~‌‌ ‌‌2.18 ‌‌-‌‌ Red, White & Blue Royal ~‌‌

 

Southern Road To Duskgrove

4th Spirtday of the Full Moon

As soon as the large bright yellow marble crashed into Tenzin’s head and shattered, I felt a feeling of pure ecstasy. A torrent of Energy had entered both of my hands, knocking me back onto my ass. Opening my eyes, I could see two prompts.

 

 

 

“Oh, that can’t be good,” I said.

 

“Depends on who’s eyes they are. Could be a great boon or a calamity for us,” Tenzin said as he stood up.

 

“You have my eternal graduate, Bob. You’ve saved my life, as well as shared a future boon from the gods with me. I’m not sure if I can ever repay that favor.”

 

“There is something you could do to repay me right now if you can afford it,” Bob said.

 

“Coin? You think coin could pay this debt back?”

 

“Oh? Well, it could be a start? I need 50 gold. See…”

 

Tenzin flipped me a colorful coin, immediately shutting me up. I looked down and studied the coin in my paw. The metal was bright white. The center of the side facing up was a large spire or tower filled in with red material, and the outside filled in with bright blue material. On the flip side was a planet that I assumed was Mea. The water was filled in with the same bright blue material as the other side, the white metal land. Outside of the planet was the same bright red material as the tower.

 

“What’s this, Tenzin?”

 

“A Royal.”

 

“Wow, the craftsmanship is stunning. Worth 100 gold, right?”

 

Tenzin nodded. The adventurers, town guard, and the red plated grew closer. I placed the Royal into my inventory.

 

“By the baron’s authority, I place you under arrest!” shouted one of the men in red plate.

 

The town guard and adventurers all looked at the man like he had suddenly grown a second head.

 

“Under what grounds?” a large ape looking adventurer asked.

 

“You all saw him; he stole the core from the Dragon Eater and used it. Such cores should be brought before the territory’s leaders to be debated on the best use.”

 

“You mean so that the baron can steal it?” another adventurer said.

 

The men in the red plate were now distancing themselves from the adventurers.

 

“He used it to save my life. The core was rightfully his, this I swear. Bob was the one to land the killing blow on the Dragon Eater. Anyone who says otherwise will deal with me,” Tenzin said.

 

It took up till then for the town guard and red plates to recognize the man standing next to the cat. As each realized it was Tenzin, the soldiers each bowed and slowly backed away.

 

“The cat killed it? I didn’t see that. How! Tell us the tale!” One of the Dwarf adventurers shouted.

 

“Bob can tell it. Meanwhile, let me take care of things here,” Tenzin said.

 

As the crowd drifted towards me, Tenzin removed an enormous meat cleaver from his bag and headed off towards the dead Dragon Eater. Pulling my attention away from the old Elf, I turned toward the twenty or so sets of eyes waiting for me to speak. After pausing for precisely one second to access 475 of Earth’s most famous storytellers,  I settled on one particular 20th-century writer. With a toothy grin, I began telling my audience about my Fast-Ball Special, Tenzin’s magnetic spear, and how those rune arrows saved us all.

 

***

 

Tenzin couldn’t believe how the events of today unfolded. It was the first time he had gone all out in decades. He was amazed the cat’s crazy idea worked, launching himself and letting every arrow go at the same time, allowing the spear’s formation to pull in every single one of them. The ancient Elf began to wonder how else he could use his old bag of tricks differently. 

 

As he mulled over such things, the Elf began to butcher the Dragon Eater’s corpse. Now that it was dead, the Energy stored within its body no longer provided protection as it did before. His chef’s knife easily sliced through the muscle and bone. Every last part was inside his bag. Tenzin was already thinking about which merchants he would sell everything for Bob’s benefit. 

 

The cat had chosen to share a Divine Core with him. Either the pint-sized hero had no idea what should have been solely his, or he just didn’t care. Tenzin couldn’t fathom any other doing so with such a treasure. The 4230 Energy filled him to the brim and then some. He would now be able to adventure out from his Lorien for several days. 

 

Tenzin looked over to Bob as the cat craftily told everyone how they took down the Dragon Eater. He thought to himself that Stuglegen would be the best place to sell the parts. And while he was there, maybe he could find something that would help out Bob and his companion on their journey through the first world.

 

Now that he had the attention of the gods, thanks to Bob, he would need to carefully choose a boon, then head up to the second world. Most boons would most likely put his Energy requirements over what even his Lorien could sustain at his current level. All choices seemed to point to the fact it was time for him to leave Mea. Tenzin would leave his kin with the resources to have a very comfortable life here. He would first head to Stuglegen, then return and repay some of the debt he had now accrued. Then the old Elf would head for The Spire.

 

***

 

Flea had just handed out his last piece of candy to the pleading Satyr. Laral had never had sweets before and had found out the hard way he had a huge sweet tooth. The group was still hanging out in the Crystal’s protective barrier. There had been no sightings of a spider bat in a while, but no one was willing to test that out.

 

“Do you think you can get Bob to buy more candy, Flea?” asked Laral.

 

Before Flea could respond, a small bag landed in Laral’s lap. Everyone looked up and over to the wall where stood the oldest Elf they had ever seen and Bob, sitting on one of his shoulders.

 

“Keep them Laral. I’ll try and remember to bring you more.”

 

“Thank you!”

 

The Elf jumped down just outside of the barrier. Upon landing, two spider-bats waiting for someone to leave came rushing towards the two. Bob pulled his bow, killing the far one with two shots. Without even looking, the Elf threw a small dagger. Upon hitting the spider-bat, its head exploded.

 

“All clear. I don’t detect any other hostile intent,” said the old Elf.

 

“Good, Hey Shin, Ord. How much is your buyout?” said Bob, hopping off the Elf and walking into the reddish bubble.

 

“12”

 

“20”

 

The Dwarf and Bugbear eyed one another, then back to the cat, then up to the Elf standing guard outside their protective bubble.

 

“What about you, Uglar?”

 

“Don’t worry about it. I only have three weeks left.”

 

“Alright. Here, this is for Shin, Ord, and us. Can you provide change?”

 

Uglar stumbled to grab the Royal. He mumbled some words under his breath as he studied the coin. His expression was one of surprise and wonder. 

 

“Aye, give me just a moment.”

 

Uglar got up and disappeared into his barracks. The Gnome, Bugbear, and Dwarf all looked down at their hands as it flared hot for a moment, and then the circle was gone.

 

“I would love a long explanation, Bob. But first, can we go to an inn and take a nice hot bath?” said Flea.

 

It took this long for both Ord and Shin to snap out of their stunned surprise. The two got up and made a beeline over to Bob. The large Bugbear picked the cat up and hugged him.

 

“Death by Bugbear Hug,” Bob said and went limp, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

 

Shin, surprised by the reaction, placed Bob down on the ground, very lightly patted him on the head, then took a step back. Bob opened an eye and looked up at Ord, who immediately broke out in a chuckle. 

 

“Thank you, Bob. That was mighty kind of you. We don’t have anything to repay such kindness, but if you head to Stuglegen on your journey, make sure to look us up. Shin and I are going to open an armory and cafe there. We need to get out of Dustgrove before the baron finds an excuse to put us back here,” Ord said.

 

Ord patted Bob on the head and stepped back towards Shin. A few moments later, Uglar came back with 18 gold and handed it to Bob. He then turned to Flea.

 

“Now that your contract is over, I can ask this favor of you.”

 

Hello, my old friend.

 

“We’ll help you clean it out, Uglar. Just give us a few days to take care of some things in town.”

 

“Thank you, Flea. I’ve told Or’lok about what was down there, but he has yet to put in a quest to the Adventurer’s Guild,” said Uglar.

 

The old-looking Elf outside the bubble coughed into his hand.

 

Bob nodded to the Elf, then turned to his companion, “Ah, Flea, we got to go. By the way, this is Tenzin. He’s our ride back to town.”

 

Bob’s remark drew strange looks from everyone. Flea went up to Tenzin with his hand held out. Tenzin looked down, pausing for a moment like he was unsure what to do next, before finally taking the small hand and giving it a solid shake. As the old Elf bent down to shake Flea’s hand, Bob took advantage of that moment to hop back up onto the same shoulder he rode in on. 

“I guess this is goodbye, Shin, Ord. Uglar I’ll see you in a few days.” Flea said.

 

“Oie! What about our firebreath?” one of the Dwarfs yelled out.

 

Bob smacked himself in the forehead. He jumped down and ran over to the group of Dwarfs. The cat took out the five kegs, stacking them in a line.

 

“Enjoy!” said Bob.

 

He then took out a smaller cask and handed it to Uglar.

 

“Thank you, Bob,” Uglar said.

 

Bob acknowledged the Beastkin with a familiar shrug and a smile; then, he jumped back onto Tenzin’s shoulder.

 

“We’re good here, Tenzin,” said Bob.

 

Tenzin then picked up Flea by his midsection, cradling him in the crook of his arm. The Elf cast [Zephyr] and was gone from the camp, leaving nothing behind but a gust of wind. 

 

The group stopped in front of an inn which Tenzin said was the best in town. He hurried them inside and nodded to the barkeep. The old Elf ushered them through one of the backrooms, closing the door behind them and locking it. Tenzin then lifted a bench in the middle of the back wall, and a staircase leading down was revealed. Flea and Bob followed the Elf down through an underground path for the next ten minutes, then started ascending what seemed to be a never-ending set of stairs.

 

At the top of the stairs and through another door, Flea and Bob found themselves inside what looked to be a basement inside of a massive tree. The air in the room felt heavy, and the act of walking forward was met with a slight bit of resistance.

 

“Welcome to my Lorien. Please make yourselves at home. I need to get some affairs in order before I depart.,” said Tenzin.

 

“Lorien as in Lothlorien?” asked Flea.

 

Tenzin froze, turned around, and looked at Flea, then Bob. 

 

“How is it you know that name?”

 

Flea explained his love for the Tolkien books and how the Elves had lived in the forest Lothlorien near the lower Misty Mountains.

 

Flea could see Tenzin wanted to retort with something, but instead, he just stared at something in front of himself before waving his hands in the air.

 

“That is where the Elves who followed me at the start of the current epoch came from. But that is all I can say on the matter. While I do what I need to do, please feel free to meditate. You won’t find a more concentrated source of Energy on Mea.”

 

I completely forgot I could meditate and gain Energy once I hit level 10.

 

Flea looked down at Bob, wondering why he didn’t remind him. The damn cat was already shrugging.

 

“How do you meditate, Tenzin? We were never taught,” Bob said.

 

“Relax. Open your mind. As you sense the Energy around you, will the Energy to be pulled through your Mana Gates,” Tenzin said and then walked off to do whatever he came to do.

 

Bob and Flea sat down on the floor. Flea tried to clear his thoughts and sense the thick miasma of Energy around him. Within a few minutes, a prompt popped up. Hearing the little ring, Flea happily opened his eyes to view it.

 

Really? It must be easy for someone who can literally shut off their thoughts.

 

It took Flea another fifteen minutes before he figured out the process. The Gnome then opened his eyes to his own prompt.

 

 

“Bob, can you tell me what happened today while we meditate?”

 

Bob opened one eye to look at Flea, then closed it. He began telling his companion all about his day, starting with the guard yelling at him about the Night Snatcher behind him and ending with him hitting Tenzin over the head with a Divine Core and the ‘Red Plates’ threatening him for committing such an ‘offense’.

 

“Can you transfer any of the Energy over to me, or is the link a one-way funnel?”

 

Bob looked in the air for a moment, then shook his head no.

 

“No worries, I just wanted to test it out. You earned the Energy, so you should get to use it. Tomorrow I want to try helping Zan and his group.”

 

“Alright, Flea. I’ll level up now.”

 

Flea watched as Bob thought over his Status and accepted the changes a few moments later. His companion sat for a few moments in thought before speaking.

 

“Looks like I can’t level past you. I have enough cores to reach level 15, but I can’t level until you do,” explained Bob.

 

“Oh well, back to meditating then. We’ll get to leveling again real soon.”