“Remember, you want to strike once the seed is on stage. If you strike before then, it most likely will still be in the vault and if it is in the vault, you will never be able to get it,” Fence finished. “Now, I have told you everything I know, good luck with your heist tomorrow. You can see yourselves out.”
Baby knew a dismissal when she heard one. She and her new friends needed to acquire some supplies before the big event, namely, disguises that would hide their names. As she had learned from Fence, there was a mask that could be purchased that would hide your name from view, it was how the thieves got away with stealing the seed in the first place. The only reason their names were known was because they killed instead of incapacitating. Something Fence harped on, saying he warned them repeatedly not to kill the adventurers. By resorting to killing them, the system report displayed the name of their killer to each of the adventurer Fairies guarding the seed. Otherwise, they never would have known.
The next day was spent mostly pacing. Baby and her new Fairy friends were nervous about the heist. They had never done anything like this before. Mentally, she kept going over the information Fence provided. She fretted the whole day away until there was a knock on her door.
“What?” Baby snapped.
“It’s me, Rodger,” the boy called from the other side of the door. “It’s time to go.”
Baby took one more deep breath, mentally fortifying herself. If she or the others got caught . . . it would mean bad things for all of them.
Flying across Root City, or rather just the section of Root City that held Auction House 37 was a simple matter. It was even stealthy, more so when they were able to fly above the auction house. From above the building she counted three guards patrolling the rooftop.
Baby learned two spells while visiting the tree and either would have worked for the current situation. ‘Pollen Burst – Slumber’ would have put all three to sleep, allowing the Fairies to bind them and move on. The risk in doing so was that they might be required to report in regularly during their rounds, and if that happened, an alarm would be raised, and their heist would be over before it really began. On the other hand, ‘Pollen Burst – Confusion’ would work just as well. It would confuse the guards for 30-seconds allowing them to simply slip past and the guards would be none the wiser.
“On my count,” Baby whispered, preparing the spell to drop on the guards from above. Baby counted down, “Three, two, one,” a sickly yellow ball of pollen dropped from between her outstretched hands, falling silently and exploding when it reached head level with the trio of guards. “Yes!” Baby hissed excitedly. She’d timed it perfectly.
Entering through the roof put them in the private hallways, those reserved for the auction house staff. It also gave them the best chance at staying hidden, so long as they stayed close to the ceiling as they flew through the halls. Doing so allowed them to be as quiet and stealthy as they could without the actual ‘Stealth’ skill.
“Ugh, half-Elves,” spat an auctioneer as he exited one of the rooms just below the four Fairies, halting them in their tracks. “Despicable, the lot of them. I feel like I need a bath,” the Elf said with a shudder of disgust. Thankfully, he was quick to move on, much to Baby’s relief.
After that close encounter, they made it to the grid above the auction stage. They quickly flew into the stage curtains to hide. There was one guard that patrolled up there in addition to one technician who worked the lights and curtains. They had come that far without getting caught. Now, they just needed to wait for the moment to strike.
And wait they did. Almost two hours hovering in the curtains strained their SP. Holding their breath every time the guard patrol walked past them, strained their nerves. When the house lights finally went down, the time had come. They made their move.
This time, Baby chose to cast ‘Pollen Burst – Slumber’. Her spell hit both the patrolling guard and technician, which had the added benefit of also killing the lights entirely. It was pure luck she had bothered to learn ‘Dark Sight’ while she was in the Endless Savannah or they would have been in real trouble.
“Icy, Fiery, go, get the seed,” Baby ordered, preparing another spell for the auctioneer and the guard that stood next to her.
“It’s them,” Rodger hissed angrily, pointing at a group of four Sprites with familiar names.
“No,” Baby hissed back but it was too late.
“Natures Wrath,” Rodger intoned, letting loose a bolt of lightning. He struck one of the Sprites, then the lightning jumped to two others. He was already channeling again for a second cast. The only problem was the Sprite that didn’t get hit spotted them. Killer One, the Sprite that killed Baby during the heist, hurled a throwing knife into the air. Baby quickly put a ‘Sage’s Ward’ around Rodger, blocking the damage entirely.
Skill: Sage's Ward
Level: 6
Experience: 18.11%
Description: Protect your target with the power of Nature itself.
Damage Absorption: 1,060
Spell Cast Speed: Instant
Range: 20-yards
Spell Effect (Active): Absorb incoming damage. Increases effect of 'Nature's Heal' by 0.60%.
Mana Cost: -310-MP
It was still her most powerful spell as far as simply negating damage. It was also the slowest spell to level up.
“Die,” Rodger raged, unleashing more lightning, incinerating the Sprite he first targeted and severely damaging the other two. Killer One had vanished into the darkness.
“Finish the other two,” Baby hissed. There was no sense in letting them live. If her group were lucky, the Sprites would respawn far away.
“We got it,” Icy said, tag teaming to carry the seed with her brother.
“Put it in your inventory, and let’s go,” Baby said.
“Too heavy to carry it alone,” Icy replied.
Baby huffed, “Put it in my bag, then we’ve got to go.”
Icy and Fiery handed the seed over and Baby slipped it into her bag. She was surprised when it overburdened her. She hadn’t experienced the phenomena before.
“Darn, I’m overburdened,” Baby said, struggling to stay in the air.
“Then let us carry it,” Fiery said. “You and Rodger can keep us alive.”
Passing the seed back to Fiery and Icy to carry, Baby snapped at Rodger, “They’re dead, let’s go before more guards come.”
Huffing again as he scanned the stage one more time, he said, “Fine, let’s go. Looks like one of them got away, keep an eye out.”
Leaving by the same route they used to come in, worked out almost perfectly. An auctioneer popped her head out of one of the doors only to duck back in, when she spotted them. Alarms that had been contained to the auditorium were now blaring in the hallways as well, which was followed by shouting from behind them.
“Need to move faster,” Baby said, sounding nervous as she tried to fly faster.
“We’re trying,” Icy said, her flight momentarily dipping.
Noticing how hard Icy and Fiery were struggling, Baby said, “I know, just do your best. We don’t have far to go now.”
Within another two minutes, they emerged from the rooftop window and were off into the night sky. They had done it.
“Straight to the Royal Fairy Tree?” Rodger asked.
“No, we need to lie low for a bit,” Baby said. “Let’s get a few more blocks away from here. Then we can find a rooftop to rest on. At least for a little bit.”
There were no complaints with her plan until their fifth rest stop. Because they were moving with ‘stolen’ goods, they couldn’t risk hiring a portal mage. It meant they would need to fly the entire way back to the Royal Fairy Tree. Something they hadn’t really planned for.
“How much further?” Rodger complained several hours later.
“Not much farther,” Baby promised, she could see the Royal Fairy Tree in the distance.
“Oh thank goodness,” Rodger said, sagging in relief. Then without warning
, he was hit by a giant net. They all were. The next thing any of them knew, they were dragged from the air only to land forcefully on a rooftop.
A man with a nasally voice spoke as the stun caused by the landing wore off, “I was not sure you would actually be able to pull it off.”
Baby twisted to look through the net only to see Fence, and his two Ogre bodyguards, standing over them. “What is this, Fence?”
Fence smirked. “Your friend Heath might have forgotten to mention to you, but there is no honor among thieves.”
“Heath promised you a favor. Now, he’ll just kill you,” Baby spat.
“Why would I need a favor from Heath Rickards when I can retire in luxury after selling the seed?” Fence asked. “I do not believe Mr. Rickards knew the value of that seed when he sent you to me. Or I can promise you. He never would have been so foolish. As for killing me, he will need to find me first, as if that is going to be possible.”
“I’ll kill you!” Baby snarled.
“Oh, sweet child,” Fence clicked his tongue mockingly. “I just cannot take you baby-faced Fairies seriously, especially not when you’re already caught.”
“Then take this seriously,” someone yelled from above, drawing all eyes upward. “Storm Lance!”
Chapter 27
“I’ll kill her if she was involved in this,” Rose hissed as we waited to be set free from the auction room.
After the group of Fairies stole the seed, the auction house guards sealed the room. A few minutes later, someone with more authority began interviewing everyone. They wanted to be sure no one else was involved.
I was looking around the room, waiting for our turn to be questioned when I heard a shout of protest from an aged voice, “I had nothing to do with this, I won the auction, did I not? But I promise, I will get to the bottom of this.”
The crowd parted enough to reveal a small elderly Fairy with several small guards surrounding her and keeping the auction guards at bay. I say elderly, but she still looked like a small child . . . just with wrinkles.
“Grand Fairy, you must understand,” said an Elven man in a suit. “Auction House 37 has a reputation to uphold. It cannot be a coincidence that four of your Fairies broke in and stole the seed right after you won the bid.”
The old Fairy glowered. “I had no reason to steal what I had already won,” she insisted.
“Except to save the money,” the auction house representative commented, then with a snide voice he asked, “You do have the money to pay for your winning bid, yes?”
The Grand Fairy motioned to one of the Fae that stood next to her. A young female Sprite stepped forward and opened a briefcase filled with Gold Bars.
The auction representative reached out to take the briefcase, saying “Then I shall accept payment and you may deal with your internal matter.”
With a quick motion, the briefcase was snapped shut. The Grand Fairy frowned deeper and I swear I saw lightning start to dance along her wings. “Pay? I think not. No delivery, no payment,” she finally said. “We’re leaving.”
The auction house guards tensed up and closed in around the Fairy and her cohort.
“I am afraid, I must insist, you pay for your winning bid,” the auction representative tried again.
The elderly Fairy narrowed her eyes. “You failed to keep the seed safe and now it has been stolen. You and I both know it was stolen property to begin with. You would have been forced to return the money to us regardless.”
“Less our commission,” the auction house stooge interrupted quickly.
The elderly Fairy paused to consider. “Very well, your commission, 5%.”
“Our standard commission is 15%,” the Elven auction rep stated.
“And yet, you will only get 5%, and you will be grateful to receive that much,” the elderly Fairy stated icily.
The Elf finally seemed to relent. “A pleasure doing business with you,” the auctioneer said, holding out a hand to accept payment.
With a nod from the elderly Fairy, the Fae with the briefcase opened the case and extracted 3 gold bars.
The Elf accepted the bars, nodded his head ever so slightly, and walked away with his guards in tow.
Rose and I waited for the elderly Fairy to move toward the exit before approaching her. “Excuse me?” I said, stepping toward the Grand Fairy only to halt when two spears and a few wands were suddenly pointed in my direction.
The Grand Fairy studied me for a moment. I felt her eyes judging me, boring through me. “Allow him through.”
The weapons vanished as quickly as they appeared.
The Grand Fairy spoke before I could even introduce myself, she asked, “What does the servant of the Goddess Issara want with me?” She stunned me into silence with that question. How could she have known that? The tittering giggle that followed left me feeling a little miffed. “You will find, child, that I have been around long enough to see those touched by the Gods. Long enough to recognize which God or Goddess left such a mark. Now, I ask again, what do you want?”
“The Fairies that stole that seed,” I started.
“Adventurers,” the Grand Fairy said. “At least those foolish children were wise enough to hide their identities. You wish to pursue them for your Goddess then, yes?”
“Yes . . . I mean no, not exactly,” I said.
Rose butt in, “Was my idiot sister involved? Babies Breath?”
The Grand Fairy giggled. “Yes, I do believe she was. Though, I must admit, this was partly my fault.”
“Your fault?” Rose asked.
“I tasked your sister and three other adventurers with guarding the seed. They failed spectacularly and, in my disappointment, and anger, I barred them from the Royal Fairy Tree,” the Grand Fairy explained. “I should have known better. You adventurer types do not deal well with failure. I should have known the four of them would try to recover the seed.”
“Yeah, that was kind of dumb,” Rose commented. “You would have been better off giving them a quest to recover it.”
The Grand Fairy nodded her agreement, “Which is exactly what I shall do now.”
Quest Alert: Foolish Children and the Foolish Things They Do (Recommended Level 25-30)
The Grand Fairy of the Royal Fairy Tree asks that you retrieve the four errant Fairies that took it upon themselves to foolishly try to steal back the Fairy Seed. Once you have collected them and the seed, bring them to the Royal Fairy Tree and before the Grand Fairy.
Reward: Experience, Collectible Trophy
Do you accept this Quest?
Yes
No
“Okay, we’re on it,” Rose said.
The Grand Fairy nodded, then said, “Their flight will be slowed. None of them have the strength to carry the seed alone. It will require frequent stops to rest. I wish you luck.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Before we could go, Rose asked, “Which way is the Fairy Tree from here?”
The Grand Fairy tittered then pointed, “That way.”
Rose grinned and said a quick, “Thanks.”
As soon as we were outside, Rose asked, “Do we try to race across the rooftops or try to track them from the ground?”
“If we go by rooftop, Baby and the others with her might spot us,” I said. “I’d rather catch them by surprise.”
Rose didn’t say anything more, she just ran in roughly the right direction with me hot on her heels.
It was a couple hours later that we finally spotted the small group. And just in time. Not a second later they were dragged from the air by a large net.
“Jack, go!” Rose shouted, pointing to the sky.
I didn’t need to be told twice. I shot into the air. My ‘Zephyr of the Open Field’ made such leaps possible. I cleared the rooftops with ease. My single jump doubled, then tripled the height of the closest building. I could finally see where the Fairies were dragged from the air. I used my skill again, this time creating a small platform of air for me to jump off.
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The four Fairies struggled against the net as two large Ogres held them down. A few feet away, a small, cloaked figure was talking but I couldn’t make out the words. The only thing I knew for sure was the players were in trouble.
I jumped off hardened air once more. I aimed for the Ogres. They seemed hardy enough that my Storm Lance wouldn’t kill them. And if they were stunned, I might be able to get some answers.
As I got closer, I heard Baby shout, “I’ll kill you!”
I also finally saw the small, cloaked individual’s nameplate,
I grinned. Micaela would have been so proud of me for what I was about to say. “Then take this seriously, ‘Storm Lance’!” I hit the first Ogre with my attack and completely vaporized him. I hadn’t taken into account the damage that would transfer through my spear to negate my own fall damage. Oops.
“Bye-bye!” Baby shouted.
I ignored Baby and glanced at the other Ogre. It was not in good shape. Its skin was blackened all over and its HP bar was flashing red, telling me quite clearly that it was nearly dead in addition to being stunned.
“Look out!” Baby warned me just in time.
I flipped backward, barely avoiding the swipe of the dagger from Fence. The small man peeled back his hood to reveal his scarred and severely damaged face. The now revealed Gnome said, “Always with you goody two shoes adventurers. Why can you never stay out of it? Now, I will just kill you.”
“Good luck with that,” Baby crowed. “He works for the Goddess Issara. He eats scum like you for breakfast.”
“Baby, stop helping me,” I said, watching the Gnome carefully. His level was much higher than mine.
“Fence has some serious debuffs. You can take him,” Baby said, trying to be helpful but at that point she was just distracting.
I slid under another slice from the one-armed Gnome and countered with ‘Earth Lance’ then a simple strike to the shoulder. I was about to hit him with ‘Artic Lance’ when I heard something metallic bounce off the rooftop and clatter to the ground between Fence and me.
World Tree Online: The Order of Epic Grinders: 4th Dive Page 46
