Chapter 190 - S.S. Turtle Shell (Patreon)

The going was a lot rougher than Zeke had expected, but in his defense, he’d never really paddled a boat before, much less a giant turtle shell that felt like it was going to tip over every time he moved. However, as he slowly but surely guided his makeshift raft through the burning and acidic lake, he started to get the hang of it. Still, progress was glacial, and it took him hours to make it any considerable distance.

All around him, fins cut through the water as monsters circled the turtle shell. He didn’t know if it was because the turtle had had such a vicious reputation or due to it being an inanimate hunk of shell, but the monsters blessedly left him alone. However, the sight of so many creatures told him in no uncertain terms just how dangerous it would have been if he’d tried to swim.

With a deep breath, he continued paddling along, hoping to satisfy the terms of the quest without much difficulty. It was a vain hope, he knew, but he held it all the same. Once he’d established that he wasn’t in much danger, Zeke let his mind wander a bit. He still kept a portion of his attention on the water, but otherwise, he pondered the runic traps he had begun to plan.

The biggest problem was the power source. Most runic enchantments used ambient mana, but when that wasn’t enough, user input was required. However, the traps he had in mind were so large that they would require more mana than he could hold at once. So, he needed an external power source. Sure, he still had some of the gem-like raptor feathers, but there weren’t enough of them to do what he wanted to do. He needed something stronger.

Hours passed as pondered the predicament, tracing various combinations of glyphs and symbols in his mind. Surrounded by the flames, and with the steady sound of the water lapping against the turtle shell, it was a very peaceful environment. Never mind that one wrong move, and he’d plunge into a lake of acid and be torn to pieces by the resident monsters.

Finally, he saw something in the distance. A smudge on the horizon that, as he continued to paddle, slowly resolved itself into an island. And on that island was the telltale shimmer of crystal. As Zeke drew closer, he saw that a huge, crystal tree had sprouted directly in the center of the island.

“What the…”

It wasn’t like the trees in the crystalline oasis he’d seen back in Mal’araxis. Instead, this one was a translucent black, devoid of leaves, and with branches twisting toward the sky. It was a forlorn sight, and one that sent a shiver up Zeke’s spine. Still, he soldiered on. He had a job to do.

The island proved to be a lot bigger than he expected – maybe a few hundred yards in diameter – so it took Zeke a bit longer than he’d anticipated to reach it. He persisted, steadily paddling along until, at last, the turtle shell scraped into the rocky landscape. Zeke was quick to hop down from the makeshift boat and, using a length of rope he’d bought back in Jariq, tied the shell into place.

It would do no good if one of the huge creatures from the lake wanted to drag the shell away, but it would serve well enough to keep it from drifting off. Once that was done, Zeke turned back to the island, which was comprised of black, jagged rock. Thankfully, there were flames here and there; otherwise, it would have been too dark to see.

Ahead, the crystal tree loomed over everything.

Even if he wanted to, Zeke questioned whether or not he could have stopped himself from stepping forward and climbing over the island’s rocky surface. The sound of his armor scraping against the terrain followed him as he continued along until, finally, he found his way to the tree.

“Welcome, Chosen of Oberon,” came an eerie voice that cut right through Zeke’s mind. He faltered, stumbling to his knees at the sheer power of the voice. He coughed up a lungful of blood, spitting it on the rocks. The red liquid sizzled, evidence of the heat. Zeke looked up, and the voice continued, “Apologies. Is this better?”

It was. The voice’s volume was the same, but from a metaphysical standpoint, it was lighter. It still burrowed into Zeke’s mind, but it was bearable.

“Yes,” he said. “Who are you?”

“My name is Oda,” the voice said. “I believe you met my sister some time ago.”

That’s when Zeke made the connection. “You are a god,” he muttered. “Brother of Aja?”

“Indeed, though the term ‘god’ has never felt right to me,” the tree – and it was the tree; it had a face molded into its crystalline bark, the same as Aja had had – said. Zeke pushed himself back to his feet. “We are not gods, regardless of what my sister might pretend.”

“What do you want?” Zeke asked. “Why are you here? Are you going to give me a quest?”

The tree laughed, the sound like rustling leaves. “A quest? Of course not!” he bellowed, the volume cracking nearby rocks. “I have come with an offer. If you accept it, you will have no need of quests. Power can be granted directly, without the Framework’s meddling.”

That was news to Zeke, and he suddenly found himself wondering why Oberon hadn’t done just that. Perhaps there were limits in place that prevented him. Either way, the promise of easy power was a tempting one, so he asked, “What is your offer?”

“Join us,” the tree said.

“Uh…join who?” Zeke asked. “The trees? I’m not really a nature guy, and –”

“You call us demons,” Oda interrupted. “Though it is a misnomer. We are neither evil nor denizens of some dark underworld. We are people, just as you. We’ve simply made different choices.”

“No, thank you,” Zeke said without a moment’s thought. “I’ve seen what you do to people.”

“That…unpleasantness you experienced was unplanned and unsanctioned,” said Oda. “The succubus acted of her own accord, and –”

“Still happened, though, didn’t it?” he asked.

“It did, and for that, you have my deepest apologies,” stated Oda. He even managed to sound sincere. “I can offer you unrivaled power and prestige. You’ve already taken the first step towards joining us. You have been marked for the descent. You are already one of us, at least in part. I merely ask you to acknowledge your nature.”

“My nature?” Zeke asked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you are a killer,” Oda said, and Zeke saw the tree’s visage adopt a hungry visage. “Unrepentant and unstoppable. That is who you are. If you deny it, I will call you a liar.”

“Can’t really argue with that,” was Zeke’s response. “Killing is sometimes necessary.”

“I know that better than you, child,” Oda cooed. “You are already living the life of one of the Outcast, and you do not even know it. We do not kill without reason. We only do so when it’s necessary.”

Zeke didn’t believe that for a second. He had seen the demon hordes. He had heard the madness in the warlock’s voice. More, he had endured the succubus’s tender care, and he’d left with a host of mental scars that he dared not examine.

“Ah,” said Oda. “I see.”

“You see what?” Zeke asked.

“You intend to refuse,” Oda stated. “I can smell the defiance on you. Tell me why, when I can offer you everything desire, you would turn away and tread a more difficult path.”

Zeke sighed. “Because I don’t believe you,” he said. “You are evil. I can taste it in the air. I can smell it. I feel it right down to my bones. I’ve been to Mal’araxis. I’ve seen the cruelty of your world. And I have no interest in going back.”

“Is that it? Evil. Good. Pretty but meaningless illusions meant to control the strong and drag the weak into the light,” Oda said. “You can not be controlled. They will try. Mark my words, child, they will attempt to fit you with a collar and parade you around like a prized pet. I offer you freedom to be what you were meant to be, to do what you want to do. It is foolish to look down your nose at such an offer.”

“And if I do? Are you going to strike me down?” Zeke asked, suddenly very aware of just how much power the tree held within its crystalline limbs.

A laugh echoed across the island, and Oda said, “Strike you down? Of course not! Dear child, you are an asset. If I can’t have you now, I shall merely try again at a later date. Besides, I can no more ‘strike you down’ than I could destroy this tiny world. There are rules.”

“Yeah? What kinds of rules?” Zeke asked.

“Have you never wondered why you can not progress past level twenty-five on this plane? Surely, there are plenty of people who have harvested enough energy,” Oda said. “The problem is the density of the mana. It can not support anyone more powerful than a level twenty-five. The Framework understands this. As denizens of a higher plane, we are prevented from interfering too directly. Even this form is but an echo of a shadow of my true self. If I were to try to exert too much influence, it would break this tiny plane, and I would be sanctioned by the Framework. The same goes for my sister or your friend, Oberon.”

“I…uh…I guess that makes sense,” Zeke responded.

“Why else would your sponsor have created that dungeon for you when you were reborn?” Oda asked. “It would have been much easier to simply grant you the power directly, but we are prevented from doing that by the Framework.”

“So…when you offered me power just now, that was…what? An I.O.U. or something?” Zeke asked.

“No, I can –”

“You just said you can’t hurt me,” Zeke stated. “You also said you can’t just grant me power. It would break the world, you said. So, even if I was interested, you can’t do what you’re offering to do.”

“Not right away.”

“So, an I.O.U.,” Zeke said. “With a demon lord. Who just basically lied to me. Yeah – I think I’m going to have to pass on this one, man.”

The tree shivered, and when it began to glow with a red light, Zeke started to worry that he might’ve miscalculated a bit. For a few seconds, the light grew brighter and brighter until it was blinding. Even amidst the fiery lake. Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, it faded away.

“You may…have a point,” said Oda. “I misspoke. My offer is for power in the future, once you’ve escaped this realm.”

Seeing a way to get some more information, Zeke asked, “And where’s the portal?”

“You do not know? I thought…no,” Oda said. “I can not tell you, lest I be sanctioned. But I will leave you with this, young Ezekiel.”

Just then, a notification flashed in front of Zeke’s eyes.

Quest Discovered! Seek out the portal to the second plane and swear fealty to the Archdemon Oda. Reward: Class and Racial Evolution

Zeke couldn’t stop the Framework from accepting the quest on his behalf, though the instant it settled into the sub-menu, he felt an anger he couldn’t quite articulate. It was as if Oda had put it there just to gnaw at him. The tree – or archdemon – knew he wouldn’t accept it. He had to. And as such, he also had to know that it would bother Zeke to no end, seeing it there for months and months at a time. Hopefully, it would go away once he went through the portal without satisfying the terms of the quest.

Still, it was intriguing. A class evolution? He had no idea what kinds of classes would even be available – or when, aside from after level twenty-five – so finding out that they could evolve was a valuable bit of information. Not that he would thank Oda or anything.

“If you change your mind, complete the quest,” Oda said. “If not, then we will talk again soon.”

With that, the tree’s presence disappeared, even if its physical form did not. After a few minutes, during which Zeke tried to wrap his brain around the conversation he’d just experienced, he decided to inspect the crystal tree. And when he did, he discovered something surprising. Buried within the tree was a young woman.

Or her body, at least. Frozen as if she was a mosquito and the tree was a dollop of preserved amber, her eyes were open, and she was in mid-scream. Further, Zeke recognized her from the painting in Fiona’s hovel. Jacie – the hermit’s sister. Was it possible that she was still alive? Zeke had no idea, but in a world of magic, he couldn’t discount the possibility. So, without further ado, he retrieved his mace and swung as hard as he could at the crystal tree.

It bore the brunt of Zeke’s swing with little effort, but he wasn’t finished. One swing after another, he targeted the area just above Jacie’s head. And after a couple hundred swings, he finally saw a crack. That crack soon became two, and after that, the integrity of the tree was compromised more with every swing until, finally, the top tumbled down to crash against the rocky surface of the island.

Zeke wasn’t finished, though. With that part done, he soon started working on the much thicker base of the tree, just below the girl’s feet. His plan was simple – remove that portion of the trunk, then transport the preserved girl across the lake and to safety. Only then would he try to remove her. Otherwise, even if she was still alive, the lake’s caustic atmosphere would kill her minutes after exposure.

It took almost six hours for Zeke to bludgeon his way through the trunk – a time he spent wishing he’d had the presence of mind to buy an axe. But he hadn’t, so he worked with what he had on hand. At last, the trunk shattered, and the portion containing the girl rolled free. Zeke caught it, threw it over his shoulder, and started his trek back to the turtle shell.

Thankfully, it remained tied to the shore, so after Zeke untied the rope, stowing it back in his storage, he leapt atop the shell, gathered his makeshift paddle, and pushed away from the island’s rocky shore. He’d learned quite a bit from his conversation with Oda, but he wasn’t sure how much of it he could trust. Most of it had rung true; however, the tree had been a literal demon, and Zeke knew better than to trust an entity of that nature.

With a sigh, he bent to the task at hand, knowing that he wouldn’t soon get any real answers.