The shaman lowered his head in deference.
"Naturally."
The conflict brought an end to the meeting. His other councilors left, leaving him alone with Zaros. The red-faced elf let his lips curl with disapproval before storming out.
"That could have gone better," said Terran.
Not only did they need more resources for the settlement, but there was a brewing conflict between the factions of elves. They didn't stand a chance against the Trio and their mysterious backer if they were bickering amongst themselves. He fought the urge to run to the Chieftain hut, taking long purposeful strides instead. When he entered the hut, Luna stood and stretched, yawning.
"What's the matter?" she asked after seeing Terran's wide-eyed face.
He let out a deep breath. "That Zaros is a piece of work," he said, shaking his head. "I'm not sure he's going to integrate well. If he had a lawn, he'd be yelling at the kids to get off it."
Luna cocked her head. "Lawn?"
"Never mind. Something I heard before. Basically, he's a grumpy bastard," Terran said. "He wants me to grow the crystalline conservatory next, but Lhoris wants the archery range."
"What are you going to do?" Luna asked.
"I don't know," said Terran, stretching his arms. "Sleep on it, I guess. Being the leader of a settlement is hard work."
"Which is why I enjoy my position as faithful companion to the chieftain. Comes with all the benefits and none of the responsibilities," said Luna as she groomed her furry gray paw.
"Thanks, Luna. Your companionship is touching," he said with a roll of his eyes.
Luna stood up. "Well, off to hunt. Good luck with your problems."
Chapter Three
The next morning, Terran woke to an empty hammock. Chanterelle had been on a late night patrol and wasn't due until the afternoon. He had a breakfast of dried apples and cricket jerky in his observatory, thinking about his problem as he watched the leaves sway in the breeze.
When he returned to the lower level of his chieftain's hut, Luna was returning from her night hunting.
"Figure out your problems?" asked the lynx.
"I think it might be easier to grow the conservatory first," said Terran. "We'll have another seed in ten days, and I can just talk to Lhoris and explain my reasoning. Seems like he's going to be more understanding than Zaros, and right now I need some unity in the settlement."
"Sounds like you're avoiding conflict," Luna smirked.
"I've got enough on my mind without Zaros breathing down my neck," said Terran.
"Spoken like a true leader," said Luna.
"I'm going to talk to Lhoris now. Hopefully he's cooled down a bit," Terran said, exiting the hut.
Terran found Lhoris running through fighting drills alone in the barracks. He watched the powerful elf wield his giant axe like it was made of cardboard. With the grace of a dancer, Lhoris lunged forward and decapitated the training dummy in a single swift strike, then turned to Terran.
"Seems early for a training lesson. What do you need, Terran?"
Terran hesitated, staring at the giant axe. "Not too early for you though."
Lhoris sighed. "Swinging my axe calms me down. I had forgotten how pompous Lore Keepers can be. Zaros thinks that having read all those books makes him the smartest elf, but he has no experience in real war. His books won't shield him from a sword strike."
Terran nodded. "He is quite the pompous ass and is the reason I wanted to come talk to you. In an attempt to create some good will, I'm going to use the next seed to grow the conservatory. I know we talked about the archery range, but I feel like I can talk to you about my decision and you might be more understanding. If I thought an attack on the settlement was imminent, of course I'd build the archery range, but for now it seems better to appease Zaros a little if we have any hope of getting along with him."
Lhoris stood erect with his axe thrown over his shoulder and the corners of his mouth turned down, listening to Terran. He let the long silence breathe a few breaths too many before responding.
"While I understand it's a difficult decision, I don't think it's the correct one," said Lhoris as he ran his finger along the flat part near the razor-sharp blade of the axe. "You're sending my elves on patrols to Karst Hollow for more loam. Better bows will keep them safe. We could have more patrols with better weapons. Eventually we're going to need to keep adding loaming spots."
"I'm not putting off the archery range forever, just for ten days," said Terran.
Lhoris paced away before turning back, clearly trying to restrain himself. "You have led us well, so I will defer to your judgement, but Zaros is not to be trusted. He only cares for himself, not the good of the settlement."
"Are crystal bards as good as he claims?" asked Terran.
The elf slammed his axe into a training dummy, leaving it to turn back to Terran.
"A crystal bard is powerful, but it is unlikely that we will have any for a while. They are difficult to find, harder to train, and require crystals grown from the tree, and the higher-level crystals require an increase in the settlement, and you don't have the essences necessary," said Lhoris.
"So you're saying it's a long-term investment," said Terran.
"You could put it that way," said Lhoris, squinting.
"I'm sorry, Lhoris, I've made up my mind. We're going to grow the conservatory now and the archery range later. If we're going to make an attack on the fortress, we need a small, powerful fighting force. A crystal bard sounds like that kind of resource, but it'll take time," said Terran. "Plus, it'll smooth things over with Zoras."
"I hear you," said Lhoris, "but I think you're making a mistake. Zoras will only take this as an opportunity to ask for more. He's a political animal, always gathering power, rather than working for the common good."
Terran left the captain of the guard with heavy thoughts. He went to see Petram, finding Zoras waiting with the shaman.
"I assume you've made the correct decision about the seed," said Zoras. "I've already picked out the spot for it."
With a sigh, Terran gestured for the bardic elf to lead the way. At the spot, Zaros tried to play conductor while the elves sang their song to grow the tree. What was normally a joyous affair felt more like war planning, as Zaros ordered everyone around. As soon as the conservatory was built the elves dispersed back to their normal routines, leaving Terran alone once again with Zaros and Jondar.
While Zaros was busy barking demands at his apprentice, Terran took the opportunity to look inside the tree. From the outside it appeared much like the other trees with its stone-gray bark, but it did not have the outer walkway to an upper floor of rooms. The inside was nothing like Terran had ever seen. There seemed to be an endless cavity reaching toward the sky. Arched doorways with a pale blue light seeping out of them were randomly scattered up the inside walls. There appeared to be no way to reach the archways, but Terran finally noticed a thin walkway about half a meter wide snaking its way up and out of sight.
The entire space was lit with an eerie green glow that came from giant mushroom lights attached to the walls at various locations. The tree seemed so tall that the lights toward the top dotted the upper reaches like stars on a clear night. Terran stood at the bottom, mouth agape, craning his neck.
"Wait until you see it with the crystals," Jondar whispered as he passed Terran, balancing a load of books in his arms.
"Excellent point," Zaros said, filling up the space in the doorway. "We will need you to gather them, Terran, while we are busy setting up the conservatory."
You have been offered a quest: Collect 50 geodes and return them to the Crystalline Conservatory.
Reward: Increased reputation with the Crystalline Conservatory.
"I have included a map to the general region where the cave is located. Once you have collected the geodes, drink this potion so you will have the strength to carry them back," he continued, digging out a potion bottle from the inside of his robe sleeve and handing it to Ter
ran.
"Don't stand there gawking. Do what I have asked," he demanded.
Terran blinked, unsure of how to respond. At least going to do the quest would get him away from Zaros for a while, and completing it could improve his standing with the demanding elf. He knew if any of the other elves had asked for his help he would have jumped at the chance, so after a moment of thought Terran gave a slight nod toward Zaros.
"I will gather supplies and leave today," he said, pushing past Zaros to get out of the tree.
According to the map he had been given, the geode cave was a few days' journey to the south of the settlement. It looked to be a much easier trek than the one he and Luna had taken to retrieve the Sky Moss. The land was mostly rolling hills to the south leading to a large river. Terran was certain this was the river he'd seen on his first day in the Rockpine Forest. A pang of longing erupted in his chest when he thought of his original plan to head to the river and try to find a way back to his friends on Moranne. It seemed almost a lifetime ago that he had made those plans, and now he was tied to the settlement and the Mother Tree for at least a year.
Terran stopped by Petram's hut to let him know he was leaving for a few days before returning to his place to pack supplies.
"Finally had enough of this place?" Luna asked with one eye open from her spot curled on the foot of Terran's bed.
"Get up, lazybones. We're going on an adventure," he answered with a smile.
"If we're headed back to find that peryton, count me out. I saw what you looked like sailing through the air the last time we met that thing."
"No peryton...yet, but we will have to try again after I gain a few levels. We're going on a rock hunt this time."
The lynx stretched her long gray legs. "What could possibly be more exciting than a rock hunt? Don't they just lie there until you come and pick them up? Hardly seems like much of a hunt. Well, it does seem like about the only hunt you could handle. I doubt it's hard to sneak up on a rock."
Terran shook his head and smiled at the barb while he strapped on his pack for the journey. "Come on. You can grab something to eat along the way," he said to Luna.
Heading out on a new adventure always filled Terran with a sense of excitement. He was thrilled to see all the things the game had to offer. Though he was not a fan of being dropped from several hundred feet in the air. Once was enough.
Chapter Four
Terran and Luna easily traveled the two days to get to the geode cave. Along the way Terran continued to work on his stealth and Nature's Lore skills. Although he didn't receive any skill increases, he felt like he was improving or at least feeling more comfortable with his abilities. He had been able to sneak up on a Bullywug and gave it to Luna for dinner the night before.
When the pair reached the clearing indicated on the map Terran was surprised to find several cave openings and was uncertain which one held the geodes. He knew what a geode was, but he wasn't sure how he would find them without cracking it open to see the crystal inside.
"Well this is crap. I don't even know which cave we're supposed to go into," he said to Luna.
"Have you read the quest log?" she asked.
"Well, no," he sheepishly replied while opening the quest log. He normally only read the quest title.
Collect 50 geodes and return them to the Crystalline Conservatory.
Reward: Increased reputation with the Crystalline Conservatory.
In the cave complex north of the Green River geodes grow. You can tell a rock is a geode by the light vibration you feel when holding it.
"They may be in any of these caves," Terran said to Luna after reading the text. "A geode will vibrate apparently."
"These caves are not empty," Luna said, crouched down low with her ears perked up.
"Well I never expected it to be that easy. If it were, we all know Zaros would have done this himself," Terran said with an eye roll.
"How about if I scout ahead since you have the sneaking skills of an elephant stampede," Luna said.
"Suit yourself. I'd like a break," Terran responded, sitting down on the ground and taking a swig of water.
Luna slunk off toward the nearest cave opening. Terran watched the agile cat prowl into the cave and disappear into the darkness. He savored the taste of trail mix while he ate a piece of his mushroom. It was still such a strange sensation to eat a mushroom, but have it taste like a strawberry ice cream sandwich.
Within a few minutes Luna returned with her scouting report. "There were a few insects, barely big enough to be a snack. I didn't see anything else living, but there are some incredible crystal stalagmites that you have to see."
Terran stood up and followed Luna into the cave. Thanks to his Theris Stone his eyes easily adjusted to the dark with night vision. The pair walked for about a hundred feet before the tunnel opened up to a large cavern. Terran's breath caught in his throat when he saw the giant stalagmites spread throughout the cavern. Some were at least six feet tall and as big around as a person, while others were only a couple feet tall and thin as reeds. Unlike most caves there were no stalactites hanging from the ceiling.
The stalagmites appeared to be huge crystals that reflected prisms of light from the phosphorescent mushrooms growing on the cavern walls. The room had a strange rainbow hue to it, and the floor was covered in a sparkly red dust. In the far corner there was a pile of rocks, each about the size of a tennis ball.
"It's beautiful," he said in a singsong voice, hearing a pleasant reverberation as his tone caught the crystals in a shared harmony. He felt the quivering of the sound in his chest, reminding him that he used to love singing. Spurred by his good mood, he opened his mouth and, projecting from his gut, sang, "Beautiful."
His voice caught the crystals as if they were a symphony, each one reflecting a different note. He could have stayed in that spot, singing all day, but he heard a skittering sound behind him. He turned just in time to see a flash of crystal legs darting behind one of the largest stalagmites. Luna was already crouched, ready to pounce, her ears flat against her head. Terran grabbed a pebble from the ground near his foot, cast Stone Shard on it, and held it waiting for the creature to pop out from behind its crystal pillar. As he rolled the pebble in his palm, he felt like a kid in a snowball fight waiting to attack the other side hiding behind their fort.
They stood at the ready for what felt like minutes, but the creature never showed itself again.
"Maybe it doesn't mean us any harm," Terran said to Luna with a shrug.
Luna said nothing as she sniffed at the ground in front of her, slowly working her way closer to where they thought the creature was hiding. The hairs along her spine stood up straight and she arched her back as she continued to inch closer. Terran danced on his feet, ready to launch his pebble. Luna made a low growling noise in her throat as she peered around the edge of the pillar.
As she turned toward Terran his anticipation took over and he launched his ammunition directly above Luna's head. It exploded on the wall, sending shards at her shoulder.
"I swear I'm on your side," she hissed at Terran. "Or did that fall knock something loose in your head the other day?"
Terran let out the breath he had been holding. "Sorry, nerves. Where did it go?"
"I don't know," she said as she kept sniffing around for clues.
Suddenly from behind them what looked like a crystal boulder came rolling toward Luna. The agile lynx jumped out of the way just before impact and the rock slammed into the crystal pillar. What appeared to be a rock unfurled when it crashed into the pillar, exposing the underbelly of a spider with eight writhing legs and a set of mandibles oozing a yellowish liquid.
Luna pounced on the spider and sank her teeth into its thorax, narrowly avoiding the glistening mandibles. She held it tight in her mouth until the legs stopped twitching. When she released the spider, she looked like she had just eaten a lemon, and proceeded to curl her back as if she had a hairball. After two revolting coughs, Luna shook her head and st
raightened out.
"Eww. That thing was gross and the shell was so hard that my teeth didn't penetrate the top layer. They only cut into the belly. Just when I thought giant spiders couldn't get worse, now they're armored."
"It could be worse and there's a giant ape rolling spiders at us that we're going to have to defeat," Terran said with a smile.
When he got no reaction from Luna he prodded the spider's body with his foot. As he touched it, a red dust sprinkled the floor and the top of his foot. He could see the puncture marks from Luna's teeth on its belly, but nothing on the other side when he flipped it over using his toe.
"What's this red dust?" he asked.
"The cavern is coated in it if you look closely," Luna replied, surveying the space casually then flattening her ears against her head.
Only the reaction from Luna alerted him to the ambush. Terran threw himself to the side right as a crystalline spider crashed into his spot, extending its legs as it bit down on empty air. But he tripped over the loose gravel, landing on a pile of sharp rocks, and the spider leapt atop him.
Dripping with yellow liquid, the spider's mandibles snapped at his face. Luna jumped on the creature's back, but the rocky armor kept her from doing much more than putting more weight on his arms. Trapped beneath the spider, he couldn't cast a spell or reach for his dagger.
"Get. It. Off. Me," he grunted as he tried to slide himself from beneath it. "Push it over."
Luna leapt off, then like a charging bull, rammed the spider's body, giving Terran enough leverage to launch the spider away. The creature landed on its side, giving him a shot at its exposed underside. He threw rock shards, slicing up the underbelly, and the critter snapped back onto its feet, but by this time, Luna had reached it and grabbed a leg, pulling it along, keeping it from turning back into a ball. Terran yanked out his dagger and used both hands to jam it down into the gap in front of the abdomen, killing it.
Sweaty from the encounter, he collapsed on the cave floor, holding his weapon. "That was not fun. Spiders should not have armor."
The Crystal Bard: A LitRPG Adventure (Kingmaker Saga Book 2) Page 3
