Goblin: a LitRPG Novel (Tower of Gates LitRPG Series Book 1)

by Paul Bellow

  "Are you going to just stand there like the half-goblin you are, or are you going to apologize?"

  "I'm sorry, John."

  He crossed his hands over his broad chest and tilted his head back, studying me through the slits of his half-closed eyes.

  "Ain't no woman worth a friendship," he said.

  His arms dropped and his face relaxed. I groaned when he stepped forward and hugged me like a bear.

  "Alright now," I said. "That's enough. You're going to embarrass me in front of my friends."

  "Who are these fine people?"

  "I'm Benji Bigelow. While not officially in their adventuring party, I tag along."

  John nodded then looked at Sarah.

  "And who might you be, beauty of the woods?"

  Sarah smiled. I wasn't sure if it was his charm or his chiseled, muscular body.

  "I'm Kali."

  She offered her hand. He kneeled and kissed the top of it.

  "Alright," I said. "That's enough."

  "Oh, I'm sorry. Are you two in a relationship? I thought those didn't matter to you, Drex."

  "We're not in a relationship," Sarah said. "But I'm not looking for anything, at least not long term."

  Is she flirting with him? Maybe coming here was a bad idea.

  > Sense Motive

  John Johansen wants to sleep with Kali.

  Benji stepped forward as Sarah and John stared at each other like long-lost lovers.

  "We should, you know, destroy the you-know-what," he said.

  I cleared my throat.

  "He's right. Can you help us destroy an evil magic item, John?"

  "Depends," he said, still staring at Sarah with a smile spread across his face.

  I pulled out the pendant.

  "This is it. Over here."

  John rolled his eyes then turned his attention to me and the pendant.

  "That's it? Should be easy. Let's throw it in the furnace."

  Sarah clasped her hands together.

  "You're so great."

  "Let's see if he can destroy it first," I said.

  "Don't be jealous, boss," Benji said.

  I ignored him and followed John inside. He put the pendant in a stone bowl.

  "This will melt down the gold and other precious metals. We'll have to destroy the gem another way."

  "Stand back," he said, picking up the stone bowl with a set of tongs.

  A moment later, he put it in the furnace.

  "Give it a few seconds...and..."

  He pulled it out.

  "What the...It didn't melt down."

  "Great," I said sarcastically with a sigh on the side.

  "Um, boss?"

  "What now, Benji?"

  "Turn around. We've got company."

  I turned and saw Snargao standing in the doorway.

  "Remember me?"

  "Get out of here," John said.

  Snargao raised his hand and twisted it.

  A flame shot out, catching John's apron on fire.

  "Hey, cut it out."

  "Give me the pendant," Snargao said. "And hurry it up."

  "Here's the pendant, stupid goblin," John said, picking up the tongs.

  "No..." I cried out, running to stop him.

  He swung his arm and threw the hot pendant at Snargao. The hobgoblin raised his hand and caught it.

  "Aargh," he screamed in pain. "You'll pay for that, human fool."

  I saw Sarah casting a spell, but instead of Golden Bolts to kill Snargao, she cast protection on John right before the hobgoblin's magic stream of blue energy hit him.

  "Get Snargao," I yelled as I pulled my sword.

  Benji, mace in hand, rushed toward the door.

  Snargao slipped out, replaced by a dozen goblin warriors.

  "Not in my town," I said, swinging my sword and missing.

  "Go after Snargao," Sarah yelled.

  I took a step toward the retreating hobgoblin, but I saw Jak across the street with a look of terror on his face as two goblins poked and prodded him with spears.

  He wasn't blood, and it was just a game, but my character needed to save him. I rushed across the street.

  "Why don't you two pick on someone your own size?" I asked.

  They peered over their shoulder as I swung.

  Critical Hit!

  Your sword goes through the neck of one goblin then continues through the neck of the other. Both are dead.

  Jak burst into tears at the scene.

  "Hide," I said. "You'll be okay."

  I hoped he listened as I turned and surveyed the battle-field. Benji and Sarah had taken out eight goblins which left two remaining.

  Benji and I ran toward them at the same time. They threw down their spears and raised their shaking arms into the air.

  "Don't kill us," one said.

  "We surrender," the other added.

  I stopped in front of them.

  "Hold on, Benji. We're going to interrogate these guys."

  "No, no, kill us instead," one with a slightly rounder face said.

  The other shoved him.

  "Shut-up, idiot."

  "Cut it out," Sarah yelled.

  Everyone shut-up and turned to her.

  "We're keeping them alive," she said.

  Combat is over!

  1620xp divided by two party members.

  You get +810xp (-10%) = 729 xp

  You have 10,094 experience points.

  Welcome to level four, Rogue.

  Your Weapon Craft (Blades) skill has increased to Basic Level 6 of 10

  Your training manual from Gord the master-rogue will help you.

  "Are you paying attention, Drex?" Sarah asked.

  "Yeah..."

  I wanted to check my stats, but I held off.

  We had more important things to do.

  ()xxxx[:::: Chapter 20 ::::>

  Resource Gathering Side-Quest

  SARAH

  I placed my palms outward, scaring the two goblins we'd captured.

  "Benji, make sure everything is clear and help Jak, will you?" Eric asked.

  "Sure thing, boss."

  "Tell us your names," I said in crude hobgoblin.

  "We ain't tellin' you nothin'," the round-faced one said.

  As the alpha-goblin, I went after him.

  "Do you want to live?"

  "Hey," Eric interrupted. "I thought we said no torture."

  "Yeah, I changed my mind."

  "Kali, I'm saddened by your actions."

  It's an act, Charlotte. Good cop and bad cop. Watch.

  "You wouldn't dare torture me after slaughtering five of my friends who were peacefully protesting."

  "What?" I tugged at his ear. "Tell me your names."

  "Hey, cut it out, you can't do that," he said.

  "My name is Krit. That's Izz. We're..."

  "Shut-up," Izz said, slapping him.

  "Cut it out," I said.

  Ugh. If I'd added Become Unknowable Humanoid, we'd be able to trick them.

  "I told you, Kali, but we had to do it."

  Eric pushed me out of the way.

  "Where is Snargao going?" he asked.

  I stalked off, doing my best to look pissed.

  "Are we going after Snargao, Kali?"

  What do you know about him?

  "Nothing, but what we know together."

  Eric stepped backwards toward me, keeping his eye on the goblins.

  "They're going to the ruins of Esterhollow. He's meeting Magi Inyontoo there to give him the cursed pendant."

  "Which one?" I asked to mess with him.

  "Huh?"

  "You mean the pendant that was supposed to be easy to get and destroy?"

  "I never said it would be easy to destroy."

  "Are you two arguing again?" Benji asked. "I swear you're an old married couple."

  "Have fun storming the castle," I said in a shrill voice.

  Eric and Benji laughed. What?

  "Why are you laughing, Be
nji?" I asked.

  "Um, because you two were laughing."

  I nodded my head slowly, staring at his face.

  He coughed and looked down.

  "Jak's okay, but he's scared."

  "Did you bring the goblins here Drex?"

  "No, but I'll get blamed for it, I bet."

  "We kinda led them here. They wanted that pendant."

  John Johansen walked out of the smithy.

  "Are you okay, Kali?" he asked, putting his hand on my shoulder.

  I smiled at him dreamily while Eric glared at us.

  "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you. We need to go get that pendant the hobgoblin stole. I want to have a way to destroy it first."

  John nodded.

  "I see. What you need is some Dawn Acid."

  "What's that?" Eric asked.

  "It's rare. The only person I know who would have the list of ingredients to make it would be Captain Riggard at Castle Casteel."

  Eric continued his bluntness.

  "Where's that?"

  "You know, idiot. To the northwest from here. North by northwest to be exact."

  "Will you come with us?" I asked.

  "No way," Eric said.

  Benji chimed in his dissatisfaction.

  "Is he joining the party before me?"

  "While I want to go, the threat of another looming war means I'm busy all the time with work. Adventuring is not in the cards for me." He looked at Eric. "I can't abandon my family."

  "That's it, we're out of here," Eric said.

  "Hold up. Maybe John can help us with horses? I'm not walking all the way to this castle. No way."

  "That's part of the adventure," Eric insisted.

  Benji took Jak's hand and led him away from our argument.

  "I can lend you three horses," John said. "Sales have been good, so the money is not a problem."

  He stared into my eyes with his ocean blue ones. I got lost.

  "Are you coming?" Eric asked a few steps away.

  "Not until we get our horses from the best blacksmith in the lands."

  John smiled.

  "Be right back," he said.

  As he walked back into the smithy, I approached Eric.

  "Horses are better than walking. Admit it."

  "They are, but..."

  "He's just an NPC, Eric. It's not like I can fall in love with him for real or anything."

  OOC Penalty:

  -10% xp on your next encounter

  Tip: At level five and above, you get xp for good role-playing in Tower of Gates.

  That's new, I thought.

  "Why'd you go OOC?" Eric asked.

  I saw Benji a couple hundred feet away.

  "Because I needed to talk to you, Eric, and not Drex. You're getting too into your character. Also, I just found out we get xp bonuses for good role-playing at level five and above."

  "What? That's cool." The excitement on his face faded. "The only thing I'm trying to do is get us out of this game."

  "You really want to leave?"

  He nodded and put a hand on my shoulder.

  "You mean an awful lot to me, Sarah."

  I loved hearing my true name on his lips.

  "Who is Sarah, Kali?"

  Oops. She's my...I'll tell you later.

  "That's fine, Kali. I'm here to help you."

  "You talking to your spider again?" Eric asked.

  I raised a finger.

  "Charlotte says you're more handsome than John."

  "Oh, great. Your spider thinks I'm more handsome."

  "Kali, I didn't..."

  Don't worry about it, Charlotte. I'm teasing him.

  "Be careful about your alignment, Kali."

  I tease people when I like them. That's all.

  "Oh..." Charlotte said in a knowing voice.

  "Ahem," Eric said. "Anything else while we're OOC?"

  "We need to let Benji join the party, eventually. How did your leveling go?"

  "I don't like not having skill points to devote, but I've got more hit points."

  "We should think about letting others join our party. In your house, there were six gaming consoles. Maybe a full-party does better?"

  I saw Benji approaching and changed the subject.

  "And that's why I love horses."

  Eric smiled and nodded his head.

  "Makes more sense now. Thanks, Kali."

  "You two are something else," Benji said.

  "Where's Jak?" Eric asked as he looked around. "And the goblins?"

  "Uh oh," Benji said. "He was right there."

  "The goblins must've taken him," I said.

  "Let's go after him."

  "We have more important matters, Drex."

  "Yeah," Benji said. "I want to show you my worth and join the party."

  Eric took a deep breath.

  "You're right. Our quest is most-important. Let's do this."

  New Side-Quest!

  Create Dawn Acid to Destroy Cursed Pendant of Visions.

  Find the list of ingredients to make Dawn Acid then collect them.

  You will receive 3,000 xp on completion.

  "Drex?"

  Eric nodded as John walked over. Another two men came out with three horses saddled up and ready to go. I smiled at the well-built blacksmith.

  "We need to leave right away," Eric said. "The goblins took Jak."

  "You're going after him?"

  "We need to go get help first. Snargao has almost taken us out a few times now."

  "I understand. Captain Riggard is your man, but he's busy. He might not see you right away."

  "Oh? How long will it take?" I asked.

  "Not more than a year or two," John said with a straight face.

  My eyes opened wide.

  "Are you kidding?"

  "No. He's one of the two most powerful men in the realm. The other is Magi Inyontoo."

  "You know of him?" Eric asked.

  "How do you not know him if you're a big fancy adventurer now?"

  "We know him well," Benji said.

  He always helped defuse situations.

  "Yeah, I had a run-in with him..."

  "I hate to be rude," I said, cutting Eric off. "But we should go."

  Eric walked over to a dark brown horse.

  "You're right," he said as he climbed on.

  "Here," John said, putting his strong hand on my arm.

  "Hmm?" I asked.

  "Are you in heat, Kali?" Charlotte asked.

  "No," I muttered out loud.

  John cocked his head to the side.

  "Are you okay? Do you need to rest?"

  "I'm fine..."

  "Come on, Kali, let's go," Eric said from his horse.

  Benji climbed onto a tan horse.

  "Here," John said. "I've got a map for you. While it's not very detailed, it'll give you a good view of the world outside your forest."

  "Thank you," I said.

  "Come on," Eric moaned.

  I turned and shot him an angry glare.

  "Stop being rude."

  My face softened as I turned back to John.

  "I appreciate your kindness."

  He smiled, those impossibly blue eyes sparkling.

  "Kali, are you sure?"

  Yes, I hissed in my mind. Quiet.

  "Tell Mayor Griggsby I'll be back," Eric called out.

  John waved.

  "Safe travels, you three."

  I smiled and walked backward to the last horse - white with black spots all over.

  We rode off to the opposite side of town than where we'd come in from the south.

  "I'm sorry I failed you, boss," Benji said to Eric.

  He calls him boss, but I'm trying to get him into our party.

  "It's fine, Benji. You're a good man following the righteous path. I bet you've taken a vow of celibacy, haven't you?"

  "Well, no, but..."

  "It doesn't matter."

  Eric grinned as he glanced over at me.

  I shook
my head then looked ahead.

  Was he getting too drawn into the game?

  Or did our silly quest matter?

  I needed to know I could quit the game.

  Was that too much to ask?

  ()xxxx[:::: Chapter 21 ::::>

  How Does Benji Know This Guy?

  ERIC

  After camping for the night, we woke up refreshed and ready for the next leg of our adventure. The game had a way of tricking you into thinking you were in control, but we weren't.

  I wasn't sure if Sarah had realized that yet. Her flirting with the NPC back in Harrisburg had disturbed me. Didn't she know I had feelings beyond just gaming with her?

  Time to check stats.

  > Stats

  Name: Drexmao ("Drex")

  Race: Human (Special)

  Class: Rogue

  Level: 4

  Experience Points: 10,094 (5,906 for next level)

  Alignment: +85 (Quite Good)

  Health: 58(58)

  Strength: 85 (+20%) (+10 magic amulet – unknown)

  Dexterity: 75 (+10%)

  Constitution: 70 (+5%)

  Intelligence: 75 (+10%)

  Wisdom: 55 (+0%)

  Charisma: 44 (+0%)

  My stats still suck, but I'm working my skills up.

  > Stats skills

  Your Current Skills

  Black Market Connections – Basic Level 2 of 10

  Monster Lore – Basic Level 3 of 10

  Weapon Craft – Blades - Basic Level 6 of 10

  Climbing – Advanced Level 1 of 5 (+5 basic levels w/Ring of Spider Climbing)

  Stealth - Basic Level 2 of 10

  Create Item - Basic Level 1 of 10

  Identify Item – Basic Level 6 of 10

  Language: Human, Common

  Sense Motive – Basic Level 6 of 10

  Bargaining – Basic Level 1 of 10

  "There's the castle," Benji said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

  In the distance, I saw Castle Casteel for the first time. Four walls twenty-feet high surrounded a massive stone complex with towers and other defenses.

  Sarah pointed ahead and to the left. A grizzly bear growled ferociously as a peasant cowered in fear.

  "Let's help him," I said, riding in that direction.

  Your Alignment has changed!

  +5 alignment you are now +90 (very good)

  "Wish we were near a river," Sarah said.

  "Huh?"