Logging in, Guin opened her eyes to daylight streaming in from a window beside her bed. She sat up and stretched. Today, she told herself. Today she would do her best to finish what she had to do to graduate. She hoped.
Crawling out of her in-game bed, Guin stepped into the kitchen, where she found a letter from Pastor Jormund left for her. Pulling out some bread and cheese from her bag, she munched for her [Well Fed] buff as she read the letter.
It was short and told her nothing aside from the fact that he would be waiting for her at Alta Noin’s house, so when she finished her breakfast, she directed Liorex to give her a speed buff before she left the house. Casting [Fox Form], she shot out into town, taking several shortcuts around buildings and through the wood to get to Alta Noin’s cottage.
Jormund was sitting out in front of the little house, quietly caring for his spear. As she approached, he lifted his eyes.
“Welcome back,” he said warmly. “You’ve rested well?”
Guin shifted out of her fox form. “Yes. You?”
“As well as can be expected. I’ve had a little friend following me around,” he nodded toward the roof of the cottage, where, to Guin’s surprise, Wise was nestled in the attic window. “It would appear that the Dragon King is keeping eyes on us.”
“Interesting,” Guin muttered, wondering why the Dragon King would bother. It seemed even stranger as it appeared Wise had no intention of hiding from them. “You really think that’s what it is?”
Jormund gave her a confused face. “I’m not sure why else she would be around.”
“True...”
“Dawl is inside,” he told her. “It seems that he’s found those whom the fox spirit had asked us to. I wish I had been able to help more, but... I am proud of him. Maybe now, after all this, he can finally forgive himself.”
Guin looked at him. “What about you?” she asked.
“Me?”
“Have you forgiven yourself?”
The pastor’s eyes fell. “My sins are far worse than his,” he said. “I need... Time, I think, more than anything else. Time, and... to be honest with myself.”
She walked over and patted him on the shoulder. He gave her a soft smile. He had lost so much. But maybe now he can look forward, instead of being stuck in the past.
Leaving him to his thoughts and his spear, Guin went inside. The now-familiar house filled her with warmth, and the smile of the delicate elderly woman always made her feel at home.
“Welcome back, Guin!” Alta Noin led her inside with her warm voice. “Come, sit. Euen is waiting for you, and the tea is already warm!” Accepting her hospitality graciously, Guin went in and greeted Dawl, who was standing by the fire already, in his usual manner.
While Mrs. Noin went about settling Guin down, Dawl chuckled and told her to stop fussing—which was, as usual, greeted with a scowl and a scolding.
Guin loved it ever so much.
“This boy, always telling me not to fuss!” said a frustrated Alta Noin. “What else is an old woman supposed to do? Sit like a statue? My.”
“Forgive me, grandmother. I have no doubts in your ability,” Dawl laughed. “But let poor Guin sit! Grandfather always used to say he was never the one in charge,” Dawl mused as Mrs. Noin kept muttering things as she went about her business.
“It’s wonderful, though,” Guin said.
“It is, isn’t it?” The Master Hunter laughed.
“Jormund said that you’ve found the ones that set those traps?”
Dawl’s face changed as he sighed. “I have,” he said. “I can do nothing else now but beg forgiveness. Those who were involved were members of my very own guild.” Dawl clenched his fists tight as he looked into the flames. “I have failed to teach them the proper way. I do not deserve the title of ‘Master.’”
“You can make up for it in the future,” Guin reassured him. “As long as there is a future for the forest and Bade, you can change their paths.”
Though the expression on his face told her he wasn’t convinced of her words, he said, “I can only hope that such words are true. Here,” he said. “Hold out your arm, and I’ll share the quest details with you.”
Guin reached out, and they touched wrists briefly. The update screens for
“You did find them, then,” she mumbled. “Alara and Saurin Barns?”
“They were young ones,” Dawl nodded. “Siblings, trying to make some extra money from the furs, but had yet to be fully trained as hunters. I am ashamed of my failings as a teacher...”
“Save your apologies for the Dragon King,” Guin told him. She didn't blame him; she even felt a little bad for the siblings. Who knew what would happen to them after they informed the Dragon King of their sins? Then again, she thought. They killed TIk-Tak.
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Absently, Guin pet the little fox's head on the shoulder of her cloak.
“For now,” she started as Mrs. Noin brought her a cup of tea and sat by the fireplace with them. “You’ve done well. We can return to the Dragon King with pride!”
Dawl nodded. “Miss Guin, if there is anything I can do for you—anything at all—please, let me know. I am sure Jormund will say the same. We are in your debt.”
“Thank you! Ah—Actually, while we are talking about that, I was wondering if you had anything that I could purchase from you with my tokens.”
“There are some things, I suppose,” Dawl said and listed them off for her.
He didn’t have anything that was of terrible interest, as most of what he offered he had already taught to her for free. Having such a ridiculous amount of tokens as she did, though, she picked up some things just to have. He did offer the ability [Hunter’s Mark] and several books that had the potential to be useful. One in particular improved around ten survival-class skills.
Imagining that Jormund would likely be the same, she thanked Mrs Noin for her never-ending hospitality and went outside with Dawl. Jormund was still sitting outside, waiting.
“Are we ready to go, then?” the pastor asked as they walked out.
“Pretty much,” Guin said. “I meant to ask you, do you have anything I could trade my tokens for?”
Jormund thought for a moment and said, “Only a few things. I do not know if they would be useful for you.”
He listed off the things he could give her, and she was only a little surprised to know that the spear abilities that she had learned from him were not available through this menu and disappointed that the dispel ability he had used earlier was also not among them.
He did have a handful of books for the [History and Lore] skill, but more importantly, he also offered two root ritual abilities: [Prayer] and [Song]. I can’t sing any better than I can dance, but... There was no telling what abilities would be useful in the future, and she was basically learning them for free at this point. Perking up at her request to learn them, Jormund happily taught her the two abilities.
When he finished instructing her on the base rituals, Jormund patted her on the head.
“You are a good little student,” he said. “You have done so very much for me and for White Fox Forest, and in return, I have very little to give. There is one thing, however, that I can do for you. I can teach you one more thing.”
“What kind of thing?” Guin asked, doing a little dance inside her heart. Relationship reputation really does pay off in this game!
“I assume that you understand how abilities and rituals work,” he said. “But they do not always have to work independently from one another. If you find the right teacher to aid you, you can combine two abilities to form a new one.” Guin gawked at him. She knew it was possible, but it was usually something she would have learned outside of the tutorial. He couldn’t be saying that he was going to teach her an advanced ability in the tutorial, was he? Then again, I have been here forever. “Now that you know [Song] and [Prayer], I can teach you the [Hymn] ritual. Perhaps this, and this hymn of the Lady, can protect you when I cannot.”
He handed her a small book titled “Hymn of the Light.” Inside was written a song, with the music and lyrics. As she read it, the base [Hymn] ritual tooltip popped up, but even more valuable was the skill that followed:
<<[Hymn of the Light]>>
<
<
<< The target gains a halo of light and begins to feel more healthy. >>
<< Ritual Requirement: Sing the song correctly. Every error weakens the ritual’s power. >>
<< The target gains ten health points for every second the song is sung >>
<< Cast Time: 3 minutes - Duration: -- - Cooldown: 1 Second >>
“This is a healing ability!” Guin exclaimed in her excitement.
“It is,” Jormund nodded, then his voice turned stern. “It is one of many in this world and nowhere near the strongest. It is, however, better than nothing—though its actual value will be reflected only by the effort you put into it. Every [Song] and [Hymn] ability has an accompanying recording that can be accessed through the ability screen. You would do well to listen and practice that they may serve you better.”
“Yes, sir!” Guin said, standing at attention. Jormund and Dawl laughed.
“What should we do now?” Dawl asked.
“We need to find the Dragon King to turn in the quests,” Guin said, pulling up the quest screen. “But he’s not marked on my map....”
Just as Guin was about to call out Liorax, Jormund pointed his spear up at Wise and asked, “What about her?”
Guin looked up to see Wise looking down at them. The pretty white and tan face of the barn owl seemed somehow amused as she looked down at them.
“Lady Owl,” Jormund called up. Dawl looked confused for about thirty seconds before giving up, rolling his eyes at his inability. Guin snorted in amusement. Poor guy. “Might you come down and join us?”
Wise spread her great wings and glided down to his shoulder. “You may call me Wise,” she told Jormund before looking over at Guin. “Have you completed your duty then, Candidate?”
“We have,” Guin nodded. “Could you help us to find the Dragon King?”
“It would be my honor,” Wise said, bowing her head. “If you are ready, follow me! Keep up!”
With great force, Wise lifted off of Jormund’s shoulder with a chuckle, ruffling his hair with wing and wind. Laughing as Jormund scowled at the owl, Guin went into [Fox Form] and ran off after Wise.
It was much easier to keep up with Wise in her fox form, but Dawl and Jormund still struggled. Every now and again, they had to stop and wait for them to catch up before running off again. Five minutes. Ten minutes.
The way started to look familiar.
I’ve been through here before, Guin thought, looking at her surroundings as she zipped through them. The leaves started changing from green to reds and yellows of fall. When the marble statue of the woman surrounded by spirits came into view, Guin remembered its details well. It was where Wise had brought her the first time they had met.
This time, however, waiting for them at the base of the statue was the humanoid form of the Dragon King.