“Thea Machinas… Here it is. Well… She’s been dead for quite some time now, and I fear you won’t find any of her remains here. She did live here for some time, but she returned to her family as she grew older.”
“Where would that be, if we may ask?”
“That’d be the dwarven city near Southwall. Ant’s Nest, they call it, I believe?”
Dumbfounded, the two elves stared at the NPC holding the register. “A dwarven city?”
“Oh, yes.” The elf chuckled “Machinas is a dwarven last name. You didn’t realize? It should have been obvious.”
Well, no player was going to question an NPC’s name.
“So she was a dwarf?”
“Not quite.” The NPC leafed through the register. “Her family line is a bit of a mess, to be honest. There’s human and dwarven marriages through her family tree, as well as elves and humans, and those marrying… Anyway, a colourful group.”
“…We weren’t aware that elves would marry into dwarven families.”
“We don’t, usually. Lots of reasons. But this family was always a bit odd. Harmless, though, and prone to keeping to themselves. Thea stuck out a bit, but she was a cheerful one. Made friends quickly.”
The NPC handed over what could be described as an ID picture. It was drawn, but well enough that anyone could recognize the person in the image. Thea was small for an elf, with darker skin and more muscles. She looked closer to a human, actually, but something about that lopsided smile held the lightness of the elves.
“Her descendants are living in the Ant’s Nest. You’ll have to ask them if they’re willing to share what she left behind. The name of Machinas holds some status in the area of research and creation, so it’s unlikely they changed it.” The NPC shooed them out of the storage room. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s dinner time and I’d like to lock up.”
Spiderlily and Ice exchanged a glance. They had talked about visiting the dwarves, but now it turned into part of the official plan. After all, Thea Machinas was currently the best clue they had on how to help the sick king.
While the two were away, Blackstone prepared dinner. Having Foreigners camp wasn’t a rare sight, so the forest had its own camping area.
A number of curious players kept on looking over, but Bloodless Sunset ignored them so openly that none came close.
At the moment, he was using the chance to talk to White Light.
“How long do you think it will take?”
The little version of White Light tilted its head, putting a hand on its lips thoughtfully. “The preparation, not long anymore. What I think is more troublesome are the crystal guards. I’m trying to warn everyone, but…”
“But?”
“It’s a mess. I’ve seen Absinth talk to some of these people, who are now insisting that the king is hostile, and there’s your ex who is demanding to be the leader. On the surface, everyone is accepting it, but he keeps on clashing with Knightrider.”
“Is the mission going to be in danger?”
“I can’t say, to be honest. Not only have some members become wary, I’m not even sure if those that should be neutral are going to be polite. What kind of delegation marches around like the king of the world?”
“Eh… Do your best?”
“I will. How is it going on your side?”
“Slow progress. I’ll update you when we find something for certain.”
The exchange ended. Next to Bloody, Little Droplet waved to catch Ice’s and Spiderlily’s attention. The two walked over, settling around the little fire and the pot placed above it. The healer motioned for them to speak.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Ant’s Nest”, Ice said shortly. “That’s where we should find her descendants and family. She has dwarven blood.”
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“Rbatlcu ilxf jc jvnfcaegf ab ufa ab xcbk fjmt batfg yfaafg”, Olaaif Ggbqifa ijeutfv. “C ibcu pbegcfs jikjsr rtbkr atf agefra rlvfr bo j qfgrbc, pera ilxf klat Cyrlcat. Prc’a la clmf ab agjnfi klat j qjgas ilxf atlr?”
“I guess…” Bloody pouted. “At least it’s close to my guild hall. That makes a lot of things easier.”
It also meant that Dead Rabbit was going to wail about being taken along for sure.
Blackstone turned the meat before taking out a beautiful map. “Near Southwall, right? We can take part of the river down. It will be a comfortable trip! The rest should be manageable with our mounts.”
Ice sighed sadly at the memory of the pretty beast he hadn’t tamed yet.
“Soon”, Bloody promised, placing an arm around his shoulder, somehow managing to guess what his friend was thinking about. “Once this mess is over.”
“I’m sure the end is within our grasp”, Little Droplet said cheerfully. Ever since their talk in the carriage, the healer seemed to have loosened up a bit, not as distant as before. “After all, a game’s quest shouldn’t take months to complete or people will feel like it’s dragging. A journey shouldn’t be too long, or it won’t be fun.”
Ice nodded along.
Surely, they’d find out the truth soon.
…At least the piece they needed right now.
Between the odd curse that the NPCs were said to suffer under, to Tiamat’s true identity, and even the existence of the castle in the mountains…
The Ice Emperor couldn’t help but wonder how everything would wrap up.
As seconds passed, Bloody started draping himself all over Ice like a cooked noodle. “Maaaaaan. They’re really placing an event right into the middle of a world quest, though.”
Everyone needed a moment to remember.
“Right! That crystal collection quest! I completely forgot about that!”
“…I cannot say if time passed quickly or slowly.”
“Will we even have time to participate?”
“Probably not.” Ice sunk under Bloody’s weight but made no complaint. He was getting used to the other’s antics.
“That’s a shame.”
Ice had never been the type to participate a lot in the events, so he did not mind as much. Little Droplet looked a bit disappointed though, as did Bloody.
“I wanted to get some new outfits!”
Blackstone snorted and laughed. “But you never change your clothes!”
“That’s because sleeves are such a hassle for beastmen.”
“Speaking of clothes, give me your armor. It’s all messed up from the fight. I’ll fix it for you.”
Bloody made a sound of assent and took off his equipment. Blackstone eyed it critically, then got to work while Bloody stared at his feet with a complicated expression. “…I feel naked.”
No shoes, no armguard, no leather breastplate. It wasn’t even that much difference. The beastman tugged at his low-cut, snuggly fitting shirt.
Next to them, Spiderlily checked her bow. Little Droplet began eyeing Ice’s staff.
It was a surprisingly peaceful evening.
***
“Absinth teamed up with Woodcutter and they’re leaving behind the rest of the group to dash towards the castle.”
Ice didn’t spit out his drink. He’d never do such a thing, but he thought that if this was a comic, he probably would have. Bloodless Sunset’s face was a grimace as he told the news to the party in the morning.
“Wait. What?!” Blackstone slowly put her tools down. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I’m not. Absinth knows how to reach the castle and it seems she talked to Woodcutter. They both want to make the most out of the quest, and they’re seeing no reason to slow down. They believe that it can be completed even without the NPCs. Which… is very much in line with Woodcutter’s personality, by the way.”
“What about White Light, Knightrider and the other players?” Little Droplet didn’t stop eating their breakfast, but their eyes were on the beastman.
Bloody’s tail swished irritably. “Well, what are they supposed to do? Woodcutter is too fucking OP. If he wants to go on ahead, there’s no one who can stop him. It’s just that this might cause the whole damn mission to fail! Who raids a castle you’re trying to visit for peaceful talks?! Worse is, it seems that the mountain is open for recording now. He’s making this a stream.”
“Oh, so he’s even earning money off it, huh? If I was Lusanna Corp, I’d be pretty angry.” Blackstone scoffed. She had seen Woodcutter in interviews before but she had never known how damn troublesome the guy was.
“White Light is rushing after them to keep an eye on what they’re doing and interfere if he can. Knightrider… looks like he’s keeping the rest together. There are some that originally wanted to join Woodcutter, but he’s managing to control them. Otherwise, the whole quest would fall apart.”
It wasn’t only the delegation, after all. There were also people who were fighting against the monster as the NPCs worked, for example.
“So, with everything said… Does anyone have issues with us rushing?”
Haven did allow various ways of travel, after all. You could go everywhere manually, with carriages or boats, you could take your mount, you could teleport through the area…
“A mix of cash scrolls and official teleport stations?”
“Yes.”
“A bit of a hassle, but sure. I’ll go along with it. I’m not sure how much time we have left when your ex is causing such a mess.”
“…Can we please not call him my ex all the time?” Disgruntled, Bloody pouted.
“I’m fine with using cash scrolls.” Little Droplet agreed to the suggestion.
Spiderlily looked less happy about it but agreed. Not everyone liked doing micro transactions inside games, but she wasn’t going to let the small amount stop her from following the rest.
Bloody got up and stretched, prompting everyone else to get ready. “Let’s go then!”
In all honesty, the rush was terrible.
Teleport stations weren’t cheap, but they all had enough money. Worse was that continuous teleportation made you feel nauseous, much like sea sickness. At the end of it, they were all happy to use their steady mounts to cover the last bit towards the city.
As it was a good bit in the south, the temperatures were higher. Far off, you could see the sky being slightly reddish where the desert storm began.
Everyone changed their clothes to suit the temperatures better. (Except for Bloody, who just couldn’t find anything he liked.)
Dead Rabbit was already waiting at the entrance of the city. When he found the group, his eyes sparkled as he ran over. Skidding to a halt right in front of them, he tried to fake looking calmer. “There you are!”
“Long time no see!” Blackstone greeted the little assassin happily. She didn’t dislike this brat.
Bloodless Sunset took a step closer and softly knocked his fist against his brother’s head. “You’ll behave, right? We aren’t here just to play around.”
“But to play around a bit?”, Little Droplet chimed in, noticing the extra word.
Bloody cleared his throat and whistled, averting his eyes.
Although they all knew that time was tight, they still wanted to explore and enjoy the city a bit at least.
Together, they got into line waiting to be let into the city. Little Droplet wandered around a bit before returning to them. Several signs nearby explained the process of entry, placed so that no one would have an issue reading them.
Compared to the elven forests, the larger dwarven cities were stricter. Elves protected certain areas, dwarves whole cities. There was no entering or leaving as you pleased.
Before you entered, you were issued a sort of visa. The card carried both your fingerprint as well as a signature on how long you were planning on staying. Each day would cost money at the entrance.
Without your card, there was no way to rent a room, and if the dwarves found you roaming at night, they’d throw you into jail. Foreigners could kind of trick the system by logging out, but after the dwarves had noticed that, they added an additional control before you left.
There was a fee for staying too long, but if you overdid it, they’d still drag you to jail.
All larger dwarven cities had this sort of concept and were thus rather expensive to enter. Reasonable enough for players, who knew that there were some treasures to be found once in a while.
The party paid their fees to stay for a maximum of one week, just to be sure. Dead Rabbit wanted to whine about the cost, but Bloody ended up paying for him without a word. The embarrassed little brother could only shut up.
Because the city was underground, they had to descend a long stair. Artificial lights lit up the way.
The cave that opened up was a different wonder compared to the Lythian Forest.
Earthen scents mixed with a smell of smoke – from forges and meat being grilled. The dwarves liked showcasing their wealth, so the whole city was covered in gold and clockwork machinery, sometimes almost reminiscent of steampunk.
The mood inside was unusual, a bit giddy and openly loose.
Next to their classic likes such as alcohol and metalworks, the dwarves of Haven had taken over a peculiar habit from their human neighbors.
Gambling.
It wasn’t like there was a casino, but you could find the human influences in many corners.
The first time they passed by something like a lottery, Ice almost walked over Blackstone. Bloody and Dead Rabbit, likewise, were staring over.
“Say…”, Bloody started saying slowly.
“…Ice’s luck stat is high, isn’t it?”, Blackstone continued.
“Soooo…” Dead Rabbit’s eyes flickered over.
Stared at by three people, Ice ended up being pushed over to the stall. The dwarf who was smirking behind the counter greeted them with a nod.
Author’s Note
The closer we get to the end of this arc, the more uncertain I grow… I hope everyone is going to be fine with the ending.
Thank you for the chapter!! ❤️❤️
Thank you for the chapter! Excited to see what comes next.
Our lil traveling group is bonding, and Absinth/new guy
Woodcutter are great characters but annoyingly aggressive people. Love to see it.
“What is this, an old-school RPG mainquest?” LOLLLLLLL
Also Bloody draping himself on Ice~~!! so cuteeeee, everything Bloody does is soooo cuteeee
»Blackstone eyes it critically..« eyed
Absinth is really good at pulling all the hate xDD
And your A/N sounds like.. they will raid the castle and kill the Ice Emperor :’D I’ll wait and see xD
Thx for the ch ٩( >ヮ<)۶
The…. poor Ice Emperor xD
thanks for the chapter <3
A/N, ominous much?
Thank you for the chapter 💜