Rodger sighed, then asked, waggling the eyebrows of his childlike face suggestively, “Sure you don’t want to find a broom closet with me?”
“Again, yuck,” Baby replied. “And second, double yuck.”
“How about you, Icy, want to join me?” Rodger pestered the sister.
Icy and Fiery both glared at Rodger before Icy stated, “I’ll kill you.”
“You don’t need to be mean about it,” Rodger pouted.
It was Baby’s turn to sigh. “Apparently, we do because you’re just not listening when we tell you otherwise.”
Rodger shrugged. “Eventually, I’ll wear one of you down. You won’t be able to help yourselves. I promise, you’ll find me irresistible.”
Baby snorted a laugh. “Just keep telling yourself that.”
“Oh, I do,” Rodger replied. Rodger struck Baby as someone young. Younger than Bye-bye even. She guessed he was either eighteen or nineteen, though he often acted like he was sixteen.
Ten minutes later, Baby complained again, “I can’t wait for this quest to be over.”
“Got somewhere important to be?” Rodger asked.
“As a matter of fact, I do,” Baby answered. “My sister and our friends are waiting on me for another quest.”
Rodger hummed, “Need a Storm Sage to help you out?”
“I’ll let you know,” Baby promised placatingly, closing her eyes and rubbing at her temples. The boy just didn’t know when to quit.
Baby’s eyes shot back open when she heard a strangled cry from Rodger. There was another person standing behind him, a garrote around his neck, strangling him. She had a spell on the tip of her tongue when she felt a noose tighten around her own neck. A quick glance the other way and she saw Icy and Fiery in similar situations. Within seconds, all four of them were dead.
Killer One Lvl 30 does 75-damage to you with strangulation.
Killer One Lvl 30 has murdered you. You will be automatically transported and revived at the nearest graveyard.
“Well, that sucked,” Rodger complained as soon as Baby revived. “I never even saw the stealthy scumbags coming.”
“Neither did I,” Baby replied, only to be interrupted by a quest notification.
Class Quest Alert: Protect this Door with your Life (Recommended Level 29-32) – Failed!
The Grand Fairy Sage Delilah has tasked you with guarding a door inside the Royal Fairy Tree. She has not told you what is behind the door. Only that it must be guarded at all costs.
Penalty: Significant Loss of Reputation with the Royal Fairy Faction, Loss of Reputation with all Fae
“Ouch,” Rodger said, his eyes staring off into space suggesting he got the same message. Then he complained, “I wish reputation had a numerical display of some kind.”
“What does it mean, ‘Significant’?” Fiery asked.
“Not sure,” Baby replied, then added, “Let’s get back and see what the damage is.” Hopefully, there would be another quest to make up for it. She gave a mental sigh as she accepted that it would be even longer before she could rejoin her friends. It had already been a week since they split up.
It wasn’t a wasted week. She had gained several levels to her spells and even a few actual levels. She even learned a new area of effect healing and buff spell called ‘Bountiful Land’. Ever since Bye-bye had taught her how to dig for quests, she’d really taken to it. In the last week, she had completed nearly thirty quests related to the Fae. Sure, most of them were simple fetch quests or social quests, but they all gave experience. When the Grand Sage approached her the day before, singing her praises for all the good work she’d been doing, and then offered her this quest, she was excited. It seemed doing all those quests had an additional benefit.
The actual quest was boring and should have been easy. It was inside the Royal Fairy Tree, which was heavily guarded, both by guards and also by powerful magics. And being inside the Royal Fairy Tree meant only the Fae could get to it. And what Fae would dare to assault the Royal Fairy Tree? Or try to steal from it? So, Baby didn’t take it very seriously. She didn’t put up any precautions or protections around herself or the door. And now, they failed the quest.
When Baby and Rodger reached the main entrance to the Royal Fairy Tree, two Sprites in Wooden Armor barred their path with two crossed spears.
“You have been barred from the Royal Fairy Tree,” one of the two Sprites stated. “Leave now, or we will be forced to remove you.”
“Aw, come on, man, it was bad luck,” Rodger tried to argue. “We can fix the problem if you give us a chance.”
“Leave now,” the other guard spat angrily.
“Just give us a chance,” Rodger tried again.
The guard seemed to snap at that. “Give you a chance? Give you a chance? The Grand Sage gave you a chance to protect our most precious- And you think you deserve another chance?”
“We can’t make it right, if you don’t,” Rodger said.
“Just go,” the first guard said, trying to restrain his partner.
“Can you at least tell us, what was stolen?” Baby asked. If they could find that out, they would at least have some where to start.
“The Fairy Seed,” the other guard snapped. “The first Fairy Seed in a thousand years and you let it get stolen.”
“And what is a Fairy Seed?” Fiery asked.
The same guard asked hotly, “Where do you think the Fairy Trees come from?”
“That is enough, Tolin,” the first guard said, then addressing the four Fairy adventurers, he stated, “You all need to leave. You are not welcome here any longer.”
Baby nodded, “Okay, we’ll go.”
“But Baby,” Icy protested.
“We’ll go,” Baby insisted, trying her best to usher the others away.
Once they were a fair distance from the angry guards and the tree, Rodger asked, “Did you get a quest?”
“Nope,” Baby said with a grin. “But I do have a self-imposed quest. It’s one you three are welcome to join me on. If you’re interested.”
“You want to go after the stolen seed,” Icy said. It wasn’t a question.
“Yes, if you want to join me, I’m going to recover that seed. I’m going to fix my reputation. And I hope all of you will help me do that,” Baby said, looking to the other three Fairies, one by one.
Rodger shrugged, “I guess I’m in. Nothing better to do.”
“We’re in,” Icy and Fiery said together.
“Okay then, first things first. We need a clue,” Baby said.
“Makes sense,” Rodger said. “How do we find one?”
“I write a letter,” Baby said, smiling. She knew exactly who to ask. “I have friends in low places . . . very, very, very low places,” she finished emphatically, with a sad shake of her head. “While we wait for my friend to reply, we can ask around and see if anyone saw anything suspicious, like four Fae running from the tree as if their lives depended on it.”
“I think they were Sprites,” Icy said. “I didn’t see wings on them. But I didn’t see any faces either. My death message said someone named Tiny Deathdealer killed me.”
“Hidden Dagger got me,” Fiery said.
“I didn’t see wings or faces either,” Rodger said. “Black Fae did me in.”
“Killer One got me. I also didn’t see faces,” Baby said, making a note of the names. “Alright, I’ll go to the nearest inn and send my letter. I’ll be back shortly,” Baby said, zipping off.
Unfortunately, no one in the area saw anything. Eventually, Baby worked up the nerve to ask the guards if anyone came out of the Fairy Tree after the heist. She was lucky to get an answer. No one had left. When she considered it might have been another player, she asked if anyone other than the four of them had disappeared to which they confirmed none did. When she asked about the four players the guards shook their heads. She just hoped Heath would be able to help.
Fortunately, Heath’s reply came the next morning. The beauty of in game mail w
as that it only took a few hours to find the recipient. In his letter, Heath told her to go to a place called the Jaeger Bard Bar in Ring 8, Northeast 7 and ask for Kimm. He then told her to ask Kimm for help finding a fence named Fence. She was then to give Fence the letter he also sent with his letter, this one obviously addressed to ‘Fence’.
Baby grumbled when she saw the alley leading to the entrance of the Jaeger Bard Bar. “I should have known it would be something seedy like this.”
“Uh, are you sure we can trust this guy?” Rodger asked, looking at the less than reputable alley that had several thuggish looking NPCs loitering about.
“Yes?” Baby said, sounding more like a question.
“If they mess with us,” Fiery started, “I’ll freeze them all to death.”
“Whatever,” Icy said with a roll of her eyes.
Baby still giggled when she learned about the kind of Mages the brother and sister duo were. Icy was a Fire Mage while Fiery was an Ice Mage. One of the few times she had gotten either of them to speak was when they talked about their classes and their sneaky approach. If you had a name like Fiery, it would be expected you would use fire element magic. But, if you cast Ice magic instead, no one would expect it. So he and Icy did just that, learned magic that was the opposite element of their names. It was kind of ingenious.
Baby mustered her courage and fluttered into the alley, ignoring the looks she was getting from those present. She was kind of grateful the other three were flying right next to her and staying close.
Mustering her courage one more time, Baby gently knocked on the door. “Oh well, nobody’s home. Can’t say we didn’t try,” she said quickly, ready to fly away. As she turned to leave, she noticed the thugs had closed in around them, leaving up as the only way out. A path she was prepared to take until the door swung open behind her.
“Chuck, leave them alone. Trust me when I say, you don’t want to be messing with Fairy magic,” a woman snapped. “And Larry, put the knife away or no drinks for you tonight.”
“Aww, but . . . but-” the thug named Larry tried to protest only to huff and put the knife back in its sheath and shouted angrily, “Fine!”
“That goes for the rest of you as well,” the woman insisted.
Baby finally turned to face the girl.
“Now, what do a flock of Fairies want with my bar?” Kimm asked, studying the small group.
“Heath sent us,” Baby answered quickly.
Kimm raised a single eyebrow. “Is he in trouble?”
“I don’t think so,” Baby answered.
“Then he’s going to be,” Kimm said, turning back inside and waving for them to follow her.
The bar was dark, dingy, and dirty. “Definitely Heath’s kind of place,” Baby commented to herself as they entered the main room. On the stage, an old man sat on a stool, plucking at a guitar softly. She read his nameplate,
Kimm snorted back a laugh, “Alright, now I believe you at least know Heath. Why did he send you my way?”
Baby passed his letter over to her. It was faster than trying to explain everything. She watched Kimm read the letter, seeing the young woman start getting angry as she got near the end of it. “That no good, dirty, rotten . . . Thief!” Kimm grumbled. “I don’t think Heath would send you to me unless it was important. Least of all to go see Fence of all people. I just finally got out of debt with that filthy little scoundrel. Are you sure it’s that important?”
“Very,” Baby replied confidently.
Kimm took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Fine, let’s go. But you make sure you let Heath know he owes me, and I fully intend to collect.”
Baby smiled. “With pleasure,” she said, imagining all the ways this woman would make him pay.
It was Kimm’s turn to smile. “I think I like you,” she said. “Okay, let’s go. It might take a while to find him. The Thieves’ Guild likes to move around.”
The group of Fairies all exclaimed at once, “Thieves’ Guild!”
Kimm just nodded and led the way back outside, “Stay close or the deplorables outside might decide to eat one of you. I’ve heard Fairy is quite the delicacy for some races.”
Three of the four stayed uncomfortably close to Kimm. Baby, however, knew this kind of humor only too well. It was something Heath would say. Being curious about just who Kimm was, she asked, “So, what exactly is your relationship with our Jack of All?”
Kimm stammered and blushed. “There is no relationship. We just . . . hook up sometimes . . . it’s nothing serious.”
“Oh ho,” Baby crowed excitedly. “You’re the girlfriend,” she said.
“Girlfriend?” Kimm questioned in surprise. Blushing deeply and trying to verify, she asked, “He called me his . . . girlfriend?”
“We should talk,” Baby said, moving to fly in line with Kimm’s stride. Baby was going to have so much fun sharing with Rose and the others what she’d learned.
The group finally found Fence in a bar that was dirtier and seedier than the Jaeger Bard Bar was. Fence was seated in the back corner of the bar almost hidden from view by two massive Ogres, both level 30, standing guard.
Fence was small, larger than the Fae were but still small. He had just one arm and seemed to be missing an eye. It made him look dangerous in Baby’s opinion.
“Fence, it looks like you finally bit off more than you could chew,” Kimm commented as they approached the booth.
Fence snarled briefly before saying, “Let her through.”
“My companions as well,” Kimm added, motioning to the Fairies.
Fence waved away her concerns, “Them too.”
The Ogres parted letting all five through. “What do you want? As you can see, I have not had an exceptionally good day.”
“This happened today?” Kimm asked. “Who did you piss off?”
“Sprites,” Fence said, glaring at the Fairies. “But something tells me I am about to get my revenge.”
Baby handed over Heath’s letter, then asked, “You’ve seen the Fairy Seed?”
Fence hesitated to answer only for a second before fury crossed his face. “I heard through . . . channels that a Fairy Seed was emerging a few months ago in the Royal Fairy Tree. First one in a thousand years.” He stopped as he opened Heath’s letter and read through it. He mused aloud, “Well, well, well, a favor from Heath Rickards, is it?” He studied Baby and her friends. “Alright, I will share the rest. Let me start by telling you a bit about those of my ilk. Thieves and the like. There are not many Fae that join the organization, plenty of humans, the occasional Gnome like myself, Dark Elves make up the majority, anyway, you can imagine my surprise when a group of four Sprites showed up not long after I heard about the Seed. They were low level then, could not give them the job or the information. But when they showed up again a few days ago, all in their upper twenties, I hired them for the job. They accepted and we began planning. Paid for the supplies. Got them the training to hide their real names and more training to get it leveled up. Everything was set. They went in, killed the guards, stole the seed and came back to me just as soon as they could.”
“So, you have the seed?” Rodger asked, hopeful.
Fence yelled, “Obviously not! Unless you are a complete dullard, you can see the results of what happened,” he said, motioning to his missing arm and eye.
Baby took a closer look at the NPC.
Loss of Limb – Melee Damage Reduced by 50% - Permanent
Damaged Organs – Health reduced 75%. Health Regeneration reduced by 90% - Lasts until fully healed. Cannot be healed by Magic.
Half-Blinded – Accuracy reduced by 50% - Permanent
Baby was tempted to ask how a group of level
30 Sprites were able to do so much damage, but Fence continued angrily, “They double crossed me. Took one of my eyes and my arm in the process. They decided they could get a better deal on it if they tried to sell it themselves. Idiots intend to use the Auction House to do it. As soon as the Auction house finds out it is stolen, they will kill them. But that is only if the Fae report the theft,” Fence paused in thought, then pointed at Baby, “However, if you are here now, that means they have not. It means I still have a chance to get my revenge.”
Baby kept her face straight. She had no idea if the theft had been reported or not. If it had, the seed would be recovered quickly. If not . . . well, Baby and her Fairy friends had an opportunity. “Help us steal it from the Auction house. The thieves won’t get their money. I’m guessing you already excommunicated them from the Thieves’ Guild. And we get what we want. And there is a chance the thieves will try to kill us for it, which means we get the chance to kill them this time, our own revenge.”
Fence grinned. “For a Fae, you are not half-good.”
Baby puzzled over the statement for a second before accepting it for what it was. “Thanks.”
“Before we move forward, Kimm, are you helping this rabble?” Fence asked.
“No thanks, I’ve just gotten out of debt with you,” Kimm said, shaking her head. “Baby, it was nice meeting you. Tell Heath . . . well, you know what to tell him. Good luck with your heist.”
“Thanks, Kimm, I will,” Baby replied.
Once Kimm was past the two Ogre guards, Fence started into the details. The criminal had an unbelievable amount of information. Fence knew which auction house the Sprites chose to sell the seed. He knew when the auction was scheduled. He knew the layout of the auction house. He even knew the guards on duty, their levels, their classes, and their patrol paths. He knew which merchants were likely to show up for the auction and their guards. The only thing he couldn’t account for were adventurers sticking their noses in where they didn’t belong, never mind that Baby, Icy, Fiery, and Rodger were all adventurers.
World Tree Online: The Order of Epic Grinders: 4th Dive Page 45
