The Forgotten Faithful: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 2)

by Jez Cajiao

  Twenty minutes passed before Bane returned, leading us to the east quickly and as silently as he could. The group strung out into a line, occasionally tripping over branches, and staggering when the ground dipped unexpectedly.

  Eventually, we reached the cave that his sonar sense had picked up, our little band clambering awkwardly up a steep incline until we carefully walked inside. I held a Firebolt in my hand to guide the others that couldn’t see as clearly as Bane and me.

  “Is anyone home?” I asked Bane, and he shook his head.

  “Not now, but there’s signs of it being occupied recently. We should be safe enough here, for a while.”

  I dismissed the Firebolt, letting Arrin take over light duty, and I sat at the entrance to the cave, looking out at the forest before us.

  The steep slope led down from the cave’s mouth to a shallow stream. Trees surrounded us, the cave itself being little more than a dozen meters deep, with a sharp kink to the right a handful of meters in. I considered what could have formed such a strange cave, then shrugged, realizing I really didn’t care.

  Bane appeared at my side and nodded to me, Barrett taking a seat close by and drawing his sword, ready for whatever might come.

  “I’ll get started, unless there’s a reason to delay?” Bane asked, and I shook my head.

  “No, better you go now; see if you can find any of the landmarks that Barrett remembers. I’ll keep watch here, and Oracle will go in the opposite direction, see if she can find anything.” We’d discussed it at length as we traveled, concluding that Bane’s Worldsense, as the Mer called it, would be a huge advantage when it came to finding the entrance to the smuggler’s tunnels.

  He should be able to sense any hidden entrances, even if they’d managed to hide the tracks of the carts and caravans they’d used.

  Oracle, on the other hand, used magical senses anyway, and could always find her way back to me, so the darkness was no issue; neither was getting lost.

  I nodded to them both and watched them disappear into the darkness. Oracle had taken the time to change into her ‘work clothes’, namely black yoga pants and a strappy top today, and two lines of camouflage paint on her cheeks. I snorted as I watched her vanish into the darkness, feeling the amusement and excitement filling her.

  As usual, she’d torn the images from some deep recess of my mind, leaving me to wonder where I’d seen that particular combination. I lived in a state of constant dread of her deciding to wear a particular outfit from a movie around other people, leaving me to explain it to them. The dread wasn’t so much from the thought of the explanation, as it was from the worry over the film she’d choose. All the movies I’d ever watched were hidden away somewhere in my mind, and as my wisdom score increased, my memory had started to grow far more easily accessible. This morning at one point she’d been a tiny Freman from Arrakis. I know it was only a matter of time before she changed into the outfit that Kelly le Brock wore in Weird Science at the end, and then I was screwed. Or she would be, anyway…

  I shook my head as Barrett coughed lightly nearby, suddenly aware I’d been staring into the forest aimlessly while that mental image circulated over and over…

  “So…” I said quietly, “You’ve a sister and a nephew back in the city?” I asked Barrett, and he smiled into the darkness.

  “Aye, Senna and Darin, a good pair. Their lad died a few years back; mine collapse. Darin would have been joinin’ me on the Airship in another year or two. He’s six now. Senna works as a seamstress; she’s crap at it, but it was all she could find, so, you know how it is.”

  “Didn’t she want to join you on the ship?” I asked, and he snorted.

  “No chance. She’s terrified of heights. Strange how it gets her, and not me or Darin, but still.”

  “I had a friend like that, scared of heights…” I said, and we chatted quietly, watching the forest as we waited. Lydia made the others rest inside, in preparation for the next day.

  When the dawn finally began to stain the sky, I stretched and reached out with my senses to Oracle, knowing that she and Bane would take the rising sun as the sign to return, as we’d agreed.

  She was some distance to the south, a good few miles at least, but the sense of disappointment was easy to feel. She’d found nothing. We’d all finished a cold breakfast by the time Bane arrived back, tired and dirty.

  He waved to me, then dunked himself into the stream at the bottom of the bank, staying submerged for a long time as he recovered from his exertions.

  By the time he returned to the cave proper, the first two groups had gotten ready, and they passed him as he came back to rest.

  Lydia led Miren and Arrin, and Barrett took Stephanos and Cam, while Jian watched over Bane and I as we slept until lunchtime.

  At lunchtime, the others returned, tired and hungry, and we all ate together, before we mixed the teams up, going back out and searching again.

  When the teams returned at dusk, I set up by the cave entrance again, and Bane and Oracle went out, to search again. It took two days before we’d cleared all the area to the point that we were sure there wasn’t anything here, and we moved five miles further south, finding a new cave and starting the search again.

  It was boring work, mostly because Bane had the best chance of actually finding anything, and we needed a guard to watch out for the group, so my nights were generally dull as hell, watching the forest while the others snored enough that a thunderstorm could have been missed.

  It was in the early hours of the fourth day, when Miren had just woken Cam up for farting so loud, it’d echoed in the cave, that Bane finally returned with good news.

  As soon as the group realized it was Bane approaching, and not a threat, they all went back to watching as Miren beat Cam with a branch for being ‘…the most goddamn disgusting person in the entire realm…’.

  Bane walked up to the cave and collapsed next to me, gesturing to his face, and I took the hint as he panted, magically summoning a spring of pure water for him to refresh himself while I summoned Oracle back.

  It took him a few minutes to catch his breath, and I let him take the time to rest, not pushing him or asking questions.

  “I’ve found the caravan trail…” Bane said finally, and I nodded.

  “You’re sure it’s not a regular caravan trail?” I asked, and he shook his head.

  “It heads directly towards an area I know I scouted last night. It must stop somewhere between here and there, and there’s nowhere else around here, so…”

  “…So, it’s probably our trail to the smuggler’s entrance. Got it.” I finished for him, nodding. “Rest and recover, mate; we can set out at first light.” I quickly filled Oracle in on Bane’s find, and she headed straight over to the area Bane had described. It took another hour, but she eventually got back to me, excitement clear in her voice.

  “I’ve found the trail! It’s overgrown, but there are signs it’s been used recently. I’m following it now, and…”

  ……

  “Oracle, you there?”

  “Jax! There’s four of them th...urk!”

  “Oracle?”

  …

  “ORACLE!”

  There was no response from her, but I could feel the direction she’d been in, and roughly how far away she was when she’d disappeared. I grabbed my naginata, jumping to my feet.

  “Uuuup!” I cried out, everyone grabbing weapons and looking around frantically. “Oracle’s been attacked!” I shouted, my naginata blazing to life as I subconsciously channeled mana into it.

  The cave was suddenly as bright as noon, and everyone scrambled to their feet as I screamed at Bane to bring the others. I yanked my mana back from the naginata, and set off, diving into the forest at a full sprint.

  I could still feel her, but she felt weak… and wrong, somehow. I ran as fast as I could, my DarkVision and Enhanced eyes helping me to move through the forest with ease. I could have slowed down, if I had, I’d probably have been far stealthier,
but I wasn’t thinking straight.

  Oracle had been attacked, my Oracle, and I was going to gut anything that hurt her.

  I jumped another fallen log and saw the forest open up; a patch of cleared ground was obvious ahead as I started to sprint up another incline. I was halfway up it when something flashed out of the darkness and cut into my cheek, making me dive to the left. I rolled and came to my feet behind a tree as a notification began to blink, a sickly green color infecting my health and mana bars.

  Beware!

  You have been poisoned. You will lose three (3) points of health, and four (4) points of mana per second for the next ten (10) seconds.

  “Motherfucking sneaky rogue bastards!” I growled out, starting to cast a Firebolt as I stuck my head around the edge of the tree, pulling back as something flashed toward me from the right. I dropped low, hurling the Firebolt in the direction the throw had come from, and I heard a snarl of annoyance.

  I surged upright, breaking cover and sprinting in the direction I thought the cry had come from, seeing nothing at first, until a patch of darkness flowed around the tree to face me, the narrow, grey skinned face, high pointed ears, and bone white hair letting me know my opponent was an elf… a Dark Elf.

  He growled something into the darkness, and two others stepped out, simply standing watch, as he drew two swords and grinned at me.

  I rushed him, my naginata blurring as I tried to hit him, stabbing first for his face, then dipping low towards an ankle, then wrapping around his left-hand sword, trying to batter it aside…and I failed spectacularly each time.

  The Drow barely seemed to move, a light slap of his blade against mine here, leaning to the side there; a shift of a foot, and I was staggering off-balance and frantically following him, trying to catch the bastard as his friends laughed. Their high-pitched nasal amusement echoed through the trees as I fought on.

  The first minute or more, he just dodged, then he began to counter. A stinging slap here, a kick there, a smack of the flat of one blade against my arse as I staggered past him, making me limp for a few seconds as my leg went numb…

  The entire time, his cronies were laughing, and my fury grew.

  These assholes had done something to Oracle… I could feel her drawing further away from me, a faint sense of her letting me know she was terrified, and these fuckheads were keeping me from her!

  I growled as I slashed and stabbed, the three Drow dodging as I changed my target, trying to catch one of the watchers.

  I realized that was a mistake as soon as the other two immediately started tripping, kicking, and smacking me with the flat of their blades. I’d evidently crossed a line in attacking a second one of them, and now I was fair game for all three.

  I was slapped, kicked, punched, and had a needle-pointed stiletto knife driven through the chainmail of my thigh, when it all became too much.

  I screamed in rage, my passenger jolting awake, the echoes of my fury filling the forest as I gathered my mana. I didn’t try to do anything with it; I didn’t cast a spell, or channel it into my naginata. I just held it, the feeling of its power flowing through me, back and forth, building.

  I twisted, going low, and spun the naginata around behind my back, flashing the point out as it came close to the nearest Drow, before pulling back and doing the last thing they’d expect… throwing it with all my might directly behind me. I pulled all my mana into myself; I didn’t know what I was doing differently, but I somehow forced the power through myself, submerging it in my very atoms.

  I heard a gasp and saw the widening of the nearest Drow’s eyes as he saw his companion speared through. As if in slow motion, I saw his eyes track back, focusing in on me and narrowing in a glare, before widening in alarm again.

  I’d used the distraction of throwing my naginata, a move I’d hoped would hit one of them, but hadn’t really expected, in reality, to cover for my shifting of stance.

  I’d gathered my legs under me, and I leapt at the Drow, his swords moving back from their casual arcs a second too late as I grappled him to the ground.

  He tried to stab at me, his swords clattering off the sides of my armor as I grabbed onto his silken tunic, leant back… and nutted him as hard as I could.

  His eyes rolled back in his head as his nose shattered, blood spurting across his face as his right cheek cracked under the impact, deforming inwards. I hauled back and did it again, and a third time, before a boot slammed into my helm from my left. I rolled, dragging my opponent up on top of me and straight into his companion’s second kick, releasing the stunned and now fugly Drow to fall to the side as I swept the leg from the one who’d just kicked me.

  I yanked him closer and drove my ‘Dagger of Ripping’ down hard, punching through the thin, aristocratic asshole armor just above his knee. No crude steel for this dickhead; oh no. It was a mixture of chitin and some amazingly soft, supple black silk. It wasn’t strong enough to stop my blade as it slammed home, though, and when I yanked it to the side, then back, widening the wound, before using it to haul myself up his body, he screamed in pain.

  I yanked the knife free and slammed it home in his eye, smashing the fresh Drow corpse backwards as I forced myself to my feet.

  I felt stronger. I could feel the blood roaring through me, thundering in my ears. I could feel the naked disbelief and shock of the Drow that sat a dozen feet away, my naginata sticking out of his stomach. I looked over at the one I’d been grappling with; he was hissing in pain, trying to pour a healing potion into his mouth, but it looked like the combination of a broken nose, crushed inwards cheekbone and smashed upper jaw was slowing him down. I grinned at him as I stomped over to the one I’d skewered.

  I stopped, standing over him, and looked down. He was shaking, both hands on the shaft sticking out of his belly, and when he looked up at me in shock… I ‘Sparta’ kicked him in the face. I felt bones crack as his head slammed backwards, and I caught the naginata’s base as it rose, stamping on his shoulder to keep him still as I yanked it out.

  He screamed in pain, and I made eye contact with the one with the ruined face, maintaining it as I stabbed downwards, twisted, and yanked my naginata back up in one fluid motion.

  I stepped away from my second Drow corpse and stomped towards the last one living, who was frantically pouring the liquid into the ruin of his face now, trying to scuttle backwards as he did.

  I stepped forward, spinning the naginata around and bringing the steel clad base down hard on the arm he was using to support himself. The crack echoed through the dark forest, until a heartbeat later, a second one joined it, rising along with his agonized screams.

  I slammed the naginata down hard, the blade tip punching through the armor of his leg and deep into the loamy earth beneath, and I leaned on it casually, snorting and then spitting a wad of blood out onto his cheek as I looked down at him.

  “Now, you fucker…” I whispered. “…you and I are going to have a little chat about who you are, where you live, and WHERE THE FUCK MY WISP IS!” I roared the last at him, and punched him in the face, rocking him back and making him scream as the naginata cut deeper with his every movement.

  I crouched down, my Dagger of Ripping in hand, and I looked at his ruined face, hefting the blade in my hand as I glared into his one intact eye. The other was covered in blood, face broken in around it and I doubted he could focus with it anymore. I looked at the slowly regenerating wounds, and I grinned evilly.

  “You might think you’re healing…maybe even hoping to escape…but guess what’s really happening?” I whispered to him softly, almost lovingly, as I pressed the tip against his intact cheek and slowly increased the pressure until it pierced the skin, blood welling up around the blade. “Oh no…what it means is that you‘ll last longer while I play. I’ve got questions for you, you cocksucking piece of shit, and you’re going to beg me for the release of death…” I said, madness roaring through me. I’d gone straight through anger, past fury and into that cold, dangerous rage where anyt
hing was possible. I could feel Amon behind my eyes, watching. He’d been an Emperor once, true enough, but I had some of his memories, and now, as he fed me more, I knew how he’d built his Empire.

  He’d built it by being honorable in victory, patient, and kind…and by using any means necessary when someone fucked with him.

  He’d made sure nobody fucked with the Empire twice; they either lived nice lives, safe and good, or demons would weep in terror over the shit he pulled. Now I had him riding along on my shoulder. He’d grown to like Oracle; she was sweet and kind… exactly the kind of creature he’d done all the shit that he had to protect. He’d stained his soul black with blood again and again, so that creatures like her could sleep safe at night, and he’d been worshipped as a single step below a God for it. A damn small step, one that even the Gods had recognized by giving him their gifts, and loving him, until that fuckhead Nimon conspired with the Baron and the others to overthrow him.

  I knew instinctively that the Baron and his siblings hadn’t been alive when the vast majority of Amon’s work was done; they’d not believed the tales, or they’d never have dared to cross that line.

  Now I had him guiding me. Advising me.

  I saw the figure before me differently in an eyeblink. It wasn’t a man, or a woman, a parent, or a child. It was a monster, one that had harmed my friend.

  Amon showed me things about my target, how thin the skin really was, how little pain it could withstand, and how to make it scream in agony and terror that it had never known existed, while keeping it alive.

  I stabbed my dagger down into its right hand, pinning it to the soil, and reached out casually, flipping the latches on the armor it wore, tugging it off and slipping it into my bag, then its shirt and the weapons it had been wearing.

  “This is nice gear...” I whispered, the light of madness shining bright as I looked into its terrified eye. “Don’t want to get it all covered in blood, now do we?”