Travail Online: Transcend: LitRPG Series (Book 3)

by Brian Simons

  “I don’t like it,” Daniel said, “not yet. But if the mayor believes it’s the best course of action I will lead the charge. Mayor?”

  “General Daniel_of_Manayunk,” the mayor said, “we cannot play defense forever. The elves outnumber us greatly. In time, they’ll whittle us down to nothing if we don’t cut off their head.”

  “Quinnick?” Daniel asked, referring to the elf Tactician that accompanied each wave of attacking elves.

  “He means the queen,” Sybil said, walking alongside Sal to join their conversation. “Don’t you, Mayor?”

  “Queen Sivona has made her intentions clear,” Mayor Hammergeld said. “She won’t rest until she conquers and subjugates our people. She must be… deposed.”

  “Suits me,” Sybil said. She was an elf, though she had started the game as a drow — a dark elf with a starting quest to kill the elf queen. It seemed like an impossible quest for a player just entering Travail, but now that Sybil was a Level 62 Shadowsiren, she was on her way to fulfilling that destiny.

  “When do we leave?” Sal asked. “I say, the sooner the better! I want to try out the newest skill I’ve unlocked after all this training.” As a Level 61 Gourmand, Sal’s skills were gastronomic in nature. As an ogre, they were also a little uncouth.

  “The sooner the better indeed,” the mayor said. “The mountain is deteriorating at a faster pace each day. If we wait much longer there won’t be a mountain left to protect.”

  “Why is that happening?” Sal asked. “It’s not just here, it seems like the whole world is falling apart.”

  “I blame the elves for everything these days,” the mayor said. “There is a delicate balance between life and death. The goddess of life maintains her temple in the forest, but we know Sivona has done something to her. Without Ze’s divine magic keeping the land alive, death will overtake it.”

  “So you’re saying that if we don’t stop Sivona, she’ll destroy Travail?” Daniel asked.

  “This isn’t about Sivona,” the mayor said, “not precisely. This is about Ze. Save the goddess, save Travail. That is the most pressing need. Of course, I’ll offer you a reward commensurate with the size of this task. The Fateblade is a very powerful sword. Prove you are worthy to wield it. Then once the mountain is stable again we can march on Sivona.”

  New Quest: Save the World

  Travail’s terrain will continue to deteriorate until Ze is liberated and revived. Revitalize the land and its bountiful resources by restoring the goddess of life to full health.

  Reward: Fateblade.

  Daniel turned to his friends to explain the new quest.

  “Save the world is right,” Sal said. “The message boards make it sound like resource nodes are falling apart too. If crafters can’t get reliable food, ore, or other materials, making a living at this game will become impossible.”

  “This new quest lines up nicely with mine,” Sybil said. “You save Ze, I’ll take care of Sivona. Travail might be on hard times, but we’ll make a killing.”

  “Speaking of which,” Daniel said, “I never asked. What’s your reward for killing the elf queen?”

  “A bouquet of dark lotuses,” she said.

  Daniel and Sal both gaped at Sybil. “That’s the rarest item in the game,” Daniel said. “Consuming just one permanently triples a player’s max MP. How many are in a bouquet?”

  “Beats me,” Sybil said, “but I plan on finding out. Each one is worth 40,000 gold, and we all know I’m in this for the money. Of course, I’m willing to share if you guys help.”

  “That’s four thousand dollars per flower,” Daniel said. “More than enough incentive to take on the forest.”

  “Should we see if Hiber wants to come with us?” Sal asked.

  “No,” Daniel said. The mountain’s resident manticore had been an instrumental ally in a recent battle, but since then he settled back into his cave. “He said he’ll consider helping again if we make good on our promise to save Embra, but not a moment sooner.”

  “He’s still hung up on that dragon?” Sybil said. “I don’t know why Havenstock has her imprisoned under it, but I don’t particularly care. We don’t have time for a side quest, not when there’s this much money at stake. Besides, if we don’t rake in some gold soon, I’ll have to throw this guy out on the street.”

  “Hey!” Sal said. “You are a heartless landlord.”

  “Landlords have bills to pay too,” she said and walked toward the dirt path that led downward, away from the mountain’s top and toward the forest below. “Coming?”

  “Yes,” Daniel said. He turned to Kronnar. “I’ll take one podon into the forest. Keep the others here and stay alert. If the elves attack while we’re gone, I don’t want them getting a jump on you.”

  “That is not fair!” Kronnar yelled. “I’m not the only dwarf thirsty for elven blood. We deserve our chance to repay the elves for the violence and bloodshed they’ve brought to our mountain. Let me take my troops into the forest with you!”

  “You forget your rank, Lieutenant,” Daniel said. “You’ll guard the mountain until we return. That is all.”

  “I wouldn’t expect a human to understand,” Kronnar muttered and walked off.

  “Someone doesn’t like warming the bench,” Sal said.

  “It’s not my job to make Kronnar happy,” Daniel said. “Someone has to defend the mountain. He’s it.”

  Daniel surveyed the podon at his command. Sybil and Sal were part of his unit, along with 38 other dwarves. Some of the dwarves were NPCs, generated by the game to serve in his army. Others were players looking to level up and loot some dead elves. He felt a responsibility for all of them. He was their leader now, and this was the first attack he led.

  He wished he had a little more diversity in the ranks. Sal was a good tank, and Sybil’s Shadowsiren skills varied from buffs and debuffs to offensive spells. None of them was a healer though. In fact, very few dwarves in Travail used magic at all. He wondered why the old woman that ran the character selection screen diverted most magic users to other races instead.

  “Today,” Daniel called out to his podon, “we give the elves a taste of their own medicine. Today, we march on them!” The troops cheered. “Archers and mages predominate in the elven army. Take out the casters first, then chase down the archers. We can deal with their melee fighters last. Join me!”

  This last phrase was superfluous since his own podon had already joined him, but Daniel was used to saying it anyway. As a General, he could only count on support from players and NPCs that stared at his avatar and chose the “join” option that popped up. He could see from the small blue chevrons over their heads that each member of his podon had taken that step.

  The podon trod down the sloping mountain path toward the forest with Sybil and Sal flanking Daniel.

  “Any response yet from Coral?” Sybil asked.

  “No,” Daniel said. “I’ve sent her a handful of private messages, but they’re all marked as unread.”

  “I could try,” Sal said.

  “If she answered your message and not mine I’d feel even worse,” he said, “but don’t let me stop you. She’s your friend too.”

  “She just needs some time,” Sybil said. “The second she joined this game, she started adventuring with us. She rounds out our team nicely, but she never got a chance to explore on her own. And besides, you did almost poison her.”

  It wasn’t worth debating. Daniel had already argued this point in his head a hundred times. Hopefully they’d patch things back together and be a team again soon. For now, he needed to focus on the forest. It was a long walk down the mountainside with his podon behind him.

  After a slow trek, they approached the western base of the mountain. Historically, a gaping arch in the rock wall opened to the torchlit inner chambers of Hiber Mountain. One of Daniel’s first suggestions as General was to pile boulders in front of that archway and many other entrances to the dwarves’ mountain home. It helped concentrate their d
efense on a few key points, but it also made travel more complicated.

  Finally at the base of the outer path down the mountain, Daniel’s podon had only a short walk to the forest’s edge.

  As they stepped past the first trees along the outer rim of Diardenna, the ground became soft like peat. Fallen trees littered the forest floor, home to festering nests of termites. The air was damp and chill, carrying the faint odor of wet mold.

  Not ten paces into the forest, the first thwip of an arrow shot past Daniel’s ear. They had been spotted.

  “Attack!” he yelled, automatically activating one of his new abilities. When he changed classes a week ago, he was allowed to morph his old Knight-class ability Gallantry into War Cry, a passive skill that boosted his team’s stats in battle by 5% for every 25 players and NPCs that joined him.

  >> Buff added: War Cry. +5% to Strength and Spirit in combat.

  When Daniel accepted the position as General, he pictured himself charging forward with an armored steed and a flaming broadsword. It turned out, the General class was better at crowd control.

  He spent 20 MP to use Fog of War, calling forth a rolling wave of fog that inflicted Slow and Blind debuffs on enemies, then spent another 15 on Bark Orders to caste a haste spell on his own troops.

  >> Buff added: Bark Orders. Combat speed hasted by 15%.

  The elves started casting spells of their own to layer debuffs onto the dwarves and remove the effects of Daniel’s fog, but he hoped his initial flurry of skills had given them an advantage.

  “Their staffs are lighting up with spells,” Daniel yelled. “Go!”

  An onrush of dwarves charged, lifting axes and maces high as they chased after elves that retreated further into the forest. Daniel lifted his own sword, the same boring iron longsword he had carried for some time. It stood in drab contrast to the new kobold armor he had received from Mayor Hammergeld as a quest reward for improving the dwarves’ relationship with Hiber the manticore. His new platemail was carmine red and polished to a brilliant gleam.

  >> Kobold Steel Armor (full set). Forged with the blood of a vicious hound and polished with human tears. Constitution +20, Defense +24, Spirit +15. Set bonus: Reflect 5% magic damage back at the caster.

  A handful of elves jumped down from the treetops and withdrew short swords from scabbards at their hips. They carried small targes for shields. Daniel stared at one.

  >> Level 20 Elf Warrior.

  One level stronger than the last round of elves they had fought. After the dwarves’ constant training, this should be easy.

  Daniel jabbed with his sword and an elf dodged out of the way while Sal whacked at another one with his iron war hammer. It was no replacement for the larger weapon he had sold off the week before, but it did the trick. The hammer’s head collided against an elf’s skull with audible clunk.

  Sybil lunged at an elf with her spear, deftly avoiding the small fighter’s shield and stabbing the elf in the chest.

  Daniel held his sword with two hands, lifted it high in the air, and slammed the edge of his blade into an elf’s clavicle, sinking the weapon deep into the elf’s body and sending a fountain of rich crimson blood out of the elf’s neck.

  >> Elf Warrior takes 987 Damage.

  >> Elf Warrior dies. You receive 58 XP.

  A flaming arrow shot through the space between Daniel and Sybil and sank into a nearby tree trunk. Daniel looked up and saw a white-haired elf with a sharp chin and small brown eyes holding a bow.

  >> Quinnick. Level 54 Elf Tactician.

  So he had leveled up too. Daniel yanked the flaming arrow from the tree trunk, threw it on the ground, and stamped the fire out with his blood-red boot. He glared at Quinnick, who simply raised an eyebrow in response and smiled before jumping up to a higher tree limb.

  Daniel had made his point. He wouldn’t panic at the first sight of flame like he had on their last encounter. He lost sight of Quinnick as the Tactician jumped expertly from tree to tree, heading in the direction Daniel’s army had come from.

  The sounds of fighting quickly died down. The troop of elves that had attacked them had only twenty or so units, no match for a podon twice that size. The dwarves had won.

  The players and NPCs cheered. They had put down a battalion of elves without suffering a single casualty. The phrase Spoils of War appeared above Daniel’s head.

  >> Spoils of War. You receive 8250 bonus XP.

  It amounted to 250 XP per level, a bonus calculated separately for each member of his podon.

  >> Congratulations! You have reached Level 34. To apply your 7 skill points now, open your Skills and Attributes screen.

  Name: Daniel_of_Manayunk Gender: Male

  Race: Human Class: General

  Level: 34 Diplomacy: 46

  Constitution: 103 Dexterity: 40

  Defense: 97 Intelligence: 37

  Strength: 106 Spirit: 72

  HP: 2060 Stamina: 205

  MP 144 Skill Points Available: 7

  XP: 300,126 XP to Next Level Level: 19,174

  Daniel was happy to bank another skill point. He had unlocked two skills with the points he had earned previously: Fog of War for 7 skill points, and Bark Orders for 8. All told, his first few General skills were a good foundation, but some of the more advanced skills were a lot flashier.

  War of Attrition: Inflict Erosion debuff on enemies, lowering max HP, MP, and Stamina by 0.05% per second while skill remains active. (9 skill points)

  Martial Law: Create a 500-foot radius null-magic field that lasts 30 seconds. (10 skill points)

  Nuclear Option: Summon an explosive fireball from the sky, dealing magic damage to all players, NPCs, and monsters in a 250-foot radius (subject to normal PvP restrictions). (11 skill points)

  Daniel had his heart set on Nuclear Option. It would be his only magic attack, and he expected it to look pretty amazing.

  He looked around at his troops, all smiles after a flawless win. Still, it was odd to secure a victory so easily. Their daily battles with the elves usually lasted hours at a time and involved hundreds of elf attackers.

  “No loot,” one of the dwarf players said. “Not a single elf had anything good on them.”

  That was disappointing, but not surprising. The elves that attacked the mountain usually brought quality weapons that the dwarves would collect and melt down for parts. Today’s elves were easy to defeat in part because they were poorly equipped.

  “Should I run ahead and scope things out?” Sybil asked.

  Daniel paused. Something didn’t feel right. The bodies of twenty dead elves had already vanished, but no new attackers came forward. The battle had been short, but loud. They should have attracted some attention.

  “Wait,” Daniel said. Sybil tapped her foot impatiently.

  Then the high-pitched sound of elves on a warpath broke into the air. Battle cries cascaded down the mountain in an avalanche of sound. The elves were attacking the mountain as always, with or without the dwarven General to lead the defense.

  6

  “They must have spies. They knew we’d be coming down here,” Daniel said, “and left a decoy battalion to keep us busy while they marched up the mountain. We have to turn back.”

  “Are you kidding?” Sybil asked. “We trounced these elves. Let’s see how many we can mop up while Kronnar handles the mountaintop.”

  “He doesn’t have the same skills I do,” Daniel said. “We’ll need crowd control up there and that’s not what he does.”

  “But—” Sybil said.

  “I know you want to get into the forest and raise hell. I do too. But we can’t sacrifice the mountain to do it. Come on.”

  Daniel led his troops out of the forest and back toward the mountain. A few grumbled that the trip hadn’t been worth it. Daniel just wished they’d hurry up. They wanted to kill elves and level up, which they could resume doing if they just got back to the mountaintop.

  If it weren’t for the blocked off entrance at the mountain’s ground leve
l, they could take the mining carts up through the internal rail system. Instead, they’d have to trudge uphill along the mountain’s winding path to reach the outskirts of Hiber Camp.

  The sounds of yelling and metal clanging against metal echoed down the mountain slope. It made Daniel anxious. He wanted to get back up there and protect his people as quickly as possible.

  “I’m going to run ahead,” he said. “I know not everyone has the stamina for it, so please stay with them. I’m sure you’ll catch up soon.”

  Sybil and Sal nodded and Daniel bolted toward the mountain. With 205 stamina points, he had just over three and a half minutes of sprinting time before he ran out of stamina. He made it halfway up the mountain when he caught sight of a shadow ahead of him. Someone else was moving up the mountain, and they weren’t far ahead.

  Daniel activated Sneak and ran as carefully as he could in his heavy armor. He quietly rounded a rock that jutted from the mountain’s face. Ahead, up the steep incline, was Quinnick. He ran up the mountain as the sound of battle rained down around them.

  If Daniel could take Quinnick out now, it would be a severe blow to the elves. It might send their army into disarray and tip the scales in the dwarves’ favor for good. Daniel cast Fog of War and a dense cloud billowed outward from where he stood, rolling up the mountain’s path like a river flowing upstream. Quinnick looked back as a Slow debuff icon appeared above his head. The fog hadn’t Blinded him, but it did make it more difficult for him to get away.