Chapter 368: 368. City of Minotaurs

The winds much fiercer above the clouds, though, thankfully, the snow was gone. The vine whale had used its vines to make a shelter for Dallion and his familiars. Between that and Lux’s flames, Dallion was completely shielded from the elements. However, the concerns remained. In order to get the crown, Dallion was going to have to convince the strongest guardian in the realm to let him take it.

“You won’t be able to convince him,” Vihrogon said. The armadil shield had shifted to his dryad form and wasn’t happy about it. “The crown has a much greater significance than the gems. He won’t just give it away.”

“You didn’t think so last time,” Dallion said. “Gems for two of the hidden skills that could be used by anyone. Isn’t that as big as it gets?”

“There’s more to the world than skills.” The dryad sighed. “Back when I was young and still in the real world, I was nothing special. Well, that’s not exactly true. I was awakened, which was a rarity, but I didn’t have any real ambitions. Life was nothing but one big party for me and everyone I know. A few thought I could become a Moon Cleric, though most didn’t bother. It was one of those things, they said: a society that had reached its peak was bound to decline for a while before it could move on again.”

Vihrogon looked to the side. As he did, the vines shifted to form an opening from which the sky could be seen.

“Then, the winds of change appeared. In a few years, they engulfed the entire empire. I too was swept in and joined a notion that I had seen as ludicrous before. Do you know what the twi-crown represents?” the dryad asked.

Dallion shook his head.

“Absolute power. The legend goes that long before, when the dryads were still weak in the aftermath of the previous great war. Pretty much we were the last big power standing in a time of massive power vacuum. The only reason was that we weren’t considered a threat, unlike the other races. Same with the humans, incidentally. Our military skill was quite lacking. That was why the first crown was created—a gift from a master craftsman, and an otherworld if the stories were to be believed. Its point was to grant one of our rulers the skills to lead us, and the world, forward in the troubling years ahead. Since then, it became a symbol of royalty and achievement. For one to have a twi-crown meant that the person was chosen as a dread leader capable of determining their fate.”

There was a pause.

“I never wanted the twi-crown,” the dryad continued. “Even when I believed in dryad run future, I knew I was not the one to lead it.”

“So, you followed it?”

“I followed it.” The dryad nodded then turned around, staring Dallion straight in the eye. “Just as I followed the person wearing it.”

“There’s no one left to follow here. You heard the third guardian—this place has been empty for centuries, at least.”

“The twi-crown was meant for a dryad. The guardian will do anything in its power to keep it from falling into anyone else’s hands.”

“What about the help I did in this realm? Won’t that count for anything?”

“He might not attack you when he learns you’re searching for the crown. However, in no circumstances will he let you have it.”

“What about you?” Dallion asked.

That was the next big unknown. If the shield had been set to follow the one who wore the crown once, he might do so again. This was a different crown in a different realm, but the principle remained the same. If the crown was so important, it was left to ensure that the person who claimed it had the skills and authority to lead the banished against the Star in an attempt to restore the dryad race. Even after being banished, Vihrogon probably felt the same way. The question was which was stronger: his loyalty as a guardian or his loyalty to his former race.

“I’ll protect you, that’s my task now,” the dryad replied. “But that’s as far as I go. If you fight him, you’ll have to do it yourself. You’ll need to prove you’re worth following.”

It took close to an hour for the whale to pass over the main mountain of the world. Once it did, the weather started to change somewhat. The cold was still there, along with the snow, but the winds weren’t as vicious by far. By the time they went over the valley, would could almost call it a perfect winter day. That was, until the minion crashed through the layer of illusion. Air cracked like glass, breaking up into fragments only to reassemble again once the creature had flown through. Warm currents swept through. It was as if the whale had left a blizzard to enter a volcano, and there was smoke… black smoke that formed clouds—but swarms of crackling insects as far as the eye could see.

“I thought we got rid of them?” Dallion said. “What happened?”

“You helped,” the whale replied. “The fourth guardian took over the coast, pushing the cracklings into the sky. It’s not easy to get rid of them, but it’s not that difficult to move them around. Once you destroyed the linchpin.”

“That’s a good thing, then?”

“No, but it’s different.”

What does that mean? Dallion asked. Unsurprisingly, Nil didn’t answer. That was the greatest drawback of wearing a blocking ring. It also exposed how much Dallion relied on the beings in his realm. Unlike the past, though, he had picked up enough to know what was going on.

“Will it be easier getting to the last temple?”

“I’ll try to get you as close as I could. Afterwards, it’s all you.”

“Good enough. What about the clouds?”

“That’s the easy part.”

Flying straight forward, the minion went through the clouds of cracklings like a needle through cotton. None of the insects even bothered attacking, moving out of the way if they could. Dallion could tell that Gleam itched to take out a few of them. For some reason, the shardfly seemed quite aggressive this time around. It was possible that the shardfly didn’t want to share the sky with anyone else, although Dallion felt there was more to it. Simply put everyone was tense—as part of Dallion they knew the importance of what was to come, and were expressing it in different fashion.

Nothing serious happened as the whale reached the coast. There were a lot more patches of green, letting it travel on quite easily. As he ventured further, though, the attacks began. An insignificant nuisance at first, they gradually grew to the point that the land whale had to get involved, shooting vines around as if it were shedding fur.

“Don’t fight them,” Dallion ordered his shardfly.

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“Why not? It’ll be much faster if—”

“I don’t want anyone seeing what you can do.”

“I can take care of that. They won’t even know.”

“I can’t take the chance, Gleam. Not now.”

Dallion could feel the familiar’s rage. Her wings moved so fast that they appeared still. Then, reluctantly, she perched on his shoulder. There was going to be a time for her to fight, but this wasn’t it. Still, there was one thing that she was right about—the whale wasn’t going to get them to the city fast. Barely had they passed half the distance to the hilt, and already the resistance was significant. Any further and the whale wouldn’t make it.

“Lux, I’ll have to count on you,” Dallion said, standing up from his seat of vines. “Shield.”

“I know the drill,” Vihrogon said, reverting to his shield state, then extended a cocoon around Dallion. On cue, Lux surrounded the metal sphere and lifted it up.

The vine shelter unraveled, releasing the sphere into the open. Then, moments later, it shot forward. Within minutes Dallion was able to traverse a distance which had taken him hours. It wasn’t comfortable in the least. It took every ounce of strength he had, even with his increased body level. Not to mention that the landing was more of an impact than a landing. Red rectangles stacked in front of his face, indicating a health decrease of two-thirds. The good news, however, was that he had arrived.

“Thanks,” Dallion muttered. The metal cocoon disappeared as the shield went back to its dryad form. Likewise, Lux leapt onto Dallion again, starting the gradual healing process.

“Don’t mention it,” the dryad said. “This is where the hard part begins. You still need to make it through the city and into the temple.”

“Why is the temple in the city, anyway?” Dallion stood up. He was feeling quite wobbly.

“Because that provided the best protection the realm has. If someone can get the twi-crown from here, they deserve to keep it.”

“Nox, do you sense any cracklings about?”

The crackling yawned, indicating that everything was fine. In itself that was a relief. It meant that Dallion didn’t have to fear in the immediate future. Or wasn’t there? Surrounding him were fields and forests; and while that was a clear indication that the area wasn’t corrupted, it also meant that it probably had its share of animals, including predators. Given how realms worked, they were more likely going to be far fiercer than anything he’d faced at the beginning.

Dallion drew his harpsisword. The first few chords were of curiosity. The next for calm and fear. After all, the best way to win a battle was not to start it in the first place. The curiosity was meant to make creatures approach so Dallion got a good sense of what he’d be facing, while the other emotions made them leave without engaging.

Nothing but hares and sparrows came into sight. That was quite promising, suggesting that there were no larger creatures in the area. At the same time, it seemed rather unusual.

“Any chance you remember anything of this realm?” Dallion asked. “This area, specifically?”

“Not much.”

“Not even what sort of creatures are nearby?”

“It’s not creatures you have to worry about. It’s the guardian. It has the power to keep animals away from you. There has to be a reason. And there aren’t too many of those.”

The two most likely reasons for the guardian to keep Dallion safe were to talk to him or to challenge him. With Dallion being an empath now, both were just as valid.

“Which way to the city?” Dallion asked.

“There,” Vihrogon pointed at the forest. “Should take a few hours at most. Keep your eyes open, though.”

“Always do. Everyone, don’t do anything unless we’re in real danger.” He went towards the forest.

The walk turned out to be much shorter than expected. Not only didn’t Dallion come across anything scarier than a beehive, but he also barely had entered the forest when a clearing became visible. The moment he reached it, Dallion was able to see the city walls. As with the other city, they too were made entirely of wood. The difference was that unlike all previous cities, this seemed inhabited, and not by scavenger groups passing through. Even from this distance Dallion could hear the rhubarb of people talking, feel the smells of burning food and cooked food, see the emotions of hundreds of entities beyond the walls.

“I thought the dryads had died out,” Dallion noted.

“They have.”

“Then what are these? Minotaurs?”

Within moments, he found that to be the case. However, these minotaurs were very different from the ones he’d seen before. They were wearing far more sophisticated clothes and weapons. One could easily mistake them for the city’s inhabitants. Now, all of a sudden, the lack of animals in the nearby area made a lot more sense. Simultaneously, new questions were raised.

“Why has the guardian let them live here?” Dallion asked.

“Cities are like glasses—never pleasing when they’re empty. It seems that someone wanted to have some company.

“Clearly. Well, let’s hope there’s room for one more.”

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