Frost Wyrmling [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ADCreHc4IO7RbIxTMLFRCXX93BT3cOnmbxF7I3ODeheFS7z73VbrTqglWWYFA8htYzFiXWNsB7kGlMw_fNrURacfOMKblm51VFj2N-c_cxzVATZwL4JUmGNghN7JIG51HfHiUCPMtBnY5zaxaNalx4GK1l1h=w621-h931-s-no?authuser=0]
The wind whipped around wildly as the group stood at the top of what seemed like a massive crack in the earth not far from the outcropping of rock that the group had gathered on. Phoenix had managed to portal all of them right outside the gates to Linnake, one of Tulim’s fortress towns that was located on the northern coast, west of Tulimeir, and high upon a cliff overlooking what Phoenix thought of as the arctic ocean.
The city was well guarded from most dangers with its high altitude and cliffs to the north and east. The eastern cliffs fell into the massive gorge that ran south from the coast and was their true destination. So after about an hour of walking south along the ravine’s edge, their assessor had finally brought them to a halt after referencing his tablet once more.
“Alright, people! We’ve gotten reports of some Crystal Caste fliers making their way from near here to terrorize the fort we left which is eating up their mana battery supply. The report of numbers has been inconsistent, so stay vigilant,” Trayvious informed them before walking to the edge and peering down into the icy ravine.
After a moment of observation, he asked, “Malik, thoughts on how to approach?”
A young cinderen spoke up, “We could send a scout down to find the location of their nest. Do we know what type of fliers?”
“Colpteras, according to the reports,” he replied as though unwilling to put much stock in the information, “They only attacked during the day when there were snow storms so the visual confirmation is as unreliable as their numbers. We will sometimes have scouting pre-missions to make it more reliable but things can always change. Remember this, everyone: mission information is a best guess, do not put blind faith in it or you will die.”
Phoenix conjured her [Guide Book] and willed the information for Colpteras to appear. At Paul’s suggestion, she had purchased what she fondly referred to as the Monster Manual which was basically an encyclopedia for every known monster encountered in the world. Getting the book and basically feeding the information to her guide ability while it sat in her collection made for easier referencing rather than having to lug the giant text book out and actually hold it.
When she read over the information and the attached picture, it seemed like a large white bat that used echolocation to navigate and had some Ice powers but was fairly weak to physical attacks. She frowned, something about the description bugging her, as she thought about what Trayvious had described.
“What is it?” a whisper said into her ear and she jumped in surprise at the purple-haired man who had somehow appeared next to her without her noticing. Dazien smiled impishly at her reaction then gestured to the glowing book, “You seemed upset at it.”
“Oh, um…” she wasn’t sure if she should speak out of place, unsure if her reasoning was sound, but the young warrior just smiled reassuringly, “Well… the information here describes Colpteras as blind nocturnal creatures that rely on echolocation…” the gemite nodded to indicate that he was following along, “It just doesn’t sound like the type of monster that would attack in the day during what I assume would be an obnoxiously loud blizzard.”
“That’s a good point. What do you think it could be?” He asked curiously.
Phoenix shrugged, “I’m not sure, I haven’t exactly read through all of the known monsters yet,” she said, gesturing to the book slightly, “Do you know what other white creatures there are with bat wings and Ice powers? For all I know it could be an Ice Dragon.”
Dazien frowned, “I don’t think the magical quality of this region could result in an Ice Dragon spawning but this is gearing up to be a rather extreme blood moon, if what I’m hearing around town is to be believed. Maybe a young Ice Drake?”
Phoenix stared at him with wide eyes before asking incredulously, “Wait, dragons are real here?”
It was his turn to look surprised as he asked, “What do you mean by ‘here’?”
“Smithson!” Trayvious’s voice interrupted their whispered conversation and they both turned to see everyone now staring at them. She flushing red with embarrassment while her visitor gave a grin and casually rocked back on the heels of his heavy boots. “Would you like to share your thoughts with the rest of us?”
“Of course, Mister Trayvious,” he said confidently and gestured at Phoenix, “Miss Fraser here, just pointed out that the Colpteras are nocturnal and would likely have trouble moving in a storm, so we’re probably looking at some sort of drake or maybe wyvern instead,” he explained without hesitation.
Trayvious glanced at Phoenix with an assessing gaze before nodding and replying, “Very good. How would you suggest we combat them, Mister Smithson? Send a scout like Mister Malik suggested?”
Dazien looked contemplative as he responded, “That could work but it would be dangerous for the scout should it be stronger than initially thought. Going as a group might give us the strength advantage but if it has ranged attacks could be disadvantageous if we were grouped up together. Do we have anyone here that could scout and return to us quickly? We could set up a formation here to lure the beasts into.”
“Bait into a kill box?” Phoenix asked curiously, then shut her mouth as the attention turned back to her.
Dazien grinned at her and nodded, “Exactly.”
The warrior looked back at the others, continuing, “We send a runner down there to get their attention and lead them back into our waiting arms. I can even handle communication so the scout can inform us immediately of what they encounter and we can be better prepared for their arrival.”
Trayvious nodded again then looked to the rest of them, “Any other suggestions?” When nobody spoke up, he continued, “Very well. Who here is both capable and willing to play the scout?”
A cinderen girl who had been part of Dazien’s earlier entourage spoke up, “I have stealth capabilities for scouting but I don’t think I could outrun a flying monster which sounds like we would need in order to be bait.”
Phoenix thought about the task as though it were another of Paul’s training challenges and, with a silent internal groan, slowly raised her hand.
“Miss Fraser? Was there something else you wanted to add?” Trayvious asked curiously.
“I, um… I might be able to outrun it. I have some movement enhancing ability and I might even be able to get the monster to go through my portal. Or at least use it to get back here safely.”
“Very well. Do you need assistance in the descent?” He asked, gesturing towards the sheer edge of the cliff.
She nodded and another candidate stepped forward, “I can assist with that. One of my Wind abilities can allow someone to fall slowly. If she’s planning to portal back up anyways, it should work for the plan.”
“Good. All of you should come to me to get a Sense Stone, then you all have ten minutes to organize your ‘kill box’ and discuss what to do once the monsters arrive,” he said to the group as a whole. Then addressed Dazien again, “Smithson, why don’t you go ahead and use that communication ability you mentioned. How many can you include in it?”
“Thirty, sir,” he replied promptly.
“Alright, that covers everyone. Get us connected then move forward with making your plans.”
Phoenix was startled when shimmery purple lettering appeared floating in the air in front of her.
You have received an invitation to become a Subject of Dazien Smithson.
Do you accept?
She glanced up warily at the young man with a raised eyebrow and asked, “Subject?”
The amethyst warrior grinned and said unashamedly, “My powerset might be a little domineering at times, but when one is destined for greatness, such as myself, you can only gracefully accept the burdens of leadership.”
Phoenix rolled her eyes at the exaggerated pomp and glanced back at the words before asking, “This isn’t some kind of magic contract that permanently binds me to you, right?”
The new leader laughed aloud. It was a lovely sound and Phoenix wanted to hear it more but the gemite replied, “No, no, it’s just my communication ability,” then flashed her another impish smile, “If you want to be bound by me, we’ll need to have dinner first,” he added with a playful wink.
Her face almost turned as red as her hair at the flirtation and Dazien laughed again as he returned to his group of friends to discuss their upcoming strategy. Phoenix quickly accepted the communication invite and walked up to Trayvious to receive her Sense Stone and ask how it functioned, getting some odd looks from the others near her, before she joined the rest of the group to listen to their plan.
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The Sense Stone looked like a diamond prism that had an odd matte texture while still shifting colors in the sunlight. As the Astromancer tossed it into the air as instructed, it circled around her as though taking her measurements and then floated directly above her head like a little Sims crystal marker and she briefly wondered yet again if she was just another player in the game of this world. Were the gods basically game admins? Overpowered moderators with access to all the cheat commands?
The Wayfarer was brought back to the present after they all decided on a formation and location to set up their ambush site. Phoenix and the other candidate with a Wind Aspect walked to the edge of the gorge where he cast a spell on her and said, “Alright, you can just jump down now. Once you land the Boon will end, though, so make sure you’re at the bottom and don’t land on the edge or something. I guess if that happens you can always portal back up and we can try again; especially if you don’t find them right away.”
Phoenix nodded in understanding and steeled her nerves, swallowing down her anxiety, as she lept off the cliff. She was immediately relieved when she didn’t plummet to the ground, gently floating down as the wind blew around her. It seemed like she could aim where she wanted to land rather naturally and wondered if this power would eventually level up and allow full-fledged flight.
The sides of the ravine were sheer rock covered in ice and snow and the bottom was much the same. No life seemed to grow naturally in these frozen wastelands and Phoenix found herself wondering, not for the first time, why anyone would build cities out here.
As she landed at the bottom, she quickly conjured her dagger, as well as the second one Paul gave her that she had been using from her collection, and surveyed her surroundings. Her white fur cloak and blurring shadows helped her blend into the surrounding snow despite the Sense Stone floating above and the [Starlight Companion] hovering over her shoulder.
When no immediate threat appeared, she started walking down the gorge, heading south while looking for caves in the cliffside that could serve as potential nests. After a solid ten minutes of walking, she tried something that she only just started practicing with her mentor yesterday. She expanded her aura in a specific direction to get it to go farther away than normal, trying to sense the monsters. Paul had told her that the range she was able to produce was impressive for her Caste even if she still didn’t feel fully in control of it. Projecting it outwards though was much easier than trying to reign it in and she soon felt what she was looking for.
Unfortunately for her, it seemed like the monsters also noticed the brush of her aura as a shriek echoed through the icy gorge. Then she saw the wings. Giant white leather stretched out a few meters from its sinewy body, lifting it up into the sky. Closely followed by another. And another. Her book had to actually move in front of her face since she couldn’t take her eyes off the creatures.
New Quest: Mission: Frosty Fliers
You have been tasked with defeating the monsters in the mission.
Objective: Defeat the three Frost Wyrmlings.
Reward: Rare Crystal Caste wand.
The back of her mind distracted her slightly with the thought, ‘oooh! A wand! Yes!’ but she shook her head and refocused on the threats making their way towards her.
They looked a bit like pale white snakes with frills around their head, which of course was basically just a gaping mouth full of razor sharp teeth that wanted nothing more than to eat her at that moment. The biggest difference from a snake however were the two hind legs and large wings for arms that were longer than its body.
“Phoenix?! What was that sound? Did you find them? What is it?” Dazien’s voice sounded in her mind.
She thought back frantically as she turned on her heels to run, “Frost Wyrmlings! Three of them. Pretty sure I got their attention!”
Another shriek rang out behind her and she glanced back immediately regretting her decision to volunteer as bait. They were fast. Much faster than she had anticipated.
The Astromancer conjured the [Sun Shell] from her [Radiant Sunlight] Aura just in time for her little [Starlight Companion] to nudge a giant shard of ice to land dangerously close to her but not hit the shield or get in her path as she put on another burst of speed in a panic. The mana drained much quicker to fling her across the ground toward the large boulder jutting out from the gorge floor ahead of her that she had targeted.
“Looks like they shoot Ice bolts!” Phoenix shouted through the voice chat as she kept running, trying to make sure the monsters were close enough that she wouldn’t lose them before getting her portal open. She was glad that Paul had suggested adjusting the size of her portal ring while she had been trying to level it up since there was no way the beasts would fit through the normal size she made.
“They can also boost their speed for a short time, so make sure they don’t get too close,” another voice that she recognized as Uriel’s said over the chat. She assumed that information was gained from a book similar to her manual she had bought and the Wayfarer was glad that she wasn’t the only one who had thought to bring one.
Phoenix glanced back again to try and discern how big she would need to make the portal and gauge their proximity and was disturbed at how quickly they closed the distance. As they got to within a few meters behind her, she yelled “Incoming!” as she opened the portal large enough for a small plane and jumped through.
She felt her [Sun Shell] shatter as one of the wyrmlings closed its maw around her on the other side. The effects of the shell caused it to throw its head back from the shock of being blinded temporarily.
The Wayfarer stumbled a few feet, slightly disoriented by the shield breaking, “Phoenix, you need to get out of the strike zone!” Dazien’s voice yelled out, and she triggered her gravity ability to [Push] herself away from the giant monster that was attempting to take another bite out of her. As she flew forward at a dangerous speed, having shoved a ton of mana into it in another surge of panic, she could feel the barrage of attacks landing behind her, pummeling the wyrmling into the rocky ground.
The force of the attacks and the suddenness of her reaction caused her to stumble and roll across the snow covered rocks, not quite making it to the defensive line the other candidates had set up around her portal. Another shriek filled the air as the second wyrmling came flying through the portal at frightening speed and moved to devour her as she lay alone and unguarded on the ground.
But she wasn’t alone, nor was she unguarded, as she glanced up to see Dazien standing between her and the monster, holding a shield that she didn’t remember the now armored man having before, along with wielding the gleaming diamond sword she remembered from their first encounter.
Her aura was still projecting outwards and she noticed the defender’s form blur slightly as a sparkling shell of light enveloped the newcomer, as well as a new pink [Starlight Companion] floating behind his shoulder ready to offer aid.
She assumed the warrior must have triggered some ability when he planted his feet firmly as the monster slammed into his shield and he didn’t budge an inch. Then the sparkling sword moved faster and faster as it sliced into the monster’s face causing it to scream in even more pain than the initial impact had caused it.
Then the amethyst tank shouted at the beast as it reared back, “You have forsaken my rule and thus forfeit your freedom!” causing what looked like a rune-etched steel cage to spring into existence around the wyvern. Without a moment’s hesitation, Dazien turned and helped her up, “Can you run?” the defender asked her and with a nod she took his hand and they ran back to the line of other would-be Adventurers.
More explosions rang out behind them and, as they reached the other applicants, Phoenix turned to watch in amazement as the monsters were pummeled with a variety of magical and ranged attacks.
She noticed Uriel standing off to the side on his own, chanting something under his breath before fire rained from the sky onto what remained of the creatures, turning them to scorching piles of seared flesh. She briefly wondered if she would ever get a spell that could deal damage on that kind of scale.
“Is he a Fire Mage?” Phoenix asked Dazien as she nodded towards the lone companion.
The young warrior glanced back and said reluctantly, “Something like that,” before turning to look her over once more, “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, “No, my sun Aura protected me and the snow softened a bit of my fall. What about you? That thing slammed straight into you,” she looked the man up and down, taking in the full regalia of armor, sword, and shield and asked bluntly, “Are you some kind of knight?”
The defender scoffed and said cheekily, “My lady, I am no mere knight. I am a Warrior King,” Dazien gave that same playful wink again and then gave a courtly bow before turning to see to his friend.
Phoenix noticed Uriel putting back on the gold choker she had first noticed on him and wondered briefly why he had taken it off but her thoughts were interrupted as her book floated in front of her.
Quest: Frosty Fliers
Objective complete: Defeated the three Frost Wyrmlings.
[Wand of the Snow Queen] has been added to your collection.
Quest completed.
10 [Crystal Mana Bits] have been added to your collection.
She grinned and eagerly asked the book for more information about the new treasure. This time it even showed her a little picture of the item; an elegant blue crystalline shaft with swirls of white running through it and a large sapphire gem affixed to one end.
Item: Wand of the Snow Queen
A wand imbued with an affinity for ice.
Caste: Crystal.
Availability: Rare.
Type: Tool, wand.
Effects:
* Can be used as a medium for cantrips.
* Can be used as a medium for Ice spells which will result in increased effects.
* Can cool objects it comes in direct contact with.
Well she didn’t have any Ice powers but it was nice to finally have a wand for all the Mundane magic she had learned from the tome Scholar had gifted her. She was mainly hoping to help tidy up her living space that she abhorred having to clean. It might have seemed like a silly spell to desire but the time she saved on cleaning left her with time to do more important things, like finding a good book to read.
“What’s that?” Dazien’s voice asked from next to her and she jumped in surprise again, reflexively closing the book and causing it to disappear in a shower of sparkling light.
“Nothing!” she reflexively answered, then added hastily trying to wave off the question, “Just one of my abilities.”
She was saved from needing to answer the warrior’s next question when Trayvious called out to them, “Alright everyone, let’s get moving. Good job on the teamwork, we still have some more missions to cover and I need to get more individual assessments.”
As the monsters suddenly began disintegrating into white ash behind him, he glanced back at the group who looked just as startled as he was and asked, “I’m guessing one of you has a looting ability of some sort?”
Phoenix slowly raised her hand looking at the ground in embarrassment.