Lion's Quest: Dual Wield: A LitRPG Saga

by Michael-Scott Earle

  “Shhh. Can you just shut up for a minute?” Mirea sighed as she followed her brother down the ladder.

  The half-orc nodded, and then he gestured for Bylem to go down the ladder next. The fenia did so without another word, and then Cornalic motioned for me to take my turn.

  “No. You next,” I said as I shook my head.

  “I prefer to bring up the rear, as I mentioned before. I don’t do well in fights and such. I choose love over war and kissing to punching. You look quite muscular and stout; I’ll gladly place my life in your heroic hands.”

  “Go down the damn ladder, or I’m going to fucking push you down,” I growled at the man.

  “Oh, my. Well, if you put it that way. I will gladly go first. Really, Leo, I had no idea you were such a gentleman. It is quite nice of you to allow me to go first.” The muscular man reached for the ladder as he looked at me, and he descended the rungs without any trouble.

  As soon as the ladder stopped shaking, I guessed that Cornalic had made it to the bottom, and I took my turn climbing down. The rope actually descended a bit farther than I expected, and I felt as though I’d gone some thirty feet before I reached the bottom. The rest of the party was waiting for me, and I pulled my glowing short sword out of the sheath as soon as I’d set my boots on the ground.

  We stood in a wide hallway lined with black stone. Slots for coffins were carved into the walls. Most awaited an occupant, but some were filled with ancient piles of bones or clay urns. The place smelled of dust, ash, decay, and old rot.

  “Leo, this is our second time down here. There are three branches ahead, and we went through the left one. It descends down a longer set of stairs, and then there is a room with a handful of unarmed skeletons. We killed all of them, but the next room was a larger crypt, and we encountered fifty more skeletons. Most of them were carrying weapons, and we realized that we were going to need a healer to keep going,” Wicum said to me.

  “What about the other pathways?” I asked. “Did you try going down there?”

  “Kisyari and her team investigated the center path, she said it led to an underground pool full of giant zombie snakes,” Wicum said.

  “That sounds frightening,” I said.

  “Agreed. Guuni and his team of dwarven warriors bragged that they were going to try the rightmost path. They went in a few days ago and have not yet returned. They may have perished, only time will tell.”

  “If we explore this path to completion, we can try the other ones,” Mirea whispered.

  “Sounds like a plan, which way?” I asked as I twisted my head between the two directions of the hallway.

  “That way dead ends after about a hundred feet,” Bylem said as he pointed in one direction. “The other way is our destination.”

  Wicum and Mirea began to move, and I followed a few steps behind the fenia. I didn’t like the idea of Cornalic being behind me, but I also didn’t feel like speaking to the man anymore, so I decided to just ignore him.

  The party twisted through the hallway for a few more minutes, and then we came upon another wide staircase that appeared to descend into the darkness.

  “Down here is where we found the first of the skeletons. Stay alert,” Mirea warned as we slowly descended the stairs. “Cornalic, do you hear anything?”

  “Hmmmm. Oh! Yes, a few approach us from below. Ready yourselves, friends!”

  The party tensed and I yanked my magical broadsword out of its sheath. There were a few more moments of silence amongst us as we waited for the skeletons to climb up the stairs, and I almost thought that Cornalic had been incorrect.

  Then a group of three skeletons stumbled up the stairs.

  Tattered remnants of gray fabric clung to their hip bones and necks, and one still had part of a shoulder plate on his left side. The names above their heads said Skeleton Warrior in red lettering, and they each carried a weapon. The first to attack had a simple club, the second had a rusted broadsword, and the final monster carried a half rotted wood shield and a curved saber.

  Mirea’s shield met the club attack of the first skeleton, and then Wicum swung his longsword out with a horizontal cut aimed at the creature’s ribcage. The human warrior had kept both of his gloved hands on the grip of the sword when he attacked, and the heavy blade smashed through half of the skeleton’s ribs with a triumphant crack. The monster spun away from Mirea, and I heard it tumble down the stairs beneath us like an armful of dropped firewood.

  I stepped in front of Bylem so I could protect Mirea’s right side. The second skeleton swung his rusted sword down at the woman, but she easily twisted to block with her metal shield. I whipped my broadsword down at the head of the creature, and the blade cleaved it in half as if it was a paper piñata. Its health bar instantly dropped to nothing, and I shuffled down a few steps to drive my glowing short sword into the last skeleton. He tried to get his shield up to block, but my weapon smashed through the rotten wood and punched into its skull. Its life bar dropped to half, but the blade got stuck there, and I couldn’t quite get the weapon free immediately. The skeleton tried to swing his saber into my left side, but I still controlled his head by holding onto the grip of the weapon buried in his skull, and I quickly twisted him to the side so that his attack went wide. Then I brought my broadsword across and cleaved the creature’s spine in two and its health bar dropped to zero.

  “Thanks for the assist,” Mirea growled, “but stand behind me at all times. I can’t protect your flank if you step away from me.”

  “Got it. Sorry. Thought I could end that skeleton quickly.”

  “I don’t care. Don’t do it again.”

  “Understood.” I nodded at her and then stepped back up the stairs so that I was behind the warrior woman. She was right of course, the tank type roll of the party needed to control the pace of the combat. Her job was to stand between us and any damage, and my job was to make sure that she stayed alive with my support abilities.

  “Well done, though. I’ve not seen such combat affinity in quite some time,” Cornalic whispered to me, but I ignored the half-orc.

  “Any more coming?” Wicum asked the green-skinned man.

  “Nay good sir, as far as I can tell we are safe for the moment.”

  The auburn-haired man nodded and then moved down the stairs with his sister by his side. The steps finally ended in a spacious room that was about thirty feet wide. I couldn’t guess how far it continued because our light sources didn’t go that far, but I believed it was a good sixty feet. There were two stone statues in the center width of the room, and each stood a good ten feet from each other.

  The sculpture on the left was a ten-foot plate armor wearing skeleton warrior carrying a kite-shaped shield and longsword. I was glad that the thing was just made out of stone, because the blade on the longsword was a good two feet wide at the base, and I guessed that a swing from the weapon would annihilate Mirea’s shield.

  The sculpture on the right was another tall skeleton, but this one had a slightly feminine flow to its robes and posture. It carried a twisted tree looking staff in its hands, and the statue’s mouth was opened in a silent scream. Both of the large stone sculptures wore crowns on their heads, and I guessed that they were foreshadowing what we would have to deal with at the end of our journey.

  “The Skeleton King and his queen,” Bylem commented after I had examined each of the figures for a few moments.

  “They look intimidating,” I said. “Do we know anything about them or what their abilities are?”

  “Nope, but that is part of the risk of being the first adventurers to explore a dungeon. Most of the time, these dungeons are filled with the minions of the one controlling the place. If these minions are too hard for us to handle, we can guess that their master will be even tougher. If we make it to the end with only a bit of hardship, we should be able to defeat these two,” the fenia explained.

  “Huh. There is writing on the pedestal here,” I said as I squatted down in front of the female statue. It was
written in a language that I couldn’t understand, but orange translation subtitles appeared on my UI overlay, and I read it to everyone. “Queen Dorni was known throughout Unia as a beautiful and compassionate queen, but she had dark secrets that her husband, King Belmor, and her loyal subjects knew nothing of.”

  “You can read that?” Bylem asked with a gasp.

  “Yeah,” I answered.

  “But how? There are only a few scholars in all of Arnicoal that understand the Time of Heliotrope language, and they are quite expensive to hire.”

  “I can just read it,” I shrugged. “Always have been able to do so. Do you know what an Old One is?”

  “I’ve heard of such people,” Mirea said as she eyed me suspiciously.

  “I have an elf friend, and she claims that I am one.” I shrugged and then pointed to the king statue. “Do you want me to read the other one?”

  “Yes! Any information about these two will help us,” Bylem said with an enthusiastic nod.

  I walked over to the other statue and read the inscription at the bottom of the pedestal. “Belmor was a warlord of the Virvar people. He was known for his savagery in battle and loyalty to his friends. Some called him ‘The Iron Warrior’ because of his uncompromising nature. Queen Dorni was without a husband and heard of his legendary abilities. She reasoned that having a strong king would ensure that her people were never conquered, so she offered the warlord her hand in marriage. Dorni was beautiful, and it only took one brief meeting before the proud Belmor agreed to the arrangement.”

  “This sounds rather romantic. I hope a beautiful queen offers me her hand in marriage one day,” Cornalic said with a sigh.

  “Maybe once you become a stout warlord,” Bylem said with a chuckle.

  “See, there is the catch. I tried that whole ‘half-orc wielding an axe berserker warrior’ period for a bit. All I got was a half dozen giant blisters on my hand, lice from the loin cloth, and a rash from the paint I put on my face. It was the most unpleasant five minutes of my life.”

  “Sounds terrible,” Mirea said as she rolled her eyes.

  “Oh, it was, I need a rich woman to take care of me, and love me for who I am inside.”

  “Who you are inside?” I had trouble not growling when I asked the man my question.

  “A lovable half-orc orphan with a heart of gold and childlike wonder. I’m sure there are plenty of well-to-do widows out there who would appreciate me. I just need to find one with a kingdom. King Cornalic of the Mind has a nice ring to it don’t you think? You can all come stay in my palace, of course.”

  “You are ridiculous,” Mirea laughed. “Let’s continue.”

  We took up our formation again, and I followed the warrior siblings alongside the fenia. The statue room extended even farther than I had initially estimated, but we eventually came to a double set of wooden doors striped in wide metal slats. Each one must have weighed a few hundred pounds. The door on the left was ajar enough for us to squeeze through.

  “This was where we stopped last time,” Wicum said as he pointed to a few piles of skeleton bones. “We killed the undead here and then opened the door a bit. It made a loud noise, and a handful of skeletons moved to attack us. We took care of them and then poked our heads through. The few we killed were only a small fraction of those inside.” The armored swordsman turned to the half-orc. “Can you take another look?”

  “Of course,” Cornalic said as he crept toward the slightly opened doors. The muscular man poked his head inside the gap, looked around for about two seconds, and then backed out. He didn’t seem to be surprised by what he saw, but I realized I was gripping my swords a bit tighter in expectation of a massive wave of skeletons barging through.

  “It was similar to the last time we were here. I see over twenty. They are on the sides of the platform and milling around at random, but they will come at us as soon as we enter.”

  “How heavy is that door?” I asked as I pointed to the one that was slightly ajar.

  “It is heavy,” Mirea said. “The first set of skeletons couldn’t push it open anymore. I can easily hold the bottleneck right here, but if we get a horde of them, we’ll be in trouble if they force it open.” The woman shrugged and pointed to the doorway.

  “Can you use any abilities to keep the door held in position?” I asked the fenia.

  “I’m afraid not. I am specialized in fire and air abilities. I could possibly walk in there and lob some of my fire pools, but they work best if the creatures are packed close together, and we are far away from them.”

  “Your magic can hurt us?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Some of it can.” He shrugged his furry shoulders. “Skeletons don’t burn that easily, so I have to use my hotter abilities. If we were fighting zombies or fleshy undead things I wouldn’t have to worry as much.”

  “What if Cornalic holds the door in place so that it doesn’t open anymore?” I asked the group.

  “That is a good idea. We still run the risk of too many skeletons forcing the door open, but it is better than just not putting any resistance on the other side of it,” Wicum said as he glanced at the double doors again.

  “I think it is a top notch genius idea, and I expected nothing less from my dearest friend, Leo. My favorite part of this plan is me being safe from those skeletons. I feel as though my new brother’s strategy is indeed taking into account my unique abilities and it manifests a concern for my personal safety that I’ve never experienced in another party.”

  “We get it. You are a coward and are exceptional at holding the door because you won’t get hurt. Now get in place,” Mirea sighed as she waved the point of her broadsword toward the door. The half-orc said no more, but he nodded to us as soon as he had his boot positioned at the proper place.

  “I’ll get the attention of the nearest group,” Bylem said as he snuck toward the gap in the door.

  “‘Tis on the left, about thirty feet away from the bottom of the stairs. You should be able to see them with your light,” Cornalic warned.

  I watched the tiger striped fenia sneak through the gap, and I realized that I was holding my breath. I forced out an exhale and then thought again about how amazing Ohlavar Quest was. It had been a long time since I’d been nervous in Astafar Unlimited, and the feeling of anticipation in my stomach was a welcome emotion. The stakes felt real because the game felt real, and even though I knew I could re-spawn if I died, my companions couldn’t, and if we died, I would probably lose a ton of time finding a new group.

  I was also coming to like the rest of my party. Bylem seemed slightly sarcastic and full of humor. Wicum seemed stout and tactful. Mirea was a bit grouchy and prickly, but I’m sure that was because she didn’t want me to come with them in the first place. She would lighten up as soon as I had more chances to prove myself to her.

  Cornalic was an asshole, but I’d be rid of him after this one adventure.

  I saw Bylem’s shoulders twist, and a flash of bright orange light erupted to his left. An instant later, the fenia had dashed back through the gap in the doors, and Mirea had taken her position in front of Wicum.

  “Hmmm,” Cornalic said with a wide grin.

  “What?” the four of us asked.

  “I hear a bunch of movement.”

  “Ugh. Me too,” the fenia said.

  “This is good news! We’ll take care of them all at once and then continue with our exploration. Don’t worry friends. I shall hold this door at precisely this spot while you bravely confront the endless hordes of undead.”

  “Ready!” shouted Mirea.

  The three of us fanned out behind her so that we could each get a view of the next room through the door. My position only let me see a few feet in front of the warrior woman, and I risked a step nearer to her so that I could get a better idea of what was heading our way.

  There was a shitload of skeletons coming. It almost seemed as if the view in every direction was skeletons, and they all had weapons in their hands.
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br />   I cursed under my breath and stepped back as the first one plowed into Mirea’s shield. The warrior woman didn’t flinch at the skeleton’s attack, and she poked forward with her broadsword to take the undead creature in the face. Her blow stuck through the skull of the creature, but then her point got stuck, and she cried out with surprise. Fortunately, Wicum stepped next to her and swung his longsword over his head like a hammer. The weapon smashed into the shoulders of the squirming skeleton and broke it into a dozen pieces. The action freed his sister’s sword, and then Wicum shuffled backward behind her so that she could block the next flurry of attacks.

  “I’m not going to be able to get a strike in! Can’t risk it!” the auburn-haired beauty yelled as she spun her shield to block the next attack.

  The positioning was excellent for us because only one skeleton could fit through the gap, and even then it couldn’t really make horizontal swings with its weapon, or it would smack into the doors at the side. It would be forced to make a thrusting or overhead chopping attacks, and the skeletons in line didn’t have weapons long enough to reach past the fellows to hit Mirea. The adrenaline of combat had pushed away most of my stress, but the remaining parts faded after Wicum stepped forward with another chop of his longsword and obliterated the next skeleton.

  “Watch your eyes! Here comes the fire!” Bylem’s voice turned into a maniacal sounding growl, and I saw a glowing ball of magma seem to appear in the fenia’s right paw. He cradled the thing like a softball, and then lobbed it underhand over the sibling’s heads. It traveled through the doorway, and then I heard it explode like a grenade in the other room.

  I kept my eyes on Mirea when the light flashed, but the woman had moved her face behind her shield at the precise moment that the fenia’s ball of fire erupted, and she didn’t seem to be distracted by the sudden wash of light.

  “Uhhh. There are a lot of skeletons back there,” Bylem gasped a few seconds after his magic had exploded.

  “Do something about them!” Wicum cried out as he made another chopping motion with his sword. His attack connected with another skeleton, but it hadn’t been a clean hit, and the monster’s life bar just dropped down by a quarter.