(Y7, January 26th-29th)

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“Rangridda!” Birkathane exclaimed.

“You didn’t think we’d come and see you as you passed by Mt. Talbor?”

“I was even going to suggest the raid made a pit stop at the Valkyrie Keep, but we passed near there in the late morning. Our boss isn’t one to like quote-unnecessary-unquote detours.”

“Too bad, the ones at home would have made you all a great feast. But I understand. That’s him?” the Valkyrie leader asked, looking toward the wolf-head cover.

“Right.”

“Is he Geri or Frekki?”

Vantegaard frowned at the question, and Rangridda laughed at his reaction.

“They’re the wolves of Odin, the sacred wolf-warriors. They’re known to be greedy…”

“Oh. Oh. Well, don’t tell him that,” Birkathan said, adding, “I don’t want the boss of the raid being pissed at me indirectly.”

“No worries. But we do have a surprise for you,”

“Ohhhhh?” she exclaimed.

“Sansemilla had the idea back when you three were getting ready; I just executed it.”

“Vormacinus, this is Rangridda, my guild leader,” she introduced the Valkyrie head.

“Greetings, miss. Come to see the celebrities parading across your Sector?”

“Well, celebrities around here are more like Gigantea or maybe Salvador, but I hear she’ll be waiting for you further south.”

Ouch. She refrained a smile at her Guildmistress’s little barb pricking at Vormacinus’s ego.

The Three were the Gamma sector’s legendary explorers, early year-two Gaters, and the first to arrive in the area. Gigantea – who insisted it was her actual name, not a handle – and Salvador Berrocal had been a couple already on Earth, coopted by Arnoldo Fontana, and they somehow managed to spawn within thirty kilometers of each other. They’d realized after their first Recess that they were seeing the exact same peculiar mountain peak from opposite sides, and they’d rejoined on Northworld a week later during Respawn. The duo had stumbled upon Julian Cotilla a month later, fresh from his first Spawn, and they’d pioneered what used to be known as the Delta sector before the two sectors formally merged, and they moved east to explore the eastern side of the new mega-Sector.

Apparently, if Gigantea was coming on the raid – and there was no way she’d skip on such an occasion – the other two wouldn’t miss out on that one. Trust the Valkyries and their hero cult to know about that rumor about the great local heroine already.

Well, she had her own hero at hand, after all, and they were headed for glory.

“Well, that’s true, I suppose. We do have a few of the Delvers already with us. Now, we do have a schedule…” Vormacinus grumbled.

“And you need to resupply. Which we’re here for.”

“Uh?” the wolf-headed raid leader did sound surprised.

Rangridda turned toward another Valkyrie, and she handed her a giant paper bag with a logo and .se site name.

“Trying to shake the local stores for food can be done, but if you don’t know the town, like we do, it’s complicated. Thankfully, we have the solution. Ten days of the best MRE one can find. Times 19.”

Vormacinus looked into the bag, bushy eyebrows rising as he took the wrapped packages.

“No need to hunt for food you can use. You have the best full-day packages, enough to last you to Hilltop Samms. Not that I wouldn’t say no to spending some time shopping with Birkathane since we never had enough time to show them the town, but she did say you wanted to go as fast as you could.”

The Wrecker leader threw a look at Birkathane before nodding back at Rangridda.

“That’s true.”

He raised his voice.

“Resupply’s here, apparently.”

“Come and pick yours,” Rangridda shouted as well, as the other Valkyries started lining up paper bags.

Birkathane jumped on Sansemilla and hugged her.

“Got the idea as I saw you packing when that FBI gal was there. I mean, I know you were stopping by the area. Ordered some online before coming, and the others used a fast Recess to bring those in because it was a bit too much for me to carry on my own across Respawn.”

“It’s still good.”

“Well, you’re the one among us who’s guiding the most powerful people of Northworld on the biggest quest ever. Who wouldn’t help?”

They still had a few MREs left, but refilling the backpacks was a good move. Everyone had taken various things, including Palacio, who’d taken cans and spices because he apparently liked to cook, but there was only so much you’d carry on your backs for weeks.

Vormacinus – and for that, Palacio as well – did not want to supplement food by scavenging. The mountain range that served as a frontier across a third of Beta sector was not good for that anyway, with little wildlife outside of things holed in side valleys from their path and dungeon-type areas.

The weeklong trek across the wilds between Goblin Pass and Gamma was not much better, although most of the raid had scrapped blue oranges on the way. There was already a road of sorts, with some trees cut down and left to rot aside and the brush being obviously cleared some, but the fruit trees that grew in the forest were easily reachable, and the term low-hanging fruit seemed to have been invented for that.

“Here,” Birkathane said as she handed a few leftovers, “get this.”

Her guild leader looked askance at the fruit. It did look exactly like an orange, save for a deep blue skin, like it had been dropped into dye. The skin texture was the same, and she knew that without looking, one could be completely fooled.

“What?”

“Product of the wildlands. I wouldn’t be surprised if that did not become a good export, even. Try it.”

The Valkyrie leader looked suspiciously at her but peeled it open. Even the inside looked exactly as you’d expect an orange to be, save for the slightly lighter blue tint.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“What the?”

“It’s sooo sweet. You’d think it’s a mango, not an orange.”

“Where do you get that?”

“North of Gamma. There were lots of wild trees on what looked like the new road between the sectors, with those. It’s even like oranges; they’re in season late in the year.”

“I remember seeing those in an old movie, I think. They look like oranges, they feel like oranges…”

“But they definitively don’t taste like oranges,” Birkathane completed.

“You’re right. Someone’s going to make a fortune selling that back home. Hel, I’m even tempted to get a few of us and make a run.”

“They were on the road between that new town of Gatepost and the mountains of Beta if you want to.”

“No idea where that is.”

“I’m not the best person to ask for directions with my skewed perspective with Absolute Compass, but I’m sure you can find a map to at least there on the Cotton Road store or factory or whatever they call it.”

“And the town is new?”

“It was on an old road – well, old for Northworld, a two-year-old one – skipping over the north border of Gamma. With the roads opening to Beta, they turned a mini-fort into the center of a new commercial town. It’s really brand new.”

“We have to go on,” Palacio interrupted everyone.

“And I’ve got another little gift,” Rangridda said.

“Really?”

“The road between Mt. Talbor and the south, including Hilltop Samms, is well traveled. But it’s not the fastest way if you want to shave two days of travel.”

“I’m listening,” the Second Gater said.

“Back four months ago, when Birkathane and the others came here, they actually took a different path.”

“And this was well to the east,” Birkathane added. “Not too far from the eastern explored border, actually.”

“And that’s a detour. The inquisition guessed you’d be coming and managed to wait for you on the path.”

“And you were there to intervene.”

“But… the badlands that border the Mt. Talbor area to the south are actually lousy with mini-dungeons… and not so-mini ones.”

“And?” Palacio asked.

“You actually have a few dungeons that start on one side of a mountain and open up the other side.”

The entire column veered off the road to head into the badlands, following the pair of Valkyrie scouts. Birkathane kept pace with Rangridda near the front.

“That’s quite insane.”

“If it works, it is not insane. This is useless in most cases. You can’t run a trade caravan through those. Most travelers will not be bothered with the risk of getting in trouble in the tunnels.”

“Unless you’re running from an Inquisition team…”

“…But if you have a dozen two-thousanders who can sneeze on critters and slaughter them…”

“But searching for that.”

“Well, we didn’t. Search for one, that is. We were looking for a druid grove that someone reported in a ‘secret valley’ in the badlands. You may have spotted that on the forums?”

“I don’t think so… maybe Van got wind of it.”

“Probably not. After all, he made that list of the groves around Mt. Talbor, and that’s not on it.”

“And did you find it?”

“Yes. That valley is actually where the dungeon opens up. That’s how we found it. We went exploring, and we ended up finding out it was extending for six kilometers until it exited the far way. With another grove there.”

“So, what did you find?”

“The grove or the dungeon?”

“Both. And I should probably call Van first,” she replied, looking back at where Vantegaard was talking with his Cartographer boss.

“So, you’re helping Vantegaard on his work.”

“Not subcontractors, though. We help because he’s good. And besides, we found out the grove mechanic together back when we were trekking toward the Deva territory.”

“And you got more Druidic skills now.”

“There are five Druid Groves within a week’s travel of Mt. Talbor. Five known ones, that is. We already knew about the one northwest with Ironbark Skin; that’s where we discovered the ‘locational interference’, as you call it.”

“And you found Growth, Water Breathing, and what was it, Resist Poison,” Vantegaard noted.

“Which works on venom as well.”

“I recorded all those. You said five. What about the other?” he asked.

“At first, it seemed to be broken. At least until Hlonhydde got a cheap stone for druid stuff and she went with us to check again two weeks ago. It looks like it’s another Growth.”

“Two of the same Skill?”

“I assume since that’s what she got there. I wasted 31 points on that one, and all I got was Heated Blood.”

“You’ll like that one if you ever go in high-altitude dungeons,” Vastragal said. “Not as good as Cold Constitution, but that one’s insanely rare, a tier 1 passive…”

“Does it work on Earth? That’s the kind that will get popular if we can find if it has a location.”

Vastragal made a face.

“The only two instances of that one are from spawn, both.”

“Well, can’t win them all. So we’ve got two Growth.”

“I was hoping something like Infuse Health,” Rangraidda said.

“What’s in the Grove we’re heading toward?” Birkathane asked.

“That’s the Growth one. Makes plants grow a lot faster.”

“Maybe one day, then.”

Rangridda laughed.

The “secret” valley did look like it was a fantasy setting indeed. In the dry badlands, it had a small pond, lush herbs covered the ground, and the fairly obvious druid grove to the side completed the effect. And like any good fantasy setting, there was an obvious opening into the steep slope that was rising to a cliff to the south.

Ramon Palacio called out to his dungeoneer buddy.

“Luciano?”

“Map is building. You know I only get 79 square meters per second. But it does look promising. Those Valkyries didn’t speak their asses off.”

“Didn’t think so.”

“Everyone, fill your canteen, and we go in,” Vormacinus shouted.

The raid organized themselves into a single file and went through the opening in short order. Rangridda and Birkathane found themselves at the forefront, as the Valkyries were the guides for that dungeon.

“What was this map stuff,” she asked.

The Dungeon Delver Anonymous raider replied, “A Skill. Makes me a very detailed mental map of any location, but it takes time to build. But in dungeons, it’s invaluable. This one looked very linear with side room?”

“That’s right. A three-kilometer-long tunnel with a single turn and two dozen side caves. It wasn’t virgin when we found it; at least, I don’t think so. Not many rats. We did find treasure, though.”

“What type? The only creature I can find seems to be 31. Well, no, I just got a second one at 30.”

“Probably rats. And the treasure we found was a… trove of Silvergates. Five of them, spread in a rat nest.”

“Well, that’s always nice,” Palacio said from ahead. The two co-heads of the raid were, of course, at the forefront, just before the Valkyrie guild leader.

“We had our last member Earthside with a Silvergates a few weeks before. All of them are still in our headquarters near Mt. Talbor actually.”

“There’s always people looking for some,” Palacio replied.

“We’ll figure out. I was hoping for a bit more, but as I said. Not a virgin dungeon. At least it gets used now.”

“So it does.”

Coming out of the dungeon tunnel into the sunlight was making Vantegaard blink furiously. The exit looked almost like a duplicate of the entrance that he thought himself back at the original location. But, he reasoned, if that had looped, at least Birkathane would have known. Even if her Absolute Compass didn’t work as well indoors as outdoors, she’d probably have figured out if the dungeon looped.

Besides, Rangridda had explored it, and she probably knew how to navigate it. He spotted the Valkyrie leader and Birkathane lounging next to that valley’s pond and beelined toward them.

“Nice shortcut,” he said.

“We aim to please,” Rangridda replied, and Birkathane laughed.

“What’s in that Grove,” he asked, pointing at the obvious circle of trees next to the valley’s pond.

“No idea yet. You know, levels don’t drop by the dozens, and we’ve all spent lots scouting those Groves for you already. Next month. And I hope it’s not a duplicate again.”

“Ah. Birka?”

“So you want me to try it.”

“I…”

“Or we can combine both,” the voice of Vastragal came from behind.

“Both?”

“You’ve got your lifeforce item?” she asked back.

“Yeah. Wait, you want to try?”

“Might as well pay a bit on my own. I don’t have any druid ability… and I got one point over the lottery requirement. Passively getting stuff is slow at my level, but I still get some while traveling.”

“Two for one, then?”

“If it works, we prove that passive items can help, and we almost certainly figure out the Skill the Grove has. And if it doesn’t…”

“We disprove the theory on items and requirements,” Vantegaard concluded.

“One data point is not a certitude, but it would be highly indicative,” Vastragal said.

The Grove had three raiders lounging in it, which intrigued Vantegaard. Groves would increase lifeforce regeneration, but given that they’d found absolutely nothing in the dungeon, he didn’t think anyone would be in need of some. He decided to ignore the druids.

“Too bad there’s no leyline close,” he said to Vastragal. “The closest is a minor leyline 15km east.”

“Can’t win all of them?”

“Yes. Really want to try?”

“Let’s see if this can be done,” Vastragal smiled as she held the ring from Birkathane.

She slipped it in.

“Does it show?”

“Nope,” she answered.

“Well, the vitals aren’t showing up on my Interface either, but they clearly apply since I have Skills that affect them, and the Sense the Leylines work for those. At least when it’s applicable.”

“Are you trying to convince me?”

“Well…”

“Because it’s a Resist Poison Grove.”

“What?”

“We have a potential winner. Not the perfect one, but I now have a new self-buff, and it looks like having plus-vital items does work.”

Birkathan and Rangridda had just joined them and looked inquiringly. The Cartographer's second-in-command smiled at them.

“Looks like you have a good item there. Vital boosters are not that uncommon, but they tend to be ignored because they rarely do anything but just that one vital.”

“With lifeforce and low regeneration, that one would be good.”

“As usual, there are exceptions to any rule.”

She pulled out the ring and held it with a big flourish.

“And I thank you. Not the best Skill to start Druidry, but it's a solid one. Thanks to that ring of yours.”

“You’re welcome,” Birkathane replied.