“We’ll run into an organized guild,” Constantine said with a sigh, echoing the worst case scenario we could come up with.
Our greatest fear was that one of the massive gaming syndicates would be knocking on our door. Huge guilds with thousands of members, all choosing to start in the same location and follow their leaders to wherever they decided to set up shop. If something like that happened to Aldford, there was little we’d be able to do about it, even with the defenses we’d managed to create so far.
Quantity has a quality all its own. I reminded myself of the old quote, hoping after everything we’d gone through, we wouldn’t just be overrun by sheer numbers.
“We’ll manage as best as we can,” I told the both of them, tossing Constantine’s fully repaired chest piece at him. “Here, you’re all patched up.”
“Thanks, Lyr,” Constantine said nervously.
“No problem.” I exhaled deeply as I tried to banish the stress that had steadily built up overnight. “You’ll both be great and it’ll all work out in the end. I know we’re all a bit on edge today.”
“Yeah…” Sierra agreed with a sigh. “I haven’t felt this stressed since I nearly slept through that exam back in university…”
“I think I remember that, wasn’t there a huge RPG game released around that time? Ugh, what was it called?” Constantine said while scratching his head. “That’s going to bug me all day now.”
“I don’t even remember.” Sierra smiled, thinking back to the day. “…I barely even remember what the exam was about now.”
I chuckled, my nervousness bleeding away slightly. “Alright, both your armors look in good shape, try not to be too hard on it today, if possible. These things are getting towards the end their lifespan.”
“Heh.” Constantine barked a dry laugh, as he slipped on his chest piece. “Something tells me that won’t be up to us.”
“We shall see…” I said softly as I motioned the group outside.
Natasha and Amaranth were waiting outside in the cool air as we stepped outside the workshop. Natasha chewed on a piece of dried meat as she quickly ate her breakfast, giving us a wave when she saw us. Amaranth, in typical cat fashion, had curled himself into a ball, using a crate outside the workshop as a convenient perch as he dozed.
Flicking an ear at Constantine in greeting, Amaranth set off, nudging Sierra’s hip with his head as he passed, moving directly towards the nearest village exit.
“Oof,” Sierra exclaimed as the giant feline knocked her elfin figure off stride. “Good morning to you too, you brute.”
“I guess it’s time to go,” Natasha said, wiping her face with the back of her hand, moving to follow the cat. “Have a good day Lyrian!”
“I guess Amaranth is ready to go…” Constantine muttered under his breath as he waved goodbye to me.
“Don’t worry.” Sierra waved as she turned to follow the rest of the group. “If there are any Adventurers in the area, we’ll find them! Before they find us!”
I watched the group leave the village, biting my lip slightly as they vanished from sight. I finally began to understand the expression ‘hurry up and wait’ that I heard people use before. Short of adding the last bit of Tribuli to our defenses, everything else depended on what came down on us.
Speaking of which, I probably should get started on those. I wasn’t looking forward to another day filled with sharpening the spiked lengths of wood. With the items having long since become trivial for me to create, there weren’t going to be any more skill increases for me to look forward to today.
Maybe Jenkins will get a few people helping us craft them. I made a mental note to mention it to the man when I saw him this morning.
So far, everything was quiet in Aldford, the majority of the villagers enjoying a morning to sleep in, as a reward for the amount of work we’d accomplished yesterday. I looked back at the workshop, debating with myself just how long I could afford to procrastinate before starting on the endless task of manufacturing Tribuli.
I sat down on a crate for a moment, appreciating the silent stillness of the village. Even if everything went perfectly over the next few days, this morning would probably be the last truly quiet day Aldford would see for a while.
With any luck, the future would have friendly adventurers waking up early, getting ready for their day in the wild. The same would go for the merchants that I hoped would one-day open shops here, along with all the other pieces that would come together once Aldford became a fully functioning town.
Looking upwards, I spotted the azure-tinted oak tree once again. Its massive form stretching over twenty feet tall, easily the tallest feature in Aldford now, with no end to its growth in sight.
Shit… when was the last time I saw Donovan? I struggled to remember if I had seen the mage yesterday evening. Probably not since yesterday morning.
I sighed, pushing myself off the crate and walking back towards the center of the town in search of Donovan. True to Constantine’s words yesterday, I spotted a table pulled up beside the now massive base of the tree, covered in a heap of papers. Donovan and the rumored chair were nowhere to be seen.
Scattered on top of the mess of papers and conveniently doubling as a paperweight was a thick, intricately engraved iron rod. A quick glance at the rod prompted a tag to appear, informing me that it was an [Ætherscope].
Picking the item up in one hand while holding the papers down with the other, I felt the faintest tingle of energy while grabbing the Ætherscope. As I examined the engravings on the cool rod, I started to feel a faint, tugging motion in my hand as the rod began to nudge it itself towards the oak tree.
Huh, magical dowsing rod of some sort maybe? I thought to myself. I guess that could be somewhat useful.
The Ætherscope was pointing directly at the tree when I felt it begin to tug harder in my hand, moving downwards towards the base of the tree, until I was pointing nearly straight down into the ground.
That’s where all the ichor was spilled when the Webwood Horror exploded. I frowned as the Ætherscope began to vibrate in my hand. The hell is this thing doing?
Curious as to what could be causing the Ætherscope to react so strangely I activated True Sight gazing towards the ground.
My vision brightened, my newly augmented ability cutting through the dark shadows cast by the rising sun. But it did not stop there. Thick, vibrant white lines appeared in the ground around me, causing me to flinch in surprise. The longer I held the Ætherscope, the more lines I saw, the range I could perceive the lines increasing gradually, second by second.
Are those… roots?! My eyes opened even wider as I stared at the ground, tracing the lines through the earth. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of the roots, burrowing far into the ground, far deeper than the tree was tall. The further away the roots descended, the more of an azure tinge the roots acquired. Shit! What is that?!
At the edge of my vision, a faint deep blue vein of energy appeared, running from the east then curving to the northwest, flowing so slowly that I could barely perceive it. I knelt down to the ground as if the short distance would be enough to change what I saw.
It was then I noticed the acrid smell of burning flesh, quickly followed by blinding pain in my hand.
“Shit!” I yelled, dropping the now red hot Ætherscope from my hand, instinctively deactivating my True Sight. The second it struck the ground it began to smolder sending up smoke as it burnt through the grass surrounding the tree.
“Aaah, what the fuck?!” My stomach roiled as I looked down at the charred mess of my palm. Had I still relied on food for nourishment, I was pretty sure I’d have thrown up from the sight. Sucking in a deep breath, I closed my eyes
as the pain peaked, then thankfully began to fade. A quick glance had shown me losing a full 10% of my health from clutching the searing rod.
What the hell just happened?!
“Wa-what? Whoa!” A sleepy voice greeted my ears, followed by a crash. I heard some scrambling on the ground before footsteps came rushing around the tree. “Lyrian! What happened?!”
I opened my eyes to see a disheveled Donovan standing over me. “Your… Ætherscope, fucking burnt my hand to the bone, is what happened?!”
“What?!” The mage sounded concerned, whether it was for me or the Ætherscope, I couldn’t tell. “It’s not supposed to do that!”
Donovan spotted the thing lying on the ground nearby in a patch of smoldering grass. He waved a hand over it, testing the temperature, before gingerly picking it up. “It’s cold now. Tell me what happened.”
“I-I-” I my voice caught as I tried to flex my hand, sending shooting pains through it as the regenerating pink skin cracked under movement. “I came to check up on you, but didn’t see you nearby.”
“I fell asleep in the chair.” Donovan indicated a nearby chair that was on its side. “I was just on the other side of the tree.”
“Fuck…” I shook my head, with how quickly this tree had grown, the simple thought to check on the other side of it hadn’t even crossed my mind. I took another deep breath and continued talking. “I saw the Ætherscope lying on the table and was curious to what it was. Once I had picked it up, it pointed itself at the tree first, then the ground. At that point, I activated my Arcane Sight…”
“So you saw the root system.” Donovan nodded expectantly, not knowing that I had mentioned the old version of my skill. “That shouldn’t have caused the rod to overheat.”
“I saw more than that,” I told Donovan, explaining the change in color of the roots and the massive blue tinted river of energy beneath us.
“You saw what?!” Donovan practically leaped out of his skin as he absorbed my statement. “How?! Even with the Ætherscope, you should not have been able to see so far!”
“What do you mean even with the Ætherscope?” I shot back at Donovan. “I don’t even know what the Ætherscope does!”
“What?! Why did you even touch it then?!” Donovan hissed back in surprise. “Normally they aren’t dangerous except possibly as a club, but gods you’ve proven that wrong!”
“I get it, Donovan,” I replied acidly. “I was an idiot and touched something magical I didn’t fully understand. It’s not the first time that’s happened and likely not the last. Now tell me, what does an Ætherscope do?”
Donovan took a deep breath, his face coloring like he was about to tear a strip off my hide. But he caught himself and exhaled muttering under his breath. “Like a babein a naphtha factory playing with matches.”
He looked at me for a moment before beginning to explain.
“An Ætherscope is a device that is able to detect major sources of magic nearby, as well as enhance the detection range of our Arcane Sight’s ability to perceive magic. Depending on the distance, the Ætherscope will also shade any magic it perceives in shades ranging from white for the closest auras, to a dark blue for the furthest. It was primarily used for reconnaissance during The War, to maintain a watch for magic-oriented attacks. However we have repurposed it for our expedition, not that it did us much good, all things considered.”
“How far does it extend your vision?” I asked after taking a moment to absorb Donovan’s information about the Ætherscope.
“Five hundred meters, in all cases, since we’ve begun designing them,” Donovan stated. “How you saw further is a mystery to me.”
“I think it has to do with my fall into the Ley Line,” I told Donovan vaguely. “I have felt more in tune with magic since I emerged.”
“Perhaps that has granted you a better sensitivity,” Donovan conceded thoughtfully. “Though I am loathe to try and replicate such a gift.”
“Anyway,” the mage continued. “You were saying that you saw a massive river of energy beneath us?
“I did,” I said with a nod. “I think it is a portion of the Ley Line. It was extremely faint.”
Donovan nodded excitedly as if he suspected that all along. “Likely that is what burnt the rod from your hand, it was never designed to withstand detecting such power, a good thing to know for the future.”
“I’m glad nearly charring my hand to ash was of some help.” I flexed my hand a second time, feeling less pain as it had nearly healed itself. If that happened in Real Life, I’d have lost my hand.
“Perhaps it will teach you not to touch things you don’t understand,” Donovan replied sagely.
“Doubt it,” I grunted as I stood up and indicated the tree. “The roots that I saw were growing straight down, towards the Ley Line. They had a fair distance to go, but not much longer I’d say.”
“Are you certain?” Donovan asked looking towards the glowing tree, still cradling the Ætherscope that I had dropped.
“Certain enough that I don’t want to check again.” I indicated the rod. “Should we be concerned if the tree reaches the Ley Line?”
“Eh? I have no idea, this is new ground to me,” Donovan admitted with a shrug. “I have no frame of reference for such magic.”
“Great,” I replied with a sigh, looking up at the tree.
“All I can say with confidence,” Donovan said softly. “Is that when this tree touches the Ley Line, that it’s likely to get much larger.”
“Fantastic.”
***
After my rather pointed lesson in the value of keeping my hands to myself, I returned to the workshop, content to stick to the task of crafting the needed Tribuli to complete our defenses. At the very least, the pointy lengths of wood wouldn’t spontaneously catch fire on me if I gripped them too tightly.
I really need to figure out the rules of magic in this world, along with ten thousand other things. My mind spiraled as I tried to assess everything I had learned about Ascend Online over the last week. Even a week into the game and I have yet to scratch the surface of what this world has to offer. If only I had a few more days to catch my breath and find my footing…
I felt like a drowning man trying to keep his head above water, as the responsibility for the defense and development of Aldford began to weigh on me. I had never expected to be in a position of such responsibility when I had first logged onto this world. Now here I was, quite literally preparing for a war I might have no chance in winning to land on my doorstep.
Even if everything worked out flawlessly, the weight and pressure on me would only increase. The impending Adventurers merely being the leading tip of the challenges coming towards us. Aldford would become the focal point of everyone turning their gaze to the frontier, if only for its strategic location as a safe haven.
Adding onto all of that, if I wished to truly secure the area, I would have to follow through on the Bann’s advice. Potentially pitting myself against an ex-Queen and putting myself into a world of politics I knew nothing about.
I think I know why most political leaders have gray hair now. I found myself constantly taking deep breaths, trying to calm my hammering heart before it leaped straight out of my chest. I wonder if I can somehow put this on my resume. ‘Led virtual village and all inhabitants to destruction,' ‘experienced in biting off more than one can chew,' ‘ability to repeatedly touch strange and unknown magical artifacts without proper safety precautions.’
“Lyrian, are you okay?” Jenkin’s voice cut my spiraling thoughts off.
“Hm?” I looked up at Jenkin’s unexpected question. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
“Are you sure?” His eyes dropped down to the Tribuli I was working on.
“Huh?” I turned the wooden caltrop around, to see that I had tied a hammer in place of one of the wooden spikes. “Oh…”
“I think you need a break,” Jenkins said gently, taking the Tribuli from my hands.
“But…”
“Lyr
ian, you’ve made close to fifty of these in the last couple of hours alone! The rest of us have barely made twenty-five, each, in that time,” Jenkins soothed me as he waved to a handful of helpers nearby. “Take a break. We’ll be able to finish the rest by lunch time.”
“Sorry.” I let a deep breath out. “Bit nervous today.”
“I know what you mean,” Jenkins said sympathetically. “Take some time to wind down and let the day work itself out. Don’t stress yourself out.”
“Thanks, Jenkins. I think I’ll do that.” I felt my heart flutter a bit as I stood up. “Maybe a bit of a walk will soothe my nerves.”
I left the workshop in a bit of a daze, losing myself in thought once again. Walking through the village, I sensed an underlying current of anxiety. I spotted a handful of nervous villagers focused on relentlessly cleaning and sharpening tools, past the point of reason. Gleaming pitchforks, knives, and spades all rested in a line as if they would have to be picked up at a moment’s notice to repel invaders. Others dealt with their stress in a more traditional way, simply by burying themselves in whatever work they could find.
Ascend Online Page 38