by M J Sweeney
Health: 616 (+40%)
Mana: 506 (+15%)
Stamina: 410
Combat Skills:
Knife: 17
Spear: 25
Staff-spear: 28
Quarterstaff: 38 (+10 specialisation, +5 wood elf, +5 warrior)
Light Armour: 21
Once lunch was done, I went in search of Sergeant Allih Connivaria. He was easy to find, and also a split image of Alhain—same brown hair, brown eyes, tanned skin, and muscular for a high elf. I thought they might be twins. The only difference was Allih was impeccably clean, with his long hair pulled back tightly, and everything about him seemed to scream “military.” I realised they both also looked like Bennih the apprentice, so I guessed that was his son, given the similarities of name.
“Sir, your brother Alhain sent me, or recommended you to me, and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions.”
He was currently sitting and eating lunch with his men, a group of thirty or so high elves plus a few moon elves. The latter had pale skin, almost albino in some cases, large dark eyes, and either black or brown hair. So far, I hadn’t met any other wood elves; I guess they were rare, or maybe most just stayed in the forest by their tree.
“Have some lunch with us.” He gestured at the seat opposite.
To be polite, I sat and had a second lunch. At least this one wasn’t so spicy.
“Your name?”
“Cordaen of-the-Forest, sir,” I replied.
“Long way from home, dryad?”
“No sir, not really. Home is a little way north.” I waved vaguely in that direction. “Though to me, almost anywhere in the forest feels like home, I guess.”
I got a few approving nods and murmurs at that statement.
“And what brings you to Little Hill?” The sergeant used the common trade language version of the name.
“I am a traveller… so I like seeing different places.” Well, I did now. “And love the Tree,” I said, and felt the capital letter. “I want to visit many places on this earth, the stars, the three moons…” I trailed off, it had sounded better in my head than out loud.
“Fair enough,” said the sergeant.
“The moons!” one soldier exclaimed. “Hah! If you visit the three moons, you’ll become one of the soulless! I don’t fancy your chances.” He was one of the high elves. From what I understood, there were various undead and fae (both considered soulless) who were said to return to the shadow of Maor on death, to be reborn in Memory each time the red moon waxed into potency again.
“Ach, don’t be a dumbass, Sacheen! He doesn’t meaning going to them, just looking, like Anthul. Being poetic. Which of course, you don’t understand.”
“Stop yer yapping, Perillion. You think you’re so fancy, how much poetry you ever read? Besides, Anthul can fly; maybe he does go to the moon. Or lives on one. Probably White Ei.”
The group laughed at Sacheen, a few slapping him on the back. They clearly found that funny. I found it curious, and possibly even true. What did I know?
“Before we are totally side-tracked by another argument, what can I do for you?” the sergeant asked.
“Your brother mentioned training. I would really like more training, so… I was wondering what I need to do.”
“Join up! Become a man! Get laid!” one wise lout shouted out, and the others all laughed.
The sergeant just shook his head. “I don’t teach classes, or give training to outsiders. We train for patrols, keeping the Dark at bay, culling any beasts that are overpopulating, and watching for any incursions from our neighbours. I don’t run a weapon’s school.”
I frowned, a little disappointed.
“Having said that, it doesn’t mean you can’t join. If you show some fighting skill, or tracking or wood-lore, then you can help our patrols, and then we can offer training. No money, just some loyalty for hard work.”
“That sounds good. Do you have a minimum kind of time frame? A week, a month, a year?”
The men were mostly quiet now, clearly listening in. “We do have weapons-training every morning and every evening, based on our patrol groups. There are three groups, which overlap a little. One group does graveyard shift and morning, the next group does morning and afternoon, and the last does afternoon and night. Each group has three weeks on, one week off, then shift to three weeks on, one week off, so you get used to sleeping odd hours. All of that is managed by the three sergeants: me, Ballais, and Perachion. And we are all commanded by Captain Gan’Rento’Escow. You could join the patrols for three weeks minimum, and we’d give you the training complimentary.”
“I like the sound of it. Only problem is I need to earn some money while I’m here.”
“If you want to join up as a casual, rather than a lifer, and get paid for it, minimum contract is one year.”
“Hey Sarj,” one of the soldiers spoke up, “ya do sometimes accept others fer short term when we got a special job. Like that rogue we had that one time.”
“That’s true. Are you a rogue, Cordaen?”
I shook my head and smiled. “No, but I am a healer.”
He blinked. “A priest?” His gaze was scrutinizing now. “Where is your holy symbol?”
“Let’s say I’m a bit more warrior than priest, and I’m still learning my way as a priest. I have spoken to Priestess I’Daon, though; she can confirm what I say. I think Alhain would be prepared to vouch for me also.”
“Yes. That may change things.” He looked thoughtful, rubbing tiredly at his jaw. That type always was—always busy, always tired, but somehow never flagging, never failing to keep up with his men and push them one step further.
Another soldier chimed in, “Hey Sarj, we want the healer; we sighted wargs along the northern ridge last week. He’d be able to keep Sacheen from running like a rabbit this time!”
“Fuck you, Renniti,” growled a short high elf, who I took to be Sacheen. “I didn’t just run off, it’s called a strategic… whatsammie. I only ran when I saw I had no chance. Better alive than warg droppings.”
“All right, tone it down,” the sergeant shushed them. “I’ll consider this. Look, I’ll check on a couple of things, talk with the captain and a few others, and we’ll see what we can do.”
I nodded in agreement. “Just so you know, I’d be willing to do patrols for about three months or so, get some experience before I move on, if that’s acceptable. I also have to check on a job offer, so I might not be available for a few days. But I will let you know if I have to go anywhere. Other than that, I’m available now.”
The sergeant was smiling slightly, and nodded. “Yes, yes, that’s fine. Where are you staying, so I can send someone to get you in a day or so?”
“In the general market. A friend is running a stall there.”
“Sleeping in the market?” His eyebrows quirked in surprise. “Hmm, no problem. Who’s the merchant?”
“Drognad Zahngoracksenn.”
I tried not to feel embarrassed about that, but thought beggars can’t be choosers. Certainly, though, I didn’t want to appear to be impoverished and crass.
On my way up the hill, I gathered a few little supplies and went to the four shrines. I offered Seti some dandelions I had found, dropped a couple of the fronds from the willow tree to Lindane, left a honey-cake for Cylvai, and for Anthul, I simply cupped my mouth over the bowl and whispered, “If you do ever fly to the moon, please take me with you. I love Ei, Maor, and Iss… I hope you like my words.”
I walked up the top to talk to the priestess. She was sitting on one of the benches, talking to a male high elf. I waited to the side until they finished, and she waved me over. I sat down on a nearby bench. I tried not to stare, as the priestess was dressed in a flowing green dress that hugged her curves admirably.
“Greetings of the day.” She smiled, as beautiful as the first time.
“Greetings,” I replied. “I have been meaning to ask this… is that job offer you have still open?”
&nb
sp; “Job offer?” She frowned.
“Something for adventurers, and only priests or divine warriors need apply?”
“Oh. You are an adventurer?” her dark eyebrows rose, though her face remained neutral.
I realised that I hadn’t really told her much about myself. “I am a warrior first and foremost, though still learning. But I wish to be a warrior and a priest, with purpose, with…” I searched for the words, a little embarrassed.
“Yes?”
“Honour. I know that may sound clichéd, but it’s important to me. I’m also a big believer in surviving, and sometimes honour and survival of the fittest don’t go well together at all. I made mistakes in my past that I don’t care to repeat. It’s not that I want to give away my responsibility to one of the gods, but to give help and receive it in equal measure.” I was babbling. “That would be awesome.”
She was smiling. “You speak with greater passion than before,” she observed.
“It’s important,” I said. “I’m hoping you see I’m not just here for personal gain. Getting wealth and power and magic might be fun at times, but it’s also not that important to me when push comes to shove. I guess there are two things that really motivate me. I want to see as much of this world as possible, and I want to help others while I do it, prevent evil, stop the bad guy, spit in the eye of the devil, spread some of the love around… that kind of thing. ” I hoped she got my point.
“I hear you. I may not be so warlike, but I understand the passion. To answer your question, yes—I do have a quest—in fact a difficult series of quests, and unlikely to be accomplished quickly or easily.” She looked at me keenly, her dark hair brushing across her face in the breeze. She tucked it back behind one elf ear. Focus, I thought, distracted.
“I understand.”
“You should also know that most of these quests will require forethought and planning, and will usually require a group of the brave and true in order to accomplish them.”
“Yes.”
Her expression became still a moment, her attention turned inward.
“It is a quest of the Elven Quadrinity—for the Andas Alfar. This matter is one that we would prefer to keep within our community, but as time passes and there is little chance we can accomplish the four tasks ourselves, we have turned to outsiders for help. Having said that, I require that anyone who takes on the task must have affinity with elven culture, and an affinity with elven gods.”
She paused a moment and looked at me. “I am procrastinating, as I have not given out this task to anyone in a long time. And the last ones who tried all died. So listen: in the end, there are four ancient spirits that must be freed—once heroes of the elven nation—and four holy artefacts. We want the artefacts found and taken from whatever evil that uses them. Doing this should free the soul that is trapped and enslaved. You may keep the artefacts.”
She looked at me keenly. “Find the Ghostly Shroud, the Stone of Good-luck, the Wind of Silence, and the Eye of the Needle. As there is some veil that blocks our sight from discovering the whereabouts of the lost souls and the lost artefacts, we can be of little aid in directing your course. That is all.” I heard an ominous series of bass-drums coming from my interface, not the usual ding.
/ Andas Alfar / Quest of the Elven Quadrinity / Accept Y / N
(Legendary Quest Chain—Elite and Legendary Quests are difficult to complete, and may take many years to accomplish.)
I blinked on yes. I was probably crazy, but who wouldn’t say yes to a set of quests like that? I tried blinking on the quest icon to get more information, but there was none.
“That was kind of intense,” I murmured. “There is no time limit?”
“None.”
“Can I ask some questions?”
“Go ahead.” Her dark eyebrows arched, her expression once more kind of condescending. Seemed like an elf thing. In any case I forged ahead.
“Where do I start?”
“Wherever you like.”
Gods! Helpful, not. “Um, damn. Wait, you said you sent another group out, and they never came back. Do you know where they went—did they give you updates or something?”
“Yes, in fact, they did.” She hesitated. “They first ventured into some old Eragdas Alfar ruins, though I don’t think they found much there. But that then led them to some place in dwarven territory, away to the far north. They didn’t say where that was, and they never came back. When the quest closed, it meant they either gave up or died.” She smiled sadly.
“And the ruins, Eragdas Alfar, where are they?”
“To the northeast, towards goblin lands, about four to five days by horse, a couple of weeks on foot.” She looked at me a moment. “Though for a dryad, maybe less on foot.” I smiled at the almost compliment. There had been no real opportunity to test out my fleetness attribute; it would be interesting to see how I fared over a long distance.
“I should add,” she continued, “we know of these ruins. Periodically, they are infested with undead, spawn of Ulgorrim, and raised under the light of Maor. You might find it challenging to delve such a place on your own, so if you do go there, I would suggest getting help and going with companions you trust.”
“I thank you.” I stood and gave a small bow. “I am honoured to be granted this quest, and will endeavour to complete it and satisfy even the Gods’ honour.” I heard a little ding and another fanfare. Nice!
She smiled. “Well said. I would encourage you to also seek more training before you do go to the ruins. And most important – commune with your Tree. Commune with the Quadrinity. And if you keep offering your help, one is sure to answer. You will gain your hearts’ wish.”
I blinked. Commune with my Tree. Not a bad idea.
I heard another ding. Then two.
/ Complete first stage of The Quadrinity Quest with Divine Favour /
/ Quest Bonus: Gain Divine Favour /
I didn’t know what any of that meant, so I ignored it.
/ Become Chosen by One of the Quadrinity /
/ Become a Priest of Anthul / Cylvai / Seti / Lindane / Accept Y / N
That made me stop and think for a moment, for I knew there were many more Gods and Goddesses. But I was being offered a quest to either pick one of the elven gods or be picked by one as my principle deity. In the end, I thought that fair enough. Although I didn’t want to offend anyone, I just wasn’t sure which… I didn’t feel a particular pull toward one of them as yet.
As there were thirteen months of the year, and three moons in the sky, this meant thirty-nine combinations—the total amount of lesser and greater gods and goddesses that helped and hindered the folk of Memory. It was quite the pantheon. The choice between four deities simplified my confusion—and they suited my race, so I blinked on yes.
/ Commune with your Sequoia /
/ Time Limit: while Blue Iss is in the sky /
There was no Y / N option on this one, but there was a time limit of one month.
All right. It looked like I was visiting my Tree soon. Perhaps I could do that while on patrol. I thought about that and decided against it. The less people who knew where my tree was, the better. I could do it during my week off, if I was accepted into the patrols.
Chapter 7
And that’s exactly what happened. I was temporarily commissioned into the Ell’Escow military and granted a stipend of one dran five jeb per week, plus hazard pay. This was not much income, though more than what the other scouts were getting. However, Priestess I’Daon asked me to add my “Healing Services” to the job board in the tavern. As she and her acolytes were often over-busy with such matters, if I took up some of the slack, they could finish a few tasks of their own that remained incomplete. Most evenings (or mornings, depending on my patrol group), I sat in the back room of the tavern and treated anyone who had ailments or questions of a health nature.
Due to my previous life experience—despite my rather short and failed time in the paramedics—I did have some medical knowledg
e. Between that, my healing ability, and occasionally some of the healing-balm (I wasn’t stingy) I gained a small following. I only asked for donations, but the coins trickled in nonetheless. I collected a few ingredients for medicines, and with the help of one of the local herbalists, Berindis, sister to the clothier Menisme, I managed to collect a little supply of “herbs for all occasions.”
My income may not have been as lucrative as an adventurers’, but my life at the moment was certainly a lot less dangerous. I also got to know most people in town, which seemed to have its uses. It did occur to me that I was kind of reliving my previous life, but in a better way. I had failed at being a medic and failed at going pro MMA, so here I was trying to succeed at both. Weird.
Eventually, I moved in to a back room at the Titus Andronicus, given to me at half-price with free meals, due to the healing service I offered. As clients would come through the tavern anyway, it was considered polite to have a beer or wine (or three) on the way out “just to aid the healing process.” Or so it was said. I didn’t object, as everyone was happy.
Once Alhain repaired the lute, I also started attempting to play, stumbling through a few chords from what I remembered from my student days. Initially I played only in my room, and sometimes with Drognad while we emptied a few beers, him holding his hands over his ears half the time. At one point, Alhain took pity on me and showed me more of the basic chords and the correct finger and hand positioning.
The lute was smaller than a guitar, and easier to carry around, but it meant the finger positions around the neck were more delicate. With thirteen strings, there was also a lot to learn with finger positions and chords. My elf hands actually made this easier, plus my agility seemed to aid in picking it up. I was no maestro, but it was fun to play. Its tone was a little lighter and brighter than a guitar, but it still had nice depth. Eventually, once I could afford it, Alhain also made me a case to carry it in, made from stiffened leather with reinforced wooden ribbing.