Project: TheirWorld - Chapter 039 - Part 2

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Loose Ends

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TheirWorld

“There are some things I suppose…” Dawl said, and listed them off for her.

He didn’t have anything that was of terrible interest, as most of what he offered he had already taught to her for free. Having such a ridiculous amount of tokens as she did, though, she picked up some things just to have. He did offer the ability [Hunter’s Mark] and several books that were of interest to her - one in particular improved around ten survival-class skills.

Imagining that Jormund would likely be the same, she thanked Mrs Noin for her never ending hospitality, and went outside accompanied by Dawl. Jormund was still sitting outside, waiting.

“Are we ready to go, then?” the pastor asked as they walked out.

“Pretty much,” Guin said. “I meant to ask you, do you have anything I could trade my tokens for?”

Jormund thought for a moment and said, “Only a few things. I do not know if they would be useful for you…”

He listed off the things he could give her, and she was only a little surprised to know that the spear abilities that she had learned from him were not available to her, and disappointed that the dispel ability he had used earlier was also not among them.

He did have a handful of books for the [History and Lore] skill, but more importantly, he also offered two root ritual abilities: [Prayer] and [Song]. I can’t sing any better than I can dance, but… There was no telling what abilities would be useful in the future, and she was basically learning them for free, at this point. Perking up are her request to learn them, Jormund happily taught her the two abilities.

When he finished instructing her on the base rituals, Jormund pat her on the head. “You are a good little student,” he told her warmly. “You have done so very much for me - for White Fox Forest; and return, I have very little to give. There is one thing, however, than I can do for you. I can teach you one more thing.”

“What kind of thing?” Guin asked, doing a little dance inside her heart. Relationship reputation really does pay off in this game!

“I assume that you understand how abilities and rituals work,” he said. “But they do not always have to work independently from one another. In fact, if you find the right teacher to aid you, you can combine two abilities to form a new one.” Guin gawked at him. She knew that it was possible - it was possible for, but he couldn’t be saying that he was going to teach her an advanced ability in the tutorial! “Now that you know [Song] and [Prayer], I can teach you the [Hymn] ritual. Perhaps this, and this hymn of the Lady can protect you when I cannot.”

He handed her a small book, titled “Hymn of the Light”. Inside was written a song, with the music and lyrics. As she read it, the base [Hymn] ritual tooltip popped up, but even more valuable, was the skill that followed:

> <<[Hymn of the Light]>> > > > > > > >

“This is a healing ability!” Guin exclaimed in her excitement.

“It is,” Jormund nodded, then his voice turned stern. “It is one of many in this world - and nowhere near the strongest. It is, however, better than nothing - though it’s actual value will be reflected only by the effort you put into it. Every [Song] and [Hymn] ability has an accompanying recording that can be accessed through the ability screen. You would do well to listen and practice that they may serve you better.”

“Yes, sir!” Guin said, standing at attention. Jormund and Dawl laughed.

“What should we do now?” Dawl asked.

“We need to find the Dragon King in order turn in the quests,” Guin said, pulling up the quest screen. “But he’s not marked on my map…”

Just as Guin was about to call out Liorax, Jormund pointed his spear up at Wise and asked, “What about her?” Guin looked up to see Wise looking down at them. The pretty white and tan face of the barn owl seemed somehow amused as she looked down at them. “Lady Owl,” Jormund called up. Dawl looked confused for about thirty seconds before giving up. Guin snorted in amusement. Poor guy. “Might you come down and join us?”

Wise spread her great wings and glided down to his shoulder. “You may call me Wise,” she told Jormund before looking over at Guin. “Have you completed your duty then, Candidate?”

“We have,” Guin nodded. “Could you help us to find the Dragon King?”

“It would be my honor,” Wise said, bowing her head. “If you are ready, follow me! Keep up!”

With great force, Wise lifted off of Jormund’s shoulder with a chuckle, ruffling his hair with wing and wind. Laughing as Jormund scowled at the owl, Guin went into [Fox Form] and ran off after Wise.

It was much easier to keep up with Wise in her fox form, but Dawl and Jormund still struggled. Every now and again, Wise and her had to stop and wait for them to catch up before running off again. Five minutes. Ten minutes.

The way started to look familiar.

I’ve been through here before… Guin thought, looking at her surroundings as she zipped through them. The leaves started changing from green to the reds and yellows of fall. When the marble statue of the woman surrounded by spirits came into view, Guin remembered it’s details well. This is the place Wise brought me before…

This time, however, waiting for them at the base of the statue, was the humanoid form of the Dragon King.