Lion's Quest: Dual Wield: A LitRPG Saga

by Michael-Scott Earle

  “It is locked, but I do not see any traps.” The muscular man unrolled his sleeve of tools again, and he appeared to ponder which picks to choose for a few moments. Then he grabbed a few small tools and bent down to the lock.

  “Ohh. It is a ten pin. Very crafty. The mechanism is in good shape though. No rust and the movement is—” there was a click from the lock that cut off the man’s words. Then he smiled at us as he twisted his lock picking bar to the side. The face of the lock spun, and the sound of two latches moving came from inside of the metal chest.

  “I will open from behind again,” the half-orc said as he pushed his small grappling hook into the lock hole. Then he moved behind the chest and slowly pulled the lid open with the rope. No fireball exploded from inside, no needles erupted from the interior, and no crossbow bolt slammed into the wall where the man had been standing earlier. The group breathed a collective sigh of relief, and we walked to the front of the chest.

  Inside was a folded piece of black cloth. On top of the cloth was a trio of sheathed swords tied to each other with a thick leather belt. Two of the blades were short swords, and one was the size of a long dagger. Their handles were all tied in a dark red silk thread, their guards were a dark gray metal, and the pieces of leather were all dyed black.

  “Dearest friend Leo, can you tell us what those blades are?” The half-orc was practically drooling.

  “Yeah,” I said as I reached into the chest. I didn’t know if I had to pull the short sword out of its sheath for my UI to tell me what they were, but I did anyway. The first blade felt well balanced in my hand, but other than the fine wrap around its grip, and the slight curve to the edge that gave it a kind of Arabic scimitar feel, the weapon was unremarkable. I twisted the thing in my grip and saw the blue colored words of the weapon’s name appear on my UI.

  “Short Blade of the Double Shadow

  Damage: 20% above standard - short blade

  Durability- Magical

  Br—

  Qu—

  In—

  Wi—

  Pe—

  Ch—

  Co+2 (+8)

  Lu+2 (+8)

  If another blade of the Double Shadow is held, attribute bonuses are doubled.”

  “How do you know the number bonuses to the attribute?” Bylem asked. “That is something that only very skilled Mind sages can discern.”

  “I’ve just always been able to tell,” I said with a shrug. “How much does it cost to get something like this looked at and identified?” I asked.

  “It isn’t terribly expensive for adventurers. Perhaps fifty gold for a simple item, but I’d guess we would have to pay at least two hundred and fifty to have one look at these three weapons,” Mirea said to me with a raised eyebrow. “Is there an item you are using?”

  “No. I just know when I look at it.”

  “Amazing,” Bylem growled. “You’ve turned out to be a valuable member of the party. And to think that someone here didn’t want you to come with us,” the fenia let out a laugh and tapped Mirea on the armored shoulder.

  “Ha. I’ll admit when I was wrong about something. This isn’t the first time Leo’s given us a tremendous amount of help, and I have the feeling it won’t be the last.” The pretty warrior woman smiled at me, and her green eyes glittered. I’d seen the expression enough to know that the woman was attracted to me.

  “As much as I love Leo, and I know you all understand that I think of the man as my beloved brother, there is the question of these fine swords. Can you continue with the rest of your incredible identification powers?” the green-skinned man asked me with a short bow.

  “Yeah,” I said as I sheathed the first blade and pulled out the next one. This was also a Short Blade of the Double Shadow, and it had the same stats as the other short sword. I told the party the information, and then pulled out the dagger.

  “Dagger of the Double Shadow

  Damage: 20% above standard - dagger

  Durability - Magical

  Br—

  Qu—

  In—

  Wi—

  Pe—

  Ch—

  Co+2 (+8)

  Lu+2 (+8)

  If another blade of the Double Shadow is held, attribute bonuses are doubled. Once per day, user may use Shadow Hide. Ability can only be used when the sun is shining and there are shadows present.”

  “What is Shadow Hide?” I asked after I slid the dagger back into its sheath.

  The rest of the party all turned to Cornalic, and the man glanced at us with a surprised look on his green tinted face.

  “Dearest friends, I personally have never used such an ability, but I may have heard that it lets one disappear into a shadow. I imagine that bandits, and rogues, and the such would enjoy such an ability. They would surely use it for nefarious undertakings.”

  “And you won’t?” I asked the man sarcastically.

  “By the Light! Of course not. I shall only use these blades in the pursuit of justice, love, and friendship.”

  “You are thinking these are yours,” Mirea grunted, but you are choosing after my brother, myself, and Leo.”

  “Dearest friends, I would think that I should have picked before Leo. True, I may have accidentally blundered my way into acquiring his gold, but we have enough loot at the moment for me to pay my debt back to him in double,” the half-orc smiled and gestured to the pile of treasure we had just uncovered.

  “I think that should be up to Leo,” Wicum said with a shrug. “This is a powerful weapon set, and I don’t believe that we should split them apart. One person should have all three blades, but that person is not me. I have no use for the Shadow, and I prefer my swords to be longer. Pass.”

  “I’ll pass as well. Not useful for me. Although, I’m sure that the trio will probably sell for more than all that other treasure,” Mirea said as she nodded to the pile of plates, flatware, cups, and other loot piled on the floor behind us.

  The rest of the party looked at me, and Cornalic raised his hands up to his face with a silent plea. I could probably use the blades, but I had no real Shadow abilities. It was a possibility that I might get some later, but I’d already committed a lot of my gold to acquiring Light abilities. Part of me just wanted to take the weapons to piss off Cornalic, but it would have been a petty move, and it might have caused the man to want to come after me as an enemy.

  I knew I was going to have plenty of enemies by the time I finished finding the fifteen relics, and I didn’t need to go out of my way to make another.

  “You can have the swords,” I said to the half-orc with a nod.

  “Oh, Leo. My dear, dear, dear friend. I shall never forget the kindness you have shown to me today. Even after I made the mistake of spending all your money on poor orphans—”

  “Probably whores,” I interrupted him a sigh.

  “You forgave me, and gifted me with three finely crafted weapons of tremendous magical power.” A single tear had actually descended the big man’s green cheek, and he latched on to the outside of each of my arms with his hands.

  “It’s fine. Don’t touch me,” I said as I tried to wiggle out of the man’s fingers.

  “But you have touched my heart in a special place, and shown me that you are of pure heart and just love. I shall call you my brother until the end of my days.”

  “It’s okay. Honestly, just take the damn swords before I change my mind.” I stepped away from the man’s grip and then gestured to the chest.

  “I shall not forget your generosity, my dear friend Leo, and I will struggle to prove I am worthy of your love for the rest of my days.” The half-orc made a deep bow to me again, and then he picked up the trio of blades from inside of the chest. A few seconds later he had them secured on his body, and he moved his hands over to their grips a few time to test the angle of their pull.

  “What about the cloak here?” Bylem asked me as he glanced into the chest.

  “Oh. I didn’t realize it was a cloak. Let me
look at it,” I said as I reached for the folded piece of black cloth. The fabric felt luxurious in my hands, and I read off the blue letters of its name to my companions.

  “Cloak of Minor Undeath- While wearing this cloak, user cannot be attacked by non-sentient undead. User also requires a quarter of the usual food and water for sustenance. User also takes 10% less damage from cutting attacks.”

  “Amazing,” my four companions gasped as I finished reading.

  “By the Light, that is a useful cloak,” Bylem purred.

  “Aye,” Wicum said, and I saw his mouth twist with emotions. “Especially in here. I would consider these skeletons non-sentient. Would you agree?” the man asked me.

  “I’m not sure,” I said with a shrug.

  “Hmmmm,” the man scratched his chin, and I could tell he was really chewing on his decision.

  “If you don’t take it, I will,” Mirea prompted her brother.

  “Ha! We’d be in a sorry state if the skeletons weren’t trying to attack you.”

  “I know,” the woman said with a wink. “That is why I think you should take it.”

  “These decisions were actually a lot easier before we had someone in the party that could figure out what the items did without a trip to the identifier’s shop,” the swordsman laughed. “I worry that I could miss out on something better.”

  “Grr. Such is the risk,” Bylem said.

  “Could I use it and then give it up if I find something I like more?” the man asked the party.

  “No. That isn’t fair,” Mirea said.

  “Why isn’t it fair? Before Leo, I would have had first pick of everything we had identified at the end of the exploration. It is no different if I use the cloak for a bit and then give it up for what I really want.” The man crossed his arms and glared at his sister.

  “It isn’t fair because someone else could have used it the whole time. If you keep saying that you have the first pick of everything, and you want to just keep using something until you find something better, it will mean that everyone else will be stuck with your hand-me-downs.”

  “But at least we are using them. We just carried everything around during our last exploration, and didn’t use any of it until we figured out what they did,” the swordsman growled. “Cornalic and Bylem aren’t using my hand-me-downs. I didn’t want their items.”

  “Exactly, you didn’t want their items, so they got them. You will be controlling the distribution of the loot. It isn’t fair.” The woman returned her brother’s glare, and I wondered how many times they had argued over adventuring type topics in the past.

  “So, what if I say I don’t want the cloak, and then we don’t discover anything else. Does that mean I don’t get an item?”

  “Hmmm, good point,” she said.

  “Grrr. It seems like a risk versus reward scenario,” Bylem offered. “If you don’t pick the cloak, you’ll get the first pick if we find something better, but you might end up with nothing.”

  “What if no one wants the cloak?” Wicum asked. “What if we all are just waiting to discover a better item, and no one picks anything? It will be just as if we didn’t have Leo telling us what we found, and everyone will take their choice at the end. Do we just not use the items during the exploration?”

  “I could not tell you all what they do,” I offered.

  “No,” both siblings said at once.

  “Leo, this is incredibly useful. These items are helping our party become more powerful as we journey through the dungeon. It is an ability that is going to set our adventuring group apart from all the others,” Mirea said as she smiled at me. “We just need to agree on the way to handle the items we find that is fair for everyone.”

  “And useful for the party as a whole. Powerful items should be utilized by the party during the exploration instead of sitting in a pouch because no one wanted to make a decision.” Wicum seemed to have calmed down a bit, and he was looking at the cloak in my hands. “I will take the cloak. It will be my committed pick, but let’s discuss this more when we get back the tavern. Sorry I got upset, Mirea.” The man took the cloak from my hand as he nodded to his sister. The woman smiled at him and then helped him fasten the dark black piece of cloth around his neck. The clasp of the garment was a silver skull the size of a tennis ball, and the man smiled at us as he threaded the cloth through the locking mechanism of the jewelry.

  “That looks quite dashing,” Cornalic said after the swordsman finished.

  “Thank you. Shall we continue on? We’ve got quite a haul here, and I’m hoping we can figure out how to get it all back to Arnicoal.”

  “Let us see what is behind this secret door, dearest friends,” the half-orc said as he pulled the other lever downward. A part of the wall shifted away, and the green-skinned man pushed it open to reveal a narrow hallway. The tunnel looked as if it hadn’t ever been used, and there was an inch thick layer of dust on the floor.

  “Ugh. I hate to leave all this just sitting here. I’ll have to buy a bag of holding soon,” Bylem growled as he gave a final glance at the loot we had left.

  “We’ll come back for it,” Wicum said.

  “Perhaps we can pool our money together and buy one for next time,” Mirea said with a shrug. The woman stepped into the tunnel behind Cornalic, but then the man paused.

  “Dear lady, might you go first? I would prefer to peer over your wondrous shoulder for traps. That way I shall not be injured if bad things come in our direction.

  “Ha. Fine.”

  “Is there enough light?” Wicum whispered as he raised his emberbrand into the hallway behind Cornalic.

  “Plenty, dear friend.”

  Bylem took his spot behind the human warrior, and I held the rear position again. After half a minute of travel through the hallway, I began to think that this was less of an actual hallway, and more of a hidden escape route behind a main wall. The sides were really narrow at a few points, and I had to step sideways in some places so that I could squeak past the wall. Five minutes turned into ten, and then we finally came to a dead end. Now that I knew what the levers looked like, I had no trouble spotting the one on the wall.

  “Allow me,” Cornalic said as he reached past Mirea to pull on the thing.

  The section of wall in front of us popped away, and the armored woman pushed it open a bit.

  “I don’t see any skeletons. Looks like a throne room of some sort. Two large chairs made of metal, and emberbrands are glowing on the wall,” Cornalic whispered back to us.

  “Let’s enter,” I said, and I felt the adrenaline began to pour through my veins. This was probably going to be the boss fight, and I had no idea what to expect beyond a necromantic undead skeleton queen and her warrior skeleton king.

  Mirea pushed forward against the door, and we quickly poured into the room. It was a massive place, with two enormous pillars offset in the center of the room to hold up the ceiling. To the right of us were the two large metal thrones that Cornalic had spoken of a few seconds earlier. They sat atop a ten-foot tall dais, and the metal was molded to look as if they were made out of skulls. Maybe they were actually made out of skulls, and molten iron had been poured over them.

  To our left was a wide set of metal double doors. They were a good fifteen feet high, and I saw that while there was a pair of slot arms to hold a security bar, the bar was nowhere to be seen. The sight made me a bit uncomfortable because it meant that anything outside of this room could come in here if it wanted to.

  Between the dark stone columns and the thrones stood a carved skull pedestal. The top of the small podium was made out of metal, and the lights from the twenty emberbrands hanging in the room reflected off of the divots of the writing embossed there.

  “Leo, can you read this?” Bylem asked as he stepped to the pedestal. The base of the thing looked as if it was made out of a pile of horrified skulls.

  “Let’s search the room first. Especially behind the thrones,” Mirea said as she carefully walked up the s
tairs.

  The rest of the party spread out to the walls of the room, but I moved to the columns. They had looked as if they were simple stone at first, but when I walked near the closest, I saw that there were outlines of skulls faintly etched across its surface. The game was kind of going overboard a bit with all the death and skull designs. It had seemed horrific in the torture chambers, but here it just seemed to be trying to beat me over the head with the hint of a necromancer.

  “Nothing back here,” Mirea called out.

  Laughter suddenly filled the room, and I jumped away from the column as a shiver of surprise ran down my spine and flicked me in the asshole.

  “Murderers and assassins in my home. You came to kill me, but I will ensure that you beg for death. Then I will enslave you for eternity.” It was a woman’s voice, and we spun around the room trying to see where it emerged from.

  There was more laughter, and it seemed to come from right behind me. I spun, but there was nothing there, and the voice’s position had changed again.

  “I’m part of the Shadows now. They protect and serve me. They have shown me secrets, and all I had to do was sacrifice to them.”

  The light of the emberbrands began to flicker, and then sputtered to a brightness that was twice their earlier glow. I heard Mirea let out a cry, and I glanced up the tall set of stairs to see the woman jumping down the steps.

  I didn’t see how they had appeared, but there were now two skeletons sitting on top of the thrones. On the left was one with long black robes, a twisted staff of black bone wrapped around a trio of glowing purple glass globes, and a silver crown. The one on the right was also wearing a silver crown along with a full suit of burnt black plate armor. A black metal shield was in his left hand, and a black bladed longsword was in his right.