Chapter 221
As Jay picked his way carefully through the shrubs and vines he crept his way along the side of the Training Hall building as silently as he could. He moved past one window in particular and was relieved to find that the two people who he had seen 'wrestling' earlier had already left and the room was now empty.
Jay wasn't sure how long his talk with Natasha had gone on for but it must have been at least an hour. He was already starting to get a little hungry again. Too bad he couldn't summon a sandwich the way Aiden could. Maybe he would eventually get a food summoning ability – as an Adventurer class he was all about supporting his group.
Although perhaps he should let the other Glimmerhides catch up to him first, Jay thought to himself. They were still all level 2 whereas he was level 4. Some of that was due to him going out for dungeon runs with other groups. The difference between PCs and NPCs probably explained the rest.
PCs, which stood for Player Characters, or just players, had more ways to gain experience than they knew what to do with. They could trigger quests, for one, which was a huge source of experience points. They could collect armor sets, which rewarded them with permanent statistic increases. They could earn patches and activate areas that were off limits to non-player characters unless a PC was with them. Then there were titles, which could grant a little bit of everything – but required a Traveler to trigger it – an NPC would never get it as a reward on their own.
Non player characters, or NPCs, just didn't have as many opportunities to gain xp. Travelers, or PCs, leveled faster because they had more ways of gaining experience points than native NPCs did. If you were a NPC and wanted to level up the best thing you could hope for would be to get in to a Traveler's group. That wasn't currently well known, Jay knew, but as more and more Travelers arrived on Eden it would quickly become common knowledge.
Jay thought about some of the dungeons he had been in. Some had given him tons of experience points, some had tons of loot, and still others had rewarded no experience points at all. He had even run a ruins where there was supposed to be nothing but common loot.
There was no 'standard' dungeon Jay had come to understand – they all had their own quirks and reward structure. That was one of the reasons why researching a dungeon before entering it was so important. If a group was after experience points there would be little point in running a dungeon that had plenty of loot but provided no xp. Up until then others had done the researching for him but once Jay began to take the Glimmerhides out on their own he would have to do that research himself – or have someone else in the group do it.
Jay used one hand to shade his face as he stepped out of the bushes and in to a clearing of bright sunlight. After a moment his eyes adjusted and he noticed Norri waving at him. She was under the same tree their group had often met up at after classes.
There were students everywhere walking back and forth and gathered in groups talking. Students wore armor of varying qualities and carried their weapons with them. There were no trainers out and about – just Guild guards and Librarian forces, and the two different factions managed to keep the yard in front of the Training Hall somewhat calm.
“Jay!” Norri said with a wide and pleased grin as Jay stepped up next to her and leaned up against the nearest tree's wide trunk. “You'll never guess what happened!”
Jay laughed, “I can't wait to hear it! What happened?”
Norri quieted a bit and leaned in towards him so no one else would hear them – not that it was a possibility in the first place thanks to the crowd of students all talking at once.
“Carly got singled out for private instruction!” Norri said with a breathless look as if that alone could explain her excitement.
Jay nodded, “She told me she had some classes she had to attend.”
Norri frowned and shook her head, “No, you don't understand!” She sighed and became a bit flustered.
“It's ok!” Jay assured her, “Just relax and start from the beginning. Take a deep breath,” he said as Norri obediently breathed in and out loudly. “There you go. Give it another go!” Jay said with a grin.
Norri sighed and started again. “So remember how I got assigned to the guy who can transform in to a bull?”
Jay nodded, “Sure,” he said as he watched a pair of students race each other to the tree line and then back. “He was supposed to help you manage your bear form.”
Norri nodded and grinned, “Well as it turns out he wasn't what I needed. After I explained how my ability worked he insisted that I don't use the ability until I had spoken with someone else.”
“Who?” Jay asked at the correct time.
“A berserker! He had me train with an out of control maniac! This guy was insane!” Norri said in a rush.
Jay frowned, “Are you ok? I'm sorry if he set you up with a trainer you didn't like.”
Norri laughed and looked at Jay in disbelief, “Didn't like? I loved that guy! He was great! He went absolutely nuts once he started fighting but somehow managed to control where he directed his violence. I learned a lot from him today – I think the next time I use my bear form I'm going to be a lot more useful.”
“Um – you were pretty useful last time you used it too if you remember,” Jay pointed out. Norri training under a berserker? What the heck were the instructors thinking?
“As it turns out we have a lot in common,” Norri explained. “I lose my mind in rage when I'm in bear form and he loses his mind in rage anytime he fights. He had some great tips to keep myself under control. I can't wait to try them!”
“Wait,” Jay said as he scratched at the spot where his leather collar rubbed up against his neck. “They didn't have you try it out?”
Norri laughed and shook her head, “They insisted that I don't use my ability anywhere near them or a crowd of students. I thought I should probably listen to them as things got a little messy last time I turned in to a bear.”
Jay grinned and nodded. Last time Norri had transformed she had gone crazy with rage. She had, indeed, vanquished their opponent, but had done so with such rage and violence that the others had stepped back in fear of getting hit accidentally. Not an ability to use in a crowd of friendlies.
“Hrm. Probably for the best then. What does that have to do with Carly though?” Jay asked in confusion as a pair of students went running by, clutching their belongings.
“OH! I forgot! The berserker wasn't set up with the other trainers – they gave him his own room. Not for him but for everyone else's safety. Those walls are paper thin! I could hear everything that went on in the room next to me. Guess who was in the room next to me!” Norri said in an excited rush.
“Carly?” Jay suggested helpfully.
“YES! And T'lly!” Norri said with a crooked grin. “You should have heard her tear in to Carly! She gave her an entire lecture on STALKING. Not stalking your prey or hunting or anything like that. No, she meant you. She 'explained' to Carly that stalking students was not allowed and a horrible habit to get in to in the first place.”
Jay grinned at the thought of T'lly yelling at Carly to stop stalking Jay.
“She made her say 'I will not stalk Jay' a hundred times in a row. Then she gave her the sex talk and explained why stalking was wrong. It was absolutely brutal. I blushed magenta just hearing it through the wall – Carly must have been mortified!” Norri said as Jay listened in a bit of shock.
“Wow.” Jay said after a moment's consideration. “I mean I knew they were going to punish her but just, wow.”
“Right?” Norri said and nodded. “Do we still have to group with her tomorrow?” she asked with a face that looked like she had smelled something she did not like.
Jay nodded, “Yes. One, we don't have enough time to find a suitable replacement. Carly can be a mess but most of the time she's dependable. Whoever we get to replace her may not be.”
Norri sighed. “And?”
“Two, we've already given our word that we'd take her. She screwed up, sure, but she's paying for it.” Jay pointed out.
Norri huffed and sighed. “Is there more?”
“Yup. Three. People make mistakes. Let's give her a chance to show us that she's learned her lesson. If she turns out to be a mess we'll swear her off entirely and make friends with someone else.” Jay said.
“But we could fail tomorrow!” Norri insisted.
Jay sighed. She was right. Tomorrow was a big deal. They could end up stuck having to take the basic course over again – another month and a half of training classes and lectures. Jay grimaced at the thought.
He had enjoyed his training but was really looking forward to setting up his compound and going on dungeon runs with his group a few times a week. He wanted to move forward, not backward.
“You're right. We could. But this is the way things are and we're just going to have to make the best with what we've got to work with,” Jay said as Norri protested. He continued over her objections, “It would be different if we had someone to replace her with – but we don't.”
Norri sighed and finally nodded. “Ok. She makes me nervous though.”
Jay nodded, “C'mon. Let's take a walk over to the Dining Hall. We're a bit early but I'm sure standing in line for a few minutes won't kill us.”
Jay pushed himself off of the tree he'd been leaning up against and straightened his posture. Then he led Norri out of the clearing and on to the path that took them towards the Dining Hall side of the Guild's campus.
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The path wasn't overly crowded thanks to the fact that lunch wouldn't start for another fifteen minutes and the only people they really passed on their way was either a Guard or a Librarian.
“Do you feel like there are more Librarians than Guards about today?” Jay wondered aloud as the third pair of Librarian's he had seen in the last 60 seconds walked past them headed in the opposite direction.
Norri looked over at the passing black and teal clad Librarians and nodded. “They certainly know how to make a point. They can help or hurt – Guild's choice.”
Jay nodded. Seeing the armed and armored Librarians wearing the Goddess' color patrol the grounds was a sobering reminder that they might work with books but they were also combat trained, many of them with combat experience. And there were a LOT of them, Jay noticed. Librarians from all over Eden had arrived, and continued to do so. Things were not yet settled as far as the Librarians were concerned.
They stepped into the clearing in front of the Dining Hall but it wasn't overly crowded thanks to their early arrival. Groups of students and others were spread out across the clearing and not many had yet made much of an effort to get in line.
Jay and Norri wandered a bit aimlessly over to the Dining Hall doors and got in to line behind a couple of other people. As they stood in line quietly they heard a shout from the other side of the clearing that drew every eye.
“Norri!” yelled an older looking woman with a thick braid of white hair down her back. Atop her head the braid had been woven in to a crown of sorts and a number of brightly colored flowers had been tucked in to it. The woman strode towards Jay and Norri and people moved out of her way as she walked. She neither sped up nor slowed down – people moved out of her way almost absentmindedly as if they weren't consciously doing so.
“Alize!” Norri yelled and ran the last few feet and gave Alize a tight hug with one arm which Alize returned as well – with one arm. Both still held their staffs in their other hands. “It's so great to see you! Why are you here?”
Alize smiled at Norri and looked down at her. “Good to see you too Norri. I'm here because I'm supposed to be here. A Druid is always where they are supposed to be,” she said with a smile.
Jay raised an eyebrow, “Is that like a wizard never being late or early?”
Alize looked at Jay and laughed, “What? Who told you that?! Wizards are constantly late. Only a wizard would claim otherwise,” she said with a shake of her head.
Jay smiled but didn't pursue it any further.
“What about you little one? What are you doing today?” Alize asked Norri with a smile as she got in to line behind them.
“Ooo! I met a berserker today and learned some tricks I can use in bear form!” Norri explained in a moment of excitement.
Alize's smile widened, “A berserker? I suppose that could work - that is good to hear,” she said with less enthusiasm than Norri had shown. “Remind me to go over some of that with you when we start training.”
Norri grinned and nodded. It would be easy to remember.
The lunch line moved one spot forward and everyone in line cheered. Not loudly, just a happy 'yay!'
They were all checked to make sure that they were allowed to use the Dining Hall and then were waved inside. They each got a tray and stacked plates on it. Jay's plates had bacon wrapped meatloaf served with buttery mashed potatoes, and salted sweet corn. Jay chose an icy cup of cranberry juice for his beverage.
He paused at the end of line and picked up another plate. A single fudge brownie. That plate went on to his tray as well.
He turned around and picked a nearby table – most of them were still empty. He set his tray down on to the table and sat down just as Norri and then Alize arrived and sat down as well.
They picked their conversation right back up where they had left it.
“How about you, Jay. What were you up to today?” Alize asked with a smile. She'd already pegged Jay as someone who Norri looked up to and wanted to get a better feel for him as a person. Lunch was the perfect opportunity to do so.
A Druid was always exactly where she should be - and lunch time on a Friday afternoon was no different.
Jay shrugged, “I got some information on something I've been working on. A special kind of gardening you could say.”
“Gardening?” Alize asked Jay in surprise as Norri looked on and took a bite of her meatloaf.
“Oh – this is good,” Norri said and then went quiet when she realized that she had interrupted.
Alize smiled in recognition of Norri's comment before she continued, “You? I hadn't thought you were interested in gardening?”
Jay nodded, “It's not normal gardening. It's a kind of meditation.”
Alize frowned and leaned back away from Jay, “Oh, sweet Goddess, please tell me you're not one of those – the ones that think they can become powerful just by sitting and meditating? Every few years I get a scholar looking for information on gardening. Drives me nuts. Never works out for them.”
It was odd to meet someone that knew about the Garden so soon after learning about it himself, but Jay had come to learn that things often worked that way on Eden. Serendipity was in abundance on Eden.
Jay shook his head, “Nope. I'm on to something completely different – although there is still gardening involved. Hey – you garden a lot, right? Do you know about any older books that have to do with the Goddess' Garden? Or Gaia's Garden?”
Alize momentarily choked on her meatloaf and had to wash it down with her glass of wine. “You just told me you weren't one of them! Why else would you need a book like that? I'll tell you what I told the rest of them – the books say nothing about meditation! NOTHING!” she insisted as others at nearby tables turned to see what the commotion was all about.
Jay shook his head and tried a different approach. “I'm not interested in meditation. I'm not looking for hints about meditation. Forget all about meditation. I'm talking plants. What I'm really interested in is how to properly arrange the plants. How should they be planted? How should their growth be guided? What arrangement provides the most exposure to the maximum number of leaves? I'm looking for a book about tending plants.”
Alize nodded but still frowned. “Plants, huh? And that's it?”
Jay nodded, “That's it. I want to learn everything I can about those plants – I don't care that they're imaginary.”
Norri had finished half of her meatloaf by that point and had been watching Alize and Jay go back and forth as if it were a tennis match. She took a drink of her wine and dabbed at her mouth with a napkin.
“Alright then. But the minute you start up about meditation I swear I'll turn you in to a frog. Or a newt. Or something. I'll figure it out as I go,” Alize threatened Jay with an expression that promised retribution if Jay were lying to her.
Jay wasn't really lying – he didn't need any information on meditation – he already had a perfect guide to it in his Mighty Book. What he needed was gardening guidance – and who better to go to for that than a Druid!
“In that case, I'm sure I have something, somewhere, that mentions those stupid little plants with blue flowers. I'll see if I can find something for you, but only because Norri seems to think so highly of you,” Alize said with an expressionless look.
“Thank you!” Jay said with an excitement that he immediately knew was the wrong thing to show as Alize looked at him with narrowed eyes. Jay calmed down immediately and tried again. “Thank you. I look forward to seeing what you can find. I'm really excited to see your work with Norri too – she's beyond excited over it.”
Norri blushed and chewed another bite of meatloaf so she'd have a reason to not respond.
Alize smiled at Norri's reaction. “She will do well, I'm sure. You'll soon be asking her for as much help as you're asking me for, once she learns her way around a garden that is.”
Jay grinned, “I look forward to that! Norri's already a big help to our group.
Alize didn't reply and took a bit of her meatloaf instead. She got a piece with a bit of bacon in to he mouth and chewed happily.
“This is good. And it's not dry – I hate it when meatloaf comes out too dry.” Alize said in between bites.
Jay focused on eating his food as the others did the same. That was when he realized that while Norri and Jay had both told Alize what they had been doing for the day, Alize herself had glossed right over her own day. She rarely seemed to talk about herself and was always asking questions of others.
“You never told us what you were up to today,” Jay pointed out as he eyed his fudge brownie. He fought against the temptation and took another bite of meatloaf instead.
Alize grinned. “No, I didn't. Sometimes it just works out that way,” she said as she finished her meal.
She ate fast, Jay thought to himself.
“It's no big secret,” she finally relented. “I wanted to check on Norri. Since you were here it was the perfect chance to get to know you better. You scared me for a minute with that meditation stuff,” Alize replied and winked at Jay.
Jay huffed, “I'm not asking about, oh, right.” He realized halfway through his sentence that she was teasing him and he had fallen for it. “Good one,” he said with a crooked smile.
Norri giggled at Jay and wiped her hands on her napkin. She had finished.
Alize had as well. Jay was still eating.
Alize got up without any fanfare and picked up her tray. “I'm off, I have somewhere to be. Good seeing you again Jay – I'll pass on anything I find on gardening those imaginary flowers to Norri. She can pass it on to you when you see each other. I'm not saying I will find anything, but if I do that's how I'll get it to you.”
Jay nodded, “Thank you Alize, I appreciate it.”
She nodded as she turned to face Norri. “Good seeing you again Norri,” she said and gave Norri a squeeze on the shoulder with one hand. “I'll be seeing you soon – next week at the latest, ok?”
Norri nodded, “Ok! I'll be ready!” she said before she thought about it and realized she had no idea what being ready might entail. She knew very little about being a Druid, or becoming one.
Alize nodded once and left to return her tray. Afterwards she gave Jay and Norri one last wave and exited the building.
Norri turned and looked at Jay strangely. “When did you become suddenly interested in gardening?!”
“Goddess, what a long story. Not one for in public either, if you know what I mean?” Jay insisted as he worked through his lunch.
Norri motioned at him to hurry, “I want to hear about your gardening, lets goooo,” she said as she fidgeted in her seat.
Jay ate quickly and once he had picked up the last bite with his fork Norri snatched his tray and returned it. Jay was forced when he was finished to bring his fork up himself. The brownie he put in a pocket. He'd eat that while they walked.
Finally the two of them got up and made their way out of the Hall. It had filled up as they ate and the room was fairly packed by the time they made it out the front doors and in to the clearing in front of the building.
“Where to now?” Norri asked as the two of them loitered out in front of the Dining Hall, unsure of where to go next.
“Let's head to the Library.” Jay said as he turned and led the two of them down one of the many paths. Much like Rome, all paths on Guild grounds eventually led to the Dining Hall.
“What?! It's closed! You know that!” Norri said as they walked and she had to move a bit faster just to keep up with Jay.
“I know – but I'd like to try something,” he said with a smile as the two continued on.