Sierra Pt1

Somehow, when we came out of Fast Travel once again it was still morning but the surrounding scenery had changed completely.

The forestry around us was dense with various types of towering trees and hanging vines, showing that we had traveled much deeper in than earlier. The sun looked like it had only climbed by an hour in time but my map showed that we had traveled most of the way to Sierra. The time it would have taken for our walking bone fiends to cover such a distance would have been several hours at the least.

Running some quick numbers through my head while measuring the distance between us and Sierra, I realize that my party must had switched from our original private instance timeline to the actual calendar time. Only a mile or two back the way we came was an active sawmill town settled off to the side of the highway and closer to the fork of the river.

After having passed through that area, we must have gone from private to public. This was not a very big deal in my opinion, it actually helped us out by giving us more daylight to work with. The only issue was that the land dragons were still exhausted from having worked equal to all night and straight to noon.

Even if it looked like it was still morning, the dragons had been hauling this single burdened wagon for around twelve hours since their couple hours of rest. They themselves were ready for a break! I could not exactly blame them, either, since they were not gamers and used to running on a surface charge like old school batteries.

Since there was no way for us to make progress otherwise, I went through the trouble of stabling the land dragons in the clan store before simply replacing them with a pair of greater Taurians. As well, since only a minute or two had passed since we actually discovered and dealt with the outlaws there were almost no changes in clan or city activities to worry about.

So, we simply returned to Fast Travel after replacing the dragons. When we came out of Fast Travel again, a single hour had passed but the tall stone walls of Sierra were already in view roughly a mile down the road from us.

Unlike when we left, though, instead of a handful of guards stationed at the open gates to monitor foot traffic or check antiquated vehicles now and then there were currently a dozen armed and armored guards stationed a hundred yards outside the city in small outpost structures.

Since most of the forestry around the city was thinned out and sparse in growth, we could see most of the way along and around the circular city wall. Not only were these small checkpoints set up on the road here there were more defensive structures spread out through the forestry leading to the next highways on the sides of the city.

From the five checkpoints and outposts currently in view, it was safe to assume a dozen such locations surrounded the city and there were as many as a hundred-and-a-half guardsmen stations outside the city. However, the area affected by their construction still looked fresh so they could not have been more than a day or two old.

Being quite a ways out from the checkpoint on the road, I wonder at what kind of greeting we would receive and what questions would be asked of us. However, just as I was considering ways to waive everything away with our reputations and levels, I was suddenly reminded of the fact that I had changed.

Not only did I have a completely different and pretty much unique race, but my body itself had undergone some changes. Despite the fact that only some of my face was visible, just that little bit of pale and hardened skin and the changes in my eye color were enough to show that I was different.

Surrounded by demons like we were, I would probably look like I was part demon myself. If I was asked to actually reveal myself and was examined with magic, it would become clear that I had a body of crystallized mana which would raise some unsavory questions.

None of the demons in the entourage had a similar body type so demonic origins could be ruled out my a the knowledgeable or high ranking. Despite the open marking and acknowledgment of two goddesses as well as the benefits of being an oracle or imperial knight, being recognized by magic examination to be carrying cordyceps was probably not good.

Deciding that it was best to remove myself from such an equation as much as possible, I withdraw from my position above the wagon with Imperial to where Go was leading the side guards and say, "You guys carry on to Sierra and find out where the new Delai property and stuff is at. I need to go find Sir Beryl and talk to him about… cordyceps. Just as a precaution."

Nodding his head while spurring his Taurian to pull ahead of the wagon alongside Alpha, Go says, "It will probably take us a while just to get in the city and find our way around. Since you can fly you can be quick about it. So, hurry up."

"If one of their strongest is still stationed outside the city at the Elder Oak, then he'll probably need some time to write letters like before we left, but this time for me," I warn my friend hurrying loudly while growing out my own wings. "I'll try to be quick, though."

Leaving them with that reassurance, I jump up from Imperial's back and flap twice to soar a couple hundred feet up into the air and above all but the tallest trees in the forestry. One such tree stretched several times higher than its longest branches reached out. This conical towering monster of a tree was the Elder Oak only about ten miles out from my position.

Flapping up and forward a few more times, I level out and then slightly down to glide forward like a dark streak in the air toward the enormous landmark. I did not have to flap again after that and only spent a couple of minutes in the air. With the gentle grade of my dive I only dropped to a little less than a hundred feet above the ground by the time I reached the grassy acreage surrounding the oak.

Unlike when I left the city, the Elder Oak and its surroundings were no longer just a tall grassy field surrounding open shaded ground under the tree. Between the Elder Oak and the surrounding forestry on the northern side closest to Sierra was a large clearing of ground about five acres in size.

In here had been erected a small wooden walled fort with one central three-story square structure and several buildings in each corner that looked like both housing and sentry towers with crow's nests on top that rose higher than the main building. Inside I could see only two dozen uniform sets of armor matching the Sierra guards and dozens of other people who were evidently players.

As well, there were clusters of about a dozen people apiece scattered along the east north sides of the grasses surrounding the giant oak tree. Under the oak tree itself, though, were a party of about a dozen NPC and players mixed together fighting several times as many goblins.

These goblins, though, were vastly different from the goblins I used to fight. The goblins I faced were all nearly naked and armed with mostly just clubs. These, though, were wearing what looked like moleskin armaments adorned with large pieces of bone and wielding mace-like elder wood clubs adorned with primitive bone spikes and edges.

I was still too far away to actually inspect these mobs but I felt it was safe to assume that their levels were also much closer to the end of this region's spectrum. They could even be level twenty itself. Under such circumstances this was not only a more dangerous training ground but also much more profitable.

Their weapons were still the same B grade wood material but their crude hide armor were made from an animal that was not common to the area. At least, not common up here above their subterranean kingdom. The armor itself was probably from an animal that was C grade considering this was still a noob region.

Everybody in the grass who was originally looking forward and watching the battle taking place were now looking up as I circled around the tree. The party currently in combat, though, had their attention fully occupied. After a full circle around the tee, I finally found the person in the grass that I was looking for and then dived down further afield in the grasses.

Sir Beryl's large body had been hiding near the northern side just a couple yards away from another party of people. From this I could assume that those guys were next in line for the Elder Oak Passage as well as see how long the line itself really was. Considering how long a wave challenge could potentially last in these new conditions, some of these people might have to camp here for an entire day before taking a turn.

Before I even walked half the distance to Sir Beryl's group I found Sir Beryl himself striding forward chest and all above the grass while looking around. The grass was over five feet tall so really only my head and shoulders were above the grass. Stopping about ten yards away with his main giant sword in hand and resting on one heavily plated shoulder, Sir Beryl says, "Start your name and business, young man. This is a precarious area and any sudden moves could tip a dangerous balance."

Reaching up slowly but calmly to undo the face mask of my helmet, I say, "It's been a while, Sir Beryl. I just got back from Winter Wood and things look a whole lot different, now. Back when I was running this place during your naps, none of the goblins were wearing armor!"

"Hack, you rascal!" Sir Beryl suddenly bellows with a joyous expression, crossing the short distance in a single step to wrap me in a one-armed bear hug that could have crushed a normal player. However, with my armor and body it felt like a normal hug. "Boy, you've missed some good times while you were away. Just a couple days after you left, your Delai family and I got together and talked to the old baron about this place. We set up that fort and started letting people pay to fight goblins like you used to joke about. After that, the goblins started changing.

"Any time anybody- even me- steps foot on that naked soil they'll start pouring out ten at a time and suited up like proper goblin soldiers," he explains with a smirk, as if goblin soldiers were even anything to worry about. "With me here, things were never at risk of getting out of hand, but then the forest started going crazy as well. People have been saying some magic creatures are migrating but it's simply not the right season and none of the animals have shown up."

Smiling at the excited and gushing behavior of the old knight who was only too happy to tell me about recent events, I say, "I heard! I don't know if you noticed, but I founded a clan so I have been able to stay up to day through my members. However, there's a couple of things we need to talk about and this crazy forest is one of them. First, sir, I need you to see this," I explain while opening my menus to my character screen.

The simplest way to get this over with was simply to point out my race and say, "I ran into a life-or-death struggle while I was gone, there's a place called the Hounder's Lodge or something just outside the forest and it seems a long time ago the group responsible for the Winter Wood incident left a serious trap. At the time it was handled and sealed, but I ended up opening the basement and exposing myself to cordyceps.

"To avoid dying," I say almost leisurely while the old knight continues reading through my stats and skills, "I had to freeze and burn myself before using transmutation to redesign my infected body and control the cordyceps. Thanks to my luck and some divine intervention, I evolved or transcended from the human race to an entirely new one.

"Since my race was created around a plague and I have abilities along the same lines, I have not entered Sierra and came to you as soon as we came to the area," I assure him quickly as he reaches my actual cordycep skills and perks listing the things I had Assimilated. "Even though I can assure you that nothing can unintentionally happen, I still wanted to talk to you about it first because things can still intentionally happen. If you don't want me in Sierra, I'll never enter a populated area but if you say its okay then I'll accept it."

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