Lewd Kingdoms: Fallen Throne: A High Fantasy Digital Adventure

by Eden Redd

  Edric kept his gaze as a massive swath of darkness crawled toward them from the south. The glint of dying sunlight against raised spears heralded the enemy’s approach. Edric’s heartbeat quickened as the gleam of light against armored bodies seemed to envelope the entire southern countryside. The few trees in the distance were soon swarmed by the silent army as it marched, undeterred.

  Edric turned his head slightly to Leeta at his side, “Tell the others, the enemy approaches from the south.”

  Twelve

  Trees glowed yellow and orange as the sun touched the western horizon. Stars blinked in the sky one by one. Crows circled above, black eyes on the massive army moving across the pristine lands. Grass was trampled and trees were cut down as the black and blue force moved toward the walled city standing in the distance. The ground shook to boots pounding along with power. Grunts rose into the air like a decaying cloud, causing what few animals were in the area to scurry for safety.

  Edric, Faye, Claudia and Leeta stood above the southern gate, eyes on the massive force as it filled the lands. Faye watched with stern eyes, her blue tunic with arm and leg wrappings bathed in an ember glow of the setting sun. Claudia held her spear as she stood by the wall edge. She wore her lancer light armor, complete with serrated bracers on her forearms and a light helmet over her head. The helmet had a rough shape of a dragon, small horns and metal fin gracing the top of it. Leeta exchanged her black dress for heavy armor, covering her from neck to toe. Black hair was tied back as golden eyes watched the horde approaching. Over each of her shoulders was a mace handle.

  Edric wore his simple deep green robe, satchel at his side and whip at his belt. The player mentally called up his stats and placed them at the corner of his vision.

  Edric Temple

  Summoner

  Hit Points- 140/140

  Mana- 230/230

  Armor- 5

  Strength-20(+3)

  Intelligence- 32(+7)

  Wisdom- 28(+5)

  Dexterity- 25(+4)

  Stamina- 33(+7)

  Charisma- 45(+10)

  Spell Abilities

  Charm- 50

  Snare- 45

  Channel- (+STR/HP/DEX)

  Lock Stones (1)

  Leeta (Ogre)- HP-300/300

  Spells

  Summoning Spell- 10 Mana

  Summon Demon Spell- 2o Mana

  Summon Angel Spell- 40 Mana

  Summon Elemental- 25 Mana

  Light Spell- 5 Mana

  Mana Shield- 1 Mana for 2 points of Protection

  Primary Skills

  Spell Casting- 65

  Spell Craft- 36

  Gem Craft- 36

  Rune Craft- 27

  Enchantment- 20

  Melee- 40

  Wilderness Lore- 23

  Equipment

  Lightning Whip- 10 to 15 damage

  Whip Gem Slot-Lightning damage 10% Stun

  Whip Gem Slot- Power Surge, Extra 20 to 50 Damage

  Dark Green Robe- 5 Armor

  Healing Potions (8)- Heal 100 HP

  Mana Potions (8)- Restore 100 Mana

  Elixirs (3)- Heals all damage and restores Mana

  “Where’s Rayna,” Edric asked, not taking his eyes off the coming army.

  “She said she would be here soon,” Claudia said indifferently. “She said she had to dress for the occasion.”

  The lancer kept her attention on the distance, “I’ve never seen an army this big.”

  “Neither have I,” Faye added.

  “Elora,” Edric called.

  Elora appeared in her white robe, “Yes Lord Temple?”

  “The enemy is in our lands. Can you give me a number of how many trolls are out there?”

  Elora nodded. “They are still crossing the border but if it continues, there are roughly a hundred thousand troll soldiers and two Dread Lords.”

  “That’s not including any concubines, summoning monsters or undead,” Faye said plainly.

  “Do they need that many? We’re a tiny kingdom,” Claudia said.

  A feeling touched Edric’s senses. Turning his head, he gazed on Juna and Jinn climbing the stairs and walking to their side.

  “They’re afraid of her,” Edric said as he looked to Juna.

  The half-troll moved to the lord and ladies, gaze connecting with Edric, a slight sadness in her eyes before turning to the approaching army. Jinn crossed his arms before tilting his head forward and shaking it.

  The sun dipped lower, half of it behind the western horizon. The rumble of the massive force crawled along the city wall. Guards took hold of scorpions while others loaded them and the catapults. The entire southern rim of the city wall was brimming with loading and aiming. As the enemy moved closer, they halted about two hundred yards away, just shy of the city’s defensive range.

  The main force of trolls looked on with blank stares as others not wearing armor began piling thick pieces of wood to either side of the army. Another section of trolls broke off and pulled large flat pieces of lumber. The gathered lord and ladies of Elora watched as the trolls built a raised platform in mere moments. When the last nail was hammered in, a troll brought over a small set of stairs and placed them at the rear base. From the trolls, two figures moved. The armored brutes stood aside like water parting as a tall man in black robe climbed the steps, followed by another man in a black cloak.

  The tall robed figure carried a staff and his hood already pulled back. His head was pill shaped, tattoos covering nearly every part of his face, neck and bald head. Even from the distance, Edric could see a manic glow in his eyes. To the tall man’s right, the cloaked figure kept his hood up, face masked in shadows. Silently they stared up, bodies like statues.

  The click of boots caused Edric, Faye and Claudia to turn their heads. Rayna sauntered up to the battlements, thigh high boots with short heels clicking away with each step. Eyebrows rose as they watched the bard reach the top of the stairs, wearing a one-piece black bodysuit that covered her like a bathing suit. Curved metal plates graced her armored shoulders. Purple and black hair was out, moving to the gentle breeze. Elbow length gloves covered her arms and hands while she held her lute to her stomach.

  “What are you wearing,” Claudia asked, astonished.

  Rayna swayed her hips as she stepped closer, a wicked smirk on her black lips. “This is a concert and a party. I had to dress for it. Don’t want to disappoint my fans.”

  “It looks like it barely covers you,” Faye said with a small smile.

  Rayna let out a snobbish laugh. “I had it specially made. It may not look like much but the bonuses are pretty good.”

  “You look like you belong in the band Kiss,” Edric said with a light tone.

  Rayna stepped a little closer, using the lute to push up her cleavage. “When this is all over, we can fuck like rock stars.”

  Jinn barked out a laugh. Several chuckles rose up from the nearby guards. Faye kept her small smile while Claudia eyed the bard like a full course meal. The tension trickled away until a voice rose up.

  “I’m pleased the lord and ladies of Elora have finally gathered,” a voice boomed.

  Everyone moved to the battlement edge and looked down at the dread lords on their platform. The tall one held his staff by his head, a crystal glowing at the top.

  “If you don’t already know, my name is Maggar Wormwood and this is my associate, Kadvar Gray. We’ve come to re-open negotiations between the Kunarr kingdoms and the kingdom of Elora.”

  Edric took in a deep breath and projected his voice. “It doesn’t look like a negotiation,” the summoner’s voice answered, cracking halfway through.

  Maggar smiled brightly, “We have no qualms with Elora. We’ve come to barter peace.”

  “Not interested,” Rayna shouted.

  Edric ignored Rayna, mind working as he took in the massive horde. Their plans hinged on a defense he wasn’t sure they truly had. Internally he repeated to himself he had to be calm, cool and collected
or the entire kingdom would suffer.

  Maggar kept his freakishly wide eyes on the rulers, “I see you have negotiated before.” The dread lord chuckled, his small laughter filling the air between him and Elora’s walls. “Let’s make this precise and simple so all parties understand what’s at stake, shall we?”

  The dread lord took a step forward. “No harm will come to Elora, its people or its rulers if you provide a simple gift. Turn over Juna Reed to us and my entire army will return home. Relations will continue and your kingdom will prosper. The dragon eggs you protect will be allowed to hatch and grow into beautiful dragons. The war crimes of those you protect will be absolved and your kingdom will be sung by every bard across Lukken, how the lord and ladies saved every city and town from war.”

  Edric’s heart tightened in his chest. “What do you mean every city and town?”

  Maggar’s eyes glowed in the dying daylight. “Troll and undead armies under our command wait, poised to strike every enemy city and town across Lukken from here to Valtis. They wait on how our current negotiations shall end. The very future of Lukken rests on your decision.”

  “They can’t be serious,” Claudia said darkly. “They’re threatening everyone for Juna?”

  “You didn’t think your kingdom was worth all the trouble,” Maggar said slyly, a grin on his tattooed lips.

  Juna stood up, concern bleeding into her brow. Jinn moved to her side, a hand on her shoulder and a grim shadow over his eyes.

  Edric’s legs moved on automatic as he stepped to the half-troll, eyes wide. “Juna, there is no way they’re going to take you. We won’t allow it.”

  The half-troll turned to Edric, eyes holding a sad shadow. “Isn’t that a decision for all of you to make?”

  “It’s already been made,” Rayna said with a comforting smile. “Edric speaks for all of us.”

  Faye and Claudia nodded in agreement.

  Juna looked to them, her expression unchanged. “I...I cannot be the source of war. There are so many who cling to stay awakened. I sometimes hear their fear in my dreams. If I stay, their lives will be snuffed out before they have a chance to live their new lives.”

  Jinn shook his head, “You can’t let them bully you into surrendering. They are trying to use your honor against you.”

  “We are already at war,” Faye said with kind eyes. “We can’t trust them to keep to their word after all the horrible things they have done. They conquered the Middle Kingdoms and the Dragon Kingdoms. Valtis is the last city to fall. Once it’s taken, Lukken will belong to them, all of it.”

  Claudia stood tall. “We have fought them for a long time. They will use every advantage and once Lukken falls, their revenge will be complete. Honor demands we stop them, no matter the costs.”

  Edric stood before Juna, taking her hands into his. “Once they have you, they win. If we want to create a chance for the awakened to survive, we have to fight.”

  Juna’s eyes gleamed in the light of the setting sun. “Edric…I…”

  “Will fight,” Edric finished with a smirk.

  The shadows in Juna’s eyes faded and a new fire burned.

  Maggar nodded with his maddening bright smile. “I see we are at an impasse. Let me tip the scales.”

  Armored trolls stepped aside as bare-chested trolls moved through the ranks. Two groups stepped in unison, single file and long rods of wood with a giant metal cauldron in the center. Muscles bulged as the cauldrons were about six feet tall and just as wide. Breaking through the front line, they moved about twenty feet out and set the cauldrons down. Foul liquid bubbled in each cauldron as the wooden rods were pulled and the trolls marched back past the front line.

  Every eye on the battlements looked down at the cauldrons. Edric’s gaze hardened when Maggar handed his staff to a nearby troll. The dread lord held his hands out at his sides, bent at the elbow. Two trolls emerged from the ranks, each carrying a dragon egg. They were each the size of a large ostrich egg, covered in swirls of vibrant colors. One was placed in each hand as the dread lord moved to the space between the cauldrons, a mad grin on his lips.

  “The troll army behind me is merely here to witness what is to pass. My pets shall take Juna from you if she does not come willingly.”

  The dread lord moved to one cauldron and dropped the egg in. It disappeared below the bubbling surface without a sound. Moving to the next cauldron, he dropped the other one. Without a glance back, Maggar made his way back to the small platform.

  Edric’s heart quickened, knowledge dawning on him on why the eggs were hunted down.

  The cauldrons bubbled and spit, foul drops touching the grass and turning them black. Plants withered as the bubbling and churning grew into miniature storms. Elora’s people held their breath as the cauldrons shook violently. Maggar retook his staff as he turned around, a pleased expression filling his decorated features. Kadvar stared out, eyes drinking in the concerned expressions painting the ruler’s faces.

  One cauldron cracked and then the other. A moment later, they exploded into shards of sharp, steaming metal. Foul ichor soaked into the ground, killing everything for tens of feet. In the middle of each circle of death, something twisted mewled and moved. Scales, skin and limbs unfurled like some insect being born. Twisted hands and legs stretched out as bodies pulsed, growing bigger by the second.

  The sheer horror was enough to send a cold tremble down Edric’s spine. Claudia clutched at her spear, eyes round. Rayna looked away, unable to see anymore. Faye watched with grim determination. Juna and Jinn kept their hard gaze. The guards along the battlements stared with curious revulsion.

  The mewling turned into powerful roars. One creature stood on two legs as it grew bigger and bigger. Two hands flexed with spear like talons. Under the right arm, a third arm stabbed out from the armpit, growing longer. Its body was slightly hunched as a razor snout extended. Red eyes glared with insane fury as black and red scales sprouted in patches along its form. Heads tilted upwards as the three-armed monster grew to its fill height of nearly a hundred feet tall with wide shoulders and flexing its malformed snout.

  The second one stayed on all fours, growing larger. Black and green scales sprouted along its almost canine form. Razor spines ran from its head, down its back and along a serpentine tail. A club formed at the end of the tail with three bone-like prongs. The twisted dragon monster’s face sent a chill through Elora’s battlements. Clusters of eyes opened on each side, black as night. It gave the monster an alien, spider-like gaze as they blinked in unison. The monster stood thirty feet at the shoulder as foul saliva dripped from its maw.

  “One night, all dragons will be as beautiful as my children,” Maggar laughed. “My Drell-kai will roam Lukken, eating the weak to make room for the strong.”

  Edric’s heart sank in his chest; monsters that big would break through their defensive wall like a sandcastle on the beach. The little edge they had now didn’t make a difference. Much like their neighboring city of Varikk, they would be crushed before they had a chance to truly fight back.

  Faye pressed her hand to Edric’s shoulder. The summoner turned his gaze to the wood elf, her face a calm mask.

  “Evil will not win,” Faye said with quiet conviction.

  Edric gave a head nod before standing tall and taking a deep breath.

  “Juna is staying with us,” Edric shouted. “Create a thousand monsters and we will slay them all!”

  The power in his shout sent a ripple through the battlements. Eyes hardened as every guard and player looked out to the army of monsters. Courage connected each player and NPC. The sun had nearly set, the last rays covering the kingdom in a warm light.

  Maggar kept his mad grin. “Truly, your courage is the song of legends. I am in awe of your convictions as you stare in the eyes of death. If I were closer, I believe I too would question my motivations on taking on your kingdom.”

  The dread lord tilted his head, darkness covering his eyes and his wide smile melting away.

&nb
sp; “But such things are fairy tales in a world gone mad.”

  From behind the platform, a troll stepped out, holding a bound person, a sack over their head. A quick kick sent the person to their knees. Kadvar reached over, took hold of the hood and pulled it away in one smooth motion.

  Edric’s eyes widened as his heart shattered in his chest. The tiny sliver of courage died as he looked on the woman kneeling on the wooden platform. Even at that distance, her face was unmistakable. Haggard eyes looked up, scars crisscrossing her face. Disheveled brown hair framed her pale face as she stayed silently on her knees.

  “Elora…,” the summoner whispered.

  Faye, Claudia and Rayna turned their eyes to Edric but Faye’s heart cracked in her chest. The appearance was unmistakable as they all knew the city core Edric had created in her image.

  “She was real,” Claudia said in sad confusion.

  Maggar turned a kind gaze to Elora, his hand moving into his robe and pulling out a long dagger. Taking two steps closer, he stood by her, lifting the dagger up for all to see.

  “For an awakened, she has a tremendous spirit. I simply wish I had more time to try several more experiments.”

  Maggar turned his attention to Edric in the distance. “Death is such a strange concept in our world. You immortals can be killed and come back after some time. Even the awakened will come back, confused and with a handful of memories. With time, they can be just like their former selves. With each passing day, the awakened become more like you, effectively becoming immortal. You can understand why such immortality is a threat to the gods of death. If death becomes a condition one can overcome, death loses its power. This is something that cannot come to pass.”

  Maggar brought the dagger down and fiddled with it in his hands. “My lord Harkkon charged me with overcoming this strange ability to come back from death. When interrogating immortals and awakened, I learned such secrets. I learned of the outside reality. I learned we are all part of a simulation fantasy world. I learned about concepts and skills such as coding and programs. Fascinating knowledge that aided me on building weapons that could disrupt the very fabric of your digital bodies.”