by Seth Ring
“Welcome to the roots of the World Tree. That cavern, and the three past it, are the entrance to the roots. Unfortunately, the World Tree has been corrupted and is producing those creatures that you just saw. They spawn every few days out of the giant eggs and go foraging. Once they eat enough, they’ll turn into more giant eggs. The small eggs spawn on a twenty four hour cycle so I’ve been wiping them out each day for years. I’m sure you can imagine how quickly they can grow if you don’t keep killing them off.
“At first I was hunting for a cure to the World Tree, but according to the quest you get when you go into the closest cavern, only an Elven High Priestess can purify it. At the end of the day, the only thing I have been able to do is slow the growth of the corrupted spawn. The mixture we threw in there will cause a chemical reaction, producing a poison smoke that should be strong enough to kill all of the bugs who have hatched. The problem is the big eggs. I don’t know anything that can get through their armor.”
“You’re telling me we have to wade through three caverns of those things to get to the World Tree to collect sap?”
“No, we need to find a High Priestess, wade through the caverns, kill the guardian, and then purify the World Tree, all while fighting off the waves of corrupted spawn.”
Tapping his chin, Thorn thought about it for a moment. He had opted not to bring his full team to the island to make sure the valley remained stable, but he was starting to regret it. Velin had called Oberlin to help deal with the slave mark on Princess Rychell, but it was unlikely that he was going to bring anyone else. Still, so long as the Emperor of the Sky did not mind ferrying a few more people, he could probably assemble a full team pretty quickly. The first step, however, was to connect with Velin, Mina, and Baxby.
“Can you clear the caverns with that potion mixture you made?”
“Sure, but that will stop us from going into the cavern as well. Unless you fancy your face melting off. Actually, you might be fine since you have stone skin. But everyone else will get their face melted off.” Alph grinned and patted the hardened foam wall again. “This will automatically degrade in about twenty hours, at which point the cavern should be clear again and we can go in. But that means we’ll have to face at least three more waves before we make it to the roots themselves. We don’t have a High Priestess, but if we take some of the corrupted sap, I can purify it.”
“It’ll take three days to traverse the cavern?”
“Only if we move really fast. Truthfully, I’m not really very confident that we’ll be able to make it with only three of us. We’ll need to sneak in past the guardians since we won’t be able to take them all on.”
“I think we’ll be able to fight through them, I can call my guild and form a full team.”
“Hold up there.” The temperature in the tunnel seemed to fall as Alph took a step back, his eyes narrowed. “I’m fine with taking you, and Heidi since she is a mercenary, but I’m not taking any guilds.”
Frowning slightly, Thorn looked over at Alph. As soon as he had mentioned calling his guild the alchemist’s mood had plummeted. Taking his helmet off, Thorn locked eyes with Alph as he began to speak quietly.
“I don’t have any issue leaving my guild out of this if you can give me a good reason, but I do need a good reason.” Even though he did not move, Thorn’s body seemed to grow in Alph and Heidi’s eyes, filling the tunnel and causing both of them to take a small step back. “I am happy to respect your desires but I’m sure you understand how important this is to me.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
The atmosphere of the tunnel was frozen as Thorn and Alph locked eyes. Akira, uncomfortable being stuck in the middle of the showdown, jumped down and ran over to Heidi, jumping up onto her shoulder. For a full minute, the two men held their place as they faced off. Alph gave off a dangerous air as he stood with his back to the hardened foam, his long fingers gently resting on the bandoliers that crossed his chest.
Across from him, Thorn stood with his back straight, radiating a royal air. The weight of Thorn’s aura reminded Heidi of a statue of an ancient king. The impression Alph got was entirely different. Up until this point he had seen Thorn as a laid back player, a pleasant talking partner, but now he suddenly felt as if he was facing a massive predator, a giant wolf.
The pressure in the tunnel continued to grow, slowly building until Alph nearly snapped. His fingers touched the vials on his belt. Still he hesitated. There was something about Thorn’s figure that made him pause. A second later the intense aura around Thorn vanished and his shoulders drooped, stunning the alchemist.
“Sorry, I might be getting too worked up. I’m really on edge and there is no reason for me to be.” Thorn took a small step back, his stance softening. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he gave a great sigh and shook his head. “Look, I’m incredibly grateful for your help so far, and I don’t want to force you into a situation you are uncomfortable with. This quest is really important to me, not only for solving my [Living Statue] curse but, more importantly, for my friend’s class advancement.”
Seeing Thorn take a step back, Alph straightened up. Without even realizing it, he had begun to crouch down under the weight of Thorn’s aura, and when Thorn reined it in he felt like a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
“Would you be more comfortable if I only invite a few of my friends instead of making it a guild thing?”
“I don’t deal with guilds.” Alph’s face remained cold.
“No problem.” Thorn nodded. “My friend who needs to find the World Tree might be able to help us with the High Priestess issue, which would allow us to purify the World Tree. That would not only end the threat of the corrupted bugs but it would give you access to as much of the World Tree’s sap as you need for your alchemy. What if we invite her and a few more of my friends who will be able to help us get through the caverns in one piece? You have my word that my guild will be left out of it.”
Alph looked at Thorn coldly, searching his face for any sign of duplicity. Yet no matter how he looked, all he could see was Thorn’s earnest expression staring back at him. Thorn could see that Alph wanted to reject him but was having conflicted feelings. A few minutes passed in silence as the alchemist wrestled with his thoughts. Finally, just as Thorn was about to open his mouth and begin speaking, Alph sighed, his shoulders slumping.
“Fine. But only because I can’t get to the roots by myself. And I want unlimited access to the sap. Plus, you owe me.” Turning his head away, Alph’s attitude was still chilly.
“Thank you, Alph. You won't regret this.”
Turning to Heidi, Thorn gestured for her to come over.
“Heidi, can you help me send some messages? I can’t use my messages right now.”
“Um, sure.” Glad that the tension had lessened, Heidi hurried over as Thorn got out a lantern from his inventory and lit it. Snorting disdainfully at Thorn’s flickering lantern, Alph got out a few of his [Light Potions], bathing the area in light.
“Thanks, that is much easier. I want to send three messages. Here are the names. Corvo from Nova Luna, Athena from the Society of Roses, and Charles Burbock. Charles lives in Fantasia, the rest are in Nova Terra. I also want to make a call to someone named Velin who is part of Nova Luna.”
Taking the piece of paper from Thorn, Heidi’s eyes went wide as she stared at the names. She shot a small glance at Thorn from the corner of her eyes and then busied herself sending the messages. While she was occupied with that, Thorn spoke to Alph.
“Alright, here are my thoughts, but let me know if I’m off anywhere. I’d like to invite my friends Velin and Mina, and then hire some other players on a mercenary contract. I know the leader of the Society of Roses, so we can hire one of their teams to help us clear the caverns. They are a completely professional mercenary group, so we shouldn’t have any trouble with them. Velin might be able to help us with the High Priestess issue, but we’ll have to talk to her about that.”
Pausi
ng, Thorn looked at Alph to see if anything he said had rubbed the alchemist the wrong way. With how spiky Alph had gotten when he mentioned inviting his guild, Thorn was treading carefully.
“I might not know much about the outside world, but even I know that the Society of Roses is pricey. How are we going to pay for them?”
“No problem there, I’ve got it covered.” Thorn said, waving his hand. Seeing that he was getting skeptical looks from Alph and Heidi, he grinned. “Seriously, I’ll take care of it.”
“Thorn, I found all of the people you want to contact. What do you want me to say?” Heidi asked.
“Excellent. Hold on a second, I’ll write you notes that you can send them, and then we’ll call Velin. She shouldn’t be too far away. We’ll have to rely on you to identify an exit for us, Alph.”
Not minding the grunt that he got in response, Thorn scribbled out a few notes, one for Corvo updating him on the situation, one to his lawyer in Fantasia, and one to his aunt. He handed them to Heidi as he finished, waiting for her to send them. Once she had sent the last message, she dialed Velin’s number. The first few went directly to Velin’s messages so Thorn had Heidi send a message with her number to both Velin and Mina.
Less than three minutes later Velin’s picture flashed and Heidi accepted the message, setting her call to public and adjusting the camera to show her environment so Velin could see Thorn’s looming figure.
“Hello, my name is Heidi.” Introducing herself, Heidi pointed to Thorn who was behind her. “Thorn hired me, and would like to talk to you.”
“Hello. I’m Velin, one of Thorn’s guild mates, thank you.” Velin’s face was slightly paler than normal, and the exhaustion in her voice was evident. “Thorn, what is going on?”
“Hey Velin.”
“You can talk!? Did you clear your curse?”
“Not completely. But I met an amazing alchemist who helped me out.” Thorn reached out and grabbed Alph, dragging him into the camera’s view. Keeping an arm around the uncomfortable alchemist’s shoulders, Thorn grinned. “Seriously, Alph here is unbelievably talented. I was lucky enough to meet him after I fell down into this tomb. Oh, and Heidi as well. She is tanking for us.”
“Nice to meet you, Alph. Thank you for treating Thorn,” Velin said, her smile causing her whole face to light up. The alchemist was stunned for a moment and then mumbled something unintelligible in response, fixing his eyes on the ground.
“SmilingBandit called and explained what happened during the ambush, but things have been a bit, um, intense, since then.”
“Hey, is that Thorn? Are you talking to Thorn? Can he talk now? Has he already found the World Tree without us? That lucky…” Thorn had just opened his mouth when he heard Mina’s rapid fire questions in the background.
“Quiet. I’m asking him.” Velin glared at someone off camera. “Sorry, about that. Please continue.”
“Yes, yes, yes, and yes.” Thorn counted off the answers to Mina’s questions on his fingers. “Actually, that is why I am calling you. Alph not only helped me regain my voice, but he knows the way to the World Tree. Unfortunately, the path is completely overrun by some really gross bugs. I want to put together a team that is not affiliated with Nova Luna to clear the way.”
“Who are you looking for?”
“I figured we could invite the Society of Roses to send a team over. Plus, it would be nice to have you and Mina, and maybe SmilingBandit and his group. We also need an Elven High Priestess. I was hoping that you would be able to help with that.”
“Hm. There are a few complications, but I’m sure we can figure something out. Right after we got to Thilvena the army arrived and began to besiege the city and the escort quest turned into a chain quest, which has resulted in SmilingBandit, Boon, and OneArrowKiller leaving with Oberlin. They are heading back to Maandell.
“Princess Rychell is trying to coordinate with the armies in Ilha Caelora and Ilha Taesi to counter attack Shaylathemar and sent SmilingBandit and his group back to Maandell to raise the slaves into an army to assist with the attack. Oberlin went to help them since he knows how to undo the slave brands. Mina and I were about to head to Khen Davahl to try and raise support for the attack from the Dwarves, but if we could meet up with you, that would be even better. The Dwarves seem to like you. I like the idea of asking the Society to send a team over, so I can contact Athena.”
“Don’t worry about it. Heidi is helping me get in touch with her. But if you can meet up with them before you come down into the tomb it might be safer. The tomb has some tough fights, and we need to stay here to keep clearing the bugs until the team arrives so you’ll need to make your own way over.”
“Alright, send us directions and we’ll see you in a couple of days. I’ll take care of the High Priestess issue.”
“Great. Looking forward to it. Bye.”
Heidi closed the call and looked at Thorn, but before she could speak a new call notification popped up with Athena’s face.
“Hello?”
“Hi, is this Heidi? I’m Athena, leader of the Society of Roses. Is Thorn available?”
“H...Hi!” Heidi’s nervousness caused her words to get stuck in her throat. “Um, yes. Here he is.”
“Xavier! How are you doing? Get your voice back yet?” Athena beamed at Thorn as his body came into view when Heidi adjusted the camera.
“Hello. Yeah, I met a really skilled alchemist who helped me out. So, do you have a team you can send?”
“Yeah, I’m tied up with some things, but Bluefire and her crew are free so I can send them over. Are you sure you don’t need more than five? I could bring the whole gang if needed.”
“That might be a bit overkill. Five should be perfectly fine. That would give us a neat group of ten. Oh, and if you can, let's go with a focus on defensive classes. We should be good on offense.”
“Sure. Hold on one second.”
Athena turned her head to speak to someone outside of the video frame. Thorn could see her mouth moving, but the game automatically muted her words so he could not hear what she was talking about. Once she finished, she turned back to the camera and smiled.
“They’re on their way. I’m sending Bluefire and her Bella Flame team. She will introduce you when they get there. I’ve also instructed her to connect with Velin and Mina on the way over. I’m sorry I can’t come, but things are getting sort of tense around the capital so I can’t afford to be away.”
“Oh no, I hope everything is okay?”
“It is fine, just some tensions with the south. There are rumblings about the Orcs and it is making people nervous. Speaking of tension, don’t you have a hearing in a week?”
“Two. Well, more like a week and a half. I’m hoping to finish up some stuff here in Rasyn before I head to the capital. I’ll be staying with you for a bit if that is okay.”
“Of course! I have plenty of room so bring anyone you want. I’m looking forward to seeing you then!” Athena’s face brightened when she heard that Thorn would be coming to visit her.
“Thanks for sending a team over. I’ll talk to you later, alright? I hope to be getting my messaging ability back soon, so I’ll call you.”
“Great. Love you.” Athena turned her eyes to Heidi, who was standing next to Thorn nervously, and smiled. “Thanks for helping with the call, Heidi. It was nice to meet you.”
“O..oh, of course. I’m happy to help.”
“I love you too, bye.” Thorn waved to Athena as Heidi ended the call.
“S..sorry, were you still talking? Do I need to call her back?”
“No, no, you’re fine.” Thorn said. Turning around, he noticed the strange glances that Alph was shooting at him and chuckled. “Athena, the leader of the Society of Roses, is my aunt.”
“No wonder you were confident in hiring them.” The disgruntled look on the alchemist’s face had faded after listening to the two calls that Thorn made.
“Athena is your aunt!” Heidi’s face shone with excitem
ent as she stared at Thorn. “I can’t believe I’m actually going to fight alongside the Society!”
“Is it that exciting? They’re pretty normal ladies.”
“Normal!? Are you crazy? They are amazing! Getting to play with the Society is a dream come true for any girl in the game!”
Used to Heidi’s subdued manner, Thorn was slightly taken aback by how genuinely excited Heidi was.
“I wonder if they give out autographs? Hey, you’re related to Athena, can you ask her for an autograph?”
“Uh, sure. Remind me once we’re done with this quest and I’ll ask for you. Speaking of quests,” Thorn turned to Alph. “You said we’ll get a quest for cleansing the World Tree when we get into the cavern closest to the World Tree? Can you show it to me?”
“You lose it if you leave the area, so I don’t have it any more. But it was something about purifying the corruption of the World Tree Heart.”