Ball of Nothing

After spending a humble night with the wood elves, Zero and Truen started making plans in the morning while they helped to hunt for food. The wood elves were overjoyed with the haul of the morning hunt. Everyone became busy with cleaning the meat and Zero let them be. In fact, he decided to pass Torran some seeds so that the elves could learn to farm for their own harvest instead of relying on the forest and risking capture.

The plan was to enter the Great City of Altear and take a look around. Zero didn't want to meet King Sharo just yet. They travelled a little too quickly from Smargdas and if King Brice knew just how quickly they'd arrived, he would probably think that Zero was very capable and would most likely try to ask for one more favour.

Truen didn't know if it would be alright to leave it to Zero to get them the passes. Zero was powerful and wiser now but his guardian still couldn't help but be concerned.

"How about I follow you using stealth magic?" the archer asked. "You don't really know what's going to happen in Altear. It's not as if you're dealing with monsters, you're here on diplomatic issues."

Zero nodded. "Exactly. That's why I can do this alone. I'll be back within the day with the pass. You should stay here to scout the map a little more with your spells. My mini-map doesn't update very well with the influence of a world tree near-by. Don't go too close to the Weeping Willow, I just want to know how guarded the area would be if we had to break in."

When Zero made up his mind, it was difficult for Truen to change it. With a reluctant sigh, Truen agreed to the plan. Bob was going to go with Zero so there shouldn't be any real issues.

Torran was busy setting up a secure water supply for the new farms when Truen and Zero sought him out to inform him about their decisions.

"In that case, I can accompany you," he told Truen. "I know the layout of Altear fairly well. You might want to avoid the traps set by the high elves before you get there. The Weeping Willow is something I've not seen but I heard about the powerful security around it. We might not be able to break through the final magic barrier created by Spriggan Alex but we can definitely get close enough and bypass the elven guards and archer watchtowers with my help."

Zero thought that it was a good idea and Truen agreed. Having a local guide would save them a lot of time.

It was slightly before noon when they set off to finish their own tasks. Bob transformed into a human to accompany Zero on his stroll.

"Master, do you think we can buy two passes right off the bat if I accompany you as a human?"

Zero looked at Bob. "Possibly but we don't know for sure. Truen would be very surprised to find out if we managed to secure both passes in one try. I want to take a look around town to see the elven women."

The Eternal Dragon blinked. "Women?"

Zero nodded and Bob felt slightly uneasy. There was a conflicting feeling. His master was growing up too quickly and while it was a good thing Zero was taking interest in procreation, he didn't know why Zero wanted to look at women when he had a killer body that most men would die for.

"Master, you might want to transform into a male vessel if you wish to look at women. I don't think the brothels are very welcoming to women in general."

The doctor stopped walking so abruptly that Bob walked right into him, hurting his nose when his face hit Zero's back. He was still rubbing his aching nose when Zero turned around so his c.h.e.s.t was pushed right into Bob's field of vision.

"Bob, I'm not interested in brothels. In fact, I'm not interested in finding a romantic partner of any kind. Don't you find it disgusting if I were to procreate with my creations? It's like doing something sick and nasty with diluted pieces of myself. I'm not going to do that."

The dragon blushed furiously when he heard his master's explanation. The misunderstanding made Mii and Wii cackle madly in the mindscape and Zero sighed. "I'm just curious about Spriggan Alex's taste in women. He has been receiving beautiful elven women as a bribe in exchange for the Weeping Willow's powers. If we want to earn the Moss Giant Orb, I need to know the best way to seduce him into giving it and telling me what I need to know."

That made more sense and Bob quickly regained his composure after shutting the mindscape connection temporarily. His master was extremely dedicated to the mission and Bob wondered if he would be able to continue accompanying Zero on his travels. Of the four keys to activate the Whiskeria portal, they now were in possession of two. If done right, the third key would be theirs in no time.

"Master... what are you going to do once you recover all your divine fragments?"

Zero continued walking and hummed casually. "It's still too early to think about that," he told the dragon.

"However," he continued. "I think I would like to understand the Great One better. Why did he do all the things he did and what is it that he wanted to accomplish through me?"

Bob listened without expression but somewhere deep down, the Eternal Dragon understood that when Zero reached that stage, he and his master would be on different levels. For that to happen, it could take anywhere from centuries to perhaps, millenniums. Zero would be all-powerful and the version of Zero he knew now might not exist by then.

"And after that?" Bob asked carefully. Was Zero going to be the destroyer or the one who balances the world?

Zero grinned. "After that, I'll spend time enjoying the rest of my existence with the people I love!"

Bob smiled. This is the Zero he knew and loved the most. Yet, nobody knew if this wish could come true.

"Oh look! The walls that Torran talked about. We're close to the main gates now if we circle the perimeter."

Bob squinted. The walls were still far but they were on the right path. The City of High Elves was rumoured to be a beautiful place and Bob couldn't wait to find out how different the elves had become after a few hundred years.