World Tree Online: The Order of Epic Grinders: 4th Dive

by M. A. Carlson

  I was surprised when Sooty approached Micaela directly. The pair had a hushed conversation that ended when Sooty handed her a scroll. With a final nod he moved over to one of the two remaining wagons and began hitching up his oxen. When he finished one wagon, he started on the second, motioning Loral over.

  “Don’t worry about a thing, babe. We’ve got you covered,” Olaf promised.

  Micaela breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Great, now have you seen Penelope yet?”

  “Not yet,” Olaf replied.

  Micaela nodded. “Alright, thanks, love. I appreciate the help, everyone.”

  “Happy to help, Micaela,” Rose said, then added on my behalf, “And so is Jack.”

  I gave her an indignant look but before I could say anything, Micaela was speaking again. “Alright, good luck everyone. Sorry, I can’t give you all a quest for this yet, but I promise, as soon as the Order House is built, you’ll have more quests than you’ll know what to do with. For now, I need to go find my wayward daughter and her crazy friend.”

  “Good luck, babe,” Olaf said, giving Micaela a quick kiss.

  By this time, Sooty had his wagon set and moving, the four citizens sitting in the back. It seemed Loral was remaining with the other wagon and oxen team. I guessed she would be going with the group collecting lumber, Olaf did say some lumber was also stolen.

  “Let’s move out,” Olaf said, stepping alongside the wagon and moving with it.

  “Hey, Jacko,” Pwn said, stepping in line next to me.

  “What’s up Pwn?” I asked, curious as to what the mage could want.

  “So, at breakfast, Olaf and you mentioned some quests,” Pwn began. “Why aren’t we knocking those out first?”

  It was a reasonable question. I still might not like the guy very much, but I was going to try my hardest to get along with him. I could also appreciate that he waited to ask about the quests. He was of course welcome to ask when Olaf brought it up. I supposed he really was nervous about asking as the new guy. I answered, “The Order House grants a lot of privileges in Hurligville. Basically, the Order sort of takes over the city. Once the Order House is done, Micaela can help manage the town. Build walls, hire more guards, upgrade different buildings and things like that. I don’t know what Olaf has told you, but we’ve been informed that the undead will attack in a few days. It’s some kind of event where if we can hold off the undead long enough, the province will stabilize. The other side of the quest is to go to the source and take it out if we can.”

  Pwn nodded thoughtfully. “I see, then your group . . . Order plans to attack both quests?”

  “That’s the idea,” I said.

  “I guess that makes sense. I suppose I can accept doing a non-quest today,” Pwn said.

  “Not completely non-quest,” I said. “Remember what I said about gathering bits of the Undead Plague? Just about all the undead have some on their fangs, claws, and talons from what we’ve encountered so far. Plus, experience is experience.”

  “Too right about that,” Pwn agreed, then moved off to talk to Arch. Part of me wanted to follow and try to listen in, but that would have been rude. I would just ask Heath later. He was probably already eavesdropping.

  Once we were outside of Hurligville, things slowed down drastically. There was no road to the quarry, or if there was, it had long since been overgrown. Branches needed to be cleared along the way, fallen trees were removed with Olaf’s explosives, thickets were burned out by Pwn then stamped out so as not to start a forest fire. I don’t think the logistics of this were very well thought out before we left town.

  “I do hope Micaela chooses to build a proper road to the quarry,” Sooty said. “She will need it if she wants to build up the defense of Hurligville.”

  “Why?” Pwn asked.

  “The stone,” Sooty answered. “She will need the stone, both to build up her Order House and to build up the town.”

  “Can’t she just use wood?” Pwn asked.

  “She can, but it is not as sturdy,” Sooty replied.

  Pwn shrugged, “The city just needs to hold out for the invasion, right?”

  “You think this will be the only time Hurligville is invaded?” Sooty asked. “Undead today, adventurers tomorrow, and something worse the next. An Order House, and especially one that will boast as much prestige as these people have accumulated, is a mighty big target. But with great danger comes great reward. I, for one, cannot wait for some of those prestige bonuses from being a member of Micaela’s Order to take effect.”

  “What now?” Pwn asked, suddenly interested.

  “Prestige bonuses,” Sooty repeated.

  “And what are those?” Pwn asked.

  “The effects vary wildly. One might grant a bonus to spell damage and another a bonus to experience gains,” Sooty explained.

  Pwn’s eyes widened in surprise. “Hey, Olaf, Ollie big buddy,” he said, jogging up to walk next to the Minotaur.

  I just rolled my eyes.

  “What can I do for you, Pwn?” Olaf asked.

  “This Order of your wife’s, how does one join?” Pwn asked.

  “We haven’t really discussed criteria or anything, but just do your job and bringing you in shouldn’t be an issue,” Olaf said with a chuckle at Pwn’s sudden enthusiasm.

  I shook my head ruefully. I was getting the feeling that Pwn would be around for a long time to come.

  It took a few hours to cut a path to the quarry. Our once slow trip became even slower once we hit the first pack of undead wolves and condors. The good news was that between the dedicated healer and two additional damage dealers, they all died relatively quickly . . . then we used ‘Scavenging’ on the remains. Even with Sooty helping, it slowed us down significantly.

  As soon as the entrance to the quarry came into view but not close enough for anything in the quarry to spot us, Olaf spoke, “Heath, scout it out. Everyone else, buff as needed. As soon as Heath gets back, we’ll discuss how we want to proceed.”

  I sighed, glancing at my mana pool remorsefully, buffing everyone would take even longer now. I sighed again and got to casting.

  It took Heath a few minutes before he rejoined us.

  “What’s the verdict?” Olaf asked as soon as the Thief appeared from ‘Stealth’.

  “Undead Quarrymen, they seem to be between level 20 and 25. There are Undead Foremen wandering between the groups, they are level 28 or 29 from what I saw, and they seem to be able to sense me if I get too close. I couldn’t see what was at the bottom,” Heath reported.

  “Great, undead people,” Olaf complained. “Okay, how big are the groups?”

  “Three or four quarrymen per group,” Heath answered.

  “Any spellcasters?” Rose asked.

  “Not that I saw. A foreman might be a caster, won’t really know until we take them on,” Heath answered.

  “Alright, Rose, I want them pulled out of the quarry to start,” Olaf said. “If the foremen are patrolling, it should limit our risk.”

  “You got it,” Rose said, stalking toward the entrance, her shields put away for the moment. At the start of the quarry ramp she stopped, the telltale red glow from her hands indicating she was casting ‘Drain Life’.

  “Got four and a foreman,” Rose shouted, stepping back from the quarry, and donning her shields.

  Olaf groaned from next to me. Clearly, he was hoping to fight the quarrymen without a foreman to start.

  “I’ll use ‘Heavenly Blade’ on the foreman,” I said, keeping my eyes on the quarry, waiting for the undead to come streaming up. But they never came.

  “Rose, are you sure you actually hurt one?” Olaf asked.

  “Yes, I’m sure,” Rose said, frowning. She tentatively moved back to the quarry entrance. “What the hell? They are back at work,” she said, looking back to Olaf for instruction.

  “Try again?” Olaf half-asked, half-suggested.

  Rose frowned and put her shields away and prepared to cast her spell.

&n
bsp; Before Rose could cast, Olaf added, “This time do it without a foreman.”

  Rose nodded absentmindedly before unleashing her spell. “Just four quarrymen this time,” she said, taking a few steps away from the quarry.

  This time, the head an came into view, only to suddenly slow and stop at the entrance. He then turned around and walked back out of view.

  “They are bound to the quarry,” I said, figuring out what happened. Being bound to the quarry meant that they couldn’t leave the quarry. If they got close to the exit of the quarry, they would drop aggro and return to what they were doing. It also usually healed them to full if they hit the border of their aggro zone. It usually acted as a barrier of sorts as well, keeping any monsters outside of the quarry from entering. Though, who knew if that was the case in the World Tree.

  “Great,” Olaf intoned sarcastically. “Alright, let’s get up close and personal. I still want to fight them near the exit of the quarry until we get more space to operate.”

  With that, we all moved up to the entrance of the quarry, even Sooty and the workers Micaela assigned to help.

  Just a few meters into the quarry was a group of four undead. They were definitely humanoid and undead but there were no distinguishing features that could have told me what they were when they were alive. They didn’t look male or female, though the lack of hair suggested male. They had rags of clothes on, but their skin appeared to have been flayed from their bodies. Without the normal identifiers for male or female, I wouldn’t be able to tell what they were without stripping them and I had no interest in that.

  “Rose, on you,” Olaf said, nodding toward the closest group.

  Rose stepped into the quarry and cast her spell and once again, the group of four undead quarrymen came running. Not shambling like most zombies in movies, but really running . . . and they were armed with mining picks.

  I cast ‘Heavenly Blade’ on the closest , pinning it to the ground while the other three streamed around it.

  Rose was quick to intercept the three undead. “Come get me, zombie chow,” she taunted all three, blocking the picks swinging for her with ease.

  As soon as I pinned one of them with ‘Heavenly Blade’, I started casting ‘Holy Lightning’.

  “Red, duck!” Pwn shouted, unleashing a black ball of flames.

  Thankfully, Rose did exactly as she was asked, and just in time as the black ball of fire flew over her head. It impacted an then fanned out from the point of impact, engulfing the other two undead. The quarryman that took the impact was almost incinerated by the cast and was definitely dead. The other two were barely hanging on.

  My cast finished and a flash of white lightning came down, splitting once as it traveled, finishing what Pwn started.

  “Well that worked,” Rose said, peaking over her shields.

  “Last one is mine,” Olaf said, moving toward the pinned . He didn’t bother with his hand-cannons. Instead, he pulled his maul from his back, he wound it up big and brought it down on the head of the pinned undead. It broke my spell but didn’t kill it. It didn’t seem to matter though as Olaf’s attack left a dazed effect. Two more swings at the prone zombie and it was dead.

  “Feel better now?” Rose asked.

  “Yes, as a matter of fact I do,” Olaf replied. “It’s been a few days since I killed a monster. I was going through withdrawals.”

  Rose nodded in mock understanding, then asked, “Can we move on now?”

  “I suppose,” Olaf replied, wiping the zombie from his maul onto the zombie’s clothes.

  “Sooty, you’re up,” I said. “Rose, let’s keep moving.”

  Rose was already moving on to the next group on the opposite side of the quarry entrance. “Pulling,” she shouted, casting her spell, and attracting a group of five quarrymen.

  Once again, I pinned one and started casting ‘Holy Lightning’. I wanted to level the spell up and see if I couldn’t get it to fork to more targets. Plus, it really did a lot of damage.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pwn creating another ball of black fire. Though this time he didn’t tell Rose to duck. I was worried for a moment before I saw him lob the ball of black fire. It arced through the air before coming down behind the group of four and exploding like a small bomb, damaging all four zombies, and lighting them on fire, leaving behind the debuff ‘Void Burns’. A debuff I knew only too well, having experienced it firsthand. Nothing died this time, at least, not until I finished casting my ‘Holy Lightning’ spell and took out two of them.

  “Do all your spells leave behind that ‘Void Burns’ debuff?” I asked, preparing to leap into the fray.

  “Only the good ones,” Pwn said, charging up a regular orange-red fireball in an open hand.

  I made a note to ask later as I leaped in, hammering my spear down on the most damaged of the two undead that remained. I used ‘Shift’ to move just slightly to my left then cast ‘Holy Blast’, my small move giving me the angle to hit both undead quarrymen. The attack nearly killed my target and weakened the other. The other was hit by a regular fireball taking most of its remaining HP. A twin blast of noise and the two undead quarrymen were dead once more.

  “Ah, that felt good,” Olaf said, already working to reload his hand-cannons.

  “There is still one left,” Rose reminded us, pointing to the pinned zombie.

  I shrugged and cast ‘Holy Fire’ extending the time it was pinned as well as increasing the damage it was taking.

  “Slow roasted zombie, anyone?” Pwn asked with a laugh of amusement.

  “Just kill it already,” Olaf ordered.

  I nodded and started casting ‘Holy Smite’.

  Spell: Holy Smite

  Level: 100

  Experience: N/A

  Description: A simple attack spell dealing Holy damage.

  Spell Damage: -105-110-HP

  Spell Cast Speed: 1.50-seconds

  Range: 20-yards

  Spell Effect (Active): Smite a single target with holy damage.

  Mana Cost: -210-MP

  It still wasn’t the most powerful spell, but it was inexpensive and did the trick. Even if it took three casts, it was enough to finish off the last of the group.

  “Think we can get one of the foremen next?” Olaf asked.

  Rose nodded. “No problem,” she said, starting to cast already.

  The foreman was hit when he was between two groups of quarrymen. I expected him to come running at us. Instead, he stopped and turned to look at us with milky white eyes. Then he did something unpleasant. He ran to the nearest group of quarrymen and pointed at us, starting them running in our direction.

  “That was unexpected,” Rose complained, equipping her shields again and preparing to meet the charging undead. However, I was still focused on the foreman. He wasn’t charging with the quarrymen. Instead, he was running toward the next group of quarrymen.

  “We need to stop him,” I shouted, leaping into the air, and hitting the foreman with ‘Holy Shock’, stunning him momentarily. Unfortunately, it was already too late, he had reached the next group. I landed and immediately began casting ‘Boar Charge’, covering the and the four undead quarrymen, knocking them to the ground repeatedly, trying to buy my friends the time they needed to finish off the other group. But it wasn’t enough. My ‘Boar Charge’ ended and there were still two quarrymen and the foreman left. They were hurt and the two quarrymen were almost dead, but the foreman was barely under half of his HP remaining.

  I finally used my ‘Spell Preparation’ stored spell ‘Holy Lightning’, using the now instant cast holy powered lightning bolt, targeting one of the weakened quarrymen, hoping the spell fork would take out both of them. I wasn’t that lucky. The fork split and hit the foreman, dropping his HP a little further.

  I hoped at least that the foreman would not be fully aggroed on me, but he started running again.
/>   “Oh no you don’t,” I said, leaping again, landing just in front of the foreman who barreled into me, causing us both to tumble to the ground. I didn’t even try to climb back to my feet, I placed an open palm against the foreman’s chest and fired ‘Holy Blast’ at pointblank. A critical strike, the enlarged -2753-HP that floated up from the body made me smile. I would have smiled brighter if the hit had actually killed it.

  As if to add insult to injury, the zombie I left alive chose that moment to tackle me off the foreman. The foreman, now freed from my weight, climbed back to his feet, and started to run again. I couldn’t do anything to stop him this time. ‘Holy Shock’ and ‘Holy Blast’ were both still on cooldown. I feebly cast ‘Holy Fire’ but I knew its damage over time effect wouldn’t be enough to stop it before it reached the next group.

  I never thought I would be so glad to see a ball of black fire flying over me and impacting the foreman’s back, killing it before it could get to the next group. I would have breathed a sigh of relief, but I still had an pressing down on me, trying to bite me. I punched into its side getting a meager -5-HP. I looked around for help only to see my friends all standing there . . . watching.

  “Are you going to help me?” I snapped, dodging my head to the side to avoid a lunging bite from the zombie.

  “Nah, looks like you got this, mate,” Olaf said.

  I growled. I couldn’t believe they were just watching . . . then again, they were my friends. I don’t know why I was so surprised. I continued punching the zombie when I could until the 10-second cooldown on my ‘Holy Blast’ came to an end. I punched one last time and unleashed ‘Holy Blast’ at the same time. The undead quarryman was thrown off of me and landed in an unmoving heap.

  “See, I told you, you got it,” Olaf said, smirking.

  I laid on the ground for a few seconds longer. I wasn’t breathing heavily from the exertion of fighting it off. I wasn’t hurt or injured. I was . . . very irritated and didn’t want to lash out at my friends. That said, I’m sure if the situation were reversed, I would have been laughing right along with them. That thought helped me calm down.