“What to do, what to do,” I sang in an off-beat tune while grounding [Morabodry] ingredients into a paste with my [Enlivened Mortar and Pestle]. Using the pestle—not knowing which was which, I assumed that was the phallic pounding instrument because it started with ‘p’—I scrapped the thick goo off the bowl—probably called the mortar—into the small [Bronze Cauldron] with an enchanted fire crackling underneath it. “What to do, what to do…”

A [Lvl 18 Feral Frost Macaque] cheered on my spectacular brewing skill by throwing a ball of ice wrapped with frost magic at my face. Dozens of its fellows followed suit, making it look like a localized hailstorm, but all the hail that fell was magnetized to me. When will these guys go extinct?

After several hours spent brewing and semi-AFK leveling, I’d gotten used to the incessant static shocks from the hits, just insect bites massaging my body. By now, the chattering and screeching were background music, like the noises in the kitchen during peak hours that I’d learned to tune out when I used to work the line.

Though this time, I turned off the volume settings, wanting to concentrate. As everything fell silent, I asked myself again: What to do?

I was already working on the next step, as instructed by Brewer Bawu, which was more of a band-aid measure, a good one at that, than an actual solution.

[ Quest: Sisterly Trickery ]

Pretending to assent to her sister’s plea to rebuild the Arcane Brewer Lodge, Mad Brewer Bawu instructs you to focus on learning to make [Frigid Yew Salve] from a basic Arcane Brewer Recipe. Demonstrate making this healing ointment to Healer Gula as proof you are indeed an apprentice Arcane Brewer, at the same time constructing the façade that Bawu has ceased making dangerous chemicals.

Unlock Lvl. 3 [Research Akhos Poison] to craft [Frigid Yew Salve]

[Research Akhos Poison] was about to level up to three, though I was unsure if the ingredients I bought were sufficient to do it this session. After that, I’d see what this [Frigid Yew Salve] was—probably a healing consumable of some sort—and make it in front of Healer Gula to continue the story of supposedly reuniting the two sisters.

Kezo had messaged me that our party was going to meet, but I rushed to finish this quest first because I didn’t know what’d happen to Bawu’s story.

Unless specifically time-bound, stories in RPGs, and quests related to them, usually didn’t progress if the player didn’t do anything. This was a logical arrangement, even if somewhat immersion-breaking. Players couldn’t be expected to be in-game all the time because of sleep, work, and other commitments. It’d be frustrating—and also hilarious—if the big bad lord of all evil successfully executed his plans while the player was in the bathroom taking a dump.

So, why did Bawu’s story advance even though I didn’t meet her? Yusa was still waiting for the Peelies I promised—I had to avoid her in the village—instead of diving back into Frost Macaque territory because I was taking so long.

I already knew the answer: My inaction was part of the story.

The Blighted monsters during the ‘tunnel quest,’ with the quest boss even infected by the Blight, signaled that previously separate quests had rolled into one storyline. By tackling other quests tangentially affected by the Blight, I inadvertently pushed the entire ‘zombie outbreak saga’ along, worsening it by not doing anything about the main problem.

It was on me that the six village guards had extreme makeovers.

The first three wouldn’t have been captured if I obediently followed them back to the village or confessed what I knew about Bawu—the good guy options. The next three guards were probably looking for their buddies or investigating the Blighted monsters I hadn’t exterminated when they fell prey to Bawu.

More were sure to follow. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next time I visited Bawu, she’d double the number of her chimera army.

Before returning to my favorite brewing spot, I checked on the Hunter-Warriors who accompanied the Miners and me. They were delighted to see me alive and well, apologizing profusely for losing track of me along the way, which I graciously accepted even though I intentionally ditched them by logging out. They shared rumors of villagers lost in the tunnels—I already knew about those—and that the Chief ordered the high Spears to cleanse the tunnels after gathering sufficient forces—this, I expected.

The Hunter-Warriors invited me to join the squad departing the next day, saying I had proven myself repeatedly during the battle against the Blighted. I recognized it for what it was—a timer. Not only for joining the Hunter-Warriors but also for deciding how I’d end the story.

A mistake talking to them as it moved the story along.

[ Received: (1) Morabodry ]

“Only one out of five, huh?” I murmured, recasting my buffs before dumping in the next batch of ingredients.

I had a thirty percent success rate crafting [Morabodry] with level two [Research Akhos Poison]. I’d soon improve that upon reaching player level twenty, aiming to get more poison bottles per batch. Looking at it differently, it was minimizing losses.

“That’s what I should do with my Bawu problem.”

If I stood aside and let things play out, the Hunter-Warriors would clash with Mad Brewer Bawu and her mutant army, resulting in deaths, likely including Bawu’s. The Hunter-Warriors would search her laboratories and find evidence of her contact with Healer Gula. As a result, Gula might be imprisoned or executed for hiding her criminal sister all this time.

Would the Hunter-Warriors find any evidence connecting me to Bawu? Unlikely, but it could happen.

What if I confessed to Gula about the cuckoo things her sister was up to? Knowing her, she’d probably try to protect her sister despite the monstrous things the latter had done. Or was there a chance Gula would turn in Bawu?

I couldn’t accurately predict how everything would unfold. The certainty was that Bawu would have to go, one way or another, and fixing her relationship with Gula was impossible. Given inevitable losses, I should aim to minimize them while raking in as many benefits as possible before everything ended—I should finish all of Bawu’s quests that I could before the Hunter-Warriors entered the caves tomorrow.

Then I’d have to convince Bawu to move far away and destroy any evidence she’d leave behind. Yes, she was an evil monster, both figuratively and literally. But if she’d survive, I could find her someday and continue learning her Ocadules. Maybe we’d even team up to kill the Mountain Guardian.

This wasn’t a matter of good and bad per se, but what was good and bad for Herald Stone.

“This is getting hard.” I tutted, envisioning my difficult path ahead. The ding of an incoming message reminded me of people who could help.

[Megantress: Herald! We’re back! Where are you?!!!]

I smiled at the excessive exclamation marks, her energy oozing through the text. My party might be on board with a detour to take care of a magical biohazard problem.

[Herald Stone: I’m just finishing a quest. Is everyone waiting for me?]

[Megantress: Yep, we’re all here at our old meeting spot.]

[Herald Stone: Can you come to where I am? Tell Kezo I’m farming monkeys.]

“Oh, that seems so much fun!” Megan excitedly squealed as I arranged my equipment for making [Frigid Healing Salve] on a table inside Healer Gula’s store. “I love cooking, but cooking doesn’t love me.”

“Don’t say that. Your beef stew tastes, um, nice…” Nitana said in her signature monotone, though I did detect a hint of amusement at the end of her sentence.

“I’m going to make it again the next time you visit.”

“Please don’t—I mean, let’s just order pizza. Grease and carbs for all.”

“I’m not cooking,” I told them. “I’m making a healing salve.”

“If I put meat in your cauldron, would it cook?” Megan wondered.

“Nah, won’t work,” said Nitana. “That’s Herald’s cauldron. He needs skills from a Cooking Ocadule to do it.”

“I have a Cooking Ocadule.” Megan peered at the empty Bronze Cauldron. “Can I borrow this—”

“Guys, don’t disturb him while he does this thing,” Kezo said. “Go ahead, Herald, talk to the NPC.”

I nodded, turning to Healer Gula. The old Mardukryon patiently waited while my party mates bantered. “I have delivered your letter to your sister, and she has taken your advice to heart.” Then I explained that Bawu decided to rebuild the Arcane Brewer Lodge with me as her first formal apprentice.

Gula clasped her hands in front of her chest, smiling broadly. “At last, my sister realizes that revenge bears no good fruit. My deepest gratitude to you, youngling. Has she imparted the Ocadules of the Arcane Brewers upon you?”

“Yes, one of them.” Best not to mention it was a poison Ocadule. What would I be doing now if I picked the Adifi Ocadule instead of Akhos? “I will demonstrate what I’ve learned from Brewer Bawu.”

“Cooking time!” Megan said.

Nitana elbowed her best friend. “Shhh!”

I reached level three [Research Akhos Poison] while we held our party meeting surrounded by dozens of angry Feral Frost Macaques. What better way to hide from snooping Luds than to be inside an instanced quest?

Lvl. 3 Research Akhos Poisons: Learn to create the five basic Akhos poisons. Inflict incapacitating effects, and make your enemies suffer. For each skill level, the crafting success chance increases by 4%, the chance to poison increases by 3.5%, and the poison duration increases by 4 seconds.

Brewable Poisons:

Morabodry – (22+12)% Success Chance. Ingredients: (20) Limerian Toad Skin, (2) Majalis, (1) Amberite, (1) Poison Bottle.

Requires: Enlivened Mortar and Pestle, Bronze Cauldron Frigid Yew Salve – (15+12)% Success Chance. Ingredients: (10) Hoarfrost Yew Seed, (5) Hoarfrost Yew Leaf, (5) Strip of Hoarfrost Yew Bark, (2) Amberite, (1) Golden Mildew, (1) Small Jar

Requires: Enlivened Mortar and Pestle, Bronze Cauldron

I told Kezo, Megan, and Nitana what I intended to do, purposely not apologizing for derailing our plans to complete the tunnel quest and practice boss hunting. I wanted to gauge how much they valued me. As the future holder of the party ress, they agreed to what I wanted to do.

Or maybe that was because we were friends? Been a long time since I did something for friendship instead of trying to appear friendly.

I tipped my mortar, poured the powdered ingredients into the cauldron, and mixed in [Golden Mildew]. The mixture became a thick bluish-white paste, which I then transferred into a [Small Jar]. Fortunately, I didn’t fail in making it. Ta-dah!

[ Received: (1) Frigid Yew Salve ]

Frigid Yew Salve | Item Level: 15

Epic | Consumable | No Requirement

Derived from the cursed toxin that permeates the seeds, leaves, and bark of the hoarfrost yew tree, this potent healing ointment restores 5% of Maximum Health per second for six seconds while inflicting Silence on the user, preventing usage of all skills for the duration. However, Arcane Brewers found a way to extend the defensive properties of the hoarfrost yew tree to the user, granting a 25% chance to Freeze enemies that deal direct damage while the Salve is in effect.

The effects were amazing! Situational, yes—self-Silencing for six seconds was very dangerous, but it was worth it for thirty percent of my health if I wisely timed using it. Could [Cleansing Flames] remove the silence? I also had to test if reflecting Silence to my enemies with [Cloak of the Plaguespreader] would work. The chance to Freeze enemies was frosting on the cake.

Nice pun, Herald. Thanks, Herald.

“A Frigid Yew Salve,” Healer Gula whispered, her voice trembling as if she was about to cry. “When I was but a youngling, I had an unfortunate encounter with a Frost Imp. My sister whipped up a Frigid Yew Salve to cure my injuries. The memories…”

[ Quest Completed: Sisterly Trickery ]