HC:Pacifist | Ch. 30 - It Can Hear?

Charlie had been a field medic in the army. He served under Sargent Jazzinald and even saved his life several times. He had hesitated to join his old army mates in AstroTerra, but he had to admit he was having fun.

Unlike the other veterans, Charlie had no family. While others frequently logged out to meet for coffee with their children or to babysit their grandkids, Charlie would stay in AstroTerra playing alone.

He had decided to use his downtime to do a quest he'd read about in the forums. He had joined a paid post created by a high-level medic. He gave helpful hints and shared all his quests and skills for a monthly subscription. Charlie easily afforded the subscription, courtesy of his veteran pension and his retirement as a surgeon.

DrMedic, the host of this paid post, repeatedly said it was never too soon to start gaining alignment. The sooner one could get to righteous, the better. It was an essential stat for medics. The more righteous a medic was, the more powerful their heals. DrMedic had multiple posts explaining that it was tough to level alignment, and he recommended starting early with it.

Carefully following the steps in the guide, he went back to see the trainer in town after hunting enough ravens. Like every village trainer, he wore respectable armor and looked strong and brave.

"Mister, I have finished gathering the feathers of those thieves that stole your helmet. Here you go."

The trainer wasn't smiling and had a stern look on his face. Had he done something wrong? He had followed the guide to the letter.

"Get your rewards and get out of here."

Righteous Revenge (common)

Quest description: The trainer had a prized shiny helmet awarded to him for his bravery in the battle of Almidor. A greedy raven took it. He seeks your assistance in getting revenge.

Completion rate: B

Quest rewards: 2.000 XP; 1 silver

"But... why didn't I get any righteousness points?" The guide he had read had explicitly mentioned that ten righteousness was part of the rewards. He had gotten nothing!

"Do you think I would vouch for a Martyr Killer? Get lost."

"But, I..."

10 righteousness bonus canceled. One stack of the curse [Martyr Killer] has been lifted.

*

To Roth's regret, he had to leave the Raven's Nests before reaching an esteemed reputation with them. These longer, more difficult riddles seemed to be working wonders. He had steadily progressed in the language as well. His theory was that the system might award him for dictating the topic all ravens were discussing, thus speeding his vocabulary absorption.

He was only 100 reputation short of becoming esteemed by the ravens and was at 86% of learning Crowish. The experiment was a success! Although the language and reputation progressed slowly when he factored in the total amount of time he would have to spend to do both, it was worth trying to level both up simultaneously. It was kind of like an AoE skill. It dealt less damage individually, but because it was targeting more than one mob at the same time, the total output of damage made it worth it.

Despite the excitement running through Roth's veins, he had an appointment to keep. He had already spent half a day inside the Raven's Nest dungeon, and the time for the Council of Badgers was almost upon him. In AstroTerra, there was a cycle of day and night, even seasons and different weather conditions, just like in the real world.

From what Roth had read on the forums, as beginners left the starting zone, they would notice that in higher-level maps, this brought along a series of buffs and debuffs, as well as several nuances that could severely impact the effectiveness of a skill.

For instance, fire-based skills dealt more damage during the day, and ice-based skills dealt more damage during the night. Fire skills dealt less damage if it was raining, while ice ones got a damage bonus. It was all incredibly complex, but Roth didn't have to worry about this now since those buffs and debuffs didn't start until someone left the starting zone.

The developers had tried not to overwhelm new players with too many things at once. The beginner zone was an area where players could learn about wild bosses, dungeons, and questing. After leaving, they would be introduced to more complex concepts and advanced game mechanics.

Even though it was night in the woods, the occasional glowshrooms that grew over the forest floor or off tree trunks aided the moon and stars in dispelling the darkness and make the path bright and travelers unafraid. After a few days in the game, Roth felt as comfortable during the daytime as he did at night. It didn't impact his gaming very much.

After several minutes of running, he finally reached the droning oak tree he had signaled as standing out the most. He spared a look at the system clock. He still had 10 minutes until midnight. Roth ran in circles around the three, trying to find hidden clues. At one point, he even got on his knees and started digging.

Five minutes to midnight. Nothing. Could this be the wrong place? Roth searched the shadows within his field of vision, looking for anything that would move. One minute to midnight. Still nothing. Could he have gotten the wrong oak tree? This was by far the oldest one in badger territory. He returned to his notes and tried to read the poem he had received one more time to ensure he hadn't missed any clues.

"Where the oak is old

And the flowers don't bloom.

Where the night isn't cold

And where there is no moon."

Was he missing something? It was almost midnight. He could return the following day, but waiting another twenty-four hours to learn more about the badgers was frustrating. He tried to reread the poem, this time in a loud voice, hoping it would give him a new perspective. As soon as he finished reading it, he got a notification.

The oak tree hears the password and dispels the illusion.

You are the first to discover the Council Tree: +17.500 XP, +300 reputation with all badgers.

[Level up!]

Roth's eyes refocused, and he saw that the oak tree was hollow. Inside, sitting in a circle, were different badgers. One was so big that only half of it fit inside the tree. His gigantic butt was out in the cold.

The badgers were chatting excitedly to each other, counting the minutes until their council began. As he prepared to take a step toward them, Roth's foot was left hanging in midair.

"Wait a minute... wait a minute." Roth hurriedly read the notification he had received again. The oak tree hears? He brought both hands to his head. Could this mean the animals weren't the only ones suffering a mutation inside the game? Trees too? If a tree can hear you and even provoke illusions and dispel them, that shows a degree of intelligence. If mice were weaving tapestries, crows were telling riddles, and foxes were writing stories, what could prevent the developers from making trees NPCs as well?

Roth's mind was blown away. He had just uncovered another layer of complexity in the game. Thank goodness he hadn't been offered the lumberjack profession or he might have been in trouble. He would have to think about this in depth later. After all, his hosts were waiting for him.

The badgers all starred at Roth, waiting for him to join the circle. He apologized and took his seat. One of the badgers began the meeting.

"I declare this council meeting open." Saying this, the badger pulled some papers out of nowhere and started, "Let's start with unfinished business from yesterday's gathering. Have we arrived at a consensus about which sounds better? Is it the 'Fair pale glitter of the moon's embrace' or 'The pale fair glitter of the embrace of the moon?' We all had a full day to think. All in favor of the first verse?" Some of the badgers raised their paws. "All in favor of the second verse?" A greater number raised their paw. "That settles it. From now on, the official verse shall be the second."

What in the world was this? thought Roth. Is this what 'badger matters' involve? It felt like he was in a poetry club meeting or back in his English classes. Is this why he spent a full morning looking at every oak tree in these woods? He chuckled.

Roth smiled at the warm environment and the peaceful feeling it evoked. Who does this anymore? Who meets to discuss poetry at midnight?

"The second point for today's meeting is that we have a new friend. He has shown us he has a poetic soul and has become our friend. Please, everyone, welcome Pax."

A round of applause was heard. For a moment, Roth's thoughts went to the rageaholic meetings, and his heart found a spark of joy in the comfort of the memory.

"Thank you, everyone," he said in Badgerian.

"As you might have noticed, our friend is a broker. We have been running low on supplies, and old Oscar isn't getting any younger. I propose allowing Roth to show if he can represent us and help us open a trade route to the human cities. We all know that art thrives in the mingling of cultures and experiences. I think this will make our poetry more rich. All in favor?"

All the badgers raised their paws. Roth felt touched. These were such refined animals. Was this what humans used to do before? Gather in rooms, discuss literature, and consider how beautiful things were. These animals were so refined and polished. He felt like a savage without manners, by comparison, an unlettered barbarian.

"Bring the nail clipper!" He snapped out of his thoughts. Bring the what? questioned Roth. One of the badgers pulled out a giant nail clipper from under the bench, and two of them brought it closer to the Brawny Badger. The field boss drew his claws out meekly and let the badgers cut them.

Roth was shocked. How did this poetry parlor become a beauty parlor all of a sudden? What were they doing? They cut all of the Brawny Badger's claws and put them into a box. 20 in total. The badger taking the lead in the council, got the box and handed it to Roth.

"Here. There are twenty [Badger's Great Claws] here. You, humans, seem to like them for whatever reason."

The quest [Council of Badgers] has changed to [Badger Trade].

Badger Trade (unique)

The badgers are poets who refuse to step so low as to occupy their artistic and poetic minds with mundane affairs. They prefer to entrust commerce and trade to a broker who will do the heavy lifting for them.

Quest objective: Take some of the badgers’ specialty products to a human town and sell them for the highest price possible.

Quest rewards: It depends on how much profit you generate.

The Old Badger wants to trade you 20x [Badger's Great Claws]. Do you accept?

[Y/N]

Roth accepted. What a treasure! Any guild would jump at the opportunity to have one of these items in their galleries. He was sure that he could get at least 1 gold for each of them.

"Thank you for trusting me," said Roth.

"You are welcome."

Since there was a moment of silence and all eyes were on him, Roth decided to try his luck and see if he could gain any more hints on his [Tapestry Heist] quest.

"Esteemed council, the mice and foxes have been victims of theft. Two valuable rodent tapestries and two fox tomes were taken. Have you, by any chance, been victims of similar crimes?"

The badgers exchanged looks.

"No, friend. We haven't."

"Do you know anything about the thief? About who it might be?"

"I don't know anything about it." Turning to his colleagues, he asked, "Anyone? Yes. Brawny."

"We do know that beautiful poem about the burglar." All badgers were thrilled at the suggestion of bringing back the discussion to poetry. Roth's shoulders slumped. These badgers could think of nothing but their cursed verses.

"Why don't you recite it for us, Brawny? You do it so well," one of the badgers suggested.

The Brawny Badger, with its deeper voice, cleared its throat and began:

"Its stride is gentle, feline, and light

It sees well in daylight, but even better at night.

It runs and walks without making a sound.

And if it wants to hide, it can't be found.

Many are the spoils within its wealthy cove.

It could rival even a dragon's treasure trove.

It steals for fun, not out of malice or greed.

It knows no failure because it will always succeed.

Is it real? Is it a myth? Is it true? Or is it just a fable?

Find the burglar; find the thief. Find him if you're able."

The badgers broke into applause. Roth was surprised to see such a giant, and clumsy badger recite poetry with passion and finesse. Thinking about himself, he chuckled. How looks deceived. He, too, was a big, clumsy man, and here he was, playing detective in a poetry club meeting.

After hearing the poem, he got a notification signaling that the quest had progressed.

[Tapestry Heist] updated.

During your visit to the Council of Badgers, you discovered that the thief is known as 'the burglar.' The burglar has been around long enough to earn a poem from the badgers. There seem to be some hidden clues in the poem. Perhaps you can unravel this mystery.

Quest objectives: Find out the location of the stolen tapestries and tomes.

Quest rewards: Unknown

Now that Roth had been able to get the quest and his Tapestry Heist quest had progressed, he guessed that it wouldn't hurt to stick around and listen to some badger poetry.

Ch. 29 - Raven's Nest

INDEX

Ch. 31 - That's It?