Chapter Forty – The City

The wind whipped my hair. I spotted a few Wronkles from my perch atop Torchlight’s back but those that attempted to follow us were left in the dust tracked up by the unicorn’s hooves. Iron had been right about Torchlight. He was fast.

My tread counter in the upper right of my vision seemed to explode with numbers as I rode. Luckily Torchlight had been willing to bear me on his back, because I couldn’t stay there and wait for my… my friends to return. Red Thorn would surely be faster and I didn’t yet know how many cycles there were between character deaths.

I did know that it was at least a cycle, because Bald Fist and Pointy Hat hadn’t reappeared in the Shady Woods Copse before we’d left, and Half Bold had told them to set their Home Points there. I couldn’t risk waiting for them.

I didn’t even really know if I wanted to.

Amy had abandoned me, using some sort of magic to disappear rather than face Red Thorn, and Iron had actually messaged Red Thorn about me! I couldn’t even really be sure if they were my friends at all.

Dull Beauty and Bellcandy were already only acquaintances at best. They had fought Red Thorn, but I couldn’t be sure if they had done so to defend me, or just to preserve their own lives.

I did have the wonderful unicorn though. His furry mane was soft and warm against the cold wind that blew across my face. He flew across the land like the wind. Unhindered and unimpeded by root or bramble. It was as if the forest itself parted for the creature.

I knew he was simple, like the bugbears or the wolves that had attacked us, but he reacted to my words. Moved according to my wishes. There was more there. Since I had freed him, I felt assured that he was not following an instinct. He was not my captive, bade to follow me by his own instinct. No. He chose to bear me. To take me from that awful place where Red Thorn had almost killed me again.

A cycle passed as we rode, following the dark path through the woods. Any creatures that engaged us were too slow to attack, and those who pursued quickly lost interest.

We flew and I cried into Torchlight’s mane, trying to understand why Invaders were so awful.

I had hope though. I didn’t know if Amy and Iron had truly betrayed me, and I didn’t know if they’d lied about Variak. Perhaps it really was as they said. A city filled with people who followed no instinct and yet did not kill and hurt and destroy…

I wanted to see that. I wanted to believe in that. My aching heart had nothing else to hold on to.

Soon enough the dense canopy began to fade. Light pierced the canopy, and as I neared what felt like an ending to the Twisted Wronkle Woods, a map appeared, showing an arrow approaching a line. On one side of the line, a label read “Twisted Wronkle Woods” while the other side read, “Variak Outskirts.”

I’d seen such a thing before when I’d first left a safezone and Miss Tutorial had told me about dinosaurs and cultists. The line had level zones on each side and I was pleased to see that Twisted Wronkle Woods was a level fourteen zone, while the one I was about to approach was only a level six.

If I’d had anything to fear from the wronkles, I now had even less to fear from the denizens of this new zone. Also, it told me that I was nearing Variak. The City.

Maybe there I would find a way back to my old body, or a way to free Bugbear from the instinct. Maybe I’d even find a way to protect myself from Red Thorn.

The Unicorn whinnied as if sensing my mood, and I smiled at him.

“Thank you, you brave thing. If there was any debt between us, it’s been more than repaid,” I told him, ruffling his mane again before hugging him around his neck.

I hated invaders and loved them all the same. They had been the only thing that changed for so long that I couldn’t tell which emotion I felt more strongly. Now, with my trust in Amy and Iron damaged, all I could do was hope to find others who were more worthy of my family.

But…

Today wasn’t a complete loss.

I smiled a devious little smile, reveling in the wickedness of it. I knew it was an invader’s trait. I knew that it was wrong. But I could not help recalling the shocked horror on Red Thorn’s face as she died by my hand.

Ohhh… the savor of it. Exquisite.

I consoled myself with the knowledge that I would never feel the same glee at Iron’s death. At Amy’s. The thought of either of them in pain sent a jolt of nausea through me. Red Thorn though?

I loved watching her die. Loved the shock. I only wished that I could gobble her body as she had done mine so many times, but even my bloodlust faltered at that thought.

No. I was on my own for the foreseeable future, and I wasn’t about to become an invader like Red Thorn or Half Bold. Perhaps Iron and Amy might have an explanation for betraying me and abandoning me to my own personal hell.

As I approached the edge of Twisted Wronkle Woods on the map, I saw a small fort where two soldiers in old but sturdy looking metal armor were leaning against the sides of an open gate. Both of them looked bored out of their minds.

I slowed to a stop before them, Torchlight seemingly understanding my desires without a word spoken.

“Ho there, adventurer!” Called one of the guards, seemingly happy to see me. “This be the border to Variak territory! I am Benrus. Ah! No traveler’s crest, I see. Is this your first visit to Variak?”

I beamed at him. His name was Benrus, City Guard.

“Hello, Benrus! I’m Gell, the Jellyfae! Uhm. Traveler’s Crest?” I asked.

“If this is your first visit to Variak, you’ll need to travel to the Adventurer’s guild and register there, as well as get your Traveler’s Crest attuned so the city guards will recognize you. For now, head on through, and welcome to Variak!”

He turned back to his wall and laid back against it just as he had before.

‘He… sure is a boisterous sort.’ I thought.

“What’s a Traveler’s crest?” I asked, curiously. I approached him, dismounting. He looked very… plain. His helmet hid his features, all except bright blue eyes that distinguished him a little from his brown eyed partner, who had yet to even move.

He didn’t respond. Assuming he hadn’t heard me, I approached him and asked, “Uhm, Benrus? What’s a Traveler’s Crest?”

“Ho there, adventurer! This be the border to Variak territory! I am Benrus. Ah! No traveler’s crest, I see. Is this your first visit to Variak?” He called, in the exact same tone and inflection he’d used before.

I blinked.

“Uhm. You… you already said–!”

“If this is your first visit to Variak, you’ll need to travel to the Adventurer’s guild and register there, as well as get your Traveler’s Crest attuned so the city guards will recognize you. For now, head on through, and welcome to Variak!”

I was beginning to get annoyed now.

“Are you making fun of me? I’ve… had a really bad day. Could you just tell me what a Traveler’s Crest is and I’ll–!”

“Ho there, adventurer! This be the border to Variak–!”

“Oh shut up!” I shouted, now thoroughly pissed off. Thankfully, he did.

I walked over to the other guard and greeted him. Maybe he would be a little bit less rude.

“Hello there, uhm…” I glanced at this name above. “Dalton, the Guard.”

“Walk in the light, Adventurer,” he replied before brushing off his shoulders.

“Uhm… what?” I asked.

He sniffed something in his shirt pocket before wincing in disgust, then returned to his practiced indifference, staring at the road.

I giggled, amused, but a little annoyed. I was still standing right here.

“Uhm. Your friend over there wasn’t very informative. Can you tell me what the Adventurer’s guild is?”

He refocused on me as if he’d never seen me before and said, “Hullo, Adventurer.”

“Uh. Hi. So, I asked you a question?”

“Don’t get up to any trouble.”

“What the heck is that supposed to mean!?”

“For the honor of Variak.”

“What does the city have to do with my question!?”

“Walk in the light, adventurer.”

“Uggghhh!” I screamed in frustration, absolutely certain these two were making fools of me.

‘Must not attack the guard, must not attack the guard, must not attack the guard…’ I breathed inwardly.

I remounted, careful to thank Torchlight for being so nice to let me ride him so far before glaring balefully at the guard as I rode on through the small gate.

“Safe travels to ye, adventurer!”

“Fuck off, jellyjerk!” I shouted back.

If the guard was insulted, he sure didn’t show it, but I was. The nerve of those men!

I rode onward up and down a few more hills, feeling bitter and resentful of everyone and everything.

The trees thinned noticeably the further I rode into Variak territory. The woods were slowly replaced with thickets of grassland where small animals ran and played. Little creatures that looked like they might be dangerous scurried away from Torchlight, for which I was thankful. If they’d continued attacking us I might’ve been forced to hurt them and that was the last thing I wanted to do.

Giant lady bugs, and feral dogs, as well as strange looking rock monsters and large cacti all wandered the plains just off the path as the trees thinned ever further, morphing into rolling hills.

As usual, my anger simmered down to a low boil. I began to miss Amy and Iron, and wished I could share the amazing sight with them. I’d never seen grasslands that rolled like this before, but the beautiful new scenery only served to make me miss the family I’d only barely gotten to know.

I firmed my resolve and continued onwards alone. Maybe I would meet them in Variak. Maybe I would forgive them.

I came over the crest of a hill and spotted something in the distance. Ahead I could see the long cobblestone path stretching towards a small dot on the horizon that stood taller than the rest.

My heart skipped a short beat.

‘That’s it,’ I thought, hopefully. ‘That’s the city.’

I set Torchlight at a dead gallup and the Unicorn seemed overjoyed to run. There were people in the area now. Most of them were out hurting my kin for no apparent reason. I watched as they reappeared just like the bugbears and were summarily slaughtered by invaders who were likely honing their technique so they could practice on more enticing prey. Like me. Like my bugbears.

A new welling of hatred filled me but I continued onward. The city. I would be safe from Red Thorn in the city. I would be able to make a real family. I might even find a way to free bugbear.

The city seemed to grow out of the ground the closer I approached. The wall surrounding it was massive, standing at least fifty feet high. The wall was circular, but the city itself was surrounded by hundreds of small buildings that had long since grown out from the city’s huge walls. The town surrounding the walls looked like it was probably bigger than the city itself.

I was awed by the sight. The buildings were made of stone but often painted in wood colors to match the bronze walls that towered over most of the outer city’s buildings. Most of the buildings were drab in color but were decorated with ribbons and streamers of all different colors. Flags adorned many of the building tops marked with the same flag I’d seen on the map while entering Variak Territory.

People were dressed brightly as well, wearing flamboyant colors of all sorts. Adventurers were the most colorful of the lot, the men usually wearing armor that covered their whole body. The women, conversely wore as little as I, though there were plenty that wore full armor as well.

Trees grew sparsely within the city but there were several that looked too big to cut down, surrounding portions of the buildings beneath with their abundant leaves. Grass grew within the town as well wherever it could find purchase but I could tell there was none within the walls.

A massive gate, taller than most of the city’s surrounding buildings faced the south, and I could just see another gate of the same magnitude on the northside.

Within the city walls grew monumental towers that dwarfed even the walls. Stone and brick stacked as high as the clouds made Bluebell Bridge look like a mouse next to Momma Bossbear. They reached towards the sky like swords and knifes, all ending in sharp points that glistened in the afternoon sunlight.

Beautiful. The City was beautiful. Everything Amy and Iron had told me it might be.

Despite the gorgeous site, I never once slowed to marvel at it. I had no knowledge of how long it might take Red Thorn to be reborn. If it was a full cycle like it took for me then it was possible Red Thorn could already be waiting here for me. I refused to be caught outside of a safe zone by the devil.

Despite having spotted the city nearly half a cycle ago, it still took me a long time to actually reach the outskirts, but thankfully I met no resistance. There were no obnoxious guards stationed outside the outer city, and when my map appeared, showing me that I was entering the safe zone of Outer Variak, I’d never been more relieved in my life.

I’d made it.

Suddenly, the entire world faded to black. I would’ve screamed but without warning, my mouth would no longer move. Nor would my hands. My face. My feet. I… I had no body. Yet I could still see somehow.

My eyes opened, but I no longer stood on solid ground. I felt a vague sense of vertigo and nausea as I realized I was high above the clouds somehow following an eagle in flight.

‘Oh god, I really am going to fall into the Great Open!’ I thought frantically, trying desperately to look up into that insidious blue ceiling that I could never touch.

The scene showed me an even more impressive view of the city of Variak, but I had no control over where I looked, or what I saw. The sun seemed to crest the horizon as the eagle reached the apex of its flight, the bright rays glinting off the tallest tower of Variak in a picturesque moment of beauty.

I was doing my best to scream but had absolutely no agency. This was worse than the instinct. Worse than Dungeon Home. I could not move! What in the gods names was happening!?

VARIAK,

CAPITAL OF DOGAIA

The words plastered across the picturesque scene like a title before the world faded to black. Suddenly, I could see again. Once more, I stood on the outskirts of Variak like nothing at all had happened. My hands moved at my command. My head. My feet. I touched my body to make sure everything still functioned properly.

Torchlight was gone, but I saw him in the distance. He gave me an encouraging whinny before fleeing back towards the woods, apparently unwilling to go into the city with me.

“W-What… what the hell was that?” I breathed, feeling more confused than ever.