Spell 08 : The Friendships

I left the audience chamber, and found the party waiting outside.

Connor took out a set of robes and passed it to me.

'Here. I found this on one of the Demon guards outside just now. I initially wanted to keep it and sell it away later, but I figured we owed you one for helping us to clear this quest. Without your strategy, man, I hate to think what would have happened to us instead. So here, this is for you.'

I took the set of robes and realised that it was still unidentified.

'Man, thanks so much. Are you sure you don't want this? You were the one who looted this afterall. It might actually sell for quite a high sum.'

'Nah, it's alright. You need it more than I do anyway. Look at those beginner vests! I'm surprised you don't die from a single blow sometimes, you know.'

Kiry then came up and put her arm around my neck. I admit I didn't think it was uncomfortable.

'Hey, Crow, just take it already! Think of it as a thank-you gift from us. Anyway, since we had so much fun, why don't we register as friends?'

She sent me a friend request, which I accepted immediately. Then one by one, they all added me as a friend too.

First friends made! I mean, not counting Saber and those idiots...

'So, why were you guys on that quest anyway? I heard from Aeyssrya that you were looking for something.'

At this, they grew excited. Well, mostly Connor anyway.

'We're looking for this priest who's an NPC actually. Word is, he's an expert on Holy magic and will teach you some rather advanced Holy magic if you manage to actually find him. We heard the Council might have some information on him so we approached them. In exchange for information about him, we agreed to take out the troll encampment. The guys here wanted me to become stronger, so we're going to look for him now.'

'Sounds great! If you can learn something worthy from him, your healing abilities will be a great boost to any party! Well, I wish you guys luck. I have to get to Serabourg now. I have some event that I need to attend. See you guys!'

I kept both the ring and the robe in my bag, waved goodbye and headed further up the tree. Usually, transportation up and down the trees in the Forest of No Return can be easily done using orbs of translocation all over the tree, but since the portal gates were only about a floor up, I decided to use the stairs. The stairs were basically wooden planks that grew out from the walls of the tree. The planks seemed to be part of the tree still, for they were soft and squishy rather than hard like dead logs.

I reached the next floor, and turned into a room at the landing. Inside the room was a counter next to what seemed like two rather flimsy-looking spiral towers spaced a distance apart from each other. There were guards positioned along the walls of the room, and there was a clerk sitting behind the counter.

Looking at the two spiral towers, I began to have my misgivings on whether these two poles could really support teleportation in the first place!

But it was still not time yet.

Come on, it should be anytime now...

A few painful minutes later, it came.

*DING*

[p=center]Congratulations!

Your 1-month confinement within the Forest of No Return has been lifted. You can now leave your starting town and travel freely anywhere you want to go!

Happy Adventuring![/p]

Feeling happy, I stepped forward to the counter.

'Excuse me, I would like passage to the Citadel of Serabourg, please.' I asked politely.

'That would be a fee of 450 gold, please.' The clerk replied after looking at what seemed like a paper list of places.

'I'm sorry, but the Council has agreed to waiver my fee.'

'Ah, yes. I am aware of such an arrangement. Do you have identification?'

I took out the Mark Aeyssrya gave to me and showed it to the clerk. He looked at it for a brief moment and nodded.

'All seems to be in order. Right, if you will kindly step into the portal. Oh, and do note that the Council has only granted you free passage out Yggdrasil. If you are to use the portal gates in other locations, the governing body who controls the portal gates there will charge you at their own rates. Now, I would like to confirm the location, please. You wish to travel to the Citadel of Serabourg, is that right?'

'Yes. That is right.'

The clerk took what looked like two blue crystals from his desk and mounted them on top of both towers. After a while or so, the blue crystals started to crackle with energy. Electric currents began to form around the two towers and the room seemed to shake along with the towers. Slowly, a swirly mist began to form in the air between the two towers. It grew bigger and bigger until a vortex was formed. The currents began to die down, and the portal looked stable.

The clerk gave me the thumbs up and gestured me to step into the portal.

I guess this is my ride!

Teleporting felt vaguely like flying through a tunnel of nothing but flashing colours. My body felt like it was being flattened and stretched out at the same time. All in all, it was really not a comfortable experience.

After flying for what seemed like eternity, another vortex opened right above and my body got sucked right into it.

I was hit with blinding sunlight the moment I felt solid ground. For a moment, I had to shield my eyes from the glaring light. I guess being cooped up in a forest can cause you to not get used to the light outdoors. The heat was strong outside too. I opened my eyes slowly and looked around. It looks like I'm in a market square of some sort. The usual market banter and players asking for this and that was aplenty here too. I turned behind me and saw only a stall selling beers.

So portal gates are one-way huh... Something interesting to note.

'Wait, did this guy just port here?'

'Could that be possible? I mean, look at his gear! It's all low level items. How did he even get the gold to use the portal?'

'He must have stolen it somehow. And that ring too. It looks a little too decent for him to be able to obtain an item like that.'

'What a thief. Better stay away from him. He's not holding onto any weapon. Maybe he's hiding his cut-purse knives!'

I frowned at all the reproachful comments. Usually when a player suddenly appears out of nowhere, people usually just assume that the player had probably just logged in. But, it seems like porting probably had some dramatic effect when I materialised out of nowhere that made these people suspicious.

Ignoring these people, I went to find an identifying shop that could identify the set of robes Connor gave to me. This market was huge! Compared to Veldrassil, there were so many different stalls and shops that variety was not an issue. Even armoursmiths each sold different types of armours. There were no one-stop-to-go places; everyone just specialised in one craft. I finally came to a shop which hung a huge sign of a magnifying glass above its doors.

This should be it.

I went in and found people bustling about, NPCs and non-NPCs alike. I approached a Human girl behind the counter and placed the robe on it.

'Hi, can you identify this?'

'Yeah sure, give me a minute.'

She waved her hands around the robe and it glowed for a moment.

*DING*

[p=center]Robe Identified!

You have identified : Viele Sorcerer Robes!

This set of robes belonged to one of the Viele Sorcerers, a group of magic practitioners that pledged themselves to help the weak. However, their entire order was decimated when one of their attacks against troll outlaws failed terribly. Not one has survived to tell the tale.

Restrictions : Level 25, 55 Intelligence.

Stats : + 45 Intelligence, + 35 Wisdom, + 10% Resistance to Shadow damage[/p]

Since robes are considered overalls, by wearing these robes, I cannot equip pants. That's why the stats are made to be higher, to compensate the fact that I can only wear one piece of armour. Now, I just have to equip the ring...

'Open Mark of the Council stats!'

[p=center]Mark of the Council

This ring is proof that you have standings with the Council. An ability-restriction has been placed on this ring, therefore making it less powerful. You will receive full benefits from wearing this ring once you are an official member of the Council.

Current Stats : +6 to All discovered Stats, + 5% Spell Power, + 5% Attack Power, + 1000 Fame[/p]

The gain in stats were not much, and the boost in spell power was minor, but the Fame gain was substantial! The Council was afterall the ruling body of the Forest of No Return. It possesses the most amount of influence in its region. I equipped both the ring and the robes.

'Open chat window : Kings4Lyfe!'

[p=center]Welcome! You may begin chatting in the group : Kings4Lyfe![/p]

[p=left]Crow : Hey, I'm in Serabourg already. Where are you guys?[/p]

[p=center]-I waited for a moment before I got my reply.-[/p]

[p=left]Saber : Oh, hey Crow! Gimme a moment. I'll send you an invite to join our party. Right now, we're sorta in a dungeon.

Crow : Wait, what d'you mean by 'sorta'?

Crow : Alright, I'm in. Which dungeon are you guys at?

Saber : Well, Bambs got into some trouble with his own explosives so right now we're trying to clear some things up. Anyway, we're in Bolden's La-[/p]

I disconnected from the chat because I couldn't believe what my eyes just saw. A female Human knight just walked out of the identifying shop. And she was the splitting image of Vanessa! Though her hair colour was different, it had to be her!

I pushed my way out of the mass of customers hogging counters, and with much effort, finally managed to extricate myself to the exit. But I was too late. She was gone.

If she's here, it means she's definitely going for the anniversary!

[p=center]Welcome! You may begin chatting in : Kings4Lyfe[/p]

[p=left]Crow : Hey sorry. I got interrupted. You were saying?

Saber : Man, I thought you got attacked or something. Anyway, it doesn't matter. We're coming back to town. We got kicked out of the dungeon.

Crow : Woah, what happened?

Cluck : Well, someone had to go around laying mines all over the place. Unfortunately, one of the mines got set off. And it wasn't set off by a monster.

Saber : So long story short, someone got hit pretty badly. And as compensation, we agreed to let the poor guy and his party clear out the dungeon instead.

Bambsie : But hey! It wasn't my fault! I did place a sign over the mine to indicate there was a bomb there! Only something as stupid as the salamanders inside the dungeon would have stepped on it!

Cluck : Oh, shut up. We were already doing fine with hand-thrown bombs. Anyway, Crow, we meet you outside the church, alright? There's word going around about some priest NPC that's pretty bad-ass at Holy magic being around town.

Crow : What do we need to see him for? Saber's restorative power depends on the element of Nature, not Holy anyway.

Cluck : Well, that's where you're wrong, dude. Apparently, this guy's got some crazy handle on teaching healing spells. Says here on the forums that he's not just teaching Priests or Paladins; he's teaching anyone who can find him! Think about it, if everyone can learn basic healing spells, we can all share the burden of healing in the party!

Crow : That sounds pretty good.. Outside the church of Freya? Right I'll be there.[/p]

Even Cluck's heard of this Holy priest. Can't be just a hoax then...

I asked for directions to the church, and set off on my way. Soon, I got to what seemed like a food street. I remembered that I needed to pick up Cooking, or else I'll be losing a fortune buying up dried food all the way when I'm adventuring. I stopped by a noodle stall and ordered a bowl of noodles. Honestly, I wasn't really hungry, but I figured being a nice customer would be a better person to ask the chef for a favour than being a free-loader.

'Hey, Chef, these noodles are excellent! How did you manage to get it so springy?'

The chef turned around and I almost spat out my food. She was a bear-man! Bear-woman, to be more exact.

'Ahhh. One who appreciates the culinary arts! You'll go far, dear boy. You want to know why my noodles are springy? Alas, that is a secret! I cannot have my competitors knowing all my secrets, or else I'll lose my business! You understand, don't you?'

She sounded a little afraid of offending me. I guess it must have been my high Fame that was causing her to be on the edge.

'My dear madam, I understand perfectly of course. It is a pity though... You see, I'm pretty famous back at home. I was thinking of setting up a stall in your name. To bring fame to your culinary abilities, of course! But I understand your wishes. It was nice knowing you. Goodbye!' I turned away, pretending to be really sad.

'Wait, wait! Young man, you seem like a very nice man. I think I can trust you. I will teach you Cooking myself! Mark my words, you will go far, young man. I see the spirit of Cheffington in you!'

[p=center]You have learnt new craft skill : Cooking!

Cooking Beginner Level 1. 0%

You may cook simple dishes! Recipes can be learnt from either texts or from people! However, some recipes have level requirements.

Learnt new recipe : Springy Noodle Soup!

Effects : + 5 All Stats, +50% Jump Height.

You'll feel a little more springy from the noodles![/p]

'The spirit of Cheffington?'

'Yes! Cheffington was unrivaled when he was still alive as a Grandmaster Chef. His dishes were so amazing that people grew addicted to his food. Anyway, we Bear-people believe that when one has the touch of cooking, he or she will one day see the spirit of Cheffington rise up from the steam produced from only a heavenly dish that only Cheffington could have cooked himself! Then, the spirit of Cheffington will reveal a hidden secret told to no one but only to himself to that one with the touch! You, my boy, will become the one!'

It sounded like a load of bull, but I listened anyway. I was just here to pick up Cooking, and now that I have gotten the skill, I did not have to listen to her anymore. Well, in a crude sense.

I smiled to the chef, and nodded. I turned to go.

'Hey! About that stall back home, you will, ah, how should I put it... Ah yes! Give me a little credit, wouldn't you?'

'What? Oh yeah. Sure. I definitely will! If I open a stall, that is...' The last part I said to myself.

Pretty soon, I reached the church. It was more like a cathedral then a church. It was much too big and grand. I waited patiently, then a bunch of guys came up. And they were attracting a lot of attention. Well, I sighed, it had to be them. One was riding a mule that was getting laughed at by passer-bys. One was in the form of a saber-toothed cat and moving on legs seemingly too long for its body. Well, the last one... His entire head was black. From explosive powder, I guess.

'Woah, hey, guys! Cluck, when you said you were a Legionnaire, I really didn't expect to see you riding on a lame-ass donkey! Saber, did you screw up your character creation or something? Why do you have such long legs? And Bambsie, did you blow up your face or something?'

Honestly, I was a little embarassed to be around these retards, but still, they are my friends. Saber changed back into human form and started talking.

'Yeah, I forgot to shorten the legs for my cat form. So basically, all four of my limbs are the length of my legs. It's alright though. I do healing in druid form anyway. Cluck here only managed to get his Horse-Riding up to level 4, so he's one level away from being able to ride proper horses. And Bambs... Well, you know how it is. Life of a Demolisher.'

'Well, yeah. I would have gotten to level 5, but too bad, we were kicked out of the dungeon way too early for me to level it up!' Cluck said, while glaring at Bambsie.

'Hey, lay off me, alright? You wanna taste a dynamite of your own donkey's shit in your mouth, huh?' Bambsie replied.

'Hey, hey, HEY! Stop it, you guys. People are staring. C'mon, let's go into the church.' I said, shushing them all at once.

We climbed up the steps and entered through the front doors. The prayer hall was huge. Candles on chandeliers were hung down from the rafters and were giving a warm glow to the entire hall. Each footstep echoed off the dusty walls, and the sunlight from outside made the images on the tinted windows look alive. Some priests were shuffling about with tomes in their hands. I wasn't really a religious guy, but I could feel the strong conviction by the people who live in this church. A monk came up to us and bowed.

'Esteemed guests, are you followers of the Church of Freya?'

I could lie to a million people, but not to someone of religious faith.

'No, dear monk. We come as travelers searching for a certain one priest. I would go so far as to call him a rogue priest. Do you have any idea where he is?'

At this, the monk grew angry.

'No, I most certainly do not! That man is a blasphemous piece of filth that is never allowed to step into this church again! He preaches against the very ideals that he was taught! I am sorry, but I do not wish to talk about him. If you have no other business, please leave. You are not the first ones to come here looking for him, and I doubt you will be the last.'

With that, he shuffled off furiously. I could only raise an eyebrow at his reaction. The rest of the gang was silent. Even Bambsie did not make any comment. We exited the church and sat down on the steps.

'So.. That's that. Well, at least there's still the school's anniversary tomorrow.'

The three of them turned around and looked at me. Obviously, I was missing something.

'What?' I asked.

'You didn't hear? Oh right, you weren't around then. The school's not holding the anniversary in the game anymore. Well, at least not until the missing banner has been found. Someone stole the Gloucest Castle's banner, and without it, the castle is not willing to open its doors to the public. They deem it as public humiliation to open its gates without having a banner. So until the banner's been found, the school will not be able to find another friendly castle to hold the anniversary. They have agreed to hold it on the 30th of this month though, which is the actual date of the anniversary, if the banner's found. So this means we get to skip school on a school day!' Cluck said.

At this, I was shocked beyond words.

'I told you, he'll lose it. This is his only chance to meet Vanessa in the game, and it's gone.'

'Hey, hey, don't talk anymore. Look at him. He's as still as a statue.'

'Hey, Crow. You alright?'

I was definitely not alright! First of all, I had to go through some extremely uncomfortable process of getting here. Then I had to see Vanessa in that identifying shop, and miss talking to her by seconds! And now my only chance left to meet her is destroyed by some joker who decides to steal the castle's banner?! My eyes must have been burning fire then, for all three of them stepped back warily.

But, all hope was not lost. If I can find the thief, then the event can still go on!

'Alright guys. Let's find the banner. Screw it. Since we got nothing to do here anyway.'

We all agreed to meet back here the next day, where we would begin looking for clues to find the banner. Before I logged out, I whispered to Connor, to check on his progress with the missing priest.

'No luck, my man. The Council directed us to the City of Avialone, where he was last seen. But when we reached there, he was gone! Teleported to Serabourg, where you are right now I believe! Did you see him?'

'Nah, he was gone too, before I could reach him. Apparently, he's hated by the church now. For something about preaching against what he was taught. No idea what it meant.'

'Well, yeah, apparently he's been teaching Holy magic to people without Faith. It shouldn't have been possible, because we were all taught that Faith was required to use Holy spells. The church has condemned him for that. They believe what he is preaching is not Holy magic, but some other form of demonology. In any case, I would still like to meet him too. I know you would too. He can teach you some really devastating Holy spells.'

'Really? Hmm. If I have Holy magic in my arsenal, man, the things I could do. Anyway, thanks man. The robe you gave me was excellent.'

'Yeah sure, no problem. Glad it worked out for you. Oh by the way, we learnt in Avialone that this priest... Well, he only had one friend that's still alive. I forgot his name, but apparently, he's some head of a library back in the Forest.'

The moment I heard that, something struck my heart so hard I blanked out for a second.

'Ah yes, I think his name was Ghanda. You know him? Felix says you should, since he's pretty famous.'

MASTER, WHAT THE F***********!?!!?