Temple of Sorrow: A LitRPG and GameLit Adventure (Stonehaven League Book 1)

by Carrie Summers

  There. Down near the floor, the shadows seemed to fold wrong. She’d seen a similar effect when she’d cast her Fade spell on the dwarves.

  Now that she understood what she was seeing, the hidden catch was obvious. She flipped it with the toe of her sandal, and the faint breeze became a cool wave of air as the door shifted aside.

  The space beyond the door was pitch-black. Even when Devon stuck her arm through the door and fixed a Glowing Orb to the wall, the feeble pool of light faded after just a few feet.

  Air currents wafted over her skin, plucking at the stray strands of hair that had fallen over her face. Her first footstep into the chamber echoed off distant walls.

  She swallowed and summoned another orb, holding it high as she tiptoed forward. Small clouds of dust puffed from beneath her sandals with each step over the pitted stone.

  At first, she mistook the noise at the far side of the chamber for an echo of the faint rustling sounds she created while moving. But when it grew to a louder grating, much like the door had made when it slid aside, Devon took hasty steps back and slapped the new orb against the wall while she started conjuring another.

  More stone grated, crystals crunching. Dust rose from cracks between the massive blocks of the floor as they began to vibrate.

  Shadows stretched from her feet, but in the darkness of whatever grand hallway this must be, they seemed stunted and weak. She pressed mana into the first shadow and raised a puppet anyway. Moments later, her creation wavered beside her. Its presence pressed against her mind, fizzing with energy.

  The sensation bolstered her courage as much as anything could. Devon sidestepped, preparing to fix three more orbs to the walls.

  Ruddy light bloomed on the far side of the chamber, a pair of flame-red eyes hanging high above the floor. Devon’s guts turned to ice as she realized how massive the hall and its inhabitant really were.

  Her hands shook as she summoned the rest of her Glowing Orbs and Shadow Puppets. Finally, she cast Levitate and felt her feet leave the floor.

  The thing on the far side of the chamber stomped forward, sending stone chips flying. With a shaky breath, Devon used her Combat Assessment.

  Child of the Stone Guardians - Level 16 Superior

  Good luck, sucker!

  “Uh, thanks, I think?” she said.

  She called down a Flamestrike on the immense creature, momentarily outlining it in fire. A smaller version of the Guardian that had introduced her to Relic Online, the golem was still massive. The column of flame crawled over its stony flesh, leaving behind patches of black. Unfortunately, the attack only shaved off a percentage or two of health.

  Well, she didn’t take the sorcerer base class for its offense. All she’d really cared about was the mana and the chance to exploit Shadow Puppet by creating more sources of light than she’d normally encounter.

  With a shout, she sent her shadow minions in. Electricity leaped from their bodies, arcing over the stone monster and… fizzling?

  She yanked up her combat log.

  Child of the Stone Guardians is IMMUNE to lightning damage.

  Your Shadow Puppet takes 168 points of damage from contact with its enemy!

  Child of the Stone Guardians is IMMUNE to lightning damage.

  Your Shadow Puppet takes 193 points of damage from contact with its enemy!

  The messages repeated over and over, ending with six notifications when her puppets had died.

  Well, shit.

  The golem took a few more ground-shaking steps toward her. Devon’s jaw began to ache as nausea swelled at the thought of the oncoming pain.

  She dispelled Levitate and sprinted past the monster, trusting her speed to help her skate by. On the way past, she struck with her dagger. The point glanced off.

  Ponderously, the monster turned to follow her movement. She tried to Freeze it. The icy prison held for one second before shattering. The golem’s hitpoint bar dropped by another 1%. If that.

  There had to be something she could do. Devon ran for the far side of the chamber as the mini-guardian sped up, its footfalls slamming the stone floor. She cringed, imagining a stone fist raised above her head. When she reached the far wall, she cast Fade.

  The monster hesitated, but only for a moment. With a growl that sounded like a landslide, it squinted glowing eyes and paced straight for her. The fist came up, pulled back, and slammed into the wall as she ducked to the side.

  The monster was slow. But with every step Devon sprinted, her fatigue rose. She could stay ahead of it for a while, but she didn’t have enough mana to chip away at it with her sorcerer spells.

  She wracked her brain for ideas as she ran along the wall of the chamber.

  What about her new spell, Simulacrum?

  With a mental twist, she poured mana into creating a passable copy of herself. At her command, the conjuration yelped and ran for the golem. It worked, insofar as the monster aimed a massive swipe at the running duplicate. When its hand connected with the figure, her casting disintegrated.

  She quickly raised another and sent it running toward the beast. But this time, not so close.

  The Child of the Stone Guardians crouched down and peered. It seemed to scoff. Moments later, it turned from her doppelganger and started stomping toward her.

  So much for that.

  Devon cast another Freeze, halting the beast’s advance long enough for her to cross the chamber. She arrowed for the doorway where she’d entered, reasoning that the golem would have to tear down the wall to chase after her.

  When she was about twenty feet away, the door slid shut with a crunch and a thud.

  Devon whirled. The golem let out a noise that was something between a growl and a laugh.

  Desperate, she glanced at her mana pool. It was around two-thirds full. Her in-combat regeneration had recovered some of the mana she’d dropped into her Shadow Puppets and the sorcerer spells afterward. But not enough. The stone giant’s health bar was still nearly full.

  Two massive steps brought it almost within melee range. Frantically backpedaling, Devon went through the motions of casting a tier 2 Flamestrike and then improvised. As the energy left her body, she imagined fanning the flames wide, creating not a column of flame, but rather a curtain standing between her and the golem.

  You have learned a new spell: Wall of Fire – Tier 1.

  You conjure a fiery barrier that inflicts double Flamestrike damage on any creature trying to pass through it.

  Cost: 20 mana

  Duration: 3 minutes

  You have gained a special skill point: +1 Improvisation.

  The golem hesitated. Devon’s hope flared.

  Moments later, the stone beast roared and plunged through the blaze. Patches of magma formed on its surface as its health dropped by maybe 4 or 5%. Working in a flash of inspiration, Devon cast Freeze, and the molten patches popped and exploded in a sudden release of steam. Another couple percentage points fell away from the monster’s health.

  She looked at her mana. Approaching 50% remaining. Still not enough, but maybe she could kite the beast, slowing its movement and dashing around the chamber while slowly recovering mana.

  Distracted by her sudden success, she didn’t notice how close the golem had come. A blow from its footstool-sized fist sent her sprawling. Agony seared her weapon arm and rib cage. Scrabbling, she barely managed to get clear before the monster’s foot slammed down, sending grit and chips flying.

  She whimpered as she stood, her arm limp at her side.

  The golem advanced and wound up for another massive punch.

  Gagging on the pain, Devon cast another Wall of Fire. The monster roared as it stepped through the hungry flames. More molten patches glowed on its arms and torso, and a Freeze exploded the regions, sending sheets of stone sloughing off the giant’s body.

  Devon limped away. Her hip didn’t feel right.

  With two steps, the creature was almost on her again. />
  This wasn’t going to work, not when she couldn’t stay ahead of it long enough to regenerate mana.

  As she spotted a shadow wavering on the floor in front of her, an idea struck full force. What she really needed to do was cause a steam explosion inside the golem, blowing it to smithereens. Even more insubstantial than moon-cast Shadow Puppets, lightning-based shadows passed straight through creatures’ flesh. That was her way in.

  Staggering forward just paces ahead of the golem, she poured mana into a pair of shadows cast by the orbs decorating the wall near the chamber’s entrance. The dark figures rose and kept pace with her.

  Whirling, she commanded one to penetrate to the core of the golem. The timing had to be just right, because her creation couldn’t survive the contact for more than a pulse or two of damage. As it disappeared into the stone giant, she cast Flamestrike, not on the golem, but on her own Shadow Puppet.

  The golem glowed from within, cracks in the stone flaring red as 20% of its health fell away. But Devon wasn’t done. Before the ruddy light faded, she sent the second shadow after the first.

  Her Freeze spell hissed as it struck her shadow, and for the barest instant, she worried that her ploy hadn’t work.

  The Child of the Stone Guardian detonated. Fragments of rock slammed into her, knocking her flat yet again.

  Devon’s health fell to 30% as ejected stone shards hit the far walls.

  She lay on the ground, paralyzed by the pain.

  And then, as abruptly as the agony had come, it vanished in a wash of blue light. Her health bar flashed as it filled to 100%.

  She sat up, disoriented, as an area in the center of the room shimmered. A set of pillars wavered and then slowly vanished.

  In their place, a flight of low stairs led to a raised dais. Upon it was a throne and sitting in the throne was a skeletal creature.

  Ancient eyes rose from the floor to inspect her. Deep within the cavernous eye sockets, flecks of light caught the glow of her orb. A robe hung in tatters on a frame more bone than skin. Power flowed off the figure in waves. Devon swallowed and laid a hand on her blade. Almost afraid of the answer, she tried her Combat Assessment skill.

  Ancient Lich of the Khevshir - Level 350

  You’re smart enough to know what that means for your chances, right?

  Devon raised a hand. “Sorry, I think I took a wrong turn,” she said as she stepped toward the wall.

  “Come closer,” the lich commanded in a voice that sounded like a blade on a whetstone. Trying not to barf, Devon put her dagger back in its sheath—yeah, no need for that—and started forward. She clenched her fists, preparing for bone-shattering pain and a brief moment of nonexistence before her respawn.

  Her thoughts whirled as she advanced. Ancient Lich of the Khevshir. Khevshir… Khevshir... Where did she know that name from? Oh, right. The Khevshir Vassaldom. Weren’t liches crazy wizards that somehow became immortal and really creepy? Was this guy the last remaining member of the vassal society?

  As she neared the throne, a massive thing carved of black marble with dragons rearing up on either side of the lich’s head, she glimpsed something on the far side of the chair.

  A wisp, bobbing lightly in the air.

  The lich noticed the direction of her gaze.

  “I believe you’ve already met my pet,” he said.

  The wisp detached from the throne and spun a playful circle around her before bopping her on the nose. It let out a tinkling laugh, then spoke.

  “She wasn’t sure what to think of me back then. I thought I’d give her some time to come to terms with her destiny.”

  “You made it here with remarkably little help,” the lich said. “Your unique strengths allowed you to bypass the defenses I and my people put in place nearly 1000 years ago.”

  “Uh, thanks. So why am I—”

  The lich raised a finger to silence her. “You see, the fall of Ishildar was tragic. The ruler, a kind woman with a weakness for animals, was mauled by a bear brought to her court as a coronation gift. Though it was never proved, many suspected the bear had been magicked into attacking. As Evelvashi was new to the throne, she hadn’t yet arranged an heir. Together, leaders of the vassal societies searched for a new ruler. Those candidates who were noble couldn’t be merciless enough to hold the city together during times of strife. The strong were too cruel. Others were too sickly or too old. Even if some vassaldoms agreed on a candidate, others did not. And so Ishildar fell under the Curse of Fecundity and quickly became uninhabitable.

  “The Greenscale Pendant was our legacy. Before my people migrated away, we built this Temple of Sorrow. I alone agreed to stay and protect the relic which had been given into our guardianship. It took all my power to extend my life until this point, and now you are here. I’ve never known a home besides these humble shadows of wondrous Ishildar. And soon, I will move on.”

  Devon had to work not to fidget while the guy got his nostalgia on. Finally, he seemed to drag himself out of his memories. He turned his attention back to her.

  “I imagined my solitude would last a century. Instead, it’s been nearly a millennium. Some of the magic I used to defend this temple and the relic it guarded has become corrupted.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “About that. What’s going on with the animals?”

  “Alas, the charms I created were intended to grant valiance to the wild creatures of the forest. I hung pendants around their necks and made them my defenders. Unfortunately, that only lasted a generation. Such is the way of life; the predator consumes the prey. Carrion-eaters devour corpses. My pendants traveled through the digestive system of countless animals, and in doing so, their power became tainted.”

  Was this guy serious? His super-duper defend-the-relic plan got defeated by the food chain?

  “Were your pendants made of carved bone?”

  The skeletal face crinkled in shock. “How did you know?”

  Quest Completed: What’s Wrong with the Wildlife?

  Well, now you know. Probably a good idea to run a sweep for “stomach contents” in the carnage you left behind while clearing the city.

  Reward: Other than the satisfaction of a job well done, 15,000 experience.

  “I’ve encountered a few of the creatures, no big deal.”

  “Pssst! Ask her about the champion thing…” the orb said, bopping the lich on the nose.

  The lich seemed to raise his brows at her. Kind of hard to tell with the shadowy cowl and shriveled skin. “Well? Are you the champion Ishildar has waited for?”

  Devon shuffled. “Well, I can’t promise to succeed, but I’ll try my hardest. I’m determined to stay here and carve whatever home I can from the jungle. If finding the other relics and restoring Ishildar helps out that plan, I’m all for it.”

  The lich seemed to accept this, though within the folds of dried out flesh that hung from his cheeks, she detected no change in expression.

  “Then I give this to you with my blessing. And if you’ll accept another gift, I’d like to offer my pet as an adviser. I’ve long waited to lay down my burdens and continue my journey toward communion with Veia.”

  He held out a trembling stick hand draped with a golden chain and a single, glittering pendant.

  You have received: Greenscale Pendant

  One of five ancient relics created to bind the inheritance of the great city of Ishildar, this relic hums with power. Already, you feel a kinship with the city and a sense that, as you attune your awareness to the necklace, some of Ishildar’s power will become yours.

  Quest Completed: Find the Greenscale Pendant.

  Grats.

  Devon clasped the pendant to her chest and carefully slipped the chain over her head. She tucked it into her shirt for safekeeping.

  The lich nodded, bones crackling. “Now, I’ll ask you to leave. The path to the exit should be straightforward to follow. Go quickly, please. When I depart the area, the magic which preserved
the temple all these years will vanish. You don’t want to be here when it comes crashing down.”

  “Thank you, uh, sir,” Devon said with a quick curtsy before spinning around. The wisp followed on her heels as she trotted from the lich’s hall and into the outer passages. As advertised, the exit corridor was as obvious as the nose on her face. Dawn light fell through the archway. Had she been inside so long?

  From the recesses of the temple, a low grating sound shook the floor. Devon broke into a run as blocks shifted and dust filtered down. Within a few seconds after she burst through the door, the temple came crashing down in a cloud of dust.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  DEVON’S CHEST FELT warm with satisfaction as her friends ran toward her. She searched their faces and saw relief—but something else, too.

  They were worried.

  “It’s okay,” she said, pulling out the pendant.

  Dorden stopped in his tracks and seemed to forcibly change his train of thought. “Is that what I think it is?”

  She did a little fist pump, then felt strange and dropped her hand to her side. “The Greenscale Pendant. We’re on our way to restoring Ishildar.”

  Dorden grinned, but it seemed strangely forced.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  The flash of excitement over her news fled the group, replaced by a darker emotion.

  From the back of the crowd, Hazel stepped forward. “There’s a problem, You Gloriousness.”

  Devon’s throat clenched down at the sight of the scout. She wouldn’t have come unless there were an important message to deliver. “The village? Is it okay?”

  Hazel nodded. “For now.”

  She searched the others’ faces as the weight of her choices settled heavily on her shoulders. She’d pulled her fighters away from the camp and brought them an hour out into the wilderness. Aside from Greel, the camp was undefended.