World Tree Online: The Order of Epic Grinders: 4th Dive
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Rose placed the seed on the desk before the Grand Sage.
“Ah, good, she is strong and will grow even stronger,” the Grand Sage said with a wistful smile as she looked over the seed.
Quest Alert: Foolish Children and the Foolish Things They Do (Recommended Level 25-30) – Completed!
The Grand Fairy of the Royal Fairy Tree asks that you retrieve the four errant Fairies that took it upon themselves to foolishly try to steal the Fairy Seed. Once you have collected them and the seed, bring them to the Royal Fairy Tree and before the Grand Fairy.
Reward: +150,000-Experience, Golden Fairy Branch
“Thank you,” I said, happy for the experience and for the Golden Fairy Branch, which looked like a tree branch dipped in Gold, leaves and all. “Our Order is grateful. And do you have any recommendations on where to place it?”
“If you have a ward stone, it will increase the power of the ward substantially. If not, I would put it into an arcane library or in a mages tower, it would provide a significant boost to spell power and spell experience gains,” the Grand Fairy answered. It looked like she was going to say more when there was a knock on the door.
The Grand Sage looked unperturbed by the interruption, as if she had been expecting it. She confirmed my suspicion a second later when she said, “Ah, good, they have arrived.” Then a little louder she said, “Sara, Damie, Vic, and Lasso, please come in.”
Four new Fae entered,
“Your quest is to see this seed safely to Deadmire Swamp. Plant it in the deepest darkest bog and protect it until it takes root. With your help and this seed, we can restore the lost forest and drive back the chaos,” the Grand Sage said.
“We got it,” Sara said, collecting the seed and easily storing it in her bag. It was only then I saw her Order tag under her name, [Fae Dominion]. As she turned to leave, she finally took note of Rose and me. She looked decidedly displeased to see us there. “What are non-Fae doing here?”
“They assisted with an important task,” the elderly Fairy answered. “They will be leaving soon. Your Order should be leaving now.”
Sara quickly bowed to the elder and left but not before giving me another look filled with contempt.
“That was Sara,” Rodger hissed. “I never thought I’d actually get to see her.”
Baby rolled her eyes. “So what? It’s a Fae only order. They are going to have problems down the road. Fae can’t tank.”
“No, but she’s a Golem-mancer, she can make a tank from what I’ve heard,” Rodger said. “Maybe if I catch up, I can convince her to take me on.”
“She is a Golem Sage,” the Grand Fairy corrected. “And she is as you call it, a tank. She wears the Golem like armor. She is quite powerful. She also does not seem to like . . . ah, what was the term I heard again,” she hummed, then snapped her fingers, “Fanboys. Yes, that is the word. She does not like fanboys.”
Rodger deflated while the other three Fairies giggled at his expense.
When the laughter died down, Baby was the first to ask, “What is a Golem Sage?”
The Grand Sage smiled kindly. “You are a Sage yourself. However, where she chose to nurture her connection to Earth magic and more specifically to Earth Golems, you have chosen to focus on the healing arts and young Rodger on the arcane aspects of nature. Her path shaped her into a Golem Sage, a class that is Unique in all the World Tree. You and Rodger both have the potential to be a Greater Sage in the future, I should know, I am the Sage of Sages.”
“A unique class?” Rodger gasped. “But I thought those were made up.”
Unlike Rodger, Baby was cackling madly. “Hear that Sis? I can become a Unique class, just like your boyfriend. My, won’t you feel so left out then.” Baby continued her dance, oblivious to her sister’s reddening ears.
Rodger and the others weren’t paying attention after she mentioned I was a unique class.
Rodger eventually blurted out, “Wait, he’s a unique class?”
“Bye-bye Jacko serves the Goddess Issara,” the Grand Fairy said. “I would have said he is a Warrior Priest . . . but now, he is somehow . . . different.”
“I am a Holy Dragoon,” I answered. “I recently . . . evolved.”
“A Demigod,” the Grand Sage gasped. “So, you are the second to be born among the adventurers.”
“That was you!” Rodger shouted.
“Him?” Icy and Fiery asked at the same time, looking heatedly at Baby as she did her best to dodge her sisters attempts to grab her.
I didn’t care about anything going on around me. I was more interested in the fact she knew I was the second. An NPC knew I was the second Demigod among the adventurers. It suggested she might know of the first. I wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass me by. “All of you, shush,” I yelled, silencing the players. I looked the Grand Sage in the eyes and asked, “Do you know about the first? Who is it? Please, anything you can tell me.”
“The first . . . she is a great evil. She has gone by many names and left destruction in her wake everywhere she goes. She is a Harbinger of Chaos. And although she has used many names, there is one name, one I have heard many times. Jinn Sade,” the Grand Sage answered, shivering at the sound of the name.
“No,” I said shaking my head. It suddenly made sense why she was so powerful. How she seemed to be able to do the impossible. Epic had made her a Demigod. She was his tool to sow chaos in the World Tree and in the real world.
The Grand Sage asked, “Then you know of her? No, it is more than that. You have met her. Fought her. And yet, you survived.”
“She isn’t just a Demigod. She’s also a demon,” I said.
The Grand Fairy gasped in shock. She dropped to her knees and prayed, “May the Gods and Goddesses have mercy on us all.”
“Things just got so much worse,” Baby said sadly.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Rose added.
The Grand Sage kept repeating the same prayer until one of her servants entered to usher us away.
“We need to hurry back to Hurligville,” I said, finally shaking off what I just learned. I couldn’t do anything with the information. At least, not yet. For now, I needed to focus on beating back Epic and winning again this month.
As for Jinn Sade, it sounded like that name was known in the World Tree. That meant there was information on her. Even if they were just stories, there would be the occasional nugget of truth. I would get the information and then I would destroy her in this world, Demigod or not.
Chapter 28
When we left the Royal Fairy Tree it was either very late, or very early depending on who you asked. We briefly discussed between Rose, Baby, and I about getting rooms for the few hours of night that remained. In the end, we decided against it. The temples were open all night and it really should not have taken long to collect our trophy and get back to Hurlig Ridge. At least, that was the plan.
“So, who is this Jinn Sade?” Rodger stage whispered from somewhere above and behind me as we walked. He and the other two Fairies were following us. The stage whisper was a little unnecessary in my opinion.
“Bad news, she is very, very bad news,” Baby replied, fluttering her wings to move back and fly next to her new friend. I was thankful she was being at least little discreet. Too much detail could get us all in a lot of trouble.
“I see,” Rodger said, though I really doubted he did. “Actually, I don’t. What’s the big deal? Why is she bad news? What is going on here? Is it some major quest line? And if it is, we can help . . . somehow? Can’t we?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Baby said, seeming to have finally gotten tired of Rodger. “It’s something personal.”
“Ah, an ex, got it,” Rodger said, fluttering his wings to move next to me. He patted my should
er with his pudgy childlike fingers. “I’m here for you bro, we’ve all been dumped.”
I suddenly pictured the look on Jinn’s face if she heard him say that. I was surprised by the laugh that came out of my mouth.
“Ha-ha, success,” Rodger said. “So, not an ex then. An enemy?”
“Yeah,” I snorted. Enemy was putting it lightly. Jinn was an enemy of humanity at this point. That said, there was nothing I could do about her at that exact moment. Exhibiting a little mental fortitude, I pushed thoughts of her aside. We had a raid to finish preparing for.
Rose seemed to have had enough as she jumped in, “Alright Sis, time to say goodbye to your friends. We’ve got work to do.”
“Huh, why can’t we come?” Rodger asked, pouting, and trying to give Rose his equivalent of puppy dog eyes.
Knowing Rose as well as I did, I saw her brief and simple answer coming from a mile away, “No.”
Rodger tried to argue, “But the quest?”
“We’ll handle it,” Rose said immediately, trying to get rid of him.
“Hmm, nope,” Rodger said, deciding to ignore her. I found myself unexpectedly liking the childlike and childish Fairy. He continued, “Not going to get rid of us that easily. We’re not letting you out of our sight until this quest is settled.”
Rose groaned. “We don’t have time for this. Baby, get rid of them,” she ordered, waving at the other three Fairies.
“Your sister is way rude,” Icy complained, crossing her arms and glaring.
“Sorry guys,” Baby started, she was about to continue when I spoke up.
“Let them come,” I said.
Rose and Baby both looked at me in surprise before voicing exactly that. In one voice, they both exclaimed, “What?”
“We need spellcasters,” I said, thinking about the raid. I confirmed, “Yeah, we need spellcasters and these three seem like they’re not that bad. Obviously, it will be up to Micaela and Olaf in the end if they can come on the raid.”
“Raid?” Rodger, Icy, and Fiery asked in one voice.
Not answering the trio, Rose stopped me and looked me in the eyes and asked, “Are you sure, Jack?”
I shrugged. “Why not? Plus, like they said, they’ve got that quest as well. May as well let them stick around.”
“Why not, indeed,” Rose said. “Baby, they’re your responsibility.”
I accessed my limited Order Management menu and sent invites to all four of them as I realized we had yet to invite Baby to the Order.
“Wow, is Micaela trying to get us all killed with that name?” Baby asked. Clearly, she hadn’t looked at the Order tag under Rose’s and my nameplates.
“Maybe,” Rose said. “But it’s too late to change it. Might as well just own it.”
Baby shrugged, who was she to argue. A moment later, the Order tag faded into existence under her nameplate.
“So, this Order of Epic Grinders,” Rodger started. “We need to join if we want to go on this raid you mentioned?”
“Obviously,” Icy said, her nameplate already reflecting the new Order tag.
“And it’s our only chance to go,” Fiery added, his nameplate similarly updated. “Weren’t you paying attention when he said it would be up to someone named Micaela?”
Icy quickly added, “And Olaf.”
Rodger shrugged then asked, “What kind of Order is it though?”
I answered, “It’s an Order of Service.”
“And what’s that?” Rodger asked.
“We get a lot of quests,” Rose answered. “It tells provinces that we can be trusted to take on quests and bear the responsibility of completing them. It’s a lot of fetch and kill type quests. But, when you consider how much most players struggle to find quests, it’s useful.”
Rodger seemed to consider the information for a minute before asking another question. “So, more of a leveling guild, right?”
Rose answered, “Basically.” I noted she didn’t go into detail beyond that. Hopefully, once we got a few more collectible trophies, the Order would rank up and we could also become an Order of Adventure.
“Alright, I suppose I can deign to work with your Order,” Rodger said, finally accepting the Order invite. “Nothing better to do for now anyway. Plus . . . you know, raid. And let’s not forget, loot,” he finished with a dreamy look on his face.
Raids were the Achilles heel of many adventurers. A Raid was a super challenging dungeon that required a large and well-coordinated party to complete. Parties often died with some frequency trying to learn the various fights and bosses. Heck, sometimes they would wipe fighting the trash mobs trying to get to the bosses. Raids were no joke. And yet, they were still well known for drawing in many players.
“Phat loot,” Rodger crowed excitedly, enjoying the old gaming call out.
And that was the other reason raids were such draws for players. Loot. Top end, overpowered, and often epic, loot. It was, in fact, probably the biggest draw for players. Even though this raid was recommended for level 25-30 players, the equipment that dropped would often be so strong, you wouldn’t be able to replace it with better items for 10 or more levels. Maybe not until you had the option to get better Raid gear. Maybe even longer than that as I had no idea what the loot from this Raid was going to look like. There could be scaling mythic armor and weapons. Crazy gold and experience. Spell and Skill scrolls. More quests. Anything could drop. And I couldn’t wait for it.
“So, where are we going now?” Fiery asked.
“Jump point,” I answered. “Rose and I have business in the Godly Ring. Then we’ll head back to the Ninth Ring and back to Hurlig Ridge.”
“What Raid is in a province portal in the Ninth Ring?” Icy asked.
“The province with the Raid was overrun. The portal closed. Hurlig Ridge is the next province over. We can travel through Hurlig Ridge into the Hurlig Flatlands, that’s where the raid is,” I answered.
“Um, stupid question,” Rodger started, raising one hand like he was back in school.
Rose slipped in an, “I’m sure it is,” getting a glare from the boy.
Still glaring at Rose, Rodger lowered his hand and asked, “What’s a jump point?”
I grinned wickedly. “You’ll see,” I said. And they did indeed see. Seeing three Fairies in a row puking was unforgettable. Still, I made sure to film the whole thing, the entirety of the World Tree should be able to see such a sight. My Tome of Otherworldly Knowledge would make sure of it.
When we reached the Godly Ring, Rose and I split up. Unfortunately, I got all the Fairies. Rose went to see her Goddess after performing her blood ritual with me. It allowed her to teleport back to me when she finished. That left me to stop in to see the God Ivaldi.
“Wait out here,” I said. I ignored the protests from Rodger and the other two and walked into the temple. Nothing had changed since I had last been there. It still looked like a massive forge, dominated by the giant anvil that doubled as an altar. Laying a hand on the altar, I said softly, “God Ivaldi.”
“It’s about time you showed up,” a thickly accented voice said softly from behind me.
I spun quickly, pulling my spear as I moved. As I got around a short and stocky Dwarf raised a single finger to stop my spear. “Good craftsmanship, though I suppose I should expect nothing less from my daughter. Not quite up to God killing standard yet, but you need to start somewhere.”
I quickly withdrew my spear and dropped to a knee, spewing apologies.
The God just laughed. “Oh, do not worry about that and please, stand up.”
I stood as requested. “Again, I am really sorry about that. I guess I’ve gotten a little paranoid.”
“A little paranoia will serve you well. Just do not let it control you,” the God Ivaldi said, shaking his head in amusement. “Now, I do believe you came here for a reason.”
“Right,” I said, remembering my purpose for being there. “When we saved Marie, you promised us your mark for our Order. I’ve come to co
llect.”
“Aye, I did indeed promise you,” the God said, holding out a hand palm up to reveal a bronze ingot. He then clapped his other hand over the top of it. I felt a sudden heat radiate from between his hands and flare bright red as the ingot began to melt in his hands. It was so hot, I needed to take a few steps back.
About a minute later, he pulled away the covering hand to reveal a glowing red disk about the size of his hand. I could barely make out a hammer carved into one side of it. The God then blew on the disk, cooling it down in an instant. He brushed off the disk and wiped it on his oil-stained shirt a few times until the disk began to shine with a pure light. “Now, make sure this is placed in a crafting area and only a crafting area. I am a God of crafting, not war, not magic. Just crafting. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” I answered, accepting the disk as he held it out to me, my gaze drawn to it. The bronze gleamed in the fire that lit the temple. The disk was actually quite simple in design. An embossed hammer striking an anvil on one side and a flat smooth surface on the other.
When I looked back up, the God Ivaldi was gone. Given the mercurial aspect of the Gods and Goddesses, I wasn’t surprised. Shaking my head, I put the disk into my bag and went back out to meet up with Baby and our new . . . companions.
“Where next?” Baby asked.
“Jump point,” I answered, then I heard a cough . . . from a black and white two headed wolf that I swear wasn’t there a moment before. “Or not,” I corrected, staring at the wolf.
“My Lords wish to see you,” the white wolf head said.
“Did that wolf just talk?” Rodger asked.
“Why yes, yes it did,” Fiery answered, staring wide-eyed at the wolf.
Ignoring the Fairies, I asked, “And who would your Lords be?”
“The Gods Hati and Skoll,” the black wolf head answered.
“Right, lead the way,” I said, following the wolf.
Rodger tried and failed to whisper, “You know Gods?”
I waved him off, focusing on the wolves.