Riding an alligator in the middle of a swamp was an odd sensation, but Elijah had to admit it wasn’t even the strangest thing to have happened that day. Instead, that label belonged the fact that he had battled – and defeated – a literal hydra, not unlike the one from Earth’s mythology only an hour before. It was just one more oddity to add to the list of curiosities he’d experienced since Earth was touched by the World Tree.

And he knew it wasn’t going to be the last, either. The world had grown into something magical and often unrecognizable, so the existence of mythological beasts shouldn’t have even moved his needle. Yet it had, largely because the thing had been powerful enough to nearly kill him. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the quick intervention of the other two people riding the alligator – and Bessy herself – he would have found his end at the bottom of the hydra’s gullet.

Of course, he never would have been in the swamp if it hadn’t been for Konstantinos and his wayward daughter, Bryce. Still, seeing the father and daughter together, he considered his labors to have been worth it.

At that moment, Bryce glanced back at him and frowned. “Why are you grinning like that? It’s creepy.”

“You’re creepy,” Elijah countered.

“What does that even mean?”

“Nothing.”

The teenage girl shook her head and rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the swamp before them. Elijah needed to do no such thing. Or rather, he was already paying attention to everything around them via One with Nature. He didn’t need his eyes to see everything in the general vicinity.

So, he once again turned his attention to the day’s gains. First, he looked at his updated status:

Name

Elijah Hart

Level

61

Archetype

Druid

Class

Animist

Specialization

N/A

Alignment

N/A

Strength

94 (72)

Dexterity

79 (64)

Constitution

72 (62)

Ethera

70

Regeneration

84 (64)

Attunement

Nature

Cultivation Stage: Cultivator

Body

Core

Mind

Soul

Stone

Hatchling

Quartz

Neophyte

He still had his enhancements – or buffs, as the people of Argos called them – active, so his attributes were pretty well inflated. It was especially noticeable because of his equipment, which added an extra twelve Strength and five Dexterity. It would have been even more if it had been a bit chillier. After all, because of the Cloak of the Iron Bear’s Cold-Blooded ability, he would gain attributes as temperatures dropped. Not very useful in the hot and humid swamp, but at least Temperate still kept him from sweltering.

In any case, his attributes had well and truly reached superhuman levels. Of course, he already knew that. It hadn’t been that long ago that he’d toted multi-ton rocks for miles in order to build his Dragon Circle. Still, it was nice to see his power quantified by hard numbers.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

However, Elijah was more interested in the new addition to his spellbook he’d received after crossing the level sixty threshold:

Soothe

Heal a large amount of damage over a short amount of time. Duration: 60 seconds.

He’d already tried it out on Bryce and Konstantinos, both of whom had taken incidental damage during the fight, and he was pleasantly surprised by the effects. From what he could tell using that small sample size, the new spell worked like a combination of Touch of Nature and Aura of Renewal. It lasted sixty seconds, but during that time, it injected a small amount of healing for every three seconds that passed. Altogether, those twenty pulses were slightly more effective than a single cast of Touch of Nature.

Yet, it had both pros and cons. Due to the nature of the spell, it took sixty seconds to get the full effect. That meant that it wasn’t sufficient to combat truly urgent needs. However, it made up for that with its efficiency as well as convenience. It cost a fraction of the ethera necessary to cast Touch of Nature, which meant that it was far and away the most efficient method of healing he had available. And on top of that, it had one major benefit – he could cast it from a short distance away – no more than ten feet, he’d found.

That had always been the issue with Touch of Nature. As the name implied, it required that he touch his patient. Soothe solved that problem, though in a roundabout way. It wouldn’t replace Touch of Nature, he was certain. But rather, it would be a nice addition to his spellbook.

Already, Elijah was thinking of a hundred different situations where it would have come in handy, but the most recent battle against the hydra was the most glaring among them. If he’d had that available, he might not have had to use Guardian’s Renewal to curtail the effects of the monster’s venom.

But what was done was done. Hopefully, he wouldn’t need the powerful restoration before the week-long cooldown was up.

All of that went through Elijah’s mind as they cut through the swamp. As it turned out, he’d gotten turned around at some point, and they were much further away from Konstantinos’ homestead than he’d first expected. So, it took a couple of hours before they reached the collection of tin-roofed houses. When they did, they were greeted by the same gaggle of excited children and a very relieved-looking Marcy.

It wasn’t long before they climbed onto the dock, and Elijah was shown to an outdoor shower stall. Thankfully, it was enclosed, so he wasted no time before he stripped off and took a shower using his homemade soap. He also took some time to wash the muck from his clothes, though much of it persisted through his efforts. He could have used some of his cleansing powder, but he didn’t have enough to just use it whenever he liked. Besides, he knew he still had some time left in the swamp – after all, it was still between him and Seattle – so he figured he’d wait until he’d left it behind before truly banishing the muck from his life.

Still, he spent a good while making sure he got his clothes as clean as possible. Then, he donned a different – and clean – set of clothes so he wouldn’t contaminate the house. Thus clean, he gathered his things and headed inside, where he found the chaotic situation he should have expected, given the number of children.

“Sorry,” said Marcy, looking up when he came into the living area. “Bit of a madhouse, ain’t it? Never thought I’d have ten kids to care for at my age, but it is what it is, I guess. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

The interior of the house was cozy, with a rough-hewn look that matched the exterior. However, it had that ephemeral quality that was hard to pin down but marked it as a home, rather than simply a house. Part of it was atmosphere. Some of it was the presence of soft fabrics. Knickknacks. Memories. Pictures. Elijah hadn’t felt anything like it since he’d been in his childhood home.

Sure, his treehouse on his island was his home. But it certainly wasn’t homey.

After a few moments, Konstantinos led him out to the back deck, where they sat in a pair of chairs that overlooked the swamp. Night had begun to fall, which cast the mire in deep shadow. That same air of mystery Elijah had experienced before returned, and now that he wasn’t waist-deep in murky water, he could truly appreciate it.

Konstantinos offered him an unmarked, brown glass bottle, saying, “My special brew.”

“Beer?” asked Elijah.

The thin man nodded, then scratched his beard before taking off his cap and wiping the sweat from his forehead. “Don’t know how you stand wearin’ that fur coat in this heat,” the man said before taking a sip of his own beer.

Elijah did the same, then settled back in his chair with a sigh. “Just part of my style,” he said with a grin. “So, what’s the deal with the alligator? She’s a guardian, right? Where’s her natural treasure?”

Konstantinos shook his head before taking another pull from the bottle. “Some strangers came in and took it. Giant sunflower. It was at least four feet across,” he said. “They came in, attacked ‘er, then made off with the flower. She was too wounded to follow. That’s how I found ‘er. My pops used to work a gator farm down in the Glades, so I always had a soft spot for ‘em. Anyway, I brewed up some potions and nursed ‘er back to health. After that, she followed me home. Been with me ever since.”

“Interesting.”

“Yep. Way I see it, she replaced the treasure she lost with guardin’ me and the kids,” he said. “Normally, she don’t take kindly to strangers. Makes it odd that she seemed so taken with you.”

“Not my first encounter with a guardian. They like me.”

“Class?”

“Archetype. Plus, I know how to treat them. Give them some food, and most of the time, they come around pretty quick.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

After that, the pair lapsed into an easy silence that lasted until the sun had fully set. Then, Konstantinos said, “I just want you to know how much I appreciate what you did. Not many folks would step out like that and risk theirself.”

“You’re welcome. But I think more people than you think would’ve done the same thing,” Elijah said. “I know there are probably some rough people out there. Some bad ones. But I have to believe there are plenty of good ones, too. I’ve run into a few.”

“Hope you’re right. I don’t want the kids to grow up in the kind of world where folks won’t help one another out.”

“Me neither.”

That’s when Marcy came outside to tell them that dinner was ready. She’d made chili, which, as luck would have it, was one of Elijah’s favorite foods. So, he ate it gratefully before turning his attention to the children. After a bit of prodding, he tried to address their issue, but it wasn’t long before he recognized that there was nothing to heal. Not really. It was more like their bodies had changed. So, he had no choice but to assume that Konstantinos’ assessment was correct. Hopefully, when they reached the age where they could choose an archetype and start leveling, they would get better. Until then, the potions were the only choice.

“I have another Alchemist friend how might be able to help,” Elijah said in the wake of his failure to fix the issue. He settled onto a couch with patterned upholstery that belonged in the early eighties. “I don’t know if he’ll want to come all the way out here, but I’d be happy to ask.”

That offer was met with enthusiastic approval.

Soon enough, the children were put to bed, leaving Elijah alone with the adults. And Bryce, who seemed a little less annoying than she had in the swamp. Apparently, her parents had made it abundantly clear how disappointed they were with her actions, which had subdued some of her spirit. Or perhaps that was the blatant consequences of her actions, which had very nearly gotten them all killed.

Contrition was probably a good reaction to that sort of thing.

In any case, she soon disappeared into the back of the house as well, which gave Elijah the opportunity to tell Konstantinos and Marcy an abbreviated version of his story. He left out the more magical bits, only telling them that he’d been stranded alone for quite some time.

“And now I’m trying to get to Seattle to see if I can find my sister,” he said.

Marcy shook her head, saying, “To think that Seattle is as close as it is now. Before the world changed, this was Louisiana.”

“I don’t really know how close it actually is,” Elijah countered. “It could be a thousand miles away for all I know.”

“It ain’t,” Konstantinos stated. “That’s where them men who took the sunflower came from. I heard ‘em talkin’ about it before I knew what they was about. It ain’t close, but it ain’t thousands of miles away, neither. They made that clear.”

That was an encouraging statement.

Soon, it was time to retire for the night. They didn’t have an extra bed, but they gave Elijah some blankets and a pillow so he could sleep on the couch. He’d certainly slept on worse, so he was grateful for their hospitality.

It wasn’t long before he’d settled in. Before he succumbed to unconsciousness, he acknowledged that he felt good about his actions. Not only had he gained some levels, but he’d also helped good people, which was equally important. So, he went to sleep satisfied with the day’s work.