The Ghost Tower: A LitRPG Adventure

by Thomas K. Carpenter

  "He looks young in this one," said Flynn, head craned towards the figure they sought to battle. Grimchar had light brown hair pulled into a ponytail, a smooth face, and an almost serene expression.

  "And he's been fighting to stay alive since," said Terran. "I could almost respect that if he wasn't using actual people for his power source."

  Zara hefted her axe in her human hand. "Where are we going?"

  Terran closed his eyes, sensing the presence of Mother Tree essence somewhere above them. But the pull he felt wasn't the same as when he'd neared the Spirit Bear or Peryton. It was weaker and twisted. Terran worried what that meant.

  "Up. Anyone seen any stairs?" asked Terran.

  At the back of the lowest level, they found a wide staircase that wound up the side of the tower. They ascended cautiously, weapons at the ready, expecting anything but what they found. The whole level was an enormous garden filled with strange trees, covered with purplish grasses, and populated with marble statues of Grimchar. The rich, overflowing scent of growth was cloying in his nose and mouth, filling it up until it was hard to breathe. The room was lit from a half-globe on the ceiling, around forty feet up, and Terran sensed the essence inside, radiating its life-giving energy.

  "Let's find the next way up," said Terran as he led them along the stone path, winding through the high grasses. The hair on the back of his neck was at full attention. He kept expecting Grimchar to come striding into the room—after all, they'd broken his tower and killed his guardian. That he hadn't appeared suggested he wasn't in the tower, which was good for them. Maybe they could fix the rot and rescue the essences before he returned.

  At the center of the level was a circular stone dais, home to a marble statue of Grimchar. The statue was at least thirty feet tall. He held a gnarled staff and had a wizened expression on his face. Terran could almost imagine that he was a figure for good, not a patron for rot and decay.

  When Luna's ears and hackles went up, the whole party shifted into defensive mode. Terran held his crystalline staff before him.

  "Something's coming through the grass," said Zara, gesturing forward with the demon arm. The tops of the grasses swayed as something passed through them. "Multiple somethings."

  "More coming from this direction," said Flynn.

  "I think we're surrounded," said Newt, who calmly closed the book he was reading and placed it in the pouch at his side. The size of the book had no business fitting into the tiny bag on his hip, but somehow he squeezed it in.

  They backed against the statue. Terran had Newt on one side, while on his other, Luna bared her teeth and scraped at the stone in anticipation.

  The first creature that broke through the grass had a long pointed snout, mottled gray and brown fur, and jagged teeth. It probably only weighed fifty pounds, but its muscly exterior looked like it could pack a punch.

  Corrupted Bull Vole - level 13

  You should see the holes these leave in the lawn

  "What in the Abyss?" exclaimed Flynn from the other side.

  The single creature was quickly joined by dozens and dozens of other bull voles, until the stone platform was teeming with them, all growling and slobbering in anticipation. Terran lifted his staff and blew out an Auditory Assault, which initially sounded like a trumpet, which rose in pitch as he let his lungs empty.

  The spell had an immediate effect on the creatures, dealing damage and driving them to attack. The horde of furry rodents surged forward. From the other side, Zara gave a war cry, then leapt into the center of the beasties, swinging in a tight circle, chopping through the bull voles with destructive might.

  While Terran continued his damage spell, which slowly drained their health, Luna defended him, tearing into the bull voles that tried to get near. Her efforts were helped by Newt, who'd placed a field of heavy gravity on the rodents, making it difficult for them to move with any alacrity. Flynn danced around the base of the statue, firing his chaos balls into knots of bull voles, which drove them to attack each other or sent them in random directions. Between the recharge of his spell, he used his spear, mostly to keep the bull voles off him. As Terran drained the bull voles' health, Zara chopped down groups of the critters, until the platform was littered with their corpses.

  With the fight over, Zara expertly cracked her neck, then wiped the blade of her axe off on a dead vole. "That wasn't too bad."

  Terran had barely caught his breath when a clattering arose from the outer edges of the tower. The chittering grew near, revealed as enormous flying insects that sounded like praying mantises singing in a death metal band. A black-and-green striped insect swooped down on Zara, raking a bloody line across her shoulder.

  Deathhead Wasp - level 15

  It's the asshole of the insect world

  The deathhead wasps swooped down on them, slashing with their talons, stabbing with their stingers. The airborne creatures effectively avoided Zara's increasingly rage-induced swings, and Luna couldn't reach them at all.

  "Do your damage song again," said Flynn, who had trouble hitting the wasps with his ranged spells.

  "I'm low on mana," said Terran. "It drained me dry. Can you slow them, Newt?"

  His friend shook his head. "It doesn't affect airborne creatures. But if you can give me something to put into the air, maybe I can take out their wings."

  Terran willed a stone wall into existence, which Newt promptly smashed by lifting it into the air, then slamming it hard on the ground. Then he took the leftover pieces of wall and raised them into the air, slinging them around. The rocks occasionally bounced off a deathhead wasp, but generally did little damage.

  "It's not working," said Terran.

  Flynn pointed to a thorn tree near the platform. "What about that?"

  "Great idea," said Terran. "Zara, chop up that tree with your axe!"

  "But it'll dull the edge, and I'm not a lumberjack," she said, right as a wasp slammed its stinger into her shoulder while she was distracted. She spun around off balance, completely missing the creature as it returned to the air. Zara gritted her teeth. "Fine, lumberjack it is."

  With Flynn and Terran providing cover with their ranged spells, Zara sprinted through the grass to the thorn tree. Terran worried it would take too long to chop down, but her berserker rage made short work of it, and Newt promptly lifted it into the air. The rocks had bounced off the hard carapaces of the deathhead wasps, but the shreds of wood and thorn, forming a cloud of tiny jagged particles, ripped through their fragile wings. One by one, the wasps careened to the ground, where Zara and Luna descended upon them with axe and teeth.

  Almost as soon as the deathhead wasps were dead, a bone-chilling roar, echoing from three different points in the chamber, left them with furrowed brows as they waited to see what foe they had to face next.

  "I'm really low on mana," said Terran.

  Newt nodded. "Me too."

  Health bars were down across the group, even after they downed healing potions that Petram had given them. The brief respite provided a little mana regen, but then the new enemies came marching into view.

  Bane Giant - level 19

  They have a sweet personality if you get to know them

  Each giant stood nearly twelve feet tall, wearing dark clothing and a row of skulls on their waist. They wielded gnarled black staffs that radiated a corrupted energy, tiny insects swirling around them in a cloud.

  "We can't fight all three of these at once," said Zara. "Or at least I can't."

  "I don't think we can afford to get hit by them either," said Flynn.

  As the first bane giant placed its enormous boot onto the platform, Terran said, "Zara and Luna, you distract them, but don't let them hit you. Newt, and Flynn, start climbing."

  "Don't let them hit you?" asked Luna. "As if I've ever desired that to happen."

  The cagey lynx darted forward, snapping at a bane giant's leg, then shifted away as it brought its black staff down. The boom of impact on the stones, cracking them and sending dust an
d insects up in a small cloud, showed how dangerous their hits would be if they connected.

  Zara, who'd looked like she was ready to rush in and take one on, shook her head slightly, before following Luna into the grass. The two nearest bane giants followed, their loping steps making quick work of catching up.

  The third bane giant came straight for the statue as Terran made his way up. He looked over his shoulder in time to see the angry face of his enemy approaching. Terran thought there was no way that he was going to make it to the top of the statue before the giant got him, when suddenly the weight of gravity on him fell away, and he scurried up the marble like a squirrel on fire.

  He reached the shoulders of the Grimchar statue, just out of range of the bane giant's black staff. The gonging impact of the staff hitting it rattled the marble, chipping away pieces, but otherwise the statue withstood the assault.

  "Your boss isn't going to be happy when he finds out what you did with his statue," said Flynn.

  "Ignore this one," said Terran. "We need to help Zara and Luna."

  The two were running in a wide circle around the platform, barely staying ahead of the two giants, who struck at them with their black staffs. When one got too close, Terran placed a stone wall in its way, which it promptly smashed by running straight through. The move gave Luna a chance to scurry away, tail low to the ground.

  Terran alternated between Vocal Slams and Rock Shards, which slowly drew down the giants' health and slowed them enough to give his friends a chance to stay ahead. But as they ran, their stamina bars drained down, and if they hit zero, the giants would catch up and make quick work of them.

  "Hit them with a chaos ball," said Terran.

  "Hit them with a chaos ball," repeated Flynn, mockingly. "Like I wasn't planning on doing that."

  "Okay, good, just make it count," said Terran. "We need to give them room."

  Flynn rolled his eyes. "I always make it count."

  The seething ball of energy that formed on his fingertips looked more potent than usual, as if the goading had increased Flynn's focus. His friend shot him a wink before launching the chaos ball at the lead bane giant. It flew unerringly, until the last second when the bane giant turned its head, then like a batter warding off a high pitch, it slammed the ball of energy with its staff, sending the projectile high into the air, hitting the half-globe in the ceiling, which flickered the illumination and sprayed sparks upon them.

  "It was going to hit before that giant interfered," said Flynn, pounding his fist against the statue.

  "Sure thing, buddy," said Terran.

  Newt, who'd been meditating on the crown of the Grimchar statue, opened his eyes.

  "Mana's full," he said, then raising his voice towards Luna and Zara, "Get ready to fight."

  Newt set his jaw, reaching out with both hands as if he were grabbing puppet strings. The two pursuing bane giants lurched to a stop and then spun on their heels towards each other, crashing together in an awkward embrace. As they strained to break apart, Newt kept his eyes and hands clenched.

  "Now!" yelled Terran.

  Luna and Zara turned on the bane giants, tearing into them with teeth and axe, while Terran and Flynn launched Vocal Slams and minor projectiles at the two embracing enemies. In the span of thirty seconds, they killed the first and then the second giant. Newt's arms relaxed and his head slumped down.

  "Nice work, Newt," said Terran. "Last one's on us."

  The remaining bane giant turned towards an approaching Zara and Luna. They dodged its swings, taking turns lunging in, not giving the giant a chance to relax. This gave Terran and his friends a chance to climb down the backside of the statue.

  "Did anyone else notice that crack from all those blows?" asked Flynn.

  Terran shook his head. He'd been too busy trying not to fall.

  Flynn shrugged his shoulder and fired a chaos ball at the top of the statue. The energy wrapped around the marble Grimchar's shoulders, briefly highlighting a crack that went through half the upper section. Then the bane giant reached back with its black staff, preparing a big blow, but catching the statue instead. The impact snapped the remaining stone, and the huge marble torso came tumbling down, smashing the bane giant in the face, killing it.

  No one relaxed in the aftermath, expecting more enemies to come rushing through the grass. It wasn't until Terran's mana bar was a quarter full that he dared to exhale.

  "That couldn't have gone more perfectly," said Flynn, patting the skull on his hip.

  Terran cocked an eyebrow towards the half-sphere leaking sparks. "Let's not get overconfident. Grimchar is worlds above these minions. I worry we're not enough to handle him, so let's hope that he's not even in his tower."

  After looting the bodies, receiving minor trinkets and coinage, they set off through the high grass in an ever-expanding circle, looking for a way to the next level. An intricately carved marble staircase led into the ceiling.

  Terran smelled the formaldehyde even before he stepped into the laboratory, the scent familiar from his classwork on the ship. Everyone made faces as they ascended.

  "Brings back memories," said Zara, her lips curled with disgust.

  "Not pleasant ones," said Terran, crossing his arms.

  A wide-eyed Newt headed for the tables full of glassware, absently mumbling, "I don't know, I rather enjoyed those classes."

  "Well, at least someone enjoyed them," said Terran, sharing a look with Zara. They'd both been tormented by Tabitha then.

  Memories of the past faded away as Terran took in his surroundings. The nearby area was filled with glassware that could have been transported from the ship labs, even though that wasn't possible. Further out, vats of yellowish liquid bubbled, their curved glass sides obscuring the objects within. But none of the equipment drew Terran's interest, because a wave of vertigo slammed into him, a potency of nearby essence.

  While his friends searched amid the equipment, looking for information or valuable items to take, Terran marched towards the far side of the room where the row of vats was located, but as he passed the other half of the sphere they'd seen in the ceiling of the garden level, nausea made him double over slightly and swallow back bile. The sphere glowed with a greenish-yellow intensity that he knew instantly had been derived from the essence of the Mother Tree. Yet, it'd been corrupted, like eating soup only to find that it'd been doused with motor oil.

  "Terran? Are you okay?" asked Zara, approaching him as he staggered.

  He put his hand to his head. "This. This is where he's keeping the essences. He's using them to power his equipment."

  Standing near it made him feel like his insides were being stretched like taffy, but he couldn't pull himself away just yet. Tubes ran from the sphere, heading to other portions of the laboratory, including the yellow vats. Terran really didn't want to see what was inside them. Undaunted, Luna trotted to a vat and pressed her nose to the glass. Her tail lowered.

  "You might want to see what's inside," said the lynx.

  Before Terran could move, the sphere flickered, and he had to close his eyes or fall over. Whatever Flynn had done to it during the battle in the level below had damaged it. When the vertigo passed, he continued to the others, who had gathered around the vats. There was a line of twelve vats of various sizes. The first four contained ferocious creatures that he knew without looking had essences. A manticore floated in the first, its spiked tail absently shifting in the viscous liquid. The next was a squat-looking humanoid shaped like a fire hydrant and covered in barkskin and spikes. The other two vats had a pair of Barghests, who'd probably absorbed their essence during the battle with Lord Ostric. Their pull was weak—either part of the essence had been drained already, or absorbed through the water, or the creatures had used it up during their extra-long lives.

  The fifth vat held a woman with light blue skin and pale hair, clearly dead by the slice through her throat. But there was no blood in the liquid.

  "I don't recognize her race," said Zara, "but
she has elvish ears."

  Terran touched his own pointed ears as he stared at the woman.

  "Iceflower Elves," said Newt. "I saw drawings of them in Zoras's books. There are three races. The Rock Leaf, Iceflower, and Goldroot elves. Their technical names are the genessa, bellasi, and adorii respectively."

  When everyone looked at Terran, he shrugged. "I've been busy with the settlement, so this is news to me."

  "I wonder why she's here," said Flynn.

  "I know why he's here," said Zara, tapping on the last occupied vat.

  Inside the glass container, floating with his head lolled to the side, eyes slitted, and mouth half open, was a familiar face.

  "Isn't that Doran? He started in Sand Blossom with us, didn't he? I think he went by the name Falimar here," said Zara, blinking then nodding, "Yep, it's Falimar. What is he doing here? And why is he in the vat?"

  They'd been making a slow procession past the vats as if they were in a strange zoo or fantastical laboratory, but everyone clustered around their friend's vat. Terran didn't know if he was dead, but he didn't look very alive either. The fact that he was in Grimchar's tower was a bad sign.

  "I don't know why or how he got here, but it's not good, I know that much," said Terran. "Like everything else here. It's all designed to keep Grimchar alive or help him ascend to godhood."

  "Then I don't think you're going to like what's in the last group of vats," said Flynn, lips squeezed to a point. "Or what's intended to be, anyway."

  Zara was next to the vats, raising her axe as if she were about to smash it. Confusion ran through Terran as he moved next to his friends, because the vats were empty. It wasn't until he noticed the labels at the base, etched with names, that his whole body went on high alert. The vat he was staring at had his name on it. Terran. They spread out, each before their vat, a collective dread settling on their shoulders like ash.

  "I feel like we stepped into a trap," said Flynn.

  "And you'd be right," said a soft, high voice from the other side of the room.