Perla Online, Book One: Toris (A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure)

by Shawn Wyatt

  "For the Grand Duke's guests," she said. She placed the tray on a table, gave a bow, and backed out of the room.

  "Take a seat here and enjoy," the butler said. "The Grand Duke will be with you shortly." He gestured to the ornate chairs in the room, and then he too left.

  Our group stared at each other in surprise for a moment. "That was more formal than I expected," Bastion said. "I didn't know Grenay had a Grand Duke."

  "Neither did I," I said.

  "There are four Grand Dukes," Bell said. "One serves here on Grenay. The other three are on Shella, Horus, and Riven. All report to the king in his castle on Perla itself." The Sylvan cast a slight glance skyward. "Or they did. None of the realms have been in contact with one another since that necromancer seized control and spread the corruption."

  "I didn't realize you were so fluent in human politics," Wish said.

  "Consider it a hobby of mine," Bell said, a slight smile on his face. "I find your kind fascinating."

  "Why do I suddenly feel like a guinea pig?" Bastion asked.

  The door to the room opened, and a man dressed in green and yellow livery stepped inside. "Stand for the Grand Duke," he announced.

  Two guards stepped inside the room, their faces hidden under heavy steel helms. Light glinted from the edge of their blades. Though the men stood at attention, their posture indicated their readiness to strike at a moment's notice.

  It seemed the Grand Duke did not trust us.

  The man in question strode into the room a moment later. A sash the color of the sun crossed his chest, a complement to the forest-green shirt he wore underneath. Brown and gold tassels hung from the epaulettes on his shoulders. One hand rested near the saber on his belt.

  The Grand Duke knew how to make an entrance. He owned the room from the moment he came through the door, and no one had any doubts as to his authority.

  Grave eyes peered at us over a bushy but well-kept beard. "Greetings, adventurers. Greetings, Sylvan. Welcome to the Forest Manor of Grenay."

  I nodded. Bell gave a slight bow from the waist. Wish looked at the man in surprise. We all returned his greetings in our own way.

  After another appraising look, the Grand Duke took a seat--the largest seat in the room, I noticed. "My name is Edmond Esterric, Grand Duke of Grenay and servant to His Majesty. I am honored to have you in my home."

  "Thank you," Bell said. "The honor is mine. I would enjoy more extensive conversation with you, but I am afraid time is not in our favor. As you have no doubt heard, we are here for a reason."

  The flash of surprise across the Grand Duke's face vanished in an instant. His face took on the same neutral expression it had held since our entry. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."

  "We were watched from the moment we crossed through the Forest Gate," Bell said. "Sylvan are rare in this city, but the level of suspicion is higher than normal.

  "You have keen eyes," the Grand Duke said. He sighed, and his shoulders slumped. "We have increased the number of guard patrols around the city. Those Withered beasts attack in greater numbers by the day, and the people of Grenay grow restless. Rumors and mistrust have begun to spread through the city. The situation grows dire."

  "We want to help," I said. "We've had personal experience with the low morale of the adventurers. They're afraid to leave the city, but we want to give them something to fight for. Those that have the courage, anyway."

  "And how do you propose to do that?" Duke Esterric asked.

  Time for the moment of truth, I thought. This would be the first time we posed our plan to anyone outside our group. The Grand Duke's reaction would be telling.

  "We're going to kill the Waldgeist and regain access to the airship landing."

  The room fell silent. The guards stiffened at my words, and the Grand Duke looked incredulous. "You have the strength to do that?"

  "I hope so," I said. "We have already slain three of the Waldgeist's strongest lieutenants."

  Bell gestured to our little group. "These four spent the past week fighting for Nyfed. I have seen their combat abilities first-hand. Allow me to vouch for them."

  The Grand Duke shook his head. "What you say seems impossible. Even the strongest of the adventurers here would struggle against the stronger beasts that emerge from the forest."

  "Would you care to see one of the souls?" Wish asked. "I trapped the soul of the last one we fought. Now it will do my bidding."

  The Grand Duke sputtered, then shook his head. "That won't be necessary." His face had lost some of its color.

  "Grenay's relationship with Nyfed has long been a mutually beneficial one," Bell said. "Our friend's intentions are to issue a quest--which Nyfed will fund the reward for, of course--and form a battle group to purge the corruption from this land."

  "And there are enough adventurers of sufficient strength to pull this off?"

  "There are groups within the city focused on increasing their strength," I said. "They had made great progress before we left, but I haven't had a chance to check in with them since."

  The Grand Duke gestured to his herald and whispered something in his ear. After the response, the Duke spread his arms wide. "It seems these groups you speak of have indeed grown strong, and several of the foremost warriors helped defend the city against the latest incursion. I have decided. You have permission to issue this quest." He turned his attention to Bell. "In the spirit of mutual cooperation, Grenay will provide half of the quest reward."

  Bell smiled. "Thank you," he said. I wondered if Bell realized how inscrutable his pale green eyes were. They hold no pupil; the entire iris was the same green color as new growth, and utterly unreadable.

  He made a great politician, despite his professed dislike of politics.

  "My heralds will spread word for the adventurers to gather in the town square tonight at the seventh noon hour. You will have the platform to issue the quest. Make sure you know what you wish to say."

  "Of course," Bell said. "You need not worry."

  Word spread through the city like wildfire. The Grand Duke had dismissed us after the meeting. He did not trust adventurers and preferred to spend as little time with them as possible. Or perhaps he just did not understand us, I thought.

  Bastion, Wish, Evey, and I all made our way back to the Golden Boar. Conversation ground to a halt at our entrance, before an earth-shattering roar shook the building to its foundations.

  Rune stepped forward. "Look at you three! You survived!"

  I grinned. "Of course we did," I said. "And we're back, stronger than ever."

  Rune's eyes glazed over as he studied us, and then he muttered a curse under his breath. "You mean we've been out here grinding and risking our backsides for the past week, and you three somehow stayed ahead of us?"

  "Us four," Evey said, and gestured to Wish.

  Rune turned his gaze on the smaller girl and quirked an eyebrow. "How you doin'?"

  She met his look with a deadpan stare. "I could rip your soul from your body, trap it in a stone, and torture you until you willingly became my slave."

  His face grew blank, and he turned the stare back to me. "Is she serious?"

  "She's serious," I said. "I don't know if the ability works on humans, but I've seen her rip a monster's soul from its half-dead corpse and beat it into submission. Don't piss her off."

  Rune gave Wish a slight bow. "Welcome to the Golden Boar. Any friend of Ren's is a friend of mine."

  She smiled. "Thanks! I can't wait to get to know you all better."

  I swore I saw a little color drain out of his face.

  We ordered food and drinks and filled the gathered players in on what had happened since we left. They listed with rapt attention as we told them about our battles with Sloziar, Agaric, and the Night Raven.

  I left out the part about nearly getting killed. Given the call that would go out later that evening, I didn't want to scare anyone away. A small voice at the back of my mind nagged that the volunteers should know al
l the risks, but that could wait until the numbers filled out.

  "Wait, wait, wait," Rune said. "What's this about healing magic?"

  "It counters spells cast by corrupted creatures. It also damages them," Bastion said.

  "So AoE heals?"

  "Exactly. They're like nukes. Heal your friends, hurt your enemies."

  A wicked smile spread across Rune's face. "That could be useful to know."

  Outside the Golden Boar, clocktowers began to strike seven. "Come on," I said. "Let's go."

  Players gathered in droves in the town square. Many had their hands close to their weapons, and I realized the town square may have been the wrong place to hold a meeting. The last time this many players gathered in a town square, we had been trapped in Perla.

  The sun had already set, and the square was lit only by torches around the perimeter. When a mage cast a light spell on the stage, it drew everyone's attention.

  Bell stepped forward and bowed. A wave of murmurs rushed through the player group. "Welcome," he said. Bell's voice always had a smooth quality to it, but it seemed amplified even more tonight. "My name is Bellfinidan. I am the future Seer of Nyfed, the Sacred Grove of the Terrawalkers. I sense sister magic to my own within the crowd." He paused and gave the crowd time to digest this information. "And I am here to issue a quest."

  The murmurs grew to a frenzy. My party stood at the front of the crowd, but I could still hear the questions that shot, rapid-fire, between the players.

  "A quest?"

  "Is this an event?"

  "Maybe this is a way out of here. Will this restore the log out button?"

  "I see that has piqued your attention," Bell continued. "Let me explain. Most of you are aware of the corrupted creatures. You call them Withered creatures. Their leader is an entity known as the Waldgeist. This being has taken the airship landing as its own and fortified the structure against invasion. It has cut off any method of transportation between the five realms. Our goal is to kill it and restore communication between Toris and the other realms. Ren, if you would?"

  I had never felt more like a deer in the headlights until that moment. Bell looked expectantly at me, and something about his gaze brooked no argument. I stepped forward and ascended the stairs.

  "My name is Ren," I said. "My party has spent the past few weeks fighting Withered creatures and forging alliances with the factions on Toris. And if I am not mistaken, we are the strongest players in this realm." I needed to secure my authority, even if it earned a few enemies.

  Murmurs once more spread through the crowd, and dozens of players at the front took on that familiar glazed expression as they examined my level.

  "The Waldgeist is the strongest foe in the realm. No other monster comes close to its power, but this also means nothing else comes close to the kind of loot it can drop. For those that care about that, there's your incentive. For the rest..." I took a breath. "It might lead to a way to escape this game and return to our lives."

  A player near the front shouted a question. "What do we need to do?"

  The moment of truth, I thought. "I need nineteen players additional players to form a raid group. We're going to kill this thing."

  My words stunned the gathered players into silence, but only for a brief moment. Someone at the front began to clap, and it spread through the crowd. Players shouted. Others' eyes glazed over as they examined their gear and level in hope they could join.

  A sense of excitement and anticipation had gripped the players in a way I never anticipated. We had given them something to fight for.

  Bell stepped forward once more. "This quest is a joint venture between the Terrawalkers of Nyfed and the Grand Duke of Grenay. However, there are requirements." He nodded to me.

  "Only adventurers of level fifteen or higher can accept this quest, and then only a limited number of each role. I will need three additional healers, one additional tank, and the rest will be DPS."

  Bell smiled, and spoke quietly to me. "You have done well. I'll handle the rest." He turned back to the crowd. "All interested parties should report to the Master of Transportation after you are dismissed. At present, if anyone is certain they wish to undertake this risk, step forward."

  In the air above the plaza, floating nameplates and HP appeared. My name was the first listed, followed by Evey, Bastion, Wish, and Cathbad. The crowd seemed to hesitate, but then Rune stepped forward. "You better believe I'm in."

  Line followed him. "Me too."

  One by one, players stepped forward to join the raid group. Within minutes, twenty-four players had volunteered to take on the greatest risk we had encountered yet.

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE: THE RAID GROUP

  Word of the raid spread like wildfire among the players. They whispered in hushed tones in every tavern throughout the city. "This will be a world first," they said.

  When I heard that, all I could do was laugh. Players would be players no matter how dire the situation might be. The drive to be the first to finish a fight and get the best gear remained present. Even those too low level to take part in the raid wanted to help in some way.

  In the week we had been away, there had been a shift in the city, as though someone had flipped a switch in the atmosphere. Maybe it was the formal founding of Rune's guild, the Poor Souls Grinding Group, or maybe the players had grown tired of fear.

  Whatever the case, the city felt more alive than it had before--and in a good way. The night of the announcement, the initial raid group of 24 had formed in minutes.

  But another 24 players had volunteered after that.

  And then another 24 after that.

  Bell had turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "Well, leader. What is your call?"

  I shook my head. "Only 24 will be allowed inside the airship landing at one time, but taking an additional group with us will help clear any monsters out around the airship." I paused. "And it will give us a well of replacements to pull from if anyone goes down during the raid."

  Bell nodded. "Death is an inevitable part of life," he said. "Though you may fall, as long as you persevere you will emerge victorious, and any deaths will not be in vain."

  "We don't need heroes," I said. "We just need to survive."

  I divided up the three raid groups. The third group contained players that could not participate in the actual raid, but their willingness to help had given me an idea. "Everyone go home and rest tonight," I said. "In the morning, we meet on the outskirts of the city. There you will receive further instructions."

  Players trickled out of the town square after that, some disappointed they had not been chosen, but every player excited for what this development meant.

  Evey walked up. "Ever since we met, you've called the shots," she said. "How does it feel to be officially recognized as a leader?"

  "Terrifying," I said.

  She laughed. "Don't worry. You're well-suited to the role, whether you feel like it or not. You're the one that kept our party together throughout all of this. What are a few more players for you to encourage?"

  "A total of 72 players, plus all the ones not in the raid," I said. "Hundreds of players. Hundreds of lives. That's what worries me. What if I let them down?"

  "You won't."

  "How can you be so sure of that?"

  Evey locked eyes with me, and despite my best efforts, I found no trace of doubt there. "Because from the outset, you have seen every life in this world as sacred. 'Even the NPCs deserved to be saved,' you said. That mentality is what makes you the perfect choice to be our leader."

  I gave her a wry smile. "I'm glad you're so certain of that, because I'm not."

  "If you were, I'd be concerned. Now come on. Let's go celebrate and rest before tomorrow. There's a lot of work to be done."

  The next morning came early. I rose, my body stiff, my head a ball of agony that pulsed with every movement. Perhaps the celebrations had carried on a bit too late into the night. Someone had left a glass of water on the table beside my bed.


  The small candle on the table burned down. I had woken just before someone would have come to get me. I took a few minutes to sit in the quiet and compose myself. I had acted in the best interest of my party until now. My only goal had been to keep us alive and escape this world. To act as leader of a raid group would comprise the same elements, but on a larger scale, with way more people.

  Even the thought of it caused my heart to race, but I took a breath and pushed the fear down. I did not want to entrust my survival to anyone else. If taking charge of this raid is what it took to survive, then I would do so.

  Someone knocked on my door. "Ready to go?" Evey's voice sounded muffled through the thick wood.

  "Yeah," I said. "Give me a second."

  I dressed and holstered my pistols. Their now-familiar weight lent a certain comfort, and the white gleam of Serpent's Fang stood as a reminder of the battles I had won before.

  I opened the door. Evey stood outside, leaned against the wall, her eyes glazed over. At the sound of the door, they refocused. "Sorry. Just examining skills," she said.

  "Not a bad idea. I'll check mine out later. Let's head downstairs. We should probably get to the meeting place first."

  Evey fell into step behind me. At the bottom of the stairs, people stood in a line. Each person winced and moaned in pain. Amid the crowd I heard Bastion's voice. "Calm down, you big baby. Next."

  I pushed through the people to where Bastion sat on the bar countertop. A mug filled with coins as people passed by him, one by one. When I realized what he was doing, I laughed.

  "Are you seriously charging access to your healing spells?" I asked.

  "Hey, I'll keep them alive for free. If they want a hangover cure, that's extra." He held up the mug and jingled its contents. "I'll be a rich man."

  I fished in my pocket and dropped a coin in. "Hit me next, then."

  "No, no," Bastion said. "You'll have to pay double to skip the line."

  I glared at him, dropped in another coin, and closed my eyes. His magic washed over my skull like a wave of humid air, and the pounding in my skull vanished. "Thanks," I said.