The Curse of Hurlig Ridge_World Tree Online_1st Dive
Page 52
“Jack, are you going to introduce us to your new friend here?” asked Rose. She sounded nice but for some reason, the hairs on my arms stood on end.
“Right, sorry. Arial, this is Rose Thorns and Babies Breath,” I introduced.
“Arial Norenci, pleasure,” she said, greeting them briefly before turning her attention back to me.
“And how do you know Jack?” asked Rose, drawing her attention again, and a small frown on the young woman’s face.
“He was very kind to me yesterday. He gave me some wonderful advice, I can’t thank him enough,” Arial answered.
“It’s not that hard, thank you, see. Anyway, Jack, we should probably get going. Training and all of that,” said Rose, gripping my arm tightly, even a little painfully and starting to drag me toward the exit.
“Oh, but you must let me buy you breakfast,” said Arial, gripping my other arm, also too tightly and halting my being dragged from the inn, also painful.
“We just finished eating, maybe some other time,” said Rose, practically dragging me from the inn, and rather forcefully out of Arial’s grip, which, if I’m honest, was rather unpleasant. Rose marched me the short walk from the inn to the barracks, stopping, just before we would have turned the corner.
Rose turned to face me, a serious expression on her face. “Look, Jack, I know you’re a nice guy, but you’ve got to be careful.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, truly confused.
“That girl is not your friend. I don’t know what her angle was, but you should be careful around her. I’ve got a bad feeling about her,” Rose stated seriously.
“She seemed nice enough to me,” I replied, not understanding what she was saying.
“Oh Jack, still so naïve. Trust me, that woman was a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Rose warned.
I couldn’t help but frown, she didn’t seem so bad to me.
Rose finally turned away, continuing the trip to the training area. I looked to Baby, hoping she would provide me with some answers, but she appeared to be having a seizure, of silent giggles.
“What’s that all about?” asked a voice, from behind me, making me jump out of my skin.
“Heath, I swear, I’m going to put a bell on you,” I threatened, the man responsible for shaving years off my life. “Anyway, what are you doing here?”
“Oh, Olaf said, I should come around here this morning. He mentioned something about weapons training, so here I am,” Heath answered.
“Well, then go talk to the sergeant. He’s the trainer you need to speak with.” I said, leading him around the back and pointed out the sergeant who was talking to Rose.
“Cheers,” Heath replied, walking ahead of me only to fade out of view. He reappeared behind Rose and got punched for it.
Now, it was my turn to giggle, serves him right.
“I actually do need training with the sergeant today,” volunteered Baby. “There is supposedly, a flying combat stance, according to Trinico. It’s called ‘Aerial Maneuvers’. She said it’s similar to your ‘Acrobatics’ skill, but performed in the air.”
“Did you already learn ‘Meditation’?” I asked.
“Huh, oh yeah, I learned it in a few days. Because I wasn’t here training with the sergeant, and my time allotment in the puzzle room, was double most others, because of my race. I was able to clear it quickly. Trini also taught me a bunch of holy spells, but I have yet to go see Malcolm about any nature spells he might have,” Baby explained. “Anyway, I better go get in line.”
I didn’t grasp what she meant about getting in line right away, not until I turned back to see Rose still chatting with the sergeant, and off to the side of her, was a line of 3 more players. I recognized them from Ned’s the day before. They were all glaring at Rose, as she held them at bay with one arm, while she continued talking to Sergeant Butters. If I had to guess, she probably cut the line.
I shook my head. I know I should have just gone to one of the training dummies, working to hone my skills and spells. I had to prioritize my time for the next few days or however long it took to research the town history. That meant I had to get into the townhall and start working on those town histories. I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I knew it was necessary.
The townhall wasn’t open yet, but thanks to my handy-dandy key to the city, I was able to let myself in, and lock the door behind me.
After moving one of the wooden chairs to a spot, just in front of the stage, I sat down and propped my feet up on the stage. For as long as I expected to be reading, I had to try to get a little comfortable. I opened the second book in the series, hopefully, I could get past the first page this time. ‘Hurligville Vol II: Years 5-10’ was boring, filled with births, deaths, farming, construction, fires and all manner of mundane things. The only thing I tried hard to keep an eye out for, was any, and all, new immigrants to the village, just to compare them to the deeds. That first day passed slowly, reading the histories and working to understand the various shorthand writing styles of the different mayors. It was tedious and with every new mayor, I had to start over, learning a different style.
It was in ‘Hurligville Vol IX: Years 81-90’, on my second day buried in the histories of Hurligville, that I finally got a hit.
Mayor Trombly, the fourth mayor of Hurligville wrote:
Year 16 of the reign of King Randolph the IV, day 72
Had a friendly young man arrive in town today, by the name of Feuner Pyre. He said he’d bought the deed to some land in the province. I checked the deed, and it was legitimate. I gave him directions to his land and sent him along. He seems capable and strong, I wish him well.
Year 16 of the reign of King Randolph the IV, day 197
The Maron farmstead was attacked today. The farm remains intact, but James Maron was killed, defending his family. Thankfully, his wife and daughter were in town during the attack, but his son was there. Poor William is traumatized, we can hardly get a word from him, just howling and growling. He must have witnessed the wolves killing his father. We will hold services for him tomorrow.
Year 16 of the reign of King Randolph the IV, day 232
There has been another attack at the Maron farmstead. This time Marion Maron and her daughter, Daniella Maron, were taken from us. My wife and I have discussed it, and we’ve decided to bring William into our home, until he is well enough, and old enough, to take over the farm himself.
Year 16 of the reign of King Randolph the IV, day 254
William is settling in, but for some reason beyond me, he brought his family’s still with him. The boy hardly lets it out of his sight. I suppose it is part of his family heritage.
The remainder of volume nine was more general updates. There were a few updates on William, mostly him starting to speak more, but refusing to talk about what happened to his family.
On the third day of study, I got my next clue. ‘Hurligville Vol XII: years 111-120’, the town confronted the werewolf. William saved the day, which was awesome, considering most of the entries from the time he turned 16 until this point, made him out to be a lunatic and a drunk. Granted, it was from the Mayor’s perspective. William, also finally told his story too, witnessing the werewolf attack that killed his father. About the man who transformed into a giant wolf creature, the werewolf. William’s obsession with the still, and making sure to always have Moonshine at the ready. Apparently, drinking as much as he did, also acted as a kind of werewolf repellant, which kept him safe over the years.
Year 41 of the reign of King Randolph the IV, day 51
Thanks to the bravery of William and his mystic brew, our town is safe, and the werewolf has been driven off. And yet, just today we found dark tidings. Several wolves were slain, and their blood used to carve a message into the ground before our gates.
Again, there was a Norse inscription ‘Curse of the Betrayer upon you all, none shall know peace.’
The next few years, spoke of a major bout of alcoholism for the entire town, follo
wed by a brief period of prohibition, to tamp it down.
I continued to read, even as some of the level one players came inside, met with the mayor, picked up a book or two then went on their way, just as they did the last two days and for the most part, I ignored their presence. Most of them went on their anyway, except for one.
“Hello again, Bye-bye,” greeted the young woman, Arial. “You rushed off so quickly the other day, I didn’t have much chance to talk to you.”
“Things are busy right now,” I replied honestly. I was in the middle of a book when she interrupted me. Glancing at my game clock, I supposed I could use a short break. I have done little else but read for the last three days, breaking only for meal breaks and to sleep at night.
“You don’t look very busy to me,” Arial pouted.
I smiled a little. I suppose sitting around reading, wouldn’t look very busy to some. “Believe it or not, reading this, is part of a quest I’m working on.”
“Oh, is it something I can help you with?” she asked.
“I’m afraid not. You need a few more levels for this particular quest,” I explained, she was still only level 1, and I wouldn’t be comfortable with her being on this quest before she was at least level 4.
“Awe, can’t you make an exception, for little ol’ me?” the young woman asked, batting her eyelashes.
“No can do,” I replied with a friendly smile. “You should see about grouping up with some of the other level 1 players. Go out and do some quests, that sort of thing.”
“Oh, but I’d much rather group with you,” Ariel gently protested, breaching my personal space and making me a little uncomfortable.
“I appreciate the request, but I’m going to have to decline. My friends and I are deep into this quest, they are counting on me. Best of luck to you,” I replied, trying to be as gentle as I can.
“But you could keep me safe and I could keep you . . . company,” she tried again, invading my personal space even more. This time she pressed herself against me, one of her hands holding onto my arm.
Now, most of the time, I’m fairly oblivious to women. I’ve mentioned, several times, how I don’t understand women at all. Never have, probably never will. But this, I understood clearly. It’s not that she wasn’t pretty because she was. From her platinum blond hair to her hourglass figure, and pouty ruby red lips, she rated highly. No, the real turn off, her offer to trade her safety and protection in exchange for her company, like it was a business transaction. I was also turned off by her attitude. Why was she even playing the game, if she wasn’t going to work hard at it? Why bother, if you’re not going to play?
“That is very kind of you,” I started, trying again to be gentle, even if she didn’t deserve it. “But I feel you need to learn to protect yourself in this world. I wish you luck, but I must get back to my work.”
“God, you’re an idiot,” the girl finally snapped, an ugly frown marring her face. “Do I have to spell it out for you? Help me level and I’ll sleep with you. Levels for me, fun for you. Win-win, you moron,” shouted Arial, clearly angry.
“No, I got it, I just don’t want it,” I replied. Any need to be kindly evaporated. “This world is not kind, if you can’t stand on your own feet, then you don’t belong here. Now, I’ve wasted enough time on you, please run along.”
The woman scowled, looking even uglier. She cursed under her breath then said some less than flattering things too, and about, me before she stormed off.
I was about to return to my reading when some clapping stopped me from returning to my book. I looked to see Rose, leaning against the wall by the door.
“What?” I asked, confused by her presence.
“I’m . . . somewhat . . . maybe . . . but only just a little . . . like a tiny itty bit . . . impressed by how you handled her,” said Rose.
“I may often have the patience of a saint, but, I’m not one,” I replied, unsure of how to speak to her right now, she was being both teasing and kind of nice. How did this woman constantly keep me off balance?
“Okay Saint Jack, what are you working on?” Rose asked, walking up to me.
“Reading the town history. Trying to figure out what is going on with the wolves in the province. I know it’s connected to Graves, but I’m having trouble figuring it out. The only thing I’ve gotten so far is why the Moonshine works and a couple of uses for it. The only thing important to the quest is two Norse messages.” I showed her the two marked passages.
“Odd, is ‘Betrayer’ the name of the god or just a general description of the fallen one?” asked Rose.
“I don’t know, I’m hoping one of the later histories will have more details, but the closer I get to the end, the more I doubt it. After three days I should have more information than this,” I answered, frowning as I looked at the stack of finished books.
“Maybe it’s not the town history you need then,” suggested Rose.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
“Well, this is about a god, right? Then wouldn’t something on the Norse gods, be a good place to look?” suggested Rose.
She made a good point. But that would mean risking a visit with Trinico, and her moods were hard to predict. Especially, when I hadn’t been to train with her in several days. Not that I needed to at this time, but still, her staff hurt when it struck my head. Even though, she said, she didn’t have anything to teach me at the moment, per her own words, I still could have come by just to chat. Hopefully, she won’t be too cross with me.
“Let’s go see Trini then,” I said reluctantly before putting away all of the books I had finished.
When I arrived in the temple, it was just like the training fields and the townhall, there was a significant influx of level 1 players. Many of them kneeling before one altar or another, I even saw one of them bathed in golden light for a moment, and when the light faded, the player jumped up and cheered, then did a very strange hip thrust of celebration, it was uncomfortable to watch.
I saw Trinico standing at her pulpit with a line of four different level 1 players waiting to speak with her. Part of me wondered where all the level 1 players were coming from. First, all the players in Ned’s yesterday, those at the training fields this morning, and now more here with Trinico.
“I guess we get in line,” said Rose, motioning me to go ahead of her.
Rather than join me in line, she went and sat in one of the pews to wait. Interesting, how she said ‘we’ should get in line, and it ended up just being ‘me’.
Still, as I looked at the level 1 players ahead of me, I let my curiosity get the best of me, and listened to some of the conversations.
“I want to be a fire and ice mage, combining the two, making burning ice,” said an over enthusiastic player, wearing bright blue robes.
“Very creative, but not really possible. Fire and Ice cancel each other out, however, fire and water can be combined to form steam magic, which can be very powerful,” suggested Trinico, in her normal, ever-patient manner.
“Ooh, can I use steam to power machines?” the enthusiastic player asked.
“I would not know about that, but you could always ask Giggle-Ana, the town engineer. As for learning elemental magic, you will want to seek out Malcolm, he is the local Mage’s Guild Representative.”
“Thank you very much,” said the enthusiastic player.
“You are most welcome, Mr. Icyhot. I wish you luck on your journey,” Trinico said to the young wannabe mage.
Next was a young woman who looked to be carved from wood, rather than made of flesh.
“Hello, I’m a dryad, but I have no idea what I can do. I only know I get a bonus to nature magic,” the dryad woman started. “Oh, and I’m Kimmie, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you as well Ms. Kimmie. You have a great many options available to you. Tell me, what do you en
joy?” asked Trinico.
“Well, I chose to be a dryad because I get to be a tree, and I love nature. I even have a small garden, in the other place.”
“Ah, so you enjoy growing things. Do you see yourself, as more of a healer or maybe, someone who prefers to fight?” the priestess continued to probe.
“I’m a fighter, no doubt about it, I’m an environmental activist at heart,” Kimmie answered with a grin.
“Well then, I cannot tell you what class to choose, but I can, maybe, point you in the right direction. If you wish to fight, you must decide, if it is with magic or weapons, up close or from far away,” Trinico explained.
“Well . . . I chose a bow for my weapon, I think it’s pretty fun so far. But I want some magic too because that’s super neat,” Kimmie said, sounding like she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do.
“Do you like animals?” Trinico asked.
“Very much so,” the dryad replied.
“Well then, I suggest you visit Barnum, he is the town leatherworker, and once upon a time, he was a very good beast tamer,” said Trini.
“Ick, do you mean skinning and stuff?” whined Kimmie.
Trinico smiled kindly and laughed a little. “Animals eat other animals, and what is left feeds the earth, and from the earth grows the plants you so love. Nothing, says you have to become a skinner or leatherworker, but I feel a conversation with Barnum might suit you. As for learning some magic, Malcolm will also have a selection of nature magic available to you for you to try.”
“I’ll give him a chance, but no promises,” said the Dryad.
I looked at her again as she left. She was literally, a little walking tree, maybe a foot shorter than me with rich dark wood for skin, and orange and red leaves for hair.
The next person approached, he looked to be older, easily in his fifties, maybe even in his sixties.
“Afternoon ma’am,” he nodded to Trinico, then stood with his legs slightly apart and his hands clasped behind his back. “Names Duncan Donut, I want to become a priest.”