Earthdom: A Post-Apocalyptic LitRPG (Ether Collapse Book 3)
Page 4
Someone in the crowd prodded a neighbor and said, “Who is this clown?”
The man’s comment garnered more attention than his announcement had. Hadn’t these people seen him at the welcoming ceremony a few months ago?
“Listen up.” His voice sliced through the rising din. “There is going to be an attack from a mighty creature against our Territory sometime in the next twenty-four hours. If we want our loved ones to have a place to return to, we need to prepare a defense.”
As one, like a bunch of lemmings, the mob lost focus. Had something just happened? He turned to Sela. She was focusing on a screen as her eyes flicked from side to side. She had granted him access to view her screens on the first day of the apocalypse. Rocky smiled at the memory as he returned his attention to the crowd.
Well, that’s handy!
“Gather everyone and meet me at the training grounds. Now.”
As the crowd scattered, he walked to Sela. She pointed at his robe and gripped her stomach with her other hand as convulsive laughter wracked her body.
“I hope you realize that you look like a fool.” She motioned to his Bag of Holding and took on a pointed stare. “I am pretty sure you have some clothing or gear in that thing.”
Now it was his turn to facepalm. He had forgotten entirely about the suits of Nanoweave Under Armor, not to mention all the unidentified pieces of gear. He bowed his head and rubbed the back of his neck. Digging into his bag, he pulled the black ball of Nanoweave out and pushed it to his chest.
Well, this is much better.
The form-fitting suit of black fabric that cleaned and repaired itself felt good against his skin. Sela was never going to let him forget this. Beside him, Victoria cleared her throat, averted her eyes and extended her hand. “Think I could...umm...have my robe back? Please?” Her face was almost as pink as the bathrobe.
He shrugged it off and handed it to her. Sela and Letoya held on to each other for support as they dissolved into laughter.
“It's just so pink—” Sela wheezed and held her stomach.
“—and fluffy,” said Letoya as she gasped for air.
“Alright, alright. Can we move on now?”
Letoya stifled her laughter and asked, “How long do we have until the creatures attack?”
Rocky shrugged. He wasn’t sure of the exact timing but answered as best as he could, “It will attack sometime in the next twenty-four hours. Probably sooner, rather than later.”
Letoya saluted and said, “I will go get the military, sir.” Rocky saluted back and she jogged off.
Victoria, no longer red in the face, stepped forward. “I would like to offer my services as what I am told is termed a tank, sir.”
Rocky’s mouth curled up in delight at her words. He turned to Sela, who nodded eagerly, and asked, “Victoria, do you know a good healer?”
Victoria tugged on her shirt and bit her lip. “Do we absolutely need him? He is a bit—eccentric.”
Rocky narrowed his eyes. “Eccentric enough for you to risk your life?”
Victoria’s face paled. “I just assumed—how did you all survive without a healer?”
Rocky glanced at Sela, drew his mouth into a line and said, “I am not sure we did…”
“You don’t know if…Letoya may bring him along. Hopefully. He might need some persuading, though. He hangs around the military a lot. He isn’t really one of us.”
“Let’s head to the training grounds,” said Rocky. He didn’t want to be late to his own meeting. Not a good start for a leader.
“What did Michabo say to you in the Spirit Realm?” Sela asked.
“My new class is dependent on beating this invasion in twenty-four hours.” He didn’t want to say too much when so much was unknown. She would have to be satisfied with that answer for now. Michabo’s words filled his thoughts.
Ask Sela about the strong women in her life.
She gazed at a screen that popped up in front of her. “I don’t understand. Why didn’t you just take the Revenant class for your Journeyman ranks?”
Victoria trailed behind them, pretending she wasn’t listening, but her footsteps edged closer, and her head tilted forward to catch every word. Rocky cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders, unsure of how much to say in front of Victoria. He had just met her, after all. “I couldn’t pick any of the classes. To be honest, I was lucky to get out of there without becoming a Demon.”
Victoria’s mouth fell open. Sela glanced at the woman before frowning at Rocky with knitted brows. “You had the option to pick Demon as a class? What about Seraphim?”
Rocky raised both arms out beside him. “Both, yes—” he lowered his voice “—but I don’t want to talk about it.” He flicked his gaze to Victoria, who was following closer than ever. “Not here. I wasn’t able to select them. Let’s leave it at that for now.”
“Those classes should be locked to the Cathodiem leadership bloodline. Azrael was never considered a guild leader. What is going on?”
Rocky raised his voice for Victoria’s benefit. If she got any closer, she would be tripping over his feet. “Where are Azoth and Zippo?”
“I think Zippo is at the cooking fires. As for Azoth,” Sela looked northeast, toward Chalk River, and Rocky felt his heart stop.
No. No. No. No. No. No.
“He won’t stop flying over Chalk River.” Her voice was light, and warm, as she spoke of their good friend. “Maybe try calling him back, I bet he will be here instantly.”
His shoulders drooped and he kicked a loosened stone on the path. He had already tried mentally contacting Azoth. He sent a quick,
“Can you call him?”
“No, he is out of my range, but your ring—” she stared at his finger and her voice fell—”has a further range.”
He wasn’t sure how long he could hide his worry for Azoth. Yes, he was enormous, and his ferocity was impressive, but he was just a kit. Barely a few months old.
Sela rested her hand on his arm. “It’s okay, Rocky. I’m worried about him too. But we will get the ring back. I’m sure we can dig—”
He tugged his arm loose from her grasp. “It’s fine.” He shook his head as if he could shake the pain off himself. Shrugging it off and hoping the wind could take it away. “I am sure my class will have something. Or, yeah, we will dig it up.” He steadied his voice. “Nothing I can do about it right now. Let’s go prepare for the—”
Sela crossed her arms, elbows pressed to her sides. “Right. Well, Amelia wants to meet us in the shop right away. Garnell left a message saying that there is something urgent to discuss.”
I don’t have time for this. Doesn’t anyone care that an invasion is going to start at any moment?
He clenched his jaw and muttered, “As long as it’s quick.” His tone was sharper than he meant it to be. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a few deep breaths. “Victoria, please ensure the healer joins us and start getting people organized.”
***
The shop was situated in a vacant quadrant of the Grotto. Rainbows, refracted off of the metal surface, that stood out more because of the long unkempt grass behind it. Considering all of the add-ons they might one day need for the shop, Rocky planned to build this quadrant up last, if possible. He and Sela sprinted to the round dome of the Seed Shop and touched the Arbuckle to open the door. They changed into their kimonos and fox masks, which Rocky pulled from his Bag of Holding.
Oh, right, another piece of clothing I could have worn in front of that crowd. I’m not sure the reception would have been any warmer.
They stepped through the dark doorway and into the strange alien metal dome. The early morning sun blinded them as it shone from the mountaintop Bazaar. Rocky always enjoyed the atmosphere of the Aretrean Bazaar. The familiar buzz of people negotiating for wares, sellers hocking, and muted
conversations floated through the air.
Sela nudged him. He looked up as two patrons walked directly through him.
What the—? How could he interact with Sela but not others? It must be because we’re right beside each other in the Seed Shop.
They rushed toward the stall of the Karacy, Garnell. The merchant was speaking with a tall, black nightmare of a creature. It reminded Rocky of a stretched out black stick figure. Its appendages were sharpened to fine points, and its perfectly round head had no mouth or eyes. Then it spoke. Its abdomen, layered with chitin, opened in multiple places to reveal several mouths filled with rows of shark-like teeth.
Sela pushed him forward and he dug his heels into the ground. He didn’t want to be anywhere near that thing. He was a solid dozen feet away and that still wasn’t far enough.
“We. Are. In. A. Shop. You. Big. Chocobo.” Sela shoved him, drawing Gernell’s attention.
“Ow. Geez, I’m just, you know, taking it all in,” Rocky said.
A screen offering the cheaper and far less opulent private sales room appeared in front of him. He accepted and found himself and Sela inside the concrete room. The room was barren, only containing a metal desk and four simple chairs.
Rocky paced, waiting for Garnell to finish his negotiations. It was probably five minutes, but it felt like half an hour with the imminent threat of invasion.
Garnell ported into the room. Amelia wasn’t with him, and Rocky’s stress increased. They didn’t have time to wait for her. His territory could be breached at any moment.
“Rocky, it is very impolite to stare openly at any creature in the bazaar. Lad, have ye never seen a Rictus before?” asked Garnell.
Rocky dropped his gaze to the floor and shook his head. Garnell chuckled, “Not to worry. I had ye out of there before the Rictus took offense. Unfortunately, Amelia is rather busy trying to capitalize on the departure of a large portion of the Guild Collective. She won’t be joining us.” He coughed and added, “The words are still hers. So, I apologize for any rudeness.”
The affable merchant pulled out a scroll, “First, what took ye so long?”
“We have been a little swamped defending ourselves from the threats on our world.” Rocky snarked under his breath.
Garnell heard him. Luckily, he took no offense and even shrugged his shoulders. “Two hundred and twenty-five ships left Helion Prime three days ago. That is over ninety percent of the strength of the Guild Collective. If you don’t start preparing for their invasion, you will be but a page in the history of your world.”
Rocky exchanged looks with Sela, who had removed her fox mask. She tilted her head and asked, “Garnell, this can’t be the issue. Unless the time before the invasion has decreased?”
Garnell scanned the paper. “It doesn’t appear to be the case, lass. However, she goes on. The Flow Ridians have set up the beacon, and Dahrix now has a bearing for the armada. This beacon needs to be destroyed immediately if your world has any chance of repelling the invasion.”
Rocky took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and removed his own mask. They didn’t have time for this. The problems of the Grotto, building a space fleet, and saving his fam—more survivors.
“We cannot attack other humans without cause. I don’t even think we have time to make the trip. Our Territory needs to be defended. Our borders need to be reestablished. People need to be rescued. Killing humans when we could be saving others isn’t my first choice, Garnell,” said Rocky.
Garnell held up a hand. “I understand, lad. I am just passing on her message. I will make sure she is here next time to explain herself.”
Warning! A powerful creature has crossed your Territory’s Boundary!
Algonquin Valley has numerous invaders crossing the border! Push back these invaders or risk losing your Territory.
● 10 Semi-Sapient and 2 Boss creatures have crossed the threshold.
Follow the gold string to find the invaders!
“We are all out of time for today. Sorry, Garnell, but we have some things to take care of on our front. Tell Amelia we will meet with her as soon as we can, but we aren’t going to go gallivanting to destroy the beacon. They would have found us eventually, anyway. Either way, killing humans over a beacon is not our top priority right now.”
He ported out of the shop, underscoring his point.
Chapter Four
They exited the shop and Rocky spotted two large, pulsing golden threads surrounded by ten smaller silver ones that led to the northwest. Second by second, the threads grew thicker. This could only mean one thing—the threat was approaching the Grotto.
He sprinted toward the entrance, urging his legs to pump faster. Ahead, two figures loomed. As he neared them, the forms took shape—Tao and Gamma waited with the military and a few other citizens.
The two massive golems looked around and loosened their weapons from where they rested on their backs. Rocky moved toward them, spying the green samurai-style armor. The crowds of humans gave the creatures a large berth before filling the space and edging closer to Rocky and Sela.
He glanced around and hesitated, searching for the right words to appease the worried crowd. “Tao, Gamma, can you stay here and watch over the NPC’s? There are ten attackers and two bosses. I need you and the military to make sure none of them make it further than this entrance.” They had been attacked in the Grotto once before, and he wasn’t interested in a repeat performance. He was counting on the golems to act as the final line of defense. Again.
The crowd murmured, some worried about their safety while others were concerned about his return.
Rocky raised his voice, overpowering the clamor. “Anyone who doesn’t wish to fight, go to the guild tent. If you wish to defend the Grotto, go to the military barracks for your orders. Tao and Gamma, please go collect the people at the training grounds. Relay my orders.”
Tao and Gamma moved through the parting crowd as the people erupted, fear spreading through them like spilled water. With confidence he didn’t feel, he shouted, “If you wish to attack the creatures, follow me!”
In the past, before the Spirit Realm, he would have taken Tao and Gamma with him. Now Rocky knew better. It was too risky to take all of their strength out in a single group. He tightened his jaw and walked as confidently as he could manage in his tight-fitting under armor.
“You shouldn’t go out there without any gear,” said Sela.
He stopped and smiled. She was right, but there was no time to visit more merchants in the shop.
Her mouth set into a line as she raised a hand. “I will meet you outside the entrance—wait for me.” She grabbed his Bag of Holding and ran off.
Hoping she would return quickly, Rocky walked toward a massive crack in the protective rockface. The crack led to a corridor through the grey stone. That narrow passage was the only entrance through the thick, natural Grotto walls. The only other option was to cross the river, but the fast moving water had only one bridge and wouldn’t be easy to ford.
He strode through the parting groups of people. At first, they averted their eyes, his bravery overwhelming their fear. He smiled at those who met his eyes. They didn’t need to join him—it was okay. He would protect them.
The crowd kept parting to make a path for him, and he continued his walk alone, meeting each person’s eyes as he passed them. If one of those people gained a bit of confidence from his show, that would be enough. Rocky blinked, each set of eyes he met started to become fervent. The people behind those gazes—dressed in smithing aprons, torn rags, or low-level gear—nodded and conveyed something to Rocky.
At first, he didn’t feel their support. Still, the more that nodded, the more his shoulders relaxed. The easier his walk became. These were the people he had sworn to defend, and they believed in him.
Victoria joined him, matching her stride to his, but her stiff footfalls betrayed her inner struggle. Rocky patted her on the shoulder, hoping to pass some of the citizens' energy to her. This reminded hi
m of walking the tunnel before a basketball game. He swore to himself that this would be a career high.
She was risking her life by joining him, and he acknowledged it, but—
No one will die before I do. If it is within my power, I will protect those who follow me beyond these walls.
Mr. Pips and Bart fell in step with them, adding their strength to his. They walked through the press of bodies and finally strode unimpeded.
Zippo came into view in front of the group and turned to stand, watching their approach, and Rocky’s heart stuttered. He couldn’t help the broad smile, and he increased his pace to outdistance the others. The last few meters were closed quickly as the young man rushed to him, arms wide.
The air rushed out of his lungs as Zippo collided with him and closed his arms in a powerful embrace, “You’re back!” Zippo crowed into his ear. Rocky was surprised that the young man’s feet were still on the ground.
It was hard not to see him as the crying little boy he had met.
Rocky lifted his young friend off the ground and swung him around. He placed Zippo back on the ground and gripped his shoulders.
“It’s good to see you. I can’t wait to hear about your time in the Spirit Realm. Learn any new recipes?”
The other members of his party stood beside him, having caught up to them. Zippo noticed their presence and said, “There will be time for all that later.”
Rocky watched Zippo turn and lead the group. He took a deep satisfying breath. His chest swelled with more than just the air. Zippo definitely wasn’t that scared little kid anymore.
They reached the break in the sheer rock walls surrounding the Grotto—the most common entrance. Rocky inspected the group. Mr. Pips stood tall and lanky as always—like an emaciated teenager, despite his middle age. Bart crossed his arms, looking unapproachable in his Harley leathers and greaser vibe. Victoria, laden with a shield, mace, and armor, chatted with Zippo. She seemed shy and hesitant next to the red-haired, exuberant young man.