Champion's Prophecy: A LitRPG Adventure

by Thomas K. Carpenter

  [You have learned the Reverbslam spell]

  Reverbslam - Spell (CHR)

  Mana - 10 per second

  Duration - Extended

  Requires a crystalline weapon

  Match the core frequency of your crystalline weapon to make it more effective in melee combat. Higher Battle Song skill will increase damage.

  “I guess I don’t have to be noisy,” said Terran, eyeing his staff with glee.

  “Stop making goo-goo eyes at your weapon and come over here and help me with this stupid thing,” said Zara, who’d managed to box the shadow into the corner, but couldn’t hit it. Sweat dripped from her forehead from the constant axe swinging.

  Terran took one side, while Luna was on the other. The shadow moved like a zephyr, but with three attackers it couldn’t avoid their weapons for long, and they dispatched the creature. He looted a shadow shard from the corpse before it winked out of existence for good, throwing it onto the stack with the others.

  Zara bent over, hands on her knees. “That was a good workout.” She raised an eyebrow. “What did you do that made those last hits so effective? I just checked the logs, and your damage output increased a ton.”

  Reverently holding the staff before him in two hands, Terran said, “I learned a new skill. It means I won’t have to be so noisy in the future for battles like this.”

  “Good, because I worried you’d belt out a song and bring the whole place on our heads,” said Zara.

  “Don’t give him any ideas,” said Luna, who was cleaning the fur on her paw.

  Terran tapped his chin. “I wonder what would happen if I had a crystalline axe made for you?”

  Zara squinted. “Wouldn’t I just break it?”

  When Terran glanced at Luna, she said, “If you even utter the words ‘crystalline teeth,’ I’ll bury your hammock back in the settlement.”

  “What do you think was happening here?” asked Zara, touching the metal table where the woman lay motionless.

  “They put something in her that gestated into a shadow morph,” said Terran. “Thankfully it wasn’t too powerful since it’d just been born.”

  “Eww...baby killer,” said Zara, chuckling, then remembering the corpse in their midst, added, “Sorry.”

  “I guess the Shadowbane, if that’s who’s behind this, is expanding in multiple areas,” said Terran. “Really makes me wonder if the Tavern Killer is a member of this temple, but I’m not sure what the purpose would be, other than to keep the streets empty at night for the shadows to abduct more people.” He paused. “Let’s keep checking the other rooms.”

  They encountered more shadows in the other rooms, though no more shadow spreaders or captives, nor did they find the cloaked figure they’d seen in the temple proper. Terran managed to loot three more shadow shards, which annoyed him because he didn’t know what they were for. They reminded him of crystals, but made from shadow.

  With the lower level cleared of shadows, they crept back to the main floor, peeking above the stairs to find the temple empty except for the glowing ball of darkness above the altar. Terran was considering his options when the object pulsed with menace and a powerful feminine voice boomed in his head.

  “JOIN ME, MORTAL, AND RULE THIS BROKEN WORLD!”

  Chapter Nine

  Neither Zara or Luna flinched, which suggested the voice was only in his head. That the enormous pulsing ball of shadow had recognized him made their stealth no longer necessary. Terran rose to his feet amid the cries of his companions.

  “It’s okay, it already knows we’re here,” said Terran, approaching the altar cautiously.

  Exalt of Shadow - Level ??

  Normally you either cower or run from a ??, but hey, walking straight up to it might work too. You be you. I’m sure it’ll work out just fine...

  “You sure about that?” asked an increasingly worried Zara, who gripped her axe in both hands as she followed him.

  The shadowy ball pulsed: “YOU ARE POWERFUL, MORTAL, BUT YOU WILL DIE SOMEDAY! JOIN ME AND RULE FOREVER!”

  Terran squinted at the towering voice in his head. “Uhm, could you not shout, I feel like I have a rock concert in my head.”

  “Is this better!”

  This time his friends glanced up as if they’d heard the Exalt. Terran flinched, but nodded. “Much better. I guess you don’t have a good volume control in that thing.”

  “What say you, Terran of Gneiss Glen? Join me in the shadows to rule this world.”

  “Are you the Shadowbane?”

  The Exalt pulsed and throbbed like a taffy ball made of night being stretched.

  “I am the Exalt of Shadow, tasked with spreading the good name of our Lady of Shadows!”

  “Then how do I know you speak for her?” asked Terran, edging no closer than halfway up the aisle. He wanted to be a short sprint from escaping the room if things went wrong. Zara and Luna kept their heads on a swivel, constantly checking for emerging enemies.

  “I AM HER EXALT!”

  Terran put his hands to his ears while Zara grimaced.

  “Sorry! I am her Exalt!”

  He pulled them away. “I’m sure she knows that if you’re constantly shouting it.”

  “It is hard to temper my power! You too could have such power if you join the Lady of Shadows!”

  Terran leaned on his crystalline staff, trying to act casual even though his heart was thundering in his chest. “Is Chanterelle with the Lady?”

  The ball of darkness stretched and pulsed a few times as if it were thinking before answering.

  “Yes! You and your woman could be reunited in shadow!”

  Zara’s forehead knotted. “You’re not thinking about—”

  Terran waved his hand at the redheaded berserker.

  “Is she near? Maybe in the city?” he asked.

  “JOIN!”

  “As a token of friendship, you should send her back,” said Terran. “I’m sure she’s done enough for the Lady of Shadows. Chant is a Rock Leaf Elf, she’s meant to be in the settlement.”

  “Join the Shadowbane!”

  Sensing the conversation was going nowhere, Terran hefted his staff to his shoulder. “Look, I appreciate the—”

  “Terran,” said Zara under her breath.

  Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw what she was indicating with nods of her head. The shadows had returned, a lot of them, and they were surrounded. There had to be two dozen shadows, mostly lower levels, but there were a couple shadow spreaders and one hulking shadow morph in ogre form guarding the exit.

  “JOIN OR DIE!”

  Terran hummed an F-sharp, which woke the staff in his hands. “Can I get a rain check on this offer?” Then quietly to his friends, “Hit the shadows near the door. We need to fight our way out of here.”

  Zara’s nostrils flared with the anticipation of the fight. The veins on her forehead and arms stuck out as a low roar rose from her lips until it was a throaty battle cry that shook the rafters.

  “For the Glen!”

  Zara lifted her axe above her head and rushed towards the shadow morph at the door. The ogre-shaped shadow met her blow with his night-ripped club, the impact a blast of power that annihilated the nearest bench.

  Without the need for stealth, Terran unleashed Auditory Assault, pouring his fears into the song. The sonic wave rolled out from him, shaking the dust from the air, slamming into the shadows. A few smaller ones winked out of existence from the impact, while the larger and higher-level shadows were stopped in their advance.

  [You have increased the skill Battle Song]

  Skill: Battle Song 18 (CHA)

  It’s like you travel with stacks of 50 gigawatt amps.

  Terran kept singing out the reverberatory note. The song rocked the temple, shaking it and continuing the damage to the shadows. He felt like a god...

  ...at least until a tendril of darkness flicked out from the Exalt of Shadow, wrapping around his neck and silencing the song. Released from their stasis, the shado
ws surged forward as Terran fought with the appendage wrapped around his throat. He beat at it with his staff, but the vibration had ended, making his weapon less effective, and Luna was busy defending him from the nearest shadows.

  “JOIN OR DIE!”

  The shadows took all manner of forms: humans, hounds, dwarves, orcs, crag trolls. They fell upon Terran, their cold touches draining his life as the Exalt dragged him closer to the altar. He swung his staff feebly, the life draining from his body one blow at a time. He might have passed out already if it weren’t for his bardic endurance, but even that would eventually run its course.

  To his left, Luna had fallen beneath a pile of lesser shadows, who abused her with their numbers, while Zara was barely holding her own against the ogre shadow morph. The shadows seemed to gain power from the Exalt. Terran smacked the tendril with his staff, but the hits were ineffective. As spots formed in his vision, he flailed about, the crystal catching the brass edgings on the pew, ringing softly, but off-key.

  Terran rang the crystal against the pew, but it wasn’t quite the note he wanted, so he tried again, this time hitting it cleanly. As the F-sharp thrummed through his arms, giving him power, he started beating the tendril with his weapon. He managed a lucky critical and the appendage flung itself away, giving him a chance to breathe again.

  [You have increased the skill Bardic Endurance]

  Skill: Bardic Endurance 10 (CHA)

  Watch out, ladies, he can hold his breath for a long, long time.

  With no time, he waded into the pile that had covered Luna, freeing her with a mix of staff blows and Vocal Slams. His bedraggled companion was covered in wounds, barely alive.

  “Luna—”

  The words caught in his throat at her condition. Luna’s eyes widened, then she lunged past Terran, tearing into a new tendril attempting to recapture him.

  “Thanks,” he said. “Now let’s get the hell out of here.”

  They joined Zara, who was battling the shadow ogre to a standstill. Neither had been able to hit each other for more than a small percentage of their health.

  “We don’t need to kill it, just get past it,” said Terran.

  Covered in sweat and smears of blood, Zara nodded intently, veins bulging on her forehead.

  “Give me a distraction,” said Zara with a maniacal grin. “I have a new ability I want to try.”

  Terran blasted the pews with another Auditory Assault, before humming his key note, then swinging at the shadow morph. He wasn’t skilled in melee like Zara, so his blows felt awkward and overly obvious, but the distraction was enough. The tall redhead leapt up, placing her right foot on the wall, and flung herself high into the air.

  “Love tap!”

  The shadow morph turned too late to deflect her blow, and the shiny axe split it right down the middle. Terran’s combat logs lit up with damage, including an “Extraordinary Critical,” which finished off their opponent in one blow.

  Terran escaped the temple last, as the Exalt’s tendrils slapped at the ground behind him.

  “JOIN OR DIE! JOIN OR D—”

  The voice in his head ended the moment he stepped out of the building, but they kept moving for fear of pursuit. It wasn’t until they were halfway back to the Golden Kumquat that they finally rested, leaning against the wall of an apartment building, covered in sweat, blood, and black grime.

  Haggard and worn, Luna looked like she was about to fall over. He’d never seen his companion in such shape.

  “Sorry, Luna. I should have known that was going to happen,” said Terran.

  The gray lynx looked up with a weak smile. “It’s okay. I’m sure you were hoping for news about Chanterelle.” Luna coughed. “But if it’s alright with you, I think I’d like to sleep for a few days.”

  “Yeah, we all need the rest,” said Terran.

  “I don’t know,” said Zara, flexing. “I could go another couple of rounds. That shadow morph was a good workout.”

  “If I wasn’t so tired I would kill you,” said Luna as they trudged the direction of the inn.

  A few blocks later, they entered the side street that led to the Golden Kumquat. Near the entrance lay a fallen woman. A hooded figure loomed over the body, holding a curved knife dripping with blood.

  Chapter Ten

  “Stop!”

  Terran was sprinting down the street with Zara at his side. The killer fled up the side of the building in graceful leaps, an impressive display of urban parkour that quickly put them out of reach. As Zara started climbing, one handhold at a time, Terran said, “Leave him. I can’t climb for crap, Luna’s too injured to join us, and we don’t know how dangerous he is.”

  Zara allowed herself to fall back to the street level. They checked the fallen figure and discovered it was Della.

  “Oh no,” said Terran, checking her pulse to find a weak beating heart. He reached into his pouch, found a healing potion that Petram had made a while ago, and tipped the clear liquid down Della’s throat, massaging the muscles so she would swallow. The potion did its work, knitting the wound on her side that had bled into her dress.

  “Mom!”

  From the entrance of the tavern, Isabella came running out, tears streaming down her face. She slid onto her knees, clutching at Della’s dress.

  “She’s alive,” said Terran quickly in case Isabella had other ideas. “Barely, but she’ll be okay. Zara, can you?”

  The tall redhead easily scooped the tavern owner into her arms, carrying her swiftly into the building and into their lodgings behind the kitchen.

  “Make something warm for her to drink,” said Terran, to give Isabella something to do, and because Della’s body had felt cold when he touched it.

  Lying in bed, dress stained with blood on the right side, Della groaned awake. Her eyes were ringed with bruises.

  “I never should have went outside,” said Della, frowning.

  “Why did you then?” asked Zara.

  “I thought I heard a kitten mewling in the alleyway, I was going to rescue it and give it some milk. Cats are good for taverns, and our old tomcat passed away last year,” said Della. “But I’m a fool. I think the killer was making that noise somehow. It sounded so real, but I never saw a kitten. Only a dark shape filling up my vision, then the pain in the side.”

  “Did you get a look at the killer’s face, by chance?” asked Terran.

  The muscles around Della’s nose knitted with thought. “I’m sorry. I wish I had. It was just darkness, then more darkness.”

  “Shadows or darkness?” asked Zara, suddenly.

  “Is there a difference?” asked Della.

  Zara shifted her mouth to the side. “Unfortunately, yes.”

  The details of those few moments when they’d seen the Tavern Killer were already fading from Terran’s mind. “Do you remember if they wore the same cloak as the person we saw in the temple?”

  Luna looked up. “I’m sorry, I was staring at the cobblestones.”

  Zara tugged on her red braid. “I don’t know. It could have been, but also not.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of,” said Terran.

  Isabella came in with a steaming mug of tea. She set it beside her mother’s bed, then threw her arms around her. Della squeezed her daughter to her chest.

  “I almost lost you, Mom,” said Isabella.

  After a moment with her daughter, Della’s eyes opened. “Did you manage to, uhm?”

  Terran motioned to Isabella. “Zara, could you?”

  “On it,” said the redhead with a smile. “Come on. Why don’t you show me your kitchen. Maybe we can rustle up some dinner for everyone. We need to let your mother rest so she can heal.”

  Zara shot him a wink on the way out, but Terran wasn’t quite sure why. “You can go rest if you want, Luna.”

  “Oh, thank the stars,” said the lynx as she trudged out of the room with head held low.

  Terran pulled up a chair.

  “Rough night for you too?” asked Della fr
om the bed.

  Terran leaned his staff against the wall. “Some unexpected challenges, but we survived.”

  “Did you manage to talk to Gold Eyes?” asked Della wearily.

  “He tasked us with collecting your debt,” said Terran, adding when her eyes widened, “Don’t worry, our intention is to help you get out of it. Which we think we could do if we could catch the Tavern Killer. Easier said than done.”

  “I don’t know if it’s worth it,” Della said heavily. “Maybe I ought to just sell the Golden Kumquat, pay off my debts, and leave the city.” She looked up at Terran with big brown eyes. “Do you have room at your Glen?”

  She placed her hand on his and a thrill went right through him. Her hands were calloused from working. They were strong, but also soft. He imagined placing the tips of them against his lips briefly before shaking that thought away.

  “I, uhm, of course, but I’d hate for you to give up your tavern and your livelihood. This place looks like a great bar, and the beds in our room look really soft and comfortable. I’m looking forward to a good rest tonight,” said Terran.

  “Thanks,” said Della, squeezing his hand. “I really do enjoy making people feel at home away from home. But I’m afraid too many things are working against me, and as much as I want to make this work, I have to look out for Isabella.”

  “The Glen isn’t exactly safe either,” said Terran. “We were attacked by a horde of Crag Trolls earlier this year.”

  “But you fended them off, survived, thrived I bet,” said Della, smiling softly. “And at least I’d be living under a ruler that cared about his people. The leaders in Dagrath don’t care about Tavern Killers, or thugs like Gold Eyes. They only want their taxes and that’s it.”

  The warmth of her hand in his was messing with his mind. He kept going back to the finger kissing thing, and he was certain that if he did, she would welcome it. But his desires ran right into Chanterelle’s memory. Was it fair to either one of them to keep holding on? She was bound to the Shadowbane, but that didn’t mean he wanted her any less. Even the idea that she might be in Dagrath, however improbable, had given him hope.