The Stone Tree: A LitRPG Adventure (Kingmaker Saga Book 1)

by Thomas K. Carpenter

  Enoki screwed a lid on the jar and held it out to Terran. "This is what we sprinkle onto the ground around the Mother Tree. It provides all the nutrients she needs. We grind the fungus in the cave so it is much easier to transport."

  "And is this also what you eat?" he asked.

  "Oh no. This tastes terrible. We harvest those for our own food," she said, pointing to a group of large button-like mushrooms growing in the corner.

  Terran moved to inspect the other mushrooms. They reminded him of portabellas except they were twice the size and a yellowish ochre color. Chanterelle broke off a piece of one of the mushrooms and handed it to Terran.

  "Think about what you really want to eat for lunch, then try this," she said, placing the morsel in Terran's open palm.

  Terran thought for a moment then put the mushroom in his mouth. "Oh my god! That is crazy," he said while chewing. "It tastes just like the Reubens I used to eat when I was a kid."

  "Now what would you like for dessert?" Chanterelle smiled as she handed him another piece.

  "Mmmm. Sticky toffee pudding," he moaned with his eyes closed after finishing. "I haven't eaten anything that good in weeks. Now I understand how you could eat the same thing for every meal. I'll take another Reuben, please." He smiled at Chanterelle, stretching out his hand.

  Before she could hand him another piece of the mushroom, Kumotake stepped between them, pointing back to the wall where he had been working. "Get to work," he growled at his eldest daughter.

  Chanterelle lowered her head and slumped to the back of the cave after glaring at her father.

  "Leave my daughters alone. Nothing but trouble comes from you offworlders," Kumotake huffed as he too turned to go back to his work.

  Enoki only shrugged as Terran looked to her for some clue about Kumotake's outburst. Terran watched as she continued to grind the fungus into dust with a faraway look in her eye. He could hear Chanterelle whispering to her father, but he couldn't catch any of the words, just the ire in her voice.

  Suddenly she threw her handful of fungus on the ground and yelled at her father, "Stop trying to protect me! All your protection is just suffocating me. You couldn't save Mother, and you can't save me." With face red and fists clenched, she stormed out of the cave, leaving an awkward silence in her wake.

  Enoki put her head down and quickly got back to work without meeting her father's gaze. Terran grabbed a basket of the fungus and brought it to her, trying to keep himself busy. Kumotake finally shook his head and turned back to the walls of the cave. They worked in silence for several minutes until Chanterelle returned with tearstained eyes.

  "I am sorry, Father," she mumbled towards her dad, who gave no indication that he heard her apology as he kept to his harvesting.

  Chanterelle gathered a few large handfuls of the magical food mushrooms then picked up the jars of dust that Enoki had filled. "I'm going to take the dust back to the tree. We have already collected a day's worth. I will stay and help the shaman for the rest of the day," she informed everyone as she turned to leave.

  It felt like someone had brought up both politics and religion at a family meal, and no one agreed nor knew how to respond as Chanterelle left. Terran wasn't sure what he should be doing—he wanted to somehow ease the tension—until Luna nudged his hand and indicated the exit.

  "Since you seem to have this under control, Luna and I are going to go rescue the captured elves," Terran said to no one in particular.

  He raised his eyebrows and shrugged at Enoki, who gave a slight nod of her head indicating she would be fine. Luna was already standing outside the entrance when Terran shouldered his pack and turned to leave. Luna bounded off down the path like a fox on the hunt, and Terran had to run to catch up with her, but it felt good to leave all that discomfort behind. Terran was grateful he didn't have to deal with his own family while he was in the game.

  "At this pace we could be there tomorrow," Luna informed Terran as they sat by a stream quenching their thirst.

  "I'm not sure how much longer I can run," Terran said, eyeing his nearly empty stamina bar. "Plus, are we really in a hurry to get back to all that?"

  After their break, Luna slowed the pace down considerably, giving her time to name a few of the trees and plants around them to help Terran with his Nature's Lore skill. By the time they made camp for the night he was able to identify several different plant species and a few medicinal uses for each.

  [You have increased the skill Nature's Lore]

  Skill: Nature's Lore 3 (INT)

  IF you're lucky you won't eat the deadly mushrooms. Maybe.

  "Oh nice—" Terran began before Luna hushed him, head and ears making slight movements.

  Terran stood still, trying to hear whatever had spooked Luna. She sniffed the air and took a few tentative steps back down the way they had come, tail twitching. Terran reached for his bow as Luna slunk into the trees near the path. Terran had just realized he was terribly exposed alone by the firelight when he heard a voice.

  "It's just me. I brought dinner," Chanterelle said, stepping out of the shadows.

  Terran relaxed his grip on the bow and sat down with a sigh. "You're lucky I didn't shoot you, sneaking up like that."

  "More like I'm lucky you're a terrible aim and would never have hit me in the first place," said Chanterelle with a grin perched on her lips as she rubbed behind Luna's ears with her knuckles.

  "The bow is to confuse my enemies," said Terran as he sat next to the fire.

  "Here. Maybe this will help ease your poor, deflated ego," Chanterelle said with a glint in her eye, handing Terran an entire mushroom. "I harvested plenty of these for the journey."

  "Should I feel guilty eating dessert for every meal?" he asked while taking her peace offering.

  Chanterelle added another log to the fire before she joined Terran and Luna around the fire. Terran watched the orange sparks as they spiraled up to join the stars in the cloudless sky. The waning moon hung just above the trees on the slightly cool night, and in the distance an owl hooted softly. He took a deep breath and just enjoyed the peacefulness until he remembered that Chanterelle was there.

  He kept quiet for a moment, biting his lower lip in thought. "Does your father know you're here?"

  She took a long sip from her water flask before answering. "I'm sure by now my father knows, but fortunately it's too late for him to do anything about it. When I left the cave I ran back to the tree and delivered the loam dust to Petram. I told him I was going to catch up with you and Luna to help free the other elves. He knows my father won't be happy about it, but he also didn't try to stop me."

  Terran poked the fire with a stick. "Look. I don't want to pry into your family business, but I'm new to this leader thing and I don't want to piss everyone off right away. Is this going to be a major problem with your dad?"

  Chanterelle looked away, squinting and thumbing the edge of her eyes. "Ever since our mother was killed by Crag Trolls, he's been overprotective of Enoki and me. He thinks if we are just loamers we will be out of any danger, but I just can't live like that. Being trapped in a cave all day digging up mushrooms is like a death sentence to me and he knows it. I am meant to be a warrior like my mother."

  The rock elf met his gaze. In the flickering light her brown eyes glowed a deep orange, like embers after a forest fire. Neither one of them looked away for what normally would have been an uncomfortably long time.

  "If Kumotake didn't like me before, he's really going to hate me now," said Terran. "I don't know if it's a good idea for you to come with us. What if your dad is so mad that he leaves? He may not want to work with someone that he thinks stole his daughter away, and then there wouldn't be anyone to gather the loam. I just don't know."

  Chanterelle leaned forward on her log, imploring him with her hands. "I know the layout of the ruins where the elves are being held, and I know you will need my help. So here I am."

  Terran sat in silence, weighing his options. It would be helpful to have anothe
r person along, especially one that knew the layout of the area and what they were about to face. But he couldn't afford to lose the knowledgeable loamer if he was going to grow his settlement, and Terran believed there was a real chance Kumotake wouldn't stay if he thought his daughters were in danger. Finally, Terran spoke. "Okay, here's my thinking. You're right, we could use your help. I'm sure he'll stay if you come back safely with the prisoners, but there's little chance the settlement will grow if we don't rescue them or if you get hurt. If you're going to join us, you need to listen to me, even if you don't like it."

  Chanterelle listened attentively as Terran discussed his options. When he finished she said, "Fine, but if we're successful, I don't want to be a loamer anymore. Put me with the warriors."

  "One thing at a time," said Terran. "Let's just survive this first."

  The next morning the unlikely group set out towards the ruins. Chanterelle explained what she could remember. The other elves had been captured by a tribe of swampkin, who had attacked them in the night, quickly overcoming their guards. She assumed the raid had been a surprise, since swampkin weren't the elves' natural enemies. Usually the two peoples avoided the other, leaving each to their familiar terrain.

  They tossed around different ideas about how to free the elves while they walked, but it was hard to settle on a plan without knowing exactly what they were facing. It had been weeks since Chanterelle and her family had seen the ruins, so they didn't know for certain how many enemies would be there and if the elves would even be in the same location.

  A few hours after lunch the ground became squishy mud under their feet as the group reached the swampy ruins. They hid behind a large tree on a hill above the ruins while they finalized their plans. Peering around the massive trunk, Terran counted only three complete buildings. Most of the stone walls and other buildings had crumbled to piles of rock throughout the ruins. A cobblestone path traversed the length of the ruins, connecting the forest on each side. It seemed to have been hastily made from the crumbled stone buildings. The rest of the ground looked to be covered in swampy mud and would be difficult to travel across.

  Chanterelle pointed to a small building directly below them. "That's where the elves were being kept." Then she pointed to the largest building off to the right. "That's where the swampkin sleep. I don't know what the other building on the left is for."

  As Terran watched he saw at least two dozen swampkin working on the ruins. Many were collecting the stones that had tumbled to the ground, bringing them to the others, who were rebuilding the wall around the area. From a distance the swampkin looked like skinny humans, but they moved more like zombies, with slow, stiff limbs and dragging feet. A quick survey using Terran's analyze ability showed the swampkin were mostly yellow, but there were three red ones within the group.

  Swampkin - Level 5

  No one knows if they're just really muddy humans, or mud creatures shaped like humans. No one likes them, and they don't like others, and they will go out of their way to avoid confrontation. The easiest way to deal with swampkin is to leave them alone.

  "The ones with the whips on their belts are stronger," Terran said, pointing out the higher-level swampkin. He saw one was standing guard outside the building where the elves were being held.

  "Tonight is a half moon," Luna said. "And those clouds in the distance will be here by nightfall, providing cover. We could sneak down in the darkness, take out the guard, and free the elves. Swampkin do not see well in the dark, so it should not be difficult to dispatch a single guard and free them without being seen. We will just have to move quickly so we don't get caught in the storm."

  Terran and Chanterelle agreed to Luna's plan. They sat down to have a snack and rest. Terran savored the bittersweet taste of dark chocolate as he ate the mushroom piece Chanterelle handed him. He was filled with a pang of sadness as he thought of his friends. He would give anything to have them here to help. He knew Flynn could easily execute this sneaky plan, and Newt would have figured out every possible scenario and created backup plans for them all. A smile rose to his face as he thought of Zara pummeling these dirty swampkin and how Flynn would try his best not to actually touch them. Chanterelle turned her face towards him as he let out a sigh. He had to find a way to get back to his friends, but until then all that was left was to wait for nightfall without getting caught.

  Chapter Thirteen

  By the time nightfall arrived the sliver of the new moon was shrouded in clouds. Luna, Terran, and Chanterelle all shared a look of encouragement as they gathered up their belongings and made their way down the hill into the ruins. Luna led the party silently down the gradual slope around the back of the building the elves were being kept in. There were no trees near the ruins, so they would have to use the run-down buildings and wall as cover on their stealth mission.

  Luna crept to the edge of the building with Terran on her heels. Chanterelle unsheathed her sword slowly to keep it from making sound, giving a nod to signal she was ready. Terran crouched next to a pile of rocks in order to have line of sight for a ranged attack, but without Luna nearby, he couldn't see further than a muddy puddle a few yards in front of him. A slight breeze blew through Terran's hair as he crept further into the ruins, but the corner of the building obscured his shot.

  He shifted to the right to get a better line. As soon as he moved a dust-filled breeze blew through the ruins, forcing him to squint. Before he could scurry back to cover, the clouds broke. Terran froze as the new moon shone down on him like a spotlight, exposing him to the guard.

  Time slowed to a crawl as the swampkin turned its gaunt head towards Terran. The grimy, emaciated humanoid with eyes as black as the night snarled as it let loose a primal growl. Terran let loose his arrow, which flew past Chanterelle's head as she lunged to stab the guard. The blade sliced through the swampkin's jerkin, spilling hot blood into the mud.

  The wooden door burst open and swampkin poured out, lips peeled back in throaty war cries, rusty weapons held above their heads

  Exposed in the middle of the ruins with only a pile of rocks to protect him, Terran crouched down, placing his hands on the ground as he let magic flow through his fingertips. A brief thrill filled him as the soil rumbled with intention, giving him a chance to spring back as a rock wall formed from the ground.

  Using the wall as cover, he grabbed a rock at his feet and hurled it towards the mass of swampkin. The exploding rock ripped holes in their leather jerkins and dotted their faces with blood, but they continued to shamble in his direction.

  "Good job pissing them off," he heard Luna say in his head.

  The swampkin guard rushed Terran's back. He barely had time to turn before Luna was there, biting down on its sword arm. Chanterelle, seeing the opening, stabbed it through the ribs, dispatching it with a critical hit, just in time for the other swampkin to reach the wall.

  Terran threw his bow down, pulling out a pine cone from his pouch. He barely raised his arm before the swampkin in front slammed into him, knocking him onto his back. The creature raised a rusty dagger as it screamed, but Terran shoved a pine cone in its mouth and triggered the explosion. The swampkin slumped off him.

  He scrambled to his knees, his weapon lost in the melee. A trio of swampkin were chasing Luna through the crumbled stone ruins, while Chanterelle had climbed onto the building that housed the other Rock Leaf Elves. She stood on the edge, swinging her sword at the swampkin trying to climb after her, but she couldn't stop them all from reaching her.

  Terran knew Luna could outrun the swampkin, but Chanterelle was in immediate danger. He threw a pair of rocks at the mass of swampkin scrambling up the building, exploding them on their backs, which gave Chanterelle a chance to stab one in the eye, as Terran gained the attention of the others.

  "Come and get me, you greasy swamp monsters," said Terran, waving his arms.

  As the majority of the swampkin massed at the building turned towards him, Terran realized he had no plan once they arrived, and he was
still dizzy from getting tackled. He needed something stronger if he was going to do any real damage. As the swampkin lumbered towards him, he jammed his hands into the mud, thinking he might form another wall, but that would only delay the creatures for a few seconds longer before they fell upon him. As his fingers sunk into the wet, slippery mud, he found solid stone beneath it. It felt as solid and real as anything he'd ever felt before, like connecting with the bones of the land.

  Within the stone, a slight vibration woke, revealing the ancient magics it contained. His breath quickened, and even as the swampkin approached, he felt his heart pounding against his chest and a shortness of breath that came with a bit of euphoria. Without knowing exactly how it worked, Terran knew he could wake the magic. His body thrummed like a tuning fork struck, and as the lead swampkin reached him, the stone before him exploded upward, sending bodies everywhere.

  The explosion knocked Terran onto his back, sending a bolt of pain through his head.

  You have gained a base class: Earthen Mage

  Congrats on finally finding a purpose.

  A character may have up to two base classes. Each one provides certain abilities, and the combination of the two may provide synergies, assuming you're not a total dolt. Try not to be a dolt, or this will be a lot harder than you think.

  [You have learned a new spell]

  Earth Geyser - Spell (END)

  Cost – 75 Mana

  Duration - Instant

  Channel your Earthen Mage ability to destroy a 5' x 5' area of rock. Only works on deep stone.

  Half the swampkin had been killed by the explosion, while the other half climbed shakily to their feet, looking like newborn foals. Terran was still woozy himself, but he managed to grab a spiked club from a fallen foe. He caught the nearest swampkin across the chest, killing it before rushing to the building where Chanterelle was fending off four of the disgusting creatures with her blade.