Nova Terra: Guardian - A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure (The Titan Series Book 4)

by Seth Ring

  *ding*

  Quest: Missing Titans - [Update: Titan of Earth]

  Before the Era of the Gods, Titans walked Angoril. Unmatched in both battle and arts, the Titans were masters of whatever they put their hands to, yet almost overnight they vanished, leaving nothing but giant ruins and dim records of their existence. According to the ancient myths of the Wolfkin, the Titans ruled over all creatures and were the gods’ contemporaries.

  Discover what happened to the Titans and why they disappeared.

  You have discovered the name and home of Zemtal’Feg, Titan of Life.

  As a Titan, the [Bearer of the Stone Heart], and a [Friend of the Earth], you are on your way to unlocking the power of the ancient Titan race.

  This quest cannot be turned down.

  Requirements:

  Unlock the power of the [Heart of the Earth]

  Reward: Title - [Titan of Earth]

  Seeing the update to his quest was encouraging and showed Thorn that he was on the right track. His next step was increasing his compatibility with the Stone Heart which would undoubtedly take some time. It seemed that every time he cleared a quest or gained something, his “to-do” list continued to grow longer and longer. Now, in addition to trying to master his class, solve the problems of the valley, survive the cutthroat world of Northern Angoril politics, and help free the slaves on Rasyn, he had to increase his proficiency with these new abilities.

  Sighing to himself at the tasks that kept piling up, he opened up the last of the new abilities that the Stone Heart granted him.

  Call the Stone Legion

  The Stone King, Courdum, forged his underground empire with the power of his Stone Legion. Though only a shadow of their former self, what remains of the undying army possesses powerful might.

  In his madness, Courdum bound the legion to the power of the Stone Heart, the same power that now courses through your veins. You have gained preliminary control over the remnants of the Stone Legion.

  The first time you activate this ability, the remaining members of the Stone Legion will make their way to your side within twenty-four hours. It is recommended that you activate this ability somewhere safe.

  To unlock full control of the Stone Legion, you must adapt to the Stone Heart completely.

  ‘And the to-do list just got longer.’ Letting out a sigh, Thorn dismissed the windows with a wave.

  With the root of the World Tree purified by Velin’s ceremony, there was plenty of sap for them to collect, a task Alph took great care and pleasure in. Watching him fill up a near endless stream of vials made Thorn chuckle. Leaving him to that, he walked over to where Mina and Velin were standing.

  The girls had their heads together, whispering about something. With the [Living Statue] curse cleared, Thorn’s senses were much sharper allowing him to pick out a few words. Even though he could not make out what they were talking about, the serious tone of their conversation made him pause. Stopping about ten feet away, he waited until Velin looked up and waved him over.

  “Is something wrong?” Thorn asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

  “No, everything is good.” Velin smiled as she shook her head.

  “Not everything.” Mina’s tone was slightly grumpy.

  “That is true. Not everything. But overall, this is a good thing, Mina.”

  Feeling Thorn’s searching eyes fixed on her face, Velin tucked her hair behind her ear and took a deep breath.

  “The reward for this quest requires that I stay here.” Lifting her hand to forestall the question that she knew was about to roll off Thorn’s tongue, Velin gave him a firm look. “By myself.”

  “Explain please.”

  “Originally, the quest reward for finding the World Tree was a class. A quad category Ancient Inheritance, World Tree’s Holy Emissary. Effectively, I would become the highest ranked priestess of the Elven race. With you giving up your reward, and due to a few other circumstances, I now have the chance to do something…greater. However, I must do it by myself, and it will take some time. Maybe a long time.”

  “How long is a long time?” Thorn did not like the direction this was headed, and judging from the miserable look on Mina’s face, it was worse than he was thinking.

  “I do not know. Possibly a couple months. I just know that it is an opportunity that I do not want to miss.”

  For a moment they stood in silence as Thorn tried to wrap his mind around the sudden shift. The idea of Velin leaving the party was something he had never even considered. Since they had made up and formed a real team he had grown so used to having her nearby that his reliance on her was as familiar as breathing, so it was a struggle to imagine not having her around.

  As if sensing the struggle in Thorn’s heart, Velin stepped forward and took one of his large hands in hers, smiling at him earnestly.

  “It is only for a time, Thorn. After that I’ll be back and better than ever. Nova Luna is my home, I’m not leaving. I just need some time to pursue this.”

  Flushing slightly, Thorn nodded. Nova Terra was so good at customizing the player experience, that sometimes he had trouble remembering that others had stories of their own to experience. Mentally kicking himself for his self-centered attitude, he smiled widely and pulled Velin into a hug.

  “We’ll be waiting for you. And if you need anything, you just need to ask.” Holding her shoulders gently, Thorn moved her to an arms length and looked at her deeply. “We’ll move the world for you if you need it.”

  “Mmuph! Uh oh, I think I’m going to vomit.” Mina covered her mouth as she pretended to gag. Rolling her eyes, she walked off, muttering, “it’s just a quest.”

  Separating, both Thorn and Velin turned bright red when they realized that everyone was watching them. Coughing to cover his embarrassment, Thorn turned to Bluefire and the rest of the ladies from the Society of Roses who were all looking at him with shining eyes. Even Priss seemed quite interested in what was going on between him and Velin.

  “Ehm. So, this completes our quest. Thank you all for your work.”

  “Heh, yeah, I guess it does.” Bluefire craned her head around Thorn’s body to look at Velin who was looking down at the amulet she used to purify the World Tree heart. “So, has Athena met, uh, Lady Velin?”

  “Ahem, yes, they’ve met. Alph, is there an easy way out of here or are we heading back the way we came in?” Anxious to change the subject, Thorn looked over at the alchemist, only to find him wiggling his eyebrows up and down with a sly smile on his face.

  “Haha, yeah, there is a faster way out. Might have to fight some statues, but it’ll get us to an underground river that runs under the mountains. We can ride it to the mountains and climb out there. It's a one-way trip though, so make sure you’ve done everything you want to before you leave.”

  Suppressing the urge to strangle the smirk off of Alph’s face, Thorn put his helmet on and asked everyone to finish up what they were doing. Once they made it out of the tomb they still had a lot to do. Between trying to recruit the Dwarves from Khen Davahl and helping the slaves revolt, he had to finish up quickly and make it back to the capital city for his hearing. With only a few days left, Thorn was not sure he was actually going to make it.

  After saying goodbye to Velin, the team followed Alph’s directions out of a set of large double doors that led into the tomb. Thorn and Heidi made short work of the stone golems that they ran across, and they made good time as they headed toward the underground river.

  After about forty minutes they left the tomb system again, passing through a hole in a tunnel wall and climbing down some rocks to a small sandy beach. The naturally-formed cavern was cool and wet thanks to the swiftly flowing river that disappeared into a hole in the wall.

  “That’s it. That’ll take you right out from the tomb. There is air all the way along so just float your way down. It empties out into a lake. You’ll take the left side beach. There should be a set of stairs up to the top of the mountain.”

  “
Thanks, Alph. You have been a huge help.” Reaching out, Thorn shook the alchemist’s hand. “Are you interested in coming with us? We’ve got a great spot with a killer alchemy lab for you if you want it.”

  “Nah, I’ll think I’ll stick around here.” Alph shook his head. “I’m not sure I’d handle all the people so well. I’ve been doing pretty well playing by myself, so I think I’ll stick with that.”

  “Okay, but if you change your mind, you’re always welcome. And we’ll probably be back in this area pretty soon, so I’ll send you a message when I am. Maybe we can do some more exploring. Seriously though, it's been a blast getting to know you.”

  “That sounds great.” Relieved that Thorn was not pushing it, Alph was quite happy to hear that Thorn was going to stay in touch. After he said his goodbyes, he climbed back up the rocks as Thorn and the rest of the team waded into the river.

  The journey down the underground river was wet but uneventful. All of the girls held onto each other and Thorn anchored the whole group. The river was shallow enough that his feet could touch the bottom and he was so heavy that if he did not jump every now and again he just sank. Half leaping, half floating, he brought everyone to the small lake that Alph had mentioned, and they all climbed up onto the beach.

  While Mina looked for the stairs that Alph had mentioned, Thorn opened up his messaging interface. As soon as his [Living Statue] curse had been cleared he had been inundated with unread messages and was dreading sorting through them so instead he dismissed the notifications and ignored them. Continuing to ignore the huge pile of unread messages he opened up a message marked urgent that he had received from Corvo while they floated down the river.

  Hey Thorn,

  Glad to hear you are all cured. Real quick, you may want to change your plans. Velin filled me in on everything going down on the island, but things have changed pretty rapidly in the last two days. I’m guessing you are still down below in that tomb because the surface is going crazy. The ruler of Rasyn opened up the ports and a full Orc army landed, crushing any chance of a revolt. There are four legions holding the island now. The Elves retreated into the forest under Queen Rychell Naevyre’s guidance, and the slaves fled into the mountains. Most of them are trying to seek refuge in the Dwarven tunnels since Dwarves hate Orcs.

  All that to say, any hope of rebellion without serious backup is toast. The good news is that the betrayal of Rasyn has really set off the nobles and Northern Angoril is beginning to mobilize for war. I would recommend you get back to the capital as soon as possible for your hearing. There will be lots of action soon, and we don’t want to miss it.

  I asked Peregrine to send the Emperor your way, so be on the lookout.

  When you have a moment, give me a call because we’ve got lots to catch up on. Also, if someone doesn’t come and take over things here soon I might go crazy. Please inform Velin that she needs to come back as soon as possible.

  Exhaustedly,

  Corvo

  Frowning, Thorn called Mina and Bluefire over. The change in the situation on the surface was troubling, and spoke to some major changes in the game world.

  “We might have a change of plans. Things seem to have gone south on the surface. Here, you can read this yourself.”

  “Hm, hold on. Let me call Athena.” After reading the message, Bluefire rubbed the bridge of her nose. “If this checks out then we are in trouble since the Aether Gate is going to be blocked. Hopefully Athena can figure something out to get us back to the mainland. Chances are, those Orc slavers are now patrolling between the island and Northern Angoril. And as much as it would be fun to fight an entire Orc army by ourselves, that would be a death sentence.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that, we’ve got a ride,” Mina chimed in.

  “A ride?” Bluefire looked at Mina who had just finished reading over the message Thorn shared with them.

  “Yeah, our own personal plane,” Mina said, patting Bluefire on the arm. She grinned as she imagined the look that Bluefire would show when she saw the Emperor. “You’ll see.”

  “But first we’ve got to find him. Come on, we’ve got a ride to catch.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  The stairs leading up to the surface were tight, causing Thorn some trouble at the corners, but after nearly two hours of making himself as small as possible and a bit of digging, he edged out of the exit and found himself under the stars for the first time in a week. The exit was a small, nondescript cave on the top of a mountain that overlooked the Barrow Hills, and as the team gathered outside of it, Thorn sent a quick message to Corvo.

  According to Corvo’s message, the Emperor of the Sky was on his way so Thorn directed everyone to gather some wood. Piling it up into a large bonfire, he got out his flint and steel and set it ablaze. While they waited for the Emperor to arrive, Thorn got out his remaining food. The last week and a half had nearly wiped out his reserves and Akira’s increased appetite from her bloodline advancement had almost finished what little he had left. Fortunately he still had enough for everyone to enjoy a final meal.

  After she had eaten her fill, Bluefire leaned back and sighed contentedly. Looking over at Thorn who was scraping the last bits of tapioca from a pan, she asked casually.

  “So, where do we go to catch this ride of yours?”

  “We’ll stay here. He should arrive pretty soon. Probably within another hour or so.”

  At that moment, Hollowgen, who was laying on her back, looking at the stars, suddenly sat up in shock, her finger pointing at the sky and her mouth wide open.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Priss scrunched her eyes as she peered in the direction that Hollowgen was pointing.

  “The stars...they’re vanishing!”

  It took the others a moment to see it, but when they did it was frightening. All of the stars in the northwest seemed to be vanishing, as if a growing darkness was consuming them, one by one. Scrambling to her feet, Hollowgen peered up at the sky. The rest of the team beside Thorn joined her in staring at the strange phenomenon. Priss, noticing that Thorn was still trying to find some scraps of food, directed a glare at him.

  “Hey fatso, there are more important things happening than food, you know.”

  “Hm, debatable.” Thorn gave her a half smile and then stood up slowly.

  As tall as she was, Priss was still a full two heads shorter than Thorn, causing her to have to look up when he stepped close. With his abilities restored, the pressure that Thorn exuded by his very presence was intense, and Priss found her hand drifting to the handle of her axe, her palms sweaty.

  “Tell me though, now that we have time for it, what is your issue with me?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  It took a considerable amount of fortitude for Priss to not step back as Thorn stepped closer to her. Though she managed to stand her ground, the weight of Thorn’s presence was practically physical. Up until this point she had only seen Thorn’s mild side. Despite having seen him achieve unbelievable feats of strength in combat, she had never been on the receiving end of his focused aura. Even those who were not directly facing him were taken aback by the shift in his presence as he changed from a fun-loving, gentle giant into a serious, imperious presence.

  “You’ve been critical and antagonistic since we met. Is there a specific problem you have with me?”

  Thorn stepped forward again, his eyes looking down at the half-Orc dispassionately.

  “No,” Priss sneered. Though she did not manage to take a step forward like she wanted to, she was able to keep her spot. “ I just don’t like having to drop everything to run to the beck and call of a snot-nosed kid who happens to be related to the boss.”

  For a moment, Thorn and Priss matched stares. Her eyes showed fiery defiance while his carried an aloof detachment. Seeing the sparks that were flying between them, Vivi was about to speak up when Bluefire pulled on her arm, shaking her head. It was better to let them work out their issues by themselves. Trying to mediate
would only muddy the waters.

  Surprisingly, it was Thorn who broke off eye contact first, his gaze dropping to the ground for a moment. When he looked back up, his entire demeanor had turned back to the mild, humorous state that it had been before the clash. The shift was so abrupt that Priss nearly staggered as the pressure she was feeling disappeared as if it had never existed in the first place.

  “That’s fair.” Flashing a slightly silly grin, Thorn rubbed the back of his head. “I can imagine that it isn’t fun to have the normal power structure upset like that. And I certainly appreciate the fact that you came to my aid. Per the agreement, you’ll be properly compensated for your excellent work. Maybe it would be helpful to think of me as a VIP client of the Society. I hire you and pay accordingly. I don’t have any desire to abuse my relationship with your leader, so I apologize if this situation gave you a different impression. Hopefully, through working together I’ll be able to demonstrate my sincerity in this matter.”