Lion's Quest: Trinity: A LitRPG Saga

by Michael-Scott Earle

  “Uhhh, sure. What do you need?” Chrysa’s voice had become a whisper, and I moved so that our shoulders touched.

  “You don’t have to give me an answer now, but if something happens in the challenge. Well, I would like you to know my feelings,” she whispered.

  “Okay,” I said, and I realized I should have seen this coming from the first moment that I saved Chrysa’s life.

  “I am in love with you, Leo Lennox. You are intelligent, kind, heroic, and think of others before yourself. You have more honor in a single finger than most men do in their entire bodies. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. If I am to be queen, I wish for you to be my king. If we fail, then I wish for you to return with me to Iria as my husband. I know that you have a quest, and I know you are an adventurer, but I can’t deny what my heart and soul want. They both want you. Forever.”

  “Chrysa, I ca--”

  “Please,” she interrupted me with a raise of her hand. “Don’t answer now. Just think on the matter. I have money. I have a delightful home. Some say that I am beautiful, and I will give you as many children as you wish. This prize,” Chrysa raised her hands up around her, “is worthless without a partner to share it with. I said I was indifferent to winning, but I am not. I want to win your love as you have won mine.”

  “I, ahhh, I--” My mouth searched for words, but I didn’t know what to say other than the obvious refusal. Ohlavar Quest was just a game, and I couldn’t be this woman’s king or husband.

  “Will the champions and their teams enter the arena?” I heard Sharles’ voice boom through the waiting room. I was thankful for the interruption, and I motioned for my friends to join me at the far door. As soon as they fell into line behind me, I opened the door, and we walked out into the short hallway that led to the arena.

  “Chrysa, remind us of the plan,” I said to her as we walked toward the sunlight.

  “I will be in the back standing next to you. Bolverk will be in the front and do most of the battling against the golems. Cornalic will assist Bolverk with his attacks, but also float back to help you protect me if you need it. You will assist everyone with healing, but also protect me against any golem that tries to attack.” I’d given the woman the instructions more than twenty times yesterday, and the four of us had practiced moving around the battlefield so that she got used to standing behind me.

  “None shall stop us from reaching the ascended throne,” Bolverk growled as he rested his hands on his twin hand axes.

  “Thanks, Bolverk. I’m glad you are with us. I’m sorry we had to fight on the ship when we first met.” I smiled at the man as I spoke.

  “I am not sorry. When great warriors meet, they must battle for dominance so one can be the clear leader. I will follow you up the stairs and to the throne. It has already been written, and the gods have smiled upon us.”

  “Dear friends, let us say our prayers to the Mind, Body, Light, and Shadow. We will need help from all four spectrums of magic to be victorious,” Cornalic said as he gestured to the end of the hallway where the sunlight poured down, and the screams of the crowd boomed like an amplified ocean.

  Then we walked out into the arena.

  The crowd for the first challenge had been large, but it seemed as if the stands were more densely packed than before. The fervor of the spectators increased when we exited, and I raised a hand to wave to them as I would have if I’d been competing for an Astafar Unlimited match. The crowd seemed to adore my gesture, and their voices somehow became louder. I almost thought I heard Allurie yell my name, but I couldn’t pick her out of the crowd.

  I gestured to Chrysa with my fingers, and the beautiful woman stepped to my side to take my hand.

  “Wave to them and bow,” I instructed, and the young woman did as I asked. The crowd really loved it, and they were suddenly chanting her name.

  “They are happy,” Chrysa said, but I almost couldn’t hear her over their roar. Their attention had made her blush, and it somehow made her more beautiful.

  I saw the other teams come out of their gates of the arena. They all walked toward the center where there was a raised platform, stone archway, and twenty chairs. I nodded to my friends, and we continued our walk to join the other challengers.

  Sharles and his assistants stood on the dais before the stone archway, and the man raised his hands to gesture for the crowd to quiet. The thousands of onlookers did so, and he began to speak.

  “Citizens, nobles, council, kings, and queens. I welcome you to the second contest for the nomination of our next ruler. Before us, we have five adventuring teams prepared to escort one of our future queens into the pit of this dungeon. There are significantly more of you here today than there was during our last challenge, but I must warn you that this particular challenge is not very exciting. In fact, I expect all of you to become quite bored.”

  The crowd laughed at Sharles’ words, and the man gestured to the archway behind him.

  “This archway will lead each adventuring party into a special dungeon guarded by powerful magical golems. The team will need to get to the end of the maze, retrieve the golden marker, and then return out this portal. The team to return with the marker in the quickest time will be rewarded with the four points from the challenge. Second place will receive two points, and third will receive one.”

  Sharles paused for a second, and as if on cue, the crowd began to cheer. Then he motioned with his hands, and they quieted again.

  “The golems inside are fierce. They will attempt to thwart the adventurers with a barrage of attacks. The creatures will also attempt to injure the potential queens, but they will only be using numbing attacks so the young women will not be harmed. Our future queens will also be given the same type of amulets the champions wore during their first battle. This will further protect them. If any team’s candidate for queenship is knocked unconscious or forfeits the challenge, that team will be placed last.”

  As the large man spoke, his aides descended the platform and began to give each team an amulet.

  “This really does seem dangerous,” I whispered to Chrysa as I saw one of the aides give the magical piece of jewelry to the young girl that Moryana protected. The girl was way too young to be running through a dungeon filled with monsters who wanted to hurt her.

  “This will be much safer than life once crowned queen,” Chrysa said. “If I am elected, I will only be able to trust my closest advisors and family. There might be a dagger lurking in every shadow. My father did not die of natural causes.”

  “I know. This just seems a brutal way to figure out who is the fittest.” I shrugged as the aide stepped to our group. The robed man raised and amulet to give Chrysa, but I took it from his fingers and examined it in my UI.

  Amulet of Minor Protection from Death- If wearer is struck with a fatal blow, wearer is instead healed for half of the damage and knocked unconscious. Once the Amulet of Minor Protection from Death is used, it cannot be used again for twenty-four hours.

  “This is fine,” I said as I handed the amulet to Chrysa.

  “Leo!” a voice called out, and I turned to see Cesnie walking toward me. “Will you look at this one?” she asked as she handed me the necklace.

  “Of course,” I said as I took the amulet from the blonde woman. She watched with interest as I held it up in my hands, and I could feel the eyes of everyone else in the arena on me.

  Amulet of Minor Protection from Death- If wearer is struck with a fatal blow, wearer is instead healed for half of the damage and knocked unconscious. Once the Amulet of Minor Protection from Death is used, it cannot be used again for twenty-four hours.

  “This one is good. It is not a fake one,” I said before I handed it back to her.

  “Thank you,” Cesnie said with a nod.

  “Sir Lennox. Might you look at mine as well?” Rodin asked as he held out his own amulet and walked from his group.

  “Yeah, no problem. I don’t want any of these girls to get hurt,” I said as I took his
amulet.

  “Thank you, Sir Lennox,” he said gratefully.

  “This is as ours, not fake.”

  “Leo Lennox, will you look at ours?” Moryana asked.

  “Mine as well,” Tia’tor asked as he lumbered over me.

  “They are both fine,” I said after I inspected them.

  “That is quite a useful ability you have, Leo Lennox,” the dark-haired sword dancer said after I handed her amulet back to her.

  “Just something I can do.” I shrugged and then turned to Sharles, the man did look a little miffed that we interrupted his proceedings, but what could he say? There had been fake amulets in the first contest, and Cesnie had almost died because of treachery from someone who he still hasn’t sussed out.

  “We will choose the first team at random and then begin the countdown once they have entered the dungeon portal.” Sharles raised the six die in his hand and then he rolled it on top of table that stood beside the portal.

  “The die has called upon Sir Leo Lennox and Lady Chrysa Aitcha!” Sharles said as he gestured to us.

  New Quest: Place first, second, or third in the dungeon challenge.

  “First to go again,” I muttered to myself, but I couldn’t really hear anything over the sound of the crowd cheering.

  Sharles gestured for us to move up the stairs to the archway, and we complied. As soon as we climbed the steps, the big man gave us a warm smile, and he patted me on the shoulder.

  “Please be safe, my friend. Watch after the lady,” he said.

  “We will. What does this golden marker look like?” I asked him.

  “It is about the size of a dinner plate, engraved with the symbol of Sanduport. It will be guarded by the fiercest creature of the golem set at the end of the dungeon. Are you four ready?” the herald asked.

  I turned to my friends, and they all nodded. Except for Bolverk, who looked a bit bored.

  “Yeah,” I said as I pulled out my longsword.

  Cornalic pulled out his twin short swords, and Bolverk shook his axes free of his belt. Then the archway began to shimmer, dance, and churn like water.

  “Prepare yourselves!” Sharles said, and I gestured for Bolverk to take the lead. There was a bit of a snicker from down below, but I didn’t see who was making fun of my small insane friend.

  “Go!” the herald yelled, and then the four of us dashed through the portal and into the dungeon of the second challenge.

  Chapter 24

  My vision rotated as if I was on a slow carousel spin before my inner ears seemed to figure out I had been teleported. Then the queasy feeling in my stomach went away, and I could walk without feeling drunk.

  We appeared in a stone hallway with a tall arch shaped roof. The walls on each side of us were crafted from perfectly cut pieces of light green stone, and the floor was packed dirt. The hallway extended out a good thirty feet ahead of us, and I could see it came to a T intersection.

  “Bolverk, you are in the lead. Let’s move as quick as we can,”

  “So we may crush our enemies beneath our boots, drink of their death screams, and then make use of their woman,” the gnome grunted.

  “Dear friend, Bolverk, we do have a lady in our party,” Cornalic said.

  “No, she is a warrior,” the gnome said as he sprinted down the hallway.

  “Did he compliment me?” Chrysa asked as we chased after him.

  “Yes, dear lady, I believe he did,” the half-orc said.

  Bolverk reached the end of the hallway as the walls on each side of him began to shimmer. Two golems stepped from the green brick and darted toward the small muscular man with surprising speed. The creatures looked somewhat like clay-crafted knights, but instead of gleaming metal armor, they looked as if they were crafted out of a single piece of dark green clay that was expertly carved with a knife. The golems had glowing red eyes, and carried two-handed battle axes almost as tall as my tattooed friend.

  “Cornalic!” I shouted, but the muscular half-orc was already rushing toward the flank of the golem on our right side.

  Bolverk turned and rolled to his side as the leftmost golem brought down its axe. The metal of the blade clanged on the ground as I hit the gnome with Guardian of Fortune, and my friend sprung to his feet with the elastic movement of a gymnast. He slammed his left axe into the leg of the golem, then his right into the other leg. The golem was a good seven feet tall, but Bolverk lifted with both of his axes, and the thing fell onto its back as if the small man had just flipped over an empty box of cardboard.

  Cornalic tore his left short sword into the knee joint of the standing golem. The creature was about to bring its massive axe down on Bolverk’s skull, but the half-orc’s attack had thrown it off balance, and it leaned to its right side to attempt to counterbalance its own weight. Cornalic didn’t waste a moment though, and the half-orc’s blade dug into the back of the golems other leg at the joint. The creature still looked as if it would not topple, but Bolverk jumped into the air and slammed his twin axes into the clay knights’ chest. The creature fell backward silently, and Bolverk rode the thing down until it slammed onto the floor.

  Cornalic switched to the other golem that had already fallen, but I was already bringing my longsword down on the thing’s head. My strike was true, and the creature’s clay head separated from its shoulders as if it was actually made of butter. As soon as the creature’s life bar dropped to zero, its body crumbled into broken bits of clay and its weapon faded as if it had been made of dust.

  “Done,” Bolverk growled as he slammed both of his axes into the face of the other golem again.

  “Keep going!” I shouted, and the small man nodded before he flipped off the chest of the monster, rolled on the ground, and then came up sprinting at full speed.

  Bolverk could have run right or left at the intersection, and I expected him to ask me what direction to go, but he went right, and we followed him. The green stone corridor continued for another forty feet, and then it opened into a

  square room with a ten foot high raised platform in the middle. I’d seen this layout a thousand times in various videogames, and I knew exactly what was about to happen.

  “Cornalic! Run to the top of the platform and take out the caster golem. Bolverk! Run right around the perimeter to take out the missile ones!” I shouted to my two friends.

  They moved into position, but the golems didn’t appear. It took me half a second to realize that I was still standing under the ceiling of the hallway in front of Chrysa. The monsters probably wouldn’t spawn unless we were all in the room.

  “Stay behind me,” I reminded the beautiful woman as I stepped into the room. She followed me, and a hidden portcullis dropped from the archway to trap us in the room.

  As I expected, each corner of the square room along with the top of the platform began to shimmer. Four clay knight golems rose from the stone on the floor, and a golem with an etched robe rose out of the center.

  My friends were already in position, and I saw Cornalic tear a massive chunk out of the center golem before I turned my attention to the one Bolverk was engaging. The gnome berserker slammed his left axe into the creature’s leg before the thing could even prepare its two-handed axe, and the attack cut through the thick animated limb easily. The golem tumbled, but Bolverk must have figured I could finish the thing off because he sprinted toward the next corner before the thing landed.

  I drove the point of my sword through the fallen golem’s face, and its health bar dropped to nothing. A quick glance to the center of the room confirmed that Cornalic had already finished off the mage golem, and I saw the half-orc jump down the steps of the dais and plant his knee into the chest of a knight golem who was on the opposite corner from my position. The golem hadn’t expected my friend to make such an aggressive attack, and the animated construction topped over like a broken action figure.

  I moved up the stairs of the platform to meet the fourth golem knight. I didn’t want to split my attention between Cornalic, Bolve
rk, and protecting Chrysa, but a quick glance convinced me that Bolverk almost had his opponent beat, and I didn’t want this last golem to flank my friend while he was occupied.

  The clay knight swung his two-handed axe at me in a horizontal sweep that would have cut a palm tree down with a single swipe. I decided I didn’t want to block the attack with my weapon, so I stepped back just enough to feel the wind from his slash dance across the front of my armor.

  I dove forward with the longsword extended in my right hand. The thrust caught the creature in the right shoulder, and I followed through by stepping in closer to his left arm. My hip now blocked the return swing of his axe, and I ripped my blade out of the monster’s clay shoulder by raking it across his chest.

  It was strange fighting monsters who didn’t let loose with any type of noise when I damaged them, but the creatures’ red eyes glowed angrily when I slashed it. My attack had only brought the monster’s health down to 75%, and I realized the one I fought was a darker shade of green than the others in the room. This one was probably the room leader, and I reasoned that the portcullis I saw on the other side of the room would open as soon as I killed him.

  The golem brought the haft of his axe to butt into me, but I braced my side for the impact, and the wooden handle bounced off my armor. As soon as my opponents arm bounced wide, I brought my longsword up and cut the thing’s arms off at the elbow. Then I spun the blade downward from the sky and smashed the magical edge into the creature’s clay head. Its health bar dropped the remainder of the way to zero, and the golem crumpled down into broken bits of dried mud.

  I turned to see my friends eliminate the other two golems. My UI party bar showed that neither of them was damaged, which was good, and I wondered if we could go another half-minute without me having to use Guardian of Fortune. Then the fatigue would reset.

  The portcullis at the other side of the room opened, and Bolverk jogged to the entrance. Cornalic took his place behind him, and we moved into the next hallway. This corridor had a slight downward angle, and we jogged for a good half minute without coming to another room.