The Omen, page 8
part #5 of Eden's Gate Series
You’ve received: Illuminating Potion. Durability: 10/10. Quality: Average. Rarity: Common. Weight: 0.1 kg. Drink to receive 100% visibility in the dark.
The illuminating potion wasn’t all that useful to me, since I had Divine Sight, so after reading off the stats, I passed it to Jeremy. If he or the guild were out exploring without me, it could be a big help for them at night or in a cave.
You’ve received: Fierce Headband. +2 Armor. Durability: 8/10. Quality: Average. Rarity: Common. Weight: 0.2 kg. +4 Dexterity. +2 Strength.
I was surprised to find that the red and white striped cloth was actually a headband rather than a scarf, and the stats on it were quite impressive. Again, it wasn’t particularly useful for me, since it wasn’t as good for me as the Ravager’s hood that I was wearing, so I passed it over to Jeremy who gladly accepted. He immediately took off his hand-me-down scarf and wrapped the headband around his head.
“How do I look?” Jeremy asked.
“Interesting,” I said with a chuckle. The headband was kind of cool, but it didn’t match him at all. From the neck up, he looked like a karate student. But he was the first karate student I had seen wearing a full set of leather armor and sparkling, black boots.
You’ve received: 1600 Gold Pieces
“Not too bad,” I said as my confidence started rising. “Let’s keep moving and grinding.”
“What about the horse?” Keysia asked.
I turned to the horse that was attached to the wagon then looked back to my party. “I hadn’t even considered that. Is there anything we should consider before taking her?”
Keysia shook her head. “It’s not a great beast, so there’s nothing preventing us from riding her. She might be a little resistant, but if she spends enough time with us, she may be willing to bond with us. The odds are better if her master has died.”
“That’s likely, given the people we just killed,” I said. I looked to Sung. “Want to take her for now? Jeremy can continue looking after Betsy.”
Sung smiled. “Yeah, I got it!”
We disconnected the horse from the wagon, and Sung hoisted himself on top of her saddle. He stroked his hand across her mane as she took a few wobbly, slightly-resistant steps. The horse looked very basic, almost identical to Betsy, but the new horse’s brown fur was just the slightest shade lighter.
“Should we name her or should we wait until she’s bonded?” Sung asked.
I shrugged. “Call her whatever for now. Whoever bonds with her can give her another name later on if needed.”
“Alright,” Sung said. He patted the horse on the back of the neck. “I think I’ll call you Sally.”
Betsy and Sally. I snorted at thought. I would’ve imagined the names came out of some 1950s sitcom, but they actually matched the horses pretty well.
Jeremy mounted Betsy, and Keysia and I hopped on Sora.
I checked my compass again, and we continued our trek east.
We had a new horse, a nice amount of gold, and I was earning XP at a pretty rapid rate. Hell, I had even learned Beast Lore.
So far, the trip was exceeding my expectations.
Chapter Nine
2/4/0001
“One, two, three,” I counted.
I focused on casting a Fireblast at the exact same time that Keysia released a ball of Energy from her Mobius Staff.
You have reached level 10 in Fire Magic!
The large capybara—a brown, oversized rodent that looked like a cross between a beaver and a rat—and its two offspring squealed and lit up in flames a split second before the energy from Keysia’s staff slammed onto them and sent each of them flying.
You have gained 700 XP!
You have gained 700 XP!
The two smaller capybaras seemed to die immediately from the simultaneous attack, and the large mother or father creature made a strange, squealing sound as it continued to smolder and bring itself back to its feet. Unfortunately for it, Sung and Jeremy were both at its side before it could take any further action, driving their daggers into its neck and spine. It made a last ditch effort to turn its head and snap at Sung, but that simple move seemed to expend its last ounce of will before it fell over and died.
You have gained 1200 XP!
Advancement! You have reached level 21 and gained 3 ability points. To assign your ability points, open your status page. You can also increase any of your known skills by 1 level. Choose wisely, as your choices cannot be undone.
You have gained 10 MP!
“Whoo yeah!” I yelled.
It was the third group of animals that we’d found and killed since leaving the wagon. I wasn’t sure where we were exactly—or if where we were might’ve still been considered the Freelands—but it was ripe with small groups of neutral animals that traveled in packs and provided decent XP.
Jeremy and Sung jumped back on their horses, but before I got back on Sora, I noticed a butterfly land on a small flower that was growing out of a patch of nearby weeds.
Name: small valley butterfly
Race: insect
Level: 1
Health/Mana/Stamina: 10/20/100
Status: neutral
“I’m ready for more!” Jeremy said.
“Just a minute,” I replied.
I creeped up to the flower, doing my best not to scare the butterfly away, and when I was close enough, I closed my eyes, held my palms out and attempted to use Beast Lore.
I tried to understand the butterfly, to have a sense of its feelings, to try to hear its voice and its needs. After a couple seconds, I could feel its energy passing through me, and my energy passing back to it. It was much like the feeling that I had with the dog from earlier in the day, but I sensed much less vengeance. It was as if it felt and understood me too.
The butterfly fluttered its wings as I opened my eyes, and slowly flew over to me before landing on my shoulders.
You have reached level 2 in Beast Lore!
“Nice!” Keysia said. “It looks like you’ve connected!”
“Sick...” I said. I lifted my finger out in front of me, and the butterfly flew right onto my finger and seemed as if it were looking right into my eyes.
“If you give it a name, you’ll be bonded together,” Keysia said. She lifted her fingers to her chin and hummed a second. “But I don’t know why you’d bond with a butterfly. It’s not going to offer you much in the way of help, and if you dismiss it to the Otherworld for too long, it’ll simply leave you.”
“So probably better to just release it without bonding, huh?” I asked.
Keysia nodded. “No harm in using Beast Lore on simple animals and insects to raise your skills, but unless they offer you some use, it’s better to release them before forming a bond. Why waste their time, right?”
I smiled at the butterfly, lifted it to my lips, and puckered up. Connecting with a creature through Beast Lore and feeling its energy almost instantly made me feel something special towards it. It made me appreciate its life, even if it were a simple, level 1 insect, and somehow I knew it appreciated me a little as well.
I lifted my finger and gave a slight nod. “Go ahead… you’re free to go now.”
The butterfly hesitated a moment, but then it shifted its legs before flapping its wings and fluttering away to another flower that was in a nearby patch of grass.
I looked up to see Sung and Jeremy staring at me from their horses, and I realized how thankful I was that Aaron wasn’t there. Kissing butterflies and having them flutter away from my finger… I could remotely hear him telling me that I had come in touch with my feminine side and poking fun of me for hours on end.
Ehh… Actually, I kind of missed his corny ass.
I took a moment to pull up my character sheet and dumped two of my AP into intelligence and the other in strength. I wasn’t sure exactly where to put my LP, but since I was anxious to level up my Mentalism skill, I decided to save it. I was almost to level 2 in the skill, and I figured that leveling up to 3 would come easily. If I could save it until then, I could skip level 3 entirely and hit level 4 in a short amount of time.
I jumped back onto Sora, and we continued east another minute before I noticed the dark green grass under us was gradually turning into a thicker, tan grass that rose higher out of the ground. All of the hills were starting to level out, and in front us of was mostly flat land with sparse low-level hills and an occasional tall tree. If back on Earth, I’d describe it somewhat like an African savannah.
“I think it’s safe to say we’re in a new zone,” Jeremy said, noticing the change in scenery as well.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure we are,” I said.
Sung put his hand over his eyes to block the sun and looked towards the horizon. “Yo, is that a freakin’ giraffe?”
We all turned in the direction he was looking and mimicked him by putting our hands over our eyes, and sure enough, far in the distance there was something that appeared to be a giraffe. It used its long neck to munch on the leaves at the top of a tree.
I smiled. “That’s awesome. Let’s go check it out…”
“What about that?” Keysia said as she pointed her finger towards the other side of the horizon. “There’s a large structure over there. It could be what we’re looking for.”
Again, I used my hand to block the sun and gazed where Keysia was pointing. There was indeed something that was large and man-made far in the distance. I looked back to the giraffe and again to the structure. “Ehhh… forget the giraffe. It’s best we head towards that building to see if it’s what we’re searching for. We’ll need to travel all the way back to Edgewood, so we need to consider our timing.”
“True that,” Jeremy said.
We rode quickly through the thick, dry grass towards the structure, and as we approached, I could see that it was even bigger than it appeared from afar.
It looked like a large pyramid that had the top half of it shaved off, and four tall pillars rose out of each end. Even more grand were the massive, gray, hundred-foot statues that stood between the four pillars at the top of the structure. One statue was of an orc with a completely shaved head everywhere except the back center, where a long, stone ponytail fell down almost to his waist. The immortalized orc had his chest puffed out, his arms crossed, and he grimaced as he stared ahead.
Immediately in front of the orc was another humanoid statue of nearly the same size but of a slightly heartier build. Though it stood on two legs and had its muscular arms crossed the same as the orc, it appeared to be a lion of some sort, with thick paws and a lush mane surrounding its neck and head.
“Yo, this looks epic!” Sung said as we rode up close to the landmark.
“Whatever this is, it must be important,” I said.
The bottom half of the pyramid structure formed steps leading up to its flattened top on every edge, and while I was certain that Sora could climb it, I wasn’t so certain that Betsy or Sally could make it up there safely.
I rose my chin towards a small tree nearby. “You guys should tie off the horses, so we can head up to explore.”
Jeremy and Sung nodded as Keysia and I hopped off Sora.
You should guard Betsy and Sally, I projected to Sora.
Sora bobbed her head. Yes, Gunnar. How long will you be gone?
I shook my head. Depends on what’s up there. We might be back right away if there’s nothing to see, but it could be a while if there’s more to look into.
She bobbed again. Be careful, father.
You be careful.
I’m perfectly capable of protecting my—
Yeah, yeah, I interrupted. You can protect yourself. You’re a big girl now. I chuckled and winked at her.
Hmph! Sora projected as she swung her head and pranced over to the tree where Jeremy and Sung were tying down the horses.
I felt like a dad with a teenage girl going through puberty. I was halfway sure she was joking with her mental huff, but she was getting a little bit on the diva side. The sudden questioning about my love life and pushback on random things… Whatever it was, it was surprising, yet rather amusing. I still loved my girl.
Once the horses were tied off, Sora took a seat in front of Sally and Betsy, and the two-legged members of our party started climbing the side of the strange pyramid. I started counting the steps as we climbed and lost count at over a hundred.
When we reached the top of the pyramid, we all looked up to the towering statues in front of us. They appeared even loftier and more impressive at close range. Between the two statues was a small stone chamber that rose up with a stone door attached to its front.
“Look over there,” Keysia said, pointing to the left.
I turned to where she was pointing, and in the far corner was a large runestone. Immediately in front of the runestone was a creature that looked like the same race as the lion statue, albeit closer to man size. He was kneeling in front of the runestone with his hands together, and his head touched the floor below.
You have failed to inspect your target.
Jeremy pooched his lips then looked back up to the statue. “If I squint really hard, the statue and that guy look a little bit like Trynzen.”
I thought about it for a moment, and I could see his point. Though the statue and the man on the ground both bore a hearty, powerful appearance, they had some similarities to Trynzen. They all had lions’ manes, but Trynzen was decrepit and hardly powerful looking. And while the man praying at the statue had a lush, white fur, Trynzen’s might have been the same color somewhere under the dirt and grime that had been caked over him when we met.
“If he’s like Trynzen, then we must be on the right track,” I said low.
“Well, let’s ask him what he knows,” Jeremy suggested.
“It’s rude to interrupt people while they’re praying,” Keysia said.
“Either way, Jeremy, Sung, and I should probably bind to the Runestone, so if anything happens, we’ll respawn here.” I started towards the runestone and waved my hand for everyone to follow. “Just be ready to fight in case he’s hostile.”
We approached the runestone quietly and cautiously, trying not to disturb the praying humanoid the best that we could. Though the lion man didn’t seem to notice us right away, as soon as we all placed our hand on the runestone and finished binding, he raised his head up and looked a little startled.
You have bound to this location. Using a Recall Home spell or death will return you to this position.
“Humans…” the lion man said with a snarl, creasing his brow low. He scrambled to his feet, revealing his tall, muscular frame, at least three or four inches taller than any of us. He wore a draping brown leather loincloth that had a golden metal circle on the front and chestpiece that was composed of four metal straps overlapping each other. It didn’t look like it would provide a lot of protection, but it gave him a sinister, barbarian-like appearance. Rising from his back was a thick sword with several gems sparkling from its hilt. “Why are you here?”
I cleared my throat. “We came—“
“And you travel with a dark elf?” he interrupted as his head turned to Keysia.
Keysia grinned shyly.
“Yeah, she’s with us,” I said confidently, trying to stave off any sort of racism the lion man may have had. “And as I was trying to say, we came looking for the Peace Temple.”
The lion’s brow creased even harder. “What business do you have at the Peace Temple?”
“We’re searching for something,” I explained. “No harm intended.”
“Well, then, you’ve arrived. What more do you need?” the lion asked.
“So, this is the Peace Temple, then?” I asked.
The lion nodded. “There’s only a runestone and statues here, so I can’t imagine what you’d be seeking unless you’ve come to pray.”
I turned back towards the statues and recalled what Trynzen told Jeremy and I when we were in the Highcastle prison. He said that whatever he hid was left under a ‘broken Barbaros’, but he also claimed that he was a Barbaros. I still wasn’t certain if the man standing in front of me was a Barbaros or not, but even if they were the same race, I saw nothing around that was broken.
“Are you a Barbaros?” I asked.
The lion man snarled his nose. “Are you taunting me, human? Of course, I’m a Barbaros.”
“Apologies,” Keysia said. “It’s our first time in this area, and it’s the first time my friends are seeing one of your kind, I believe.”
“You believe?” the Barbaros asked.
I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry if I offended you… We’re just—“
“If you wish to pray, pray,” the Barbaros interrupted. “Otherwise, leave me alone.”
I swallowed. Though the Barbaros was friendly enough, I could tell his patience was running thin. I looked towards the only other obvious unknown. “The door over there. Can you at least tell us where that leads?”
The Barbaros huffed. “The inside of the Peace Temple isn’t secure. It’s been overtaken by monsters and vile filth for ages. I don’t suggest you enter if you value your safety.”
Of course, I thought, feeling that his response was a further indicator that I was on the right track. I wouldn’t expect Trynzen’s quest to be a walk in the park. “Thanks,” I said.
The Barbaros said nothing back, kneeled and returned to praying.
“Let’s check the Barbaros statue, just in case,” I whispered to my team as we started walking away. “Trynzen said he hid his trinket under a broken Barbaros. If there’s something broken out here, maybe the quest will be short-lived. If not, we’ll try the door.”
As we walked up close to the statue, Jeremy did a quick survey of the land surrounding the temple. “There’s nothing else of interest as far as I can see. If it’s not up here, it’s definitely got to be somewhere behind the door.”
