I feel the notification come in as soon as I close the ‘door’ to Raven’s access to the Pure Energy stream, but I don’t immediately check it. Although the actual poisoning aspect of the Pure Energy is manageable with my health regeneration, I now know that it’s the reason for the corrosion of my channels.
I’m already dog-tired from being woken up in the middle of the night, running four Battle of Wills, emptying my mana in healing the alcaoris hatchlings, and then shaping stone over the hole to the Pure Energy stream when my mana had regenerated enough. I don’t want to give myself more to do than necessary.
So instead I hurry through the tunnel, hoping to get back before the corrosion has enough time to really affect me. It takes a few minutes to start anyway.
The stone I used to separate the tunnel from Raven’s lair should work well enough. It’s even thicker than the one I’ve used to separate my own den from the stream. Although there is some Energy leakage with that, it’s really minimal. And since it’s not the Energy-reinforced stone of the tunnel itself, Raven can always use his acid to dissolve it if he needs to get access to the stream again.
An idle thought occurs – will the stone I created eventually turn into the same as the tunnel stone once it’s had time to absorb enough Energy, or is the stone a different type entirely? The Energy within it resists my attempts to answer that question.
For now, the alcaoris hatchlings are staying with their father. I’ll come and visit them at least once every couple of days to continue the healing process. I’d like to do it more often than that, but it will depend on everything else.
Frankly, I feel rather stretched thin at the moment. I need to delegate more, but at the moment I’m the only one who can do a number of the things I’m doing, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. But it is stopping me from working on some aspects of myself that I’d like to improve. There are so many things I want to explore, like trying to understand more about the internal matrix and the blackness surrounding it. Or working out how stamina relates to the other types of Energy. Or the soul challenges I can undergo. I’m also neglecting some of my Bound, I know – I’ve barely spent any time with several members recently and now I have four more all in a night’s work.
I definitely need to increase my Willpower – I’m holding so many Dominate Bonds now that I think I would struggle to gain another. I’m fortunate that the alcaoris hatchlings are young enough that their nascent wills don’t put much of a strain on my own Willpower. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have been able to complete my promise to Raven immediately.
And with their Bonds come another set of responsibilities – trying to find a way to heal the alcaoris hatchlings. Frankly, the issues they have going on put Lathani to shame. Not only are they deformed in body, but their internal matrices are a mess. The most damaged alcaoris hatchling doesn’t even appear to have one. I thought that might be normal for just-hatched babies, but the other two proved that to be false.
They do have internal matrices, but they are just as deformed as their bodies. It’s like a cat has been let in to play with a carefully-constructed design made of thread. There’s still a hint of the original design, but it’s mostly just a messy tangle. And all of it is absolutely saturated with Pure Energy. I actually managed to go up a few percent to the next level just by absorbing some of the Energy they have in a reverse of what I did with Fenrir.
It’s going to be a challenge, that’s for sure. I just hope I’ll be able to properly help them and not just make things worse. Then again, I’m not sure how much worse it could get.
As soon as I’m back in my area of the tunnel, I hoist myself through the hole in the ceiling, then quickly exit the Energy room via a hole I form for myself in my own rock ‘door’. Joining the others in the main den area, I lie down on a pile of plant bedding which one of my Bound has considerately put out for me.
About to open my status screen, I fall asleep before I can.
*****
The first thing I do when I wake up is to check my notifications. Well, actually, it’s to blink blearily at the ceiling and let my waking mind catch up with what happened overnight. Then I remember about the notification and open my status screen.
Congratulations!
You have made progress on your quest!
In the course of your adventures, you explored the centre of the Vine-Strangler Copse and defeated its guardian. Upon investigating the guardian beast’s lair, you discovered a route down to one of the Ley Lines of the planet, running unusually close to the surface. You determined the reason for the unusual amount of Energy in the environment and found evidence to prove it.
You discovered that the issue was due to two main reasons: an initial blockage by a mana crystal; a subsequent blockage by an alcaoris eager to incubate his eggs in the best environment possible. You recognised that the continued blockage of the vital Ley Line could cause untold amounts of harm, both for the denizens of the forest around you, and others further down the Line.
You have found a way to rectify the situation and return the area to its previous state. You have done this by: releasing the pressure on the Ley Line and allowing the Pure Energy to flow unimpeded; mending the broken areas of the physical aspects of the Ley Line and reducing the Energy leakage to a reasonable level.
Quest: The Vine-Strangler Copse II
Quest type: Regional
Objective: Find evidence to prove (or in the event of the theory being disproven, discover) the reason for the formation of the underground tunnels. (complete)
Objective: Rectify the situation with the exposed stream of Pure Energy before it’s too late. (complete)
Objective: Return the area to its previous state. (complete)
Time to complete quest: complete
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Suggested difficulty: Journeyman
Reward: Rare Silver chest (rarity increased due to passing over of previous rewards).
Relief goes through me as I see that all objectives of the quest are now complete. I also notice that there’s another notification waiting for me. With trepidation going through me, I open it. If this offers me another quest in the chain, I’m refusing it immediately.
Well, maybe not. I have a feeling that the issues with Raven blocking the Pure Energy would have happened regardless of whether I’d accepted the quest or not, and then we’d probably have just suffered the consequences without even knowing the cause.
Fortunately, I don’t have to make that choice.
Congratulations!
You have completed all objectives on your Quest: The Vine-Strangler Copse II. This quest and quest chain is now complete. Would you like to receive your reward now or later?
Reward: Rare Silver chest.
Accept reward now / Accept reward later
Accept reward now, I tell it firmly. It’s been long enough as it is, though I suppose that’s mostly Raven’s fault – until I could close his part of the tunnel, it couldn’t be completed.
A silver light fills the cavern, attracting the attention of everyone still inside. That’s not too many, fortunately, since most of my Bound are either samurans in the village or out hunting. The silver light becomes bright enough that I have to look away. When it fades, I see that there is an old-fashioned box chest in front of me.
It looks like it’s made of silver, filigree designs etched into it. I frown as I look at them. It feels like I can almost make sense of the shapes. Like they are some language which I learned long ago and have almost forgotten. Or like they are pictures from an old and well-loved book that I left behind when I was a child. It’s more than a little disconcerting, so I close my eyes and shake my head a little.
When I open them again, the chest looks almost normal. Almost. Reaching forwards, I try to open it.
And fail.
A box flashes up in front of my eyes before I can get too annoyed.
Rare Silver chest.
Make your choice of which reward you wish to have. You may choose one (1) option:
- Weapon
- Armour
- Tools
Weapon / Armour / Tools
It’s a difficult question. I bet a system-given weapon would be pretty awesome, as would its armour. And they would be doubtless things I wouldn’t be able to create on my own. Heaven knows I need an upgrade to both of them.
The thing is, though, that my current armour and weapons are serviceable. My armour didn’t offer much protection last night, but it’s usually pretty good, and the fact that I can regrow it with magic both in and out of a fight is very useful. If my system-armour is broken in a single fight, there’s no guarantee I’ll be able to repair it. And I can’t be sure it comes with an auto-repair function, though I know such things exist. I can also reshape my current armour to whatever will be most useful. I can change its thickness and how much of me it covers – to a certain extent – depending on the battle in question. I doubt I’ll be able to do that with a system-given set of armour.
The weapon option is more attractive with that taken into account, but even there the same problems apply. Unless it’s a self-repairing weapon which also grows with me and can change to what I need it to be, it won’t be useful for too long.
Tools, though not immediately attractive, actually seem to be the best option. With more advanced tools, we might be able to create more advanced gear, or weapons. And then it might actually help everyone rather than just me.
Of course, it does depend on the tools offered – if it’s a crochet kit or tools for repairing a computer motherboard, it’s not going to be much use. But then in a way, the same applies for the other options. If I’m offered a butterknife or massive broadsword which I can’t even lift for weapons, or a complete suit of armour like a mediaeval knight for armour, those wouldn’t be much use either. It’s a gamble no matter what I choose.
Decided, I pick the third option.
A new box appears.
Rare Silver chest.
You have chosen Tools. Make your choice of which reward you wish to have. You may choose one (1) option:
- Blacksmithing tools (rare quality)
- Alchemy distillation tools (rare quality)
- Beginner rune engraving tools (rare quality)
Blacksmithing / Alchemy / Rune
My excitement rises as I read the first two options, then turns into confusion as I read the third. What are runes?
Even as I ask the question to myself, I suddenly realise I know what they are, memories from the knowledge stone I absorbed right at the beginning coming to my aid. Pulling my knife out, I run my fingers over the slight indentations I can just about feel but can barely see. I’ve noticed the indentations before without realising what they were. Probably etched into the blade to increase its durability and maintain its sharpness, these are examples of what runes can be used for.
Runes are a sort of physical representation of magic, as far as I can tell. Enchanters use them to imbue an object with a specific magical function. In my memories I see lots of enchanted items – anything from a wand which can spit a fireball and only that, to a pot that boils water when it’s filled, to a tile which explodes as soon as anyone steps on it. Those all used a fire-related enchantment, and the enchantment was anchored with runes.
The thing is that I don’t know any runes, per se. Nor, I suspect, do the samurans. If I choose it and the rune tool kit comes without an instruction manual, it will be a waste of a reward. Even a suit of armour which was too heavy but could be melted down to its base metals would be more helpful than that.
And it’s not as if the other options are bad. If anything, they would both be perfect for our needs. Better blacksmithing tools would allow us to make better weapons and, potentially, armour as well. Although I don’t know alchemical distillation particularly, I’d imagine it’s not all that dissimilar from the distillation of alcohol. Equipment that could do that sort of thing could potentially expand Tarra and River’s capabilities significantly.
But despite myself, I keep getting drawn back to the rune engraving tools. After a moment of thought, I realise why I’m drawn to it. The reason why enchanting was included in the system knowledge stone at all was because it’s considered to be the great equaliser.
To cast a spell or activate an enchantment, someone who is able to use magic is required. However, engraving the runes doesn’t use magic, and once the object is activated, anyone can use it. Which would both give the Unevolved something to do, and things they could use. And the uses of runes are pretty much limitless. In fact, one memory which comes to mind indicates that some people think everything that can be done by a magic-user can be replicated by an enchanter using runes. Others disagree, but the fact is that no one can argue that the applications of runes are vast.
All three rewards would be awesome and would help the village, assuming that the rune engraving tools come with an instruction manual. That’s not guaranteed, but the fact that it’s a ‘beginner’s’ rune engraving kit gives me hope.
In the end, I choose the rune engraving kit. I might regret the gamble, but ultimately this quest hasn’t made me do anything I wouldn’t have done already, and I’ve benefited significantly just by doing it. This reward is the cherry on the top so if it turns out to be a cherry I can’t eat, I won’t be too upset. But perhaps that’s taking the metaphor too far.
When a book full of simple runes appears along with the styluses and chisels, my smile almost reaches both ears.