Jonathan A Countyman
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Chapter Eight Testing Limits
🕑 Added 2022-12-27 16:41:02 +0000 UTCLily looked around, as she had hoped the beach was deserted. No surprise there, it was late, and most people were eating dinner or getting ready for bed at this hour. As such there were no village kids playing on the beach, and no fisherman pulling in a haul. A number of small boats were neatly lined up on the shore, and tied down with wooden pegs. They had been dragged ashore earlier, and secured as the local fisherman always did. This village didn’t have the luxury of a proper pier.
She stretched her fingers a bit while feeling a little excited. What should she cast first? She knew a few spells. Should she start small with something like dark bolt? Her mind reviewed her spell list. She knew a few elemental bolt spells, a spell called Infernal Lightning, a couple of teleportation spells including Lesser Teleport, and Lesser Long-Jump, and a few demon summoning spells. She wasn’t going to try using those spells yet. Instead her mind was drawn to three powerful sounding spells she wanted to try out, Infernal Maelstrom, Heaven’s Fall, and Demonic Judgment.
She selected one of them, took a breath, and then began to chant. Almost immediately she felt the spell drawing on her mana. The drain was intense in a good way, she smiled as she felt the pleasurable feeling shoot through her like lightning. This was fun! Above, the sky began to glow with infernal light, as a massive fireball formed with her words.
It started small, and soon grew to shocking size, and then with a suddenness, the ball fell from the sky like a meteor. A roar, and a crack resounded as the roiling hellfire carreened through the sky, and then crashed into the lake with massive force. It exploded, steam hissed, and the land shook. A wave of hot fog roiled outward with such speed that her vision was blocked in seconds. She felt the heat upon her skin, but it didn’t burn as shields glowed a bit.
She panted, a quick glance at her status showed that she had only five points of mana left. Her shield points had dropped a little too, but only by fourteen. Not that bad. In the corner of her vision she saw numerous notifications blinking. She ignored them for now, and instead turned her attention out toward the lake.
The fog cleared to reveal a massive crater, its sides melted, and water was already rushing in to fill it. The sides of this massive crater reached the beach she was standing on, which was now... half the previous size. The row of boats on shore was all gone, not a single boat had been spared the wrath of her spell. A shudder rippled up her spine just moments before she heard a shout, “LILY THORN WHAT IN THE INFERNAL PLAINS DID YOU DO!?”
Lily turned, to find her mother behind her, and she didn’t look happy. She gulped, as she realized that she might be in a bit of trouble. Maybe I shouldn’t have used Heaven’s Fall? Only how was she supposed to know that spell would have an effect like a nuke? Well, actually that was more in line with an Orbital Slammer, but more confined. Yeah, definitely not a primitive nuke, that was clearly an orbital strike. She recalled seeing the kind of devastation those caused in history class, this was like firing off a little orbital slammer as nukes didn’t quite do the same type of damage as she just caused. She recalled the use of Orbital Slammers had changed the world, they were weapons that replaced the Nuke as the ultimate WMD, and now she had the ability to cast a spell able to inflict a similar level of damage. Damn, was she ever OP, and if she could do that at a mere level five, she had to wonder what she could do at Mom’s level. Mom was the highest leveled permanent resident in the whole village. The only person she knew with a higher level was the Nature Guardian.
“LILY! Are you listening to me?”
Lily looked away, “um, yes?”
Ivy glared, “Young lady, you really should be listening to me.” then she pointed at the crater, “Now would you mind telling me what on Solkira possessed you to use a Strategic Grade spell right next to our house?”
“Um, I uh... wanted to see how strong I was?”
Ivy gave her a look, “Really? You know I can tell when you aren’t giving me the full truth. Now what really possessed you to use that spell?”
Lily sighed, and after a moment decided to share her quest.
Ivy blinked, and then gave her a look, “Lily! Why didn’t you share this with me earlier?”
“I only just got it, and was trying to figure out what to do about it?”
Ivy sighed, “and you didn’t think to talk to us before accepting it? What were you thinking?”
“It just popped up while I was... daydreaming.”
Ivy seemed to look over the quest, “I see. So, um, what is this bit about a deathmate?”
Lily turned red, and quickly replied, “Um, nothing!”
Ivy shook her head, “I see, well, I’ll find out eventually. Now go pack. I have to talk to your father, but don’t think this talk is over. In fact, until further notice consider yourself grounded young lady!”
“But mom!”
Ivy pointed at the destroyed beach, “No arguments, just look at what you did!”
Lily slumped, “Yes mom, and about my quest?”
“That is why I want you to pack. Now go.”
Lily sighed, and trotted off for the house. She had a strong feeling this wasn’t over. In the background she heard her mother talking to herself, “Honestly that girl. Why couldn’t I have had a normal child?” A sigh was let loose as she continued to mutter, “I just hope Zemoria didn’t notice this. Who am I kidding? Of course that old dragon noticed, I’m sure this could be seen for miles.”
After that, she heard no more as she entered the house. Lily was left wondering who this Zemoria figure was, and why Mom seemed worried about her noticing.
Ivy made her way to the house. It had been a bit since she had sent Lily to pack, and she still had to talk to Thanton about this. Leave it to her only child to ruin what had been almost nine years of peaceful village life. Her mind then drifted to her daughter’s little quest. That was going to be a bit of a trip, they weren’t too far from the Borderlands. She mentally tallied what they would need, and how much coin she had saved up. Especially since she doubted they would be coming back. If Zemoria had noticed, this village would no longer be safe.
So they were going to need to bring along a fair bit to afford a new home. The question was where? The Empire seemed tempting, but she had heard a few rumors she didn’t like, so that was a no. The Theocracy was a definite no, they were a bunch of slaving bastards who worshiped that weird god Aurous. That left coming back to the Bluewood, which wasn’t a good choice, Zemoria might be watching for that. She could risk entry into Stormwind, but she knew the dragon nested in that kingdom. That left two options, building a new home in the Borderlands, or immigrating to Ironbarrow. Both were possibly good options, it really depended on how things looked in the Borderlands. She figured she would keep her mind open, and pack accordingly. They were going to need food, water, sleeping bags, clothing, wards, a few extra hands would also be essential. She figured two more people to help them keep a watch at night.
With a sigh, she pulled up her dreaded status page, as she planned the trip.
Name: Ivy Thorn
Gender: Female
Race: Dragonblessed Elf
Level: 48
Age: 56
Health: 100% (Perfect Health)
Class: Primal Draconic Nature Mage of Restoration
Shields: 15,000/15,000
Subclass: Rebel Dragon Priestess
Mana: 19,200/19,200
Titles: Zemoria’s Pupil, Zemoria’s chosen High Priestess, Runaway, Rebel, Mother of a God’s Champion, Former C-Rank Adventurer
She hated her status, and she glanced at her level. It was still alright for her age, but she had really fallen behind on her progress. It was alright though, since she wasn’t an adventurer anymore. A part of her hoped that her past would stay in the past a little longer, and whatever happened, Zemoria wasn’t coming near her innocent little girl. Mark her words, Lily was going to be safe from that evil dragon. One that she had been so foolish to trust once upon a time.
With those thoughts in mind, she entered the house and started looking for Thanton. She found him in his workshop doing maintenance on his gear. Her husband was one of the town's hunters and had some skills as a man of the forest. It showed in his class. He was only level twenty-seven, but he had already evolved his class. It wasn’t a basic class like most of the people in the village, but that seemed to be a theme in their family. Not even her daughter Lily had a normal class. Although in Lily’s case she had gotten mixed up with the Dark God Erosi. Ivy still wasn’t sure what to think about that, even if it had been a few years since that happened. While she wasn’t sure where Lily had learned that spell from, she was willing to wager Erosi taught her.
Before she even said a word, Thanton spoke up, “I presume we are leaving?”
She nodded, and then remembered his back was turned, “We are. Lily has a quest in the Borderlands, and after what she did I don’t feel comfortable staying here.”
“I saw. You did well dealing with the townsfolk. How much coin did we lose?”
“A couple of gold marks worth. I still have more than enough saved up for a trip though.”
He turned, “That is good. I’m nearly done getting my gear ready. Why don’t you leave me here to pack, and go hire a couple of adventurers from the local guild? I think we could use the help.”
“I was thinking the same. We need supplies for at least a month to reach the Borderlands, and then factoring a further trip to the nearest town in Ironbarrow, that is another month and a half. I’d say pack at least three months just to be safe.”
He sighed, “Why not buy a couple of Stalpeks, and a wagon? We could take more of our stuff that way. Especially since I don’t think it's fair to Lily to just leave all her things behind, and I’d rather not start a new home from scratch somewhere else.”
She nodded, that was a good idea, and unlike horses, a Stalpek was better suited to the terrain of the great forests that covered much of this region. Both the kingdom of Bluewood, and the Kingdom of Stormwind were covered with great forests. The borderlands contained the edge of those great woods transitioning into plains, and grassland to the south, and mountains to the northwest. As she recalled, the Borderlands themselves were dotted with hills, a few small streams, and a river that began somewhere in Ironbarrow, and meandered its way to feed into the great lake her village set on the edge of.
“Agreed, those will be useful.”
Misaki shifted a bit, as she blinked sleepily. Idly she noted the presence of two naked bodies pressed against her. She felt quite content at the moment, and didn’t particularly feel like moving. A part of her wondered how long she had been asleep. With a thought she cast her vision out across her dungeon, it proved easy, instinctive. A quick glance showed that those two were still having fun, in fact they had been joined by a few others since she had gone to sleep. A part of her felt a little jealous, but she had two cute ones pressed against her right now, and that felt really good. She sighed, shifted a little more, and drifted back to sleep. Her problems could wait, and right now she felt quite happy to lie here pressed against two naked girls.
