Eden's Gate: The Sparrow: A LitRPG Adventure

by Edward Brody

  The man screamed, and I held out both of my hands, shooting an Arcane Missile and a Fireblast at him at the same time, the force knocking him back and into the wall. I whipped my sword from my back and ran to him as fast as I could, driving the tip deep within the guy’s chest, then cast another—probably unnecessary—Arcane Missile at his face.

  You have reached level 2 in Arcane Magic!

  You have gained 1200 XP!

  “What the hell was that?” I heard faintly from deeper within the hideout. Then I heard the sound of boots stomping closer to the door.

  I pulled my sword from the burning bad guy and bolted for the exit.

  It was pitch black outside when I finally pulled myself out of the winery’s hidden cellar. I cast Divine Sight on myself and ran as furiously as I could towards 36-B.

  Knuckle Bay was even more terrifying at night. People were still out, still standing around, leaning against houses or dipping into shadows, looking like they were up to no good. And I was alone. At my level, I’d be an easy target for anyone looking for a quick kill.

  Alone and with a Fellblade.

  If they knew that, every one of them would be trying to kill me.

  Sounds from the winery grew louder as I ran, and every time I turned around, I swore some shadowy person had their eyes glued to me. I nearly fell when I hooked a right turn at the alley that read “36”, and as I started running down it, Jax and Adeelee were already outside, Alexander Campbell with them.

  “Gunnar!” Adeelee shouted. “It’s been more than 15 minutes. We thought you didn’t make it.”

  “We’ve got to go!” I shouted. I raised my hand and cast Divine Sight on Jax and Adeelee.

  “Did you get the—?” Jax started.

  “I got it!” I interrupted. “Now let’s go, go, go!”

  “This way!” Jax yelled and waved his hand. Alexander had his hands shackled in front of him, and a second pair of shackles hooked Alexander’s hands to one of Jax’s, so when Jax started running, Alexander almost fell over.

  “This is bullshit!” Alexander spat.

  “Shut up,” Jax snapped back.

  We ran towards the entrance we came from, and when we passed the edge of Knuckle Bay, I looked back and saw smoke rising from the winery. Several people were running around frantically, and a couple were running in our direction. The Fire Curtain I cast down there must have caught on to something.

  Jax looked toward Adeelee. “Mount up?”

  Adeelee nodded and slammed her hand into the ground. “Tsarra!”

  Jax followed the same motion, jerking Alexander forward at the same time. “Fenris!” He looked towards me as I ran. “You ride with Adeelee.”

  “No need,” I said and dropped to one knee, planting my palm hard on the ground. “Sora!”

  Fenris, Tsarra and Sora all came running towards us in different directions, and as if they already knew what we needed from them, they lowered themselves beside us so we could climb on top.

  “Nice,” Jax said towards me. “You’re always full of surprises, Gunnar.”

  Jax pushed Alexander onto the wolf and hopped on behind him. Adeelee climbed Tsarra, and I hopped on Sora. We set off on our mounts, riding away from Knuckle Bay as quickly as we possibly could.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  01/14/0001

  We felt safe enough to slow down once we reached the roads near Highcastle. It would be risky for a group of Sparrows to follow us so far and risk getting caught up with any of the King’s soldiers.

  The battle in the area East of the Wastelands was still going, and as we trotted closer, I could see that there were a few casualties that had been suffered. It wasn’t clear if they were soldiers that had taken splash damage from the commanders’ effects or even if some of the dead were commanders themselves, but there were at least three dead human soldiers and three dead orcs near the attack point.

  “You really have the Fellblade?” Adeelee asked.

  “I do.” I nodded.

  “Then let’s do this,” Jax said.

  We rode our mounts up closer to the battle where human soldiers were holding torches around the perimeter. I pulled back my shroud from my head, but Adeelee still had hers on. Loud booms and the sound of steel pounding against steel could be heard coming from where the commanders fought.

  One of the soldiers turned and noticed us from behind, then held his hand up. “Don’t come any closer! You’ll get yourself killed.”

  “We need to talk to the commander,” Jax said.

  “You can’t,” the soldier scoffed. “He’s in battle. Get away from here, especially with those animals.”

  “The commanders on both sides,” Adeelee said.

  Another soldier turned around, having heard what was going on. “Both sides? You want to talk to an orc?”

  “We intend to end this battle,” Adeelee said.

  The two soldiers looked at each other and started to laugh.

  Adeelee raised a finger, and I could feel a strange energy coming from her, similar to what I felt the night that we fought the demon in the Vale. Within a few seconds, birds swarmed overhead from every direction and started swooping down on the battle scene.

  “What the hell?!” one soldier yelled, and everyone—human and orc alike—started swatting their hands in the air as birds dove down and started landing light pecks on their bodies. Confused, even the commanders stopped battling to try to figure out what was going on.

  Adeelee rode around the perimeter of humans until she was visible to both the orcs and human soldiers. She pulled her shroud back, revealing her gorgeous face and pointed ears. She held her hand up in the air and the birds immediately dispersed and flew higher in the sky, leaving everyone dumbfounded as to what had just happened.

  “I am Adeelee Vost, Princess of Mist Vale, and we’re here to end this battle!” she shouted, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “The Fellblade will be returned to King Ergoth, and the orcs shall return to the Wastelands.”

  There mumbling from all the soldiers sounded like a roar, and all of a sudden, the orc commander spoke in his deep, guttural voice. “You have the Fellblade?” he asked.

  “No, but he does.” Adeelee turned to me and gave me a nod.

  I wasn’t sure what to do exactly, but I rode up beside Adeelee as everyone’s eyes turned to me. I stopped, dismounted Sora, and clumsily reached into my bag, heaving out the massive, ancient weapon for all to see.

  Both sides made moans of awe.

  “You’re the Sparrow who stole the Fellblade?” the orc commander asked.

  “He’s no Sparrow,” the Princess answered for me. “The Dark Hand is responsible for your loss. This man is merely responsible for the Fellblade’s return.”

  I walked between the soldiers, towards the orc commander, and I wondered then if I had passed up a critical choice. Like the night I picked up Kronos’ sword in Nambunga’s Cave, I could have run off with the Fellblade as well. Perhaps I could have hidden it until I was high enough level to use it or sold it for enough gold to build the castle that I wanted in Edgewood. Maybe I could have held the Fellblade out and tried to cast its ‘Fellstrike’ ability. I wasn’t sure what it did, but maybe it would’ve killed the orc commander and set in path a series of events that would’ve changed Eden’s Gate forever.

  Whatever the case, I felt like I accomplished something important when the orc commander grabbed the Fellblade out of my hand. “Your name?” the commander asked.

  “Me?” I pointed towards my chest like I didn’t know who he was speaking to.

  The commander nodded.

  “Uh…Gunnar,” I said. “Gunnar Long.”

  “This will be remembered,” the orc grunted. The commander made one last glance towards the humans opposing him and showed an evil snarl. He turned back towards his men and raised the Fellblade high in the air. “To Ergoth!” he yelled.

  The orcs cheered, and they all started marching back in the direction of the Wastelands.

&nbs
p; As the orcs dispersed, all the human soldiers started cheering as well.

  I walked back towards Adeelee and Jax, both of them with smiles on their faces.

  “It’s done,” Jax said.

  “It’s done,” I reiterated.

  Adeelee hopped off Tsarra, walked up to me, and threw her arms around my neck. She buried her head into my nape before pulling back and saying, “Thank you again, Gunnar.”

  I shrugged it off, trying to act like it wasn’t a big deal or that I wasn’t totally stoked to have the Princess grabbing on me like that. “Don’t mention it.”

  “Giving the Fellblade back to the orcs,” an educated-sounding voice said from behind me. I turned around and recognized who it was right away. “I’m not sure if it’s the best idea, but you certainly saved the day for now.”

  I nodded at the solider that I had seen in the Thorpes inn with Aaron. “Thanks.”

  “Commander Eldrich,” the man said, holding his hand out to me. “I believe I remember you from somewhere.”

  “Thorpes,” I said.

  “Oh yes,” he recalled. “I believe your friend… The Sizzler, you call him, ran off with quite a bit of my gold.” The man smiled as if losing his gold were comical.

  “Yeah, that’s Aaron,” I said. ‘The Sizzler,’ sounded so stupid when NPCs said it.

  “Well, if you ever care to share the story of how you came about the Fellblade, feel free to stop by the barracks in Highcastle. I’d love to hear the tale.” The man’s eyes suddenly caught sight of Jax and Alexander sitting atop Fenris. “Is that… Alexander Campbell, the Sparrow?”

  “That’s him,” I said. “We captured him in Knuckle Bay. He’s wanted in Thorpes.”

  “He’s wanted in Thorpes?” Commander Eldrich chuckled. “He’s wanted in Highcastle as well.” He turned and looked down to me. “If you turn him in to me, I’ll make sure Mayor Bryson is alerted of his capture, and you’ll be rewarded with whatever bounty he’s offered. In addition, I’ll grant you the reward for his Highcastle bounty as well.”

  You have been offered a quest: Alexander Campbell- Very Wanted

  You will be rewarded for both the Thorpes and Highcastle bounties if you choose to turn Alexander over to the King’s Army rather than marching him back to Thorpes.

  Reward: Instant completion of ‘Alexander Campbell’ quest, 1500 gold, 2000 XP

  Do you accept this quest? Accept/Decline

  “Ummm, yeah,” I replied. “We can do that.”

  You have accepted the quest: Alexander Campbell- Very Wanted!

  I turned toward Jax. “Bring Alexander here and turn him over to the commander.”

  Jax nodded and quickly released the shackle that was connecting his hand to Alexander’s.

  Commander Eldrich smiled at Alexander. “Pleasure to see you again, Alexander. I suppose a few more years in prison will set you straight this time?”

  “I’m an innocent man,” Alexander said and then he turned to me, his voice turning more sinister. “And you will pay for this… trust me.”

  The commander rolled his eyes and pointed towards one of his men. “Take him to Highcastle.”

  You have completed the quest: Alexander Campbell- Very Wanted!

  You have gained 2000 XP!

  You have completed the bounty quest: Alexander Campbell!

  You have gained 2000 XP!

  Advancement! You have reached level 13 and gained 3 ability points. To assign your ability points, open your status page. You can also increase any of your known skills by 1 level. Choose wisely, as your choices cannot be undone.

  You have gained 10 SP!

  “How much did Thorpes have on his head?” the commander asked.

  “3,000 gold,” I said.

  “Ouch. Mayor Bryson wanted him badly… Very well then. Wait a moment, and I’ll get you your gold.” He pulled a soldier aside and ordered him to run off somewhere to fetch my reward.

  Both bounties together were 4,500 gold. It was a massive reward to be getting both bounties at once, and I had a little more than 500 gold in my purse as well. With 5,000 gold, our soon-to-be-guild would have enough to build our third house in our soon-to-be town—or maybe I could get it even cheaper if Aaron got in on the building process job somehow.

  Within a few minutes, the soldier returned with our gold, Commander Eldrich said his final goodbyes, and we started back for Edgewood, spirits running high.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  01/14/0001

  It was early morning by the time Adeelee, Jax, and I reached the center of Edgewood. As my home started coming into view, I could hear the sound of steel clashing against steel.

  What’s that? I thought, thinking that our homes had possibly come under attack. I looked over to Jax and Adeelee and urged Sora forward, rushing to see what was going on.

  “Boom,” Donovan said, smacking his sword against Ozzy’s. He raised his knee slowly, giving a half-hearted knee to Ozzy’s gut. “Boom.” He reached a free hand out and grabbed Ozzy’s shoulder, then swept his leg behind his ankle, knocking him to the ground. “Boom.”

  Ozzy landed with a light thud, but he didn’t seem to be injured. As soon as Ozzy hit the ground, Donovan reached out his hand and offered to help him up.

  The two turned and looked up as they saw our trio approaching.

  “Hey! Gunnar!” Ozzy shouted.

  I looked to Ozzy and then to Donovan. “What’s going on?”

  “Just a little sparring,” Ozzy said. “This guy here knows how to fight. You don’t gain XP from sparring, but you apparently gain skill points. I’ve already picked up a point in swords and dodge.”

  “Nice,” I said.

  “Princess Adeelee…” Donovan muttered. He fell to one knee and bowed his head. “You’re—“

  “Donovan,” the Princess interrupted in a strange, almost troubled voice I had never heard from her before. “You may rise.”

  I was surprised the princess knew his name without an introduction. “You two know each other?”

  Donovan stood to his feet, and they both nodded as I looked back and forth between the two.

  “We have some history,” Adeelee said. “Before Donovan became a dark elf.”

  I swallowed, and I could feel a thick tension in the air. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know what “history” meant—friends, lovers, enemies?— I didn’t question it any further.

  Instead, I just turned to Jax and introduced him to Ozzy. Ozzy walked over to Jax, and they both shook hands and exchanged friendly greetings.

  Aaron swung the door to his cabin open and popped his head outside. “You’re back finally!” he shouted. He looked to Jax sitting on Fenris and then back over to me. “Is everything okay?”

  I nodded. “Everything’s good now.” I could always fill him in on Jax’s issues, the Sparrows, and how we stopped a disaster with the Fellblade later. “Everything here okay?”

  Aaron closed the door to his cabin and walked over to us. “Gerard is in your house now handling everything.” He tilted his head towards Ozzy. “And we’ve shared pleasantries already. Are we ready to get this guild thing going or what?”

  “Wait a minute, wait a minute,” I said, holding out my hand and lowering it slowly.

  Parked near the side of my house was Gerard’s wagon. The wheels were rouged up, and the contents it was carrying had been emptied. I jumped off Sora and pushed the door to my home open. Gerard was inside whistling while he arranged a set of health potions on a shelf. All around, the place had been meticulously organized—pelts stacked in crates, weapons laid out by type, armor hanging on the wall. Other than the bed, the place was starting to look like a legitimate goods store.

  “Hope you don’t mind what I’ve done with the place,” Gerard cooed.

  “It looks... amazing,” I said, shaking my head. “Everything here is to your liking?”

  Gerard snickered and pulled his attention away from the potions. “To my liking? In the short time I’ve been here, there’s be
en more visitors to the shop than I would’ve gotten in a week at Linden.” His face twisted. “Dark Elves, which is a little unsettling, but they’ve seemed friendly enough thus far.”

  I smiled and tilted my head towards the door. “Then let’s make it official. Everyone is outside.”

  Gerard followed me out of the shop, and when I stepped outside, Aaron was chatting with Ozzy and Donovan, and a few meters away, Adeelee was having a separate conversation with Jax.

  “Mother will be pleased when she hears you’re safe,” Adeelee was saying as I approached.

  Jax smiled and nodded but didn’t reply.

  “What do you think of our homes?” I asked towards Jax.

  “This one looks a lot like mine,” he observed, his eyes focusing on my house. He turned to all the crafting stations that Aaron had erected outside his smaller home. “I’m sure what you’re doing here is going to turn out great.” He straightened and pressed his lips together, holding a hand out to me. “And thank you for everything, Gunnar.”

  I grabbed his hand and shook, but I was worried by his tone. It sounded more like he was saying goodbye. “And what are your plans exactly?”

  Jax shrugged. “Not sure. Maybe I’ll do a little traveling. It’s best I stay away from Addenfall for a while. I’m not sure if any of the other Sparrows know where I live.”

  “You should stay here and join our guild,” I said. “I made you a promise that I intend to fulfill. A strong guild can take down the Dark Hand better than a couple solo players.”

  “Join your guild?” Jax took a deep breath and smirked. “I’ve never thought of joining a guild.”

  “Edgewood is no Addenfall, but we’ll have some safety in numbers. You might have to stay in a camp or shack up with someone else until we have proper homes for everyone, but if we work together, it won’t take long.”