Quest into Hidden Realms (Hidden Realms LitRPG Series Book 1)

by Tom Gallier

  Despite discovering he was one of the most powerful minions of Dark she'd encountered, Asha managed to keep the smile on her face. Her job experience at the United Nations definitely helped her accomplish that.

  "Go ahead," Asha said teasingly. Sir Danse's breath rushed out when he saw her, and all hostility faded away. She caught and held his gaze. "Rand won't mind, since both Tiana and I would cuddle with him all the time if he was an adorable little monkey."

  "Seriously?" Rand asked. Both women nodded. "I'll be the Game's first Battle Monkey!"

  "Ah. Immortals," Sir Danse said, shaking his head. "This is not a dungeon. Go away."

  "But, don't you want to at least look at my staff?"

  He glanced at her. She noticed his eyes lingered on her chest, before looking her up and down yet again. Only then did he look at the Dark staff in her right hand. That's when she really saw desire fill his eyes.

  "It's for sale," she said. "Interested?"

  "Yes. Please, come in," he said, stepping aside.

  Once inside, and the door was secured with lots of locks and a wooden bar, he snapped his fingers and asked for refreshments. Sir Danse led them into a parlor and indicated a table to place the staff. A pair of servants entered a few moments later with wine and sweet meats.

  Ashe stayed with Sir Danse while her friends devoured the food and drank his wine. Sir Danse moved around the table, casting spells and muttering to himself for several minutes.

  "Very powerful, but the drow always do imbibe their objects with great power," he said. "This is exceptional work even for the drow, so the creation of a Master Wizard. How much do you want for it?"

  "A million in gold."

  "What?"

  "Too much?" She'd sold it once in Oxenbluff for three silvers and twenty-five coppers, so she didn't want to take any less than that. "What do you offer?"

  "I'll give you five shekels of silver."

  Asha haggled with him, and in the end agreed to six silver shekels even, along with a Gift of three spells. Levitation, but for a full five minutes. Much better than the hover spell stolen from her by Joss. Thunderbolt was a spell giving her the ability to throw lightning bolts. She couldn't wait to try that out. Unlock was a spell to open doors and simple locks.

  Congratulations! You've earned enough experience points to move up one level. You are now a Level 16 sorceress!

  Congratulations! You've earned enough experience points to move up one level in Social Skill of Bartering. You are now Level 2!

  "Is there somewhere close I can buy more spells, or even enchanted weapons?" she asked.

  "Yes, there is Enchanter's Hall back on Central Plaza. It's full of small shops selling pretty much anything you would want," Sir Danse said. "It's easy enough to find, being the only five-floor building on the plaza. There's a sign out front, too."

  Chapter 29

  Killum made sure everyone passed out into the street before he departed Sir Danse's tower. He didn't trust the Dark battle-mage. No one who was a level 51 spellcaster should be entirely trusted, especially when he was Dark. And he didn't like the way he looked at Asha.

  "We're pretty close to the gate onto Forest Road," Killum said. "Do we really need to go back into the middle of town to buy more spells?"

  "Yes," Asha said. She averted her eyes, while her cheeks grew red. "I… I kind of let a Dark witch capture me."

  "You let her?"

  "No, but I dropped my guard and she snuck one of those subjugation collars around my neck," she said. Killum could tell every word came out with supreme reluctance. Asha was a proud woman, and rarely knew defeat. "Once I was under her absolute power, the witch ordered me to give her all of my magic."

  That piqued his curiosity. "We can do that?"

  "Yes, but you lose the spell you give away. So you can see, I need to buy some very basic spells like Fire and such." She smiled at him. "Give me your hand."

  They stopped and Asha took his right hand in both of hers. Her hands were warm and soft, and that contact made it hard from him to concentrate.

  Asha moved her right hand to his chest, right over his heart. "I Gift you the Power of Healing. Deidra said I could Gift it up to once a year, and that it cost one mana for the simplest healing, but the worse the wound, the more mana it will cost you."

  "Thank you," he said, feeling flush. "That's an amazing gift. Does that mean I can also give it to another mage?"

  "Yes. I assume it is the same for you."

  As they walked back to the central plaza, Asha told her tale of woe. He felt his own face heating up when she told how they tried to sell her into prostitution. Killum had a sick feeling she didn't confess everything she endured in their unmerciful power, but he felt much better when he learned how Asha and Deidra killed all three of them.

  "So Joss went to Purgatory for a month?" Rand asked. "It sounds fitting, considering what she did, but also sounds kind of scary. How many deaths do you have already?"

  "Two," Asha said. "And believe me; I'm actually going to be trying extra hard to stay alive from now on."

  The plaza was even more crowded when they arrived. Enchanter's Hall was three buildings to their left. The half-timbered structure was painted a nice tan, with a two murals. One was a picture of a wizard surrounded by smiling wildlife and the other was a sorceress surrounded by playing children. And both murals were moving, like little gif files or something.

  "Wizardly propaganda commercials," Fergus said. "They look so sweet and innocent, see? Wizards and witches aren't scary, see? But the magical murals are kind of cool."

  Asha led the way inside. Killum brought up the rear, keeping an eye out for trouble. He didn't like the way the priests and a few others watched them. The others seemed oblivious to the threat.

  We probably have a reputation since killing Lord Seth and his men, he thought. I need to buy some fighting magic while here. Just in case.

  The entrance was a narrow, dark corridor to a central courtyard. There was a gurgling fountain, with benches and lots of decorative trees, bushes, and flowers. All of the shops opened onto the courtyard, so walkways encircled it on all levels. Tiana pointed at a ground floor shop, while whispering to Asha.

  "You guys look around," Asha said as Tiana pulled her by the hand toward the shop. "We'll catch up."

  "What the hell is up with them?" Rand asked. "Should we go check it out?"

  "No," Fergus said. "I suspect it has to do with women's issues, so we aren't welcome. And I, for one, am glad. Let's go see if they sell magical weapons."

  The ground floor was all for women. Mostly clothes and enchanted jewelry. There were two shops selling medicinal potions, as well as things like love potions. A pretty witch tried to sell Rand a love potion.

  "Pour this in your heart's desire's drink, and she'll be yours for the night," the witch said with a wag of her brows. "And she'll be very, very eager to please."

  "No," Killum said. "You'll be kicked out of the group if you buy a love potion."

  "That's just a date rape potion," Fergus said.

  They each grabbed an arm and escorted Rand away.

  "Prudes," the witch sneered, and vanished into her shop.

  "Thanks. I never considered love potions to be date rape drugs before," Rand said. "But you're right. Eww. I've read a lot of stories with love potions."

  "Well, this is real virtual reality," Fergus said, making them all pause. "So we don't play that game."

  The next level was all bookshops. Not just grimoires, either. There were books on history, warfare, and religion. Mostly, though, they sold spell books. Some of the shops sold individual spells.

  Killum gawked into a bookshop's window. "Holy crap, grimoires start at three gold shekels?"

  They quickly moved away from that magical bookstore. The next shop sold battle spells. While Rand and Fergus checked out a display of enchanted rings and bracers, Killum engaged the shop owner. He was Haig and a level 33 mage, but just an NPC. But Haig was a friendly, eager to help computer
-generated fellow. They discussed previous spells Killum had possessed in the past, while not mentioning other realms. Also, they touched on spells he'd seen used by friends and enemies, and what he might need in the future.

  "I know you really like that hovering spell your sorceress friend has, but wouldn't it be better to have different spells than her? While she hovers and distracts the bad guys, you can strike them down with lightning."

  "I have a Ring of Lightning," he said, holding up his hand. "And she has Thunderbolts."

  "Thunderbolts is a powerful battle spell, but not as powerful as Gatecrasher."

  "Oh?"

  "Gatecrasher can smash apart a wagon or chariot, as well as blow a common door into smithereens. Its power really depends on how much mana you can give it. With enough mana, you can knock down a stone tower!"

  "How much?"

  After a bit of haggling, Killum handed over two silver and fifty copper shekels. He was given the spell to read, which vanished in a puff of smoke afterwards. Haig even told him about Lady Evangeline's Potions on the ground floor, where he'd find the most powerful mana boosting potions anywhere.

  They met Asha and Tiana on the stairs when they headed back down. Both women wore silver rings on their left pinky. Before he could ask about their acquisitions, Tiana asked about theirs.

  Rand spoke up. "Killum bought a gate crashing spell, so we're going to Lady Evangeline's shop to buy some super-charged mana boosting spell."

  "Potion," Killum corrected. "If you have enough coin, it'll be a good idea to boost your mana, too."

  Lady Evangeline turned out to be the wicked little witch with the love spells. She gave them a smug smile upon their entry.

  Evangeline. Human Witch (Lvl 25). Neutral.

  The fact she wasn't Dark surprised him. How did she brew such evil potions and not go Dark? He shook his head, which made her beam with wicked delight. Then she looked both of their women over with glint in her eyes, before catching Rand's eyes.

  Killum quickly asked about the mana boosting potion to divert her attention, while Fergus warned the two women about her love potions. In the end, Killum bought a single potion since it cost one silver, and she wouldn't haggle with him. Asha bought two.

  "Holy crap," Killum cried upon drinking it. It went down like moonshine, sucking the air out of his lungs and burning all the way into his gut. But when he checked, his mana was up by five hundred. "Good shit."

  "Thanks," Evangeline said. She gave Rand a sultry look. "All of my potions are very, very powerful."

  Asha cried out in her native tongue, and then bent over huffing and puffing. "That is powerful. Wow." She looked at her second potion, sucked in a deep breath, and drank it. "Ooooh. That hurts so good."

  Evangeline laughed, and soon the others joined her. Asha didn't seem to care. She had the most beatific look on her face. "Up a thousand. I'd like to buy two more."

  Evangeline sold Asha two more mana boosting potions, but warned her to wait at least a day before drinking the next. It would be best if she only drank one a day. Killum couldn't afford any more. He was down to his last silver shekel and three silver bits, and fourteen and a half copper shekels.

  Asha seemed to have unlimited resources, because she led the way back up the stairs to buy some spells. The sorceress bought Simple Fire, Fireballs, Bind, and Farsee. And Killum also bought Farsee, because the ability to zoom in on anything in his line of sight was too tempting to pass up.

  "Better than binoculars," he said.

  Screams out in the plaza reached them as they walked down the corridor to the entrance. Killum raced forward, Power Sword in hand, to see what the trouble was all about. It was utter chaos outside, with men, women, goblins, orks, and minotaurs all running in every direction. An elf, three humans, and a pair of hobgoblins pushed past them into the Enchanter's Hall.

  "It's a dragon," Tiana said. She pointed upward. "Isn't it beautiful?"

  Dragon (Lvl 66). Neutral.

  The dragon had to be at least a hundred and fifty feet long, snout to end of his tail. He was mostly black, with lots of sharp horns on his triangular head and along his spine. He was a four-legged dragon, and his wings were huge and leathery like bat wings.

  "And it breaths fire," Fergus said when a torrent of flames shot out of his mouth. The flames hit south of the plaza, and they heard the building explode. "We should find a stone building to hide inside."

  "Too late. Here he comes," Killum cried.

  They all dropped into defensive stances, but the dragon ignored them. He came to a landing in front of the castle. And then his voice boomed.

  "I come for my tribute!" he shouted. "Give it to me now, or I'll burn this town to the ground!"

  "Tribute?" Rand asked. "Are they going to give him a beautiful virgin?"

  "Don't worry, Rand," Fergus said. "You're not that good looking."

  "No," one of the humans that escaped into their building said. "Dragons only want treasure. They hoard it for some reason. Gold. Silver. Jewelry. Anything of value."

  A platoon of soldiers marched out of the castle. All carried long spears they kept pointed at the dragon. Between them they carried two large chests. After setting the chests before the dragon, one of the soldiers opened them so the dragon could see what was inside.

  "Accepted."

  The soldiers closed the chests and quickly backed into the castle. The dragon grabbed the heavy treasure chests and leapt into the air. Rand took off running, his battle-axe lifted high and ready to strike. Killum and the others cried out for him to stop, but had to follow when he failed to do so.

  "Treasure!" Rand shouted, leaping high as he swung his axe. He missed the dragon by inches. "Damn. Fergus, shoot and make it drop one of those treasure chests!"

  "No," Killum said. "Let it go."

  They didn't go unnoticed by the dragon. Its vicious looking head craned around. When its mouth opened wide, Asha shouted for them to duck.

  "It's going to breathe fire!" she screamed.

  Killum grimaced, prepared to die again. Burning alive had to be horrific. But Asha moved before them and pointed a fist at the dragon. A second later a thick stream of fire rushed down at them… And was deflected by a purple-hued magical shield.

  The dragon flew away.

  "Well, that turned out well despite a moment of absolute insanity by Rand," Asha said, glaring at the dwarf. "What the hell were you thinking?"

  "I wanted one of those treasure chests," he said defiantly. "That's why we're here, to win treasure."

  "Maybe," Fergus said. "But if you made the dragon drop a chest, you know the soldiers would just come back out and take it away from us."

  "And they'd throw us in the dungeon for trying to steal it, too," Tiana said. She rapped him on the helmet with the flat of her sword. "Idiot."

  The redheaded dwarf ignored her as he stared off after the dragon. "I wonder how far away the dragon lives?"

  Killum called up his HUD, and then checked the map. When he asked the question, the map shifted and a spot on the side of a mountain began to glow and pulse. Distance was two days walk. Even better, it was to the north, and not too far off the road to Warlord's Castle.

  "Interesting. The dragon's lair is on the way."

  You've been offered Quest to Conquer the Dragon's Lair! Death and danger are assured, but the rewards are unknown. Do you accept this quest? Yes or No?

  "Shall we accept the quest to conquer Dragon's Lair?" he asked.

  The others received their offer, making them stare up into space. Killum wondered what the mobs thought when players did that.

  Rand nodded. "Yes, I accept."

  The others agreed, and accepted the quest. So Killum agreed.

  Congratulations! You've accepted Quest to Conquer the Dragon's Lair. Fight to the death! No quarter given or received! Let the glory be yours and conquer!

  "I have a feeling we're going to need to buy a lot of mules, or even cargo wagons, to haul our treasure out," Rand said.

  "
Or the dragon will burn us into crispy critters," Fergus said.

  "Or eat us alive," Tiana said.

  "Sounds like an adventure," Killum said, and headed toward the north gate and the Forest Road. "I love this game."

  Chapter 30

  They made good time that first day out of Knaresburg. The mule slowed them down a little, since it developed an attitude a few times and didn't want to cooperate. Ultimately, they discovered the mule only really liked Rand. He could cajole it into doing his bidding, mostly using baby-talk. The dwarven warrior was not pleased, since that meant he had to lead the beast most of the afternoon.

  "I found a great campsite," Fergus said after he appeared out of the woods.

  The terrain was becoming hillier as they neared the mountains. The road wended between the hills, and sometimes went straight up and over them. The forest covered them thickly, blocking out the sun most of the day. Killum was grateful for the shade; being from Texas he understood how hot it could get out in the open. The tree cover didn't help his feet, which ached by the end of the day.

  "Is it far?" Killum asked.

  Fergus volunteered to be their scout early on. He'd enabled them to avoid some large groups of Dread Ones, and then gave them enough warning to setup ambushes on a few small groups. Unfortunately, the Dread Ones provided no loot or magical objects.

  Night came quickly in the mountains, and also in an old-growth forest. They still had an hour or two before dark, but would need that time to prepare their camp and find dinner. They turned off the road and headed up a game trail. The mule objected, until Rand baby-talked it into compliance.

  "You have a magical bedroom voice," Tiana said, grinning wickedly. "So deep and sexy no beast of burden can resist you."

  "I'll make you my beast of burden," the warrior dwarf muttered.