Chapter 33: 33: The Temptation of Reward

Danika looked at Aishin and wondered why, if he had enough money to waste it on a licensed avatar, he didn't have VR. "You only play from your phone?" she asked a little doubtfully.

"No," he replied easily, "when I'm home I have a full motion console."

Danika frowned at him and asked, "Shouldn't that have a voice connection."

"It does," he agreed, and then laughed and added, "but I keep it muted most of the time." Aishin said seriously as he dismantled the turtle, "You saved me with your light back then you know. It made it so I could see the gleam of its eyes, and kill it before it drowned me."

"How did you know which frog had swallowed me then?" Danika questioned curiously.

"I didn't," Aishin explained. "When I surfaced I couldn't see you anywhere, until a light popped out of that fat frog's belly. It's a good thing that your wings glow," he informed her.

"I like them," Danika replied a bit smugly, and he laughed.

--

Aishin logged out again when they reached Oliva. Danika continued into the little town, zipping straight for the witch's house.

Evening was approaching, but when Danika knocked at her window the little old woman still stood at her accustomed place beside her tiny brazier. Her enormous hat tilted as she called out cheerfully, "Welcome back ZipZing, how did it go?"

Danika replied a little sadly, "I got quite a few seed pods, but the meadow burned."

The hat bobbed as the witch nodded. "It's good that you made it in time," she said cheerfully. She didn't seem surprised by the news. She told her spoon, "Keep stirring for awhile," and stepped away from the brazier to take the seed pouch when Danika held it out to her.

The spoon obediently continued stirring, and Danika waited patiently as the witch collected a pretty blue jar with a crescent moon motif. The witch carefully removed the seed pods one by one and counted them into the jar until she'd reached 200. Then she closed the bag, smiled, and told Danika, "You did very well ZipZing, what do you wish as a reward?"

Danika considered various ideas, such as the other cantrip she needed in order to learn illusion. The witch waited patiently. Finally Danika decided, "I told you I'd do you a favor for hiding in your shelves, I'd like you to consider this that favor."

The witch tilted her head back until the hat brim rose far enough that Danika could see her eyes sparkling as she replied, "Oh very wise. You're right to think that owing a witch a favor can be dangerous."

Danika hovered a little nervously, uncertain how to reply, when Arthur spoke up from the floor beneath the low table that the little brazier and its pot rested upon. "Of course a student of mine would have to be at least that bright," he grumbled.

The witch chuckled and told Arthur, "But you know that the silver wolverine reported that she even replanted the moonflowers before leaving."

"Busybody," Arthur declared, without specifying whether he was referring to the wolverine or to ZipZing.

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The witch held the seed pouch out to Danika and declared cheerfully, "Then take this as a gift for saving me a trip up the mountain. It will hold an unlimited amount of any one thing."

Danika accepted the pouch back and said politely, "Thank you, I'm sure it will be very useful."

"Indeed it will," the witch agreed knowingly. "Good luck in your adventures ZipZing, I won't have anything more for you to do for quite some time."

"Oh," Danika replied.

Arthur added helpfully, "She means until you're at least proficient, silly pathless butterfly lizard novice."

--

While Danika was working the next day, she looked up apples and wizards in "Living Jade Empire" and discovered that wizards, or rather enchanters really did have a thing for apples. Most wizards learned the apple spell if they could.

Danika added it to the list of things she wanted to learn too. Apples could be enchanted to either heal or poison with only an apple and the caster's Karma. They did not have an instant effect like her prayer, but used much less Karma.

When she returned to "Living Jade Empire" that night, it was just after dawn in the game. Danika zipped around the village and accosted every NPC she could find to ask if they had any tasks, but they all said the same thing, that their tasks were not suitable for a novice.

She had been avoiding the olive tree and Justin's tower, but when she finally approached the small shale hill, the traveling merchant was waiting beneath the tree. He was playing an older game's theme song on a slide whistle.

He greeted her as cheerfully as usual when he'd finished. "ZipZing! Are you busy with anything at the moment?"

Danika grinned. "No," she replied quickly.

"If you wouldn't mind, I've got an order for 10,000 acorns. There's a large forest where oaks are the dominant tree to the west of here, but there aren't many people who are capable of collecting acorns in the spring," the merchant explained.

She hesitated. She'd been looking for a quest, but 10,000 acorns was a daunting number if she had to encourage each one to grow individually. She looked up at the olive tree. She'd only collected a total of about 500 olives for the witch.

"How long would I have to complete it?" Danika asked cautiously. She would still be working every day for the next eight days (4 weeks in the game).

"Three weeks," the traveling merchant replied cheerfully. Danika was already shaking her head when he added, "But instead of coin, I could give you a ring that can teach you the cantrip 'spark'."

Danika gulped. It was the magical path equivalent of the fire starting skill she'd intended to learn from the baker in the beginner's vale. Slowly her head nodded almost without her conscious intent.

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