked Micaela, her comfort with the old woman rising quickly. “Hey, you said goddess, do you know who he pledged to?”

  “Indeed, I do, and when he talks to his goddess, he had better be polite, or she might just smite him and strip away his class. That would be bad for all of us. As to who he is pledged in service to . . . well . . . it is a secret,” answered Trinico. “Anyway, they will be in there at least two hours. Assuming they do not give up before then, but as far as I can see, Bye-bye is not one to quit. I cannot speak for your husband, but if he is friends with Bye-bye, then I imagine he is much the same.”

  “Oh, those two are very alike in that regard. That daft fool went into the little hags shop nearly every day for over 3 months, trying to get her to either sell him a pair of pistols or to train him as an engineer, despite her violently saying no every time. Stubborn fool, but I love him anyway.”

  “That is good, he will do well in there then,” Trinico replied confidently, setting Micaela more at ease.

  “Will I be going into the other room?” asked Micaela.

  “You do not need that room dearie,” replied Trini. “We are going for a walk. Do not worry, I will keep you safe. I just hope you are prepared for what it will take to become a shaman.”

  Micaela swallowed nervously, trying to mentally brace herself for the dirty work ahead. “I think so. I’m not looking forward to it.”

  Trini frowned slightly. “What are you not looking forward to exactly?”

  “You know, the blood and cutting part,” replied Micaela, shivering slightly.

  “Blood and cutting? What dark shaman rituals have you been reading? Blood and cutting, how foul!” Trinico exclaimed in shock.

  “But, all the . . . erm . . . the literature I read said you had to cut out an animal’s heart, then merge it with a totem,” defended Micaela, feeling hopeful Trinico knew a better way.

  “Are you trying to become a Witch Doctor?” asked Trinico, looking appalled.

  “Witch Doctor? Of course not, but . . . everything I read said there was no other way,” explained Micaela.

  “Then you are reading the wrong things,” Trinico replied more harshly than she intended.

  “Do you know another way? Please tell me, I would much rather do it a better way, preferably one that doesn’t involve cutting out some poor animal’s heart,” pleaded Micaela.

  “Okay, first, are you a shaman? Do you know the ‘Call Spirit’ spell?” asked Trinico.

  “Yes, but I thought it had to be used on the totem,” answered Micaela.

  “It does but it is also used to create a totem. Second, do you have the ‘Infuse Spirit’ spell?” asked Trinico.

  “Yes,” answered Micaela.

  “Good, then you have everything you need to create a totem, except for a willing participant and an appropriate medium, something like mana infused wood or stone,” explained Trinico.

  “Stone?” asked Micaela, trying not to sound as surprised. “But the literature I read said- “

  Trinico sighed before replying, “Honestly dearie, at this point, I would just forget whatever you read because clearly whoever wrote it was an idiot or a liar.”

  “Yes ma’am,” replied Micaela feeling relieved, but also a little sad. The recent discovery that her husband, and his desire to become an Ogre Artillery, was loaded with misinformation and was not a one-off, as she too had been tricked in a similar manner. She just couldn’t believe how much false information there was out there.

  “Now, you seemed surprised when I mentioned stone, does stone have meaning for you?” asked Trinico

  “I’m a miner, my husband and I both are. We sell our ore in Root City, but most of the stone goes to waste. It just doesn’t sell well because no one is building castles yet, and even then, they probably won’t use the lowest level stone we can mine here.”

  “Do you have some on you?” asked Trinico, ignoring Micaela’s nervous chattering.

  “Yes, I have some Limestone stones,” answered Micaela.

  “Now we’re getting somewhere. Have you learned the ‘Shape Totem’ spell?” asked Trinico

  “Of course,” Micaela answered. The spell description said it could only be used on an appropriate medium, but didn’t specifically say wood, and yet she assumed that’s what it meant.

  “You also said you are a miner correct? Do you have the ‘Infuse Mana’ subskill?” asked Trinico.

  “No, I’ve never even heard of it,” Micaela replied, slightly surprised Trinico even knew about it.

  “Honestly, if you adventurers are our last hope, then we are all doomed. Come with me,” said Trinico, changing course toward the townhall.

  Once they arrived at the townhall Trinico told Micaela to wait outside and said she’d be right back. The woman emerged a few minutes later but without a book, just a scroll which she held out to Micaela.

  Mining Subskill – Infuse Mana – Teaches the Mining Subskill ‘Infuse Mana’

  Would you like to learn ‘Mining Subskill – Infuse Mana

  Yes

  No

  Micaela didn’t even hesitate to learn it. It was both a shock and an undeniable blessing to be given such an important skill. And without a quest or killing something powerful to obtain it.

  You have learned the ‘Mining’ subskill ‘Infuse Mana’

  Mining II

  Level: 5

  Experience: 57.54%

  Professional Skill: Mining is the ability to extract usable material from rock and stone.

  Skill Stamina Cost: 5 per swing

  Subskill: Infuse Mana

  Skill Effect (Active): Used to create Mana Infused Stone.

  Skill Mana Cost: 1,000 per cubic foot of stone with a maximum density of 2.4.

  Unfortunately, it also made her curious enough to ask, “Why?”

  Trinico stopped to study Micaela for a moment before she spoke. “Why am I helping you?” guessed Trinico, pausing for a moment, “Bye-bye is special, you have seen it I am sure. I am doing what I can to help him. It seems to me, helping you and your husband will help him. By the way, what is your name? Your husband’s too. I do not think we were ever properly introduced by that rude boy.”

  Micaela couldn’t help laughing, something Trinico joined her in.

  “I’m Micaela Crushhammer, my husband is Olaf, it’s nice to formally make your acquaintance Trini.”

  “Nice to formally make yours as well. Remind me to give Bye-bye another good whack when we get back to the temple,” joked Trinico.

  “I promise I will. Can I ask? Where did you get the scroll?”

  “I made it,” answered Trinico. “I am a Rune Master. I know a great many of the true words. In there is a book, ‘Earthen Ways and Means’. There is one chapter explaining the process of infusing mana into stone and how to do it. I simply translated that into the true words, placing them within the scroll for you.”

  “Wow, thank you so much,” said Micaela. “Can you do that to all the books in there?”

  “Most, but why would I? If everyone who came to this town could get all the skills in there instantly, then we would never have adventurers come for more than a few minutes to learn all the skills they can. Then what? They would all turn around and leave. They would not help the town or complete quests for the people living here, some of which, are in real need. I expect you not t
o share this with anyone other than your husband. You had best warn him to keep his trap shut or else,” Trinico warned her.

  “You got it Trini, honestly, he’ll just be so happy to read that book himself,” said Micaela.

  “It is a good book for all miners to read, though most do not bother, the lazy sods,” complained Trini. “Anyway, you can now infuse mana to stone, meaning you can make an appropriate medium for your totem.”

  “Trini, you are amazing,” cheered Micaela happily.

  “I know this, but you need to stop cheering and dancing like a child. You should make your totem already,” Trinico instructed the woman, trying not to sound either harsh or irritated.

  “Right,” said Micaela. She opened her miner's backpack and took out the first piece of stone she’d ever mined, it was a memento of her first day on the job. The very first thing she’d gotten from the very first time she swung a pick at a greenish copper vein.

  Limestone – Chunk of limestone rock. Density 2.3

  “Good, first cast ‘Infuse Mana’,” instructed Trinico.

  Micaela was surprised by the sudden drop in her mana pool, sucking away all 100 of her mana points instantly and seeming to want more.

  “Drink this,” said Trinico, handing her a vial with swirling blue mists inside.

  Superior Mana Mist 3/3 – Restores full mana and 100 mana per minute for 10 minutes.

  Once again, Micaela followed orders drinking a sip of the potion filling her mana back to full which the stone instantly drank away from her. Eight more times it drained her limited mana pool, taking a total of 1,000 mana, but when it was done the stone had changed.

  Mana Infused Limestone – Mana infused stone is a powerful crafting element useful for empowering buildings if used in construction.

  “Wow,” breathed Micaela, waiting for the potion to trigger again.