Land of the Undying

by Dave Willmarth

  Shari looked distressed. She realized that this was an important decision. One that would potentially determine the course of the rest of her life. If Mace really could figure out how to transfer her consciousness permanently into the system, then she could spend the next several decades following the path she chose now.

  “May I have some more time to think it over?” She asked.

  “Of course, child. There is no law that says you must choose now. Only, I know you are leaving soon, and I would see you as well trained for your chosen path as possible. Might I make a recommendation?”

  “Please, do.”

  “Take the rest of the day. Go to see the rangers, the scribe, and the healers. I can of course answer any questions you have about the guardian or beast specialties.” He looked at her damaged gear. “And maybe get some repairs for your armor?”

  Shari smiled, touching her stomach where the wyvern’s tail had ripped her armor, and her stomach, to shreds. “Thank you, master. I believe I will do just that.”

  “Good! Now, the closest is Ramon, the scribe. He is just…” Arlon proceeded to give her directions on where to go and who best to speak to. Five minutes later she was out the door and headed to see the scribe with a tiny dragon sleeping on her shoulder, and a piglet with a sugar high trotting circles around her as she walked.

  As she entered the shop belonging to Ramon the scribe, the first thing that struck her was the smell. It was a homey, bookish smell of paper, ink, wood, and leather. She immediately felt at home. Snuffles, on the other hand, didn’t like the smell. He immediately turned around and pawed at the door with his front hoof, asking to be let out. Shari obliged, telling him to sit by the door and behave.

  “Good day to you, Shari. How may I be of assistance. Looking for a map? A spell book?” the elf that stepped in from the back room had a thick mane of black hair and a friendly smile. The tips of his fingers looked permanently stained with ink, and he currently sported a smudge of it on his cheek. Shari bobbed her head. “Master Ramon?”

  “That would be me.” He answered cheerfully. “And I know who you are. I was in attendance when you met with the elders. I often transcribe their meetings for them. So I always know all the latest news and juiciest gossip! And speaking of gossip, is that a… a dragon on your shoulder?”

  “Nice to meet, you Master Ramon. And yes, she is a dragon. I’ve just completed my spirit animal ritual, and she chose me.” She was tempted to pet the little dragon, but didn’t want to wake her. “I’ve come to talk to you about being a scribe, if you have the time? I’m trying to decide on my own path, and want to make an informed decision.”

  “Of course! Come, we’ll have some tea and sit in the back. I’ll have to check my records, but I don’t believe anyone has ever bonded with a dragon. Most exciting!” Ramon led her through the shop to a work room and sitting room in the rear. The polished wooden walls, the piles of books and scrolls, the deep plush sitting room chairs, all gave Shari a deep urge to grab a book, curl up and read for hours.

  “This room is lovely.” she said to Ramon as he prepared some tea. “I love how it smells, too.”

  “Thank you. I find it a soothing place to work.” He smiled, setting a teacup and saucer on a table in front of her. “Now, what would you like to know?”

  Shari wasn’t sure what to ask. “Well, I have spent most of my life studying in some way. And I’d like nothing better than to be able to spend my days in a room like this. Reading and … scribing?” He chuckled at her questioning tone. She continued on. “But I’m leaving the city soon to pursue the quest you heard us discuss at the council meeting. I’m afraid my practical side tells me I need a specialization that’ll help me survive out there.”

  Ramon tapped his finger to his chin for a moment before speaking. “Well, at early levels, I’m afraid you’re right. My profession would not be much help to you in battle. Though being able to draw maps as you travel is often helpful. And maps, once you’ve created an original, can be reproduced and sold for a tidy sum. If you had time to train and reach higher levels, then you could create spell scrolls to use in combat. Single-use scrolls that can be used by anyone to cast a spell. They have the advantage of not requiring any mana expenditure on your part. And they can be any type of magic. Offensive, defensive, healing, teleportation, learning…” His voice trailed off.

  “That sounds truly impressive, and exciting!” Shari smiled at him. “But as you said, I have little time to train. I’m afraid a specialization like healing might serve me better for now. My friend Mace can do the fighting, and I can focus on keeping him alive. Still, I would dearly love to make maps and scrolls.” She looked sadly around the room at all the evidence of Ramon’s work.

  Ramon nodded his head in understanding. “You know, I could teach you a few of the skills. There is no law that says you can only learn skills within your chosen path. I could teach you basic cartography, that will allow you to make crude maps. And inscription, so you can begin to practice basic scrolls.”

  Shari’s sad face only lessened slightly. “I’m afraid I don’t have much gold, Master Ramon.”

  “Ah, but a little birdy told me you recently acquired some interesting items. I think we could arrange a trade.”

  “Oh, well certainly!” Shari perked up. “What was it you’re interested in?” She was sure he would ask for the wyvern’s heart. She wasn’t so sure she was willing to give it to him.

  Ramon replied “I understand you’ve picked up some wyvern’s teeth. Those are quite useful to me. They are hollow, to allow for poison injection. Carved down a bit, they make excellent nibs for my pens. And they hold magic, so the spells I use in some of my works will be more effective. Shall we say… a dozen teeth in exchange for the knowledge of inscription and cartography?”

  Shari knew he expected her to negotiate down to eight or ten of the teeth. But she’d received thirty of them, and he was offering her something of value. So she simply agreed. “Done!” she pulled a dozen of the teeth from her bag and handed them to Ramon. He smiled and put them away in a pouch at his belt.

  Leaning forward, he placed a hand on her forehead. She closed her eyes, knowing what was coming. A tingling sensation grew at the back of her neck, spreading outward through her skull. In her mind’s eye, she saw it as a tiny vine growing up from her spine and spreading through her brain, granting knowledge as it went. The feeling was almost pleasant.

  You have obtained the skill Inscription; Level 1

  You have obtained the skill Cartography; Level 1

  Either the physical sensation of the new knowledge being absorbed, or some movement on Shari’s part woke the tiny dragon. She stretched her wings and yawned enormously, completely enchanting Ramon. He reached out a finger, then paused to look at Shari for permission. She nodded her head, and Ramon scratched the little dragon’s belly gently. She, in turn, lowered her nose to sniff at his ink-stained finger, then gave it a little lick. The taste of the ink clearly didn’t agree with her. She shook her head quickly, then sneezed.

  “She’s quite the little character.” Ramon grinned at the dragon. “Have you named her?”

  “I am Mion!” Shari heard the tiny dragon declare.

  She answered Ramon. “She has just informed me quite emphatically that her name is Mion.

  Ramon chuckled. “Quite a fitting name. I believe it means… tiny.”

  Shari thought it was indeed fitting. “Hello, Mion. I’m so glad we found each other.” The dragon began to purr again, though Shari wasn’t sure if it was from her greeting, or Ramon’s petting. She closed her emerald eyes and seemed to go back to sleep. Shari explained to Ramon “Arlon says she’s exhausted from her trip across the planes to find me.”

  Ramon agreed. “Yes, I suppose that would be taxing. Especially on one so small. Best we let her sleep. Now!” He rose from his chair and began to rummage around in a desk drawer. “Aha! Here it is. I would like you to have this, my dear. It was my first set of inscription tools. Nothing fa
ncy, but enough to get you started.” He handed her a small, well-worn wooden box with a wooden clasp on the front. Opening it, she found three pens of varying sizes, nibs, an inkwell, some ingredients for making inks of various colors and consistencies, a small knife for creating more nibs or quills… all the tools she’d need to begin making scrolls or maps.

  “Thank you so much!” Shari closed the box and hugged it. “This is so generous of you.”

  “Ah, but I have ulterior motives!” Ramon replied. “Elves live forever. They buy a map from me, they maybe buy a spell scroll every thousand years. That’s it. But you outworlders, you spend money like it’s painful to hold onto. I want you to bring me back some outworlders to boost my business a little.” He winked at her.

  Shari was trying to find a way to tell him that just wasn’t going to happen, when he added “Also, in order to use those tools, you’re going to need parchment for maps, and scrolls. And guess who has cornered the market on parchment?” His smile made her snort-laugh.

  “Ah, I see! Very sneaky. Okay Master Ramon. I will be gone for some time, so please sell me a ridiculous amount of parchment.”

  “You’ve just earned my undying affection!” Ramon said as he turned and opened a cabinet. He pulled out a stack of one hundred pages of parchment. Then a second stack of a different quality. Setting them on the table in front of her, he said “You’ll use these lower quality sheets for practice. Many of them will be wasted, except as toilet paper, when you make mistakes. As you get better with your skill, move to the better quality parchment. And ink. Better ingredients make for stronger results.”

  Shari gathered up the two stack and put them in her bag along with the tools. “What do I owe you?” she asked.

  Ramon pretended to count on his fingers briefly, then said “Ten gold. Three for the low quality stack, seven for the other.”

  Shari handed him the gold coins. Thanking him again, she said “I’m afraid I must be going. I’ve several more folks to talk to. I’m headed to the rangers next. But thank you so much for your kindness.”

  Ramon walked her to the door and gave her a brief hug as she left. “Don’t forget to look me up again! And send your fellow outworlders my way.”

  Shari made her way next to visit the ranger that Arlon had recommended. He was a retired commander who lived not far from the scribe’s shop. When she knocked on his door, she heard a voice call “Enter!”

  Opening the door, she stepped inside to find a modest, even spartan home. A rough female voice from somewhere in the back of the dwelling said “I’ll be right with you. Have a seat.”

  Shari did as she was bid, sitting in a high-backed wooden chair. Snuffles sat at her feet. After just a moment, a tall female elf walked in, holding a bowl of something in her hands. “Ah, you must be Shari. A little birdy told me you would be stopping by. Literally. Arlon sent a bird to tell me.” She set down the bowl and held out a hand “I am commander Dawnstrider. Just call me Dawn.”

  Shari shook her hand, trying not to show her surprise. It hadn’t occurred to her that the commander might be female. “Th-thank you for taking time to meet with me, commander. Dawn. I was hoping I could ask you some questions?”

  The commander nodded her head and sat down. She offered the bowl to Shari, who saw that it contained grapes. After Shari had accepted some, she set the bowl back down, plucked a few for herself, and gave one to the piglet. “Let me save you some time. You don’t want to be a ranger. At least, not right now. It involves extensive training that you don’t have time for. It also comes with mandatory five years of service to the city. That means regular patrol and guard duty, as well as participating in the defense of the city should any fighting erupt.”

  She paused to pop a grape in her mouth. “When the outworlders were here in numbers, seemed like half of them wanted to be rangers. Everybody loves the shooting and sneaking around the forest bit. But many balked at the requirements.”

  Shari answered slowly. “I guess I’m not surprised. Few of us would have been big on that type of commitment. We have limited time in the world.”

  “Arlon tells me you’re good with a bow. Better than the average elf, I mean. Which is a good bit better than everyone else in the forest. Except maybe the centaurs!” She grinned. “And that you’ve recently acquired a rare specimen. Would you mind showing me?”

  Shari pulled her wyvern bow from her bag and handed it over. Dawn looked it over carefully for several moments. She drew it with considerable strength, for an elf, testing the pull and the string. She tapped it with a knuckle, then against the table. “Excellent weapon. And able to absorb significant magic. You could enchant this with several small spells, or a really large one.”

  Shari agreed “Master Arlon told me much the same. And I thank you for your frank advice.” She reached out and took the bow as Dawn offered it back.

  “I do have a few things I could teach you, to help you along in your quest. I would like to see more outworlders return. They made up a significant portion of our guard force. We’ve been short-handed since you all disappeared. So I have an interest in helping you succeed.”

  “Thank you, commander.” Shari’s voice was quiet. “But I’m afraid there are very, very few of my people left in our world. More die every day. And few if any will have access to this world. Mace and I may be the last.”

  Dawn frowned, saying “Let us hope this is not the case. In any event, I will teach you a few skills that may save your life.” She laid a hand on Shari’s head. The familiar tingling of new knowledge spread through her mind. Dawn said “You can now infuse your arrows with magic. I’ve given you two spells. One will split your arrow mid-flight. You need only imagine where you want it to split before you release. If you want them to go wide, split it early. If you want to double in the impact on a single target, split the arrow just before it strikes. As you improve upon the skill, the arrow will go from two, to three, to four, and so forth.”

  Shari’s eyes lit up. She’d seen other players use this skill when they were still around. It did double or triple the normal damage, and the additional force could knock targets back.

  Dawn saw the look on her face and continued. “That is not even the best one. The second spell lets you infuse your arrow with one of the elements. Fire, water, earth, or wind.”

  Shari’s brow wrinkled. “Um, I understand fire. Does burn damage, lights things on fire. And maybe I understand water. Douse a flame, or good damage against fire-based enemies. But what about earth and wind?”

  Dawn replied. “The element of earth can make an arrow hit like a stone. A stone traveling at the speed of an arrow can knock down an enemy. Or interrupt a spell. There is also a chance it will turn a target to stone temporarily. A small chance at lower levels. As for wind… wind can grant extra speed to an arrow. Or alter its direction. Want to shoot around a corner? Well you can’t quite do that. But you can bend its path. Wind can also steal the breath from a caster, interrupting a spell.”

  “That is AMAZING!” Shari gushed. Her outburst woke Mion, who fluttered her wings and looked around groggily. When she saw there was no danger, she growled grumpily. Dawn was amused.

  “Hello little one. I’m sorry we woke you.” Dawn said.

  “This is Mion. I’m her mount.” Shari smiled, rubbing Mion’s belly with a finger. The little dragon began to purr again. Dawn did the same. “She’s adorable. And rare. Protect her well.”

  Dawn went back to her instruction. “As you improve your skills, you will be able to combine elements. Like water and air can combine to freeze a target. Fire and earth can combine into a molten hot missile of stone that will melt its way through a door or even a wall.”

  Shari was nearly drooling at the possibilities. “I’m gonna be SUCH a badass!” She grinned. Dawn chuckled.

  “Thank you, commander, for the advice and the knowledge. I’m afraid I have more people to see this evening, so I must go.” Shari said as she got to her feet.

  “Good luck on your q
uest. Bring us more outworlders if you can.” Dawn said as she shook Shari’s hand.

  Shari led Snuffles on a short walk through the city, making her way to the healer’s temple where Arlon had told her to meet Master Falin. The temple was open, so she and the piglet walked inside. A young elf in a white robe asked if she could assist Shari, staring curiously at the piglet first, then wide-eyed at the dragon. Mion stared back, seeming bored.

  “I’ve come to speak to Master Falin.” Shari informed the apprentice. She was guided to a corridor at the back of the temple, and a room at the end of the corridor. A quick knock on the door, and she was shown inside.

  Falin looked young for a master. He had silver hair that fell halfway down his back, and a wicked scar across his left jawline. He rose from his desk to greet her. “Welcome Shari. I’ve been expecting you. I take it you chose not to become a ranger?”

  Shari bowed her head slightly. “Not yet, Master Falin. I’m still leaning toward the healing arts. It’s what I’ve trained for, in my world.”

  “Yes, Arlon told me as much. He was just here, telling me all about you. He was sure you would choose the path of healing.” The elf smiled at him.

  Shari shook her head. The old elf knew her well for the short time they’d spent together. “I don’t know that I’ve made that decision yet. Arlon and the other masters have been very kind. Taught me so much in the last few days.”

  Falin replied “It is good to know something of the other paths. The healing arts are wonderful, and useful. But they can’t always save you. Sometimes, one needs to know how to defend, or to kill.” His fingers went to the scar on his jaw.

  Shari agreed. “That’s a lesson I’ve learned in my world, as well as this one. I had a chance to kill in order to defend a friend, but wasn’t fast enough. And I couldn’t heal her afterwards. That won’t happen again.”