Lewd Saga Omnibus: 7 Book Collection: An Epic Digital Fantasy Adventure of Lust, Love and War

by Eden Redd

  “Well done! Our quest is nearly complete. I must ask all necromancers to report to my side,” Kurss said with a wicked smile.

  Cloaked figures with hoods moved through the ranks to Master Kurss. They walked past him and stood behind him as he stared out at the crowd. Wynter was the only one not to join them as her guild stood close to her, uncertainty touching their hearts.

  The master looked through the crowd to Wynter and gave a gentle smile, “Please Lady Nightkiss, come to my side so we may begin our final work.”

  Shadow Knights and her guild stood around her but the necromancer made no move to join the other necromancers at the master’s side, “Why do you need me? What is beyond that door at the end of the cavern?”

  “All will be answered when we walk through it,” the master said patiently.

  A flare of mistrust and anger boiled under Wynter’s skin, “We have fought our way through hell to get here. I think it’s time you told us what this was truly about.”

  Captain Vell broke rank and looked to the necromancer, “Wynter, this is the rewards for all of our hard work.”

  The player turned her head to Vell and then back to Kurss, “Then why can’t he tell us. We are here, aren’t we? Tell us what the true goal is, and then we can decide if we all want to go through with it.”

  Kurss folded his meaty arms and tilted his head, shadows covering his eyes, “Just as well. I’m sure you’ve all heard the rumors. The Harkkon dungeon was more than just a place to find fame and fortune. The rumors about Dread Lords rising from their graves are true and Harkkon is home to the greatest Dread Lord of them all. You have his eyes on your staff, Lady Nightkiss. With the necromancers, we will be able to control him and use his powers to destroy the dragon threat once and for all. You have all performed a great service for the troll empire and shall be handsomely rewarded.”

  Wynter stood her ground, “You didn’t tell us everything before we came down here. You lied about the end goal. You attacked your own great grandfather. Why should we trust anything you have to say?”

  “Wynter, please,” Vell said with a soft voice.

  Kurss raised a hand, “Let her ask her questions. Let her question everything. It’s the sign of a keen mind that she doesn’t follow blindly.” The master centered his eyes on the necromancer and continued, “As with our first meeting, there are dragon spies among our group. I’m sure they are eager to stop this pivotal moment in time, but now that we are at the end, everyone shall receive their rewards.”

  Trolls on both sides turned inward and unsheathed swords, maces and spears. The players in the middle turned to the trolls as they stood at the ready. Blue faces wore indifferent masks as they bent their knees.

  “What is this Kurss? You said only Midian’s Lovers guild was going to be punished!” the guild leader of the Dark Touch shouted.

  Master Kurss looked on with strange eyes, “I prefer to be thorough when cleansing spies from the ranks.”

  Wynter looked around as her guild moved in close, everyone facing outward, “You used us! Why? We’re on the same side!”

  “Because you’re a stupid bitch!” shouted a voice from behind Master Kurss.

  The guilds all turned their eyes to a necromancer as he stepped forward. Wynter’s heart sank like a stone as the player pulled back his hood. She didn’t recognize him as he stood with a smug sneer but the words uttered spoke volumes.

  The necromancer stepped a foot past the master as he leveled his eyes on Wynter, “Like the new look?”

  Wynter kept her face blank as her blood boiled, “I wish I could say I was surprised. Next time, don’t have your assassins mention your name when they attack. Its cliché. This isn’t Game of Thrones, Leopold!”

  Leopold kept his sneer as he eyed Wynter with contempt, “Maybe next time you should open your eyes. It’s one of the things I hated about you. You never questioned anything until now. You just blindly followed along. It drove me crazy because you have no backbone. If you had questioned things before now, you would know the entire guild was working for the dragons.”

  Wynter glanced at Jakar. The guild leader’s jaw was tight as his eyes cast downward. Kai stayed close, sword in hand but not looking Wynter in the eye. Daven’s mouth curved as sadness filled his eyes. Nikki stood close by, sword in hand but silent.

  Leopold folded his arms, “I found out what they were up too and confronted them about it. Jakar threatened to hunt me down over and over again if I didn’t just leave and never come back.”

  The necromancer turned his attention to his former guild leader, “Did you really think I’d go away quietly, Jakar? You fool! You should have killed me when you had the chance.”

  Leopold returned his gaze to Wynter, “Your friends Kai and Nikki sent their allies and concubines to take me out. Thankfully Master Kurss sent me protection if I spilled guild secrets.”

  Jakar turned his head to Wynter, “We didn’t tell you because we weren’t sure what side you would take. It was my call.”

  “The dragons promised protection and a new guild hall in one of the dragon cities. They told us that the Dread Lord cannot be contained no matter how many necromancers they have,” Daven said quickly as the area flooded with malice and hard stares.

  “We want to stop them before they destroy Lukken,” Nikki said as she eyed the enemy players and trolls around them.

  Kai looked to the necromancer, “Wynter, we can win this battle if you keep the Eyes. We can fight together.”

  Wynter looked to each of them in turn before her shoulders sank, “No, we can’t.”

  The shadow knights turned, putting their backs to their mistress and pointing swords at her guild mates. The guild turned with wide eyes and they lifted up weapons. Wynter’s head tilted forward as she moved past her knights and broke away from the group, her shadow knights followed with their backs to her and swords pointed at the guild. The five knights formed up into a line as Wynter stepped closer to Leopold and Master Kurss.

  “You all lied to me. I believed in the guild and you all thought it was better to keep me in the dark then think I was strong enough to accept it.”

  “Wynter,” Kai said as fear bled into the corners of his eyes.

  Leopold stepped closer, closing the distance and putting his arm around Wynter’s pale neck before turning to the trapped guild, “You fuckers get everything you deserve. You betrayed the trolls and now you’re going to pay for it. No dragon is going to save you after we win the war.”

  Leopold turned his head to Wynter with a big grin, “Sorry for calling you a stupid bitch before. It was kind of in the heat of the moment. Now that you’re back on the winning side, maybe we can talk about getting back together again.”

  Wynter put a hand to his chest and smiled, “Yea, maybe we can talk about it.”

  The necromancer smiled as Wynter eyed him adoringly until black energy snaked around her hand. The bolt was point blank as Leopold was sent hurtling backwards into another necromancer. The two of them fell onto the ice and slid a few feet. Master Kurss’s azure colored face furled into a rage as he stalked toward the beautiful necromancer, energy forming his dark blade. Wynter was quicker as she spun with staff in hand. The skull with glowing eyes covered the distance between them, smashing into the troll’s face.

  The troll’s head barely moved as the tip lay against his blue skin, “You really thought you could take me?”

  Wynter smiled, “No. That’s a job for my shadow knights.”

  The necromancer pulled away as all five shadow knights leaped through the air toward the master. Kurss brought his blade up and parried all five spectral blades at once.

  “Kill the guilds and the dark elves! I want no witnesses! Cleanse this filth from my sight!” Master Kurss commanded as he whipped his blade around, blocking each incoming strike.

  Bedlam ensued. Trolls charged as the three guilds faced the incoming army. Weapons lashed out and spells exploded. Master Kurss moved like a juggernaut, dark blade slashing out an
d cutting one of the shadow knights in half. Captains rushed to his side, blades and maces crashing down on spectral armor.

  Wynter’s hand was up, throwing greater soul shards into the sand. With whispered incantations, she backed up to her guild as rune symbols appeared on the ground around her. The necromancer folded into her group as black skeletons rose up with purple blades blazing to life. Not slowing down, she threw down several more shards and streamed out arcane words. The Eyes of Harkkon fueled her power as dozens of skeletons and bloody bones rose up. Numbers increasing, the guilds held back the troll army around them just barely.

  Kurss made one final powerful slash, shattering the last shadow knight and turning to his captains and necromancers, “Half of the captains will accompany me with the necromancers. Slay all of them but Lady Nightkiss. I want her on her knees as she hands over the Eyes of Harkkon.”

  Master Kurss lowered his eyes to Leopold as he slowly rose to his feet, “Stay with the captains and capture Lady Nightkiss. Earn your right back to the troll kingdoms and my side. Fail and you will join your former compatriots in the grave.”

  “As you wish,” Leopold bowed his head.

  Kurss lifted his head and began marching across the thick ice with troll captains and necromancers in tow. The sounds of battle grew feverish as they echoed off cavern walls. Master Kurss kept his eyes on the prize as he marched toward the final resting place of the most powerful dread lord to walk the world of Lukken.

  Kai slashed with the skill of a chef. Thick troll arms separated from shoulders and elbows before shattering into greenish light. Nikki had become unleashed as she became a whirling dervish, taking down troll after troll with expert skill. Daven unleashed healing green energy to guild mates as they took damage. The troll army moved with measured attacks, feinting and dodging. Despite the damage they were taking, the guilds were still getting hammered. With all the skills and abilities they possessed, the sheer number of trolls was enough to whittle away at their forces.

  “Pull back to the stairs!” Jakar shouted over the sounds of combat.

  As one, the guilds slowly back peddled while slicing and blocking at the surrounding troll army. Skeletons rushed the troll ranks but even they were kept at bay as the enemy formed a tight muscle-bound wall from shoulder to shoulder. Wynter blasted at trolls but more often than not, the shadow bolts were blocked with small shields or thick swinging maces. Slowly they approached the stairs and hope hesitantly bloomed.

  A troll lifted up a rune covered spear. Eyes centered on Jakar, the troll took aim and hurled it with inhuman power. The guild leader witnessed the spear turn into bright light as it hurtled toward his chest. Activating his technique, he threw his sword up just as the spear struck him and exploded. The sword spun and glowed as the explosion rocked Midian’s Lovers guild to the sandy floor. Bright swords made of light appeared and blasted down like a shaft of retribution. Blades stabbed through a line of trolls, blasting them into shattered light.

  Wynter sat up to see Jakar’s smoking body next to hers. The guild leader struggled to sit up until an arrow struck his chest. Jakar gave one last, long, sad look to Wynter as his body shattered like glowing emerald glass. Wynter was back to her feet and glancing around. Despite their leader’s powerful attack, the guilds were losing players one at a time.

  Time slowed down as Wynter drank in the scene around her. Despite their best efforts, they were losing. The trolls continued their onslaught with practiced ability. Players fought on, cursing as they took damage from all sides. The stairs were twenty feet away but to fight and move as a cohesive unit proved too much. The guild ranks began to unravel and the light of hope began to diminish. The necromancer knew they were on borrowed time and her heart blazed, not accepting the dark result.

  “Nikki! Fall back to the dark elf city!” Wynter shouted over the chaos.

  Nikki slashed hard across, sending a troll to its ancestors, “I’m not leaving your side!”

  “We need a bigger army! Get to Palis and open the portal! Bring back reinforcements!” Wynter commanded before whispering incantations.

  Nikki’s eyes widened as realization washed over her.

  “Daven and I will protect Wynter! Go!” Kai shouted as he stood at Wynter’s side, clashing with a large troll.

  The knight whirled around, cutting a troll across the stomach. Turning, she bolted through the dwindling guilds as the troll fell to its knees and shattered into light. Pumping her legs, she ignored other players as they fought on to the last hit point. Reaching the stairs, she took two at a time while glancing back to see her friends fight on.

  The enemy trolls roared as they pushed. White and red skeletons joined their ranks as Leopold raised groups of them at a time. With an evil gleam in his eye, he moved with practiced ease. The troll army grew with the aid of the undead. Players cried out as bloody bones and trolls rushed in, paralyzing and slashing with no remorse. The groups of players were whittled down to sixteen as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

  Wynter’s eyes blazed as four shadow knights rose from the ground and charged into battle. Kai stood by her side, cutting down anything that moved in too close. Daven held his breath as he tried to keep up with healing. When a nearby knight was cut down, the druid found himself staring at three trolls advancing on him while three others pulled back on bow strings. Mana drained with no creatures to call on for aid, he stood at the ready with raised fists and wide eyes. The three trolls with bows shifted their aim to Wynter.

  “Cripple her,” a troll commanded.

  “No!” the druid shouted as he dodged the trolls bearing down on him. Dodging swords, he whipped away and threw himself toward the beautiful necromancer.

  Wynter raised her hand to summon another group of undead when arms wrapped around her, a familiar body molding to hers. Turning her head, she stared into Daven’s face as arrow shafts appeared in his back. The druid let out a grunt before smiling.

  “Touch you later,” the druid grinned as his body crumbled into light.

  Wynter’s heart thudded in her chest as shards of light fell to her feet. Hand rising, she blasted shadow bolts of lightning at the incoming trolls. The brutes fell one by one as their life force was stolen, but one managed to get within striking distance. Kai threw his shoulder into the troll’s chest. As it fell, the ranger’s blade sliced upward, splitting the enemy in half.

  The necromancer and ranger stood back to back at the bottom of the stairs. Players had already made their way up with only the two of them left at the bottom. Shadow knights fought on among the troll ranks but one by one they fell.

  Leopold stepped closer as the troll army formed a semi-circle around the two players, eyes on Wynter, “Surrender or die like the dogs you are.”

  ***

  Nikki rushed up the stone steps into the dark elf cavern. Palis stood among his people, concern plain on their dark faces. The knight darted for the baron, trying to catch her breath.

  “The trolls have turned on us! They are slaughtering my guild mates and will come for you next!” The knight heaved.

  Palis drank in the knight’s words before turning his head slightly, “Prepare to evacuate. I fear our city will fall within the hour. Get the young and elderly out first. I want guards stationed here until everyone is safely out through the portal.”

  A dark elf nodded and quickly turned, giving orders to all those nearby.

  “I can help but I need to get to the surface,” Nikki stated.

  Palis eyed her for a second, “Come with me.”

  The baron and knight moved through the crowd with urgency. Nikki tried to remain positive but thoughts of her friends fighting to the last man struck at her heart like a venomous snake. Racing to the city square, they turned left onto the path toward the mystical portal. Dark elves gathered their belongings and fellow citizens at a hurried pace. By the time Nikki and Palis reached the stone pillars, lines of young and older dark elves hard started to form on the street behind them.

  Palis
reached up and pulled the necklace from his neck, over his head. The glowing red crystal pulsed like a living heart in his hands. Holding the crystal up, it glowed brighter. Whispering ancient words, the dark elf chanted the phrases over and over.

  Nikki stared as a small orb of dark light appeared. In mere moments it expanded, swirls of purple energy appearing along the edges. Muscles tight and ready, the knight watched as the portal swirled between the rune covered pillars.

  “Go and bring back aid,” Palis said as he placed the necklace back around his neck.

  Nikki nodded before bursting forward. Barreling toward the abyssal gate, she held her breath and jumped. Darkness consumed the light as the player felt her body become lighter. Shafts of purple raced past and before she knew it, she emerged on the other side.

  The knight looked up at the night sky, stars filling it from horizon to horizon. With time of the essence, her hand reached down to her belt. Fingers grazed stones along her leather belt and the air vibrated, her concubine army appearing before her. Nikki turned to the portal with hard eyes and her army waiting behind her, ready to follow their lady into battle.

  ***

  “It’s over. Surrender and we can end this farce,” Leopold sneered.

  Wynter and Kai stood with backs pressed to each other. The trolls surrounding them leered with dark intent as they stood at the ready. The necromancer’s mind raced with ideas as she held her staff in one hand. Despite her abilities, she needed time to recite incantations to summon undead to her side. Eyeing the enemy about fifteen feet from her, she would never finish a spell before they came for them. Just as everything seemed hopeless, something pressed against Wynter’s thigh.

  “Take this. It’s a stamina elixir,” Kai whispered. “I’m going to buy you time. Don’t do anything until I’ve made my move.”