Project: TheirWorld - Chapter 013 - Part 2 _____________

The Next Quest

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TheirWorld

Grimhai nodded. “Do you know of the Tenmath? Come to think of it, it isn’t terribly common knowledge - not in these parts, at least.”

“I’ve heard a little,” she told him, honestly surprised to hear the subject brought up in the tutorial.

He seemed surprised but nodded cordially, “So you understand what it means, to some degree?”

The Tenmath. Though it wasn’t a publicized part of the TheirWorld story, it was widely speculated by the game’s community that becoming a Tenmath, or achieving what is called a ‘Tenmath Class’ was the true main goal of the game. Hidden like easter eggs throughout the game, the Tenmath Classes were considered the ultimate classes of the games - to the point of being horrendously overpowered. As of the last time Dassah had checked, five Tenmath Classes were confirmed, two of them from the same branch. There were another twenty or so that were speculated based on lore and quest chains that people were still working on.

“I-I know they are powerful,” she answered honestly. The information that she had about the Tenmath was far from complete.

“Do you know of the Compasses, then?” he asked.

“I’ve heard of them,’ she told him. “I don’t know much about them though.”

“It’s good to be familiar with them, though unless you get involved with the church it won’t affect you much,” he said. “The Compasses are… Well simply put, they are not really a part of the church, but servants of the God and Goddess themselves. There is the Compass of the Day, which Serves the Bright Lady, and the Compass of the Night, which serves the Void Lord. Each Compass consists of five elected members: the four guardians of the directions, and the Heart. The Heart serves as the voice of the gods, receiving and interpreting visions, dreams, stories, and words from all over the world into a message from their respective power, choosing directions for the followers to travel, and thus the world itself. The four guardians serve the Heart, aiding in the collection of stories and the spreading of the message. If the Heart falls, a new heart is chosen from one of the four by an election, and in then replaced with a qualifying Tenmath.”

“Qualifying?”

“Only certain Tenmath may become a part of a specific Compass. For example, the Compass of the Sun will not accept any sort of thieves or mages that have anything to do blood or demon magic that are seen as the workings of the Black Lord. Likewise, you’ll not find a holy cleric or true knight among the Tenmath of the Compass of the Night. From there, the Tenmath have a competition; though how that competition is formed is a mystery to those outside the circle.”

> >

“Hmm,” Guin toyed with the dagger in her hand. Even she could tell it was a lousy thing; it was probably just a step above a letter opener. It would be fine for her for now, though.

As far as the Compasses went, it didn’t surprise her that Grimhai had said what he did - nor was he incorrect - about most of it. In fact, she knew what he said to be what they called ‘surface lore’. It was true - if you didn’t delve into it. If you did, however, it seemed that this ‘surface lore’ was riddled with half-truths. The community had confirmed the existence of not two, but four Compasses - with a speculated total of eight. Not much had been revealed yet, but it seemed like there was a lot of speculation that these Compasses would be focus of future expansions.

“If you have no other questions…” Grimhai waved her over to the door in a not-so-subtle suggestion for her to be about her business.

“Oh!” she exclaimed after thinking for a moment. “Teacher Grimhai, do you know what a Veil Ant is and how I could find one?”

“A-A Veil Ant?” he seemed taken aback. “Why do you seek a Veil Ant?”

“It’s just… Someone in the village was asking about them,” she answered, scratching her head. She wasn’t sure how an NPC would react to the fact that she had been talking to spirits in the village.

“Well… I can’t say that I personally know anything about any sort of Veil creatures, but if you ask Miss Povari out under the Kelavo tree, she might know something,” he told her.

Nodding, Guin turned to leave the schoolhouse to the tune of a ding, followed by:

> >

With a giggle, Guin stuck her tongue out and headed in the direction of the young woman who had been teaching under the tree. She had no idea what a Kelavo tree was, but she felt it was safe to assume that that was who he meant.

Edging closer to the group, she heard the young woman instructing the children around her about the purple flowers that were in red and blue pots scattered throughout the base of the tree. From what Guin heard, it seemed that these were some sort of edible flower.

“Now children, be advised that there is another flower,” the woman was saying, taking a blue pot into her hands. “This is a Milaou flower. It is almost identical to the Seitbloom flower, except, if you notice here, there is a red vein running down the center of the petals. Also, the Seitbloom flower has a total of six petals, but the Milaou flower only has five,” she instructed, pointing out the differences as she lectured. “While the Seitbloom can be used as an herb and a supplement to promote good health, the flower of the Milaou can make a person sick for several days - even to the point of death.”

> >

The window faded as the children thanked the teacher and ran off to play with one another or visit with other teachers. After they all had gone, the young woman smiled up at Guin.

“Hello there, little girl,” she said. It took a minute for Guin to remember she was a child. “My name is Kaori Povari. I am an herbalist here in Bade. Did you come here to learn about healing and the natural world?”

“No- Excuse me, Teacher Povari - maybe I will come to learn from you some other time,” Guin said. The young teacher gave her a confused look. “I was speaking to teacher Grimhai earlier - he sent me over to you. Someone in the village was asking about Veil Ants, and I was wondering where I might find one.”

“A Veil Ant?” she repeated. “Why that’s - well, I guess one who doesn’t know the land of the spirits wouldn’t know about them - though it really might be considered common knowledge. Veil Ants aren’t very difficult to find at all. In fact,” she pointed up into the tree. “There are some that live in this tree!”

“Really?” Guin asked, looking into the tree. “... What even do they look like?”

Teacher Povari laughed. “They are simply white ants. They aren’t even spirits - though it is said in this village that those who have the ability to see spirits will be able to speak with them!”

“...I see. So, are they in any tree?”

“In most, I would imagine. Unlike regular ants, they only live in trees - and in fact, they help the trees they live in by fighting off other kinds of harmful bugs.” She continued, “They are edible as well, in fact. Eating a Veil Ant can cure many kinds of poisons. Should you ever eat the wrong thing in the woods, you can simply eat a few Veil Ants to stave off death. In fact, they can even help cure the poison of the flower that I was just speaking of; the Milaou flower.”

“Heeeh…?” Guin wondered aloud, though she had no desire to eat any ants. “So if I climb this tree, I can meet a Veil Ant?”

“Well, I don’t know about ‘meeting’ one,” she answered with an amused tone. “But certainly you can see one. Tell you what. Since you are so interested, why don’t you go ahead? I’ll give you a leg up and make sure you don’t fall!”

“Really? Thank you, Teacher!” Guin exclaimed and ran up to the tree.

“Here you go!” Teacher Povari knelt down and gave Guin a hand as she climbed up to her shoulders. Once she got her footing, she was high enough up to reach a low branch. With the some, and another push from the teacher, Guin was able to scramble up the tree.

After finding a good, sturdy branch to rest on that was far enough away from the ground that at the very least a whisper could be mistaken for the breeze, she decided to test the idea that those with Veil Sight could speak with the Veil Ants.

“Hello?” she hissed. “Veil Ants? Little Veil Ants!”

After a moment, it seemed that her call was answered. Several little white ants appeared before her. They seemed to be talking to one another in little voices, wondering who she was and if she could hear them. While Guin marveled at them, a larger white ant with crimson eyes came over to her eye level.

“Who calls us? Speak now, or we shall depart with haste,” came a voice, just barely audible.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” Guin said. “But I was sent here by a horse spirit named Giran Rune. He sent me to find some kind of great wise owl?”

“Oh-ho!” the ant gave a commanding acknowledgment of her words. “Greetings then, friend of The Watcher. I am Ji-Or-Pon, leader of the warrior ants of this colony, and one of the Grand Guardians of the White Fox Forest!”

Slightly taken aback at the commanding aura the tiny ant gave off with his introduction, Guin nodded. “N-Nice to meet you. My name is Guin Grey, and I’m.... Well no one, really. I guess.” She felt like she needed some title or another when dealing with someone like this.

“You are as you are. A Candidate. Be proud, Candidate Guin - the path open to you is not just for anyone,” it said, bowing slightly to her. Not sure how she should respond, Guin felt her face flush. “I am afraid, however, that you have been - perhaps purposely - misled, Candidate. You are not seeking just any great wise owl, but Wise, the Great Owl, herself.”

“‘Wise’ is a name?” she asked stupidly, then realized she had no idea what it was talking about. “Wait - Candidate? Candidate for what?”

“Indeed,” it seemed to decidedly not answer her question.

“...So where can I find her then?”

“I am afraid that I cannot answer you that,” he told her in awkward fashion. “Though Wise usually comes to visit our tree every night, it has been a few days since then. If Giran is asking for you to find her, then time is perhaps more important than not. I suggest that you see the Webspinner in the remains of an ancient oak tree by a little forest pond not far back behind this grove. I will mark it on you map -” There was a ping, and he continued. “As the Prophet of White Fox Forest, the webspinner should be able to tell you where Wise is preening these days. While you are there, tell her that Ji^Or-Pon has also asked that she provide a reading for you in return for your service.”

> BONUS: It has also given you instructions to ask her to read your fate while while you try to find the owl, Wise.

This quest is optional. It can be skipped.>

> > >

“Thank you, Ji-Or-Pon!” Guin said, accepting the quest. “I will make my way to the Webspinner!”