Quest for Camlan: A LitRPG Adventure (Camlan Realm Book 1)

by A. T. Gilbert

  Now that I’m so close to food and rest I don’t know how much more patient I can be. I offer my thanks and hurry up the road.

  Chapter 21

  That whole business about Allynton’s overbearing lord is interesting. I don’t know what to think. I don’t make it more than a dozen feet before I come upon an older man carrying an armload of books. They are stacked higher than his head and he is inching along, slowly in an effort to keep them balanced. As I watch, a skinny tortoise-shell cat weaves between his feet, causing him stumble. The top five books from his pile topple and fall onto the dirt road.

  “I’ll get that,” I call, running to help him. I kneel to pick up the books, blowing dust off of them as I lift them.

  “Oh, heavens. Thank you. I thought I could do it but I didn’t account for that blasted cat.”

  Quest offered: Help Allynton’s Bookseller

  Description: The town’s bookseller is dropping books everywhere. Carry the books for him and follow him back to the shop.

  Reward: +150 XP

  “I’ll carry these,” I volunteer. “Just lead the way.”

  He takes me down a narrow alley behind buildings. I can’t keep track of the turns and know I’ll never find my way back. But he leads me through what seems to be the hidden back door of a bookshop, so it’s likely I won’t have to.

  Quest Completed: Help Allynton’s Bookseller

  Description: He never would have gotten all those books back without you.

  Reward: +150 XP, +5% regard with Bookseller

  “You can just set those here,” he says, indicating a narrow wooden chair whose seat already holds a stack of cloth-bound books. “You’re new in town, aren’t you?”

  “I am. Just passing through. Looking for a place to eat and stay the night.”

  “Oh, well Charlie will take good care of you.”

  “That’s what the guards at the gate said.” I surreptitiously look around. “You don’t by chance have a map of Camlan do you?”

  “That I do. You lost?”

  “Not lost, exactly. More like trying to get my bearings.”

  “I see.” He turns down a narrow aisle of books and leads me to the very end where a chest of drawers in every size waits. The wide, deep drawer on the bottom is pulled open to reveal a stack of tightly rolled sheets. His map collection.

  “Let’s see.” He digs through the top level before he finds what he’s looking for. “Here we are. This is a good general map of the realm that will help you find your way.”

  Would you like to purchase: Map of Camlan?

  Cost: 15 Gold Crowns

  Attention: You do not have enough gold to make this purchase.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I seem to be a little short.”

  He looks at me knowingly. “How short?”

  “All of it?”

  “Hm. Well, we don’t have much call for maps around here. Likely it will still be available when you do have the gold.” He stows the map back and closes the drawer.

  I guess my increased regard with him doesn’t extend as far as free items. I opt not to point that out to him though.

  “Is there anything else I can help you with while I’m here, sir?”

  “It’s Mayor, actually. Mayor Barnaby of Allynton.”

  I must have seemed surprised, because he continued. “Oh, yes. I know Lord Crimson acts like he is in charge of all of us, but in fact it is I.”

  “In that case I’m honored to meet you. I was thinking I might have to deal with Lord Crimson—”

  “Oh, you still might,” Mayor Barnaby interrupts. “It all depends on what his new scheme is. I’ve been watching him lately and he seems to be getting ready for something. But between my duties as the Mayor and running my shop, I just don’t have the time to investigate thoroughly.”

  He looks me over.

  “Since you’re new to town, you might be the perfect candidate. You wouldn’t be available to help me out, would you?”

  Didn’t I already tell him that? Stupid NPC scripts.

  Quest Offered: The Things You Learn When You Pay Attention

  Description: Gather information about what Lord Crimson is planning and report back to Mayor Barnaby

  Reward: +250 XP, +20% regard with Allynton, 10% discount on all items in bookshop, All-Weather Green Cloak

  All that plus a discount on the map I still need to buy? “I’d be happy to help.”

  “Good. I have a suspicion we need to move quickly. He usually isn’t quite so obvious with his machinations so if even I am able to notice changes he must be pretty close to springing it on us.”

  “Isn’t there anything you can do to stop him?”

  “Not without cause or evidence. He has a lot of power in this town. And a lot of admirers. I’m not about to get an angry mob beating down my door unless I’m absolutely confient.”

  “Any idea where I should start?”

  He thinks for a moment. “You’re headed to the Whispering Fox Inn, right? This time of night there is always a crowd getting dinner. You’re bound to find someone there who knows something. If not, try any of the other shop owners in town. Most of them work with Lord Crimson, if not directly for him. But be careful. Don’t raise suspicion. It’s not easy to tell who is on his payroll—who is loyal to him and who is not.”

  I thank the Mayor as he walks me to the front door of the shop.

  “Follow this road down just a block. You can see the town square from here. Look for the two-story building with the stone steps and the sign of the fox.”

  Chapter 22

  Allynton is so small it only takes me a few minutes to find the square with the Whispering Fox Inn featured prominently. It seems as though much of the townspeople are out at this time of night. Teenage girls wait their turn to pump water from the well. Men lead horses away from the square, laden with goods they had hoped to sell. A small flock of chickens peck at the bugs in the grass near the blacksmith’s shop. Other than the whole question of hygiene and running water, I’ve always thought that I would like living in a small medieval town just like this.

  I jog up the few steps into the inn and push open the heavy wooden door. Inside, square, wooden beams support the second floor and the walls are bare, but clean. The common room is crowded with patrons and I wonder how many of the townspeople come here regularly for their meals. Wide wooden tables and benches fill the center of the room, with small clusters of chairs around the edge. A gigantic fireplace takes up most of the wall on the far side with a narrow hallway leading behind it.

  It’s not clear which of the men in here is Charlie, the innkeeper, but it is very clear who this inn belongs to. Deep crimson tapestries line the walls at intervals. There is no crest or sigil, just a solid, decisive red, marking this as Lord Crimson’s territory.

  A young woman, wiping her hands on her apron, greets me at the door.

  “You’re a stranger here, aren’t ya?” she says. “Take a seat anywhere you like and I’ll be there in a minute to set you up.”

  I remember just in time that I still don’t have any money. I should have taken some from that pixie nest. He never would have missed it. “Thank you, but I was hoping to talk to Charlie.”

  She looks at me a little suspiciously but nods. “Wait here.”

  I move to the side of the entryway as more patrons push through the door. The crowd and the acoustics in this room muddy the sound, but snatches of conversation reach me.

  “You know, the trick with any beast is to know how to calm it.”

  “Lord Crimson gave me twenty-four hours, which is more than I expected from him.”

  “A dozen eggs in one meal. Can you imagine?”

  “What are you going to do, bleed on me?”

  Two guards in red livery push past me and the room goes strangely quiet for a beat. It’s not hard to guess who those men are. I watch them approach the least crowded corner of the room and the men previously occupying the chairs vacate without even a discussion. Lord Crimson must
be extremely powerful or extremely dangerous. Or both.

  “Yes, sir. What can I do for you?”

  A tall, busty woman wearing shades of blue, curly blonde hair piled high on her head, greets me at the door.

  “You’re Charlie?”

  “I am. Charlie Connell at your service. Charlie’s short for Charlotte, love,” she adds in response to my confused expression. “Were you wanting a room here?”

  “I would, yes, if you have one available. But I’m actually short on coin at the moment. I was wondering if you know of any work in this lovely village that I could do to pay my way.”

  She looks at me a bit askance. “Perhaps, but I’m not certain how Lord Crimson would feel about us giving work to a stranger. Allowing room and board for a passing traveler is one thing. Work for hire, though …”

  She trails off. I’m half tempted to go see Lord Crimson myself to get this settled once and for all. If all my interactions in Allynton are going to be like this, I should just move on now and try something else in the game.

  “Here’s what we do,” she continues. “If you’ll run an errand tonight, we’ll call it even. But, tomorrow morning, you’ll need to clear out or go see Lord Crimson yourself.”

  Quest Offered: All about Town

  Description: Charlie, the innkeeper of Whispering Fox, has some errands for you to run. Follow her instructions and return with the requested items (Apothecary: 6 ounces of wormwood; Bernadette: Four dozen eggs; Tailor: Repaired quilt; Blacksmith: Large cast iron pot)

  Reward: +180 XP, +20 Gold Crowns, room and board for one night at Whispering Fox Inn.

  “That sounds great,” I say, accepting the quest. “Since I’ll be staying here overnight, is it at all possible to…uh… make this my home?” I never know how to talk to NPCs. Do they understand game slang? Or do I have to go full-on RPG to be understood?

  “Your new save spot? Sure but only after you speak to Lord Crimson. We can settle all of that tomorrow. First, though, let’s get you fed. I can tell it’s been awhile.”

  Well, I guess that answers that.

  The Waters of Cai helped restore my health, but only partially so far. She’s right. I’m famished. Charlie shows me to a long bench among other townspeople and has one of her servers bring me a big bowl of rabbit stew. It’s hearty, warm and the right amount of peppery, and I start shoveling it into my face as I try not-too-obviously to eavesdrop on the conversations going on around me.

  “Yeah, that’s why my ma said I should just go see what Lord Crimson can do for me.” My neighbor to the left is a gangly, greasy kid of maybe sixteen or so, his voice rising as he gets more agitated. “I said, ‘Ma I don’t want to be giving him any more power over me than he already has.’”

  “And what did she say?” The older woman sitting across from the kid sees me paying attention and gives me a wink before pushing her gray hair back from her face.

  “Well, she, uh … Well, I didn’t say exactly that to her,” the kid stammers.

  The older man and woman sitting across the table both laugh loudly.

  “Boy, we know you don’t have the balls to talk to my sister that way,” the man says. “You’ll never get out from under her power over you. Never mind Lord Crimson.”

  “I will too,” the kid says under his breath before taking a mouthful of bread.

  “Maybe this gentleman sitting next to you can point you in the direction of honest work,” the woman says, indicating me.

  My mouth is still full of stew. I shake my head as I hurry to finish chewing, swallow and be polite.

  “Not me. Sorry. I’m just passing through town. I may not even be here tomorrow. We’ll have to see what Lord Crimson says.”

  All three of my new dinner companions nod understandingly.

  “We’ve all been there, friend,” the man says. He extends his hand to shake mine. I don’t even want to think about how dirty it must be. But, then again, mine is no better. “Name’s Bruce,” he continues. “This is Bella and our nephew Gregory.”

  “Pleased to meet you. I’m Asher. SirAsh3r.”

  “Ooooh, sounds impressive. Lord Crimson will either hate you for your title or try to charm you so it rubs off on him,” Bella jokes.

  “So tell me about this lord. Everyone I’ve talked to in this village seems a little bit afraid of him. Does he own all of this or what?”

  “Not all. But acts like he does.” Bella makes a face. This is clearly not the first time she has ranted about Lord Crimson and his pretensions.

  “Now, Bella, be fair. The lord does own much of the farmland surrounding Allynton as well as many of the prominent buildings in town.”

  “Like this inn?”

  “Like this inn.” Bruce nods. “The blacksmith, the tailor and a couple others. Not the businesses themselves. Just the buildings. But that, plus the amount of farm labor and soldiers he employs gives him just enough leverage to call the shots around here.”

  “Not all of them,” his wife protests.

  “Not all of them. Our mayor got elected without Lord Crimson’s approval, for example. But enough of the shots.”

  “Thinks he’s the boss. Uses his goons to push us around until he gets what he wants,” Gregory mumbles. For all his supposed bravery he seems to not want the red-clad soldiers in the corner to be able to hear him.

  “Yeah, I get it. I know someone just like that.” A memory of Jargonaut jogging away from me right after he knocked me to the ground flashes through my mind. “I don’t know how to fight that kind of guy except to just avoid him.”

  “That hasn’t worked so far,” says Bella, shaking her head. “There has to be another way. I keep telling Mayor Barnaby, there are more of us than there are of him.”

  My gaming senses tingle. There’s a quest here somewhere. A big one. If I can solve this problem for Allynton there could be a huge wave of XP coming toward me. I keep my mouth shut for now, just listening. Waiting. Focusing. That’s what has helped me progress at every step ’til now.

  “Are you close with the mayor?” I ask.

  She snorts a laugh. “You could say that. He was my childhood sweetheart. Probably would have ended up killing each other if we had married, but as friends we’re a good team. He’s always willing to hear my thoughts on the town.”

  “He’s always willing to drink while you talk at him, is what you mean,” her husband teases. “Mayor Barnaby is a smart man. He’s not going to try to take on Lord Crimson just because you think he should.”

  “We’ll see. You know how convincing I can be, Bruce.”

  He laughs.

  I have finished my stew and am newly energized to get moving and get to leveling up. I stand, pick up my bowl and step back over the bench.

  “It was lovely to meet you all,” I say with an awkward half-wave. “Maybe we’ll meet again, if Lord Crimson allows it.”

  Bruce laughs again, but Bella pushes her lips into a thin line and Gregory looks worriedly at the soldiers. I will have to be very careful about who I make Lord Crimson jokes to.

  Chapter 23

  Charlie is working behind the bar and thanks me when I bring her my used dish.

  “That’s a big help, SirAsh3r. Doesn’t earn you any extra coin, though,” she jokes. “I have your list of errands, if you’re ready.”

  I nod. These low-level, easy conversation quests are a mindless way to earn XP. I’ll learn the layout of the town and level up by the end of the night.

  “Wonderful.” She hands me a folded piece of paper. “Once you return I’ll have your room ready.”

  I push my way through the growing crowd by the door and make my way back outside to the town square. My game clock tells me it’s just after 8 p.m., and it looks like I still have a few hours of sunlight left. This is so weird, but I guess people in Alaska or Scotland get days like this every summer.

  Before I can look at Charlie’s list, I get a message from the game.

  Attention: Rest Required

  You must rest six
of every twenty-four hour period while playing in total immersion. If you do not find a bed to rest in by 12 a.m., you will be logged out of the game.

  Wow, they’re serious. Must be some safety issues with keeping your brain under total immersion virtual reality for so long. I’m pretty pleased with myself for already having found a room. I’ll be done with this quest long before midnight.

  I open up Charlie’s note and formulate my strategy.

  Please collect:

  Apothecary: 6 ounces of wormwood

  Bernadette: Four dozen eggs

  Tailor: Repaired quilt

  Blacksmith: Large cast iron pot

  I look up and around the square. I still don’t have a map of any of this, so I’ll have to rely on good old-fashioned sign reading. The tailor appears to be directly across the square from me. I jog down the steps, weave between a handful of farmers and a cow and enter the shop opposite, under a sign that shows a simple drawing of scissors, a needle and thread. A bell dings above my head as I open the door.

  “Good evening, sir. How can I help you?”

  A tiny, wizened old man looks up at me from where he’s sitting at the counter to the right of the door.

  “Good evening. I’m here on an errand for Charlie Connell. I understand you have a completed quilt I can pick up for her?

  “Oh yes. Yes yes yes. That lovely bit of fabric was a joy to repair for her. Let me see, let me see.”

  He hops down off his stool and seems even more tiny than he had before. I didn’t think that was possible. He fusses with a pile of small pieces of paper, checking his notes or his records. Once he has found the information he’s looking for, the old tailor shuffles back to the open shelves that line the wall behind the counter. Most seem to be filled with what I presume are completed orders, folded smoothly and wrapped tightly with twine. And nearly every one of those tailored jobs has been done in bright red fabric.