NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12. Janica’s Quest
Chapter 12.Janica’s Quest
You failed the quest: Into the Silverlode Mine.
Your reputation with River Junction has decreased by 50 points.
You are now Distrusted by River Junction and all of its inhabitants.
Congratulations, you completed the quest: Protect the Earth Spirit.
You earned 65 experience points.
You earned 30 Job Points for the Mystic Job.
You earned a new passive skill: Spiritual Connection 1
Spiritual Connection 1: Passive Skill. Creates a connection with a familiar, allowing you to maintain a bond with them as long as the passive is active. In addition, your familiar can now be seen by others and interact with the world. Cost: 1 stamina/second to maintain.
“Thank you, Mystic Warren,” the Earth Spirit said, his voice like rocks scraping against stone.
My head spun. I had done it. Somehow. And it was awesome: the electricity that had flickered all over the place, the last minute triumph over my newfound nemesis, the frost that had filled the room— it was all so real. I hadn’t felt excitement like this since Christmas morning with my parents. Since winning the seventh grade science fair. I pushed the repercussions of my decision to a corner of my mind. I would deal with Arthur later.
“Warren, activate your new passive,” Janica said. “Please, before the Earth Spirit breaks its connection. I need to speak with it.”
That’s right. Janica had her own quest to complete. Her reason for leading me here. I stared at her. I held all the leverage at this moment. With it, I asked for the one thing I needed in a companion. “No more lies,” I said. “No more manipulation. From now on you share information with me even without me asking. Promise me.”
She folded her arms, glaring at me.
I folded my arms and looked at her. A standoff. She looked back and forth between me and the Spirit. I could see her getting nervous.
She snorted. “I don’t like this version of you. Fine, I promise. But do it fast.”
I opened my Spell Book, turning the pages. On the first blank page, gothic lettering, symbols that moved on the page, graphs, diagrams materialized. A beautiful enigma. If I had taken the apprentice Job, I might be able to decode it. I placed my hand in the center and I thought Spiritual Connection I.
An aura sprung up around Janica. A soft, white light that lifted us into the air. We smelled of nutmeg. A series of images flooded through my mind: a younger Janica wrestling with her siblings; a day of great shame; fairies holding their heads low, weeping, screaming; Janica at court, appealing to a Fairy Queen; Janica among military leaders. I couldn’t make sense of it. But one thing stuck with me. There were so many images, sequences, emotions, and real connections with others. Janica had lived an entire life. She wasn’t Janica, my guide; she was her own being. AI, for sure, created by the developers at Integration Online, but more complex than I could comprehend.
When the moment passed, Janica appeared solid. Not slightly transparent and ephemeral as she used to be, but present. Not a shade of blue. And far less mystical. I could see dirt on her armor and grease on her face. Was that an insect leg stuck in her hair?
“You smell… awful,” I said, taking a step back.
“Excuse me,” she said. “I don’t smell at all, I—” She raised her arms, one at a time and took a big whiff. “I smell amazing,” she said. “Like a warrior.”
“You smell like B.O.”
“What’s B.O.?”
“Body Odor. You need to bathe. ASAP. That’s a new part of our arrangement.”
“Too late,” she said. “You already set your terms.” She turned to the elemental. “Spirit,” she said, bowing deeply. “My name is Janica Fortitucious Wingfeather, Third Cousin of her Majesty.”
“Fort-ti-too-tucious?” I asked, pronouncing it slowly. “That can’t be your actual name.”
She shot me a glare that screamed “not now!”
“Well met, Royal Fairy,” the spirit said.
“Spirit, as you know the Fairy Race has barely begun its term of service to the empire as punishment for The Great Mistake,” Janica said. “However, I was wondering, humbly, if I might ask you a question. You see, I am a part of the royal court, and my family is more responsible than any for what… transpired. As such, we are more in debt than any others and buried by our shame.”
The image of the fairies weeping. The trauma. The Great Mistake.
The spirit grumbled. “Go on.”
“In addition to our hundred years of service, I wish to help undo the harm that we caused.” She paused, waiting for a reaction, then continued. “Spirit, might I ask you if you know of any way to repair the severed mana channels? I hate to ask, but my people are banished from interacting with any other peoples except for” — She glanced at me, then turned back to the earth spirit—“these new adventurers, which we’ve sworn to help guide in their first steps in our world. And I believe that I am the only Fairy who has found a way to remain with a human for more than a day. Thus, I feel a great responsibility to figure out how to right this wrong.” She bowed again.
The spirit grumbled and shook, possibly a sign of it pondering her request. “I will tell you just one thing, Little One, because you aided Warren in protecting this place. You don’t know what you think you know. The story that was told to the world is riddled with holes. All I’ll tell you is that there is a place where mana regenerates, although slowly. To the North. On the border of Human and Elvish lands.”
Janica’s eyes went wide, but she didn’t say a word.
I needed to speak with Janica about this, get more information if I could. But this wasn’t the time.
“Spirit,” I cut in. “The mayor of River Junction will send more adventurers down here to kill you and reclaim this mine. This group was just the first.”
The spirit grumbled its ascent. “Warren, I must ask one more thing of you. Take the explosives that that boy brought into my chamber and use them to blow up the elevator. It took the humans fifty years to dig this deep, so this will buy us some time. Then, explain to the mayor why I was here. He will start mining operations again, but if we tell him to excavate closer to the surface and laterally, this may prevent future problems.” The elemental seemed to spit a small rock onto the ground. It rolled to my feet. I picked it up, admiring the gentle blue glow of the stone.
Elemental Shard
Item Class: Mineral
Item Quality: Rare
A quest item given to you by the Spirit Elemental.
“But won’t it kill you if I blow up the elevator?” I asked.
The elemental laughed a low rumbly laugh that sounded like a small avalanche. “Don’t worry about me.”
You have been offered a quest.
Quest: Stop the Mining Madness
Objective: Destroy the elevator shaft that leads deep into the mine and convince the Mayor to stop digging so deep.
Rewards: 65 Experience Points
Do you Accept: Yes /No
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll do it.” I glanced around the room for the first time since the battle had ended. A pile of loot shimmered where each of my three companions lay, dead, on the ground. Upon looting, I found one item on each of the bodies.
Minor explosive: A self-enclosed explosive device with trigger and 5 minute fuse.
Item Class: Consumable
Item Quality: Common
Rabbit Carcass x 10
Item Class: Common
Leather Vest
Item Class: Common
Item Quality: Poor
Armor: 1 % damage reduction
I equipped the Leather Vest, pulling it over my Torn Shirt. It fit me well enough, though it had already seen some wear as Thomas had taken multiple hits in it. I piled the ten rabbit carcasses into a stack in my inventory, enough to complete Rabbit Season 2 and then some. I now had two active quests to complete.
We bid the Spirit farewell, and made for the exit.
The first part of the quest went off without a problem. I placed the explosives at the top of the elevator, set the fuse for its maximum time, and speed-walked my way to the exit. It turned out that running drained my stamina quickly, but speed-walking did not drain my stamina at all. Janica remarked how silly I looked with my hips and arms pumping side to side, but I had always enjoyed speed-walking. I waited out front of the mineshaft, well away from the entrance. When the explosion thundered, it seemed to shake the mountain. The opening coughed an enormous puff of dust, like a non-smoker taking their first drag of a cigarette and immediately regretting it. Dust and smoke went everywhere.
We walked back toward River Junction in silence. I could tell that Janica needed time. Her eyes were distant, as if deep in contemplation. When I couldn’t wait any longer I finally asked, “Janica, what was that all about? Why is it significant that mana is still flowing in another zone?”
She didn’t answer at first. “I don’t know yet. The High Council proclaimed that mana channels all over the world were equally broken. But if that’s not true and some were affected while others were not, then the cause may not be so clear.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “What happened?”
Her eyes dropped. A clear sign of shame. Then she became visibly angry. “I thought all you cared about was making money. Why are you prying?”
She had a point. I needed to stay focused on my goal, and that was making enough money to pay rent. Getting involved in large quests was not part of the plan. I had a feeling that not only was this a large quest, that it could possibly be the quest. The great mystery of Integration Online. Perhaps in helping Janica, I had stumbled upon a thread that would lead to much bigger problems. I needed to steer clear of that. Like a split end, it needed to be cut off.
“Sorry,” I said. I stopped pushing for answers, and we continued in silence.
It was 10:00 p.m. game time and real time before Janica and I passed through the gates of River Junction. The sky was dark, and lights flooded into the wide, main street that ran through the middle of town. Plenty of people were about, walking, finishing last minute chores, or stumbling around, drunk and loud. Gamers and NPCs were everywhere. I had two hours until I needed to log out. We headed toward the town hall where the mayor lived and worked, hoping to complete the spirit’s quest when I heard the sound of rock music pouring out of an establishment. I stopped and turned.
The sign above the place read “The Dancing Cougar.” A picture of a grinning mountain lion in a dress hung above the door. The smell of beer poured through western-style double swinging doors. Ruckus laughter, music, and whooping assaulted my ears. Had I found a… dive bar?