“No!” Fence shouted, jumping away, an action I mirrored. It was just in time because whatever it was, went boom.
I saw the newcomer before I heard him, the explosion causing a slight ringing in my ears. As he got closer, I saw he carried a pistol in one hand and a grenade in the other. “I told the boys we should have finished you off while you were weak.”
“When I sell that seed. I promise, you and your boys will die over and over and over again,” Fence raged.
“My seed,”
“Baby, what is going on here?” I asked.
“Killer and three of his friends killed my friends and me, then stole the seed. Then they double crossed Fence. My friends and I stole the seed back with some help from Fence. Then he double crossed us,” Baby explained quickly.
“It’s like the Fairy said,” Killer acknowledged. “Now, be a good little adventurer and give me the seed.”
“Yeah, I don’t think I can do that,” I said, looking at Killer’s one debuff. A debuff only I could see. Killer had 87 stacks of ‘Divine judgement of the Goddess Issara’ hanging below his nameplate.
“Oh, and why is that?” Killer asked, leveling his pistol at me.
I didn’t need to say anything. I cast ‘Justice Bringer’.
Spell: Justice Bringer
Level: 15
Experience: 31.25%
Description: A spell to bring justice to the people of the World Tree
Spell Duration: 1-hour
Cooldown: 00:00:01
Charges: 1/1
Spell Cast Speed: Instant
Range: 35-yards
Spell Effect (Active): All Adventurers and Citizens within range have their effective level scaled to match your own. Does not work on enemy Citizens or Beasts
Mana Cost: -100-MP
Killer cursed, threw his bomb, and turned to run.
“Oh no you don’t,” Rose yelled, arriving just in time to intercept Killer. The Sprite impacted bodily with her shield and bounced backward.
“Rosie!” Baby shouted.
“I’ll deal with you in a minute,” Rose snapped at her sister, making it clear she was displeased to say the least. “Right now, Killer and I are going to have a conversation.”
I almost felt bad for Killer. Almost. What Rose didn’t catch was the grenade Killer threw before he tried to run. Instead, I was running toward Baby and the other captured Fairies. I got there just in time to kick the grenade. Unfortunately, it only made it a few feet before detonating and blasting me off my feet and dealing a fair amount of damage at the same time.
“I’m free,” one of the Fairies shouted, flying into the air. Apparently, the explosion tore the net open enough for the little guys and girls to escape.
I didn’t get to see all of them escape because a knife was suddenly plunging down toward me. I rolled, limiting the damage as the blade glanced off my cheek. Even that small cut was enough to deal -704-HP damage to me.
I rolled again, this time I completely avoided the damage. I was about to roll again when a bolt of lightning oxidized the air as it passed within inches of my face, then striking Fence center mass and driving him back a few feet. More importantly, it gave me space to get back on my feet.
“Icy, Fiery, help Rose with Killer, we need her to tank Fence as soon as possible,” Baby ordered from somewhere behind me. “Rodger, cover Bye-bye and stay on Fence. I’ll focus on healing. Bye-bye . . . stay alive.”
“Right,” I snarked. Like I wasn’t already trying to do exactly that.
Fence snarled. “I was just going to kill you quickly. Now, I am going to enjoy it and take my time.”
“Not if you die first,” Baby countered, suddenly diving down as a throwing knife passed through the air she had just occupied.
I shot forward, my spear in the lead, ‘Arctic Lance’ spewing forth as soon as I was in range. The Gnome vanished from view and suddenly I felt something stabbing into my lower back, causing me to freeze up. A new debuff appeared by my name, ‘Kidney Shot’.
Kidney Shot – Your Kidneys have been struck and damaged, stunning you for 10-seconds.
Oh, that was bad.
“Now you die,” Fence whispered in my ear as I felt the cold metal of his knife press to my throat.
Thankfully, I didn’t die. Less thankfully, I felt electricity suddenly course through my body. Adding another 5-second stun on top of the ‘Kidney Shot’.
“Rose, charge,” Baby shouted.
If I could speak, I would have cursed.
Fence and I were both bowled over by Rose and her shield-wall, though Fence got the worst of it by far as Rose went to town on the stunned Gnome, slamming one shield edge, then the other, down on the stunned enemy.
“Bye-bye, stop laying around,” Baby shouted as my HP surged back to full and the stuns vanished.
“Sorry about the friendly fire,” Rodger quickly said.
I didn’t have time to do more than give the red-headed Fairy a glare as I saw Killer making a run for it again.
I leaped across the roof, piercing Killer through the back. And as my ‘Storm Lance’ was off cooldown, I let it fly. As the spear was already piercing Killer, the lightning exploded outward, coursing through his body before erupting from his mouth.
Killer took a few stumbling steps forward as his HP flashed red. He tripped and fell. I was about to finish him off when he exploded. He must have landed on one of his own bombs or had some kind of suicide skill because I was sent tumbling again, only this time, I was much more severely damaged, my own HP flashing red.
I put my own hand to my chest and cast ‘Embrace of the Goddess’, restoring more than half of my HP.
“Jack, stop sleeping on the job,” Rose shouted then grunted as she blocked a particularly vicious attack.
I groaned and rolled over. With a great heave of mental effort, I pushed myself back up to my feet. “Right, no rest for the weary.” Having long grown tired of this fight, I jumped. I shot past the four Fairies, enjoying the looks of astonishment. When I reached the apex of my jump, I flipped and created a bit of hardened air under my feet and pushed off with another jump. I shot downward. As much as I wanted to use my ‘Holy Meteor’, I couldn’t be assured of a kill. Instead, ‘Divine Lance’ was at the ready. When I added in the fall damage transfer . . . Fence was about to have a bad day.
I couldn’t stop the smile that crossed my face as I passed the red-headed Fairy, Rodger. He asked, “Who is this guy?”
“He’s Bye-bye Jacko,” Baby crowed as I impacted with Fence.
There was something beautiful about seeing the -11,234-HP notification float away from Fence. Even better that it didn’t cost all my SP and MP to do it. The level 60 NPC suddenly looked extremely afraid as his HP dropped into the red.
“Finish him,” Rose shouted, slamming the Gnome hard enough to lift him off his feet.
Fence fell to his back and quickly rolled over. The fingers on his only remaining arm scrambled to find purchase on the rooftop. He was desperate to get away.
“Die,” three of the Fairies yelled, each one forming a different elemental spell. A fireball in the hands of the white-haired Fairy named Icy. A large bluish-white crystal spear formed over the head of the dark-red-haired Fairy name Fiery. And last, lightning danced between the hands and along the wings of the orange-red-haired Rodger. As if they had choreographed the whole thing, all three released their spells together.
I was smart enough to leap as far away as I could, while Rose just turned and ran.
I heard the explosion behind me as all three spells impacted. Apparently, Fence had really made them angry. Mentally, I promised myself to never make a Fairy angry. Their magic was nothing to get on the wrong side of.
“Feel better?” Baby asked the other Fairies.
“Only if he’s dead,” Rodger stated, already forming more lightning between his hands.
“If he’s still alive, he
ain’t happy,” Baby said with a giggle as she remembered a line from an ancient movie.
“Exterminated with extreme prejudice,” Rodger said, getting the joke and finishing the line and getting a peal of laughter from Baby.
“Oh, sister,” Rose’s voice carried up sounding saccharine and sending a chill down my spine.
Up above, Baby froze. Slowly she lowered herself to the roof and said, “Sis, this is Rodger, Icy, and Fiery. Everyone, this is my sister, Rose. Don’t let the promise of a slow and painful death get to you. It’s just how she is.”
I bit back a snort of laughter. I would never be able to get away with saying something like that.
“Baby,” Rose repeated, her smile only looking slightly strained. “Would you care to explain?”
“Um,” Baby started nervously. Soon enough she was spilling her guts, from her initial death by strangulation, to her banishment, and then her plan to recover the seed and restore her reputation.
After Baby finished her story with a few key details from the other three Fairies, Rose asked, “And were you asked to do this?”
“No, but like I said, we set ourselves a self-imposed quest,” Baby reiterated.
Rose nodded, “I see. Well, let me tell you a little story.” Rose told about running into the Grand Fairy, and the auction house fiasco as well as the quest she and I were given. I think Rose took a certain amount of pleasure as the color drained from all four Fairies faces. “Now, hand over the seed,” she finished, giving a ‘give it to me’ motion with her hand.
Icy and Fiery fluttered over the net and retrieved the seed. Gently setting it in Rose’s hand where it quickly vanished into her bag.
“Now, you will all come with us and we will get this sorted out,” Rose said.
Rodger quickly interrupted, “Can we at least get the loot first?” He pointed over to the crater where Fence’s corpse laid.
Rose narrowed her eyes but relented, waving them to go ahead.
I was kind of curious but kept out of it. I had a feeling the Fairies were going to be disappointed by the loot dropped.
“What’s an ‘A-Rank Bounty Voucher’?” Rodger asked, holding up the small square of paper.
And just like that, I was across the rooftop, digging through the drops.
“Stash map,” Baby said, holding up a roll of parchment. “Cartography Quest,” she pouted, holding it out toward me.
I happily accepted the scroll.
Professional Quest: Fence’s Secret Stash
You have uncovered a map to the hidden stash of Periwinkle Tinklespring, a.k.a. Fence. Use your ‘Cartography’ profession to decipher the map and uncover the hidden stash.
Reward: Cartography Experience, Hidden
Do you accept this Quest?
Yes
No
It was a treasure hunt. Fence had hidden his personal treasure in a hidden stash. Based on the map, I believed it was somewhere in Root City . . . or under it. There were two maps built into it. The first was an overlay of a section of the city. Hidden within it was an underlying map of the sewers below that section of the city. But was there more to it? The quest did say I needed to decipher the map. I couldn’t help grinning as I accepted the quest. I let slip, “Oh, this is going to be so much fun.”
“Fun? What is this ‘fun’ you speak of Jack?” Rose teased me.
I know she meant well, but it had the unintended side effect of reminding me that not everything about the World Tree was fun for me. But you know what, screw that. This was my kind of fun. It didn’t involve chaos or any of my other problems. It was just a fun little side quest. No pressure, no world altering ramifications, and no Epic anywhere involved. And I would be damned before I let anyone, or anything, ruin this for me.
I stuck my tongue out at Rose, making her laugh and smile genuinely at me. It was just a moment but . . . wow, what a great moment. I might have fallen a little more in love with her.
“It’s all Thief stuff,” Rodger complained. “All that work, and we have nothing to show for it.”
“Worse, we might be in even more trouble with the Royal Fairy Tree,” Icy said, her wings drooping in depression.
“Forget the Royal Fairy Tree, Grand Fairy Sage Delilah is going to be so disappointed,” Baby lamented.
In the end, we stored away a dagger that required level 55 to wield and a cloak that required level 58 to wear. The levels were so high, we couldn’t even see the stats on them. Maybe we would have better luck selling them.
Baby and her accomplices came with us willingly to the Royal Fairy Tree. The guards weren’t happy to see them, but they called on the Grand Fairy anyway.
“You were much faster than I thought you would be,” the Grand Fairy said, “Please come inside, we can have tea.”
I looked at the tiny door and was about to say something when the tiny door started growing larger . . . as did Baby . . . and the other Fae around us. It was about then I realized they weren’t getting larger but that I was shrinking. I looked to Rose for help only to see she was shrinking right along with me.
“Do not be concerned. The spell will only last while you are under the boughs of the Royal Fairy Tree. As soon as you move beyond our border, your size will be restored,” the Grand Fairy explained as she continued inside.
I was suddenly very afraid of the Grand Fairy. If she had the power to do this, what else might she be capable of if anyone ever truly made her angry?
“Well, don’t just stand there,” Rose said, almost dragging me forward, “Let’s go check this place out.”
Baby walked right next to Rose, smiling brightly as she moved one hand from the top of her head to hover in the air over Rose’s head. “I’m taller than you,” she whispered, then giggled only to repeat the process.
Once the six of us and the Grand Fairy were seated in her office and had been served tea, the elderly Fairy spoke. “You children are quite foolish.”
“Yes, Grand Sage,” the four Fairies intoned repentantly.
The Grand Sage, or Grand Fairy as Rose and I had come to know her, frowned. “It would seem, I am also becoming foolish in my old age. I should have known you . . . adventurers would not take your punishment lying down. As such, I rescind your failed quest and now call it completed.”
Baby and the other three Fairies cheered in jubilation. They didn’t even know it was possible to reverse a failed quest.
“Yes, yes, enjoy your minor victory,” the Grand Sage said, smirking. “Now, if you want to make it up to the Royal Fairy Tree and me, you and your friends will find and bring me the four Sprites that started all of this.”
Quest Alert: Foolish Children Shall be Punished (Recommended Level 25-30)
The Grand Fairy of the Royal Fairy Tree demands you capture those who stole the Fairy Seed and bring them before her to be punished. 0/4 Thieves Captured.
Reward: Experience
Do you accept this Quest?
Yes
No
“Hey, why can’t I refuse it?” Rodger complained immediately. His statement left me slightly bewildered as I could refuse the quest.
“Shush,” Baby hushed the boy. “We’d be-”
I interrupted before she could accept. “Excuse me,” I said. “About this quest. Would punishing them be acceptable?”
The Grand Sage looked at me curiously, “What did you have in mind?”
“Well, I have a spell that makes it possible for me to strip all experience from the . . . less reputable adventurers. Killer One, one of the thieves, I was able to hit with my spell then kill him. He’s now back to level one. It will be a long time before he can cause trouble again.”
“Hmm,” the Grand Fairy hummed in thought. “It does seem like an appropriate punishment. Very well, punish these thieves, if you can. If you cannot, capture them and bring them to me.”
The quest alert vanished, and a new quest popped up.
Class Quest Alert: Foolish Children Shall be Punished (Recommended Level 25-30)
>
The Grand Fairy of the Royal Fairy Tree demands you capture or punish those who stole the Fairy Seed. Bring the thieves before her or see that justice is done. 1/4 Thieves Captured or Punished.
Reward: Experience
Do you accept this Quest?
Yes
No
“We’d be happy to,” I accepted the quest, appreciating the fact that the quest had changed from a regular quest to a class quest, at least it did for me. I couldn’t speak for the others. “I don’t suppose you have any information about the thieves?”
“Ooh, we do,” Baby piped up. “They were originally hired by Fence, the Gnome from the roof.”
“And how does that help us?” Rose asked. “He’s dead now, remember?”
“True, but he was part of the Thieves’ Guild,” Baby continued. “Same as Heath, it’s how we met him in the first place. That means Heath should be able to get us the information on where to find them. And before you ask why the Thieves’ Guild would help us, it’s simple. They betrayed Fence and I’m certain Fence was petty enough to have them blacklisted, or named an enemy, or something like that.”
Rose laughed, “That might actually work.”
“Very good, very good, I will leave it to you children then,” the Grand Sage said, tittering and nodding along. With that out of the way, she turned slightly to face Rose and me. “As for you two. First, let me thank you for agreeing to look after my errant children and taking up my quest. Thank you for the kindness you have done. For saving my children from their own foolishness and for saving the future of the Fae, I cannot thank you enough,” she said. “Now, if you would, please place the seed on the desk.”
World Tree Online: The Order of Epic Grinders: 4th Dive Page 47
