Lion's Quest: Trinity: A LitRPG Saga

by Michael-Scott Earle

  “I thought they were supposed to be next to the arena so that they could keep the challengers from getting killed?” I asked as the group circled around me.

  “Yes, in the hallways here,” the man said.

  Then my body glowed a vermillion color, and I suddenly felt like a million bucks. My shield arm was no longer sore, my back didn’t ache, my head wasn’t spinning, my legs didn’t feel as if they were made of jello, and my skin didn’t feel as if I’d been cut open with a thousand razor blades. My chest was still tight from the mana fatigue, but it only felt like Jax or Garf had me in “side mount”, instead of an elephant standing on my chest.

  “Cesnie needs help, as do the others. Go to them!” I shouted at the healers, and the group ran past me.

  “Someone tried to kill Cesnie and me,” I growled at Sharles as I handed him my fake amulet. “Tell your sages to look at it. Lady Kayleic had the same one. You’ve got a traitor in your staff.”

  “I will investigate. Sir Leo--”

  “I don’t want to talk anymore. I want to go back to my room.”

  “I can understand. I will have the guards--”

  “Sharles! What is the meaning of this?” a woman’s voice called out across the crowded corridor. I turned to see Queen Yrisi walking from the arena toward us. Cesnie walked with her and was followed by two healers. The blonde woman’s body was glowing with the vermillion light, and her face had most of its color back.

  “My representative was given a fake amulet. She could have died! Do you know what it would have meant for Sanduport? Lady Cesnie Kayleic is one of this kingdom’s glittering jewels! How dare you try to manipulate this contest? I demand that the results of this round are ignored!”

  “Lady Yrisi--” Sharles started to say, but the beautiful blonde woman cut him off.

  “Queen! I am still your queen! But once I become Regent Queen, I will no longer have use of your services, and I intend to exile you.”

  “Queen Yrisi. I would like to speak. Will you allow me?” Cesnie’s voice was quiet, but it cut through the mutterings of the hallway as if she had used some silence magic. All the other conversations around us stopped, and the throng of people turned toward us.

  “Yes, of course. You are my champion,” the blonde queen nodded. I had thought Yrisi was a bit older than Chrysa, but now that we were standing next to each other, I guessed both beautiful women to be the same age.

  “Someone tried to murder Sir Lennox,” the blonde tactician said with a nod to me. “I didn’t believe him, so I switched amulets with him. I almost paid the price. However, the results of the first challenge had nothing to do with the condition of the amulets we wore. I was the first to lose.”

  “But if Leo Lennox had known that your amulet was fake--” Yrisi began, but Cesnie raised her hand.

  “He did know. He tried to warn us. You observed him protest that his amulet was fake.”

  “They didn’t try to kill only me. Both you and I were given fake amulets,” I said. I saw Rodin, Moryana, and Tia’tor push their way through the crowd to stand behind Cesnie. The minotaur didn’t need to push his way through. Everyone got the fuck out of the blood-soaked beast-man’s path with a quickness.

  “I will investigate with all of my resources. I will find the culprit and bring them to justice,” a man said as he stepped next to Sharles. He wore a long mustache, chiseled features, and speckled gray hair. He had been at the banquet a few nights ago, and his uniform made me think he was the captain of the guards or military.

  “Thank you, Sir Umatar,” Sharles said. “I will assist you with whatever tools you need.”

  “Your investigation doesn’t change that this initial round was tampered with. We need to ignore--”

  “My Queen, please stop. I was beaten fairly,” Cesnie said. “Sir Lennox won the round. The four points are his. I am also grateful he used his abilities to keep me alive. His kindness could have cost him the victory.”

  “I had no idea that your amulet was fake, Lady Cesnie Kayleic. Please forgive me. I used my End Cowardice with Despair ability on you because your back was turned. Had I known, I would not have even attacked you,” Rodin said with a shake of his head.

  “You did not know, Sir Worred,” Cesnie said to the knight. Then she turned to face me. “Might we speak in private?”

  “I need to go back to my room and rest,” I said as I glanced at Cornalic and Allurie. They both nodded.

  “May I walk with you then?”

  “Sure,” I said.

  The crowd of onlookers moved to the side so that Cornalic, Allurie, Chrysa, Cesnie, and I could walk through. A group of four guards met us at the end of the tunnel, and they escorted us the rest of the way back to our private wing.

  “Leo, will you come speak with me once you have had your discussion with Lady Kayleic?” Chrysa asked once we walked into our lobby.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “I also need to speak with you, dearest of friends,” Cornalic said. “I will wait with the Lady.”

  “Got it. I’ll come see you all when I am done,” I said to my friends, and then they left me alone with the blonde tactician. I turned to the woman, and her steel-blue eyes bore into mine for a few moments.

  “Thank you,” she said at last.

  “You are welcome,” I said. I wanted to tell her it wasn’t a big deal and that she would have done the same for me, but I realized she might not have. Cesnie hadn’t thought the amulets were fake.

  “I intended to betray you,” she said after a few moments.

  “Oh?”

  “Yes,” she sighed. “I doubted you would be able to win the first round, but you were an unknown. If you placed last in the first two challenges, Yrisi would win without question. It was nothing personal. I enjoyed our time together yesterday, but this is business.”

  “I figured you would betray me. It was why I attacked you first,” I said.

  “I guessed you guessed that as soon as you attacked me. I was a bit angry for not being able to deceive you. That is why I said those harsh words to you during the match. I apologize again. You are a man of honor, Leo Lennox. You could have let me die. You should have let me die, but you almost cost yourself the match to keep me alive. I owe you my life, and I don’t forget my debts.”

  “You don’t owe me anything. It’s okay, I ended up getting lucky and winning.” I shrugged.

  “Well, I’m glad you feel that way.” Cesnie laughed. “Because I was next going to tell you that I still intend to beat you in the second and third trials, and if we should face each other in Castles, I will not hold back.” She smiled at me, and her cold eyes twinkled with warmth for half a moment.

  “Ha! That’s okay. We each have to do what we have to do.”

  “However, if I lose the first two challenges. I will make sure you are victorious in Castles,” Cesnie said.

  “Oh? I’d imagine your Queen would have a problem with that,” I replied.

  “It will be near impossible for her to win if I fail the first three challenges.” Cesnie shrugged.

  “I thought that the contestant was out if their champion couldn’t compete in the third round?”

  “She can still get votes, but rumor is that the council favors your Lady Aitcha, and the other contestants are split. That can all change though. Coin can buy a lot of favor, even though it didn’t work with you.” The short-haired woman smirked at me.

  “Yeah, sorry. You aren’t getting that platinum back.” I laughed.

  “It was Yrisi’s money. She has plenty more. She might get mad at me for giving it to you, but I thought it was a good use of it at the time. She can’t be too demanding with me. I can pull my support for her at any moment, and she knows she’ll lose whatever votes she might have on the council.”

  “Why is that?” I asked.

  “Because I am Cesnie Kayleic. The kingdom’s best Castles player, top duelists, and people love me.” The beautiful woman laughed, and I joined her with a chuckle. The woman did h
ave a lot of confidence, and I could see how she was an accomplished duelist. She had almost taken out Rodin and me.

  “Who stands to gain from us both being dead?” I asked.

  “I’ve been thinking of that. The obvious answer is the Feelans.”

  “Rodin? You think he is behind this?” I asked with surprise.

  “He might not know about the amulets. Perhaps none of the champions know. However, he did use a powerful ability on me. It is one he is known for. End Cowardice with Despair is a brutal sword strike that can instantly kill an opponent if you hit them from behind. You don’t use that kind of attack unless you want your enemy to die.”

  “But he could have thought your amulet was working,” I said.

  “Of course. That is what makes this so hard to identify who is at fault. If both you and I were dead, the Freelans might be able to drum up support for round four and five,” Cesnie explained.

  “But they could still vote for Lady Aitcha or your Queen. So, what would be the point?”

  “The council doesn’t want this to go on forever. If you and I were dead, then our patrons would not gain any points in the first three rounds. The council will not want to throw away their votes to deadlock the contest. They will pick between the choices that have points.”

  “That makes sense, but means the Teedans and Grytars also have a good reason to want us dead. Hell, they might even have more to gain than the Freelans, since they figured that they would probably place higher than Rodin in the first two challenges,” I said.

  “Yes, but now you’ve won the first challenge. Whatever plan they had has probably been ruined.” Cesnie laughed and then smiled at me. “Everything will ride on the next challenge. I must place first or second, or I won’t make it to round three. You must place third or better since you will probably lose round three.”

  “You don’t have much confidence in my skills.” I was glad that I sandbagged when she showed me how to play the game. If there were anyone else spying on us, they wouldn’t think I was much of a threat for round three.

  “No one expected you to win the first challenge. You are full of surprises, Leo.” Our eyes met again, and it looked like the woman was about to say something else. Then the moment passed, and she cleared her throat. “I will go now. My team will train all day tomorrow so we are ready for the following day’s event. I wish you luck, but that is just a formality. I hope I beat you soundly. I hate losing.” She laughed again.

  “I get it, good luck. May the best team win,” I said.

  “Thank you again, Leo. I won’t forget,” she said again, but before I could reply, the pretty tactician slid out the double doors.

  I walked into Chrysa’s room and saw my friends sitting around one of the young woman’s tables. Even Bolverk was on a chair, but his eyes were closed, and he absently rubbed one of his hands over his dyed mohawk.

  “We should talk about the next challenge,” I said to them. I’d never felt that tired in the game, but I felt exhausted now. The battle had taken a lot out of me.

  “Yes, dearest friend. I know you have been busy with this challenge, so I have taken it upon myself to get the full scope of the next event,” Cornalic said.

  “Awesome. We didn’t have time to talk this morning before we left. What did you spend the money on? Did you get any interesting abilities?” I asked the half-orc.

  “Oh yes, dear friend. I spent half of the money and purchased two ability books.”

  “Just two? Damn, they must be powerful skills.”

  “Yes, dear friend. They are. I actually had to talk the man down a significant amount. My leverage was buying both at once.”

  “What did you get?” I asked as I sat down at the table in-between Allurie and Chrysa.

  “The first ability is named Appropriate Inappropriately. The attack lets me take a target’s enchantment and use it as my own for twice the remaining duration,” the half-orc smirked at me.

  “That sounds like a fitting ability for you,” I said with a deep laugh. “What is the other one?”

  “It is called Not Very Helpful. It is a very powerful ability, dear Leo. For a dozen seconds, whenever I touch someone with a melee attack, they get a hit of mana fatigue based off the last ability they used within five minutes.”

  “Wow,” I said as my imagination spun wild for a few moments. “So, if I were to use Breath of Life, and then you hit me with this ability, it would be as if I had used Breath of Life again?”

  “Yes, but I can hit you multiple times. For example, if I did some light but quick jabs on your arms or chest, I could quickly stack up fatigue. It also works through protective abilities that prevent damage but still let me hit them.”

  “Like Guardian of Fortune or Spirit of Stone?” I asked.

  “Aye, dearest Leo.”

  “Wow,” I said again. “You would be a nightmare for a healer or protector.”

  “Both new abilities will help me face magic users better. Most of my current abilities are more visceral in nature.”

  “I can see why they were so expensive,” I said.

  “Part of the challenge, dearest friend, is finding someone who will sell them. These aren’t the kinds of abilities people advertise. Part of the money went towards bribes,” Cornalic said with a shrug. “You should use the rest of the coin to buy yourself some additional abilities.”

  “I’ll think about it. What is the set up for the next challenge?” I switched my gaze between the half-orc and the beautiful brown haired woman.

  “The dungeon will be the same for each team. They will use the crafted golems similar to those you saw during your time playing Castles, but there will be additional types added,” Cornalic explained.

  “What kind of types?”

  “Melee ones, spear throwers, magic using types, healers, and protectors. Sharles has told me there will not be anything too deadly, but after the amulet mix up, I am not sure the man can be trusted,” Cornalic’s voice became a growl at the end.

  “I do not feel that Sharles would ever do such a thing. He’s written me letters every month since I could write. He wants me to be queen,” Chrysa said with a sigh.

  “I would agree that it seems as if he isn’t motivated to kill Cesnie or me, but we can’t rule anyone out at the moment. Queen Yrisi could have still set this up and hoped her champion would make it through.”

  “That is mean! Lady Cesnie is pretty and sweet,” Allurie hadn’t spoken yet, but her comment earned her nods from Cornalic and me.

  “So, there will be dungeon monsters and these clay golems to overcome? Then we get to the end, and there is a treasure we bring back to the start?” I asked Cornalic.

  “That is how I understand it, dearest Leo. The golems will use non-lethal attacks on dear Chrysa, but they will try to injure us with real attacks.”

  “Is Chrysa going to have to wear an amulet or something?” I groaned.

  “Aye. You will have to use your powers to identify the item. I imagine that whoever tried to eliminate you will do the same to her during this challenge.”

  “Three of us along with Chrysa?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Cornalic answered, and we all turned to Bolverk.

  “I will go! I want to help,” Allurie said before the gnome even opened his eyes to see we were looking at him.

  “Sorry, Allurie. We need someone who knows how to fight.” I smiled at her as I spoke, but she still frowned.

  “We have a whole day. I’m a fast learner. You can teach me tomorrow!” Her own words brought back her smile.

  “When the gods call upon me to execute their righteous vengeance, I will answer their summons with the strength of my avatar’s body. This vessel will carry me to ascension, even if it comes at the price of mortal flesh. Only fools and children of fools will stand before the might of my weapon.” Bolverk still hadn’t opened his eyes, and his voice was a combination of growling and whispering.

  “Does that mean you will help us in two days? We need someone that w
ill battle in the front and get the attention of these golems, so they stay away from Chrysa.” I really had no idea what the muscular gnome was talking about, but I had seen him fight, and I knew he could do the job.

  “Yes, Leo Lennox. I will be the point to your spear thrust. No mortals shall stand in our path, and the gods will tremble before our might.” The gnome finally opened his electric blue eyes to stare at me.

  “My dear friend, Bolverk, sometimes you refer to yourself as a god, sometimes you say you serve the gods, other times it sounds as if you intend to destroy the gods. I am--”

  “Shhh, it’s okay,” I said as I waved to Cornalic.

  “All of it is true, but it is a lie brought upon us to keep us from the ascended throne. Cornalic of the Mind, you can come with Leo Lennox and me when we ascend the god stairs, and I take my place on the Throne of Ascension. I will reward you with your own har--”

  “That’s completely unnecessary, dear friend,” Cornalic said with a laugh. “I don’t need a harem. My soul mate is out there waiting for me, and when our paths cross, the skies of Ohlavar will sing their sweet symphony of--”

  “Are you refusing the gifts of a God?” Bolverk asked as his eyes turned to the half-orc.

  “Why no, dear friend. I would never refuse a gift from someone who I--”

  “Bolverk is so nice!” Allurie interrupted the conversation by hugging the tattooed gnome. “He’s going to give Leo and Cornalic all these pretty women to mate with.” The pretty elf’s eyes opened wide for half a second, and then she brought her hands up to cup over the gnome man’s ears.

  “Leo, I don’t want to tell him that you prefer men, and he might not have a harem of men. It might hurt his feelings. When someone offers you a gift you are supposed to say ‘thank you’ even if you don’t really like the gift,” Allurie whispered, and I was more than a little surprised that Bolverk didn’t seem to mind her covering his ears.

  “You four are funny,” Chrysa said. Her laughter seemed to ease some more of the tension in Bolverk’s shoulders. “I am fortunate that you were all on the same ship as me. I would be dead without you all. Cornalic, you are loyal, honest, and think of others before yourself. Bolverk, you are fearless, cunning, and such a comedian. Allurie, you wear joy around your shoulders as if it is a shawl and your smile brings the same sense of bliss to everyone. Leo…” the beautiful woman paused as she turned her big brown eyes to me. “I, ahhh, thank you. You didn’t have to help me, but you did. I am afraid I have some bad news for you. I must apologize for telling you now, though. I found out about it when we first arrived at the castle, but I didn’t want to tell you. I thought you would all leave me, but it was foolish of me to think that. You four don’t know me, but you have saved my life and… well, I am sorry I didn’t tell you this sooner.” The woman sighed heavily and blinked a few times.