by Alex Mulder
“You’re the one who convinced me to leave the cabin,” said Luke. “We already tried running away once. It didn’t work.”
Tess leaned her head against his shoulder, and then kissed him softly on the cheek.
“I guess…” She shrugged. “I’m just getting a little sick of all the fighting.”
I’m sick of it, too. It’s too easy for me now.
The three of them continued downriver for another hour or so. Luke enjoyed the feeling of being carried by the fast moving current. It gave him a sense of clearly defined direction.
“Alright, here comes the sketchy part!” yelled Kaoru.
Luke raised an eyebrow, and then looked forward at the river ahead of them. He saw the water continuing straight forward, but a strange mist splashed up from it after a few hundred yards.
That’s… the waterfall!
“Kaoru!” Luke rushed over to where the woman stood next to the rudder. “Are you crazy?”
“Just relax,” she said. “It’s not that high, and there weren’t many rocks at the bottom, from what I could see.”
“You’re insane.” Luke shook his head and considered grabbing Tess and going overboard.
“Tess!” Kaoru called. “I need something special!”
Tess ran over, and Kaoru whispered something into her ear. Luke moved to bring Tess over to the side of the boat, where it would be at least a bit safer, but she pulled away.
“Don’t worry, Luke,” she said. “I think this will work.”
It felt a bit like waiting on the tracks for an approaching train. They crawled closer to the waterfall, bit by bit, until it was right in front of them. Luke gritted his teeth. Tess started chanting.
As soon as the ship started to tilt over the drop off, her spell hit. Everything, the ship and everyone on it, slowed down significantly. From Luke’s perspective, it felt like the outside world had sped up.
The result was the same, either way. The ship slowly dropped through the air, just out of reach of the turbulent crash of the waterfall. Luke could feel himself slipping forward on the deck, but he grabbed onto the mast and held himself steady.
It felt like the fall went on for an eternity, but it was actually no more than a second of real time. The ship’s bow crashed into the water, which still moved at regular speed. Several waves splashed over the side, but the ship was buoyant enough to pull back into a safe angle for sailing before it took on too much water. Luke watched with his mouth agape.
Time snapped back to normal. He finished the shout that he’d started at the top of the falls. Tess and Kaoru were both laughing at his expense.
“Tell me next time you have something like this planned!” He glared at them, but couldn’t stop a relieved smile from sneaking onto his face.
“It wouldn’t have been as much fun,” said Kaoru. “I wish cameras existed in Yvvaros so I could have gotten physical evidence of what your face looked like just now.”
Luke walked over to the front of the boat. They’d taken on a bit of water, enough to soak into his boots as he moved. He picked up a wooden bucket and began bailing.
It was relatively smooth sailing after that. The river stopped curving quite as sharply, and the three of them were able to relax and enjoy the trip. It was leisurely, and given what they were sailing toward, the ease of it made Luke a little anxious.
I have to be ready for anything. We’ve already had too many close calls.
Kaoru whooped as the fishing boat reached the mouth of the river. The eastern ocean looked infinite from the edge of the coast. Luke’s castaway island was just over the horizon, and thinking about how far he’d sword stepped over Grip Scourge infested waters made his palms sweaty.
“The quickest way for us to get to Azanora Island is to follow the coast north, and then west,” said Kaoru.
“It’s not exactly going to be a quick journey, with this dinky sail,” said Luke. Kaoru glared at him, as if taking his comment personally.
“We’ll get there,” she said.
The boat lazily sailed to the north. Birds flew by in perfectly ordered flocks, headed to and from the continent. The waves gently rocked the craft up and down.
Luke watched as the northern reaches of the Msitu Wilds slowly began to thin out. The cutoff between where trees and grass could grow was sharp and sudden. Beyond that point, he could see frost on the ground, and further beyond that, snow.
The air became cold and icy, biting in through every uncovered area in Luke’s armor. The wind was constant and unrelenting. Luke remembered how cold the northern Blue Void had been, but this was a different kind of cold, moist and variable, unlike the dry, persistent weather of the inner continent.
“Jeez,” whispered Tess, through chattering teeth. “I… I wasn’t expecting this.”
Luke nodded. He still had vivid memories of their last trip to the north, traveling through the thick snow and enduring avalanches.
“We shouldn’t be up this way for too long,” he said. “Right, Kaoru?”
Kaoru looked over at him and frowned. She stared out ahead of the boat, and Luke spotted what had put her into such a dour mood.
Tiny patches of ice covered the sea in the areas nearest to the northern coast. They could avoid them, but it would involve sweeping further to the north, and lose them time.
“No problem,” said Luke. “I have an idea.”
He pulled out his sword and walked over to the front of the boat.
CONJURE SWORD 4
ELEMENTAL INFUSION: FIRE
Luke used his Elemental Infusion to set his primary weapon alight, keeping the rest uninfused. He pushed them out in front of the boat and began sword stepping his way forward.
“Be careful,” yelled Tess.
With careful, slow swings, Luke began to melt a path for them through the ice. Each time he moved, his conjured swords threatened to give way underneath him. Only by focusing on balancing was he able to clear the path continuously.
“Nice!” Kaoru nodded appreciatively to him. Luke waved a hand back at her and Tess, and then pushed further ahead, ostensibly focused on melting ice. The distance gave him a moment to be alone with his thoughts.
I’m doing it again. Pushing forward, running at high speed, and endangering the people closest to me in the process.
He tightened his grip on his sword and chopped into the ice, feeling the recoil running up the blade. Luke took a step, moving a conjured blade into the empty air almost unconsciously to catch his foot.
It took him about ten minutes to make it to the other side of the ice crust, and another five to widen the path for the boat’s security. After that, Luke hurried back and joined his friends on the deck.
CHAPTER 19
“We’ll have to camp here for the night.”
Kaoru stood at the front of the boat, holding a rope. It was too small of a vessel to warrant the inclusion of an anchor, and instead, she’d steered the ship in close to one of the small, seasonally frigid islands in the northern section of the Western Ocean.
The sun was setting off in the distance, standing out against the backdrop of an infinite ocean. It was still cold, but the temperature had risen slightly and then stabilized as the three of them passed further to the west along Yvvaros’s northern coast.
“Alright,” said Luke. He watched as Kaoru looped the rope around a frozen tree trunk and then threaded the other side around the ship’s mast.
“Are we going to sleep on the shore?” asked Tess.
Luke nodded.
“The ground might be a bit colder, but at least this way we can build a fire.”
They set up camp on the island, which was no more than a couple hundred feet across in diameter. Luke erected the tent while Kaoru built the fire and Tess gathered the last of their food supplies for dinner.
We’ve spent so many nights like this. I don’t even have to think about it anymore.
Luke logged out for a couple of minutes to take care of his body in the real world. He knew
from experience that he could sleep in Yvvaros without much issue, setting aside cramps in his body and a loss of REM sleep. After logging back in, he set up his bedroll in between Tess and Kaoru’s within the tent, and closed his eyes.
The morning arrived without any fanfare. Luke awoke and immediately pulled himself up. It almost felt as though the first half hour of the day played out in reverse of the previous night. The three of them ate, and each shouldered part of the responsibility of striking down camp.
“At the speed we’re going at, we can get to Azanora by midday,” said Kaoru.
Luke nodded. There was a hidden implication behind her words that he couldn’t ignore.
I’m the one who led us here. It’s my responsibility to make sure we get through this alive.
“We’ll set ashore on the northern edge of the island,” said Luke. “I… honestly don’t know what we’ll find.”
Tess walked up next to him and handed him a tiny slice of bread, leftovers from the night before. Luke wasn’t hungry, but he ate it for the sake of keeping his stamina up.
“I don’t know either,” said Kaoru. “None of the players, myself included, ever reached a high enough level to stand a chance beyond the shore.”
Luke didn’t say anything. It didn’t matter whether they were at a high enough level or not. None of the usual game constraints mattered anymore.
“We’ll be okay,” he said.
“Yeah.” Tess came up next to him and set her hand on his shoulder. “We will.”
They finished striking camp, and then waded out through the water to the boat. Luke pulled himself up first and then helped Tess and Kaoru onto deck.
Traveling by boat seemed natural to Luke, even after only a few forays out into the open ocean. Yvvaros didn’t have many options for convenient fast travel. Surrounded by water, most relevant locations on the continent were accessible by boat.
A number of small islands littered the water to the south of them. The fishing boat could only move so fast, and the journey felt drawn out. To Luke, that wasn’t a bad thing. He could almost pretend that it was leisurely.
“What do you think we’re going to find?” Tess was standing next to him. She asked the question in an intentionally steady voice.
“I don’t know.” Luke wrinkled his brow. “We’re heading into the unknown, Tess. I’m not going to lie to you.”
She stared at him.
“This…” Tess shook her head. “It feels desperate, Luke. I feel like we’re-”
“We’re saving Yvvaros,” said Luke. “That’s all there is to it.”
Anything less to that would be the end. I have to be sure of it.
Tess didn’t say anything, and that was exactly what Luke was hoping for.
Kaoru steered the fishing boat around the last small island. The waves crashed against the hull as she brought it in toward the shore.
What… is that?
Azanora Island was unusual, even by the standards of Yvvaros. From a distance, it looked normal. As the boat drew closer, the surreal nature of the landscape announced itself in vibrant colors and strange proportions.
The grass was too tall. Luke had to stare at it for a couple of minutes to fully understand. It was at least twice his own standing height, high enough for each blade to cast an intimidating shadow.
The trees were the same, extending up to heights that spanned the spectrum of skyscrapers in the physical world. The leaves adorning each one looked like artificial sunshades. Fruit hung from branches, large enough to make Luke wonder how the stem managed to support it.
“This…” whispered Kaoru. “Is not what I was expecting.”
Luke smiled.
I love this world.
Kaoru ran the fishing boat aground against the sand. The three of them hopped into the shallow water and pulled the boat up onto the sand. Wind blew toward the shore, causing the tall grass ahead of them to bend and sway in the manner of tall trees.
“Azanora Island is big,” said Tess. “It’s almost the size of the Burning Coast, on its own.”
Luke nodded.
“We should get a view of what we’re headed into first,” he said. “And then we can set out.”
He walked forward, toward the grass, and pushed a hand into the densely grown strands. It parted easily enough, and the edges were soft and blunt. If they had to, they could push through it, but finding or making a path would be preferable.
Luke jogged down the beach until he found one of the mammoth, towering trees. The topmost branches were high enough up that he had to shield his eyes from the noontime sun.
CONJURE SWORD 4
Using his magical blades, he sword stepped his way up, spiraling around the trunk. Most of the leaves on it were star shaped in an odd manner, and they’d begun to turn yellowish, and in some cases brown.
It must be autumn here. My favorite season.
He grabbed onto the highest branch. On a regular tree, he’d have to concern himself with whether or not the branch could hold him. Here, even the thinnest branches were thicker than he was tall.
Most of the area to the south of them was filled with high grass, and giant trees poking up out of it at regular intervals. Luke could hear birds, and see movement in the grass. An entire ecosystem of life waiting for them. He chewed his lip, fearing the assumption that waited on the tip of his tongue.
The monsters here will be supersized, too.
In the distance, he could see a medium sized hill that poked up from the center of the island. It was hard for Luke to tell how large it was, due to the perspective. The trees were taller than it, but the trees were taller than everything.
He jumped from the branch, using a sword flat under each foot to slow his fall significantly. Tess and Kaoru were waiting for him one the ground.
“Well?” asked Kaoru.
Luke nodded.
“We head south,” he said.
CHAPTER 20
Cutting through the high grass was easier in theory than in practice. Luke tried it a couple of times with his physical sword, making it through a half dozen blades of the stuff before the momentum of his swings was sapped by the sheer density of it.
“I could always use my Elemental Infusion again,” he said. The words felt stupid immediately after leaving his mouth. Lighting the grass on fire was the last thing they wanted to do.
“I have an idea,” said Tess. She dug through her pack for a moment, pulling out a short staff that Luke recognized.
“That’s your gust rod, right?” he asked. “How’s that going to help us?”
“The grass moves easily enough in the wind,” she said. “I’m betting a concentrated blast of it will give us exactly what we want.”
She walked forward to the spot where Luke had been hacking into the grass. With the tip of the staff leveled forward into the waving green, she chanted something, and the wind immediately shifted forward at high speed.
The grass parted in some places and bent in others. It reminded Luke of the way pushing through waist high vegetation under normal circumstances would create a trail behind a person. He could see forward a few hundred feet, and was a bit surprised by how effective the spell had been.
“Perfect,” said Kaoru.
The traveling was still slow, with all of them having to squeeze through gaps in the bowed grass in some spots, and climb over clumps of it in others. They made progress, however, and at a much faster speed than they could’ve otherwise.
“Why haven’t we heard anything about this place?” asked Luke. “You’d think there would be a story or two from a brave player willing to take the risk.
“Yeah, it’s strange…” mused Kaoru. “I did talk to some. Usually their stories ended with their boats being turned away by the current on approach, taking them back to the continent or toward one of the smaller islands nearby.”
Tess moved to the front of the group again as they reached the end of the area she’d first cleared. She used the rod’s wind magic again, and
extended the bent grass path in front of them.
“We’ll have to watch our path behind us,” said Luke. “This grass goes on for long enough to make it easy for us to get-”
“Shhhh!” Tess put a hand up and pointed to the grass in front of them. Something was moving in it. Luke tightened his grip on the sword and positioned himself at the front of the group.
The creature that burst from the grass was hard to make out at first. It was green, and blended in almost perfectly with its surroundings.
CHIME MANTIS: A large, insectoid monster capable of jumping and flying short distances. It’s claws are razor sharp, and its name comes from the sound they make when they cut through grass.
“Get ready!” Luke still had his conjured swords on hand and pulled them forward to shield as the Chime Mantis hurled itself into the air. It landed directly in front of him, swinging a scythe shaped arm at his head.
The arm cut through the grass, and Luke heard the chime. His swords blocked the attack, but the creature was quick. Luke blocked a follow up blow from the other side and leaned into a combat stance.
PIERCE ATTACK 4
He crashed forward into the Chime Mantis, stabbing his blade deep into the monster’s abdomen. It swung at him again, digging into the meat of Luke’s thigh and dealing more than half his health bar in damage. Luke growled and pulled his swords down, skewering the Chime Mantis with all four of the blades at once.
A healing spell from Tess brought him back up to three quarters health. Another chime sounded from the grass to the side of him. Kaoru moved forward just in time to stop another mantis from engaging Luke from behind, pulling her whips down as she activated an ability that he didn’t recognize.
The first Chime Mantis leapt up into the air. Luke pulled his swords back and began sword stepping after it. From above, he could see where it had landed, and immediately froze.
There were dozens of them, and they were on their way toward him and his friends, likely drawn in by the sound of the initial chime. Luke dropped down to the ground next to Tess and Kaoru faster than he should have, feeling his knees threaten to rebel as he landed hard on his legs.
