Point of View: Kai
“Good morning, Kai.”
Every morning is the same. I wake to the morning sun, and Gladys is already up, making food. She catches small animals in the woods, or we pick berries, dig roots, or gather herbs for food. During the day, we walk along the quiet, darkly overgrown road and she tells me stories, or teaches me magic or “personal defense.” Unsuccessfully. Without using puppet master, I can't cast a single spell. And I'm more likely to injure myself than to harm something with the daggers she brought along.
A few times we hear the sounds of larger animals in the brush. Most run as soon as Gladys sends half a dozen fireballs and flying clods of earth, but once we’re attacked by a group of green-skinned beasts who throw stones, axes, and spears. Gladys single-handedly subdues the entire group. She would have followed those that ran away and destroyed everything she found had I not asked her not to - I mean, they need to travel on the road too, right? Leaving them frozen or asleep is enough. They didn't get to choose where they were born or who they were. Her hotheaded desire to follow them and burn their encampment cooled after that. Very few people travel on the road to Faerie Beach, so other than that, we pass no one going either way.
At night we share a single blanket. I look up into the sky and watch the stars as I hear Gladys fall asleep beside me. She says that falling asleep close together is the safest way, since the space inside the magic ward is small… and I am warmer than she is. Sometimes she points out the stars, and how connecting them together makes shapes called constellations. She tells me stories from her people, using magic to breathe life into tales of faeries and warriors and mythical creatures. Eventually her breathing slows and becomes quiet and regular, and I gaze upwards. I struggle to remember any of the stories or names except for a few. I watch the sky, wondering who I am, until I fall asleep.
Eventually the tiny road connects to a larger paved road, and we begin to see people. Carriages and carts, some going quickly, some with guards on foot. Gladys and I argue about whether we should hide from people on the road. She says that people on the road could be bandits. But I’ve never met people outside of Faerie Beach. If someone knows me, how would they be able to recognize me if they can't see me?
Days pass, and the road finally opens onto a massive field covered in short grass and plants.
As we walk out of the trees, Gladys lifts her head up.
Gladys: “Could it be…?!?”
She closes her eyes as if she’s trying to hear something.
Gladys: “It’s a Faerie! I know it is! This feeling… it's just like the woods at home!”
She looks at me excitedly.
Gladys: “Every so often, there is a burst of energy in the woods. People say it's just a myth… but I know that it's actually Faeries! They’re real! They didn't actually leave Faerie Beach! Well, not all of them at least. They hide in the forest and almost never come out…”
Her voice trails off and she looks out across the field towards the massive city in the distance.
Gladys: “...it's gone…”
Gladys: “I was sure that I felt a Faerie. But why would a Faerie be here? And where would it go?”
She slides against me and reaches for my hand. I let her hold it without pulling away. I recognize that she wants to be close to me, to touch me. She knows that I don't love her the same way, but there’s no reason to push her away. I would still be lost in the forest if it weren’t for Gladys. The only thing she has ever asked is to let her follow (who am I kidding? Guide / protect / keep me from dying) me for the rest of my life. So I hold her hand, she smiles, and we walk along the road to the capital.
---
Gabe
Grace, Lucia, and I trade off between lightly jogging and walking in the direction of the small stone church. As we walk, I look at the two bags carried in my hands.
[Cloth Bag]
A soft cloth bag.
[Small seed]
A small seed. What will it grow?
[Haruka seed]
The seed of the Haruka flower. Very difficult to grow.
Half an hour later, we arrive back at the church. Grace runs in to find Sister Maribel and report on what we’ve done today. She’s busy training with Zaza, who is learning to be a healer. I have no idea how long that will take. Sister Maribel comes out of the church slightly out of breath and with a questioning look on her face, Zaza trailing on her heels.
Sister Maribel: “Grace said that you went to the mountains? And that she spoke with a crystal, and got seeds, and has a magic garden?”
Her eyes are incredulous and it’s obvious that she has far more questions than can be stated.
Gabe: “Yep! Grace is now a Pacifist. And her Pacifist skill is to create an alternate dimension called the PAX Dimension.”
Sister Maribel’s eyes glaze over slightly.
Gabe: “It's easier to see it than to hear about it. Lol. You want to bring her with us, Grace? Let’s grab some gardening tools before we go - we need to find some shovels and a watering can.”
Sister Maribel looks like she has a million questions, but she and Zaza gather gardening tools and, a few minutes later, all of us stand near the fountain again.
Gabe: “Grace, I’m guessing that you might have more flexibility in the PAX Dimension than I do. Can you take Sister Maribel and Zaza?”
Grace lifts her head high with a look of pride.
Grace: “Just hold my hand.”
She takes Sister Maribel’s and Zaza’s outstretched hands.
Grace: “Transfer to PAX Dimension!”
I echo her words, and a bright light fills my vision.
A moment later, the church and buildings have disappeared. In the place of the fountain, is a small burbling spring, with a tiny stream heading off into the distance. Yes! That means we have easy access to water!
Sister Maribel’s eyes look like they are going to roll back inside her head.
Sister Maribel: “But… but w-where is the church? Where are the children? Where are we?”
Grace: “It’s a safe place! We can play here, and grow a garden, and no one else can come inside!”
Sister Maribel looks at me and lets go of Grace’s hand. Red lights flash, an alarm sounds, and Grace grabs her hand again.
I guess Grace will need to level up to get a longer range. I was hoping that she would have the ability to transfer people in a group around her, rather than always having to be touching.
Gabe: “Looks like they’ll have to be touching you for now, Grace. Which might make gardening tough. It's up to you. I'm going to start laying out the garden.”
I suddenly realize that transferring to the PAX Dimension could damage plants if we aren’t careful. Using the golden footsteps left behind from my own transfer, I walk a couple meters forward, and begin laying out the garden.
I realize, looking at the seeds in the bags in my hand, that this is going to be a much larger garden than the one I attempted back in real life. Miyoko was very clear that *all* of the seeds need to be planted… and from her remark and the magic of the seed spirit, I’m expecting almost all of them to be viable.
At home, I usually plant in raised beds that are a little over a meter wide, and about 2 long. Here, I'm planning to make long rows going out from the central spring - sort of like a cross or plus sign. Each should be a little less than a meter wide, so that I can reach across the bed without stepping on it, or jump across without stepping inside.
First rule of gardening: Never step inside your garden! Stepping on the soil, or pressing something on it, compacts it and makes it more difficult for roots to grow.
Which means that my first step for this garden will be preparing the soil.
I think I have over a thousand seeds in the two small bags here. This is going to be a huge project.
---
Koji:
[Global System Notice]
[Announcing New Quest System! Interact with items, other players, monsters, dungeons, or NPC’s to receive custom generated quests for your journey!]
Koji: (That’s cool! I wonder what kind of quests it will give…)
[Quest - Train a Magician! (Part 1)]
[Carmen has chosen you to be her mentor! Train her to be a magician. Begin by teaching her about mana - the flow of power that surrounds all things in the material world. Explain and give examples of at least 10 elemental mana forms.]
Koji: “What the… what in the literal world? I can't just buy her a spell scroll or something and call it good? I'm supposed to sit down and be a professor of magic? Elemental mana forms? Who has even heard of those? How am I supposed to teach something I've never even heard of before?”
Carmen: “Mister Koji, are you ok?”
Koji: “Yeah. It just looks like we need some help. Do you know any place that has classes on magic? A magic school or university or library or someplace like that?”
Carmen: “There’s the academy… and a library too. Sister Maribel took us to the library once!”
Koji: “Well, the library is probably the better choice. I don't think an academy is going to just let us walk in and take classes. But there should be a book on mana in the library right? Hey - maybe it'll even have pictures! That would count as an example! Let’s go ask for directions to the library!”
---
Gabe:
[Quest - Be a Farmer!]
[Your seeds need to be planted. Prepare the soil by digging and loosening the ground to a depth of 15cm. Plant each seed at a depth of 1cm and cover lightly with soil. Seeds should be separated by a distance of at least 15cm. Tree seeds must be planted at least 2m apart.]
Gabe: “Sweet! Quests! This is epic!”
Grace looks up at me from the ground she is working. After taking Sister Maribel and Zaza back to the church, she’s been working with a small shovel to dig up the earth. I'm definitely faster than she is, but even though she’s a little kid, she still has a decent strength stat. Upon noticing something in the wording of the quest, I decide to see if she’d like a different job.
Gabe: “Grace! Come on over here.”
I pull off the backpack and lay it on the ground. I think about taking off my shirt to make a flat spot, but I’d rather not. Grace is an impressionable little girl, and while my going shirtless at a swimming pool might be fine, I'm not the kind who does yard work shirtless just because. Whatever. The backpack should work. I open one of the bags of seeds, pull out a seed, and examine it.
[Seed (Quest Item)]
[A small seed. What will it grow?]
I put the seed down on the backpack. I pull out another that looks slightly different, but get the same result.
Gabe: “I wonder…”
I take a small handful of seeds and try to examine them.
[Seeds (Quest Item)]
[Small seeds and tree seeds. What will they grow?]
Gabe: “Hahaha I guess this is going to take some actual time then. Grace, I need you to pick up each seed and make two different piles. One for plant seeds, and one for tree seeds. We need to plant the trees in a bigger place than the other seeds. There are probably only a couple tree seeds, but we need to figure out how to identify them. I'll work on digging while you do that.”
Grace: “Ok!”
I grab the shovel again and go back to work. There’s no breeze here, but the temperature is comfortable. Well, it would be comfortable if I didn't have a million miles of dirt to dig. At least it's not hot and humid. Then again, isn’t there a spell that could do this for me? Or a special upgraded shovel that would automatically make the soil soft as far as the eye can see?
Well… there are worse things to do in life, right? At least here there are no bugs.
Wait.
I stop in my tracks.
No bugs.
Bugs pollinate plants.
How are these plants supposed to get pollinated? How will there be any fruit if there is no wind and there are no bugs?
Whatever. I go back to digging. Maybe I can find a way to summon bees. Or get Koji to find a wind spell. Either way we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
I dig a one-meter-wide row, going down 15cm and turning the soil. Thankfully, the work is fast. The soil is soft and easy to dig.
---
As I finish what I'm hoping is the second length of row, I check back on Grace. On top of the backpack is Lucia?!? Who has somehow shrunk? She turned into a 10cm flattened sphere, and Grace has a handful of seeds that she is slowly dropping into Lucia. The seeds disappear, and then reappear at one of her sides. Around her are 8 piles, each made up of identical seeds. Are they sorting them?!?
Grace: “Gabe! We’re almost done!”
She indicates the piles of seeds.
Grace: “All of these are the same. There are 8 kinds of seeds.”
She indicates another pile, separate from the others with a variety of different seeds of different sizes in it.
Grace: “These are the tree seeds. Lucia’s pretty smart isn't she?”
Smart doesn't even begin to explain what I'm seeing. Leave it to the little kid, and the rainbow slime who has magic powers, to make life more interesting.
Gabe: “When you finish, I have your next job. We need to plant the seeds, cover them, and water them. Let me show you how it works.”
I walk over to the first row with a few seeds in my hand. I press my fingertip into the soil, going just halfway to the joint - 1cm depth. I place one seed in the impression, then measure out 15cm - about the length between my fingers when I spread them wide - and make another spot, and put another seed. I do that a few times, beginning to make a box pattern - and look back at Grace to see if she understands.
Grace looks up the long row. Grace: “We have to plant all of these?”
I look up and down the rows. Gabe: “Yeah. We do. And we need to plant them all today. Maybe Lucia will have some secret planting method?”
Grace laughs. Grace: “Yeah. Maybe she will!”
Gabe: “After we plant the seeds, we just need to smooth the ground to cover them, then water them.”
Grace: “This is a lot of work.”
Gabe: “You’re right. It is a lot of work. But when the garden is growing, it will be incredible, right?”
Lucia does have a method of planting. She can somehow store items inside herself, so Lucia gave her a handful of seeds, and went along poking holes. Lucia followed, first planting the seed, then covering the soil behind her.
I start to feel tired.
No. It isn't tired. It’s… no. It can’t be. I don't let myself think anymore and go back to work. I don't have time for that.
We dig, and press, and sort, and plant, and water seeds for hours. We make 4 long rows going outwards with the spring in the center, and plant the 20 trees in the corner quadrants separated by at least a meter each.
I notice, after a few hours, that the light is dimming in the distance, and then the sky goes dark. Yet the ground around each of us to a considerable distance remains brightly lit - enough so that unless I look upward, or off into the horizon, I can't even tell that night has fallen. Maybe the aura of light from {Peace} has a much larger radius here in the PAX Dimension?
I'm concerned about being able to know where the plants are until they sprout, so we draw a small circle around each tree, and lines along the outside of the rows of plants. Then we go back and forth with buckets and small cups, watering the seeds one by one.
The very last seed I plant is the first one I received. One of the first gifts I got in Fountain City, a Haruka seed from a little old woman with a cart full of flowers. I place it in the corner of the plot, in a spot that would otherwise be reserved for trees, surround it by drawing a spiky circle in the earth, and water it with water from the spring.
[Quest Complete - Be a Farmer!]
[You planted all the Seed Spirit’s seeds on the same day she gave them to you. You receive her thanks. Seed Spirit favor +5.]
[Quest Reward
Choose one of the following:
10 random seeds
1 Breath of the Seed Spirit]
{Breath of the Seed Spirit}
A green set of vine-like runes shines in the darkness and a tiny vial appears in the middle of them, in the air above my hands.
[Breath of the Seed Spirit]
[Contains the enchanted breath of a Seed Spirit. Apply to a planted seed to bestow the Seed Spirit’s blessing.]
I uncork the tiny vial and turn it upside down above the spot where I planted the Haruka seed. A single drop of glowing green liquid drops out. When it hits the ground, green runes spread out like vines from the spot, then recede back. I put the [Empty Vial] in my pocket.
Grace is sleeping, curled up on top of my backpack with Lucia in her arms. I ponder whether I should wake her. I thought about sending her home a little while ago, but with all the tools strewn about I don't know what we would end up losing. And I don't want to pass midnight… I don't know how important planting the seeds the same day is, but they wouldn't have mentioned it had it not been important right? I gather all the stuff we brought, then carefully pick Grace up, hold the shovels in my hands, stand on my golden footprints and begin the transfer.
The familiar warning sounds. I cancel the transfer. I guess it would be too easy, and too broken, if there was *any* way to teleport using the PAX Dimension. It makes sense.
I gently wake Grace and place her on her golden footprints. Obviously the system doesn't require us to be *exactly* on the footprints. It would be insane if we were like a micron off of the original and it made us try over and over again. It just doesn't let us make any kind of significant movement. I stand on mine, we head back, and I hand Grace off to a visibly concerned Sister Maribel who is sitting on the edge of the fountain. She must have been waiting for us.
Gabe: “I’m so sorry it's late. The Seed Spirit told us we needed to plant all the seeds today. Grace fell asleep a little while ago, but I had to wake her up so we could come back. And I couldn't leave partway since anything left behind without one of us will disappear...”
Sister Maribel looks at me with what looks like a mixed set of emotions. She looks down at Grace, who is already asleep in her arms, then back up at me. There’s a look of concern in her eyes.
Sister Maribel: “Good night, Gabe.”
Gabe: “Good night, Sister Maribel.”
I pull off the headset and lay down on my bed. The feelings that I keep inside when I'm around everyone else well up to the surface.
I curl up into a ball and cry.