by L. R. Wolf
“It has been too long!”
The voice that had initially spoke to them boomed out once again, “SILENCE! Give them a moment to speak!” An older looking man appeared from the guard house closest to them. He was fully armored in traditional Elven plate armor. He carried a helmet under his arm. Elohwa looked up at the man, recognition flashing in her eyes.
“Srev, my old friend!” Elohwa stepped towards him holding her arms out to hug him but quickly pulling them back as she realized she wouldn’t actually be able to touch him.
Srev smiled sadly at the gesture. “Would that we could, my friend. Would that we could.” He turned his eyes upon Aya, his eyes looking her up and down before he nodded to himself and turned his gaze once more upon Elohwa. “How is it you came to be this woman’s Companion?”
Elohwa sighed softly, “It is a long story, one which I will regale you with at another time. My friend and I have been fighting the undead all night up over the ridge with very little rest.”
The man once again turned his piercing gaze to Aya, “I take it you are the reason the ridge has been in a perpetual state of dawn this night, as I do not remember Lady Elohwa being so proficient with Fire Magic.”
Elohwa cast a glare at the man placing a thumb under her chin and then flicking it at the man. “That is not very Lady like you know!” Elohwa rolled her eyes as the man chuckled.
“Ah yes, sorry that was me.” Aya knew ghosts when she saw them. Everyone here glowed softly with the same white light they had seen at the top of the ridge, all of them had that tell tale ethereal look of transparency, the run down buildings visible through their bodies.
“No need to apologize child.” Srev smiled at Aya reassuringly before he motioned further down the road. “Follow me if you would ladies, I can guide you to someplace less...,” the man looked at the dilapidated buildings around them all, sadness and anger both flickering across his face as he truly took in the scene around them. “Less of an eyesore, I suppose.” He beckoned them to follow as he started down the road. His legs moved as if he were walking, but his feet stayed about an inch off the ground.
“What happened here?” Aya’s heart had grown heavy as she had examined the ghosts that had surrounded them. It didn’t take much to figure out that these were the former inhabitants of this city. Seeing the ghosts of children had yanked at her heartstrings causing her throat to get tighter as she fought back tears. She was dealing with enough pain and despair in her real life that she didn’t need to heap more on the top of an already precarious situation. “This is just a game, it’s not real, THEY are not real.” She kept repeating that thought over and over in her mind in the hopes that her logical mind would win out over her emotional heart, but so far the emotional heart was winning this particular battle.
Srev paused for a moment, his eyes remaining fixed on the road in front of them as if he didn’t want the women to see his face. “It is a tale best left until you two have rested and regained your strength.” He continued to glide, occasionally turning down a smaller path leading them away from the main road. After a few more minutes, they came to a large open area. Trees, grass and other flora had overgrown what once must have been a garden. A simple stone structure stood nearby, one of the supporting pillars had collapsed upon the path leading into the building and the roof was partially collapsed. Two stone statues had stood guard outside the entrance, but one had been turned to dust by the fallen pillar, while the other had been worn and weathered down through the years. “You will be completely safe here. I will remain nearby in case you require anything. You need only say my name.” With that, the man faded away into a little mote of light before moving off away from the women and disappearing into a nearby building.
Elohwa stared at the broken down building. The tears that had been threatening to fall since they had arrived now flowed freely. “The Temple of the Moon Goddess.” Elohwa turned her face away from the once great temple as she couldn’t bare to see it in such condition.
“Maybe we can fix it up or something?” Aya had seen the tormented look on Elohwa’s face. While there was nothing Aya could do about her own situation, she knew she could at least do something to help Elohwa.
Hope flashed in Elohwa’s eyes for a brief moment, “You would do that?” Her voice was a hoarse whisper. This had been one of her most favorite spots in the entire city. To have it restored in any way would mean a great deal her.
“Of course I would! First though, let’s set up camp and eat. I’m starving.” Aya had been practically casting non stop since night had fallen, her only sustenance had been mana potions. The sun was only now beginning to banish the darkness as dawn finally arrived.
“I think now would be a good time to show you one of the survival skills.” Elohwa reached into her satchel and pulled out a small basic tent. This one was much smaller than the first one she had put up on the outer reaches of what she now knew was the Dead Fields. “First you need to put up the framework.” She took five rods out of the Satchel. Two of them had Y’s at the end so that when you would place the opposing Rod into the Y it would act as a stabilizer. Once she had driven the first two sets of poles into the ground forming two upside Vs Elohwa placed the fifth pole at the top between the two sets. Once that was done she took the tent cloth out and draped it over the frame, adding spikes to the corners and the middle to keep the cloth down closer to the ground so that wind couldn’t get under it to rip the tent up and send it flying.
Aya already had some idea of how to raise the tent as she had done some camping when she was younger. She placed her personal tent across from Elohwa’s, taking little time to erect it. When she set the final spike, one of the quests she was tracking updated on the right side of her vision.
How to survive Infinity updated! Set up a Tent 1 of 5 times
Elohwa nodded her approval at Aya before she took a shovel from the satchel in order to dig a fire pit, but as she raised the shovel to start digging she found that she couldn’t bring herself to do it. To her, it would feel like she was desecrating a holy place.
Aya saw her hesitation, “Can you show me how to anchor a basic fire spell like you did earlier?” Aya knew that by anchoring the spell to the ground as Elohwa had done that they would be provided light, warmth and the ability to cook meals without the worry of causing an actual fire.
Elohwa blinked a few times before smiling softly and nodding her head again. “Summon a fireball in your hand,” Elohwa summoned an incredibly small ball of fire, smaller than a golf ball, in the palm of her hand.
“Aww, that’s so cute! It’s almost the same size as my first Meteor!” Aya couldn’t help herself as she barely contained a grin. Her first fireball, without all of her current gear, had been so much larger, though her success or rather lack of success with the meteor had been incredibly underwhelming at the time.
Elohwa’s eyes narrowed a bit as she looked at Aya with a mock glare. She raised the palm containing the tiny ball of fire on it and flicked it towards Aya. The mini ball made a valiant effort to get to Aya, but it fell just short of hitting her. Elohwa and Aya looked at each other before they burst out laughing. Around them, white globes of light peeked out from their hiding spots, briefly shifting into their elven form to watch the two women.
Chapter 17: Eventide Falls
∆∆∆
The women finally managed to bring their laughter under control. The tears that were streaming down their faces were ones of humor rather than pain. Elohwa used her cloak to wipe the tears from her face, her head shaking at Aya. She attempted to put on a straight face as she once again held her palm up summoning forth the mini Fire Ball.
Aya grinned as she mirrored Elohwa’s action by holding the palm of her hand up, but the fireball she summoned was absolutely huge compared to Elohwa’s. “Mine’s bigger.” With an evil glint in her eye and the straightest face possible, Aya barely managed to keep it together.
Elohwa raised an eyebrow, her own evil grin spreading across her face,
“It is not the size that counts, rather how one uses it!” Once more the two women broke out into laughter, their Fireballs extinguishing as they reflexively closed their hands around them in their fit of hysterics.
“Are you Ladies well?” Srev floated towards them before retaking his elven shape and looking at the women curiously.
“We were just having a Fireball measuring contest.” Aya’s sides were starting to ache with the constant laughing and she could hardly catch her breath. From the shadows they could hear the spirits snickering quietly at the conversation they were listening in on.
Srev sighed heavily and shook his head as he tried to keep a grin from lifting the corners of his mouth, but their laughter was infectious. “Not very lady like at all!” With that, he turned on his heel to return to his post in the shadows, a loud guffaw escaping his lips.
“Alright, I am just going to get the fire going and I will teach you how to anchor later otherwise I fear we will be doubled over the rest of the day!” With a quick gesture, she once again summoned the mini Fire Ball. She turned her palm over so that it appeared as though the Fireball was hanging from the palm of her hand. She pushed the palm of her hand down towards a large piece of stone on the ground stopping just inches above the top of the stone. She jerked her hand a bit as if shaking the Fireball off her hand. The mini Fireball left the palm of her hand and splashed onto the rock, flames rose up covering the surface of the stone. Elohwa removed the makeshift grill from her satchel, placing it over the fire before pulling out some cold meat strips. While they could have just eaten them as they were without fear of becoming sick, the meat was so much better warmed up. She quickly placed the strips of meat on the grill to warm them before reaching back into her satchel to pull out the new bedroll that had come with the more advanced survival kit.
Aya removed her own bedroll, examining it as she rolled it out within the small personal tent.
Superior Bedroll of Complete Comfort-This bedroll was a gift from a being of higher power.
With this Bedroll you will sleep like royalty! Temperature within the bedroll automatically adjusts to keep the user comfortable in all sorts of nasty weather! User of this bedroll will always wake refreshed and ready for the day!
“Fat chance of that.” Aya thought to herself. She had never been much of a morning person, some little super bedroll wasn’t going to be able to change that. She spread it out on the grass floor of the small tent before sitting on it. It was actually incredibly comfortable, even while sitting on it. She glanced at Elohwa who was also sitting on her bedroll across the fire from her. “I’m going to take a quick nap and then make a few calls to my family if that’s ok?” Aya knew it wouldn’t be an issue, it was more to let Elohwa know that she would be unavailable for awhile.
“Yes, of course. I am going to have a look around the temple, find out how much work it will be to rebuild before I sleep as well.” Elohwa rose to her feet and wandered to the entrance of the temple. A few spirits milled around just outside the temple. Though she desperately wanted to know what had happened during the time she had been away, she would wait until Aya was done talking to her family and friends so they’d both hear it at the same time. She frowned as she looked at the state of the temple, the door leading inside had long since rotted away. Statues that had lined the pathway up to the altar were either broken or toppled over. Elohwa sighed before ducking inside.
Aya yawned, the horrors of the day from discovering she was trapped to fighting nonstop all night had taken its toll. She wanted nothing more than to speak to her family again, but her mind was so foggy she just wanted to rest, if only for a few minutes. No sooner had she stretched out on the bedroll than she was fast asleep.
***
Aya woke up after an hour and immediately called her husband and children. Afterwards she had talked to her mom, in law’s, brother and grandmother. Aya disconnected the last call to her family with a sigh and rubbed her eyes which had grown heavier and heavier, the nap had been just enough to give her a bit more energy, but she still needed real sleep. She had lost track of time while battling in the Dead Fields, and had almost missed being able to talk to her kids before they went to bed. Ray had informed her that her body was resting comfortably in a Dreamscape specialized facility. They had given him access to her vital signs and even a camera both in the room that housed her medical pod and one within the pod itself that was aimed at her face so that he could monitor her from home. He had given her access so that she could look in on her body if she wanted. She opened a menu within her interface so that she could set timers so that she didn’t miss a chance to talk to her kids or family. She pinched the bridge of her nose as it felt like a headache was coming on. Aya reached into her satchel and pulled out one of the basic rations Elohwa had given her. She unwrapped it, throwing the strips of meat onto the grill. The women had already eaten the meat that Elohwa had thrown on there earlier when they’d first made this camp. Aya munched on a peach while she waited for the meat to warm. A quick look around told her that Elohwa was still out and about somewhere so she decided to go back through the notifications she had racked up through the previous night’s adventure.
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 9 in Fire Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 10 in Fire Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 11 in Fire Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 12 in Fire Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 13 in Fire Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 14 in Fire Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 15 in Fire Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 16 in Fire Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 17 in Fire Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 18 in Fire Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 1 in Water Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 2 in Water Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 3 in Water Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 4 in Water Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 1 in Air Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 2 in Air Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 3 in Air Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 1 in Earth Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 2 in Earth Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 3 in Earth Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 4 in Earth Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 5 in Earth Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 6 in Earth Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 1 in Healing Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 2 in Healing Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 3 in Healing Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 4 in Healing Magic!
Aya dismissed all but the last level notifications due to all of the spam.
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 7 in Healing Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 10 in Water Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 13 in Air Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 15 in Earth Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have reached skill level 52 in Fire Magic!
Congratulations Dreamer! You have earned the accolade Mentor! Now that you have reached level 50 in a skill, you are now able to Mentor others in your gr
oup whenever you join a new group. Mentoring others increases their rate of SXP by 25%.
WARNING! Special restrictions have been placed upon your account temporarily which will lock your skills at 52. Once this restriction is lifted, you will be able to once again gain levels in these locked skills.
Congratulations Dreamer! You have earned the Title: Mentor. As a Mentor you will automatically adjust to the lowest level member of the group.
Congratulations Dreamer! You have created the Fire Shield spell! This spell places a personal shield of fire around the target of the spell. The Fire Shield will cause damage to any nearby enemies within five feet of the shield and has a chance to set the enemy on Fire (Burning)
30 dmg per tick (base) 5% mana cost. Duration-10 mins (base)
Congratulations Dreamer! You have created the Fire Storm spell! By combining the Storm spell with Fire Ball you are able to create a Fire Storm which will damage enemies and can cause them to Burn. Has the added effect of causing the ground underneath to catch fire damaging any enemies within. 80 dmg per tick (base) 10% mana cost. Duration-2 mins (base)
Congratulations Dreamer! You have created the Ice Storm spell! By combining the Storm spell with the Glacial Spike spell you are able to create an Ice Storm which will damage enemies and cause them to begin to freeze, slowing their movement and attack speed. Has the added effect of causing the ground beneath the Ice Storm to freeze as well creating a slippery surface. 80 dmg per tick (base) 10% mana cost. Duration-2 mins (base)
Congratulations Dreamer! You have created the Engulfing Orb spell! By pouring more and more mana into the Fireball spell, you have managed to create an incredibly powerful version of the spell! The more mana poured into the spell, the more damage it will deal! This spell seeks out the target no matter where it might hide. Speed of projectile increases the further it has to travel to the target. Upon reaching its victim, the orb will pass through the target and begin to burn them from within. This orb will continue through its target to hit anything nearby until its mana is exhausted. Damage varies depending on amount of mana poured into the spell. 20% mana cost (base, channel longer to sacrifice more mana for more damage)
