Aegis Online

(Whoa, look at this! It is a chapter! And not just ANY chapter, but Chapter 30! Congratumalations! I’m having so much fun with this, and we’re not stopping anytime soon! And, with a hop, a skip, and a jump, let’s dive into it!

Also, next week will receive a special update in the form of a Q&A! Ask a question in the comments here, or in my Discord, and I, Kettrin, Asteria, or one of the other characters in this wild ride, will answer it! You have a week to send in your questions! Now, on with our regularly-scheduled nonsense!)

The three of us begin hurrying to get off the path, our streams off to give us better concealment, with Marika lagging slightly behind. I stop for a minute, and with a little coaxing, I persuade Thunderbun to allow the pink-haired sorcerer to ride her, ensuring that we won’t lose her somewhere along the way. The sun is lowering steadily towards the horizon, but we still have an hour or two of daylight left. While Asteria and I fly overhead, we send messages via the chat function, allowing us to plan our next move in secret.

We can’t fly in the dark, and Asteria looks paler than usual. She must’ve used up a lot of mana, even if she isn’t complaining. Her Faeflight must be sapping most of what she has left. We need to find somewhere to make camp, and soon…

While we slowly dip lower, skimming the tops of the trees, I spot a message from someone flashing in my peripheral vision. I ignore it for now. Asteria’s close to her limit, judging by how I’m forced to slow down so she can match my pace. A breach in the canopy below, close against the side of a rocky promontory, reveals what I’d hoped to see. A cave mouth, just visible through the gloaming dusklight and foliage. I take Asteria’s arm, supporting her as I bring us in for a landing. Keeping her upright is a challenge, thanks to the fact that she sags against me, her arms all limp and noodly around my waist.

Thunderbun bounds up, Marika looking a little green around the gills. She dismounts, and I can see her trying not to puke. Apparently, riding giant rabbits is an… interesting experience.  I help my friend to sit against the base of a tree. “Marika, can you light a branch on fire please, I need a torch and I don’t have enough stamina to ignite my sword right now.” I pant a little. “I need to check that cave; if it’s empty we’ll make camp inside it. If it’s occupied, we may need to fight again…”

Marika nods, producing a small ball of flame as I search around for a decent branch to use. I find a stout length of what might be pine or something. Once it’s crackling merrily, I head into the cave, raising the burning stick high. The cave isn’t deep, maybe a metre or so. That explains why it isn’t inhabited; it’s too shallow to be more than a temporary shelter. Perfect for our needs, though!

I call back, “it’s clear! We can shelter here tonight!” sticking the torch into the earth at the mouth of the cave, I gather up whatever tinder and combustibles are to hand, as Marika helps the drained Asteria inside. While they do what they can to set up sleeping arrangements, I start organizing the fire, using the torch to ignite the heap of branches and kindling. We manage to put together something approximating toasted sandwiches, before I sit up, sword back in its pocket dimension, keeping watch. As a pure melee class with no actual mana required for my abilities, I was the one in the best shape to defend us if needed.

Instead of waking Asteria partway through the night, I take her turn at night-watch too, rousing Marika about four hours before dawn, the fire low. Adding a couple handfuls of branches to the flame, I curl up next to Asteria. However, my rest is uneasy. Once again, I find myself back on that flat mountain peak, the giant horned woman waiting for me. She smiles down at me and speaks.

“Well done, my child. You have passed the first of many trials, but your victory gives me hope. You are coming closer, I can sense you. Once you arrive in Vassim, I will call upon you. All will be revealed in time, my child! I, the Lord of Storm and Gale, will be waiting for you…” It seems like this time, she isn’t in immediate danger, so I sit on one of the scattered chunks of rubble, my wings furled tight against the whirling eddies and currents.

“I guess you’re kind of a big deal, then, if you’re one of these ‘Lords’, then. Do you know someone called Voltesse? A lot of my abilities seem to mention her, and I was just wondering…”

The being blinks massive eyes down at me, before emitting a ringing peal of laughter, mirth written across her almost-featureless visage. “Why, child! Of COURSE I know Voltesse. She’s ME, after all!”

I blink up at her, before almost falling off my boulder. “You’re Voltesse? And I think a Goddess as well?! What the heck, this is so wild! Why me?”

“Ah, you must be patient, my dear. Soon we will meet face-to-face, and then your next trial will be unveiled… now… wake up!”

“Wake up! C’mooon, Kettrin, you big baby! Time to get your butt out of bed!”

When my eyes flutter open, Asteria’s face right up close. She smirks and boops my nose, and I flail around a little. Marika’s yawning grouchily as she sits there, bleary-eyed and with a huge cowlick rising at the back, her red eyes half-focused on the world around her. She mumbles, “Koala…”, and I snrrk a little at how surprisingly pleasant she can be when we’re not at each-others’ throats.

Breakfast is a pretty lacklustre affair, but colour has returned to Asteria’s cheeks. She seems more energetic, too, the extra sleep having done something at least. I call Thunderbun out from wherever she goes when she’s not present, and, with an ionising crackle of heated air, she bounds into existence, mid-leap, thumping onto the soft earth as she wiggles her snoot, the scents and sounds  causing her to go into sniffies overdrive. I help Marika get seated astride Thunderbun’s floofy back, as Asteria extinguishes the last embers and packs up our camp.

In short order, we’re back on the move, Asteria and I aloft once again. The sun is barely cresting the horizon, warm fingers of light reaching for us. I close my eyes for a few moments, savouring the chill of the night air retreating from the daystar’s power. It feels so good to let my worries and cares melt away and just PLAY this freakin’ game! It’s a bit early to start streaming, plus it’s more than possible that we could end up getting ambushed by some more competent stream-snipers. I REALLY don’t want to invite the cruel hand of Fate to punch us all in the stomachs.

So far, at least, nothing’s happened, apart from the occasional shudder of a tree below, where Thunderbun and Marika must be. A few times, there’s even a flight of birds sent rising into the morning sky, squawking indignantly. I giggle and swoop around Asteria, buffeting her butt gently with my wingbeats.

“You’re a dummy, you know that? If you’d said you were approaching Mana-burnout, we could’ve stopped earlier! We made a good few miles before you almost fell out of the sky, you ass!” I giggle, trying to hide just HOW concerned I’d really been.

She giggles and rolls her eyes. “Yes, MOM! I’ll make sure to tell you next time. For real, though, thank you. You’re too sweet for your own good, Kettrin!” she purrs, and I huff, relieved that she’s back to normal after her near-miss yesterday.  Now that I’m focusing on other things, I remember the message I got last night. Opening my interface, I select the notification. It’s from Dr Francois. What could he want with me?

Selecting the option to read the message, a scroll appears in my hand, and I unroll it, hovering in place so I don’t end up with the parchment wrapped around my head, I scan the letter.

‘Mademoiselle Kettrin,

I have something I would like to ask you. However, this is a delicate matter that is best discussed in person. I will be in Vassim over the next few days to procure more reagents and materiel for my experiments, during which time we could meet for coffee and a chat in-game?

With most humble regards,

Dr. Francois Guillaume Dupont-Moreau’

I blink a few times. This is… cryptic beyond belief. What was so important that he couldn’t just TELL me? Ah well. I’ll try and see what this whole mystery deal is later, we’re still a day’s travel from Vassim, and I can feel the faint ache at the base of my wings. They’re still sore from yesterday’s pell-mell flight after the stream-sniper nonsense.

Asteria raises an eyebrow, fluttering a few metres ahead of me, as I shove the scroll back into my inventory. I fill her in, and she furrows her brow as she cruises through the treetops, leaves rustling beneath us as Thunderbun appears and disappears through breaks in the treeline, a yelping pink shape on her fuzzy back.

I curve down, shifting direction somewhat to follow them as the huge bunno bursts onto the road, Asteria close behind me, as I prepare for landing. I managed to level up again thanks to those stream-sniping jerks who made my Astie sick! One potential perk option stands out to me, and I spend some of the points, updating my stats as I land.

KETTRIN________

Skyborne

Thunder Valkyrie Level 15->20

CON: 26

DEX: 26-->29

STR: 30

WIS: 18

INT: 18

LUCK: 25

I use my three Attribute Points to buff my DEX raising it by three levels, then using 5 of my 6 Ability Points to grab that perk I’d been eying. I feel my back burn and twinge for a few minutes, before the sensation fades away. I pull a somersault as I close my menu, coming in for a landing that’s as smooth as oiled gears, Asteria’s sabatons clanking on the surface beneath us. Unlike where we’d fought yesterday, the road here is paved, with dull white slabs.

Thunderbun bounds to a halt, a branch in her jaws. As Marika limply slides off the titanic rabbit’s back, Thunderbun simply flicks an ear and begins chewing the log placidly, wrinkling her snoot. I pet her as Marika gasps, “That… that bunny is a devil! I thought… we were going to fall down that chasm back there in the trees! She bounded clean… over it!”

I giggle and help Marika up, brushing her down with one of my wings as she complains about my familiar’s ‘bad attitude and adorable nonsense’. She really isn’t so bad when she’s making an effort to be nicer.

Asteria frowns, pausing and looking around us. “Huh… I could’ve sworn I sensed someone watching us… but my Detect Enemy passive isn’t proccing. Either they’re too far away, or they’ve got a concealment ability or something. Let’s proceed as normal, but be on the look-out for anything untoward.” She says quietly enough that we’d be the only ones to hear. I nod, and tuck my wing back into place.

If there IS someone or something out there observing us, then it’ll either be part of an ambush, or waiting for us to separate or let our guards down before attacking. Not knowing what it is, or where, or even why it’s simply stalking us, biding its time, and waiting, is unnerving. And my mandatory log-out time is fast approaching. We need to reach Vassim, and now I have a time-limit dogging my heels like a starving wolf…  

As we hike along the road, a few wagons and carriages pass us by. I trade a few coins with one of the wagon drovers in exchange for a loaf or two of bread, a dozen apples, and a trio of small truckles of a sharp cheddar cheese along with a large cabbage, about the size of an ox’s head, for Thunderbun, whose left hindpaw is drumming eagerly on the paving.

I can SEE the soulful, pleading look in her eyes as she hopefully hops closer. She SITS. UP! And I gently place the cabbage between her paws. She lets out a short squeak of joy, and begins nibbling at the dark green leaves of the massive vegetable, as I divide up the bread, cheese, and apples between Marika, Asteria, and I. It’ll be nice to eat something fresh for lunch, even with a mysterious stalker in the woods somewhere...