The Land: Swarm: A LitRPG Saga (Chaos Seeds Book 5)

by Aleron Kong

  Richter took his new scroll case out of his bag. “Show me how it works,” he said, handing it over to Bartle.

  The Scholar took the Scroll Case of Monster Attraction and examined it with great curiosity, “This is old.” He turned it around and examined it further, “Very old! These cases are specially made with a preservation enchantment to maintain scrolls. If the case is suffering, though, there may only be dust inside,” he warned.

  “I won’t hold anything against you if there is,” Richter said.

  “Very well, my lord. I will need to blow out the lantern, however. I don’t want to risk even a shuttered flame near such a potentially fragile document. Can you create a magical light? I also need loose sheets of enchanted paper. One measure of powdered crystal should be enough to enchant twenty scrolls. Simply sprinkle the crystal on top of a stack of the chamberlain’s blank paper. You may also want to create more enchanted ink. I believe you used most of the first bottle in making the spellbook.”

  Richter nodded. Seeing no reason to skimp, he summoned nine mist lights. After poking his sleeping familiar, she begrudgingly summoned another eleven, nearly emptying her mana pool. Then she blew a small gust of wind into his ear as punishment for waking her and then settled back into sleep on his shoulders. He shook his head at his sassy dragonling. The fact that such a small creature could have a mana pool of over six hundred was astounding to him. Richter looked at Randolphus and said, “Distribute these around the catacombs as you see fit. I plan on having enough mist lights to cover the entire village soon.”

  With twenty mist lights, it was almost too bright in the room, but the soft grey light didn’t hurt anyone’s eyes. Richter used another two measures of crystal to make the blank scrolls and more enchanted ink. Bea extinguished the lantern. Now ready, Bartle opened the case and gingerly took the scroll out. The paper was yellowed, and the edges were cracked. Richter examined it and saw that the scroll itself only had two points of durability left out of an original total of fifteen. Bartle examined the scroll, obviously fascinated by such an old document until Randolphus gave one of his characteristic throat clears. The scribe came back to himself.

  “I must again state that I can make no promises, Lord Richter. My Copy skill has an almost 100% success rate with items in good repair, but this… Suffice it to say that having powerful magic constrained by such a moldy and weak scroll might cause a reaction with my magic.”

  “What type of reaction?” Randolphus asked with concern.

  The Scholar started to reply, but Richter forestalled the answer. He needed to see if this could work and saw no reason to delay trying. After all, he possessed another scroll that the Scholar could try to copy if the first attempt was unsuccessful. “I’m sure it will be fine, Randy.”

  “But, my lord!” the chamberlain protested.

  “I’m sure Bartle is up to this task, aren’t you?” Richter asked, looking at the Scholar. Randolphus turned his gaze to the man as well.

  The scribe quailed slightly under such scrutiny, but then said with false confidence, “Of course, Lord Richter.” Bartle placed the steepled fingers of his left hand on the scroll and his other hand on the stack of blank paper. A glow surrounded his hand and then the scroll began to pulse with the same brown light. When sparks started flying out to the sides of the magical document, Richter started to feel a bit of concern. The feeling worsened when Bartle snatched his hand back, but it was when the scroll exploded that he was completely sure that something was wrong.

  Papers flew through into the air, and the loud bang echoed in the enclosed room, deafening Telena and the four men. Richter fell to the ground, stunned. When he sat up a few seconds later, he blinked randomly, dazed. Looking over, he saw Randolphus glaring at him and moving his mouth in a furious pantomime. Richter’s addled mind just couldn’t figure out why the chamberlain would go to the trouble of pretending to be furious, but not actually yell out loud. Mystery or not, the chaos seed watched Randolphus really commit to the act. The chamberlain’s face even turned red as he pointed first at the scorch mark on the table where the scroll had been, then at the mess, then at his own ears. Richter really began to enjoy the show when Randolphus stopped looking at him and instead started stomping around in a circle while throwing his arms in the air, silently screaming his anger to the gods.

  CHAPTER 28 -- Day 112 -- Kuborn 2, 15368 EBG

  Luckily, the damage done was actually minimal. It was more of a very expensive light and sound show than a true explosion. Once Richter got his senses back, he and Alma cast Weak Slow Heal on everyone, and their deafness debuff disappeared. The dragonling also bit the shit out of his finger. She had never done that before, but apparently being blown up while sleeping and finding out that it was his fault was her trigger. She flew out of the room as soon as the spells had been cast. Randolphus kept opening and closing his jaw while glaring at his lord, but once Richter apologized for not heeding his warnings, the chamberlain seemed mostly mollified.

  Bartle took a bit more cajoling to calm down. Richter found this to be completely understandable seeing as how the tips of the man’s fingers had been blackened by the exploding scroll. After being healed and given a few minutes, the scribe had been able to collect himself.

  When Richter pulled out the second monster scroll case, though, the Scholar got all riled up again. All told, it took about thirty minutes before Bartle would try his Copy Talent for a second time. He only agreed in the end because the second scroll had survived the ravages of time to a greater extent and had a significantly higher durability once removed from the case. Richter also had to agree to stand next to the Scholar while he attempted to use his Talent again. The unspoken understanding was that whatever happened to Bartle would also happen to Richter. Randolphus and Bea wisely waited by the door. Telena looked panicked so Richter told her she could wait down the hall. She beat a speedy retreat.

  Bartle once again placed one hand on the unfurled scroll and another on a stack of paper. Closing his eyes and crinkling his face in anticipation of calamity, the Scholar’s hand began to glow again. This time, the scroll and the stack of papers adopted the glow, and no sparks flew. A second later, Bartle let out a relieved sigh and opened his eyes. “Done.”

  “That’s it?” Richter asked.

  “That is it,” Bartle said brightly. He gingerly rolled the original parchment back up and placed it in the case. He handed it back to Richter. Then he peeled back the top four sheets of parchment from the stack and handed them over as well. Randolphus and Bea rejoined them

  You have found: Scroll of Monster Attraction (Luminous). Durability: 12/12. Item Class: Common. Quality: Well Crafted. Weight: 0.7 kg. Traits: This is a Scroll of Monster Attraction. Activating this scroll will attract the strongest monster within a one-mile radius. This scroll will only affect creatures with a luminous soul level or lower. x 4

  Richter smiled. Woot! He owed Basil a fruit basket. The trader-turned-diplomat had been right; the Scholars were worth every copper. He looked at the rest of the stack, “Why only four?”

  Bartle pointed to the rest of the stack. The remaining pages were still blank. “Each level of my Copy Talent allows for two copies to be made. Before you ask, copies cannot be made of copies and a document that has been copied can never be copied again. This includes blank books. For instance, if you asked me to make copies of some the books you had just bought, and then you created a spellbook with one, I could not make more copies of it afterward.”

  Richter’s face wrinkled. The Copy Talent was awesome, but it seemed like The Land itself conspired to compartmentalize information. “What happens if one of you just open the book and write down what you see? Using that Perfect Scribe Talent. It would take longer, but you could still make a copy.”

  “We could do exactly that, Lord Richter,” Bea said. “and the result would indeed look perfect, but it would not be a magical document. Only the Copy Talent can accomplish that. It not only replicates the writing, but it also replicates
the magic inherent in the book. Simply trying to write down what is seen in another book will make an imitation that is magically moribund.” Bea was still casting furtive glances at Richter’s new Book of Glitterdust.

  Richter had already assumed that would be the answer. The chaos seed looked at his new book and thought how it was strange that he hadn’t absorbed the spell information just by writing it down. Every pen stroke and whorl that would sink into his mind if he triggered the spellbook had been put there by him. When he searched his mind, though, he still didn’t know how to cast Glitterdust. Apparently, there were no shortcuts.

  The lord of the mist village held the book up, “I am willing to let you two examine this book, but I want something in return. I need you,” he said to Bea, “to get whatever that bookmaking Talent is. I have a feeling that I am going to need a great deal more blank books than we have.” He looked at Bartle, “What I need from you, is for you to purchase the third level of the Copy Talent.”

  “I have already told you that I am saving my talent points for a more expensive Talent, Lord Richter,” Bartle protested. The man’s expression grew guarded. Richter could almost read his mind. He could see the Scholar’s fear that he might be just another noble who would force his own agenda.

  Bea spoke up as well, “The Writing Tools Talent, while useful, is a waste for me. I must choose talents that will increase my attractiveness to one day obtain a position in a noble household. Unlike fighters, experience is very difficult for us to obtain.”

  Richter smiled like the cat that had gotten the cream. He had already known that would be their protest and had a response prepared, “I might have a solution for that. Have you ever heard of the War Leader skill? More specifically, the Power Level badge?”

  Both of the scribes’ faces had lit up at hearing how they could gain experience on a daily basis. Bea already had ten talent points in reserve, and he agreed to purchase the book making Talent as soon as Richter ran out of spell books. The chaos seed also handed over his new spellbook as a sweetener. Since Bea was only interested in examining Olde Writ, and not the spell itself, Richter gave him one day to copy the book. The copy might not be a true magical book, but it would still serve the Scholar’s purposes. In return, the scribe agreed to provide Richter, free of charge, all of the books he would need.

  Convincing Bartle was more difficult. Apparently the third rank of Copy cost sixty TPs. When Bartle explained what he was saving his points for, Richter actually agreed that it might be more useful. The Talent was called Transmission. At level one, it allowed two Scholars with the Talent to pass written messages to each other, even if they were separated by hundreds of miles. Level two allowed the Scholars to transmit voices in real time. The third level apparently allowed each Scholar to create a virtual room. When that was done, people on opposite sides of the world could interact with each other will full visual, auditory and tactile sensation intact. The Talent was prohibitively expensive, though, with the first level costing a whopping one hundred talent points. Even though Richter desperately wanted to be able to copy spellbooks, he ultimately agreed to help level each Scholar intermittently and told them that there was a permanent place in the Mist Village for talented people of character. The thoughtful look on Bartle’s face showed that Richter’s words had taken root.

  With everything done, Richter stood up. He told Bartle to meet him at the village gate after lunch the following day and to see Krom to be outfitted in armor first. Richter had decided to take one noncombatant out each day. He would also assign a five-man squad whose sole duty was to protect that person. The squad wouldn’t be added to the war party, of course, making the division of experience less. Bartle said he would be ready and waiting.

  It was about eight at night, and it was time for the feast. The Scholars started to follow him, but he held up a hand and reminded them that they had an appointment with Sumiko. Bea protested, asking if testing their loyalty was really necessary. Richter just smiled and told Telena to escort them to find Sumiko. He also told the guard what she was to do with her sword if either of the men proved false. The blood drained slightly from their faces as they saw the seriousness in his gaze. Richter didn’t start chuckling until he was well out of sight. He thought it was a pretty good joke. Well, it was mostly a joke.

  As he walked out of the catacombs, he saw another minimized prompt blinking in the corner of his vision.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 16 in Trade. 0.5% bonus to buying and selling per level.

  Quest Update: You have lent the Scholar Bea your Book of Glitterdust. You have fulfilled the optional requirement of the Quest: The Right Words.

  Reward: Your relationship with Bea has improved from Neutral to Kind.

  Reward: 313 experience (base 500 x 1.25 x 0.5).

  Every little bit helps, Richter thought. The fact that his Trade skill went up was particularly gratifying. He was sure that Abbas had taken him for a ride when they had last traded, and he needed to start leveling the playing field. Richter dismissed the notifications and kept walking. Not many villagers were walking around, but he was sure he would find them in the northern meadow. Alma flew ahead at his request to start creating more mist lights to hang around the Quickening. Richter wasn’t sure what this birth would look like, but he didn’t want to miss a thing.

  The chaos seed enjoyed his walk through the village. It seemed like every time he looked there was some new change: a path worn through the grass or flowers planted in a sunny spot. The few villagers still around smiled and bowed their heads as he passed. Richter greeted each of them in kind. When he was almost to the hill, he paused because he had the strangest feeling that someone was approaching behind him. Richter turned but didn’t see anything. A moment later, however, Futen phased into view twenty feet away.

  “Greetings, Lord Richter,” came the deadpan greeting.

  “Hello, sexy face,” Richter said jokingly. “Did you make any noise before you spoke? I could swear that I felt you coming before you made yourself visible.”

  “I made no sounds, my lord. It is possible that your bond to your Place of Power has deepened. That could, in turn, strengthen your bond to me.”

  “Maybe,” Richter said, thinking. He started walking again, and Futen floated quietly beside him. The feeling he had had was similar to his knowledge about the location of his war party members. He cocked his head to one side and wondered if that meant his Map Making skill was involved.

  Richter opened a translucent version of his map that superimposed against his field of vision. His war band hadn’t been disbanded so he could still see exactly where Terrod and Sion were. Of Beyan, there was no sign, unsurprisingly as the gnome was in another dimension for his trial. Thinking about Nexus made Richter’s face crinkle in irritation, but he pushed the ebony giant out of his mind. Richter zoomed in on his map until it was only ten feet around him. He didn’t see Futen, but that could have just been because he already knew the remnant was there. The chaos seed stopped walking and performed a little experiment. He closed his eyes and ordered Futen to move to another location nearby. After counting to five, he examined his map with his eyes still closed. The picture remained the same, but off to the side, there was a slight distortion on the map. Focusing on it, a prompt appeared.

  Do you wish to add the location of those you are powerfully bonded with to your Traveler’s Map? Yes or No?

  Richter chose ‘Yes’ and suddenly the distortion formed into a small grey orb. He could see the remnant on his map! Zooming out, he was also able to see exactly where Alma was. Even more importantly, his ability to see through her eyes was reflected on the map. He could now see what she saw in real time! Sion and Terrod were also on the map, though he couldn’t see through their eyes. Strangely, Elora didn’t show up on the map. Testing a theory, he dissolved the war party, and Terrod disappeared from his interface. So my Companions won’t automatically show up on my map, he thought. Sion was still there because he had the mapping ring, but
he couldn’t count on tracking Terrod or Elora. Still, Richter was happy about his increased capabilities.

  Richter further expanded his view, searching for the shale adder, but to no avail. He hoped it would show up when it was completely tamed. Either way, the ability to know what Alma saw as a real-time feed was awesome! It meant that she could update his domain from an aerial view! Whether this was only possible because of their increased Psi Bond or whether it had always been an option and he had just been too much of a dumbass to try, he didn’t know, but would take it!

  The chaos seed quickly climbed the hill to the northern meadow and took in the sight before him. Mist lights hung in mid-air, forming a lighted path between where he stood and the Quickening. More grey-white lights hung around the celestial tree. His people had brought up the long tables from the feast area, and he was happy to see that they had not bothered with his own “high table.” Tonight was a night to be with his people and celebrate life, not sit above them. Those with musical abilities were already playing, and the communal table was heavily laden with food. He was especially happy to see that the mist workers he had tasked to cut the grass had already done a great deal of work. He could make out one of them continuing to work a bit to the west.

  When Richter got closer to the impromptu feast area, one of the villagers raised a mug of whatever he was drinking and shouted, “Cheers to Lord Richter! Lord Richter and the Mist Village!”

  Other shouts of, “Here here,” and “I need another drink,” rang out. There was, of course, also the obligatory call of, “Gnomes Rule!”

  He waved to all of them as he walked into the dining area. Everyone got quiet while he approached the table. Richter grabbed a mug and poured himself a large ale. Then he hopped up onto one of the tables in one smooth jump. The chaos seed’s Strength and Agility were high enough that he was able to do this even in full armor. The casual display of power and prowess was not lost on his people, who cheered him. The abilities of his body made the move easy enough that he didn’t even spill a drop of his drink. Richter looked out at his people, and said, “Greetings, my people!”