Crisis at Clearwater - A LitRPG Virtual Fantasy Adventure (Book 2 Unexplored Cycle)

by Alara Branwen

  Behind them was a shrivelled halfling that tipped his red bycocket upon seeing them. He was flanked by a guard holding a large sack twice as tall as he was. Beside him was Anfalen. The bright purple tunic and breeches he wore matched the color of the many bruises on his face and arms. He was carrying a burlap bag of his own. All five were shown inside. Before anyone spoke, the guard bowed.

  “Good afternoon. On behalf of the city of Clearwater I would like to thank you for your service to the city,” The halfling proffered the bag to Cleave. “This is but a pittance of what you deserve for helping us.”

  Cleave opened the bag to find it filled to the brim with an assortment of clothing, jewelry, and other items of varying quality.

  “It would have been our preference to gift you with gold and silver, however all money left in the treasury and recovered from those that deceived us is being invested in rebuilding the city, and this was all we could spare.”

  Cleave told him that no reward was necessary but the guard shook his head.

  “This was a gift from the merchants in town. We’d be offended if you didn’t take it.”

  Cleave thanked him and the halfling bowed and left.

  “I would be offended if you didn’t take my gift as well. Thank you for keeping my ship safe. Had those termites got on board, my days at sea would have come to an end,” Anfalen said and handed Cleave the bag he held.

  Cleave opened it and his eyes bugged out when he saw a great quantity of gold topped by ten beautiful sapphires. He passed it around and the others had difficulty keeping their eyes in their sockets.

  “This is so much,” Cleave said.

  “Like the halfling said, a pittance for what you and your friends have done.”

  “What happened to you?” Krug pointed to the elf captain’s bruises.

  “While Cleave was chasing down the nefarious bastard that was trying to destroy my ship, I led the halfling mob away from him. Eventually, I got caught in an alley and they beat the hell out of me before taking me to an inn and beating me some more.”

  “Thank you for what you did,” Tatarna said. “I’m sorry you got hurt.”

  “It was worth it. You caught the jackass and a good bit of the anti-elf crap has stopped. I wish to stay and chat but I have a shipment to get out,” Anfalen bowed with a flourish. “I’ve been told of the guild you’re a member of by Larukel. Perhaps I can drop by for a visit sometime. Until then, pleasant travels.”

  With that he left.

  Tarka smiled at the three remaining guests. “How can we help you three?”

  “We’ve come to deliver information,” Nafam said. “I talked to Vera after the incident at the docks and she told me that you failed to find the Ring of Treesoul. So, I looked through my book collection and found an interesting tome.”

  The bookseller held out an old brown book with a tree drawn in faded gold leaf on it. “It’s a book on the Living Trees and their history. Most of it seems like hogwash, but there is some interesting information. Perhaps you can find a clue to help you on your search for the ring.”

  The old halfling handed Cleave the book.

  “Our chief has learned of your bravery here in the city and of your exploration of his brother’s tomb. Our chief wanted me to deliver a message,” Larukel said.

  “The tomb of Devdan Erwynn is not real. It was actually the resting place of a necromancer and his elite guard who tried to assassinate Devdan. A spell was placed on their corpses to bring them to life in case the tomb was breached.”

  Cleave cocked an eyebrow. “What? If Veluthiel knew that wasn’t his brother’s grave, and it was dangerous, why did he send us there?”

  “He gave you that bracelet with the emerald, a clue so you could open the tomb, to test your mettle as adventurers. You passed, and because of that, he has a request.”

  “He wants us to help him after lying to us and sending us into what was basically a death trap?” Tarka placed her hands on her hips. “Pardon my frankness, but that old elf can kiss my ass.”

  Larukel bowed. “I understand how you feel, but Veluthiel wanted to make sure you were truly strong adventurers. His request could lead you into great peril.”

  “There are better ways to find than out than leading us into a tomb with a powerful, murderous undead mage,” Cleave said.

  “Agreed. Had I known that’s what Veluthiel was sending you to do, I would have stopped or aided you. I can understand if you don’t wish to help our chieftain, however his request has to do with your quest to find the Ring of Treesoul.”

  Tarka sighed. “If I didn’t promise Bitterroot I’d find his ring, I’d tell your chieftain to piss off. But we don’t have any leads, so any information you have would be appreciated.”

  “Five hundred years ago, Devdan went to talk to Bright Bark, the leader of the colony of Living Trees that used to roam the Wilderwood in the far eastern part of the forest. He went to speak with her about the necromancer that’d come to kill him.”

  “Let me guess, Devdan never returned?”

  Larukel nodded. “Veluthiel wishes for you to find any information regarding the necromancer buried in that crypt, as well as the fate of his brother and the colony of Living Trees he went to visit.”

  “We don’t have very much to go on. Also, it’s been five hundred years. I’m almost certain that any information or knowledge of that necromancer would’ve been lost to time,” Cleave said.

  “Veluthiel said some of the necromancer’s items were buried with him. Did you collect any of these?” Larukel said.

  Tarka nodded and held up her hand, on which was the Ring of the Nightwalker.

  “There is a magic that exists which can tell you information regarding the wielder of a magic item. It’s rare, like all magic, but perhaps if you can find someone that can cast this spell it can give you a clue. Something else. I looked through Nafam’s book and it mentions a place called The Verdant Ground. That was supposedly where Devdan was headed before he disappeared. Veluthiel gave me a map to the location. Perhaps you could continue your quest to find the Ring of Treesoul there.”

  Krug stroked his chin. “Why is your chieftain so interested in this necromancer and why did Devdan fake his own death?”

  “The necromancer buried there was one of many that attacked our city. Their goal was to kill Devdan. To protect the other elves of the city, Devdan faked his death, and Veluthiel built that tomb so those bringers of death would think they succeeded,” Larukel said.

  “Why did they try to kill him in the first place?”

  “Our chieftain isn’t sure.”

  “Once we’re rested up, we’ll see if we can find information about the necromancer and the fate of his brother and the living trees,” Cleave said.

  Krug nodded.

  Tarka tapped a claw on the side of the counter. “I’m not keen on helping your chieftain after what he did to us, but if Cleave and Krug want to help you, I’ll help as well.”

  Larukel smiled. “On behalf of my tribe, I thank you for your generosity. Veluthiel also wanted me to warn you. Some of the other scouts and myself have seen Sheruki elves in the area.”

  “Who are they?” Tarka said.

  “They’re an old enemy of the Lren and Clearwater. A century ago, they brought an army here to do battle with us and we defeated them. They are known to come by and cause trouble occasionally, but there have been an abnormal number of sightings recently throughout the Wilderwood. We don’t know what their presence means, but whatever it is, it’s probably not good.”

  A name Padwin told him popped up in Cleave’s head. “Would their leader’s name be Posie by chance? It was supposedly an elf who helped Padwin.”

  “I don’t know of that name.”

  “I do,” Nafam said, “and that’s the other reason I’m here. The provisional council that’s been put into place to rule Clearwater received a large ransom for Padwin. I can’t reveal the specifics of the letter, as all members of the council have elected to keep that
information private, but the letter was signed by a person named Posie. Please don’t tell anyone I told you that. I came to retrieve Padwin’s armor so it can be returned to him.”

  Cleave clenched his fists. “You’re letting him go after all he did?”

  Nafam shrugged. “Yes. It’s not something anyone on the council wants, but our city needs the money. Also, if we don’t comply it could be a problem, and we can’t afford to face any trouble now.”

  Tatarna and Vera gathered up Padwin’s armor and gave it to Nafam. Before he left, the bookseller bowed. “I am sorry to deliver such bad news, but we have to do what is best for the city. Thank you again on behalf of what you’ve done for us. You are welcome back here any time. Even though I am officially not supposed to say this, if you see that rat bastard Padwin on your travels again, stick him a few times with your sword on behalf of Clearwater. Good day.”

  Krug looked at the tall woman. “Muriem, I thought you were on your way to the Fey Wilder.”

  The squid girl, who’d been standing quietly against the far wall to that point, put on a sunny smile. “I decided to wait until you all were on your way there so I could go with you.”

  “She stayed with the Lren while you were in Clearwater. While she was there, she convinced me to come with her to this Fey Wilder guild. Our tribe has opened relations with Clearwater and our leader has vowed to open us up to the outside world more, but I don’t like the idea of staying cooped up with the rest of my people forever. I want to explore this world and I figured coming with you to your guild would be a good place to start, if you’ll have me,” Larukel said.

  “We take anyone as long as they’re not dicks, so you’ll be fine,” Tarka said.

  The party went through the gold and found 200 gold pieces. Cleave, Krug, Tarka, and Tatarna took an equal share and one sapphire. Vera refused any treasure as she stated she would have plenty of money after she sold her remaining wares and store.

  Muriem and Larukel attempted to excuse themselves, not wanting to make the party feel uncomfortable as they went through their riches, however the party stopped them and the pair soon found twenty gold, a sapphire, and several items from the halflings in their possession.

  After the party helped themselves to the remaining items they agreed to give the rest to their guild.

  Vera sold off her stock and her storefront the following day and the party made their way back to the guild. They laughed and talked about their adventure in Clearwater and their plans to continue their search for Devdan and the Ring of Treesoul. As they walked along, figures silently watched them from the shadows.

  FORTY ONE

  Friday came faster than it normally did. Between all of the excitement in Unexplored and all of the work on the job the days flew by faster than Clint wanted them to. But, that was life. His parents told him that, as he got older, time flew by faster. He didn’t understand that when he was a kid, but as he looked at the large number of help requests still floating around his desk, he had a better understanding.

  Clint squinted at the nearest one and started work on it. If he was lucky he could clear a hundred of them before he had to start on reports.

  At least he wouldn’t have to worry so much about help requests coming in. Ever since the wiki containing all of the technical issues went live, many people were fixing their own problems. Cooper had taught others how to edit the document, so they could add any new problems they encountered.

  Overall it made Clint’s job a lot easier and allowed him to focus on the many other tasks he had. He obtained some new ones since his boss came back. Some he understood, and others he didn’t. At least he knew how to fake it well enough.

  Eight o’clock rolled around and a large number of emails came in all requesting immediate attention. Another large batch of work. He was going to be there after hours overtime again. This wasn’t unusual. Because of the lower number of requests, Roger compensated by giving him more of the company’s work to handle.

  Clint was hacking through a report when he saw a company wide email from the CEO about the help request document he and Cooper created. The CEO proudly proclaimed the number of help requests dropped by eighty percent since the wiki was set up. He thanked the employees for keeping it updated and Roger Whitaker for coming up with the idea.

  Roger had been given a promotion for his ingenuity as well as a raise and extra time off. Clint’s boss sent out another email thanking the CEO and all of his hard working employees. “Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am,” it said at the end.

  Of course not. Without Clint and his coworkers doing all of the mind scrambling work, he wouldn’t be able to take long vacations and reap the benefits without lifting a finger. Maybe Roger did work hard. Delegating and organizing employees might have been hard work, but from Clint’s own perspective, it was still a massive pile of horse crap.

  Orange and red fires burned through Clint’s mind when he thought about how hard he and his coworkers toiled to set up that wiki. He mainly felt sorry for Cooper. Cooper suffered through him explaining all of the boring details that went into fixing the minor technical problems that everyone in the company had. He probably spent countless hours putting all of the pages of the help document together, making sure they were all correct, so the other employees’ jobs could be easier.

  Clint couldn’t take it anymore. He’d been working at least ten hours a day at full throttle for the past several weeks. His boss and all of the other executives in this company did nothing but pile more work than any one person could possibly do. What thanks did he get? More work and complaints that his best wasn’t enough.

  Part of it was his fault. Mary was right, he was part of the reason this happened. He let his boss walk all over him, and this was the end result.

  It wasn’t going to be that way anymore. It was time for him to stand up and do something.

  Clint opened up his email. There was something he had to tell his boss, something he should have said a long time ago. He put Roger’s intercompany email in the “Message to” bar and froze. There was a small twinge of fear in his stomach. Was he sure he wanted to do this? Speaking out like this might lose his job.

  Clint’s expression grew grim and he began typing. So what if he did? So what if he had to go back to work at Virtuality or another crappy place for a while? Almost anything had to be better than this.

  He typed out a message to his boss that explained his grievances and that he didn’t appreciate being treated like a human machine while others benefited from his hard work. He told them that he was tired of working under the conditions he was in, and if things didn’t improve, he would seek employment elsewhere.

  He gave several examples of this behavior by his company and went into extreme detail, letting out all of the frustration and anxiety he’d built up over a month in that email. He read it over to make sure it said everything he wanted to say. Then he copied the CEO, and submitted it.

  Clint was nervous, but only for a moment. After that it felt like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. It was done. He wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. For better or for worse, it was finally over.

  He continued working for a few hours before he got a response. To his surprise it was addressed to both him and Cooper and everyone in the corporate office was copied to the email. Clint opened it.

  Clint and Cooper:

  The CEO and I have received your emails regarding the matter of your wiki and we would first like to thank you for your hard work. It’s work ethic like yours that have made Madeline’s the business it is today. Your efforts are an inspiration to us all.

  However, when you both expressed disdain for both the CEO’s email and for my promotion we were nothing short of appalled. We appreciate everything you’ve done, but to flat out say, or even insinuate, that you’re overworked is short sightedness of the worst kind.

  Everyone here at Madeline’s works very hard, your coworkers and bosses. It takes teamwork and dedication from all who work
here to make the company stand out among its competitors. It requires its employees to empathize with others and the business as a whole. Your emails and both of your attitudes have made it clear that this is not the kind of employee you want to be.

  Madeline’s has done everything it can to accommodate you both, but we can’t bend over backward for your needs alone. We have three hundred employees here that we must take into consideration and your emails suggest that we must place your needs over the needs of the other two hundred and ninety eight.

  It is for this reason the CEO, CFO, and myself have decided to relieve you of your positions here at Madeline’s. We are sorry that it’s come to this, but your behaviors will not be tolerated.

  Thank you for everything you’ve done for the company and we all wish you luck on your future endeavors. Remember that it takes hard work, teamwork, and dedication to achieve success. Please take this lesson with you when you search for employment elsewhere. I understand it is a hard way to learn this lesson, but it’s one that you both need to learn in order to be successful in any business or life in general.

  Two employees will be visiting each of you in a few minutes and escort you from the building. Please take all personal belongings out of your desk and with you when you leave.

  Roger Whitaker

  The fires in Clint’s mind calmed when he read the message. He wasn’t too surprised that Cooper had spoken out as well. Cooper had spent several days on that wiki. He was probably upset by reading that email of Roger’s promotion.

  He should have been angry that his boss, or rather his former boss had put him and Cooper on blast like that. But it was something he’d come to expect. They didn’t care, as long as the higher ups in Madeline’s got results, that was all that mattered. Corporations churned you through their machine until they were done with you, then spit you out. That was how it always was and probably would be.