The Crystal Bard: A LitRPG Adventure (Kingmaker Saga Book 2)

by Thomas K. Carpenter

  "Don't look now, but here come two more," said Luna, growling in the back of her throat.

  Two balls of rock came rolling into the cavern, dodging around stalagmites like living pinballs.

  "Let me see how you like this," he said, placing his hands against the ground. When they crossed a patch of deep stone, he triggered an explosion, throwing the crystalline spiders high in the air. They flew over Terran and Luna, landing along the wall in a patch of mushrooms, unfolding into their spider form as if to taunt him.

  "I guess they liked it," said Luna.

  Holding his dagger before him like a shield, Terran glanced around the cave, looking for something to use against the encrusted spiders, who seemed to be waiting for the right opportunity to strike, or for reinforcements.

  "Back off," he yelled, catching a perfect middle C reflected in the crystals.

  The spiders cringed as if the echoing sound hurt, flecks of dust breaking from their rocky exteriors. Luna looked back at him, her ears extended upward.

  "Whatever you just did, can you do it again?" she asked.

  He took a deep breath, then projected from his gut, "Back off!" The note didn't quite hit pitch, warbling from his over effort, which did nothing to the spiders.

  Terran was about to try again when the crunch of additional spiders rolling into the chamber made him spin around.

  "Reinforcements," he said. "We need to get out of here."

  Luna leapt away. "Follow me."

  She bounded across the cave towards a passage Terran hadn't seen before. He had to duck his head to enter. The spiders rolled after them, but before they could reach the opening, he closed it off with a stone wall.

  "That'll keep 'em off," Terran said as he crouch-walked after Luna. The passage wound through the earth until it came out on a wide ledge covered with statues that overlooked a huge cavern. He didn't want to get near the edge. His experience with the peryton had given him a healthy respect for falling, but the strange statue-like figures spread around the space distracted him.

  In a whisper, Luna said, "I don't like the looks of these."

  Terran nodded his agreement, placing the tip of his dagger into a crack in the short statue-like object before him, working away a chunk of the rock until it peeled away like a scab, revealing the withered flesh of a bullywug.

  "Oh, gross, it trapped them in this rock stuff. This is worse than webs," said Terran.

  Luna sniffed at a four-legged rock, her whiskers twitching with revulsion.

  "Terran," she said softly.

  "Yeah, Luna."

  "They're alive."

  At first he thought she meant the spiders they'd fought in the other cavern, as if he might have thought they were living rocks. But then he realized what she meant. He took the tip of his dagger and pricked the withered brown flesh inside. The arm twitched with life, dust spilling from the statue as the creature inside moved for a few seconds before returning to its entombed existence.

  "If they catch us in these," said Luna, placing a paw against the encrusted stone, "then there'll be no respawn until we die inside, however long that takes."

  The horrors of the crystalline spiders made him take a step back, craning his head in all directions. This brief act of fear saved him from the spiders that had been creeping along the ceiling.

  "Look out!"

  He dove out of the way as six crystalline spiders dropped onto the ledge, landing on eight legs, then quickly rolling after him as he dodged through the statues. A rocky ball rolled right past him, then expanded into a spider ready to pounce. He barely got his dagger up as the creature crashed into him, knocking him into a statue, which crumbled behind him, giving a chance to avoid the mandibles.

  But the spider partially trapped him beneath its bulk, and in a fit of fear, he grabbed the spider's leg and used Rock Shards on the encrusted rock, exploding its leg and sending it careening off the ledge.

  A second spider reached him right as he turned around. He leapt onto the rocky ball before it could expand and did the same trick, splattering spider guts all over his chest as he insta-killed it.

  Buoyed by the success, he scrambled towards Luna to rescue her, right as a spider leapt at her, missing and tumbling off the edge. As a true nimble cat, she catapulted away on her back legs, but a second and third critter hit her in midair, sending them all over the ledge into the deep cavern below.

  "No!"

  He ran to the edge in time to see her somehow land on her feet. The impact took three-quarters of her health. His relief at her survival ended when he caught the glistening reflections of dozens of crystalline spiders moving on her location. Terran half-wished that she'd died on impact, as he could have thrown himself off the edge so they'd both reappear back at the settlement.

  Sensing their approach, she bounded over the rocks, but there were so many of them, and she was running out of room.

  "Luna!" he screamed reflexively when a spider nearly landed on her as she scooted out from under its deadly mandibles.

  The echo of his shout reverberated through the cavern, bouncing off the many geodes embedded into the walls. The spiders collectively slowed when he shouted, so he sucked in a big breath, focusing on hitting a middle C, and opened his mouth, projecting the note into the wide cavern.

  "Lunaaaaaaaa!"

  The pitch hit right on key. As he felt the note vibrate through him, Terran added intentionality, the will to create, into his song. He felt the power escalate as he kept singing out her name. The crystalline spiders halted their pursuit, quivering in place as the whole cave shook. As his breath gave out, he dug deep, knowing that his companion was in grave danger if he could not hold it.

  As his last reserves faded and the note collapsed in his throat, bereft of exhalation, a great crackling filled the cavern as dozens of crystalline spiders exploded into yellowing guts and rock dust.

  [You have learned the Sonic Disruption spell]

  Sonic Disruption - Spell (CHA)

  Mana - 30

  Duration - 1 minute

  Use your voice to deal damage to earth-based creatures or vulnerable objects

  [You have learned the skill Battle Song]

  Skill: Battle Song 1 (CHA)

  Fear the ability powered by unresolved angst!

  You are now level 9!

  He collapsed to his knees to recover, his chest aching from the single note. He knew he'd tapped into something special, but now his throat hurt.

  "Are you okay?" he called down, after swallowing.

  Luna sat on her haunches, staring up at him. "Where have you been hiding that?"

  "That was new to me," said Terran.

  "That was a beautiful note. Why don't you sing with the elves when they grow the new buildings?" she asked.

  He didn't feel like getting into his history with Tabitha, Kaiser, and the Starborne Killers. It'd been hard enough to tell the story to Chanterelle.

  "Can we not shout our conversation?" he yelled over the edge. "My throat hurts. If there's nothing of interest down there, come on up, and we'll head back to the room where the geodes were at."

  After a short rest to recover her health, Luna made her way up the bouldery cliff as Terran leveled up his character. Normally he would spend his ability points in Endurance and Intelligence, but the new spell used Charisma, so he chose to forgo the Intelligence increase this time.

  Character: Terran

  Level: 9

  Class: Earthen Mage

  Subrace: Rock Leaf Elf

  Champion of the Mother Tree

  HP: 216

  Mana: 350

  Sta: 370

  Strength: 3

  Intelligence: 10

  Endurance: 12

  Cunning: 3

  Agility: 3

  Charisma: 4

  Spells:

  Stone Touch (unique)

  Rock Shards

  Rock Wall

  Earth Geyser

  Hide in Plain Sight (1 daily)

  Sonic Disru
ption

  Skills:

  Improvisation (INT): 6

  Commune with Nature (CHA): 3

  Nature's Lore (INT): 5

  Stealth (AGI): 7

  Earth Sense (END): 1

  Battle Song (CHA): 1

  "Let's go, I'd like to get back to the settlement and gargle some salt water," said Terran.

  She padded after him, remarking, "Humans are strange."

  Chapter Five

  In the room where he'd first encountered the crystalline spiders, Terran sat and scooped up the round rocks that had scattered across the cave. He could feel a tiny vibration in his hand when he touched some of them. He set those to the side and kept sorting his way through the pile. Before long he had about twenty geodes from the pile nearest him.

  He continued the process until he had gathered the fifty geodes Zaros had requested. He loaded them all into his pack and tried to lift it before he remembered the potion the pompous elf had given him. The smell of freshly roasted coffee beans and mountain pines filled his nose when he unstoppered the vial. The concoction had a slight metallic blood-like taste going down his throat. As soon as he finished drinking the vial, an icon of a barbell popped into the corner of his vision.

  Your strength has increased by 20 for 72 hours or death, whichever comes first. Now would be a great time to enter a strongman competition.

  "Oh nice," Terran exclaimed. "That was a really powerful potion."

  "Too bad it won't improve your stealth. If I thought you were heavy-footed before, I can't wait to see how loud you are now with that extra load," Luna sighed.

  After an uneventful journey home, the pair reached Gneiss Glen with the prized geodes. The extra weight actually made no difference in Terran's ability to maneuver. He assumed that was only because of the increase in strength the potion had given him. He waved at the elves he passed on his way to the crystalline conservatory. They all seemed genuinely happy to see him.

  You have completed the quest "Collect 50 geodes and return them to the Crystalline Conservatory."

  +100 Reputation with the Crystalline Conservatory.

  The notifications popped up as soon as Terran stepped into the tree. He still found it disconcerting to enter the dark tree and immediately feel like the sun had set behind him. The mushroom lights above him seemed to twinkle even brighter this time as Jondar appeared in an archway above him.

  "Come on up, Terran. Zaros is expecting you," Jondar said quietly.

  Terran said nothing, but started up the spiraling ramp toward the plump elf and followed him through the archway. Hundreds of books lined the shelves on the walls of the round room and many more were in piles scattered on the floor. The pleasant smell of old paper washed over Terran as he unclenched his jaw and let out a deep breath.

  "This is my favorite room in the tree," Jondar said to Terran. "Well, this one and the kitchen." He winked.

  Terran wasn't sure if it was the increase in reputation or that he had never spoken to Jondar alone, but he seemed friendlier. Now that he looked closer, he reminded Terran of what a middle-aged Santa may have looked like if he had worn robes and had pointy ears. Jondar had a tightly cropped brown beard and laugh lines around his sparkling hazel eyes.

  "Zaros is finishing up a task. Shall I make some tea while you wait?" the elf asked, motioning for Terran to have a seat in an overstuffed chair.

  "Sure," Terran responded, sinking into the most comfortable thing he had felt since entering the game.

  Within moments Jondar passed Terran a cup of steaming water filled with minty herbs.

  "It may need to steep a bit more, but I love to hold the warm cup and smell it while it does," Jondar said, inhaling the steam from his cup. He sat down in the chair next to Terran. "So you found the geodes. I hope the spiders didn't cause you much trouble. I'm sure Zaros forgot to mention they would be there guarding the precious rocks."

  "You knew they would be there and didn't mention anything?" Terran blurted out.

  "I am not responsible for the actions of my mentor," Jondar said. "He always seems to have a reason for the things he does. Perhaps he was testing you. It is unusual to have an offworlder as the leader of this settlement and champion of the Mother Tree, after all."

  The elf's kind smile cut through Terran's anger, replacing it with a bit of understanding.

  "I just wish I didn't have to prove myself every time another elf showed up," Terran sighed.

  "I'm sure that day will come," Jondar said.

  Terran surveyed the room as the pair drank their tea in silence. In the far corner was a desk covered in stacks of paper, open books, and an ink pot and quill. There were no windows in the room, but the phosphorescent mushrooms emitted enough light to feel the room was bathed in sunlight. Terran spied a few titles on the spines of the books closest to him, including An Expansive History of Belavar Vol. 4, The Anatomy of a Leaf, and The Wizard of the Jagged Peaks. If there was a system for organizing the books, Terran had no idea what it was.

  Terran was interrupted from his thoughts about book organization as Zaros entered the room in a flurry of robes and settled down at the desk. He grabbed the quill and scrawled something on the paper in front of him without looking up or acknowledging anyone in the room. When he replaced the quill in the ink pot, he sat back and scowled at Terran.

  "Well," he growled. "Give me the geodes. We have waited long enough."

  "Why didn't you warn me about the spiders?" Terran shot back without moving to take the geodes out of his pack.

  "It is not my job to warn you about every foe you may encounter. No one sent to recover geodes is told about the spiders. It is part of the test," Zaros said, staring intently at Terran.

  "Test? What test?"

  Zaros rolled his eyes, then sat back, steepling his fingers. "Of course an offworlder wouldn't know about the test. Elves that are thought to have some skill with crystals are sent to recover geodes. If they can feel the vibrations and correctly identify the geodes, they are given the offer to study as a crystal bard.

  "You, however, are a different case. I believe that you were only able to locate the vibrations because of your connection to the Mother Tree as her Champion."

  "Has he passed the second test?" Jondar asked.

  Zaros scowled deeper as his brows knit together. "I haven't given it to him, because I will not train him."

  Jondar crossed his arms and caressed the fabric of his robe with both hands. "I will train him if he passes. I am ready," he whispered.

  "Ha! Fine. I doubt he has the ability, but let's find out for sure," Zaros spat. "Give me two geodes."

  Unsure of how to react, Terran reached in his pack and removed two of the round rocks. He could feel the tiny vibrations emitting from both of them as he sat them on the desk in front of Zaros. The elf opened his drawer and brought out a hammer and a long nail. He took one of the geodes and held the nail to its surface then gave one hard tap with the hammer. A crack appeared on the surface of the rock, and as Zaros forced the nail in deeper, the entire rock split open, revealing a sparkling red crystalline structure inside.

  "This is the source of power for a crystal bard," he said, holding one half of the geode in the palm of his hand. "One must be able to access this power with their voice alone if they will ever master the art of the bard. If you can open that geode with your voice, I will allow Jondar to train you."

  "Am I just supposed to whisper sweet nothings into the rock until it opens up?" Terran said sarcastically.

  Zaros said nothing as an angry breath jetted from his nose. Terran wasn't even sure if he wanted to be a crystal bard, but he knew he had to prove this smug elf wrong by cracking open the geode. He thought back to the cave and how he was able to use his voice to defeat the spiders. He imagined what the look on Zaros's face would be when he cracked the geode with his voice. He held this picture in his head as he took a deep breath.

  Fueled by his desire to achieve what Zaros thought impossible, Terran belted out a middle C, sin
ging HAAAAAAA. He sang as loud as he could while still holding the note. At first nothing happened. A few seconds passed as he sang, then the crystals in the open geode reacted and the rock halves wobbled on the desk. Frustrated that he was having no effect on the unopened rock and running out of breath, Terran grabbed the other geode and held it close to his mouth as he sang. As soon as he touched the round rock it split in half in his hand and began wobbling like its twin.

  Zaros's face erupted with a tide of anger and disbelief as he jumped out of his seat. A tiny chuckle escaped Jondar's mouth, which he quickly snapped shut. Terran let the last of his breath out of his lungs as he held the now open geode in his hands, sitting back in his chair with a wide grin plastered across his face.

  "Seems it likes caressing instead of whispering sweet nothings."

  Zaros opened his mouth to respond, but Jondar spoke first. "I would be honored to train you in the talents of the crystal bard."

  You have been offered a second class: Crystal Bard. Do you accept [Y/N]?

  Terran knew from his instructors that it was normal to have a second class, but he'd never imagined he would be a bard. He felt like the game was taunting him by offering something he had no desire to become, but he wasn't sure if a player was given other chances to get a second class. Paralyzed by the decision, Terran sat in silence, weighing his options.

  "Clearly he is not worthy of becoming a Crystal Bard or he would have been given the privilege already. I was correct in my assessment of him," Zaros taunted, not knowing Terran had been offered the class.

  Terran flared his nostrils and scowled at Zaros. "Oh that is where you are wrong," he spat at the elf while accepting the class. "When does training start?" he asked, turning towards Jondar.

  The look on Zaros's face was exactly what Terran had imagined as he stood over him, mouth agape. He said nothing, but his eyes shot daggers at Terran. The room was silent until the elf took one deep breath and stormed out with robes fluttering.