Maria breathed a sigh of relief as Matteo and her emerged from the cave on the slopes of a grass hill, leading down to another valley. Behind them, the peaks soared high into the night sky, a pale light reflecting off the stone from the fractured moon. Maria fell to her knees. Her heart was still racing, and her body ached. She was soaked in sweat.
“We’re out!” Matteo said triumphantly. “What about Father and Silke? They made it out too, right?”
Chariot: Are you there?
“Give me a minute, and I’ll find out.” Maria took a moment to breathe before opening the chat window.
Maria: We’re fine. We killed the Pythor King.
Chariot: You what?
Tanalia: You killed it?
Maria: Yeah, both Matteo and I are fine. We made it out.
Tanalia: We’re out too. Send us your coordinates, and we’ll meet up.
Chariot: Are you sure you’re okay?
Maria: We’re fine. What about you guys?
Chariot: Everyone here is safe.
Maria sent her coordinates. “Everyone’s fine. They’re on their way here now.”
“So, we just wait then?” asked Matteo.
Maria nodded. “Let's move away from the caves first. I don’t have the energy to fight anymore.”
The pair stumbled down the grassy hill and up onto a mound high in the valley. With the moonlight casting its light onto the grass and the wind blowing gently, the plains looked like ocean waves. The soft breeze blowing against Maria’s skin was refreshing and cool. Almost enough to calm her galloping heart.
“You did good back there,” Maria said.
“I did?”
“Yeah. What you did took a lot of courage.”
Matteo smiled. His face gleamed with excitement. The boy sat beside Maria and leaned against her.
“I’m proud of you.” She patted his shoulder. “Keep that up and you’ll make a great adventurer one day.”
“You think so?”
“Mhm, I do.”
Matteo smiled. “Thanks for helping me.”
“Don't sweat it.” Maria fell silent and took time to recover. As much as she wanted to curl up under a blanket and rest until the afternoon, she had to stay awake until the others arrived. Might as well allocate her newly acquired skill points while she waited.
Maria opened her menu. She had six points to play around with. What to do with them? Her spells were effective but weak. It would be smarter to level up her current spells rather than get more weak ones. There were other categories she wanted to try out, but they could wait.
Spell Leveled Up!
Flames - Fire shoots from the caster's hand.
Lvl: 4 >> 5
Cost: Drains mana gradually in prolonged use.
Base damage: 9 >> 11
15% chance to give burn status effect.
Spell Leveled Up!
Firebolt - A concentrated flame projectile.
Lvl: 1 >> 3
Cost: 10 mana
Base damage: 20 >> 30
5% chance to give burn status effect.
Spell Leveled Up!
Sparks - Fires sparks of electricity from fingertips.
Lvl: 1 >> 2
Cost: Drains mana gradually in prolonged use.
Base damage: 5 >> 6
15% chance to give stun status effect.
Spell Leveled Up!
Lightning Bolt - Shoots a lightning bolt from the caster's hand.
Lvl: 1 >> 3
Cost: 5 mana
Base damage: 20 >> 30
5% chance to give stun status effect.
Maria opened her inventory and scrolled through all the drops she had earned. Amidst the items was the one she had gotten from the Pythor King.
Serpent’s Blade
Damage: 50
Perk: Duel Weapon - Whip
Her eyes grew wide. The sword appeared in her hands. It was curved and serpentine, with a scale texture. The crossguard was shaped like two intertwined snakes, with the hilt wrapped in snakeskin and the pommel designed to look like a coiled snake with its tail wrapping around the hilt.
“What is that?” Matteo sat up.
Maria shrugged her shoulders and test-swung the weapon. The blade lashed out like a whip, stretching and striking the grass. Maria froze as the blade went limp before returning to a wavy blade. “How…” She looked over the weapon and found a round notch under the crossguard. As she twisted the circular notch, the snake-like blade extended and straightened before hardening again. When Maria swung, it functioned much like a regular sword. A wide smile crossed her face. “Oh… this is awesome.”
“It’s a sword?” Matteo tilted his head.
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“Sort of. I like it though.” Maria chuckled thinking about all the possible things she could do with it. Could it slice through multiple enemies? She’d have to learn how to use the whip properly. She had seen people use bullwhips during shows and they made it look easy. Some of them even set their whips on fire. How cool would that be? Swinging around a flaming sword like a whip. Maria’s palm started to glow a soft, golden color, reflecting off the handle before fading. She raised her eyebrow and glanced at her palm, but nothing seemed to have changed. When Maria went to sheath the weapon, a new sheath was on her waist, one made of tanned leather and embroidered snakes wrapping around it.
Matteo looked at his sword. “Mine doesn’t do anything fancy.”
“Most swords don’t do anything fancy.” Maria pulled her Short Star Blade from her inventory. “Here, I want you to have this.”
“Your other sword?”
“Mhm. You were brave today, defending me from that Pythor. That rusted, old blade isn’t going to hold up.”
“Really?” Matteo dropped his sword and took Maria’s. He stared in awe at the magnificently crafted sword. “I don’t think my father would let me keep it. He wants me to go into business with him.”
“I’m sure he will after he hears what you’ve done. Keep practicing. Maybe one day I’ll see you out on the road as a fellow adventurer.”
Matteo’s smile grew wider. “Alright, I will!”
***
In the distance, a white, glowing light moved through the valley.
Maria sat up. “They’re here.”
The duo went towards the light. As they crested over a grassy hill, they came face-to-face with the others. Jor and Pieter had taken up the rear, keeping a watchful eye while Chariot had the front. Her sword contrasted the moon’s soft glow with its blinding light, reflecting off the blades of grass and foliage.
“Father!” Matteo ran to Kylian.
“Matteo!” Kylian hugged his boy. “Thank god you’re safe. Are you hurt?”
Silke, who had been beside him, joined in and hugged her brother.
“No, I’m fine,” Matteo said, muffled into his father’s shoulder. “Maria kept me safe.”
“I don’t know.” Maria smiled. “He handled himself pretty well out there.”
“What about you?” Chariot asked. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, yeah.”
“Did you level up?” Tanalia asked. “We were watching your health bar.”
“Yeah. Matteo helped me kill the Pythor King.”
“You went back to fight it?” Chariot asked.
“No, we went the other direction. It led us to another ravine and another cave tunnel that led to another giant cavern. The Pythor King’s tail was down there. The tunnels are all connected probably. Everything’s alright though. I still have the package, and everyone made it out safely.”
“It didn’t go according to plan at all,” Chariot said.
“Is that so much of a problem?” Tanalia asked her.
“None of this would have gone so horribly if you hadn’t… no,” Chariot groaned. “I’m not arguing about it with you anymore. I’m too exhausted.”
“Good. I wasn’t in the mood to argue about it anyways.”
Maria sighed. “We’re taking the long way on the return trip.”
“Speaking of which,” Jor said, “We should start heading for Eimdon. I’m fuckin’ exhausted.”
“Right. I don’t like that we’re still in the dark,” Pieter said.
“Eimdon is not that far away from here,” Kylian said. He turned to Maria and her party. “Why not stay for dinner? The night perhaps? It’s the least we could do.”
“Not us?” Jor chuckled.
Kylian chuckled. “You don’t need any more of Mélanie’s cooking.”
“I’d fight for it, but I got my own woman back home,” Pieter said.
“Oh, that’s alright,” Maria said. “We’ll just get a room and food at an inn.”
“The inn burned down some weeks ago. They’re still in the process of rebuilding it. You saved my family. Please, stay the night, it’s the least we can offer you.”
“The least you can offer is money,” Tanalia said.
Chariot nudged Tanalia in the ribs. “Shut it.”
“Please, come back with us,” Kylian said.
Maria exchanged glances with the rest of her party before finally agreeing.
***
By the time the fractured moon had risen to its peak, Maria spotted Eimdon from atop a grassy knoll. Torch lights flickered in the distance. Unlike Oxfell, it had no walls. Instead, torch-carrying guards patrolled from wooden watchtowers. A tall and wide guard stood by the front road.
“Who approaches?” the wide guard yelled.
“Calm down you fuckin’ animals. It’s us!” Jor shuffled to the front of the group with Pieter.
The tall guard gestured to Maria and her party. “And who are they?”
“Some people who saved us from a terrible accident,” Pieter said.
“You two needed saving?”
“We’ll tell you about it later,” Jor turned to Kylian. “Alright, get home and get some rest.”
“We will. Thank you again.” Kylian shook his hand.
“Actually… Maybe we should stick around. You're going to need some protection against that fuckin’ monster you’re married too,” said Jor.
Kylian only chuckled. “Thanks, but I should be able to best the beast myself. I’ll see you two next time.”
“Next time we don’t take the ravines,” Pieter chuckled.
“I’m considering the long route, yes.” Kylian laughed with Pieter, then ushered Matteo and Silke to follow him. Maria passed the guards, giving a friendly wave. The village was quaint, with wooden cottages dotted about and large, overarching trees along the cobblestone roads. Flower beds and lanterns were placed at every corner. The group only got as far as the first crossroad before Maria stopped Kylian.
“We need to deliver a package to the church here. We’ll stop by your home in just a little while.
“That’s alright with me. It’ll give me a moment to tell Mélanie that we’re going to have guests this evening. We’re just down the road from here. The house with the garden full of pomegranates.”
“Alright, we’ll see you in a bit.”
Breaking away from the family, the trio moved further into the village. The longer they walked, however, the less cheery things felt. In the torchlight on every corner, long shadows spread from the remains of burned cottages and ruined trees. They soon passed the inn. Just as Kylian had said: it was reduced to a pile of burnt wood.
“What happened to this place?” Chariot asked.
“Shadow jesters, probably,” Maria said.
“Surprised more of this place isn’t burnt down,” Tanalia said. “It all looks so flammable.”
“The cottages are sparse though,” Maria said. “That likely saved it from too much destruction.”
“Hopefully the attacks are over now that the Ringleader got what he was after,” Chariot said.
When they arrived at the church, Maria was surprised to still see the soft glow of candlelight illuminating the windows. Most houses were pitch black. The handoff for the package was thankfully quick. The sickness was mild, according to the priest, and the medicine was merely to relieve many of the citizens of some uncomfortable conditions. Regardless of its importance, Maria felt good handing the package off. Even if it wasn’t urgent, she had helped others. That’s all that mattered. After receiving a signed slip confirming her delivery, she was given a small compensation. Maria decided to divide it up between the parties.
“This is all you got?” Tanalia asked. “After all that?”
“We were only paid to deliver the package,” Chariot said. “We didn’t think we’d run into those people. Besides, they’re offering us food and shelter. That’s enough.”
“Still seems like a lot of work for such little pay.”
“This isn’t all of it,” Maria said. “When we get back to Oxfell, Father Varrond will pay us the majority. He didn’t imagine we’d pick you up on the way, but we can still split the earnings three ways.”
“And what does this do to help us track down the Ringleader again?” Tanalia asked.
“Grow stronger. None of us are even close to being as strong as him. I leveled up quite a bit from this quest, what about you two?”
Both Chariot and Tanalia pulled up their stats to show Maria.
Name: Chariot Crowhaven
Lvl: 17
Hp: 1177
MP: 39
Total Defense: 376
Total Attack: 43
Name: Tanalia Taymore
Lvl: 19
Hp: 1466
MP: 39
Total Defense: 322
Total Attack: 37
“Oh, you guys both went up a little bit,” Maria said.
“How many levels did you go up?” Chariot asked.
Maria pulled up her stats to show them.
Name: Maria Marigold
Lvl: 14
Hp: 903
MP: 174
Total Defense: 83
Total Attack: 27.5
“You’re catching up,” Tanalia chuckled.
Maria flashed a playfully giddy smile. “Killing a boss did really help, you know.
“It’s an amazing feeling to accomplish such a thing, isn’t it?” Chariot said.
“Oh yeah. I’m beat though.”
“Then let us head to Matteo’s home,” Chariot said.
Maria nodded. “Oh! You guys wanna see what I got from the Pythor King?” Maria unsheathed the Serpent’s Blade. She whipped at the stone street, cracking it slightly. Both Chariot and Tanalia looked at the weapon with wide eyes.
“What the…” Chariot raised an eyebrow.
“That’s a pretty nifty sword,” Tanalia said. “You’re lucky you at least got something fun to play around with.”
“Oh, I’m going to be playing with it alright,” Maria chuckled.
“Just think of what that weapon could do if Hargrim got his hands on it,” Chariot said with a wide smile.
“The enchanter?” Maria looked back at her. “You think he can make this even better?”
“Knowing his work, absolutely! I can only imagine how he would improve it.”
Maria shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. We should try to find some enchanted gear. Maybe a dungeon?”
“I wouldn’t mind a dungeon,” Tanalia said.
“Neither would I,” Chariot added.
“Well, that was easy.” Maria chuckled. “A dungeon it is. But first, we’re going to bed. I’m ready to sleep for an eternity.”