Emma’s Quest
“And how are you guys doing today?” Emma asked, as she set out a bowl of food for the coyote mother. “You all look pretty healthy, and you're growing up pretty well.”
Everyone was surprisingly busy today with the new chaos of Jimmy's arrival, and several people heading across the river to look for his family. That left Emma handling a lot of the chores she usually did with her mom by herself today. Her mother would be busy all day handling Norm's usual animal load.
She leaned down and picked up one of the coyote pups, giving him a quick examination and a weigh-in. Norm had explained it was important to track their weight daily to make sure they were trending heavier until they were adults. He had said a lot of younger animals can have issues with something called failure to thrive, and they were going to make sure these guys thrived, whether they wanted to or not.
“All right, you're doing good, little Sushi,” she said, jotting down his new weight. The names she had written down next to their check-ins were just what she was calling them so far. No one else was using them yet. And the mom still didn't have a name. That was something she'd been thinking about a lot. But she knew she'd come with one eventually.
“Alright, come here, Cookie,” she said, grabbing another one of the pups, and spotting something she had expected, cuddled between the two. It was a small greyish-brown rodent with a long tail.
“Is that a rat?” she asked in surprise. It wasn't exactly the idea that there was a rat in their bed that surprised her. It made sense for coyotes to hunt rats. No, what surprised her was the fact that this one was alive and apparently sleeping soundly with them.
Not knowing what else to do, she reached down and gently poked the intruder in its side. It rolled over and blinked its eyes several times, giving a giant yawn as it did so. It was an oddly human-looking response with its arms stretched out wide.
“Morning already?” the rat asked, finally focusing its vision on Emma.
Emma almost froze in place. She hadn't at all been expecting it to speak. None of the animals could talk, unless you counted Gruther. And she wasn't quite sure he was an animal.
She wasn't sure what to do. Was she supposed to talk back to them? All of the goblins were busy, and anyone else who knew anything was off in the woods.
In the end, she decided against being rude. She had read enough books about how being rude to other worldly creatures could get you in trouble. So, that meant replying. “It's actually pretty late in the day. I just hadn't gotten to weighing the coyotes yet.”
“Damn. She's probably going to be annoyed about that then. I was supposed to be here this morning. You wouldn't have to know where Emma Sykes lives, would you?” the rat replied.
That had caught her even more off guard. Why did it know her name? Who had sent him to find her? She looked back at the adult coyote who was now watching them intently and decided that if they weren't afraid, she wouldn't be either.
“Um, that’s me,” she said, trying to sound confident like Ash would. But she wasn't sure she had properly gotten the tone right.
“Oh, well, that's good news at least. Name’s Peanut, but not like the food, like the dragon. And my boss sent me here to find you. I’m supposed to offer you a quest.”
“Did you just say you're named after a dragon? But you're a rat. Wait, what quest?” Emma replied, her nerves starting to fray. They had been on edge non-stop since everything here had happened, and with the stronger people currently busy, she was really worried about what this thing actually was.
A black shape appeared at her side, pushing its way in front of the rat. “You smell of the divine. This is my pack now. Why are you with them?” Gruther asked.
Emma was incredibly glad for his appearance. She had forgotten that he was still resting in the corner of the garage. His wounds hadn't fully healed yet, but that didn't mean he couldn't advise her at least.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, put the brakes on there, big guy,” the rat said, putting both of its arms up above its head. “I'm not here to start a fight. And that divine you smell is just a connection through the line to the big, big boss. I don't have any connection directly to her. But I got the bad luck of being one of the people pulled into this integration that doesn't seem to be stopping. But when that happened, I got a message from the head of the Order of the Awakened. She figured if I'm already here, I should go recruiting.”
The Gruther's eyes narrowed as he stared at the rat. “I believe she is telling the truth. The connection she has to the divine I smell is much weaker than what comes from Ash. Though I do not know what the Order of the Awakened is. I believe it is safe for you to make the decision, though, young Emma.”
“I guess? I don't know. What's the quest? What does the Order of the Awakened mean? Is this like how Ash has her special class?” Emma asked. She still didn't understand at all what was happening here. But most people didn't understand what was happening in this world anymore, and they still managed to figure it out. So, that meant she could do it too.
With that thought, some of her nervousness finally gave way to her brave face. This was just a rat. Even if it could talk, it was still only a rat, and just because it was making her an offer didn't change anything. She had a ferret that she took care of all the time. There wasn't that big of a difference.
“It's an order that is tied to mana beasts and nature itself. We don't just take everyone or anyone into it, either. Initiates have to prove they care about the Awakened before they're fully even there. But you have the potential. I got a spell that led me straight to you. So if you're willing, you can take a quest that will put you on the path to being able to take this class. You just have to finish the quest before level twenty-five. Or I guess, wait until you can change your class, but that might be a while.”
“Wait, is this some kind of class to take care of animals?” Suddenly, she wasn't only brave, she was excited. This was exactly what she had wanted. Had she really attracted the attention of a group that does that already?
“It is. The exact specifics of the class differ from person to person, like with most of them. But it would be a class within our order. So do you want the quest, or should I go find someone else?”
Emma looked down at Gruther before she made her decision. His voice rang out in her head. “The decision is up to you, but I believe it is safe.”
That was good enough for her. “I'll take it,” she said with a smile.
“Perfect,” Peanut said, snapping his fingers.
The moment he did that, Emma felt something rush through her. It reminded her of some of the magic Ash could do. But this had left a lasting impression. The System message that appeared confirmed as much.
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Quest
Document twenty nascent mana beasts.
The world is newly integrated. Magic that has never been experienced by the living creatures is now flowing freely across it. All manner of animals, plants, and fungi are being infused by it. Many of these creatures will enter this new world in deep confusion as their consciousness begins to grow. Find twenty of them and document their growth, helping them awaken through this transition.
Reward
Induction into the Order of the Awakened
Class
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“Oh my god!” she shouted. She loved the quest. It was something she had wanted to do anyway. And now she had a really good reason to do so. She had to find her mom and tell her. And her mom was with the chickens too!
“Peanut, it worked. Should I start on this right now?” she continued.
“Don't see why not. Why don't you go back to figuring out these pups right here? I think you might be in for a surprise. If you don't mind, though, I'm gonna get another nap in. It's been a long existence.”
Picking up her notebook, she went back to Sushi and weighed him again. This time, she jotted down a few extra things about his characteristics. He had white tufts behind his eyes that made it easy to tell him apart from the others. It also helped that she'd put a blue collar on him.
She set it back down in front of the bowl of food as soon as she finished, trying desperately to ignore the System message until she had.
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Quest Updated
1/20 Nascent Mana Beasts Documented.
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It wasn't easy, but she managed to stop herself from cheering. She had known these coyotes were smarter than normal. And this proved it. Quickly, she worked her way through the rest of them.
Alongside the green collar that Cookie wore, she noted down a bunch of features for her as well. Then there was Star with his yellow collar, Bones with his red collar, and Moon with her purple collar. Despite documenting the rest, the number in the request log did not increase.
“Um, Mrs. Peanut, sorry to wake you up, but I only got the notification for one of the coyote pups. Is Sushi the only one that's a mana beast?”
The rat rolled over, looking a little annoyed, but still replied. “Nah. Probably only works once per species. I mean, imagine if you found a colony of ants on their way. Too easy to break it.”
“Oh, that makes sense. I should have thought,” she said as the rat rolled back over and started snoring.
“Okay, guys, you're fed, you're watered, you're checked out. I've got to go find Mom. I need to see the chickens right now.” Ash looked behind her at the mother of the pups, making sure she was still looking healthy herself, before racing out of the garage.
There were so many potential mana beasts. She just had to get them all in her notebook. They were the chickens and the quail that Norm had. And Floof, he had to be one. She'd check as soon as they got back.
There was also Teacle, that strange old lady's cat. She didn't think he counted as a mana beast. Especially not after what she had seen during the battle. It was possible, though, that he was a mana beast, just not a nascent one, which didn't help her either.
Still, there were probably plenty out in the woods, and she would find them all.
Loamhag
“Yes, I sense it too, Teacle, but there's no reason to get worked up about it. The rat isn't here to interfere with our plans. If anything, I think she would support us, and hopefully will when she learns we're here. The Order of the Awakened has never been our enemies,” The Loamhag said as she gently petted the large orange cat's back.
The cat both purred and growled at the same time.
“Yes, I know. What happened to you really isn't their fault when you think about it. They did try, and it's possible the rat is here to make sure nothing like that happens to any other. But we do have bigger things to take care of here. So let's stay focused on the big picture. Because it's going to be very fun.”