The Land: Swarm: A LitRPG Saga (Chaos Seeds Book 5)

by Aleron Kong

  He panicked for a second, but a green light flared. Not the dark green that he normally associated with Earth magic. This was more of a brighter neon and, for lack of a better word, ethereal light. Richter realized that he was kneeling with his head slightly bent, as if in prayer. His position didn’t inhibit his view of the chamber in any way, though a moment later he wished it had. The green light was coming from two braziers suspended from the ceiling. The dancing, lime-colored flames flickered in-and-out of existence. Observing the strange fire was the last thing on Richter’s mind, though. All he could focus on was the upright, X-shaped stands that screaming people were attached to.

  Men, women, and children were being devoured by some type of… demon animal. Most of the bound figures were human, but there were also several elves and even a few sprites. The beasts were built like rottweilers, but their skin had been removed, showing the bones beneath. The same neon green energy that illuminated the hall showed through rents in their exposed flesh. There were only five of them, but they were systematically mauling the dozens of people tied to the sacrificial stands.

  Several men and women were already sagging dead, their entrails on the ground, mixed with blood and fresh excrement. The monsters methodically tore into the victims one at a time, savaging limbs and genitals to prolong the pain. The beasts seemed particularly pleased when they struck an artery. He saw one animal strike a child’s leg and a jet of scarlet shot into the air before subsiding. A moment later, another stream of blood washed over the boy’s tormentor, in time with the child’s panicked heart. The undead beast clamped its mouth onto the gusher and drank deeply. The child screamed in pain and fear. Before the boy died, though, the monster loosened its bite. The blood loss slowed considerably, letting the small child suffer for a bit longer before death.

  A stream of the same green energy came off of each of the dogs and extended back behind Richter’s field of vision. The ribbons of light grew darker and thicker as they were fueled by the pain and death. The man whose eyes Richter was seeing through took all of this in but focused mostly on the bloodied body of a screaming, human girl. One of the demon dogs was taking its time tearing off small pieces of her leg and swallowing each bloody chunk whole. In his mind, Richter heard the knight think in tones of shame and love; I am sorry Krista. I am sorry Krista! It will be over soon. Please let it be over soon!

  Richter felt, or rather the knight felt, a bony hand on the back of his neck. A voice like a dry whisper echoed in his ears, seemingly coming from all directions at once. “You have done well, Jorgen. I accept your sacrifice. As promised, I shall now give you power, and life through the ages.”

  The figure crossed into his view and Richter saw where the ribbons of light were going. They ended in the chest of a gaunt figure. Its chest was bare, and its skin was desiccated and grey. It wore an open robe of dull red silk and simple, black pants. Thin white hair fell down from its head, but Richter could not see its face, for it was looking at the people screaming for help and an end to their pain.

  It raised one hand and started an incantation, still facing away. After a few moments, green fire enveloped its hand, but it showed no discomfort. It spoke in the same whispering voice, making Richter feel as if a spider was slowly walking across his mind, “Say the words.”

  Jorgen began to speak. Even though Richter could remember that this was its memory, he felt sickened as he relived the man’s betrayal, “I forsake life and offer the lives of my loved ones and the blood of my blood. I forsake life and offer the lives of my loved ones and the blood of my blood. I forsake life and offer the lives of my loved ones and the blood of my blood.”

  It showed no emotion as it turned to look at the knight. Through the soon-to-be-damned man’s eyes, Richter could finally see the figure’s face. Stark and sunken cheeks framed a cruel, male gaze. Its features were fine like an elf’s, and its eyes glowed with the same ubiquitous green light that was spread throughout the chamber, “Thrice heard and witnessed.” With that pronouncement, it plunged its hand onto the knight’s face. Richter felt a searing agony as the fire marred Jorgen’s face and an even worse pain as energy from the magical flame reached inside and perverted the man’s immortal soul.

  Jorgen/Richter screamed, his vocalized pain mixing with the wails of the sacrificial victims. Unperturbed by the suffering around him, the figure spoke again, “You will serve me by guarding the entrance to my realm. The suffering of these victims will continue until The Land crumbles. Their spirits shall remain bound to this plane, and their perpetual agony at being kept from their rest will power your life and my magic. You will be bound through eternity, damned to remain here at the site of your betrayal of light and life. Your only company shall be those who you slay in my name.”

  The flames disfiguring Jorgen’s face went out. The newly born decaemur knight fell to the ground and wept. Richter’s disgust deepened as he realized that the man was grieving not for the people still suffering not thirty feet away, and not even for his daughter whose legs were now only stumps. He grieved for his own future, moaning on the floor with eyes that could no longer weep.

  The red robed mage lifted Jorgen’s chin. The man flinched, but the mage’s grip on his chin firmed. Once they were gazing into one another eyes again, the caster spoke, “You will reside in this place unti…” The fires in its eyes intensified and its gaze deepened. Richter started to feel panic. It felt like the undead lord was looking through Jorgen and seeing him! Confirming his worst fears, it said, “Who are you, Agent of Chaos?” Richter felt it reaching even deeper into Jorgen’s mind in an effort to pierce his own. The chaos seed knew instinctively that this was not a foe he could resist, at least not in this type of contest. He felt its will brush up against the edges of his mind, and Richter could sense its hunger to learn his secrets. With a furious exertion of will, he broke the memory link.

  Panting, and with sweat running down his face, Richter looked about frantically. He was back in his own time. There were no sacrificial victims, no blood-drinking hounds and, most importantly, no neon green fire or undead master. His legs gave out, and he slumped to the floor in relief. Alma flew over and sat on his lap in concern, mentally asking her master what was wrong. Richter just pulled the dragonling close and held her. He thanked god that he had escaped whatever that thing had been and also that his small love hadn’t had to live through what he had just experienced.

  CHAPTER 18 -- Day 112 -- Kuborn 2, 15368 EBG

  Quest Update: Know Your Backyard I. You have found a Notable Location. This dungeon was the site of a massacre and horrible sacrifice. The knight guarding the entrance to this dungeon was duped into sacrificing his family only to be turned into a slave. You have discovered the importance of 1 of 3 locations.

  Quest Update: Proper Rest I. The people who lived above this dungeon were sacrificed by one of their own. It was a horrible tragedy and an unforgivable betrayal. You have 24 hours to fulfill the optional requirement and put their remains to rest.

  You have been offered a Quest: Who is the Master? You have bonded with your Place of Power but have just been shown that you are not the only authority within the boundaries of your domain. You have narrowly missed being discovered by an undead lord, but can you trust that its power will not one day threaten you and your people? Find the portal the dacaemur knight spoke of and remove this danger. Will you explore this undead realm? Yes or No?

  Richter checked his internal clock. Only seconds had passed since he had accepted the memory and that time could be attributed to what he had done since coming ‘back.’ Alma continued to ask him what had happened. All he could think about though was the pure evil of the mind that had almost touched his. The quest prompt hung in his vision until he perfunctorily selected ‘Yes.’

  After a few minutes, he calmed down enough and related the story. The dragonling didn’t interrupt while he mentally shared the information, at a much faster rate than mere words could have accomplished. He made sure not to share any actual images
with his familiar. As soon as he was done with the tale, she let her feelings be known.

  *Fool! You could have been killed or possessed! You cannot dive into psychic spaces without any defenses in place!*

  Richter, still somewhat traumatized, didn’t try and defend himself. He just asked, *What do you mean defenses?*

  She mentally blasted him with a few more invectives, then rubbed her face against his, trying to console him even while she herself was wracked with anger and worry. When she spoke again, though, her tone was patient, *I am sorry that I yelled, master. I was scared for you, and I must accept that this is partly my fault.* She put a heavy emphasis on ‘partly.’ *You should have told me that our connection was awakening new capabilities in you. I did not know that you had progressed to the point of making mental links. That is a versatile skill, but it is dangerous as well. If I had known, I would have given you training to protect yourself.*

  *Like when you taught me my Self-Awareness?* he asked.

  *That skill is about inner control. In my homeland, however, there were many creatures that possessed psychic powers. My kind use psychic abilities on an instinctual level, but since my intellect has increased, I can see that my race has instinctual defense mechanisms to protect ourselves from creatures that would use those abilities against us.* Her mental tone grew determined, *We will work together each day to train your mind in defense. I WILL NOT lose you, master!*

  Richter was both touched by her obvious love for him and taken aback by her ferocity. *I have my 65% mental resistance and I know you have 100%. What else can we do?*

  The mental connection to Alma grew staticky. Somehow he knew that meant she was frustrated. She looked up at him thinking of a way to explain herself. Until that moment, Richter had never known how incredibly cute and humorous it could be to see a pondering expression on a dragonling’s face. He made sure to keep that thought buried, though. He wasn’t in the mood to have her fire lightning in his face. After a few more moments, she apparently came up with an analogy.

  *Your Small Blades skill is increasing, right, master?* He sent her a mental assent, *Sprite Yoshi does not rely only on his Blade skill level in battle, but also in his training and technique, correct?* He sent another assent. *The same is true for your mental defenses. Your increased mental resistance will protect you somewhat from straightforward mental attacks, but even with my 100% resistance, I must still be wary of subtle mental manipulations.*

  *So, you’re saying that my defenses are like a castle, but I have been leaving the gate open?* Richter thought to her, feeling good about gaining her point.

  Alma looked at him quizzically and then with a long-suffering tone, thought back, *Sure master. If it helps you to think about it that way. I will help make your ‘castle’ stronger and teach you to keep your drawbridge up.*

  Richter looked down at the impudent little dragonling. “I think my analogy was fine,” he muttered under his breath. He also thought it must be an odd quirk of the universe that women were always telling him to keep their ‘drawbridges’ up. That thought must have leaked through the bond because Alma blew a jet of air into his face. Then she set about teaching him as best she could.

  It wasn’t easy for her to translate eons of genetic instinct into a set of relatable instructions, but just like when she taught him the skill of Self-Awareness, their mental bond allowed for a steep learning curve. Richter had expected them to start this when safely back in the village, but she said that since they were waiting for Futen to search anyway, there was no reason to wait. He didn’t receive any prompts showing a new skill this time. Instead, she guided him in techniques to create his own mental safeguards. Her analogy had been accurate, and the experience was vaguely reminiscent of learning Yoshi’s sword forms. It taught him to use what he already had, making him much more effective.

  The two of them got lost in their mental communion. Neither even noticed when the saproling returned to its home plane. Despite her initially dismissive tone, Alma stayed with the idea that Richter’s mind was a castle. She showed him how to shore up the defenses, raise the walls and even started teaching him to imagine defensive thought forms as guards patrolling the walls. It wasn’t until Futen floated up and told them that he had found something that they stopped the training. Alma informed Richter that his mind was already more secure, but was nowhere near being acceptably defended. She promised him more training again soon.

  Alma flew up into the air, and Richter stood. He checked his clock and was shocked to see that almost an hour had gone by. He penned another quick note and summoned a mist worker to run it back to the village. Thinking a bit more, he summoned three more to escort the first. The workers had almost no offensive capabilities, but he ordered the extra ones to sacrifice themselves if necessary to increase the chances that the first might make it back to the village safely. He could only imagine Terrod swearing up a storm at his irresponsible lord running off on his own.

  As the mist workers left the dungeon, Richter walked over to the body of the dacaemur knight. He had been so preoccupied with his prompts that he hadn’t searched the body yet. The first thing he did was to remove his blade from its body. He wiped the bits of rotted matter off with a rag from his bag and then dropped the soiled cloth in distaste. The short sword went back into his back sheath, and he examined the knight.

  You have found: Decaemur Steel Barbut Helm. Defense +8. Weight: 2.3 kg. Durability: 58/62. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Exceptional. Type: Medium Armor. Traits: Must be undead to safely wear. +1% Strength of Death spells.

  You have found: Decaemur Steel Breastplate. Defense +10. Weight: 8.8 kg. Durability 82/91. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Exceptional. Type: Medium Armor. Traits: Must be undead to safely wear. +1% Strength of Death spells.

  You have found: Decaemur Steel Bracers. Defense +7. Weight: 3.7 kg. Durability: 58/62. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Well Crafted. Type: Medium Armor. Traits: Must be undead to safely wear. +1% Strength of Death spells.

  You have found: Decaemur Steel Gauntlets. Defense +7. Weight: 2.3 kg. Durability: 34/40. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Exceptional. Type: Medium Armor. Traits: Must be undead to safely wear. +1% Strength of Death spells.

  You have found: Decaemur Steel Greaves. Defense +8. Weight: 4.2 kg. Durability: 54/59. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Exceptional. Type: Medium Armor. Traits: Must be undead to safely wear. +1% Strength of Death spells.

  You have found: Decaemur Steel Boots. Defense +4. Weight: 3.5 kg. Durability 32/32. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Well Crafted. Type: Medium Armor. Traits: Must be undead to safely wear. +1% Strength of Death spells.

  Congratulations! You have obtained an entire set of matched armor: Decaemur Knight’s Armor. Defense given by each piece increased by 25%. Special Bonus: Controlled Death creatures will be one level higher.

  You have found: Balanced War Axe. Damage: 17-21. Weight: 4.1 kg. Durability 72/83. Item Class. Common. Quality: Exceptional.

  Curious about the restriction on the armor, Richter took off one of his gauntlets and slipped one the black decaemur ones on. Immediately he gained a poisoned icon, and his health started dropping. Focusing on the icon told him that he would lose five health per second and that upon death would become an undead in the service of whatever being had created the armor. Shivering involuntarily, he quickly removed the armored glove. The icon disappeared, and his health stopped falling. He cast Weak Slow Heal, restoring the few points he had lost.

  The knight didn’t have any other items of note, so Richter just shoved all of the items into his bag. He didn’t know what good the decaemur armor could do, but he thought he’d show it to Krom to see if the dwarf had any ideas. At the very least, he could sacrifice the armor to the Forge and, hopefully, gain an enchantment. Richter summoned a mist worker to take the body back to the village. Beyan or Tabia might also find something useful. Futen waited silently nearby. Once Richter was done, the remnant led him several hundred yards to the back of the hall. The shale adder slid
silently behind them.

  Futen stopped in front of a blank wall. The light inside of the remnant flared, and a circular ward appeared, hugging the wall. Richter’s eyes widened slightly, daunted by what he saw. Previous wards he had seen had one, or perhaps two, circles on the periphery. The number of circles was proportional to their complexity. This ward had four circles, each filled with tiny symbols. He looked at Futen, “Can you even disarm this?”

  “I studied the pattern before coming to notify you, my lord. That is why my search took so long. I am fairly confident that I have figured out how to disarm it.” Saying nothing else, Futen’s light flared again, and the circles on the ward began to spin. They twisted back and forth like tumblers. It took several minutes, but finally the ward flared and rose into the air before dissipating.

  “Good job,” Richter said, relieved. He hadn’t really liked hearing Futen say ‘fairly confident.’ It had worked out, though. The chaos seed leaned forward and started examining the apparently blank wall. It didn’t take him too long to find a finger-width indentation between two of the stones. His Pierce the Veil skill once again showed its worth and a faint blue glow appeared. Richter smiled.

  That particular shade of azul indicated that he had found a hidden compartment. He scanned all around the indentation to make sure that no telltale red glow appeared, but thankfully it didn’t look like there were any traps. He took his gauntlet off and slipped a finger inside, feeling for the release mechanism. Richter’s finger went in about three inches, curling to the side, but he couldn’t get it in any further.

  He felt around for another second and was able to detect a small hole at the end of the indentation. It was too small for him to worm his finger any deeper though. Richter pulled his finger out and frowned. He hadn’t seen any other secret caches and the fact that it glowed blue meant it wasn’t just an irregularity in the stone. The indentation curled so he couldn’t use one of his lock picks. He took a step back and tried to reason it out.