Lord of the Dead: A LitRPG Saga (The Eternal Journey Book 2)

by C. J. Carella

  “Wow,” Nadia finally said. Her status marker jumped to level eight.

  “Grats.”

  “Thanks,” she said.

  Nadia had changed physically. Her ears were just a little bit longer and pointier, and he could swear she had grown an inch, maybe a bit more. Her blue eyes had turned a deep shade of purple; there was no doubt about that. And she had grown more beautiful, too, or maybe her Charisma had increased by several levels. Whatever it was, she was hot as hell.

  “That was something else,” she said.

  “Wonderful. Tell me about it after I’m done.”

  “Wait.” Her purple eyes were blazing with an almost hypnotic quality. “I am really… I want you. Now.”

  She leaped at him. And he welcomed her.

  * * *

  “I wish someone in the Realms had invented cigarettes,” she said afterwards.

  “You never said you were a smoker.”

  “I wasn’t, not by the time I joined the Guild. I quit smoking in my thirties. I always loved to light up after a good romp in the sack, as my last boyfriend used to say. Come to think of it, I gained like forty pounds in the six months after I quit, which didn’t help my health.”

  “Never picked the habit,” he said. “Tried pot a few times, but it made me stupid, so I stopped.” He caressed her lightly. “That was pretty wild, by the way.”

  Nadia giggled. “Turns out that Fae do have more fun! Holy smokes!”

  “It was a lot of fun,” he agreed. In fact, not only had Nadia’s new Fae pheromones and flexibility turned her into a sexual dynamo, but he had also learned that his Advanced Mana Sight let him know exactly how his partner felt at every step of the way, and how to make her feel better at just the right times. He couldn’t do it all the time – it became distracting enough to kill his mood – but Tava was going to get a big surprise, next time they got together. And Saturnyx, of course, although she wouldn’t be surprised, just happy.

  “It also took a good while longer than I expected.”

  Saturnyx noted dryly.

  You didn’t…

 

  “I heard that,” Nadia said.

  Hawke shrugged. “No secrets in this household. Not with a Fury that reads all our thoughts. And likes to make home movies.”

  “You know, I would probably hate being in this situation if I didn’t like everyone involved so much.”

  “My feelings exactly. Now, please go hang out with Tava while I try to claim the Mana Node without blowing it up.”

  “Don’t boss me around, macho man.”

  “I asked nicely. Don’t make me spank you.”

  “I’m going. And don’t threaten me with a good time.”

  * * *

  After Nadia was safely outside the Lair, Hawke accessed the Node and tried to wake up his inner Fae.

  It should have been harder for him. He was only a Half-Elf, his Sidhe blood diluted by three-quarters rather than half in Nadia’s case. Through Advanced Mana Sight, he spotted the parts of him that matched the energies of the Node, and figured out how to attune the rest of him to those frequencies. He even managed to suppress some of the physical changes the Awakening tried to trigger. He didn’t want to be taller than he already was, so he put a stop to that. His ears got noticeably pointier, but that was okay. And the new purple hue his eyes gained didn’t hurt his looks, so he let it happen. He gained one extra Charisma level, free of charge. But there was more:

  Congratulations! You have unlocked Nature Magic!

  You have learned three new Nature spells: Nature’s Grip, Nature’s Guardian, and Deadly Roots.

  Nature’s Grip

  Time to Cast: 2 seconds. Cooldown: 5 seconds. Cost: 5 Mana. Duration: 10 seconds. Range: 120 feet. Effect: Roots emerge from the ground and wrap themselves around the target, making movement impossible and inflicting 1 point of Physical damage per level. Dodge tasks are at -50% while immobilized. Breaking free has a chance of success equal to 5% for every point of Strength over 20; +25% for Large creatures, +60% for Gigantic creatures.

  Nature’s Guardian

  Time to Cast: 10 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Cost: 30(18) Mana. Duration: 2 minutes. Range: 10 feet. Effect: Creates one of three kinds of Nature (Earth and Life Amalgam) Elementals that will serve the caster until they are destroyed or their duration expires.

  Defender Guardian (Bear): Health: 50 per caster level, Resistances: Physical: 20/50%, Elemental (All): 15/30%, Forces (All): 10/25%. Attacks: 2 Physical Damage per caster level.

  Fighting Guardian (Deer): Health: 30 per caster level, Resistances: Physical: 10/30%, Elemental (All): 10/20%, Forces (All): 10/20%. Attacks: Gore: 4 Physical damage per caster level. Charge: 8 Physical damage per caster level.

  Scouting Guardian (Eagle): Health: 20 per caster level, Resistances: Physical: 5/20%, Elemental (All): 2/10%, Forces (All): 2/10%. Attacks: Claws: 1 Physical damage per caster level. Divee: 4 Physical damage per caster level.

  Deadly Roots

  Time to Cast: 4 seconds (instant). Cooldown: 10 seconds. Cost: 8 Mana. Duration: 10 seconds. Range: 120 feet. Effect: All enemies in a twenty-foot radius are ensnared by gripping roots that inflict 1 Physical damage per caster level and immobilize them for ten seconds. Breaking free has a chance of success equal to 5% for every point of Strength over 20; +25% for Large creatures, +60% for Gigantic creatures.

  Nice, he thought after checking the effects. He had seen Gosto use them before. His only problem was that he now had so many spells available that it was easy to forget them in the heat of battle. He would need to do some training to avoid that.

  Hawke also was able to pick three new Perks from a brand-new list:

  High Sidhe Perks

  Aegis of the Fae: Gain an inherent 10% Resistance to all Elements, Schools of Magic, and Forces.

  Fae Stealth: You meld with the colors of your surroundings, becoming 60% harder to spot while standing still, or 20% when moving. This will affect Stealth Tasks involving sight.

  Gifts of the Sidhe: +2 to three Attributes, or +6 to one Attribute.

  Greater Fey Regeneration: Regain 1 Health per second (60 per minute)

  Master of Mana: Increase Mana regeneration by 10 per minute.

  Sidhe Caster: Reduce Mana cost of spells by 2 or 20%, whichever is greater.

  Skills of the Fae: Increase six Skills by 1 level each.

  Sidhe Speed Casting: Reduce time to cast and spell cooldowns by two seconds or twenty percent, whichever is greater.

  Vigor of the Sidhe: Increase your Health by 5 per level.

  More Perks are available at higher levels.

  He could already insta-cast almost every spell that didn’t require a lengthy ritual, but the twenty percent cooldown reduction was too good to pass up, and unlike the regular version, it affected all Elements and Schools of Magic. He selected Sidhe Speed Casting right away, Aegis of the Fae to increase his tankiness, and Sidhe Caster to cut back on his Mana expenses. The High Fae were completely OP when compared to humans or other species. It didn’t seem fair, but nobody had asked his opinion about it. Maybe if he reached a high enough level, his opinion might count for something.

  Quest Completed: Awaken Your Sidhe Heritage

  You have earned 90 Experience (10 diverted towards Leadership).

  Current XP/Next Level: 5,329/16,000. Leadership XP: 5,254/6,000

  Hawke couldn’t even complain about the paltry XP reward. He had gained some huge bennies and had the potential to pick up several more as he progressed on the Path, as they liked to call leveling in the Realms. Now all he had to do was claim his new Node, go home, and have some wild times with his ladies. He sent another Mana tendril towards the Node.

  You have accessed: Level 5 M
ana Node (Nature). You have the following choices:

  Leave Mana Node alone: No risk or reward. Y/N

  Claim Mana Node: +1,000 Experience, +100 Mana as long as you are within 1 mile/level from the Node. Y/N

  Destroy Mana Node: +2,000 Experience, +5 Spirit. Y/N

  Absorb Mana Node, becoming attuned to Nature Magic. Y/N

  He selected ‘Claim.’ In this case, there was no Guardian to defeat. The Lair had been the ‘guardian,’ more or less, and conquering it had left the Node wide open for a takeover. After all he had been through, the notification that he had succeeded felt almost like a letdown.

  For claiming a Mana Node, you have earned: 900 Experience (100 diverted towards Leadership).

  Current XP/Next Level: 6,229/16,000. Leadership XP: 5,354/6,000

  You are now a Level Two Node Master! New Abilities Available.

  Hawke went through the options and picked Node Travel. Now he could go back and forth between his two Nodes and the Town Core. With Node Recall, that meant that as long as he was within a hundred miles of either Node, he could travel there and then jump to Orom a moment later. It made traveling a lot more convenient, not to mention making a quick getaway in an emergency. A new notification opened up:

  Do you wish to devote some of your Experience toward increasing your Node Mastery Level? Y/N

  Current Node Mastery XP/Next Level: 1,000/3,000

  Sighing, Hawke allocated ten percent toward raising his Node Mastery. At that rate, he was going to be level twelve for a long time. As he headed for the exit, he reminded himself that in a couple of days, he would lead an expedition to the Necromancer’s Stronghold. He should pick up a level or two along the way.

  Or die trying.

  Twenty-Eight

  “Nobody has seen or heard from him,” First Sergeant Marko reported.

  Hawke didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried. Desmond had never returned to Orom. The Sterns hadn’t spoken to him since Hawke’s party had left for the Lair, and nobody had seen a big guy wearing former Guard Captain Brunes’ armor, or even a big guy matching Desmond’s description. Assuming Desmond was heading somewhere civilized, he had three possible routes: Akila to the northeast, Alpinia to the south, and the Kingdom of Dun-Takah to the northwest. If the Warrior was careful and stayed off the main roads, he could probably avoid being spotted until he was far enough away that it didn’t matter who saw him. He had bought enough food and water to last him for two or three weeks, so he could easily never see or talk to anybody in Orom’s countryside.

  Good riddance, I guess, he thought, echoing Gosto’s last comment about the Earthling.

 

  Saturnyx’s blunt advice was right on the money. If Desmond wanted payback, he would come back. There was nothing Hawke could do about it, and plenty of other things he needed to look after. He went back to his office, ran a perfunctory check of the Town Interface, and then sat down and looked at the list of volunteers. Over forty townspeople had volunteered up for the town guard or to join the expedition to the Sunset Range. Mostly young guys without good prospects, and some who thought the songs and tales sounded like a lot of fun. He would have Kinto run them ragged for a while and see how many stuck around afterwards.

  On his way back to town, Hawke had finally managed to check the new options his Leadership ability had gained. As was often the case, he wished he could take them all, but was limited to one per level. He could choose up to four different abilities, raise one of them to level four, or any combination of the two:

  Leadership Boons (Boon Level cannot exceed Leadership Level)

  Charge I: Members in the Party are stronger when attacking. +10% to damage and spell effects when on the attack. Each additional level raises the bonus by 10%.

  Chosen Foe I: Your Party will be stronger when facing an enemy of your choice, gaining a 20% bonus to all attack and defense tasks, damage, and effects. One species or kin can be selected. Additional levels will increase the bonuses against the same species. This Boon can be taken more than one time to choose additional enemies.

  Command I: Increase the maximum number of people in the Party from eight to fifteen, and remove level limits for Party members. Each additional Command level increases that total by ten.

  Defender I: When standing on the defensive, all Resistances, attempts to overcome magical effects, and other defensive modifiers are increased by 10%. Additional levels increase this bonus by 10%.

  Eyes of the Leader I: You can see through the eyes of any Party member within a hundred yards per level of this Boon.

  Generalship I: You can raise the effective level of all Party members by one. Members who are not on the Path will become first-level Warriors with adjusted Characteristics but no new Abilities or Attribute bonuses. Additional levels increase the Party members’ effective levels.

  Messenger I: You can speak to anybody in the Party and they will hear you as if you were standing next to them, at up to 100 yards per Leadership Level. Additional Levels increase this range. You can only use this Boon to reach one member at a time.

  Right off the bat, Hawke picked Chosen Foe (Undead). That was a no-brainer. The other choices required a little more thought. He went for Command I and II, which let him add up to twenty-five people to the Party, and Generalship I, which would turn all the normies in the group into first-level Warriors, doubling their Health and Endurance. The boost to everyone else’s level wouldn’t hurt, either.

  There still was a lot of work left before he could lead a Party into battle. He needed to get everyone’s gear repaired, including his own. He had spoken to Katros the Blacksmith, who said that if Hawke helped, he could have all the stuff ready in two days. That meant two twelve-hour days of hard labor under the smith and his pain in the ass son, who didn’t like that his father had taken on a new apprentice, even if said apprentice was the new Prefect of the town. Katros’ family had a healthy lack of respect for authority. Hawke wondered if it was because their skills made them too valuable to antagonize. Maybe he should encourage more people to take up an Arcane Vocation.

  There was time for a couple more visits before he went off to play Blacksmith. Hawke was going to check with the Town officials to make sure there were no other pending business. But before that, he headed for Flava Octaves’ House of Healing.

  Medical care in Orom largely depended on two people. Patros and his students, who provided basic healing to the sick and injured, and Flava the Arcane Alchemist, who supplemented the Priest’s services with her potions and herb lore. She and her two daughters and apprentices made a handsome living selling minor healing poultices, potions, and other remedies. The concoctions worked, were easy to store and have at hand for an emergency, and the prices were not much higher than Patros’ gentle but firm requests that his patients contribute to the Temple, either in cash, labor, or goods. Hawke had not met Flava yet. He hoped to remedy that before he had to leave for the big battle ahead.

  The shop was on the south part of town, a few blocks away from the Prefect’s Keep. It was a simple two-story home with a colorful pink façade, decorated by flowerpots displaying a variety of plants. Through the open door, he saw counters filled with assorted containers and a tall and slender woman standing behind one of them:

  Flava Octaves (Half-Elf)

  Level 7 Alchemist

  Health 20 Mana 104 Endurance 22

  She was the first Half-Elf Hawke had met in Orom; she looked completely human, except for a slight glint in her eyes as she turned towards him in the relatively gloomy store, sort of like the way a cat’s eyes light up when the conditions are right. Her hair had been blonde once but was mostly gray now, and her face was long and narrow, what an unkind person could describe as horsey. She nodded and gave him a professional grin when he entered.

  “Your Holy Eminence,” she said. “You honor my humble store with your presence.” Speaking in Common Fey, she went on: “Merry meet
, fellow sojourner from the Lands of Light.”

  The response jumped to Hawke’s mind and he spoke: “Merry in the meeting, merry in departing, and merrier in meeting again. May the blood of the immortals flow freely through your veins.”

  Flava’s smile widened. “Ah. Your holy eminence knows the Old Ways. And I see you have done more than accept your Fae origin. The coloring of your eyes suggests the Path will take you to Alfheim one day.”

  She’s sharp, Hawke thought as he said, “That is possible, Lady Alchemist.”

  “I must admit I had some reservations about meeting another Fae-Blooded. I am glad they proved unfounded. But that is not why you are here, of course. How may I serve you?”

  “I am seeking to help Kinto, my future father-in-law,” Hawke said. “I want to find a way to restore his health.”

  “Ah. Something many seek, and few achieve. Kinto has been here to see me. I examined him. He is seven and seventy years old. His Adventurer’s vigor has already decayed to half what it used to be. In three, five years at the most, they will be reduced by three fourths. After that… a harsh winter, a fall with no help available, or simply his heart stilling; the roads are many, but they all reach the same destination. Such is the fate of mortal men.”

  “But there are ways around that.”

  “Yes. A fifteenth level Priest or Healer may undo the ravages of age, at a high cost: one Mana per year restored, permanently sacrificed. To help Kinto would require the loss of at least thirty Mana, fifty to turn him into a young man once again. Few practitioners in the Common Realm have that much power to spare, and most of those have better uses for it, such as ensuring they themselves remain young. A hundred to two hundred gold for each Mana sacrificed may be enough to entice such practitioners, but some will want more. If you have four or five thousand gold and the means to travel to a great city where such practitioners can be found, you can restore Kinto.”