I suppose that with sufficient time, the acid could make a large basin for the eggs. But considering our time limitations, I doubt we’d succeed within the Quest deadline, not to mention the alcaoris’ far shorter one.
It’s possible that Tarra or River might have an idea of a potion which would dissolve stone, and I resolve to ask them.
In the meantime, I go back to the alcaoris to see if we can go with the simplest option.
“Although I’ve got a few ideas, I figure the easiest way to solve the issue is to release the pressure at regular intervals. What do you think about removing the material blocking the passage, and then replacing it once the stream has gone back to normal?” I ask. Before I finish, I can already feel negation coming from the alcaoris’ side of the Bond.
The material holding the eggs in place is not easy for me to make. I will only remove it in an emergency, as I did before. Even were I willing to do that, your suggestion means that my eggs will not be able to absorb as much Energy as it will take time for the stream to accumulate behind them again.
I sigh. So much for taking the easy way out.
“Alright, fine,” I reply, trying to keep my irritation at bay. Plan B then.
I pull a large chunk of flint out of my Inventory and make my way back to the hole in the floor. The alcaoris hisses and his head bars my way.
Where are you going with that? he demands.
“I want to see if I can make a basin. You said you used physical strength to get through into the tunnel itself; I thought I’d try this.”
The alcaoris snorts disdainfully, but pulls his head back, looking slightly relieved. I belatedly wonder whether he thought I was going to try to smash his eggs or something.
I doubt you’ll have any impact, he predicts. You do not have the strength; nor does that rock.
I shrug: he’s probably right. Still, I need to try.
Sure enough, even with my whole strength behind it, the floor of the tunnel proves itself to be far harder than my chunk of flint can affect. In fact, after two blows, my flint falls apart into two pieces: the strength of the rock I’m pounding is enough to crack the flint nodule.
If I had metal tools, it might be a different story, but I’d probably need steel. While I’m hoping to be able to make that soon, I suspect that it will take more than three days just to make a decent pickaxe, which means I don’t have the time.
Sighing, I have to hope that Tarra or River might have a good alchemical solution for me. Otherwise, the only option I can see is to try to work with the mana currently in the tunnel: if I can pull the mana away from an area, the alcaoris’ acid might then be able to work the way it should.
However, since I suspect that that basically means learning Earth-shaping in less than three days, I fear that’s not a good answer either.
“Alright, I think I’ve seen enough,” I tell the draconic creature as I hoist myself out of the hole once more.
Good. I’m going to sleep. Do not disturb me, the alcaoris answers grumpily.
“I’ll probably have to disturb you later,” I point out. “I’m going to have to run tests on the various solutions I think might work.” The alcaoris growls unhappily.
Make sure you announce yourself, then. Otherwise I might think you’re an unwanted intruder and kill you, he answers. Well, an intruder, at least. Meaning that I’m unwanted? Charming.
I keep my temper – just – by reminding myself that we’re all tired, and that I definitely don’t want to get into a fight with the creature down here. Again. Instead, I just turn around and start making my way back to the surface, Bastet my faithful shadow.
*****
By the time we make our way up to the surface, it’s the middle of the night. We head towards where the rest have made camp, a combination of magically woven and physically hauled branches and logs forming a sort of shelter. Honey and Komodo are on watch, and acknowledge our approach with almost uniform disinterest. I get the impression that they’d much prefer to see something they could fight and eat than us.
Bastet and I have been sharing ideas as we walked, and she made some good points about what to do with the rest of the Bound while I work on creating the basin. She also made a suggestion about, if changing the floor of the tunnel is so difficult, what about damming it instead so the Energy is forced to increase in depth. It’s a good suggestion, and I think I’ll have to experiment with it.
But for now, it’s time to sleep after having a quick snack.
Climbing into the shelter, I curl up in the small space between River, Fenrir, and where Bastet lies down herself. River and Fenrir both crack open an eye and then snuggle a little closer, apparently wanting a bit of contact. I can’t say I mind it, considering how close I came to losing at least one of them today. I pull a few chunks of food from my Inventory and then let my heavy eyes close.
When I wake, I find that the sun has only just risen, but I’m feeling fully rested. I’m also rather trapped: Fenrir has somehow moved so that his head is resting on my shoulder, and River has shifted to cover one of my legs with her long foot. I don’t mind the foot, but Fenrir’s breath stinks a bit, so I try to distract myself by checking on the notifications I felt come through yesterday after the fight.
The first is not entirely surprising, considering how the fight ended.
Congratulations!
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
You have advanced a Class Skill past Initiate. Tame is now Journeyman 1. Due to your uses of this Skill, two new effects have been discovered.
Effect 1: You have used this Skill to create an alliance with a powerful party. As a result, you have gained access to an offshoot of this Bond type: Alliance.
Effect 2: You have engaged in extensive communication while negotiating a Tame Bond. Henceforth, an automatic means of opening a dialogue will be made available to you, regardless of any previous connection with the being or their ability or inability to communicate otherwise.
Next message? Y/N
Curious about what the new Bond type is, I concentrate on the word, asking for more information. I’m pleased when, a moment later, the screen in front of me dissolves and is replaced by just that.
Alliance
Whether an uneasy and temporary coalition for the pursuit of mutual objectives, or an enduring bond which can last generations, an alliance offers many advantages. This Bond type formalises the agreement which both parties come to, notifying the other party of any breaches of the agreement, and offering aspects of a Tame Bond. Note: both parties must enter into this Bond willingly, and it can be broken by either party unless the terms of the alliance state otherwise. Neither party has unilateral control over the Bond, nor can commands be enforced through it (unless otherwise stated by the initial agreement).
Next message? Y/N
Hmm, perhaps not immediately useful, but the way things are going, I’m coming into contact with more and more sapient beings, so I’m sure I’ll use it eventually. It certainly seems a better possible option than trying to use either Tame or Dominate on everyone, and better than just hoping that they’d stick to whatever they said too. Maybe I should even try it on the vine-stranglers? If it notifies of breaches of contract, that would be more useful than what I currently have with the forest….
Interestingly, the second new effect of Tame seems to be linked to what happened with the alcaoris too, though I'm glad of it – enabling more communication when trying to offer a Tame Bond has to be a good idea. That has definitely been something I've found to be a disadvantage with Tame when compared to Dominate.
Going onto the next message, I realise that it's an update to the Quest. Unsurprising, really.
Congratulations!
You have completed one of the required objectives for this quest: you have discovered the reason for the formation of the underground tunnels, and have found evidence to prove it.
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 have discovered that this is 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 have 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.
Finding a way to rectify the situation has become increasingly urgent, and the time frame has become commensurately shorter. Find a solution to the issues presented to you or discover the effects Pure Energy will have on the valley first-hand.
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. (3 days)
Objective: Return the area to its previous state. (3 months)
Time to complete quest: 17 days → 3 days / 3 months
Suggested difficulty: Journeyman
Reward: Rare Silver chest (rarity increased due to passing over of previous rewards).
No pressure, I think to myself, staring at the abruptly shorter time allowed. At least, for rectifying the situation with the exposed stream of Pure Energy, that is. From what I can see, that objective has now been split in two and I have more leeway with one, in exchange for having a lot less leeway with the other.
Three days…. Well, I suppose it’s no different from before, really. I’d had the deadline given to me by the alcaoris of three days. Actually…. Could it be that the three day deadline was because of the agreement I made with the draconic creature?
Perhaps. From what the alcaoris had said, something happened last time with one of the eggs. I’d thought at the time that the pressure had just got too much and an explosion had happened which was nothing to do with the eggs per se. But what if it was because of the eggs? What if that baby alcaoris had somehow affected the Pure Energy even from within its shell? What if it had caused the explosion?
And what if something else similar is due to happen with one of the other eggs if we don’t release the pressure within the next three days? Or perhaps it’s that it will happen before the hatching, but if I don’t find a solution that the alcaoris is satisfied with within that time, then I won’t get another chance, and then the bad thing will occur?
Or maybe I’m letting my imagination run too wild, and it’s simply that the growing pressure behind the eggs will cause a wave of Pure Energy to spill across the earth as I’d feared before, causing untold damage.
Though it’s interesting that the Quest information made a point of mentioning ‘others further down the Line’. I hadn’t really thought about what it might mean if the Energy is stopped here for an elongated period of time. Just another reason to get the stream running again as soon as possible, I suppose.
I have a quick look at my status screen, seeing little else changed except for my Energy store leaping up to fifty-nine percent. As close to the Pure Energy as I was down in the tunnels, and going into Meditation at the same time, I guess that it’s unsurprising, even if the Energy density isn’t nearly what it would have been with the stream running normally.
Dismissing the screen from in front of my eyes, I find myself staring at the woven ceiling above my head. It just reminds me of what I have to lose.
I don’t know what will happen if I fail this Quest. Maybe we won’t be affected much at all; maybe the Energy will go through us like a wave and then disappear. Or maybe it will damage us. Or maybe it will be followed by the powerful rivals the alcaoris is so fearful about, beings who will be capable of destroying us without really trying.
But I have ideas of what to try and if, in the end, I’m forced to learn how to shape earth just to succeed in the Quest, well, I’m OK with that.
With determination in my heart, I shift to get out from under Fenrir and River. They wake with my movement, but that’s fine: time is ticking and we mustn’t waste it. With them, rouses the rest of my Bound, aches and pains obvious in the way they’re moving. My eyes roam over them, taking careful note of everything I need to fix.
So much has happened in the last few days – the death of the shaman, River’s Evolution, the ranking fight and being accepted by the village, and most recently, the pyrrhic ‘victory’ against the alcaoris. I’ve been uncertain of myself so many times. But right now, with the time pressure and promise of disaster sharpening my mind, I can’t afford to be hesitant.
A plan comes together in my mind and I nod unconsciously. Our future is uncertain, but we need to act right here and now to get a future we want.
"Alright everyone.” I start, my gaze shifting over the group, meeting the eyes of each of my Bound one by one. “Here is the situation, and this is what we're going to do about it."