[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 117 - The Flower of Friendship II

Cal slipped more than once. Lacking some much-needed gripping power, he slid out of control. Scrambling, Cal managed to hold on through the sleeves of his darksilk cloak.

The rest of the climb down went easier, though the skeleton was tremendously nervous the whole way.

Shrubley came after him and had significantly less trouble, though that was likely because he gripped the rope with every ounce of his strength. Though Shrubley accounted himself brave by the adventurer standards, that fall in the mirror realm had left a mark on him.

He was afraid, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him.

His father, the Druid, always told him that fear was like any other emotion. You could feel happy, sad, mad, or any other mixture while still doing the job that was in front of you.

Fear should be no different.

You could not pick and choose the emotions you felt, but you could decide how you reacted and what you did when you felt them.

Shrubley chose to press on.

Tackling a rope did not come naturally to Smudge. He formed one, two, then five humanoid hands out of his spherical body and didn’t so much as climb but rotate down the rope.

Konko stared at Smudge as he easily climbed down the rope almost like a wheel rolling down the road.

A wheel of hands.

“That’s definitely inventive,” the Countess said. “You next, girl.”

“Why?” she found herself asking.

“Because I’m going last and I figured it would be best if you broke something for Shrubley to be there and… not me.” She gave her a meaningful look.

Konko did not understand. Was the Countess suggesting that Shrubley should catch her in his arms like a hero?

“She means if ya start bleedin’ she don’t want to smell your tasty blood,” Sose translated for her.

Konko went white as a sheet. “O-oh!” Konko squeaked.

Once they were all down at the bottom, they walked along the meandering path of the stream. Tumbled down boulders, washed out pebbles, and tiny colorful stones dotted the banks of the lazy river.

Cal waded through the river here and there, picking up a few stones that caught his eye for jewelcrafting. Things that likely would have cost a fair amount in a town, and even more in a city.

Shrubley took out his compass and pointed. Now that they lost their vantage point, it would have been easy to miss the Guidance Stone. Even using the compass to guide them, Shrubley could see how a person down on the banks of the river might miss the stone entirely.

What he once thought was an alcove on the ground was nearly 20 feet up on a ledge and set back enough that from the river you couldn’t tell there was even a cave there. It looked like weathered stone, just like all the other walls of the ravine.

Grabbing another length of rope, the Countess leapt up onto the ledge easily and let the rope down for the rest of them. She didn’t know why Shrubley didn’t jump up as well. He was more than strong enough to do it, especially with his Bronze aura aiding him.

Perhaps it was a show of solidarity with the others. Miranda wasn’t sure. Such a thing would never have occurred to her. It seemed ridiculous to limit herself just because she was around others weaker than she was.

And yet didn’t you do that with your husband? Miranda thought to herself. Letting him play vampyr lord and enjoying your time with him rather than getting stronger? What happened to that girl that used to battle every monster and every villain—and the occasional hero—she could find? You used to be terrifying and now your own people see you as little more than a mascot.

Sose had been right. The dark oppa usually was about things.

He was going to be insufferable once he realized she agreed with his long-standing stance that she was wasting herself in Taamra.

No more, she vowed. I still love him, don’t know if I can change that. But I’m done taking a passive role in my own life. I will break through to Silver.

The Guidance Stone wasn’t far away, but it was tucked away enough that it was hard to see from anywhere but above.

Shrubley looked at it, interested in how similar yet different it was from the Guidance Stone of Vitality. This one radiated an aura of impressive power, while the last Guidance Stone he knew felt calm and soothing.

Then it hit him. There was a choice that had to be made here.

Slyrox tilted her head sideways. “What kind is it? Feels… muchly stronk. Strong, meaning.”

“Which one of you will take it?” Cal asked, bringing a voice to Shrubley’s realization.

The choice was between Smudge and Slyrox. Both of them were newly eligible to attain a prime essence and class all in one.

Slyrox turned and looked at Smudge.

Konko stared in awe at the tall shining obelisk of jet-black stone. On it were millions of diagrams and designs etched with such precise detail that it must have taken a civilization multiple ages to complete.

If such a thing was even created by another’s hand and not just summoned from the will of the Shard.

Most humans would go their entire lives without seeing a Guidance Stone, let alone be in the company of people about to attune to one.

Miranda turned to them. “If you don’t mind, I would like to examine it in greater detail. Before you freak out, I would like to remind you that Shrubley told us as soon as he attuned to his Guidance Stone, it disappeared. This may be the only chance for me to look at one up close. Besides, I already have a class.”

“Is okay if you take,” Slyrox said gently. For some reason, the koblin suspected that the vampyr could still acquire a prime essence.

“I’m not going to take it,” Miranda insisted.

“Is okay if you do.”

“But I’m–oh fine!” Throwing her hands up, Miranda stalked over to the base of the Guidance Stone. It loomed over her like a death sentence, radiating such power that it made it difficult for her to stand.

A thin haze of Steel aura pulsed around her, forcing back the power of the Guidance Stone and giving her some space to breathe. Miranda placed a hand on the stone’s cold surface.

A tremendous shock ran through her. At the truth of what she could do. Of what power was suddenly possible to be attained.

Most of the monster adventurers tumbled backwards from the sheer might of that Steel aura. Konko had no chance of remaining upright. She fell right into Smudge, who changed into a bench-like shape to support her.

Miranda pulled her hand back as if stung. She cradled it and stared accusingly at the Guidance Stone. “To think… we were wrong all along about how to use them,” she muttered to herself. “Even that old bat…”

“What do you mean?” Konko asked, struggling to get to her feet. She couldn’t even get close to the Guidance Stone, let alone the Countess. It felt like the air turned to hardened jelly.

The Countess turned. Though it was the hardest thing she had ever done, she walked away from the obelisk and released her aura. Immediately the others–except for Shrubley–stood back up on their feet.

Shrubley had surprisingly resisted her aura, even flaring his own golden-copper Bronze aura to help keep his feet beneath him. It had been an utterly instinctual reaction, but he saw the nod of approval from the Countess and knew it had been right.

“I apologize,” she said slowly. “I did not expect such… a powerful reaction.” With a fingerless gloved hand, she motioned to the obelisk. “This is the Guidance Stone of Dominion. And what I found might change what we plan on doing.”

“Sounds perfect for Slyrox!” The koblin punched her mitts together. Sky essence swirled around one mitt, and Earth essence crumbled around the other. The impact of the two colliding resembled a miniature eruption.

“That is between you and Smudge,” Shrubley said.

The two monster adventurers squared off.

“More importantly, could I borrow you for a moment, Shrubley?” the Countess asked, inviting him to the Guidance Stone.

Shrubley stepped forward, shocking the Countess when he was able to approach the Guidance Stone of Dominion with apparently zero effort. He wasn’t even using his Bronze aura.

She watched as he placed a gentle hand onto the face and then pulled it away. He looked over at her, joining the Countess at her side. “Did you expect me to be able to use it?” he asked.

“It was a theory. I take it you are immune to the Guidance Stone’s powers?”

“It would seem so,” Shrubley confirmed. “I could feel the immense power, but it moved around me as if I was already shielded by the Guidance Stone of Vitality that I am attuned to.”

“What’s that mean?” Konko asked from afar. She hadn’t known Shrubley had already touched a Guidance Stone. Just who were these monsters she was entwined with?

“What it means is that things have changed,” the Countess told them all. “We used to think that only those who had yet to pick a class yet had all 3 essences could attune to a Guidance Stone. Now we have proof that the only people who can’t attune to them are those who have already attuned to a different Guidance Stone. I’ve had my class for decades, and yet I was able to attune to the Guidance Stone of Dominion.”

“Slyrox had been right,” Shrubley said. “At least, partially. You can acquire a prime essence.”

“Then that means we don’t need to wait around for a Guidance Stone to get a class!” Cal said excitedly. “We can still attune to a Gui–oh no. Oh, that’s really bad.”

“This is rather convenient,” Shrubley said. “But also expands the options for who can attune this one.” He looked meaningfully at the Countess.

The Countess nodded at Cal. “He gets it.”

“Oh my…” Konko said. She hugged herself and shivered. “That is a problem.”

“Get what?” Shrubley looked from Cal to Konko to the Countess.

“If somebody who has had a class for decades and already has 3 essences and nearly mastered them could still attune to a Guidance Stone… what do you think would happen?” the Countess asked.

Shrubley looked down at the [Guidance Stone Compass] in his hand. “Hm.”

He still didn’t get it. That seemed like a good thing.

Miranda pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Leave it to Shrubley to not get the imminent threat that everybody else understood. Well, everybody but Shrubley and Smudge.

“I’ll spell it out clearly,” she told him. “Anybody who already has 3 essences and is not attuned to a Guidance Stone can attune to one. What once was common knowledge, that only those people lucky enough to find one before acquiring a class were eligible, turns out to be wrong. If I can attune to a Guidance Stone, so can the Emperor. His 50 wives, and their children, all down to the rich grubby merchant who has more money than scruples.”

The Countess knelt down and put her hand on Shrubley’s bushy head. “You possess the single most important object in all of Almora, Shrubley. An item that, as far as I know, cannot be soulbound, so it can be stolen and used no matter what you wanted. Shrubley, you need to make sure you never show or talk about that compass. Ever. Kings and Queens would go to war for such a trinket. Imagine what they could do with it!”

Sose’s eyes gleamed with greed. “Wouldn’t mind getting my paws on that treasure.”

Shrubley remembered Mistress Ceasewane’s warnings well about the Guidance Stones. That humankind would fight terrible battles over them.

What was the difference between nailing them down in place versus being able to find them? Not much, Shrubley realized with an unfamiliar weight of dread.

With a shiver that passed through his leaves, Shrubley vowed to protect the compass with every fiber of his being.

“That still leaves the question of who will take it,” Cal said. “Only now we have 3 candidates instead of 2.”

All eyes turned to the Countess.