Into the Light (Axe Druid Book 1)

by Christopher Johns

  I shook their hands and thanked them before going to find my brother at the local inn.

  Yohsuke was at the inn, learning all kinds of things from the cook in the back. He had been making meals off and on and had some seriously good food to offer. Turns out, a lot of different aspects fed into his skills. Gathering herbs was one of them. Pretty interesting stuff.

  I stepped through the doorway, and the aroma of some sweet meat hit me full on. My stomach gurgled in delight, and I followed the scent through the door to the kitchen. Inside, my friend, the mighty spell sword Yohsuke, the strongest amongst our party, was seeing to a loaf of what looked like freshly-baked bread. The outside was dark brown, and I could see it was sliced a little on top, showing the pale inner breading.

  “Hey, brother!” I greeted him boisterously. “What’s cookin’?”

  “Yo, dude.” He smiled, and I could see a little flour on his left cheek and the bridge of his nose. “Check this out, man.” He sliced into the bread with a practiced hand.

  The slice he gave me was about an inch and a half thick, and the loaf itself was about eight inches wide. The bread was a light color inside with a dark slice of roast rolled into the center. The juices soaked into the bread, and that was where the aroma was coming from. I picked up the slice in both hands and took a bite. The bread was light and soft with just a hint of moisture from the roast. The meat was divine. It was cooked just right so that it fell apart when I chewed.

  “Oh my gough,” I tried to relate what was going through my head but couldn’t. It was too good.

  “Leveled my cooking up just this morning, man.” He laughed, and pointed to his bread. “At level 5, we start to get a better idea of what a recipe might take to make. Sometimes it’s just instinct, though. I take it you like it?”

  I nodded, not trusting myself with words. He took off his own apron that had a Demon and said “Overlord’s Kitchen” sewn expertly on the front.

  “Okay,” I said after I swallowed. “I’m going to demolish the fuck out of that, but first, wanna help me on a quest?”

  “Dude, you already know!” He grinned. “When do we leave?”

  “Now,” I said before another bite. He nodded, scooped the bread onto a plate, and gave it to the cook to give to our friends. He grabbed us enough food for a few days, and we bounced out of the kitchens and headed toward the forest path that would lead us to where the ruins were.

  Not wanting to wait, I cast Nature’s Voice and shouted into the forest, “Hey! Do we have any large deer or elk out there?”

  About a moment later, a giant buck poked his head out of large bushes to our right. His fur was light brown with red and white dappled spots on his chest. His antlers were large, at least a sixteen-point rack, and he was massive.

  “You called, Druid?” he said nervously; his ears flicked

  “Yes! What’s your name, my friend?” I asked excitedly. He looked like he was about to bolt but seemed to think better of it since I was here.

  “Melal, Druid,” he said. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes, I think you can,” I said. I explained my quest from Mother Nature and that seemed to embolden him further. I told him that we needed to move with all haste, and that Yohsuke would need a ride. If he could manage it.

  “I will do this thing for you, Friend of Bears,” he said as he held his head higher. I could see I had been wrong; he had a good twenty points to his horns. He turned his head to my friend and knelt. “Climb upon my back, but do mind my antlers.”

  “Also, would you mind if I touched you for a couple of minutes?” Melal quirked his head at the odd question, so I explained, “I wanted to acquire your shape, so that I could try and keep up with you, but I don’t want to carry my friend in case we are attacked. I’d like to try and conserve what strength I can.”

  He assented, coming over to stand beside me, and I put my hand on his side. At the two-minute mark, I received a notification that I had acquired the Large Stag as a shape I could take.

  I relayed his request to my friend who shrugged and hopped on. The massive buck stood and Yohsuke shifted his weight so that he could get a better grip on the stag’s sides with his knees.

  Melal looked to me and stated, “We will break often to keep you feeling well.”

  I shifted into my own Stag form, a version the same size and build as Melal, but my fur was black with dappled light brown and white. My antlers were smaller as well.

  We made it there in a quarter of the time we would have on foot. While traveling, I watched my position change rapidly on my internal map. Melal led the charge with great ease, and I followed closely behind. True to his word, Melal had us break often; the buck needed little other rest than to get a drink that I provided from my water supplies. Then we were back on our way. Three hours after that, we were at the base of the mountain. Yohsuke was a bit saddle sore, but I cast Regrowth on him; it seemed to ease his soreness. We both thanked the stag, and he bolted with a promise to help us again if he could.

  I referenced my map, and the area highlighted in an opaque blue was a large portion of the mountain range to our right, the eastern portion of it. I guessed my former trainer and her partner were taking the west side. Sweet. We had a decent amount of ground to cover, as it seemed to radiate in a large oval. After about ten minutes of planning, we set off. Yoh and I had partied up so I could see his health bar. We walked for a few hours and stopped to eat. We followed pretty much the same routine over the next couple days. After we would move so far in a direction, the blue highlight would fall away, showing that it wasn’t there, so it was hard to double back on ourselves.

  We slept at night in caves if we could find them and only ran into a couple of bears, who were more than happy to share what little they had in the way of shelter and information. The information they shared must have been helpful because the area we had to look through shrank to a third of the size by our third day.

  The next morning we had an easier time of things. There was a plateau that we looked around on that covered a majority of the area we had to explore. There was a large rock structure in the center of the area where the ground was littered with glass and sand. I guessed that may have been why the mountains got their name. Lightning struck the ground here so often it left the residue of the strikes on the ground and was so hot it turned the sand into glass.

  It looked awesome!

  The ground around us was littered with the stuff and what looked like charred bones and fur. Something was hunting around here frequently, and it seemed that it was a messy eater. Hopefully, it wasn’t around still.

  The large rock structure looked to be about thirty feet wide and twice as tall. As we stepped closer, we heard a harsh, high pitched, guttural language. We decided to hide behind a rocky outcropping of bone and glass just in case. The exchange lasted about thirty seconds before we heard a slap and scuffle. Then a green body was flung from the entryway.

  The little, green thing stood about three feet tall and had a strangely shaped head with long pointed ears and sharp teeth. Three fingers adorned each hand, and they scrabbled at the ground. This had to be a Goblin, and Goblins always traveled in groups in the games I’d played back home. Sure enough, Goblin level 9 was what we were looking at, and about four more stepped out of the structure to start harassing the smallest one whose health was already pretty low.

  “I think it’s time to summon Bonzer, man. This could get fun,” I said and readied myself for a fight.

  Yohsuke just reached out and flipped two fingers into the air like he was motioning to someone behind us. The Skeleton stepped from the ground easily, and I saw that my friend had taken the time to gear his guy up. The Skeleton wore leather armor and sported a wooden shield and a scimitar. He even had an eyepatch.

  “Nice, man,” I whispered.

  “He can tank,” Yohsuke advised. “You and I can wreak havoc. Just let him get the hate first.”

  I nodded, and the Skeleton went to work. It shrieked a wordless, so
undless cry and charged the Goblins who, to their credit, only freaked out a little bit. After getting their shit together, though, they started to wail on the poor Skeleton. So then we went to work. Between the four standing and the one on the ground, Tiny, I chose to attack the biggest dickface there. That’s just me, though.

  I engaged Wind Scythe and threw my axe at the poor sod. My great axe hit him and pinned him to the stone behind him; he was hanging on with a sliver of health left. I leapt from my spot behind our makeshift barrier and flung a Frozen Dagger at Tiny. The cold blade hit the poor bastard in the neck and polished him off.

  The other Goblins had noticed us now, and one decided to try and go for Yoh, who looked to be the least threatening. Yohsuke welcomed the foolish creature by feigning fear, then lashing out with a freshly released Astral Sword. The Goblin was dead before it hit the ground, its head separated from its shoulders. Two more were left, and they had managed to get the Skeleton’s HP to about sixty percent in the seconds that we had been distracted.

  I jogged over to my weapon that still pinned the struggling Goblin to the rock and activated Devil’s Hammer. It helped me pull my weapon from the stone and bashed the Goblin on my left side in the skull with the blunt side of the axe head. It didn’t damage it, but it left the Goblin stunned, so I turned my great axe and began to chop into the poor, stupid creature. It fell shortly after, and Yoh had killed his with help from Bonzer. The fight had gotten us a good amount of experience since there were only two of us. The Skeleton’s level was entirely dependent on its summoner, so it gained nothing—I didn’t think.

  We walked into the structure slowly, just in case there was something left inside, and I let my eyes adjust to the light. The interior was musty and smelled like recent death. I looked over and saw the reason why; a large yellow and gold bird lay covering a nest. There were dozens of little Goblin bodies littered about the room. We must have gotten here just after the fight. The air was still humid, and I could smell the lingering stench of burnt flesh. The Goblin corpses still smoldered and smoked. It was probably only minutes ago with the great beast had bitten it.

  As soon as I thought that, the bird’s head shifted, and its eye opened to look right at me. On instinct, I activated Nature’s Voice.

  “You came,” the soft voice wheezed. “Thank the Mother.”

  I went to cast Regrowth on her, but she pecked at my hand angrily.

  “Do not waste your magics, Druid,” she said. “I need your aid. Come, assist me in my final task.”

  Quest Available: A Mother’s Love - The great bird before you has requested that you help her. Reward: Unknown.

  Will you accept? Yes/No?

  “I’ll help. What can I do?” I asked. She brought her wing out and pulled me close.

  “You know the Lightning magics?” she asked, and I thought of my only one, then nodded.

  “Good.” She pushed a small lump from beneath her. “This is to be my only progeny. The others were crushed inside me before I could lay them. You and I will channel our Lightning into this egg together.”

  The lump, I realized, was a sapphire colored egg. It looked fragile—only about a foot and a half in size and oval in shape.

  “What?” I stuttered. “But won’t that kill it?”

  I could hear her chuckle. “It will make her stronger than ever.”

  “I can only cast once every minute,” I warned. She turned and shocked me with her wing.

  It didn’t hurt; it was more of a surprise than anything. I looked and saw that it was a buff.

  Lightning Roc’s Static - Disables cool downs on lightning abilities and spells. Lasts until shocked again.

  And so we began. I had two hundred fifty MP to go through, so I hoped it would help. I was able to cast the spell ten times while the bird fed Lightning to the egg at a steady rate. Then I was out of mana. With twenty points in my wisdom, I regained ten MP every five seconds. As soon as I had the mana for the spell, I cast again.

  Yohsuke was interested, but with the lightning playing in the air, he decided to sit nearby and watch. He had his Skeleton stand in the doorway in case more Goblins came.

  It had been half an hour of this—casting, waiting, then casting again. Half an hour turned into an hour. Then two. I was pretty tired at this point, close to reaching my mental limits. The casting didn’t bother me; by now I felt pretty numb to it, like I was closer to the element of lightning than before, but damn, I was tired. Felt like I could sleep forever.

  After one last round, the Roc had suddenly stopped. I looked over and saw that she was dead, her last breath given to her baby. I knew what I had to do next. I sent a silent prayer to Mother Nature and sent Lightning Bolt into the egg. I put my hand up against it, and cast with both hands, something I had never done before and kept casting.

  I felt a presence in the egg, and I lifted it to my chest. I cast the spell in quick succession four more times with both hands. Even though it took less than a minute to recover the needed mana, the mental strain was almost unbearable. After I gained the mana for one final casting, my reserves were completely spent, and I dropped to my knees.

  “Yo, man, are you okay?” Yohsuke was next to me with his hand on my shoulder. I felt like a vortex had opened inside me, and I began to feel a warmth flow from his hand to me, his mana flow going from his into my own pool.

  “Oh shit,” he said slightly aghast. “You got it, brother. Take all of my mana. I’ll be alright.”

  With his mana, I dual cast the spell another seven times before I felt the life essence inside flutter, then arc stronger than before. The shell began to crack and break. I looked down, and I saw a blue beak begin to break through. I cradled the egg in my left arm and used my right hand to help the little thing. After a few minutes, we had cleared the top portion of the shell away and there was this blue Roc chick sitting there, staring up at me.

  CONGRATULATIONS!

  You have completed the quests Nature’s Way and A Mother’s Love - You have received 500 EXP, the body of the Lightning Roc of the Lightning Mountains, understanding of the element of Lightning, and the adoration of the Roc’s only chick.

  Alert!

  The Lightning Roc’s chick has imprinted upon you. Would you like to take it as your familiar?

  Yes/No?

  I accepted happily. I couldn’t imagine doing all that work to help this little thing live just to toss it away and let it fend for itself.

  Alert!

  You have accepted the Lightning Roc’s chick as your familiar, would you like to name it?

  Yes/No

  I looked over the chick, blue feathers beginning to dry in the dark. I decided to take it outside to look at. In the light, I saw how deep blue the feathers really were. They were glorious—a royal blue and big eyes, the pale yellow of bursting lightning. I felt a presence brush up against my mind. It was warm and inviting, so I mentally tried to open myself to it.

  Abilities Learned

  Mental Link - There is a mental link between a Druid and their Animal Familiar. This link allows for the quick exchange of information and will. As time goes on and as the bond grows stronger, more can be shared than simple, basic thoughts.

  Upon reading this and closing the notification, I felt the contentment coming from the little bird. The mind that touched mine was feminine, and as my son would have lovingly said as he tried to pet her, she was so cute. I missed him. Maybe I could have him play a part in naming her.

  “How does Kayda work for you, little one?” I asked as she looked at me with her big eyes. I think she must have felt how dear the name was to me because I felt her happiness instantly. Then I felt her hunger.

  She looked to the Goblins behind me, and I got a very distinct “food” vibe from her. Great. She’s a predatory bird.

  When I didn’t react fast enough, I got a solid zap that stole five percent of my HP. Damn, that hurt. After a moment, I realized that my buff was now gone. Oh well. It had been a few minutes anyway, and I was back to f
ull mana. Yohsuke was almost back to full himself when he came walking out to join us.

  “I don’t know what the hell that shit was,” he said finally, “but holy fuck! Having your mana drained doesn’t feel good, man. Fuck all that. How is the bird?”

  I held her out to see him, and Kayda was confused. I tried to impress how I felt about him into our bond, the times that he had saved me from myself when things got hard in the Corps, how he and I had always seemed to be there for each other no matter what the odds looked like. This man was truly my family, and I needed her to know that.

  She chirped at him softly and ruffled her fuzzy feathers at him in excitement. It seemed like she had forgotten about her hunger, thankfully. I passed her over to him, and she struggled to nip at his armor.

  “Ah!” I heard my brother say. “Cute little fucker likes me. I shall call you Minion. Yes. Good little Minion.”

  She continued to chirp happily and glanced from Tiny’s corpse over to the two of them. The little bird turned around and started to eye the body greedily.

  “Better put her down, brother,” I said, trying to prevent the shock I thought might be coming. “She seems to be hungry.”

  “She ain’t eating that shit, man,” he said and pulled up a screen. “Fuck that. She gets the finest foods.”

  He pulled out some food and fed it to her by hand. I could sense that it was filling to her, and she was content for now. I left them alone to see about the bodies inside. As I thought, the loot was open since the bird had passed. There wasn’t much, about a gold piece worth of money all together, but one had a gem that looked really nice. I picked it up and saw that it was a topaz. Nice. Maybe Balmur could use this?

  I went to the Lightning Roc and touched it reverently. She had given her life so that Kayda could live. I would never let her memory fade from the little bird’s mind. Her sacrifice would never be forgotten.

  I looked into her inventory to see if she had dropped anything.