In the grand scheme of things, I hadn’t been offered that many quests since becoming a Protagonist. Still, I’d gained and completed enough of them to know that one usually didn’t receive a quest without any sort of inciting incident.
As I read through the quest description, it quickly became clear that this was the case presently, too. With that being said, the trigger was unconventional, to say the least.
The Wandering Woods I
Some unknown force is preventing you from advancing through the forest. Relegated to the periphery, you’ve aimlessly wandered only to return to where you began. Recognizing your predicament, however, is the first step in escaping it.
Secure passage through the trees to reach the center of the forest.
Rewards:
+1000xp
From her reaction, Verin clearly had gained the quest as well, no longer needing any further explanation from me.
“Curious. And yet, patently unhelpful.” She squinted, presumably rereading the quest description to glean any new information from it. Just as she’d said, though, the quest didn’t actually tell us anything we hadn’t already figured out. At best, it was a confirmation that I wasn’t going crazy -- or at least not any more crazy than I already was.
“Compass?” I suggested.
Without a better plan of her own, Verin nodded, and I removed the grand magus’ makeshift compass from my storage. Another trip to the sky helped me orient myself, determining that the center of the woods should be directly north of our location.
From our previous experiment, we knew flying directly there wasn’t likely to work. With little else to go off of, we set off on foot, carefully following the compass to avoid any mishaps.
Now that we knew what we were up against, with any luck, we’d find a way to complete the quest in no time.
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After another three days, it was safe to say that we did not have any luck.
Despite the acquisition of our new quest, not much else changed. As we continued to trudge through the forest, fighting our way through a seemingly endless supply of panthers, I could only hope that Cal was faring better. At this rate, she’d be back before we’d made even a smidgen of progress.
The entire time, I’d been wary of any form of flying in case that somehow set us back. After day after day with no visible change, however, I was willing to risk it if just for some form of confirmation that we were still going in the right direction.
Up I rose, high above the canopy, Verin along for the ride on my back.
And once again, there was the prairie, right behind us.
A full six days of traveling, and we’d effectively done nothing.
“Well. Damn.” I set us back down, and Verin conjured a few ice walls to grant us some measure of protection. No longer needing to worry about panther attacks, I flopped to the ground, uncertain of how to proceed. If somewhat more refined, Verin reacted much the same, a pensive look crossing her face as she sat with her back against one of the walls.
Flying didn’t work. Wandering about had failed us. Walking directly towards the center did nothing. My various vision variants had spotted nothing. What were we missing?
It was at moments like this that I sorely missed the guidance of those back in Emer’Thalis. Something told me that any of the forest shadows would have breezed through the entire region with ease. With her eclectic host of forest-related class skills, Hartha in particular would have been invaluable here.
Or Elphaea. If the dryad were around, she probably could have moved us directly to the forest’s center, using her standard trick of traveling through the tree-
Wait. I hastily pulled the quest description back up, scanning it until I reached the relevant line.
Secure passage through the trees to reach the center of the forest.
What if the quest was offering us a hint? What if the description was more literal than we’d imagined? Thinking back a full year to when I’d first encountered Elphaea, I finally had a vague plan.
“I have an idea. Backpack.” I beckoned Verin over, and though she shot me a questioning look, she readily complied.
“I suppose I will allow myself to be surprised, Lady Tess.” She climbed onto my back and secured herself, prepared for whatever I might have in mind.
With a single Jet-Step-enhanced jump, I abandoned our enclosure and wandered off until I found a stretch of forest that was slightly sparser than the rest. A clearing would have been better, but this would do.
With that, I sat down, and I closed my eyes.
By far, the sense that I relied on the most was my vision. That had been true before I’d gained magic powers, and now that I had Arcane Vision, it was only more so.
Still, that didn’t mean that sight was all I had to go off of. In addition to my standard senses, I’d even gained a few new ways of perceiving the world. Mana Sense was one, and I often made use of it. While I often overlooked it, however, Danger Sense was another, a reward for reaching the first Perception threshold. More than just alerting me to actual danger, it also gave me a sixth sense for when I was being watched.
Rather than honing the sense to make it more powerful, however, I’d actually spent most of my time actively suppressing it. Alone in a dungeon, it was a useful tool, but I’d spent far more time in society, flitting between different settlements before landing in Sylum. Clearly a foreigner -- and more recently, one who’d passed the first Charisma threshold -- I’d attracted a lot of stares everywhere I went.
If just to keep myself from being overstimulated, I’d quickly learned to filter out most of what Danger Sense was telling me unless it detected actual danger or malice directed my way.
For the first time in a long time, I now did the exact opposite. Retracting the rest of my senses, I shifted every iota of my focus towards the ability, searching for even the barest hint that anyone was looking my way.
Initially, I sensed nothing. Even with my Perception far higher than normal for someone my level, I wasn’t able to detect anything amiss. As the seconds dragged on, I began to fear that it wasn’t an issue with my senses at all. It was entirely possible that there just wasn’t anything to find. In the first place, this had been a long shot, and I was probably getting myself excited over noth-
There.
It was faint. Faint enough that I wondered if it was a figment of my imagination, at first. Starting out as the barest of tingles in the back of my skull, the sensation grew until I was certain that I wasn’t making it up.
Something was watching me.
Better yet, considering that no claws were presently slashing at my throat, I had to imagine my onlooker wasn’t a panther. As far as I knew, the felines weren’t known for their patience or circumspection.
All right. On the count of three.
I counted down, readying myself. As soon as I reached “one,” I whipped my head around, homing in on the origin of the feeling. Not immediately spotting anything, I raced through all my vision variants.
And for once, I actually got a hit.
Vitality Sight. The life variant of Arcane Vision was practically blinding, as everything around me was teeming with vitality. Even so, a singular tree stood out from the rest, glowing so brightly that there was unmistakably something different about it. Given that the location of the tree also coincided with what Danger Sense was telling me, I knew that I’d finally found what I was after.
Without pause, I sprung forth. With Verin on my back, I couldn’t use Spatial Step, but that didn’t stop me from racing over the earth, Flash Feet propelling me forward. In the blink of an eye, I’d already crossed half the distance between us. Admittedly, I wasn’t actually sure what to do when I reached the tree, but that didn’t stop me.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
And more importantly, the figure watching me didn’t know that either.
At last reacting to my mad dash, the great wellspring of life mana pushed against the wooden confines of the tree. In a familiar display, the bark rippled as if liquid, and a figure pulled itself out of the tree.
It was here that my initial assumption was turned on its head. While I’d had the broad strokes right, it was clear that the creature before me was no dryad. Rather than being made of physical wood like Elphaea, our hidden spy wasn’t corporeal at all, instead being a mass of mana in the general shape of a young woman.
“Eep!” With a childlike squeal, our quarry bolted, its speed giving me a run for my money. Even as I chased after her, I shot off God’s Eye to see what I was up against.
Forest Nymph: Level 23, 1300/1300hp
A woodland spirit residing in the Wandering Woods. With many of her kind now deep in slumber, boredom has taken over her.
While offering me some interesting new data points, the description didn’t change anything for me. Regardless of whatever the nymph’s role in my quest was, I wouldn’t be able to figure anything out if she successfully ran away. And so, in an odd repeat to the time I’d chased Elphaea, I rushed after the forest spirit.
Just as the dryad had so long ago, the nymph similarly dove into tree after tree, narrowly evading me by reappearing further into the forest. Having gotten over her earlier shock, the spirit constantly glanced back at us as she ran, laughing as we failed to reach her. Soon, the only sounds surrounding us were the rush of the wind and the high, chirpy laughter.
Had there not been any spatial shenanigans going on, I would have considered leaving Verin behind to free up my Spatial Step. As it was, I was afraid if we got separated, we might not be able to find each other again.
Of course, being with Verin had certain benefits, too.
“Eee!” Another cry left the nymph, though this time it was equally startled as it was indignant. Creeping Permafrost gripped the spirit’s feet, somehow applying its slow despite the lack of a physical body to grip onto.
In retaliation, the nymph sent a pulse of mana down into the earth. Roots erupted from the ground, half barring my way forward while the other half attempted to ensnare me.
Forewarned, however, it was simple enough to launch myself over the grasping roots with a few Jet Steps. A few low-hanging branches quested out to similarly impede me, but Tal’Ket’s talon guard finally made its worth known as I rapidly redirected myself midair.
Not bothering to waste time breaking my fall, I hit the ground with a resounding thunk that rattled my bones. Even as the nymph stared wide-eyed at my acrobatic prowess, another layer of permafrost coated her feet.
The chase didn’t end there, with the nymph narrowly evading me for far longer than I’d like to admit, but the debuff all but sealed her fate. Even as she grew slower and slower, my Endurance kept me going long past what would have been possible on Earth.
There. At last, the spirit made a mistake. In her mad flight, she’d momentarily strayed too far from the nearest tree. Summoning up every last ounce of speed at my disposal, I lunged. While she sensed me closing in and dove away, it was too late. One Jet Step was all I needed to finally catch up, my fingers at last brushing up against her back.
I curled them into a fist, hoping to grab on to the spirit.
It was much to my bemusement, then, when the only thing I caught was empty air.
A cheery giggle seemed to fill the entire forest, even as the nymph’s form dissipated before me, vanishing entirely.
Was that all for nothing, then? Please tell me that wasn’t all for nothing.
As if keen to do just that, a system notification preempted my curses.
Your party has gained the blessing of a forest nymph! This blessing persists as long as you remain within the Wandering Woods.
“O- Okay?” The message was infuriatingly vague, and it was a far cry from the actual conversation I’d been hoping to have with the nymph. If anything, it only left me with more questions than answers, sending me back to square one.
At least that was what I thought until I looked around.
I must not have noticed during my single-minded chase, but the forest that now surrounded me was starkly different from the one I’d begun in. The woods were much denser here, especially up above me where branches blotted out the sky. Barring me forcefully cutting through the canopy, I doubted I’d be able to fly out anymore. Without the constant laughter, the forest air was also eerily quiet, some heavy weight pressing down on anything that would dare make a sound.
With nothing better to do, I wandered onwards for a time, the trees seeming to subtly herd me in a single direction. I considered running off, but the nymph hadn’t struck me as malicious, and I had no other leads.
After a long walk that would have been pleasant and scenic in other circumstances, the path finally ended. Up ahead, a singular massive tree stretched upwards, as thick as my wingspan.
I approached it warily at first, but on sensing no actual danger, I relaxed. Unsure of how to proceed and welcoming a second opinion, I motioned for Verin to cancel her skill and join me. The noble wobbled out of her icy cocoon, immediately sending one hand to her stomach while the other rubbed at the feather in her hair.
“Lady Tess, I am beginning to revise my opinion of the treasure Tal’Ket bestowed upon me. In retrospect, should you continue to lug me in such a chaotic fashion, I may have received the best gift out of the three of us.”
I didn’t entirely follow what she was talking about, but I was happy to know she liked her hair ornament.
Despite her newfound appreciation for her equipment, however, Verin had little more idea of what to do than I did. Both of us agreed that we were supposed to do something with the large tree, but neither of us was certain exactly what.
We poked it. We prodded it. Climbed it. Dug around it.
It was only after we exhausted the simpler options that I truly thought about the events that had brought us here. Opening the quest description once more, I homed in on the line that had made me search for the nymph in the first place.
Secure passage through the trees…
It couldn’t be that simple, could it be?
“Verin, I want to try something.” I pulled her beside me, directly in front of the wide trunk looming above us.
Then, with a confidence that I didn’t truly feel, I walked forward.
Rippling like water, the bark parted to admit me.
Dragging Verin along with me, I stepped directly into the tree.
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Moving through the tree was a novel, if brief, experience. A slight pressure pushed on every inch of my body as the light winked out, trapping me in a cedar-smelling void. Before the sensation could evolve into true claustrophobia, it was already over. I stepped out of a new tree, a mirror image of the first, with Verin at my side.
As to be somewhat expected, we were still in a forest. Whether it was the same forest as before was open to debate. The trees here stood much taller, to the extent that the leaves above us looked more like a green sky than they did a canopy.
I entertained the thought that we’d been teleported directly to the center of the woods, but a quest notification was quick to disabuse me of that notion.
Quest Updated:
Having amused the idle forest nymph, you have successfully secured passage through the trees, growing one step closer to the forest’s heart. To progress onwards, let the winds guide your path.
There were all sorts of things that might mean, but a nudge from my Danger Sense helped me narrow them down. Having a sneaking suspicion where this was going, I focused on the feeling until I could pinpoint where it was coming from. Switching to Gust Sight, I watched as the winds whipped about, converging on a single branch high above me.
A small figure perched there, an amorphous caricature of a boy with an ill-defined face. Much like his life-aligned predecessor, he was more see-through than not, formed mostly of whitish-green mana. God’s Eye revealed him to be a wind nymph.
Noticing my attention, he brought a hand up to one of his eyes, pulling down on his poor excuse for an eyelid. At the same time, a tendril of mana poked out of his mouth, the spirit sticking its tongue out at us.
“Blehhh!” An unpleasant, juvenile taunt left his lips, and with that, the nymph bolted off, jumping from branch to branch.
“Backpack. Now.” Not waiting for Verin to move, I grabbed the noble and threw her onto my back. Before she’d even fully activated her skill, I was in the air.
With Featherfoot to lighten my steps and Jet Step to shoot me forward, I flitted from tree to tree, navigating through the haphazard highway above the forest floor.
Far ahead, the wind nymph taunted and jeered.
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Your party has gained the blessing of a wind nymph! This blessing persists as long as you remain within the Wandering Woods.
After much travail, I at last plunged my hand into the spirit’s hazy form, this time prepared as he dissolved into motes of air. He left behind an ugly, snotty laugh in his wake, and I could only be glad that I wouldn’t be subjected to more of his vast repertoire of irksome squawking.
Despite the change in venue, this chase had gone much the same as the last, with Verin’s slows allowing me to gradually close the distance between me and the nymph. Just as before, the air spirit seemed incensed by the permafrost, though instead of summoning roots, he tried to shoot me out of the trees with blasts of wind.
Had I challenged him before acquiring my anklet, I likely would have lost. With my newly heightened maneuverability, though, I dodged and weaved through the aerial barrage. This time around, the entire thing barely lasted half as long. Unable to dodge directly into the trees like the forest nymph had, the wind variety just wasn’t geared to stop me.
In fact, that was doubly true when one of the skills I’d gained with Advisor Flithus ended up leveling once more.
Acrobatics has reached level 10!
Congratulations! You have reached the Initiate rank in Acrobatics!
Based on your skill usage, you have been granted a skill augment for achieving a new skill rank.
Augment of Aerial Maneuvering
Slightly enhances your Dexterity while pulling off acrobatic skills initiated while already in the air.
Soon thereafter, the dense forest cut off to reveal a clearing down below. The only feature of note was a mound of earth with a large opening in the side, looking more like a hole than a genuine cave. Gust Sight went absolutely wild as I examined it, the entrance completely covered with an almost-solid wall of wind.
Sensing that it was my next destination, I leapt down from the branches and approached. Even from afar, the air began to push against me, and with every step I took towards the opening, it intensified. By the time I reached the cave in question, my hair was entirely horizontal, trailing out behind me.
Even so, it was a far cry from what it could have been, and I imagined that had I come here without catching the wind nymph, things would be going very differently for me. Firm steps took me forward, and the wind bowed to my new blessing. With Verin still along for the ride on my back, I descended into the earth.