The Land: Raiders: A LitRPG Saga (Chaos Seeds Book 6)

by Aleron Kong

  “What the fuck is wrong with you sprites?” Richter growled in irritation. “That’s the same shit Sion said to me, right before I was eaten by wolves!” His Companion didn’t make eye contact, finding the ceiling extremely interesting at the moment.

  Based on the change in the sword adept’s glare, he had now decided that Richter was a creepy, hairy bug, “As I was saying, my elite fighters are well trained in the art of stealth. We will kill every goblin manning the guard station.”

  “You mean we will,” Richter said firmly.

  “You have never trained with us,” Yoshi said shaking his head. “You will only be in the way.”

  “I am not the weak fighter you began to train months ago,” Richter retorted. “If we are to attack this encampment together as allies, then I will be part of the attack. Besides, as you already know, I am a war leader as well. I may only be an initiate, but I have badges and promotions that can help. Now, how many men were you going to bring?” Richter asked.

  Yoshi didn’t look convinced, but he responded, “Ideally twenty for a job like this. We don’t have that many elite fighters with us, though. I only have ten, and half of them have undergone the meitu’meidon.”

  “Well, that shouldn’t be a problem. You have been here for a week,” Sion said. “The pixie bonding typically lasts seven days, more or less. All fifty or so sprites that are undergoing the meitu’meidon should be done with the bonding sometime tomorrow.”

  Richter looked back at Hisako, “I know you said that time is of the essence, but waiting one more day might give us another fifty-three meidon sprites to join the battle. Don’t forget; their Imbue Arrow skill will be enhanced. It could make all the difference.”

  Hisako and Yoshi shared a look. The sword adept cocked his head consideringly and raised his eyebrows. He apparently approved of Richter’s reasoning, but acknowledged the final decision lay with the Hearth Mother said. After a moment, she said, “Fine. It will give us more time to prepare, but we leave tomorrow night. The best time to attack will be before daybreak. It will make a stealth attack easier to perform. We will need to move quickly through the forest.”

  “I’ll be able to help with that,” Richter said. “I have bought badges in my War Leader skill that increase movement through forests by 40%.”

  “Huh, maybe you will not be completely dead weight,” Yoshi said.

  Richter just grunted and ignored the annoying half-breed. Before he could say anything else, Liddle piped in, “You cannot wait. Another one of the prisoners will be killed if we wait a day!” He leaned over the Knowledge Table, blocking their view of the map.

  Richter looked at him sympathetically, “I understand that your brothers are still being held, but we have to maximize our chances for success. Launching an unsuccessful attack will only cause our deaths and leave them captive. I know you most likely feel guilty over being free, but I will not send my people to their deaths.” His voice grew firm, possibly even harsh, but he didn’t waver. “Now, please, step back.”

  The already soul-weary hill sprite didn’t have it in him to resist Richter’s will. He moved to a chair by the wall and crumpled into it. His pixie hovered by his face, offering solace in his guilty misery.

  Richter turned back to Yoshi, “Alright, so we take out the guard station, ideally without being detected. What then?”

  Yoshi looked at the map again. “Most of the valley is grassland, but there are woods near the western entrance. Once we are in, the rest of the army will follow us and take up a hidden position in the woods. My team-” Richter leaned towards him with a stern look. Yoshi huffed, but acknowledged the point, “The team will then make its way to the encampment. We have three objectives. Destroying or neutralizing the Bloodstone is goal number one. Freeing the captives is our second objective, and destroying the enemy host is third.”

  “Do you perhaps have the first two objectives switched?” Terrod asked quietly.

  Yoshi looked at him levelly, one fighter to another, “I serve the forest. All life is precious to me, so please believe me when I say that I feel pity for those poor souls that are trapped by the goblins. The Bloodstone is a danger to the entire forest, however. One has not been seen in centuries. The goblins cannot be allowed to maintain control of it. It could cause the death of thousands.”

  “You’re wrong,” Richter interjected.

  “I know this may seem harsh, Master Richter,” Hisako said, “but hard choices have to be made.”

  The chaos seed shook his head, “That’s not what I meant.” He hated himself for what he was going to say next, but this enemy camp was a real threat. Over the next ten minutes, he explained what he had seen while reliving the Witch Doctor’s memory. When he was done, he clarified his position. “The goblins brought the Bloodstone to the valley. If it is as rare and important as you say…” He trailed off, the implication clear.

  Sion was the one who spoke up, “That means that whatever is in the valley is potentially more valuable to the goblins than even a Bloodstone.” From his sad tone, he had come to the same conclusion as his Companion.

  “Yes,” Richter said. “Our second priority, if not our very first, is to find and take whatever has drawn the goblins to the valley.”

  Not one to waste any time, Yoshi nodded, “Lord Richter is correct. That means we will need to adjust our plans somewhat.” He pointed to Liddle, Terrod, and Caulder, “Attend me. I need to know the capabilities of the Mist Village warriors, and I have more specific questions regarding the valley.”

  Richter faded back. As much as he wanted to help, everyone else at the table probably knew more about planning a raid than he did. His ego wasn’t so big that he didn’t know when to follow. Hisako walked around the table to stand next to him. The look she gave him was one of intense consideration.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  She didn’t respond for a full minute, continuing to stare at him, but then she said, “So much has happened since you have come to the forest. You have found and claimed a Place of Power. You have brought the pixies back to The Land and have grown a Quickening. On the other hand, you seem to have awakened a slumbering, undead evil. And now, mere miles from your village, a Bloodstone has surfaced. An object that features in the nightmares of my people. This is not even the first artifact of evil power that you have shown me.”

  Richter knew immediately what she was referencing. When she had appeared with her three hundred strong war party a week ago, he had shown her the crystals that he had gained from the dark aberration. He had been sure that she could help him finish a secret quest, Who Will You Be II. Her reaction had not been what he had been expecting. Hisako had literally hissed when he had taken the black jewels out of his Bag of Holding. It was only after he had put the jewels away again that she had took a deep breath and calmed herself.

  She had gone on to explain her reaction. The pure, Dark energy had been anathema to her as a Light Master. According to Hisako, the affinities of everyone in The Land were not randomly allotted, but instead reflected a core part of their being. Hisako had a high affinity for Light magic not just because she controlled a place of Power, but also because whatever qualities Light Magic embodied resonated in her soul. As such, the pure darkness of the gems was equally dissonant to her personality.

  It all seemed a bit cyclical and confusing to Richter. It also revealed another facet of his Limitless ability, however. If he could interact with any type of magic or power, what did that mean about his own nature? He didn’t grasp the full implications yet, but in his heart, he knew it would be important in the future.

  Still, he had not rejoiced in the new knowledge. Instead, Richter had only focused on her reaction. If she couldn’t help him with his quest, he didn’t know who could. After her initial reaction, though, Hisako had him relate the entire story. He talked about the battle with the dark aberration and finding the gems afterward. He also told her that the gems were the corrupted souls of the aberration’s victims through the centur
ies. He had also told her about the quests that gave him a choice to use the soul stones to power his own enchantments or to find a Light master to free the souls. Her face had lost the look of anger, but she still glanced with disgust at his bag. She had stared so long that Richter had thought she was trying to destroy the crystals with her mind. A ludicrous idea until you realized that she was the Master of a Place of Power and had a level so high that his Analyze skill didn’t work on her.

  Thankfully, she just calmed down and had told him that she could cleanse the taint from the stones and free the souls, but only once they were back at the Hearth Tree. It was only there that she could use the full extent of her powers. He had nodded, regretful that she could not help immediately, but happy that there was hope for the tortured souls held within the crystals. The Hearth Mother had also made it clear that Richter should not show her the dark jewels again until they were ready to be destroyed.

  Richter had considered the matter closed. Now, it seemed that she was questioning if the appearance of the dark crystals, the rise of the undead and now the appearance of the Bloodstone had not just involved him, but perhaps had happened because of him.

  When she spoke, she did so softly. Not in recrimination, but instead it was almost in pity, “The very first time we met, all I saw was a dirty human in roughspun clothes. What I felt, however, was that somehow a universe of possibilities stood before me. I told you that I did not detect evil in you, but that was not exactly true. My magic showed absolute horror and absolute beauty coexisting in one moment, and a completely blank slate in the next. I believe I have taken your measure, Master Richter, and in my opinion you are more likely to choose good than evil. It does not change that all of these amazing and horrible things are happening however, and they all seem to involve you.”

  Richter just looked at her with his mouth slightly open, “I don’t know what to tell you. I’m just me.”

  Hisako finally broke her stare, and looked back at the table, “We shall see, Master Richter. We shall see.”

  CHAPTER 15 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 15,386 EBG

  Richter slept like the dead. His Belt of Sustenance greatly decreased the food, drink and sleep that he needed, but he was still flesh and blood. The battles, stress and emotional onslaught all took their toll. The war planning had gone on for another hour or so, but it had really just involved some fine-tuning of Yoshi’s original plan. He gave his own room to Hisako again and so had just balled up his cloak and slept on the floor of the conference room. His back was knotted from sleeping on rock, but a few stretches and cracks made him feel right as rain.

  Alma was asleep on his chest, making that faint rumbling purr that she always did when she was content. With a mischievous grin, he poked her belly. She opened one eye in what could only be called severe irritation and looked at her master. When she saw his grin, she blew a strong gust of air up his nose. It was powerful enough that it made his eye twitch and he shouted, “Gah!” She jumped into the air with a toot of triumph.

  *I was sleeping, master,* she thought to him in a scolding tone, *and I don’t have a magic belt that makes me annoyingly awake in the middle of the night.*

  *My god, you’re touchy,* he thought back, amused at the indignant little dragonling.

  *I flew over thirty miles yesterday!*

  *Exactly,* Richter responded, goading her on, *You got to fly. I had to walk and fight undead! You just got to float along, you lazy thing.*

  *Lazy? LAZY? Master you have no idea how much-*

  Richter just chuckled to himself as he got up and started walking out of the catacombs. Alma flew behind him, all sleepiness forgotten as she kept up a running train of psychic communication to her master. The chaos seed thanked his lucky stars that half-listening to women as he walked was a skill he had mastered before even coming to The Land.

  Soon they emerged from the tunnel and into the open air. The rain had stopped falling and the sky was remarkably clear. Alma had stopped berating him during the several-hundred-yard walk and now sat on his shoulder, her tail wrapped around his arm. Richter enjoyed the nighttime view of his village for a few seconds before starting off at a jog. There was work to be done.

  The last thing he had done before going to sleep had been to give Futen an order. The remnant had been told to arrange for all of the smiths to be in the Forge of Heavens by daybreak. Richter estimated that was less than an hour away. He made his way through the quiet village and soon the Core building came into view. The red glow of an awakened forge shone from within and brought a smile to his face.

  As he got closer, he could hear Bowdin’s gruff voice echoing out of the building, “Get that fire built higher. Ay told you to have that ore ready for smelting! Are ye trying to make me look bad? Ay swear that if ye embarrass me in front of his lordship, ay will use yer head as my new chamber pot! Ye should know, ay have got the runs!”

  Gross as that was, it seemed like a motivating threat because all Richter heard in response was “Yes, smith!” as he walked into the Forge.

  Bowdin greeted him with a broad grin on his bearded face, “Greetings, yer lordship! Yer early. What can this bunch of hammer swingers do for ye?”

  All of the smiths looked up to see why their lord had needed them to be available so early. Richter looked around and said, “We have one day to enchant as much high quality weaponry and armor as we can. It may make the difference between life and death for our forces. I won’t let our people go out in low quality gear, but any project that you have already started will be finished today. Tonight, our village goes to war.”

  Many of the smiths had looked ornery over having to be up so early. More than one looked to be nursing a hangover. When they heard what was at stake though, their expressions became deadly serious. The smiths might be a strong headed bunch, but almost all of them believed in the work they were doing to build the village.

  Bowdin turned to the rest of the smiths, “Well, ye heard his lordship! Let’s get to work! He ho!”

  The dwarven smiths shouted back, “Ho ha!” in unison. The few human smiths didn’t know the call, but they looked equally enthusiastic to help. Bowdin called out a second time, “He ho!” and this time all of the smiths shouted out, louder and with more enthusiasm. By his third call, the response was thundering, “HO HAAA!” The smiths exploded into action.

  “What would you like to do first, yer lordship?” Bowdin asked. He had to pitch his voice loudly over the clamor of the awakened forge.

  “Break out the moonstone,” Richter said.

  The chaos seed had always known that the limiting factor in making enchanted weaponry would be filled soul stones. To that end, he had arranged for any of his villagers that knew the spell Soul Trap to hunt with strike squads around the periphery of the village. The influx of soul stones had increased recently as the ranks of the guards had swelled over the past few weeks. Richter’s ability to summon hundreds of mist workers a day had had the unexpected effect of driving unskilled workers into militia service. The guard contingent of the Mist Village now numbered one hundred and nine, even counting the losses of the three guards the day before. Including the meidon sprites, Richter could now field a fighting force of close to two hundred. He had never expected that allowing Elora to bond to the Quickening would have brought him nearly a hundred highly skilled magic archers.

  One of the things that had been on Richter’s mind was how many of his people he could commit to the attack. Though Confusing Mist was a powerful defense, it was by no means a perfect bulwark against the dangers of the forest. The Witch Doctor had shown that magic could overcome the settlement’s defense spell. The enchantment also did not work against nonsentients or higher level beings. There was no reason to think that angels or demons would attack the village, but monsters and dangerous beasts abounded in the surrounding land. He couldn’t take his entire fighting force into battle. Some of his forces had to stay behind.

  He had decided to order everyone that would be left behind to gather
in the meadow when he left. He would leave a contingent of twenty sprites and thirty melee guardsmen, including three Life magi. Roswan had done his job well and the hill that led up to the meadow had two walls, one at the bottom and one at the top. Both were made of marbled quartz with high steel gates. Theoretically, if there was an attack, his people should be able to hold those choke points for quite a long time. The archers could also fire from the meadow to hit anyone that was stuck on the slope leading up to the gate. Those picked were given the duty of finding more soul stones. Everyone that would be marching to war was told to rest for the day.

  For hours, Richter worked in the smithy. He wished that Gloran could have helped with the enchanting, but the elf had been taken for his Trial along with many of the other villagers. The week he would be gone was a small price to pay in the long run, but it had come at such an inopportune time. Richter cursed Nexus many times throughout the day, but never for long. There was work to be done. Ultimately, it was the lack of soul stones that led him to stop. Though the upcoming battle was important, the chaos seed wasn’t willing to sacrifice anything higher than a common level soul stone. Luminous stones and above were just too rare and precious.

  Because of the shortage, he also had to avoid maximizing the enchantments he used. It took three common souls to maximize the enchantments he could create. Richter simply didn’t have enough captured spirits to commit three souls for each weapon and piece of armor. Still, the weapons and armor that were made might just turn the tide of battle.

  You have enchanted:

  Moonstone Mace of Goblin Slaying.

  Damage: 23-32

  Durability: 147/147

  Item Class: Uncommon

  Quality: Exceptional

  Weight: 3.2 kg

  Traits: +10% damage vs. spell barriers

  +67% damage against goblins

  Charges: 411/411

  You have enchanted:

  Moonstone Longsword of Freeze.