I had decided, before splitting up, that my mage self would follow up on some of the leads I had gotten from the night before. I hadn’t put them in any specific order when I’d only been one person, as they were low priority compared to all of the work I had to do as a [Lord], but now that the decision was made I began to shuffle through the mental list I made.
I decided that I wanted to see Crescentis. Three of the messages I’d gotten last night had dealt with that nation, including the one from Eliyenia of the shallow pools. She was a powerful figure in the Naiad Court, and extremely influential in the politics of her nation.
Crescentis got its name from the fact that it was crescent shaped along the bay of the Sea of Squalls. The nation did not extend for the entire coastline of the violent ocean, but its entire eastern border was coastal. The joint elvish and naiad court also claimed a handful of small isles in the sea itself, though its grip on those bastions was often tenuous as monsters of the depths claimed their supplies and the lives of their fishermen. The deep nagas and mermen came ashore to raid occasionally as well.
I came out of the portal facility in Eldertide, the capital of Crescentis, and was immediately bombarded with the scent of the ocean. The city was built on and into a great cliff, and the violent waves of high-tide were smashing against the pillars and rocks below. Exiting the building, I was treated with my first view of the Sea of Squalls, and I spent several moments simply admiring the vastness of the ocean.
The local population was smaller than the human nations of the west. Both elves and naiads, who guard this long stretch of the coast for the rest of the heartlands, live long lives. Naiads grow into mature bodies quickly, but retain childlike playfulness for the first two centuries before settling down into a serious and reliable ally. Elves reach adulthood at eighty years, but their children are rarely seen by humans, sequestered away among their own people.
Neither species is known to die of old age, although from time to time the word that an ancient elf has reentered the cycle of reincarnation makes its way through to the rest of the world. Naiads are known to voluntarily return themselves and become part of the sea which birthed them once more, although they are usually many centuries old when they do so.
And, of course, that only applies to Native elves and naiads. Travelers, who may select to send their minds into the bodies of those races just as easily as that of a human, have their own rules about mortality and maturity. Having spent most of my life in a human starting area, most of the Travelers I’d encountered had been human as well, although that applied less to the endgame Travelers. I often had a few elves in my bodyguard, during the days when I’d still required one.
Dwarves were less common, but more popular than the nymphs. This was due to the requirement that all dryads attend to their mother tree, or one of its saplings, at certain periods, while naiads were forced to spend time swimming in a source of pure water. The endgamers believed such requirements turned the races into ‘optional roleplay content,’ which for some reason made them not worth considering seriously.
After I had finished taking in the view and reflecting on the various races of the alliance of the light, I flagged down a passing elf and asked him if he knew where I could find Eliyenia of the shallow pools.
He simply laughed. “By the shallow pools, of course. There is a spring ten miles west of the city where the water gathers before making its way to the sea. That is her source, and she seldom leaves it these days.”
Having the place described to me, I found that it became marked on my map. I thanked the elf, and summoned Shadow to begin the journey.
“<
<
I was halfway to my destination, riding along at an easy trot, and I was bored, so I figured I’d see what the others were doing. In a moment, a new chat screen popped up in my HUD and asked me to enter an identifier. I suppose that made sense, since everyone except for [Lord] Hail was Hagi, it would be confusing what the system should call us. I decided to go with the simple solution.
I arrived at the Shallow Pools a few minutes after the meeting of my minds concluded. The pools were quite beautiful, terraced with a smooth glass surface that shown blue. I dismounted shadow and patted him on the flank, although he stopped to take a drink.
I looked around to make certain that nobody was watching, then I dropped the illusion magic that was disguising my appearance and changed my name back to Hail.
“Eliyenia?” I called out. “You sent a message to me. I am Hail Jeoran, from Yuikon. I have come at your invitation.”
Moments passed before I received an answer. A beautiful woman with long blond hair emerged from the Shallow Pools just in front of me, formed whole from the water itself. I’d never seen a Naiad step out of their element before, and it was fascinating to watch.
Despite the paintings, she emerged dry and fully clothed in a tasteful blue dress, with her hair pulled back behind her head by a seashell comb. I knew from her expression that she was centuries old; were she a young naiad she would not have the serious countenance that she laid on me now.
“Greetings, Dungeon Master. Lair Destroyer. Veteran of battlegrounds numerous. Bringer of havoc and change,” she said in a sweet voice.
“Greetings, Eliyenia of the Shallow Pools. High Counselor of the Naiad Court. If you have any other titles, I do not know them, or I would speak them now to give you the respect that is your due,” I said, exchanging her greeting as politely as I could.
“I have many, but Eliya is what you may call me. I will not force you to tire your tongue out speaking all of that niceties when I have brought you here to put you to work,” she said.
“What sort of work do you require, Lady Eliya?” I inquired.
“There is a lair just south of here that I would have destroyed, and a dungeon to the northeast which I would have its challenge level increased. Another dungeon to the west I would ask that you destroy entirely.”
“Are these challenges within my power now? You know of my setback, do you not?”
“It is to your benefit that you complete them in the order that I just listed. It is likely that destroying the Lair will bring you to level 30, as long as you do not destroy the stones that bind it to that location too quickly. The first dungeon should bring you to level 35. If not, you will have to find a way to reach the minimum level of the third, which is a 35-40 dungeon.”
Her voice was soft, musical as she spoke, and that and her beauty made me want to help her. But I had several concerns. “The last Lair I destroyed caused significant issues. A powerful Worldboss was set free, and once he was defeated a portal to the Deadlands was opened. Are you certain you wish to risk the destruction of this Lair?”
“It is a Lair long abandoned by the dungeon spawn which bound it. She used it as a base from which she assaulted Eldertide. There will be no Worldboss that spawns. It should be within your power, so long as you have a party of ten instead of five,” she promised.
I considered. It sounded conveniently like a quest chain, one to reshape Eliyenia’s home more to her liking. When she had spoken of them, the lair and the two dungeons had highlighted on my map, and they were close enough together for me to admit that it would be convenient to do them sequentially.
I didn’t want to hit fifty on any class until all of my classes were in the high forties, which meant that I didn’t want to level [Mage] too fast. But [Mage] was a DPS class, which would make finding a group harder compared to tanking as a [Warrior] or healing as an [Acolyte]. Being able to claim that I had an exclusive quest would help speed things up, but I was worried about drawing too much attention.
“While the offer is tempting just for the experience alone, I have many things drawing my attention in many directions,” I said. “As such, I’m afraid I must ask whether or not there will be a reward for completing these tasks aside from what the system generates.”
“I would think that my gratitude would be sufficient,” Eliyenia said, “But I suppose I should specify what shape that gratitude will take. To begin with, I will view all those aligned with your house more favorably. Beyond that, I will become your ally in completing your political goals and aspirations. This includes but is not limited to matters of the succession going on in Yuikon, although what aid I can give you on that matter is limited.”
I paused to consider, but not for very long. Eliyenia was not the leader of her nation; unlike Yuikon Crescentis was ruled by a council of elves and naiad. But she was a powerful force on that council. While it was not strictly proper to beg for support internationally in matters of the succession, the longer the succession was dragged out, the more complicated it became. Powers that would otherwise have no voice in the matter were becoming involved. According to Cedric, Storm was already sending out emissaries to the international courts. I’d be a fool not to make similar overtures.
“May I have a token?” I asked, once my mind was made up to help the Naiad. “It will help convince others that joining me will be worthwhile if I have proof of your favor.”
Without hesitation, Eliyenia took the comb from her hair and passed it to me. I examined it for a moment before placing it in my inventory for safekeeping.
“I suppose I will return once I have completed my tasks,” I told her.
“And you will be properly rewarded for your efforts once you have,” she promised.
She turned into a pillar of water, which splashed back into the Shallow Pools. Shadow, who had been watching the entire conversation, whinnied and took another drink from the crystal clear pool. I patted his flank.
“<
With that completed, I Fast Traveled back to Eldertide to find the Adventurer’s Guild.
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