Into the Darkness: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Axe Druid Book 4)

by Christopher Johns

  “I made you a promise.” I dismissed the shadows around the crystal so that she could see it. Her eyes widened, and she chirruped softly, whistling and wagging her tail. “Are you sure that you want this?”

  Her head bobbed up and down excitedly, so I tossed her the crystal with a tired sigh. She caught it easily, tilting her head back so that the rough stone would slide down her throat a little easier. She swallowed a few times, choked, then stomped her foot as she worked the item down her long neck. She smacked her lips contentedly, at the same time a look of panic came over her face, and a notification popped up in front of my eyes.

  ALERT!

  Your familiar has found and consumed a monster crystal. This has resulted in there being a mutation to her abilities.

  Chimerical Imbalance – 25% resistance to all hostile magic, thickened hide bestowing +10 to natural defenses, and the skill Serpent’s Gaze that will ensnare a creature with low intelligence or charisma for 15 seconds once daily.

  Warning: Like the chimera, the consumer of this crystal will never be alone in their own head. Upon the rising of the sun, the personality of the familiar may change dramatically - 40% chance.

  Do you accept? Yes? / No?

  “Are you okay with that?” I glanced at her, and she seemed to be having trouble deciding on if she wanted to puke or not, but I felt an affirmation in her mind coming across mine.

  I selected yes and watched her for any kind of outward sign that she was changing. There didn’t seem to be anything right yet, so Maebe and I laid down for the night and let the girls sleep as they would.

  I didn’t dream here, and I wondered if it was from lack of light, the exhaustion, or the mental wear from not knowing what day it was. Either way, the blessed freedom from the existence I knew for what felt like mere moments was amazing.

  I awoke to a rustling sound, waking to find Maybe sitting in the bed facing Kayda and Bea.

  “What’s wrong, babe?” I sat up and immediately saw what she had been staring at.

  Bea had mutated during the night, and she was definitely much different. For one, she was larger now, almost what I would have assumed to have been adult-sized. What I hoped to have been adult-sized because she was just about taller than me now. Along her gray-scaled body, you could see that there were rougher-looking scales that had grown in. A growth of copper scales had sprouted from her neck near her shoulders that looked like a necklace, it spread down her chest a little bit then stopped. She still had the green wind-like coloration on her scales, but it was so much brighter than it had been before.

  Atop her head, she had a small set of horns that raised out of the top near her ear holes that looked almost like a dragon’s horns. Her brown eye—wait, eye?

  “What the fuck?” I clambered out of the bed to get closer to her, where she watched me. I stepped next to her, and she dipped her head down toward me. Her right eye was her normal brown coloring, but her left eye shone lavender.

  Like the ram’s head. I lifted my hands to smooth them over her head comfortingly, and she nuzzled my shoulder affectionately.

  “What in the actual hell is going on?” I looked into her eyes, and she cocked her head.

  I am only giving affection, is that okay? Her voice seemed more subdued and controlled than it might normally be. Less of her eager self and more loving. Her gaze was almost more intense than normal, too.

  Maebe moved to my side, her hands reaching toward the raptor’s face. Bea shifted slightly and ran her face across the woman’s hands like some kind of great-scaled cat.

  Love you both, her thoughts projected to me.

  “This is…cool, but weird.” I rifled through her stats and searched for anything that could tell me what she had going on with her but found nothing. Nada. Zip. Goose eggs.

  In case you didn’t know—those mean I found jack shit. Which pissed me off even more.

  Was it so bad that she was going through this? I couldn’t tell you. But that lavender eye staring at me didn’t seem like her.

  You worry. She tilted her head, and Kayda shuffled over to investigate. Why? I love you all the time.

  “I worry because I don’t know that this is truly you, or if you’re under some kind of effect.” I paused, trying to gather my thoughts so I could explain to her what I was thinking and feeling, but she already knew.

  Memories flooded into my mind. The sight of me staring down at her held in the crook of my arms with love and affection on my face. Of telling her about the people I cared about. The first time I introduced her to Kayda. How I defended her.

  The first memories of me yelling at her as she played, the feelings that she had attached to them—she thought I had just been worried for her safety when I was equally angry she wouldn’t listen to me. Shame crushed my soul.

  My own memories of her being put into the collar because I didn’t want to have to try to contain and control her with her curious nature and desire to run free shattered my heart. I was the worst kind of partner she could have ever ended up with. And here she was innocently trying to show me why she loved me. I was a terrible person.

  Maebe looked at me with concern on her face, worry forcing her eyebrows to knit together. “I can feel your hurt. What is wrong?”

  “She sees the same memories through love and adoration, where I remember how I felt.” Tears of disgust and anger built in my eyes. “I’ve been terrible to her.”

  “You have much to contend with.” Maebe tried to comfort me, but I could see that slight tension in her gaze that meant she had seen it too and was trying to hide her thoughts. “There would have come a time when it would have been easier to train her. When she would be large enough to defend herself.”

  I sighed defeatedly, suddenly mentally drained. “You knew, and you still said nothing.”

  “I knew and I understood,” she corrected gently. “At least how best that I could. Kayda and Bea are not like our subjects. They are not human or humanoid. They are beasts. Animals. Their minds are their own, and they are only as capable as nature will allow them to be and as their training and lifestyle will facilitate. You had Kayda from birth, and she is a creature of myth forced to grow as swiftly as you did. She had to learn very early on to care not just for herself, but for you and the party as well because if she did not, you could have died for it. Now that you are so much stronger, the threats that you face are much grander, yes, but you can take care of yourself, and Bea has had a much more sheltered upbringing than Kayda. You provided a better life for her. Not to say that either of them is less for having been brought up the way they have, but they are both vastly different, and you have done what you could given the circumstances.”

  I stayed quiet. Her speech had been just that, a speech. Could it have helped? Sure. But it didn’t. It did give some insight, but what I decided to do then was different.

  “Bea, if you want to stay with me, I will keep you, but I’ve been terrible.” I put my forehead against the side of her head and sent her the memories, thoughts, and feelings I had for her. Everything I had been thinking every time we had interacted.

  She was hurt at some of them, certainly. I could feel her confusion as she processed what she was seeing. What I had wanted her to know.

  “If you want to leave, I understand.” I nodded, taking my forehead from hers so I could move to the bed and sit while she digested everything.

  Bea looked up, taking her head from Maebe’s hands, then looked over to Kayda. I felt their minds shut off from mine, iron-clad doors slamming shut so hard that I couldn’t feel either of them as they spoke. I gave them their privacy, not casting Nature’s Voice so that their thoughts were their own.

  Maebe sat next to me, her hand finding its way into my own. “If you ever feel like I could be doing something better, or differently, please say something.”

  She closed her eyes and her mouth moved, then the darkness around us shot toward us and solidified.

  “I know that you wish for that earnestly, and that is tr
uly endearing, but your actions carry weight and you will not always have someone to tell you if they are the right things.” She let go of my hand so that she could dig into her inventory as she spoke. “You made a decision when you felt my life was in danger. You made a decision that affected all of our people for one person. Your decision to have her contained until there was time for her to mature and be less of a burden—”

  “She’s not a burden,” I interjected, and the interruption made her pause and eye me, a little of her queen showing.

  She continued, “Until she was mature and less of a handful to you, was sound. Not just for your own sanity, but for her safety and the rest of the group’s as well. When she runs ahead, or springs on something, or acts out and doesn’t listen, that distracts the whole party. And then you have to chase her and force her to submit. All you did was cut out the middling portion of that. Contained, you knew where she was and that she was safe. You could focus.”

  I nodded but stayed quiet because I could sense a “but” coming.

  “But you could also have been working with her more. And the monster crystals were unexpected because we did not keep them if we found them. We could have put them into jewelry or sold them.” She seemed to be searching for something, then smiled. “She has grown so swiftly, that I had not had the chance to address this with you—again—because the circumstances surrounding your decision were sound.”

  I deflated. It would really only matter what Bea thought, anyway.

  “But I will give you the respect of my telling you when I think the situation could change enough to allow you some frivolity.” Her eyes were forward when she said that, my glance her way making me discover her playful smile. She looked at me then, her green eyes flashing mischievously. “I will stand with you. I trust your judgment, for that is something I took into account when I followed my heart to you. When I bound myself to you. No matter what happens now, I am here for you.”

  I kissed her hand and motioned to the darkness, my will tearing it apart so that the shadows returned to their rightful places.

  Kayda and Bea stared at us, their minds still shut off from mine, watching us. Kayda lifted a wing and used it to bump Bea forward encouragingly.

  She stumbled forward, whipping her head around and hissing reproachfully at her sister, then regarded me.

  Her barrier lifted, and her mind brushed against mine tentatively.

  “What have you decided, dear?”

  I wish to stay. I smiled despite myself. I want to have the chance to prove that I can be a part of this family and not be a nuisance to you.

  “You aren’t a nuisance little one—you just get excited, right?” I reached out and ran my hand over her scales. Her clicks of satisfaction making me laugh, it was nice knowing she could fully express herself now, though it made me wonder how much she had grown mentally.

  Excited or not, I will do better. Her gaze found mine. Sister was right. I have done much that she did not. And more than she has in many ways. I am sorry. And I can feel your regret. I know you will do better.

  “I will,” I stated. “We all will. We’re a family, and we have each other’s back. Kayda, come here. Let’s all get a hug going.”

  They all gathered around, Maebe and I wrapped our arms around Bea, while Kayda wrapped her wings around us. It was a good hug.

  You all awake? Yoh filtered into my mind. I made food.

  Yeah, give us a second, and we’ll be out. How’re you feeling? I tried to hide the worry in my tone but couldn’t.

  Well, I’m not alive so… he let it off there, and I bolted for the door immediately with Maebe hot on my tail.

  I opened the door to see the others grinning at us like idiots, Yoh said, “See? Told you he’d come running.”

  “You bastard!” I snarled vehemently and whipped my fist in the direction of his voice. A dark blue blur, and suddenly, he stood in front of me with his shit-eating grin firmly in place.

  He looked a little more pale than normal, his canine teeth were slightly longer and more sharply pointed, and his eyes seemed to have a bit more pull to them than before.

  “Don’t look me directly in the eyes,” he warned, averting his gaze slightly. “It’s not really that great, but if we didn’t have these rings on, I’d probably be able to lure you with my eyes, and I don’t want any of y’all.”

  “So, how’s life as a vampire?” I laughed and smacked his shoulder.

  “Well, for one, I can’t taste any of the food that I make,” his face was angry as he stated it. “It tastes like shit and makes me gag. But good news is that Muu is happy to taste test for me, and I can keep leveling my skill if I have someone to taste test it.”

  “Have you…you know…” I failed to try and find the right word, wondering if that was a touchy subject.

  “Yeah, man, I fed.” His features softened a little. “I’m good for a little while between feedings. I sleep differently now. So, I may have to carry a coffin with me. Think I might have to have you guys enchant a coffin for me so I can have it. Also, can’t come into anywhere I’m not invited. So, I wanted to try something. Balmur, could you summon the Happy House? I want to see if it will let me in without being invited.”

  “It’s a twenty-four-hour cast, so it may not be a good idea to waste it for just that.” Yohsuke seemed disappointed, but let it slide.

  “Well, here’s breakfast. What say we go nail that bastard’s coffin shut and give him a sun-lit salute?” Muu clapped his hands and grinned at the rest of us as we tucked into our food. Fainnir hadn’t decided to join us, and after yesterday, I could understand why.

  Kayda chose that moment to flutter out of the room in her parrot-sized form, hunting for food, with Bea scrabbling out of the room behind her.

  “Woah!” Bokaj whispered, then raised his voice. “Is that what happened when she ate those crystals?”

  I nodded, and he snapped his fingers, “Shit. Should’ve seen if Tmont could’ve found any.”

  “The point was to level the ones who needed it.” Jaken raised a hand to calm the ice elf a little. “It worked. Granted, it was a little rough at the end there. And the monster crystals only seemed to come from within the dungeon. Maybe we can find another one somewhere and go on our down time?”

  “That would be cool,” James bit into his toast excitedly as he looked at the rest of us. “So, what’s up with the kid, Zeke? I know you have a plan for him and that he’s important, but how are we going to convince Lilith to let us keep him?”

  “You say that like he’s a puppy,” Balmur said, then snorted. “Besides, I’m pretty sure Zeke might have thought of a way to help us keep him alive.”

  I eyed him, and he continued through our earrings, We need to be very careful about what we say in this place. Ears everywhere, and there’s no telling if she can scry on us or not.

  What the hell is scrying? Muu glanced about. The context of it was kind of odd to me.

  It allows her to focus on a thing, person, or place and watch it like we did with TVs. It’s how she stays aware of things in her realm, and she has probably been spying on us this whole time. Balmur explained. So, we need a way to keep her sight off us.

  Won’t that piss her off? James sounded like he wanted to remain cautious.

  You heard her the last time we were with her, her people are her main concern. So, if she can’t see us, oh well. We just have to play it smart. Bokaj grinned, then looked over at me. And if we can try having you make us something that will keep her from being able to spy on us…well, how could she be mad at us for wanting to protect our privacy?

  The old, “If you can do it, why can’t they” argument could work too, right? Yohsuke raised an eyebrow, nodded sagely, and leaned back. If this Vampire Lord we’re supposed to hunt has the same kind of magic that she does, or at least the same kinds of spells, it may work to keep Lilith off our backs. I can support that position. My magic is closer to infernal than ever, so I have more of an attunement to that. I’m not sure if m
y vampirism affects my magical disposition, though. We will have to see.

  Sounds like a plan to me, I want each of you to give me a platinum coin, I have an idea. They each put a hand into their inventories, and I took out three of mine, so I could make one for me, then looked over at Kayda and Bea, who teased Tmont as she tried to eat. I also needed to make one for Fainnir, the kid, and Tmont. Not to mention Gerty. This was an expensive task.

  Going to need Muu and Jaken to make collars for the familiars so that I can add it to them as well, just to be safe. Both of them nodded and began their work with measuring and designing straps that could work for each of the familiars.

  I turned my attention to the coins. I would have to be precise and crafty.

  “Mae, will you put a barrier around us? As thick as you can make it?” She nodded at my request and closed her eyes. She splayed her fingers out, her hands lifting from her sides to grasp and pulled with her will. A dome of icy void energy solidified around us.

  “I thought that mixing my control over the cold into the barrier would assist in hiding us a little better.” She seemed less and less certain of her words as they left her mouth, a small line of strain showing that the spell was fatiguing her a little. “I cannot know for how long it will keep her out—if at all.”

  “It has to bother you that she has some sort of ability with Shadow Magic,” I observed as I worked.

  The engraving I had in mind was simple and easily done, so my attention could be divided a little for this portion. Between coins, I glanced up at her to find her looking particularly pensive.

  “Penny for your thoughts?” She glanced over at me, my voice seeming to shock her from the thoughts in her head.

  “I do not know what a ‘penny’ is, but I assume it is a small monetary sum from where you hail?” My smile gave her the answer she needed, so she gave me mine. “My thoughts are expensive; you couldn’t afford them.”

  I snorted, and she chuckled at my finding her funny, then she answered, “Yes, I do find it vexing that the drow seem to have an innate control over what I do, but their level of control and mastery is not mine, and I am the chosen champion of the Void. While it might be concerning for some, it is but a minor annoyance for me.”