Chapter 6: Over the Hills and Far Away

The story of Princess Freia ended with her marrying a famous Legion commander and fighting by his side against their enemies. The grandmother of the current Emperor, she was the person all Imperial scouts strived to emulate. So it came as no surprise that Karin knew her story well.

“Here, give him this. Gwefrydd probably a little moody after I unsummoned him and interrupted his dinner,” I passed Iona an apple, which she happily took to wander off towards the picket line.

Watching her interact with my now re-summoned horse, I had a feeling he had gained a fangirl. On the other hand, by the starry-eyed look, my student gave me, I had gained one as well.

“Alright, let’s see how you’re coming along with the Alarm Ward.”

The young mage nodded happily, returning from her quest to feed Gwefrydd, “Yes, my lady.”

Biting her lip for a second, I could see her gathering up her courage to ask me something, which came as no surprise that she wanted to hear about my quest to find my spirit mount.

“Not tonight.“ I raised my hand at her disappointed look, “If you continue to be diligent with your studying, I will tell you the story.”

Iona nodded happily and began to start studying. I would tell her the tale, only if she learned both the ward and the conjuration spell. Karin nodded with approval, although I had just been trying to put it off a little.

I had thought about explaining that my quest for Gwefrydd wasn’t that adventurous, but I knew no one would believe me. Although I didn’t have a god of the hunt lead me on a merry chase, it was a long and difficult solo quest. Some of my encounters also struck a strange similarity to the Princess’s story as I, too, had to defeat a corrupted spirit in the center of a ruined castle to free Gwefrydd from captivity.

Karin interrupted my lecture on the distance mechanics of spell crafting right before nightfall, “Found signs that goblyns have been through here recently.”

Rising, I started to follow her. She and two of the female guards had wandered off to bathe. I had supplied a couple of buckets of warm water, which they were very thankful for but left when they started to disrobe to the waist.

Passing the latrine trench the guards had dug for the female members of the party, we arrived at the location where two of them now stood, with spears at the ready.

I don't think I would have noticed the strings of different colored bones and feathers hanging from a tree branch, nor the strange marks carved into its base without her pointing it out.

“At least three families.” She motioned to two other trees further away.

The next morning, Karin and I found ourselves in front of the column as outriders. I had spoken to Marcus the night before about my intentions as the forest around us began to show signs that not all was peaceful.

“I need to get a closer look.” Our Pathfinder quickly moved off the road towards the tree line. Not for the first time since we started marching this morning, we had stopped when Karin discovered tracks or some other signs.

Raising my hand, I could hear orders called out for the column to come to a halt.

Now dismounted, she knelt studying the ground, “More goblyn tracks, my lady.”

Karin also pointed to the carving on the trees, warning other families on the move to keep away. Frowning, she picked up a broken stone tool from the ground before discarding it. For the most part, goblyns in this region tended to use stone tools and weapons, unless they stole something better.

"Seems to be a larger group."

Twisting in my saddle, I looked towards the other side of the road. What they were fleeing from, I couldn't imagine, “I can see that they crossed the road too.”

Luckily, the village of Wyndemere sat on the northern edge of the eastern caravan route, so there was little chance of goblyns coming across any other communities.

“The only good thing about finding these tracks, it should give us a better idea of what direction we should start searching for your niece.”

We both knew that the four of us had a lot of ground to cover, so I was glad she looked a little more hopeful that this trip would not be in vain.

Although we spotted evidence of more creatures moving across the road, other than our illustrious bowmen showing off her skills by taking down two rather large elks to add to the cooking pot, the rest of the day was uneventful.

That evening we stopped at a familiar campsite. Thankfully, the others left me to my thoughts. It's amazing what changes a week's time could bring to one’s self. Still, I didn’t know if searching for Iona’s sister was simply a desire to be part of a real adventure or a desperate need to do something, but I knew it was the right thing to do.

With dinner finished, my student and I started walking around the camp. At this time, I would normally begin casting the wards, but tonight, Iona would see if she could do it herself.

“Alright, let's start small. Place one around the horse picket.”

Nodding, she began the rather lengthy chant.

That’s one of the things that bothered me about this spell. It was one of the first that players could cast in Magic-Life. It seemed rather overly complicated and took much longer for Iona to learn than Fire Dart.

“Done,” She smiled, looking a bit tired.

“Excellent,” I tried not to frown.

The mana cost shouldn’t be that high. I knew in-game the Base Mana Cost of a spell depended on its level. Then some calculations using your magic skill and stats would determine how much you spent casting it. How it worked in this world, I had no clue, but a single casting of an Alarm Ward should not have tired Iona out.

Putting my fingers to my mouth, I whistled. Seconds later, Iona jumped as my trusty mount trotted towards me. Nudging me with his nose, I reached into my inventory and fed him an apple. Unfortunately, I appeared to be running out, which meant he wasn’t going to be happy with me soon.

“So, I assume that you were alerted when Gwefrydd walked across the ward line?”

“Yes,” Iona giggled as Mr. Greedy Guts continued to nudge me with his nose, obviously looking for more apples.

“Excellent, then let us take a break for tonight, then tomorrow we’ll pick up with the Conjure Water spell.”

Looking about, I cast my own Alarm Ward covering the entire campsite. Iona's eyes opened wide, realizing that this was not a difficult task for me.

Before she could say anything, I explained, “Experience and Practice. Come on. Let's get back to our fire. It’s been a long day.”

Most of the camp slept soundly, although the guards had been doubled because of the additional monsters we have been tracking. In the center of the camp, I'm sure it looked strange with me sitting under the eerie glow of Witch-light spell while I studied the Alarm Ward formula.

“Huh, so that’s why.”

Anyone who has ever played a game, whether it be fantasy or sports, know that the developers spend a lot of time trying to achieve some sort of game balance. Skills or spells were often adjusted to either make them more powerful or nerfed to make them less so.

The Alarm Ward had, like most spells in-game, gone through several iterations since we started playing and even more during the initial game testing. And right here in the spell scroll, the process appeared in great detail.

However, as developers made those changes, they never removed the old ones. So a mage, in-game, the spell worked as designed even stepping through the older sections of code first. Learning the spell took no effort; however, in this world, Iona had to understand the old and the new parts before she could cast the ward. Plus, pay an additional mana cost.

“Lazy developers.”

Pulling out the Fire Dart scroll, I discovered, unlike the developers of the Alarm Ward, they had removed almost all of the old formulas. Water Conjuration, too, appeared to be even cleaner. However, Arcane Shield and Mana Bolt were a total mess.

With a sigh, I put everything away into my inventory. It looked like before I began teaching Iona any new spells, I would need to see what the developers forgot to remove. Not necessarily a bad thing, as some of the additional sections gave me ideas on how to make my own changes. I really wanted to see if I could modify the mana cost of some of my other spells.

Well, it would be something that would keep me busy once we returned to town.

--0—

As we finally exited the woods, any thoughts of turning north early were forgotten. I knew Marcus appreciate the escort, as it now became our job to make sure that the town guards reached their destination safely, not the other way around. However, that responsibility ended a day later when we stopped at the caravan campsite near the Godstone's that stood off in the distance.

I had subconsciously walked halfway up the hill towards the circle of stones before I discovered Leo had joined me.

“Looks to be another warm day tomorrow, my lady. I’m sure being from the far north, you’re not used to Caleo being this hot. “

Caleo, huh, was that a month? There was still so much I didn’t understand about this world and its common knowledge being one of them. At least being known as a foreigner, it didn’t seem too strange when I didn’t know the proper names for the days of the week.

Looking up at the cloudless sky, I nodded, “It’s wasn’t too bad today, and at least it doesn’t seem like it's going to rain anytime soon.”

Leo chuckled, “No, my lady, though, we’re lucky it’s not the middle of Sere as it rains every afternoon. Good, for the crops, though.”

With one last look at the standing stones, we started to walk back to camp, “So, Iona still can't remember which direction she traveled with her sister?”

“Somewhere north of here.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle before we both turned towards the Pale Hills, which we could see off in the distance. Although the land surrounding the road would be called rolling hills, the ground off to the north rose significantly. Most of the latter half of the trip would be over broken ground, through copse of trees and dense scrub.

“I spoke with my wife last night. We were thinking we should start traveling northeast tomorrow. Once we reach the Pale Hills, we might have a better chance of finding Myra when we start moving westward.”

Nodding, it would take a little longer, but it was a good plan. We had a rough idea of where we wanted to look, but there were many places in the Pale Hills that could hide a landslide. We both agreed that I would still summon Gwefrydd and ride for a half a day to the east.

Back at camp, the guards had been busy. Apparently, taking a page from Roman history, they were setting up what could only be called a fortified camp as they were busy digging up the ground. I could see the makings of a trench that would eventually cover the area around its exterior. I knew from speaking to the guards afterward that they would also add additional protections such as surrounding the camp with wooden spikes.

What interested me the most was a magic item that Marcus used to soften the ground to help the guards dig the large trench. It was a common magic item for caravan masters to own, but I imagine it was also invaluable for armies on the march.

In Magic-Life, such items would be novelties, although I could see some use for them. However, in this world, like modern appliances, they made life more livable. The money exchanger that the inn and wealthy merchants used was a magic item that many people were familiar with.

There were others that removed the heavy odors from tanneries, the poisonous fumes from potions shops, and the more wealthy families used magical lighting in their homes. Even the ordinary person, who might not be able to afford a magic item bought potions at the Healer’s Hall or an Apothecary.

The streets, too, were clean of filth, because of powerful magic items. Incidentally, the rather prosperous family who emptied the latrine trenches along the caravan roads also owned the contract to collect the night soil in the village.

Magical cores made this all possible, and those adventurers who collected them could become quite wealthy, well those that survived.

--0--

The next part of our trip started with the rising of the sun. Leo was right. It was going to be warm. However, plans had changed again. I would remain mounted, at least for the next couple of days. On Gwefrydd, I had a much better view of the surrounding countryside, which would allow us to react quickly to any monster that we might encounter.

“Do you think we will run across anymore goblyns?” Iona asked nervously as the four of us passed another small cluster of trees. Marcus and company had disappeared long ago behind the rolling hills.

“Maybe but remember, they tend to like darker places, so will most likely stick to moving through the forest rather than the open hills,” Leo started to explain, but I interrupted the discussion.

“Karin, stop!”

“My lady?”

Standing in the stirrups, I looked beyond where she now stood, “Is that webbing?”

Less than half a dozen yards away, the ground appeared to be disturbed, with several large rocks blocking the path. From what I could see, just under the rocks looked what could only be a thick grey bed of webbing.

“I don’t see any spiders,” Iona said, standing on her tippy toes.

Leo moved closer to his wife, “They are hiding underground.”

“Oh.”

Everyone nodded as I said, “No sense looking for trouble.” As we moved around the rocks, I did wonder how large a spider they were talking about. The decision to keep me mounted paid off again when I noticed a campsite off towards the east.

Iona spun around on top of the small hill where the campsite was located, which gave a rather good view of the surrounding countryside. “I think we stopped here for the night.”

“You sure?” Karin asked while gathering nearby kindling. The sun had started to set, so it was an excellent place to stop.

“I think so, Auntie.” Iona nodded then turned to me, “Lady Eleanor, do you think we should start heading north?”

Pulling a bundle of wood out of my inventory, I thought it wasn’t a bad idea, but still, we could miss the landslide if we weren't careful. “Did your sister’s group turn north from here?”

“Well, no, I don’t think so. We sort of went back and forth.”

“Leo, your thoughts?”

“Another day to the northeast, I’m thinking, my lady.”

Karin nodded, “Wouldn’t hurt. Afterward, we can turn north.”

Everyone then looked to me for a decision, which came as no surprise as I had somehow been elected party leader without an election.

The next day had started rather promising; unfortunately, by lunchtime, I dismissed Gwefrydd. We had already climbed around several outcroppings, so it had just been easier to leave him unsummoned.

Still, I don’t think even while mounted, I could have predicted what happened next. We had just climbed around another group of rocks with me taking the lead, Leo off to my right, his wife to my left and Iona bringing up the rear when Karin started screaming as she was lifted off her feet.

One of the rocks moved frighteningly fast, knocking her to the ground before a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth opened and covered Iona’s aunt with a cloud of grey smoke.

The lizard, which had been camouflaged among the rocks, casually swatted Leo out of the away with its tail as the healer attempted to rescue his wife. Iona, too, sent four fire darts towards the beast, but all harmlessly splashed on its tough hide.

It really shouldn’t have ignored me.

With Marwolaeth already in hand, I charged past Karin, who was crawling back up the hill and slammed into the beastie, turning aside its maw as it tried to take a bite out of our Pathfinder. Nor do I imagine it liked when next I dodged its tail before removing half of it if the creature’s screams gave any indication.

With its attention one hundred percent on me, I slammed my armored fist down, closing its mouth as it started to use its breath weapon again, before raising Marwolaeth and plunging it directly through its skull.

“Karin!” Leo screamed as he scrambled towards his wife.

“Sweet Merciful Nyyrikki, how am I still alive?” She cried as he drew close, and took her into his arms.

I looked up at the panicked Iona, before kneeling next to the two. “Are both of you, alright?”

“It was a basilisk.” Karin sobbed into her husband’s chest, “I should be dead.”

“Thank you, my lady,” Leo whispered, knowing that the magic items they wore had protected them from both the breath weapon and the physical attacks.

Reaching over, I patted his arm before dragging their niece off to the side, “They’re both fine, come, let’s give them a little privacy and take a look at the lizard.”

Iona looked at her uncle and aunt then reached up and touched her, medallion, “Thank you, Lady Eleanor.”

“I did promise we would all return home safe. Now, why don’t you tell me what you know about basilisks?”

“Yes, my lady. A basilisk turns its victims to stone with its breath and can kill with a venomous bite,” she explained while nervously approaching the creature. “It’s considered extremely dangerous for lower-ranked adventurers to encounter. Higher ranked should fight at a distance. It's considered at a minimum a ranked B threat.”

Interesting, I remember in Magic-Life, basilisks had a petrify attack, which rooted you for a time or until dispelled but don’t remember a camouflage ability, but for some reason, it felt right.

“So how does it eat if its prey is turned to stone?” I asked before summoning a long dagger ignoring the fact that I knew exactly how to remove the useful parts of the beast.

Placing it behind its skull, I cut deeply, trying not to cover myself with blood. The poison sacs should be easily accessible, and the ability to expel petrification gas came from another organ near its lungs.

“Ahh, it turns it back to normal, I think it’s something to do with its tongue.” Iona continued while stepping closer, apparently fascinated by what I was doing.

“Saliva, dear.”

Turing, both Karin, and Leo stood hand in hand, watching my work.

“Oh, that’s right auntie,” Iona chirped, running to her side.

The three remained quiet as I continued, but I finally found what I wanted.

“Here Iona, place it in your bag.” With a quick Conjure Water spell, I washed it off and handed her the mana core.

“It's big,” She raised it up looking through the sparkling orb.

Basilisk skin offered some spell resistance, so I decided to see what I could remove as I continued to dress the lizard. The poison sacs and the petrification or Petra organ ended up in my inventory. The meat, if appropriately prepared, could be eaten as well. Eventually, both Leo and Karin joined me with the two explaining to Iona what exactly we were doing.

--0—

“You were right, Lady Eleanor,” Leo said as I stirred the pot of basilisk stew.

One of the good things about my cooking skill, it removed the impurities of any meat before summoning up the correct cooking utensils depending on the recipe. All three of my companions had been surprised at first; now, it’s just something I could do.

Taking a sip of the broth, I asked, “In what way?”

“The armor you insisted on purchasing, your offer of magical protection, really everything.” He sighed, looking over at his wife and niece, who were quietly talking to one another.

We didn’t go far after the almost disastrous encounter with the basilisk. Just far enough away from the carcass so we wouldn’t be near if it attracted predators, but that was about it.

“If the three of us had encountered the basilisk without you, my wife would have been petrified, my chest would have been crushed, and Iona would have had to face the basilisk by herself. So, as head of my household, we are in your debt.” Leo then bowed at the waist.

I opened my mouth to say it was nothing, but I couldn’t say that with the serious look in Leo's eyes, nor did I miss that both Iona and Karin had stood up, and now were in deep curtsies.

“Thank you, all.” Pulling bowls out of my inventory along with several loaves of bread, I reminded them of the promise I made at the inn. “As I told Iona earlier, if it's in my power, I will make sure that all four of us came home safely. I cannot say the same for your other niece, unfortunately, as I do not know her circumstances, but I will do my best in that regard.”

“Thank you, Lady Eleanor.”

“Your welcome, Leo. Now Iona, why don’t you help me pass out these bowls while I get the spoons, and we can see how the stew turned out?”

Our progress slowed down a little, understandably, with everyone giving a second glance at the rocks in front of us or the trees we passed under. Eventually, the Pale Hills drew closer, looking more like mini-mountains than the rough hills we had been trekking over the last few days. Reaching a spot under their shadow, beside a wide running stream, we decided to make camp.

“I do remember filling our water bags before crossing this stream.” Iona pointed towards the west, “I think it turns southwards towards Lilly Lake.”

“And the Eastward Marshes.“ Karin then asked, “Did you follow it?”

“Yes, when we came back from the landslide before turning south towards the road.”

“Then, I think I am going to take a look around.” Summoning Gwefrydd, I took one good look around before staring at the sky, “It's still early. I'll be back before sundown.”

--0--

“I’m very proud of you with how well you're progressing under Lady Eleanor’s tutelage.”

Iona smiled at her aunt but kept an eye on the stream. Her teacher had been gone most of the day, and it would soon be dark.

“She makes it easy. Auntie, it’s amazing how much she understands these complicated magical concepts. Now don’t get me wrong, Mistress Alidth was a wonderful teacher but.”

“I understand,” Karin smiled before passing her husband a bowl. She had managed to shoot a couple of horned rabbits, which now roasted on spits over the fire.

“I wonder what Lady Eleanor was like as an apprentice, “ Leo thanked his wife for the food than like his niece watched the stream for their companion.

“Probably like this one.“ Karin grinned, “Full of questions and wanting to know everything.”

“Hey!” Iona pouted, “I’m not that bad.”

“Yes, sweetheart.”

“Auntie, “ Iona tried not to whine, “Anyway, I wonder who taught her. Some Archmage probably, don’t you think?”

Her uncle looked thoughtful, “I wouldn’t be surprised, a court wizard, no doubt.”

“So someone like Archmage Phexidis?”

“I don’t know perhaps, would depend on her rank. Although from what I hear, one of Lord Southbridge's sons will be Phexidis, next apprentice. So anything’s possible.”

Karin nodded, “Right, Princess Adela was just recently betrothed to one of the Princes of Aryn.”

“King Henry’s eldest, I believe.”

“I would have liked to have seen Duke’s Argyle’s wedding,” Iona smiled, fantasizing of being married in the great shrine of Dinya.

“Well, if Lady Eleanor gets invited to the next one, as her apprentice, you would be able to attend.”

Iona looked down sadly, “Uncle, I love you dearly, but I’m just the daughter of a caravan driver. She's just being kind.”

Karin reached over and gently brushed her niece's hair from her face, “Yes, she is kind, but I think you underestimate yourself and our good lady.”

“And she lives so far away, how could I leave you.”

“Well then, you will just have to learn that portal spell you told us about,” Leo smiled then laughed as his niece's head shot up.

“Oh, wouldn't that be grand,” Iona then frowned as it was getting too dark to see.”Where is she…Wait.”

All three stood as they heard something splashing in the stream to the east when suddenly, Lady Eleanor appeared out of the darkness with a large grin on her face.

“I found it.”

--0--

Glossary:

Aggro - As a verb, it refers to a hostile mob that has noticed a player and is actively trying to attack that player. As a noun, it refers to the amount of "hostility" the player has generated on the mob.

Alt - or alternate character is a character in addition to one's "primary" or "Main" player character. In addition, one frequent use is to play characters of opposite gender or to see what new features have been added since they last were on a low-level character.

Bells: Most large communities have some way to keep time, useful for travelers, and tradesmen heading off to work. Usually the either the Town’s Hall or Healer’s Hall will ring a large bell. It's Midsummer, so the times below will change depending on the time of year and location-

First 2:30 a.m.
Second 3:40 a.m.
Third 7:00 a.m.
Forth 12:20 p.m.
Fifth 3:00 p.m.
Sixth 7:00 p.m.
Seventh 8:20 p.m.
Eighth 9:30 p.m.

Escort Missions – a job where you have to safeguard an NPC, without getting them killed. Now, this wouldn't be so bad, except that the NPCs are universally stupid, running ahead and getting killed in the process. Many players despise these types of jobs.

Guilds - Semi-permanent player groups. In typical games, players must use a substantial amount of capital to start the guild.

MMORPG - Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

Mob - An AI-controlled monster.

Noob- Newbie, newb, noob, or n00b is a slang term for a novice or newcomer, or somebody inexperienced in a profession or activity. Variant forms of the noun include Newby and newbee, while the related term noob (often stylized as "n00b") is commonly used in online gaming.

Root - Can refer to a class of abilities as well as its effect. A root spell immobilizes a target. The target is then said to be rooted. Early versions of these abilities involved references to plants, hence "root."

Tank - A tank or also known as a meat shield, redirect enemy attacks or attention toward themselves to protect others. Typically the fighter tries to take as much aggro as possible away from weaker players such as healers and mages. Since they can often take a lot of damage, they are usually heavily armored and have lots of health.

Total party kill (TPK) “Rocks fall, everyone dies” or wipes - a situation in which every player character in a party dies. Factors include player inexperience, insufficient player characters, or encounters too difficult for the party's capabilities.

Horses in the Middle Ages:

The Destrier
The Destrier was the most expensive horse and were typically owned only by nobles and knights. Destriers were tall horses and were typically only used in battle. Trained to not only bite and kick on command but also to trample fallen enemies. Destriers were not common and, as a result, were highly sought after by knights.

The Palfrey
The palfrey was used for riding, traveling, and hunting as well as for ceremonies. Riding a palfrey was much more comfortable and was the favorite riding animal of noblewomen.

The Courser
Coursers were fast horses and had good endurance. They were often used by messengers as well as by people who needed to move quickly. Many knights who did not have access to a destrier, preferred to ride a courser into battle because it was fast, strong, and agile.

The Rouncey
The rouncey could be used as a pack animal or even on the farm. It could be trained for war or used as a riding horse and was often used by knights who could not afford any of the other horses. A knight would also provide rounceys to his squires and other men at arms.