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

by M. A. Carlson

  I hit one of them with ‘Lesser Holy Shock’ stunning him and causing him to drop his end of the bundle.

  I looked to the other, but he had a debuff ‘Terror Frozen’ blinking slowly as it began counting down. I looked at Heath wondering why he had never used that before.

  “What?” Heath asked, shrugging his shoulders then vanishing from sight. “I only just got my mana pool large enough to use it. When spells rank up they get a lot more expensive.”

  I didn’t understand why Heath’s mana pool was too small to use it before now. I made a mental note to ask him about it later.

  Together, we attacked the one I stunned, bringing his health low enough for me to use ‘Order: Surrender’ and bring him to his knees, hands up. I cast ‘Holy Shackles’ on him giving him the ‘Captured’ debuff.

  After that, the last one was easy to take out and capture.

  Through all of it, I was impressed by how quickly Vision’s attack patterns began to mimic Heath’s. The little wolf would appear to bite or claw at one of the kidnappers only to disperse into mist again right after. It also made me worry that little pup would become too much like Heath, something I was sure Micaela would not appreciate.

  At some point during the fight, Mardi had squirmed free of the sack and took to glaring at her captors and us. She was trussed up with hands, arms, feet and legs all bound, capped off with a gag over her mouth. These kidnappers clearly knew what they were doing.

  Heath moved quickly to free the duchess after warning her to be quiet.

  “Olaf and the others are by the front door. There is another half-dozen of the Ardentia Guild members in the alley across the street,” I stated as quietly as I could. “Now that we stopped them here, it won’t be long before they attack in force.”

  “Then make them pay,” hissed Mardi angrily.

  Quest Alert: Night Raid (Recommended Level 6-8)

  Ardentia Guild has staged a raid on the temporary manor of the Duchess of Hammerton. You are tasked with putting a stop to it.

  Reward: Experience

  Do you accept this Quest?

  Yes

  No

  No refusing this one, not that we would have.

  “We’d better get moving, mate,” whispered Heath, vanishing from sight.

  “Stay with Olaf and the others,” I said with finality, activating my own ‘Stealth’ skill, weak as it was.

  I couldn’t see Heath as I exited the manor. It was slow moving as my stealth skill wasn’t very good.

  Stealth

  Level: 7

  Experience: 8.93%

  Non-Combat Movement: Speed reduced by 78.25%

  Chance of Being Revealed: 59.30%

  Skill Stamina Cost: 2 per second

  Still, I made my way around the house, keeping an eye out for any more Ardentia, but the street was vacant, which was kind of surprising. It wasn’t very late, and the subtle glow of the houses and street lamps gave plenty of light for nighttime activities.

  As I came to the front of the manor, a quick check of the street showed the Ardentia raiders still waiting across the street, though the numbers had grown.

  I moved across the street and down the next alley over from where the raiders were gathering. Coming out the other side, I moved toward the target alley. I really need to learn to see people under ‘Stealth’, I made a note to ask Heath to help me learn later.

  “Ready?” a voice next to me whispered, I recognized it as Heath, but it still scared the bejesus out of me. It also had the side effect of knocking me out of ‘Stealth’ when I made a distinctly unmanly noise.

  “Ah, nuts,” I groaned, seeing all the Ardentia members focused suddenly on me. Thankfully, they were all gathered in a small area in a cramped alley. “Wait!” I shouted, halting them before they could attack. “I just have one thing to say before you start killing me.”

  “Oh yeah, what are your last words then?” asked. “Any last message you wish relayed to your love?”

  “Just two words,” I said, smirking. “Boar Charge!” The spectral swine charged through the alley, trampling and goring the unfortunate Ardentia Guild members. They had no room to escape either as I continue to channel the spell. I regretted that some of them might die from this attack, but I didn’t have much choice in the matter.

  However, before even one died the priest cast a counter-spell, dispelling my drove of boars in a wash of golden light, which also revealed the previously hidden Heath.

  “Charge!” Olaf called, his voice loud and booming from the other end of the alley.

  “Watch your feet, mate,” called Heath, leaping back and throwing something at the ground in front of the raiders.

  I glanced quickly to see small spiked caltrops covering the width of the alley on our end.

  With no time to spare or worry, I began casting, first hitting the soothsayer with ‘Lesser Holy Shock’, interrupting whatever spell he was trying to work. Then I started stacking ‘Lesser Holy Fire’ on him. After that, it was spamming ‘Holy Smite’, spreading the spell around to as many targets as possible. I would have loved to give my spear a good test run, but I wasn’t about to try running over the spikes Heath threw down.

  Any of the Ardentia raiders stupid enough to try attacking Heath and I, paid for it with a slowing and bleed debuff for crossing the caltrops and then with Heath’s dagger doing the rest.

  I was saved by Vision when one of the assassins got the drop on me from stealth, a late arrival to the fight. The little wolf appeared out of nowhere, his jaws latching onto the arm of the attacker, breaking his stealth and causing him to drop his weapon in surprise. It didn’t take long after that to capture him.

  Speaking of capturing enemies, every time one of them had their health drop below 10%, I was using ‘Order: Surrender’ and if it was successful, ‘Holy Shackles’. When it didn’t succeed, they took a little more damage then I tried again. It worked more often than not, but when the dust settled, sadly, two of the Ardentia Guild were dead. We managed to capture eight in total, including the two in the kitchen that tried to kidnap the Duchess. I was even sadder, when I realized, I never even had a chance to test out my new spear.

  When only the priest remained, and his health was precariously low, the fight seemed to end.

  “You’ve lost,” boomed Olaf’s voice, filling the little alley.

  “It is not possible,” groaned the priest. “We are blessed by love and our cause is righteous. How can we lose?”

  “Like this mate,” said Heath, stabbing the priest in the back, zeroing his health. “Love,” spat Heath, literally spitting on the dead priest. “I’ll go look after the Duchess,” he added, vanishing from sight a moment later.

  I was stunned, I couldn’t believe Heath just did that. The priest was beaten. Sure, he hadn’t surrendered yet, but I was sure he would. Or that it would turn into another quest. Why did Heath just do that? I was beginning to realize I didn’t know the thief as well as I thought I did.

  I looked at my other friends, who looked just as shocked as I felt.

  Quest Alert: Night Raid (Recommended Level 6-8) – Completed!

  Ardentia Guild has staged a raid on the temporary manor of the Duchess of Hammerton. You are tasked with putting a stop to it.

  Reward: +10,000-Experience

  Olaf, Micaela and Rose all gained a level from that, reaching level 7 at roughly the same time, despite that, the mood was still quite somber.

  Chapter 11

  Despite our intention for the night to be an early and restful one, it was well after 2:00 in the morning before anyone got to bed. First, we had to wait on the city guard to arrive and take our statements. Then the Royal Guard showed up with Major Daws, looking slightly sleep deprived, and had to relay the same story again. After which, the major promised to station a few round-the-clock guards at the front and back entrances to the manor. By the time I hit my bed, still fully dressed and armored, I was exhausted.

  Thankfully, I
fell right to sleep.

  Less thankfully, we had to be up just a few hours later to prepare for the day ahead, including making sure the Duchess got off safely with her royal escort.

  “Okay, the Duchess is off, we have a full day to do whatever we need to do. I would really like for us to try to stay in pairs, especially after yesterday’s nonsense,” started Olaf, just as soon as the door closed.

  “I am going to the fairy tree,” said Baby. “I will probably be gone two or three days depending on how long the training lasts and how much I accomplish.”

  “Oh, Baby, that reminds me,” I jumped in. “I found out there is a fairy tree in ring three, opposite of where we are now.”

  “Really? That’s great, that means I can stay and train even longer,” said Baby excitedly.

  “I’ll go with Baby,” said Rose, protective of her sister as always.

  “No, you won’t,” said Baby. “I’m a higher level than all of you. Plus, I can fly. It will be faster and safer for all of us if I just go on my own.”

  Rose frowned and looked very much like she wanted to argue. “Fine, I don’t like it, but you’re probably right. Just . . . promise me you’ll be careful.”

  “I promise,” said Baby, placating Rose, if only a little.

  “Right, I’m off,” said Heath, vanishing from sight, off to wherever.

  Things were still tense between Heath and the rest of us. He came into our group so suddenly, forcing his way into our questline back in Hurlig Ridge. I guess, I never questioned his motivation or who he really was. The problem with games like this, people tend to latch on to each other quickly when they find a little success with a group. Olaf, Micaela and I became fast friends, I am really glad that worked out as well as it did, but it could have easily gone the other way. Same for Rose and Baby, though Rose was definitely more cautious about trusting me or any of us. Now though, I would trust my friends with my life . . . or I used to. Heath was now a big question mark, which made me wonder just how well I knew any of my friends. I don’t know if he was trying to distance himself from us by acting out, or if we were just now starting to see his true colors.

  I would have commented on his sudden departure, but with his stealth skill as high as it was, he might still be hiding somewhere nearby, eavesdropping simply because he can.

  Olaf groaned in annoyance. “Honestly, what is bloody wrong with him? Heath, if you’re still here and listening, be safe and meet back here this afternoon.”

  There was no response.

  “Right, I suppose that leaves Micaela and I, and Bye-bye and Rose,” said Olaf.

  “We’re going shopping, have fun today,” said Micaela cheerfully, dragging Rose out the door and closing it behind them, leaving Olaf and I standing in the mostly empty house.

  “Why?” Olaf nearly cried. “Why does she keep doing this to me?”

  I tried not laugh. “Olaf, we haven’t known each other long, but even I could tell she was going to pull something like that.”

  Olaf snorted in good humor. “I know I should expect it by now, especially after 25 years of marriage . . . but honestly, you would think she’d have slowed down at least a little. If anything, she has gotten worse since she entered the World Tree.”

  I chuckled, trying to sympathize but failing. I wondered if someday Rose would put me though that kind of thing. Shaking the thought from my head, I added, “Looks like it’s you and me today. Crafting ring?”

  Olaf nodded eagerly, “Crafting ring sounds great.”

  The crafting ring, or fifth ring, of Root City was darker and dingier than even the ninth ring but given the massive number of forges and industrialization I could see all around us, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Still, going from the fourth ring, which was still fairly upper class, not as nice as the third ring, but still very nice, this was a massive step backwards.

  “Welcome to the industrial revolution,” joked Olaf.

  “Don’t breathe too deeply,” I warned jokingly. Part of me wondered if there was some kind of game mechanic that would have air quality affect you, not specifically a spell like a poison gas cloud or something but actual environmental causes. It might be something to look into at the library if I found myself with some extra time, though with only a few days left until we moved on from Root City, I was worried about just getting through the three books I already had.

  “Where to first?” Olaf asked, interrupting my thoughts.

  I shrugged. I had at least two stops to make in the crafting ring, but I was in no rush to make them . . . well . . . okay, so getting to the cartographer’s guild and submitting my map might be a higher priority for me. I wanted it to start making me some money . . . assuming it sold well or at all.

  “I’m pretty much in the same standing,” said Olaf, responding to my shrug. “I know that I want to go to the Corp of Engineers last though, that stop will probably take the most time for me to get training. I hope that’s alright with you?”

  “Yeah, I’m good with that. I’ve got books I really need to read,” I replied, patting the 100 lbs. Travelers Satchel hanging across my body from the shoulder.

  “Already with the books, mate?” Olaf asked, looking slightly surprised.

  I don’t know why he was surprised at this point. As if I hadn’t already proved it, I was a massive book worm.

  “Of course, you’ve already found books, don’t know why I’m surprised,” said Olaf, sighing. “Right, where do you need to go?”

  “It should be a quick trip, but I need to go to the cartographer’s guild, get my membership and submit my map of Hurlig Ridge,” I finally decided.

  “Right then, where is it?” Olaf asked as if I would know.

  “Let’s find a guard or patrolman,” I said.

  It took a few minutes to find a patrolman and a few minutes more to get proper directions out of him, he had the strangest accent I had ever heard so it wasn’t so much the directions as it was translating them.

  “Do you have any idea what that was?” Olaf asked in a whisper, watching the patrolman walk away.

  I shook my head. I had no idea what it was or if it was male or female. It was stocky like a dwarf up top with tiny legs, it walked on its knuckles, kind of apelike. The full armor didn’t help determining what it was either.

  “We should get moving,” I said, glancing at my clock, we had already wasted a few hours between travelling and getting directions.

  The Cartographer’s Guild shop was a large two-story building made of stone with an angled roof covered with sheets of metal. Even the glass set in the windows was held in place by stone and protected by metal bars. The front door was cast iron with a viewing slot but no windows. The building looked more like a prison or fortress than a map making guild house. If not for the compass stamped into the metal door I would never have guessed this was the place we were looking for and even then, I think I would have passed right by it if I didn’t have directions.

  “After you,” said Olaf, ushering me toward the door first.

  I tried knocking first but the door didn’t shake, and the knock sounded very muffled, so I tried knocking a little harder. After no response, I tried pounding on the door.

  The viewing slat snapped open harshly and a voice from inside spoke, “What do you want?” It was a male voice, waspish and nasally.

  “I’m here to join the Cartographer’s Guild,” I answered.

  The eyes behind the opening narrowed and glared at me, then I felt a wave of something wash over me and the slat snapped shut.

  I was worried I had done something wrong and looked back to Olaf, who helped by shrugging. Turning back to the door, I was about to start pounding again when I heard a loud mechanical grinding sound from the door. With a metallic groan the door started to slide slowly sideways revealing a small chamber with another security door and another open slat with the same eyes peering from behind it.

  “Enter,” said the voice from behind the other door slat.

  I looked back
to Olaf to motion him forward.

  “Only you,” the voice snapped. “Only those with the ‘Cartography’ skill may enter.”

  I wasn’t very comfortable with that. “It’s alright, I think you’ll be safe in there, I’ll stand guard out here,” the ogre volunteered.

  I still wasn’t very comfortable with it, but I didn’t have much of a choice. Hopefully this would be a quick trip.

  I stepped inside the small chamber and the cast iron door closed behind me, the metal groaning again as it sealed shut. As soon as it did, the second door began to open, metal gears grinding again, but these sounded more well-oiled and didn’t groan nearly as much.

  The person that greeted me was not what I expected. Given the eye slat on the door was near my height, I expected someone almost as tall. The Half-sprite, half-fox . . . weasel . . . half-animal was a surprise.

  “Welcome my compatriot,” said the halfling. “This is Cartographer’s Guild Root City Branch 3. I am Ruffalo Grimpol, Master Cartographer, member of the Guild Council and the head of this branch.”

  “Nice to meet you, Ruffalo,” I started. “I’m Bye-bye Jacko.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Jacko,” he replied.

  “Call me, Bye-bye,” I requested.

  “Then please, call me Rufi,” said the halfling.

  I knew I shouldn’t have but I couldn’t help but ask. “Have a way with the ladies, do you?”

  “As a matter of fact, I am something a lady’s man,” Rufi replied.

  That was just wrong on so many levels, whatever game designer slipped that in was either a genius or a deviant . . . maybe both.

  “So, how may I assist you today?” Ruffalo asked.

  “I was hoping to join the Cartographer’s guild,” I answered. I had stated as much before, but he may not have been paying attention, too busy studying me.

  “Right, you said that before, sorry, I am very protective of the maps in here, so I have to be very careful about who we let inside,” he explained. “With all this flammable material, all it would take is one little spark to burn all these beautiful and precious maps. You may not have noticed, but the building is built to be as inflammable as possible. If I could make the maps inflammable I would have certainly done so already. Anyway, how can I help you?”