MAZE - The Endless Quest

Hera was on the cart, with Helena by her side, talking with Qing Yulan. She, like everyone who was a part of this dungeon, was an Orc. But instead of the burly barbarians that one would expect, here, all Orcs were very proper and acted like characters in a Chinese story about martial arts. Long flowy robes with bright and specific colors signaling their sect. In Yulan’s case, it was the classic jade green with some light pastel tones of beige and white. But oddly enough, Yu Yuwei’s clothes were different. Her dress was in shades of yellow with small orange splashes, giving her the look of a summer flower. Both of them had that deep green skin, but unlike the man the Ophidianite had killed, their tusks were pristine. Yuwei was sleeping, but she seemed younger than Yulan, even if it was hard to tell by how much. The petite Orc laid down on the floor of the wagon as soon as she arrived and fell asleep, seemingly undisturbed by the noise and the movement.

According to Yulan, they were traveling to the Heaven’s Edge Summit, to find one of the elders during the Sky Sword meeting. Helena was quick enough on the uptake and asked about that meeting. Saying that they were away for a long time and couldn’t remember an event that went by that name.

That seemed only to increase Yulan’s awe, who now looked at the pair as if they were gods walking among men. Or Orc in this case. The Sky Sword meeting was actually a tournament where the junior disciples of each sect would exhibit their progress. There were prizes for the winner, of course, but the real reason for all of this was something else. Every young member who participated had hopes of catching the eye of one of the wandering masters who would attend. Those were elders without a sect, people who were able to reach the peak of power without being helped by an entire organization. Which meant they had a vast amount of personal wealth and resources that could all be funneled to a single person.

Yulan didn’t question how they knew where they were going, but the Empress had to thank the quest of this dungeon for that. Without it, once they arrived and saw someone being chased, it would be hard to tell who they were supposed to help. And the last thing she wanted was to help those young master types.

While the cart was moving, Hera opened the quest window again to double check things.

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Dungeon Quest - Protect the princess

A caravan is taking a young lady to the Heaven’s Edge Summit. Protect her until she finds her master.

First time rewards:

Wandering Elder’s gift

3 million gold.

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The only problem with that quest was that it didn’t make it clear who they should escort. Qing Yulan, or Yu Yuwei. It was also very subjective. Was her master the person who sent them here, or the one who raised them? Or would their task be to have one of them be accepted by one of the wandering masters? Maybe all options were correct and bringing them to any of the masters would work, the only difference being the kind of reward they got.

“Lady Hera, we are getting close to the riverways. Would you allow us to close the flaps of the cart? Master Chen, the driver, wishes to protect his wares from the damp air,” Yulan asked.

The Empress glanced at Helena to ask for confirmation, just in case, and got a nod in reply, “Sure. This is Master Chen’s cart. He has all the right to act the way he feels it would be better for his goods.”

Yulan smiled and reached out, closing the two flaps at the back of the cart. The front had a similar curtain, but the merchant Chen Haoran’s back would usually be seen there. Right now, they could only see the cloth that covered the entirety of the wagon, making them completely hidden from the outside world.

Yulan went back to her seat, but one second after she adjusted herself, the Orc woman stood up again, opening the flaps to reveal a grand port city. There were dozens of houses in the old Chinese style and hundreds of people walking back and forth. A good number of them were merchants either setting up small stands, or looking over freshly delivered goods. There was a smell of herbs and spices in the air, and it looked like it was just a few hours after dawn.

“I hope the trip was enjoyable, Lady Hera, Lady Helena,” Yulan bowed to them as she stepped out of the wagon. Yuwei followed right after.

Now that they were side by side like this, it truly looked like they were sisters. With Yulan being the oldest one, in her early 20s, while Yuwei could be anywhere between 12 and 15.

Hera felt a bit discombobulated with the situation. She knew that some dungeons sped up travel or time in order to skip the ‘boring’ parts, but it still was an odd experience.

“It was,” Helena nodded as she climbed out of the cart, “I hope we were not boring company.”

“Of course not!” Yulan protested, “Seeing the two of you in deep meditation was enlightening. This Qing Yulan thanks you for the honor.”

The merchant Chen Haoran approached before anyone could say anything else, “Lady Hera, Lady Helena, Lady Qing, Lady Yu. I hope your journey was comfortable. Now I have some business to take care of in the city, but we can leave for the Heaven’s Edge Summit in the morning, if that is agreeable.”

Yulan glanced at the two travelers that were accompanying her waiting for their response.

“That would be lovely. Thank you for letting us accompany you on this journey,” Hera gave a slight bow, as people used to do in the stories she read.

Merchant Chen became a bit flustered, his cheek turning a shade of brown. He bowed, back, an awkward gesture, not because he wasn’t used to that kind of thing, but because he was clearly unsure of the correct move. As he never had been on the receiving end of gratitude from such esteemed masters.

Once the rotund merchant took the cart away, Yulan asked, “If I may be so bold. Lady Hera, Lady Helena, have you ever been to the Moonlit Harbor?”

Helena shook her head, “I don’t believe so. At least from what I remember there was nothing here,” the mage was having fun with the concept of ‘a sage from ancient times,’ she was playing up.

“In that case, this Qing Yulan will gladly show you around. If that is acceptable, of course.”

“Of course it is,” Hera nodded, “It would be great to have such a knowledgeable tour guide.”

Yulan’s eyes sparkled as she took charge and started showing the place. They stopped by a few restaurants, then went to the central market. Yulan showed the great theater, an open circular stage where various Orcs would show off their art. From music, to dances, to paintings and even actual plays, although the latter was a rarity this close to the Sky Sword meeting. The truly good presentations were all being saved for the event. With only small snippets being shown as to increase the interest in the tale to be told.

“Man. I think my court would love this place, but I’m not sure if they will freak people out. And Livy won’t be able to get inside most of the buildings we passed by,” Hera sighed.

“Call them. We are in a dungeon and it’s better for us to know what is going on and how they will react than just to do nothing,” Helena replied.

“You really don’t think Yulan is going to freak out when she sees them?”

“Oh no, she will freak out. I’m sure of it, but maybe she won’t just collapse.”

Hera shook her head with a smile, “You know, I forget that side of you sometimes.”

“What are you talking about?” Helena replied with a completely innocent smile. One that could fool anyone who didn’t know the mage and her trickster streak any better.

The Empress called her blades, all who appeared as quietly as possible, while Yulan guided them to the next spot on her tour. The harbor itself. It was a massive port with at least two dozen large boats sitting on the docks. Every one of them vessels that could be used to either brave the ocean, ferry thousands of people across the water, or defend the city against even the strongest of armies. But the real crown jewel of the place wasn’t docked. Or at least it wasn’t close to the shore.

About one kilometer or so into the water was a massive ship. It towered over twenty meters above the waves, and it was so wide that it almost looked like an island in the distance. The entire thing was made out of an ominous dark wood, with a gigantic sail emblazoned with twin golden koi fish.

“And this is the Ghost Carp. The best ship in the Emperor’s navy. They say it can even climb up waterfalls and once it does, the ship will turn into a dragon itself, and…” Yulan turned around and froze. Her eyes wide and mouth ajar.

Yuwei had noticed the court a few moments ago, and her eyes were locked on Livy. The large form of the sea serpent was so similar to that of a dragon that the girl couldn’t believe her eyes.

“What’s the matter?” Helena asked, holding back a laughter.

“Are… Can you see this?” Yulan asked, her eyes darting from titled blade to titled blade. Only then she noticed the various floating weapons moving around.

“What?” Hera played along, even if she was already starting to feel a bit bad.

“Those… they… what are they?” Yulan pushed Yuwei behind her. Getting in a fighting stance, ready to protect her charge.

“Oh? The little one thinks she can stop us?” Livy snarled, but her voice didn’t sound serious. There was some laughter between her words.

For everyone who knew the Leviathan, this would be enough to understand she was playing around, but for someone who had just met her, it gave the impression of seeing someone cruel and sadistic.

“Lady Hera, Lady Helena, there are monsters behind you!” Yulan said, confused as to why the two masters didn’t notice them.

“We know,” Helena said with a smirk that drained all the color from Yulan’s face. The Orc woman was sure she had just brought ruin to the Moonlit Harbor.

“Ok, ok. Joke is over,“ Hera stepped forward, “You don’t have to worry, they are with me. And no, they are not going to attack anyone. I just thought they might like to see the harbor.”

Yulan blinked slowly, and focused her eyes on the court, “Qi beasts? Is that why I can’t feel your cultivation, Lady Hera? You have given it to them?”

“I really don’t know how to answer that. But yes, they gain their power through me. And I’m sorry for not letting you know beforehand,” Hera glanced at Helena, “Someone wanted to play a prank.”

The mage huffed, “It was funny, and it’s not a big deal. You are too serious sometimes.”

“Who is that?” Yuwei pointed at the Leviathan, speaking for the first time since they met her.

“I am Livy, the Leviathan, little one,” the titled blade replied, her voice full of pride.

“Are you a dragon?”

Livy nodded, “A sea dragon.”

“Can you take me to the Ice Island?” Yuwei asked.

“Yuwei… you know she’s not there. Right?” Yulan turned to the smaller Orc.

“Who?” Helena asked.

“My mom. She left for the Ice Island. She said she would come back when she learned how to control her power, but that happened before my 6th birthday. I’m worried she was hurt. Or forgot how to get home. She never had a good sense of direction,” Yuwei explained.

“Yuwei, we can’t ask that kind of thing. They can’t take us all the way there. And we don’t know if your mom is still on the Ice Island. She likely already left,” Yulan sighed. It was clear this wasn’t the first time she had to say this kind of thing.

Hera and Helena glanced at each other.

“A master of ice lost on an island?” Helena tilted her head.

“It could be,” Hera nodded and turned to the Sentinel, “Any chance you could take all of us?”

“I don’t think so. Too much weight. But since we are going to an island, we could split the groups. One with me, and the other with Livy,” Nimbus glanced at the Leviathan. When in the water, she was almost as fast as the Sentinel was in the air. Almost.

Hera nodded and turned to the two Orcs, “Sure, we can take you there. How far is it?"