Outpost: A LitRPG Adventure (Monsters, Maces and Magic Book 1)

by Terry W. Ervin II

  Before Glenn knew it, Kirby was next to him, helping to lower the unconscious guard to the ground. Glenn was pretty sure the man wasn’t dead—until Kirby jammed one of his darts into the man’s eye.

  Glenn looked away, down the hall. He wondered if Stephi saw Kirby do that. For a half second he felt like vomiting, but the urge passed as he got to his feet. The thief didn’t have to say a word. His intense gaze and head nod said: Dude, you did good.

  Kirby checked the man for anything, and came up with a ring holding three skeleton keys.

  Ron closed Glenn’s candle and gave it back to him. He handed the glowing lantern to Stephi.

  Derek gave Glenn a silent fist pump.

  With that, Ron took the lead, spear held ready. The rest fell into order behind him.

  Chapter 24

  About thirty feet down the eight-foot wide corridor the lantern’s light revealed two doors opposite each other. Irregular-shaped stone slabs formed the floor, like some sort of jigsaw puzzle patio layout. The walls, Glenn wasn’t sure of. Some sort of porous stone formed them and the ceiling, which was low—low for Stephi at least. If she stood erect, she’d bump her head, so instead she walked a little hunched over.

  Glenn remembered seeing pictures of early 1900s coal mines, where miners had to travel lying on carts or crawling at times. This wasn’t nearly as bad, but the timber bracings along the walls and ceiling reminded him of a coal mine. The walls leaned in at a slight angle, probably allowing the wood framing a better chance to hold.

  The doors were set into the walls and framed with wood. Unlike the entry door that Kirby had shrunk and Derek had removed from its frame and leaned against the wall, these appeared of shoddier construction, without metal sheets to increase sturdiness.

  Kirby approached the door on the right and examined it. It swung inward, with a simple latch and no locking mechanism.

  Ron signaled for Derek to come forward, sword held ready. He signaled Kirby, and on three, the thief lifted the latch and pushed the door open. Ron rushed in, followed by Derek. Stephi moved forward to offer light, while Glenn watched the other door and down the hallway for trouble.

  Thuds, grunts and a stifled scream, sounding like surprised pain more than a warning or alarm emerged. Stephi looked away and handed the lantern to Kirby. The thief went into the room.

  A moment later Derek stepped out, wiping blood off of his sword with a rag he’d picked up. Curiosity overtook Glenn and he decided to peek inside.

  It looked like a big dorm room, but a dismal cellar version. There were four cots with gray and tattered blankets and shredded straw mattresses. On two of them lay two dead men, blood soaking through the straw mattresses and pooling onto the floor. Kirby searched through one of the two trunks along the wall, next to a table, and two stools. Someone had been in the middle of a card game, eating a raw potato. Looking at the two dead men, and thinking of the one in the hallway he’d helped to kill, no one would ever finish that game, and the half-eaten potato would rot.

  The realization pulled at his gut, but somehow, maybe a darker side to his gnome nature, or something about the aberrant concurrent world that overrode his moral revulsion, he didn’t rebel at what he saw, what he was participating in.

  If he somehow managed to get back to his world, his life, would what he did in the parallel world taint him? Taint his soul like a sticky residue?

  Glenn snapped out of it when Kirby lifted three Hades pendants from the trunk. “Think we’ll need these?”

  Ron said, “Store them in your satchel.” He looked down at Glenn. “Who is watching the hallway for potential danger?”

  Glenn was going to say, Stephi, but she was still in the doorway, or partially, holding the lantern. “Kalgore.”

  “He is human and lacks low-light vision, Jax.”

  “Right,” Glenn said. “Sorry.”

  Ron didn’t acknowledge Glenn’s apology. He said to Kirby, “Proceeding slowly invites added risk.”

  The same procedure went for the door across the hallway. Glenn got to peek in before Kirby pulled the door closed. The room held piled sacks of grain, stacked crates, and several large barrels. One of the opened crates held potatoes, and a large rat nibbling into one. It shied from the light but held its ground.

  Ron sketched a diagram in his booklet before leading the way down the corridor, which curved to the right as the floor slanted down at a thirty-degree angle. Its spiraling descent lasted for three or four circuits, reminiscent of a cramped parking garage in the dead of midnight.

  The width of the corridor narrowed to about four feet and its peaked ceiling topped out at seven or so feet. It was perfect for Glenn and Kirby, but a little claustrophobic for everyone else. The need for wooden supports must have disappeared, since there weren’t any. The walls and floor had become grayish stone, chiseled out and not quite smooth. A boatload of man hours went into the tunneling.

  Hunched over while looking back over her shoulder, several times Stephi bumped into Glenn when Ron suddenly stopped to watch and listen. The first time or two, her breasts knocking Glenn’s head forward embarrassed her. Glenn too.

  After the third instance, Derek hissed, “Stop flirting with the gnome and pay attention.”

  The unnecessary noise caused Ron to stop and turn, earning the muscle-bound warrior a sharp look of disapproval from their leader.

  A few slow strides later, when Ron again stopped to listen, Glenn found Stephi’s breasts resting on his head. Derek released a brief, exasperated huff, one that earned him a sly smile from Stephi and another disapproving look from Ron.

  Glenn smiled to himself, relishing Stephi’s beautiful grin as she yanked Derek’s chain. As far as Glenn was concerned, the sexy elf’s action provided him a win-win. If he died within the next few minutes, he’d die happy. Well, probably scared, he thought, but remembering something both entertaining and satisfying.

  The floor leveled off and the corridor widened to about six feet, and the ceiling’s peak topped out at around eight, giving the humans, especially Derek and Stephi more breathing room.

  Ahead, to the left was an opening, like an entryway leading to a room. A faint glow of light and an odor of rot emanated from it, like someone had dumped three pig carcasses and a barrel of raw sewage onto a compost pile. If Stephi hadn’t been holding both a lantern and her rapier, she’d have plugged her nose. As it was, Glenn lifted his shield to just below his eyes, useless as that action proved to be.

  Ron gripped his spear and signaled for Derek to move forward. Glenn and Stephi stepped aside to let the warrior in his armor, with sword and shield, move ahead. In the meantime Kirby crawled toward the entryway to see what the room beyond might hold.

  Groans and whimpers preceded a hissing voice saying something in a language Glenn didn’t recognize.

  Ron and Derek charged in. Kirby followed. Both Glenn and Stephi ducked out of the hall into the entryway, which extended for only four feet before opening into a long, rectangular room.

  Stephi watched for danger from the hallway while Glenn proceeded in.

  Sound of metal on stone and thuds against flesh—Glenn’s party was in a fight.

  Ron had charged forward and tried to skewer what Glenn decided was a lizard man. This one was tall, taller than Stephi, muscular but with a bloated gut, sort of like a beer belly. It wasn’t anything like the rib-skinny one Kirby described watching the horses. It had clawed hands, a nasty maw like a miniature T-Rex, and a sturdy tail for balance.

  This one had plenty of muscle to swing its weapon, a mace, but one with a spiked metal ball on the end. A morning star. The business end of the lizard man’s weapon caught Ron in the ribs, knocking him aside.

  Derek crashed into the green-scaled monster with his shield. Despite the lizard man being driven back, and punctured by the shield’s spike, it managed a swing, the spiked ball deflecting off of Derek’s helmet.

  Undeterred, Derek thrust his sword at the lizard man, and missed.

  Glenn looked
around to make sure there weren’t any more lizard men. All he saw was a long row of bars, like a big prison cell. Behind the bars, held against the wall by manacles, was a row of goblins. Some were sprawled out on the floor at impossible angles. Dead. The others didn’t look too far from joining their companions.

  The lizard man released a gurgling hiss that sounded like hot lava draining into a deep well.

  Ron charged back into the fray with his short sward drawn.

  The lizard man sank its teeth into the shoulder of Derek’s sword arm. The muscular warrior slammed his shield’s rim into his foe’s head. Kirby shot forward with his cutlass and slashed the enemy’s calf. Ron attacked left-handed. He hacked off the monster’s clawed-hand at the wrist, freeing Derek’s shield from the monster’s grip.

  Another smash, where Derek drove his shield’s spike deep into his foe’s ribs ended it.

  Broken and bleeding, the big lizard man collapsed to the floor.

  “People are coming, Jax, Kalgore,” Stephi warned. “They have swords.”

  Chapter 25

  Glenn stepped past Stephi and looked down the hall.

  Five men were approaching, apparently uncertain, until they saw Glenn. The man in the back ordered, “Intruders. Slay them.”

  All five charged forward, shouting, with swords raised. Except for the leader in back. He carried a nasty-looking battle axe. The five guards wore breastplate over chain mail, and conquistador-type helmets. A round picture, like that of the Hades pendants, was emblazoned upon each breastplate.

  Yep, Glenn thought, as if it wasn’t obvious by their appearance in a Hades outpost, those were bad guys. Due to the stone corridor’s narrow width, only two abreast could come at Glenn. He raised his shield and hefted his cudgel. Over his shoulder he shouted, “Slumber them.”

  Apparently Stephi had already decided upon that course of action because three out of the five dropped like marionettes whose strings had been cut. The trailing leader, who looked the biggest and meanest, and one nearest to him leading the charge were unaffected.

  Glenn saw the swordsman’s downward hack coming at him, so he raised his shield and swung a low round house with his cudgel. The sword strike reverberated through the shield and into his arm, but he survived. The man received a glancing blow against his shin. In the back of his mind, Glenn thought: Great. I hit, but rolled a one for damage.

  He’d hoped for a crippling blow so he could intercept Axe Guy, the leader. No luck. Either both would team up on him or, worse, Axe Guy would go after Stephi. Her rapier against an axe and well armored opponent? Not good.

  Glenn sidestepped and ducked a thrust attack. “Get help, Marigold!” He swung his cudgel, but the sword wielder was too quick and jumped back. That gave Glenn the opportunity to see the leader’s attack. He deflected the heavy blow with his shield, but that left his arm numb and nearly useless.

  Axe Leader didn’t expect his smaller opponent to charge. Neither did the sword-wielder, and Glenn raced between them, bouncing off the leader’s hip. Glenn didn’t attempt an attack, feeling fortunate his effort knocked the axe-wilder off balance. The swordsman’s slash was hesitant, being so close to his partner, and came a second too late to hit the gnome.

  Glenn thought about using his healing to get his arm back into shape, but his opponents didn’t give him the opportunity. Axe Leader pursued Glenn as he backpedaled along the wall, avoiding the slumbered men on the floor. The swordsman left the gnome to his friend and charged toward Stephi.

  She held her rapier ready in a basic guard stance, its tip shaking, revealing her uncertainty.

  Glenn was satisfied to see the surprised swordsman impaled on Ron’s spear before Axe Leader began a flurry of attacks.

  Somehow, Glenn knew from training, that an opponent giving ground was more difficult to take down. The problem was, Glenn couldn’t retreat faster than the Axe Leader could close. And his cudgel wasn’t made for parrying attacks.

  Glenn was just thinking, Where’s the cavalry, when Kirby arrived behind and delivered a stealth attack. He caught Axe Leader in the right hamstring with a devastating slash. The man went down, dropping to one knee but not ready to give up. Derek, following close on Kirby’s heals, joined the fray. Axe Leader deflected Derek’s sword thrust, making it go high, but that gave Glenn an opening.

  He swung his cudgel with all his might, and whiffed, somehow missing the crippled man. Kirby ended the fight by stabbing the leader in the neck, his cutlass’s tip biting deep, just below the reach of the man’s helmet.

  Chapter 25

  Kalgore positioned his long sword, preparing to draw it across the throat of the nearest slumbering guard.

  “Wait,” Kirby said. “We can try to interrogate them for information.”

  Kalgore tensed, preparing to follow through with what he’d intended, then thought better of it. “We need rope or something.”

  “Dude, there’s a jail back there. With chains and all.” Kirby wiped his cutlass clean on the pants of the dead leader. “Jax, get back there. Lysine needs your help.”

  Glenn nodded once, his arm starting to get some feeling back.

  Lysine was leaning against a wall, Marigold standing in front of him. “Here comes Jax,” she said.

  “That lizard man fought well,” Ron commented. “One should expect that of a second rank monster.”

  Stephi’s eyes were wide. “He’s hurt pretty bad, Jax.”

  “In game terminology,” Ron said, “I estimate having at most two hit points.” He forced a brave smile, but winced.

  Before he realized what it would entail, Glenn dropped his cudgel and shield and began his Minor Heal Draw Spell. In a moment, Glenn gasped, then groaned as he gripped his side. But, within a moment, his magic began to heal the damage he’d drawn upon himself.

  “That you, Jax,” Ron said. Standing straight and picking up his spear. “I express that, realizing the party’s healer encompasses a frequently thankless job.”

  Glenn nodded and slid down the wall into a sitting position. He knew he’d feel better in a minute. That didn’t make him any more excited when he asked Ron, “Didn’t that lizard man bite Kalgore?”

  “His armor proved effective against our foe’s teeth.”

  Glenn nodded in relief, not so much that Derek didn’t get hurt, but that it meant he wouldn’t have to take on his wounds. He could heal double his own hit points in personal damage sustained at any time. But, until sunrise, he only had one spell left to transfer wounds onto himself.

  “Marigold,” Ron said. “Stand guard in the corridor while we deal with the guards and decide what to do about the goblin prisoners.”

  Glenn looked up, realizing he’d forgotten about the goblins locked in the cell.

  There were twelve of them. Nine alive and three dead. They were sitting against the wall, their legs in some sort of iron shackles bolted into the stone floor. A long iron pole ran through holes in the shackles above their ankles, trapping their bare feet in place.

  Actually, upon closer inspection, there were two iron poles, each locked into place, trapping half the prisoners.

  The goblins that were alive were barely so. They looked like POWs Glenn had seen videos of, the ones who’d been starved and mistreated.

  Ron and Derek dragged the guards, dead and alive, into the front half of the room.

  “Gurk,” Derek said, undoing the shoulder buckles to the dead leader’s breastplate. “Help me put this on.”

  Kirby’s long nose scrunched up a little and he frowned. “You know it’s got a big Hades symbol on the front.”

  “I’ll scrape it off when we have time. Come on, free armor. We probably have a big fight ahead.”

  After helping Derek, Kirby used one of the skeleton keys he’d lifted from the body of the guard near the entrance to open the door to the jail half of the room.

  Glenn wasn’t sure why the goblins needed to be shackled to the floor. The iron bars looked far too thick for even Derek to bend.

 
Kirby spoke to several of the healthier goblins using a language Glenn didn’t understand. Probably whatever goblins spoke…Goblin-ish?

  Something deep inside Glenn stirred an intense hatred for the imprisoned creatures in front of him. It had to be his gnomish nature rearing one of its ugly sides. He got to his feet and made his way into the cell. Several of the goblins looked up at him and hissed, hatred in their dark, cat-like eyes.

  Kirby turned around. “Ummm, Jax, goblins and gnomes don’t mix.”

  Glenn shrugged. “Me and you don’t have a problem.” He took a drink of water from his wineskin. “We’re not going to kill them, are we?”

  “I don’t think so,” Kirby said. “I’m trying to get information out of them.”

  “Here.” Glenn handed Kirby his wineskin. “They’re probably thirsty.”

  The goblins were on their way out of the outpost, those that were alive. Slow and weak, they moved on adrenaline once they realized they were free. Krirby told them about the storeroom with food, along with directions, including to count the steps to avoid the trap.

  “An undead master of undead,” Ron said. He, Derek and Kirby stood in the corridor, trying to determine the party’s next move. They consulted Ron’s sketchbook.

  Glenn stood in the doorway, listening to the whispered conversation while watching three blindfolded guards now in the jail and shackled to the floor. Derek had less than gently informed them that making any noise or speaking when not spoken too would be unwise. Only one had lost a few teeth. None had been willing to volunteer information about the outpost when given the opportunity, even when promised freedom.

  “Undead master of undead?” Derek asked. “Kind of vague.”

  “That’s what they told me,” Kirby said. “They were prisoners. Not pals with anyone running this place.”

  “Time is not on our side,” Ron said. “I do not believe the captive guards will prove very forthcoming.”