1.31 – A War Party Approaches

“What the hell is happening?” Rika asked, pulling her attention away from the quest info and turning to Marieta.

A small crease appeared between her brows as she looked down at the ledger before her. “I’m not sure. This is all very strange.”

“Strange how?” Erik asked, joining Rika in front of the guild hall counter.

“Well, it’s not all that uncommon for quests to chain. But usually the quest description will say so outright, so you’ll know before you even accept.”

More of the same, then. As far as Rika could tell, nothing about this quest had been normal. It changed its level and description once they arrived at the location. Not to mention that the location itself had changed. What had once clearly been a quest to clear an encampment had instead sent them into the caves. And now that they’d come back to turn it in, the quest had added a secret part two.

“What about quests changing once they’ve been accepted?” Rika asked. She was keenly aware of the ticking timer, but this was far too strange. She needed information more than anything else right now.

A war party approaches. Time left – 4:37

They had plenty of time left, Rika reassured herself. Another second ticked off, and she fought back a grimace.

“That shouldn’t happen under normal circumstances,” Marieta said. “Quests are generated by the Watchers through the Oracles. In the case of the one you accepted, it’s administered by the Adventuring Guild. The rating and recommended party size were generated by my Oracle, so the information and assessment should be perfect in its accuracy. Otherwise, the entire Quest and Guild system is fairly pointless.”

Erik glanced over at Rika. She shared a look with him, then turned back to Marieta. “Don’t know if you noticed, but the quest we turned in wasn’t the same one we accepted.”

Marieta’s frown deepened. “Give me a moment.” Her eyes unfocused, as if she were looking at something that truly wasn’t there. A telltale sign someone was deep in the information presented by their Oracle. When she spoke again, her voice had a note of urgent curiosity to it that hadn’t been there before. “I see. And no, the quest you turned in was most certainly not the one you accepted according to my ledger. Can you tell me exactly what happened?”

A war party approaches. Time left – 3:39

Rika couldn’t help but notice how quickly five minutes passed when you really needed it to last longer. She recounted all the changes they’d experienced on their three-day excursion as quickly and as briefly as she could. As she spoke, Marieta appeared deep in consultation with her Oracle once again.

“I suspect there might be some outside influence here,” she said once Rika had finished. “I can’t think of any other explanation for this sort of behavior. At least not attached to a quest that’s this low a level. Or one that’s rated for Novices, for that matter.”

Well, that at least answered a whole bunch of questions both she and Erik had wondered about. In part, at least. If some outside influence had acted on the goblins and altered the quest, it at least meant the disaster hadn’t wholly been because Vilmos and Kriztan were both stubborn and insistent on pushing ahead despite the obvious danger. It just meant it was mostly their fault.

“We don’t have a full group for this,” Rika said, keenly aware of the still-running countdown on the war party. They had less than half their time left now. “Is there anyone in town who can join up?”

“Afraid not,” Marieta said with a sympathetic expression. “Canyon Falls isn’t really a major settlement, despite the presence of the guild hall. Most parties only stay long enough to pick up work and move on. Most don’t even turn their quests in here, preferring to use the guild halls at their destinations.”

“What about you?” Erik asked. “You’re level forty-two. Can’t you help?”

“That would be against guild regulations. I’m permitted to act in defense of guild property, and should the guild hall itself come under attack, I will respond appropriately. But the town must rely on its own resources, and any adventurers present. Independence has its price.”

Rika understood what she meant. Settlements under Maximilian’s protection would have, at minimum, a contingent of Soldiers or similar classes present. For larger threats to a lord’s demesne, the lord would either call vassals or deal with the issue themselves. Independent settlements could govern themselves, but that meant they had to arrange for their own protection. The Adventurer’s Guild often helped with that by making quests available to freebooters looking for experience, levels, and wealth. But that didn’t mean their aid was guaranteed—something made painfully clear by their current situation.

So it looked like they could either leave Canyon Falls to its fate, or step up and see to the defense themselves. Rika shot a sidelong glance at Erik. After their trip in the mines, she wasn’t too keen on standing before a goblin war party with just the two of them. But she wouldn’t kid herself either. No way Erik would abandon the town. And if she were honest, the idea didn’t really sit well with her, either.

The people of Canyon Falls didn’t deserve whatever was coming for them. Sure, the world wasn’t fair. Rika had learned that lesson well enough, growing up as the unwanted bastard of some noble. But it wasn’t supposed to be cruel. There wasn’t anyone else, and more importantly, her class made her well-suited to whatever task lay ahead.

It was safe to assume she’d have From the Jaws of Defeat active for most of whatever was coming. Erik, too, would benefit from his own Deed of Renown, Stalwart Healer. Then there was Tempo. Sure, it dropped off if she got hit, but it seemed like her class feature was designed for standing against a horde of enemies. Even if she never got it past one or two stacks at a time, it was still a damage boost. And one last thing she couldn’t forget: she was tough. Tougher than she had any right to be. She may only be level twelve, but already she could feel her class coming into its own.

Her Might, Finesse, Resilience, and Ward were all at twenty-five. Her Balanced Defense class feature gave her a significant boost to her physical and magic defense from her Ward and Resilience stats, respectively. Her hand strayed to the pouch at her belt where she’d tucked the stoneware bottle from the goblins’ cave. The Stonewall Tincture would come in handy here, that much was certain.

A war party approaches. Time left – 1:26

They were nearly out of time. Rika forced herself to stay calm and chased down one remaining possibility. “Is there anything our association with the Adventuring Guild can provide? Anything at all?” she asked. She hoped her words didn’t feel as desperate as they’d felt when she pushed them past the tightness in her chest.

This narrative has been purloined without the author’s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Oh, yes, of course,” Marieta said. “You can spend guild credits on general skills, crafting recipes, and all manner of equipment. As Novices, your options are somewhat limited, but you both have five-hundred credits apiece. They’re tracked by the guild, and you can spend them at any guild hall.”

While there was almost certainly something that could be of use, they didn’t have the luxury of time.

“What about the level gems?” Erik asked.

“They’ve been credited to your Oracles and are ready to be applied at your convenience.”

Rika shifted her attention toward Chryson as the timer ticked down to one minute. Thankfully, she didn’t need to actually speak, and neither did he. The level gem’s description filled her thoughts.

• Grade I Level Gem – Apply to instantly advance one level. Ineffective after reaching Grade II.

The “gem” itself wasn’t a physical object. Rather, a little rhombus with an “I” inside of it floating next to the status line that showed her level. All she had to do was focus on it for a moment, and it would activate, immediately granting her its effects. It could be used without restriction so long as she hadn’t yet advanced to Grade II. Whenever that would happen. The experience needed to advance levels had already noticeably increased, and she couldn’t see any reason that would change. The Watchers, the guild, or whoever, clearly wanted the gems to be used rather than hoarded.

She focused on the pressure in her stomach, just below her ribs. While she didn’t have a perfect understanding of how level ups progressed, she’d gotten used to the feeling of it well enough that she could guess with acceptable accuracy. She was likely about halfway to level thirteen. Using the gem would advance her a full level. Which meant using it now would waste roughly half its potency.

“Come on,” she said to Erik, dismissing her personal stats. “Time to go save this town.”

She pushed aside the fact she was still in fairly rough shape. Her armor was beaten to hell. A few axe heads had gotten between the plates and through the leather. Likewise, her padded shirt had several punctures and tears in it, and the same could be said for her napped suede pants. But she’d still protection enough, and no time to get any repairs done. The pouch of coin she’d taken off the other two would be put to use once this was over.