A Mage Rising: (The Chronicles of Herst 2: A LitRPG Saga)

by Thomas Whipple

  The farmer walks off and I’m left alone to continue preparing the land for crops. More tedious work, but someone has to do it. While I am doing this I also take the time to pave a road directly west from the first bridge I made and then straight north to the gate. My mind starts to wander, as it does when not occupied. What is it that Gwydia wants me to do here? She says that her goal is to increase the influence of magic on this world. I might be a little cynical, but I can’t help but think that there has to be something in it for her. I guess that increasing the influence of magic in the world would also increase her power over it. She is the goddess of magic after all. Still, I do owe her for bringing me here. Death may lurk around every corner but I never felt so alive.

  I chuckle at my own overly dramatic thoughts a little as I walk. Yeah, there is danger here, but it isn’t that bad. It has been weeks since I fought anything and, if I am being honest with myself, I am just itching for a fight. This world has definitely changed me, but that is the nature of humanity. We may not always like it but we are ever changing individuals. When I get back to the gate it’s late and the sun has already set a few minutes ago. I was able to take care of about half of the land that needed to be leveled out. I worked a little later than usual because tomorrow I’ll need to bring my team out to handle the skolocs.

  On my way back to the keep I stop at Bolden’s shop where Beccer is looking at one of the shelves. “Hey Beccer, how is it going?” he looks up from shelf after straightening the item there.

  “Hi Vol, didn’t expect you to come by. I was just cleaning around here before closing up. I told the wife I would do it so she could head home. I think my dad is already up at the keep if you are looking for him.”

  “Actually I came to look at a few skill books. Timbre is a little light on skills since most of her talent points seem to focus on passive things. I’ll make it quick so you can get home for dinner” I tell him. At his amiable nod I walk over to the shelf with the skill books. There are a large variety of skills from crossbow to regular bow specific skills, pikes and spears to swords and daggers. Every kind of specialization I could think of had skills represented here. I may need to come back and look a little for myself sometime. For now though I focus on what Timbre can use.

  Skill Book: Power Strike: Your melee weapon moves faster, making it harder to avoid and causing more damage. Class: Any.

  Skill Book: Crush: Using a blunt weapon against an armored target causes massive damage. May destroy or otherwise deform armor making it useless or causing it to hinder movement. Class: Any. Blunt weapon ability Level 7+.

  Skill Book: Shockwave: Slam a Blunt weapon into the ground causing a shockwave to travel out in a 30 degree cone. Stuns targets for 2 seconds and may knock them down. Class: Fighter only. Blunt weapon ability Level 10+

  Skill Book: Primal Shout: Your warrior spirit calls to your team mates and heats their blood. Increases damage of all party members. Class: Fighter only.

  Skill Book: Taunting growl: Release an intimidating growl to strike fear into the hearts of those that oppose you. This will cause all nearby enemies to attack you or weak enemies to cower in fear. Class: Fighter only. STR 30+

  Skill Book: Shield Wall: Your defense with a shield is unbreakable. For 10 seconds the area your shield covers doubles and you take no damage from any strikes to it. Class: Fighter only. Shields level 10+. VIT 30+

  I find six books total that Timbre should be able to use. When Azzaria and I were first starting to improve her communication skills we asked about her stats. At level thirteen STR, AGI and VIT are all above thirty. INT is at eight and WIS is ten. With that information I was able to pick out what Timbre should be able to use. I’m not sure where her weapon ability levels are at but I figure she should be able to use all of this at some point if not now. I quickly take the six books up to the counter and 150 gold later I am walking away with the new skills books for my lovely dire wolf companion.

  When I get back to the keep Thia alights upon my shoulder just as I walk through the entrance. She followed me out of the town earlier and observed everything from above. She tells me she wants to be here with me when I tell everyone and come up with a plan. When I enter the main hall I can see that everyone is already eating. That is what I get for being late I guess. Thia takes a spot at the table next to me and Azzaria as Dolan tosses her a piece of meat from his plate. I join everyone in a comfortable silence as we eat.

  Getting a late start I am the last one to finish and, when I do, Bolden sets something on the table in front of him. Chewing the last bite of my meal, I push away my plate and look at the object. It looks like a torq of steel with a garnet in a setting on one end. When I look up at Bolden with a questioning glance he fills me in.

  “That is what a slave collar looks like” he tells me. Then he demonstrates closing the other end into the setting with the garnet, latching it in place. The item is now forming an unbroken ring of steel too small for a persons head to fit through. “I just finished altering the enchantment today. This can still function as a slave collar but I was able to remove the restriction that prevents a person from claiming themselves.” He hands the collar over to Azzaria, who takes it with a little trepidation. “I already tested it so I know it’s safe. Just put it on and then use your own blood to bind it by putting some on the garnet.”

  Azzaria puts it around her neck and closes it with an audible click. She then pricks her thumb with her dagger and smears the blood across the garnet. The gem glows a bright red for a moment and then dims down to the point that a small red light can be seen in its depths, but the light doesn’t go out. Another moment goes by and she releases a breath she was holding. “I don’t feel anything” she tells us.

  Bolden chuckles at that. “That is the point. That there is a working slave collar but you control yourself, just as you would without one on. With these horrid things there can be only one master though, so no one can place another collar on you while you wear it. I tested that too. The second collars enchantment won’t engage and it just falls off.”

  There is some chatter but I ignore it and ask Bolden another question. “Can you make me a few more of these? I would like one for Timbre and I may need a few more for people I free in the city.”

  “Not a problem. I can have a few more ready tomorrow” he tells me.

  The excitement over, I get serious and relate to them our new problem with skolocs. Then I tell them my plan. There is some debate, but in the end the council agrees and we all retire to our rooms. Before I head off to bed with Azzaria I call Timbre over to sit next to me on a couch. “Please change forms Timbre.” Her head tilts to the side for a moment, and then she is a beautiful woman sitting next to me on the couch. Azzaria watches from the door to our bedroom as I start to pull the skill books I bought out one at a time. I set them all on the table in front of Timbre and her eyes get bigger with each one. “These are for you Timbre.”

  She bounces up and down on the couch a couple of times. “Thank you!” The next thing I know she has lunged at me, knocking me over on the couch. On top of me now she presses her lips to me and slips her tongue into my mouth before I can react. Her tongue plays with mine for a couple seconds and then, like nothing happened, she hops off me and starts reading the first skill book. The pages are already turning on their own when I open my mouth to say…something. At a loss I turn, dread filling my thoughts, and see Azzaria smirking at me and shaking her head. I thought she would be mad at something like this, but instead she is just smiling and telling me to leave her to her study. I never got women in my previous life on Earth, I don’t’ know why I would expect to understand now. With a shrug of the shoulders I get up and retire with Azzaria for the night.

  Chapter 4

  I wake up to the sound of cymbals crashing. Bolting upright I look around frantically for the marching band that decided my bedroom was their practice space. Nothing. The sound cuts off and IMA speaks to me. “Good morning Vol.”

  My sudden movement woke
Azzaria and she is looking at me funny. “IMA, what was that?”

  “That was the wake up call that you requested. I would also like to suggest that you check on your Land Development Menu this morning. Particularly the Quests section.”

  Curious, I open the aforementioned menus and see there are a couple new quests. It also seems like there is no choice in accepting them or not.

  Quest: Trouble at home: Your people have identified a threat to your farmers. Skolocs are making a home near your home and the threat they pose will only increase with time. Purge the threat from your land and ensure the safety of your citizens.

  Quest: Rising Tide: There is a growing threat beneath the heart of your domain that must be addressed. Claiming the Mana Fount has started the formation of a dungeon under the heart of your land. If you do not clear the dungeon soon and bring it under your control then creatures will spill out to threaten your land.

  The first one I should have expected. The second one is a surprise though. A dungeon on my land? Where the hell is it? “Azzaria, I have a quest for the town to eliminate the skolocs, but there is another for a dungeon. It says that it’s forming in the heart of my land, but I can’t think of where it could be. Any ideas?”

  She gets a thoughtful look for a minute before she answers. “The reference to the heart of your land makes me think of the keep. The only place that hasn’t seen regular traffic is behind that door you sealed in the crystal room.”

  She has a point. “We’ll have to check it out after we deal with the skolocs. Do you know anything about dungeons?”

  “Not much. I have heard of them and how they make good places to train, but entry to most is controlled. I think they are usually used to train military forces, one of the reasons that soldiers can reach level twenty or higher. The closest thing we have to a scholar is Lortan. He may be able to answer your questions about dungeons.”

  “The man who runs the scribe shop? We can talk to him later then. For now, let’s get some breakfast and prepare for the task at hand. Is any of your gear enchanted?” She shakes her head no. “I’ll enchant it like I did mine. Protection on the vest and helmet with speed on everything else. Timbre’s will need the same treatment since I know none of her gear is enchanted.” With a plan set we both will our clothes on from our respective storage spaces and leave the room. On our way out I don’t even have to wave to Timbre who is already waiting to follow us out in her dire wolf form.

  After we eat I lead everyone down to the room Azzaria called the crystal room. First thing I do is take some of the Mana Crystals and store them to replenish my dwindling stocks. Then I grab a few more and set them on the lone table in the room. “Azzaria, you are up first. Place your gear on the table.” When she does I start working. I have to take a break mid way through to recover my mana. Done with my work I hand her the newly enchanted Stone Tortoise armor and wave Timbre over.

  “Please change forms Timbre.” When she complies with my request I have her take off her armor and enchant it the same way I did for Azzaria. I don’t bother with the shield and hammer and put them in my storage. That gets a concerned look from Timbre’s sky blue eyes. I wink at her and hand over the armor I enchanted. When Timbre has the armor on again I say “OK, next stop” and lead them down the hall. As we walk I ask something I have been curious about for awhile. “How long can you maintain this form Timbre?”

  “Half of each day. Next level I will have no restrictions” is her answer.

  When we enter Dolan’s workshop I see that he is working on the items I asked him to make for Timbre. It takes a minute but he looks up when he sets the shield aside for me to work on. “I sent me apprentice out to find ya but he must a missed ya. That be ready for ya and the other be in a couple o’ minutes” he tells me before he turns to work on the hammer. I thought about what to do for these items while I was out leveling crop fields yesterday so I am prepared. For the forging enchant I decided to go with durability on both. I set out Mana Crystals and focus on strengthening the shield against damage. Like usual, the crystals liquefy and enter the item. The result is better than I expected. The overall durability looks to have gone up as well as it having a resistance to damage. When I’m done, Dolan and I trade and I do the same thing to the hammer.

  My part finished for the moment I find a place to wait with the others and sit on a bench at a nearby work table. “Are those for me?” Timbre asks in a hopeful voice.

  I pat her on the knee as I respond. “Of course I couldn’t have you out there fighting with shoddy equipment if I can help it. You’re my companion!” She gives me a hug and the customary lick to the cheek in appreciation. I can’t help but remember her kiss from last night, worried about what it means. She is done talking for the moment and stares attentively as Dolan makes a few more hammer strikes. Taking out a chisel, he etches both items quickly with a sure hand. The whole time Timbre watches anxiously.

  When he is done I walk over and take a good look at the items. The mithril shield is in the shape of a coffin lid, but only half the height so that it’s not a hindrance. It is also curved to fit snugly around a person when held close to the body. Etched into the face is a snarling wolf head. The passive enchantment I place on it is defense and adds both magical and physical damage resistance. For the active enchantment I place the same Mana Barrier spell on it that my staff has. The effect that is added is much different than what my staff has though. Activating this enchantment allows for a shock absorber effect, preventing knock back or other similar effects.

  Looking over the mithril hammer I see that the striking surface is wide and tapers slightly in a cone to the handle. On the back side is a spike like a talon that curves slightly back toward the handle. There is also a straight spike coming off the top about half a foot long for jabbing. It’s about three feet long from the sapphire set in the bottom of the handle to the tip of the straight spike. The war hammer is etched with jags of lightning, much like my armor. As Timbre is the front man in our group I decide to make her enchantments ones that work best in that manner. The passive that I add is a poison damage. It gives the weapon the ability to add a weak poison debuff to enemies. The kicker is that the poison stacks, increasing the damage with each hit and making it ideal for someone in a prolonged battle. The active enchantment I add is a little bit of crowd control and extra damage following the etched theme. The lightning effect, when activated, adds lightning damage with a chance to paralyze the target.

  I notice that I gained a level in my enchanting when I am done with everything. My work done, I hand it all to Timbre. She eagerly takes her new armaments and actually hugs them to her chest. When she hooks her arm through the shield’s strap she gets into a battle stance with the hammer back in a ready position. After a few practice swings she hooks the shield to her back and slings the hammer through a loop on her belt before looking to me. Giving me a fierce smile, the look in her eyes tells me she is looking forward to trying out her new gear.

  Saying our goodbyes to Dolan we leave his smithy and head for the exit. When we get outside the keep we see Grondar and Derl waiting for us in the main square. Behind them are ten guards in two rows of five across. As we approach I address the two of them. “Grondar, Derl, good to see you. I assume this is the lot you chose to back us up?”

  “That’s right. Derl and I will both lead a team of five. As you are the leader of this excursion, please create the raid and invite me and Derl. If you give us permissions we can invite our groups” he tells me.

  Azzaria and I never disband our party so I just will it to be a raid and then mentally invite them to it. A few minutes later everyone is in the raid group and we head south. As we walk Grondar and Derl fall in beside me. “What is the plan Vol” Derl asks.

  “Simple. Me, Azzaria, Timbre and Thia will enter the copse of trees and take out the different groups of skolocs along the river. You and your men will use the two groups to form a perimeter to intercept any stragglers that try to run. If we get overwhelmed then
we will fall back for extra support from one of your groups. Any suggestions?”

  There is a moment of silence as everyone thinks for a time. Then Grondar offers his advice. “I think it’s best if we spread out some to prevent any from slipping away. A single skoloc shouldn’t be an issue for my men one on one and they can always get help from the man on either side. Other than that, we will have our men follow you into the copse and set up in ambush positions not far from the river.”

  I like the idea to fight from ambush. That should make sure that any fights are over quickly and it will be less likely anything gets through. “Sounds good. I know you all won’t let me down.”

  We approach the copse of trees from the opposite side of the river and the guards break off to form a line behind my group. We all enter the tree line quietly and slink forward. About a hundred feet from the river the guards all stop advancing and start hiding. Thia flies between the trees and mentally leads me to the first group of skolocs. When we are close enough to observe them I can see that the group we will fight first has a male brute along with the two females being an ambusher and a hunter. I tell the other members of my party what I see, but we don’t need to go over the plan. We have been through enough battles to know what needs to be done.