Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Initial Inspection of Nyolund

While Sara slept, word started to spread throughout the Great Forest of Ildhena. Not among the Wanderers, or the Residents (a report of the strange incident of a cat mob scaling the border walls would reach both of the sides' respective capitals, but was deemed unimportant in both cases), but among the mobs.

The ravens were excited. Word had spread from Merwyn via the corvid to corvid communications network, and would surely reach the entire continent within a week, about what had happened there, and the curious creature that got it all started. And now it had shown up here. It had been spotted several times on the journey westwards, and they had guessed that it was going to Ildhena, but they hadn't been sure until it had shown up.

They were pretty certain that things were going to start happening in the Great Forest soon enough, and whatever that was going to be, they wanted to be part of it. While they might not have been able to gain levels or skills, in their own way the mobs had also been growing since the beta servers started running. The ravens, crows, and other corvids were both blessed and cursed with intellect on par with Residents, and little to do with it. Since they also had the capacity to get bored, they spent their time heckling other mobs, and hoping Adventurers would attack them. Perhaps with time they would start coming up with games to play.

And then this strange, new, different creature had come along, and started a conflict between mobs and Residents, and the local ravens had jumped on the chance to take part with great glee. Now that creature was in Ildhena, and the ravens and crows were both excited. The crows were a little disappointed to learn that the creature had gone to the north, since they were in the west, but it was possible that whatever storm was coming would sweep the entire forest.

If only they were capable of communicating directly with the creature, and others like it. They were able to imitate a few sounds, but actual talking... now that would be fun.

* * *

The wolves of Nyolund were unsure what to think of this new development. Ever since they had been created there had not been much change in their lives, and they had never felt particularly bad about that. Though they hadn't necessarily felt good about it either. It was just the way things were, so they didn't have any particular opinion.

One of the key differences between mobs and Residents was that mobs had not been given culture, history, or memories. They had been given roles, purpose, and natures. For some of them that had grown into ego, and personality. They didn't really have goals, or ideals. They merely had life, an awareness that the world they were in was only a few months old, and that they themselves had been recently created. That was perhaps why it was easier for a lot of them to go with the flow, to not take everything so seriously, and to want to try new things.

And they were on some level aware that there was a will behind this world. There had always been the sense among them that change would eventually come. The world had 'told' them that much, even if they weren't sure what form this change would be in. They weren't always sure of when either, but the feeling they'd gotten from the world lately was that something that would change how their lives worked was coming soon.

A certain instinct told them that the arrival of the strange new wolf was not what the world had meant, but it was certainly a change in its own right. While they had not had the chance to greet this new wolf yet, one of them had seen her just before she went into a burrow, and watched as the burrow promptly vanished. Which was another sign that this wolf was different.

Speculation among them was that maybe the world had decided to send them a boss, since the west, and the south already had bosses. The north had been left out for some reason. As far as they knew the world hadn't done anything like set up a new boss before, but that was no reason to conclude it would never happen.

Word had been spreading among the wolves in the south, even those that weren't present at the meeting, and they had shared that knowledge with their fellows across the zone borders as well. It had yet to travel all the way through the east, since the wolf presence was weaker there, but it had reached the boss in the west.

"A new wolf?" she mused. "And a strong one? And he sent her to the north? Hm... I want to meet her too! But I can't just barge in. I think. I should at least give her time to get settled. Maybe she will come to see me? She went to see that guy. I will wait for a few days, and then go see her if she doesn't come see me first. Yeah. That should be enough time for her to claim the territory."

She had absolutely nothing to base her conclusions on, since such an event had never happened before, but she was a pretty carefree type of person, contrasted with the south boss's serious demeanour. If it had been her, she might not have forced the new wolf out right away. She had curiosity, and something new like this piqued it.

* * *

When Sara woke up it was dark. She wasn't sure exactly what part of the night it was, and it wasn't really important. She had things to do regardless. The burrow seemed more cramped than it had when she got in, but she was pretty certain it had not shrunk, nor had she grown. She simply hadn't cared as much.

She had to crawl her way outside to stretch properly. Maybe she should try to switch her daily rhythm back to sleeping all night, but maybe it wasn't a bad idea to have part of her active time at night either, since different things were available.

Her immediate surroundings looked empty, though she could sense some presences nearby. Up in the trees. Probably more squirrels or something. Since they weren't moving at all, they might be sleeping for the night. She hadn't taken notice of whether there were owls in this place. There had been in the south, but she had a feeling that not all the mobs were the same.

Though honestly the only thing she had noticed so far were the ravens that cawed at her. She had been so tired. Now there was a lot to investigate. An entire zone's worth. She might not be able to cover all of that in one night, but it wasn't like there was a huge rush. She was staying for at least another 7 levels. After that she would likely have to move on if she wanted to become level 40, but if she liked it here, maybe she would stay a little longer. Aina had said that the big updates were going to happen about once a month, at least early on in the game's life, which meant she had a month before she would start needing to eat and poop (unless it got postponed again).

Perhaps she would base her decision on how quickly she managed to reach 30. If she was too close to the deadline afterwards, she might hurry onwards to stronger areas.

She wanted to give her skill list one more look before she got started.

[ Skill List ]

[ Active: ]

[ Chomp Lvl 5 (5) | Rend Lvl 2 -> 3 (5) | Howl Lvl Max (Max) | Sprint Lvl Max (Max) | Thorn Bind Lvl 7 (9) | Poison Bolt Lvl 6 (9) | Growth Lvl 5 (9) | Regrowth Lvl 5 (9) | Rejuvenate Lvl 5 (8) | Leech Lvl 1 (8) | Sense Presence Lvl Max (9) | Bear Form Lvl 1 (5) | Cat Form Lvl 7 (5) ]

[ Concealed Active: ]

[ Charge Lvl 2 | Body Slam Lvl Max | Ambush Lvl Max | Throw Lvl 1 | Strong Poison Strike Lvl 5 |
Death From Above Lvl 4 | Kick Lvl 3 | Back Attack Lvl 1 | Savage Blow Lvl 2 | Struggle Lvl 1 | Leap Lvl Max | Roar Lvl 1 |
Taunt Lvl 1 | Frost Bolt Lvl 8 | Arcane Blast Lvl 4 | Fireball Lvl 5 | Water Needle Lvl 4 | Erase Presence Lvl 8 -> 9 |
Thermal Vision Lvl 7 | Sense Mana Lvl 3 ]

[ Passive: ]

[ Keen Senses Lvl Max (15) | Environmental Sense Lvl 6 -> 7 (5) | Insulation Lvl 7 (5) | Firm Grip Lvl 9 (5) |
Balance Up Lvl 6 -> 7 (5) | Solid Coat Lvl 3 (5) | Nature Element Up Lvl 6 (8) | Mana Manipulation Lvl 8 (8) ]

[ Concealed Passive: ]

[ Danger Sense Lvl 9 | Trap Sense Lvl 4 | Dig Lvl 3 | Spider Climb Max | Spider Silk Lvl 3 | Paralysis Venom Lvl 1 |
Cat's Feet Lvl 9 | Air Control Lvl 7 -> 8 | Swim Lvl 5 | Dive Lvl 1 | Quick Feet Lvl 3 -> 4 | Chameleon Lvl 8 -> 9 |
Pursuit (New) Lvl 1 | Fire Element Up Lvl 3 | All Attributes Up (Small) Lvl 6 -> 7 | Poison Resistance Lvl 6 |
Fire Resistance Lvl 2 | Dark Resistance (New) Lvl 1 | Skill Gain Lvl Max (Hidden) ]

[ General: ]

[ Identify Lvl 8 (Hidden) | Communicate: Family (Hidden) | Conceal Status Lvl Max (Hidden) ]

[ Concealed General: ]

[ Languages (Hidden): Common, Goblin | Life Magic Lvl 5 ]

[ Disabled (All Hidden): ]

[ Tough Scales | Flight | Spider Net Trap | Logging | Cleave | Chop | Bow Expertise | Woodworking | Power Shot |
Glide | Disarm Trap ]

[ Skill points: 18 ]

Aside from her two new skills, there had only been some minor changes. Well, it had been less than a day, and all she'd really done was some running, and jumping.

Let's see... I came from the south, so... west, or north. Or north-west. Let's go west. I'm curious if I can find this path Aina mentioned.

She headed off, and started to take note of her surroundings, and what mobs were in the area. A caw alerted her that something was above her. One of the ravens had landed on a tree branch, and was watching her. At her best bet she'd say it was a look of curiosity. Well, she she was curious too.

[ Night Raven (Mage Lvl 25) HP: 163/163 ]

While its HP fell short of the moose she had seen, it was still higher than the Dire Wolves. Considering the Raven was a Mage, that probably meant it was pretty strong.

[ Skill List ]

[ Active: ]

[ Drill Peck Lvl 5 | Rend Lvl 5 | Death From Above Lvl 8 | Shadow Arrow Lvl 5 | Dark Enchant Lvl 8 | Shadow Barrier Lvl 5 | Shadow Grasp Lvl 5 | Dark Purge Lvl 5 | Gust Lvl Max | Glide Lvl Max ]

[ Passive: ]

[ Night Vision Lvl 16 | Keen Vision Lvl 16 | Flight Lvl Max | Air Control Lvl 5 | Dark Element Up Lvl Max | Mana Manipulation Lvl 5 | Intelligence Up (Small) Lvl Max | Dexterity Up (Small) Lvl 8 | Wisdom Up (Small) Lvl 8 | Dark Resistance Lvl 5 ]

As best as she could remember, this meant it was an upgraded version of the Dusk Raven. The upgrade seemed substantial, and there were some new skills too.

[ Drill Peck (Active): Attack with a beak, or something with an equivalent function. Damage value: (1.2+(0.04*skill level))*attack power. Defence piercing: (15+(1*skill level))%. Critical hits inflict Bleed(?) status for 6 seconds. Cost: 4 SP. Refresh: 3 seconds. (Ai-note: Since you do not possess anything equivalent to a beak, this skill will be disabled.) ]

[ Shadow Arrow (Active): Fire a magic arrow with dark element property. Damage value: (1.2+(0.04*skill level))*magic power. Splash radius: 1 metre. (Reminder: Only direct hits have a chance to inflict critical damage.) Inflicts Heavy(?) status on target for 7 seconds. (20+(0.5*skill level))% chance to reduce target's magic resistance by (2+(0.03*skill level))% for 7 seconds. Cost: 4 MP. Cast time: 3 seconds. Refresh: 3 seconds. ]

[ Shadow Barrier (Active): Conjures a magical barrier around target with dark element property that absorbs incoming damage. Duration: 1 minute, or until broken. Barrier strength: (1.2+(0.12*skill level))*magic power. Scales with Intelligence. Cost: 15 MP. Refresh: 1 minute. ]

So those were just the upgraded version of previous skills. And the new ones were:

[ Shadow Grasp (Active): Shadowy arms emerge from the ground, and bind a target for 12 seconds. Dark element property. Hands can be broken free from. Hand strength increases with skill level. Less effective in direct sunlight. Drains the strength of target: Strength and Defence -(3+(0.04))% per 2 seconds grabbed. Stacks up to 5 times. Lasts for a further 4 seconds after bind breaks. Cost: 8 MP. Cast time: 3 seconds. Refresh: 5 seconds. ]

[ Dark Purge (Active): Remove up to 2 positive status effects from target. Some status effects cannot be removed. Dark element property. Inflicts Heavy(?) status on target for (5+(0.5*skill level)) seconds. Cost: 10 MP. Cast time: 3 seconds. Refresh: 30 seconds. ]

Basically the dark versions of spells she had seen before. Dark Purge was like a mirror version of her Leech, and thankfully with some added restrictions. If they could just spam buff removal it would be a little broken.

She waved in what she hoped was a friendly manner, and got another caw for her efforts. It kept sitting there, but at least she didn't sense any danger from it, so she kept moving.

A bush rustled as she got passed by it, and she was just barely able to sense a small presence racing away from her. Whatever it was, she'd probably find more eventually.

Next up she encountered a pair of wolves. As packs go it wasn't much, but perhaps that was what it had been like in Merwyn Forest East. She had never gotten to go over there.

"Hello," she said to them.

"Hello," one of them replied. "You are the new one." It was a statement rather than a question.

I've been called the climbing one, the leading one, and now the new one. What's next?

"I'm Sara," she decided to introduce herself. "You have heard of me?"

"One of us saw you. There has never been a new one before," the wolf replied.

"And we recently heard you went to the south first," the other wolf added. "Have you come to be our boss?"

What's with that sudden question? That Warg had also seemed to assume she had come to conquer.

"Er... that wasn't my intention... I'm just looking for somewhere to stay for a while. Do you not have a boss?"

"No. The west has, and the south has, but the north has none. So it has always been. But now the world has sent you."

"I... I see..." Sara wasn't sure how to handle this conversation. She hadn't been sent. Had she? "Well, before I do anything, I want to have a bit of a look around the ar- zone. Er... see you later."

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The two of them nodded. "Yes, later."

It almost sounded ominous the way they said it, so Sara just hurried on. At least they didn't tell her to leave, but the way they seemed to be anticipating her was eerie. It gave her the feeling that her stay here might not be as calm and quiet as she had hoped.

The both of them were Dire Wolves, at levels 25, and 26. She did wonder if there were any other types of wolves around. It would be nice to find another Mystic Wolf.

The next mob she ran into was another familiar-looking one.

[ Nyolund Noble Deer (Druid Lvl 25) HP: 177/177 ]

So the south has Cleric Moose, and the north has Druid Deer? Well, it's possible there are moose up here too. I've only barely started my investigation, after all.

[ Skill List ]

[ Active: ]

[ Solid Kick Lvl 5 | Skewer Lvl 5 | Stomp Lvl Max | Body Slam Lvl Max | Charge Lvl Max | Root Bind Lvl 5 | Mass Thorn Bind Lvl 9 | Poison Needle Lvl 5 | Growth Lvl 9 | Regrowth Lvl 9 | Rejuvenate Lvl 9 ]

[ Passive: ]

[ Night Vision Lvl 17 | Keen Ears Lvl 17 | Environmental Sense Lvl 7 | Insulation Lvl 9 | Pursuit Lvl 9 | Camouflage Lvl 7 | Balance Up Lvl 7 | Nature Element Up Lvl 7 | Mana Manipulation Lvl 7 | Vitality Up (Small) Lvl 9 | Strength Up (Small) Lvl 9 | Defence Up (Small) Lvl 9 ]

Another strict upgrade, with a few new tricks. She figured she might as well check the upgraded attacks too.

[ Solid Kick (Active): Attack using one or more legs. Base damage value: (1.1+(0.04*skill level))*attack power. Damage increases with the use of more legs. Chance to knock back, or knock down targets. Critical hits inflict Stun(?) status for 4 seconds. Cost: 4 SP. Refresh: 3 seconds. (Ai-note: Harder feet mean harder kicks. Your soft paws will not have as much impact as a deer's hooves.) ]

[ Skewer (Active): Perform a thrust with a pointed object like a spear, horn, tusks, or something equivalent. Damage value: (1.5+(0.6*skill level))*attack power. Defence piercing: (25+(1*skill level))%. Guaranteed critical hit if a vital spot is pierced. Critical hits reduce target's Defence by 10% for 10 seconds. Cost: 10 SP. Cast time: 2 seconds. Refresh: 12 seconds. (Ai-note: You do not possess anything suitably pointy, so this skill will be disabled.) ]

[ Root Bind (Active): Thorny roots shoot up from the ground, and bind a target for 12 seconds. Nature element property. Roots can be destroyed. Root strength increases with skill level. Roots can break through certain hard surfaces. Thorns deal light damage to bound target. Damage value: (1*skill level)% of target's Max HP every 2 seconds. Cost: 8 MP. Cast time: 3 seconds. Refresh: 5 seconds. ]

[ Poison Needle (Active): Fire a magical needle that inflicts Poison(?) status on target for 10 seconds. Nature element property. Poison damage: (3+(0.5*skill level)) HP every 2 seconds. Cost: 2 MP. Cast time: 2 seconds. Refresh: 5 seconds. ]

There was that 'inflict poison only' skill she had been wondering about. That seemed perfect for paralysing a target without causing damage. Not that she could immediately think of why she would ever want to, but it seemed like something that could be useful.

She could probably take one of these deer by herself now, but she'd hold off on that until she had explored more.

She moved on while paying more attention to her Sense Presence, until she discovered a small ping. She entered Erase Presence, and snuck up on it to find out what it was.

[ Forest Raccoon (Rogue Lvl 23) HP: 84/84 ]

Just a raccoon. She didn't want to kill a raccoon. Raccoons were cute. Usually. She had to peek around the tree to see if this one was cute. It was.

It was currently sitting by a stream, and washing something. She couldn't tell what, but the little creature was very focused on its task.

Sara had seen many rivers since she came to Moorhold, but this was the first stream that she could recall. It looked really clear, and pretty. She decided to follow it back towards its origin. It might come from outside the forest, but she wanted to know.

* * *

[ Discovered Area: Nyolund Spring. ]

The spring was large enough that she would call it more of a pond. At least she thought of a spring as something smaller, but the water was flowing from a rocky outcrop opposite where the stream exited, so that probably counted as the definition of a spring.

With a size this big, I can even swim here, not just bathe!

After Lake Karasol had reminded her of the joy of bathing, she was happy to find she had the option here too, and immediately jumped in.

Ack!

The water had been colder than expected, even though she probably could have figured that much out if she had stopped to think about it. Unless the spring water was from a heated underground source, of course a pond hidden in a forest (at night) would be a colder experience than an open lake constantly illuminated by the sun.

Though once she got used to it, it wasn't so bad. Rather refreshing. She paddled around for a bit, and gave herself a proper dunk before she climbed back out. Where she found a wolf watching her.

"Uh... I was just taking a bath," she said, even though no question had been asked.

"Bath?" The other wolf cocked its head to the side. "Are baths useful?"

"Hm... I guess that depends on how you define useful... they feel nice."

The wolf looked at the water for a moment. "I will try," she declared, and walked over to the water, before putting her paw in. Then immediately pulling it back out. "Cold."

Sara couldn't help but giggle. "You either need to ease yourself into it, or jump in all at once." Maybe a hot spring would have been an easier entry point, but she doubted she'd find one here. If they were closer to the mountains they might have had better odds.

The wolf gave both Sara, and the water dubious looks, before she followed Sara's example, and plunged right in.

"Cold!"

She quickly scrambled back out of the water with a sullen glare.

"Heavy."

"Just... uh... shake it off," Sara said, and took a couple of steps back.

The other wolf did as she was told, spraying water everywhere as she violently shook her fur around in a way that would make any dog proud.

"Not nice," was her conclusion.

Sara sighed, because the alternative was to laugh, and that felt mean. She had forgotten that these wolves didn't have access to the same settings as her, so they felt temperature, and stayed wet in a more realistic fashion.

"Sorry," she said. "But it's really not so bad once you get used to it." She slipped back into the water herself to demonstrate, then came back out. "I guess you gotta take it slow."

"Hm..." The other wolf didn't look convinced. "I will try again later."

Sara got a sudden idea. "As an apology, how about I help you dry off?"

"How?"

"Just sit down, and trust me."

She would be using this poor drenched wolf as a test subject for her ability to use the fabled hair drying magic. She'd gotten some feeling for what it was like to manipulate two elements at once with Life Magic during her failed lockpicking. After struggling to hold one element in place while applying another effect to it, it made sense that it would be easier to just mix two effects together while moving them both in the same direction. She just needed to get the ratios right.

"Let me know if it becomes too hot."

Life Magic couldn't produce effects on the level of combat magic, but it could still produce a small flame capable of lighting things on fire. Thankfully Environmental Sense gave her a much better read on temperature. She sat down behind the other wolf, and raised both paws. She'd rely on her sense of balance to keep her upright, and manifest each element from different paws. Hopefully eventually that wouldn't be necessary, but she had to start somewhere.

Since Aina had said imagination was important, she imagined the two streams weaving together into one flow, and moved it along the wet fur.

"How is it?"

"Warm."

"Too warm?"

"No."

With patience, feedback, and the other wolf shifting positions, they eventually managed to get her dry. Well, mostly dry. The process wasn't perfected yet.

[ Life Magic Skill Level Up! ] [ Mana Manipulation Skill Level Up! ]

"How's that?" Sara asked.

"Felt nice."

"Am I forgiven?"

The wolf gave her a curious look. "Did you need to be?"

Sara let out another sigh, though it was more relieved than anything else. Maybe she had worried too much.

She parted ways with the wolf, and moved on. She still had more exploration to do, after all.

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