Chapter 31: A City in the Trees

Ricky gazed out from the carved dwelling within the twisted and massive bole of a redwood tree, a hundred feet from the ground.

It was morning, and he was alone.

The place was even more spectacular than Channia’s descriptions had prepared him for. Around twenty vast trunks of what the elves called home trees – each larger than any tree Ricky had ever seen in the real world – were subdivided to form enormous chambers in several places up their trunks. Each great tree was also connected to the others by walkways. Rather than rope bridges, these arched upwards, supported by branches which appeared to have been trained to grow that way for that very purpose. The different levels were similarly connected by spiraling platforms.

Despite the fantastical setting, the forest as a whole had all of the smells and sounds that he would have expected – the fresh smell of leaves and pine needles and sap, the calls of birds and small animals, and sporadic breezes that caused the upper branches to gently sway. It all felt so real.

They had feasted upon their arrival, and the satisfaction of the food had certainly helped to keep Ricky’s mind off the impending war and destruction faced by the city of Imperialis... and his guild. He had made sure to tuck some additional steaks and racks of ribs inside his leather satchel, too – a messy but necessary adjustment to stave off the worst of the hunger when it returned.

Come morning he had found himself fully healed, with no sign of any scars from his combat with the half-dragon. Channia had visited him early after dawn; her insistence that he act the part of her betrothed had not had any practical implications thus far. Well, it wasn’t surprising that they wouldn’t be sharing a pre-nuptial bedchamber, he supposed. Nor did the prospect of a wedding appear to be high on anyone’s agenda around the tribe. All the same, he had been treated in a mostly friendly way by the locals... even if there was a great deal of snickering behind his back.

Now, he stood waiting for news on the tribal gathering. As he waited, he watching a group of elven archers practice their trade, shooting at targets that had been set further off in the forest. Their skill was astonishing, but something else occupied Ricky. He was painfully aware that he had been accommodated by Julie and her friends, and had – at least to some extent – promised his help to them in exchange.

Now, having realized that her Green Hand Guild stood in stark opposition to his own comrades, he had turned on them like an angry wolf, lying, sabotaging their military campaign, and running off to join their ancestral enemies in the forest. Not for the first time, Ricky wondered whether he was just a bad person...

Or rapidly becoming one.

But on the other hand, he did what he did because he owed something to his guild. Out of loyalty. And despite what Amora-Kush had said about the NPC citizens of Imperialis, he couldn’t quite accept that it was all right to just murder people, even inside the simulation.

It has to be worth something to stick to that principle, right?

“Ricky, you are correct to think that murder is viewed as wrong in Portalis. It is universally frowned upon by all cultures.”

He hadn’t even realised that he was thinking in that focused way that would lead to a response from the Guide, but he now smiled wryly at her unexpected response.

Thanks, Guide. I appreciate the moral support.

With a sigh, he once again pulled from his pocket the two obsidian cubes which – according to the dragon handler, Terrance – had been used by the general and her troops to keep the beasts under control. Two things had struck Ricky about the gems once he had examined them more closely after arriving in the tribe’s village. Firstly, their surface and the way they were cut roughly resembled that of the green orb from the tower. Both were covered with small but regular dimples. The resemblance was surely too close to be a coincidence.

Secondly, the swirling pattern visible in the ink-black color mirrored that of the white ring which he wore. The one which he had taken into the Dark Framework, which the software had somehow represented perfectly inside the game. A 'ring of illusion', the inventory command had named it. And if the orbs and cubes were magical, then it surely could be the case...

Ricky was broken from his reflections by a shout from below. He walked forward and leaned over the edge of the nearest platform, looking over, and trying not to think about how high up he was.

“Ricky! It’s time,” called Channia from down below. “The warchiefs of the tribe want more information about the Rokerian army’s movements. You need to join them.”

“Coming,” he called back. He slung his satchel over his shoulder, picked up the crossbow he had taken from Blastor, and then began to traverse the long spiraling platform that led towards the ground.

Soon he had reached Channia, and saw that she was standing with Sami, the Smiths’ daughter from the village of Barrowdale.

“Sami!” he said, delighted to see her alive and looking well. “Channia told me you were still here.”

“I’m pleased to see you, Ricky,” said Sami. “I owe you a great debt of gratitude. But you won’t persuade me to leave.”

“What do you mean?”

Channia rolled her eyes. “She thinks she’s in love.”

Sami glared at Channia, and then turned back to Ricky. “My soul-mate is here. He is an elven archer, and the finest warrior in the forest!”

“Listen, Sami – I made a promise to your parents. I’m glad that I helped to rescue you from the goblin caves, but I won’t feel satisfied until you are home safely in Barrowdale.”

She stared downwards towards the forest floor for a moment, where elven archers were still practicing. “I would like to go home,” she said quietly. “But not until summer arrives.”

“Is this... going to happen?” Ricky asked, now looking at Channia. “Are they actually in a relationship, elf and human?”

“The warrior she is in love with is a little bemused, I think,” said Channia thoughtfully. “As you say, Sami is human, and human brides are not greatly sought after among the elvish men. Besides, she is too young to marry now, at least in our culture. However, it’s true that if she stays here for a few months more, she would be old enough to wed.”

*Achievement: Cultural insights! You have learned more about the attitudes and customs of the different species of Portalis. +10XP

Sami beamed at Ricky. “And then brave warrior Ricky can escort both of us home to my family.”

Ricky grunted. He didn’t particularly want to get involved with a Barrowdale family drama, but it looked like it was going to happen all the same. A part of him did still feel a strong responsibility for young Sami’s welfare.

“Uh... okay. Of course, I’ll do what I have to do...” he began.

*Quest 050 (level 7): Escort Sami safely back to Barrowdale.

She nodded with another glittering smile.

“But listen Sami, war is afoot,” he added, now looking the girl in the eyes, “and you will be safe here. If what you want is to wait here with the Berrysprout Tribe, that suits me. I will be back before too long, all being well, and can escort you back home. I also hope that you achieve the happiness that you seek with this elven man, but I cannot help you in that respect.”

Sami nodded tensely with a murmur of “Brave Ricky,” and then resumed watching the archers.

“Come, my father is waiting,” said Channia. She turned, beckoning him towards one of the arched bridges.

“Didn’t you already explain everything that we saw?” he asked.

“Yes, of course. But they want to hear your perspective.”

“Okay...”

“Perhaps they don’t believe me.”

He looked at her, but she grinned; there was no sign that she felt upset or disrespected. “Oh – you’re messing with me.”

“Only partly. The warchiefs are being thorough, Ricky. Memory is not perfect. It’s like the water in the stream, always moving.”

He nodded.

*Quest 051 (level 2): Explain the Rokerian war effort to the elven warchiefs of the Berrysprout Tribe.

“This way,” said Channia as they reached the other side of the bridge. They were now at a tree that was even wider than the one Ricky had slept in, if that was possible. And inside the closest chamber was a broad, flat room, open on four sides. In it, Ricky could see Lord Tarris, together with the military advisor Lady Milla and the lead druid Ajaxia. There were six other elves present, three of whom looked older than any others Ricky had seen since his arrival. Everyone except for Ajaxia was wearing armor.

Lord Tarris stepped forward as they arrived. “Wait outside please, my daughter. Now – Ricky, is it? Step this way.”

Ricky was shown to a chair inside the huge chamber; he sat around two yards from the nearest elf, while all of the elders gathered around a table opposite him. It felt very much like being on trial. He looked around; like the other chambers he had seen, this one appeared to have grown out of the wood itself. It hadn’t been cut or hollowed. The interior was therefore made of rough aged bark.

“Tell us about this army,” said Lady Milla. “How many troops did you see?” She folded her arms as she spoke, and looked at him peevishly.

“As for me personally, not all that many,” he replied. “But we saw two dragons and a great many elephants. There were warriors in green cloaks...”

“Excuse me, adventurer,” interrupted Lady Milla. “But ‘a great number’ is not something that is helpful for military planning. If you can’t give us numbers then you may as well leave now.”

Lord Tarris frowned, but said nothing.

*Debuff: doubt. The NPCs with whom you are interacting are more likely to question your accuracy for 60 minutes.

“Well,” said Ricky, sweating slightly and noticing how hungry he already was despite the early hour. “I am pretty certain that there were seven elephants that I saw. One was pulling a siege tower, and the remainder pulling the dragons. I can’t tell you about the elephants that I didn’t see.”

The black-robed Ajaxis smiled at this, but Lady Milla sniffed and narrowed her eyes at Ricky.

“Very well,” said Lord Tarris. “And two dragons – we have already heard about those. What else?”

Ricky swallowed. “I mean, not all that much admittedly, but more were coming out of Roker Bridge all the time. Where we were, we saw around thirty riders all told, and a hundred soldiers plus the wagon guards. There was a ballista, too. But the thing is, one of their leaders, General Amora-Kush, told me that their slave armies were attacking Imperialis already. She told me that...”

“So, if I understand correctly,” interrupted Lady Milla, “you are old friends with this general?”

“Not exactly,” he replied. “We know each other to an extent, yes, and have spoken in the past. She wanted me to join her guild, the Green Hand Guild. But I don’t want to, and I have no interest in helping Roker Bridge at all. Quite the opposite. So, I pretended to be interested in helping her in order to find out what she and her army are planning. Then Channia and I fled.”

“With one of the dragons,” said Ajaxis, still smiling thoughtfully.

“Yes. That’s right.”

Lord Tarris frowned again. “You mentioned that the dragons were under guard. How did you get to them?”

“I told you – by talking to the general. She gave me permission.”

“That seems an odd thing for her to have done,” said Lady Milla.

“Well,” said Ricky, and then shrugged. “I had been smoking bale leaf. The enemy became very cooperative.”

At this, the druid Ajaxis leaned forward across the table, looking around at his fellow elders. “I can confirm,” he said hoarsely, “the powerful effect of that particular weed on the mind.”

*Achievement: Slippery answers! You deflected a difficult question from an NPC. +10XP.

*Debuff removed: Doubt.

“Very well,” said Lord Tarris. “We accept your story on the whole, and it concords with what I have heard from my daughter. In principle, my tribe stand ready to act.”

*Quest 051 complete: Explain the Rokerian war effort to the elven warchiefs of the Berrysprout Tribe. +20XP

“But we have not the strength,” said Lady Milla, a whiny tone in her voice. Ricky briefly wondered if she was the sort of person who liked to have an important job but didn’t want to go to the trouble of actually doing it. He recalled many such people from his time working on the oceangoing ships.

“The warleader is right,” said Lord Tarris, “in that we cannot attack the Rokerians directly, and nor can we break a siege on Imperialis. So tell me, comrades – what are our options?”

Now a younger-looking warrior spoke up, a pretty elven woman who resembled Channia other than having medium brown curly hair. “If we found a way to enter the city, our archers would surely be a great help in defending the walls.”

“That is true, Liffia,” the lord replied. “But getting into the city is, surely the problem.”

“Then we assemble a small group of elite fighters,” said an older elven man. “Rapid, experienced. We can move faster than the Rokerian slave armies.”

At first, Ricky listened as the elves continued to discuss these logistics, but they soon switched to using their own melodic language. He really wanted to reach into his satchel and pull out a wrapped venison steak from the day before, but he knew that it would not look good in this context. And he sensed strongly that it might be best if the elves didn’t figure out that he could transform into a beast.

That would have to wait until they reached the city. A great fight lay ahead, and he would need all of his advantages.

He looked around for a distraction or in case Channia had returned, but there was currently nobody at any of the entrance ways. He then peered over at the table. There were several maps. Standing and taking a step forward, Ricky could see that one map showed the tribe’s grounds, and another showed both Roker Bridge and Imperialis. It would be useful to study both, and fortunately the elders were paying him little heed as they continued to converse in their own language.

After a few minutes more of rapid chatter in the elvish tongue, some agreement appeared to have been reached, and Ricky decided to speak up. “Have you decided what to do?”

Lord Tallis looked at him, hesitating, and for a moment Ricky thought that he had caused great offence. But then the lord sighed, and stood up. “Ricky, we have agreed to send in two small, fast-moving forces. One will to try to find a way into the city to bolster the defenders. The other will follow your example, and act to sabotage the enemy army as best we can.”

“It’s the best we can do,” said Ajaxis, “and we will offer shelter to any citizens who can reach us.”

“That is very welcome indeed,” said Ricky, standing and putting one hand to the hilt of his knife.

“But still,” said Lady Milla, “there is much to do before we can be ready to march to war. Strategy, planning, further councils. We do not have a standing army, so volunteers are required. And even when our forces are assembled...” She trailed off, looking around at Ricky as if she had suddenly realised that he was still there.

But then Ricky realised that the warleader was actually looking at Channia; his companion had returned and was now standing behind him. As he looked around, she raised her eyebrows meaningfully at Ricky, having finally caught his eye.

Two elven guards were flanking Channia. “Two wolves have been seen on the edge of our lands,” said one of them. “And they are not natural wolves.”

Accumulated XP: 2105 (unspent: 105)