Terra Online - Chapter 8：chapter 7

“It’s official I am lost” I whisper as I have been walking for three days without seeing anything. The landscape is always the same just infinite fields of grass. I have tried everything from running in one direction to passing mana to my eyes checking for illusions.

Nothing, only after checking the game forum did find an article about the endless grass field which an ancient mage created thousands of years ago. According to people once in the field a person’s sense of direction totally went hay wire. You might think you are walking east but you were actually walking in circles.

The only good thing so far was that the place was devoid of monsters. Sitting down I begin to pass mana through my skin pores forming a mist around me. With each breath I exhale mana and about a large amount back into my body.

Minutes, hours the feel of time becomes a blur as I continue the mana exercise. This time when I check the spot in my chest where the mana is generated from I feel another presence similar to that of the green dragon from before “so you have found your way here” a voice says to me in my mind.

Instinctively I know that this voice is from the orb I absorbed “what is your name” I ask.”I was given the name Tusker by my brood mother” the voce answers.”I thank you for aiding in my release from my prison” Tusker says “no need to thank me, so is there anything I need to know about you being in me” I reply.

“No much just that when you reach a certain level of power I will fuse with the mana pool in you giving you some physical attributes of dragons” Tusker comments. “Now that I know what to expect do you know a way to get out of this place” I ask. “Yes “he answers. “Please tell me the way out” I urge.

“it simple, you look for the way out but keep going deeper into the field so try going deeper into the field and you will leave this cursed place” Tusker says with a hint of pride sipping through in his voice.

Following this advice I begin walking with the intent to find the center of the field and within a day find myself at the edge of a forest.”Tusker why did Salazar drop me in such a place” I ask after I begin resting at the edge of the forest. “Most likely he forgot of the field as it doesn’t affect higher dragons” Tusker answers.

Snap! The sound of a branch breaking alerts me to something approaching stopping m conversation with my tenant. Unsheathing my sword I wait for the creature to come out only to see a zombie wearing scraps of leather amour holding a broken sword.

Sheathing my sword I ignore the zombie and watch it continue its journey as if it didn’t see me.

Following the slow paced zombie is tiring so I give it a thirty minutes head start and use this chance to master the crude tracking skill I have under Tuskers supervision. Three hours later the zombie makes its way into a cave and I follow it a fist on fire acting as a torch and my sword ready for action. The small cave leads to another cave this time one that looks like a large hall capable of housing three to four adult dragons.

“Who dares to enter my domain” a voice that echoes around the cave says. “My name is Michael, may I know who is addressing me” I reply as I enter a larger cave with lots of zombies standing at attention gazing at me. “It’s about time you showed up” the voice coming from a girl with a mage staff leaning at the cave entrance I just passed. Most of the girl’s body is hid by the darkness in the cave but after pass mana to my eyes I see her clearly.

I see that the girl is an elf from the pointed ear and looking at her face I see an average face. Short brown hair, no scars to distinguish her even her dress seems average but the staff she holds emits a strong mana though not up to the bounty hunter or the dragons.

“Sis, he asked for your name don’t you think he is rude after all we have already talked before in the real world” another voice says. Suddenly a shape falls from the ceiling of the cave but at the last moment rights itself landing with a crouch kicking up dust. When the dust settles I see another girl who’s a look alike to the elf with the staff only this elf has black hair and is wearing black amour with a sword handing by her waist.

“My name is Paige and that is my twin Jade” the elf with a sword says to me as she stretches her hand out for a handshake. “Good down to business” I say taking her arm is a light grip allowing her to crush my palm.

“Careful with the necromancer, I don’t think Igneel will be happy with you if your friend uses a dead dragon for her magic” Tusker says in my mind. “Why should we join your guild” Jade asks as she swirls her staff around walking towards me.

“Because you can’t survive alone, not with the amount of negative fame you have now or will get in the future” I say calmly. “Right now we haven’t been killed so I don’t think we need you” Paige says. “That’s true but can you enter a town or even a village in peace” I ask remembering the amount of people back on the human continent hunting me for the bounty.

“What you say is true but even though we will join your guild we won’t follow orders we don’t like” jade says as she steps close to me. “Are there any other terms” I ask. “All loot we get is ours to keep” Paige says. Nodding her head Jade agrees with her sister. “In this case I have a term for you don’t attack any wild dragon” I say.

Jade erupts in laughter on hearing this while Paige looks at me like I have gone mad. “how can we just leave such huge lumbering animals alone, when everything about them can be used or sold for money and power” jade says after her laughing fit.”I don’t care but if you can’t leave them alone I will withdraw my invitation” I tell the twins without showing any emotion on my face.

“Sorry but we can’t abide by this particular tem cant you overlook it” Paige says with a smile. “No sorry but I can’t seems like I will look for others to join me” I say turning to the exit. “we are also sorry but we have to kill you since you know where we are, at least by the time you spawn we would have left this place” Jade calls out as an arrow whizzes past my ear slicing it a little .

Turning back to them I say “we are all criminals so I won’t betray you even so are you sure you can kill me”. “With my zombie army of five thousand even you can’t stand a chance” Paige says as the previously dormant zombies begin moving towards me.

Rushing at me Paige raises her sword that glows with an eerily black hue. Blocking the sword strike my orc sword breaks with the force used, “wow such strength” Tusker says. “Can’t you help me” I ask Tusker. “I thought you would never ask” he replies as whips of fire extend from my body slicing at Paige as she retreats.

By now the first of the zombies has reached me and though Jade may be a high level player her undead are low level and slow. Dodging the clumsy strike I quickly open my inventory and equip two short axes. “You can still let me go” I yell as I lunge one axe into the head of a zombie and decapitate another with the second axe.

With Tusker using my mana to cast spells at enemies I focus solely on using the axes to the fullest. Suddenly a dark fire flame flies past me singing my clothes a little “what was that” I ask as I move around killing zombies while dodging the flames.

“Dark fires something necromancers are fond of” Tusker says “brace yourself” he says as I feel almost all the mana in have I my body disappears. The spell Tusker uses with the man creates a dragon smaller than him when he was alive but is made entirely of fire “leave the necromancer and zombies to me get the other elf” the dragon roars with Tuskers voice.

Not thinking how this is possible I move with a speed that is slower than what I usually use I throw my axes at the elves giving me enough time to equip a sword from my inventory appearing in front of Paige who is hiding with her sister behind the army f zombies. Putting all of my strength into the swing I hit Paige with my sword like a baseball bat.

Even with her blocking with her black sword she is still smashed into the wall ten meters away forming a human sized crater as she collapses to the ground.”Paige get up” Jade yells as she battles the flaming dragon now that her zombies are being burnt into a cider just by been close to the dragon.

As Paige struggles to get on one knee I appear in front of her with my knee already in motion. The sound of my knee hitting her face echoed around the cave, dropping my feet I send a left hook to her face which she manages to dodge by tilting her head backwards.”Oh so you think you can try to kill me and think you will survive what a joke” I say to her leveling my sword at her. I stab my sword into her heart pining her to the wall.

Seeing the corpse of her sister Jade seems to go mad as now skeletons of men and large creatures rise from the ground.”Tusker finish your fight quickly” I say to him in my mind using our link as I prick the black sword from where it lay on the ground some meters away from Paige’s body. With a roar that shakes the entire cave Tusker releases a large burst of flame that incinerates all the skeletons and Jade leaving only a badly burnt staff that is now misshapen.

With the battle over the dragon turns into a stream of light and goes into my body allowing me to recover some of the mana I used in the fight. “Take the gem on the staff it might be useful” Tusker says to me when I pass the staff on the way out.

Turning back I pick up the staff and with a fist covered in mana pry the gem of the staff .placing my new loot in my inventory I walk back to the entrance of the first cave to see that its now night time. Guess I will have to stay here tonight I think to myself as I unequipped a blanket while heading back to the larger cave to sleep.

When I logged back in the game the site of the ceiling of the cave greeted me. Folding my blanket I stretch my muscles a little and make for the entrance of the cave. “Guess I have to look for other compliant criminals to form my guild with” I whisper as I head into the forest around the cave. With no sense of direction I decide to just walk south as my player map doesn’t have any settlements around my location.

The game masters should make our maps show undiscovered cities I think as I kick a pebble on the ground. Two hours later I reach a road wide enough for a carriage, but for now the only people on the road was a group of elves camping at the edge of the road just beside the forest as they eat some pieces of bread ,

Walking to one of the elves on the road I ask “please can you tell me the direction to the nearest town or city”. Raising his head the elf looks at me with a face full of scorn and replies “just follow the road you will reach a town someday” as his travelling companions laugh at me.

“Arrogant elves always thinking they are better than everyone else” Tusker comments in my mind. Resisting the urge to gut the idiot I walk away from the group in the choosing to go south with the road. Walking down the road I pass many elves some on horses most on foot with a few of them in carriages that had family crests on the doors. After asking I found out that the nearest settlement was a city a day’s walk from me called Eris.

Not wanting to stay any longer in the woods, I pass mana to the muscles in my legs strengthening them. With the preparations complete I shoot down the road like a bullet creating a cone of dust as I race down the road. Dodging the traffic on the road is easier than fighting using the same speed I muse as I race past an elf on a horse startling his mount.

In four hours just as my mana runs out I see the walls of a city in the distance, stopping the mana following I rest at one of the trunks of the many tress doting the road side.

Removing a piece of fruit from my backpack I eat as I watch the city walls noticing the soldiers on the wall and at the gates, from my observation the people entering show some sort of document at the gates to be allowed entry .wiping the juice from my snack on my trousers I equip a sword as I make my way to the queue for people wanting to enter the city.”I hate elven cities” Tusker says to me. “Don’t worry we won’t be here for long” I soothe the dragon in me.

When it’s my turn the solider t the gate asks” where is your identification stranger”? “Sorry but I don’t have any identification on me at the moment can you tell me how to get one” I reply. “You have to pay five gold coins but seeing that you are a human the fee is fifteen gold coins” the soldier says to me with the hint of a smirk showing through the visage of his helmet.

“And they say Dragons are greedy while elves are a noble race” Tusker says disgust evident in his tone. Looking at his partner I see shock on the other soldier’s face. Nodding at this I turn to the first soldier as I open my pouch making sure he sees the large amount of gold totaling sixty coins in it.

Removing the fee I pay the guard the coins and receive a piece of leather with an eagle on it” with this you can enter the city anytime without paying again” the second soldier tells me as he waves me into the city. As soon as I step through the city gates I am besieged by a group of rough looking children wearing what could only be seen as rags.

“Sir, come with me I will show you round the city’ one of them yells as he tries to grab my hand.”Yeah, more like take him to the sewers to get robbed” another yells.

Through the yells of service I pick the smallest of the bunch and shoo the rest away. “What is your name young elf” I ask.”Nathan sir” the child replies. “And how old are you Nathan” I ask as I watch him shift from one feet to another.

“Thirteen but I can do any work you have for me” he says when he notices e staring at him. “First take me to a good inn if possible the most expensive one around” I say as I watch a female elf ride in wearing dragon scales as her armor. Behind her are ten elves all of them riding black horses with a sword piercing a dragon drawn on their chest. “The blood elf” Tusker says as I feel his attention on the elf leading the group.

Following Nathan I walk deeper into the city passing markets with elves peddling their ware and houses. The further into the city we go the less people we see walking and the more fancy the houses become. Even the shops here have colorful signs compared to the shops we passed at the outskirts of the city.

Stopping in front of a two storey building Nathan says” the Baron’s hearth the best inn in the city” pointing at the building. “How much do you make a day don’t lie to me” I ask. “Fifteen coppers on a bad day and thirty coppers on a really good day” he answers. “Here stay with me and I will pay you one silver a day with food excluded” I say tossing a silver coin I fetched from my pouch at him.

“Anything you need I will get it for you, my Lord” Nathan says after he examines the coin for a second. “For some coppers you are a sir and a silver coin makes you a lord I wonder what he will call you if you give him a gold coin” Tusker says as his roaring laugh echoes in my mind.

Walking into the building I move pass the small diner and make my way to the counter where a pretty elf stands.”I would like a room with two beds” I announce as I reach her. “That will be ten gold coins per night food costs an extra five gold coins” she says in a chirpy tone. Dropping fifty gold coins I answer” take this and tell me when the payment is up”. Seeing the amount of money on the table isn’t even enough to make her bat an eye brow.

Pulling out a key from underneath the counter she rings the small bell on the counter and a young elf male wearing a fine tunic arrives at my side.”Thomas please can you take the customer to room four” the elf behind the counter says handing him the key. “Yes Miss Martha” Thomas replies .

Turning to me he says “sir am sorry but the child with you will have to leave as the establishment doesn’t allow street rats here”.

“Oh that won’t be a problem as Nathan here has been employed in my service” I reply and wave for him to lead the way

Following Thomas I am led to a hall on the ground floor we walk past three rooms and stop at the fourth room “this will be your room for the length of your stay” Thomas says as he opens the door to reveal a nice room.

The room has a window with thick fancy curtains, a bed at the center of the room and another smaller bed at the edge of the room though the two beds are better than what I am used to so there isn’t much room to compare after sleeping in caves and bare ground.

“Please have two hot baths brought to the room” I tell Thomas. “That will cost two gold coins”

Thomas says and stretches out his hand to receive the money. Paying him the money he disappears and minutes later four elves come into the room each pair carrying a large tub “bring the meal and leave it on the table” I tell Thomas.

When he leaves I face Nathan who has been silent since we entered the Inn. “Well what are you waiting for take off your clothes and get in the tub; I want you sparkly clean when you are through” I say to him using a dagger to divide the soap that the elves brought in. Handing a piece to Nathan I climb into the tub and allow the hot water to seep into my muscles while I take a short nap.