World Tree Online: The Order of Epic Grinders: 4th Dive Read online

  +0 Armor

  Bonus Stats: N/A

  Wrists:

  Holy Fired Light Leather Bracers

  +10 Armor

  Bonus Stats: +10-Endurance, +10-Stamina, +10-Holy Spell Damage and Healing

  Hands:

  Holy Fired Light Leather Gloves

  +20 Armor

  Bonus Stats: +10-Strength, +10-Dexterity, +10-Intellect, +10-Holy Spell Damage and Healing

  Arm Accessory 1:

  Empty

  Bonus Stats: N/A

  Arm Accessory 2:

  Empty

  Bonus Stats: N/A

  Finger Accessory 1:

  Ivaldi's Gratitude

  Bonus Stats: A gift of thanks from the God Ivaldi for saving his daughter. +10-Intellect, +20-Holy Spell Damage and Healing

  Finger Accessory 2:

  Holy Order Ring of Justice

  Bonus Stats: +5-Strength, +5-Dexterity, +5-Endurance, +5-Stamina, +5 Intellect, +5 Wisdom, +5-Spell Holy Damage and Healing, Increased experience gains for all Goddess granted skills by 50%

  Waist:

  Holy Fired Light Leather Belt

  +15 Armor

  Bonus Stats: +10-Endurance, +10-Stamina, +10-Holy Spell Damage and Healing

  Leg Clothing:

  Cotton Jeans

  +0 Armor

  Bonus Stats: N/A

  Leg Armor:

  Holy Fired Light Leather Leg-Guards

  +50 Armor

  Bonus Stats: +15-Endurance, +15-Intellect, +15-Wisdom, +30 Holy Spell Damage and Healing

  Feet Clothing

  Silk Socks

  +0 Armor

  Bonus Stats: N/A

  Feet:

  Holy Fired Light Leather Boots

  +20 Armor

  Bonus Stats: +10-Dexterity, +10-Endurance, +10-Stamina, +10-Holy Spell Damage and Healing

  Main-Hand/Two-Handed:

  Spear of Gungnir II

  57-60 1h Dmg, 76-80 2h Dmg

  Bonus Stats: The Spear of Gungnir is a legendary weapon of Odin, the All-Father of the Norse Pantheon. While this is but a pale imitation, it is still most formidable. One-Handed Base Attack Speed 2.00 – One-Handed Weapon Damage 57-60 (Scalable to Lvl 20 - +3-Damage per level) – Two-Handed Base Attack Speed 1.80 – Two Handed Weapon Damage 76-80 (Scalable to Lvl 20 - +4-Damage per level) – +20-Dexterity, +20-Stamina,+20-Intellect, +20-Mana Regeneration, +80-Holy Spell Damage and Healing (Scalable to Lvl 20 - +4-Holy Spell Damage and Healing per level) – Unbreakable – Soulbound

  Off-Hand:

  Holy Fired Phalanx Shield

  +50 Armor

  Bonus Stats: +20-Endurance, +10-Stamina, +10-Holy Spell Damage and Healing

  Charm:

  Thundering Lion Charm

  Bonus Stats: +20-Strength, +20-Stamina - Equipping will teach you 'Thunder Strike' 123/250

  Bag:

  200 lbs. Traveler's Satchel

  Bonus Stats: N/A

  “I’m good,” I said, dismissing the information windows and looking over to Rose.

  “Good here,” Rose said. “Send us back, Maggie.”

  Maggie smiled then said, “Enjoy your adventure.”

  The room faded to black and in an instant, I was stepping clear of the portal and back into Root City. I couldn’t stop the smile that formed on my face as I took in the sights and sounds around me. The clopping of horses’ hooves on cobblestone, vendors barking goods . . . or were those players, didn’t matter. I was back, and unlike last month, I had a clear goal. I needed to find a way to beat Epic and to reverse what was done to everyone.

  “Oi, don’t just stand there, Jack. Let’s go meet our friends,” Rose said, giving me a playful shove forward.

  I rolled my eyes. I could have complained and made a mountain out of a molehill over that shove. Instead, I just offered my arm to Rose, which she happily accepted.

  Together we took our time walking to the hotel, the same hotel we put Marie, Ash, and Loral up in the previous month. Inside we were immediately greeted by Olaf, Vision, and Marie.

  “Bye-bye, Rose, you are back,” Vision said gleefully. The Spirit Wolf was Micaela’s reward for saving the little guys mother. He had the ability to shift in and out of the spirit plane at will, which allowed him to hide from almost everyone and everything. Beyond that, he also had very advanced eyes that allowed him to see things most of us could not. With time, he would be the ultimate scout.

  “Hello Vision,” I said, reaching a hand down to give him a good scratch behind the ear.

  “I have missed that scratch,” Vision said with a contented sigh.

  “Welcome back, Bye-bye, Rose,” Marie said, then shifted her stance, looking almost predatory. “And now that you are here, we can finally upgrade that spear of yours and bring me one step closer to regaining my Godly status.” Marie was once the Duchess of Hammerton, a Dwarven City in the Hammer and Anvil Mountain Valley province. After we helped settle a war between Hammerton and Anvilton, Marie faked her death and changed her name. She has been following me around since, though only because completing the quest to remake the Legendary spear Gungnir, my Legendary Spear quest at that, is her ticket to becoming a Goddess . . . again. Anyway, she was an amazing Blacksmith and a Paladin unto herself. All this in addition to being pushy.

  “Hey, at least let me say hello before you drag him off,” Olaf complained. Olaf was a Minotaur. He stood about a head taller than me with only the short brown of his fur . . . hair . . . whatever covering his head. Olaf played an Artillery class, the two large hand cannons holstered on each hip were his primary weapons. Supposedly, he would be getting an actual cannon in a few levels. I was excited to see what kind of damage he’d be able to do then.

  Marie sighed, “Fine, fine, if you must.”

  “I must,” Olaf joked. “Welcome back, mates.”

  “I’m not sure how I feel about being called a mate, but it is nice to see you, Olaf,” Rose said before I could say anything.

  “Good to see you, Olaf,” I said, mirth in my voice from Rose’s teasing.

  “Alright, still waiting on Heath, Baby, and Titan,” Olaf said.

  “I’m here,” Baby said, fluttering into the hotel lobby.

  “Hey, Baby, welcome back,” Olaf said cheerfully. “No Titan?”

  “Not this month. Titan fell a little behind on his leveling last month from spending all that time with us. His sponsors insist he needs to get back on track,” Baby explained. “But he did say, if we get into trouble, he would be more than happy to help us out again.”

  Titan was Baby’s fiancé and possibly the highest-level player in the game. His Bearfae or half-Bear, half-Sprite was an odd character. Especially once you considered the massive blue bear he used as a mount. He was a pretty good guy from what I could tell after the time we all spent with him the previous month.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Olaf said. “Alright, that just leaves Heath.”

  Heath was possibly the strangest person in our little adventuring party. He played as a Thief when we first met him, but as of the end of the last dive, he was now a Jack of All which combined Thief, Mage, and Bard into some kind of super-in-betweener. And in spite of his past as an infamous Player Killer, I liked the man. He had his faults, like speaking with a really bad British accent or cracking jokes at the absolute worst time. But he was also reliable . . . in his own way.

  “Where is Micaela?” Rose asked, taking note of Olaf’s missing wife. “Is she not coming this month?”

  Which left Micaela as the only other missing player of our group. Micaela was our Shaman and she was awesome at it. I often think of Micaela as a large pixie on a sugar rush in the form of a Minotaur. She uses totems that each had a unique ability that worked on a Global Cool Down (GCD) system. We often complained about her being overpowered, but then they complained about me all the same.

  “Nah, she’s in Hurligville setting up an Order House,” Olaf replied, grinning.

  “Wait, what?” Rose and I echoed each other.
>
  “Yeah, so get this. Last week when we logged out, Dawson himself came to pay us a visit. Apparently, no one has built an Order House in another province. No one has had enough reputation to do so, or not enough people have. Anyway, he saw that Mic and I did. He gave us a voucher to form an Order of Service and another voucher for land and supplies in whichever province we chose to build in. With our daughter starting to play this month, Mic and I decided Hurligville was the best option,” Olaf explained. “Anyway, I figured we could take a week or so to help her set that up then head to another province and see what kind of trouble we could get into.”

  I didn’t like the idea of losing a week. Part of me wondered what Dawson was up to. Did he do this because they were my friends or was it a coincidence? Then again, these were my friends and for as much as they had helped me, the least I could do was help them. “Alright, I’m in for a week, but no more than that. Chaos is still out there, and we need to beat It again.”

  “What is it with you and Chaos?” Olaf asked with a shake of his head. “And yeah, don’t worry about it. We’ll have plenty of time to go hunting for another adventure. As far as I know, we just need to build the Order House to officially found the Order. With the granted supplies, it shouldn’t take more than a few days to build the most basic of Order Houses.”

  “Olaf, this is Micaela we’re talking about, right?” Rose asked.

  Olaf furrowed his brow in confusion, then asked, “Yeah, what about it?”

  “The same Micaela that wanted to build a castle?” Rose prompted.

  “Oh,” Olaf said dumbly, his shoulder sagging. “You don’t think they gave her that much land, do you?”

  “Who’s to say?” Rose said with a shrug. “This is Hurligville we’re talking about. A place where the people almost worship the ground we walk on.”

  “Right,” Olaf said contemplatively. “So, uh, let’s be quick in Root City. We need to get to Hurligville as soon as possible. I just hope it’s before Micaela starts construction on something crazy . . . like a castle.”

  “Okay, you want to wait here for Heath while I go with Marie to complete the next step of my spear?” I asked, looking to the large Minotaur Artillery.

  “I can do that,” Olaf said.

  “And where are Nahid, Loral, and Sooty?” Rose asked, looking around.

  Loral and Sooty were two more Dwarves we picked up after the events that occurred in the Hammer and Anvil Mountain Valley. Sooty was once the son of the Duke of Anvilton. Like Marie, he faked his death and now followed us around on our adventures. Loral was Sooty’s childhood friend and apparently in love with him. So much so, that she followed him and quickly married him. Sooty was a really good outdoorsman type, even though his class was Guerilla. His class made sense when he was fighting as a rebel to free Anvilton from his father’s tyranny. Now, he mostly just hunted and collected pelts for the leather for his wife, who was a Leatherworker. That was what she did. I was sure she had a class. I just had no idea what it was. We never really asked.

  Nahid was an Assassin that was once part of the Ardentia Guild, which was actually more a love cult. Anyway, she tried to kill me. I captured her. She was imprisoned until the dragon dust, a popular drug in the World Tree, cleared her system. Then she was put into my custody, even though Loral and Sooty looked after her the most.

  “Loral and Sooty are where they always are,” Marie answered, her eyes flicking upwards where the rooms were located.

  “Are they trying to have a kid?” Olaf asked bluntly.

  Marie just shrugged. “They are Dwarves like I am a Dwarf. Dwarves typically do four things. We build things. We drink. We fight. And we make sweet, sweet love.”

  “We get the idea,” I quickly cut her off.

  “As for the hellion, Nahid is probably sitting right next to me, just waiting to drop out of ‘Stealth’ and scare years off my life,” Marie added, looking to Vision for confirmation.

  “She is not next to you,” Vision answered, then turning his head, he said, “She’s next to Olaf.”

  The small Catgirl Assassin appeared, stuck her tongue out at Vision then vanished again.

  “I rest my case,” Marie said, glaring at the now empty space next to Olaf.

  Olaf just sighed. He was losing control of the conversation again.

  “Now, back to the really important matter,” Baby said, focusing in on Olaf. Then, looking for answers, she asked, “What’s this about your daughter playing?”

  Olaf perked right back up and grinned excitedly. “Yeah, our daughter is on summer hols. She wanted to come to the World Tree because that was where her dorm mate and current best friend was going to spend her hols,” he answered, his grin never leaving his face. “I can’t wait to see what she’s going to do. I’m sure Mic will get her squared away in Hurligville in no time.”

  “I’m kind of excited to be paying a visit to Hurligville,” Baby said. “I wonder how David and Trini are getting on. And Homer and Margie. Ooh, I can’t wait to see Dogson.”

  “Good people I hope,” Marie said.

  “They are, you’ll like them,” Baby replied.

  “Okay, enough gossiping. I’ll wait here for Heath. Marie, Bye-bye, and Rose, why don’t you three head for the Temple of the God Ivaldi and see about upgrading that stick of yours,” Olaf ordered. I glared at him for calling my spear a stick, but before I could correct him, he continued speaking, “Baby, do you need to make another trip to the Fairy Tree? You’ve been level 20 for a while and I’m sure there are some new things they can teach you.”

  “That’s actually a really good idea,” Baby said, nodding in agreement. “I’ll head there now and meet you in Hurligville in a few days.”

  “Be safe, Sis,” Rose said, giving Baby a hug before the Fairy could escape.

  “I will, I will,” Baby said, rolling her eyes. “Just . . . stay out of trouble until I can join you.”

  Rose shrugged. “You know me, I never get into trouble. Jack on the other hand-” she said, leaving the thought to hang for Baby to fill in the blanks.

  “Good point,” Baby agreed, turning to me she said, “Bye-bye, try not to get into trouble before I meet up with all of you.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I intoned flatly.

  “Jack and I will stop by our temples after we finish the spear upgrade,” Rose said.

  Olaf nodded. “Alright, let’s plan to meet up here around five and we’ll go from there,” he said, getting nods of agreement in return.

  “Great, let us go, Bye-bye and Rose,” Marie said, taking my free arm and guiding us out of the hotel and into the streets.

  “How did everything go with getting the Diamond Heart cut?” I asked.

  “Difficult,” Marie answered.

  “Expensive?” I asked.

  “Very, but the money you left with me was enough to cover it, though just barely,” Marie replied. “I am more concerned that the ruddy craftsman has got a big mouth and might have told some unsavory types. I think someone was following me the other day so be on guard.”

  After hearing that, I freed myself of both Rose and Marie, and with a mental command, I equipped my Spear. I held it at the ready as a sort of warning to anyone that got any ideas about jumping us. Next to me, Rose did the same, equipping her shield-wall then moving to stand on the other side of Marie.

  Unbothered by the extra protection, Marie said, “Anyway, seeing as we have an extra heart and now that Micaela is building an Order House, and assuming it is big enough, I would like to use the other heart to build a magical workshop and forge,” she paused briefly as if wanting an answer, but then she continued, giving me reasons why it was a good idea before I could even respond. “If we have our own magical workshop and forge, we do not need to risk coming to my father’s forge to upgrade your spear anymore, which means fewer prying eyes. It will also increase the quality of anything made by the members of Micaela’s new Order. And it is just a good investment as magical workshops and forges are rare, even in Root Ci
ty. Many crafters will pay handsomely to make use of them. And . . . and . . . well, what do you think?”

  I held up my open hand and tried to wave off her concerns, then I answered, “I think that sounds like a good idea. You just need to talk to Micaela and Olaf, it’s their Order House.” And it was their Order House . . . and Order for that matter, I was just along to help find quests.

  “But it’s your Diamond Heart,” Marie countered.

  “Then consider it payment for all the work you’ve done for us and the work you’ll do in the future with that new magical forge,” I said, reaching for my bag only for Marie to stop me.

  “Not in the open. Are you daft?” Marie whispered harshly, then looking around nervously. “Let us just get moving, I do not know how long it is going to take to heat the spear this time to be able to place the heart, but the sooner it is done, the better.”

  We wound our ways through the streets with relative ease, having gotten used to the path for all the times we’d visited the Dwarven God’s temple. Marie had barely entered when the master forge flared to life and the giant anvil, that served as the God Ivaldi’s altar, shrunk down to an appropriate size.

  “Spear,” Marie said, holding out a hand to me expectantly, prompting me to hand over my weapon.

  Taking the weapon in hand, Marie walked toward the forge and placed the top quarter of the spear into the already blazing hot coals. “It is going to get hot in here.”

  It wasn’t like there was anything I could do about it. At least I had the ‘Heat Resistance’ skill maxed out, reducing any damage I might receive from extreme temperatures by 50%.

  “And now we wait,” Rose commented, already sounding bored.

  “I would say we spar, but I don’t have a weapon,” I said, digging into my bag to look for the books I received from Sirac at the end of the last dive. ‘Magical Preparation’ and ‘Chaos Theory’, both books from Sirac’s private collection and both very valuable to me. I pulled out the ‘Magical Preparation’ book, making the assumption that I would have down time in the evenings later to read ‘Chaos Theory’.