by G. Akella
I scanned the surrounding trees, but could not see Henry. Squeezing my temples with my fingers, I waited for my rage to die down. I had assumed my "clever" friend would be unable to come with me, which was why I had pressed him for information back in the valley. Clever.... No wonder Cheney gave him that name. There was no doubt about it: Adam had used Henry as bait. And likely knew full well that the mage would be unable to escape. I checked the log, just in case. There, a surprise awaited me.
The character Clever has teleported to the village of Still Creek.
The human starting zone! So he had survived! I took a deep breath of fresh forest air and smiled. At least I had saved one... But where did that leave me? Not really anywhere. I doubted RP-17 could make any radical moves based on the information in Henry’s head. It must not have access to what was in our heads, in fact. Or maybe it didn't care. Cheney wouldn’t have taken so great a risk otherwise. The asshole had been waiting for me to become distracted, or at least to look the other way. But I had known better than to let my guard down.
When I asked Donut why the Ancients, who were essentially world bosses, attacked from such extreme distances, he replied that there was nothing surprising about that. Some siege engines in this world, for instance, could hurl stones from nigh two hundred yards out. Of course, nearly everyone here had the dexterity and mobility to dodge such projectiles - as I had proven when we fled from Vaepar’s first attack. Only instant-cast spells were range limited to fifty yards or less. By the mouth of the innkeeper, Merdoc had warned me that I would meet the New God standing over the bones of perished bandits, and that I absolutely must not join the fight. That ship had indeed been full of bones, and not just on the deck. And pirates were certainly bandits. I had realized this a full day ago, once I knew where the ship was sailing. So I had kept a close eye on my surroundings as a result. Even if Cheney had appeared a foot away from me, I would have managed to put my shield up in time thanks to my Swordsman reflexes. But if I had neglected to get Henry talking, the information he knew would have been lost to me. Time was running out, and Henry might spend any number of days at the human starting zone.
All right. So what now?
I watched the nearby trees thoughtfully while sipping from my flask, then chuckled. Instead of one of those crystal platforms, I had ended up in the Great Forest. Oh well...
But now, the Creator’s intentions to release the Nameless One were clear. RP-17 was not working at full capacity, as far as its code went, and it didn’t like that. Cheney and co had been breaking the law for a while, and when that momentous patch happened, it had only played into their hands. Into Cheney’s hands, rather - the others had been played right into the hands of Death. Millions of people had perished, most likely because someone was trying to cover their tracks. There were probably attempts to block or even destroy that other, second part of RP-17, but something went wrong, which sent Sage into taking radical measures. And I was cast into Demon Grounds to avoid bringing attention to the Azure Valley.
All of these were only my assumptions and conjectures, of course, but they fit together quite well. Anyway, what's done is done. The past could not be changed, but perhaps the future could be.
Rising to my feet, I tried to figure my location. This was definitely the Great Forest, or a copy of it. Huge deciduous trees, the girth of each forty or fifty times larger than the circumference of my own torso. Most of the trees had large distances between them. The grass here was bright green and approximately ankle-deep, with a motley carpet of wildflowers. Butterflies the size of my palm flew about the grass. I had to figure out which way was north, at least. The great weavework of the tree branches kept me from seeing the sky. Sunlight still magically passed through the foliage, though, as it happens in the Great Forest.
So, where to from here? I knew that ants built their anthills on the south side of trees, and the bark on the south side was lighter in color. I couldn’t see any anthills, though, and investigation of the bark told me nothing. I was little more than a tourist here. Now, what sort of place was this Cenaria I was reportedly on the border of? I saw no signs or direction indicators.
With a sigh, I adjusted my sword made my way to the closest tree.
You’ve accessed the quest: Prophet.
Quest type: hidden, unique.
Use any means necessary to get to the Dragon Graveyard, find the dead Great Dragon Greiharm, and ask him a question.
Reward: experience, an answer to your question.
Hart! Was I really going to have to deal with quests every step of the way? And again with the graveyard and a Great Dragon. Only this one was supposedly dead. Yet I had to ask him something. What, though? What if I asked the wrong question? Based on the quest description, I could ask any question I wanted to, so I’d come up with something on the way. At least I wouldn’t have to kill anybody. Not the dragon, at least, seeing as he was already dead. Maybe just some others along the way.
These thoughts swirled through my head as I approached a giant trunk and was suddenly drowning in cognitive dissonance. A young girl was sleeping on the grass, near one of the trunk’s roots. Twenty years old, no older. She had leather camouflage armor and an elegant carved staff. Level 370, with one hundred and ten million HP. Her name was Linara, and going by the title over her head, she was a princess from some place called Gimlad. Her color towards me was neutral. Of course, none of this would have been that strange if it weren't for her height, which was one foot at the most. I double-checked to make sure the System hadn’t renamed me 'Gulliver.'
Once I had reassured myself of my sanity, I reasoned that this girl likely knew where the Dragon Graveyard was. So I would wait until she awoke. Heck, I probably would have lingered about anyway - when else would I get the chance to meet someone like her?
Walking around the tree revealed nothing of interest, so I found a comfortable spot some ten feet away from the sleeping girl, and proceeded to wait.
Chapter 12
Five minutes passed before I was fed up with wasting time. Cheney would break out of the valley in less than three hours! I sincerely hoped that time passed much more slowly there than it did here. The game’s code demanded that I have at least some chance of defeating him. Everyone would be given an amount of time appropriate for his or her abilities in the search for the Nameless, but that also meant I needed to hurry. Besides, I knew nothing about these Lilliputians - what if they were prone to sleep for weeks?
So I rose, removed my helmet, and adjusted my hair. Then, I slowly walked over to the sleeping girl, bent down, and went to touch her boot. In an instant, the girl soared up into the air, ten feet over my head. It was so unexpected that I jumped back, mouth wide in shock at the translucent wings that sprouted from her back. They looked like the wings of a dragonfly, or of the good witch in a children’s book. But Linara’s next line dispelled my hopes of the "good" part.
"Hands off, scumbag!" She squealed, raising her staff as it became enveloped in light green smoke.
Your reputation with the Gimlad Princedom has decreased. Princess Linara is unfriendly to you.
It took me a few moments to gather my breath as I tried to get a better look at this lovely "dragonfly." The girl was pretty enough, with a sharp chin, almond-shaped eyes, and short black hair. I had never seen female NPCs with hair this short, though. But she was clearly a woman. Recovering from the shock, I extended my hand, palm up, and asked the only thing I could think of.
"Are you a fairy?"
The girl answered. Though most of the words she chose would have been bleeped out anywhere but the most premium of networks. But then she lowered her staff at last, even as contempt still dripped down on my head from her high perch in the midst of the air.
"Have you never seen the Tylwyth Teg, demon? How did you arrive in Gimlad, and why did you reach your filthy paws out to me?"
Tylwyth Teg? The Children of the Forest? I recalled Max saying that Sata was their patroness. Whatever the case, this little girl was fu
n. I mean, I would have probably been outraged at anyone attempting to touch me as I slept. With a few exceptions.
Ejecting all erotic images from my mind that were sorely out of place, I grunted and lowered my hand.
"I fear this might hurt your feelings, princess, but I’m not interested in your feminine charm. It’s just that you could have slept half a year for all I know, and I have urgent need to reach the Dragon Graveyard, so I hoped you would help me out with some directions."
At first, indignation erupted in Linara’s eyes, but that was immediately replaced with a gloating delight. She pointed to my left and mocked me.
"The Dragon Graveyard lies that way. Go now, demon. The road is short. Twenty miles to the swamp, then a six-day crossing through it. But first the Border Guardians will tear you to pieces, and then the Swamp King will finish whatever is left."
Done with her tirade, Linara waited for my reaction, her scorn unabating.
"Is there any other way? I mean, can I go around the swamp?" I ignored her mocking.
The way this dragonfly was treating me was annoying, but I desperately needed this information. Border Guardians and other such frogs did not frighten me, but I really did not want to trudge through smelly mire for a whole week.
"No." Linara smiled, falsely. "Unless you count diving into the swamp and walking along the bottom. Do demons have gills?"
It was unlikely that she would act so brazenly without being one hundred percent sure that I could not touch her. Did she have some kind of trump card up those tiny sleeves? Or was she just wise to the fact that I wasn’t about to chase her around the woods with a fly swatter? Strangely, her disdain of me made no move to provoke my rage, despite the barrage of insults. Perhaps I should have waited for her to wake, after all. The little dragonfly was infuriated, and I doubted I would get any more useful information out of her.
"Look at you, so small yet so hostile. A noblewoman like yourself, calling me names, cursing me. Not enough discipline in your childhood, I’m guessing. But thank you for your advice and explanations, princess. My apologies for waking you." I bowed, gave her a wink, and headed in the direction she had given me.
It was best to be polite, or even keep silent, when someone was being aggressive but you knew there was no actual danger. Whenever someone screams at you, speak quietly and they’ll hear you out. I really didn’t want to offend this charming girl. Trolling her a little was enough.
"Stop!" I heard from behind me. "You’ve violated our borders, demon, so I must take you to the Lord Commander!"
I didn’t turn. "As long as your commander is the dead dragon Greiharm, then let’s do that. You can even fly me to him if you want."
I had no expectation that she would attack: NPCs who were "unfriendly" did not attack first, and I hadn’t prodded her far enough for her to be "hostile" yet. Plus, she wouldn’t hit me in the back. She was a noblewoman, after all, and not the backstabbing kind... Linara’s staff had been enveloped with a light green cloud when she awoke, too, so to the best of my knowledge she wielded Life Magic. And whereas players of healing professions could easily gank you if the mood struck them, healer NPCs were averse to senseless killings. Even Raena, a frost mage by her main profession, would not take a life for no reason. She would smack you around, sure, but not kill you.
"Dream on, demon!" Linara snorted as she caught up to me, then flew alongside as if nothing in particular had happened.
"What? Not grumpy anymore?" I squinted at her.
"You’re stupid, demon. And that’s the only reason you’re still alive," she replied condescendingly. "The tree under which the Rite of Unification takes place is one of the Sacred Ankhs of Orthos. Only an idiot or someone on a suicide mission would disturb ata kari during such a moment. You don’t look suicidal. And I’m only following you to see the Guardians tear you to pieces. Then I'll take what's left of you to the Lord Commander."
So, apparently I had distracted her from something important. This made me feel... awkward. Sometimes I hated the remnants of human emotions I still carried with me, not that I could do anything about them. Every time I thought my baggage was gone, it floated back up. Now, at least, it was clear why the princess had been in the forest alone. But how was I supposed to know that tree was an ankh? And a sacred one at that? It seemed like an ordinary tree. There wasn’t a sign on it or anything.
"I hope nothing serious will result from my interruption, princess. Like you growing donkey ears or something." My voice sounded deliberately guilty. I noticed that the girl’s wings had disappeared, yet she still flew alongside me, a few feet from my right shoulder.
"I don’t know what that abomination you speak of is, demon, but it is no wonder I do not understand the product of a mind as dull as yours," notes of condescension came through in Linara's voice. She then followed my eyes, and added. "I have wings when I want to have them. So don't ask any stupid questions."
Ha! She was like a carbon copy of my ex-wife! I must have wrong the System in some grievous way to deserve this punishment. And now she was going to follow me the whole way to the border? All right, whatever. Things were more fun with an accomplice, anyway. Even a pestering one like her. I started to wonder what these Guardians were like? Walking trees, perhaps? Probably. I was ninety nine percent certain I wouldn’t actually have to fight anyone. The Great Forest of Karn had to be connected to this one somehow, which meant I should be on good terms with the local trees. And this puny little thing not being aware of that made me enjoy it all the more. And it kept here here instead of flying off to get her Lord Superior or whatever...
"And I am not puny!" Linara cried, as if reading my mind. "It's you who's as big as a boar. And as fat as one!"
I doubted she knew how to keep quiet for more than a second. And doubted she had ever seen a boar. Sadly, she never would - Gloom’s icon was still grayed out. My piglet was off resting somewhere while his master was doing enough work for two.
"Your physical dimensions weren’t what I had in mind," I chuckled, then fell back into thought.
Hmm. So if I summoned a griffin, would I only get a third of the XP now? Why is XP on my mind right now? I had enough levels by now, but not enough limbs to travel at the speed I wanted.
"So you think young maidens should be happy when some monster interrupts their Rite of Unification?" Linara crossed her arms, though still flying, and furrowed her brow. "My father would have turned you into fertilizer for the flowers!"
"Does your father talk as much as you do?" I grunted, watching the bushes we were approaching. "If so, then sure, I’d rather be fertilizer."
Linara gasped. "How dare you!" Then, she was quiet.
Quiet for almost an hour. I went on ahead, thinking about my own affairs, following the road, and always watching. The forest on the whole did not change. More of the same trees, birds whistling in their branches, animals grazing in the distance, butterflies fluttering about the grass. Sometimes we encountered whole thickets of shrubs, and I circled around them. Paths through the undergrowth were best kept for the elves who loved the company of elk and bears. We demons preferred open spaces.
Still, an elven forest was very different from any earthly forest. It couldn't contain windfall by default. The roots and branches of the trees intertwined among each other, and no storm could take down such a construction. The soil was flat and quite firm, and I failed to notice any ditches or trenches along the way. Meaning I could keep up a good pace. By the time an hour had passed, I had cleared three miles. Linara was still flying beside me, though keeping a careful distance. The irritation on the girl’s face had at some point changed to thoughtfulness, and by the time I noticed the change and started wondering if everything was all right, the girl had apparently made a few conclusions of her own.
"Listen, demon, you’re a revolting being, to be sure, but we should return to Gimlad. We do not kill outsiders. Not even monsters like you. You’ll be questioned and then sent away from Cenaria in a couple of days. The Border Guard
ians do not touch us. My father and the Lord Commander are even able to speak with them. But they won’t listen to me."
I wonder how high she can fly? I was listening, but only partly. I doubted her kin built castles. With their wings and their size, it was safer and easier to simply live in the treetops. Then again, these trees are big enough that even I could live on them. If only I knew how to fly...
"Are you even listening to me?" Linara exclaimed indignantly.
I smiled at her. "Thank you for your concern. But I don’t have a ‘couple of days,’ so I’ll have to leave your land of Cenaria on my own. Hopefully I’ll be able to convince the Guardians to let me pass."
"Fool!" Linara floated in front of me and waved her arms around in vexation. "They’ll kill you! This forest does not need you to die your stupid death here! Even the animals here do not kill more than is necessary for sustenance."
"I thought you said there would be a piece of me left for the Swamp King." I shrugged and tried to make my voice sound serious. "So the Guardians will have their lunch, and with a little luck, so will the Swamp King. Then this warrior’s remains won’t be scattered all over your forest. So call it a ‘stupid death’ all you want. I think it’s smart. Quite economical, really."
"Sata! What have I done to incur your wrath?" Linara threw up her hands in frustration as she looked up to the treetops. Then she looked at me with sorrow in her eyes.
"Are you an idiot, demon?" she asked me - gently this time.
There's a bit of that, sure," I wasn't going to argue. "But don't worry, everything will work out. I promise."