War in the Greenwood: A LitRPG Novel

by Galen Wolf

  I checked my HUD. Against the village of Pennred there was a golden arrow beaming upwards. When I inspected it, the text read: druid's Blessing. +5% Population Growth for 239 hours and 58 minutes.

  Almost humbly, Rohan said, "I have another favor to ask you, Barcud."

  I shook my head. "Anything. Thank you. We owe you for your blessing."

  "I would like to set up a temple to Apollo the God of Light here in this village. He has been absent from the Greenwood for too long." He raised his shaggy eyebrows and twiddled with his beard. With a twinkle of humor in his eye, he said, "And it will provide an ongoing low level blessing to the settlement."

  My brow furrowed. "I hope you don't think I'm just about what I can get out of things?"

  He grinned. "Not at all, Barcud." But he was smiling.

  Griffin and Sinuviel had come up behind us. The slight breeze moved Sinuviel's hair. Griffin stood, solid in his leather armor. He said, "And I have been thinking we should set up a shrine nearby to Maedhros the Hunter, the god of the Rangers. It'll boost happiness levels in the village."

  "Wow, yes. Of course."

  Then I remembered Elfhair.

  I put my hand on Griffin's shoulder. "Can I leave that to you? It's just I have an appointment."

  "With someone important?" Rohan smiled.

  "Yeah. Kinda." I waved, whistled for Aquila and was airborne in minutes.

  8

  Getting the Quest

  When I got to Vinab square on the back of my eagle, Elfhair was pretending to look cross. She tapped on an imaginary watch on her wrist. "You're late," she said. "But then so is Astral Bob."

  The square was busy. Traders were yelling and accosting passers-by to get their interest in sea-shells, silver bells, magic potions, bottles of rainbows and rugs from across the Razor's Edge Mountains. The smell of roast meat and spicy curry wafted from nearby. I glanced down the square and saw a thin column of smoke rising from skewers where a man was turning chickens. I saw someone selling herbs and poisons dressed like a ranger. Player characters were free to set up stores in the cities and they could make lots of money that way. There were donkeys and dogs among the crowd as well as more fantastic creatures. I saw one guy leading a camel train laden with bags and shining boxes and many fantastic items that came in silk-sailed ships from over the Ocean of Bones.

  Elfhair glanced all around looking for Astral Bob.

  Astral Bob appeared from the western side of the square hurrying in his dark blue velvet robes with their embroidered suns and moons. He had to put a hand to his head to stop his hat coming off as he ran towards us. He was sweating and stammered. "I'm so sorry Elfie. Some shit came up."

  I raised my eyebrows. He had a pet name for her?

  "That sounds nasty", Elfhair said, patting him.

  "Not shit literally of course. I just mean stuff."

  "Yeah, we got that." Elfhair laughed. "You know Barcud I think?"

  Astral Bob nodded. His expression was hard to read, but it wasn't totally welcoming. "Yes," he said, "we met at Rohan's birthday party."

  The square itself was wide and a small platform was raised in the middle where the mayor and other officials would make announcements to the city folk. We were standing close by that now. Around the square I could see the entrances of narrow alleys that led into the labyrinthine heart of the city. These alleys were so dark in some places they lent themselves to crime. However, there were also grand houses and palaces where rich people enjoyed lives of luxury – both NPCs with quests, but also players who'd made money from trading or from less honorable activities.

  To the south of the square, temples dedicated to the various gods lined the roads. Nearest stood a shrine to the Queen of Summer, a flower crowned beauty who was favorite of many players in Vinab. She was once a simple player character, but had been elevated to godhood. Past her shrine, the Temple of Time glittered in the sunlight amid clouds of incense burned by the faithful. When I first came to Greenwood, I would bind there within the safety of its walls as Genesis, the God of Time, did not allow violence within the precincts of his temple. The Temple of Apollo stood opposite that of Genesis and reared up, painted bright colors up to the great onion dome covered in silver leaf, which reached up high into the powder blue sky. The temple of Aurora, Goddess of the Dawn was a tall spiral in gold—something like the shape of a whippy ice cream, or a thin tall seashell whorl.

  I looked at Astral Bob. He lit up a cigarette while I watched. He was slightly more disheveled than normal. I cleared my throat. "I thought of a problem..."

  Astral Bob raised an eyebrow.

  "What is it?" Elfhair said.

  "Astral Bob is a level 20. He's going to really power level you, Elfhair."

  Astral Bob smiled grimly. "That's where you're wrong, see. I'm a level 10 – same as you Barcud." That was puzzling. He'd been a Level 20 last time I saw him at Rohan's birthday party.

  "What happened?"

  "I ran into some bother. Last night we had visits from the Horrabians to Vinab. Attila, Loki, Elrick and Gandalph decided to come visiting. They landed themselves in the middle of Vinab square and set up hostile rituals. They killed tons of our NPCs – luckily, they've re-spawned now. And they slaughtered any player characters that logged in or otherwise appeared in the square.

  "I thought we weren't fully at war?"

  Astral Bob shrugged. "It used to be quite common that the Horrabians would come into town and start killing people. They were often better fighters than the citizens of Vinab. People who come to Vinab have other things on their mind – they're not completely into PVP. Unfortunately, most Horrabians focus on fighting, and that means they get good. They're not all better than us, but their average is better than our average."

  Elfhair looked concerned. She stroked Astral Bob on the shoulder of his shabby velvet gown. "So, you got killed?"

  "Several times – ten times in fact. But I couldn't just let them park themselves in the middle of our city and do what they want. They had to be stopped. At first it was just me then I got reinforcements. Do you know Romeo El Mejor, the Bard?"

  I didn't, but Elfhair did.

  "He was a great help," Astral Bob said. Parzifal and a couple of other knights arrived shortly after Romeo, and we turned the tide. When they'd had their fun, the Horrabians left."

  I winced. "But after taking 10 levels off you..." That had to hurt. Then I remembered what they did to Elfhair; they'd taken 19 levels from her.

  Astral Bob shrugged. "I'll get the XP back." He tapped the ash of his cigarette and it fell onto his shabby velvet boot toe. "And that's why I'm interested in coming on this quest with you." He smiled at Elfhair. "So, every cloud has a silver lining – turns out, I'm not going to power level you Elfhair!"

  He seemed a good guy. I realized why he was slow in giving me his full trust. I'd have to earn his respect.

  "Okay, where's this quest giver?" I said.

  Elfhair pointed to the western side of the square. "He's just standing there down Lovers' Lane."

  We followed Elfhair, Astral Bob right behind her and me slightly behind him, pushing our way through the crowds. The place was extremely noisy and I couldn't really take part in the conversation Elfhair was having with Astral Bob because of the hustle and bustle all around.

  We came to the entrance to Lovers' Lane and stepped into the shadows. Out of the sun, the temperature dropped and there was a palpable sense of damp. Also, a sour smell like drains was perceptible behind the odors of cooking and the aromas of the spices for sale in nearby square. I saw we were by a tavern called the Snooty Fox.

  We walked about twenty yards down the alley and an NPC stood there with a glowing golden goblet over his head, indicating him as a quest giver.

  "You speak to him," Elfhair said to me.

  I initiated the dialogue, and he told me a story about Armboth Hall. It seemed that the Lord of Armboth Hall was ill. He'd been out on a hunting trip in the Silver Glade forests among the ruins of the lost elf kingd
om of Ostral, and became separated from his companions. When they found him, he was lying on the ground, still alive but unable to talk. The NPC leaned in and whispered that it was his belief that foul play was afoot here. Then he beseeched us to go solve this mystery.

  I accepted all the options and when I'd done so, a whirling portal of air appeared beside the NPC. At least we weren't going to have to walk.

  My HUD scrolled: You have accepted the quest: The Mystery of Armboth Hall. Base XP = 4,200.

  I turned to Elfhair and Astral Bob. "Ready?"

  Astral Bob nodded. Elfhair jokingly pushed me forward. "You go first!"

  9

  The Mystery of Armboth Hall

  I entered the portal and within an instant I was standing outside an old manor house. It was night. A full moon hung pale above us washing the scene in an eerie silver radiance. Everything was black and white; where they were moonlit, the surfaces were as if quicksilver had run over them, where not, they were flat black. Bats flitted overhead.

  "All this is good", Elfhair said. She turned to Astral Bob. "Have you done it before, Astral Bob?"

  He shook his head. "I've been really busy. I haven't done much questing in ages. You know city government business."

  "You old spy you."

  Astral Bob grimaced. Once again, I had the feeling that he was holding something back.

  We approached the tall iron gates of Armboth Hall and Elfhair pushed them. They opened with a rusty creak and the grass gave way to a gravel path. We crunched along the gravel towards the front door of the hall. An owl hooted from the trees nearby. It was cold and I hoped there were fires in the hall itself.

  Elfhair grasped the iron door knocker and let it slam against the heavy wooden door. The door looked to be made of oak with studs of black iron. The knocker was in the shape of a Wolf's head. I wondered if that was a clue.

  After a while the door was pulled open and a tall thin elf in evening dress stood there. "You must be here to help the master." He gave a slight bow. "I am Drexel, butler to Lord Armboth."

  I cleared my throat. "I hear that Lord Armboth is very ill..."

  The Elf looked upset. "Yes, I have served Lord Armboth for many years, but I've never seen him like this. He has never spoken since he came back from the hunt. He was found by his retainers injured and dumbstruck. We do not know what happened."

  So far, so good. We followed the Elf through the door, and it was thankfully warmer inside. I stopped shivering. I looked around to see a large hallway with a broad wooden stair ascending straight up in front of us. You could also get around the stairway on both sides and these passages presumably extended deeper into the hall.

  To the left was a short corridor that gave way into what looked like a drawing room, and a similar corridor to the right, although that was not lit and looked more mysterious. The Elf beckoned us to follow him. He took the left corridor and we stood soon in the drawing-room. A fire burned here in the hearth. There were pictures of rural scenes surrounded in golden frames around the walls. On the mantelpiece, there were vases of different ages that looked like collectors' items. A tall plant with small green leaves and bell like orange flowers stood in a ceramic pot. It looked well-tended. There was no sign of dust. It looked like Lord Armboth had competent staff. I glanced at the bookshelf which contained books bound in antique leather, their names tooled in gold on the spines.

  The elf asked us to wait in the room, telling us dinner was almost ready. Once he departed I turned to my companions and wondered aloud if there are any clues in here.

  I looked on the bookshelf and rummaged through the titles. There was a book about hunting. Different kinds of game animals could be found in the forest nearby. There was also a book on wines. There was a history of Armboth Hall and that seemed more promising. I leafed through it but it was a dry dusty tome. It said the ancestors of Lord Armboth had been here for many years. But otherwise I could see nothing remarkable in the text. The only book that looked slightly promising was one called Legends of the Silver Glades and the Lost Realm of Ostral.

  Astral Bob was looking amongst the vases and knickknacks on the mantelpiece. And Elfhair took upon herself to look under the furniture and move things to see whether there were any clues there but there was nothing so she dropped it with a smile.

  The elf Drexel returned and told us dinner was ready. He didn't seem even in the slightest alarmed to find us rummaging around the room. But of course, that was what would be expected from inquisitive adventurers. As we were walking out down the corridor, I asked him where Lord Armboth was.

  He frowned and said Lord Armboth was in his bed asleep and sick. "But he might be well enough to speak to you in the morning." His pointy elf face brightened as he said that. We strolled down the corridor to the left of the main ascending staircase towards the dining room. I asked him if we were the only ones visiting the house. He shook his head and said there were other guests for dinner.

  We entered the dining room. It was decorated in similar style to the living room - rustic and old-fashioned looking, paneled in dark wood. The wooden paneling made the place dark. Old paintings of hunting scenes decorated the walls. The dining room was lit by a series of candelabras laid out along the long oak table that occupied the centre of the room and red candles burned in sconces on the walls. The fire crackling in the hearth to the north side of the room gave off a warm, if flickering light.

  The other guests were already seated. There were four of them. The first was a haughty looking elf in rich red and blue velvet with a yellow silk cravat. Golden rings decorated his fingers and his hair was long and blonde gathered back in a silver net. He looked at us disdainfully as we entered.

  Next to him was a thickset dwarf dressed in the attire of a country gentleman - a brown woolen jacket and a stiff green shirt with a round collar. Round his neck was a blue silk cravat.

  Next to him on the left-hand side of the table was a dark-haired human. She wore a tight fitting, and flattering red velvet dress. Her skin was bone pale, set off by high cheekbones and piercing violet eyes. She had an antique coin strung on a thong around her neck, which she fingered thoughtfully as she watched us.

  The final guest was a fat halfling. His belly was round and he appeared used to good living. He at least looked friendly.

  They introduced themselves in turn. The dark-haired pale skinned lady in her long red velvet dress was called Ursula. She said she was a painter. She told us she'd been invited here by Lord Armboth to paint a portrait of him but when she arrived she found him ill.

  With a flourish of her pretty hand, she said, "I can't see that I'll wait here very long. I am much in demand as a painter of society portraits in the city of Salonika, and I have commissions to finish. I had hoped to serve Lord Armboth because of course he is enormously wealthy. But if he's ill now, I'll just have to come back another time."

  Each of the NPCs had a set piece speech. The thickset dwarf in his woolen jacket with his blue cravat spoke next. "My name is Thuan, and I am a hunter from the Old Forest. I live in the village of Woodheart."

  I was strangely excited. I yammered, "Woodheart! That's a Ranger village." I pointed at myself. "I'm a Ranger."

  The dwarf was not impressed. He nodded and said, "Of course, it's a Ranger village. I live there and make my living from hunting. I came here to discuss selling hunting hounds to Lord Armboth, but now I see he's unwell. However, I'm grateful to accept his hospitality for the night." The dwarf smiled. "His kitchen is renowned in the area. And I like a good meal."

  Then it was the turn of the halfling to speak. "I am Drugo, a wine merchant from the city of Vinab. We have a lucrative contract with Lord Armboth, and I was coming here to discuss restocking his cellar for the year ahead. I come every year, and I was mortified to hear he was ill."

  The halfling was probably mortified to think he wasn't going to make the money he'd counted on because something had happened to Lord Armboth.

  The final one to speak was the haughty elf. H
is long fingers drummed on the table, as if bored with us. He looked at me disdainfully. "I am Arcturus, and I am a trader in seashells..."

  "A trader in seashells?" I said. "I've never heard of such a thing."

  "Well you've heard of it now, ranger. This is what I do. I do not need to explain my business to you. Whatever dealings I had with Lord Armboth shall remain between myself and him."

  The elf butler Drexel came back in. "Dinner is served." He clicked his fingers and platters containing roast meat and vegetables sailed in through the air powered by some unseen magic. As we watched, the golden plates unloaded themselves from the platters and placed themselves in front of each of the four NPC guests and us. More plates and platters arrived sailing through the air and setting themselves down. They were laden with roast meats and vegetables - parsnips, potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, my favorite, and carrot mashed with butter. Antique silver jugs of dark hot gravy appeared and hovered above my plate. By hand signals, pointing and showing my palm in the universal halt gesture, I managed to get the jug to pour out a perfect measure of gravy onto my meat and potatoes. It smelled fantastic.

  They served us all a full meal, then golden goblets came and filled themselves with ruby red wine.

  Elfhair giggled and put her hand to her mouth. "This is fun."

  Astral Bob said, "I guess we're supposed to question the NPCs over dinner."

  I nodded. "I guess that's how this normally goes."

  We asked them all sorts of questions about themselves but we got no further. There was a mystery going on; the illness of Lord Armboth was what was at stake but no matter the questions I thought of, I couldn't get any hint from any of the NPCs, including the butler Drexel as to what had occurred. I wondered if he'd done it, but then that was too obvious.