We reached the white tree, a towering presence that loomed above us in the center of a clearing.

It stood there as a sovereign on its throne, emanating both a sense of majesty and melancholy. Its branches, almost devoid of leaves, twisted and tangled around each other, extending in all directions.

Though the sounds of rattling and growling didn't fully reach this place, their echoes were distorted, creating an eerie atmosphere.

Yet, amidst this haunting scene, the melodic songs of birds could still be heard, offering a semblance of tranquility, like an oasis of peace in the midst of a desert.

I was admiring the monumental tree when the Lynx asked me:

“Do you see her?”

“Err, no. Where is she?”

“Down there at the base, walk a little back and forth... There, where you are! You should see her!”

As I followed the Lynx's instructions, walking back and forth near the base of the tree, I finally caught sight of her. There, nestled amidst the grass, was a white flower. It was a peculiar sight, visible only from a specific vantage point as if observing it through a prism.

The flower was far from ordinary; its petals were thick and elongated, arranged in concentric circles. The outer petals measured around eight to ten centimeters in length, overlapping one another, while the inner petals became smaller, only half a centimeter long.

The predominant color was white, but it carried a delicate pinkish hue, giving it a rosy tint. The closer the petals were to the center, the whiter they became.

Nestled within the middle of the flower was a small, puffy white circle, while light blue and light red appendage bulbs adorned the petals near their joints.

It was a captivating sight, simultaneously strange and beautiful.

I wondered if the flower was there to trigger some kind of mechanism to unlock a gate or port me somewhere. As I stretched my hand towards the flower, a cloud of silvery fine dust rose from it, wrapped itself in the air, and a fairy appeared in front of me, forcing me to step backward.

There was a fleeting moment of disappointment when I realized that White Flower wasn't a player but rather an NPC. However, upon further reflection, I realized that I should have anticipated this.

As a high-level character venturing into the beginner's chapters, it was only logical that I would be presented with quests tailored to my level rather than the standard beginner quests. It made perfect sense, and I shouldn't have been caught off guard by it.

She grinned, with a hint of mischief in her eyes, at her having successfully kind of ambushed me.

She was an extraordinary fairy, but then again, all fairies have their own peculiarities.

She appeared to be roughly the size and age of a sixteen-year-old girl. Her skin had a mesmerizing silver-white hue with sporadic streaks of black and red, mostly concentrated towards the extremities of her hands and legs.

Intricate filigree wings sprouted from her back while two horns adorned her head.

Her attire consisted of intricate body art or perhaps elaborate tattoos that adorned her modesty and delicately covered her small breasts, with additional designs randomly scattered across her body.

Her hair cascaded in silver-white strands with occasional darker highlights, and her wings exhibited a soft white-rosy hue.

There was a striking resemblance between her and the colors of the flower I'd seen before. Or perhaps it was the other way around?

She now smiled, her expression carrying a sense of maturity far beyond her youthful appearance as if the wisdom of centuries shone through her sparkling eyes.

“Hi, Cala! Please allow me to introduce myself; I am White Flower.”

As she spoke, her voice carried a gentle and melodious tone, resonating with youthful energy.

As was my usual approach with NPCs, I attempted to cut straight to the point, hoping to bypass lengthy introductions.

“Hi, White Flower. Who are you? What are you? And what is this all about?”

Her eyes widened slightly in response to my directness, and she repeated her previous statement, observing me with a sidelong glance.

“I am White Flower the fairy!”

As if the name should have rang a bell with me! I figured I should check my list of open quests to see if she appeared there.

She didn't give me any more time to examine her as she let out a sigh, looked at me with a tinge of disappointment in her eyes, and spoke in a partially amused, partially admonishing tone, shaking her head.

“Humans….Was the message: you are in great danger, leave now, not clear enough?”

I sighed at my turn as I realized that she had seen my collar.

“Please don't put salt on my wounds, lady NPC.”

I considered arguing that I could handle myself, but I realized that now was not the moment for such discussions, especially since I had just lost the 'little confrontation' that she clearly intended to protect me from.

I let out a sigh and began to explain myself,

"I generally don't follow the instructions of others, especially when I don't know them or their motives. It could have been a trap for all I knew."

I was lying through my teeth. The truth was, I had been simply too lazy, too overconfident in my own abilities, and too comfortable in my indolence.

She continued to speak in her gentle and melodious tone, with a smile on her face, as if she understood that I was just making excuses for my laziness.

“I am White Flower, not Lady Enpiesie, and if you had done what I said, it would have saved both of us some trouble.”

I huffed. How did this NPC know the gnome would attack me?

"How did you know?" - I wondered.

"You're not the first one who's been attacked by him. There must be a spy feeding him information about stronger fighters arriving in town."

She was quite an interesting and curious NPC.

As I observed her, she returned the smile and raised an eyebrow. Her eyes were unlike any I had seen before, with blotches that covered part of the surface, like silver ink stains, with myriads of small lines made out of mercury over a darker backdrop, and they seemed to shift in color slowly as she looked at me.

“You said it would have saved both of us some trouble. How are you implied here?” - I wondered.

How could the fact that I lost a fight cause her some trouble? She explained herself in the next sentence:

"I wanted to propose a deal to you, but that would require you to be free," she replied, her melodious voice carrying a hint of regret.

"A deal?" I wondered.

"Yes, a mutually beneficial deal. To explain where I come from, I need to tell you a little about me."

I almost instantly fell asleep and tuned her out. When an NPC starts telling me their life story, it's like a neutering blow for me. Their story is mostly just filler to justify their request: kill that wretch. The problem in this game is that you can't just tell them to skip it, as in other games. They would get annoyed and frustrated. So, I let them talk, concentrate on my problems, and let my subconsciousness filter their words, flagging those that might be relevant.

"I grew up with a good friend, almost like two sisters, me and Araxa."

Araxa? That name rang a bell; she's a wandering healer NPC that heals everybody for moderate sums of money.

"There was always competition between us, who was the best healer. We always tried to outdo each other. With time, I won; I became better, and now I am a much better healer than she is. Instead of accepting this, instead of working harder to learn and be better, Araxa captured me and tried to extract my essence and, in this way, take over my skills."

Oh, "extract my essence." I suppose that doesn't have a good ending for her.

She continued:

"I managed to escape, but she has been chasing me ever since, following me wherever I go, trying to finish what she started. In my desperation, I ran into this forest, which was ruled by a dangerous lynx, and I found respite for some time. I hid here, healed the animals, and the Lynx tolerated me. After many years of flight, I was finally happy again, and slowly, I befriended the Lynx; Araxa did not dare to trespass his forest.

However, things have changed again. Powerful beings are now searching the forest, killing the animals, and even the Lynx is in danger of being killed. Araxa, together with the mayor of a nearby town, has put a bounty on the head of the Lynx. That is bad, but the greatest danger comes from a group of people who call themselves the Abyss Horde."

All I heard until now was: Araxa, extract my essence, implies Araxa equals wretch. Result: Go kill that wretch.

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Do I want that? I don't think so, but let's see further.

Abyss' Horde? Now, she got my attention.

“The Abyss' Horde? I think I heard the name!”

Did the banker not talk about it? This is a players' guild; do NPCs know about those? Obviously so!

She saw my interest and grinned, flapping her wings and rising a couple of centimeters in the air.

“Of course, you heard it; you have their leader's collar at your neck.”

Ow, that was a surprise!

“What? Is Grackak the gnome the leader of the Abyss' Horde?”

"Yes, and some of their people are searching the woods for the Lynx and for me. They want to kill us just to absorb the little magic one gets when killing prey. They call this 'getting experience.'"

The fuck? I was stunned to see how an NPC could perceive our actions. Was this okay? Should they have that level of understanding?

I swallowed hard.

“How does this link to me? How did you think of warning me?”

She did not answer directly but continued her narration.

“Grackak has destroyed the silver shrine in the holy Silver Town. There was a powerful talisman in the shrine that neutered any magic attack. The shrines were linked with magic, projecting this powerful protection in all towns with a silver shrine. The original shrine was situated in Silver Town on a magic node and absorbed the power from it. Now, the talisman is protecting only him, and the towns are no longer protected. That's why you were doomed to lose the fight.

As he destroyed the shrine, a powerful magic storm was unleashed that killed every living being in the area but him as he was holding the talisman. With pieces of crystal from the silver shrine, they make further amulets to increase their spell-casting power.”

"They?" I asked, seeking clarification.

"He and the remaining of the Abyss' Horde, those that were not killed in that storm."

"Oh," I replied, finally understanding.

"He is now recruiting further players for his Horde."

Oh, so that's what he tries to do! I observed her from the corner of my eye. It was rather astonishing to hear her, an NPC, analyzing and discussing players and their actions.

"Players? You know what players are?" - I wondered, asking directly. I was never renowned for my subtlety.

There was a moment of silence.

"I know you are a player. Only players can be controlled with the bet-collar; normal spawns not. He forces them to bet, or else he would kill them. They become his puppets; they have to do as he says. I was hoping to gain an ally; that is why I warned you. I was not sure you were a player at that time, but there were some signs."

I shrugged. I listened to her non-answer answer. She does not seem to fully grasp what players are, and I was not the one to clarify it. Or maybe she does not want to answer?

"I only have a quest to fulfill; then, I will be free." - I said.

She shook her head, gingerly laughing at me.

"He will renew the ring and ask more and more from you, or else he will kill you. I want to help you to escape his clutches. I will support you if you want to fight for your liberty and escape the horde."

"What's in it for you?"

"Survival? The Lynx and I want to escape from here and settle somewhere else. You will help us once you are free."

"How could you help me?"

"If you take me with you as a flower, you could conjure me at any time to heal you and your friends. But that should not be during a fight because any hit would instantly kill me. On the other hand, I could hide on your skin as a tattoo. My magic would still be limited to healing, but in this way, you could heal yourself anytime, fight or not, you could heal others anytime, and I could heal you when you are in a fight, and I could even talk to you in a whisper."

Escort quest with added heal bonus? Not a bad deal.

“If I put the flower in the item box, is it ok?”

She shook her head with a glint of horror in her eyes.

“No, that would kill me; I need air to breathe!”

Uhm. Carrying the flower with me as such would be a little cumbersome. The tattoo would solve the problem, plus the added bonus of healing during fights. Wow, that would be really good!

“OK, we go for the tattoo version.”

She made a rollover in the air, clapping happy her hands.

“Yippie! Would you please undress to let me do it?”

Ahm. Striptease included.

“Sure...”

I stripped, and she came closer to me. There was a bit of a cumbersome moment when she pressed herself against me, saying some spells, and then her body became blurred, and I felt a bit tingly as it prickled all over my left side. The sensation continued for five to six seconds until it settled. I watched as her colors were adorning my left side: from the left ankle up on my shin, going on until to my temple, passing under the shoulder, and covering a part of my left breast.

“I am done,” - I heard a whisper - “I can move and cover what part you want, but please be aware that I am fragile and would suffer if damaged.”

“Then better move on my right side; when I fight, the left side is in front… yaargh!”

The end noise was due to the tingly sensation as she moved over my skin. It was almost as if a slime would have navigated my body, but more complex, a slime with thorns and small electrical pulses. Now, it took a bit longer, about ten seconds, for her to settle.

“Sorry, better now?”

“Great. Can I dress now?”

“Sure”

I turned towards the Lynx whilst dressing:

“And what will you do? A lynx tattoo on my back?”

“Ahm, no, I could scratch you a tattoo if you want, but for me, you could tell everybody simply that I am your friend.”

I shook my head.

"In this world, you won't find lynx-friends strolling through the cities and engaging in conversations. I'm afraid this won't work."

He snorted, aghast.

“That's highly discriminatory!"

Then, he added, after a sigh.

"Well, this would be degrading, but you could tell that I am your pet or your mount?”

“Mount? Finally, I'll get my own epic mount! Besides, I am no hunter to have such pets.”

This was one of Cala's deficits. I did not have epic mounts. OK, it was not a dragon, but still epic. Jumping onto his back, I exclaimed my satisfaction:

“Yiiipyy. I think I will keep you!”

He chuckled.

“Don't let it get to your head! I meant: you could only tell, not really do it!”

“Mounts don't talk! You don't have a harness...”

“Don't you even dare to think about it!”

“A true mount does have a harness...”

“You'll learn to ride without a harness. Maybe you should walk now, or you might get brained by some low branches?”

“No way you will make me walk now!”

He shrugged, lifting me effortlessly in the air as he did that.

“Just for your info, I consume about half a buffalo per day.”

“Cheap!”

“hm, good to have that clarified. Besides, don't put me to sleep in the barn unless the horses there are meant as food. I could wake up in the night, and then I am always hungry.”

“That may be expensive; maybe I could let you sleep in my room if you are brave and don't snore. Don't talk whilst with other humans; just growl.”

“Grrrrr! OK, so? Maybe I'll insist on a private room.”

“Perfect”

My tattoo whispered to me, stopping our tomfoolery.

“No, wait. A bird just came with a message. Let me hear it!”

The Lynx stopped. Obviously, with his fine ears, he heard her too. I wondered:

“Now, really?”

The bird chirped again, looking at me.

“She says a group of four is following your trace and might be plotting to attack you.”

“Plotting to attack me?”

“That's what the bird thinks they are planning. I cannot guarantee. Maybe they are your friends looking for you?”

“Friends?”

This could be Alice and Spartacius with some guys from his previous raid. But why would they come into the forest?

The bird chirped again louder as if protesting something, then came to me and pecked at my hand.

“What now?”

“She said they are plotting; they are not friends, and she requests a reward.”

“A reward?”

“Yes, the little bird flew all this way through the forest to warn you. I guess a biscuit would be fair.”

“Oh, sure.”

I reached into my bag, and as soon as I had a cracker in my hand, the bird flew to my hand, cheekily plucked the cracker, and flew off with its heavy prize before I could even pretend to give it away.

I heard my tattoo laughing at my surprised face.