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

by Tom Gallier

  Her jaw dropped. Their gaze became so intense that Killum had to avert his eyes and look at Fergus for a second. Asha looked the dragon over, gnawed on her lip, and finally nodded.

  Gye immediately dropped low, pressing his shoulders to the ground to let her climb up. Killum reached down and helped her up. There was only room for one in the saddle, and he was afraid she'd fall off if she sat behind him, so Killum positioned her on his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist.

  "You're sure it's safe?"

  "Absolutely," he said. "Let's fly, Gye. Hey, it rhymed."

  Gye leapt up and started beating his wings. Fergus, Rand, and Tiana were buffeted by the wind and knocked down. Killum glanced back, worrying that he'd hurt them. But they all got up and waved. He and Asha waved back.

  "This is amazing," Asha said.

  Killum felt her trembling, but she looked and acted excited. Gye flew up, up, up in a great spiral. They almost reached the clouds before he leveled out and glided. That gave them an inspiring view of the land in all directions. It was mostly green forest covered foothills to the south, with a ribbon of the river twisting and turning through it. To the north were ever-rising mountains.

  "At the end of the valley is Warlord's Castle," Gye said. "That's where all of the undead come from. I used to collect tribute from the Duke before that damned necromancer conquered the castle."

  "Have you seen what is beyond Warlord's Castle?" Asha asked.

  "Yes. Countless kingdoms and empires stretch out to the ocean beyond," he said. The dragon craned his head around. "There are oceans on all four sides of the land. Nothing but endless water."

  "Are there other lands beyond the oceans?" Killum asked.

  "Yes. I've never seen any of them. This is my land. I have no desire to leave."

  Killum wondered if Gye was telling him something. Still, if I want to cross the ocean –

  Gye turned straight down into a power dive. Asha screamed. Killum felt her lifting off his lap, so tightened his arms around her. She twisted her upper body around and wrapped her arms around his neck and held on desperately. A moment later Gye leveled off, and their eyes met.

  Electricity rippled through him. Killum couldn't breathe as they gazed into each other's eyes. Their lips brushed, and it was instant passion. His hands were all over her, while hers were all over him. Before he knew it, she was turned around facing him, legs wrapped around him.

  Killum kissed his way down her slender throat, and then across her shoulder. He had his eyes on her deep cleavage and breasts, but didn't want to push it too fast. Her head rolled back and she moaned with pleasure. A smile spread across his face as he started to kiss lower.

  Gye landed before the lair.

  "What the – " Killum looked down at three grinning friends. Tiana was nodding. Rand was shaking his head.

  You're welcome, Gye spoke straight into his head.

  Asha cleared her throat, looking a little discombobulated. She quickly slipped out of his lap and back to the ground. Killum gave the back of Gye's head a dirty look, before looking back to his friends.

  "Anyone else want to go for a ride?"

  "No. I never want to go for a ride with you," Fergus said. He cut an amused look at Asha. "The price is much too high."

  Chapter 34

  They crawled through the underbrush before dropping to their bellies side-by-side atop a low rise. The road was to their left, and below them were a dozen Dread Ones. One was a female spellcaster of some sort, since she carried an ornate staff with a fist-sized ruby.

  Tarissa. Human mage (Lvl 21). -13 Dark. PK: 6.

  Killum was pretty sure Tarissa was alive. She moved too well, and her complexion was a beautiful light tan. The mage was blonde and gorgeous, dressed in a skimpy black silk outfit that made Asha look matronly. Really, it was bits of black silk that barely covered her most important areas, all held together with silver jewelry and chains. And she wore black stiletto-heeled thigh boots. The ruby in the middle of her forehead glowed red.

  The ruby in her staff wasn't glowing visible to the naked eye, but it radiated enormous power in Killum's magical sight. The staff itself was about six feet long, stained black, with lots of glowing runes carved along its length. His magical sight couldn't discern if an object was Light or Dark, but his normal vision screamed Dark.

  That was the largest group of Dread Ones they'd encountered since leaving the dragon's lair two days back. The group spent the night in Gyevikxus' lair before setting out the next morning, with Killum keeping Gye inside the helmet. He only summoned the dragon to go on short scouting flights. It was one of those flights that allowed him to spot the ambush below.

  "There's actually two mages," Asha said. She pointed to an ork on the other side of the road. "That really fancy ork is a shaman, but undead."

  The battle-mage checked him out. The ork looked like a barbarian shaman, dressed in a leather loincloth, feathered cape, and ornate headdress of bear-skull and feathers. His dark body was covered in ritual tattoos and scaring.

  Bearclaw. Ork shaman (Lvl 29). -50 Dark. PK: 77. Undead.

  "An undead player?" Tiana said. "Eww. I still can't believe we can be killed in a way that we don't respawn, but become the undead slaves of some stupid necromancer."

  "Dark magic is very powerful," Asha said. "But if it makes you feel better, the zombies will be freed from their evil master when we kill them."

  "Unless those enchanted gems in their foreheads are Bound Objects," Fergus said.

  That made them all stop and think. Killum considered that. Nothing he knew kept such an evil object from being bound to a player. If so, then being subjugated like that meant eternal servitude.

  "Boy, this world plays for keeps," he muttered. "Okay, they stand in our way. How do you want to take them out?"

  Asha shook her head. "The gemstones only subjugate the living. I still think all of the undead players will be freed to respawn when we kill Lord Kathro. The individual zombie players all fade away when killed, so they are definitely freed to respawn." She paused to stare at the female mage. "The subjugated people might be freed from his control when he dies as well, but there is only one way to find out."

  "Make the dragon kill them," Rand said.

  Killum sighed. "We went over that already. If Gye kills all of our opponents, then we will never level up. We get experience points by doing things, like slaying monsters."

  "Killum is right. Gye is only for when we really need him," Asha said. "Maybe you don't care, but I actually want to fight and level up. It's why I play the Game."

  "Fergus, I think this is the perfect place for you to shoot your bow from," Killum said. "The rest of us will attack. Asha and I will take care of the spellcasters." He looked at her. "I'll take the shaman if you take the mage." She gave a single nod, before turning her full hostile attention on Tarissa. He looked at Rand, "Can you sneak around to attack from their left flank?"

  "Can do," Rand said, and started backing away to head out. "This is going to be epic."

  "Tiana, I need you to attack from the right flank," the battle-mage said. "Asha and I will charge up the road, which should be plenty of distraction for you to sneak in close."

  "We will crush them beneath our hobnailed boots," Tiana said. "Remind me to buy hobnailed boots in the next town."

  Everyone turned cool eyes on her.

  "What? I'm not allowed to make jokes?"

  "No. Not if they're that bad," Fergus said.

  Killum watched Tiana ease into the woods and vanish. The three of them waited for Rand and Tiana to get into position. Killum couldn't see or hear them, but both Fergus and Asha could.

  "I see Rand," Asha said. "He's in position."

  "Tiana is moving up close, and will be ready in a few," Fergus said. "Time for you two to hit the road. Keep it professional. No kissing or giving each other the googly eyes."

  "What are googly eyes?" she asked. "Is that an American expression? What does it mean?"

  "It means
his jokes are worse than Tiana's."

  Killum backed away on all fours, careful to be ghostly quiet. The sorceress followed, while giving Fergus an evil look. The ranger appeared quite pleased with himself. Killum wondered if they'd ever stop teasing him and Asha about their little indiscretion.

  Once on the road, "So, Asha, do you want to walk in nonchalantly, skip in like school kids, or charge in like the 7th Cavalry?"

  "Charge," she said. With a wink, "I'll hit them high and you hit them low."

  "Sounds like a plan," he said, and took off running. "Last one there has to take Rand on a dragon ride."

  She surprised him by laughing. That girl really did love fighting. Maybe as much as Rand. She was a lot faster, but didn't run all out so he could keep up. They rounded the bend in the road at a full run. The ambushers were caught off-guard and scrambled for their weapons.

  When Asha launched herself in the air with her magic, Killum veered toward the shaman. Fergus filled the sky with arrows, and the undead started dropping. A thunderbolt blasted the air just before he crashed into the line of orks defending their shaman. He glanced over as Asha came down upon the Dark mage.

  "Kill them all!" Killum cried, and promptly used his ring to hit zombie orks with lightning. Power Sword in hand, he plowed into the remaining orks. "I free you from servitude, orks!"

  He slashed left, then right. First taking off a head, and then an extended arm. The undead ork wasn't the least bit fazed by losing a limb, and proved it by striking the battle-mage in the side of the head with his stump. Killum brought his enchanted blade down upon the zombie's shoulder, and took off his head, right shoulder, and arm. Practically cut him in half.

  He heard Rand's battle cry, and then spotted Tiana darting in to dispatch a pair of undead ork warriors. Tarissa cried out, cursed furiously, and then Asha cried out in pain. He cut his eyes over in time to see Asha with a pair of deadly elven swords plowing into the Dark mage, who struggled to defend herself with the staff. Sparks flew off the staff when the sorceress's blades struck it.

  The wood remained undamaged.

  A fireball roared towards the battle-mage. He ducked and threw one of his own at the shaman. The ork spellcaster held his hand up, palm out, and Killum's fireball evaporated.

  "How'd he do that?"

  The shaman fended off Killum's lightning just as easily. Very frustrating. Then a pair of ork warriors closed on him from left and right, forcing Killum to concentrate on them. He parried the right zombie's sword thrust, kicked him in the chest, before spinning and dropping to one knee. A decapitating blow whooshed overhead, which he followed by surging forward to impale the monster on his sword. The magic of the sword intensified, and a second later the undead ork's chest exploded.

  Killum sensed more than heard the next fireball, so flattened himself on the ground to avoid it. The shaman raced up and kicked him in the chest as he tried to stand, leaving Killum sprawled on the ground. He thought he was about to die for the second time.

  Tiana appeared behind the shaman. She surged in close and thrust her sword through his heart. The shaman's fireball fizzled before he could throw it. Killum leapt to his feet, and then sliced the top half of the shaman's head off.

  Ka-Boom! Ka-Boom! Ka-Boom!

  Tarissa was battering Asha back step by step with wild swings of her staff. Each strike resulted in another explosion that sent Asha flying back. The mage was fast, and quickly closed the gap to strike again. Killum raced toward them to help, even as Rand and Tiana also started towards them. After the third strike, Asha fell to her knees, looking tattered and exhausted.

  Killum saw the Dark mage smile cruelly, and then lift her evil staff for the killing blow. That blow never fell. The sorceress threw a splayed hand out and shouted.

  "Bind!"

  The mage froze with a look of astonishment on her face. Asha struggled to her feet, stepped up close, and plunged a dagger through Tarissa's heart. Killum, Rand, and Tiana arrived at that time.

  "Next time," Asha said. She paused to catch her breath. "You fight the mage and I'll fight the shaman."

  They looked around at the carnage. There was a lot of blood, but little of it theirs. All of them had nicks and cuts, scratches and bruises. No one had anything a healing potion or two couldn't handle.

  By the time Fergus joined them, both Tarissa and Bearclaw were fading away. Tarissa's ruby remained on the ground where she died. Asha nudged the mage's ruby with the toe of her boot.

  "Do you think it's safe to touch?"

  "I was wondering the same thing," Killum replied. "But it can't be safe to just leave it."

  "Rand, pick it up," Asha said.

  "Me? Why me?" he asked. "What if I'm magically enslaved for something?"

  "No problem, my friend," Asha smiled. "I'll just free you from its power by killing you. Easy peasy."

  "Before you do that, you might want to designate a new respawn spot here," Fergus added. Rand gave him a dirty look. "Hey, I'm just trying to be helpful."

  Killum laughed, but wondered if creating new respawn sites would be a good idea. They'd all designated the dragon's lair as their respawn sites before setting out, but that was two days journey south. They should reach the Warlord's Castle in another two days.

  Asha distracted him by bending over, her sweet round butt right there within slapping distance. And it was so hard to keep his hand from swatting it, too. He forgot all of that when she lifted the mage's staff. He concentrated on it.

  Warlock's Staff. Neutral, but must be +10 Light or –10 Dark and level 20 or higher to use.

  "Warlock's Staff," Asha repeated. "She's must have defeated a warlock. It's neutral, but neither of us has reached level 20."

  Since they weren't high enough to use it, they weren't able to unlock its secrets. The staff had lots of potential, but it was also worth a lot of money.

  "I suspect we'll both be level 20 by the time we finish the Warlock's Castle dungeon," the sorceress said. She slanted a look at him. "You have a dragon, so I claim the Warlock's Staff."

  "Cool." He looked around. "There's still a lot of sunlight today. Time to hit the road."

  "We're going to just leave the ruby?" Tiana said, looking at them with greedy eyes.

  "If you want it, then you pick them up," Rand said, and headed for the road.

  In the end, Killum and Fergus rolled a boulder on top of the enchanted ruby and they left it behind. The shaman's ruby vanished with him. If they learned the secret of the rubies, and how to control them, at the castle, then they could come back for it.

  Chapter 35

  A soft misstep brought Asha's head up. It was off in the middle distance, deep in the woods in front of them. Forest Road was to their right, winding up a deep gully. She cocked her head, claiming Tiana's attention, so held up a hand so the thief wouldn't speak.

  The elven sorceress had to concentrate to hear the approach. Someone was moving quickly, but carefully, toward them. She thought it had to be Fergus returning from scouting the castle. A goblin might move that quietly, but no ork, human, or zombie could.

  "Fergus is coming," she whispered, and pointed to the trail he was on.

  Killum was lying on his belly beside her, his warm hip pressed into hers. Rand was on the other side, also pressed against her. Tiana was pressed up close on the other side of Rand. They weren't trying for intimacy. Their resting place was just that cramped. That degree of closeness had her nerves a little frazzled. She knew Rand was in heaven sandwiched between two women, which bothered her. Yet, she worried Killum wasn't enjoying it. At least his expression showed no sign of being aware how much their bodies were touching.

  I can't believe I've let him rattle me so thoroughly, she thought.

  Small skirmishes with Dread Ones slowed them down. It was mid afternoon when they arrived. She spent most of that journey just a few steps behind Killum, trying to not look at his butt. Rand bragged about having relations with a woman, a hooker, and they'd learned that it was possible to be impre
gnated. And, of course, while under Joss' absolute control, she was told that they would have their way with her if they weren't in such a hurry.

  Fortunately, Fergus arrived as her mind delved into the fantasies Killum was starting to inspire. She shook herself out of that erotic reverie and focused on the task at hand. Warlord's Castle promised to be the hardest, most dangerous dungeon they'd ever attempted.

  "What did you find?" Killum asked.

  Fergus dropped to his belly facing them, just inches from her face. He wagged his brows. "Betcha didn't hear me coming?"

  "Actually, I did."

  Killum nodded. "She did and warned us you were approaching."

  The ranger scowled. "I'll try harder. But what I found isn't good. There's quite a cordon of undead sentries surrounding the castle."

  Using his finger, the ranger drew a map of the castle and the land surrounding it. The castle sat upon a precipice above the road, with quite a large plateau behind him. Fergus said the plateau used to be a town and farmland, now gone fallow since the conquest. There were too many undead on guard for him to get close enough to the castle to glean anything useful.

  "Looks like we're going in blind," Rand said. "Fine by me. There's nothing they have I can't kill with my battle-axe."

  "No. There's another way," Asha said, rising to her knees. "I'll go scout out the castle."

  "If I can't get to the castle, what makes you think you can?" Fergus asked. "I'm an elven ranger, sorceress."

  "And I'm an elven sorceress with Robes of Concealment," she said.

  Asha quickly returned to the mule, which was hidden a good mile back down the road. She dug out her enchanted robes and put them on over her sorceress dress. She was ready to go by the time the others caught up.

  "What are you doing?" Killum asked. "You can't go in there alone."

  "You let Fergus go. Do you think he's better than me?"