Chương 20: Incitement

The words Goggs had used to describe the blightmaw kept echoing in Elias' mind.

"A mechanism devised to keep us heroes here in check. A sort of cap on our development …" the healer had said, a troubled look playing over his usually stoic face. What a peculiar way of putting it. But the healer had patently refused to elaborate. It reminded Elias of some old Bible story about a giant tower he'd learned in Sunday School. The tower had been built too tall, by men of every nation all working together.

So tall was it that God saw it as an affront, and so he scattered those men and estranged their tongues to one another. From then on, they could only babble at one another. The story had always seemed a little spiteful to Elias. Strange that he remembered it so clearly, when so many details of his life were still hazy. Unfortunately, the monstrous mechanism, whatever fearful hand had made it, seemed to be growing ever closer as he and his new friends dallied about in the park thinking about old stories.

Every roar confirmed it. Elias needed to make hay while he could. Even if a third of that hay would soon be forfeit.

"Maybe we can grab a quest that will get us out of town for a while," Fiona said. Elias looked closely at the quest board, noticing that it had changed slightly. Fiona stood next to him, peering into it as well with a cute scrunch to her nose. # Quest (Rec level 5) Subdue five affirmation imps. (1 out of 5 subdued) Quest (Rec level 10) Earn a thousand echo coins through your crafting class. Quest (Rec level 25) Defeat the rampaging blightmaw (FAILED) Quest (Rec level??) Save the town of Cinderleaf from the darkness that is threatening it. (FAILED) (NEW) (Rec Level??) Re-establish the Alchemy Guild in Old Cinderleaf. (NEW) (Rec Level??) Become the Arch-Druid Quest: (???) Complete your trial successfully. # Good news and bad news, as far as Elias was concerned. He had forgotten just how high the recommended level was for defeating a blightmaw. Level 25? And why did it say that it was failed before he had even given it a shot?

Perhaps that was an allusion to the fact that it had come before and no one had managed to kill it. Still, level 25? And the way Goggs had described it made it seem kind of futile to try and fight it anyway. He left off thinking about it for a second. On the other hand, the two new quests were very intriguing. First, the idea of re-establishing the alchemy guild had already occurred to Elias.

It had first struck him right about the time he had first seen the bench and gotten sucked into distant, painful memories regarding his dad. If his father had taught him anything, it was that no great mind works to its full potential on its own. A guild seemed like the best way to gather a group of like-minded individuals, and who could know what sort of awesome power they might unleash, in this world where anything seemed possible?

They could protect each other, trade, and possibly try and reach a higher level of development than crouching in a ruined jungle hovel. As far as the second new quest was concerned, he had no idea what it meant. But it sounded like a lofty goal anyway. The Archdruid? With a definite article? Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Sure, why not. He went ahead and accepted all the quests. His earlier thought had been to start the quest for coin.

He would need to spend hours quietly gathering, making his way back and forth between the alchemy bench and here. Which sounded like exactly what he wanted to spend his time doing, come to think of it. But the approach of a giant, insatiable monster complicated things. Exactly how long did he have? Judging by the roars, the noisy beast was a good deal closer now than it had been just that morning.

The idea of surrendering a third of whatever he made to a bottomless pit of a creature made Elias feel slightly sick to his stomach. Particularly when it sounded like the beast was just wasting it. Perhaps it was true. It seemed designed by some clever hand to keep the wealth of the town capped, just as Goggs had theorized. He found the whole thing equally terrifying and intriguing.

"Do you also have a quest to find the … let's see, Verdant Harp of the First Canopy?" Fiona asked.

"No. I have no idea what you are talking about," he said, scanning the text.

"I guess the board shows different things to different people. That's pretty nifty." Elias looked again, just to be sure. But there was nothing about any harp. Either Fiona was imagining things, or this simple wooden board did indeed have magical properties.

"I guess you better get on that one. An instrument is pretty important for a bard," he said, giving her a warm smile.

"In case your voice goes out or something." His hand went onto her shoulder for just a second. Perhaps he already understood. This was where they would part ways for the time being. But it was still a little painful.

"You've heard these pipes," she said.

"There is no instrument that can beat them. Though you are right … it certainly sounds important. That name. And on the quest board after all? I suppose I ought to attend to it." She looked back at him with a simmering flame in her eyes, like the tip of a candle wick that had just been blown out. They stood like that for a few seconds. Perhaps they even leaned towards one another for just the briefest of moments.

"ROAAAARRRRRRRRR!" As far as interrupting a vibe that had threatened to become romantic under the soft, pink glow of the jungle sun, the blightmaw seemed to have a rare talent indeed. Both of the heroes immediately dropped their eyes, turning away from one another. Anything that might have been in Elias' heart a few moments ago had been quickly replaced with a chilly sense of foreboding.

"Well … I better be off to find this harp," she said, digging a toe into the root-broken soil that made up the park.

"You know, I've got a quest to reestablish the alchemy guild," he said.

"Maybe … after some time passes I can rebuild the area around those old ruins. Around my bench. Reestablish it as a new town. You know, I liked to play chess in life. Maybe there is some magic to move those giant chess pieces again. We could use them to decorate the place."

"A new town?"

"Why not? That would give us a head start. Who knows? Maybe we even pass a law that Fireknights aren't allowed," Elias said.

"And anyway, the ruins are all there, so it is not like we'd be starting from scratch." She nodded, her lips pursed as if she were impressed by the idea. She was even cuter in the pink sunlight. But Elias remembered what the Mushroom had told him about not getting attached. About how there existed some ill-defined they that did not seem to have any patience for love and romance. The mushroom says a lot of things, he reminded himself.

"Maybe you could … join me, when the time comes," he said.

"Maybe we could start something new, like, together."

"Yeah. Maybe so. It sounds pretty cool." She had already taken the first step backwards, but she seemed unwilling to be the first to turn away.

"Alright, well, I'll see you around."

"Like I said, the town isn't very big." She winked, finally turned on her heels, and left him standing there by the quest board.

"ROAAAARRRRRRRRR!" Oh, will you shut up already, Elias thought to himself. He found that, with Fiona gone on her way, he spent the next little while pacing through the park. Eventually, he settled down in the same spot where they had interrupted Goggs' meditation. Elias was thinking that he could use a bit of meditation himself, particularly after the whirlwind of the past few days. Whether he floated over the ground like Goggs did was besides the point.

He needed to focus his thoughts, cement all that he had learned, and determine exactly what to do first. A thousand forking roads lay before him, and he could pick only one. He sat down and crossed his legs, ready to concentrate his mind. Merlyn curled up against him and was quickly snoring and moving his paws the way dogs do as they dream. As a sort of totem for his focus, Elias fished out the mortar and pestle from his inventory.

Once again, it seemed to float out in front of him and he was able to turn it in any direction that suited him. He turned the bowl so that he could examine the bottom once again. He reached out and ran his fingers along the engraving, touching the place where the word POP was carved into the hard stone. You must always make the best move on the board." Easy to say, Pops, sometimes harder to do. I wonder what move you'd make right now." Elias found himself remembering once again.