The Land: Founding (Chaos Seeds Book 1)

by Kong, Aleron

  Richter chased them only to the edge of the chamber, before stopping and lowering the axe. The damned weapon seemed as much a risk to him as the enemy. As he watched the back of the last goblin turn the corner, a short gasp escaped him, followed by a loud grunt, and quickly followed by laughter. The type of laughter that can only come from the mouth of one who has passed through the shadow of death’s domain and come out alive. He laughed to release all the tension he had accumulated through the dark day. He laughed in vain attempt to balance out the horror of the slaughter he had committed. He laughed at the ridiculousness that he could still be alive! As the peals of maniac laughter followed the goblin scouts, they ran all the harder, out of the cave, away from the ruins and into the forest. They met up with other patrols, and the fear in their faces, convinced those patrols to flee the forest as well. The goblins never fully rested until they had reached their marshy homeland. When they arrived, they passed along the horrible tale of the wild laughing demon that had slain so many of their people.

  CHAPTER 10

  As his mania left him, Richter slumped to the floor right where he stood. He barely noticed Sion coming and sitting beside him. The two leaned back to back, supporting each other physically as they had come to do in all other arenas of their interaction. For a while they simply sat. Neither could say how long had passed as they gazed at the bodies of the dead or simply gazed off into space, caught in their own musings.

  Sitting there, Richter became aware of a slow blinking in the corner of his vision. He turned his head, but it remained stubbornly at the mid right aspect of his gaze. Puzzled for a moment, he finally realized what is was, and allowing his vision to relax, he saw an icon like an unrolled scroll. Focusing upon it for a moment his vision filled with announcements.

  TRING!

  You have reached level 3! Through hard work you have moved forward along your path. As a Chaos Seed you gain 6 points to distribute to characteristics instead of the usual 4. You also get 25% advancement to the skill of your choice! Crush your enemies, honor your allies, LIVE!

  TRING!

  You have reached level 4! Through hard work you have moved forward along your path. As a Chaos Seed you gain 6 points to distribute to characteristics instead of the usual 4. You also get 25% advancement to the skill of your choice! Crush your enemies, honor your allies, LIVE!

  You have either characteristic points or skill percentage points to allocate from the previous level. Now that you have progressed again, you must allocate your points within the next week or they will randomly be assigned for you.

  You have completed the Quest: Cleanse the Forest II. Return to the hearth mother to collect your reward.

  You have completed the Quest: Cleanse the Forest III. Return to the hearth mother to collect your reward.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 3 in Archery. +2% bonus to aim. +2% bonus to damage.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 4 in Archery. +2% bonus to aim. +2% bonus to damage.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 1 in Swordsmanship.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 2 in Light Armor. +2% to defense of all light armor.

  Congratulations! You have received racial bonus Level I vs goblins. +3% attack and defense bonus when fighting goblins. Kill total 100 goblins to reach next level.

  Your relationship with your Companion Sion has improved from distrust to friendly.

  All of these status windows were wonderful news to Richter! They must have been accumulating since the initial attack on the sickened goblins, but were auto-minimized. Thank god for that! It could certainly mean his death if a prompt blocked his view in the middle of a battle. What caused his eyes to widen and his mouth to run dry was the final prompt.

  Congratulations! You have cleansed a Hidden Village. As owner of the Heart Crystal and because there are no living descendants to the previous owners, you may lay claim. Would you like to claim the village? Yes or No?

  Richter’s fingers started tingling as if he was already counting his riches. And why not? It was in his name. Focusing on the Yes option, he read the next prompt.

  Congratulations! You have claimed your first village! You are now Master of the Mist Village. Your village is Level 1. As you increase the level of the village, more powers and resources will become available. This village is built upon a Place of Power. You now have access to the magics and mana associated with this particular Place of Power. There are many secrets to any location of Power, and you must apply yourself to discover and master them! Good luck!

  Congratulations! You have won +700 fame points from founding a village on a Place of Power!

  Richter’s mouth dropped open in shock. How had this happened? He had woken up naked in the forest barely a week ago! He had only just reached level four! Now he had his own village? And the fame was nothing to sneeze at. In the game there had been two basic types of reputations: global and local. Local reputation would increase or decrease based on your interaction with a specific group. Global reputation as a term was a bit misleading. It did affect a broad amount of people or an entire region, but to affect another region there must be some connection between the two like a trade route. Reputation was not supposed to be a magic aura that just made people respect you more. Even though it didn’t affect everyone in existence, global reputation was amazing nonetheless. It opened new quests, allowed for better treatment and better prices. It generally just made life more interesting. Unfortunately, the only way to increase global reputation was through fame, and it was almost impossible to earn!

  Questions buzzed through Richter’s mind, and first among them was:

  “What’s a place of power,” he asked musingly.

  “A Place of Power is a nexus of the world’s ley lines. It allows for a magnification of those particular powers. Sentient beings can tap into this,” answered a deadpan voice. Somehow Richter could tell it put an emphasis on ‘Place of Power’ that he had not.

  Before the second word was spoken Sion was on his feet, arrow knocked and drawn. Richter was only a moment behind him, dagger pointing out to cover the other half of the room. They looked frantically about, but couldn’t see anything.

  “Who is that,” snapped Sion. Only silence answered his question.

  “We both heard you! Who is there,” Richter asked still looking for a potential enemy.

  “I am the interface for your village Master.”

  “Where are you,” Richter asked both exasperated and curious.

  “I am present approximately one foot to the south of you Master.”

  “Why can’t I see you?”

  “My last Master did not want me to be seen so I remain invisible. Would you like to see me, Master?”

  “Yes,” Richter replied scanning the air directly in front of him. “Show yourself.”

  A gray sphere phased into view directly in front of its face. Its surface rippled like water, and it appeared lit from within, a steady glow and faint glow being cast from its center.

  “Gah,” Richter exclaimed jumping back. “Not so close!”

  “Yes, Master,” the sphere said moving back several feet continuing to hover in the air.

  “What are you,” Richter asked, fascinated by its appearance.

  “I am a remnant. An echo of the personality of the first chamberlain of this village. He was a powerful user of magic, and served the first ruler of this Place of Power. Together they built the Mist Village. At the end of his life, the chamberlain imparted intent to a fragment of his immortal soul. He tied it to this place to help guide future Masters.”

  “How long ago was that?”

  “My initial activation was 3,543 years before the removal of the gods from The Land.”

  That’s impossible,” Sion said, his tone clearly conveying his lack of trust of the floating orb. Of course, who the hell would trust a floating talking orb? “What do you want?”

  Again the orb floated in silence.

  “
Why do you only answer me,” Richter asked.

  “You are the Master of the village, and I will only respond to your commands and questions. This was the policy of the last Master. It was thought to allow otherwise could compromise the safety of the village.”

  “Well I command you to talk to and answer Sion.”

  “As you wish. My goal is to aid my Master in any way that I can.”

  Staring at the globe, Richter huffed, “What I really need are these bodies collected.”

  “At the current level of the village I can summon ten basic worker constructs. Should I proceed?”

  Not really expecting an answer to his complaining, Richter was pleasantly surprised, “What do you mean summon?”

  “You are the Master of the Mist Village. Being built upon a Place of Power, the village, and by extension you, have access to a certain amount of mana every day. As the level of the village increases, your access to mana will increase as well. Basic worker constructs cost 100 mana to summon and each will last one day. You currently have access to 1000 mana maximum. As Master you have access to all of these options, though many will not be available until the level of the village increases. You simply need to access the interface.”

  Richter relaxed his gaze in a now familiar way. Seeing a new icon in the shape of a small cluster of buildings he focused upon it. Immediately a crowded screen occupied his view. A series of pulldown menus were present,

  Enchantments, Summoning, Population, Income, Mana Generation, Defenses, Global Relations, …

  and a host of others. Staggered by the amount of options, he simply focused upon Summoning. More pulldown options presented themselves, most grayed out and illegible. At the top however was:

  Mist worker, Lvl 1. Health: 50/50, Mana 0/0, Stamina 400/400. Able to perform simple tasks of menial labor. Cost 100 mana. Cooldown: N/A. Lasts 24h. The mist-like properties of your constructs halve all physical damage.

  “You can summon these creatures,” Richter asked.

  “I can only do as you will, Master. If you instruct me to do so, I will implement your will.”

  “Very well. Sion and I have to go back to the home of the Wood Sprites. It may take me several days to return. You have permission to summon these things daily. All of the dead bodies should be stripped of weapons, armor, and items. Take the bodies outside of the village and burn them.”

  “The ley lines which run through this village are strong in Water, Air, Dark and Life. I have no access to Fire magic however, Master. The workers can do everything you have instructed except light the bodies on fire.”

  Richter looked at Sion, “I know you are eager to return home, but we need to take care of these bodies first. We could also use a rest. If I leave these bodies to fester, they will spread disease and pollute my new home.”

  The Sprite nodded, “Even though they were goblin filth, we do need to deal with the dead. As you have helped me to cleanse the forest, I will help you to cleanse your new home.”

  Nodding Richter turned back to the remnant, “What is your name?”

  “I have none, Master.”

  “What was the name of the mage that created you?”

  “His name was Futen Windspeak.”

  “Then I will call you Futen, if you like.”

  “As you wish Master,” Futen replied in the same deadpan voice. It might have been Richter’s imagination but it seemed that for just a moment, the grey sphere glowed a bit brighter.

  “And enough of this Master business. That kind of thing could go to a man’s head. Call me Richter.”

  “As you wish, Lord Richter.”

  Opening his mouth to correct Futen, he closed it again merely shaking his head slightly. Not worth it. Besides, ‘Lord Richter’ sounded pretty good.

  “Summon the workers Futen.”

  Light grey mist rose from between the cracks in the stone floor. Initially it was just a shapeless cloud one foot off the ground. It then began to pool in ten different spots in the chamber. The mist slowly rose taking on vague humanoid shapes. Each figure grew distinct but remained faceless. They had no clothing and no sex organs. Under the skin of each figure were slow moving swirls. The end of each arm was a round mist filled sphere.

  “How will they accomplish anything with those blobs for hands?”

  “They can fit any form desired Lord Richter. Please attend.” And so saying one worker raised its arm and the sphere became a hand, then a hammer, then a shovel head, before returning to sphere.”

  Impressed by the versatility of the workers, Richter nodded. “Have them begin separating the bodies from their items. But put those two aside,” he said gesturing to the chief and hobgoblin. “Now, we need a safe place to rest.”

  “This room will be safe my lord. The workers, though not strong, will delay and alert any attack from above, and no creatures of ill intent from the depths can cross the Great seal in the floor you are standing upon.”

  Nodding wearily, Richter sat down against the most comfortable surface in the chamber, which happened to be the body of the dead bear, just not the liquefied part of course. Sion sat heavily beside him, the least graceful he had ever seen the sprite. Closing his eyes, Richter’s second to last thought was, ‘this is one messed up teddy bear,’ followed quickly by him verbalizing, “Wait! What creatures from what depths?”

  CHAPTER 11

  A heavy bladed axe plunged out of the dark as he fought a losing battle. Stabbing and swinging his sword, he fought as hard as he could. Again and again the axe gouged into his skin eliciting blood and pain with each blow. He collapsed. Looking up the goblin chief’s face that was peering down at him, the monster raised its axe to strike one last time, and sever his head…

  Gasping, Richter stood swiftly, knife in hand, blinking away the terrors of his dream. After a while he was able to slow his breathing but his heart still hammered wildly. He may have done what was needed the night before, but he was still a twenty four year old man from a modern world. Until last week he hadn’t done anything more violent than punch the occasional frat boy that had gotten handsy with his female friends. As he became more aware of his surroundings, he realized Sion was also up with an arrow nocked looking for the threat. Closing his eyes for a moment, he collected himself, before opening them again and looking at Sion. “There is no danger my friend. None outside of my own nightmares.”

  Sion looked at him, relaxing the draw on the bow. “Yesterday was a dark day, and I think better of you that it could not be so easily dismissed.” With a pause of his own and then a small smile, he added, “My friend.”

  Judging by the weariness he felt, they had only dozed for a few hours. The torch had gone out while they were sleeping, but some faint grey illumination filtered down from an unknown source in the ceiling. Richter heard the sounds of activity outside of the cave. There was no way he could go back to sleep right now so he turned to Sion and said, “Let’s see what we have.”

  Richter walked over to the goblin chief’s body. He felt his gorge rise at the mix of smells: copper and nickel from the blood, sour stench from body reek and the nauseating reek from the feces that had escaped in death. Though he had ignored these in the heat of battle, faced with the harsh reality after a night’s rest he was doubly glad for the workers who would clear the other bodies.

  Searching the goblin he first picked up the single headed axe.

  You have found: Magic Iron Axe. Damage 15-20. Durability 33/35. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Average. Traits: Unknown. Requires Strength 17.

  Richter had not seen a requirement for weapons before. He could only assume that was because no other items he had acquired had requirements. Or maybe he had met the requirements so they hadn’t been shown. Either way it did explain why the axe had seemed to resist him the night before. He also did not know how to identify the axe. He set it aside for now. Stripping the rest of the armor he looked at each before setting them aside.

  You have found: Wooden Buckler. Durability 8/30. Item class: Co
mmon. Quality: Average. Defense +4.

  You have found: Iron mail shirt. Durability 16/50. Item class: Common. Quality: Poor. Defense +9. Weight 9.1 kg.

  You have found: Hardened leather pants. Durability 8/20. Item class: Common. Quality: Poor. Type: Light Armor.

  You have found: 28 silver and 41 copper.

  You have found: poor quality garnet.

  Moving over to the hobgoblin, Sion had already stripped it of its belongings, and had laid them upon the ground.

  You have found: Novice black mage robes. Defense + 5 (additional +7 vs magical attack). Durability 2/20. Item class: Common. Quality: Above Average. Weight 3.5 kg.

  You have found: Magic staff: Attack 13-16. Durability 19/20. Item class: Rare. Quality: Above Average. Weight 4.2 kg.

  You have found: Magic bracelet: Durability 10/10. Item class: Uncommon. Quality: Above Average. Weight 0.3 kg.

  You have found: 11 silver and 24 copper.

  You have found: Unknown potion x 2.

  You have found: Unknown potion

  “I’d be a lot more excited if I could identify any of this stuff.”

  “I can help with that,” said Futen, materializing just to the side of Richter’s face.

  “Aggghh! I swear to god I’m going to put a bell on you if you keep surprising me like that!”

  “It was not my intention to frighten you, Lord Richter.”

  “I’m not frightened. Nobody said frightened. I’m just, startled! When you are approaching me become visible a couple feet, let’s say twenty feet, away! Understood?”

  “Yes, Lord Richter. Would you like my help?”

  Thinking he heard a bit of attitude in its flat voice, but then assuring himself that was impossible, Richter replied, “How can you help?”

  “Normally to identify an item, you must use a spell or item. Alternately you can take it to a magical college or temple to have a magician or priest uncover its true identity for you. I have the ability however, to identify all but the most powerful of items. I can do this now if you wish.”