The Guild Core: The Complete Saga Boxset: A LitRPG Dungeon Adventure

by TJ Reynolds

  “Shineva Pliernum?” Royar asked. “She’s one of our finest spies, I’ll have you know.”

  “Royar! Watch your tongue,” the woman scolded.

  “Why? Either they’re allies or they’ll be dead by morning,” Royar snapped back. Adding a pinch of iron in his voice, he asked again, “And what of the beast?”

  This time, it was Kai who answered. “The beast is called a stone houndzard. It is the dungeon champion of this very Earth Core. Hey, Ban!” Kai called out. When the houndzard swung his massive head to see his dragon, the rangers posted all around bristled with fear.

  Again, Rhona nearly used her greatest skill to end this farce. She had no desire to kill these people, but she was terrified they’d hurt her friends.

  Thankfully, all were disciplined, and she found no reason to defend herself.

  Kai called out once more. “Ban, will you blink your left eye three times, slowly. That might prove to our friend here that there’s a keen mind inside all that flesh.”

  Tension built as everyone waited for Ban’s response.

  Then the stone houndzard’s left eye closed and opened three times precisely.

  “By Briga’s Bosom! That was quite a trick!” Royar shouted.

  Ban growled, opening his mouth to expose terrifying rows of razor-sharp teeth.

  Immediately after, Kai said, “Ban thinks you should watch your tongue. Briga is a fair and wise goddess. She’s guided us well so far.”

  Royar squinted, deciding if Kai were pulling his boot. “Okay, well enough. I’ve heard plenty and will promise not to insult any more gods. Still, we’ve much to do in a short amount of time.” He released a high-pitched whistle.

  Another ranger emerged from the thick foliage and ran up to Royar.

  Royar clapped the man on the shoulder. “Nicada, I need you to ride to the southern watch and warn them of an impending attack. Tell them to expect the shivving Vermillion Guard to show up. Could be an hour or it could be a week. I would guess tomorrow though. When you’re done, ride to the reserves camp and summon every long-shanked ranger we have and bring them back here. Switch horses along the way. Go with all haste, my friend.”

  Nicada bowed at the waist and then sprinted away. A moment later, he emerged on a charger, plowing into the southern forest.

  Then Royar gave his next commands to Kai and Rhona. “I’m honestly beginning to believe you both. A thousand easier lies could have been told, but you stuck with your story. Still, I will be taking you back to our commander. He can decide your fate.”

  Rhona sighed, relieved the man had chosen to act reasonably. Besides, the commander of the rangers is precisely who I wish to speak with. He’ll know how best to respond.

  Then she heard Ban’s voice.

  Since Imogen’s death, the Earth Core had mostly been silent, but now he sounded urgent. Tell him that we can’t! We must get to the Sunken Keep. I just know it. Besides, we’ve done our duty. I can be of more help to Hintar if they let us find a suitable place for a new dungeon!

  “Royar,” Kai said, making the ranger turn round and sigh.

  “There’s no way around it, son. I’m sorry.”

  “We need to find the Sunken Keep. Please, if you care at all for the shivvered Earth Cores and their fallen dragons, you must let us pass.”

  The ranger’s face pulled together in another desperate expression of thought.

  Rhona could see why the ranger woman had taken to the man. He was boyish at times and then intensely handsome at others. His thinking face makes him look boyish.

  Perhaps sensing an opportunity, Kai pressed his case. “Please, let me retrieve my map. I’ll show you precisely what we’re about.”

  Again, Royar proved he was a reasonable man. Kai fetched the colorful map he’d shown Rhona back in Imogen’s dungeon, and handed it over to their captor. The man rubbed the bristling beard on his face and considered. “I do not wish to hinder such a quest, but friends, how am I to let you all pass? If what you say is true, war may be on our doorstep.”

  Stepping forward, Rhona broke into the conversation. “I have a solution.”

  She spared Kai a pained look. She knew that neither Ban nor his dragon would agree with her suggestion. Staring up into Royar’s kind face, Rhona laid down her cards. “Let my friends go. If this Sunken Keep hasn’t up and moved, it isn’t far from here. I’ll go with you and yours. Call me a captive, if it pleases your commander, but I go willingly. I have information on the Vermillion Guard as well as the tactics and plans of the Brintoshi and Kaltanese army. I’ll even help you fight the bastards.”

  Kai stumbled forward. “No, Rhona, we mustn’t separate. We’re a team, a party… we’re a guild!”

  Rhona searched her friend’s eyes, imploring. Kai, you have to trust me. He will let you two go and will most likely send scouts to follow. I doubt they’ll be a bother though, and that still leaves you two to perform the mission. But I am needed here. Not only can I give the Hintari an edge by sharing all I know, but I can fight the man who killed Imogen directly.

  For a moment, Kai remained hesitant. Then he sighed and asked one honest question. Will you come back?

  The unguarded expression he wore gave Rhona pause. Not wanting to leave the question unanswered for a second longer, she replied, Yes! Yes, of course, Kai. I… I just have to do this first. Please, trust me.

  Expecting to hear a similar retort from Ban, the Earth Core’s response shocked her. Rhona speaks with wisdom. Kai, have faith. We left Imogen trusting she knew her business. We may part with Rhona now and trust our paths will cross once more.

  Royar, unaware of Ban’s comment, gave his own verdict. “Very well! Rhona, you’ll remain bound and once we get moving, blindfolded. Kai, you may leave with your Earth Core and his beast. Know that should your actions turn against Hintar, your friend will answer for your crimes.”

  When Kai made to protest again, the ranger held up his hands. “Good! Be about your business then. I’ll not change my mind unless you wish to come with us.”

  Kai searched Rhona’s face, frantic for some alternative.

  Rhona gave him a smile, then spoke in his mind. Don’t worry. I doubt the Hintari wish to kill me, not after I tell them all I know. With the force coming against them, they’ll be in need of all the allies they can get.

  At last, Kai’s resistance crumbled. His plaintive expression turned grim. “Fine. As you are trusting us, Royar, I’ll trust you. See that our companion remains well cared for. If something goes awry, you’ll regret crossing us. We are stronger than we may appear.”

  Royar’s woman gave Kai a poke with the butt of her javelin. “Watch your tongue, half-blood.”

  But the lead ranger held out his hand to Kai and shook with him. “Understood, young man. Now, be on your way before I change my mind. As for my own,” he continued in a louder voice. “We encountered a woman on horseback this morning! She had the pale skin and the fiery hair of the Brintoshi. We took her captive, and will bring her to speak with Commander Tembar. Am I clear?”

  The rangers standing all around gave a curt “aye.”

  They were given only a few moments to part ways.

  Rhona ran to Ban first and pressed her face against his scaly champion’s shoulder. It was an awkward hug, but the only one she could deliver. Find your Sunken Keep, Ban. I hope you discover a pile of jewels or another mystery. And please, take care of Kai for me.

  Turning to Kai, Rhona was surprised when the dragon wrapped his arms around her first. He whispered in her ear, “Be careful, Rhona. I’ll never forgive you if…” His voice trailed off briefly and he cleared his throat. “Just come back, okay?”

  She smiled at him then darted in, landing a quick kiss on his cheek. “You won’t be rid of me until you beg, dragon boy.”

  Her friend turned three shades of crimson as he staggered back. His expression grew somber and he nodded more than he had to.

  Then Rhona walked with Royar. He helped her mount Honor.

  Kai
returned the map to his baggage and tucked Ban’s core back inside its protective wrapping. When he was done, he watched Rhona as she and Honor were tethered to two horses. Royar and his woman mounted up as well.

  The leader tossed Kai a nonchalant salute. “Shu willing, we’ll meet again, young man. Off with you. We’ll depart only when you’ve gone. And since you’re searching for a keep that’s hidden underground, keep your eye out for its crest. Three streams blending into a circle. The outline of a stone keep in the middle. You’ll recognize it when you see it, trust me. The canyon that leads to the keep is marked with the crest. Good luck.”

  Kai mounted Ban’s champion, and Royar himself handed back his glaive.

  The young man dipped his head to the ranger, thanking him privately, then waved to Rhona. Ban’s champion trotted away up the trail, heading into Hintar proper.

  Rhona’s belly swarmed with competing emotions. She was satisfied her plan had succeeded. She’d made it to Hintar and she was on her way to speak with a man who might be capable of reacting to the threat at hand.

  Yet, when the blindfold was drawn in place, fear and doubt made their own calls as well.

  Unable to control the quiver in her voice, she asked her captors the single question that bugged her the most. “Why have you let my friends go about their business? Please, tell me true.”

  From a few feet away, Rhona heard Royar’s reply. The bitter honesty in his words struck her like a mallet. “I’m sure you know already. I’ve a troop of lads to follow after them and report back when they can. They’ll follow the young man and his beast and tell me if anything interesting comes about.”

  Rhona thanked the man for his honesty.

  Most soldiers would have lied. It would have made things easier. But Royar had chosen to respect her instead. His answer hadn’t been a surprise either.

  To be honest, the prospect of rangers following Ban and Kai didn’t bother her. In fact, they might even lend their aid should something befall her companions.

  What was troubling Rhona now, though, was the inkling that the very same rangers had more than one set of orders. You’d better keep your noses clean, boys, she thought. Or you might not even see the arrow that kills you.

  5

  New Paths in a New Land

  Kai

  If you could hold still for but a moment, I’d really like to have a look myself! Ban asked again.

  Kai shifted, holding the small map out as best he could. They’d been trying to spot a reliable landmark for some time now, and Kai’s patience was running thin. “Maybe next time you can eat your rotting lunch after we do this. Your mouth smells like a swine pen.”

  The houndzard huffed, blowing a gout of stinking air down Kai’s neck.

  Gently and with great deliberation, Kai folded the map and walked over to their baggage to put it away.

  Predictably, Ban protested. I was using that! It isn’t my fault I haven’t any hands.

  We’ll be fine. I’m in a foul mood and having you breathe all over me isn’t helping. Besides, we have the mountains, Ban! We head north, skirt the mountains, and we should find the canyon leading to the Sunken Keep by day’s end.

  The Earth Core wasn’t satisfied. Kai could feel a plume of frustration practically billowing off of Ban’s mind.

  Ban kept the peace though, which was all Kai could ask for.

  He snatched out an apple and some jerky then strode to the edge of the clearing. Taking a bite, Kai reminded himself he was traveling through a new land.

  This day should feel wondrous.

  The fact of the matter, though, was that Kai felt pulled in a dozen different directions. He wanted to take on the rest of this adventure with Ban. Finding what might lie hidden in the depths of the Sunken Keep sounded like a line pulled from a book of adventures Kai once might have read as a boy.

  But then there was Rhona. Where is she now, and by Briga’s braid, if they hurt her… He let the thought die where it had been born.

  No, that isn’t how a hero proceeds, he told himself. Rhona herself would insist that I focus on the road ahead.

  Even if he forced himself to ignore their missing companion, Kai still felt the tug to ascend. He wanted to race out into Hintar’s wilderness and take on its many challenges. Battles meant ether, and ether meant ascension. Yet then he stumbled upon one more briar patch in his mind.

  If we’d only had a little more time together, he thought. I might have come to master Crystal Mind. As it is, I can’t trust I’ll be able to ascend when the time comes.

  Thoughts of having his core burned out or crippled made him fall into a cold sweat. Knowing Ban wouldn’t mind the break, Kai sat down where he stood, leaving the apple in his hand untouched.

  This time, when he assembled the prism of Crystal Mind, it took him half the time it had before.

  Regardless of how he tried, though, he couldn’t see any outline that might show him his true Mandala.

  After half an hour of practice, Kai closed off his inner vision. The vortex of his core had an undeniable allure, and he knew if time were less pressing, he could spend days on end in meditation.

  A gust of wind tousled his hair, and he opened his eyes again.

  Standing, he made his way back to where Ban had retreated and delivered the first of his apologies in the form of a scratch behind Ban’s ear.

  They’d ridden for an hour after leaving Rhona. The trail had become a common road, but when it had veered east toward a town called Vianne, Kai suggested they head overland.

  Kai couldn’t yet tell if that decision had been wise but staring at the tree-clad hills and resplendent grasslands of the Hintari wilderness sure had its comforts nonetheless.

  He took his time eating, allowing his emotions to calm over time. Then he patted his friend’s scaled hide and apologized verbally. Ban was as forgiving as always, and the two took a break from their squabbles in order to more properly explore the countryside.

  Perhaps it was leaving the stagnant decay of the swamps behind, or it may have been crossing to the eastern slopes of the Zargan Mountains. Either way, the terrain had indisputably changed.

  The grass was just as green, but all over a patina of blue and white flowers flecked the rolling meadows. Reaching down, Kai picked one. The tiny gem was the size of a pearl, and though it had no fragrance at first, Kai noticed a smell like honey and thyme when he squeezed it.

  On a whim, he gathered thirty of the tiny things in hopes of increasing the flavor of their stew that night.

  The trees had shifted as well. An occasional tall redwood sprouted up, towering over its neighbors, but most were pine. Yet even these most familiar of trees looked as if Andag had taken a brush to them, stretching out their needles and curling them somewhat.

  They gave Kai the impression of shaggy dogs.

  So, it was with revitalized spirits that the two adventurers continued their journey.

  They began afoot, allowing Kai to stretch his legs and get a feel for the land. After half an hour though, he mounted up.

  The road, and any other marker of civilization, drifted away behind them. Only the towering Zargan Mountains to their left kept them oriented.

  At first, Kai considered asking if Ban could travel close to the mountains, follow directly in their shadow so as to avoid missing their target. But the map showed the Sunken Keep at least fifteen miles north of the Hintari and Brintoshi border.

  A thought occurred to Kai, something that he’d suppressed since taking Ban from his dungeon. Ban, you showed Rhona and I a skill your champion could use when we left your dungeon. Do you have any others? And what do you call them?

  I would appreciate to keep such things a bit secretive, Ban replied. It is most pleasant to surprise you.

  Kai sighed, glad he’d broached the subject. I understand. And when we get you tucked deep inside a cave somewhere, you can surprise me all you want. But we’re companions, Ban. You need to tell me what you can do. I’ve already mentioned my Flame Spear upgrad
e, and though it won’t do us much good in a fight, I told you about Soul Projection. I think it is time you tell me all there is to know of this magnificent champion you’ve forged.

  As usual, the compliment served to soften up Ban’s resistance. The first ability I showed you is known as Beam Roar. I’m not overly fond of its name, but I am excited to give it a try in combat. The only problem is that I can only use it once per hour.

  Growing curious, Kai asked, Do you know why the skill uses Lumen as its element? Did you design your houndzard to use Lumen? Or can you only create creatures with that element?

  If you keep interrupting me, I won’t be able to tell you. Still, you pose a good question, Ban admitted. I’m not certain, but I believe I can create new amalgamations with custom elements. I should be able to use them all. Having not selected one, however, the houndzard defaulted to Lumen. At least that is my guess.

  Kai turned over his friend’s response. Imagining a dungeon full of various elemental minions was an exciting prospect, especially considering that they’d be Kai’s allies.

  Ban continued in a chipper tone. The other two skills are a bit mundane in some respects, but useful. Reptilian Roll is the first. It does what you might think. It is an ether-powered roll that can be used both offensively and defensively.

  And the last, Kai asked, thrilled to consider the possibilities.

  The last is Tail Whip.

  Kai felt Ban sigh heavily beneath him. Then the Earth Core explained his feelings. I can customize almost anything about my minions, but I was short on time and highly concerned about meeting up with you and Rhona once more. The skill names are simply horrendous.

  Kai laughed, sympathizing with his friend and knowing the Earth Core was, at times, the oddest companion he could ask for.

  The day passed pleasantly as the miles dripped away like fat off of a spit goose.

  As the afternoon came on, golden and glorious, the rolling meadows turned into hills. Between the hills they found secluded springs or glens. Kai caught sight of two villages, one only by the smoke drifting up from a few chimneys.