Second Skin: Unified: A litRPG Adventure (Second Skin Book 3)

by M Damon Baker

  “For life and what lies beyond,” he offered.

  His was another traditional toast, but just like Khorim’s words, Stel’s held a deeper meaning. It was no mere sentiment, but a solemn oath to remain by each other’s side through the rest of our lives and even after they ended, in whatever realm might lay beyond the veil of death. Despite the somber implications, none of us hesitated to raise our cups again and take another mouthful of ale.

  “Before someone offers a blood oath, perhaps we should remember why we’re here,” Venna broke in. “We’re here to relax and for a diversion from the weighty issues that we have all been dealing with. Let’s enjoy each other’s company and partake of this lovely gift that Khorim has brought for us.”

  With that said, Venna topped off her mug and took another sip of ale. We all followed her lead, and almost immediately began trading stories. Although the tales varied greatly, they all had one thing in common: none of them involved any serious matters.

  We laughed and traded stories for hours, and I found myself truly unwinding for the first time in weeks. When darkness fell, we reluctantly ended our time together. Even though we wanted to continue our celebration, there was likely going to be a battle ahead of us the next day, and our main goal was to be ready and refreshed for whatever the coming day would throw at us. We grudgingly retired to our tents for the night, and although our time together had been shorter than any of us had wanted it to be, we were still grateful for the reprieve it had provided.

  As Tási and I laid down together, Bane returned and curled up between us. He let me know that the orc army was still approaching, but probably would not reach us before noon the next day. With our position secured until well past morning, I relaxed and settled into the thick blankets.

  Even though we slept in the same tent each night, I hadn’t spoken to Tási much over the past several days. We both returned to camp exhausted at the end of the day, and barely said two words to each other before collapsing for the night. Now that we had a few peaceful moments, I wondered how she was doing and if the mystery inside her had been causing her any issues.

  “How have you been, Tási?” I tried to inquire tactfully.

  “I’m fine, Dreya,” she laughed. “And no, I haven’t felt anything unusual for quite some time.”

  “Was I that obvious?” I replied.

  “Yes and no,” she answered cryptically before explaining herself.

  “You have a certain way of speaking when you’re looking for a deeper answer than your words imply,” Tási told me. “I doubt anyone who doesn’t know you well would pick up on it, but Venna and I can certainly tell.”

  “It’s seems all of you are keeping secrets from me,” I complained, recalling Bane’s treachery.

  “As if you can’t read us just as well,” Tási retorted.

  She had me there. I certainly could tell a lot from my friends’ tone and mannerisms. It would be unusual if they couldn’t do the same with me.

  “She misses you,” Tási said abruptly after a few moments had passed in silence. “You should spend some time with her when this is over.”

  Her suggestion took me by surprise—the two had been bitter rivals at one time, and even though they had reconciled their differences, Tási’s recommendation was completely unexpected.

  “Did you just suggest that I spend time with Venna?” I asked her incredulously.

  “I did,” Tási replied.

  I waited for her to explain further, but she offered me no further comment on the matter. With nothing left to say, I tuned in to Bane’s soft purr, allowing the gentle thrum of his contentment to lull me to sleep.

  8

  We were awakened in the morning to a fresh breakfast delivered courtesy of Broda. She had ordered the watch to wake us so that we wouldn’t oversleep; however, in addition to ensuring that we were awake, the dwarves she had assigned the task also decided to make sure that we were properly fed as well. That consisted of providing us with heaping plates of food and pitchers of hot tea.

  I was grateful for their consideration and made a point of telling them so. The dwarves seemed happy to have their efforts praised and returned to their duties with smiles plastered on their faces.

  “They have no idea about the full extent of your powers,” Venna commented as she observed the interaction. “Yet they can still sense that you are somehow special. Just having your praise makes them happy. I wonder how some of them will react once the truth is known.”

  “Better than I did, I hope,” I quipped back at her, trying to avoid the subject.

  Venna smiled back at me, obviously sensing my reluctance to delve into the matter. Instead, we sat down around the ashes of the previous night’s fire to enjoy the food that had been brought for us. All too soon, it came time for us to leave and take up our positions along the fortifications. Every single individual that was capable of fighting would be manning the defenses alongside us—nothing would be held back against the orcs today. Each of my companions would be setting off to take command of their assigned locations, but before we separated, I offered them a few final words of advice.

  “Each of you has one of our little surprises under your control,” I reminded them. “Use them to take out the ogres first; they represent the biggest threat to us. Especially any that seem likely to breach the wall in some way.”

  “Yes,” Stel agreed. “They won’t be likely to come at us one at a time either, but all at once. We each need to take out the ones in front of our own positions first, so that we do not fire more than one of the weapons at a single target. We’ll probably have too few chances to take them out as it is without wasting our shots on the same target.”

  “You all have some runners assigned to you,” I added. “Use them if you need to communicate anything to each other during the battle. I will try to remain in the center between Broda and Khorim’s sections of the wall, but may wind up elsewhere if I’m needed.”

  Reluctantly, and with a heavy sense of foreboding, we separated. I couldn’t help but wonder as I watched my friends walking away if this would be the last time I saw some of them alive. I banished the dark thought from my mind, focusing instead on doing everything I could to prevent that from happening. Operating out of fear would only put them at more risk, I needed to keep my thoughts on winning the battle rather than worrying over things that were beyond my control.

  Tási stayed with me the entire way to the fortifications. Her assigned area was directly beneath where I would be stationing myself, at least for the start of the battle. As I climbed the stairs, she stayed behind and organized the troops she had at her disposal to defend the passageway. Ultimately, her job was rather straightforward, and I trusted her to perform the tasks I had given her without reservation. Reaching the top of the battlements, I looked out over the field we had cleared beyond the wall.

  The area was larger than it had been during our previous battle. Although Ridge’s efforts had been directed elsewhere, the elves had brought a great deal of logging equipment with them, along with parts for a small sawmill. While setting up that mill would have to wait, there had been no reason not to set some of the people to work clearing the forest. Dwarves and elves working together had managed to hack down a respectable portion of the forest. Although they had left stumps behind in their haste, we still had a much larger clearing in front of us than before.

  The orc scouts continued to glare at us from across the distance, watching our every move. Dwarven guards manned our defenses, staring back at our foes impassively while the elves remained waiting below, hidden from the orcs behind the cover of the wall. The plan was to have them launch their first volley of arrows in unison, hopefully taking the orcs completely by surprise. There might even be a chance that the shock of that attack would cause the orcs to retreat, but I doubted it.

  Hidden just as well were the weapons Dellon and Ilvain had worked so hard to create. The two in the towers had been assembled within the protective confines of their dedicate
d spaces, while the other pair on the wall had been carefully concealed by wooden screens designed to look like defensive barriers. While I was uncertain what effect our archers might have on the large army that approached, I was much more confident in the impact that these weapons would have. Or, at least I was until Bane revealed the ogres that accompanied the horde. Now, instead of being a shock weapon, the devices were likely one of the two elements that would determine the outcome of the battle; the other being Renn’s special contribution.

  I smiled as I considered the impact his idea might have that day. Against the orcs, it had the potential to transform victory into near total annihilation. With the ogres thrown into the equation, it might be the difference between life and death for us all.

  My thoughts began to drift as the morning wore on. While watches rotated and time dragged on, my mind wandered to unrelated matters. For some reason, I became fixated on how I was able to channel my emotions into others. I focused on not only the control I had gained over it, but the details of the process itself. Idly, I practiced channeling into the stone of the wall as my mind seemed unable to consider anything else. My efforts had no effect on the blocks, but somehow, I felt better for having practiced the ability. Yet beneath all of my unusual musings, something seemed to nag at me. I had the inescapable feeling that I was missing something, that there was some aspect of my power I was overlooking. My contemplation was abruptly ended when Bane alighted on my shoulder. His return could mean only one thing, and I braced myself as he reported.

  They are here, Sintári. The orcs have arrived.

  Tási had seen Bane flying in and joined me atop the wall to observe the orc army. We stood together looking over the battlements and across the open field while an entire orc regiment emerged from the trees.

  Orcs by the hundreds broke from the forest and into the edges of the clearing. Tiny health bars and identification tags hung over their heads, but I ignored them all while I waited for the ogres to appear. My wait was all too short, as our giant foes followed almost immediately behind the orc army’s first soldiers.

  An even dozen of the beasts stepped into the open ground. Three of them lugged heavy chains behind them, dragging the crude iron links over the earth as they positioned themselves along the front lines. Another three ogres held back, remaining at the rear of the enemy’s line and seeming to act as a reserve. It was the six ogres that stayed in between that concerned me most, however, as they clearly represented the gravest threat.

  Each of that half dozen hefted a heavy span of crude wood planks, fastened together to form a gangway of sorts. The makeshift ramps were long enough to span the distance from the ground to the top of our walls, and if we let the ogres put them in place, the entire orc horde would easily overwhelm us with their superior numbers. The orcs’ strategy was simple—they would use the ogres’ raw power to get their breaching devices in place, and then tear us to pieces.

  My vision flared and the field before me flashed green for an instant when I took in the mighty host arrayed against us. Heated rage boiled in my veins and I wanted nothing more than to obliterate every last one of them. I recognized that the wild emotions would be counterproductive, so I reined in my anger quickly, and began to carefully evaluate our defenses.

  We could not allow any of those gangways to reach our defenses. Just one of them would probably spell our doom. The only thing in our arsenal capable of taking the ogres out were Dellon and Ilvain’s weapons, and I hoped that the crews manning them were up to the task. They’d mostly practiced with the weapons in secret behind the cover of the wall to prevent the orcs from observing them. Fortunately, the ogres presented a large enough target that even with the limited time they had to familiarize themselves with the operation of the devices, I felt they should be able to manage it.

  As the horde slowly moved forward, they encountered my own little wrinkle on Renn’s surprise. Before we’d retreated behind the wall, I had the last of our people lay a thick barrier of tar across the entire outline of the field we had cleared. Moving towards our defenses forced the orcs to cross the sticky substance, coating their feet in gooey black tar. I had hoped that they might encounter the obstacle during a headlong rush towards our defenses. Hitting the sticky mess at full speed would have caused half their army to tumble to the ground, breaking their charge. But the orc commander was far more deliberate than I had anticipated, and instead of rushing at us haphazardly, his troops marched slowly and in unison, presenting a unified front, something I had not seen during any of my past encounters with the green-skinned brutes. Clearly, their leader was more calculating than the typical orc thug.

  I spotted my opposite as he wiped away the tar from his feet with disdain. If the elaborately adorned heavy armor he wore hadn’t been enough for me to pick him out, the icon above his head that read ‘Orc Chieftain,’ certainly confirmed his identity for me.

  The orcs were eager to attack, but the chieftain held his troops at bay while they cleaned the tar from their gear. Any hope I had of slowing their approach vanished as the sticky mess was removed. All that was left to slow their approach were the caltrops that Hilgreth and the others had laid across the rest of the field.

  But even with the tar behind them, the orcs still did not engage us with a headlong charge. Instead, the first group of ogres ran forward, sweeping the ground in front of them with the thick links of chain that they carried.

  The tactic worked, and the ring of metal on metal echoed through the air as the heavy chain swept away the hidden caltrops from the field. The ogres ventured within range of our weapons, and I was relieved when none of our hidden weapons opened fire. These ogres might have disrupted our plans, but we needed to keep our surprise in reserve until the true threat was in range. Taking out the ogres with the gangways was far more critical to our success than protecting the field of caltrops.

  The orc Chieftain’s expression of contempt only intensified with the success of his strategy. Then, with an offhanded wave to his lieutenants, the attack began in earnest.

  Six ogres bellowed in rage as they ran towards us with their gangways held high. Broda and Khorim dropped the wooden facades that had concealed our secret weapons, and lined up a shot on the charging giants, and almost simultaneously, four large ballista bolts shot forth from our defenses.

  Three of the monsters went down instantly, impaled by the spear-sized projectiles. The fourth bolt missed, passing through two orcs before lodging in a tree in the forest behind the charging horde. I heard shouting from along the wall as the ballistae were frantically reloaded, hoping against all odds for a second shot before the rest of the ogres arrived with the remaining gangways.

  With the battle engaged, the elven archers climbed atop the walls. They instantly launched a volley of arrows, but amid the vast army that approached us, the effect was simply pitiful. Undeterred, the elves continued to fire, choosing their targets carefully. They almost didn’t need to—the field before us was nearly choked with orcs. Even an arrow loosed at random was likely to find some target.

  While the elves were busy doing their part, I focused on trying to take out more of the ogres. I drew back an arrow and was about to imbue it with Shockwave when a tiny voice whispered in my head.

  Strength.

  Although I had never heard it so clearly before, I recognized the sound of that voice immediately. It was the voice that had been calling to me almost since the moment I had arrived in this world, nudging me in one direction or another, directing me along the entire path I had followed—bringing me to the very point I was at that day.

  And imbedded in that word was far more than just a single syllable. I understood then why I had been so focused on channeling my emotions earlier that day. It suddenly became clear just what I had been overlooking. The hidden power that had eluded me earlier was now all too obvious. All of this happened in a fraction of an instant, and I abandoned any thought of channeling Shockwave, following the advice of my unknown benefactor instead.
/>   Tendrils of blue energy extended from my fingertips and traced along the shaft of my arrow as I drew back on the string. When they reached the Khelduin head, the energy funneled into the magically resonant metal and filled it with my power. The sharp blades of the arrowhead began to glow, and before the energy I was pouring into the shaft could exceed the limits of the metal, I released the string and launched the powerfully enhanced missile at the ogre I had been targeting.

  The beast was wielding the gangway it carried like a shield, protecting it from the arrows that were being aimed at it as it approached our fortifications. My shaft struck near the center of that span and exploded on impact in a spray of powerful energy. The force of the blast not only tore apart the crude shield, but ripped off both of the ogre’s arms, and launched the giant backwards, leaving it dazed and bleeding profusely from the obviously mortal wounds.

  That arrow had not only carried the enhanced power that the Bow of Impact had imparted to it, but the Khelduin head had been nearly overloaded by the force I had poured into it. Instead of channeling love or hate or any other emotion, I had filled it with the essence of my own Strength instead. The idea of channeling an Attribute into my actions was the concept that had been eluding me earlier that morning. The ability to focus the power of my stats into something more tangible changed everything, but fully contemplating the importance of that revelation would have to wait. There was still and entire orc army to deal with, and more importantly, the ogres they had brought with them. I hurried to fire another Strength laden arrow at the next ogre when the strange voice rang in my head once more.

  Slowly.

  The voice was fainter, less powerful this time, as if the effort of communicating with me so openly had taken a toll on the speaker. But still, just as before, the voice transmitted far more information than the single word.