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

by M. A. Carlson

  The temple we were led to was not what I expected from Gods of the Norse Pantheon. It was more of a cave or den. At the entrance, a pair of hulking wolves stood guard, one black , one white and both watched us with hungry eyes that made me think they saw us as potential food and not as guests. And given their size, and if they chose, the Fairies would be little more than a bite, while it might take a few bites to eat me. Realistically, we wouldn’t stand a chance.

  “Follow,” the black head insisted, having noticed I stopped.

  “Baby, why don’t you and the others wait out here?” I suggested, seeing their hesitation to move forward.

  Baby stammered back, “Sounds good, Bye-bye.”

  I needed to stoop low to be able to enter the cave but as soon as I passed the threshold, it was no longer the small cave it looked like from the outside. It was suddenly a massive cavern, lit by glowing blue lines carved into the dome, similar to what I saw in the Hidden Norse Temple. At the top of the dome, the glowing lines fed into the carving of a white moon and a yellow sun. As I watched them, I swore they were moving ever so slowly across the ceiling.

  “Welcome,” a loud guttural voice boomed, drawing my attention to a tall rock in the center of the room. There two familiar figures stood. One a tall muscular grey-white werewolf and the other slim and slightly shorter purplish-black werewolf, the God Hati, and the God Skoll, respectively.

  I took a knee respectfully and bowed my head. These two were once my enemy. Hopefully, they didn’t still hold any enmity toward me. Thus, I showed my respect.

  “Rise, Champion,” one of the two ordered.

  I stood as ordered. “How can I help you, my Lords?” I asked, not sure why I would have been summoned if not to complete some kind of task. That or they changed their minds and decided to kill me.

  The God Hati spoke first, “Not so long ago, you aided my brother and me. Helped us find our way back to our rightful place.”

  The God Skoll continued, “Our father granted you a boon that was well earned.”

  The boon the God Skoll spoke of was a spell that would allow my companions and I to summon the God Fenrir to help us. It was a single summon for each of us, but it was one hell of a trump card.

  The God Hati spoke next, “However, we have yet to repay you for what you did for us.”

  “Please, allow us now to repay you for your help by granting you our mark and a gift to your Order,” the God Skoll finished.

  Now this was truly unexpected.

  Each of the werewolves pulled out a piece of . . . something, I wasn’t sure if it was metal or something else. In a perfectly synchronized motion, they tossed them to me.

  I caught both pieces. They looked like they were each half of a medallion. One a black wolf and the other a white wolf, like a yin-yang. The two pieces appeared as if they fit together. Sliding the two together there was a sudden flash of light.

  After blinking away the spots, I was once more not surprised to see the two Gods were gone. Only the two-headed wolf remained. And in my hands, a single disk, similar to the one the God Ivaldi had just given me.

  “We are your gift, a Hel Hound. We are the ultimate guards,” both heads spoke together.

  They gave us a freaking guard dog . . . erm, wolf. “Great, do you have a name?”

  “I am Ljos,” the white head answered, which I seemed to know meant Light.

  “And I am Myrkr,” the black head said, and again I seemed to just know it meant Dark.

  “Great, I’m Bye-bye,” I said, trying to think through how I would explain this to Micaela . . . or Vision. I hoped the little guy wouldn’t think I was betraying him.

  “We know,” the wolves spoke as one and sounding less than impressed.

  “Right, shall we go?” I asked, putting the new mark in my bag. Hopefully, no other God or Goddess wanted to reward me, or we would never get back to Hurlig Ridge.

  “How did it go?” Baby asked as soon as I stepped outside.

  “Fine,” I said, then I introduced our new guard wolf, “These are Ljos and Myrkr. A gift from Hati and Skoll. They are going to guard the Order House.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Baby said nervously.

  Unlike Vision, nothing about the two-headed wolf looked friendly. Now that I was paying more attention, I noted that they didn’t really have fur. It was more like light and shadows shaped to look like fur. As guard wolves went, I don’t think we could have asked for better or scarier guards.

  Ljos and Myrkr both ignored Baby, instead sitting down next to me. There, they simply waited silently.

  “Right then,” Baby said awkwardly. “Where next?”

  “Jump point,” I said again. This time, no one popped up to tell me to pay a visit to a God or Goddess.

  “Do we really need to?” Rodger complained.

  “Unless you want to pay for a portal, yes,” I replied. As much as Rodger amused me, he was starting to get on my nerves.

  Rodger quickly amended his opinion, “Jump point it is. I love the jump point myself. Quite the spectacular view.”

  “Are you sure you want him to come with us on your raid?” Icy asked coldly, ignoring the mock hurt look on Rodger’s face.

  We took the jump point again. The Fairies handled it much better this time, only Rodger threw up. Though, I admit, the other two still ended up looking a little green. A few blocks later we were standing in front of the portal.

  Rodger naturally got impatient after a few minutes and asked, “Shouldn’t we go through?”

  “You guys can go ahead. I’m waiting for Rose,” I said.

  “Rose is a tank, right?” Fiery asked.

  I nodded.

  Fiery followed up, asking, “Is it dangerous on the other side?”

  Rodger laughed bombastically, “It’s a Portal in the Ninth Ring, how dangerous could it be?”

  “Recommended from level 1 to level 30,” I answered. “There is a large undead invasion from the Hurlig Flatlands province that has been spilling over into Hurlig Ridge. You’re welcome to try your luck.”

  As expected by now, Rodger instantly changed his tune. “Well, I suppose it would be rude to leave without our tank.”

  I rolled my eyes but didn’t say anything further.

  We didn’t wait too long before Rose appeared.

  “Everything go alright?” I asked.

  “Yes, sorry it took so long,” Rose quickly apologized. “Were you waiting long?”

  “Not really. We got a little sidetracked after I went to the God Ivaldi’s temple. Apparently, the Gods Hati and Skoll wanted to thank us personally. Which reminds me, meet Ljos and Myrkr,” I said, motioning to the two-headed wolf that was sitting next to me and waiting. That made me freeze for a second. When did they get there? I don’t remember them taking the jump point with us.

  “That’s a story I think I would like to hear,” Rose said, walking toward the portal, ignoring my staring at the two-headed wolf.

  I quickly moved to follow her and walked through to Hurlig Ridge. Rodger chattered incessantly as we traversed the gloomy woods between the portal and Hurligville, ignoring the darkness all around us and the danger his chattering was putting us in. I couldn’t be certain something strong from the Hurlig Flatlands hadn’t wandered over. It was something of a relief when Hurligville came in sight, even if it was late.

  Rose argued with the gate guards again to put down the drawbridge and let us in. After that, we returned to the inn for a few hours of sleep.

  I got maybe three hours of sleep before I was up and knocking on Olaf and Micaela’s door. I heard Olaf shout from inside, “If someone isn’t dead, they soon will be!”

  When the door opened, I saw an angry Minotaur with slightly bloodshot eyes. I gave him a double peace sign with both hands and said, “I come in peace.”

  Olaf snorted. “You woke me up this early to tell me that?”

  “I suppose I didn’t need to,” I said, yawning, then added, “I just
wanted to.”

  Olaf yawned in response and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Ha-ha, very funny,” he said. “But really, why did you?”

  Stifling a second yawn, I said, “I need you and Micaela to meet me at the Order House.”

  “Alright, we’ll be there shortly,” Olaf said, closing the door.

  Shortly was almost an hour later.

  “Bye-bye, what’s the big deal?” Micaela asked, entering her office ahead of Olaf.

  I set the Mark of Ivaldi down on her desk followed by the Mark of Hati and Skoll, and finally the Golden Fairy Branch, then said, “Your Trophies. We’ll need to pay a visit to the Endless Savanna to get the others that are still owed to us, but I don’t think we have enough time before we need to leave on the raid.”

  “Why did we get one from Hati and Skoll?” Olaf asked, confused as he picked up the strange black and white wolf yin-yang disk.

  Next to him Micaela picked up the golden branch, “And why the Golden Fairy Branch?”

  I explained what happened, from buying the supplies at the auction house to saving Baby’s bacon from thieves and the three additional Fairies I invited along. I ended with my visit to the temples.

  “And, where are they?” Micaela asked when I got to the part about Ljos and Myrkr.

  “The Fairies are in the inn sleeping would be my guess,” I answered, not quite getting what she was asking.

  Micaela frowned at me, “No, not them. The two-headed wolf?”

  “Oh, them. I have no idea,” I answered. “They vanished right after we entered the city.” That gave me pause again. Did they? I didn’t even remember if they went through the portal with us.

  “We are here,” a voice said from next to me, making me, and by extension Olaf and Micaela, jump in fright.

  Right next to me, Ljos and Myrkr sat as if they had always been there.

  When Micaela calmed, she smiled brightly. “Are you guys ‘Stealth’ experts?”

  “No,” Ljos answered.

  “We can bend Shadows,” Myrkr started.

  “And light,” Ljos finished.

  “That is so awesome!” Micaela cheered excitedly. “I can’t wait for you to meet Vision. I hope you get along with him. Do you think you can teach him all kinds of wolf . . . uh, stuff?”

  “A pup?” Ljos asked, sounding emotional for the first time since meeting him.

  “A Spirit Wolf,” Micaela answered. “He’s growing fast but he still has so much to learn.”

  Myrkr growled sounding dissatisfied, then Ljos growled and snapped in his direction, cowing the black half of the duo.

  “It would be . . . our pleasure,” Myrkr said disdainfully, making Ljos look self-satisfied.

  “Alright then,” Micaela said cheerfully. “Now, as to your status. You are here to guard our Order House, is that right?”

  “We are,” Ljos answered, ignoring Myrkr’s pouting.

  “And how does that work?” Olaf asked. “I mean, do we invite you to the Order or something?”

  “The Mark,” Ljos said. “Once you have placed it somewhere in the building, the building then becomes our territory.”

  Myrkr growled menacingly then said, “And we are very territorial.”

  Olaf nodded, “Oh, I like you guys. Anywhere specific you want it placed?”

  “I would place the mark at the threshold,” Ljos recommended. “The closer to the main point of access, the more freedom we have and the more effectively we can guard our territory. Additionally, we become bound to the territory.”

  “And what does that mean?” Micaela asked.

  “If we die protecting our territory, so long as the Mark is not damaged, we can be brought back by the owners of the territory,” Myrkr answered.

  Basically, they would be able to respawn. It was exciting stuff.

  “As for your pup, send him to find us,” Ljos said, then added, “If he can.”

  Micaela giggled excitedly, “Oh, I will.”

  “Then we shall take our leave,” Myrkr said and was suddenly gone. There was no fading out or smoke to hide his disappearance. He was just gone.

  “I really like those two,” Olaf said. “It’s good to know the Order House will be protected while we are away. Anyway, I’ve got to see a Halfling about a donkey.”

  “Good luck, babe,” Micaela said.

  “What time are we leaving?” I asked, as the door to the office closed behind me.

  “In a few hours, just need to finish arranging the Raid party,” Micaela answered. “Icyhot and his people should be here sometime this morning. I’ve sent messages out to a number of other Order members, but I have only gotten a few responses. I’m coming up short on spellcasters.”

  “Like the three spellcasters I signed up yesterday and brought with me to Hurligville?” I asked.

  “Yes, exactly like them,” Micaela nodded before freezing as my words caught up with her. “Ooh, right, you brought me spellcasters. Three of them, which is great. I was coming up short on spellcasters. Plenty of archer and ranger types, but other than Icyhot and Pwn . . . well, troublesome to say the least. Apparently, if they don’t have a good group to run with, they tend to die a lot. So most of them hide in Root City. I thought I was going to need to send Ollie to recruit some. But since you’ve brought me three, we’re all good,” she finished excitedly.

  I smiled. “I’m glad to hear it,” I said, then I started pulling out bottles of potions and bundles of food and placing them on the long table that served as her desk. “At some point, we’re going to need to talk about reimbursing me for these supplies. I understand, money might be tight right now, but I’m hoping that will be sorted by the time this Raid has ended.”

  Micaela nodded, “Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate everything you’ve done, and I promise, so long as the Raid pays out, I will make sure you get repaid in full. I’m really hoping we make enough to fill our coffers, enough to last us for a few months.”

  “Thank you,” I said. I was genuinely happy to be able to help. But if I kept giving away all the Gold I earned, it wouldn’t be long before I had nothing left.

  “So, we’ve got a few hours until we leave. You need anything?” Micaela asked.

  I shook my head. I had just one plan. I was going to return to my room and try to get a little more reading done. I still had a long way to go if I wanted to cap my Intellect stat. As for my Dexterity stat, it was a long walk to the Tower Reksoni, it would give me plenty of time to practice ‘Zephyr of the Open Field’.

  All too soon, it was time to go.

  Olaf stood at the head of the column of players and pack mules. “Alright everybody, first thank you all for coming. I know it was last minute for some of you, but we really appreciate it. I’ve met most of you, but for those who don’t know me, my name is Olaf Crushhammer. I’m one of the Order Commanders alongside my wife, Micaela Crushhammer. Let me be clear up front. We’re in charge. I won’t have any arguments over who gets what loot, I’ve always believed in Need over Greed, if you’re not good with that, too bad.”

  Micaela spoke up from next to Olaf, “Our tanks for this Raid are Rose Thorns, Rock Dudson, and Heavy Metal.” Obviously, I knew Rose well and I had met Rock when we were in the Hammer and Anvil Mountain Valley. was new to me, he was covered from head to toe in dark chainmail armor. Other than an axe hanging from his belt and a shield mounted to one arm, I couldn’t tell you anything about him. “Rose Thorns is the main tank, after Olaf and me, she’s in charge. Any questions? No, good.”

  Micaela finally paused to take a breath. “Healers, we have Babies Breath, Arch Angel, Duncan Donut, Teak Tree, and Bloomin Flowers,” she continued. was the highest level among the healers. She was a short, dark skinned Wood Elf with green hair that seemed to have flowers growing in it. was a Wood Nymph by the look of him, slightly shorter than Bloomin, though he was also stockier and carried a two-handed maul over one shoulder. His weapon screamed Paladin, though I couldn’
t be sure. “Duncan Donut is the top healer, all other healers report up to him,” Micaela said, surprising me. I thought Baby would have been the top healer. Though Duncan was quite good, I thought Baby was a better healer, but maybe Micaela thought she’d been gone too long. I made a mental note to ask about that later. “Our scout is Eagle Eyepatch. He’ll be scouting ahead for us, so we know what’s coming. Icyhot Jelloshot is in charge of damage dealing spellcasters.”

  “And I’ll be in charge of the melee damage dealers,” Olaf added on. He was more of a midrange damage dealer, but he was close enough to the melee to be able to manage things there.

  “And one more person of note,” Micaela shouted. “Bye-bye Jacko is our resident Lore Hound. If you find something interesting or see something odd or out of place. You tell him immediately. For example, if you see writing you don’t recognize, you tell him. If you see a small wooden statue in an otherwise opulently decorated room, you tell him.”

  I didn’t care for the attention, but I could understand why she did it. If someone saw an inscription and didn’t think anything of it, we might miss out on treasures or another skill like the ‘Edda of Light and Dark’ that I found back on my very first adventure into the World Tree.

  Olaf spoke up next. “So, we’re bringing 31 people with us, the Raid is for 25 people. There will be three additional alternate damage dealers. We don’t know how long the Raid will take to complete but if it takes more than a week, a couple people will hit their forced log out. They are not coming as potential replacements if we think you don’t do well in the Raid. However, if you hit a point where you don’t think you can do it, we do have the alternates available.”

  “The last three,” Olaf said, “are citizens of the World Tree. Sergeant Butters, High Priestess Trinico, and Mack. The Sergeant and Mack will be helping to guard our basecamp, wherever we set that up. High Priestess Trinico is going to help us find the Lich Xan’s Phylactery.” I personally didn’t like the idea of bringing them with us but, once again, I understood the need for it. All the Undead material we’d been collecting for the Priestess was to be used to find the source of the dark magic, in this case, the Phylactery of Xan.