by Sean Oswald
The official introductions with Balayria went even better. There was an awkward moment when the half-orc witnessed the reunion between a human father and his half-elf child. The two clearly shared a powerful affection, something she had never experienced with her own father. Not that that was really odd given the circumstances of her conception. That tension faded instantly though when Dave insisted on hugging Balayria. His gratitude for what she had done for Sara oozing out of every pore in his being.
Balayria searched for the tell-tale signs she had come to recognize, but found nothing. No holding back, no subtly distancing himself, no side eyed glances, or forced smiles were present. It was almost more than she could accept that a human would wholeheartedly accept her, and more than that, be warm towards her. Even the other two humans seemed accepting of her although she could tell it was more their association with Dave and less a native comfort with half-bloods. Maybe it was because he had an elven wife, but for some reason, Dave didn’t seem to think any less of her either for her mixed heritage or simply because of her orcish roots. It was almost as if he didn’t have any of the ingrained racial suspicions.
The crowning moment was when Dave insisted that she travel back with them to the village where he was apparently some sort of human ruler. Dave argued that it wasn’t safe for her to stay out here after the attack by the ettin. He reasoned that if this Thelan person had sent one monster after her he was likely to send another. When arguments for her personal safety weren’t enough, Dave appealed to her obvious desire to stay near Sara and to the ways in which she could be helpful by telling them more of what she knew about this so called Goblin King. In the end, she relented and agreed to at least come with them for a visit to Eris’ Rise without committing to staying.
The most awkward of the meetings was between Dave and Krinnk. It was hard for Dave to switch from ‘hunting down the goblin who kidnapped my daughter’ mode to ‘oh this is your friend’ mode. At first, his fatherly instincts kicked in, and he was determined that a goblin was an entirely unsuitable friend for his daughter. Then, as she explained about her class, it started to make sense. He taught her how to scroll back through past notifications so that she could read the entire class message to him. Dave helped her to understand the few words that she hadn’t before. Sara was quite pleased with all the attention she got from everyone for having received an epic class. Of course, she didn’t understand how truly rare that was, but she still was excited by their excitement. Both Leyna and Karl expressed that they had never even heard of someone getting an epic class outside of bard’s tale. As far as Sara not being able to apply her character or stat points until she turned ten, that was just information that Dave filed away to discuss later with Max or perhaps Talvenicus. For his part, Krinnk didn’t exactly endear himself to Dave, but his obvious devotion to Sara bought him a reprieve.
Sara was thrilled to find out that Jackson had survived being stabbed and cried again when she learned that he had to go away to a school, and she wouldn’t be able to see him for a while. Each time she began to cry again after hearing about her mother or sister, Dave would redirect her. He had never been very good about understanding emotions and definitely wasn’t one to talk about them. So when she would start to cry, he would try to bring up something cheerful. He talked about how her drawing in the cave had cheered him up and that seemed to make her smile. Again, he talked about the fact that Emily was getting to meet with a moon elf king or queen, he wasn’t quite sure. His last resort was telling her stories about the things he and Jackson did while in Konig.
By the time all the crying and hugging and various introductions were over, first sun had set and second sun was well making it way to its apex. Karl insisted that they would be safer if they could travel down from the mountains a bit. They were truly only in the foothills, but the two monsters they had encountered so far in the foothills had both been powerful tier two monsters capable of withstanding massive amounts of damage and worse, capable of potentially one-shotting any of them. While Balayria insisted that such monsters were few and far between in what she called the lowlands, the humans all insisted on traveling as far as they could away from the hut and the site of the attack.
It was with a certain degree of melancholy that Balayia packed up what sparse belongings she could haul down. A few pots that she insisted that she needed, some stacks of furs, and containers of paints. In the end, Karl had to build a sort of two poled sled with a large fur spread between it for them to be able to pull along. It wasn’t the first time that Dave was again wishing for a common game component which seemed to be missing from Eloria, the bag of holding.
With the little sleigh and Sara to walk or be carried, Karl estimated that it would be three days back to the Murkwood and several weeks to reach Eris’ Rise. They were all pleasantly surprised at how well Sara and Krinnk kept up. Perhaps it was one of those perks that Sara got from her class. Dave figured he would talk about it with Sara later, for now he didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth.
It was about an hour into their trip that Dave realized he had forgotten to use the magical scroll which was supposed to send a message to Emily once he learned Sara’s fate. He pulled it out of a pouch in his backpack and broke the wax seal on it. The parchment was thick, unlike paper back home, and different from the limited amounts of paper he had seen in Konig. Perhaps it had something to do with what was required to make a scroll. After opening it, Dave studied the words on it for a bit. He had been told that he would have to focus on the mana stored within the scroll and that only then would the words start to make sense to him. He found this to be the case as in less than a minute of concentration the scroll made perfect sense to him and he got a notification.
Do you wish to attempt to learn the spell: Long Range Message (tier 2) from this scroll or do you wish to cast it directly from the scroll? Warning requirements to learn this spell are not yet met.
That made it easy. While it would certainly be nice to be able to learn the spell for future uses, he could risk ruining the scroll, and so he opted to simply cast it. Right before his eyes the ink which made up the letters upon the scroll began to burn from left to right and top to bottom, and he could feel the magic triggering. He had been told he would be able to send a maximum of fifteen seconds worth of speech so he had to be concise, something which didn’t come naturally to Dave. To help him, he just imagined it as a telegraph from one of those old cowboy movies his grandfather had liked so much.
He spoke into the air as the magic captured his word, “I have found Sara She is safe with me and in good health. Headed back to Eris’ Rise. I love you both. See you soon.”
Maybe not the best message but it said what he needed to say. Dave watched as the magic of the scroll coalesced his words into a ball of light and then that light streaked off to the east and slightly to the north. Within seconds it was out of sight. Well he would just have to trust that the magic had worked.
Thinking of the notification from the scroll reminded Dave that he had pushed away some notifications he had received during and immediately after the fight with the ettin to review later. Now as they were walking down the path was the best time to review them.
Quest Update: Class Determination- you have met four out of five of the requirements for a certain hybrid class. (1. Long Blade Skill: 20. 2. Shaping Magic Skill: 20. 3. Shaping Magic outside of its intended spell form. 4. Pushing and pulling with mana in the same battle- battle is often a dance of give and take back and forth, no class understands this better than a Sword Binder.) In Eloria, classes are not easily earned, all have significant benefits and equally weighty requirements. Each class has seven ranks known as tiers.
Class offered: Sword Binder (Rare)- Tier 1
Class Benefits: +20% Agility, +20% Wisdom, +20% Endurance. Binding and Motion Spells cost 30% less mana and have an increased range of 30%. Long Blade and Short Blade skills are combined to equal total skill in both. (Higher tier perks are not gained)
Class Restrictions: May never learn: Essence, Charm, or Evocation Magic. Shaping Magic and Long Blade skill must remain exactly the same base level.
Class Purpose: A melee damage dealer who controls the battlefield environment and even their opponent’s bodies.
Unmet Requirements: 1 unmet requirement- unknown.
New Spell Learned - Minor Repulsion. Bonus- because you learned this known spell on your own you receive an automatic upgrade to Tier 2 Lesser Repulsion: Generate a force of repulsion between two surfaces equal to a maximum force of 6000 +30/level pounds of force. Minimum area of effect is 4 square inches. Maximum area is 20 sq. inches + 1 square inch/level. Force is delivered at a speed of 15 mph. Speed may be increased for a comparable decrease of force. Force and Duration on inanimate objects is 20 minutes + .5 minutes/level. Duration on living beings or worn gear is 1 tick + .05 tick/level Range: 5’+.5’/level. Cast Time: 1 sec. Mana: 23.
Congratulations you and your party as well as unknown allies have killed level 24 Ettin. After all applicable bonuses you have gained 67 XP.
The progress towards a class was great, although truthfully, Dave still wasn’t sure if he would accept the sword binder class. It would mean giving up evocation magic, and he had always dreamed about hurling fireballs and lightning bolts around. Yet it was the only class he had even gotten a sniff of yet, and he had to admit to himself a certain degree of jealousy towards Emily and Mira who had both gotten classes without knowing the first thing about gaming or game rules. Heck, even his eight year old daughter had gotten a class, and it was an epic class at that. Before Eloria, Sara’s idea of a game was playing Uno with her dad and brother. So much for any perceived advantage that he had expected. Of course that wasn’t really fair. His knowledge of game rules had come in handy many times so far, but it still rankled him to be without a class.
The extra XP was great as it pushed him closer and closer to level eighteen although at the rate the XP costs were increasing, he was dreading how much it would take to get from nineteen to twenty and thus Tier 3. Even better was the new spell. It was a perfect counterpart to his binding spell, and he had to admit he was having visions of being a jedi, pushing and pulling against opponents with an invisible force. Yet it was the last notification which was the most interesting and which confirmed a suspicion that he had.
Fundamental Understanding of Eloria Gained. There is no natural balance between offense and defense. Great Strength and the ability to deal large amounts of damage is no guarantee of safety, nor is a high Constitution and a large pool of health. Survival requires finding a balance where one does not naturally exist. Gained: Wisdom +1.
Life is conflict and often that conflict is most defined by the lack of balance.
Hmm… more food for thought, but not now. He had already lost enough time with Sara. Notifications and the mysteries of Eloria would wait for another day. Now, he just wanted to be with his daughter. So without a word, he snuck up behind where she was walking next to Krinnk. His actions apparently startled the goblin who Dave realized only barely restrained himself from pulling out a dagger. Dave’s hands encircled Sara, finding her ticklish spots even through her elven leather wrap before picking her up and placing her on his shoulders. If the added Strength and Endurance of Eloria weren’t already good for anything else, he would still treasure them for the ease with which he was able to pick up and carry Sara.
Chapter Twelve
“Life is conflict. This is the lesson which Eloria has driven into our heads from the very first day. Every day it seems as if new challenges arise. The people here are fond of saying that summer always ends. But so too does winter always come to an end.” — Private journal of Emily Nelson, Daughter of Redemption
Emily gasped. All decorum was lost as she took a small step towards Archdruid Hidenori, who held the small glowing sphere in his hands. In this moment, the sphere represented all of her hopes and fears. Concerns about Moon Elf customs, Elorian politics, and even trust in deities all fled her mind. She needed to get that message, even as much as she dreaded some of the things it might say. Emily wanted to feel peace, to believe the best but fear threatened to choke her. “Give it to me. It’s mine.”
The Archdruid made no move to hand over the message orb to Emily but instead crooked his neck slightly to look at the two upon the Throne.
The two figures upon the throne, man and woman, looked at each other briefly. The sort of look which can convey a significant amount of meaning between a couple who have long been together. Before either could say anything though, Lord Itsu stepped forward, “See. This is what I have warned you of. She is unfit. She is a heretic, a human breeder and can be no part of the Circle.” His fervor brought a slight reddish hue to his dusky skin.
All eyes except for Emily’s turned towards Itsu. If Emily had been better attuned to the room, she would have sensed the shock and outrage in all those present at Itsu’s outburst, but she was too focused upon the orb of light and what it would mean for her little world. “Please…” she pleaded, while looking at Hidenori. The fierce tone of her first demand fading as fear ate away at her.
Emily’s soft plea went unanswered for the moment as a hand gesture from the man upon the throne had elven guards circling Lord Itsu, even while Hidenori shifted the message orb to a single hand while extending his unencumbered hand out towards Itsu, palm facing forward. A conductor like motion of his hand brought his palm to face up his small and ring finger bent slightly. In response to his motion and the quick cast, silent spell twisted vines rose out of the smooth surface of the floor and entangled the elven noble lifting him a full six feet off the ground. A smaller vine simultaneously encircled his head, stuffing his mouth full and gagging him and preventing him from any further speech.
“Lord Itsu, you complain about the propriety of a mitsukatta, an outsider, one who has only just now been found and presented. Yet you a noble of the Circle, speak out of turn. No judgment has been passed upon this woman but your actions lend weight to the words of Shinrin Hogo-Sha Eisuke.” All eyes were now upon the man on the throne. His crowned head shaking ever so slightly as if in disgust. “It is good for you that the Throne cannot render judgment in a moment of anger at your outburst. The question of return has been put to this woman. Her answer has been made and so by tradition the Throne may not take any further action until judgment is passed upon her.”
Standing from the throne, the male Moon Elf, paced around the throne before coming back to stand in front of it. “Tradition, which I might add you would do well to remember.” Then turning to the Archdruid, “Can you make it so the guards can carry him out with the vines. I would not risk him saying more words out of turn.”
With a nod of his head, Hidenori said, “It shall be so my Saisho.” Then with a visible tensing, the Archdruid began to further shape his spell. Emily could feel the mana flowing from him to the vines, and it was something akin to when Mira had altered a spell on the fly.
The guards stepped in and caught the still entangled Itsu as if he were a trussed pig. The vines parting from their connection to the floor while remaining wrapped around the helpless noble. Four of the guards were required to carry the jumble of man and vine away, but Emily didn’t even bother looking to see where they carried Lord Itsu after he was out of her line of sight. All she cared about was the glowing orb in the Archdruids hand. She didn’t even notice the way in which the remnants of the vines receded back into the floor without leaving any indication that they had ever existed.
After a few long moments passed, the standing king of the moon elves sat back down and turned his eyes upon Emily. “As for you, Emily Nelson…” His words stopped as the woman next to him gently placed her hand upon his arm. The two of them glanced at one another and another of those expressions was passed between them before the man slightly lowered his head in acquiescence.
The woman then stood. “As a mother, my heart goes out to you, and I understand your desire to hear the contents of that message. But as Sais
ho no josei of the Moon Elf nation on Talus, I must honor our traditions.” Her voice was firm, but there was a warmth to it and a subtle smile which invited trust as she spoke to Emily.
“From what I have learned, you have been many days without your daughter. Will you not honor the traditions of the people who you say you wish to become a part of and wait a very short time so that we may respond to your request to join the Circle?”
Emily looked from the glowing magical message orb to the woman she took to be the queen of the Moon Elves. It was interesting that her title was first woman, but that was only a stray thought that passed in the back of her mind as she determined how best to answer. She knew that people could be very serious about their traditions. She remembered the voice which had told her all would be well. In that moment, she made a decision to trust and be patient. She simply said in reply, “Yes,” fearing that any more of an answer might betray the fears she was trying so hard to stuff down.
“Good, this pleases the Throne. And now my husband, Saisho Konoe must pass judgment.” So saying, the woman sat back down again and her husband began to speak.
“You, Emily Nelson, have been found. A mitsukatta no more, you have been returned to your people. We know many things about you. One voice spoke against your inclusion in the circle and cited some valid reasons. Our people have rejected the so called gods just as they rejected us, yet here you stand not only a follower of one of those gods but also a Chosen. No Moon Elf has ever been a Chosen servant of one of the forgotten gods in all our centuries upon Talus. This is change and we are not given to change easily.”
