Chapter 9. Spirits

The entrance to the mine looked like it had been hit by a tornado. Broken wooden boxes with “Danger Explosives” littered the ground. Large metal equipment lay askew, rusting over.

“This place creeps me out,” Thomas said under his breath.

Arthur knelt to an unopened wooden box and used his sword to pry it open. He reached inside and slipped something into his inventory.

We approached the opening of the mine, which stood just tall enough that Arthur had to slightly duck his head to walk through, which put a small smile on my face. Maybe it shouldn’t give me pleasure to see tall, handsome men suffer in small ways, but it did. They walked three abreast ahead of me, and I trailed behind with Janica.

On the hour-long hike to the mine, I had noticed each of them whispering with invisible beings and Janica confirmed that each of them had their own fairy-companion. Janica claimed to be the best guide out there, but I wasn’t special. We were all given a twenty-four hour companion. Janica had explained that while fairies were assigned as guides, they wouldn’t be able to interact with each other, only their Visitor. Between assignments, the fairies would interact again. And, as Janica put it, “talk about the stupid things our Visitors did, and boy, will I have some great stories to tell about you. The gals are going to roar with laughter.” She didn’t have to add that part.

We were roughly six hours into launch day, which meant that each of us had about eighteen more hours of playtime remaining with our companions. Even though Janica didn’t seem to like me much, I dreaded losing her. So much was unknown about this world; I wasn’t ready to be on my own.

We descended slowly into the mine, its earthen halls supported by wooden infrastructure. Faintly glowing lights lined the tunnel. Thinking it was some kind of light bulb, I inspected the lights closer. Turns out, it wasn’t light bulbs but flowers that emitted a soft blue glow. They were part of a network of woven, bioluminescent vines. Janica confirmed that such florals were not all that uncommon. “But don’t eat them,” she advised.

“Why would I eat them?”

“Who knows what you’ll do.”

Our feet crunched on rocks as we moved forward, the sound amplified by the fact that this was the first time the three of my gamer companions had been completely silent since we started walking. It was a nice change from Arthur’s never-ending string of alpha male bullshit, barking orders, and complaints about guild members and how it would be so easy if everyone would just do their jobs.

The place smelled musty, and the occasional waft of rotten eggs entered into my nose. This smell was most likely a product of the minerals in the mine, but a wince took over my face as I realized it could also be flatulence from the boys ahead of me. Somehow it smelled worse after that realization. Did people fart in Integration Online ?

“Janica,” I whispered. “Is there a way for me to communicate with you without whispering? I don’t want to be overheard.”

“For now,” she responded, “the only way is for you to type messages to me using your interface.”

I opened up my chat box and typed. What did you mean earlier when you said that I wouldn’t be collecting the reward from this quest?

She responded verbally as nobody else could hear her anyway. “You’re going to be given a choice, Warren. And I don’t know yet which path you’ll take. You might choose to continue on with these adventurers, help destroy the Earth Spirit and collect that 100 Silver if you all don’t die horribly in the process. You might pick another path that doesn’t lead to immediate riches. That’s all I can say for now.”

My team stopped abruptly and circled around something. I wedged my way between Christian and Thomas to find a small disc with a floating mass of rocks above it. The rocks expanded and contracted, like they were a beating heart.

“What is it?” Christian asked.

“Maybe something left behind by the Earth Spirit?” Thomas suggested.

“Can any of you see a way to activate this thing?” Arthur asked.

I moved closer, getting down low enough to inspect the disc. It felt like I could interact with the object.

“Open your mind to it,” Janica said.

“How do I—?” I began, then a connection formed and the floating mass of rocks coalesced into a solid mass. Two red eyes lit up and made eye contact with me.

“Mystic, why are you here?” The spirit said in a low, threatening voice.

I stood there, stunned, for a time. Hours ago, I was sewing pants in a factory. Now, I was talking with an angry rock with dangerous eyes. Stranger, it felt so real. Like I was actually in this place, an abandoned mine. I had barely gone anywhere other than work in months.

Janica elbowed me. “Get it together.”

“Hi,” I started. “We have a quest to investigate this mine.” It was probably wise not to reveal that we were here to destroy the thing. “The town has sent us to investigate and… look for clues.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

The Earth Spirit laughed and I felt a chill run through me. “Don’t lie to me. You’re here to try to destroy me.”

“What’s happening?” Arthur pressed. “What language are you speaking?”

“Ignore this idiot,” Janica said, “and stay focused. Ask the Spirit why it inhabited this mine.”

I put a hand up in Arthur’s face, the way a popular girl might do to somebody she didn’t want to listen to. And damn, did it feel good. I needed to think. This wasn’t some straightforward quest. Janica had hinted that there was another way, an alternative path than getting into a fight with a dangerous spirit.

“Spirit,” I said. “I’m here to discover the truth. Why are you here?”

The rocks around its torso unbound, spun, and coalesced again. “I will tell you. I was drawn to this place because the humans dug too deep into the ground. They began using explosives to tunnel toward dangerous things that live underground. Their greed nearly unearthed a being of pure evil and, while I would love to see humans suffer the natural consequences of their actions, this being would have destroyed spirits in its wake. I am here to protect my brethren from this fate.”

“Thank you, Spirit.” I said, starting to sense the opportunity. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

The elemental spun, then slowed. “No,” it said. “I am not threatened by the group you are with. I am not in need of any help from you.”

Its response jarred me. Wasn’t this elemental supposed to give me a quest? I needed to push.

“Spirit,” I said, “the men I’m with carry explosives. They’re more dangerous than they look.”

A loud, grinding sound erupted from the elemental. I felt its anger in my bones.

“Perhaps I do require some assistance. I can feel the presence of a fairy that helps you, and perhaps has led us to this moment.”

You were offered a quest.

Quest: Protect the Earth Spirit

Objective: Prevent the party from destroying the Earth Spirit that protects this area from future digging.

Rewards: Passive Skill: Spiritual Connection I.

Spiritual Connection I: while active, maintains a bond with your fairy companion that allows them to stay with you indefinitely.

Do you Accept: Yes /No

I blinked, trying to process the offer. The spirit asked me to betray the party. If I accepted, I would be making enemies of these three, twenty other guild members, the mayor of River Junction, and possibly the townsfolk; this would have consequences. On the other hand, I’d be, at least temporarily, delaying the town from making a huge mistake. I might be able to bring this knowledge back to the mayor and convince him not to begin mining again. I’d also secure a permanent companion in Janica, which could pay off over and over again. It also occurred to me that Janica knew of this reward and had manipulated me into getting to this place. She had her own reason for wanting to stay with me, and I doubted it was for my benefit. What little trust I had in her disappeared. She had pulled me into a drama that I didn’t want. But now I was in it, for now.

However, if I helped destroy this Earth Spirit, I would be helping the town unleash some great evil and there was no way I would be able to start my simple life of gathering and fishing while a chaotic being ransacked the valley. I rubbed my palms into my eye sockets.

I looked at Janica and typed: I don’t like it when people lie to me.

“I didn’t lie to you.”

You didn’t tell me the whole truth. It’s the same thing. Are we here on my behalf or yours?

She crossed her arms. “It could be both, Warren. If you succeed in this quest. We could be tied together.”

Is that what you really want? I told you I’m not going on any grand adventures. I don’t have that privilege. Do you really want to be tied together?

“We don’t have to be tied forever. If you get this passive skill and we decide that we’re not on the same path, you could turn the passive off and our connection would be broken. At least this buys us some time to get you settled and… fine, yes, I have other reasons for being here. I’m looking for answers. And this Earth Spirit might have them. But I promise, I’m going to help you get the skills and tools you need. Getting us this bond gives me more time to help you, and that is essential. When you took the Mystic Job, you put yourself way behind on finding a Job you can use, and we needed the extra time. So you see, it was for both of us.”

I sighed. I could see that reasoning, but could also see that Janica had her own goals. She might be playing me.

I accepted the quest, but that didn’t mean I would finish it. There was still time to back out and complete the original quest, take my Silver and not make enemies of Arthur and his guild.

“Visitor,” the Earth Spirit said, “I reside in the deepest recesses of the mine shaft. Take the next left, then the elevator to the bottom. You’ll need to defeat my guards to get to me. That’s fine. I can re-summon them later. When you finally reach me, use your Talk to Spirits skill to commune with me.” The floating rocks disassembled, and fell to the floor.

“What in the hell was all of that?” Arthur pulled me by my shirt. “Did you speak to that thing?”

I batted his hand away. “We take our next left, then the elevator all the way to the bottom.”

His eyes narrowed. “What aren’t you telling me?”

The best liars used half truths. “The spirit is angry. He believes he’s in the right to be here, and this won’t be an easy battle.”

Arthur relaxed a touch. “Anything else?”

“We’ll have to fight our way there.”