The Curse of Hurlig Ridge_World Tree Online_1st Dive

by M. A. Carlson

  We nodded and walked up the stairs in silence. We sat in the pews to wait, we all worried for Trinico, but mostly we were angry with Graves and Skoll, they must have burned Davies.

  “Graves is going to die for this,” said Rose angrily, her fist slamming into an open palm.

  “Tomorrow, we go to the ruins. We find the hidden door and then we kill him,” I said, feeling just as angry for the state Trinico was now in.

  “I don’t care if we have to level the place,” said Olaf. “I’ve been learning about explosives lately. I’m sure I could whip up enough to do the job.”

  “I hope Trini will be okay,” said Micaela, morosely.

  “She should be fine with some rest,” said Baby, trying to reassure us. “She only looked to be mana and stamina depleted. You get a pretty nasty debuff if you ever completely drain both.”

  David joined us a moment later, his arms full of stuff. “Trini is resting now. She’ll be fine though. She wanted me to give you these,” he said, handing each of us a piece of equipment and giving us the quest completion notice.

  Quest Alert: Missing in Action 3 (Recommended Level 4-6) - Completed

  Guard Davies has been murdered. Details at the scene suggest the murderer is somehow related to the nearby ruins. Unfortunately, the Priestess Trinico found no signs of magic or poison on or in the dead guard leaving her no choice but to call back the man’s spirit from the nether. Return in 14 days.

  Reward: +500-Experience, Holy Order Light Jerkin

  “Do me a favor now. You know where to find this flee infested mongrel. Hunt him down and kill him.”

  Quest Alert: Missing in Action 4 (Recommended Level 5-7)

  Guard Davies has confirmed the involvement of Graves and given you a clue where to find him. David has asked you to hunt down Graves and put an end to his evil machinations.

  Reward: Experience, Hidden

  Do you accept this Quest?

  Yes

  No

  “You bet we will,” I said, just as eager as everyone to finally put an end to this guy.

  “One more piece of advice. You may want to check in with the Johnson’s, see if you can’t acquire some of their Moonshine. You’ll need it if you intend to succeed,” warned the sergeant.

  “They are staying back out at the farm,” volunteered Micaela. “Their house is mostly rebuilt. We’ll go see them first thing in the morning.”

  “Good luck,” said Sergeant Butter, leaving us and returning to his wife’s side.

  Chapter 35

  I awoke early the next morning when the newest rooster decided it was time for me to rise. While tempted to smite the bird, I had too many things to do today. Plus, I didn’t have another 2-Silver to pay for it.

  But before all of that. I opened my bag and pulled out my new chest piece, partly to admire it but mostly to equip it.

  Holy Order Light Jerkin – Light Leather - +20-Armor, +5-Endurance, +5-Stamina, +10-Intellect, +10-Holy Spell Damage, and Healing, Durability 35/35

  The white leather, sleeveless jacket matched perfectly with the rest of the gear of the same name. Too bad it wasn’t an actual set of gear with bonuses for equipping multiple pieces. It occurred to me, the game may not even have such a thing implemented, but that was a worry for another day. I smiled a moment before I put on my black shirt and black jeans. Then I started putting my armor, one piece at a time, the leg-guards and belt, then the vest, followed by the shoulder-guards. I put on my socks and boots before finally putting on my gloves to finish the ensemble.

  I was the first downstairs that morning, but was quickly joined by Micaela and Olaf, who were excited about everything set to happen today. And yet, when they sat down, nothing was said, just nod and a grin of excitement.

  Baby and Rose came down about twenty minutes later, joining us in companionable silence. Only knives and forks against plates occasionally broke the silence as we ate wordlessly. Even Heath, apparently, decided to keep quiet as he appeared in the chair next to me. His sudden appearances were becoming a regular thing, so I wasn’t startled when he did this time. Okay, so maybe I was a little startled, but it was an improvement as far as I was concerned.

  When the meal was finished, and we were ready to go, we stood as one and walked out in silence.

  “Everyone ready?” I asked, looking to my friends and breaking the building tension. “Potions, water, foodstuffs, whatever else you might need or want, make sure you have it now, because I have no intention of returning to this town until we’ve finished the quest.”

  “I know how expensive potions can be, but in the process of upgrading my craft, I’ve made so many . . . way more than I could ever use,” Baby started. “They aren’t very high-level potions, as the ingredients in this province don’t support the higher end stuff, but these should more than suffice for our purposes.” She then flew between us passing out potions. She gave each of us ten small vials of ‘Lesser Mana Potion’, ‘Rank I Health Potion’ and ‘Rank I Stamina Potion’, and five small vials of ‘Lesser Antidote Potion’. Each vial contained just one mouthful of potion, restoring 150-250 points of either MP, HP or SP. It was generous of her to share.

  “I remember the days of grinding out low-end products to level crafting,” said Olaf, happily accepting the gift. “So, thank you for this. I know this game has mostly moved crafting away from such things, but I also understand there are a few professions unable to get around the grind.”

  “It wasn’t too bad,” said Baby. “With alchemy, you can actually use the entire cauldron to its capacity, so you can make more than one dose at a time. I only had to make 4 different batches and the experience was awarded, based on the actual actions in preparing the potions. Still, it took so long to grind all of those herbs into powder or paste.”

  “Well, I appreciate it all the same,” said Olaf.

  “Thanks, Sis, but we’re burning daylight here,” said Rose, trying to get us moving.

  I was just as eager as she was to get moving. “Let’s go everyone.”

  The trek to the Johnson Farmstead was quick enough. The wolves seemed to have gone neutral, running from us instead of attacking on sight.

  When we came in sight of the farm I was impressed by how much had been rebuilt. The house was slightly larger than the one that burned down, it was a good 10-feet longer. I could see Micaela’s handiwork from the stone walls built up all around it. I could also see large wood beams for the framework of the roof were in place, but yet to be covered.

  “Who did the woodwork?” I asked.

  “There is a civilian named Reed Fir, he’s the town woodworker. He did all of the framing and flooring. I imagine he’ll do the roof too,” answered Micaela.

  “The stonework looks good, babe,” added Olaf.

  I also saw a tent set up next to the house, I guessed that was where Duke and Mary were staying for the time being.

  When we got closer, Duke must have heard us talking because he came out of his tent, armed with a pitchfork aimed in our direction.

  “Morning Duke,” I greeted him.

  “Bye-bye,” Duke nodded in return, relaxing slightly, then jabbing his pitchfork into the dirt. “What are you doing here so early? If you have come to help with the construction, I am afraid you are too late to help with clearing away the refuse.”

  “Morning, D,” chirped Micaela, waving excitedly at the man.

  “Honestly Ms. Micaela, my name is Duke, not ‘D’,” the farmer grumbled.

  “Oh, leave her be,” said Mary, emerging from the tent. She looked ruffled and flushed but otherwise perfectly normal. “Morning to you too, Ms. Micaela.”

  “Morning Mary,” said Micaela.

  “Yes, yes, morning everyone, now what do you want?” asked Duke, sounding impatient. It was about this time I noticed how ruffled and flushed he also looked.

  “Did we interrupt?” asked Heath, grinning lecherously.

  “Yes, you did, now what do you want?” asked Duke, now glaring at Heath.


  “We need Moonshine,” I stated, feeling embarrassed as I put two and two together.

  “Having a party?” asked Mary.

  “A hunting party,” answered Rose, grinning ferally.

  “We found where Graves is hiding. We intend to hunt him down and finish him, but we need some of your Moonshine to take away his protection,” I elaborated.

  “We have only four jars left,” said Mary, looking a little worried.

  “It’ll have to be enough,” I said, hoping it would indeed be enough.

  Mary ducked back into her tent and pulled out the wooden crate holding the last of their Moonshine. She set the crate on the ground and opened the lid revealing four corked jars. “You are welcome to them. I hope you can stop him once and for all.”

  “We’ll do our best,” I replied as I reached down and retrieved one of the jars.

  Moonshine – Grain alcohol with distilled Moonlight.

  The description was as I hoped. I placed it in my inventory then gave one to Micaela and Olaf and the last one to Heath much to the surprise of the group.

  “Heath has the element of surprise, he can probably get in closer than any of us and douse Graves much easier,” I explained myself.

  “Good luck to you all, now get lost,” said Duke kindly then rather harshly.

  A few quick goodbyes and we on our way again. It was actually fortuitous, we went East toward the Johnson Farmstead, as the river crossing was a little further east and north. On the other side of the river, we encountered the same wolf packs, but for the most part they ignored us unless we got too close, then they would defend themselves.

  We followed the river west and past the town until the trees thinned and the river started to dry up. When the river finally disappeared a system, a message popped up.

  You’ve entered ‘Hurlig Flatlands’ province.

  Hurlig Flatlands – Level 25-30

  The Hurlig Flatlands is a rocky and desolate territory, rendered dead centuries ago by the dragon Reksoni. Now only death lives here but to those brave enough to challenge this area, there are rich minerals and rare herbs to be found as well as a multitude of dragonlings whose leather will fetch a high price.

  “Ooh,” said Olaf, Micaela and I in one voice.

  “Dragons . . . real dragons,” said Olaf excitedly. “We’re coming back to this place when our level is high enough.”

  “Right, as exciting as finding ‘Hurlig Flatlands’ is, what do we do now. We didn’t find the ruins?” asked Rose.

  “Give me a few minutes to update my map and get our position,” I requested. I took out my map and began to fill in our journey along the river. “Okay, we’re about 4-miles west of the quarry entrance if you look on a parallel line. The ruins are going to be somewhere in this area,” I explained showing my map to Rose and the others, pointing to the large blank area north of the river.

  “It won’t be too far from the river as I’m sure they needed water to be accessible,” I added.

  “So, we go a mile or two north then work back east?” asked Rose.

  “That should work,” I replied.

  “Great, breaks over, let’s get moving people,” Rose called out loudly.

  We went north as planned and back east but found nothing. North again and west to Hurlig Flatlands border and finally north, until we hit the base of the mountain ridge.

  “It has to be along the ridge. I can’t believe they would build so far away from water,” I said, part of me still thought we had to of missed it.

  “Maybe that’s why they’re ruins and not a prosperous city,” offered Baby.

  “I doubt it. I would bet the city’s patron god was Skoll and when he fell, so did they,” Rose countered, she was probably right too. The Cult of Hellgrind didn’t just appear one day, they had to come from somewhere.

  “What kind of city would worship a god who wants to bring eternal darkness?” asked Micaela.

  “Remember what Lord Fenrir said, they weren’t meant to bring eternal darkness. Skoll and Hati were meant to keep time moving forward. The risk if they succeeded was meant to keep Sol and Mani motivated to keep moving. To prevent Ragnarök from ever happening. At some point, someone or something twisted them, made them see it as a challenge to beat the other and from there they not only were trying to win but they started to work against each other,” I explained.

  “But why?” asked Micaela.

  “Someone or something wanted the World Tree to end, to see Ragnarök,” I added. “Of course, this is only speculation but if I’m right, then just . . . wow. The game developers put in a ton of work into making such a fantastic storyline.”

  Olaf chuckled. “And to think, we’d probably never have found any of this without you.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you would have found it eventually. Remember, the game is still in its infancy,” I said, trying to pass the unwanted attention.

  “Once they start to allow streaming and posting screenshots and videos, things will improve. You’ll get more people taking advantage of the ‘Lore’ profession and more quest chains will get unlock,” Heath chimed in. It was often easy to forget the man was there, he was almost silent at all times and always using his ‘Stealth’ skill or hidden by one of his illusion spells. The man was truly dedicated to trying to train up his skills, which I applauded him for, but at the same time, I kind of wish he’d socialize more outside of the pub.

  Trekking East again and following the base of the ridge was slower going, the land was uneven, and we occasionally had to divert around a rock formation. Eventually, we did find the ruins, though there wasn’t much there to call ruins.

  There were some large, brown stones sparkling a little, my guess would be the Crystal Sandstone, the sergeant mentioned when we found Davies body. They formed a part of a wall and just beyond were a few more stones that seemed to form the base of buildings, but nothing substantial remained.

  “So now what?” asked Olaf, looking around the barren ruins.

  “Now, we search for the hidden door,” I answered, sitting down on one of the remaining large stones. I wasn’t not searching, I just needed to think this through. There was nothing large enough left standing to be a door, hidden or otherwise, at least nothing in these ruins. We were only left with a couple options.

  “Look for a trap door of some kind or out of place or recently disturbed ground,” I hoped I was right. I wasn’t looking forward to the other possibility as I gazed up at the mountains looming over us.

  “Over here,” called Olaf from near one of the broken walls.

  I ran to him, hoping he’d found the entrance.

  “What did you find?” I asked.

  “An inscription,” Olaf said, motioning at the wall.

  I looked at the faded inscription carved into the wall and sighed disappointedly. “Praise be to Skoll, may he forever mark time and speed through the skies,” I read the inscription aloud. I was not expecting it to do something. Another inscription became visible below it.

  “Praise be to Hati, may he hunt with patience through the night,” read Rose, joining us with Baby right at her side, another inscription appeared.

  “Light and Dark, two as one, strike true,” I read the final inscription.

  You’ve learned the Norse spell ‘Edda of Light and Dark’

  Edda of Light and Dark

  Level: 1

  Experience: 0.00%

  Spell Duration: 10 minutes

  Spell Cast Speed: Instant

  Spell Mana Cost: 250

  Spell Effect (Active): Your next attack will slow your target attack speed 1% and increase your attack speed 1% for 5-seconds. (Stackable x10) (Self-cast only)

  “Oh, my goddess!” I exclaimed, seeing the spells effects and cost. That was ridiculous, 250-MP for 10 minutes . . . but the effect was even more ridiculous.

  “What? Holy what?” asked Olaf.

  “You didn’t get it?” asked Rose.

  “Get what?” Olaf asked, looking rapidly between the two of
us.

  I looked at the others and aside from me and Rose they just looked confused.

  “Lore strikes again,” said Rose, grinning. “I think me, and Jack here just got a new Norse spell. ‘Edda of Light and Dark’. It’s a buff I think.” She looked to me to verify.

  “I’m pretty sure it’s a buff. The description says it gives 1% slowing to my target and 1% haste to me upon striking and it stacks up to 10 times. But it costs 250-MP to use it,” I explained.

  “That would be great for me,” pouted Micaela. And it would be great for her. She doesn’t use much mana in a fight since her shamanistic abilities work off of a global cooldown system.

  “Wait a second, I can actually give you the skill,” I said, remembering my recent improvement to my ‘Runology’. I generally kept all my stuff on me out of habit despite knowing it was perfectly safe at the inn. As such, I had paper and my writing supplies. “Do you all mind waiting, it might take a little while?”

  “You do that, we’ll keep searching. Maybe we’ll find another inscription,” Rose volunteered, smiling a little.

  I found myself a flat stone and sat down to start inscribing the spell. I’m sure I’ll be doing it again soon for the rest of our party but for now, Micaela would benefit the most from such a spell.

  I focused on the paper and cast the spell. My hand began writing automatically and stopped about twenty-minutes later according to my game clock.

  “Done,” I said proudly, rolling up the paper. When I looked up, everyone seemed to be looking over every nook and cranny of the ruins but finding nothing. They barely looked up at me when I spoke, except for Micaela who was almost skipping as she came to get her new spell.

  “Is it done? Does it work?” asked Micaela eagerly.

  “Try it and find out,” I said, offering her the rolled-up parchment.

  She took it in hand and it crumbled to dust an instant later. “Yes, I learned it. Thank you, Bye-bye,” Micaela shouted, then gave me a bone crushing hug leaving me gasping for breath.