Time Since Reckless Self-Endangerment: 0 Days, 5 Hours

The spider guide led Nic higher. As they entered the heights of the tree the air filled with the sounds of the wind drumming against massive leaves, a slow percussive sound like the creak of a ship’s green sails under the force of a storm. The stars felt close by, as if they were caught on the highest branches.

Nic was truly learning to enjoy his new body. The sheer monstrous resilience combined with the rush of leveling his Physical Strength five times over had allowed him to stagger through three different fights, nearly die, and still recover well enough to climb the goliath tree.

But wherever his upper limit was, it was fast approaching. He could feel the rush of his cultivation spree fading out. Tired, sore sensations were building in his arms instead of being brushed away by pure energy.

Soon he would have to rest.

The spider’s home was an enormous gap in the bark, a huge hollow where dozens of pale-bodied furry spiders spun their webs. From the moment he arrived he felt eight-fold sets of eyes following him suspiciously.

He couldn’t help but notice there were small, wriggling bundles of silk caught in some of the webs. ‘Harmless’ or no he wouldn’t want to sleep here and wake up covered in webbing. Some of them were definitely eyeing him with hunger, and others watching his pack with clear greed. People were people.

“Thanks. I’m guessing this as far as you go?” He said to his guide. The little spider didn’t understand what he was actually saying, but the friendly tone carried. Reaching into his bag Nic took out the last of his treasure fruits. After gorging himself to make room for the kitchenware and paying for the healing pearl, he’d more or less exhausted his supplies.

One of the fruits he gave to the guide. The other, he cut apart with the knife, offering a slice to each of the other spiders who gathered around him. It was good to make friends.

Especially when those friends made healing elixirs and silk that could restrain monsters.

Waving goodbye, Nic prepared for the final leg of the journey. By the end of the night he’d see the Dominus Node and the challenger standing in his way.

---

At the height of the tree was an enormous stone temple- like the cloud castle atop a beanstalk in legends. It stood on an island of cracked earth, caught in the tree’s branches as if they’d been shaped to cradle it. The whole structure leaned crookedly but the central dome of gold was largely intact. Numerous statues of saints dotted the grounds around that dome, and the blue-white vines of the Lumenarch blossoms had been burned away before they could crawl up the marble foundations.

The entire island was patrolled by mantis-kin warriors. They marched sternly with their arms folded in front of them like praying monks.

Going in the hard way… would definitely lose him his chance at a Moonseal Credit.

And probably his life.

“Sofia?”

“It’s best we give this one up, Nicolas. Whatever’s claiming the node has an entire clan of trained warriors standing ready to fight for them, and that means their personal power is likely even greater to control such a force. Other nodes will be easier.”

“You’re right. Couldn’t work in a million years.” That was what Nic’s mouth said. But Nic was already eying the crack in the temple’s dome. A huge fault ran down the eastern side, and it was easily big enough for him to slip through. The only trouble was getting there.

“Nicolas. Nic. I can hear you getting ready to ignore my good advice.”

“Can you? That’s a shame. I wanted to surprise you.” And he turned and began to climb up to the highest branches of the tree, the ones that extended up into the clouds.

Finding a good, medium-sized leaf, Nic slid down onto the surface. The texture was waxy and smooth under his feet, the leaf ribbed by dozens of small white veins that extended outwards from a central stalk. With his adhesive aura, he clung on as the surface swayed and jolted in the wind like a trampoline.

Digging the knife from his pack he began to saw away at the base. The deeper he cut the more it swayed and bent in the wind, until every gust was making it nearly break free. But he stopped short of cutting all the way through.

Instead, he waited.

And waited.

A cloud moved over the tree. Swirling, wet mist covered everything, billowing over the temple like a wall of white fog. Everything became shadows hidden in the mist.

And as the wind turned in his favor, Nic cut the leaf free.

Instantly the world began to spin and tumble. The wind caught and flicked him upwards, clinging on by his sticky aura as the leaf went on a wild bumblebee flight up into the heavens, rolling around and around so much he began to feel sick.

For a moment Nic fought for control, until the wind evened out and the leaf suddenly fell into a smooth, slow drift.

Using his weight, Nic guided it down towards the temple below. The rooftop loomed larger and larger as he closed in on his goal, coming in fast.

Too fast.

He slammed into the dome inches from the gap, crying out as the hard impact drove the air from his lungs. Before he could recover the wind began to pick up, lifting the leaf again. Nic dropped the adhesive aura as fast as he could, grabbing hold of the temple dome, but the brief lift of the wind had dragged him out over the gap.

He hung by a single hand over the breach in the temple ceiling. Beneath, he could see glimmering water and torchlight braziers.

There was a buzz of wings and a mantis-kin guard landed on the temple’s surface. Drawn by the sound of Nic’s landing.

There was nowhere to go but down, and Nic released his hold reluctantly to topple down into the dark.

He landed hard, croaking, already bruised by his first landing. Shallow water splashed and crashed around his body. There was no chance whatever was in here hadn’t just heard him, but as he looked up, no massive monstrous thing met his eyes. No proud warrior waiting to kill him.

A girl. She was mantis-kin but lacked the strong muscles and huge claws of her folk. Instead, her hunting arms were weirdly malformed, twisted and bent close to her body. Her carapace was half-gold and half-white, with the paler color crawling across her skin like ash and infecting even her human upper body. Some kind of infection, one that crippled her left half entirely and left one eye blind. She limped as she walked towards him.

She wore beautiful, gossamer silks, and her face was stunningly pretty despite the infection turning half of it to a rough grey covered in black scars like cracks on a china plate.

“Hello?” She asked.

Lifting his hand, slightly dazed, Nic waved to her. “Hello.” He croaked, unsure of whether his ability to understand her meant she could understand him.

“I’m afraid I have no idea what you just said. Is that your name?” She shook her head.

Clapping a hand to his chest in the classic symbol for ‘me’ Nic declared. “Nic.” The resulting sound was closer to. “Ne-ewk.”

“Newt?”

Nic shrugged. And then, as the guards began to pour in through the roof, and realizing he had precisely zero time to make a good impression, he dug frantically into his pack.

A green claw lowered to his throat as he grasped about in the bottom of the bag

“Shall I kill it, mistress?”

Not pausing to worry about the very sharp blade very close to ripping his throat open, Nic held up the golden pearl. The healing light might be able to do something for her sickness. But barring that, it was simply very pretty.

“Nonsense! They’re my guest. And look-” She plucked the pearl from his hand and patted him on the slimy reptilian head. “They want to help.”

“I- Lady Nylea...”

Nic turned to look at the man holding his claw like a guillotine over Nic’s throat. The mantis-kin had enormous muscles and a shaved head covered in stubble, with the immediate air of hostility boiling off his tattooed skin telling Nic one important thing.

This guy was not going to be any competition for the mantis-princess. He had the pissed-off, pent-up aura of a man who never got any, ever.

“My word is final. No shedding blood within the temple, and no harming our guest.”

“Very well.” The guard sighed, through gritted teeth. The other mantis surrounding Nic stepped backwards as he remained in place. “But I will be watching him.”

“Fiiiine.” She waved at him, clearly none too pleased to be surrounded by lack-witted grunts at all times and treated like a precious object. Then she turned to Nic and grinned. “Want to see the Node? I’m guessing that’s why you came here. I’m afraid you can’t have it but, I can at least show you around.”

Nic nodded his head vigorously.

She led him deeper into the temple, every footstep splashing against water that poured over a cerulean tiled floor. At the core, surrounded by rising pillars and held up by statues of saints on bent knees, there was an enormous and shallow stone bowl from which the water poured.

“Behold. My little world.”

Grabbing the lip of the stone bowl and hoisting himself up, Nic gawked in amazement.

It really was just that.

A huge sea filled the bowl, and dotting it with green and brown were islands the size of grown human bodies. Tiny trees and tiny cities cropped up from the verdant soil, much of the world consumed with teeming jungles and deep forests, the cities confined to the outer edges where golden beaches ringed the earth. People scuttled like ants within. Birds the size of dust mites flocked around the drifting shadow of a whale no bigger than his finger, being chased by miniature ships. A wyvern roared atop a mountain, made cute and ridiculous by how small it was.

At the center of the bowl the earth lifted up into mountains and above the tallest of them- nearly Nic’s size- a tiny sun drifted among the clouds. Illuminating the world below.

You have discovered Dominus Node ae31c4

‘The Saturnalia of Worlds’

200 Essence awarded.

This is a Fortune Type node. Unique treasures and opportunities will occur here, gathering over time.

Current Ruler - Lady Nylea Tarn-Ap-Kyur (Unranked)

Nic’s eyes were very very wide.

She nudged him, and drew his attention to an empty island. Pulling the mountains aside with the ease of sinking her fingers into wet dirt, she planted the golden pearl deep and covered it with soil. “Put something into the earth. And we’ll see what comes up.”

Scrambling down from the edge Nic dug into his pack. Fingers almost shaking with excitement. This was magic. Every day he’d lived in a world with beautiful, alluring powers and mysterious arts- but almost all of them were dedicated to killing. This was something else.

This was wondrous.

The cooking implements were too large. The medicinal nettles and plants at the bottom of his bag seemed wrong. For a moment he considered the spices, but then settled on something even more precious. The seeds from the fruits he’d devoured.

Climbing up again he pushed the seeds into the earth one by one. He chose a place nearby a small village high in the mountains with clear water and open skies.

“Very good. Tomorrow, you can see what grows.” She said, clapping her hands together. She had a way of making every gesture clear and clean and regal. “For now, would you like to rest, Newt? You seem…”

Nic was covered in scrapes, cuts, and bruises. He nodded his head wearily.

“I’m afraid we don’t have any beds…”

“No problem.” he croaked, shifting his backpack off his shoulders and leaning it against the Saturnalia’s base

“Then I hope you rest well, and will wish to talk with you in the morning.” Bowing her head slightly she turned and departed, her guard trailing behind her.

The angry-looking man turned and shot a venomous glare back at Nic. Nic stuck his tongue, and settled in for a night of sleeping with one eye open. Old orphanage trick.

“Nicolas.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t let this one slip through your hands. This ‘Saturnalia’ isn’t just a node. In fact, I’m not sure I know what it is…”

“It’s really, really beautiful Sofia. That’s enough for me.”

"Oh. And be aware I'm resetting the count."