Vivi asked Lucius to lead her to a river, to which he complied right away. He wasn’t happy, per say, but he followed Vivi’s ideas without his usual complaints and suggestions. Vivi guessed he was afraid that arguing with her would have placed her back into a depressing mood. So he decided to, for once, stay silent and let her do whatever she wanted.
Vivi didn’t complain. She followed the directions toward the river through so sort of instinctive sense of direction in her head, as if Lucius’s knowledge of the area spread to her head as well. Apparently, Lucius had been watching their surroundings while Vivi was asleep. His mory of the area wasn’t perfect—so of his directions weren’t confident—but following him was better than wandering aimlessly.
On the way there, Vivi ca across a pack of surge hounds. The sa ethereal wolf-monsters that had nearly eaten her on her first day underground.
She slashed weakly in their direction with a claw-attack, and the surge hounds were slashed to pieces like oversized mosquitoes.
Vivi sighed. She wished a tough boss would spawn next to her. Sothing on par with the Twilight Shaman. A fight to the death could have helped bring so light to her empty adventure.
Finding the river didn’t take too long. Vivi drank enough that her throat no longer felt like crumbling from drought.
Food was the next problem, though the search didn’t pose a challenge either. With Vivi’s improved senses, she could hear and feel animals around her with perfect clarity. If she focused, she could track a rabbit’s hops dozens of yards away from her. Hearing one, Vivi thrusted Lucius’s claw from a range as if she’d tossed a javelin.
The rabbit was caught before it could react. With fresh at ready to be cooked, she gathered firewood and built a shabby campfire. She reached into her pockets.
Oh, right. My matches are gone…
“Always keep this box with you,” Grandpa had said. His harsh tone and the subtle frown permanently embedded on his face ca back to Vivi. “Survivalists might know how to make a fire without matches. They’ve practiced that stuff. But all of that practice can be skipped by just carrying this little box. Matches are always useful.”
The box of matches had probably fallen off sowhere in Zand. Vivi had no way of making a fire. So she sat by her unlit campfire, staring at it aimlessly. Figuring out a way to light a fire felt like such a chore. Everything felt like a chore. Her energy was already drained, and she hadn’t done anything today.
Maybe eating will give
so energy, Vivi thought. Hoped.
Looking into spatial storage, Vivi found an obsidian carving knife. She must have stolen it from Ven and Rensfig.
She apologized in her head, but she was glad to have stolen it. The knife would co handy. Vivi picked up one of the logs and carved a strife rune on it. Then she pushed ether through it.
The strife rune protested weakly. Wood wasn’t conductive. The rune would have had an easier ti lting a chunk of steel. She didn’t give up, however, pushing over fifty wisps into the wood once. Her ether found the rune, interacted with it. Vivi pushed harder, until the wisps had no choice but to react. The wood finally lit up.
Such a pain just to eat so food… Vivi thought. She cooked the rabbit and a few balm worts.
While eating, Vivi’s eyes started to lose focus again. Food wasn’t giving her energy like it usually did. It wasn’t that the food tasted bad; eating it just felt pointless. Vivi wanted to collapse on her back and close her eyes.
She ate anyway, watching as the logs crackled, the wood’s structure slowly cracking under the flas.
“Um, the village is three miles or so from here,” Lucius said. He spoke hesitantly, as if expecting his suggestion to make Vivi lash out. “If one of their patrols cos close, they’ll find us from the smoke.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Vivi said. “I’m strong enough to defeat anyone below the second elevation.”
“Well, yes…” Lucius said. “The village probably doesn’t have anyone too strong. From what I learned, it’s just farmland there. We can probably snatch a map quickly before escaping.”
Vivi sighed again. Running from her pursuers sounded like such a pain. Why did the demons want Vivi anyway? What was so important about capturing and killing a human like her?
“Let’s go grab that map, I guess,” Vivi said.
***
After another tedious walk through the outlandishly depressing forest of the fourth level, Vivi sensed ether in the distance. She climbed atop a mound, and realized she had arrived. The sight overlooking the village made her pause.
There were a few dozen buildings. Most had sturdy stone foundations and tiled roofs, a few wooden shacks for storage. Every wall was covered with vine and moss, and blinking mushrooms grew from the roofs. Everything glimred slightly with lacquer. Buildings were surrounded with as much life as possible to stop them from being reanimated if a surge hit. The village wasn’t quite as wealthy as Fellwater, but it was far from a slum.
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Farmland, mostly wheat fields, sprawled long into the distance. The wheat didn’t have much color, but the stalks grew surprisingly tall. The ground seed to be dirt, which was a surprise to see on the fourth level. Scattered between the fields were barns; so had small pig pens and other animal enclosures.
Amongst the paths and buildings, a dozen or so demons were living their lives. Most were common townsfolk wearing tunics and work-clothes. There were two of Zand’s guards, wearing their blue uniforms, carrying sheathed runeswords.
“They look to be maxed out,” Lucius said. “They’ve reached maybe the first elevation? It’ll be a serious fight.”
Vivi shrugged. Let’s see how my face makes them react, then. She walked to the village directly through the main path.
The guards spotted her right away. At first, they squinted to confirm their identity. Their eyes grew more and more concerned, until they were sure of her identity.
“Human!” one of them shouted. They both unsheathed their runeswords. “Get down to the ground at once!”
Vivi continued walking. Such a pain…
Her calm trot forward made the guards hesitate. They stood their ground and went into stance, ready to defend. Vivi walked up to them.
Then she pushed out her full, maxed-out aura and summoned Abyss Destroyer.
“Let
in, and I won’t kill you,” Vivi said. “I won’t harm anyone. I just need to buy a map.”
The guards observed her, considering their options. They were technically maxed out. If their technique was solid, they could stand a chance, though their stances were far from threatening. Vivi’s deanor and Abyss Destroyer’s purple void-like glow made them hesitate.
The first guard stepped aside. The second followed. They stayed in stance, but opened the path for Vivi. Vivi nodded, then walked past. The guards studied her back as she walked into the town.
Let’s hope they don’t try anything funny, Vivi thought. With good distance between her and the guards, she placed Abyss Destroyer back to spatial storage, though she kept her aura active. Townsfolk cleared streets, running into buildings, regarding Vivi as if she were so monster.
She didn’t even try to argue about her nature. Her job was to grab a map and head out. She wasn’t here to make friends.
Looking around herself, most of the buildings seed to be hos. She stayed away from them. There was nothing to be gained from invading soone’s safety. Vivi looked around for estates that resembled stores or inns. Anything that looked like businesses.
In the middle of town centre, a larger three-storied building had a sign above its doorstep. Lucius translated it, and the text turned into letters Vivi could understand. It read, “Jab’s Inn.”
Looks like this will be our best bet, Vivi thought. She tested the doorknob. The hardwood door was left unlocked, cozy orange light escaping outside as she opened the door. Vivi stepped in.
The inn was simple with a wooden interior. The walls were decorated with paintings and old plaques. An old carpet connected the entrance and the counter. Demons were drinking ale around circular tables.
Upon Vivi’s arrival, conversation paused. Townsfolk sat perfectly still. They glanced in Vivi’s direction before quickly deciding she was dangerous. They looked away, pretending to have nothing to do with her.
Vivi walked to the receptionist’s counter at the back of the lounge. Next to the counter was a small display rack with items on sale. Mostly books. Miscellaneous items on sale filled the counter. Quills and parchnt, light snacks, and of course, the ale nu.
The innkeeper was a tall but plump demon with a frown that said he’d defend his tavern and custors with his life. The left side of his face was scorched with a sharp orange eye. The right side was entirely black, and the eye was closed shut.
“Sorry for barging in,” Vivi said. “I’m not here for harm. I need to make a few purchases.”
“You’re Vivian Runeblessed, correct?” the innkeeper asked.
Vivi raised her eyebrows. “You know my na?”
“You’re a Zand escapee,” the innkeeper said. “A big bounty on your na. Although, it looks like the bounty is too large for
to handle.”
Vivi wanted to give him an awkward smile, but couldn’t be bothered.
Her na had already spread. She had so kind of a reputation. That probably wasn’t good. Lucius? she asked. How far do you think we’ll be hunted?
“You’re a criminal in Ingfried’s empire,” Lucius said. “So that’s about seventy percent of the underground.”
Fantastic.
“I need a map,” Vivi said. “Are you selling one? The biggest one you have.”
The innkeeper frowned at her.
“I don’t want trouble,” Vivi said. “But I do want a map. Please. I’m tired. I don’t want to attack anyone. I need a big map that preferably extends to lower levels. This town must have at least one map of the wider world.”
The demon thought about her words. His eyes were protective, but they weren’t insane. He would comply with Vivi if it ant keeping his tavern safe.
He pulled out a thick scroll of parchnt from under his desk. “I bought this one for eighty ether. So of its features are broken, but it’s the best one I have. Covers the fourth level entirely.”
Vivi took it and quickly rolled the scroll open, revealing a wide ss of colors and markings. It was definitely a map. Of what, Vivi wasn’t certain, but this would probably be the best one she’d get.
She glanced around herself to see if there was anything else useful. Most of the items on display were souvenirs or other useless items. There were so survival items, such as a knife and matches.
Vivi also glanced at the bookshelf. There were novels and other ti-wasters. She considered a novel for a mont before deciding that she wasn’t interested in reading through Lucius’s translations of silly stories.
One particular book seed interesting, however. Its title was, Hazards Of The Blight; Guidebook by Antonio Giovann.
“I’ll take this book, a box of matches, and a large mug, please,” Vivi said, picking up the guidebook. “No, actually, a steel pot instead of the mug. How much for those and the map?”
“A hundred and fifty ether,” the innkeeper said.
Lucius give him two hundred.
“We’re buying a pot?” Lucius asked. “Why?”
I feel like it’ll beco useful, Vivi said. We need sothing to collect water.
Lucius appeared confused. He looked like he wanted to argue, but he stopped himself. He gave the man two hundred ether. The innkeeper didn’t smile, but he went to fetch a cookpot and a box of matches.
“Thank you,” Vivi said. She bowed her head slightly, then turned to leave. She’d achieved what she wanted from this village. Now she could leave. Nobody wanted her here.
She placed her items into spatial storage and stepped outside, where two runeswords slashed down at her the mont she opened the door.
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