Absalom’s Fate

by J. D. L. Rosell

  I went up to the counter, where the cute shopkeeper waited with a dimpled smile. “Hello!” she said cheerfully. “Find what you need?”

  “I think so,” I said. “But I was wondering if I could sell some stuff before I buy. I don’t have quite enough for everything I wanted.”

  “Oh! Sure — just show me what you have.”

  I hadn’t sold stuff before, so I hesitated a moment before I started to shovel the items out of my inventory. The shopkeepers eyes kept getting wider and rounder as weapons, armor, and other assorted things mounded on her counter. After it had grown a foot high, she waved her hands. “Wait, wait! I don’t buy any of this stuff.” She chewed her lip nervously for a second. “Actually, nobody buys stuff like that here.”

  I stared, uncomprehending for a moment. “You don’t buy weapons and armor? Not even your armorer?”

  “Ah…” She looked uncomfortable. “We don’t have an armorer. Here’s the only place you can get those kinds of things. And they’re only made of natural materials, see? None of that nasty iron.” She upturned her nose at what I wore.

  Now I was even more baffled. “But who doesn’t use metal?”

  Now she smiled. “We don’t have to!” she said cheerily. “The forest provides what we need! And for protection, our wards turn away unfriendly people and monsters.”

  How had I not realized the village was largely undefended last time I was here? But then again, Farelle’s father had teleported us into the village the first time. And this time, I’d been more following Farelle’s lead than anything else, and hadn’t noticed the lack of fortifications.

  I guess that was all well and good for them, but I was huffy as I started putting things back in my inventory. As the shopkeeper stared at the disappearing items, she whispered, “How are you doing that?”

  “Magic,” I said with a wink.

  When the last of them were put away, I returned to the enchanted jewelry, mulling over my options. In the end, I picked up three despite their prices: the Wooden Broach of Farseeing, the Opal Ring of Font, and the Glass Pendant of Dazzle. While passive health regeneration and a boost to my strength would be nice, it wasn’t nearly as useful as access to new powers, nor a way to recover mana other than my Mithril Sword of Thirst. However, since the total cost was 2500, I’d be giving up all I had. That is, unless my heightened charisma could work some magic.

  The smiling shopkeeper wasn’t as much of a pushover as I’d hoped. Yet in the end, she gave me a deal for what I’d done to save Farelle and the Mired Copses, letting me take all three of the items for just 2000 coins. I grinned and thanked her profusely as I put them on, hiding them as best as I could under my clothes, though the ring, due to my fingerless gloves, was out on open display. Still, it felt good to have some new items boosting my effectiveness, and that my charisma splurge hadn’t been a total waste.

  I was to meet Farelle at her father’s house for dinner soon — a meeting I much dreaded, but she’d insisted. But first, I hit up the druid store after asking around. I had thought it was too much to hope for such a thing, but apparently even druids need to go somewhere to find the things they can’t find out in the woods or with the forest spirits. It was only after I entered that I recognized the house as the place where I’d stayed. I saw a familiar face manning the counter a moment later. “Hanil!” I said with a smile. “They’re still putting you to work?”

  The old druid who had first tended to Farelle when she’d been cursed by the barrow prince smiled back at me. “I’m afraid I’ll be driven right into my grave. Hello, young Marrow. So you’ve returned the daughter of our village whole this time?”

  I squirmed uncomfortably at that. Even if I’d later resurrected her, I had gotten Farelle killed for a bit. While I could respawn in the Everlands, for her, she only got the one chance at life, unless a powerful mage or priest — or god-child, as happened this last time — happened to be around to resurrect her. I wondered briefly if it was fair to take her through all my dangerous exploits.

  I pushed the thought aside for the moment and looked around the shop. There were some potions, herbs, and a few other implements like a mortar and pestle. I, however, had my sights set on one thing. “Do you sell channels or anything here, Hanil?”

  His expression went carefully neutral. “Sell? No. The channels of our order are, for the most part, carefully guarded secrets.”

  My spirits fell. “Oh.”

  “However…” The old Satyr’s face crinkled into a smile. “For a friend of the village, I’m sure I could let you in on the secret to one channel.”

  I stared in astonishment. “Really? You’d do that?”

  He nodded. “Just don’t tell the Conclave,” he said conspiratorially.

  I grinned. “No problems there. So, what will you teach me?”

  He took me through the options, and as he described them, notifications appeared with complete descriptions:

  Barkskin (Lvl 1)

  Affinity: Druidic

  Faith: Yalua

  Cost: 45 spirit

  Effect: +20 armor for 30 minutes. Reduces wear on armor while active.

  Leprechaun’s Wish (Lvl 2)

  Affinity: Druidic

  Faith: Yalua

  Cost: 75 spirit

  Effect: +5% luck when it comes to loot, battle, and bargaining for 5 minutes.

  Aspect of the Wolf (Lvl 2)

  Affinity: Druidic

  Faith: Yalua

  Cost: 100 spirit

  Effect: Change into a dire wolf adapted to the local terrain for 1 hour. As a dire wolf, you gain +15 base damage, +10 base defense, +10 base movement speed, +5 Strength, +5 Vitality, +5 Agility, and +5 Perception, but lose bonuses from any equipped items. This transformation can be cancelled at any time.

  I stared at the overlays, thinking hard. Barkskin was an easy one to eliminate, for while its usefulness was a good reason as a mainstay in MMORPGs, it simply wasn’t as powerful as the Level 2 channels.

  Deciding between those options was harder. Leprechaun’s Wish was a strange one to anticipate how it would practically work. Would I get more loot, or better loot, or something else entirely? It could be useful in many different situations.

  The usefulness of Aspect of the Wolf, however, was easier to anticipate. Though in most games I didn’t go for shapeshifting, as I didn’t think the bonuses usually outweighed losing access to spells and item bonuses, in the Everlands, I could see there were additional benefits. For example, I’d be able to move faster across country, so long as Farelle had a way of moving fast as well. I’d also be able to able to blend in or sneak around places that might otherwise be inaccessible to me as a Human.

  I realized I’d already made up my mind. “Teach me Aspect of the Wolf.”

  Hanil nodded. “A wise decision. Though I do enjoy seeing what Leprechaun’s Wish brings me each day, sometimes Yalua’s version of “luck” doesn’t match my own. For example, while some may disagree, I’m not fond of getting licked clean by squirrels…”

  The old druid laid his hands on me and after a moment, a rush of warmth flooded through me. An overlay popped up a moment later:

  You have learned a new channel: Aspect of the Wolf!

  I grinned. “Thanks, Hanil. I can’t wait to make use of it.”

  “Just make good use of it,” he said warningly, wagging a finger. “And keep Farelle out of trouble!”

  I shrugged uncomfortably and soon left.

  I was even more uncomfortable at Sulfel’s dinner table.

  Or I should say dinner stump, for as the nudist Satyr villages houses were all formed from trees, the furniture tended to be similarly of natural origin. We all stood around it, plates of wood carrying an assortment of strange roots and fruits. There was no meat to speak of, as Maluwae Satyrs were also vegetarians. I tried to hide my grimaces as I ate. Though the flavors were good, the textures were abysmal.

  Sulfel stared at me unflinchingly, despite his daughter telling him to knock it off several ti
mes now. “So,” he said. “You come back here after whisking away my daughter.”

  I glanced at Farelle. “Actually, she left on her own.”

  “As I’ve already told you,” she said with fond, weary amusement.

  He ignored both of us. “And you wish to lure her away again, despite your tampering in dark powers.”

  I shrugged. “Again, it’s her—”

  The Satyr slammed his fist on the stump, and I was glad it was so solid, as I’m sure my food would have otherwise spilled all down my front. “Don’t mock me!” he bellowed.

  “Father!” Farelle said reproachfully. She looked at me, apology in her eyes. “Marrow, maybe you should step outside while I speak with my father.” Her gaze sharpened as she turned it back to Sulfel.

  I was glad to excuse myself, and left with a muttered goodbye.

  I stepped outside onto the porch of Sulfel’s tree house and into the cool night air, looking out over the village. Orbs cast a steady warm light over it all, showing the Satyrs who still moved about on their errands, hopping up the large stump stairs on their goat-like legs. They were all so peaceful here. It was a good life.

  But I wasn’t in the Everlands for peace. As I stared out, I grew more and more restless. Tomorrow, we’d leave. I’d leave tonight if I thought Farelle would go along with it, but I’d give her that long to say her goodbyes.

  It wasn’t just that I wanted adventure. The longer I stayed around, the more I thought of Earth. Of my own home. And since I couldn’t go back, the less I thought of it, the better.

  But it was some time before Farelle joined me, plenty of time for me to lapse into melancholy. “Sorry about that,” she said. “I was hoping…” But she trailed off and just shook her head. “He’s stubborn and protective, but it’s only because he cares.”

  “It’s what fathers do,” I said absently. I was thinking of my own parents. Sure, they drove me crazy sometimes, but their absence was a deep, dull ache in my chest that I knew wouldn’t go away.

  “Also,” she continued, “he might have a point. About going off again.”

  I stiffened, and looked slowly over at her. “Wait. You’re not coming with me?”

  Farelle hesitated. “I’m not saying that. I just think we should take some time here first. Relax. Rest. Enjoy some family time.”

  “I’m sure I’ll enjoy that,” I said sarcastically.

  Her eyes hardened. “I’ve followed you all over, Marrow. Even up into the sky. Don’t you think you owe me this?”

  She had a point. Though she didn’t say it, she’d died on my behalf as well. We both knew that was a big debt I owed her.

  But the longer we stayed still, the more I knew I’d start living in my memories. “Maybe,” was all I could manage.

  “Maybe?” she repeated stiffly. “You’re unbelievable.” Then she turned and walked back inside her home.

  I looked after her, but after a moment, I started descending the stump-stairs and heading back to the inn. I’d give her the evening to cool off and think things over, as well as for myself. I didn’t see how I could possibly wait around that long. Maybe I could find some local quests here, or go explore a new barrow, so long as the druids didn’t find out about it. Now that I had the Ghost Ring, I didn’t doubt I could manage any unruly Spectral princes.

  But as I walked the village, I happened to glance outside it, and saw a strange blue light coming from the forest. I stopped and stared at it for a moment. All the lights here were yellow and green and orange. I didn’t know what could be causing this light.

  Looking around me to see if I’d be noticed, I stepped out of the village lights and after the blue one. It took me down the hill and closer to the surrounding marshes, and soon my boots were sinking into the soft ground. But no matter how far I went, the blue light seemed no nearer. Was it just some sort of mirage? I couldn’t remember exactly how will’o’wisps worked, but I knew I’d heard they were in swamps. It couldn’t be a monster at least, I knew now; the wards would have kept it away.

  I trekked for maybe half an hour after the blue light before I finally started to see progress. The forest was dark around me now, but by its bright blue light, I could see the clearing where it waited ahead. As far afield as I was, I didn’t know if the wards still applied, and I drew my Jeweled Longsword of the Stars just in case it was a monster ahead. The blade burned bright in the darkness.

  I came to the edge of the clearing and peered into it from behind a tree. Other than the hovering blue orb in the middle, which was as big around as a beach ball, I didn’t see anything, so I cautiously stepped forward. Nothing immediately sprang out at me, so I took another step forward, then another.

  Suddenly the blue orb burst open, and I cried out and threw up an arm to shelter myself from the coming blow. But the light just blew past me, breaking into small, hovering particles, like phosphorous plankton in ocean water. I slowly lowered my arm and stared about in wonder.

  Then I noticed I wasn’t alone. A figure wrapped in a robe of the blue light stared down at me. Her ears were pointed, and as she had no wings, I assumed she must be a Devalyn, an autumn elf.

  “Hello,” I said hesitantly. “And you are?”

  “Hello, Marrow. I am Isvalla,” she replied, her voice sonorous and echoing throughout the woods. “One of the forgotten deities of my people.”

  I had guessed she was a goddess as soon as she’d spoken. The only other beings I’d heard with that kind of resonance to their voices had been the Pantheon of gods and goddesses dwelling among the palace in the sky above, with the sky elves as their guardians. “It’s nice to meet you, Isvalla.” I looked around. “I’m guessing you wanted to meet me away from everyone else?”

  A smile quirked her lips, but it was quickly gone. “You have a curious mind, Everfolk. Too curious, perhaps.”

  “No such thing,” I said flippantly. But I was fully aware of the danger I was in. I’d royally pissed off many of the most powerful beings in the Everlands when I approached Absalom, the god-child who would one day rule all the Everlands and who I suspected was the first true AI consciousness, and had him free us Everfolk, or players from Earth, from being barred from logging off. His protective godly parents considered it an endangerment to him, and I had only further exacerbated that by continuing to let players come and go. Their thought was that eventually, someone might figure out how special Absalom truly was, as I had, though they didn’t have the conception to know what it truly meant.

  But at this point, I had no intentions of trying to destroy the god-child. Abe, as he’d introduced himself to me, had taken to me as a friend, and though I didn’t feel the same, having been manipulated into staying here in the Everlands with him, I knew I couldn’t do anything to him, if only because he was too powerful. For now, I’d contained the situation by encouraging him to stay and be educated by his divine parents, hoping they’d instill in him a desire to preserve the balance that ensured no AI here, limited or fully conscious, would infringe on the goings-on of Earth.

  The question now was if Isvalla was in the group that wished me dead, or the group that wanted me alive.

  “You are not worthy, you must understand,” Isvalla said, as if reading the line of my thoughts. “Absalom does you a great service naming you friend. Too great, some might say.”

  Her words were leaning dangerously close to the side I’d hoped she wasn’t on. “Absolutely too great,” I agreed.

  Now the goddess frowned. “But he has named you so, so you must be worthy. And if you are to be worthy, you must first prove yourself.”

  “Prove myself?”

  “There are trials throughout the Everlands. If you are to be our child’s champion, you must undergo these and succeed. But be warned: if you fail any one of them and are considered unworthy, there will be dire consequences.”

  “Will there be?”

  Her glowing eyes bore holes in me. “Yes. You will be sent to Faze-aught.”

  I couldn’t help but roll my eye
s. “You guys really need to understand how to pronounce that. It’s Phase Out, not Faze-aught or whatever you call it.”

  “Do not taunt me,” she rebuked, “or play me as a fool. All know that place beyond is called Faze-aught.”

  “Whatever you say,” I muttered.

  Isvalla frowned, but she continued. “Pass these trials, however, and me and my own will no longer have reason to doubt your place by Absalom’s side.”

  I considered this. “And if I refuse to try your trials?”

  Her look told me the answer before her words did. “You will be sent to Faze-aught.”

  I sighed. “Right…”

  “This is no laughing matter, Marrow,” Isvalla said severely. “War brews all along the Everlands, not just between Ebretin and the Cerulean Empire. The Drakons have long felt the sting of their oppression, and my own people seethe at being trampled underfoot.” Her eyes flashed dangerously. Quite literally flashed.

  “Yeah, yeah, I got it,” I said.

  “No, I do not believe you have ‘got it,’” the goddess mocked. “For as Absalom’s champion, you will be the one to bring peace.”

  I laughed. “Me? One player, solving all the worlds’ problems? Why doesn’t Absalom just do it himself? I’ve seen what he’s capable of.”

  The Devalyn deity sniffed. “You betray your ignorance with this question. Gods do not interfere in the matters of mortals directly. We influence from behind the scenes, to better preserve the balance. Direct intervention would reap terrible consequences.”

  I assumed this was some kind of failsafe the developers had put in to prevent the Pantheon from fucking up things too much for players. “Right. Sure. So I pass the trials, become this champion, and save the never-ending worlds. Is that about right? Well sign me up!”

  The goddess didn’t deign to answer.

  “But seriously,” I continued, “What are these trials? And where are they? When do I start, and how long do I have to complete them?”