The Tree of Ascension: A LitRPG Apocalypse (Peril's Prodigy Book 2)

by Craig Kobayashi

  Irwin led Garath and Auto, trailed by Joanna and her brood of little monsters, back to his new home. The zookeeper and his family made good use of the many habitats of the Woodland Park Zoo, but they made their home in what had once been the admissions building. It had been a solid choice. The thick metal fencing probably did wonders during The Culling.

  When Irwin had said his 'family' was living with him at the zoo, Garath figured he'd meant his wife and children. He realized how wrong he'd been when more than twenty people came out to meet them at Irwin's call, each trailed by an animal companion that varied in species as much as Irwin's family varied in age, gender, and ethnicity. The eclectic group of survivors and their companions served as a beautiful reminder to Garath of just how amazing Earth was as a planet. It was different now, of course, but the life-giving blue orb had cultivated each and every one of these wondrous creatures long before the apocalypse.

  One by one, Garath and Auto introduced themselves to the members of Irwin's family. They shook hands and exchanged names before attempting to unlock the BeastScape form of each of the Tamer's animal companions. Over the hour that followed, Garath and Auto each unlocked a plethora of new and interesting forms, including Auto’s beloved rhino. Garath decided he'd take the time to read over the BeastScape details of each form on their flight back to the Guild Hall, dismissing them for the time being in the name of courtesy. Staring silent and vacant-eyed at new acquaintances as he read over the details would be terribly rude.

  Garath would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed that he didn't manage to unlock any forms with a Class synergy, but he did already have two with Crow and House Cat. Surprisingly, Auto received a synergy bonus with one of his new forms. The Chameleon, apparently, was synergistic with the Chimerist Class due to its well-known ability to alter the color of its skin. The bonus that Auto got for making a hybrid with one of the parts being the Chameleon form was that it would allow him to blend into his surroundings, and provided an interesting, Chimerist version of Stealth.

  After Garath and Auto had made their rounds, they thanked Irwin for the amazing opportunity and said their farewells.

  "You fellas are welcome here anytime," Irwin told them sincerely.

  With all the new BeastScape forms available to him, Garath contemplated which to use for the flight home for a few seconds. In the end, he decided that being a Bald Eagle for a little while was the way to go, and off they went. It was an experience that made Garath feel just about as majestic as a, well, as a bald eagle.

  After quickly glancing through the individual stat alterations and spell limitations of each of his new forms, Garath shifted his thoughts ahead to what he had planned for that afternoon. The entire Dungeon party were within two Levels of their goal, and Garath knew exactly how they were going to close the gap. They were going to make a trip to the lowercase-‘d’ dungeon with the highest suggested Level in all of what used to be called the state of Washington.

  Chapter Twenty-Three – The Place Where the Forgotten Stay

  Chuchusullay was the closest of the little-d dungeons that had been appearing all over the place. Located on a small island once called Hat Island by the locals, Chuchusullay was only a few nautical miles from the Guild Hall.

  Even though the Party initiated the instanced dungeon with the sun high in the sky on a beautiful July afternoon, once inside, their world was blanketed by the oppressive dark of a moonless night. Fog, like that of the magical barrier surrounding the ocean-locked dungeon, hung unnaturally thick in the air, motionless and palpable. Garath thought he could probably palp it, if he wanted.

  The only source of illumination was fire that flickered off wooden torches laid out in uneven lines on either side of the path ahead, sending little shadows to dance in the fog and teasing Garath's peripherals. High-pitched, humorless laughing echoed all around the Party, making it impossible to tell where the sounds were coming from. The only option the dungeon offered them was a dirt path.

  Auto scratched at the back of his neck nervously, then started laughing with no explanation.

  "What's funny?" Daisy asked incredulously. The little girl was clearly disturbed by the darkness, fog, and haunting laughter.

  "Nothing," Auto replied, still smiling to himself. He pointed at the dirt pathway leading further into the ominous dungeon. "This just reminds me of something my uncle used to say."

  "I bet it does," Garath said flatly. He was positive at this point that Auto was just making this shit up at any opportunity, but he decided to humor the Chimerist. If nothing else, some sage words from Auto's uncle may help to lower the Party's obvious tenseness. "What advice does your uncle have for this one?"

  "On second thought…" Auto said with a sheepish glance at Daisy. "Maybe uncle was wrong this time."

  Auto walked over to Garath trying to look as casual as possible, then leaned close to the Necrologist. "A dark path with no turns is like a cheap prostitute. Following one by yourself is a poor idea but, while it may be safer to bring your friends, in the end you're fucked either way."

  Seeing that Daisy was suspiciously watching the two of them out of the corner of his eye, Garath did his best to suppress a laugh.

  "Alright, let's get this show on the road," Garath said.

  Garath shifted into his House Cat form. Even considering the Onikasha he wanted to start feeding, and the staggering amount of Soul Taints he'd racked up in the tiny form, it was the right choice for Chuchusullay.

  Between the improved night vision and the synergy bonus his Class received for employing the feline form, House Cat was definitely the way to go. Upon completing his transformation, Garath immediately felt the lust to grow in power swelling inside him, but they were in a perfect place to do just that, so he didn't worry too much about it. The Necrologist willed his demons into existence and pooled his Mana into the one-second cast time of Summon Golem - Dreadreaver. Sharon blessed each member of the Party with Bark Skin, increasing their base Armor stats by 10%.

  With Auto in the lead, they set off down the dirth path. To the right, a steep white cliff face dropped to the turbulent waters below. To the left, a dense evergreen forest thick with fog. Ahead, just off the path, a large wooden sign that used to welcome visitors to the island hung askew on a rickety post.

  The words had been scraped off, by long sharp claws judging by the depth of the gouges running across it. Blood-red letters painted on it read 'read me'. The letters were still wet and drip marks skirted the bottom of each letter. Garath's improved sense of smell confirmed his suspicions.

  Fresh blood.

  There was a yellowed scrap of parchment pinned to the board. Daisy promptly pulled it down and held it close to her face, attempting to make out the words by the flickering torch light.

  "I don’t even think this is a real word," she said, more to herself than to anyone in particular. "Choo choo soo lay?"

  Daisy held the parchment out for the rest of the Party to inspect.

  *That's the name of this place,* Garath told her.

  Daisy held the note closer to her face. The rest of the Party watched her expectantly, but the little Elementalist didn’t seem to notice.

  "Daisy, keeping secrets is like athlete's foot," Auto told her, adopting his uncle’s sage expression. "After a while, it’s very irritating and can cause you to lose all of your friends."

  Garath gave his friend a pity laugh and even Sharon chuckled a bit, but the maniacal cackle that burst out of Atlas' lips silenced them both. Everyone turned to look at the Mage Smith.

  "What?" Atlas said, only stopping the insane laughter a few seconds later when he noticed everyone looking at him. "Oh, come on! That one was pretty good."

  "Hey thanks man," Auto said awkwardly, then turned to Daisy. "Seriously, read us the letter."

  "Okay," Daisy said. She cleared her throat twice, and then began.

  Welcome, fools, to Chuchusullay,

  A place where the forgotten stay,

  By men we trusted, left t
o fade away,

  Of bone nor soul will we decay.

  Our hate is hot from lives betrayed,

  But only truth do we convey,

  Our words are used to light the way,

  So hear now, fool, what we have to say:

  The path ahead is not a test,

  Nor do we want to see your best,

  The foes you meet will soon attest,

  We wish to lay your bones to rest.

  Stay the course, not torchlight follow,

  Or in the night your grave will hollow,

  You’ll rise again, your life won't end,

  Bound eternal, your soul we’ll rend.

  The Shaman’s key will let you in,

  To the place you wait for end’s begin,

  Once a key has been acquired,

  Make use before its time expires,

  Too slow and flesh will meet the fire,

  Through the door, is one required,

  Alone you'll wait, not tied or bound,

  Crouch or hide, stay near the ground,

  In darkness do not make a sound,

  A noise there made and you'll be found.

  Press on despite the troubles faced,

  As Party dwindles, must make haste,

  Or friends in wait, true pain will taste.

  Heed these words, begin the race,

  Welcome, fools, to Chuchusullay,

  The place where we forgotten stay.

  Daisy dropped the yellowed parchment after her recitation. The little girl was sweating and shaking. Auto and Garath exchanged a look. Atlas picked the poem up off the ground then placed it in his pocket without explanation.

  *Huh,* Garath huh'd as he tried to piece the cryptic message together. The first and second paragraphs were pretty straightforward, a welcome and a warning. After that, it got a little vague, but it was still linear enough to open the group to discussion. *Let's decipher this for a second. Don't stray from the path. Get the keys. Then use the keys to open a door. That much is clear enough. It also seems to indicate that we will be split up at some point. What else…*

  "You think we can take it at face value?" Sharon asked, one hand under her chin as she puzzled through it. "It did make a few mentions to wanting us dead. That doesn’t really inspire trust."

  "I think we can trust what it says," Daisy offered seriously. "Isn't this Hat Island?"

  *It was,* Garath told her. *What does that have to do with anything, though?*

  "Then it's probably from the dogs!" Daisy said excitedly. Then, in response to the questioning looks she was getting, the little Archmage went on. "We learned about this in school last year. The poem totally fits. Some of the first white people on the west coast abandoned a whole bunch of dogs on Hat Island. And dogs can be mean sometimes, but they don't lie."

  One of the torches that had been to the left of the path was now moving off into the trees. As if a torch moving of its own accord through the fog wasn't strange enough, it also bobbed as if carried by some unseen creature with a slight limp.

  Garath guessed that this creepy phenomenon probably explained the parchment’s line on following torches. Out of curiosity, Garath was tempted to follow it, but decided against it. That was just stupid. Especially considering what was about curiosity in regard to his current form.

  Auto activated a BeastScape transformation, swelling and sprouting fur in random places. When a horn sprouted from what looked to Garath to be a quadrupedal bear with grey skin, he projected his laugh over the com channel.

  *Don’t laugh at me, small, white, and fuzzy. This hybrid has the best tanking stats of anything I’ve come up with so far,* Auto explained.

  *What do we call this one? A bearnocerus?* Garath asked.

  “No way!” Daisy shouted. “It’s a Unibear!”

  After a few more suggestions on what to call Auto's new form, they agreed on Unibear. And then, finally, they started down the torchlit path with Auto in the lead.

  For almost the length of a football field, they didn’t run into anything but more ominously moving torches. Garath felt the soul taint urges to get a freaking move on to find something he could kill. A high-pitched laughter echoed from the deep woods. As the path led them around a sharp left turn, Garath finally caught a glimpse of what type of creatures were populating Chuchusullay.

  His first thought when he saw the approaching pair was werewolves, but he quickly realized that wasn’t quite right. The similarities were there, though. They were definitely canids of some type, despite walking on hind legs. Their hulking forms were covered with thick dark fur, and wicked teeth poked out from beneath their dog-like snouts.

  *Gnolls?* Garath asked as the Party came to a stop about thirty feet from the patrolling dungeon mobs.

  *Looks like it,* Auto agreed.

  Garath triggered his Inspect Ability on the gnoll to the left and quickly absorbed the information provided.

  Gnoll

  Humanoid

  Health: 2,200/2,200

  Level: 27

  Station: Infantry

  Mana: 0/0

  Description: Carnivorous humanoids, magically enhanced from the original species Canis Familiaris.

  Without further discussion, Auto trotted forward on all fours. The gnolls spotted his gargantuan form and high-pitched laughter erupted from their fog-distorted forms. They raised their weapons and rushed toward the Party. They met Auto’s charge, and were greeted by a horned monstrosity with a full head of steam. After they dodged Auto’s horn attack, the Chimerist tossed his head and upper torso into them, knocking them both to the ground but doing little damage. The damage dealers of the Party got into position as the gnolls got to their feet.

  Garath sent Bill and the Golem to attack the dungeon monsters with a mental command and then issued orders for Handsome to spam Death Bolt. Atlas moved into melee range with an inhuman, spectacular leap and got to work slashing and stabbing. Just like Athios had taught her, Daisy gave Auto a full five seconds to get an aggro lock before she started casting.

  The amount of HP these creatures had was impressive, sure, but the Party made quick work of them. Garath, Daisy, and Atlas were the best damage-dealers on the Dungeon team after all. In no time, two gnolls lay maimed and lifeless on the dirt path.

  The Party took a quick breather to recover Health and Mana before moving on. One teal orb the size of the baseball levitated out of each of the corpses on the path and Daisy took it upon herself to tap them. The mysterious floating orbs each split into five smaller orbs at her touch, one of which shot into the chest of each Party member.

  Begin combat log:

  [you have been awarded 6,925 Experience Points for slaying Level 27 Gnoll]

  [you have been awarded 6,925 Experience Points for slaying Level 27 Gnoll]

  End combat log.

  You have received 1.2 Mana Crystals.

  Mana Crystals will be stored in your Items panel until spent, traded, or until your death.

  You have received 1.2 Mana Crystals.

  Mana Crystals will be stored in your Items panel until spent, traded, or until your death.

  The path continued around the bend at the north tip of the island, winding east along the cliff before turning south to wrap around the other side of the island. After the bend, a large gnoll camp came into view. Garath didn’t find the camp particularly impressive, but that may have been due to his too-powerful sense of smell providing his brain with the sensory input.

  Even from this distance, Garath's nose told him just how bad the canid creature’s cumulative hygiene really was. Apart from the aroma that made Garath think of a dog park on a rainy day, he was picking up an odd variant of smoke’s scent. There was definitely something burning, but it wasn't simply firewood. He was almost sure he was smelling burning black pepper and dog hair. Garath shrugged, unsure of what to make of the several odors all vying for dominance. He used his other senses to get a better feel for how to take on the gnoll camp in front of them.

  The camp
itself was the size of a Costco parking lot. There were only three structures that he could see from the Party’s current location. Towers stood about twenty feet high on either side of the path with a group of five gnolls between them. The towers looked to be made of rough stone and each had a domed roof fashioned from animal skin.

  Twenty feet or so behind the camp’s first line of defense, there was a pile of bones next to an open campfire. The fire was encircled by another group of five gnolls, who were conversing with growls and yips.

  Behind the campfire was a larger building adorned with red designs. Building may be a generous term, Garath decided as he squinted to get a better look. It was really more like a well-built tent. Through the fog and the smoke from the fires, Garath could barely make out the silhouettes of two more gnolls standing at attention on either side of the open entryway.

  *I don’t think I’ll be able to pull the first group without getting the attention of the ones at the campfire,* Auto said. *I’ve also got a feeling those guard towers aren’t just for show.*

  “So what do we do?” Daisy asked, eyeing the towers suspiciously.

  “Go bird form and dive bomb the towers?” Atlas suggested.

  *No go,* Auto told him. *I tried doing an eagle-bear form before the Unibear. This dungeon doesn’t allow flight capable forms.*

  “Unibear!” Daisy cheered as Auto adopted her name for his mutant creation over Garath’s.

  *We may just have to get their attention, then pull them back to get out of range of… whatever they’ve got in those towers. I’d rather not fight while being shat on from above if we can help it,* Garath said. Then he turned around to look at Handsome with an evil grin twisting his feline features.

  *I’ve got an idea,* Garath said. *You guys go back up to the turn. Handsome and I are going on a field trip.*

  The Cambionic Flayer looked intently at its summoner before scratching one word into Garath’s mind. *Why?*