Terran struggled to catch his breath as he stood and aimed a Vocal Slam at the shadow morph. It hit her squarely in the chest, but without being able to fill his lungs the damage was minimal. The creature made a high-pitched moan, which Terran thought sounded a lot like laughter, before casting another spell.
There was a thunderous boom, and Terran’s ears rang like he had been too close to an explosion. He gripped his head in his hands and squeezed tightly, trying to get the painful ringing to stop. The debuff on his screen said he had been deafened. He couldn’t hear anything except the tinnitus that felt like his head was going to explode.
Aeresteel, sensing an opening as the shriek cast her spell, slashed at her arm as Grinder pummeled her from the right. Before Luna could claw at the bleeding caster, she jumped into the air and morphed back into the hawk, flying out of melee range.
The hawk swooped down, raking its talons across Aeresteel’s flank, opening a large wound and taking a chunk of her hit points. Flynn fired an arrow at the hawk, but it narrowly missed as it circled upward, preparing for another dive. Still deafened by the spell, Terran grabbed a handful of rocks and cast Rock Shard on them before throwing them at the now diving hawk. One exploded as it connected with the bird’s wing, taking a small bit of health.
Terran watched as the remaining shards reached their peak and plummeted back down to the ground.
“Take cover!” he screamed as the shards landed in a pile of rocks, exploding pebbles and larger stones over the battlefield.
A rock the size of Terran’s fist hit Grinder in the head when the bone construct was too slow to react. Everyone else covered their heads as pea-sized rubble rained down on them in the aftermath of the explosion.
“Maybe you shouldn’t throw rocks, Terran,” Luna growled, nimbly avoiding the final debris. “Or at least next time aim at the enemy instead of your party.”
The explosion revealed that the pile of rocks was covering a grave. Seeing the bones, Darkness Sighs began mumbling a spell. The bones rose from the ground, swirling in the air. They climbed, encircling the hawk as the sharp shards cut into its body. The hawk screeched in pain and dove towards Darkness. Before it could peck out her eyes, the deafening sound of the shriek filled the air and the shadow morphed back into the caster, landing right in front of Darkness.
The dervish of bones dissipated as the shriek sent a blast of sound outward, knocking everything within thirty feet of her prone, scattering the bone shards to the wind. This time she cast her deafening spell on Darkness, allowing Terran to aim his Vocal Slam directly at her chest. Even from a prone position Terran’s spell did a lot of damage, lowering the shadow morph to just below forty percent health.
The shriek stomped her foot and morphed into the giant ogre when her hit points drained away. Terran did a quick calculation, then called out to the group. “It changes every time it loses ten percent of its hit points. Be ready for the next morph.”
Terran thought back through each time the creature morphed, looking for some kind of indication of what the next creature would be. “I think it has a tell. If it jumps into the air, it will be the hawk, but if it screams it's the shriek doing her sonic blast. There’s definitely a ground stomp before the ogre appears.”
True to form, when the ogre only had thirty percent health left it let out a loud roar, transforming into the shriek. This time Terran was prepared. He cast Rock Wall, and the sonic blast that normally knocked the group prone harmlessly shattered on the wall he had erected in front of them. Annoyed by his tactic, the shriek focused her ire on Terran. Her spell misfired as Luna, Grinder, and Aeresteel attacked from all sides, quickly doing another ten percent of damage from bites, claws, fists, and sword.
The shadow morph jumped into the air, transforming into the hawk. Flynn tossed a chaos ball into a nearby pile of tools, sending a shower of pickaxes, shovels, and chisels into the air. Although the hawk avoided some of the flying tools, there were too many to dodge completely. Terran thought he had misfired his Vocal Slam, but the hawk flew right into it as it tried to evade a shovel soaring towards its head.
As the spell hit the hawk, its wing careened into a tumbling pickaxe. The hawk screeched in pain and slammed into the ground, unable to control its flight with the injured wing. The hawk transformed into the ogre when it impacted the ground. Grinder easily avoided the swinging club as the ogre staggered, wildly swinging.
With everyone able to attack, it only took a few seconds before the ogre swayed and toppled to the ground dead.
You have slain a Shadow Morph.
You have completed the quest “Help clear the quarry by Wunderlust Keep.”
You have gained full access to the quarry and all its supplies.
As Terran blinked away the messages that appeared, Flynn picked up something off the ground.
“Wonder what this is,” he said, rolling the dark object in his hand. “There are more over there.”
Terran bent down to loot the shadow morph.
You have looted a shadow shard (crafting material) and a Ring of Dexterity +2.
“There’s one on the shadow morph to loot too. Says it’s a shadow shard. Looks like it’s a crafting material. There’s also a ring which you should take, Flynn. It’s a plus two dex ring,” Terran said, handing Flynn the gold band, which had a black onyx stone mounted on it.
You have been offered a quest: “Find a use for the shadow shards”
Until you figure out what to make with these, they’ll just take up an inventory slot. At least they stack though.
“Looks like there’s four of them,” Flynn said, handing the three he’d gathered off the ground to Terran then putting on the ring. “This really highlights my beautiful fingers. I should have been a hand model.”
Terran ignored Flynn and his outstretched hand as he looked over the shards. Each one was about three inches long and as big around as Terran’s staff. The laminated black rock was deceptively light. Although it looked like it should easily flake apart into layers, no amount of effort made any change to the shard as Terran tried to crush one in his hand.
He stared into their inky blackness. The longer he stared the more his skin crawled. He felt like they were somehow sucking out his soul. He shook his head and blinked out of the trance as Flynn’s laughter brought him back to the present. He stored the shards in his pack, but he was a little afraid of what kind of thing they would craft. What if they were made to make something like the Nightblade he had given Chanterelle?
“Thank you for your help, Terran,” Aeresteel said. “With the shadows gone we can restart work here right away. We should have some stone to send to the Glen within a few days.”
“Focus on fixing the back side of the keep first. Once that’s done, then you can start sending some to us,” Terran said.
Aeresteel smiled and nodded. “It will please the clan to have the keep repaired and back up to our standards. They will work quickly. We should be ready for trade within a few weeks then. I’d offer for you all to stay at the keep tonight, but I imagine you have much to do and would rather head back to the Glen.”
“I am in no rush,” Darkness Sighs said. “These shadows bother me. I’d like to stay and see if I can get more information about why they were here in the first place. Plus I’m sure the elves of the Glen would much prefer that Grinder and I stay here. They seem uncomfortable to have me in their midst.”
“I would welcome the help,” Terran said.
Flynn shuffled his feet while he stared at the ground. “Well if she’s staying, I might as well stay here and help.”
“Help relieve her of her clothes you mean,” Luna teased.
Flynn didn’t say anything, but the redness that rose up his face was enough of a response.
“Well that’s settled,” Terran said. “You three stay here. Luna and I will head back to the Glen tonight. Aeresteel is right, I do have several things to take care of. Try to stay out of trouble, Flynn,” he added with a grin.
C
hapter Three
The sun had just set as Terran and Luna entered Gneiss Glen through the main gate. The entrance was well lit by lanterns, and he noticed the builders had staked out a rectangular piece of ground just in front of the gate. Several builders with shovels were still working to dig a hole in the staked-out ground.
“I take it this means the whisperweave is ready.”
A slender elven woman with a long ruddy brown braid answered as she leaned on her shovel. Terran knew her to be the lead builder. “Almost. We started work just this morning. We should have the hole dug out by the end of the week when the whisperweave is ready. It will take at least a day to fashion the trapdoor, but we should have something ready for testing pretty soon. The lever that triggers the trap will be right inside the gate there,” she said, pointing.
“That’s great news. I completely forgot to ask about how the plans for the trap were coming along yesterday. I look forward to seeing it all come together.”
Terran avoided the raucous sounds coming from the Singing Tree Tavern, instead heading straight to his space high in the chieftain’s tree. After a long day of travel and clearing out the quarry, he just wanted to get some rest. He quickly fell asleep clutching the pendant that Chanterelle had made for him, with Luna curled up on a pallet in the corner.
His dreams were haunted by dark, ominous shadows that oozed out of the air all around. Their smokey, shapeless forms swirled, encircling him in a vortex, lifting his seemingly lifeless body into the sky. From somewhere far in the distance he imagined he heard Chanterelle yelling at the shadows to leave him alone. Her voice seemed small and tired, like she was calling from inside a tin can as she struggled to help free Terran from the shadows that were carrying him away.
His body shivered from both the cold and the eeriness that surrounded the shadows as they bore him over the land to a familiar altar at a mountain lake. The vision looked much like the one he’d received from the Mother Tree when he’d given her the essence, but there was a single person on the altar and the light had faded from the scene. Instead of a blinding, brilliant beam of light coming from the chest of the woman being sacrificed, a stream of shadows was crowding down the woman’s throat. She seemed to be choking on darkness as she grasped at her throat, her body writhing on the altar.
Suddenly, Terran’s perspective changed. He was no longer in the air looking down on the scene, he had swapped places with the woman on the altar. Through the tears that stung his eyes as he choked on the shadows, he saw that the woman was Andelain. Her kind smile did little to ease the fear Terran felt at being consumed from the inside out by the darkness.
Gasping and sweating, Terran jolted awake, grabbing at his throat. The dream had felt so real he found it difficult to catch his breath. Luna padded up to him, rubbing the side of her mouth against his leg.
“That must have been some dream. You woke me up screaming and thrashing around,” she said.
“I was being choked to death by those shadows that were in the quarry,” Terran said, stroking her soft fur for comfort.
Terran continued to pet the lynx as he settled his nerves. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, casting a pink glow across the Glen. Many birds were already flitting around searching for their breakfast, but the rest of the settlement still lay dozing in their beds. Terran’s heart ached from hearing Chanterelle’s voice in his dreams. He missed her warm embrace and yearned to feel her body against his.
“Let’s go plant the seed for the Trading Post. I can’t just lie here. It’s making me feel worse,” Terran said, jumping out of his hammock and pulling on his pants.
“Not sure why I need to get up. You’re the one with the issues,” Luna said, arching her back in a long stretch.
“There will be plenty of time for catnaps later.”
“Somehow I doubt that. You always seem to find ways to keep me from napping.” She yawned, following Terran out.
Terran found a spot next to the empty market stalls on the other side of the inn to dig a hole to plant the seed. Luna made quick work of it with her claws, easily raking through the dirt.
“Do you know the song?” she asked as she dug.
“I’ve learned it isn’t actually a song, but more of an improvisation. Now that I’m high enough level I can do it on my own. It may take a bit longer without the help of other voices, but it won’t be too bad.”
After the seed was covered in dirt, Terran began to sing. Although he was the only singer, the tree seemed to sprout just as quickly as if a chorus of elves were involved. Terran found he only had to set the intention in his mind of how he wanted to shape the tree, then let his voice take over. He actually enjoyed creating the Trading Post. After about twenty minutes a notification appeared.
You have created the Trading Post.
You did that all on your own. Hope you’re not waiting for a cookie or something.
Terran was pleased to see that the tree was not diseased this time. With Grimchar destroyed, the Glen was once again safe from his destruction. He was rather proud of what he’d created. The inside of the trunk had shelves for stocking goods and a counter near the front entrance that could be used as the bartering station. He hadn’t had much opportunity to spend any of the coins he had gathered while leveling up, and he was really happy to have someone in the settlement that would sell all the junk they'd collected. Now he would just have to find someone to run the post.
You have been offered a quest: Find a proprietor for the Trading Post.
Reward: Access to purchasing new items.
Terran made a note to talk to Elsie about her cousin Gavrel. Maybe he would be willing to settle in Gneiss Glen and run the Trading Post, since he had some family here already. Terran smiled to himself when he thought of the funny dwarf. Between Gavrel and Jondar they could end up having a shortage of ale available. Perhaps it would be a better idea to see if Vievel would be up to the task instead.
It was still early when Terran finished creating the Trading Post, but a couple of cooks were already up, rekindling the fire and beginning to prepare meals. He wandered over to their fire to see about some tea before figuring out which building to upgrade with the resources they had stockpiled.
“Mornin’, sir,” Sanisar said. “Need me to whip you up some breakfast, sir?”
Terran cringed at the sir. “Just call me Terran. No breakfast, thanks, but I would love a cup of your amazing tea if that wouldn’t be too much trouble.”
“Of course, sir...Terran. I’ve already got a pot made, so no trouble at all,” he said, grabbing a mug and filling it with the steaming liquid.
Terran gently took the hot mug from his hands. “Thank you very much.”
Sanisar smiled as he turned and went back to cutting vegetables for the afternoon meal. Terran found a spot under a tree in the orchard to enjoy his tea as he opened up the resources tab.
Resources:
Food Stores: 611
Loam: 3,901
Healing herbs: 801
Leaves: 1,511
Sap: 99
Hibernating Shrooms: 44
Everyone had been busy while Terran was away. There were a lot more resources available than he had been expecting. With the increased population and no immediate threat to the settlement, he thought it would be best to upgrade something that would help them grow even faster. If he had someone to run the Trading Post already, he would have picked to upgrade that, getting the bonus to buying and selling, but that was worthless at this point.
Instead he decided to spend 1,000 loam to upgrade the Aviary to a level-one building, giving patrols double the range of vision on their scouting missions. As soon as he completed the Trading Post quest he would spend the resources to upgrade that.
Barracks (Level 2):
Level 3
+2 STR (2000 Loam, 50 Sap, 1,000 Leaves)
Shaman Hut (Level 0)
Level 1
+5% healing (1,000 Loam)
Level 2
+5% herb g
athering (1,500 Loam, 25 Sap)
Level 3
+2 INT (2000 Loam, 50 Sap, 1000 Leaves)
Orchard (Level 1)
Level 2
+5% temp HP (1,500 Loam, 25 Sap)
Level 3
+2 END (2,000 Loam, 50 Sap, 1,000 Leaves)
Leaf Armory (Level 1)
Level 2
+5% defense (1,500 Loam, 25 Sap)
Level 3
+2 AGI (2,000 Loam, 50 Sap, 1,000 Leaves)
Weaponmaker (Level 2)
Level 3
+5% damage (2,000 Loam, 50 Sap, 1,000 Leaves)
Wall (Level 0)
Level 1
Stone wall (5,000 Loam)
Crystalline Conservatory (Level 0)
Level 1
5% damage with bard songs (1,000 Loam)
Level 2
-10% mana cost for bard songs (1,500 Loam, 25 Sap)
Level 3
2 Intelligence (2,000 Loam, 50 Sap, 1,000 Leaves)
Aviary (Level 1)
Level 2
5% Intelligence gathering (1,500 Loam, 25 Sap)
Level 3
2 Cunning (2,000 Loam, 50 Sap, 1,000 Leaves)
Trading Post (Level 0)
Level 1
-5% buying and +5% selling cost (1,000 Loam)
Level 2
Legendary items available for purchase (1,500 Loam, 25 Sap)
Level 3
2 Charisma (2,000 Loam, 50 Sap, 1,000 Leaves)
While Terran was busy looking through the various settlement tabs and deciding how to spend the resources, the denizens of the Glen had awoken and were scurrying around to complete their various tasks. He sipped his now lukewarm tea and watched what seemed to be a well-oiled machine. The builders working on digging the hole for the trap at the front gate were laughing and singing with each other, while other elves carried baskets of loam, leaves, or food to various locations. The smell of vegetables and herbs simmering over the fire was only slightly stronger than the aroma of bread baking in the ovens, and the sounds of warriors sparring in training rang through the trees. Terran smiled as he thought about the empty clearing that the Glen had been before he and Luna had planted the first seed. Gneiss Glen had the look of a growing town now, and Terran felt a sense of pride at helping it take shape.
Champion's Prophecy: A LitRPG Adventure Page 4