Chapter 168: Unwelcome

Hearing the information that Darkshot had gathered gave Aegis confidence as he went out into the City of the White Tree to complete his task. He’d made it up onto the streets of the lower branches easily enough, just as he had before, but the ramps and walkways that led higher up were under increasingly heavy protection.

Aegis made his way up towards the mid-levels of the tree utilizing a windingly rope bridge that was strung between two lengthy branches near their ends. He chose it because it was a good distance away from the trunk and had much less foot traffic than the central walkways that wound upwards directly adjacent to the tree.

The bridge was unstable, made of thick rope and dimly glowing planks with gaps large enough between them that he could easily lose his footing and slip through if he wasn’t careful. It was wide enough that two could cross at once and pass by each other without trouble, but Aegis was careful to time his crossing so that no other Dark Elves were on the bridge when he crossed it, making his way upward to the higher branches in peace.

Once he had crossed his first, he spotted a few more similar, sparsely used outer bridges to continue climbing up the branches. Towards the ends of the branches there were little to no structures due to the thinning of them and lack of ability to support buildings, unlike the thicker sections near the trunk.

Not particularly skilled or experienced in being stealthy, his nerves were getting the best of him. He continuously patted the lump in his leather chest armor where the small crate was concealed underneath, or adjusted the hood of his cloak to make sure it was securely up and not at risk of being blown down by a light breeze - fortunately there was no wind down here. The air remained still, but held a light flowery scent originating either from the tree, or some of the markets on the trees around him. Aegis couldn’t tell, nor did he care to think on it much.

Anytime he felt his mind wandering, a guard would arrive in his peripheral vision and he would tense up. They were still all non-elite, as were the NPCs, but that didn’t calm him down much now that he knew how thin the line between elite and non-elite could be.

Still, he managed to climb very high up on the tree using this method of ascension. Everytime he looked up, the cavern ceiling was getting closer and closer. As the density and amount of branches lessened the higher he went, it became possible for Aegis to see the roots of the tree more clearly.

They were enormous, like gigantic natural muscles that had plunged themselves deep into the thick stone of the cavern ceiling, spreading themselves out over a wide area of the cavern above. The roots were glowing just as the branches were, and due to them covering the entirety of the ceiling above him, looking upwards sometimes felt almost like he was staring up at the sun.

It made it difficult to discern details about the upper branches above him, but as he closed in on them, he saw it - without any doubt in his mind he had spotted what was called the Royal Ring.

It was built around the trunk. It utilized the thin upper branches somewhat, but was not nearly as dependant on them as the structures on the lower levels.

It resembled a round, circular balcony that held itself up using the trunk, and the majority of the structures built atop it were built directly into the trunk itself. Aegis could see the magnificent artistry put into some of the structures. He couldn’t tell if they were simply residential homes, or buildings meant for some grander purposes such as cathedrals, despite knowing from Darkshot that priests and warlocks were not allowed in the city.

The only structure that’s purpose stood out in an obvious way was the wizard’s hall, as it took up a large vertical section of the trunk and had replaced the wood of the trunk with a stone wall with several windows and balconies, and Aegis could see on the balconies several Dark Elves practicing magic.

His eyes wandered for a while in the direction of the ring, noting that it had a small stone wall constructed at its outer rim and was patrolled by many guards. He couldn’t see from his vantage point whether or not they were elite, but he’d assumed most of them were.

The pathways up to the upper ring were few and far between, large ramps that wound up the side of the trunk from the branches below. The ramps were under heavy guard, with sets of 6 at both the base of the ramp and the top, and a large gate sitting at the bottoms that were all, as far as Aegis could tell, sealed shut.

As Aegis arrived on one of the branches directly below the Royal Ring, he found himself staring at the gate curiously as he saw a Dark Elf Merchant approach with a cart, being pulled along by a strange stoney creature that resembled an armadillo. He watched the merchant hold out documents for the guards to check, and once they had, they signaled to have the gate opened, and he was allowed to pass.

“So, merchants and traders sometimes get access to the Royal Ring?” Aegis pondered to himself quietly as he watched. Luckily for him, though, he didn’t need to go to the Royal Ring for his quest, and began scanning the nearby buildings for the Quandros Apothecary.

As he sought it out, he noticed a few of the guards patrolling the upper, thinner wooden plank streets of this level to be elite, and much more attentive to his behaviour. He did his best to blend in, taking note of how the other Dark Elf NPCs around him carried themselves and tried imitating them. But it wasn’t long before Aegis noticed out of the corner of his eye that he’d caught the attention of a patrol of two elites, and they began trailing him. Once he’d noticed it, his back stiffened and he took a deep breath, absentmindedly eying his livestream viewership numbers sitting at 80,000. His first thought was how embarrassing it’d be to get thrown in prison in front of such a large audience.

He made a few unusual turns through the streets just to confirm they were following him, and indeed they were. It was at this time that Aegis had spotted out the Quandros Apothecary building built a few meters out from the trunk on one of the thicker upper branches. The building was made purely out of planks with a small staircase leading up to the entrance, and no visible windows. The sign hanging out front hung above the door and carried the name, so he was sure it was the right place.

The bigger issue was that he was being followed. He now, more than ever, wished he had gotten skills like invisibility or shadowstep from the other deities, and his mind began to race on how to lose the guards. He carefully scanned the surrounding streets and spotted a section of several tightly packed buildings with narrow alleyways between them, and that was the best plan he could come up with.

He carefully and casually approached the nearest alleyway while cautiously turning his head back just enough so that he could confirm the two elite guards were still following him - they were. As he neared the alley, he looked forward straight ahead again and took a deep breath.

Once close enough, he turned onto the alleyway to break line of sight from the guards. The moment they could no longer see him, he broke into a light footed sprint down the alleyway, making several quick turns in the hopes that they’d have no means to follow him.

By the time they’d gotten line of sight on the alleyway, he’d already made it around the corner. He could hear their armor shuffling and clinking as they too broke into sprints to pursue him, so he quickly curved back around to the front of the buildings with his eyes set on the apothecary building, and power walked towards it across the street as inconspicuous as he could.

When he reached the front door, he double checked to confirm the guards hadn’t seen him - there were only a few normal NPCs walking about. So he quickly swung the door open and went inside, closing it behind himself with haste and leaning his back up against it to hold it shut.

Once he felt he was safe, he let out a sigh of relief and looked across the way to see another NPC, [Apothecary Ruxim - Level 90] standing behind the counter, staring at Aegis curiously.

“How may I help you?” Ruxim asked Aegis. Aegis stared blankly at him for a moment to collect himself, then cleared his throat and pulled the crate from under his leather vest.

“I have a shipment for you, and am here for pickup.” Aegis said while walking forward, holding out the small crate and placing it on the counter while briefly looking around at the shelves lining the shop. They were filled with various bottles of oils, ointments, and lotions. The elixirs and potions were all on shelves behind the counter. All of it was illuminated by the dull glow of the buildings wooden walls and floor.

“I see. One moment.” Ruxim said as he pulled the crate forward and opened it. Inside were two vials of liquid, three pouches of something Aegis couldn’t see, and a small rolled up piece of parchment. Ruxim went for the parchment first and unrolled it, reading it promptly.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Ah, to have me concoct this mixture requires oversight by the White Tree Guard. Do you have the order information with the signature of the lieutenant that approved this request?” Ruxim asked, looking up from the parchment in his hands at Aegis expectantly.

“Uh, yeah. I do. One moment, it’s here somewhere…” Aegis replied anxiously as he began awkwardly fumbling around with his pockets. “Oh, no, it seems I dropped it on my way up.”

“A shame. Forstunately, a simple matter to correct, as Leiutenant Tyak’lar patrols outside. I shall fetch him for approval.” Ruxim said as he began moving around the counter.

“Ah, how about I fetch him, and you get started on the mixture?” Aegis suggested as he held his hands out nervously to Ruxim.

“Yes, I suppose that is much more efficient.” Ruxim bowed politely before returning behind the counter, and began setting up the ingredients of the crate on an alchemy table he had behind his counter.

“I’ll be right back.” Aegis said as he stepped outside of the building and leaned up against the outside of the door, trying to think of a solution.

He knew there was little to no chance that Tyak’lar was not an elite, and would probably see through his hood disguise. Not to mention, the likelihood that whatever Kagil’aktos had requested to be brewed would not be approved. But an idea quickly popped into Aegis’ head and he turned and entered back into the building, smelling an odd burning smell coming from the table.

“Were you able to locate Tyak’lar so quickly?” Ruxim asked, briefly looking up from his work before focusing back in on it.

“Yes. He’ll be here in a moment, he is handling something.” Aegis explained awkwardly as he walked forward towards the counter, close enough that he could see what Ruxim was doing.

“Wonderful. I should be finished in a few minutes.” Ruxim replied. Aegis was thankful that Non-elite NPCs were so easily decieved, and now took the time to carefully watch Ruxim as he brewed the concoction.

He was a quick learner - in most cases only needing to see something once to understand it. This was no exception. While Ruxim was focused in on his craft, Aegis carefully leaned forward towards the crate to try and inspect the item cards of the various ingredients and understand their properties, and how Ruxim was utilizing them.

Sure enough, after a quick 10 minutes of concocting, Ruxim was able to complete the mixture and sealed the vial before adding it into his own inventory and returning to the counter to look at Aegis expectantly.

“It is finished. Once Tyak’lar arrives and approves the request, I can hand it over to you.” Ruxim replied with a smile.

“Great. Thanks. Do you mind if I take the left over ingredients? My employer wouldn’t want it wasted.” Aegis motioned to the pouches and vials that Ruxim had used, none of which had been used up entirely.

“Of course not.” Ruxim smiled as he carefully gathered them up and placed them back in the crate before sealing it once more.

“Thanks.” Aegis said as he took it and tucked it back underneath his leather vest.

“And who did you say your employer was?” Ruxim asked curiously.

“Oh… well…” Aegis awkwardly smiled and shrugged, forcing a laugh. “Actually, let me go check on Tyak’lar, he’s taking a bit long. Be right back.” Aegis replied flustered.

“I suppose he is. Very well.” Ruxim nodded, and Aegis hastily turned from the shopkeeper and made his way back outside, shutting the door behind him and letting out a sigh of relief.

He couldn’t get the mixture directly, but he had the ingredients and knew how to mix it, which was just as good. The only thing left now was to head back to the house where he could brew it in private, Aegis thought. But as he did, he noticed the two guards that had been chasing him earlier were standing nearby, questioning a bystander Dark Elf NPC.

Just as Aegis saw them and looked in their direction, the NPC pointed out the Apothecary to the guards. Aegis could only assume the guards had been asking the non-elite NPCs for where he’d gone - he’d only just then perceived how even non-Elite NPCs would be a threat to him.

“You! Halt.” One of the guards commanded him in a low voice as they both stomped forward. His loud voice drew the attention of several other nearby NPCs, and Aegis suddenly had a lot more attention on him than he’d like. He was caught, but he wasn’t giving up yet. They were still NPCs, he thought. Aegis counted on being able to trick them and talk his way out of whatever he was in trouble for.

“That style of cloak looks familiar. Would you do me a favor and lower your hood for us?” The guard instructed Aegis once they’d gotten a few meters away. Aegis’ adrenaline suddenly kicked up a notch - talking his way out was immediately removed from him as an option. If he lowered his hood, it was over - especially with what he had hiding under his leather vest.

Being locked in prison in a fantasy game didn’t really sound all that appealing for him, so, with that in mind, only one option popped up in his head.

Aegis broke into a sprint, running as fast as he could away from the two guards in the direction away from the trunk of the tree. His sudden burst of speed gave him a headstart on the guards as they were processing what he’d done, but it didn’t take long before both of them began to pursue him.

“He’s a Seeker!” One of the guards declared loudly, as if to call over more guards to help. Aegis didn’t bother looking back to confirm whether or not that his number of pursuers had gone up, however, he just ran as fast as he could.

“Extreme III bullshit, I didn’t even do anything.” Aegis grumbled in frustration as he eyed the nearest wooden bridge leading down to the lower branches and made for it. Once he made it to the bridge post, he grabbed onto it to alter his momentum and help him turn onto the bridge quickly, then began making long jumps over the gaps in the planks, clearing several at a time.

“Use sleeping arrows!” He heard one of the guards say, and as he turned his head back to look behind him he saw that both of the pursuing guards had stopped at the beginning of the bridge and had drawn out their longbows, with several more guards running down the branch towards them to join in.

Without any hesitation, they both knocked arrows and fired them, the heads of the arrows giving off a light white glow.

“Shit.” Aegis panicked, hurriedly equipping his shield. He didn’t know if bracing it would block the effect, so relied on: “Guard!” he quickly shouted. A projection of his shield, depicting the symbol of Eirene, appeared behind himself and absorbed the two attacks.

You take 3520 piercing damage.

You take 3463 piercing damage.

It worked, he managed to avoid the sleeping effect of the arrows. But he’d accidentally made his problem much, much worse.

“HERETIC!” One of the guards shouted in fear at Aegis’ shield projection.

“A seeker who worships the world destroyers!” The other guard shouted out in a panic. “Forget sleep arrows, he must be put down!”

“Oopsie daisy.” Aegis whispered nervously to himself, and as he had, he noticed two guards taking up positions on the other end of the rope bridge he was running on, drawing their longbows. Upon seeing them, he stopped running forward and stood awkwardly in the center of the bridge as arrows were nocked and pointed at him from both sides. In his mind, there was only one direction left to go. “Eh. I’ve done stupider stuff.” He reasoned with himself as he equipped woodcutting axe. Just as the guards began firing a barrage of arrows at him, he swung the axe out at the rope bridge, cutting it in half and causing himself and the bridge to go into a free fall, the arrows flying over his head.

He quickly grabbed onto one end of the bridge and swung down it like tarzan, several of the arrows plunking themselves into the wooden planks of the bridge above his head.

Once he had swung low enough that his feet neared one of the branches below, he released the swinging broken bridge and stumbled down onto the branch. But, given his lack of experience in swinging this way, he didn’t account for the forward momentum of the swing, and continued stumbling and rolling forward after he had landed, until he’d fallen off the branch completely and went into a freefall towards the branches further below.

“Guard!” Aegis panicked, quickly catching himself from falling to far.

You take 14,320 bludgeoning damage.

“Ow.” He said with a gasp of fleeting air, as he felt the pain on his stomach that had impacted the shield projection, pressing the hard crate of materials into his chest. He quickly tapped himself to heal up the damage, knowing he only had 2 seconds before the projection disappeared. Once it had, he began falling further, until finally slamming onto the lowest branch below him, landing beside a busy wooden plank street. All of the falling had caused the wind to blow up his cloak and he hurriedly moved to adjust the hood and make sure it was on upon impact, then rushed to unequip his shield.

You take 23,210 bludgeoning damage.

“Son of a…” Aegis groaned. Once the pain subsided 2 seconds later, he slowly got up back to his feet and was about to heal himself, but stopped when he saw several NPCs and guards, all non-elite, approaching him with concerned expressions.

“Are you alright? That looked quite painful.” The nearest, non-elite guard asked him, while his patrol partner looked up to see where he’d fallen from.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I just tripped.” Aegis replied flustered, making sure to get the guard to stop looking up. He then carefully confirmed that the crate under his armor was still intact before rushing away from the scene, making for the nearest stairs leading off of the branches and back to the lower city.

He found himself glancing backwards repeatedly to make sure no one was following him, and luckily none were.

> “Got my quest done. Easy peasy.” Aegis replied into the party communications as he made his way back towards the hideout.

>

> “You realize you’re streaming right? We all saw that.” Darkshot chuckled back at him.