World Tree Online: The Duchess of Hammers: 2nd Dive Begins

by M. A. Carlson

  “1-silver,” he said, holding out his hand still.

  I quickly paid him.

  “You are allowed to check-out up to three books at one time for a maximum of 14-days,” he instructed.

  “Thank you for the help. Can you help me find some books if I give you their names?” I asked.

  The snakeman looked at me for a moment before he spoke. “I suppose I can provide you with a little assistance. You have been considerably more courteous than your fellow adventurers.”

  I gave the man the list of books.

  “Interesting selection, very interesting,” he said softly, mostly to himself I thought. He slithered away from the desk to find the books I asked for. Yes, you heard me, he slithered. He had a mostly human upper body aside from the snakehead and scales, but his lower body was that of a snake.

  He returned a few minutes later with three books, placing them on the counter before me.

  “Might I ask, why these three books?” the librarian requested.

  “They were recommended,” I answered.

  “Curious, to my knowledge, these tomes have never provided a skill to anyone that has read one of them. Tell me, who recommended them?” the librarian probed, studying me carefully.

  Quest Alert: Mystery of the Tomes 1

  The librarian has asked for information on the books you have requested. Will you tell him who recommended them? Will you keep it a secret? Or will you mislead him?

  Reward: Experience

  What will you do?

  Tell the Truth

  Refuse to Answer

  Lie through your Teeth

  Interesting. I had only ever had a choice like this once before and that led to the Boar Charge Charm that ended up teaching me my first area of effect spell. The trick here was knowing which the best response was.

  “A Goddess,” I answered truthfully. Okay, so it was a bit obfuscated, but still the truth.

  The snakeman laughed. “Truthfully answered and smartly answered. I might just come to like you adventurer. I suppose, if in the future, you were to share any of the knowledge you uncover by reading these books, I might be willing to share some of my knowledge in return.”

  Quest Alert: Mystery of the Tomes 1 - Completed

  The librarian has asked for information on the books you have requested. Will you tell him who recommended them? Will you keep it a secret? Or will you mislead him?

  Reward: +500-Experience

  That was nice, a few experience points just for answering a question, but the follow up intrigued me more.

  Quest Alert: Mystery of the Tomes 2

  The librarian has asked for information on the books you have requested. Will you tell him who recommended them? Will you keep it a secret? Or will you mislead him?

  Reward: Experience, Item from Librarian’s Private Collection

  Do you accept this Quest?

  Yes

  No

  “Sounds fair, I’ll let you know if anything comes of it,” I replied.

  “Thank you,” replied the snakeman. “Will there be anything else?”

  “No, I think that will do it for me,” I replied.

  “Very well, have a good day,” he said, returning to his tome.

  Back outside the library, I had to decide what I would do next. I could return to the Duchess’s residence and read. I could head over to the barracks and see what I can do there for training. I could go to the café across the street and enjoy some burnt water that most people refer to as coffee. Honestly, I wasn’t in the mood for any of that. I wanted to try out my new spell, but I had no one to capture . . . but maybe . . . I grinned as an idea formed in my head.

  I was only in the library for a few minutes, so I might be able to catch up to Rhyes before he went on duty. I might be able to request what equates, in the real world, to a ride along. It might also allow me to learn those two Order spells the Goddess Issara recommended to me.

  I took off at a run toward the barracks, not bothering to dodge around the people between me and the barracks, instead hurdling or flipping over them without breaking stride.

  The barracks was much different from the barracks in Hurlig Ridge. For starters, it was huge, easily six or seven times larger. Second, this was a castle with a motte and stone bailey. I could see archers patrolling atop the wall as well as half a dozen gate guards on duty.

  “Halt and identify,” ordered one of the guards, seeing me running toward them.

  “Bye-bye Jacko, I was hoping to catch Guard Everson before he went on duty,” I answered, slightly out of breath.

  “Wait here,” ordered the same guard while another ran inside the gate and out of sight to the right. He returned a moment later with Rhyes.

  “Bye-bye, you caught me just in time. I was about to take my jump to the ninth ring,” said Rhyes, greeting me. “Did you forget something?”

  “This might be a crazy request, but can I come with you? I mean, go on duty with you, as an observer?” I asked, fumbling with my words a little.

  Rhyes mouth dropped slightly in surprise at the request. “I . . . I have no idea,” he answered, clearly flustered by the request.

  The lead guard chuckled then outright laughed which was quickly joined by the other guards though it seemed forced from some of them.

  “Never thought I would see the day an adventurer wanted to become a simple guard,” the lead guard said, seeming to have laughed himself out.

  “Sergeant Meany,” chided Rhyes.

  I looked at the lead guard and his name tag had indeed changed from to . I wasn’t sure if that was really his name or only the name I knew him by.

  “Take him to see the Lieu,” ordered the sergeant, grinning slightly. “Let us see what the boss has to say.”

  “Yes, sergeant,” said Rhyes, saluting his superior. “Come on, Bye-bye.”

  I followed Rhyes inside the barracks and was even more impressed. There were at least seven different training rings that I could see to the left of the gate and further north of that was an archery range. To the right was a large stone dais with a line of guards stepping on and vanishing one after the other, the jump point I guessed.

  He led me inside the barracks and up two flights of stairs before knocking loudly on a thick wooden door.

  “Enter!” a voice called loudly from inside.

  Rhyes opened the door, entering first with me just after him.

  “Lieutenant Saaya, sir,” said Rhyes, saluting the officer.

  “At ease, Patrolman,” said the Lieutenant. He really was a tigerman, . He had the head of a tiger and was covered in fur but was otherwise human. He was also quite possibly the most ripped being I’d ever seen. “Who is your guest?”

  “Sir, this is Bye-bye Jacko, servant of the Goddess Issara,” he answered.

  I’d come to expect a certain reaction from the World Tree citizens, specifically the kneeling and praying, so when the Lieutenant didn’t, I was caught a little off-guard.

  “Ah, so this is the servant of justice,” growled the man, frowning disapprovingly and giving me the clear impression that he did not like me very much. “And what does an adventurer such as yourself want with me?”

  “I was hoping to get your approval to observe Patrolman Everson on duty today,” I answered.

  “Why?” he asked.

  “To learn,” I replied. It was true, I wanted to see if I could learn those two Order spells, but I also wanted to learn more about the people of the World Tree. I had already learned a great deal from the patrolman today, I was sure I could learn more.

  The Lieutenant studied me quietly for a moment. “Approved, but if you interfere with his duties in any way, I will charge you with obstruction of justice and lock you in the stocks for ten days. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, sir,” I replied. “I only have a few hours to observe, will I be permitted to use the jump point both to follow him and to return here when I finis
h?”

  “I will permit it. Oh, and when you finish, come to see me. I want to hear what you have learned,” he ordered.

  Class Quest Alert: Tour of Duty I

  Accompany Patrolman Rhyes Everson on duty and assist him in any way possible.

  Reward: Experience, 1-Silver per Hour, 1-Sigil per 5 petty criminals captured (Standing Bounty)

  Do you accept this quest?

  Yes

  No

  “Thank you,” I replied, grinning slightly.

  “Now, both of you be on your way, I have work to do,” ordered the Lieutenant.

  “He really didn’t care for me much,” I said once we were out of his office.

  “Do not take it personally. He does not follow the Gods or Goddesses. He believes that actions speak louder than words and faith is unreliable. Do well and he will warm up to you,” offered Rhyes.

  “I think he’s the first I’ve ever met that isn’t in awe of me. I kind of like him for that,” I replied. It was not only refreshing, it was deserved. I had done nothing to prove myself to the Lieutenant, I hadn’t earned his respect yet. I liked the idea that I would need to work to earn his respect, his approval, and maybe even his friendship.

  “Like I said, he is a good man,” reiterated Rhyes. “Anyway, let us get through the jump point, and see about putting a stop to a few more criminals today.”

  I followed him through the building again and back out to the courtyard where we queued up for the jump point.

  “Now, when you get on the platform, state very clearly where you are going. Ley-line transit can get very . . . dangerous if you say something wrong,” Rhyes began to explain as we moved forward in the line.

  “Dangerous how?” I asked.

  “Lost in time and space dangerous. Body parts spit out all over the city dangerous. Erased from existence dangerous. Need I go on?” Rhyes asked.

  “No, that was clear enough. So where are we going?” I asked.

  “Ninth ring, southwest 4,” he replied.

  “Right, ninth ring, southwest 4,” I repeated.

  Eventually, Rhyes stepped up and stated clearly, “Ninth ring, southwest 4,” and simply dematerialized.

  I took a deep breath.

  “Do not sneeze,” warned a guard with a laugh.

  I sent a small glare his way, now all I could think about was sneezing or trying not to sneeze. I took a new deep breath and let it out slowly. Finally, I stated as clearly as I could, “Ninth ring, southwest 4.”

  Chapter 4

  Jump point might have been an understatement, it reminded me of this really old game where the characters would get loaded into a cannon and shot into the air then land rather roughly at their destination. In spite of that, the landing wasn’t rough at all, but it was still weird. That said, it was an awesome trip, flying through the air, seeing the city zip past at high speed was spectacular, though much too fast to really make out any of the details.

  “What a ride,” I gasped out, once the world stopped moving and I breathed again, not sure why I held my breath for the trip, but I did.

  “Yeah, it can take some getting used to,” said Rhyes, with a friendly pat on my shoulder to make sure I was okay.

  “No, you misunderstand, it was awesome,” I said, a bit more enthusiastically now that I was breathing properly again.

  Rhyes chuckled. “It is pretty fantastic.”

  I nodded again. The arrival room was small, barely large enough for the patrolman and I together.

  “Well, come on, let us report into the desk sergeant and find out our beat for the day,” said Rhyes, motioning for me to follow him.

  It turned out the room with the receiving pad was little more than a closet connected to a slightly larger room with a large desk and a rotund Orc, sitting behind it, angrily stamping one form or another, grumbling under his breath the whole time.

  “Sergeant Griggs, Patrolman Everson reporting for duty,” said Rhyes, saluting the grumbling Orc.

  “Breakers Alley to the Fish Market,” growled the orc.

  “Sir,” said Rhyes firmly, saluting the orc then turning to me. “Let us get going, Breakers Alley is a bit of a hike, thankfully or maybe not, the Fish Market is only a street south of here. I figure we can do a loop starting from the Fish Market to Breakers and back, it ought to eat up about three hours which gets you back here with plenty of time.”

  “You lead, I follow,” I answered, happy to come along and see what kind of adventure or hidden Easter egg that might just be laying around waiting to be discovered.

  I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised when I was assaulted by the odor of the Fish Market as soon as we stepped out of guard post, especially given the proximity to it. Just like the area I first arrived in Root City, the buildings here were rather dingy and beat up, some in outright disrepair and I’m sure even if the Fish Market weren’t so close there would still be an unpleasant odor in the air. We also seemed to be in the dark once again as the World Tree looming over our heads blocked out the light of day. What light there was, was provided by oil lampposts glowing orange with firelight. It wasn’t very effective, but I could at least see, my ‘Perception’ skill gave me a hand with that.

  Perception

  Level: 24

  Experience: 85.62%

  Skill Range: 11.80 yards

  Chance to See: 27.00%

  Chance to Identify/Track: 24.00%

  Subskill: Dark Sight

  Skill Effect (Passive): Enables you to see better in darkness

  Rhyes took a long, deep breath then exhaled loudly. “Ah, love the smell of rotten fish in the morning.”

  “Said no one ever,” I added, getting a chuckle from the patrolman.

  “You get used to it. Your only other option is a breathing mask that can filter out the stench and no one is going to waste money on such a wasteful contrivance. Anyway, let us get moving,” said the man, not waiting for me to agree before he started walking toward the odious market.

  I followed him closely, trying not to let my attention wander. I couldn’t help it though, there were so many new sights and sounds all around me. When we got to the Fish Market it was about what I had expected. Tarps held aloft by simple wooden poles lined a broad thoroughfare, underneath which were dozens of fish vendors and crates stacked with fish and ice. Thinking about the ice for a moment I wondered where it came from, was there a mage that specialized in making ice? Or were the crates enchanted to produce the ice? It gave new meaning to the old term ‘Ice-box’.

  “Alms . . . alms for a veteran,” pleaded a voice, sounding rather rough and successfully drawing my attention from my visual exploration. I looked to the source to see a dwarf leaning heavily on a crutch, apparently missing one of his legs and an eye based on the bandages covering half of his face. His nameplate read .

  “Get out of here,” shouted Rhyes at the man. “I will not warn you again about this scam of yours Digger Walker.” I watched as the nameplate changed . That was unusual, I had never seen a nameplate lie before it had changed. On the other hand, most nameplates would simply describe what I could see. It reminded me of a bandit I had fought last month in Hurlig Ridge. One of the citizen’s captured by the bandit group had described the man as a ‘Self-proclaimed Bandit King’ and when we fought him that was exactly how his nameplate labeled him. Was he only labeled that way because that was how I knew of him? Would his nameplate have been different if he had been called something different by the captured citizen?

  The injured man frowned. “Rhyes, bugger off, I am trying to make a living here. I liked you so much better when you were crooked.” Digger the dwarf, stomped at us, a previously missing leg now visible and whole. I wondered if it was hidden by an illusion or some manner of stealth skill.

  “How did you know?” I asked after the dwarf had stomped away but not before assaulting both our ears with a good number of insults to us and our mothers.


  “Digger is an acquaintance from my old ways. He is not exactly a good guy, but he is not the worst sort either. Much as he is a criminal he is a useful one, so we generally ignore him. Unfortunately, his new scam targets adventurers and one of these days he is going to run afoul of the wrong one and end up dead for it.”

  “He’s an informant?” I asked.

  “Something like that. He is not part of the Stonebreaker Mafia, so he does not know anything of real value, but for catching murders and thieves he usually knows more about what is happening than most,” he answered.

  “What is the Stonebreaker Mafia?”

  “They are the real criminals in Root City, I do not care which Lord or Lady they have in their pockets to protect them or make them look legitimate. As far as I am concerned, they are all thugs and murders. I would love nothing more than to put every last one of them in the deep dark and forget them there for one or two hundred years. These days they run Dragon Dust mostly. Other than that, murder, slave trading, smuggling, general thievery, you name it they probably have a hand in it. Their boss of bosses is a dwarf by the name of Cap Alone, the most brutal thug of the bunch . . . probably the smartest as well.”

  “Sounds dangerous,” I said, feeling somewhat shocked. This game world even had what sounded like drugs if I was reading the context correctly. Drugs were pretty much legal in all forms in the real world, governments got tired of fighting a losing war, choosing instead to legalize and tax the hell out of it. It was shocking just how lucrative various governments found it, wiping out deficits and creating surpluses in record time until eventually, enough people died, and the drugs lost most of their appeal. I remember reading several news articles from around that time in history class, they called it Darwinism at its best and worst. Still, for something like that to be in a game . . . a fantasy game no less . . . shocking.