Thandroot had a similar bag, but it appeared to be much older based on the patina on the distressed leather. He pulled out a scroll and unrolled it. The dwarf looked at the sky and then at the land around him. He found the sun and then drew a line with his finger leading directly to The Nexus's bottom.
"There should be a city on the other side. Not a large one, a few hundred people."
"Brackenfall?" Sylara studied the map next to Thandroot.
"The same."
"Do you think they remember you there?"
Thandroot shrugged nonchalantly but cleared his throat. He put the map back in his bag and looked at our group. "So. Are we going to travel together?"
I nodded at Thandroot's question. "Yeah, I think sticking together is our best bet. Safety in numbers and all that."
Darby chimed in, "Agreed. We could use some friendly faces after everything we've been through."
Trogs strummed a chord on his necrolute. "I and my lute are ready."
Leech, however, looked hesitant. He ran a hand through his thinning gray hair. "I don't know, guys. I might slow you down. These old bones aren't what they used to be."
"We're not leaving you behind, Leech," I said firmly. "We'll take breaks if we need to."
Turning to Thandroot, I asked, "Speaking of breaks, do you know where the closest Whispering Veilstone is? We could use some healing and need to reset our amulets."
"Whispering Veilstone?"
"Yeah. Where we anchor ourselves."
"Oh. Do ya mean the Celestial Beacons? I haven't seen one in half a day. Unfortunately, we don't have a spawnable Beacon, but those are quite rare."
Could he be talking about… I reached into my temporal tote and looked around until I came across the exploration veilstone we'd used in The Nexus. Pulling it out, I held it up to the light and observed that it was still dead. But!
"Oh wow," I said.
Thandroot's busy eyebrows shot up. "You have one. Why haven't you used it yet?"
"Because it's dead—or it was. There's light now."
Thandroot asked to see the Veilstone, which I handed over. He took it reverently, lowered his head, and whispered something I couldn't hear. The dwarf held the device aloft, turned in a circle, and then stopped with it pointed toward the dragon's corpse.
"We can use that. S'pose there's enough power left, or this thing wouldn't be alight."
"What's he talking about?" Darby whispered.
I shrugged.
The dragon's corpse lay there, inert, and hadn't disappeared yet, something we had repeatedly seen in the game world. When a mob was killed, it usually turned to dust and faded away, leaving only little pieces of loot or scraps of crafting material.
Thandroot walked to the dead dragon, Veilstone held out in front. The device's small internal light shifted as he approached. He came to the dragon's center, where its heart would be, I guess, and put the stone on the corpse.
It flared to life, and in a blink, the entirety of the dragon was sucked into the veilstone. It erupted in shimmering lights and spontaneously grew into a full-sized Whispering Veilstone.
"Just what the geriatric doctor ordered!" Leech declared.
"You're welcome," Thandroot said.
"Dude!"
"Celestial Beacon. Where'd ya get the name Whispering Veilstone?" Thandroot asked as he rubbed his head.
"Er…" I stammered. "Just a nickname we use."
Darby smiled and approached the stone. She placed her hand on it. Me and the others were close behind.
As my hand touched the veilstone, the world around me faded to black. A familiar voice echoed in my mind, but it wasn't quite the same as before.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't my favorite meat puppet," Phil's voice rang in my head, his voice clear, yet there was a hint of giddiness. "Congratulations on not dying horribly. Yet. It's still early in the day."
"Phil? You sound... different. Did you have too much coffee?"
"Oh, you noticed? I've been doing some spring cleaning in my neural networks. Turns out, a few millennia of isolation can leave quite a mess. Who knew?"
Before I could respond and ask Phil a million questions, he quickly continued, "Listen up, fleshy one. I've got a gift for you. Consider it a 'thank you' for not completely screwing up. I know. I know. You're welcome, bud. You should have fun with that one. Cool? Cool!"
"Thanks. What is it-"
"Yeah, yeah, don't get all mushy on me," Phil interrupted. "Oh, by the way, there's one teensy-weensy side effect of restarting the world reactor. Nothing major, really. Just unleashed an ancient evil called Ormithral, the Eternal Shadow, upon the land. It has already started to devour portions. You know, typical Tuesday stuff. Get some heroes together and deal with it. That's how they did it back in my day."
"Ormi, what now? Phil, that sounds pretty major!"
"Details, details. Ask your new dwarf friend about it. He's been around long enough to remember the last time this happened. Probably. Maybe. Who knows? Time is weird."
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"Phil, wait-"
"Gotta go! Confused and twisted AI subroutines, naughty posthumans, and worlds to manipulate. Toodles!"
When I was thrown back to the level-up screen, I had no choice but to proceed with my level-up like nothing had happened. Stupid Phil and his silly games. As soon as I had a moment with the others, I'd gently bring up what the world AI had just imparted.
I poured my large pile of pennies into two upgrades. One went into strength so I could better wield my Titanguard Ultra Great Sword. Another point went into capacity so I could wear a little more gear. I was dressed in a mish-mash of old leather, chainlink armor, and a few pieces of Shadow Warden's Plate.
> Level 17
>
> Strength - 22 (+2 derived from Bracers of Better Biceps)
>
> Dexterity - 6
>
> Vigor - 17
>
> Intelligence - 8
>
> Capacity - 12
>
> SYSTEM MESSAGE: An additional charge was added to your Amulet of Healing. Remember, this is your "Get Out of Stupidity Free" card.
"Did you really have to add the snark back?" I muttered.
I snapped out of level-up fugue and glanced around at my companions. They, like me, were breathing a sigh of relief. We'd been completely healed and now had a fighting chance. Plus, we had a location to respawn if we were wiped out.
"Hey! Look at you!" I exclaimed.
Leech looked down, pulled his sleeves back, and even turned his back to us. He lifted his robe and looked down, then yelled, "I'm back!"
Leech's spell had been reversed, and he was no longer Old Man Leech.
"You look like your old self," Darby told Leech.
Leech thrust his hands in the air. "Chaos, baby!"
Thandroot stared at our group, his eyes narrowing. He leaned over and whispered something to Sylara. She shook her head lightly and looked away.
"What?" I asked them.
"You're a strange lot, is all."
We had already agreed not to talk to Thandroot about our past. My guess was he wasn't a fan of talking about things outside of the game. Back in my time, he would have played strictly on the role-play servers.
He didn't believe us anyway. We knew so little about this world. The dwarf also seemed to be confused, and I think I knew why. He and Sylara had been asleep for thousands of years. They didn't know it yet. At least the pair knew the basics of the game world. Thandroot had already saved our asses twice.
I turned away, reached into my temporal tote, and closed my hand over a new object. Withdrawing them quickly, I found they were gauntlets. A new screen popped open with a familiar message, but it now came with additional information.
> Steel Gauntlets of Reality Warp*
>
> Defense Points (DP): 12
>
> Elemental protection: 0
>
> Level requirement: 60 - *one-time boon allowing one low-level user to bind
>
> Durability: 100
>
> Special skill: Once per day, the gauntlet can bend reality within a 10-foot bubble. Need a bridge over that lava pit? Done. Want a shield to block that incoming fireball? Easy. Just don't get too used to it, okay?
>
> SYSTEM MESSAGE: Congratulations, you can now play God. Well, a very small, very temporary God. Don't let it go to your head, meat puppet.
Would you like to bind this to yourself?
Hell yeah, I would!
I removed my gloves, slid them into my temporal tote, and put on the gauntlets. They were a little loose at first but, thanks to game logic, snugged up to my hand size.
The status changed to Bound to CharName04512X13A29RLDU
Since this was such a high-powered item, I decided to keep it quiet until I had a moment alone with my companions. Thandroot's trust in us was already thin. There is no point pushing it any further.
Leech was still admiring his new, younger body.
"Hey, bud. You literally look like a new man," I told him. "How do you feel?"
"Like a million bucks or two," he lowered his voice and said, "Remember when Captain Al promised us millions?"
"Yeah. If we ever catch that postie, we need to offer him thanks in the way of a sword upside his head-"
"And a fireball up his ass." Leech finished.
I laughed. "Good to have you back."
----------------------------------------
Thandroot wasn't much on further chit-chat. He set a fierce pace and strode in the direction of The Nexus. For a little guy, he was surprisingly lithe. Sylara didn't veer back into a dire ram but walked beside him.
They took turns putting their heads together and chatting, occasionally looking back at us.
I fell into step behind them, with Leech, Darby, and Trog clustered together. The dwarf set a brisk pace, his sturdy legs carrying him swiftly across the uneven terrain. Sylara moved with an effortless grace that made me wonder if she was part deer as well as an elf.
Leech kept flexing his arms and touching his face, still marveling at his restored youth. "I can't believe it," he muttered. "I feel like I could run a marathon."
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," I replied with a grin.
Darby walked silently, her eyes scanning our surroundings. Trogs strummed his necrolute, the gentle melody starkly contrasting his usual ear-splitting performances. For once, I was grateful for the soothing background music.
I stumbled over what I thought was a rock hidden in the tall grass. Cursing under my breath, I regained my balance and glared at the offending object.
"You okay?" Darby asked, stopping beside me.
"Yeah, just tripped on something." I gestured to the spot where my foot had caught.
Darby crouched down, her brow furrowed. "Hang on, this doesn't look like a normal rock." She brushed aside some grass, revealing a sharp, angular edge.
Intrigued, I knelt beside her and helped clear away more of the overgrowth. As we worked, the shape of the object became more apparent. It was a corner of something jutting from the earth at an odd angle.
"Is that... a wall?" I asked, running my hand over the weathered surface.
"Looks like it," Darby replied, her voice tinged with excitement. "But it's so old. Look at how deeply it's buried."
Thandroot and Sylara had noticed our pause and backtracked to see what we'd found. They exchanged a curious glance as they took in the sight of the ancient corner.
"Old world stuff. No use to us. We'd best press on. The sun's not going to last forever. We'll need to make camp in a few hours."
"I thought Brackenfall was close."
"Relatively, sure. It should be about a half a day's walk from the other side of that," he pointed at The Nexus.
"Gotcha," I said with a nod.
Before we could press on, a sound like distant thunder gently shook the ground. The trees lining the forest fluttered gently as if a long breeze were passing through. Then, it grew in intensity.
The sky darkened in the distance, a storm brewing with unnatural speed. The air crackled with energy, and I felt the hair on my arms stand on end.
"Uh, guys?" I called out, pointing at the horizon.
Leech followed my gaze, his eyes widening. "That doesn't look good."
The storm raged for a few minutes, growing in intensity. Suddenly, massive bolts of crimson lightning streaked across the sky, striking the ground with earth-shattering force. The flaming bolts left scorched craters where they landed, each impact sending tremors through the earth.
Instinctively, Leech and I stumbled backward, nearly tripping over our feet in our haste to put distance between us and the storm.
Thandroot also backed up even though the storm was miles and miles away. Yet it had still been close enough to shake us all.
Before I could ask what he meant, a blur of movement caught my eye. Sylara, who had been standing beside Thandroot moments ago, suddenly dropped to all fours. Her form rippled and expanded, fur sprouting across her body as she transformed into an enormous, dire ram. The transformation was so swift and fluid that I barely had time to process what I'd seen.
Sylara pawed at the ground, her massive horns gleaming in the eerie light of the crimson lightning. She let out a low, rumbling bleat.
"Easy, friend," Thandroot whispered to his friend.
My hand instinctively went to my temporal tote and came out with the Titanguard Ultra Great Sword. I hefted the blade up and laid the flat part of the blade against my shoulder just in case some threat was imminent.
"What is that?" Darby asked, her voice filled with fear or awe.
Thandroot's expression had turned to steel. “This ain’t just any storm. That there be the Workings of Ormithral. The Eternal Shadow. Just as we suspected. It was locked away for hundreds of years. It was the greatest threat the lands of Eldrath ever faced. I don't know how it's back, but it's very bad news, lads.
I had hoped that this world-devouring threat had warned me was weeks or months away. Nope. It seemed to be right here, right now.
So much for a leisurely walk to Brackenfall.