Nova Terra: Liberator - A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure (The Titan Series Book 5)

by Seth Ring

  “Haha, it's not that great.” Thorn laughed. “I have to use shadows big enough to fit my body through, which isn’t always easy as a ten foot tall, thirty foot long wolf.”

  “Did I mention my bird form is tiny?” Corvo said, fixing Thorn with a death stare.

  Coughing, Thorn looked away, refusing to meet his fellow avatar’s eyes. The Elven avatar of Huginn had certainly gotten the short end of the stick, even compared to the other avatars that Thorn had met, let alone Thorn himself.

  “We will pick a team and head back your direction. Athena will lead the Charging Wolf Army to continue attacking the supply camps. If we can come up with a plan that will allow me to participate, I will. Otherwise I’ll just come back to the harbor. I’m not going to be much help in either case. Does that sound good?”

  “Sure, I’ll start working on a plan. I’m sure we’ll be able to come up with something that will let you sneak into the camp.”

  “Great, see you soon.”

  Closing the call, Thorn began to comb over the Charging Wolf Army roster. The Charging Wolf Army was made up from the players from all ten of the Iron Wolf Army battalions who had been able to complete the reputation quest with the Children of the Moon. The uneven composition of the army skewed toward ranged DPS players and support players, but there were a fair amount of stealth based players for Thorn to pick from.

  After discussing it with Athena, Thorn finally settled on a team of four other players who all had a teleport ability and some form of stealth. Three of the other players had a ranged DPS focus along with their stealth abilities, and the last was a Shadow Assassin like Jorge. Gathering them together, Thorn explained what they were going to do.

  “It turns out that there are a few Orcs that we need to take down. Our brain trust has determined that the best way to do that is run an assassination mission. We’ll be going into an active Orc army camp to take down the three Cog priests.”

  Thorn paused and gestured for the woman who raised their hands to speak.

  “Yes, GhillieGhillie, go ahead.”

  “Is this a suicide run?”

  “No, I hope not. But the possibility is there. I mean, it is a full Orc camp. Until we see what the final plan is, I am not sure what our chances of getting out alive are, but they could very well be low. I don’t want to force anyone to their death, so if you are not interested in participating that is fine.”

  “Nah, I’m good. I just wanted to know if I should leave my nice gear at home.” GhillieGhillie grinned and held up a glittering crystal bow. “I have no problem with a suicide run as long as the pay is good.”

  “You can be sure of that.” Thorn nodded. “If there is one thing that Nova Luna is not lacking, it is the ability to give rewards. Everyone who participates will be generously rewarded. Additionally, if we do die, there will be additional compensation.”

  “Great, I’m in.”

  “Excellent, how about the rest of you?”

  The other three players shared a look and then nodded their heads. The cost of death in Nova Terra was significant, but unless they dropped a priceless piece of gear, they could make up the proficiency loss over time. On the other hand, if they took the risk they were sure to be rewarded handsomely.

  “Good. Let’s do our introductions as we go. Athena,” Thorn turned to his aunt. “We are going to head out. Let me know if you have any issues.”

  “Sounds good. Best of luck with your raid.”

  “You too.”

  Climbing up onto Akira’s back, Thorn and his small team set off for the harbor while Athena led the rest of the Charging Wolf Army further south east along the coast. As Akira and the large wolves carried the five players back along their path, Thorn began the introductions.

  “I’ll go ahead and kick things off I guess. I’m Thorn and I run Nova Luna. Hah, but seriously, I’m a Dawn Walker, which is a support and leadership double category class. My teleport ability comes from my [Wolf Form] ability. Typically I play as melee DPS or tank in addition to leading. I like using a tetsubo or mace, and my hands and feet.”

  “You’re a support player?” GhillieGhillie asked, unable to believe what she had heard.

  “Uh, yeah. I focus more on the leadership side of the class than the support side. How about you?”

  “Uh, well, I’m GhillieGhillie, but you can call me GG. I’m a Dark Archer. Utility Combat dual class. I have the same shadow abilities as a Shadow Assassin. Dark Archer is really just the ranged version of the Assassin class progression. I use a shortbow and I’m good at traps.”

  “Gorlik. Shadow Assassin. Short blades.” A slim human man spoke up next, his voice short and clipped.

  Realizing nothing more was coming, the player next to Gorlik chuckled and raised his hand.

  “Hi everyone, I’m SubtleScythe. I have the Black Harvester class. I use a crossbow and have some shadow manipulation abilities. I have some mid-range fighting abilities as well as a few AoE crowd control attacks. Dark Harvester is a combat and support class, though my support is pretty much limited to crowd control.”

  “How large are your area control abilities?” Thorn asked.

  “I have three different abilities, and each covers an area of about twenty five feet. I can keep them all up with about a two second delay as long as I am not being attacked.”

  “Oh, that’s pretty solid.” Thorn nodded and turned his head to the last player. “How about you?”

  “The name is Zandibear. I’m a Shadow Song Warden. Elven racial class. Combat, utility, and support. My main focus is ranged damage, but most of my abilities are damage over time. I also have group stealth and a personal teleport. Main weapon is a flute that shoots mind bullets that cause different conditions. And I can talk to plants, sort of.”

  “Sounds great,” Thorn chuckled. “Let’s pass our profiles over to Corvo and see what he comes up with. I’m excited to be working with all of you.”

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  As large as he was, Thorn enjoyed sneaking through the forest. He was terrible at it, but he enjoyed it. Thankfully for the success of the mission, Zandibear’s [Shadow Song] ability made up for the lack of his skill. Together, Thorn, Zandibear, SubtleScythe, GhillieGhillie, and Gorlik snuck toward the large Orc army camp sieging the Twin Bay harbor.

  “Corvo, we’re here.” Thorn spoke softly as he peered at the camp from behind a tree.

  “Great. You should not have any trouble sneaking in, because they are all pounding down our gate.” In the video window, Corvo was hiding behind the reinforced wall that Thorn had set up. “Look for signs of logging and see what you can find. They’ll need to cut a significant amount of wood for the siege engines, so you should be able to track the resources to the part of the camp where the Cog Priests are staying.”

  “How about the smithy?” GhillieGhillie asked. “I smell smoke from a coal fire.”

  “Yeah, that should be it.” Corvo nodded. “Once you have found them, let me know and I’ll kick off the distraction. It won’t last long though, so make sure that you are getting in and out quickly. Thorn, how well have you recovered?”

  “Eh, probably about twenty percent?”

  “Oh, good. So you should be able to solo the whole army. Great.”

  “Jealousy, it's pure jealousy,” Thorn said to the others as he shook his head in exasperation. “We’ll let you know when we get into position.”

  Minimizing the call, Thorn looked over the Orc camp laid out before them. The only other reference that he had at this point was the supply camp that he had taken part in destroying, but there was something about this camp that unsettled him. The whole camp was laid out in neat blocks, looking almost exactly the same as the Iron Wolf Army camp that had been set up near Stormwatch. In fact, if Thorn had not seen a few Orc guards loitering around the edge of the camp he would have assumed that he was looking at a Northern Angoril camp.

  Each tent was placed in a group of four, their doors pointing north or south. The groups of four ten
ts were further organized in rows of five, making up a unit of twenty tents that were evenly spaced into a square with four other units of twenty tents. Each block of one hundred tents was evenly spaced with a large path between it for ease of travel. Apart from a few larger tents toward the center, everything was laid out in meticulous order, neatly dividing the camp into sections.

  “Any idea where that forge is?” Thorn asked GhillieGhillie who had climbed up into the tree above his head.

  “Yeah, looks like it's a bit further south. Five blocks down, three blocks east. There is a set of tents with a big open area in the middle. There are two glowing chimneys, so I’d guess that is our target.”

  “Great.” Thorn cracked his knuckles excitedly. “Let’s plan our route and go.”

  “Are we going in fast or quiet?” SubtleScythe asked, his eyes carefully tracking the guard’s patrol routes.

  “Let’s aim for quiet, since I am absolutely not up for fighting my way through a full Orc army, regardless of what Corvo says. But be ready to rush if we get spotted. Subtle, you’re our controller, so you’ll be giving us directions until things go south. Once the main fight starts I’ll take back over.”

  “Sounds good.” The Black Harvester said with a nod. “We’ll probably need to take down two of the guards at once to make our window big enough to sneak in. Zandibear, how much longer can your group stealth last?”

  “Till someone attacks.”

  “In that case, you will stick next to Thorn and me. GG, you and Gorlik are each responsible for taking down a guard since you have the best personal stealth abilities.”

  “Sure.” GhillieGhillie nodded.

  Gorlick said nothing, but he pointed toward the guard who was further away and then took a step forward, vanishing into thin air with his stealth ability [Phantom Fade]. Still up in the tree, GhillieGhillie carefully selected an arrow and slipped it onto the string of her black bow. After hearing the plan, everyone in the group had opted to keep their weapons on them. While there was a chance that they would not come out of this mission alive, it seemed quite slim and they were all much more comfortable with their own equipment.

  Letting out a slow breath, GhillieGhillie balanced herself and slowly drew her arrow back, lining up the tip with the Orc guard. Keeping her stance relaxed but her arm locked, she waited for Gorlik’s signal. Half a minute ticked by as the players waited in silence. Just as Thorn was wondering what was going on, his eyes caught a slight flash of light near the further Orc’s neck. At exactly the same moment, GhillieGhillie released her arrow. Like an owl on silent wings, the arrow plunged through the air, its black tip punching through the Orc guard’s neck, killing him instantly.

  “Well done. Let’s move.” SubtleScythe commanded, leading Zandibear and Thorn out of the trees and toward the large camp at a jog.

  Originally, Thorn had been concerned about how fast he was moving because his footsteps were anything but quiet. Thankfully Zandibear’s group stealth ability had a silencing effect as well, allowing him to move faster than a slow creep. Behind them, GhillieGhillie dropped from the tree she had been standing in and ran forward to the Orc guard her arrow had taken down. Grabbing the body, she tugged it deeper into the shadows and pulled a small bottle out of her inventory. Sprinkling over the body and the ground where the Orc had landed, she kicked some leaves over the corpse and then followed Thorn and the others into the camp.

  “What was that?” Thorn asked Zandibear, jerking a thumb back toward GhillieGhillie.

  “Hmm? Oh, the bottle? It helps kill the scent of blood. Otherwise the other guards will pick up that something is wrong. It is pretty much essential equipment if you are an assassin class.”

  Marveling at the incredible depth of the game, Thorn stayed as low as possible as they crept through the camp. Walking between one of the blocks, Thorn’s heightened senses could hear the shifting of Orcs in the tents all around him. The thought of the whole camp coming to life sent a bit of a shiver down his spine, but the danger only made his head clearer.

  “There are a couple guards up ahead. We’ll need to subdue them together.” SubtleScythe whispered. “They are standing on one of the crossroads, so we have to watch for people at a distance. GG, Zandibear, take lookout in case someone happens to come by. Gorlik and I will take them down on my signal.”

  The two guards stood in the center of one of the crossroads between four of the one hundred tent blocks. In two directions the road crossed the camp to the west and north, providing a clear line of sight for anyone who would happen to glance down toward where the two guards stood. Seeing that GhillieGhillie had taken her position to watch the northern road and Zandibear held his flute ready as he looked down the western road, Thorn took his arbalest out of his inventory and loaded up a giant bolt just in case.

  “Holy!” Startled by the size of Thorn’s weapon, Zandibear nearly dropped his flute.

  “Haha, haven’t you seen Thorn’s siege crossbow?” SubtleScythe chuckled. “But seriously, don’t fire that thing or we’ll have the whole camp on us. Everyone in place?”

  This time, since GhillieGhillie was watching for enemies in the distance, Gorlik waited for SubtleScythe to begin the engagement. The Dark Harvester took a moment to prepare, lifting both hands up and reaching out toward the two guards. Slowly he closed his fingers until they resembled a pair of claws stretched toward the Orcs. Thorn’s eyes caught a slow shift near the Orcs, but when he blinked it was gone. Wondering if he had just imagined it, he heard SubtleScythe whispering a word under his breath as the shadows around the Orcs erupted into silent motion. SubtleScythe clenched his fingers into tight fists as the Orc’s shadows were bound tightly, causing the two guards to completely freeze.

  That moment of inaction was all that Gorlik needed. Appearing silently behind one of the Orcs, the Shadow Assassin’s dual blades flashed, cutting the guard down in an instant. Almost immediately Thorn could smell the tang of spilled blood, but before he could react the other guard had been cut down as well, a blade sliding in and out of his body as the other slipped across his throat.

  As soon as the second Orc crumpled, Gorlik revealed a bottle like the one that GhillieGhillie had used earlier, spreading a greyish powder liberally. The metallic smell that had filled Thorn’s nose faded almost immediately as the powder neutralized the bloody scent. Putting his arbalest away, Thorn helped Gorlik move the bodies into the shadow of a tent, as the others kept a lookout for more guards.

  “It’s really quiet, isn’t it?” Zandibear looked around, his brow slightly furrowed.

  “Yeah, I don’t like it. Sets my teeth on edge.” SubtleScythe agreed.

  “Is there something wrong?” Thorn asked, brushing some dirt from his hands.

  “I’m not sure, but it seems really quiet for a military camp. Especially an Orc camp. Who knows. Maybe I’m wrong, but I would have expected a lot more guards. Instead, it is as if the whole camp just went to sleep.”

  “Good point.” Thorn looked around at the quiet tents. “Orcs don’t strike me as people who go to bed early.”

  “Exactly.” SubtleScythe nodded.

  “Do you want to back out? We can leave if you don’t feel right about it.”

  “Really?” Taken aback, SubtleScythe and Zandibear both looked at Thorn in surprise.

  “Yeah, why not? If you are all feeling like there is something strange going on I don’t see why we can’t leave and come back later. I’m not going to demand you jump into danger if we can avoid it.”

  “Uh, guys, is that our target?” GhillieGhillie’s voice interrupted the whispered conversation, drawing everyone’s attention to a yellow robed Orc in the distance.

  Glancing at each other in surprise, Thorn and the others watched as the Cog Priest hurried through a crossroads and turned toward the road leading to the forges. Behind him staggered five large Orc soldiers carrying large boxes. Without another word, the team quickly crept down the road toward the crossroads where they saw the Cog Priest and his foll
owers disappear. Peering around the corner, they saw that the road led right up to the back of the two forges.

  Situated in the southwestern part of the camp, the two forges were solidly built furnaces that pumped a torrent of sparks and thick billows of smoke into the air. More than once Thorn had been impressed with the quality of workmanship that the Orcs displayed and the two furnaces were no different. Made of thick stone, they were fed from a giant pile of coal that was shoveled into a shoot in the side.

  “Whoa, hold up.” Thorn stretched out his big hand, stopping Zandibear who had begun to creep closer. “If we’re doing this, let’s make use of Corvo and his distraction. But first, let’s see if we can tag the three Cog Priest. We’ll want to take them down as quickly as possible and then get out of here as fast as we possibly can.”

  “Gorlik and I can see about spotting them.” SubtleScythe said. “GG, can you try to give us a heads up on where the guards are? Or even the soldiers working at the forge? The more we know about placement, the easier this will be.”

  “And we’ll take all the assistance we can get.” Thorn agreed. “The priests will probably have some scary abilities so we’ll need to be ready for anything.”

  With their plan set, SubtleScythe and GhillieGhillie faded into the darkness, joining Gorlik who had not been visible to Thorn since he had cut down the two guards earlier. Making himself as small as possible, Thorn crouched in the shadow of a tent next to Zandibear as they waited for the others to come back. While he waited, Thorn opened up the minimized call and pinged Corvo. It took a moment and when Corvo finally did open the call back up, he was covered in sweat and dirt.

  “Looks like you are having fun.” Thorn grinned.