One of Harriet’s daughters—yes, they were all daughters—had promised me something to drink if they still had any left. I waited while she went to search.
Furnars are an extremely resilient people. Once Methol and Ever began questioning some of them, they managed to piece together a probable timeline of events. The dungeon corruption had spread out to the people about ten days prior to my arrival on Oresstria. It spread through food apparently, like some parasite, one infected villager feeding a healthy person. Initially with subterfuge, later, when they had the numbers, through force. Once everyone had been taken, they’d just… stopped doing anything and waited around, like good little guard drones.
Harriet herself didn’t remember anything of events. She had been fed something by her attendant daughters, and was left unable to move until I’d purged the dungeon. The corruption hadn’t taken root inside her, though Eternity was convinced it was only a matter of time until it could.
None of the furnars had eaten anything since the moment of infection. Most of them could barely stand now, still alive through some kink of their physiology. Bloody amazing, if you ask me.
At the same time, the food they brought me, that furnar jerky, felt like a nuclear bomb going off inside me. I barely started digesting what I’d eaten earlier and already shook with the energy flowing through me. I may not find coffee on Oresstria, but this was a close next best thing.
Or, probably, the upgrade. If their stores of food weren’t rotted through, I would’ve wanted to buy or trade as much of it off them as I could.
For the time being, I sat on a rock by the side of the road next to the remains of my rune and waited for the furnars to return. They’d taken my clothes for mending so I was now effectively only wearing a pair of SpongeBob boxers. And my boots.
Methol, for some reason, found the sight hilarious. It’s one thing to feel hilarious, it’s another to have some blue half-elf snickering every time she looked your way. It stung my pride.
“You need armour.” She came and shoulder checked me with her hip. “Scoot over.”
“Fuck off?” I suggested instead. I wasn’t going to share my rock with her if she was going to make fun of my very dignified apparel.
“I can shove you off, you know. My strength goes up to near 200 if I equip my gear.” She shaded her eyes with a hand and looked over the gathered monsters scratching at the edges of her barrier. “If I picked you up and threw you, I bet I could hit that tree way over there.” She pointed to a tall silver-leafed pine that punched out through the forest way over in the far distance. “Wanna try?”
“Again… fuck off?” I suggested. But did scoot over. Because I’m a gentleman.
She sat down with a huff and stretched out her legs. A quiet breeze blew in from the forest. I expected a stench but only got flowers and fresh fruit. That citron thing from Eklil’s home too.
“What’s your plan?” Methol asked as we both stared at the mob braying at the barrier.
“I’m going to grab my sword and wade into them like I’m whacking weeds with a sword on fire.”
She scrunched up her nose at the idea. “That’s not going to do much for your skills.”
I rubbed at a phantom pain in my chest. Bruises covered me from scalp to toes and they took turns in annoying me.
“It’s going to make me feel good for once.”
Her eyebrow rose as the wind picked up strands of her hair and tossed them in my face.
“Going to fight wearing colourful underwear and boots? Seems an odd, slightly suicidal, choice.”
Some of those chrome blades gleamed distressingly bright in the afternoon sun. I felt an itch in the centre of my chest and forced myself not to scratch.
“You might have a point there. Unfortunately, this is all I own in the world, so I’ll make do. It’s been working out pretty well so far.”
Eternity landed on my shoulder, digging painful claws into my skin.
“It hasn’t even been a day, Klaus,” it hissed in my ear. “I do learn.” It mimicked my voice perfectly. “It hasn’t even been a full day since those words. I feel I must remind you that you are not as strong as you were yesterday. You are now wholly reliant on yourself.”
“Feels good to be back on familiar ground then,” I said, not missing the beat. “I’ll be fine. I’ve enough MP after a night in the rain and I don’t think I’ll need it all.”
“What a wonderful burst of confidence,” Eternity grumbled, eyeing the gathered monsters. “I hope there’s more than wishful thinking fuelling it.”
I chose not to engage with that. After clearing the dungeon and running from Harriet half the night, dealing with spiders and headcrabs didn’t feel like much of a threat. They were, after all, not that bright or dangerous, just annoyingly persistent.
So was I, for that matter.
“Even if you think this won’t be difficult, you should still think about how you’re going to improve your skills.” Methol held out her hand and something appeared in it. It looked like a Rubik cube, just not so much a cube. She fiddled with it absentmindedly. “You won’t often get a situation like this. I suggest you don’t waste it.”
“I can’t even joke with you two,” I huffed. “I’ve maxed out my [PARRY] and [SURE FOOT] skills and I think I need something bigger to push past the initiate level.” I raised my chin towards the crowd. “These seem a good way to train parrying and reaction. If I use [IRON FLESH], I should be able to defend well enough against most of them.”
“Not really a plan, but at least it has the shape of one.” Methol twisted elements of her puzzle-thing. They didn’t so much slide like Rubik, as they twisted inside out or passed through one another. It made my head hurt to look at it. “I would suggest you take out the spiders early on, then deal with the rest as you see fit.”
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I agreed. “They make this razor wire. Can probably get me in a bind.”
“They’re gross.” Methol shivered. “I’d kill them myself just to be spared the sight.”
Oh, the big, bad, level 67 whatever didn’t like spiders. Of course I wrote it down into my file. Eternity let out a puff of smoke on my shoulder and a sound like a sparking lighter.
When I tried to get up, Methol reached out a hand and plopped me right back down.
“Wait for the furnar,” she said. “I know the drink they want to bring. It’ll be useful to have, for your MP store.”
“A mana potion?” I asked, almost incredulous. “Seriously? How’s that even work?”
My eyebrows rose and I actually thought about things. I thought MP was just an interface thing. How would drinking something help it regenerate?
Methol’s lips quirked into her annoyingly smug half-smile. “Ah, a conundrum indeed. You’re still not clear on how your interface works or what it actually does for you.” She twisted a piece of her puzzle and a whole section of it turned green, then flashed between shades of it.
“What do you mean?”
“Simply that your interface is not as separate from you as you probably think right now. It’s all right. You’ll figure a lot of this stuff as you continue to gain insight.”
Ever appeared a moment later in front of us, front paws crossed at its fluffy chest, one leg thumping against the ground.
“Methol,” it squeaked. “Stop that.”
“Stop what?” I asked.
“She’s influencing you. She knows she’s not allowed.”
I looked to Methol and she shrugged.
“They complain a lot about the precious rules,” the drake-born said, still focused on her puzzle. More segments glowed different colours now. “But they don’t actually enforce them as much as they could. Depends on their personalities. Silence is a real stickler, but Ever just talks bi—”
She stop after a couple more silent words and glared at the rabbit—I was going to think of Ever as a rabbit, because it was hilarious. The scowl it threw around was just precious.
“You know, you kinda prove her point,” I said, suppressing a laugh.
Methol nodded and gestured in my direction, grinning. Yeah, I understood what she meant. Ever muting her didn’t actually do more than entice me to learn more, which Methol already tempted me with.
She wasn’t allowed to try and guide my direction. I’d worked out that much for my own. The restriction seemed silly somewhat, as if Eternity was terrified of making a demand of its own. There was something to unpack there, but I’d probably figure it out later.
A moment later, Methol regained her voice and she laughed.
“It’s more impressive early on. After you cross a couple thresholds, their limitations become obvious. The most Ever here can do is annoy me.” She levelled her own glare at the rabbit. “And she is spectacularly adept at annoying me.”
Like watching a couple brats fighting. The staring contest got broken up by a furnar making her way across the field while cradling a bundle in her four arms.
“Far-dweller,” the furnar called out as she approached. “We are rejoiced.” She stopped in front of us and revealed a kind of amphora. “By our lady’s grace, we offer you this nectar.”
The moment I picked it up, my interface identified the item as spiritglow mead. Neat. I didn’t have to stick stuff in my pockets anymore to see what they were, which I assumed was part of the insight update. I was discovering a lot of nifty little quality of life improvements.
The amphora was a bit big to carry into battle. Thankfully, Methol produced an empty bottle and transferred some of the drink.
The mana potion was black as tar and had the consistency of warm honey, and the general behaviour of mercury. It didn’t stick to the walls of the container it was in.
After getting chewed out by Methol and Eternity, getting fucking stuck to the ground, and every other bit of fuckery I’d been through, I tested the thing before using it.
A single flare-up of the IGNIS rune bled off about 35 MP points. I got the impression that I could finely tune that, depending on what I needed, but I lacked the practice for it. Still, I flared the sword then took a swig from the bottle Methol handed me.
The taste… is best left at indescribable. The closest I could think of was blue ink for fountain pens back home. Specific, yes, but so was that taste.
My MP bar shot up instantly from that quick taste. But the effect also punched me straight in the stomach with a powerful, vengeful cramp that almost doubled me over.
“Fuck…” I groaned and had to fight off the nausea.
The poor furnar looked at me terrified. I had to force myself to smile and wave her off when she approached to help me.
“It’s okay,” I lied through gritted teeth. “Just has a kick. Thank you. It’s a lot of help.”
“I wanted to warn you, but was curious if you’d ask before you drank it,” Methol said, a damn smile on her lips. “You really need to check with those more experienced than you. Learn from the wise, not from cracking your head.”
“Learn to mind your damn business,” I groaned, hunched over, arms crossed around my stomach.
The cramps came and went for a few more minutes. Nothing to scoff at in the middle of a fight, but not as bad as they could be. It beat eating Crystal’s cooking.
So, the brew was great for recovering MP quickly. Not so good if I needed a quick MP boost in the middle of combat, but with some more growth I expected it might be easier to stand.
Methol did have a point, though: I should take counsell from those much wiser than myself. With that in mind, and before I headed into battle, I did what I probably should’ve done hours earlier.
EKLIL EHREEN-SEN: I wish you luck, Klaus. I am confident you’ll succeed in your tasks ahead. You are always welcomed in Carmill Hill.
His message had come a couple hours after I’d sent my final one. There were a few more afterwards, at some interval.
EKLIL EHREEN-SEN: The festival has finished. Velin and Ienella have asked me to relay their regards and their hopes that you will join them in Dragon’s Tear soon.
EKLIL EHREEN-SEN: Be warned that crossing the plains south of the capital will be dangerous in wither time or in winter. If you’ve a mind to head on foot to Dragon’s Tear, I suggest you cross the Brightleaf before first wither.
KLAUS: Hello, Eklil. I’m in Harriet’s Heap, finally done with my second dungeon.
KLAUS: Had some trouble with their dungeon’s corruption. It’s all ok now. I just have the cleanup to handle and then the place should be safe again. Whole place was taken over.
KLAUS: Just wanted to check in and let you know I haven’t managed to get myself killed yet.
The reply came almost instantly, before I had a chance to navigate away from the interface.
EKLIL EHREEN-SEN: Not for lack of trying, I’m certain. It gives this old iepurran great joy to hear from you, my friend.
EKLIL EHREEN-SEN: Is the village safe now? We know of Harriet’s Heap, but we’ve done little trade with them.
EKLIL EHREEN-SEN: If they are in trouble, we may provide assistance. Our harvest looks to be strong this summer, with maybe a second one for late wither.
KLAUS: I’ll talk to them. Their food is mostly gone and I had to purge their dungeon.
KLAUS: It’s fantastic to hear from you, by the way. I have a lot to tell you, but need to handle some things before I can sit down to chat.
EKLIL EHREEN-SEN: Good luck. I’ll await your message.
“Do you want me to relay the offer to the village council?” Eternity shifted on my shoulder to lie draped across my neck. “Aid would not go amiss, I believe. They may even accept to present it to their queen.”
I nodded, weirdly okay with how easily Eternity read my conversation. “You do that.” I finally stood up and stretched, the cramps gone, and my body warmed up by the sun like a lizard. “I have some monsters to slay and no politics to discuss.”
I looked fucking ridiculous. Even I had to admit it when I picked up my shield. If there would’ve been a single moment binder in the area, I would’ve struck a pose and asked them to bind the moment for me. If Methol were amenable to the idea, I would’ve asked her to lie down at my feet and together we could reenact some of those old, pulpy fantasy book covers.
“Oy, hero,” Methol called after me as I headed towards the barrier. “Maybe get back here and let me actually help you to go through the barrier? Or are you planning on making faces at them until they die of embarrassment?”