The party ran through the streets of Bloom Haven and back into the forest eager to test the powers of the Ever Bloom. The Orchid Tea House could wait until they were back in town.
They made it out of the gates and onto the path toward the forest when Yvlena paused.
"The Verdant woods are much closer than the Depths, maybe we should give that a try?" She said stopping to think deeply. "But the miasma within the depths doesn't have as much of a reach. And I do need to investigate the ruins."
The summons watched her ponder, unable to offer their own thoughts on the matter, whatever Yvlena worked out would be fine with them. Sprite tapped her tiny feet from atop Rabbit Knights's head. Eventually growing impatient she flew up to Yvlena's nose.
"Time's wasting, just pick one thing and follow through!" the little fairy said.
"Alright, I'll plant more seeds once I see how venturing into the depths goes." she said making up her mind before the Sprite could get even more impatient.
----------
It was not long into their journey when the party stumbled on another corrupted fox blocking their path, they could see the way the miasma took hold of the Fox, coloring its eyes an unnatural shade of red and turning it from a simple mob to a deadly beast.
The beast growled lowly, setting itself to attack if they moved even a single step.
The sight of the creature would have cowed Yvlena at a previous level, but now she brandished her carrot sword with ease and leaped at the beast.
[Yvlena Acquired
EXP: 160/810
***
Shadow essence x2
Dark Fox Pelt x1
***
Moon Points: 250]
They watched the creature give a final howl as it faded into nonexistence.
"A good job well done!" Yvlena said. They continued on, stopping at the Lake to get some water before they would once again encounter the ruins.
"If only I had a bottle or something!" Yvlena whined as they continued on. Soon they reached the path, finding the forest had grown more rotten since the last time they saw it.
The trees withered, leaving patches of space where thick leaves used to be, but that didn't mean there was any sunlight falling through. The sky above was merely a shadow of what was outside the forest, falling under the miasma's corruptive influence.
With each step they took, clouds of dark energy rose to follow their footsteps, the strength of the dark energy grew with every passing moment. Suddenly Yvlena felt a sharp tug from her side, followed by a system's notification.
[The Ever Bloom wants to guide]
"The plant wants to guide?" Yvlena asked incredulously, she retrieved the potted plant from her inventory, the weight heavy in her hands. The plant jerked forward, drawn by a force deep within the path.
"Ah!" Yvlena yelped but had no choice but to follow along. The girl ran, pulled by the force of the Ever Bloom until she once again reached the darkness of the temple.
The pitch darkness doesn't allow Yvlena a glimpse of the temple or its surroundings, if they wanted to go deeper they would need a source of light. The elven girl took out her torch and asked Sprite to light it.
[Yvlena Acquired
***
Fairy Lit Torch x1]
The brilliant light illuminated the path before her, finally able to see, Yvlena's eyes widened in awe at the sheer size of the Bloom Forest's hidden temple. Despite its ruined outer compound, the temple retained most of its regal beauty.
"It's just like the Rose Manor I suppose." Yvlena said stepping forward. She and her summons walked past the chunks of battered marble spread out before her and toward the temple's entrance.
A dark wall blocked the path that would have led deeper into the Forest and possibly to another town, just like the Verdant woods. Yvlena had no choice but to face the temple.
Two statues posed in battle stood overlooking the doors to the temple. Yvlena had seen them enough by now to know who they were.
"Vaelindor and Selendriel." she said as she passed, the statues were at least 8 feet tall, towering over Yvlena and her summons as she stood beside them. She ran her finger across the white stone, finding it cracked with age and soft with moss.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Vines and flowers grew into the feet and amongst the cracks but that only served to make them feel like gods of nature to Yvlena.
She lifted her torch higher, beholding the faces of the patron gods of Bloom Haven.
[Quest: Complete
Investigate the Forgotten Ruins of Bloom Forest
Bloom Forest used to be a rich forest teeming with life, unfortunately, much of the forest has been left only to the memories of the citizens of Bloom Haven.
As the Harvest Guardian, Investigate the ruins and see why it is the cause of the miasma,
***
Rewards
Ancient Ever Bloom seeds x5
***
Moon Points x700
Moon Gems x150
***
EXP x400]
[Yvlena Acquired
EXP: 560/810
***
Rewards
Ancient Ever Bloom seeds x5
***
Moon Points x700
Moon Gems x150]
The Ever Bloom guided her into the temple where they were met with the broken high walls and ceilings of the interior. The insides of the temple were made of a once shining white stone, all around, Yvlena saw the overgrown plants and bushes populating the once prestigious place of worship.
Broken glass cracked under the Party's feet as they walked in the direction the Ever Bloom guided, eventually coming to stop at the statue of the Goddess Selendriel without her male counterpart.
Yvlena cast a glance across the hall, finding a single statue of Vaelindor triumphantly holding his sword up to the sky. She turned her attention back to Selendriel.
The statue's arms were spread out in a welcoming gesture with what must have been a serene expression looking down on whoever would sit at her feet.
Yvlena could only guess the goddess's face was obscured by dark patches of moss.
The garden beneath the statue was dead, with rotted leaves teeming with corruptive miasma growing to cover the statue and temple floor.
Yvlena scavenged, moving aside some dead weeds to pick up some seeds. The old soil is dry and waxy under her fingertips. Sprite flew over, helping her dig through the dirt for something valuable.
[Yvlena Acquired
***
Wild Seeds x3
Old Locket x1]
"A locket? It must have belonged to someone who prayed here a long time ago." Yvlena said. She deposited her findings in the inventory until the system prompted her once more.
[Place the Ever Bloom in the Soil]
The game told her.
Yvlena nodded, unpotting the plant and nesting it deep within the soil of the temple's old garden. The Ever Bloom quivered, a moment passed before the roots sprung, digging themselves deep into the tainted earth.
Yvlena and Rabbit Knight jump back and watched as the cupped petals opened to begin sucking in the miasma. Slowly light begins to return to the temple.
"The miasma is clearing up! We did it!" Yvlena cheered. She's thrown off her feet by the ground beneath her rattling and shaking. The temple moved, and a strange groaning wail could be heard coming from the Ever Bloom.
A swirling, dark wormhole opened in front of them, Yvlena and party jumped back about to run away until the game told her.
[Miasma Dungeon Unlocked, 6 Hours Until Closing]
"Miasma dungeon? Closing? What's going on here?" Yvlena asked.
[Quest: Confront the Miasma Dungeon
The Ever Bloom opened a portal to the dark energy of the miasma, you only have a limited time before the dungeon closes and the miasma continues infecting the land.
Only by defeating the miasma dungeon can the miasma be banished permanently.
As the Harvest Guardian, defeat Bloom Forest's Miasma once and for all so the land can heal.
***
Rewards
????
????
***
Moon Points x1500
Moon Gems x300
***
EXP x700]
From reading the quest Yvlena could tell this would be a tough one. The rewards were simply too high for just any minor quest. The miasma had something to do with the war of the gods after all. It was because of their war that all this started.
She wondered if Rael went into a miasma portal, if that was the reason he went missing all those long years ago.
"Rael, could you be in there?" she asked no one in particular, a foul breeze from the portal ruffled her hair. A hand flew over her nose, eager to block out the smell.
Was the gift of five senses within this game truly a blessing or a curse?
She turned to her summons who stood far away from the gaping portal mouth in fright.
"Are you guys ready to face the miasma?" Yvelna asked. Rabbit Knight shot her a look. Sprite exhaled deeply.
"Where you go, we go." the fairy said. Rabbit Knight nodded in agreement. Yvlena felt as a fondness for the summons grew within her heart at the words of the Sprite.
"Alright, let's do this." Yvlena said, inching closer and closer to the portal. The summons stood beside her ready to follow.
A force pulled Yvlena in, grabbing her and the two creatures beside her and dragging them into the dark space.
Yvlena screamed, it was unlike anything she had ever felt within the game. The transportation to the miasmic world pulled her into it, stretching her like a rubber band. And though she didn't feel pain it was quite uncomfortable.
The three landed on a cold stone floor with a hard thud. Sprite whined about the state of her wings while Rabbit Knight tried his best to arrange his frazzled fur sticking up at every end.
Yvlena got up first, looking around to find a replica of the Forgotten Depth's temple.
The game only had one objective.
[Defeat the Miasmic Guardian]
"Miasmic guardian, so it's like a boss?" Yvlena said looking around. The once cracked and punctured high ceilings are replaced with a shy white stone gleaming from the sunlight. Old murals covered the walls, depicting the harmonious existence of the gods of Moon Valley. Sadly Yvlena didn't know much about the others.
Yvlena found herself once more in front of the statue of Selendriel.
The statue of the goddess in all of its beauty looked down on her, Selendriel's face, now clear of moss and rot looked even kinder, almost motherly. The figure's eyes bore a familiar shape and it took only a moment for Yvlena to recognize who it belonged to.
"M-Mom?" Yvlena gasped, it was only a vague resemblance but she saw it. It was strange, the statue at the library didn't have her mother's eyes. Yvlena turned away from the eerie figure to look down.
The lone Ever Bloom sat with its roots buried deeply in the soil, she touched it.
[Go back?]
(You are free to return anytime)
[Yes/No]
The elven girl selected the 'no' option, opting to explore the now rebuilt temple with her summons.
"Let's find the guardian." Yvlena said. She put her fallen torch in her inventory, now that light streamed in from the stained glass windows there was no need to carry that around.
The temple didn't have a lot of room so Yvlena decided to head towards the exterior of the building.
The party found themselves outside the temple, coming face to face with a tall pale woman.
"Who goes there?!"
[You have encountered Miasmic Guardian: Viseli, the fallen]
[Defeat the Miasmic Guardian]