Eden's Gate: The Ascent: A LitRPG Adventure

by Edward Brody

  Obviously, I was supposed to connect the two pipes using the pipe in the center, and the water was supposed to enter the pipe on the right, fill the globe, and then flow to the pipe on the left. If there was enough water pressure in the pipes, the button inside the pipe on the left would be activated.

  It seemed simple enough, aside from the fact that the water wasn’t flowing into the globe and thus not filling the pipes. And well, the center wasn’t an easy fit.

  I looked back at the riddle on the wall and took note of the “Heed the obvious and fail” line. I wondered if my presumptive solution was too obvious. I wasn’t sure, but the options for solving the puzzle seemed very limited.

  I returned to the puzzle and toyed with the buttons for several minutes, trying to lower and raise the pipe. As it would go up and down, I’d use the center button to make it spin in hopes that it would snap into place with the other pipes, but no matter how many times I tried, the pipe never connected. Even when I seemed to make the pipe twist to fit at the perfect moment, it didn’t connect to anything. It was almost as if the pipe was just slightly too short.

  I kneeled to look at the underside of the pan, and I could see there was a wide, thin flap or trap door built into it, so the water was hitting that flap and dispersing into the holes. It seemed like there just wasn’t enough water pressure to push open the flap to allow anything into the globe.

  Considering the riddle warned against the obvious, I tried ignoring the pipe and pressed all the buttons and turned the handwheel in various orders to see if it was a sequential puzzle, but that didn’t work either. After thirty minutes of trial and error, I was completely stumped.

  I held my hand out and fired a Fireblast towards the statue across the room, but the magic simply bounced off the energy encapsulating it. I thought about firing a Fireblast at the hanging pipe as well but feared I might break the puzzle and ruin my chances of getting through.

  I closed my eyes and sat in a meditative position, trying to focus on the riddle and what it meant. The turn releasing nature’s gift undoubtedly referred to the handwheel releasing the water, and the press shall up and down and spin surely referred to the buttons controlling the pipe on the chain.

  Heed the obvious and fail? I wasn’t sure how to take that. Especially when the riddle said I’m full of lies. What if those two lines cancelled each other out? Maybe I was supposed to do the obvious, because the writer was a liar! It was all too confusing.

  And Winter’s exhale? What the heck was that supposed to mean? It seemed completely irrelevant.

  I eventually grew frustrated with trying to figure out the puzzle and decided to give up and recall back to my home. I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t figure it out, but I was glad it hadn’t turned out to be a deathtrap. As far as I knew, the puzzle wasn’t going anywhere, so I had plenty of time to figure it out later.

  Chapter Eight

  2/10/0001

  I woke up the next morning, gathered my required gear, and headed out the door.

  I smiled when I saw a couple of customers walking by and back in the direction of Highcastle. They both had pieces of armor nudged under their armpits, which they must have bought from our shop. Judging by their average leather attire, they were probably from Outer Highcastle. Though the path leading in that direction of Highcastle wasn’t complete, a few people had since found it and started exploring the area, bringing a trickle of new business.

  “Not a bad find,” one of them said.

  The other spit on the ground. “Fair prices, but I don’t feel comfortable with these dark fuckers around.”

  “Yeah, it’s weird to see humans mingling with the dirty bastards.”

  The other chuckled then stopped in his tracks. “But look at the body on that one.” He pointed and whistled. “I’d like to have a little fun with it, right before I cut ‘er ears off.”

  They both burst into laughter.

  They elf they were pointing at was Keysia, who was standing in a field tossing fruit in the air. Neshander was wrapped loosely around her body, and each time she’d let go of the fruit, he’d immediately lash out and snatch it with its teeth with lightning speed.

  “Hey!” I shouted towards the men.

  They both turned around and looked at my curiously.

  “You got a problem with the elves here?” I asked.

  The two men glanced at each other before one of them said asked, “What’s it to ya, mage?”

  “If you have a problem with dark elves, don’t come back to Edgewood.”

  One of the men shifted the items he bought under his arm a little and the other spit again. “And who the hell are you?”

  “This is my village… our village,” I said. “The dark elves are part of my team.”

  “So, you’re not a customer?” the man asked. “You’re teaming up with these things? Their own don’t even care for ‘em!”

  “Hey,” I said pointedly. “They’re not things. They’re people like you and me.”

  The spitting man frowned, wrinkled his nose, then pointed his finger at me. “Let me tell you something. You never know when one of these darkies is gonna snap. It’s one thing passing through here, but you’ve got a death wish if you’re living with them. You’re better off staying in Upper Highcastle with that belt you’re wearing.”

  I gritted my teeth. It was an uncomfortable situation, but the last thing I wanted to do was get in a physical altercation with a paying customer, especially with other customers around. In fact, we were lucky that there weren’t more issues arising from the mix of dark elf and human customers that we received. The guards usually stayed out of sight while guarding our perimeter, but there was no avoiding dark elves and humans from crossing paths.

  “Just get out of here,” I ordered.

  The men smirked, turned, and continued towards Highcastle.

  “And don’t come back!” I yelled.

  The men ignored me as they continued their walk, but one of them began strutting and whistled as they passed by Keysia.

  Keysia looked a little annoyed but didn’t take any action.

  I sauntered over to where she was training Neshander and mustered a half smile. “You okay?”

  “I’m quite alright,” Keysia said as she threw an apple into the sky.

  Neshander’s muscles fluctuated across her body as he sprung up and snapped the apple out of the air. He had grown almost double the size since the last time I saw him, and I couldn’t help but wonder if his weight was wearing Keysia down.

  “He’s getting big,” I stated.

  Keysia grabbed the apple out the great serpent’s mouth and rubbed her hand across his scaly head. “Great beasts grow fast in the Otherworld. He’ll be huge soon.”

  “Aaron told you about the mining, right?”

  Keysia nodded. “The miners are anxious to get to the cave to mine the Vorporite. I expect they’ll start gathering around here soon. Aaron also expressed interest in going, so once he’s awake, I’ll escort everyone to the cave. Since it’s their first time there, I’ll make sure the cave is clear and stand guard a while to make sure we don’t get ambushed.”

  “You’re awesome.”

  “Thank you, Gunnar,” Keysia said. “And what are you planning for today?”

  I felt a knot in my throat at the question, but I should have expected her to ask. She didn’t take it well the last time she heard that I was going to visit Adeelee. “I’m going to stop by the Vale with another mage, then head south of there to do a mission.”

  Keysia’s jaw tensed, and I could tell she was working to remain emotionless. “Oh… a mission. What sort?”

  “Sort of like a treasure hunt, I guess. A tool in the Mage’s Hall detected possible magic items in the area.”

  Keysia nodded. “Well, have a safe journey, Gunnar. I hope you enjoy your time there.”

  I sighed, gave her my best smile and nodded. “Thanks, Keysia. Thanks for all you do.”

  I turned around, clenched
my jaw, and immediately started shaking my head at what we had just said. I hope you enjoy your time? Thanks for all you do? Our exchange had seemed way too formal and business-like. Something just felt awkward the conversation.

  I made one last stop at the guild shop to pick up a plain, low-level magic staff. It was nothing special at all, with a low damage rating and 50 charges of something called “Spark”. But I wanted to followed Darion and Eanos’ directions, and it was the only staff that we had in stock with on-cast abilities.

  After leaving the shop, and once I was far away enough from our village that I was out of sight of any customers, I kneeled and slammed my hand into the ground. “Sora!”

  As usual, Sora came running within seconds of the energy flowing from my hands. Sensing my intentions, she immediately lowered herself to the ground.

  Hey, babe, I projected.

  Well, hello, father, she replied as I began mounting her. Are you flirting with me now? I will have to stop calling you ‘father’ if that’s the case.

  Of course not. I leaned over and rubbed behind her ears. Just missed you is all. Why do you think I’m flirting?

  As did I miss you. I’ve heard your friend, Aaron, refer to attractive females as ‘babe’. Don’t worry, I’ll take it as a compliment.

  I chuckled. Okay, take it however you want it. Take me to Highcastle, will you?

  Of course.

  Sora began a slow trot towards Highcastle.

  As we traveled through the thick of the forest, she questioned me again. Now that we’re alone, I’d like to hear the scoop. The dark elf girl or the elven Princess? I haven’t forgotten your promise to share your thought.

  I groaned. I did promise, didn’t I?

  Well, what is it? Which one?

  I’m equally attracted to them both, but I think I’m leaning towards Keysia. She’s smart, beautiful, strong…

  So is the Princess…

  I raised an eyebrow. She was right. Adeelee was all of the above…

  And she’s not a dark elf.

  Equally right.

  And she’s a Princess…

  “You’re just confusing me, Sora,” I said aloud.

  Just pointing out facts. But perhaps I’m biased because I like Tsarra… We get along so well. Does Keysia also have a pet of a similar kind?

  She has a serpent.

  A serpent?

  A great serpent.

  Sora shuddered underneath me. You know, Gunnar. Considering all things, I think you’ll do well to pursue the high elf girl. You are a much better match with her.

  Are you trying to match me with the Princess or match yourself with Tsarra?

  Sora lifted her head and swung it to the side as she continued forward. Just looking out for you is all.

  Sure, you are…

  We were still several hundred meters away from Highcastle when I saw Liam waiting near the outer perimeter. He sat unmoving atop a beautiful, creamy white horse. He yawned but then quickly jerked his head as soon as he noticed me approaching.

  His horse seemed a bit startled when we got close and reared back a little as if trying to keep its distance from Sora.

  “A cat?” Liam asked, his eyes wide.

  “A panther.” I rubbed my hand across Sora’s head. “She’s my girl.”

  “An unusual choice for a human, but… okay.” Liam raised his chin in the direction of the Crystal River. “Let’s get going then, shall well?”

  “Right,” I agreed. “Let’s go.”

  We traveled across the Freelands at a slow pace, and Liam didn’t speak much. Instead, he just smiled to himself, looked up to the sky, and seemed to constantly look over to me and stare for unusually long periods of time.

  “What?” I eventually asked.

  “Oh nothing…” he said. He looked off in the distance and held his arms out to his sides. “Isn’t it just beautiful outside today?”

  I looked around, and I suppose it was a beautiful day. But most days in the Freelands were pretty much the same. There wasn’t anything special going on at the time. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “Oh, I just love this air!” he said. He pulled on the reins of his horse, causing it to turn in a circle, and then when he was aligned in the direction we were heading, he made it jump once.

  I wasn’t sure how to respond to the comment, but he resumed his quietness and occasional long stares. At one point, he looked at me and twirled his tongue in his mouth in a provocative manner.

  After many more minutes of feeling a bit odd, I finally tried to move our conversation to something standard. “So, Liam… Why’d you join the Mages Guild?”

  Liam turned his head towards me slowly, then swiveled back in the direction where we were heading. I thought he might totally ignore my question, but after a few seconds, he said, “To become a powerful mage, of course.”

  I wanted to say, “No shit, Sherlock,” but I settled for the kinder, “Well, of course. But why do you want to become a powerful mage?”

  After another few seconds of silence, Liam said, “I need to repay a debt.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “What kind debt?”

  “A gambling debt.”

  “So, you’re a gambler?” I asked. “You know, my friend is a—"

  I didn’t accrue the debt,” Liam interrupted, and his voice turned cold. “My mother did… She was an addict until she was killed.”

  I swallowed, unsure if I should continue asking questions, but I couldn’t help but want to know more. “She was killed? And the debt was passed on to you?”

  We trotted along another five seconds or so without Liam saying word, just looked straight ahead as if he hadn’t heard me. Finally, he said, “My mother did well when she first started gambling. She was up 50,000 gold. I suppose it gave her confidence that she could win it all back when she lost it all. She kept borrowing and borrowing, always thinking she could claw herself out of the hole she had gotten herself into. A million gold, she owed.”

  My jaw went slack. “A million gold?”

  “Indeed,” Liam answered. “When it was clear that she’d never be able to repay her debt, the loan sharks came to collect—in blood. I was there when they pierced her heart, but there was nothing I could do.”

  I exhaled sharply and shook my head. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “No need to be sorry,” Liam said. “She had to pay for her mistakes.”

  “What? You agree with what they did?” I asked, shaking my head. “And if they did that, why would you want to pay them back a million gold?!”

  “I don’t have to like something to agree with it. It would be wrong of me to go after my mother’s killers when they merely killed her for her crimes.”

  “It’s just gold though, right?” I asked. “It’s not worth a life.”

  Liam glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, his face twisted in confusion. “Have you never killed for gold?”

  I licked my lips, suddenly feeling parched. I considered his question for a moment and thought about the act of killing for gold. When I first entered the game, Jax and I had killed animals to sell their pelts for gold, and I frequently looted any humanoid bodies of any type that I killed. Most of the quests I had been on that involved killing had a gold reward as well. So, I had indeed killed for gold, multiple times. “I guess I have, but—”

  “A half million gold,” Liam interrupted. “Enough to raise a small army. I’m probably the only person in Eden’s Gate who thinks my mother’s life was worth a million gold. To anyone else, she was merely a thief.”

  “You said it would be wrong to go after them, and yet you still want to pay them back?”

  Liam smirked and raised his chin, showing more emotion than he had the entire ride thus far. “I’ll save a million gold, and I’ll pay them back.” He cleared his throat. “Once my other’s debt is paid, they’ll be in debt to me for my mother’s murder, and right then and there, I’ll kill them all. If I succeed, I suppose dead men have no need for gold. I might as w
ell reclaim the payment as well.”

  I creased my brow. There was something noble and endearing about his plan, but it was more than a little twisted. If he was going to retake the gold after killing them, he might as well forget about repaying them in the first place. “That really doesn’t make much sense, you know?”

  Liam shrugged, and his voice suddenly perked back up to a happy-go-lucky tone. “You asked, so I told you. The Mages Guild gives me an outlet to make a lot of money, while simultaneously helping me gain the power to kill a group of powerful men.”

  I nodded, but then I remember the faction’s rules. “Aren’t members of the Mage’s Guild sworn to use their powers for good?”

  “It’s good enough for me,” Liam snarkily. “And quite frankly, if I’m in a position to kill those men, I don’t give a damn if I’m kicked from the faction or not. Once you reach ‘master’ status, there’s little reason to remain a member unless you intend to become a teacher or you’re hungry for more and more gold. They don’t even have a belt for grandmaster mages.”

  “Grandmaster?” I asked.

  Liam turned to me and squinted. “Oh! Why do you seem to know so little?”

  I shrugged. “I’m new to the guild, remember?”

  “Hmmm,” Liam said. “Well, when mages exceed magic masters—far above what’s taught in the Mages Guild, they’re granted the title of Grandmaster. It’s an intrinsic title, not given by the guild. There aren’t even grandmasters who are part of the guild currently, as far as I know. Very few ever reach that level.”

  I leaned back on Sora and held in a grin. I had been stoked when I earned the title “Arcane Blade,” but getting a Grandmaster title was something I’d have to add to my bucket list.

  Liam took a deep breath. “And you? Why did you join the Mages Guild?”

  There were several reasons I had joined—Dryden, Ancients, and to just get powerful in general. But there was my primary drive, which is the one I shared. “I want to become an Arena champion.”

  “That’s a rather petty reason to join the guild,” Liam with a huff.