Eden's Gate: The Sparrow: A LitRPG Adventure

by Edward Brody

I turned back towards Adeelee who just looked on and offered no opinion of the creature.

  “The Psy Demon would have killed us if we didn’t kill it first,” I said. “And you summoned it.”

  “Yes, but youz killz it. You are strongz. Very strongz. I can help you strongerz.”

  “Help me get stronger?” I asked.

  “Can tell secretz. Can teach you magicz,” the demon replied.

  “Teach magic?” I asked. If the imp was only level 11, it was unlikely that it had magic skills that were high enough to teach someone. “You’re level 11.”

  “I showz you. Rweally. I showz. I will teachez. Let me livez.” The demon groaned and placed its one working hand at its side where blood was seeping out rapidly. “Pleasza.”

  I turned back towards Adeelee and Ozzy, unsure of what to do. I wanted to learn some magic, sure, but could a demon be trusted?

  Ozzy and Adeelee seemed to shrug at the same time.

  “Could be a trick,” Ozzy said.

  “Or an opportunity,” Adeelee added.

  Killing the demon would net some XP and whatever loot it was carrying. It had a small necklace draped around its neck that could be worth a fortune and a tiny bag attached around its waist. But I also wanted to learn magic, and letting someone live might even earn me a friend.

  “What kind of magic can you teach me?” I asked.

  “Darkz Magic, for surez. Arcanze Magicz, for surez.”

  “Arcane?” I asked.

  The demon nodded. “Can teachez.”

  That was enough for me to sheath my sword and take a chance. Given that I had a recall scroll now, learning how to cast arcane was a top priority. I wouldn’t be able to use it until I had level 10 in arcane, but it would be a start.

  “Arcane,” I said. “Teach me arcane.”

  The imp nodded furiously. “Heal me, pleasza,” it said.

  I reached into my bag and grabbed my one remaining health potion—which happened to be the expensive one that I paid quite a lot for last time I went to replenish my necessities. I gave the imp the potion and looked it dead in the eye. “Don’t try anything funny or you’ll die.”

  The imp nodded, popped open the cork in the bottle and started drinking. Almost immediately, all of its bite marks and wounds started to heal, and less than a minute later, it was able to sit up.

  The Imp began speaking gibberish to itself again and looking all around like a crazed person, but I pointed my sword at it again and told it to shut up and speak English if it wanted to live.

  “Kazooz,” the imp asked. “Where kazaooz?”

  I had no idea where it was and wasn’t sure why the imp was asking me. He was the last one I saw using a Kazoo, so he should’ve known where it was.

  I scanned the general vicinity and within a minute, I could see the Kazoo lying on the ground. I grabbed it and gave it to the demon.

  The demon stood to his feet and then sat back down on its knees. It held out its hand to me as if saying “Wait a moment.” I could see Ozzy and Adeelee both getting prepared for the worst behind me, and I grabbed at the hilt of my sword just in case I needed to quickly lop the demon’s head off.

  The demon held the Kazoo up to its mouth and started blowing an unusual, creepy tune that reminded me of Halloween music. Almost immediately, a strange, dark swirl of magic appeared on the ground near him that almost looked like it was going to form a portal. But instead of the magic turning into a portal, it started changing shape in front of our eyes, manifesting into a dark effigy of a creature with burning orange eyes and a shaggy gray shroud covering its face and body. It was seven feet tall and hunched over humanoid form with a loose chain dangling from one of its arms. It had no facial features other than its eyes.

  You have failed to inspect your target!

  You have failed to inspect your target!

  The creature lurched forward as it was about to attack, but the smaller demon yelled something unintelligible, causing it to stop in its tracks. Tsarra and Sora both stood behind looking ready to pounce.

  The voice of the creature sounded like the deep moan of the wind, and it conversed for a few seconds with the small demon whilst turning its head back to us several times. It’s hard to tell if it was surprised due to its lack of facial features, but its jolting body movements suggested that it was.

  The creature turned to us one last time. “Aracannneeeee magic, you wishhhhhh?”

  The creature’s voice was so creepy that I swallowed hard before I answered. “Yeah, arcane magic.”

  “Step forthhhhhhh,” he answered.

  I turned back and looked at Adeelee. “We’re watching you,” she said. I had a feeling that she wasn’t too sure what was going on but knew that we didn’t have many alternative options but to trust the demons at that point. If I couldn’t inspect the newly summoned demon, it must have been stronger than the Psy Demon. It could kill us if it wanted.

  I walked forward slowly until I was right up to the towering demon. Its body radiated an indescribable cold that caused the hairs on my arms to rise. In a way, it felt like it was sucking the life force out of me.

  “Close your eyessssss,” the demon moaned.

  I did as the demon said, and a few seconds later, I could feel something light and airy on my head. The light stench of sulfur filled my lungs.

  “With my inner arcane, I release your inner arcaneeeee,” the demon hissed low. “Become one with the arcaneeeee!”

  A burst of power erupted in my lower chest and swam to the outer reaches of my body. My body tingled with an energy so strong, that I almost lost my breath. But just as quickly as the feeling came, it quickly died away.

  You’ve gained 10% resistance to arcane magic!

  Advancement! You have learned the skill: Arcane Magic. Mysterious, strange, profound, arcane! Arcane Magic is linked the base stat Intelligence. Increase your Intelligence to increase your ability to perform Arcane Magic.

  When I opened my eyes, the small demon was crawling into the hand of the larger one, kazoo in hand. It smirked at me, obviously still distraught that we had looted its treasure chest. The demon spoke some gibberish to the larger demon, and without even saying goodbye, a small circle of magic appeared below the larger demons feet and they were almost instantly sucked inside, disappearing right before us.

  “Hey bud,” Ozzy said.

  I turned around and smiled. “Yeah?”

  “You found the chest and all, so you get the rewards, but I’ve got next, kay?”

  I chuckled and gave Ozzy a nod. “I should’ve negotiated for them to teach us all arcane magic.”

  “I couldn’t even read the level of the demon he summoned,” Adeelee said. “We were in no position to negotiate. At least we survived.”

  The Divine Sight faded, and I raised my hand to cast it again on all three of us again. “Let’s have a rest?” I asked.

  “Sounds good to me,” Ozzy said. “That’s about as much action as I’ve had since I’ve been here.”

  Adeelee nodded.

  Ozzy walked across the clearing and picked up the Hammer of Stunning from earlier, then we all had a seat near a large log in the clearing. I pulled out a food ration, and Ozzy and Adeelee had rations of their own.

  I tossed Sora a piece of my food ration as I sat back and eyed Adeelee, looking relaxed as ever even after our long and difficult fight. I was really having a good time with her, and the eye candy and adventure sure beat sitting at home playing the part of trader all day. I still had every intention of building Edgewood into something that would one day rival the Vale and one day start a guild but…

  Guild… The word caused me to lose my train of thought. I hadn’t been sure about Ozzy before, but he had proved to be a good asset and a great guy. His moral compass would have to expand a little, unless we decided to turn into a thieves’ guild or something, but I was glad to be grouping up with him. And Adeelee…. What else could you say about her?

  “Aaron and I are starting a guild in Edgewood,�
�� I blurted.

  Ozzy and Adeelee both perked up.

  “A guild?” Adeelee asked.

  “Yeah,” I replied. “I’m going to put Edgewood on the map.”

  “Edgewood is already on most maps,” Adeelee countered.

  I took a deep breath and sighed. “It’s just a saying. I mean that I’m going to make Edgewood someplace special. Build a city that’s run by my guild.” I didn’t want to tell Adeelee that the whole reason I even got into the idea of starting a guild and building out was because I wanted to make a name for myself and eventually find Rachel. Hell, I hadn’t even thought about Rachel the whole time I had been with Adeelee.

  “What’s your guild name?” Adeelee asked.

  I lifted my arm scratched the back of my head. “Ehhh… We haven’t decided yet.”

  Adeelee raised an eyebrow and bit down on a piece of her food ration. “Well, it sounds like an undertaking.”

  I cleared my voice. “You should join the guild, Adeelee.”

  Adeelee’s body froze for a second and she swallowed her food hard. “You want me to join your guild?”

  I shrugged. “Yeah, of course. I mean if you’re not in one already.”

  “I’m a member of the High Elves faction, but I’m not a member of any guilds,” Adeelee said.

  “Humans—” I cleared my throat. “Reborns, elves, any race can join our guild. We’ll work together to make something special. We’re in Edgewood though, so—“

  “Gunnar,” Adeelee interrupted. She stared at me for a moment. “I’m a High Elf of the Vale. I can’t live in Edgewood.”

  I pursed my lips. “Why not?”

  “Because…” Adeelee trailed as if searching for the answer. “It’s just not normal. And elves shouldn’t leave the forest.”

  “Edgewood is a forest. And up until a couple weeks ago, Reborns weren’t normal. Is traveling into the forest with Reborns a normal occurrence to you?” I was doing my best to come up with a strong point to make, but I was sounding like a jealous boyfriend.

  “Aside from the fact that Edgewood is the home of the dark elves, and the fact that I’d live quite a bit away from mother and father, you haven’t even set up your so-called guild yet. And you’re level 12!” Adeelee’s faced turned to anger. “I think you’ll need to do a lot more convincing if you want to recruit a princess into your little guild.”

  Ouch, I thought. You would’ve thought that I was trying to get her to put out with the sudden bitch-mode that came out of her. But then again, I was pushing my luck. I knew she probably wouldn’t accept my offer to begin with. She didn’t even want to visit Edgewood. “Yeah…” I muttered.

  “I guess there’s no room for any more humans, err Reborns or whatever you call them in your guild?” Ozzy asked, chomping down on a piece of his food ration.

  “I was going to invite you,” I said. “It would be cool to have you around.”

  “Yeah?” Ozzy asked.

  “Yeah…”

  “Then I accept your offer.” Ozzy leaned over and extend his hand. I tossed a piece of my food ration in my mouth and with my other hand I accepted his shake. He wasn’t the third member of the guild that I’d had in mind when I set out, but he would be a good asset nonetheless.

  My mind suddenly snapped back to the conversation that we were having right before we made it to the treasure chest. “You said that Jax couldn’t be a Sparrow?” I said towards Adeelee.

  “No, he wouldn’t,” Adeelee declared.

  “How can you be certain?”

  Adeelee sighed and looked lost in thought for a moment as if she was considering if she should say more. “Jax…” she trailed. “Jax isn’t Jax’s real name.”

  “What?”

  The princess paused again as if she was going to stop going any further. “Jax is the son of King Rutherford.”

  “What?” I shook my head, having no idea what she was talking about. “King Rutherford?”

  “Owen Rutherford, King of Highcastle,” Adeelee elaborated.

  I looked over to Ozzy who seemed even more perplexed and then I rubbed on my chin. “So Jax is a prince—the prince of Highcastle—and he lives in the forest and can’t be a Sparrow because of that?” I almost wanted to laugh as none of it was really fitting together.

  Adeelee let out a loud sigh. “King Rutherford has a bit of a reputation. While he rules over Highcastle with some competency, he’s accustomed to the bottle and accustomed to women other than his wife.”

  I looked at Ozzy out of the corner of my eye. He wasn’t interested.

  “The King has an eldest son, Cristo Rutherford, who’s about fifteen years older than Jax. And while the King may have gotten other women pregnant, one particular brothel worker ended up pregnant with Jax.”

  “Okay, so what does this have to do with him not being a Sparrow?”

  “Well,” Adeelee continued, “Most prostitutes would keep such a pregnancy a secret, but somehow word got out that Jax’s mother was pregnant by the King. And according to Highcastle law, age nor the mother have any bearing on a son’s claim to the throne. When the King dies, if there’s more than one son, the people of Highcastle decide which of the sons will rule.” Adeelee lowered her head. “When Cristo found out that he had a newborn baby brother, he rounded up a couple of soldiers and went on a search to kill both mother and child.

  “The mother fled Highcastle and tried to cross The Freelands on foot. Perhaps she hoped to reach Linden where she would be forgotten and take up her trade there. But Cristo chased her all the way to Addenfall. And as she was about to cross the Crystal River, Cristo sent an arrow into the mother’s back and both mother and child fell in the water, assumingly dead.”

  “And you know this how?” I asked.

  “The guardians of Addenfall, Gunnar,” Adelee explained. “The keemus saw Cristo shoot Jax’s mother and leave her for dead in the river, but they also saw that the mother was holding a child. The keemus chased the bodies down the river and managed to pull a near-drowning Jax—or rather Jackson Rutherford—out of the water.”

  “That’s crazy,” Ozzy said.

  “And still doesn’t explain why Jax wouldn’t be a Sparrow,” I added.

  Adeelee smiled. “The keemus didn’t know that they rescued a prince from the water. All they knew is that they recovered a human child, and they had no idea how to care for it. So, they brought Jax to mother. It was unheard of for a human child to be raised by elves, but mother had always longed to have a son and raised him as if he was her own.

  “King Rutherford cares for his wife, but he loved Jax’s mother. When he found out that his eldest son had killed his lover and child, he banished his eldest son from Highcastle. The rumors spread, and that’s when mother found out who Jax really was, but only the elves knew that he was alive.

  “After being banished, Cristo adopted a new name—The Dark Hand—and formed a rogue guild—the Sparrows—which allowed him to maintain some form of power and wealth like that he had at Highcastle. As far as he knows, his brother is dead and he will have claim to the throne once his father dies.”

  “But Jax wasn’t living in the Vale?” I asked

  “The Vale is the home of the Elves, Gunnar. For many years, Jax lived in the Vale with the elves, but once he became a teenager, many of the High Elves felt that he was out of place. And although humans are generally not allowed to stay in Addenfall, mother granted Jax permission to live there so that he could remain close to her without causing drama amongst the elven population.”

  “So Jax knows that he’s a prince and this Cristo kills his mother?” Ozzy asked, suddenly seeming invested in the story.

  Adeelee nodded. “Though Mother may not show it, due to the fact that Jax is human, she truly loves Jax as if he were her real son. She told him everything she knew.” Adeelee paused and smiled. “And that’s why Jax would never be a Sparrow. There’s no way no way he would join a group led by his murderous brother.”

  “So then why would he have a Sp
arrow necklace?” I asked.

  Adeelee shook her head. “That I don’t know.”

  “And why would he leave the forest that he loves so much?” I continued.

  Adeelee shook her head. “I don’t know that either.”

  “It doesn’t make any sense. Something doesn’t add up. A prince, Sparrow, a hunter, a—“

  “My brother,” Adeelee said.

  “Brother?” I asked.

  “He’s the closest thing I have to a brother. Even if he isn’t an elf.” Adeelee’s eyes were wide and glistening. “I fear that Jax has fallen into trouble. Can you help me find him, Gunnar?”

  You have been offered a quest: The Missing Bastard

  Adeelee wants you to find out what has become of Jax.

  Reward: 5000XP

  Do you accept this quest? Accept/Decline

  I didn’t have to think much about the quest. Jax was my friend, and if Adeelee thought he had fallen into trouble, I wanted to help. “I’ll help you,” I replied.

  You have accepted the quest: The Missing Bastard!

  Jax’s tale was captivating—a bastard prince growing up in a forest after his mother was assassinated by his own brother. I wondered if it were possible that Cristo had somehow found out that Jax was still alive and decided to finish the job that he didn’t finish before.

  Whatever it was, I was going to find out.

  Chapter Twenty

  01/13/0001

  “The sun is starting to come up,” Ozzy said as he looked at the faint light that was beginning to form in the sky.

  “Indeed,” Adeelee said. “We should head back to the Vale.”

  I stood up from the log. “Not quite yet for me. You two head back and get some rest. I’m going to Linden.”

  “Linden?” Adeelee asked. “I’m certain that Jax isn’t in Linden.”

  “I have some quick business there. If all goes as planned, I can meet you back at the Vale in the afternoon and we can set off on our quest for Jax.” I pushed my eyebrows together. “Or am I going at it alone?”