Benvari Mountains (Emerilia Book 2)

by Michael Chatfield

  Rewards: 1,000 gold per Dragon

  Increased Affinity with Light

  Stat point increase comparable to efforts

  One piece of Light gear from rank Rare to Legendary

  Do you accept?

  Y/N

  “Damn,” Bendel said, linking the quest to the others.

  “Shit, I say we keep him around, damned glowing lucky charm!” Justin sat on a log with his bow.

  “Ha! He looks like a damned glowstick. Think you can do it again for us?” Helen quipped, tightening the wrappings on her hands.

  “Where’s your super awesome quest from the Lady of Light, monk?” Bendel asked.

  “I don’t believe in any gods out of this—I sure as shit ain’t gonna think of them here. I got faith in my fists and my healing. The monk thing is just to keep the heretic part low-key.” Helen winked.

  Bendel snorted.

  “Soo, now we’re done with the dick measuring contest, what we going to do?” Gillie asked.

  “You have a dick?” Justin looked shocked and stared at Helen. “It explains soo much!”

  “Come here, bow dweeb. I’ll show you what it feels like to have none of that useless low-hanging fruit!” Helen moved for Justin.

  He laughed and jumped away, dodging her hits as they moved around the clearing.

  Bendel sighed. It was to be expected; their farming hadn’t gone the best and the two were looking for a better fight. With the Dragon hunt, it seemed that their boredom had turned into play fighting out of excitement.

  “So?” Gillie looked at Bendel.

  “I think we can safely assume it’s this Dragon Quindar that we’ve been hearing about for a while. Also, see if anyone has any more information on it. Let’s go through our friend lists, see who’s in the area who can get to us in a few days and would be interested in the quest. Let’s see if we can’t get a good-sized party of twenty going at this thing,” Bendel said.

  “Okay,” Gillie said.

  She and Bendel took a seat, waiting for the other two to calm down and come back.

  ***

  After a few hours, they’d done some research on the different gear that they might get, looked into the Dragon, and then contacted anyone they thought might be useful in the fight. Everyone they talked to was excited to give the quest a go.

  They made a rally point with the people from Nadorf, grabbing supplies that they might need on their trek. It would take just over two days in-game to link up and head for the mountain that the Dragon was resting in.

  Bendel summoned his riding bear with a whistle; it materialized in front of him. The rest of the party grouped together and got on their mounts as well.

  “Well, let’s go and kill a Dragon,” Justin said, the last to get up on his ride.

  “From the sound of it, there might be multiple dragons,” Gillie said.

  “More gold for us!” Justin fired back.

  “I’m looking forward to the armor more,” Bendel admitted.

  “Just want to be all gold and shiny. I’m pretty sure we can find you some paint, Bendel,” Helen said.

  “Uggh, why did I agree to party with you lot?”

  “Think of how bored you’d be without us!” Justin laughed.

  Bendel kicked his bear into action, getting it to move forward and head for the mountain.

  Chapter 14: Dragon’s Potluck

  Malsour watched the group return from the trees. They’d been playing tree tag all morning. It was an impressive sport; it promoted Strength and Agility growth while also working on the Player’s coordination and communication. Many of them were still using incanted spells but when the game was going full tilt, many of them forgot their incantations and were using their spells on pure reflex.

  Malsour wondered whether they knew what they were doing.

  Using magic without incantations showed that they were highly proficient within the spell, or their Affinity, or both.

  “Endal, mos’kun,” Suzy said. Another doll came to life. This one was made out of mud, sticks, and rocks like the last ones but instead of being about thigh-high, it now reached the bottom of Malsour’s chest.

  “Good. Now another,” Anna said.

  She was a good teacher. And with the magical runes around Suzy’s neck, the boost she was getting by being linked to a decent-sized soul gem helped immensely. Everyone in the party except Dave and Deia wore a rune engraved necklace that acted as a Magical Circuit, draining a portion of their Mana pool and charging the large soul gem that Malsour carried in his bag.

  Malsour bent to his work on the back of a wagon, finishing off the last rune and imbuing the necklace with some of his power to activate the Magical Circuit before he tossed it in a pile of completed necklaces. He grabbed another necklace and got to work.

  When Dave wasn’t playing tree tag, he joined Malsour on one of the wagons, making more necklaces and soul gems. The gems were made in crystal form and took some time to make. A good number of them didn’t form properly, so the few soul gems had multiple groups charging them.

  All of the lower-level people had the rune necklaces first. Malsour would have thought that they would have given it to the higher-leveled people.

  It was clear that the Stone Raiders were proud about their strength, but they also wanted to make their weakest members stronger in order to strengthen them all. Mages were the only ones who were given the runes no matter their rank or proficiency.

  Now that every mage had one, they were moving to spellswords and then finally onto the melee-only groups.

  Private Message: Fornau

  Malsour > Hello, Fornau. We are traveling the road from Komo to Nadorf and heard that Quindar told no one to come down this road. I wanted to check if that was true and also ask if you were able to see a few visitors? If so, Induca, myself, and a few friends would like to visit.

  Fornau >Hello Granduncle,

  Fornau >A visit would certainly be nice. We are both going a bit round the mountain with just the two of us. Quindar is nearing her birthing time and is getting increasingly antsy. I would be interested in meeting these new friends.

  Fornau >Quindar might have gone a bit overboard with her announcement to those who were on the mountain. We are fine with people using the road. We just want to be left alone while Quindar lays her eggs.

  Fornau >If you could get some food on the way, it would be greatly appreciated. Quindar has been eating everything so fast that we don’t have much left now that she is moving into her laying egg stage. Do not argue with a pregnant Dragon.

  Malsour chuckled at his grandnephew’s words and caught Induca’s eye.

  “What’s up, Bruv?”

  Malsour shook his head. “Some of the Player’s words are interesting—others just shouldn’t be repeated.”

  Induca just smiled.

  I have a feeling that she’s using half of the words just because I find them so aggravating.

  “I have talked to Fornau. He and Quindar would like to see us if we have the time. Also, seems that Quindar ate all of their supplies, so they need some more food or else Fornau will have to go out hunting while she lays the eggs,” Malsour said.

  “Woo! Great great-grandnephews and nieces!” Induca smiled.

  Malsour rolled his eyes.

  “I heard something about eggs,” Deia said.

  “Well, my grandnephew and niece Fornau and Quindar have extended an invitation to us to visit them, though they need us to gather them some food before we get there. I know it is a detour so I don’t expect any of you to accompany us. However, if you do want to, you can,” Malsour said.

  Quest: Feeding Dragons

  Quindar has eaten most of the supplies that Fornau squirreled away. Fornau is asking for your help to gather more food so that he can keep protecting his wife.

  Requirements: Gather 30x large animals and deliver them to Quindar and Fornau’s Lair.

  Failure: Do not bring enough meat within a week.

  Reward: Fornau and Quindar�
��s gratitude

  Do you accept?

  Y/N

  “Should be okay if we run there, then run back. We move a lot faster than the wagons so we should be back in time.” Dave looked to Deia.

  Even without a reward, they’re more than willing to help. Malsour smiled, the tension leaving his back. He would have helped anyway, but having his friends with him once again reassured him of the trust he had placed in them.

  “I’ll have to ask Josh, but I don’t see him having any issue with it. It will also give us a way to say that we know that Quindar doesn’t care about the road, just don’t mess with her and Fornau’s mountain.”

  “Quite.” Malsour looked at the merchants around them. Having this many people witnessing their leaving would allow their words to carry more weight.

  It might also allay their fears of Quindar, Fornau, and their brood. Fostering a good relationship with the people will give them more privacy and stop them from doing anything dumb, like trying to attack them.

  “So, whoever wants to go, put your hand up,” Deia said.

  Everyone, even Anna and Suzy, put their hands up.

  “Good. I’ll talk to Josh.” Deia ran off toward the leader’s group.

  Suzy continued to form a new doll. She was funneling Mana through the soul gem and herself in order to keep the first powered and give the second strength. It was hard work as her body wasn’t used to that amount of power usage for that long. But in small amounts, it pushed her limits higher, faster.

  Malsour hadn’t much cared about levels and stats before, but now among the Players, he saw their rapid growth and couldn’t help but get swept up in the interest and challenge of growing levels. It was hard with his high levels, but he was making slow but definite progress.

  “When we come back, you should play with us, Malsour. It’s really good training,” Induca said.

  “You mean good fun.” Dave grinned.

  “Well, that too.” Induca laughed.

  Malsour had only left his libraries and books to look after his younger sister. He didn’t think that he would’ve had this much fun.

  Or made any friends. He looked at the others covertly, a small smile on his face.

  ***

  I HATE running. Suzy chased after the rest of her party. Induca was at the rear, making sure that she didn’t lag behind as they ran through the forest. Her Agility and Strength had increased in leaps and bounds over the last couple of days but the others were still looking to run off of trees and over fallen trees.

  While they seemed to glide through the forest, Suzy felt as if she were barrelling through like some kind of slow cannon ball.

  “Just breathe and keep going. Don’t worry—you’ll get tree running easily enough. It’s a lot of fun,” Induca said.

  Suzy spared her a doubting glance, keeping up her breathing as her Stamina bar slowly crept down. Not even the tea and meal before were able to keep her Stamina regeneration high enough to counteract all of her running.

  “Look how much you’ve improved already now. It’s all a matter of putting your mind to the task and then driving for that goal. Doesn’t sound that fun, but afterwards it’s really useful!” Induca jumped over a tree and off a tree, coming back next to Suzy. “So, what is Earth like? I’ve heard that they don’t have magic, but technology, the kind of pre-magic systems that allow you to change the world around you.”

  “Wait, you said that technology was around before magic?” Suzy said as she ran.

  “Well, yeah,” Induca said.

  “How?” Suzy took a drink from her water bottle. Those few words had made her thirsty.

  “Well, technology was used to form us dragons as well as create the magical fields in the planet. While we might call magic magic, it’s actually nano-machines in your body connecting to your internal power source and your mind controlling the power flow of that energy and making something out of it. At least, that’s what Malsour says.” Induca looked thoughtful as Suzy’s eyes went wide.

  I just thought that magic was some innate kind of skill or something, but it’s actually technology in our bodies responding to our input.

  “Wait, then what happens when I get a higher Intelligence stat? What happens to my body?”

  “Well, after training so much with it, then your body adapts and grows. The more you use something, the more it grows. The more you use your Mana storage, draining it all, then the more you can store in it.” Induca shrugged as if she was repeating words and only half-understanding them.

  It’s like a rechargeable battery but instead of it getting less charge each time you charge it, it gets the ability to store more. It makes sense the more I think about it. If these are our real bodies, then there needs to be a way to have our interface and our HUD. Our bodies must be filled with them. Then…does that mean the Jukal might have a system in there to destroy us?

  Suzy fell into silence as her brain turned over with the new information as she gained a higher understanding of just what “magic” was.

  ***

  Dave led the group, using his Touch to plot the easiest path through the forest. They’d taken down a number of deer, rabbits, and other animals that they’d found. They’d cleaned them up and stuffed them into their bags.

  Suzy, upon seeing the dead animals, had quickly left and released her last meal over the back of a tree.

  Anna made sure she was okay and brought her back.

  “Sorry about that. Guess, I’ve never really seen an animal being killed.” Suzy looked a bit pale.

  “No worries. You Earthers are usually like that when seeing your first kill. I’m surprised Dave wasn’t,” Deia said.

  “How do you know what my first kill was?” Dave looked up from the buck he was cutting up to put in his pack.

  “Well, I don’t know when your first kill was, but I know the first time that you cleaned out an animal was with that elk,” Deia said.

  “Wow, you were watching me then?”

  “Little bit before then. Thought that you were going to miss horribly and waste the elk. Was prepared to go hunt it just so that its body wasn’t wasted. That was a good shot with your bow.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Good for an amateur.” Deia lowered her voice so only Dave could hear her.

  “I heard that.” He thinned his eyes at her.

  She smiled and continued to pull the doe apart in front of her.

  “Do you think that this will be enough?” Dave asked.

  “I hope so. Quindar, however, is pregnant and it seems that she is not one for much reason, especially after eating all of the stores that Fornau laid in.” Malsour sighed.

  “Probably a good idea to get some extra. Pregnant dragons are a pain in the rear,” Induca chipped in.

  “Never thought about having children?” Anna asked.

  “Heck, no. Love kids but damn if I want to have some of my own. All the dragons I know are fun, sure, but not someone I want to raise a brood with.” Induca shook her head.

  “Malsour?”

  “I’ve thought about it once or twice, but again there is not many dragons around that I find more interesting than my books.”

  “Well, guess you must like us for not running off to the nearest library.” Deia smiled.

  “It certainly is entertaining.” Malsour smiled.

  Suzy ran off again to throw up. It was clear she couldn’t easily handle cleaning her kill.

  “I really hope she doesn’t go all vegan on us. Kind of hard to eat nothing but veggies,” Dave said.

  “Well, there are plenty of herbs to find all over the place,” Malsour pointed out.

  “Yeah, but they all taste like damned weeds. Meat is the way to go,” Anna said.

  “Ah-greed,” Dave said.

  “Nothing like a nice steak and some good ole-fashioned barbeque sauce!” Induca grinned, making quite the sight as she had blood all over her cheek.

  “You have barbeque sauce here?” Dave asked. It hadn’t been long since
lunch, but he loved himself some ribs.

  “Well, of course!”

  “Wooo hooo!” Dave’s excitement had some birds flying away in shock. Dave got into a heated discussion on different meats and ways to cook them in Emerilia with Induca. She was an expert cook, apparently!

  Chapter 15: Quindar’s Lair

  It took some time to get up the mountain, even with their speed and strength.

  They came to a door made of stone. It was the size of two school buses on top of each other.

  A man wearing simple clothes and a brown leather cloak with a green underlayer stepped out from a smaller door built into the massive one.

  “Uncle, Aunty!” The man embraced Malsour, who looked awkward with the affection before turning to Induca, who hugged her nephew and grinned.

  “Hey, nephew! How’s the wife?”

  “She’s…” Fornau scratched his head. “Well, I think that she’s within the last days of egg laying. She says that her body is starting to push.”

  Dave could see that Fornau looked a bit worried as he glanced back to the cave.

  “This is Dave, his fiancée Deia, Anna, and Suzy.” Malsour pointed to everyone. They shook hands with Fornau and smiled.

  “So, they know?” Fornau asked.

  “That you’re all dragons and that you sometimes like wandering around as Humans so people don’t crap their pants outright?” Dave asked.

  “I like this one.” Fornau snorted, his face sporting a smile. “Please come in.” The door within the door opened for them.

  “We also brought some food. Where would you like for us to put it?” Malsour asked.

  “Well, we’ve got a cold room. I’ll give you a tour and take you to Quindar. Something else to focus on other than laying her eggs might do her some good.” Fornau smiled.

  The hallway they entered was still as massive as the gate that covered it. Light holders across the walls illuminated it in warm light. The walls were smooth, with almost a polished feel. Dave could sense residual magic and odd formations in the rock.