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

by M. A. Carlson

  Shift

  Level: 69

  Experience: 71.14%

  Combat Movement

  Range: 1.69 yards

  Skill Stamina Cost: 5 per move

  But ‘Acrobatics’, which was already good, got so much better.

  Acrobatics

  Level: 87

  Experience: 92.47%

  Combat Movement

  Dodge Chance: +43.50%

  Skill Stamina Cost: 5 per second

  “You?” Rose asked.

  “Solid,” I answered, downplaying my success if she was.

  A look at the game clock showed it was already past 9:00 and quickly approaching 10:00. I had no doubt some of our friends would be worried about us by now.

  “Going back tomorrow morning,” stated Rose. “I’ve hired Patrolman Harrison to teach me a few skills.”

  “Nice, I have to go back tomorrow for training with Lieutenant Saaya myself,” I added.

  “Think we can send one of the house staff out to get our armor repaired?” Rose asked, noting the state of both our gear.

  “Well, well, well, look what we have here,” said a decidedly unsavory voice from a dark alley to our left.

  “Not tonight,” complained Rose, hanging her head. “Ambush us tomorrow if you have to, but tonight just leave us be. Do you have any idea of the hell I just survived tonight? Do you even care?”

  “Um, boss, maybe we should just walk away this time,” said a nervous voice.

  “And miss the opportunity to capture these two in a weakened state?” the unsavory one questioned. “I should think not. The Ardentia does not rest so long as love is to be served.”

  “These guys just don’t quit,” complained Rose, her voice soft but steadily rising. “If I wasn’t so damned tired, I could almost respect their dedication. As it is, I’m tired. I’ve just spent the last 6-hours getting beaten to within an inch of my life, voluntarily I might add. And now, you clowns, are going to attack us when we are so close to our home for the night and a warm bed.” Finally, she shouted, “I don’t think so!”

  I could only sigh. My Hasta was trashed after training with Vari. I had to borrow one from Habersham to keep training and even broke that one as well. Vari and I had continued to spar long after all the other guards called it a night. By the time we were done, I had destroyed three more spears. All that time, swinging a spear and not once was that spear my new toy. Do you have any idea how much restraint it takes for a gamer not to use his latest and greatest toy? Do these Ardentia fools have any idea how happy they just made me?

  I used ‘Shift’, closing the distance almost instantly, then flipped over the group of five, putting them between Rose’s massive shield and me. “This is going to hurt,” I warned them activating my ‘Rapid Striking’ skill, a cone of spear strikes blurring in a frontal cone. I didn’t even bother to check nameplates or levels, I just attacked, letting my ‘Spear of Gungnir I’ sing through the air, letting any poor unfortunate souls in front of me get stabbed, usually more than once. I swear, I saw little bolts of lightning spark from my spear with each strike.

  I watched on the other side as the Ardentia guild members tried to escape only for Rose to lash out with the flat of one shield or the other, knocking them back into my spear strikes. Occasionally one with a giant maul would try to break through only to bounce off her joined shields with a resounding clang, followed by her knocking him back.

  “Surrender or die,” I finally called out, using my ‘Order: Surrender’ spell, seeing all their health pools starting to dip precariously low.

  “We give up,” called the timid voice that tried to convince the leader to walk away before.

  “You do not speak for the group,” the leader tried to protest except that all his men were down on their knees with their hands in the air. “No!” he shouted defiantly, then again, “No,” this time sounding defeated. Finally, he dropped to his knees, hands in the air, “No.”

  It took a minute for me to cast ‘Holy Shackles’ on all of them. Then another thirty minutes to march all of them back to the barracks and turn them over the guard plus another hour to give a statement.

  It was past midnight when Rose and I finally returned to the manor. We gave the worried looking Olaf and Micaela a small wave before going straight upstairs and falling into bed, completely exhausted, barely remembering to strip off my damaged armor before I fell.

  Chapter 14

  “Bye-bye,” called someone loudly, my sleep addled brain not really recognizing the voice.

  “Get up, mate. Rose is missing,” called the same voice through my door, the knob jingling but not opening. It took a second for my brain to recognize the voice as Olaf’s.

  “Bye-bye, you in there?” Olaf called louder, banging on the door.

  “Go away!” moaned a voice that did not belong to me but was in very close proximity.

  “Bye . . . bye?” Olaf’s voice sounded funny, like he was confused. “Right, got it, sorry, mate. I’ll just be going now.”

  Still confused but too tired to really care, I settled back and let myself stop fighting the sleep. It lasted for about five seconds before my eyes peeled wide open as everything that occurred in the last thirty seconds caught up and my brain went from sleepy and drowsy to wide awake and hyperaware.

  I became poignantly aware that I was not alone. And after Olaf’s statement that Rose was missing from her room and the familiar voice that ordered Olaf to ‘Go away!’ only moments ago, I had a feeling I had figured out, just as Olaf had, that I was currently sharing my bed with Rose.

  Rose, the fierce and powerful half-vampire warrior, someone more than capable of causing great bodily harm. Someone who was currently spooning with me . . . I’m a dead man.

  “Go back to sleep, Jack,” complained Rose, pulling the covers tighter and snuggling back into me.

  “So . . . you know you’re in my bed?” I asked nervously, my voice cracking a little.

  “Yeah, I figured that out at about 3:00 AM this morning when I woke up not knowing where I was,” she answered.

  “And I’m still alive because?”

  “Honestly, Jack, we fell asleep. Nothing happened. Plus, you are surprisingly comfortable to spoon with,” Rose answered jokingly. “Now relax, we deserve to sleep in a bit and if it convinces Olaf and the others to let us sleep in then good for us.”

  I couldn’t really argue with her logic. Still, I was keenly aware of just how close Rose’s body was to mine. Dead puppies, dead puppies, dead puppies, I started chanting in my head, praying it would distract me.

  Rose sighed in annoyance. “Why are you suddenly so tense?”

  How was I supposed to answer that? “You are very, very . . . very beautiful.”

  “Awe, shucks, Jack, that’s mighty sweet of you say,” Rose joked, but I could see a hint of red on her neck from where I laid behind her.

  Why couldn’t she take a hint? On the other hand, why was I complaining? Oh right, Rose was a warrior . . . a very beautiful warrior . . . dead puppies!

  Rose sighed again. “Well, seeing as you are unable to relax now. We might as well get up,” she said, pulling back the covers, revealing she was wearing one of my shirts, it was large on her, but wow, did she make that shirt look good. “I’m going to take a shower,” she said, stretching languidly before sauntering away.

  I didn’t acknowledge her statement due to my eyes being transfixed on watching her go. As soon as she was gone I knew I needed a cold shower . . . with ice cubes . . . lots and lots of ice cubes.

  Not even a minute after she was gone, Olaf’s head popped into sight, a crooked grin on his face. “Bout time, mate.” Then he was gone just as quickly, leaving me blushing red.

  I buried my head in my pillows and sheet, willing the world to disappear but it didn’t. However, not all was bad, my pillows had her perfume on them now . . . so that was nice.

  It was almost an hour later I made it downstairs to breakfast, or rather the remnants of breakfast. The Du
chess, Olaf and Micaela were already gone so only Rose was there . . . and maybe Heath but there was no telling where he went off to.

  “Olaf and Micaela wanted to go back to the crafters ring, I guess they had more work to do,” stated Rose when I sat down next to her. “As soon as you eat we should hit the road. I want to get back to the barracks. I need to learn some actual skills to go with my new ‘Shield Wall’ skill.”

  I nodded, filling my plate with bacon and eggs before digging in. I agreed with her wholeheartedly. I now had the chance to train with Lieutenant Saaya after getting my ‘One-handed Polearms’ skill to Rank II. I was excited to find out what he had to teach me.

  After breakfast, Rose and I were quickly out the door and before we knew it, we were splitting up, her to go meet Patrolman Harrison, and me to knock on Lieutenant Saaya’s office door.

  “Enter,” called the gruff voice from inside.

  “Morning Lieutenant,” I greeted the man.

  “Ah, Bye-bye, good morning,” he greeted in return. “I heard training went well.”

  “Yeah, that adopted daughter of yours sure does pack a punch,” I compliment.

  I swear I heard him purr for a moment. “Yes, well, my Vari is very skilled and very dedicated. She does me and this entire unit proud. I am sure one day the others will see it just as I do.”

  I nodded my agreement.

  “Now, I know you have come for training, but I am afraid I cannot at this exact moment. I have a meeting with the captain of the watch in a few minutes. I will be free after midday bell. Patrolman Rhyes should be reporting for his patrol shortly, why not accompany him again?” Lieutenant Saaya suggested.

  “I am expected to guard the Duchess this afternoon, starting at mid-afternoon bell, will we have enough time?”

  Saaya nodded. “It should be enough time to at least get you started.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you at midday bell,” I answered. My game clock said it was almost 8:00 now, which left me with about 4 hours to go on patrol. More than enough time, plus I still had the ongoing quest for it.

  Class Quest Alert: Tours of Duty

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

  Reward: Experience, 1-Silver per Hour, 1-Sigil per Criminal captured

  I had already collected 11-Sigil of the Goddess Issara from my first patrol, hopefully this time would be just as fruitful.

  “Good, see you then, I would wait for Patrolman Rhyes at the gates,” said Saaya, turning back to his papers.

  I did just that. I had a chance to meet the gate guards as well. turned out to be an interesting character. He was the son of a seamstress, when he wasn’t on duty, he was usually still helping his mother out in her shop. Turned out, he was a Rank IX tailor too as well since he had done it since he was a little boy. was a wisecracker, sniping everything anyone said, often with a ‘that is what she said’. He even threw out a ‘I know you are but what am I’ when I turned one of his wisecracks back on him. The absurdity of his responses just made me laugh.

  “Morning gents,” said the familiar voice of Rhyes as he approached the gate.

  “Morning Rhyes,” said Sergeant Meany, then pointing to me, he added, “You have got company.”

  “Ah, Bye-bye, good morning,” Rhyes greeted me. “How are things?”

  “Things are good,” I answered. “I spoke to Lieutenant Saaya this morning about training with him and he said he wouldn’t be free until midday bell. He suggested I join you on patrol again.”

  “You are more than welcome to join me,” said Rhyes with a friendly grin on his face. “Hopefully it will not be as exciting as last time.”

  I could only shrug. With as persistent as the Ardentia Guild has been, I had the feeling they were not about to stop hunting my friends and I now. “Yeah, about that . . .”

  “What?” Rhyes asked, looking at me seriously.

  “So, as you know, we took a contract when we came to Root City to protect the Duchess of Hammerton. Turns out, the Ardentia Guild is after her, and my friends and I are in the way. They have attacked us pretty relentlessly,” I explained.

  Rhyes sighed. “Cannot be helped I suppose. Anyway, I am assigned to Ring 5 today which is usually a very quiet route, just the occasional adventurer getting rowdy or a petty thief. As long as we are there, are there any stops you need to make? Most of us Patrolmen use our rotation on Ring 5 as a personal shopping trip”

  “The Rune College, a good sundry store and I still want to check out an auction house,” I replied.

  “Is that it?” Rhyes asked sounding surprised. “That is easy enough. Let us get a move on.”

  “Fifth Ring, Southwest 4,” said Rhyes, vanishing from the jump pad.

  I was just behind him. The flight was much shorter this time. It felt like I barely got into the air and I was already landing. Still, it was an awesome sight.

  The crafters ring looked the same as the day before, industrial revolution soot and dirt coating everything. Nothing looked familiar to me, but that wasn’t very surprising. I had only ever been here the one time with Olaf. Seeing Rhyes waiting for me, I equipped my spear to be ready for combat. I was not going to get caught off-guard again.

  “Let us start with a stop in a sundry shop,” said Rhyes, taking the lead and weaving through the streets. Once again, there were plenty of player and citizens alike, each going about their business.

  The sundry Rhyes chose was massive, easily three or four times larger than Ned’s Sundry back in Hurlig Ridge, maybe even bigger than that. Hanging over the entrance was a sign that warned ‘No Equipped Weapons Allowed!’.

  I didn’t pay the sign much attention as I stepped inside only for my spear to vanish from my hand. I would have panicked more if Rhyes hadn’t been chuckling.

  “You knew my weapon would be taken?” I asked.

  “Not taken, just unequipped. There are runes protecting the store. No weapons can be equipped while inside,” explained Rhyes, trying, and failing, not to laugh.

  “You could have warned me,” I complained.

  “And ruin my fun? I should think not,” defended Rhyes, turning and continuing into the sundry.

  I followed along behind him, grumbling under my breath.

  “Welcome to Wally’s Sundry, for all your World Tree needs and wants,” greeted an elderly gentleman, his nameplate read . He was sat in a chair looking tired but happy. He wore an apron stating ‘Hello, my name is Herbert, I am a Wally’s Sundry Greeter’.

  “Morning Herb,” said Rhyes greeting the old man. “How is business today?”

  “Slow morning Rhyes,” Herb replied. “Who is your friend? Never known you to pal around with the adventuring type.”

  “This is Bye-bye Jacko, he is actually on patrol with me today. Bye-bye, this is Herbert Walters, his family runs this shop.

  “My kids and grandkids run the shop these days. I mostly sit around looking like an old fart talking up time with any customer willing to spare me a minute or two,” argued Herb with a small grin and a chuckle.

  “Do not let the old man act fool you. Once upon a time, this old timer was one heck of soldier, or so the story goes. Anyway, we should get back to business, any problems with shoplifters today?” Rhyes asked.

  “Nah, caught a couple kids stealing some candies, I let them off with a warning,” Herb replied.

  “You let them keep the candy, did you not?” Rhyes asked.

  Herb just chuckled and grinned. “Kids will be kids,” he answered with a small shrug.

  Rhyes chuckled too and shook his head. “Right, well, I am going to pick up some supplies, holler if you need anything.”

  “Will do, if you need help finding anything that grand-daughter of mine should be around here somewhere. I have no doubt she would be more than happy to help you find what you are looking for,” said Herb, winking at Rhyes.

  I looked to see Rhyes was actually b
lushing a little. “Bye-bye, what are you looking for?”

  “I need canteens and restoratives,” I answered, caught a little off guard by the sudden shift in conversation.

  “You will want to head to the survival section, back of the store,” said Herb, rubbing his chin. “I wonder if I should bring that section up near the front of the sundry? It seems to be a very popular category with you adventuring types.”

  Rhyes said a quick farewell, promising to check-in again on our way out. As we entered, Rhyes shoved a basket into my hands and motioned for me to follow him. The sundry felt larger on the inside than on the outside. There were rows and rows of shelves filled with clothes, food stuffs and other odds and ends.

  Eventually, Rhyes led me to large section with a dozen different styles of tents set up on display. There were the simple triangle tents as well as a few different dome tents and even one wall tent, but just looking at the price tag made me say not a chance.

  “We need to go to the service desk,” said Rhyes, drawing my attention away from the shelf full of trap supplies.

  Reluctantly, I follow him to the back wall where there was a simple desk built into it. On the wall behind the desk, there had to be 30 or 40 kegs and taps. I realized then, the desk wasn’t a desk, it was a bar top with stools in front of it.

  “All the restoratives you could ever want or need,” said Rhyes proudly.

  “Hello Rhyes,” said a female voice, catching Rhyes and I both off-guard.

  “Molly,” Rhyes greeted enthusiastically, turning around first.

  I turned to greet the new arrival, but it seemed like she and Rhyes were having a moment based on the way the pair were staring into each other’s eyes.

  I gave him a moment . . . then a little longer . . . I cleared my throat.

  “Oh, right, sorry, Molly, this is Bye-bye Jacko, good friend of mine,” said Rhyes, finally noticing I was there.

  “Nice to meet you, Molly,” I said, shaking the offered hand.

  “Nice to meet you, Mister Jacko,” Molly replied.

  “Please, just Bye-bye is fine,” I stated.