System Change

“I have been doing my all to make it to the other continent. It would be a shame if I didn’t end up there,” Marrick said. “So, since you have been there, if you could drop me off there, that would be great.”

“I can do that,” Derek said. “There are a few different locations that I know I can go to. Which one would you like?” Derek asked, then explained, “The first is in a small village in a kingdom called Vorandell. It’s a kingdom kind of like Cydaria and is kind of in the middle of the other kingdoms. It has a mix of races and seemed pretty decent for the short time I was there.”

“That doesn’t sound bad,” Marrick said. “What else?”

“The second is a beach in a kingdom called Draylanthi, close to its border with Vorandell. According to Alanah, it is a very militaristic kingdom, though, one of her good friends from her early life seems to be the head of a pretty powerful house. I will say, I can pretty much guarantee that as soon as we get there, scouts will notice and come running.”

“That could be fun in its own way,” Marrick said. “Running from the military or trying to talk my way out.” The old goblin-looking elf’s eyes gleamed at the thought. “What about the third?”

“Well… I suspect that the third is probably crawling with a bunch of racist elves,” Derek said. “It’s where we fought the world boss.”

“The… world boss?” Marrick’s eyes widened, completely ignoring the rest of what Derek said. “What is that?”

“Nothing much,” Derek replied. “It was a tree that harassed Alanah in her childhood, so she wanted some revenge. Me, her, Silvi, Avery, Edgar, and Tyron and his companion made short work of it. Let me tell you… those elves were pissed.”

“I thought you only traveled with Alanah,” Marrick said.

“Well… the tree was big… so I gathered some more manpower,” Derek explained.“And you didn’t come get me?”

“I… whoops,” Derek said… he didn’t know what else to say.

“Well… there’s nothing that can be done about it now. Tell me more about this place,” Marrick said.

Relieved that the old man was dropping the topic, Derek replied, “The kingdom is called Linderis. It’s where Alanah was born, and she was shunned for not being a full-blooded elf. It seems that they have changed how they treat half-elves a bit since the last time she was there, though. Still, they are not friendly to any other races. They used the world boss as a place to train their young and soldiers against mental attacks, so they weren’t very happy when we lit it on fire and chopped it down. But it did make for a damn good salad.”

“That doesn’t sound bad, either,” Marrick said. “I wonder how long it would take me to become an elder. I bet I could do it before I kick the bucket.”

“I wouldn’t put it past you,” Derek said. “So, what are you thinking? Which place sounds the best?” he asked. “Oh, there’s also other kingdoms, Fitali and Helcomir, but I didn’t make it to those two, so I don’t know anything about them.”

“Hmm…” The old man rubbed at his chin in deep thought. “I guess the best place would be the village in… what was it? Vorandell?”

“That’s it,” Derek said.

“Yeah, that would probably be the best. If it’s in the middle of the others, I could take my time and figure out what to do. I could always go to the other two kingdoms and do what I want. This will let me get my bearings.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Derek said. “However, the place that I’ll be taking you is more dangerous than the other two, so be prepared.”

“A village in a neutral kingdom is more dangerous than the border of a militaristic kingdom or a place where you pissed off a bunch of racist elves?” Marrick asked.

“Mhm…” Derek just nodded his head. “Alanah almost didn’t make it out alive.”

“Interesting!” Marrick’s eyes brightened. “That’s even better.”

“Very well,” Derek said. “I’ll take you there.”

“Great!” Marrick rubbed his hands together in excitement, then his eyes fell on one of his storage rings. “Oh, wait,” he said.

“What?”

“Here, take this.” The man pulled a storage ring off his finger and handed it to Derek. “There’s nothing too great in there, but there are a bunch of materials and ingredients for your companion and the young blacksmith. Just bring me the ring back the next time you visit.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Derek took the ring and nodded. “I’m sure they will appreciate it, and I’ll try not to take as long to come check on you again. Who knows where you might be lost at next time.”

“Exactly,” Marrick said with a serious nod. “This old brain of mine is not what it once was.”

Derek just laughed and shook his head. Finally, he turned around and reached out. He gripped the space in front of him with his two hands and pulled, ripping it open. He turned his head and said to Marrick, “One last chance. Are you sure that’s where you want to go?”

“I’m sure,” the old elf said.

“Okay, in that case, come stand in front of me,” Derek said. Marrick floated on his cloud of sand to just in front of Derek, then Derek placed his hand on the old man’s back. “You can withdraw your sand now,” he said. It was the first time he’d done this floating in the air with someone other than himself. The old elf’s sand disappeared almost instantly, and all of his small amount of weight fell to Derek to hold. It was like holding a feather.

“Here we go,” Derek said, then, using Void Steps, kicked off and into the void. As soon as they were in, Derek quickly turned and shut the space behind him, before looking for a certain elf to focus on. There you are, he thought, then moved forward. A few seconds later and he was just above the aura. He reached out and opened the void, and stepped through.

Once in Nick’s Knick-Knacks, he removed the void shell from Marrick and looked out in front. The store was just as messy as before, and there was a hooded figure in a robe that was too long, running around aimlessly muttering to himself and stocking shelves in a very nonsensical manner. Unless he was putting something on the shelf, his eyes were glued to the floor. It seemed that the man hadn’t even reacted to Derek’s void. What the hell? He thought.

“This is…” Marrick said. “The dangerous place?”

“Yes…” Derek said.

Both Derek and Marrick stood in silence, watching the man. In the short time that they were there, he’d tripped and fallen on his face twice, but somehow avoided having the items he was holding touch the ground. Finally, he turned and began walking down and placing items on the shelves in the aisle where they were. Derek thought he’d finally realized that they were there when he drew close, but then he walked right in between them, with his eyes never leaving the ground.

Derek broke out of his shock just quick enough to grab Nick by his shoulder and grabbed him, pulling him away from the void portal that he hadn’t closed yet, and moving him to just in front of the two of them. Just as a precaution, he didn’t take his hand off the elf’s shoulder. Finally, the man looked up.

“Huh… huh… what… no… what’s that…” the short elf muttered incoherently. Instead of his eyes landing on Derek or Marrick, they were on the portal behind them. “No… what’s there… isn’t there… where’s what’s there?”

“Nick,” Derek said, but the elf muttered something else. “Nick!” Derek raised his voice, and the man finally shifted his gaze and his eyes landed on Derek.

“A customer!” Nick said brightly. “Welcome to Nick’s Knick-Knacks! My name is Knack… no… Nick! My name is Nick and these are my Knick-Nacks!” The elf brought his arms out and motioned around him to show them all his wares. But then his eyes landed on the portal again. “Except that. That’s not my knick-knack. It’s not supposed to be there,” he said, then muttered. “Or is it? Big purple circle… big purple circle… no… no big purple circle. Not mine.”

“Nick,” Derek said, breaking the man out of his mumbling once again. “That’s mine. One second.” Derek turned and closed his portal with his free hand, then finally let go of the elf since he could no longer hurt himself… well, no longer hurt himself inside Derek’s void tunnel.

“Oh… it’s gone…” Nick said, then pushed past Derek and Marrick, walked to the shelf right behind where the portal had been, then placed the jar that was in his hand on the shelf. “There…” He said before turning back around and walking back in front of the duo. “I’m Nick. How can I help the two of you fine customers?” he asked again, then looked intently at Marrick. “One fine customer and… goblin.”

“This guy is dangerous…” Marrick muttered, his eye twitching at the insult.

“It talks!” Nick jumped back. His attention shifted to Derek. “Sir! Be careful, there is an intelligent goblin standing next to you. What to do…” he looked around, then grabbed a jar from his shelf. He brought his arm back and threw the jar at Marrick, who easily caught it.

“Very dangerous,” Marrick said.

“I told you,” Derek said. “Alanah barely made it out alive.” Then, he looked at Nick and said, “Nick, this is Marrick. He is not a goblin, he is an elf, who just happens to be very old. Marrick, this is Nick, the owner of Nick’s Knick-Knacks. He is… interesting.”

“Owner? Who, me?” Nick tilted his head up and to the right, then looked back down. “I guess I am.” His eyes looked to Marrick, then back to Derek. “You know me? Who are you?”

“I’m Derek… Derek Hunt,” Derek said. “You don’t remember me? I was here with a pretty half-elf… we bought a map.”

“A map? I have maps. What kind of map do you need?” Nick asked.

“No, my friend and I came by a few months ago and bought a map. She traded you some really good potions and a level 250 pelt, and you gave her the map and five gold,” Derek explained, hoping to jog his memory.

“Five gold and a map for potions and a level 250 pelt? Your friend got ripped off,” Nick said. “She should learn to negotiate.”

“That… nevermind,” Derek said. “Do you remember me now?”

“Nope! Not a clue,” Nick said. “Anyway, you need a map?”

“No…” Derek started, but was instead cut off by Marrick.

“Actually, I would like a map,” Marrick said.

“Ah!” Nick jumped back even further this time, then remember that Marrick wasn’t actually a goblin. “Sorry, you startled me,” he said. “What kind of map would you like? Will any do? I have a bunch.”

“Any map…”

“You have to be specific,” Derek said, not wanting to go through the same thing with Marrick and Nick as he had with Alanah and Nick. “Very specific.”

“Oh,” Marrick muttered. “In that case, give me a map of the kingdom—” he started, but was cut off by Derek.

“He would like to BUY a map of the Kingdom of Vorandell,” Derek said before turning to Marrick. “You have to be VERY specific,” Derek said. “Don’t say kingdom, say what kingdom, don’t say take, say buy…” he explained.

“Oh… wow,” Marrick said. “In all my years… I have seen nothing… nothing… like this.” He shook his head while looking at Derek. “Is it too late to take me to the angry elves or the military?”

“It is,” Derek said. “You chose this option.” He then looked at Nick once again. “You know what?” he said to Marrick. “Good luck.” He then turned, covered his storage items in void energy, then opened a portal and stepped in.

“Don’t leave me here with him!” Marrick shouted from behind, but Derek ignored the old elf and quickly shut the space behind him before he could throw himself in.

“Whew…” Derek muttered. “Poor Marrick.”