The Ghost Tower: A LitRPG Adventure

by Thomas K. Carpenter

  Five sets of heads turned in time to see Grimchar snap his fingers. An invisible hand clamped around Terran's shoulders, freezing him into place. He opened his mouth to belt out a Vocal Slam in an attempt to shatter the glass and create enough mayhem to get free, but nothing came out.

  "Did you really think you could waltz into my home and take me out? You're not even remotely high enough level, and even if you were, you have no idea what you're dealing with," said Grimchar as he sauntered towards them with the arrogance of a general approaching captured enemy soldiers.

  The necrochanter's appearance was not the rotting bag of leprous flesh, nor did he exude the awful stench that he had the last time they'd met. The only thing that was the same was his thick brown robe. His health had returned, though not completely. He looked like a cancer patient after a heavy round of chemo, especially when he coughed into a handkerchief, eyes watering with pain.

  Grimchar approached Terran, setting his lips to a terse line. "You caused me quite a bit of trouble last time, so you won't be singing your way out of it. Nor do I have any black crystal left to aid your escape, though had I some, I'd probably have to make a thrall of you so I could use that affinity, but I'll just have to strip you, root and bark, until nothing remains." He winked. "And yes, I can see it in your eye, you notice my new look, well, returned look."

  The mage opened his robes as if he were a model on a catwalk, giving a slow twirl for effect. Grimchar's gaze flickered towards Doran's vat. "I have that one to thank. Shame it took everything he had to give."

  Through gritted teeth and with veins pulsing on her forehead and neck, Zara said, "Why?"

  "Why? Why?" he replied mockingly. "Last I checked, I'm still living and breathing while those in my cohort have all passed away." He made a face. "Yes, I know you've already figured it out. I'm an Offworlder like you, or once like you anyway. I don't know what I am now. But I came from that damn ship. I didn't ask to be born on it, lost between the stars, but I wasn't going to let an opportunity pass me by when I came here."

  Grimchar wandered to Flynn, plucked the skull from his belt, and appraised it from arm's length.

  "Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him, something, infinite jest... oh, how that world is like a dream to me now. You know, I can't even remember the ship's name. But don't tell me. I don't care. The only thing that matters is this place." He snorted softly as he placed the skull on his lab table while Flynn seethed. "I had nearly expired before you all arrived. I worried that the ship had reached its destination and they were about to shut it down."

  Grimchar leaned on the table as if he were at a bar swapping tales with friends. His age was betrayed by his eyes, heavy with dark memories despite the half smile on his lips. The verboseness seemed to be a product of his long struggle alone. He stared at them for a while before exclaiming with the returning of his thoughts.

  "Oh yes, what was I doing?" he said, reaching over Terran's shoulder to take the Heart Staff from his back holster. Grimchar squeezed it against his chest like a long-lost lover. "Thank you, Terran. That's your name, right? Thank you for bringing this here. The final piece. I have to admit, this was my cleverest subterfuge. My only regret is that I lost a valuable acolyte in Gloricia, but if this gives me enough juice to finally ascend, it'll have been worth it."

  The realization that Ash had betrayed them, sending them to the ghost tower to be harvested by Grimchar, had Terran growling in his throat. The necrochanter took the Heart Staff and tapped Terran on the head.

  "Don't hurt yourself with all that anger. It's not good for you. And don't worry, I see that look. Ash didn't betray you. Not willingly. Gloricia left an instruction in his head, a courtesy of her mind control fungus. You forgot to cleanse him of the stuff before you accepted him into your settlement. Your fault, not his," said Grimchar with a chuckle.

  "And this," he said, holding up the Heart Staff. "While you all are a nice prize, this is the true get. You pups would sustain me for a bit, maybe until the next cohort arrived—" he glanced away—"a game I have played far too many times. But now, true ascension is in place. You see, the Mother Tree was once an Offworlder like you or me. She came here with the early cohorts, but didn't like what was becoming of the place. When Huracan and Ravencry first ascended, showing that immortality in this world was in reach, Andelain gathered together the people of this place and the Offworlders that believed that all beings should die—ha! So many of them gave their lives so Andelain could join the others in ascension, but she didn't hide away, protecting her realm and immortality like the others, she planted herself in this accessible world. Which made her both stronger and weaker. She was closer to the world and could affect it, but that made her vulnerable, and her people have been at war ever since. Yes, at times, they created vast empires, but always someone came to take it away, because she held that which is necessary to ascend."

  Grimchar faced them, holding the Heart Staff before him like a baton. "And now I have the piece that I always needed. I do not have to fight a battle, or destroy the Rock Leaf Elves to reach the Mother Tree. I have a connection right here in the palm of my hand. I'll be able to suck her dry from the safety of my tower and then I will rightfully take my place as a god of this world." He wagged his eyebrows. "Maybe I will be the god of health, or of death. Anything but rot, I am tired of decay, of constantly falling apart. Cheating death has been a struggle. I wouldn't wish it upon anyone."

  He laughed as if it were a joke, then started to walk away, remembering at the last moment to snap his fingers again. Black tendrils, like rotting vines, came crawling from the walls, wrapping, lifting, carrying them to the vats, which opened like flowers, or hungry mouths. As the yellow liquid climbed up his body, Terran's breath came in heaves. It was warm, pressing against his flesh as if it were excited to collect him. It passed his mouth and nose and burst past his lips, forcing him to choke and cough, the yellow liquid entering his lungs, his stomach, filling him until his body rose to equilibrium within the vat. The last thing he remembered was Grimchar whistling as he left the laboratory.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The sensation of having his life drained away came as a slight pressure on his mind, across his skin, like the air before a storm. As he blinked his vision back into existence, the details of the laboratory warped by the pale yellow liquid and the curved glass, Terran despaired. He had led his friends into the arms of a madman, and given him the tools to destroy the Mother Tree.

  Terran shifted in the viscous liquid, but he couldn't move much more than a few inches. It kept him lethargic, as if he were groggy after a long sleep. He turned his head enough to see Zara next to him wavering in her vat, but making as little progress as he was towards escaping.

  His physical movements restrained, Terran focused on the laboratory. Snaking from his vat, dark vines connected to the sickly globe at the center of the room. The one that powered Grimchar's creations. The necrochanter himself was on the far side of the room, tinkering with the Heart Staff. Terran didn't know how long it would take until the last essences of the Mother Tree had been drained, but he hoped the process would keep Grimchar busy.

  Terran searched his abilities for something that might help, knowing that none of his Crystal Bard vocals would be possible in the stifling liquid. He studied his spells carefully, working through any unintended uses. If he could just get out of his vat, he could free his friends with Zara's axe, which had been dropped on the floor behind the lab table not far away. He found his potential solution on an unfinished page.

  Georealm (Champion's Path) [unpicked]

  Worldwalker - Travel through hidden pathways to distant locations

  Earthblood - Utilize the connection with earth for more power

  A kernel of hope bloomed in his chest. Worldwalker. Maybe it could help him escape the vat. Thankfully he only had to use his mind to select the Champion's Path. Unlocking Georealm gave him two points to place into the tree of abilities now available to him. The ones in Earthblood weren't use
ful right now, so he quickly dismissed them, focusing on the Worldwalker perk tree.

  Worldwalker [2 pts available]

  More points available as champion path goals met

  More abilities open at higher levels

  Pathway Traveler: Use the hidden paths for traversing the world [0/3]

  Traveler's Gift: Additional protections in lands not your own [0/5]

  Helpful Party: Bring your friends on these journeys [0/5]

  Terran read the Pathway Traveler perk a dozen times, even though the meaning was simple. Would it help him move out of the vat? Or did it only work on long distances? He placed a single point in the perk, which created an ability called Pathway Traveler, but the description gave him no further information except a mana cost that he thankfully could meet. With the new spell in his mind, he concentrated on casting it, the tug of mana making him dizzy—something that had never happened before, which led him to believe it was the yellow liquid, or the way the creation was draining away his life.

  But through the refraction, Terran witnessed the globe flicker as if his attempt had put pressure on it. Flynn! During the fight on the second level, a misfired chaos ball had hit the globe on the ceiling, but maybe it'd been fortunate after all, Flynn's weird luck coming through for them. The only problem was the attempt hadn't been enough to damage it further, but maybe if he could get his friends to push at the same time, they might get the globe to fail.

  Terran tried to speak, but whatever hold Grimchar had put on his vocal cords remained. He couldn't even get out a grunt. He managed to make eye contact with Zara, who seemed to be coming around. A bubble formed on her lips as she mouthed words, which came through as faint muffles. If he could only tell her, then she would tell the others.

  Luna, are you there, are you awake? he sent through their mental link. Luna, can you hear me?

  You don't have to shout, I'm right here, getting my life drained away slowly, she said.

  I'm sorry, Luna. This is all my fault you're here, he replied.

  For what it's worth, I have no regrets. You saved me from the Spirit Bear, after all, and it turns out you're not so bad, for a human. It's just too bad this is the end, said Luna.

  What if it's not?

  Don't mess with me, Terran. If you have a way out, let's do this, she said.

  I need your help. You and the others. There's a flaw in the globe from Flynn's chaos ball. If we put enough pressure on it, it might fail, which will give me a chance to get out of my vat, he said.

  Okay, said Luna, but how do we put pressure on it?

  I need you to tell the others since I still can't speak because of what Grimchar did to me, but tell them to try to cast their spells, use their abilities, whatever they can, said Terran. You too, Luna.

  The next few minutes were the longest of his life. Terran kept expecting Grimchar to wander back over, figure out what they were doing, and put a stop to it once and for all, but the necrochanter had disappeared from the room.

  We're ready, said Luna.

  Let's do it.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Terran watched Zara straining in her vat, fists at her side, staring at the globe as if she could make it explode with her mind. At first nothing happened, but then the globe flickered again, a spark spitting from the side. He willed his friends on, holding back his spell until the best possible moment. The globe flickered a second time, then a third, as black spots formed on the curved surface. The finale came when a spray of sparks shot over the tables like a balloon popping, and the globe went dark.

  Terran pumped his mana into his spell, which activated this time. He felt the whole world open up to him, as if his mind had been stretched. The sudden shift left him reeling with information. . He could see the continent of Belavar from high above—green carpets, crunchy gray mountains, the azure of deep ocean—and not just the region he was familiar with. He saw further out, where the Barghest tribes roamed. Beyond that was Moranne, with its high desert, painted canyons, and shining cities. There were other continents, islands too. It was almost too much, and he wanted to shut his eyes, but he needed this moment. He focused back down onto his location. Dialing in felt like trying to stitch a wound wearing thick wool gloves and wearing dark goggles.

  But the pull of the ghost tower, of Grimchar's power, gave him a spot to center on. Terran willed himself to move, to travel, to shift through the world. He hoped the magic of the spell would keep him from shoving himself inside a wall.

  After a moment of stomach churning, he landed on his knees, outside the vat, dripping with yellow liquid. Using his fingers, he cleared his eyes so he could see again, fearing for a moment that he'd moved too far away, or to another part of the tower, then the globe flickered back to life. Terran struggled to his feet, lurching towards the vats, which appeared on the far side, revealing his friends captured like insects in shifting honey.

  He reached the vats the moment that Grimchar came stumbling into the room, eyes wide, lips curled with anger. As the globe flickered, he staggered, clearly affected by the damage. Black vines crawled through the tables towards his ankles, but Terran hopped over them, reaching Zara's axe before Grimchar could recover.

  Rather than head to the vats, Terran approached the power globe with the axe on his shoulder, struggling to keep it aloft. He managed to lift it into the air as a vine snaked around his neck, pulling him backwards away from the globe, squeezing until his vision blurred. Terran struggled against the vine, but it was too strong, and Grimchar was slowly making his way across the room, leaning on every table as if his energy had been drained away. The axe was yanked out of Terran's hands to clatter to the floor near the vats. Before the dark spots in his vision could connect, Terran grabbed a pine cone from his pouch, turned it to stone, and lobbed it at the globe.

  The stone pine cone spun end over end in a long arc, landing on the globe right as Terran triggered it. The detonation slammed against the crack, which caused an explosion, as the energies contained within it broke free in a violent expansion, flipping tables and sending Terran and everything nearby away.

  Struggling to his knees, ears ringing and vision blurry, Terran yanked the vine away from his neck. It had lost its potency, more worm than constrictor. Two of the yellow vats had been cracked. Zara managed to kick her way out of hers, which sent a cascade of liquid across the floor.

  Fearing that they weren't yet out of danger, Terran approached Grimchar, who'd fallen to his knees, his cavernous robes turning him into a brown blob on the floor. The necrochanter shook as ochre gases hissed from his body as if he were deflating, emitting a horrendous stench. Terran approached with trepidation, finding his throat no longer bound by Grimchar's magic, as Zara broke the other vats, freeing his friends.

  Standing away from Grimchar, Terran watched as the necrochanter convulsed. He looked up at Terran, his face decaying rapidly, falling in on itself like a building being demolished from within. Flecks of flesh fell off as he aged, and Terran stepped back when Grimchar climbed to his feet defiantly, his back curved like a hook.

  "I will... I will…" he hissed.

  "Die," said Zara as she stepped into an axe swing, chopping right through Grimchar, exploding him into a yellowish-orange gas filled with insects that coalesced into a cloud and fled from the room.

  You have defeated Grimchar the Necrochanter!

  Quest completed: You have destroyed the source of the rot!

  You are now level 16!

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Terran could barely stand, the battle had taken a lot from him, but he had enough energy to share a smile of victory with his friends.

  "We look like a sorry lot, covered in yellow goo," said Flynn, chuckling.

  "I'm so gross I'm even considering a bath," said Luna, whiskers pulsing.

  Terran straightened as he winked at the lynx. "I know it's bad when you want a bath."

  "I can't believe we survived that," said Zara, shaking her head.

  "It only happened because w
e were all here," said Terran.

  "Now what?" asked Newt, who looked strangely dry.

  "Why, looting of course," said Terran. "You all search around the place. I need to see if any of the Mother Tree's essences are left."

  While the others spread out, Terran approached the globe, which only had a faint afterglow. He placed his hand on the surface near the crack, feeling nothing more than the memory of essence. Looking back at where Grimchar had been, Terran wondered if he'd taken the last remnants with him to aid his escape, or whatever he'd done, noting that he'd been defeated, not killed. Whatever had happened, he didn't think they'd have to deal with Grimchar for quite some time, if ever, especially since they'd destroyed the source of his power.

  The four yellow vats containing the other creatures were a different story. Terran sensed the essences even before he reached them. They had not yet been syphoned away, instead saved for whatever ritual would have helped Grimchar ascend once he'd used the Heart Staff to drain the rest of the essence from the Mother Tree.

  Terran only had to open himself up to the essences and four simultaneous experiences hit him at once. The impact of memories—the clash of steel, blood sprays in high arcs, the rage of the manticore, the quiet contemplation of the thyket—left him reeling. The competing pasts shot holes through his thoughts, until at last he realized he was standing again, helped by a worried Zara.

  "You okay?"

  The essences had settled inside him, their potency leaving him thrumming with power, but otherwise stable.

  "I am now, but getting back to the Mother Tree will be good," said Terran, eyes watering.

  "You don't look great." She wrinkled her forehead as she handed him the Heart Staff. "Will this help?"

  As soon as the thick wood pressed into his fingertips, the connection opened in his mind. The impact of the creatures' memories had been overwhelming, but they left through the connection as swiftly as a river, draining out of him, leaving him only fleeting thoughts. The release staggered him, but Zara was there to keep him from collapsing on the floor.