The Curse of Hurlig Ridge_World Tree Online_1st Dive

by M. A. Carlson

  Boar Charge Charm (Unique) - +10 Stamina, +10 Endurance – Equipping will teach skill ‘Boar Charge’ 25/100

  It wasn’t experience. The charm was looking for something specific. Some action I had done caused it to tick up. But what action had I done 25 times since I received the charm? What specifically caused it to grow? I would have to pay close attention to everything I do over the next few days and check it frequently. It was another clue.

  “I still say hax,” grumbled Olaf.

  Micaela meanwhile seemed to just stare at me with a rather blank expression on her face.

  “I am not sure of this word ‘hax’, but based on how he is using the word, I might just agree,” said Trinico thoughtfully before turning to Olaf. “Does ‘hax’ mean to cheat?”

  “Basically,” answered Olaf, smirking.

  “I did not cheat. I love a good puzzle. Why do you think I’m a lore hound? How do you think I found as many of the things as I have since coming to this town?” I was kind of annoyed my friends, new as they were, would doubt me so easily.

  “Hmm, I think I am starting to understand you better,” said Trinico. “I apologize for doubting you. I should have shown more faith. It is well that you have a love of puzzles. It has allowed you to make significant strides towards learning to ‘Meditate’.”

  Meditation? How did solving puzzles lead to learning to ‘Meditate’?

  “How does solving puzzled lead to learning to ‘Meditate’?” asked Olaf, taking the question right out of my mouth.

  “As the puzzles progress, they become much more complex, much more inward looking. Eventually, it will allow you to ‘Meditate’, which is thinking deeply or focusing one's mind for a period of time. It is a key aspect of training the mind.”

  “How does ‘Meditation’ help with Charisma?” I asked.

  “Meditation allows you to focus on any subject considered a mental pursuit. Interactions with others is a mental pursuit,” Trinico answered as if it should have been obvious.

  “That kind of makes sense,” said Olaf. The man turned to look at his wife only to groan. The woman was still staring intently at me. “Mic, don’t go there, please.”

  “But he . . . he . . .” Micaela started, pointing one of her large fingers at me.

  “Yes, I know he is responsible for creating your arch nemesis the ‘Puzzle Box’ but I’m sure he didn’t do it just to cause you pain and suffering,” said Olaf, trying to comfort his wife and not laugh.

  “But he . . .” Micaela started again.

  “I know babe, I know,” said Olaf, trying to placate his wife.

  “Something I should know?” I asked, starting to worry.

  “I told you she’s obsessed with the ‘Puzzle Box’ but can’t get past level 17. She has cursed your name so many times without knowing your name or who actually created it. I think she’s torn on what to do now,” Olaf explained.

  “Oh, should I go?” I asked, motioning with my thumb extended toward the exit. I didn’t think she’d attack me, but you never knew.

  “No!” shouted Micaela, deciding the course of action she wished to take. “You must teach me, oh great puzzle master!” she dropped suddenly to her knees bowing in supplication.

  “That’s just excessive,” said Olaf, shaking his head and trying not to laugh, but failing miserably.

  “Uh . . . what am I supposed to do?” I asked, feeling more confused than ever before.

  “Just promise to help her get past level 17,” suggested Olaf, starting to feel embarrassed.

  “Okay, I promise to help you with your puzzle box,” I said, hoping the odd scene would just go away.

  “You keep strange company, Bye-bye,” added Trinico, shaking her head. She then gave Micaela a poke with her staff drawing the woman’s attention. “Up you get, the only worship to be done in this temple is to the gods and goddess. Servant of a goddess, Bye-bye might be, but a god he is not.”

  “You promise?” Micaela asked, looking at me again.

  “I promise,” I said reassuring her. This was definitely the strangest five minutes of my life.

  “Alright, enough from all of you,” said Trinico, clearly at her limit for the day. “Please return tomorrow for further training.”

  “I think that was our invitation to go,” I offered.

  “Right, let’s get going. I’m sure there is more we can do today.” Said Olaf, trying to guide his wife out of the temple.

  “Have a good day, and may the gods and goddesses watch over you,” Trinico said with a sense of finality to their training and time in the temple, for today at least.

  “So now what?” asked Micaela, once we were all back outside.

  “Reading,” I stated only to be halted as my world turned red.

  An enemy of Issara’s justice is nearby and must be punished!

  “Oh no,” I said softly, turning in place to look for the source. I wished I hadn’t. There were at least twenty of them, all outlined in red.

  “What is it?” asked Olaf, his head turning to try and follow my gaze. When he did, he mirrored my sentiments. “Oh no.” While he couldn’t see the red outlines, I could. I was sure he was smart enough to recognize the same thing I saw from a group that large, all with levels in the 30’s or higher.

  “Oh no,” added Micaela following our gaze.

  “It’s a raid,” said Olaf.

  My mind was rushing through dozens of scenarios, as I watched the group enter a building. The sign above the door read ‘Doc B’s Saloon’. That meant they weren’t starting their raid, not just yet anyway. They were going to get good and drunk first. They probably wouldn’t be attacking until it was dark, so we had some time.

  “What are we going to do?” asked Micaela.

  “We can only run or die,” said Olaf sadly.

  “What if there was a third option?” I asked, as much as I liked the idea of running, it just didn’t sit well with me. I could only think of one solution, ‘Justice Bringer’. It would at least level the playing field, but three of us, versus twenty of them, and there was no guarantee more wouldn’t show up before the attack began. And no guarantee some of them weren’t out scouting the town.

  “You have a plan?” asked Olaf.

  “Maybe, but first, we need to get to Sergeant Butters,” I said. It would have to start with him if we were even going to have a chance of winning this thing. I could see Olaf and Micaela were about to run, but drawing attention was the last thing we needed. “Walk, don’t run,” I hissed shortly. “Don’t draw their attention.”

  After my warning, we walked toward the barracks, hoping we’d find the sergeant around back. As luck would have it, he was just coming around the front of the building.

  “Bye-bye, Micaela, Olaf, good evening,” he greeted us.

  “Evening,” I said calmly, not sure if anyone stealthy was around and listening. “I came to turn in the quest you gave me this morning. I found the banner you wanted for inside the barracks.” I know what I said was odd and completely false, and even worse, probably as confusing as could be, but hopefully, the sergeant would understand.

  “Well done you three, come on in,” he replied, walking to the barracks door and motioning us in ahead of him. Once inside, he shut the door firmly behind him confusing the other guards who were currently resting in their bunks. As Butters ushered us into the office, he asked, “Now what the devil is going on?”

  “The town is going to be raided,” I answered.

  “We saw them, around twenty or so, all level 30 or higher,” added Olaf.

  The sergeant cursed angrily under his breath. “We cannot fight a force so large with the power they are wielding.”

  “What if we could?” I asked, I was a little nervous about this, but I didn’t want to see this town burned down.

  “I am listening,” said Sergeant Butter, looking to me with hope in his eyes.

  “When I became a Warrior Priest for Issara I was given a number of spells. One of those spells has the abili
ty to reduce or elevate the level of all Adventurers and Citizens within 100 yards of me, to my current level.”

  “A level playing field?” asked Butters, a new gleam in his eyes I’d not seen before. “Oh, now that is what I call a blessing. With that, we could at least have a chance. Wait here, I will go rouse the men.”

  “What kind of an overpowered hax ability is that?” asked Olaf, finally finding his voice.

  I gave Micaela and Olaf a quick rundown of the story regarding the gods and goddesses of justice.

  “Bye-bye, my friend,” started Olaf, placing his big meaty hands on my shoulders and looking me in the eyes. “I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. HAX!”

  “Just a little,” I replied, grinning now to match his and Micaela’s. It was an overpowered ability, but one we would benefit from, big time.

  “What a brilliant idea! Such a simple way to encourage PvP while discouraging being a tosser,” said Micaela, grinning too.

  “We’re in,” said Olaf. “I know I don’t have a weapon, but I can punch pretty hard.”

  It was good timing, as Sergeant Butters returned just then. “Okay, the men are gearing up and will be ready in a minute. Now, we have a few options for dealing with these brigands. You said they are all currently in ‘Doc B’s Saloon’? We can attack them there.”

  “Except they may have scouts spread around. The spell only reaches 100 yards.”

  “Okay, then we need to draw them to us, all of them,” said Butters. “I need you three to go next door. Tell Mayor Simper ‘The Bell Tolls Thrice’, exactly those words.”

  “An emergency signal?” I asked.

  “Indeed, it means a tornado is imminent, seek shelter at the townhall. The town drills for this so it will not cause a panic. I have one of my scouts going to warn Doc B to get himself and his staff out quietly and to try not to draw attention.”

  “I’ll be able to spot if any of the raiders follow them,” I added.

  “Now, how can you do that?” asked Olaf.

  “I didn’t tell you that part, did I?” I asked, chagrined.

  “I get the feeling I’m gonna call hax again. Lay it on us,” said Olaf.

  “So, I suppose I should mention the gods and goddesses are angry. Scorched earth angry,” I started.

  “Maybe I don’t want to know,” said Olaf.

  “I want to know,” added Micaela.

  I continued regardless, “So, these PK’ers all carry judgments from the goddess Issara. One judgment for every citizen they’ve killed, and one judgment for every Adventurer killed that is more than 20 levels below them. Every stack will cost the Adventurer one-hundred thousand experience, reducing levels until the debt is paid. Some of those guys had hundreds of stacks.”

  “Scorched earth indeed,” said Olaf.

  I could see the disbelief and shock clearly on his face.

  “We’re never killing a citizen, not ever,” said Micaela as seriously as she could.

  “Divine Justice indeed,” added Sergeant Butters. “Okay, we have a plan, you three get to the mayor, but be quiet about it.”

  “Thanks, we’ll see you over there shortly,” I said to the man.

  The walk from the barracks to the townhall was quick and quiet. We found the mayor in his office chatting with his wife Margie.

  “Bye-bye, Olaf, Micaela, please come in,” the man greeted us.

  “We just came from seeing Sergeant Butters. He said we were supposed to tell you, ‘The Bell Tolls Thrice’,” I stated as calmly as I could.

  Any jovial happiness at seeing us was quickly forgotten. “Stay here,” he ordered. The man then brushed passed us rushing as fast as his portly legs would carry him. He rushed onto the stage and through a previously hidden doorway.

  “We should form a group now,” suggested Micaela.

  I mentally opened the social menu of my user interface and accessed my friend's list. Targeting Micaela and looking to the group invite option by her name. Then I did the same for Olaf. There was an immediate change to my UI. To the left of my vision, images of Olaf and Micaela appeared. Next to their images was their names and levels. Under the names, it displayed their health, stamina and mana bars but didn’t give me any numerical values.

  Suddenly, there were three loud bell tolls from above us, significantly louder than usual. I’m not sure if it was because we were in the building or if there was actually a way to toll the bell louder. Either way, people began to flow inside almost immediately.

  The mayor returned a moment later motioning us into his office.

  “Now, what is really going on? I looked at the skies while I was up there, everything is clear.”

  “There is about be a raid on the town,” I answered.

  “What?” He shouted in surprise, his face starting to turn red. “Why would he have us get all of our people here? We should be evacuating as many as we can. What is that man thinking? Does he actually think he can take an army of adventurers all on his own?”

  It was worrisome, the mayor was spiraling. I knew I had to do something to reassure him, but it meant sharing my secret even further.

  “Mayor Simper, calm down. We have a way,” I tried to reassure him.

  “How? What could a level 4 and two level 3 adventurers do against a raiding party?”

  I sighed. “I am a Warrior Priest of the Goddess Issara, Justice is with us.” I was so reluctant to say those words, but to watch the fear just melt from the man’s face made me wish I’d done so earlier.

  “At last, our prayers have been heard,” said Margie before both she and mayor dropped to their knees and started praying.

  “What’s this all about?” asked Micaela.

  “I don’t know, Sergeant Butters and Trinico did the same thing when I told them about it,” I replied. I really needed to get to Root City soon and visit my goddess’ temple.

  The praying didn’t last long before both of them stood again.

  “Did you say David and Trini both know?” asked the Mayor.

  “Yes, I told them yesterday. But please,” and I stressed the ‘please’, “try to keep quiet about this. If word spreads too far too soon it could mean danger for me,” I still tried to keep my secrets. At this rate, it wouldn’t last long, but it was something.

  “I understand my boy, I am a politician remember. I understand the danger you represent as well as the hope. Your secret is safe with me, for now at least.”

  “We should get out front, try to prevent any of the PK’ers from getting inside,” suggested Olaf.

  “It won’t matter. Remember, anyone who gets inside will have their level reduced to mine. They would suddenly be surrounded and won’t last long, after their first attack. We’ll be better off out front to fight. Plus, it gives more range on my spell,” I countered, as nicely as I could.

  “I’d still feel better if at least one of us stayed in here,” said Olaf.

  “I’ll stay,” said Micaela. “My boys and I will take care of anyone stupid enough to start something in here.”

  I could have argued with her, but I wasn’t going to. She wasn’t wrong to try to protect the people inside, especially with all the soldiers being outside.

  “When Giggle-Ana gets here, send her to me. I will get her up to the crow’s-nest to snipe these brigands,” instructed Mayor Simper.

  “Let’s go, Olaf,” I said, walking back toward the entrance.

  “Be safe, my love,” said Micaela, giving her husband a soft embrace and quick kiss.

  “You too, babe,” whispered Olaf.

  When we got out front, all of the guards had assembled and were ushering citizens inside. So far, I hadn’t seen any of the PK’ers mixed in with the citizens. I saw at least one some ways off, obscured by a building to most but he stood out clearly to me with his bright red outline and a stack of 57 judgments.

  “Is that red outline what you see?” asked Olaf, not pointing or trying to draw attention.

  “You see it?” I asked.

  �
�And the 57 stacks of Divine Judgement of Issara,” Olaf replied. “At level 27 I’d guess he is just a scout or some low-rank member of the PK guild responsible for this mess.”

  “How many missing?” I asked Butters, walking closer to the man.

  “More then 50,” the sergeant answered. “The tornado warning should have been plenty to get people rushing here. Unfortunately, when dealing with civilians, they have a bad habit of grabbing personal effects and wealth.”

  “There is a level 27 scout just over there watching us,” I said, moving to stand in front of the sergeant then pointing with a finger toward my left shoulder, my body obscuring the motion.

  “Gotcha, nothing we can do about him. Just let me know when he moves,” Sergeant Butters ordered.

  I nodded, then went to join Olaf to wait.

  I was pleased to see Olaf greeting Giggle-Ana, though she didn’t look overly pleased to see him.

  “Giggle-Ana, good to see you again,” I greeted her.

  “Bye-bye, is what this lummox says, true? Is the mayor looking for me?”

  “Yes ma’am,” I answered.

  “Let us go, Kirlan, boys,” she said, giving a small glare at Olaf and nod of acknowledgment to me. I didn’t notice the two young men standing with her and Kirlan. One was built similar to Kirlan but as short as Giggle-Ana, while the other was as thin as Giggle-Ana but nearly as tall as Kirlan.

  “She is one tough little woman,” he commented, shaking his head at the gnome’s stubbornness.

  “She’ll soften up once you’ve built up your Charisma,” I offered. “Were those two boys her kids?”

  “I sure hope she softens toward me. But yeah, I would guess they are their kids,” he replied.

  Kirlan returned a moment later brandishing a massive Warhammer.

  “Big hammer,” I complimented him.

  “Nah, this is my little thumper. Did not know I would need the big thumper tonight, but I suppose this will do in a pinch,” Kirlan commented, grinning excitedly.

  “Good to see you, Kirlan,” Sergeant Butter greeted him.

  “What is the plan?” the blacksmith asked.

  “When the army comes, do not make a move until Bye-bye works his magic. Speaking of, will we know it when we see it?”