by Rick Scott
In the deafening silence, the thoom! of the giant’s footfall accompanies the shaking of the column as the thing comes my way. My heart is in my throat. The other ones react to it, heading toward me with wails of their own in the distance.
I’ve got to get the heck out of here!
Sweat slicks my palms as I struggle to free my kunai from the column. I glance up at the ceiling, and to my horror, I see the crystalline surface re-growing, slowly covering my exit from this nightmare place.
I pull with all my strength and manage to free my weapon just as the giant shadow thing gets within arms’ reach. I sprint up the column surface, using wall run, crying out in terror as the opening gets smaller and smaller. I risk a look behind and see the giant monster crash into some kind of invisible wall, a faint hexagon pattern appearing as it does so.
I don’t have time to process it as I dive at the last moment through the ceiling of the crystal cavern. My body scrapes the edges as I fly through and I land on the floor of the mine. A few seconds later, the light disappears as the hole seals itself, leaving me in total darkness.
My heart is pounding. I can barely catch my breath. I’m breathing so hard it’s giving me a headache. What did I just see? What the heck were those things?
I don’t think it even showed up on my HUD. Although admittedly, I was in too much of a panic to even focus on it. Was that an Omega? It crashed into the wall just like those sentries in the Wild when we first arrived. Did that mean that down there was part of the Wild too? And what was that enormous thing in the distance?
Could it have been a Builder?
Too many crazy questions plague my mind. For now I should just be thankful I’m alive.
Oh crap! Gilly and Rembrandt must think I’m dead!
I’ve got to get back to them.
I cast Shadow Tendrils to give me some semblance of light. I’m in the bottom of a mine shaft, but looking at the walls, it appears I should be able to climb them. But I don’t know if I have enough stamina to make it all the way to the top using wall run.
I’ve got to try.
I charge at the wall and Sprint up it, vertically. I feel myself tiring as my stamina depletes. Oh crap. I’m just about to run out when I make a desperate jab at the shaft wall with my lone kunai. It thankfully holds fast and I hang from it to catch my breath and replenish my stamina. I repeat the process once more and finally see light at the top.
I run out of the shaft and land on the floor of the Goblin Queen’s throne room gasping for breath.
“Reece!”
Gilly comes running at me with tears in her eyes. She crashes into me on the floor and starts sobbing. “Oh my God! I thought you were dead!”
I can barely speak, still catching my breath. “I’m all right, Gilly. I’m here.”
“Thank the stars, mate.” Rembrandt joins us and I can see he’s visibly relieved as well. “I thought I was going to have to jump down that shaft right after you, to spare me from your brother’s wrath.”
That manages to get us laughing and relief washes over me. I’ve never been so happy to be alive and to see my friends again. Gilly presses her lips to mine in a soulful kiss that I’m totally not expecting. But I welcome it. When she breaks away she buries her head in my shoulder. “Please don’t ever do that to me again. Ever.”
I can understand how she feels. The anguish of seeing her about to die during the battle nearly killed me as well. This dying for real stuff is crazy. I don’t know if I’ll ever truly get used to it.
“I won’t lie...” Rembrandt crouches down to look me in the eye. “I was scared something wicked, mate. We couldn’t even reach you with party chat. Or PMs. You left the party completely. I didn’t know what to think.”
Frankly I don’t either.
“I… I was….”
I’m about to tell him what I saw, but then something makes me hold my tongue. Maybe it was that conversation we had with him earlier, about what he and my brother were really fighting for. It’s a reminder that although we’re all on the same team, I think, we’re not exactly aligned when it comes to goals.
I’m still not even certain what I saw, or what to make of it. But one thing I do know: if I tell my brother or even Rembrandt what I saw down there, there was a good chance they’d change their plans of helping Val Helena to come back here and explore. And I probably couldn’t blame them. Heck, I could have just uncovered a pathway to Citadel or something. But I need some time to think it through first. Or at least talk it over with Gilly and Val Helena alone to see what they think.
“I’m just glad I made it back up that shaft,” I say with a forced smile. “Come on. Let’s get back to the village. And ah…maybe we shouldn’t mention this to my brother, huh?”
“You mean the fact that you and Gilly both nearly died under my watch?” Rembrandt laughs as he stands to his feet. “It’ll be our little secret, mates.”
“Right!” Gilly says. “What happens in the mines stays in the mines.”
She laughs her joyous, innocent laugh. A laugh that would seem right at home back in the mines of Crystal Shards. But the word ‘mines’ holds a much different connotation for me now.
“Yeah,” I say as the images of those nightmare things come back into my head. “What happens in the mines. Stays in the mines.”
Chapter 11: Friend or Foe
I’m almost feeling back to normal by the time we reach Brookrun Village. During the walk back home, we go over the loot from the run and it lifts my spirits a bit. We nab a total 90 nano fragments from converting all the goblin corpses and a bunch of spears and rapiers in fairly good condition. But the best were the awesome drops from the queen.
I check them out on my HUD log.
You convert the Goblin Queen’s Corpse.
You find 20 Nano Shards.
You find a scroll of Great Miracle.
You find a Goblin Queen’s Spellbow.
You find a Goblin Queen’s Necklace.
It’s all level 80 mage gear and totally fit for Gilly. I take a closer look at each one.
Scroll of Great Miracle
Teaches the Celestial Magic spell Great Miracle
Level 80
Revive all defeated party members and restore them to full health.
Cast Time: 15 Seconds
Recast: 3 minutes
Cost: 600 TP
Goblin Queen’s Spellbow
+20 DEX +30 MND +200 TP
Goblin Queen’s Necklace
+20 MND +100 TP
“You got some good drops, Gilly,” I say smiling at her and admire how great she still looks in her adventure-worn mages robes. “What level did you reach in there?”
“42,” Gilly says as we enter the village perimeter. “Pretty much halfway. But I can’t wait to try out this bow. We need to go find some new place for me to level up some more. I gotta hit 80!”
I laugh at her enthusiasm. “Me too! Still 8 levels away from max.”
“If you’re planning to use that bow, you’ll need to learn how to shoot too, little lady,” Rembrandt says twirling one of his pistols. “I could probably give you a hand with that.”
I’m puzzled at that one. “Can she learn a new skill like that? I don’t think bow use is normally part of a mage class. Is it?”
Rembrandt shrugs. “This is still the real world. A lot of the game’s constraints don’t apply here like in the Shards. You can gain skills by doing things; you just won’t have any special abilities to back them up. Not unless you earn some extra ability slots.”
“Ability slots? What are those?”
“Once you hit 85 you can use your XP to buy them. Then you can slot in abilities from other classes you have.”
“Ah,” Gilly says. “Like cross class abilities. That’s pretty cool.”
Pretty cool indeed. I ponder being able to use Power Attack as a ninja. That would be awesome!
“I wonder if I level up Ranger and Celestial Mage if I can
unlock Arcane Archer,” Gilly says.
“That’s a class?” I ask.
She nods. “An advanced class. I guess I won’t be able to do it here though, since I can’t switch classes.”
“That’s the main benefit of the Shards,” Rembrandt says, who waves to a few villagers as we pass by. “It’s like a prep area. A training ground for the real thing.”
I laugh. “A few days ago I thought going up against a world boss was the highlight of all existence. Now I’m finding out it was just the tutorial.”
Both Gilly and Rembrandt laugh at that.
We approach the village center and I spot Wilbur seated on his bench. He waves to us as we approach. “How did things go?”
“Success,” I say and shake hands with him. “We cleared the mines.”
Wilbur gives us a smile, revealing his half missing teeth. “That’s great news. I knew you could do it. Maybe we could send a few men down there in the morning to get things set up for production.”
[Do you wish to link Brookrun Village to Brookrun Mines? (Y/N)]
“Sounds like a plan,” I say.
[You have linked Brookrun Mines]
[Mine Administration now available in Brookrun Village]
I see an option to assign a mine administrator. Honestly, I can think of no better person to manage the place than Gilly, but I got that nasty hole to consider first. “Wilbur, there’s a dangerous shaft in the main chamber at the bottom of the mines. Could you see to sealing that up first?”
“Good call, mate,” Rembrandt says.
“I’ll see to it the men know,” Wilbur says.
“Thanks,” I say. “And have you seen our companions? Are they back from the forest as yet?”
“For some time now, yes. They replenished our wood stores quite quickly. I believe they’re in the common hall. We’ll bring by a nice meal now that you’ve returned.”
I check the wood supply and see Maxis and Val Helena have added over 1000 units. I absently wonder how many trees that equates to. “Thanks Wilbur.”
“Thank you, my friends. Is there anything else?”
I ponder a moment and then look to Gilly and Rembrandt. “You guys go on ahead. I have to do a bit of town admin to get the mine up and running.”
“Fair enough mate,” Rembrandt says. “Let’s go, Gills.”
I smile at the new pet name Rembrandt has given her. He’s a pretty swell guy.
“Don’t stay too long,” Gilly says and gives me a quick peck on the cheek.
I wait for them to depart and then turn back to Wilbur. “That shaft I mentioned. Before you seal it, can you construct a means to get safely to the bottom? A ladder or stairs or something?”
“Anything is possible,” Wilbur says. “Plus we have plenty of wood now. Let me know what you decide.”
A new set of options flash upon my HUD.
Construct Ladder Access: 300 Wood 300 labor
Construct Stair Access: 500 Wood 500 Labor
Wow… More expensive than I thought. Those 1000 units of wood could go toward building that perimeter wall for safety. Or a lot of other things. I’m still not certain how important going down there will be, but if it comes to it, having an easy means of access and even exit will be crucial.
“Okay, I’ll go for the stairs,” I say and 500 units of wood get committed as the project goes into the production queue.
“What type of ore are in those mines anyway, Wilbur?”
“When we last mined it, there was coal and iron.”
That’s a good combination. From my mining days I know those can be used to craft steel. I check the cost for building a forge.
Forge: 100 Wood 200 Stone 100 Coal 500 labor
I set that as next on the “to do” list. “Can you see about building a forge next, Wilbur?”
Wilbur pauses a moment. “I can, but with two big projects like this, you might want to consider hiring a foreman or two. You can have the both jobs happen at the same time then.”
“Oh?”
Promote a Foreman: Requires 10 workers 1 Gold
I check my gold from my trade with Blackhat. I have seven coins. I hand two over to Wilbur. “Okay, make it happen, Wilbur. And thanks.”
He nods. “Thank you, young master. I look forward to seeing this village thrive again.”
“Me too, Wilbur. Me too.”
* * *
I sprint away and catch up to Gilly and Rembrandt before they reach the Common Hall.
“That was fast,” Gilly says as I rejoin them.
I shrug with a smile. “Not like we have too many options on the build queue thus far. Besides, I’m eager to tell Val about Aiko.”
“I imagine she’s going to be pretty shocked,” Gilly says.
Although it probably pales in comparison to what I saw down in the mines, it’s still a surprising development. But whether it will change our plans any is still yet to be seen. And up to Val Helena, I suppose.
As we approach the hall, I can hear Val Helena’s big goddess laugh booming through the door. When Rembrandt swings it open, I see Val Helena and Maxis seated together at one of the tables at the back. Val is still laughing and slapping my brother’s forearm as he cracks a grin.
When they see us, Maxis stiffens a little, losing his smile, while Val Helena stifles her laugh to a chuckle. “Oh, you’re back,” she says with a feint of surprise. “Nice to see you guys are in one piece. And quite a few levels higher, huh, Gilly?”
“Ah…yeah!” Gilly says, sharing a quick glance with me, no doubt recalling both our near-death experiences. “Was easy-peasy, just like you said.”
“And she got some great new gear too,” I add. “That she can wear at level 80, mind you.”
We join them at the table and Val Helena stands to serve us some cold water from a silver pitcher. “Sounds good. We spotted a new hunting ground for you two while we were out in the forest.”
“Oh yeah?” I say.
“To the west,” Maxis says, who eases back just a tad as Val Helena reaches across him to pour a glass for Rembrandt. “If you follow the river there’s a big meadow with level 60 buffalo roaming around. Would be perfect for you, Gilly. Especially if you duo.”
“Duo?” I say. “You mean you actually trust us to go out there alone?”
He huffs out a laugh. “Your mentor here convinced me it’d probably be okay, now that the goblins have been eliminated. Plus it’ll be faster leveling for Gilly.”
I can’t disagree with that. “We also have some news for you too, Val. But you might want to sit down for it.”
Val Helena halts mid-pour and arches a brow at me. “What’s up?”
I wait for her to sit, but when she doesn’t and only continues to stare, I just tell her: “Aiko is here.”
Her face drops into a stunned daze and she nearly drops the pitcher of water as well. “What?”
“On the way to the mines, we stopped by a trader near here,” Rembrandts says. “Fella named, Blacktop. He’s from the Shards too. He said she dropped by his place last night and traded in her katanas. Among other things.”
Val Helena falls back in her chair, her eyes staring into space, perplexed. I probably know more than anyone else as to why. I pat her hand softly. “Hey, if you need some time to go digest this…”
She snaps her head to me, as if surprised to find me sitting there. “Um, yeah… maybe.”
The giantess gets up to leave and Maxis gets up with her. “Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m…fine,” she says and presses on a smile. “Just need a minute.”
An uncomfortable silence descends as she leaves the table and wanders out the common hall. Then I notice everyone staring at me.
“What?” I say.
Gilly lets out a sigh. “Geez, you really are slow. Go make sure she’s okay, Reece.”
“Huh?”
“She obviously needs to talk about it,” Gilly says. “But she can’t with all of us here. So go. You know her the best.”
“And don’t make it worse,” Maxis warns me.
“Okay, okay!” I say as they chase me away from the table.
I gingerly creep toward the door and ease it open. I find Val Helena outside, but she’s not on the roof this time. She’s sitting on the floor and leaning against the cabin instead, her knees to her chest the same way. She stares at the ground and I can see her face is wet with tears. I approach her slowly and then stop before I get too close.
“Sorry about dropping a bomb like that on you,” I say. “Maybe I should have done it in private.”
She merely shakes her head and then looks up at me. “I totally didn’t expect this, Reece.”
I take that as a cue to join her and slide down next to Val Helena, leaning against the cabin wall. “Why do you think she came?”
“I honestly have no idea. I hope she’s not here to try and stop me again.”
I hadn’t considered that.
“Or maybe I’ve been wrong about her,” she says looking to the ground again. “Maybe I’ve been wrong about a lot of things.”
I let a pause linger between us for a moment.
“Why wasn’t she with us when we transported to the surface?”
Val Helena shrugs. “She did exit the decision room before us. Maybe she transferred earlier. I didn’t really have a chance to see how many discs were there when we arrived.”
“Discs?”
“When we materialize, there’s a base that gets printed first. We were each standing on one.”
I think back and then do recall seeing an empty disc next to Gilly. “I think you’re right. She must have gotten here before us. I do remember seeing her disc. And with her stealth she probably got past the dogs a lot easier than us.”
“I really don’t know what to think,” Val Helena says. “It’d be totally unlike her to come back here.”
“Will this change anything?” I ask. “About what we need to do?”
