Barrow King: The Realms Book One (A LitRPG Adventure)

by C. M. Carney

  Gryph drifted for an unknowable time before his back bumped against something large and spongy. He turned and forced his eyes to focus. A massive eye stared back at him. Gryph screamed, and a cough wracked his body. He vomited a massive volume of water and watched as it siphoned away from him.

  In an instant his mind was lucid. Halo of Air shimmered around him like its angelic namesake. He was alive. His last second casting had worked though his health bar still pulsed crimson fury at him. He was alive, but only just.

  He was about to reach for a health potion when he remembered the last spell stone. He grabbed the Minor Healing spell stone and held it in his palm, concentrating. A pulse of wellbeing surged from his hand up through his arm and settled in his mind.

  You have learned the spell Minor Healing

  Sphere: Life Magic - Tier: Base.

  You can now heal minor wounds on yourself or others.

  Mana Cost: 20 - Casting Time: 2 seconds - Effectiveness: Heals 5 points of damage per level of Life Magic. - Cooldown: 30 seconds.

  He cast the spell and warmth flowed through him. He still felt awful, but considering the beast he had just slain was staring at him, the spear still protruding from its dead eye, he counted himself lucky. He waited for the cooldown period to end and cast Minor Heal again. His mana regeneration kept pace with the spell’s cooldown period. So, given time he’d likely always be able to heal himself. After a few more minutes his health was back to 100%.

  He rubbed his eyes and regretted it. His hands were covered in a thick slime that smelled like the insides of a dumpster that had been baking in the hot sun for a week. With a look of disgust he realized that the clear slop covered most of his body.

  He grumbled in disgust and his Harvest skill brought up a prompt.

  You have found Arboleth Eye Ichor. This incredibly rare and valuable ingredient has many uses in both alchemy and Crafting. You feel as if it could make a Potion of Quick Thought and other unidentified effects. You also get the sense it could craft an item that blocks Scrying spells and Divination and other unidentified effects.

  Gryph’s eyes went wide. This disgusting stuff was amazing. Though he dreaded the idea of drinking something made from this foul ichor, he knew he needed to harvest as much of it as he could.

  You have been offered the Quest: Harvest the Arboleth.

  You have slain a Legendary Beast. Now take your reward. Harvest five vials of arboleth eye ichor, one arboleth toxin gland and one arboleth egg from the arboleth corpse.

  Difficulty: Moderate - Reward: Extremely rare Crafting and Alchemy supplies - XP: 5,000.

  The experience boost alone was well worth it, but he also felt a stirring of greed. What wonders could he craft with these ingredients? Then the naysayer in him brought attention to the word egg. The danger was obvious. The egg could birth another abomination? It had to have other uses right?

  He hesitated a mere moment before accepting the quest. Then he got to work.

  He dug into his inventory and found his alchemy Kit containing a variety of empty vessels for collecting ingredients and a siphon pump to collect liquids. He readied them all and replaced the kit.

  He attached the siphon pump to one of the empty vials and watched in irritation as it promptly filled with water. He scowled at his own stupidity. Of course that would happen. Perhaps that’s why the quest was of moderate difficulty. He thought on the dilemma for a few moments and then grinned.

  Once again he cast Halo of Air, but this time he imagined the sphere around the hand containing the vial. Eureka. Another bubble of air formed around his hand and he turned the vial upside down pouring the brackish water out letting the bubble of air siphon it away

  He plunged the needle tip of the siphon pump into the arboleth's eye and pumped. Soon he had the five vials of ichor. Realizing he had several more empty vials he extracted even more. If this stuff was half as valuable as it seemed he’d be a fool to leave any. When he'd filled the tenth vial the pump stopped sucking ichor.

  Gryph stashed his equipment and looked down on the dead beast’s now desiccated eye. It looked like a balloon punctured by a massive pin. The pin being his spear, which he pulled free and stashed in his Inventory. The beast was far less intimidating now and Gryph wagged his middle finger, a posthumous up yours.

  Now to harvest a toxin gland and an egg. But where the hell would he find either. It wasn’t like he was an expert in horrid abomination anatomy. He swam back to get a better view hoping to get some clue. A dull blue light, like the glow he’s seen on the chest on the island above pulsed near the base of the arboleth's smaller tentacles.

  Gryph swam down, taking a moment to refresh Halo of Air and realized that the glow was dull because it was coming from the underside of the massive corpse. Gryph frowned and attempted to shove the beast to gain access to its underside. His efforts were as effective as pushing a twenty ton garbage bag filled with lard. His only reward for all his effort was a lower stamina bar.

  He swam back a few paces and thought. Gazing around he saw a few large stalagmites jutting from the lake bottom. A plan formed in his mind. He cast Animate Rope and commanded it to wrap around the base of the two smaller tentacles, careful not to tear the thin filament on the poison spines on the appendages’ underside.

  Satisfied he then ordered the rope to circle around the stalagmite and return to him. He braced himself and pulled with all his might. The beast’s corpse shifted a tad as Gryph tugged, but a minute of straight effort did not get him access to his prize.

  His Stamina spent, Gryph took a break. He cast Halo of Air again and considered his options. I need to be stronger, or smarter. As he thought on the dilemma, his eyes drifted to the glowing prompt icon in the corner of his vision. He sent a mental tap at the icon and prompts exploded into his mind.

  You earned 70,000 XP for slaying the Legendary Beast: Arboleth.

  You have Reached Level (s) 8, 9 and 10.

  You have 18 (15 Base and 3 Godhead) unused Attribute Points.

  You have 3 unused Perk Points.

  “Holy Shit,” Gryph sputtered. The arboleth alone had given him more experience than everything else he’d done since arriving in the Realms. “I should be dead,” he said. Then a lesson he had learned long ago surged into his mind and he heard the Colonels’ voice. It is not power, but the intelligent application of power that wins the day.

  Evidently that mantra was as true in the Realms as it was in the real world. He returned to his prompts.

  You have reached level 12 in Air Magic.

  You have reached level 4 in Earth Magic.

  You have reached level 9 in Staves/Spears.

  You have reached level 7 in Thrown Weapons.

  You have reached level 9 in Light Armor.

  You have reached level 8 in Dodge.

  You have reached level 7 in Stealth.

  You have reached level 5 in Harvest.

  You have reached level 9 in Analyze.

  You have reached level 9 in Perception.

  Magic Skills: Level (Affinity) (Tier)

  Fire: 0 (25%) (Base)

  Air: 12 (75%) (Base)

  Water: 0 (50%)

  (Base)

  Earth: 4 (25%) (Base)

  Chthonic: 0 (0%) (Base)

  Empyrean: 0 (100%) (Base)

  Chaos: 0 (50%) (Base)

  Order: 0 (25%) (Base)

  Life: 0 (50%) (Base)

  Death: 0 (25%) (Base)

  Thought: 0 (75%) (Base)

  Aether: 0 (25%) (Base)

  Soul: 0 (50%) (Base)

  Martial Skills: Level (Tier)

  Unarmed: 5 (Base)

  Small Blades: 5 (Base)

  Staves/Spears: 9 (Base)

  Thrown Weapons: 7 (Base)

  Stealth: 7 (Base)

  Light Armor: 9 (Base)

  Dodge: 8 (Base)

  Knowledge Skills (Tier)

  Alchemy: 5 (Base)

  Harvest: 5 (Base)

  Analyze: 9 (Base)

  Percept
ion: 9 (Base)

  Lockpicking: 5 (Base)

  Traps: 5 (Base)

  Perk Points: 3

  Divine Perk Points: 0

  Gryph’s jaw gaped in amazement. His skills had surged during the battle with the arboleth. Now it was time to make use of his rewards. He had a dilemma. He could dump a bunch of his Attribute Points into Strength and muscle the corpse. But that seemed short sighted and even though Gryph was not a gamer, he understood how valuable Attribute Points were.

  He took a moment to think. Strategy had always been one of his strong suits. It has served him well in the real world. It would serve him well in this one.

  He dumped five points into Intelligence and his Mana increased significantly. He added five points to Constitution and his Health and Stamina rose. He placed another three into Dexterity. If he was to master the Staves/Spear skill, then being agile would prove much more important than overall Strength.

  Gryph - Level 10

  High Elf (El’Edryn)

  Deity: None

  Experience: 106,310

  Next Level: 48,490

  Stats

  Health: 184

  Stamina: 183

  Mana: 168

  Spirit: 136

  Attributes

  Strength: 23

  Constitution: 32

  Dexterity: 32

  Intelligence: 25

  Wisdom: 10

  Attribute Points: 5

  Gifts

  Health Regeneration: +25%

  Mana Regeneration: +25%

  Night Vision: 120 ft.

  Master of Tongues

  He kept the last five points in reserve. Either to make better use down the road or as insurance. The game hack he'd discovered had saved his life once and his lack of foresight had nearly killed him. He’d learned his lesson and would do his best to never repeat that mistake.

  Next he decided it was time to spend some Perk Points. They were even more valuable than Attribute Points so he knew he had to be strategic. His examined his skill trees and focused on his most used skills.

  So far Air Magic had been his saving grace. Not only was it his highest leveled skill it was the one he used the most. However as useful as Air Magic had been, he had no offensive spells in the sphere. Halo of Air had been a lifesaver, but he knew its use would be limited topside. He didn't plan to spend so much time drowning from here on out.

  He chuckled to himself as he imagined what Lex would have said to that plan and found that he missed his NPC’s sarcasm. He hoped the short hairy bastard was alive and well. He was likely sipping grog, eating mutton and flirting with barmaids while Gryph rotted in this dungeon.

  He returned his focus to the task at hand and opened the Air Magic perk tree.

  Gryph had selected the base tier Mana perk after his battle with the baalgrath and knew that choice had saved his life several times. Unfortunately he had to more than double his current level before he could unlock the apprentice tier perks.

  The Effectiveness boost held some appeal, but he didn't jump the gun. Resistance wasn’t too appealing since he had not yet faced another air mage. However down the road such a perk could be invaluable, especially at higher levels.

  His eyes went to the Item Power perk. Most of his current magic items relied on Air Magic so that perk would make all of them 25% more powerful, including his Ring of Minor Air Shield. A plan formed in Gryph’s mind. He dumped one point into Item Power. The other two points he held in reserve.

  Air Magic Perk Tree

  Tier

  Mana

  Effective

  Resist

  Item Power

  Base

  80%

  +25%

  10%

  +25%

  Apprentice

  70%

  +50%

  25%

  +50%

  Journeyman

  60%

  +75%

  50%

  +75%

  Master

  50%

  +100%

  70%

  +100%

  Grandmaster

  30%

  2X

  80%

  2X

  Divine

  20%

  3X

  90%

  3X

  Gryph cast Halo of Air again and then set to work. He did some quick math in his head and smiled. In theory his plan was solid. He inhaled and held his right hand out. He pumped a full 20% of his Mana into the Ring of Minor Air Shield. Normally he would just let the ring create the protective bubble of air around his own body, but this time he had a different plan.

  He focused on the pocket where the arboleth's body met the smaller tentacles. It looked like an obese armpit and should, if Gryph’s guess was right, be perfect for what he had planned. With a deep breath, Gryph unleashed the power of the ring.

  A beam of solid air shot from the ring to his point of focus and built up power. The blue white vortex of air expanded, and the resultant explosion of water buffeted Gryph back several paces, spinning him head over heels. A moment later he regained his balance to see that his plan had succeeded.

  The arboleth's body had pushed upwards as if resting on an invisible globe and Gryph could see the blue glow much clearer. It was time to test his second assumption. Gryph swam up to the barrier of air and paused. The blue glow of his prize was throbbing now, and better still he could see another, brighter blue glow further down the beast’s abdomen.

  The eggs, Gryph thought. A grin crossed his face as he stepped forward. If this didn't work, then he would fail this quest and maybe end up with a busted nose. His foot passed through the field of air with only the slightest of resistance. The rest of his body followed. He now stood in an invisible sphere under twenty tons of fish flab.

  It was time to get cutting.

  28

  H e’d been sawing into the arboleth's corpse for nearly four minutes when the cooldown on his ring ended. He paused and formed another bubble, this one closer to the other blue glow Gryph hoped were the eggs. The current bubble had about a minute left before it would collapse, sending thousands of pounds of arboleth corpse thundering to the lakebed.

  One last rip and tear and he had the creature’s toxin gland. He’d been incredibly careful not to cut into it. He had no idea if the toxin needed to be injected to be effective, but he was sure not planning to find out. The thing was size of a large watermelon. Gryph wondered just how much poison he’d be able to extract from this treasure and just what he’d be able to do with it.

  He cut away at the strands of flesh holding the sack in place, careful to tie off one that looked to be the poison delivery tube. With a rubbery snap that reminded Gryph of calamari, the sack came free. He looked up to see the air shield was now flickering at an alarming rate and Gryph swam to the right into the second air shield and a few seconds later the first one blinked out. The blubbery flesh of the arboleth sagged down once again, flopping onto the spot he had just been standing. He checked the time and his current Mana levels. So far so good.

  You have found an Arboleth Toxin Gland. This incredibly rare item can create a poison that could make enemies susceptible to thought magic and other unidentified effects. You also get the sense it could craft an item that could grant immunity to poisons and other unidentified effects.

  He stashed the gland in his Inventory, thankful not just for the satchel’s auto organize feature, but also for its preservation feature. The last thing he wanted was a bagful of rotten toxic flesh getting all over all his stuff.

  Gryph swam down towards the glow of the eggs and cast Halo of Air again. A moment later the cooldown on the ring ended, and he created another air shield bubble. This one was further down and under the beast’s body. By his count he had less than three minutes before the second bubble timed out and collapsed. If he wasn’t finished by then, he’d be trapped and spend the last few moments of his life waiting to die by blubber smothering.

  He hacked into the abominat
ion’s flesh once more and the dagger cut through a membrane with a snap. Inside he found three leathery sacks that resembled deflated footballs for giants. Umbilicals led up to the arboleth's body. As he moved to cut the closest umbilical, something inside the leathery sack moved.

  Gryph jumped back in shock, his heart pounding madly. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea. He watched for a tense few seconds as the thing inside the egg stopped moving. Then with a deep breath Gryph cut the umbilical.

  He grabbed the egg and shoved it into his satchel, hoping that the stasis effects of the intra-dimensional folds would prevent the egg from doing something horrible, like hatching.

  Congratulations. You have earned 5,000 XP for completing the Quest Harvest the Arboleth.

  You have Harvested items from the arboleth corpse. Reward: Extremely rare Crafting and Alchemy ingredients.

  Gryph took a deep calming breath and smiled. Mission accomplished. A quick glance told him he had another minute and a half before the second bubble collapsed. He had the time and got to work on the second egg. As he sawed through the umbilical his mind wondered what good would come of harvesting these eggs? He sure as hell would not raise pet arboleth. The one had been enough of an abomination. Two would bring apocalypse.

  The second egg came free and as he tucked it in the satchel, he examined it with Harvest.

  You have found an Arboleth Egg. This insanely rare item is of both incalculable worth and incalculable danger. You feel as if it could create a potion that will give a permanent resistance increase to thought and aetherial magics and other unidentified effects. You also get the sense it could craft an item that will protect a large area from thought and aetherial magics and other unidentified effects. It can also give birth to an arboleth, a species that has long been a scourge on the Realms. Use wisely.