Longfall

Mark didn't feel any of the shards stab into him as the glowing intensified, then faded. He got poked but they bounced off harmlessly. He felt silly trying to protect this random girl he only just met when the worst that happened was an insubstantial jab. That silliness turned to a mix of embarrassment and confusion when he felt her chest pressed right up against him, some odd shape solidly between soft titty and torso. He let go, blushing, and couldn't even get a word out before she spoke.

"No need to apologize, Mark. Silly as you find it, I thought it was sweet." Heidi buttoned her shirt up once more, looking back up once she finished. "What you felt were piercings. My appearance is based on several things you've seen in your life that I felt would fit my personality or that I had no issue with but you seemed to enjoy. The piercings fall into both categories." The fact she could say all of this with a straight face deeply concerned Mark for the sake of his johnson. He could only be so aroused in jeans before it started to get uncomfortable. Heidi then picked up again. "We can deal with your erection later, as I believe Mistress Gaia has plans for us."

Right I do my goat-y giga-tittied friend. Please do keep calling me mistress, by the way. I deserve it. Oh, here you go, Mark.

Without even needing to see the window from the correct direction, Heidi tilted her head and asked, "I see Mistress Gaia shares your desire to fornicate with me. Will your sense of embarrassment, chivalry, and faithfulness allow you to complete this optional objective?"

"You and I need to have a talk about your reading of my mind..." Mark groaned, pinching and massaging the bridge of his nose. "Please try not to do that, it feels rude. I only just met you and I was used to my mind being a place of privacy."

"I apologize, I should have noticed your discomfort with the idea. I'm still getting used to understanding things of this nature. I'll listen for my name and nothing more, if that is alright with you, just in case you need to speak with me at a distance or outside of a Gravezone. Is that a sufficient compromise?"

After a moment of thought, Mark nodded. "Listen for a keyword instead. Something I'll almost never be thinking about but easy to remember... maybe Nebraska. Nothing ever happens there but it's a state. Considered Wyoming but there's at least jokes to make about Wyoming."

"Odd but very well. Now, as for my previous question?" She gave an expecting look, hands in the same position as before the world shattered.

"Yes, it probably will," Mark huffed out with a sigh. "No offense to you but we only just met. I don't even know what Imara and I are yet and I'd much prefer not to throw a wrench in that. Happy?"

"I find that a satisfactory answer. Lady Gaia may be disappointed but if you change your mind, you need simply say the word." She said all of this with the same kind of smile you'd give someone you'd just told to have a good day, casual and polite.

Deciding to at least get things moving now that they had set ground rules, Mark looked around. The room they were in was extremely simple. A double wide rectangle with a pedestal in the center of each half of the room. On each was a portal gun. Each of them grabbed one, one with a red stripe down the spine, as well as a techno-bedazzled potato for added aesthetic, going to Mark while the blue striped one went to Heidi. As they headed for the door set at the center of one of the long sides, Mark continued his train of thought from earlier. "You seem really casual about sex."

"I know humans find some level of intimacy in the affair but since you don't have experience with it, I didn't have anything to draw from. It is just an activity to me, albeit one I'm very curious about and would enjoy trying. On top of that, my body isn't physical, so I have none of the associated risks."

"Good points... Well, let's get started with the dungeon," Mark said as he opened the double doors. Beyond was not another room but a vast expanse of forest clearing. A very rough guess put the circular field ringed with trees at half a mile or more. Dead center was what the quest had referred to: the World Tree. There was no question about it, the tree was large enough to swallow whole buildings in the middle of downtown New York, height and all. Not just one at a time either. The tree felt as children must imagine redwood trees when hearing about them for the first time, which was helped by the fact it was a giant sequoia tree of monstrous proportion. Mark looked up at the towering behemoth to see it seem to fade to a vanishing point rather than a peak. Muttering to himself, Mark asked, "just how big is this thing?"

As he was looking up, two windows appeared in tandem.

Area Modifiers
Longfall: Fall damage is disabled. (Yes, I can do that)

You have gained a follower.

The second one was a surprise more than the first to Mark, looking towards the big tree, where he expected this follower to come from.

"Down here, numb nuts." A bit crushed voice came from near Mark's hand, the light in the potato lit up as the voice continued, "yep, that's right. Your favorite goddess is here, gracing you with my voice. You haven't earned my presence yet."

Mark looked down at the potato stabbed on one of the arms of the portal gun, dumbfounded. Slowly, a single word formed that did it's best, though ultimately failed, at conveying his sheer bewilderment. "...why?"

"You're getting to explore my tree and you wonder why I'm tagging along? I'm going to talk your ear off about it until you're sick of me, then talk some more for good measure."

Mark was going to speak but Heidi made herself heard first. "I would like to request Mistress Gaia come with us. I would love to know more about the World Tree and she is offering that knowledge."

"I was going to say something about being smited if I refused but if you actually want her to come along, I guess I won't be snarky." Mark gave Heidi a smile. The naïve nature of the girl was something he found endearing.

"Smote, by the way, not smited." Gaia's voice came again through the potato.

"Don't make me mash you."

"Threatening god herself? Bold, Mason," she said in a songish way, not serious at all. "Real talk, your job is to climb the tree. It's half puzzle, half exploration. You /probably/ won't make it in one run. There's some checkpoints along the way and the portal guns will mostly be used for momentum stuff. Since I don't want you becoming a pile of red goo and meat, you get the longfall boots as a dungeon effect. Oh, and if you bring Imara when you come back, she'll have to start from the bottom. Sorry bud."

"Well, at least we get to do the momentum puzzle stuff," Mark said as he shaded his eyes to look at the upper parts of the tree. "Just how tall is it?"

"Good question. It fluctuates a lot and I don't keep super close track of it. As of this moment..." There was a pause as she seemed to consult the numbers somewhere beyond the potato. "Nine hundred and fifty six meters, twenty seven centimeters. That's three thousand, one hundred and thirty seven feet, four inches in cheeseburgers per international incident."

Mark had to stifle a laugh at the unexpected comment. He started walking as he said, "god herself trashing the Imperial system... Well, we should probably get climbing. Is it one of those mystic trees that's hollow on the inside?"

"This one is mostly solid. I added hollows to let you get from branch to branch at times but you're climbing the outside of the thing. The real one has some stuff in it but you'll need to go see it in person."

"Sounds like one hell of a trip, wherever this thing is..." Mark lowered his hand and began the short trek to the base of the tree. It was a pleasantly cool day in this liminal space, a breeze making for great walking weather. Behind followed Heidi, skirt gently rustling in the breeze. "So, Gaia... I was wondering something, if you're able to answer the question. What is this place exactly? The dungeons, I mean. They work by different rules than Gravezones."

"Meh, not really. Most people just can't do the things needed. Me, most can barely shape a Zone." She sounded equal parts grateful and annoyed by that fact, using 'Me' as if it were an expletive. "These dungeons are just made with high level control over Zones. Can't say more than that though, can't give away everything."

"Well, it was more than I was expecting. Thank you."

"You're welcome!" The way she said it came off as snooty and peppy, like someone who expected thanks and adoration. "Also, kinda surprised, Mason. Cute girl about to take her clothes off for you and you stop her? I admire the self control but I question the wisdom." She said the last part with a labored sigh.

Mark simply shook his head. He'd given his reasons already and didn't need to justify himself. So, on he marched, along the trail to the base of the tree. A tree of impossibility by any logical constraints. What a Wednesday.

Come join us on Discord! https://discord.gg/cZfV6Ymcwr