End of an Era (Project Chrysalis Book 2) by John Gold (always you kirsty moseley .TXT) 📗

you going to accuse them of? How do you think you’re going to get them to Ovidius? We’re all the way on the other side of the game world.”

“What other choice do we have? You want us to just invite them to sit down with Talamei?”

With his intuition, not to mention his ability to process facts, thoughts, rumors, and other information, Leon had the whole picture in his head. They had to get the boy to Ovidius, but not by force.

“Look, Nate, we lost their track in Kargan. That’s where they were last seen.” Leon pointed out the location on a holographic map of Project Chrysalis. “Now, they’re in the kobold lands, in Radaam.” The god drew a line between the two points. “Think, Nate, think. Now you know where to look.”

***

Dark, swampy Silvana Forest. It’s the largest location in the kobold lands, and for players, one of the most impassible in the world. The trees all secrete a slime that means you can’t use them for balance; the rocks are covered in a loose moss that slips out from under you. The water is filled with snakes, frogs, lizards, and predatory plants. It’s dark, though everything living in it is brightly colored. Sometimes, you come across frogs as pale as the grave with enormous, faceted eyes. Other times, the flowers leap from the ground to latch onto hapless lizards running by. Enormous water lilies appear every once in a while, closing around and digesting anything that steps on them. The hanging vines smell pleasant, and lots of bright fruit hangs off them, though reaching toward them earns you nothing but a loop around the arm and a quick trip upward into the belly of whatever they are. Even the air is thick and poisonous.

Damage received: 200 (ignored: 47368)

Debuff: Poisonous Bog Stench

Effect: Silvana Forest tests its guests by poisoning them. The deeper you go into the forest, the stronger the poison will be.

Duration: As long as you remain within the forest.

 

We keep moving, using our ability to walk on water. There’s plenty of it here, though it works with the soil and the air to make getting across it as difficult as possible. This time, I carry Femida. She can’t walk on water, and we just don’t have time for her to change. But that also means I’m in contact with her and can use my weak healing. We venture deeper in, skipping from puddle to puddle, the poisonous steam growing stronger, and the bots growing toothier and more aggressive.

Damage received: 400 (ignored: 47368)

 

Half an hour later, there isn’t anyone following us anymore. At least, I can’t sense anyone nearby. It would be hard to find someone capable of running on water, healing themself, and staying in stealth mode the whole time, and I certainly don’t see any groups. The local fauna doesn’t like unexpected guests, either. They look to particularly enjoy armor-encased treats, and the only undead are ghosts who don’t pose a threat to me.

We occasionally come across hunting lodges clearly built by the kobolds. The furniture is all designed to accommodate someone with a lizard-like tail. We spend three nights enjoying the hospitality of absent hosts. The stench doesn’t reach us inside, so we can log out of the game to rest.

In real life, I spend my time in the lake behind the orphanage or learning to play the piano. The water calms me while also giving me a workout, which I really need after the kind of life I’ve been living. Outfitting the music room has boosted overheads and cut deeply into my savings. On the other hand, I got quite a bit of valuable loot from the last battle with the undead, so I’m not too worried.

Judging by the map, we have less than a day’s travel to go before we get to the mountains. We’ll spend the night there.

That’s exactly how it happens. We walk out of the forest to see a kobold village, though the gate is shut, and the guards have bows and spears aimed at us.

Knowledge area: Satdar tongue +0.001%

The more often you hear and repeat languages you don’t know, the faster you learn them.

We’re met with hospitality, as our boosted reputation with the kobolds lets us chat freely with them. There aren’t any players in the village. Everyone is out crafting in the forest, just like most of the locals. Femida functions as our translator, as she hunted in a similar location in Ovidius. The secluded lands of the kobolds are perfect for lone players on the lam.

There are about forty kobold villages in Silvana Valley. We’re at the one on the edge, a village called Givelish. To the south lie the dwarf mountains we’re on our way to visit. The local priest, who meets us at the gate, gives us some interesting news.

“Shikaauri aron shasazam pard irek. Ore sadn ishrin fazar.”

Femida translates.

“He said that as a priest, he was endowed with the ability to sense people carrying forbidden items.”

The kobold fizzles on, with Femida listening closely.

“Imina mor, nri avan azal. Ishi mor vada, daktak irum fazal.”

“He knows that we have those kinds of items, though he isn’t going to rat out people who are such heroes among the kobolds.”

Cool! There’s now a whole race willing to hide me if I run into problems out in the big world.

We also find out that the kobolds worship the natural gods of the forest. Using a word I found in one of the books on mysticism, I pronounce them polytheists.

The priest is sincerely grateful for his village having been saved from the undead. Another couple of weeks, and everybody there would have died of hunger - no humanitarian aid was getting through. In thanks, he shows us on our maps how we can get to the city of Drag and warns