New Game Minus: The Complete LitRPG Fantasy Trilogy

by Sarah Lin

  In any case, they only encountered a few small crowds before they managed to find an inn and hide away. From there, the next task was to send out select groups to acquire information. He had to assume that their enemies might be searching as well, so they needed to be extremely cautious.

  He sat down on the edge of the bed with his arms folded, considering, while the others crowded into the room. It wasn't exactly a comfortable fit, but it didn't need to be. After a minute of thought, Bloodwraith spoke up.

  "While it is possible that none of our opponents are here, some may have arrived early. We should begin by finding out if they are here, or if not, what locations they might meet."

  Meara nodded. "Do you think they chose this town purely because it's a convenient point? Or might there be something here that makes it a good location?"

  "Such as a ruin?" Bloodwraith hadn't considered that there could be such a thing in such an unimpressive town, but it was possible. "I suppose that we should ask about that as well. However, I think that it would be unwise for all of us to go searching at once, as we might attract undue attention."

  "I agree," Gharavi said. "In particular, I got more looks than I expected."

  "Feel free to stay back here. There's plenty of magical preparation to be done." Bloodwraith's gaze moved over the others and he nodded to himself. "Danniah, hopefully you shouldn't attract any unnecessary attention, but be prepared to switch helmets and change armor as necessary. And Meara, you're probably best at gathering information. The three of us can head out to search for more."

  Izzy perked up from her place by the door. "What about me?"

  "Sorry, Izzy, but if you were discovered you might cause a panic. Stay here and monitor for anyone who might be suspicious of us."

  "Okay, Da!"

  Since there were no objections to the plan, the three of them headed back out into the city as soon as he took off his armor and instead wore a cloak that covered his face. Though Bloodwraith didn't like being less defended, he knew his armor was too distinctive. Besides, if their opponents had anything as powerful as some of the artifacts Raigar had used, mobility might be a better defense than any amount of armor. Or "Armor" as the boxes measured it.

  For several hours they did a cursory search, trying to avoid main streets where they might be identified. It seemed that Kahhar did have a number of different inns and disreputable bars where people might easily meet, but he wasn't sure if their opponents would be meeting circumspectly. In any case, they were most of a day early, so they could afford to be cautious.

  Meara would wander away, vanishing into the crowds so thoroughly that even he couldn't find her, then appear again with new information. Slowly they learned that nothing much was happening in Kahhar: no strange travelers, no Fellsilvered monsters, no crypts or other locations that might be a source of Outsider magic. It seemed like an entirely mundane town and Bloodwraith was beginning to grow frustrated.

  That was when he saw Marrin.

  The woman looked exactly the same as she had in the Forest of Beginnings, clad all in dark leather. It was only a split second glimpse across a crowd and he didn't see her face perfectly, but Bloodwraith was certain. After having seen Elleane it didn't shock him, but it did immediately draw all his attention. He began to rush after her and Danniah scrambled to keep up.

  "Bloodwraith? Did you see someone?"

  "Another person from the Forest of Beginnings. We should tail her... but she's probably more self-aware than Elleane, so we need to be careful." As they went, Bloodwraith managed to point her out to Danniah, though Marrin moved so quickly through the streets and crowds that they only caught glimpses.

  He didn't want to lose her, but he was also afraid that if they followed too closely, she would notice and turn on them. In the short time they had known each other, she had suggested he take a hedonistic path and recommended Thieves Guilds, so he had to assume she had skills along those lines. When Marrin turned to enter a bar, he hesitated, wondering if following would make him run into her, but in the end they pushed inward.

  And found her gone. Bloodwraith scanned the dimly lit bar carefully, but saw no sign of her. Few in the bar looked at him and it would be suspicious to demand that they say which way she had gone. Bloodwraith ground his teeth in frustration, but Danniah pulled on his arm.

  "It looks like there's a side entrance into an alley. Should we look there?"

  "You're right. But exit cautiously in case it's an ambush."

  The bartender glanced at them as they rushed through, but otherwise nothing stopped them from pursuing Marrin into the alley. There was no ambush on the other side... because there was nothing at all. A beggar lay in the alley covered in a thin sheet, but otherwise there was no sign of Marrin. She could have moved in several directions and he had a feeling that she was long gone.

  Cursing, Bloodwraith stormed over to the beggar and glared down at him. "You there! Did you see a woman come this way?"

  "What's it to you?" The beggar eyed him suspiciously. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. A few coins might refresh my-"

  "Impudent fool!" Bloodwraith reached down and grabbed the man by the neck, lifting him into the air and slamming him against the wall. "If you refuse to tell us which way she went, I will wring your-"

  "Raigar, don't!" He felt Danniah tug on his arm. Though she used his fake name, which normally irritated him, he was glad that she had the sense not to use his real name. That thought broke him out of his rage. It was true, he was acting more like Raigar in that moment. "We don't want to cause any trouble and attract attention, right?"

  "You're right." Bloodwraith cast the beggar down with a contemptuous glance, still not quite willing to give up on intimidating the man. He glanced at Danniah, trying to see her eyes through the shadows cast by her helm.

  Before he could get any sense of her emotion, she bent down next to the beggar. "All we need is some information, okay?"

  Though Bloodwraith knew she was speaking softly, her helm distorted the sound and the beggar let out a scream and pushed himself back against the wall. Danniah panicked a bit and tried to pat his shoulder to reassure him, which only made the man even more terrified. Just when it was starting to get out of control, the door to the alley opened and the bartender stepped out.

  "Something the matter here? Because I won't stand for anyone harassing..." His words trailed off as he saw the scene before him. Bloodwraith found his hand automatically going to unhook his sword from his back, but he realized that the bartender wasn't looking at him.

  Instead, he was staring at Danniah. She turned away from the beggar she was trying to comfort, obviously distressed, but the helm made her look ominous.

  "Oh, shit!" The bartender took a step backward, eyes wide. "You're... you're that madwoman who tore all those people apart in Manascas!"

  "No, I-" Danniah started to object, but Bloodwraith shot her a glance. "Umm... he wouldn't talk. If he'd just talk, I won't hurt anyone."

  "That's right," Bloodwraith said soothingly. He took Danniah's shoulder and pulled her away from the beggar. "We don't need to hurt anyone. Can you just tell us where that woman went? Believe me, she's someone who needs to be brought to justice."

  After stammering for a while, the beggar pointed down one of the alleys. "Th-that way..."

  "Thank you. Good man." Bloodwraith clapped the beggar on the shoulder, leaving him even more baffled than before. He pulled Danniah away and she moved down the alley, crossing her arms in frustration that looked like ominous brooding.

  Everything was silent for a while before the bartender let out a sigh. He nodded for Bloodwraith to come a few steps away and lowered his voice. "Look, if you're strong adventurers, then I can't stop you. But Kahhar isn't Manascas or another city like that. We don't want trouble here."

  "Never fear, we aren't here to bring trouble. But the woman we're pursuing is. My companion might just want the bounty on the woman's head, but I want to stop her from killing anyone else."

  "You m
ean the woman who just passed through my bar?" The bartender glanced around himself nervously and shivered. "I've seen her a couple times and she gave me a bad feeling. That one has killed a lot of people before, I'm sure of it."

  "You've seen her several times? She comes through here?"

  "Oh, yes, just over the past couple days. Sometimes she orders a drink and stays, like she's waiting for someone. Is there going to be a problem?"

  Then they had acquired the information they needed, even if through an unusual route: Marrin was either planning to meet the others at this bar or at minimum waiting there. They could use that. Bloodwraith saw that the bartender was looking at him anxiously and realized that he should probably say something. He didn't care about the bartender now that they'd gained the important information, but decided that he needed to speak up. "I won't lie, there might be a fight. But we plan to take her down and leave this town."

  "I hope you do." The bartender glanced toward Danniah and then spoke in a lower voice. "Listen, you seem like a good sort. Try to keep your companion in line so she doesn't hurt anyone, alright? We don't want anyone torn apart here."

  "I'll do what I can."

  With that, Bloodwraith moved away, leaving the beggar and the bartender staring at them. He wondered if the beggar would say anything about the deception, but the man seemed shocked by the entire experience. When Bloodwraith reached Danniah she stormed off as if in a black rage.

  Once they were a bit further away, he heard her splutter. "That... that.. that was awful!"

  "You should switch armor now in case we attracted any attention."

  As soon as they stepped around a corner, Danniah retracted her armor into her sphere, leaving her looking completely different except for her height. She was blushing furiously and glared up at him. "I can't believe they thought I was some sort of insane killer!"

  "It seems your reputation has spread beyond Manascas. You did get the blame for killing a rather large number of people in the middle of their arena."

  "Gods, this is mortifying..." Danniah moved to walk alongside him, burying her face in his side. After a pause, Bloodwraith put his arm around her. That would make them look less like the two adventurers in the alley in case anyone asked after them.

  "Raigar, be careful!" Meara appeared from a side street, clapping her hands to her face in mock horror. "That madwoman might attack you!"

  "Hey, don't you start too!" Danniah blushed further and tried to take a swing at Meara even though her reach was much too short. Meara chuckled and looked up to him.

  "It sounds like you actually got some valuable information?"

  Bloodwraith nodded. "Both of the guides from the Forest of Beginnings are active and it's a safe bet the others will be meeting her here. I don't know if they'll meet in this bar, but we know Marrin regularly moves through it. We should keep searching, but we're much more prepared for this upcoming meeting."

  "Good. I haven't heard any other rumors, so perhaps we should focus on preparing." As she moved to walk alongside them, Meara glanced down at Danniah and smirked. "Do you think you can keep your unquenchable bloodlust under control until then?"

  "Oh, you stop that!" Danniah pushed Meara further away and stuck out her tongue.

  "Save me, Raigar! She's gone into a vicious rage again!"

  "Nooo, stop it!"

  ~ ~ ~

  They spent the rest of that day preparing and scouting the rest of the town. Bloodwraith had hoped for more chance encounters, but had no such luck. In the end he felt that he understood the layout of Kahhar well enough that they should be able to adapt to however the meeting occurred. There was a good chance that the biggest problem would be finding the exact time and place of the meeting.

  That was what he thought right up until the point when the screaming started.

  He had been in their room working with Gharavi to test the potential to improve the enchantments on his armor, with Izzy seated nearby and watching curiously. When they heard the first scream he thought it might be a simple murder, probably not a concern to them, but then more voices joined in and he realized that something was happening.

  Pulling on his helmet, Bloodwraith headed for the door. He barely got out of their room when Meara appeared at the end of the hall, expression grim. "It looks like the meeting has started."

  "What's going on?"

  "Just come outside and see for yourself." With that, Meara moved out the door. Bloodwraith cursed under his breath and followed her out into the street. Many people were scrambling about the town... but more were watching the sky.

  Bloodwraith looked up and saw a shardwing circling over the city. The massive insect's wings glittered sharply in the sunlight, but they were common in this region and shouldn't have inspired such terror. He saw several guards atop a tower loose arrows at the shardwing as it came lower, but they clattered off the beast's shining wings. A mage moved from among the guards and shot a massive tongue of flame.

  It was snuffed out. Bloodwraith had expected the magic to be deflected by the shardwing's plates, but the spell was crushed by superior mana. Looking past the shardwing, he understood.

  The Aesidh rode atop the monster and the large compound eyes glowed silver.

  "Oh, hell." Gharavi came up to stand beside him, holding her axe staff but making no attempt to use it. "Those things are difficult enough as it is, I don't want to see one that's been Fellsilvered."

  "More importantly," Meara said, "it seems like they're not trying to meet secretly."

  Though Bloodwraith could only shake his head for a time, watching the shardwing circle downward, he eventually gathered his thoughts. "I think this is another fracture between them. The Aesidh doesn't care about secrecy, but the others might. We're in a position to eavesdrop on the meeting, but we need to be careful."

  "Agreed. I have a feeling this one might turn into a fight, though... Danniah went to buy supplies, didn't she?"

  "Oh!" Izzy perked up. "I'll go get her!"

  "Right." Bloodwraith gestured for everyone to follow him. "We'll follow the shardwing to their location and take cover nearby. You can lead Danniah there, right?"

  "Of course, Da! I always know where you are."

  "Good. Then let's go."

  Most of the townspeople were fleeing or locking themselves indoors, but since the shardwing was circling, it was easy for their group to slip through the chaos without attracting attention. Given that they were a group of heavily-armed adventurers, no one dared to get in their way. Most likely the town guard would even be thankful if they could stop the threat, and in the end it might come to that.

  A burst of mana flashed over the town, but it wasn't an attack, simply arcing upward and hanging briefly before fading. Bloodwraith was puzzled for a moment before Gharavi nudged him to head toward it. "I think that was a flare. If I'm correct, the Aesidh will move toward it."

  It was a safe enough guess, so Bloodwraith headed in that direction. Soon enough, the shardwing began to circle lower, coming down to land on the other side of town. Since charging straight down the street toward it was a good way of getting themselves targeted by an attack, Bloodwraith moved their group onto a parallel street and they closed on the location of the flare.

  They had plenty of cover, as townspeople rapidly fled the location where the shardwing landed. Along the way Izzy caught up to them and pointed back to Danniah, who was lagging behind. She had a chance to catch up when they slowed down, creeping through the nearest alley.

  Though not the same as the alley where he'd confronted the beggar earlier, Bloodwraith realized that it was an alley very near the bar from earlier that day. Since they'd be highly visible peering out from an alleyway, he gestured for the others to follow him inside. The bar appeared to be entirely abandoned now, so they crept up to the windows and looked out to the street.

  From there, he could finally see the meeting. Bloodwraith raised a hand for everyone to wait and just watched.

  In the middle of the street the shard
wing sat motionless, not flickering its wings or shifting its legs as the creature normally would. Even the reflections on the shards over its body seemed dulled and frozen. Seeing such large eyes turned silver, however, Bloodwraith realized that they were highly reflective, displaying an eerie distortion of the street around them.

  The Aesidh stood beside it, examining his fingernails with a look of cultivated boredom. Not far away, Elleane and Marrin stood together, though they glared at one another. It seemed that they had been talking, but fell silent before Bloodwraith got his breathing under control enough to overhear. They seemed to be waiting for something.

  "This wasn't what we discussed." The voice came from the side, where Bloodwraith had been certain no one stood a moment ago.

  When he turned, he saw a strange figure. Just a man in a gray cloak that obscured his features. In fact, the gray cloak seemed to obscure everything about him, and something about it struck Bloodwraith as incredibly generic. There was no ornament or enchantment to it, just a plain piece of cloth. Definitely lacking in villainous flair, leaving him uncertain what to think.

  The others all reoriented to look at the cloaked figure, however. The Aesidh stuck his hands in his pockets and smirked at the new arrival. "I know how you Earthians think. When things go wrong in a world, you like to wipe the slate and start over. Things have gone wrong here, so I'm just getting ahead of the game."

  "Belkarin..." The figure's voice was less a warning than exasperation. "I accepted your support solely because Alliandelle is the Mirror Court's world. If you don't intend to help solve our problems, then I'll ask them to send someone else."

  "Oh, don't be so soulless. What's the point of such chaotic recreation if you're not going to have a bit of fun?"