~ CHAPTER 23 ~
THE MAGIC OF WONDER AND REVELATION, PART 1
The thing about mysteries, and this is going to sound really dumb, but it’s just that until you’ve solved them, you never know what you’re going to find. Wild Magic Online had given me one mystery after another. So many that I didn’t even know what was a mystery and what was just normal gameplay or even just regular human interaction. The more time I spent thinking about it, though, the more I started to realise that there was probably a reason for it all, and I just didn’t know what it was. Yet.
Time. How had I missed it? The Eyes of Twilight had appeared… wait for it… at twilight. That in itself made me feel pretty dumb for having missed it, but it was the next point that was really important: I had gotten the quest right after having gotten a separate quest related to the Skystream. You know, that thing that was literally used as an in-game clock. Heck, I’d been looking at the Town Hall Clocktower just moments before that, hadn’t I?
That in itself wouldn’t have been enough to convince me there was a connection, but the little things were adding up. Those wavy lines of colourfulness I now couldn’t see anymore? Yeah, I hadn’t missed that the place in the dead centre of their web had been almost the exact spot where I had been standing. I also hadn’t missed that those same lines absolutely loved Demi, and very notably still did, or that during our fight it had become plainly obvious they were somehow related to Karmic Flow. What concept was fundamentally central to Karmic Flow-the thing the game used to determine what happened when? Yeah. Time.
What was it the Keeper had said? “That which is between and beyond what exists.” Erm, well, that didn’t seem quite right, but I’d gotten the general idea. Time. The [Eyes of Twilight] wasn’t its own isolated quest, it was part of the same chain of quests as everything the Keeper had given me. It hadn’t been a Discovery, it had been pre-written. Not random at all. For some reason the whole episode felt either kind of freaky or kind of awesome, but I couldn’t put my finger on which, or why.
Anyway, that all brought me back to the Keeper. She’d asked me to find three things, but she’d also stated that they weren’t things I could find just by looking. In other words, all three of them were things that were right in front of me if I just could figure out what they were. Or in other other words, finding the Runes, the objective that her whole mystery had been meant to help me with, was not about where they were, but what they were. Not about looking, but about perceiving. Mystery was literally built into my entire class. I wasn’t sure if I should be upset about that or not.
And yet, I couldn’t help thinking that nothing the Keeper herself had ever said or done had implied these mysteries were actually very important. What if, as Demi had so blandly shown me earlier, I was just overthinking things? What if this was all just a game, and it was enough just to enjoy it? “Don’t look with your eyes, dear.”
What if… out in the real world… nah, better not go there.
While we’d been fighting, Demi had learned [Downed Brawler (Passive)] and then [Resolute Defence (Active/Passive)], and Gadrin had learned [Vine Shaping (Active/Passive)]. Of the three, only [Downed Brawler (Passive)] had been an actual Discovery, apparently taking all nineteen points of Karmic Flow Demi had gained plus five more into the negative. It didn’t sound all that good, but… hopefully we could get her back into the positive before something unfortunate happened.
As for the other two Skills, they’d both been things they’d figured out, like my [Runic Plea] Skill apparently had been, or my [Sign of Inverse Devouring]. Technically it was still the same Discovery System that managed those ones, but the developers didn’t want to discourage players from learning Skills on their own. Sometimes the game would take a bit of Karmic Flow to bridge the gap when trying for more advanced Skills, but it was pretty normal for low level starter Skills not to cost anything. That way players could build up their starter kit and have some choices before they got too far in.
Meanwhile, I hadn’t gotten anything. My seventy-three points of karma were starting to get a little scary, but I had no doubt they’d go higher before they went down. I suspected when I did make a proper Discovery, it would be something I wouldn’t even understand. You have Discovered a Random Blade of Grass: minus ninety-nine points. It felt like something the game would do.
I smiled. In all honesty, I didn’t really care.
Demi caught me smiling and blushed. “W-what are you smiling at?”
“Oh, sorry, I was just thinking. About how weird this game is.”
“Oh.” She looked slightly disappointed. Was I supposed to have said something else?
A few minutes later, we rounded the final corner to the guard house. We’d completed the two bounty quests together, so it only made sense to split the reward. Demi might or might not have had another quest completed and ready to turn in as well, I wasn’t sure. Gadrin certainly did: something about raising plants that could zap annoying bugs.
All I had to do was be present, so while the other two did their turning in, I looked around. The inside of the guard house was narrow and dark, but there were a surprising number of low tables and benches arrayed around the room. On the opposite wall, in front of us but slightly to our left, there was a hallway that stretched into the dark with a disturbing number of doors on either side. I could only wonder where they all went, given that the building hadn’t looked very large from the outside. Turning right, there was a counter and window facing us like you’d see in a bank, but it wasn’t entirely clear how the guards got on the other side of it. Unless there was a route through one of those doors? That would make sense.
All of the walls were covered in spears and shields of various sizes and designs, many of them with colourful feathers attached. Also animal skulls. I didn’t spot any swords, but I did spot something that might have been a sharpened elephant tusk, except it was dark brown, and something else that could have been antlers if they weren’t green and transparent like they were made of wispy smoke. My [Eyes of Wonder] highlighted that last item, but it didn’t seem to be connected to anything.
As I kept looking around, I felt a presence appear beside me. A wildling man wearing a thick leather robe was standing there with an inscrutable expression on his face. He looked me up and down for an uncomfortable amount of time before finally deigning to speak. “I take it you would be the lady River?”
I gave him a confused look. “Well, I mean, I’m not exactly a lady, but…”
“But you are the one named River?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I was told to expect you. If you would please come with me for a moment.”
I balked. “Um, can my friends…”
“Don’t worry. They’ll still be at the counter for a while.”
“Oh, ok.” I decided to follow him to see what was going to happen, but I caught Demi’s eye and gave her a nod to let her know what was happening.
The man took me down the hallway to the third door on the left, then lead me up the steep stairs that were behind it, eventually coming out onto an open-air landing about at the same level as the rooftops. He continued walking from there, and led me up a ladder onto an even higher open-air landing, this time flush against the city wall with a tunnel leading inside. Almost directly above us was one of the massive crystals, this one a calming lavender colour.
He pulled me away from the ladder, then paused and looked around before finally breaking the silence again. “Lady River, I received a communication to the effect that you were to be assisted in any way possible. Discreetly, of course. I understand that what you do is of a… sensitive nature, but don’t worry: here under the crystal it is very difficult to intercept any conversations using magic. Of the traditional variety or… otherwise.”
I stared at him. This was not the opening I’d been expecting. What in the Wild Continent did he think I did? He apparently took that as a cue to continue. “I’m afraid we don’t have any missions at the moment that would fit your… unique requirements, but I have been keeping a close eye on our requests should something like that come in.”
Now he reached into his robe and drew out something that looked a bit like a miniature globe like you’d see in a museum, minus the actual globe part, and offered it to me. “What I have here is a Telemetric Null-phase Spirit Transponder. It is attuned to my conscious signal. Should you use your Rune to empower it, you should be able to receive messages from me without exposing the communication to direct interception. Please be careful to keep it well concealed, and of course don’t on any account activate it where others can see.”
Now he smiled nervously. “Ah, you understand, the main benefit of the technology is simply that the Empire doesn’t know it exists, so it would be better if your ladyship could keep it that way. Within reason, of course. I would not presume to tell your ladyship what to do, or to claim understanding of… your kind’s ways.”
I swallowed. Would it be better to roleplay my way out of this situation, or try to figure out what he thought was going on? I suspected if he thought I was an imposter, it might not end well for me. “And this… Spirit Transponder… you will use it to tell me about any missions you might have for me?”
“Yes ma’am. Of course if one does come up, you would be free to come here to accept or reject it as your ladyship wishes. In that case, I would be in a position to explain more details in person.”
I took the strange item from his hands and examined it. “And ah… can I ask what, um, unique requirements you were told I had?”
He pursed his lips. Uh oh, did I screw up? “Ah, well, your ladyship understands the ways of… your kind… better than I would presume to be able to, so you understand I can only say so much. I was told to watch for requests pertaining to a… certain set of individuals. And circumstances. I note that one such individual is already in your company?”
Oh? One such individual? Not two? How painfully relevant feeling. Did I need to wonder which of them it was? Come to think of it, why would the game even make a distinction between them? Maybe he was referring to somebody I’d met earlier?
The Wildling still looked nervous. “May I enquire if your ladyship has already made contact with the one known as the Witch of Midnight?”
I frowned. “I don’t think so. I’ve met a few people who were Witches, and a few people who looked like Witches, but I don’t recognize that name.” I felt like I’d remember if I had: it sounded rather sinister.
He nodded slowly. “Of course. I was told you had already encountered her… counterpart, but I imagine it’s only a matter of time now. After all, we all know the Wild Continent is, sometimes, a lot smaller than it seems.”
That sounded like it was supposed to sound insightful, but actually I was just confused. Who had I met? The Keeper? Maybe? That didn’t feel right, but who else would the game refer to using terms like ‘counterpart’. Did the mystery just get a whole lot deeper, or was I still… looking with my eyes? I decided to test my luck a little. “Can I ask who specifically you received your communication from?”
The look of confusion on his face told me I’d tested a failure. “Ah, from our mutual network of friends, of course. I can only assume it originated from that person, but I’m sure you would know better than I.”
I decided not to push my luck any further. That person? That went beyond just being vague, now it felt like the game was messing with me. I had been under the impression that he felt he could talk freely near the crystal, for some reason, so what could be his reasons for not wanting to say any more? Was he worried about lip reading? Or was he actually just hiding the fact he didn’t know? In any case, it was probably better not to push my luck.
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I glanced at the ladder down. “I take it that was all you wanted to talk about?”
He nodded, suddenly looking relieved. “Of course, lady River. I won’t take up any more of your time. I’m sure your friends are downstairs waiting for you.”
And so they were. Looking a little confused. When I got back to the main room, Demi was blushing again, but she straightened herself out as I approached. “What was all that about? Another quest?”
“Um, something like that? I think? More like an event triggered by one of my other quests, but I’m not quite sure which one. It felt like I’d stumbled into the middle of somebody else’s questline, but I doubt that was actually what happened.”
“Oh wow, that sounds kind of annoying. Can’t you just check your detailed log to find out which one updated?”
I stared at her, then slapped my forehead. “Demi, you are a genius.”
…
A few minutes later, Demi caught me staring off into the distance. “So which one was it?”
I gave her a dull-eyed look. “None of them.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“None of them triggered it.”
“So it was just, like, random?”
I shook my head with a sigh. “No… it was definitely not random. I’m starting to wonder if anything in this game is.”
“Well if I think about it,” Gadrin interjected from the side, “if it was a mystery, it wouldn’t really make sense for the game to just tell you what the clues were, would it?”
“Hah.” I gave him a fake laugh. “I would have agreed with you a minute ago, but actually one of my quests did update with a clue, albeit a pretty tiny one. The Eyes of Twilight. Apparently being close to the defence crystals can make it hard for people to eavesdrop your conversations. Also apparently that’s relevant information.”
“What makes you think that quest was not the one that triggered the event?” Gadrin sounded curious.
“Because, well… that was only a very small part of what was said. Have you ever heard of someone called the Witch of Midnight?”
He looked startled. “You mean, as in, an NPC?”
“Yeah.”
“Well… not that I can think of. But with a name like that, I can only assume they must be someone rather important. I’ll keep my ears open and let you know if I find anything out.”
“Thanks.” I grinned at him. “So what’s your plan now, anyway?”
He looked at the floor. “Well, ah… As much as I do enjoy you ladies’ company. I figure I should probably be getting back to my garden pretty soon. So, how about we stay in touch, ok?”
Demi leaned into my ear. “Go on River, he’s shy. Add him to friends!”
I blinked at her. I hadn’t gotten that impression at all, but he was nice, and he seemed like a good person to know. I flicked through my menu to send a request.
And like so, I gained my fourth friend. As I glanced down the list, I felt my heart lifting a bit thinking about how I’d met each of the other three. What a strange list of characters… I was looking forward to when I got to meet each of them again.
After that, we sorted out the quest rewards, and I passed Demi the extra from the [Neit Flour] I’d sold. Then we walked with Gadrin back to Bastion Square, said our goodbyes as he dropped party, and stood waving until we couldn’t see him anymore. I wondered where his garden was: somewhere outside of town, obviously, but wouldn’t that be dangerous?
I felt Demi nudge me. “Where do you want to go next? Was that Neit Flour the only item you still needed, or is there more on the list?”
“Ah, let me check.” Frowning, I pulled up my quest log.
[The Keeper's Garden (Part 1)]
Objective: Obtain the items listed on the first part of [The Keeper’s List]. - 6/10.
Estimated Difficulty: [Normal]
Reward: Flow +12
Quest Giver: [The Keeper]
Acquired: 26/1/1/19:04
[Drop Quest] [Put Quest on Hold]
[The Keeper's List]
[Refined Copper Cloud Salt]x10, [Thoril’s Needle]x15, [Thwart Grass]x4, [Crushed Red Longshore Prawn’s Shell]x3, [Saproot Seed]x11, [Amarh Elbow Gristle], [Neit Flour]x22, [Dried Black Pepper]x18, [Myrl Rose]x6, [Brightsage Leaf]x8.
…
Idea!
“Hey, think you could do me a huge favour? I’ll totally make it up to you.”
Demi beamed. “Of course I can! What do you need?”
“If you’re in the south part of town, could you stop by the Salt Refinery at the docks and pick me up some Refined Copper Cloud Salt? I don’t think it’s expensive, but just tell me how much it is and I’ll pay you back. Actually,” I reached into my inventory and pulled out the [Vial of Silver Gemdust (10)] Demi had given me a couple minutes ago, “How about you just take this and use it, then give me back any extra.”
I expected Demi to either agree right away, or reject me outright. What I didn’t expect was for her to narrow her eyes and stare at me for about a minute. Finally she just nodded and accepted the Gemdust from my hand. “It’s um… There’s… I’ll do it. Just let me know when you’re ready to talk, ok?”
I just stared at her blankly. “Um… about?”
Demi shook her head. “It’s ok, it’s just… you can’t run away from something forever. I uh… I’d know.”
My cheeks went hot. “Hey, who says I’m…” except, that was exactly what I was doing, wasn’t it? How had she known? My opinion of Demi climbed even higher. “Sorry. Um. Thanks. I’m not really. Ready that is.”
A moment later, I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, along with a massive metal breastplate practically crushing my chest. “It’s ok,” Demi laughed, “I get it.”
I wasn’t entirely sure what it was she got, but it still felt comforting. I was reminded of another conversation from earlier in the day: “Like I said sweetie, everyone’s running from something.” Was this mystery, or regular human interaction? Or was there a difference?
There was just one, small, problem. “Um… Demi?”
“Yeah?”
“I can’t breathe…”
~ ~ 26/1/1/23:06 ~ ~
Status: [River]
Class: [Novice Mistborn Runemaster]
Location: [Cowl's Landing - Bastion Square]
Health 2/38 ~ Mana 11/41 ~ Stamina 35/41 ~ Runes 1/1
[Drained (46%)], [Weakened (90%)], [Eyes of Wonder] Equipped Skills (8/8):
[Force Infused Palm]
[Myriad Fists]
[Imbued Defence]
[Unarmed Discipline (Passive)]
[Body Conditioning (Passive)]
[Inscribe: Rune of the Creator Flame (1/1)]
[Sign of Inverse Devouring]
[Eyes of Wonder]
Statistics:
Defence +8
Resistance +5
Constitution +4 (-46%)
Willpower +4 (-46%)
Endurance +4
Spirit +1
Perception +1 (+5%)
Focus (-5%)
Agility (-90%)
Celerity (-90%)
Equipped Items (3/8):
[New Arrival’s Simple Dress]
[New Arrival’s Simple Shoes]
[Valesilver Pin]
[Silversilk Bracelet] Other Skills:
[Elementary Ingredient Preparation (Passive)]
[Runic Plea] Other Items:
[Special Edition Founder’s Token]
[Small Pouch]
[Small Iron Key]
[Sugary Biscuit]x2
[The Keeper's List]
[Amarh Elbow Gristle]x18
[Thoril's Needle]x15
[Myrl Rose]x6
[Crushed Red Longshore Prawn's Shell]x3
[Thwart Grass]x4
[Neit Flour (Male)]x13
[Neit Flour (Female)]x13
[Telemetric Null-phase Spirit Transponder]
[Vial of Silver Gemdust (8)]
Active Quests:
[Cryptic Flows of the Mist (Part 1)]
[Path of the Runemaster (Part 3)]
[The Keeper’s Garden (Part 1)]
[The Ancient Keeper of Runic Magic (Part 4)]
[Things Worth Finding in the Mist]
[The Eyes of Twilight]
Status: [Demi]
Class: [Novice Freechild Guardian]
Location: [Cowl's Landing - Bastion Square]
Health 19/60 ~ Mana 1/10 ~ Stamina 37/40
[Weakened (36%)], [Drained (80%)]
Equipped Skills (8/8):
[Guarded Strike]
[Standfast]
[Shield Block]
[Greatshield Discipline (Passive)]
[Mocking Shout]
[Strength of Eternity (Passive)]
[Downed Brawler (Passive)]
[Resolute Defence (Active/Passive)]
Statistics:
Defence +19
Resistance +1
Damage +2
Strength +8
Constitution (-80%)
Willpower (-80%)
Agility (-36%)
Celerity (-36%)
Equipped Items (5/8):
[New Arrival's Basic Short Sword]
[New Arrival's Basic Shield]
[Tarnished Iron Breastplate]
[New Arrival’s Simple Undershirt]
[New Arrival's Basic Chain Tasset]
[New Arrival’s Simple Pants]
[New Arrival's Basic Leather Boots] Other Skills:
Other Items:
[Special Edition Founder’s Token]
[Novice Stamina Potion]
[Novice Rejuvenating Salve]x5
[Guldrin’s Checklist]
[Saproot Seed]x14
[Mordalk Stew (cold)]
[Luma Feather]
[Garden Pebble]
[New Arrival’s Basic Chain Armour]
[Palt Lure]
[Greatshield of Dauntless Hope (Shattered)]
[Starfire Wasp Wing]x52
[Starfire Wasp Eye]
[Spider Monkey Chelicera]
[Kvaltyr Antler Fragment]
[Vial of Silver Gemdust (10)]x2
[Vial of Silver Gemdust (7)]
[Vial of Silver Gemdust (5)]
Active Quests:
[Guldrin’s Experiment]
[Strength of Eternity (Part 3)]
[Asyr Hospitality (Part 4)]
[Wanted: Dead Jungle Palts]
[Mila's Stolen Treasure]
[Finding Vinot]
[Ooh, What's This?]