Hive Knight: A Dark Fantasy LitRPG (Trinity of the Hive Book 1)

by Grayson Sinclair

  Wait, does she know she isn’t real? No, that’s impossible; NPCs have never shown any sign of self-awareness before. “Eris, could you explain how you know the difference between us?”

  “Um, I can try, though it’s strange. I don’t know how I know that we’re different, but I do. And it’s not just in species, but I recognize that you were summoned from a different world by the gods of this world, even though no one has ever told me. I just know it.”

  Wilson spoke up, echoing the train of thought going through my mind. “I guess the governing AI would need some way to explain our presence here, but it is odd that this is the first time an NPC is speaking about it.”

  “It’s probably an unconscious bit of knowledge placed by Edn—the AI when they create an NPC. And I don’t know about the rest of you, but I don’t exactly go around having deep conversations with NPCs.” Evelyn spoke up from whatever she was looking at on her interface to chime in.

  “She’s right, though,” I said, looking down at Eris. “Eris is the first NPC I’ve ever really talked to beyond polite conversation. But surely someone out there has spent more time with them than we have.”

  “Perhaps, but I fear we have gotten off-topic. We’ll have plenty of time for philosophical debate once we’re no longer under threat of attack. So, I’m assuming that Eris is adamant about traveling with you?”

  It would take ten minutes to reach the Compass Kingdom using a scroll. Traveling by mount would take at least a week. I leaned over to speak to Eris. ”Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay here while I make a quick trip to the capital?”

  She shook her head. “Not a chance, my bonded. Wherever you go, I follow.”

  I could see immediately that I wasn’t going to have a shot in hell at convincing her otherwise, “Okay, you win. We shall go together,” I told her.

  She just smiled wide at me, showing off her sharp teeth. I went to address the room. “Now that we have the first order of business taken care of. I have a more personal issue to announce.” I paused. How am I going to say this?

  I tried to find the right way to say it and came out wanting. “Ah, hell. I guess I don’t have a good way to say this, so I’ll just put it bluntly. I’m not entirely human anymore.”

  It took me about five minutes to get them to stop laughing. Well, most of them, anyway. Adam and Evelyn seemed to take me at my word, at least.

  After the laughter had died down to a dull roar, I pulled my hair back and let them all get a good look at my newest feature. It got quiet fast after that. They could all see the elongation and pointedness of my ears. Rationalization dawned on their faces, as they tried and failed to come up with a logical explanation as to why I was suddenly different. I saved them the trouble.

  “I am now a hybrid. What that means, I haven’t figured out yet. Though it seems I am half human and half Hive, which, according to Eris, were several races of insectoid demi-humans that thrived in this world before we ever came here.”

  “Okay, sure. You’re now a hybrid, got it, great. We’ve seen other things just as strange, and you have the ears to back up your claims, so I have no choice in accepting what you’re saying,” Wilson said. “The better question is, how did this happen? Is it because of Eris?”

  “Yes…and no. It’s complicated.”

  Wilson got quiet for a second, his face turning several unflattering shades of red and purple, and his veins stretched tight. He was trying very hard not to scream at me. He blew out a heavy breath and placed his palms on the table, trying to calm down. “I told you to be careful, D. And look what happens. I told you she couldn’t be trusted.”

  “Hey, don’t blame Eris for this. It wasn’t her fault.”

  He wasn’t convinced but backed off. Which I was thankful for. Any more and we might have come to blows, but he’s just looking out for me.

  “Now let’s get back on topic. Yes, I am now a hybrid, but that’s not the only new change with me. I also received a new class, and on top of that, my level was reset,” I immediately held up my hand to stop the onslaught of questions I knew would be coming. At this rate, we would never get through the meeting.

  “I will tell you a little about my class, but not everything. As we all know, sharing information like that is generally considered a faux-pas. My class is called Hive Knight, and as far as I can tell, it’s unique,” I said, before telling them about receiving the hidden quest and jumping back up to level forty-four.

  After hearing this, a few had concerns about Eris and me going alone to Central—and right in the middle of Alliance territory. I shared their concerns; it freaked me out that I was so low leveled and with a strange and unfamiliar class to boot. Godsdamn it! It’s not fucking fair! I lost everything…but what else can I do? Getting furious won’t solve anything, won’t get what I lost back. Man up, Duran, and deal with it.

  I dissuaded them from having someone else accompany us. "I hate to admit it, but I have the best chance of getting in and out without incident. You know, barring me getting caught and strung up by the church."

  The debate went back and forth for around fifteen minutes before we settled the matter.

  “Okay, no more arguing. I’m going.”

  “While we are all here, I have a few guild matters we need to discuss,” Wilson said, standing from his chair.

  “Yeah, yeah,” I said, standing with Eris from my seat. “I approve whatever, go team.”

  “Duran!” Wilson shouted at my back.

  I waved him off and left the guildhall with Wilson cursing my name. I needed food and a lot more sleep. I took care of the first when we went by the kitchen. Eris and I devoured a whole chicken and then we went upstairs for some quiet time so I could catch up on my sleep.

  Chapter 13 - On The Road

  I’d wanted to get an early start in the morning and get on the road quickly, but circumstances had other plans.

  Said circumstance was currently drifting lackadaisically on her back in the bath.

  “The heat is wonderful; it’s working out tension I didn’t even know I had.”

  “Glad you’re enjoying,” I said. You better be—I had to turn the heat up to nearly boiling to get it to a comfortable temperature for you.

  I’d been hesitant to step into the water, but it wasn’t unpleasant when I found the courage. It was a comfortable heat. Guess my new race came with a few perks. Though Eris still feels hot to the touch, odd.

  Eris took her time enjoying the bath with me while I cleaned myself in a mechanical fashion, trying desperately not to let my eyes linger over her body. She didn’t care one bit about being naked in front of me, but it was incredibly distracting.

  After we were clean, I ran my fingers over the rough, copper stubble that framed my jawline, finally caving and deciding to shave my beard. When I got back into the water after grabbing my razor, Eris asked what I was doing.

  “Shaving, finally getting rid of my beard.”

  She ran her fingers through the stiff hairs. Her hand was admittedly nice as she brushed over my cheek. “I like it on you. It’s a good look.”

  I didn’t really enjoy having a beard, but Eris liked it. So, we compromised, and I left it alone.

  “What did Gil say to you this morning? He sounded upset.”

  I chuckled. “That’s just because I woke him up early and he’s not a morning person. But I needed his help. Because of all the recent changes, none of my regular gear will work.”

  “So, is he letting you borrow some from him?”

  “Something like that.”

  When we finished in the bath, I got dressed and handed Eris a shirt to wear in the interim, but to my surprise, she’d already dressed.

  She was wearing a chocolate skirt, which on anyone with longer legs would’ve been considered indecent. On Eris, it was perfect, barely hinting at her pale thighs.

  The skirt was complemented by a juniper tunic and was only a hair or so big on her, with a slight V shape in the collar that was meant to flaunt su
bstantial cleavage. Eris’s chest was petite, so this feature was wasted. Such is the fate of the small-breasted.

  She’d acquired a pair of well-worn leather traveling boots that came to mid-calf on her, but her face looked unhappy as she stared down at them. To finish off the ensemble, she wore a small brown cloak with a hood that would hide her unique features well enough. She looks adorable.

  “You look stunning,” I told her honestly. She smiled happily at that, glad that I approved of her outfit. “Where’d you get those clothes, though?”

  “They were lying on the ground by the door. There was a small note with my name on it,” she said as she handed me the note.

  I didn’t recognize the handwriting, but that wasn’t exactly shocking. When was the last time I hand wrote anything?

  It was either Yumiko, Makenna, or Evelyn, but I immediately discounted Evelyn. She was never kind to anyone without cause. And I’d never seen Yumiko in anything other than pants, which left Makenna. Need to thank her, next I see her. That was incredibly thoughtful. Especially since I should’ve realized all Eris had to wear was my oversized tunics and cotton shirts.

  “Well, it doesn’t matter, though you do look lovely. Now let’s head down to the forge. I don’t want to keep Gil waiting. He gets impatient quickly.”

  She held out her hand and said. “Well, then let’s not keep him waiting, Sam.”

  Cold ice gripped my heart, a chill that had nothing to do with the magic inside me. “Don’t call me that…please.”

  “Why?”

  “Because that man died a very long time ago.”

  She walked over to me, hugging me. “You’re lying to yourself, my bonded. Sampson Acre is alive and well, just buried under a lot of pain. You can’t hide him from me, not when I can see right through you.”

  I pulled away and headed out into the hall. “Let’s go,” I said tersely.

  The walk to the forge was quiet. Eris was downcast, and it didn’t take some strange magic to know that I’d hurt her feelings. But I wasn’t going to apologize; I’d worked too damn hard to bury who I’d been to let it all unravel now.

  Opening the metal door to the forge, we stepped inside. The blistering heat assaulted me along with the stench of burning wood and metal.

  Racks of weapons lined the stone wall as I turned the corner and went into the workshop. Gil sat bent over his anvil, working on what looked like a chestplate. He was completely absorbed in his work, and I wasn’t about to disturb him.

  Haven’t been here in a while, wonder what’s new? In the far corner of the room was a gigantic black battle-axe. It was crude, roughly shaped from a solid piece of metal, but for some reason, it called to me. I wanted to wield it, and I walked over to it, bending to pick it up.

  Something whistled through the air just before pain smacked me in the side of the head. A lump of metal dropped to the dirt floor next to me.

  “Ow! What the fuck, Gil?”

  “Don’t touch,” he said and turned back to his work.

  “Fine,” I grumbled, rubbing the side of my head.

  Eris had been smart and took a seat on the metal benches that lined the back wall. I followed suit and settled in while Gil plied his craft.

  “Hey!” Gil shouted in my ear while shaking me. “Get up and try on the armor so I can go back to bed.”

  I jolted upright, waking Eris in the process. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” I said, wiping a strand of drool that slipped from the corner of my lip.

  Gil grunted a non-reply and shuffled over to let me get a look at what he’d made.

  It was perfect.

  The base was studded leather; dozens of little studs were sewn into the armor around the vital areas that weren’t covered by plate metal, the collar, hips, and groin. They were grouped as tightly as possible to help disperse the impact of blunt weapons and deflect a slice or thrust from a blade. The leather was a vibrant azure, and the steel studs reminded me of scales. The inclusion of the studs acted like scale mail to add an extra layer of protection while keeping my movements unhindered, but the separation of the studs would mean they wouldn’t jostle and clank as I moved.

  Heavy plate mail was added on the chest and back with leather-backed metal pauldrons for the shoulders. The legs had thick leather greaves that stopped just before my ankles.

  To top everything off, Gil had accented the collar of the armor with the silver and black fur of a bane wolf, which surpassed even the size of the already monstrous dire wolves.

  This was a masterfully crafted set of medium armor built for movement and to take a beating.

  “Gil, you shouldn’t have,” I told him. “You used the leather from the storm dragon, didn’t you?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah, well, it does me no good if you go off and get yourself killed because you can’t stay away from trouble.” He turned and gave me a fierce look. “You’ll be paying me back for that leather. It was damn near priceless, as you well know.”

  I raised my hands in surrender. “Of course.”

  His features softened. “I know, I’m just giving you a hard time because I need sleep. Or better yet, coffee. Ye gods, what I would give for just a sip.”

  I nodded in agreement. We shook hands, and he pulled me in for a quick hug. “You be safe out there, D.”

  He walked over to Eris and knelt to look at her, even though he still towered over her.

  “Don’t think I forgot about you, little miss,” he said as he presented her with a light breastplate and a set of matching vambraces. “It’s not much, since I had to spend most of the time on the idiot’s armor, but it should fit you well enough and keep you alive if you run into trouble.”

  Eris smiled wide as she equipped her new armor. It took a little help to get her into it, but in no time we had succeeded. Her traveling cloak concealed her armor entirely. She spun around, getting a feel for the added weight.

  Satisfied, she wrapped her arms around Gil’s giant neck and placed a kiss on his cheek.

  “Thank you, Gil,” she said, as she clung around his neck. It took nearly both of her arms to wrap around the giant berserker.

  He blushed scarlet and mumbled, “It’s no trouble, don’t mention it.”

  At the sight of Eris holding on so tightly to my best friend, something dark uncoiled itself from my heart. Ice-cold hands tore into my chest, and a pitch-black rage welled up inside me as Eris hugged him and pressed her lips to his cheek.

  How dare he put his filthy hands on her!

  “Kill him for touching what’s rightfully yours. Make him suffer,” a smoky, sibilant voice demanded from inside of me.

  I unconsciously reached for my sword before I could stop myself. I shook my head, trying to dislodge the voice that was inside me. Gil is my friend, not my enemy. What the hell am I thinking?

  The feeling came and went in a flash; it receded when logic told me what I was feeling was wrong. It happened so quickly that neither of them noticed. What is wrong with me?

  I turned away from the pair of them and went outside to get some air and ready our supplies and my horse.

  As I exited the stifling workshop, I breathed in deeply, letting the chilly morning air cool the lingering presence of rage within me. After a moment or two, normalcy reasserted itself, and I went to organize our packs.

  Our supplies were rather simple. Just two identical sets of the standard adventurer’s kit. A camping set, one hundred feet of rope, dry rations and water, flint and steel, a torch, and ten health and mana potions.

  I added some personal additions to the kit. A set of burglar’s tools that were a gift from Wilson—I wasn’t anywhere close to his skill at lock picking, but I managed well enough. I also threw in a few vials of poison and some smoke bombs in case we needed to make a rapid getaway. I also carried my wood carving tools, for when I would inevitably get bored on the trip. It would give me something to do with my hands. And, of course, my large travel flask of whiskey.

  After packing everything and storin
g it all in my inventory, I went to ready my horse.

  As I slipped through the wooden doors, the stench gave me pause. A mixture of manure and the pungent odor of animals combined with the smell of damp hay, which always lingered no matter how often we changed the straw.

  There were only five animals in the stables, as most of us used teleportation to get around. Before the hunt for the dragon, it had been months since I had ridden my mount.

  She stood in the back. Even among the admittedly impressive array of animals we had acquired over the years, I held a special place in my heart for my horse.

  Lacuna was a massive warhorse, taller than even Gil and just as long. She was the perfect shade of midnight with a coal-black mane. Her coat was immaculately groomed. Adam made sure to take excellent care of all the animals or creations under his care. The only spot of color on her was the whites of her eyes.

  She perked up immediately at my approach; I ran my hands along her snout as she nuzzled into me. I unlatched the gate and guided her gently out of the pen and outside, stopping to grab all the gear I would need and quickly saddled her. My saddle was the exact shade of her coat, and I thought it suited her well.

  Eris was waiting outside on a bench. She was leaning on the side of the wall and looked like she was about to fall asleep.

  After I had finished, I walked Lacuna over to meet Eris and to make sure Lacuna wouldn’t react poorly to having a new person riding her. Eris lit up at the sight of the large horse and shook the sleep from her face in an instant as she hopped over to greet the horse.

  Eris was comically tiny compared to Lacuna, who would put even a Clydesdale to shame with her size. Eris gently reached out to pet the flank of the horse. Lacuna huffed for a moment at Eris’s touch, but she grew accustomed to it quickly as she walked over and ran her fingers through Lacuna’s mane.

  Satisfied that both the girls would get along, I climbed up, only to realize there was an issue. Eris wouldn’t have a chance in hell of climbing up by herself, as she was coming to realize as she looked at the stirrups with a contemplative expression.

  I reached down and offered her my hand, telling her where to place her feet and guided her on how to mount a horse properly. We had some small difficulties, but I managed to get her there.