Perspective Shift: Lucille; The Search

Once I had split up from Flora, Flynn, and Sofia, I decided to explore the city in search of good deeds to progress my level. After wandering around for a bit, I happened upon multiple small opportunities. One old woman requested that I aid her feline down from a nearby tree. I donated to a nearby beggar. I helped a group of young boys get their ball out of a tree. I offered to assist an old man in carrying his groceries back to his house. I was tasked with picking apples out of a tree for a young girl. There truly were an abnormally large amount of tree related requests.

Finally, I came upon a woman asking passersby if they had seen her son. The boy had gone missing earlier that day while playing by the riverbed. I assured her that I would find her missing child before heading off to the riverbed to begin my investigation.

I started at the location of the riverside where the boy was last seen. Looking around, the only thing I immediately found out of place was a pair of track left by horses. However, after a short inquiry, I found they were unrelated, merely the remnants of a race that happened earlier. Knowing I would have to do more than a cursory investigation, I questioned some of the people nearby, but none had seen the kid disappear. Most weren’t even there to see the boy in the first place. The only one who saw the boy merely informed me he was playing in the water, at the water’s edge.

I utilized the newfound information and searched the water itself. That was when I found a small shoe, about the right size for a young boy, left submerged underwater at the edge of the river. Going under the theory he was taken by water, I eased into the river until it became too deep, then I swam to the opposite shore. I searched the other shore, however, there were no tracks. I was deeply troubled by this. Either the boy drowned, or his kidnappers had the foresight to cover their tracks.

Steeling myself, I dove underwater, my rigorous Paladin training being the only thing that allowed me to swim with my armor on. I opened my eyes, searching the bottom of the river for any more clues towards the boy’s location. What I found instead was an underwater tunnel, leading who knows where. After coming up for another breath, I headed into the tunnel. As I followed the tunnel deeper, my lungs began to scream for oxygen. Just as I felt like I was going to drown, I came up into an underground lake.

Gasping for breath, I dragged myself into the shore of the lake. Looking around, I determined I was inside a cave, the only source of lighting being a few glowing gemstones that grew as stalactites from the ceiling. I got to my feet, gripping my sword with my left hand, unsure of the dangers I would encounter here. Sure enough, I found the corpses of a pair of monsters. They were kappa, a type of aquatic monster that attacks people who are in their waters. In one of their claws was a scrap of fabric, meaning they had taken the boy. Whatever killed them must be nearby, as their corpses were covered in undried blood.

I quietly explored the cave, careful not to make noise and alert whatever killed the kappa to my presence. When I confirmed the boy was not here, I followed along another tunnel branching off from the cave. Peering out into another cave opening from the tunnel, I saw what I had come searching for. The boy was lying **** in the center of the cave. Meanwhile, the monster that took him from the kappa was in the corner, preparing to cook and eat the child.

It was a cave troll. A powerful, large, and surprisingly intelligent monster. It also has quite the tough skin, able to deflect most blows. To adventurers, they were known to be a ‘flee on sight’ monster for all but highly skilled parties. Luckily, it had not noticed me yet, and my goal was merely to recover the child, not slay the monster. I took the opportunity while the troll was preoccupied with the fire and cooking pot to sneak over to the boy. Checking his pulse, I confirmed he was still alive, so I gently shook him to wake him up.

The boy eventually regained consciousness, but before I could get him to remain silent or inform him of the soreness of the situation, he got a look at the troll, letting out a scream of pure terror, alerting the monster. I pointed towards the tunnel I came from and told the boy to run, an order he had no qualms about following. I drew my blade and blocked the tunnel, trying to buy the child time.

The troll took up its club, and began to salivate at the sight of me. The thought of being eaten alive by such a monster made me want to retch. I took a defensive stance, activating Full Guard to bolster my defenses. The troll swung its club overhead with surprising speed for its size. I was barely able to block the attack with my weaker arm. The troll did not relent, swinging at me over and over, forcing me to retreat back through the tunnel. The boy was waiting for me on the other side, and I shouted for him to get into the lake.

The troll caught up with me, landing a blow to my back that sent me tumbling into a stalagmite. Having me cornered, the troll prepared to end me. I used my last ditch effort, activating Holy Blast, a skill that unleashes a weak blast of holy power that can stun an enemy for a short time. While the troll was stunned, I scrambled to my feet, sheathing my sword and running over to the lake, jumping in after the boy. The troll roared in anger as we dove underwater to escape its reaches.

We surfaced back outside, swimming back to the riverbank. The sun was setting. I let out a sigh of relief before telling the boy of his mother. The child thanked me before running off. I got to my feet and began to make my way back to the church. All of today’s efforts had me close to leveling up again, but for now, I was still level 5.