“I have it!” I excitedly whispered. “We can make those two problematic ingredients.”

“Are you sure, dear lad?” Gula’s expression was disbelieving.

I took it out of my inventory and materialized it in the real world. Making sure my body blocked the guard’s view, I showed Gula a container the size of a large mug with a lid on. It was made of rough material, like that weird stone for scrubbing feet. Exfoliation was what Nelly said when she gave me an oblong stone as a souvenir from one of her trips abroad. Not sure if she was pranking me or not.

“Where did you get this, dear lad?” Gula took it from my hands, her own shaking. The magma veins on her skin flickered brighter. “This is indeed a Bezoar Crucible, the same as my sister used to—did she give this to you?”

Yes, I replied in my mind. It was one of the rewards for collecting [Toxic Goop] and [Concentrated Fulguris Extract], the quest before the final one that led to the world quest. However, I didn’t tell her that.

“No,” I replied, wanting to make myself look more impressive even if only to an NPC. “I was helping Bawu clear her laboratories of Blighted monsters when I came upon this. My keen eye spotted this container’s unique material. My Healer instincts, probably inside me all along, told me to pick it up.”

“The ancestors must’ve held your hand!” Gula said. “A Bezoar Crucible is a precious and rare alchemical stoneware, even for Arcane Brewers. My sister would not have willingly imparted this to you.”

Bawu did give it to me… But she didn’t tell me what it was for.

Was she messing with me, the same as she did with Gula? I wouldn’t be surprised if she was pulling the same prank, mixing in such an item with crap quest rewards. They didn’t call her Mad Brewer for nothing—that was her official title even in the system. No doubt she’d find it funny if I had an important piece of the puzzle her sister was trying to solve, with me and Gula none the wiser.

“I already have Ichor and can gather more. I also have this undigested material crucible thing. The bridge just got a meter longer. What’s next?”

“Some of the ingredients, or their components, are in my shop,” said Gula. A quest prompt appeared, tasking me to search that place for several ingredients while getting past Gula’s distant relative, who seemed to have taken over its operations, and the guards hanging out there. “Pray the ancestors continue to shine on you that they are untouched for your retrieval, though I am confident they haven’t been seized.”

“The ancestors are on my side, remember? Don’t worry. What about the recipes? Not only for Bawu’s mystery potion but also to make the ingredients. Did you memorize them all? I can take notes.”

“I have taken their contents to heart after decades of experiments, but it is better you find the recipes. We don’t have much time for putting my words into writing.” She nodded at the guard outside her cell.

“Right you are. Are they in your shop too?

“They are hidden elsewhere. I have no need to peruse them, and so, I saw fit to store them away, for they are evidence of my connection to Bawu. You are to find them on the other side of the cliff walls bordering the village. This is the way.”

[ Received: Piece of the Tattered Map ]

“You have a piece too?” I said. “Seriously, who the hell tore up this map? They have plenty of spare time to scatter the pieces everywhere.”

Ignoring my question, Gula went on, “In a small cave known only to me, therein I buried scrolls deemed too precious or dangerous to keep in my shop.”

“A secret stash? Oho! And another quest appears.” I pressed accept on the floating screen. “So, that’s two on my—hang on. Are you sure only you know about it? What about Bawu? She could be hiding there.”

Gula shook her head. “It was my husband’s secret. Even if Bawu somehow knew, it’s tremendously unlikely she’d step foot there, dear lad. The cave used to be one of the hidden workshops of my husband’s clan. Bawu never had a good relationship with them, and she particularly detested my husband even before our union.”

“Elder Pabilsag?” I sensed something important coming up. “He was a genius in crafting wards from what I’ve heard.”

Sharulrath, the nephew of Mehubanarath, had told me that Healer Gula’s late husband was the reason for the congregation of Mirdabons outside the village. He devised a system of wards that gathered the energy of the golden crystals in such a way it attracted the pesky furballs. They were supposed to be a distraction for Buvalu, the high-leveled Mirdabon boss monster who occasionally fancied attacking the village. Buvalu loved snacking on its kind, and the Mirdabon buffet bought buy time for the Hunter-Warriors to gather and defend. The wards were presumably destroyed to disperse the Mirdabons and make space for the displaced villagers.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Yes, my beloved Pabilsag…” croaked Gula. “He survived the Great Quake because he was tending their workshop-cave near Kurghal Village, a novice Wardcrafter he was back then. The rest of his family and others of their Lodge were in Mezhu Nue beyond Rabisu Peak for a massive warding project meant to shield the great city from all harm. Perhaps if they had completed their task before the Great Quake, many of the thousands residing there would’ve survived the earth opening up beneath them.”

“That sounds, uh, very difficult to survive,” I mumbled.

Gula shook her head. “A thread of what-ifs… I’d rather not engage in those, for there are too many to think of. In any case, Bawu hates the Wardcrafters and would keep their works at hoof’s length no matter what.”

“Hoof’s length? Arm’s length? We do have arms. I don’t see why you’re—anyway, what’s a Wardcrafter? Is that like a Spirit Carver?”

“In some ways, yes, for the ward is to the Wardcrafter as the Sigil Totems is to Spirit Carvers. Both wield energies not of their own, tamed through their crafts. But the constructs of the Wardcrafters are far more powerful than that of the Spirit Carvers, from erecting massive domes that can hold back an avalanche to supporting towers reaching the sky that defy gravity.”

“Defy gravity? Do Wardcrafters have something to do with the houses sticking on the cliff wall like barnacles?”

“Indeed, yes. Another legacy of my husband destroyed in the aftermath of Bawu’s crimes.”

“Maybe it can be rebuilt after the cleanup is finished. Surely, there are other Wardcrafters up to the task?”

“There are none… for the village has no more Wardcrafters.”

“What the…?” I sat straighter. Come to think of it, I hadn’t heard of any Wardcrafter in the village, either player or NPC. A secret Ocadule waiting to be discovered by yours truly? “Elder Pabilsag turned out to be an awesome Wardcrafter, even if he was only a novice when his Lodge was wiped out. Must’ve been pretty good at self-study. Couldn’t he have taught others about Wardcrafting?”

“Only a few students, he took on, so difficult was the path of learning for his Lodge. Buvalu killed them all one fateful day when…” Gula’s voice cracked and she hung her head, refusing to continue her sentence.

“Buvalu killed them? That bastard killed me too! Fortunately, death isn’t too much of a problem for me.”

“Why are the ancestors punishing me so?” Gula sobbed.

“I promise I’ll kill Buvalu,” I firmly said. “And avenge your husband.”

Goal #1: Kill Buvalu on my own. The first of my List for MCO. And now, it looked like I’d be rewarded for completing it in addition to my personal satisfaction.

“Nay, it is too dangerous,” said Gula. “Many brave warriors have fallen to that wretched beast. Spare yourself a foolish errand that can… that will cost your life.”

“Those brave warriors didn’t have the luxury of being able to respawn,” I said. “But sure, I’ll heed your advice. For now. Still lots of exploring to do for me, Herald Stone the Relentless Adventurer! I’ll go to your shop and then to the Wardcrafter’s workshop-cave.”

“Alas, the way is blocked by the noxious ruin brought about by my sister on the southern portion of the village. We have to wait until—”

“The way’s already clear,” I said. “People—who are not me, unfortunately—succeeded in cleaning the mutated monsters and biohazard mess Bawu made. The Miners have remade the tunnels, just in time for the Great Hunt.”

“The Great Hunt!” Gula raised a crooked finger. “A number of monsters you must seek during the Great Hunt.”

“Additional ingredients?” Sure enough, another quest prompt appeared, making it three now. Getting busy here. “More construction materials for the bridge.”

There was a rush of wind. The barrier behind me was down, the guard outside beckoning for me. “Visiting time’s over, lad,” he said. “Waste not one more second with the traitor.”

The prisoners called out to me as I was escorted by the guard back to the above world. I didn’t mind them, focused on finding where the new piece of the [Tattered Map] fit.

The three pieces I currently had were from Chief Nogras, obtained when I first met him, the Mud Golem, guarding the second half of the tunnels, and Bawu, revealing the locations of some of here test subjects even Kezo had not seen before. The first two were connected, being the surrounding areas near the village and the main paths beyond the cliff walls. Bawu’s piece was around two or three missing pieces away from them, closer to the center of the map. The piece I got from Gula was in between the Mud Golem’s piece and Bawu’s.

“Oho! Maybe she’s really hiding there,” I muttered, eyeing the guard leading me out. At the least, I was closer to discovering a way to a new area. I’d have to convince my party to explore this part during the Great Hunt. And the event was about to start soon, given the hustle and bustle in the village, probably later today or tomorrow.

“Take care, lad,” one of the guards said when I reached the exit. “Let their suffering of the consequences of their mistakes—” he pointed back down the tunnel “—be a lesson to you to place your hooves firmly on the path of righteousness.”

“My path is always the path of righteousness,” I waved goodbye at them. “Sometimes, not.”

A flash of light and the next I opened my eyes, I was back in Kurghal Village, just in time to be jostled by the teeming masses of players and NPCs. Mentions of the Great Hunt flitted the air. I looked to the south. The sickly haze was gone, and the imposing cliff walls were in full view again, minus many of the structures that used to cling to the rock. The large golden crystals jutting out here and there were drained of their color and brightness.

“So that was Elder Pabilsag’s work too, eh?”

Next, I checked the northern side of the village. The camp was still there; the people had nowhere to go even if the biohazard was cleaned up. The Mirdabon crowd wasn’t returning anytime soon.

“Maybe I can make my own Mirdabon farm when I become a Wardcrafter?” I wondered in amusement as I headed to the auction house.