Outpost: A LitRPG Adventure (Monsters, Maces and Magic Book 1)

by Terry W. Ervin II

  He didn’t get to finish the thought. Stephi exclaimed, “Gurk! Petie sees Gurk.”

  She closed her eyes. “He’s running this way, like his pants are on fire or something.”

  Ron asked, “Is anyone pursuing him?”

  “I don’t think so…he’s carrying a boot.”

  Ron slowly opened the door and stepped out.

  “I hope he’s got enough coin,” Derek said, his words matching both Stephi and Glenn’s thoughts.

  Kirby dumped the coins out of the old leather boot onto the table. “I kinda don’t think I got enough. I mean, I got a gold bracelet and a silver ring with a ruby, but I couldn’t fence them.” He was talking a mile a minute. “Actually, I shouldn’t even be stealing because I’m not a member of the guild, and if they knew, they’d kill me. Plus, I don’t know where I could fence anything, but I figure for Byeol, she like saved us all so I figured I’d risk it.” He took a breath. “Stealing at the Bugle, I mean.”

  He looked away from the pile, at Glenn and then up at his friends. He dropped the boot and his eyes went wide. “I ain’t complaining, Marigold, but you should probably put on your cloak before you leave the room. Or at least wear your bra—if you want to—I mean I ain’t complaining.”

  Glenn put a hand on Kirby’s shoulder. “We’ve already been through that.”

  Derek and Stephi laughed uncomfortably.

  Ron ignored everything. Instead, he organized and tabulated the coins. “Four bronze, six copper, twenty-seven silver, eighteen gold.”

  “I went for the big stuff mainly,” Kirby said. “Mostly when you distracted them, Marigold. That was great! I was able to get the ring after I cast that spell on you. You helped too, Jax. Just not as much.”

  “You did what?” asked Stephi.

  Derek interrupted the conversation. “We only have thirty gold, and some change.”

  Everyone’s eyes fell to the stacks of coins.

  “Count it again,” Kirby said.

  Glenn put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “It won’t do any good. Sunrise is about a half hour away by now, and we’ll have to tell the priestess we didn’t get enough gold and beg her to cast her spell anyway.”

  “If this world is like the games I’ve played,” Derek said, “charity and handouts don’t happen.”

  His face looking like he’d chewed on a lemon, Ron nodded in agreement.

  Glenn held out his hand. “Give me the ring, Gurk.”

  Kirby sat down and pulled off his boot. He reached a finger into a small slit cut inside along the leather, forming a small pocket. “Here.”

  Glenn squeezed past Stephi and held the ring above his everlast candle. It was silver and shaped roughly like a girl’s high school class ring, with prongs holding the ruby set into the ring. An etching of a rose had been placed on either side of the gemstone. His lips curled in a grin as he examined the ruby. “The ruby itself is worth at least ten gold coins.”

  In normal reality, Glenn knew nothing about gemstones. But, as the gnome, Jax, he was able to deduce by the size, color, cut and clarity, what he confidently felt the value was—in gold coins.

  “How do you know?” Derek asked.

  Glenn tried not to be snarky in his reply. “I took Precious Stone Appraisal skill, which includes gems stones. Thought it might come in handy.”

  “Giving the priestess a hot ring might be a bad idea,” Kirby said.

  “Can we claim it as one of ours?” Stephi asked. “How would she know the difference?”

  “They have spells that can detect lies.” Kirby looked to Ron for confirmation.

  Ron nodded. “Giving false information to a priestess is rarely wise.”

  “Give me back the ring,” Kirby said. “I think I can pop the ruby out of the setting.”

  “You might break it,” Derek warned.

  “Yeah, dude, and I might beat Marigold in a beauty contest.”

  Ron said to Derek, probably to distract him, “Count out the coins, leaving the equivalent of thirty gold on the table.”

  The half-goblin thief reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small leather case.

  Glenn and Stephi looked from the case to him as he opened it, revealing a small file, several metal pics and a crude pair of needle nose pliers.

  “Thieves’ tools,” he said. “The basic set.” He frowned. “All I could afford when I rolled up my character.”

  He looked around. “I need something to hold it…Marigold, can I put this on your finger?”

  She extended her hand hesitantly. “Okay.”

  The thief slipped the silver ring onto her slender ring finger. “Just so you know, Marigold, this doesn’t mean we’re going steady.”

  A confused look crossed Stephi’s face. “Going steady?”

  Ron said, “He means not to infer that by placing the ring on your finger, that action signifies a commitment to a paired relationship.”

  Kirby stared at Ron, trying to figure out what he’d just said.

  Glenn looked up at Stephi. “Don’t think you and Gurk are an item, now.”

  “Dating?” She laughed.

  Kirby shook his head and placed her hand on the table. “‘Going steady’ is what my dad calls dating.” He examined the prongs. “Hold it still,” he urged, and went to work, one eye closed while his pointy tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth.

  Click. The ruby popped out and onto the floor.

  Everyone sighed in relief.

  Again, Glenn hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath. He wiped sweat from his brow and scanned the floor. It’d taken a while, but the stuffy room had finally started him sweating too. “I see it. Don’t anyone move and step on it.”

  Just as he crawled under the table, a light knock on the door was followed by an announcement as the door cracked open. “Oarlah, Priestess of Apollo approaches.”

  That sounded kind of haughty to Glenn, but hey, the woman was going to cast a spell that was beyond any of them. From what Ron said, she had more levels, or ranks, than the whole party added together.

  Everyone backed away from the door, with Ron and Kirby remaining alongside the table next to Kim’s body, leaving them closer to the door. Derek backed into the corner at the foot of the table and Stephi stood to his left. In front of her Glenn stood, leaning left to see around Kirby’s head.

  A manservant opened the door, allowing fresh air to fill the small room.

  The priestess was dressed much as before, except this time her yellow headband bore a starburst made from polished pieces of amber.

  Ron tipped his head in a slight bow, which the priestess returned.

  “I am glad to see you arrived before sunrise.” Her eyes fell on the stacks of coins near Derek, at the end of the table.

  “We thank you for meeting with us during the preparation for your morning ceremony.”

  She nodded appreciation at Ron’s words. “I trust you have the agreed upon contribution?”

  Kirby must’ve handed the ruby to Ron, because he presented it to the priestess. “This ruby has been appraised to be valued at ten gold coins, minimum.”

  The priestess eyed the ruby. “We do accept gemstones as contributions, especially for providing spells of a rare and difficult nature.” She held out her hand. “Normally, I would have it independently appraised, but our qualified worshipper does not arrive until noon, unless by appointment.

  “But there is an obvious urgency at hand.”

  She signaled to the manservant standing in the hallway outside the room. He took the ruby and the coins, verifying to the priestess that the contribution was sufficient and departed.

  “Very well,” she said.

  From the hallway, three other servants entered. The first, an elderly woman, handed the priestess a polished staff. The wood appeared bleached, leaving an ivory color with darker wood-grain patterns. The other two, a middle-aged man and woman began removing the cloth and canvas wrapped around Kim.

  The small crystal that, oth
er than glowing, resembled quartz, had remained strapped to her forehead.

  Glenn had never seen a person’s dead body after two days, but he’d seen roadkill. She had the odor of dry blood and mildew, probably her robes, but she looked unchanged from the night she’d been killed.

  Glenn wanted to cry, all the emotions of that night, and her death crashed to the front. Stephi gripped the gnome’s shoulders and pulled him back, close to her side. He reached up and put a comforting arm around her waist.

  Without preamble, the priestess went straight into casting her spell. The incantation and waving of her polished staff, culminating with the staff’s tip touching Kim’s forehead, took no more than twenty seconds. For some reason, Glenn expected more.

  “You may want to return the gem to the Chief Magistrate,” the priestess said. “With the spirit magically tethered, decay will not occur until the bond fails.” She turned to depart. “Before you do, however, Jezzin will take you to Schmedrey, Priest of Apollo.” She gestured to the elderly servant. “With him you may discuss the care for your associate’s body, and a potential venture to earn a Revive the Dead Spell.”

  Chapter 16

  “That guy should be a used car salesmen,” Glenn said, speaking of Schmedrey, Priest of Apollo.

  After their meeting with the priest, the party had moved down the street to eat breakfast and discuss the proposal. What amounted to a small coffee house, that actually only served tea or goat’s milk, or tea with goat’s milk added. While there were several small round tables within the tiny shop, most of the business seemed to be carryout, with a deposit of five iron pieces for a tin cup. Most customers appeared to be regulars, who brought their own cup for the drink, or simply traded one taken yesterday for a different one today.

  To Glenn, it seemed kind of modern in its business model for the alternate, or concurrent universe, they now inhabited. The Red Brick, it was called, definitely wasn’t a Starbucks. And thinking of Schmedrey, the Apollo priest as a used car salesmen, might’ve been degrading to that profession.

  “Slimy local politician,” Derek agreed, speaking around a mouthful of biscuit covered in honey.

  They were the only ones in the Red Brick, seemingly at the end of the morning rush. The clerk or whatever she was called, appeared tired, overworked and forever busy. At the moment she was washing tin cups and lining them up three deep on worn wooden shelves behind the counter. At least there was some effort at sanitation, with one wooden tub filled with soapy water and another tub containing rinse water.

  Kirby licked the honey and crumbs from his fingers. “Look, this is how the game works. Adventuring parties—which is what we are—go on adventures to get treasure. The dude, slimy or whatever, has offered us a way to get the Revival Spell for Byeol. If we don’t take him up on it, we’ll have to figure something else out, and quickly. We only have two weeks to get all that gold.”

  “I don’t trust him,” Stephi said. “What if we get him the necklace and he doesn’t follow through, or doesn’t get their high priest to revive Byeol?”

  “We could insist upon a written contract,” Ron suggested.

  “Right,” Derek said. “And who’d enforce it?”

  “Kalgore,” Ron said matter-of-factly, “recall, there is a magistrate within the city.”

  “Come on,” Kirby said. “If word got out that they didn’t honor agreements, they’d never get anyone to do anything for them.”

  “That’s if they just don’t silence us,” Glenn said. “After they get the magical necklace.”

  “It sounds dangerous,” Stephi said, and then quickly took a sip of her lemon-flavored tea.

  “Marigold,” Kirby said. “Anything that’ll pay almost ten thousand gold will be dangerous.”

  The clerk dropped one of the cups as she was stretching to put it on the shelf. It clattered as it struck the floor. All five at the table turned to look at her. She smiled meekly.

  Everyone’s eyes at the table met, and they finished their drinks.

  “Do you require us to return the cups to you directly?” Ron asked. “Or leave them upon the table here?”

  “Oh, at the table will be fine.” The clerk smiled and began washing the cup she’d dropped.

  Ron left a bronze coin on the table as a tip and they quickly departed.

  Outside, the morning sky was clear. The day might turn out to be warm.

  The party walked for a few hundred yards and got off the main street, stopping at an alley entrance. Carts and soldiers and merchants hurried past, taking little notice of them.

  “Well,” Glenn said, trying to fill the awkward silence. “We going to go with the offer to retrieve the necklace from the Hades cultists?”

  “He hardly told us anything,” Stephi said.

  “He’s not going to give us too many details, or a map until we’re committed,” Kirby said. “Word might get out.”

  “Adventurers are known to be braggarts,” Ron explained. “Often overheard in taverns while imbibing alcoholic beverages.”

  “Dude,” Kirby said, “who talks like that?”

  Ron looked down at Kirby, startled. “Like what?”

  “Why not just say, ‘Adventurers brag a lot while getting drunk?’”

  “Cultists sounds like they’re dangerous,” Stephi said.

  Kirby waited for a mule-drawn cart and its master to pass by. “Well, they’re followers of Hades, probably evil, or Black on the alignment spectrum.”

  Glenn said, “The Hades followers probably call the Apollo ones cultists.” He wondered if that was his Neutral alignment speaking.

  Kirby crossed his arms. “It’s either this or we spend time developing contacts and try to find another big-paying adventure.”

  Stephi said, “Jax, you made a contact last night. That spellcasting woman with the two dogs. You know, the one you were in that dark alley with, with the ogre woman that was going to stomp you. Where you lost my bra.”

  “I didn’t lose it,” Glenn said.

  “It wouldn’t take much to stomp Jax,” Derek said.

  “He’s got more hit points than you,” Kirby said.

  “But his ‘to hit’ chart isn’t as good as a warriors,” Derek retorted. “And a worse armor class rating.”

  “Every one of us is experiencing stress over this decision,” Ron interjected. “Whatever course we decide upon, it remains imperative we stick together.”

  “It’s not stress,” Stephi said, turning to face Derek and glare down a few inches at him. “He’s just being an asshole.”

  He squared up with her. “What did you call me, you irritating bi—”

  Stephi’s blue jay swooped down and landed on her shoulder. The familiar screeched challenges with ruffled feathers.

  Kirby’s hand went to his cutlass and Glenn’s fell onto his cudgel when Ron grabbed Derek by the shoulder and yanked him around to face him. “Marigold did not call you anything,” he said. “She simply indicated you are acting a certain way.”

  The warrior druid leaned close. Although shorter and less muscular, he appeared impressively intimidating. At least to Glenn.

  “Which. You. Are,” the warrior druid said, his words uncharacteristically blunt.

  Maybe it was the anger in Ron’s face that wiped the snarl from Derek’s face. Maybe, Glenn thought, it was that Derek was outnumbered four to one. Even with a low intel score, he could count.

  The warrior turned to Stephi. “Sorry, Marigold. It’s just that I’ve been on—played— adventures, and at first rank, it’s going to be dangerous. That’s got me nervous.”

  “I think you owe Jax an apology too,” she replied.

  “Yeah, dude,” Kirby chimed in.

  After clenching his teeth for a half second, Derek spoke. “Sorry, Jax. It was a joke, just not a very good one.”

  Glenn didn’t see how it could be a joke, but he figured to let it go. If they were going to face cultists, they’d need his muscles and sword as much as the party would need his healing abi
lity. Maybe more.

  Again, he thought Derek’s words over. None of it was really a joke, or an apology. Nevertheless, he decided to move on, rather than draw attention to the fact. “The owner of the Glade House, I don’t think she’d have information that would lead to thousands of gold.

  “I know I haven’t played a lot of dice roleplaying games, but this seems like our only option. Either we do it, or say goodbye to Byeol.”

  “We might be saying goodbye to our lives,” Derek said. He looked down and kicked a booted toe at the hard-packed dirt. “But we should try.”

  That surprised Glenn, and everyone else. Maybe Derek agreed only to save face?

  In any case, everyone nodded agreement, and Ron led them back to the Apollo Temple to get the details. And maybe a written contract.

  Chapter 17

  Kirby, Glenn and Stephi went to find a place to spend the night, and to scout places to get supplies for the mission. Ron and Derek were going to get some paper, quill and ink to make copies of the map, and to scout for a place to get a mule to carry supplies.

  Glenn led his friends to the Glade House. Since it was a boarding house, they might get a decent place to stay at a good price, and maybe some recommendations where to get supplies from its owner. Plus, Glenn figured, maybe she’d have Stephi’s bra repaired. Even through her drawn cloak he’d noticed her added bounce as she walked. Not that he tried to notice…

  The Glade House was a block-shaped three story building, fronted with vertical wooden planks. They’d been painted green years ago, much of the color long faded. Wide stairs led to a stout door. To either side were two windows, with ten or so feet in between. Beneath each was a flower bed, with all manner of flowers, from purple and yellow irises and small red rose bushes, to red and orange day lilies and white and blue bachelor buttons, all in full bloom. On either side of the steps sat two benches.

  The windows had actual glass, revealed by their open shutters. The door, however, didn’t. Under the latch handle was a steel lock that looked like it took old-fashioned skeleton keys, which were probably modern in the aberrant world.