by Dakota Krout
Alert! A message from the King! Cease all other activities! Alert!
A calm voice spoke, and it seemed that every human in the game heard him as though the King were speaking directly to them, “People of Ardania, hear my words. The Wolfman hordes have begun to assemble, far sooner than we were expecting. There are multiple contributing factors, but the main issue causing them to prepare their attack is the fact that they have lost a large portion of their civilians to creatures transformed by some form of dark magic over the course of ten nights.”
There was a pause to allow the information to sink in. “The Wolfmen know that they are on the verge of starvation. They lost most of their workers, their cattle, and a large portion of their stored food. Morale for the average Wolfman is at an all-time low, and all they have remaining are fighters. They will be desperate, vicious, and unrelenting. But! Now we have a chance that we have not had in decades.”
“Their monarch has appeared and plans to join the battle. If he is defeated by one of you, we will grant a tract of land and a title of nobility to the person or guild who slays him as well as five thousand platinum coins to establish their Noble line. The Wolfmen’s likely destination will be given to you… now. Good luck, and know that you will be joined by the finest warriors the Kingdom has to offer.” The words of the King seemed to echo in the area, but as they faded, other conversations began. True to his word, the location appeared in their vision. Tiny crosshairs on his map covered the marker that showed the town where Joe was standing, making him feel like a sniper was staring at his entire guild.
Even after taking a moment to think about the ritual that he had redirected back onto the Wolfmen and wondering if it were the cause of so much death for them, Joe was the first to break the silence, “I guess we know what we are doing next.”
~ Chapter Thirty-five ~
“Alright everyone, calm down!” Aten called to the assembled guild members. “It looks like we only have a little over a week before we get attacked, so we need to hit the ground running. This is endgame level stuff going on, so we need to throw everything we have at these animals! Mess with the best…!”
“Die like the rest!” the waiting people shouted the end of the guild’s motto in reply then broke up to meet with their direct leaders. You could practically see Aten’s command skill increasing as he smiled and watched his people move to their tasks. The guild Commander caught Joe’s eye and motioned him over, much to his relief. Joe had been worried that his team would be asking questions of him that he didn’t have answers for.
“Joe, thank goodness. Anything you can do to help? Some kind of line or circle magic you can use to obliterate the incoming Wolfmen?” Aten sounded desperate though he kept his mask of confidence on. This was a side of him Joe hadn’t seen before, and unfortunately for him… Joe was completely unable to think of anything he could use on a large scale to help out even a little. Thoughts of digging wells or pits all over the place crossed his mind, but it was completely impractical.
“I’m really sorry to have to tell you this, big guy, but I’ve got nothing.” Joe was really feeling sick to his stomach with the fact that he could have been a Waritualist right now with literally stellar anti-army weaponry… and had instead chosen to fabricate pretty buildings. Could he create a defensive building before the enemy arrived? Joe dismissed this thought after a moment; it was probably too resource intensive for him to complete anything worth building.
“Really?” Aten’s expression shifted to doubtful. “You have nothing you can use to pull our keisters out of the fire? Some random… thing that you found in an ancient ruin somewhere?”
Joe gestured at the giant egg-building they were standing next to. “Most recent acquisition from an ancient ruin, Aten. I have pretty much nothing at all. I’m all out of tricks.”
Aten tapped his fingertips together for a second as he thought. “Here is how I see it. You run my ‘hail Mary’ squad, the last resort that insane people listen to; you are my Party Zero. So, your job is finding that last resort weaponry; use that one thing that no one else would think of or use without being desperate. We are going to work on defenses and prepare to be overrun by other guilds encroaching on our land. Get going.” Aten nodded at him sharply and strolled away, leaving Joe feeling a bit dazed.
Was that… trust? He really seemed to think Joe could figure something out, and Joe wanted to prove that he deserved that trust. He should rush off and… Aten’s leadership skill was messing with him, wasn’t it? Hmph. Still, just because he recognized the source didn’t mean the message was wrong. Joe walked back to his party and started discussing ways that they could contribute, to mixed results.
“Oh, come on, Joe! The Geneva Convention laws don’t apply here! I just need a few live Wolfmen to perfect the poison recipe, a dozen at the most-” Alexis was cut off as Jaxon jumped in.
“What if you dig really deep pits all over the battlefield-”
Bard jumped in, “Let ‘em come! They can taste mah axes!”
“Your singing would be enough, I bet,” Poppy stage whispered ‘quietly’.
“Guys, we need something stupidly large scale,” Joe interrupted the devolving conversation. “This is supposed to be pretty much the entirety of the Wolfman race on the warpath. Pits aren’t going to cover it, and a little poison isn’t going to slow them down.”
Alexis started speaking with a gleam in her eye, “What about a lot of poi-”
“Yes, if you can make it happen. You’ve got three days to make as much as possible, figure out what you need and get an expense report to the guild.” Joe rolled his eyes as she beamed, kissed Bard on the cheek, and ran off. “She’s a lot less shy nowadays.”
“It’s tae influence o’ high-charisma people around her constantly. Pulls her out of her shell.” Bard watched her fondly until she turned a corner. “She’s great.”
“I’m glad you get along with your girlfriend.” Poppy snorted at Bard’s glare. “Sorry to say that my abilities don't really add up to much in a large scale. I’d like the next couple of days to work on my skills. If you all haven’t noticed, there is a giant bonus of increased skill experience coming off of that building. Add that onto a well-rested bonus, and you’re looking at some insane increases.”
“Go for it, but try to help out around here if anyone needs you.” Joe sent Poppy off with a wave. “Bard?”
“Same thing for me, gonna work on mah skills, try ta eke out some large-scale buffs or debuffs.” Bard nodded at Joe, heading off in the same general direction that Alexis had gone. Jaxon cracked his knuckles and started toward a small group of people that were improperly carrying some equipment.
“Wait. No, come back…” Joe’s voice trailed off as Jaxon vanished at a sprint. “Alrighty, that covers about everyone, except… me. I guess I’ll go… study? Make paper? I don’t know. Or… should I go make this ritual?” He was referring to the ritual ‘Architect’s Fury’, of course. “I do have that other pet project I was working on a while back; I’d love to have ‘feather fall’…”
Thinking of the things he wanted to get done spurred on his motivation, and he looked at the various components that he needed in order to make the rituals he wanted to use. For such a high-level ritual, Architect’s Fury was surprisingly cheap to use. He needed to make a Student-ranked ritual–four circles–but the only components required beyond a large influx of mana were a mid-to-high grade beast Core and a ‘magical blueprint’. Joe was fairly certain that he could learn how to make magical blueprints on his own, but for now, he needed to figure out where he could buy them.
Out of other options and not having any vendors in the area that were selling anything remotely like what he needed, Joe decided to once again head to the city. He started walking toward the shrine but stopped himself and stared back at the egg-shaped Grand Ritual Hall. “I’ll bet a dozen gold that there is going to be a fast-travel point in there.” He turned and started walking but was knocked to the ground by an unexpected bl
ow to the side that was absorbed by the Exquisite Shell that he kept on at all times now.
“Get up!” Joe looked up to see Sir Bearington standing over him, eyes bloodshot and fur sprouting across his face. “You and I have unfinished bears-ness!”
Joe easily jumped to his feet and glowered at the ‘man’ who was slowly but obviously regressing into a bear. “Did you come here to finish me off, Bearington? Finish what we started in the dungeon?”
“What? No!” Sir Bearington drew back a few feet, looking a bit flustered. “I also didn’t mean to bear you to the ground with such a light tap; I was only attempting to get your attention. No, I… I need your help. My deity, the Lady Spriggan, is beginning to fade. With no shrines, no altars, no positions in a temple and only one champion, her power wanes too fast. I am here to beg for a position in your temple.”
“Sure, Bearington. How about this: we’ll make a quest out of it! All you need to do to get a position in the temple is go around and ask each guild member if they would like to have you there. I’m sure they will ask for reasonable favors in return for their vote of confidence.” Joe had no sympathy for this man-bear.
Sir Bearington growled deeply, and more fur sprouted across his face. “I have no time for these games. The time I spent transformed in the instant dungeon re-awoke my bestial self, and if I have no succor granted by the Lady Spriggan, my mind will once more become unbearably simple. I will revert to a not-so-simple animal. The form you saw in the dungeon is my true one. Do you wish an enemy of me?”
“So, let me see if I have this correct. You are threatening to become a raid boss in the middle of a cluster of guilds, all of whom are looking for any kind of method to gain a bit more experience or difficult-to-find materials? You are saying this to a champion who would likely gain a huge amount of favor and experience for your death?” Joe shook his head, and at his words, Bearington’s face fell into frightened contemplation. Joe could see that he had shaken Bearington’s confidence and made him realize how untenable his situation was. “Instead of threats, tell me why I would want you, or your deity, around my people.”
Sir Bearington’s eyes glazed over, and a green light shone in them. His voice, when he next spoke, was far more feminine and powerful, “In return for aid… I can offer you information that you need, a way for you to turn the tide of the upcoming battle. As it stands, you will be overrun. The timer you see is only the main portion of the Wolfman armies. The fastest of them, those that will test your defenses, will be here in three days.”
“I know your true status, Rituarchitect, and I am willing to part with knowledge that you will need. Beyond that, my power over nature, limited as it is for the time being, will help to balance the temple further. Water, darkness, fire… rage. Those are the current aspects of this location. All that is needed for this place to turn into a center devoted to evil is a few evil acts to be performed, and corruption will swallow this area. With war looming… evil acts are sure to follow. Your deity may even become an aspect of the eldritch instead of darkness. My influence will turn the aspects from the current path and combine to bless this area as a center of natural law, survival of the fittest empowering natural growth and defenses. Not to mention that you recently tried to kill me, and this would go a long way toward restoring my good will toward you.”
Now it was Joe’s turn to contemplate the information he had gained. “What is it that you are offering me directly? I admit the other portions sound good, but I am sure that all I would need to do to find a cleric of a more powerful nature deity is to take a short trip to the city.”
Sir Bearington’s body sighed. “I offer you the location of a manual. It contains a ritual that is simple in theory but was one of the greatest weapons of Ritualists long ago. This tome details the method to turn any spell into a ritual with the same effect. You want a warrior to throw fireballs? Hand him the completed ritual. You want to enchant weapons? Create a ritual zone that- *ack*” Sir Bearington dropped to the ground, coughing blood. “I have said too much without the needed fulfillment of obligations. Now is the time to choose, Rituarchitect.”
“Do I really have a choice?” Joe shook his head in frustration. “Save your power for now, Spriggan. Let’s go get you a shrine.” Joe helped Sir Bearington to his feet, or at least, he tried. The man was several hundred pounds and slowly growing larger. Together, they walked into the Grand Ritual Hall, making their way directly to the temple. Though there were a few people that watched them curiously, everyone was mainly focused on their training or assigned tasks.
Sir Bearington sprawled on the unadorned altar, scrambling for purchase as his strength began to fail him. He heaved a few deep breaths then turned his gaze on Joe. A capillary in his left eye had burst, filling the sclera with bright red blood. “We are… almost too late. I have no power. Please, donate your mana to make this work.”
Would you like to use your mana to fuel the transformation of this unused shrine into a shrine for deity: Spriggan? As no power will be coming from the champion or deity, four thousand mana is needed over the span of two minutes. Yes / No.
“Sneaky little…” Joe snarled in impotent rage and accepted the prompt. Mana began to flow out of him at a manageable rate, his regeneration easily able to keep pace with the power draw. First, the altar melted away. Then a tiny and detailed forest seemed to grow from the puddle of liquid stone. Joe wasn’t impressed until he saw that there were moving animals and that the trees seemed to sway in a breeze. It was a tiny forest, replicated to the smallest detail.
A feeling of awe in the air seemed to diminish. No… not ‘awe’, something… darker. The patterns in the temple became more wholesome, a feeling like being out in untamed nature filling the open space. Not safety exactly, but no longer a strangely overwhelming pressure. It was easier to breathe, possibly due to the plants that were growing around the room seemingly without rhyme or reason. The dark water flowing from Tatum’s book-altar now had a purpose, and small trees sprouted along the banks of the moat and small river that had formed.
Sir Bearington began to rapidly shrink, returning to a fully normal human form over the course of ten seconds. He looked around the room and nodded solemnly. “Thank you. We are in your debt.”
Joe cocked his head to the side. “I think that’s the first time you have ever spoken without slipping a bear pun into your speech.”
“Those foul puns were a sign of the Lady Spriggan’s power waning. It was unbea- no, it was terrible.” Sir Bearington seemed to fully relax. “Many thanks, Joe. Thank you for allowing us into your burgeoning pantheon. In terms of additional defenses, all of the plants in here have poison in the thorns and the small trees are very young treants. They will grow very strong and durable over time but for now must be protected. I will also be here to protect the area and will retain my mind during transformations now.”
“I am glad that this area is better protected, but while I hate to be abrupt I do need to get moving. Can you please get me the location of that tome I was promised?” Joe felt a bit awkward, but… there was an army approaching. Sir Bearington held out a beseeching hand toward the altar, and with a flash of green light, a small map appeared in his palm.
“That will direct you to the book. I must pass on a warning to you: it is well hidden and protected. Getting to this information will not be an easy task.” Bearington’s face was severe, his voice grave, “Truly, following this map may lead you to a fate worse than death.”
“All the more reason to get moving,” Joe spoke these words with confidence, not with arrogance. “I need to speak to my guild lea- um, Commander. My party members, as well. Thank you, and good luck. Protect our interests well.”
“No one will steal a shrine from me again,” Bearington stated with a pointed glance. Joe chuckled nervously. At least Bearington’s apparent lack of mana explained why the shrine hadn’t been re-converted or fixed up.
Now to get back to the original reason he had come to this place. Joe sat in the cen
ter of the room and closed his eyes, listening to his instincts as best as he could. He felt a small pull as his Hidden Sense kicked in, and he slowly stood and walked with his eyes closed. When the tickle in his mind was almost infuriating, he tripped over something and fell face first into the dark water in the room. His eyes popped open, and in the brief moment he was submerged, he saw a runic pattern he had become increasingly familiar with. After getting his head out of the water and taking a breath, he went back under and activated the fast travel point. It appeared on his list of travel locations, making him smile. His travel range was growing nicely.
Skill increased: Hidden Sense (Beginner III). Trust those mystical senses! They’ll never get you in trouble, I’m sure of it! Seems that closing your eyes is extra effective; do that extra often in dangerous areas!
Sloshing his way out of the water, he quickly went to talk to everyone he needed to, explaining both where he was going and to be watchful of preemptive Wolfman Assaults. By the time he was back in the temple, he was mostly dry and ready to go. The location he needed to go was deep in Ardania, far deeper in the city than he had ever needed to go before. Joe took one last excited breath and vanished.
~ Chapter Thirty-six ~
The trip to the location of the tome had not gone as he had wanted. Not. Even. Close. As he walked closer, the map he had been given proved itself to be magical. It zoomed in on his location, but just as he got close to finding the location the map was pointing to, he was forcibly stopped.
“Halt, citizen, or die where you stand! What are you doing here?” Thirteen pikes were leveled at him, most pointing at his heart, but the taller people had their weapon a little too close to his eyes for comfort. Joe, having just walked through what he assumed was a park in the city, was taken completely by surprise.
