I’m rummaging around Eddy’s stock, but it doesn’t look like he has any healing potions. Not that I really expected it, but I was also looking for a first aid kit or something, which I was able to find, thankfully. Tucked away and with the crest of some house so probably something he never felt like selling since the stuff might actually be useful to him one day, Eddy might have the worst luck but he does tend to plan for shit to go awry. “Guess you were right, Eddy, I did need to know how to bandage a knife wound one day. Though I don’t think this is quite what you meant.” Takes me awhile to get him patched up since I am usually the scrawny bitch in pretty much every situation. But, it's my own fault since I kind of make sure to sneak portions of my food to my sister most nights so I probably fucked my own growth up. But that’s not important right now. What is, is my inability to make my 160 cm ass that weighs all of 120 pounds lift Eddy. Drag him, sure, and I did, considering the blood all around him. However, now he is lying next to his bed, and that's about all I have in me.
System Quest Complete
Reward: Passage to Nestroot
To activate, say - Upon invitation by the Fangs of Peace, I request passage into Nestroot.
Warning: You may not enter Nestroot while holding an item above level 1 or one that requires a class.
“Pretty sure I can’t do either of those System, so sure.” I say, looking at Eddy. He should be fine, and I … really don’t want to deal with the after effects of that little performance. By the end of the week, Eddy is either going to be dead, working for a house, or out of town. Those are literally his only options. Those mercs will tell the mage they worked for. He will look into their claims. The house I pretended to work for will find out, and they will decide if Eddy is worth pretending to have known about. The only option for Eddy is to either bow to them in return for saving his life or leave town and cut all ties to anyone here. Though I might be just as fucked since I pretended to work for a House.
I take a deep breath and say, in a surprisingly steady voice. “Upon invitation by the Fangs of Peace, I request passage into Nestroot.” The moment I say it, the world goes blurry, and I stumble on what feels like a piece of cobblestone.
Welcome to Nestroot
Safe Zone Settlement
Owner: The Heartwood Patriarch
Ruler: Nestroot Council
Warning: All Classes have been temporarily locked. The only classes available within the Dominion of the Dragon Queen are those found within it.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Warning: To return to your realm, enter the portal located on the south side of town.
Wait! Can towns be safe zones? I’ve only ever seen prisons and temples be listed as safe zones. The resources needed to maintain the effect over a whole town would probably be insane. After getting rid of the system message, I look around and realize I am in what looks to be an alleyway between two buildings. Except the one on my left looks like it's built around a tree or something, and the one on my right has a huge bone piece on each corner. The sky seems dark, and a canopy is blocking most light; the branches above me seem large enough to support people, and I can see buildings built into the side of the branches. How would someone even reach that building? There isn’t a ladder or stairwell to it?
A voice surprises me as I stare at the rest of the town. She sounds motherly and a touch angry for some reason. “Oh dear, this won’t do. I completely refuse to allow such a youngling to leave my sight without proper care. Get in here, child, you’ve blood all over you, and if you were a hatchling, I’d have skinned your caretaker.” Snapping to the sound of the voice, I see what appears to be a small golden-haired creature with a purple sundress and that look all mothers have, which tells you refusal will not be tolerated. She is hovering a few feet from the door to the building around a tree. A smaller door at the top of it is open.
“My mother is great; it's not her fault.” I say reflexively, and really, she is. It's not her fault that we are barely stable. It's mine. I should’ve been able to help more, but without a class, I couldn’t even qualify for their work. “Sorry, who are you, and um, what is this place?”
“AH, Ah, ah! Bath first, then questions. Inside, you go; the door isn’t locked.” She says as she flies around me and back toward the door. Opening it, I can see a strange building. The edges are normal enough, but the tree takes up the entire center of the building. Its roots wrap around the building, acting as supports or beams in different sections and producing a faint greenish light that makes it easy to see. The fairy standing on a ledge next to some stairs gestures me over. Exaggerated enough that I can see her tiny movements even from this far away, she is only a foot tall after all. As I approach, I can actually see her wings, which look a bit like a dragonfly but strangely scaled, and her eyes are a luminous green color.
“Down you go, bath is there, get a nice soak in while I go bother the kobolds for something you can wear. No one staying at my tree is going out in blood-stained tatters. Might as well take a rebirth and let someone else run it at that point.” She says, first pointing downstairs and then rushing out the door. What kind of madwoman lets a random stranger into their home and then leaves? Though if she owns a building with a magical tree in it, maybe she has protections against theft. Either way, the last time I took an actual bath and not a scrub down with a basin was years ago when that bathhouse was around. I'm not sure why it closed down; I think it had to do with smuggling or something.
Walking down the stairs, my brain starts questioning why a fairy would have a house designed to accommodate humans. The stairs, the size, the door, maybe fae and humans are both common around here? Though that begs the question, why buy a house built for a human? As I look up from my thinking and walking, I realize I may have misunderstood her meaning. This bath is way too big for a home, and the size of it … “She did say staying at my tree. Maybe this is some kind of inn?”
The bath is wonderful; it took a while to adjust to the heat, but it was worth it. I even got to just float around since no one else is here, which let me notice the Dazritir engravings and such all over the place. Though they are a tad small and have wings, so maybe not? Whatever, I can ask the old lady questions when she gets back, so that can be future Luna’s problem.
Perspectives
