The group all looked at each other and did not show any sign of concern before they returned their gaze to the robed man, their expressions neutral.
“I don’t believe you’re understanding the full magnitude of my words,” the man added.
Shrapnel shrugged. “We’re immortal, death really doesn’t bother us too much. I mean it hurts, a lot, but it's not the end of the world.” Realizing what he just said, he quickly added, “but you don’t have to worry, we will keep our word.”
The man began to grin as he put on a dark expression. “That is where you are wrong. Soon after the travelers started popping up we discovered that death doesn’t burden you much. So, we developed a way of punishing you if you were to ever get out of hand. We have the ability to change the bind point of any travelers who are sent to respawn within our city. What’s more, we can change the bind points of absolutely anyone so long as they have been physically captured.”
These last words finally got a rise out of the travelers. They began murmuring amongst each other and concern clearly showed on their faces.
“And in case you were wondering, the Phoenix Kingdom dungeons have several bind points ready for travelers who misbehave.”
Shrapnel started to speak but was stopped when Princess Kira stood from her chair. “Please travelers, I need your help. Please swear on your mana that you will not repeat what I’m about to tell you to anyone other than the souls in this room and the King himself.”
They all looked at each other for a few moments before nodding, agreeing to the oath. Shrapnel spoke up. “We agree.” After Shrapnel finished speaking Luke noticed a few points of mana drain from his status bar and he felt a pain in his head that quickly subsided.
Mana Oath Issued. You have agreed to keep your silence about the princess’s request. If you attempt to speak about this to anyone other than the souls present during the oath’s agreement or the King, you will be struck down before you are able to speak a word and your bind point will be changed to the Phoenix Kingdom’s dungeon.
Clearing away the message, Luke saw the others doing the same. Returning his sight to the princess, he noticed her warm smile and newly relaxed shoulders. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted from her.
“Thank you.” The princess looked back at her mother. A team of mages were continuously casting a variety of magic spells on her as she slept. When the princess turned around, she greeted them with a frown. “My mother is in danger. Very few people know this, but the phoenix that fought last night was an ancient summoning spell reserved for the royal family. The spell is extremely taxing and from the moment my mother summoned it, her mana and life force were being drained. I believe that’s why the late Captain Holtz charged into battle.” The guards in the room shifted uncomfortably at the mention of their deceased captain. “He knew the truth of that spell and I believe he wanted to finish the fight as quickly as possible to save my mother.”
The princess paused for a moment to look back at her mother and to allow the gravity of her words to sink in.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, princess, but where do we come in?” Shrapnel questioned.
“I need you to retrieve my father. He should be powerful enough to restore my mother back to good health.”
Shrapnel furrowed his brow. “I don’t mean any disrespect, but can’t you send some runners from the city guard?”
“I can not. The enemy army is still in the forests and hills that surround our kingdom. If they got word that the queen was injured and that we were sending runners to fetch the King, they would attack again in an instant. I need to send travelers. We still don’t know a lot about you, but the inhabitants of this world know that you seek adventure. Our enemies wouldn’t think twice if they saw a group of travelers exploring the neighboring lands.”
Shrapnel opened his mouth to argue but quickly shut it. Thinking about it for a moment, he knew she was right. It would be a strategic plan to send travelers. Monsters expect to see us roaming the outskirts in search of adventure. City guards, on the other hand, would be suspicious to anyone.
“I offer you this quest. Go to the Elk Kingdom, find my father and bring him home,” the princess pleaded.
Quest Alert! Return the King. Princess Kira has requested that you travel to the Elk Kingdom to find her father and bring him home. Rewards: +250 reputation with the Phoenix Kingdom and 100 gold. Exp: 25,000. Accept / Decline
Luke’s jaw dropped at the amount of experience offered for this quest. That was more experience than every other quest and event reward he had seen before combined.
“This is an urgent quest. The enemy army is still retreating, but I ask that you leave as soon as possible. Please only send a handful of people. I don’t want the enemy to think we are on the move. I also need travelers to help rebuild the city’s defenses. We lost a lot of good men and I will offer anyone in your guild a quest to join the city guard on a temporary basis while we recruit and train replacements.”
The queen groaned in pain and the princess ran to her, taking the queen’s hand in hers. The man in orange robes ushered them all out of the tent. When they were all outside and the tent was closed again, he spoke in a hushed tone so that no one else would overhear him.
“Go now and carry out this request. We need the King here as soon as possible.”
He disappeared into the tent, and Shrapnel signaled all of them to follow him. They all walked back to the guild hall and gathered in one of the large meeting rooms. The door shut behind them and one of the guild officers cast a spell that caused a circle of fast-moving air to surround them before giving Shrapnel a nod.
“Thank you SilverFox. No one outside this bubble of air should be able to hear us now.” Shrapnel looked intensely at Penny. “I need your party to handle this.”
It took Penny aback. “Sir… I…”
“There are no ifs ands or buts about it.” He cut her off. “You are the only full group that has worked together and has this quest. I can’t pair people who have the quest with those who don’t have it. We could end up breaking our oaths. The other officers and I don’t make a compatible enough party to survive the trip together. Most of us are damage absorbers and we have no healing or damage dealers. It has to be your group.”
Penny shifted her eyes back and forth in thought. She gave each of her party an inquisitive look and they all gave her a nod. Penny returned her gaze to Shrapnel and nodded her acceptance.
“Thank you, Penny. When you're ready to leave, I’ll send other parties out to the surrounding forest to help camouflage your departure. I think that’s all we have to discuss. This request seems urgent, so I suggest you leave tomorrow.” The group began to break apart and head off to prepare. Shrapnel turned to the party and said, “Good luck in the Elk Kingdom.”
The End
EPILOGUE
Iron respawned on a stone circle in a dark and damp cave. Various magic carvings were etched into the floor beneath him, and they were glowing as his character came back from the dead. Appearing next to him was the robed man who had transformed himself into a formidable demon during the battle of the Phoenix Kingdom.
“Bruce! You were a maniac back there!” Iron was excited to see his friend.
“Shadow’s going to kill us.” Bruce didn’t share Iron’s excitement at the situation.
Iron looked at him, confused. “Dude, you were perfect. You almost destroyed the entire city! So what if we failed? Shadow can finish the survivors easily.” Iron walked down a set of stone stairs that led out of the small resurrection chamber. “You worry too much,” he called back as he left the room with Bruce running after him.
Iron entered a much larger chamber, deep underground. There were stalagmites and stalactites covering the bulk of the massive opening. There was a raging river near the opposite wall. The sound of rushing water echoed throughout the chamber. The room was well lit with floating black fireballs casting an ominous light over the space. Several robed and armored figures were bustling
throughout. Iron looked around for Shadow Incarnate and approached when he spotted him.
“Hey, Shadow!” Iron called out.
Shadow Incarnate turned slowly to face Iron. “You have returned. Is the Phoenix Kingdom no more?” He raised a single eyebrow.
“Well, not exactly,” Iron began to explain. “We put on a great fight but couldn’t manage it with the troops we had. We’ll get them next time though.”
Shadow Incarnate approached Iron and put his arm around him in a friendly embrace. “That’s ok, Iron.” Bruce looked confused. He had never seen Shadow Incarnate act friendly, especially with the travelers, but now he had Iron in an embrace? “As long as you brought back my crystals, we’re all peachy.”
Iron and Bruce blanched at the mention of the crystals. “Well, you see… about the crystals.” Iron began to explain, but Shadow Incarnate raised his hand to stop him.
“I remember asking you to attack the Phoenix Kingdom with my crystals in order to cause them some damage. I remember saying that I would give you one or two crystals for the task. I remember you saying that if you had more of my extremely rare and powerful crystals,” Shadow Incarnate emphasized the importance of the crystals as he spoke, “that you could destroy the Kingdom.” Shadow Incarnate walked around Iron to face him, placing his hand on the traveler’s shoulder.
Iron began to sweat, and his next words came out with fear clearly in his voice. “Well… there were some complications. There was a Phoenix and then tons of trav…”
Shadow Incarnate drove his free arm through the traveler’s stomach and out the other side. When he pulled his arm out, fiery shadows burst from the wound. The dark magic traveled over Iron’s body until it covered him from head to toe. The shadows began to deform and reshape the traveler. Large curved horns jutted out from his head, his feet became hooves and his fingernails and hair grew long. The entirety of his new form was jet-black in color, save for his pure blood-red eyes.
Shadow Incarnate put a hand over the traveler’s mouth. Iron’s body began shaking and it responded as if it was being tanned like leather. All the moisture was being drained, and as his flesh shriveled it became leathery and dry. As Shadow Incarnate pulled his hand away, an orb of light pulled out of the creature's mouth and sat in his palm. The orb had a purple swirl of energy inside it.
Shadow Incarnate pulled a bottle from his belt. The bottle had multiple marbles with energy of various colors swirling inside them. As he pulled the cork stopper from the bottle, a storm of begging pleas came rushing out.
“Help! Please! I want to go home!” One voice called out.
“I can’t respawn! I thought this was a game, someone please help me!” Another screamed.
Shadow Incarnate closed his hand over the baseball-sized orb in his hand and it condensed, stopping when it was marble sized. He placed the orb in the bottle and replaced the cork stopper before returning the bottle to his belt.
“Now.” Shadow Incarnate approached Bruce. “Care to tell me what happened?”
Bruce flew to his knees in worship. He told Shadow Incarnate everything that had happened, pleading with the man to spare him.
“Ha Ha Ha,” Shadow Incarnate laughed briefly. “I like you traveler. You’re much more direct than the last one.” He patted Bruce on the shoulder and helped him to his feet. “Don’t worry, I never intended for you to destroy the Phoenix Kingdom.” Bruce looked confused but didn’t dare speak out, afraid that he would be next to face Shadow Incarnate’s wrath. Sensing Bruce’s hesitation, Shadow Incarnate continued. “See, you’ve already proven to be smarter than your friend.” He looked over at the ghoulish form of the previous traveler. “He just needed to be punished for taking most of my crystals and wasting them. He insisted that he could get the job done if I just gave him more crystals.” He returned his gaze to Bruce. “You have to know your limits and your place.”
Shadow Incarnate turned around and walked to a raised altar made entirely of bone. The surface of the altar displayed a large ritual pattern. The pattern had several intricate symbols and words carved in lines into the bone. The lines made up two large triangles with oval indentations at each of the six points. Another set of magical writing encircled the ritualistic diagram.
When he reached the altar, he pulled a large orange oval piece of amber from his pocket. A raging cascade of flames was burning inside the amber and it cast a visible heat in the air. As he brought the amber above one of the six indentations, black tentacles shot from the altar’s surface and grabbed the gem from his hand. The tentacles slowly pulled the amber into place until a faint click was heard.
Shadow Incarnate took a step back to take in the scene. He now filled two of the six indentations, leaving four empty sockets. Joining the orange amber was a jet-black onyx. “I don’t need to bother the Phoenix Kingdom again. With the help of your distraction, I was able to slip in and get what I desired.” Shadow pulled his head back and let out a manic laugh.
AFTERWORD
Thank you for reading Endless Fantasy Online: The Phoenix Kingdom! I really hope you enjoyed reading it.
Please leave a review!
I would love it if you could spare some time to leave a review on Amazon. Reviews really go a long way in sharing my stories and encourages me to write more. I love to hear and learn from your feedback, good or bad.
If you don’t want to miss updates on this saga or want to learn more about my other series, think about joining my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/guWgvv
For more updates, check out my official website: http://www.devinauspland.com
Also consider joining my Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/devinausplandbooks/
If you want to show the utmost support, you can donate to my Patreon page. You can gain early access to future chapters and special rewards by becoming a member: https://www.patreon.com/devinauspland
Again, I would just like to thank you, the reader. Thank you for your support of my writing journey. It’s because of you that I’m able to bring my stories to life.
A special thanks to both Heart of the Game and WNY Gaming for hosting book releases with me on their Dungeons & Dragons nights. For more information on either of them, please check out their Facebook pages.
(https://www.facebook.com/heartsofthegame/)
(https://www.facebook.com/wnygaming/)
Check out GameLit on Facebook for more great GameLit reads.
(https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety/)
Check out LitRPG Books on Facebook for more great LitRPG reads.
(https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPG.books/?ref=bookmarks)
To learn more about LitRPG, talk to authors including myself, and just have an awesome time, please join the LitRPG Group.
(https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGGroup/)
LUKE’S CHARACTER SHEET
Name: Beast Tamer Luke
Class: Beast Tamer
Primary Profession: Herbalist
Animal Companion: Ringo (Alpha Wolf)
Level 8: Exp 6,657 Exp to next level: 1,343
Hit Points: 110/110
Mana: 170/170
Mana Regen: 1.50/sec
Stamina: 180/180
Physical Resistance: +15
Elemental Resistance: Water +10, Earth +10
Attributes Base (Modifier)
Note: You have 4 unallocated attribute points.
Strength: 3
Agility: 13 (+1)
Intelligence: 10 (+3)
Wisdom: 2 (+1)
Constitution: 7
Social: 12 (+1)
Luck: 2
Skills, Spells and Abilities
Note: You have 3 unallocated skill points.
Short Bow (Intermediate 2): You have become familiar with short bows and no longer are looked at as a beginner by others. Increasing this skill will increase the damage dealt with a short bow. This is a passive skill and requires no activation. Effect 1: +10% short bow damage. Effect 2: +x% damage when attacking targets d
istracted by an ally.
Herbalism (Beginner 8): This skill allows you to identify various plant life.
First Aid (Beginner 0): Basic knowledge on how to apply basic first aid and use basic bandages. Increasing this skill will increase your knowledge of first aid techniques and increase the speed at which you can apply this skill.
Nature’s Regrowth (Intermediate 1): Grasping a better understanding of the healing powers of nature, you can harness this energy quicker than before. Harness the power of nature to speed up the natural healing and growth speed of the target. Cost: 4x mana. Effect 1: Heal for 2x every 5 seconds for 15 seconds where x = skill level. Effect 2: Additional 10% health restored when the spell is used on someone other than you. Cooldown: 45 seconds. Range: 10 feet.
Alchemy (Beginner 1): Knowledge of basic reagent combinations. Increasing this skill will increase your knowledge of alchemy and increase your chances of combining new reagents successfully.
Bartering (Beginner 2): Trading is a craft and you have taken the first steps in learning that craft. You will receive small bonuses when attempting to barter. Effect: +x% bartering results where x = skill level.
Endless Fantasy Online Page 27
