The only way to know was to be there at the agreed-on time and dive into things. As I rolled up to my NSAF rig at two minutes to four o’clock that afternoon, the only thing I was sure of was that I wanted to try to feel it out. I wasn’t going to quit, not yet, despite my temptation to do so. My time sitting with Wynona had shown me that I wasn’t just asking for fun, joy, and happiness with a new relationship. I was also setting myself up for even more responsibility and perhaps a new source of pain as well.
I reversed myself under the helmet and tapped the remote on my wheelchair, reclining my chair as the rig lowered the NSAF gear into place around my head. Time to dive and figure this thing out.
Quote 9
I do not think anyone will ever read this letter, tucked as it is in the depths of my last, unfinished treatise on moral philosophy. If someone does recover this and Sharaze and I have yet to return, know that we have departed to follow the scarce crumbs and ancient clues to find the fabled Vale of the Three Wolves. We will restore the Rings or die trying!
Alizhard Forshan, philosopher for the Fire Sultan's court
9
As the NSAF link initiated and my brain left my body, I immediately directed my consciousness down through the upper layers of the Internet and down through the deep dive, straight for Elementalis Online. Nudging mentally through the quickplay login (like I had another character than Shale), the intrinsic gravity of Elementalis pulled me in, streaking like a comet towards the surface.
That was how it normally went, at any rate, but this time, things were a little different.
During my descent, a stream of pale light, wispy stuff like what streams between someone and a Life Crystal when they attune their spirits, streaked up from the broken world below. It pulled on me, yanking my spirit off course and toward the Vale of the Three Wolves. Sand and hills came into view, then a faintly glowing, opaque dome, before a final reverberation as I was pulled through said barrier. There was only a brief moment of cognition of the lush forest of the Vale before I was thrust into the body of Shale once more, his strength and weight filling my senses.
With my return to Elementalis came a barrage of notifications and updates. The Herald pane pinged with multiple messages, the group UI at the center of my vision instantly sprung to life with our group still intact, and the quest tracker flashed an immediate reminder of our current goals. It was as if the game itself decided it was needy and wanted attention. Otherwise, everything seemed to be in order: I was still in front of the Life Crystal in the ancient plaza, the Weary Wanderer kept his post at the bottom of the steps, and Kayla was there, as overwhelmed looking as I imagined I was.
“Whew, okay, I’m here, Kayla,” I said, taking a deep breath to center myself. “I don’t know about you but everyone is knocking on my door right now.”
Her head was tilted to one side as if listening to another conversation in one ear while still trying to pay me mind. “Hey, Shale, yeah … you could say that.” She frowned at something unseen. “Give me a minute, okay?”
I nodded. “No problem. I need one myself.” At least I wasn’t alone in being overrun. As I mentally nudged open my Herald, I only hoped it wasn’t anything too bad for either of us.
My mailbox’s filters were still doing their job. Being something of a server celebrity now put a lot of job offers and more than a few guild invites in my inbox. With our current situation, cut off from the rest of EO as we essentially were, I ignored those plain and simple. More immediately pressing were those from people I actually cared about.
From: Burndall, Subject: Business! Urgent!
From: Nahma, Subject: Secret quest?
From: Wazif, Subject: Good luck!
I blew air through my teeth. With Chrissy’s surgery the next day and the whole Ring situation there, I really didn’t want to deal with anything, no matter how benign it might be. Heck, the swelling folder of job offers was agonizing enough, dangled mice before a leashed cat, you could say. Still, I had to go through them, even if it was in brief, so we could get on with solving the problems of the Vale and getting out of here.
I didn’t even bother to materialize the letters as I preferred (I’m a sucker for the feel of real paper; modern ‘paperwork’ was just synth-plastic). All digital for the moment. I took the letters as they came, starting with Burnie’s letter.
Hey, chief! Gonna make this short and sweet because we really need to get together in person, right? Talked to Nahma and we both think that the fan guilds would kill for access to your streams, edited or not. But we got to act fast, man, this kind of fame doesn’t last, especially once the Keep opens all the way!
Of course, he’d want to see me ASAP. Let’s just increase the time crunch, why don’t we? Hopefully, he’d be agreeable with remote chat for now but I was more worried at finding the time to edit those streams. There were some personal chats between Kayla and I, in addition to some of what Crysta was going through as well. While I’m sure the super fans out there would want to know everything, that wasn’t the right way to go.
A quick sidelong glance at Kayla told me I still had time so I moved on with a little more trepidation to Nahma’s letter. The Ember Shadow was full of pep, a really excitable guy, but that enthusiasm came off as a bit too, er, clingy. The subject of the letter didn’t help. No doubt Wazif had told his guildies about his encounter with us and I didn’t want to have to answer questions I literally couldn’t answer thanks to the Filter.
I hope you’re doing great, Mr. Shale, and I hope I’m not bugging you! Mr. Burndall and I had a great meeting and I really hope you decide to let us access those streams. Wow, I get tingles just thinking about it.
But what’s this about a secret quest? Wazif told us all about how he helped you but couldn’t join your group and that the Filter did stuff?! Please, if you can, I would love to know more! Are you recording that, too? That’d be incredible! Get back to me soon!
I almost didn’t check Wazif’s letter. Heck, why was I bothering when there was stuff to do here in this very nice, harmonious, and perfectly temperate valley? Still, some deep-seated need to be polite to someone who helped us out took over and I nudged it open.
I’m guessing when you guys disappeared and your location on my friends list went to ‘Unknown’ that you found what you were looking for. I hope it goes well and I’m sorry if Nahma starts bugging you. I let slip in the guild channel that I ran into you two and that you were doing some mystery duo quest and, well, you know him. He can get a bit overbearing when he’s excited! Anyway, good luck! Whatever it is, you Firsters can do it!
“Well,” I found myself muttering, “that’s an actual pleasant surprise.” It was, too. Meeting someone who was genuinely nice, helpful, and supportive without being so … cloying … was a real change of pace.
I didn’t expect it to be loud enough for Kayla to hear but she must have. “That would be a nice change,” she griped, aggravation (something I hadn’t really heard from her before) thick in her voice. “Whatever it is, you’ll be as purple monkey xylophone as I am when you try to send a message outside the group.”
Her arms were crossed across her chest and she was in a full glower as I looked over at her. “Are you about to say that we’re totally blocked off in here?” I ventured, knowing I was right by the fire in her eyes as I said it.
“Yes, indeed. That exactly!” She actually shook a fist at the heavens. “What were you thinking, you idiots? You can’t expect people to take who knows how long without being able to do anything other than this!”
On an intellectual level, I agreed with Kayla wholeheartedly. This was kind of crazy. At the same time, I remembered what I was thinking about earlier, about how relationships required dedication. With every other element of this quest line we had seen, with what I had seen personally in the hospital with Wynona, I kind of understood how this communication black-out fit into this grand scheme.
“I can’t say that you’re wrong but …” I chose my words carefully. Getting Kayla
more agitated wouldn’t help and the way her eyes snapped to me simply reinforced my care. “The Promised thing is a big step. It’s not like we can take it back once we do it in-game, right? So yeah, the devs must want the people who do it to focus on it, put all their energy into it.”
Kayla’s brow wrinkled in a mixture of frustration and thought, strangely not really making her any less beautiful. She took a few moments to chew on my words before letting out a long hiss of a sigh.
“Look, you’re almost certainly right, Shale. I mean, it makes sense. I’ve been in a tangle of seaweed before so I know.” Another sigh. “Stupid Filter. So, yes, I understand but still … I’m going to miss at least one Crucible match and that could really hurt my PvP standings.” She gestured with both arms out to me. “And what about you? You can’t even talk to clients and get more sellshield work like this. That’s even worse!”
Through all this, the Wanderer kept silent, which was a bit strange for an important quest NPC. What was even stranger was that he seemed to actually, well, listen to us. It wasn’t some canned animations either. The movement was too natural, too nuanced, too reactive. I tried not to let him get too much of my attention, keeping my focus on Kayla.
“I know that and yeah, I’m not happy about it,” I nodded, “but it seems to me that, if we both want this, if we’re going to try, it would be better if we focus on it. Maybe if we give it our all, go all-in like we did for Crystalfire, we will get through to the end quickly.” I flashed a grin. “After all, you’re the best DPSer I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with and one of the better support players too. With you on our side, this should be done in a flash.”
Hey, flattery couldn’t hurt, especially when it was the truth.
Kayla’s frown broke into a small smirk. “As much as I should argue that point on principle, I’ll accept that praise for now … but only if you accept that you’re the best tank I’ve worked with.”
I chuckled, my heart swelling from her words even if I didn’t entirely believe it myself. “Okay, okay, if it will get this grav into the air, I’ll accept that.” Summoning up my shield, I gestured with my free hand toward the Weary Wanderer. “Shall we get to it, milady?”
Her smirk finally settled into a proper smile and that looked lovely to me. “All right. Look, I’m still not happy about this part of things” – she gestured in a lazy circle around the entire plaza – “but I’m the one who asked you to do this. If I have to drop a notch in the PvP rankings to do this, to make this thing work, and help you, I’m in.” Though she didn’t sound as if she completely believed that statement, she laughed a little and pressed on. “What did they say back in the old gaming days? It’s on like Donkey Kong?”
“You said it.” Turning towards the Ember, I was still looking at Kayla. “Now let’s see what –”
To our mutual surprise, the Wanderer interrupted. “I am most glad to see that you are now ready to listen. As you have both stated, while I may have all the time in the world, two youthful champions such as yourselves have much to do beyond the Vale.”
It wasn’t that an NPC entered interaction mode on its own. It was the calculated and informed moment in which this particular one did so. The plaza came out of focus as our three avatars came into sharp relief.
“I, well, yes,” I managed to get out as I regained my voice, “but that doesn’t mean we aren’t taking this quest seriously. We’re here to find the Rings of Promise.”
The Wanderer rubbed thoughtfully on his beard. “Indeed. I, too, followed the legends and the ancient writings, sought the same thing you two now seek.” Thought turned to sorrow in his eyes and voice, the kind of scabbed-over pain from a long time ago. It was how I sounded when I talked about Mom and Dad. “My dream, my love is long gone. My failure does not need to be yours, though!”
Kayla’s eyes, only a few moments ago still showing irritation at our situation, turned soft as the focus shifted to her. “The woman you loved, she died before attuning to the Life Crystal here, didn’t she? Or something else happened before then so she couldn’t come back here?”
It made perfect sense the moment it came out of her mouth. The Wanderer’s hurry, his desperation, and his sadness, the reasons for all that became crystal clear with that one question.
The Ember turned his head down and away from us, leaning on his staff as if Kayla’s question had punched him in the gut. “A question that you have already answered, friend.” He let out a long, pained sigh. “We did not truly grasp the warding spells that protected this sacred place from the Sundering, not until it was too late. Sharaze and I both decided it would be wise if one of us maintained a link to the capital, in case we needed to retreat to a safe haven.” He shook his head. “I have spent years chastising myself for not divining the truth before she used a Return Crystal, intent on refreshing our waning supplies. Yet, in the end, I have only come to realize that it was an honest mistake.”
With a final shuddering breath, he said, “That realization brings me faint comfort.”
As my turn came up, I decided to keep pushing to the heart of the matter. “Then I suppose the obvious questions are who are you and where exactly are we?”
“I am Alizhard Forshan, once chief philosopher to the Fire Sultan’s court, and this place is the Vale of the Three Wolves,” the Wanderer announced, a measure of pride visible in his straightened posture. “That says so little of the truth of this valley so let me continue.”
He did so with barely a pause as he spread his arms wide. “As you must have noticed, in the Vale, it is as if the Sundering never occurred. From what I have seen, this place exists beyond time … or at least time behaves oddly compared to Elementalis proper. The wards that prevent souls from passing to and fro also protected the Vale from the Sundering. This should be a place to complete harmony, a shining example of what Elementalis should be. That was one of the several reasons we quested here, to look for some power that could fight the Elements of Wrath.”
Kayla was already talking before the virtual camera swung to her, thinking out loud before putting forth a question of her own. “So that explains how you’ve only been missing a few months yet been here for years, the time thing, and that also adds to the reasons why we can’t travel or communicate through the barrier. What about the Rings of Promise, though? You came here with Sharaze to find them in addition to everything else, didn’t you?”
There was a faint twinkle in Alizhard’s eye as he smiled. “Oh no, my child, we were not searching for the Rings. You see, we had already found them.” Kayla’s eyes went wide as my mouth dropped open as Alizhard tugged at a leather thong around his neck, pulling two ancient battered rings attached to said thong out from under his robes. “Well, in a sense we had. These were once the fabled Rings of Promise, able to bind together two souls in harmony. Now, they are but shadows of their former selves.”
Even in their current condition, there was something compelling about the rings as they dangled before our eyes. I could still feel some spark of something in the tarnished silver and empty gem sockets. What I noticed most of all was the three minutely sculpted wolf heads that formed those sockets. The connection between the rings and this place was obvious.
“They came from here, didn’t they? You think they can be restored to power here, right?” Maybe it was the story elements at play or maybe I just wanted to see something good happen. The restoration of love and harmony was pretty good as a concept, right? Whatever it was, I felt an urgency as my heart was moved by this and it was obvious in my voice.
“Indeed. Sharaze and I … we hoped that the Rings could bind us in ways nothing else could,” Alizhard answered, the extent of his loss tingeing his words. “Perhaps too this could be part of the solution, a bridge to help end the suffering caused by the Sundering, the splitting of Elementalis by the Primal Darkness. Once she was gone, my resolve faltered, though. What point was there to restoring the Rings if there was no one to share my spirit with?” A bitter sigh passed through hi
s lips. “Even if I wished to, it would take the power of all three Lykos packs to do so and … that is not an easy prospect these days.”
As if to punctuate his words, distant howls echoed through the trees. While it shouldn’t be possible for us to be attacked in the middle of an NPC dialogue, enough other of EO’s rules had been bent here that I nervously summoned up my banner and kept careful watch. On the other hand, Kayla was fully immersed in Alizhard’s tale and barely seemed to notice the howling.
“I feel for your loss, Alizhard. I can only imagine the depth of your pain.” Kayla took in a breath as she found her words. “But we, Shale and I, are together and united. Let us take the Rings and try to do what you couldn’t. If not for us, if not for the good it might do for Elementalis, do this for the memory of Sharaze.”
We were both caught up in the moment and right then, I was a believer despite all the misgivings still sitting amidst the growing excitement.
Alizhard’s first instinctual reaction was to pull the Rings back, clutching them in one hand close to his heart, but after a moment the tension started to fade. “To give you these would also be giving up my last link to my love … but only in the most superficial way. Did I not myself write that love transcends the material to become a dance of spirit in the unseen realms?” His eyes narrowed slightly even as he slowly untied the thong with one hand. “Still, though your bond is obvious to me, can I be sure that you will stay the course and do all that is needed to mend these broken rings?”
The Vale of Three Wolves: A LitRPG Adventure (Elements of Wrath Online Book 2) Page 10