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

by Shawn Wyatt

  Groups Two and Three had the most heavily-armored players. They would provide a wall of steel and blade between the mages in Group Four.

  I counted six doors on this first level. Lanterns hung at various points on the walls, but none were lit. "Abracadabra," I said. "Can you hit that lantern with a fire spell?"

  She nodded and raised her hand toward the lantern, muttered the incantation under her breath, and a burst of flame erupted from her palm. It hit the lantern and cast light over the room for a moment, then faded. A few seconds later, the lantern sprang to life--and so did the one next to it, and the one beyond that. The lanterns lit down both sides of the entrance hall in a cascade of fire.

  The top of the hall still lay in shadow, but the battlefield was now lit to a height of twenty feet or so. The lantern light reflected off eyes at the end of the hall. Three Withered Panthers snarled and stalked toward us, their decayed bodies close to the floor. All three were level 21, and their nameplates were ringed with silver.

  "Get ready," I said. "These guys are elites."

  Cathbad strode forward and merged seamlessly into his bear form. LeeRoy slammed her shield into the ground and beat her sword against it. "Come and get some, you overgrown house cats!"

  The taunt worked. All three panthers turned their attention toward her and pounced. LeeRoy braced her shield in the ground and stood behind it. The shield caught the attacks of two of the beasts, their claws bouncing harmlessly from the steel. She parried the third with her sword and slammed it with the flat of her blade. The panther staggered back, stunned.

  Before the creatures could recover, Cathbad roared a challenge. He had moved to the other side of the hall, and all three panthers turned and charged. It would take several seconds for them to cover that distance. I opened fire.

  My first Caster Shell was a Splinter Shot. It hit the first panther and shattered, sending shrapnel into the other two. Evey whispered under her breath and fired an arrow that pinned one panther to the ground. Wish closed her eyes and raised her hands up. A blue mist drifted from her half-open lips to the ground in front of us and coalesced into the four wolves Althea had gifted her. The wolves snarled and dove onto the panther Evey had pinned.

  It's HP dwindled to zero in seconds. The other two fell under a barrage of spells and steel. The only HP loss anyone suffered was from friendly fire. RoguesDoItFromBehind, whose name I shortened to Rogue, patted his singed armor. "Alright, which one of you sucks so bad at aiming?"

  The raid laughed. The damage was negligible, and his natural HP regeneration would heal it before a healing spell could be cast. I looked around the room and counted six doors and a set of stairs at the end. "The stairs lead to the next level," I said. "Which means any loot worth finding is in these rooms. Along with more mobs."

  "Slow and steady, right?" LeeRoy said.

  "Slow and steady." I walked up to the first door on the left. "Think I should knock?"

  "Let me." LeeRoy raised a hand as if to knock on the door, and then kicked it off its hinges. The door clattered into the center of the room. Dust and cobwebs floated in the light that flooded in from the hallway, but much of the room still lay in darkness. I tossed a lit torch farther into the room, but no monsters attacked. The room seemed to be a store room of sorts; barrels of stale food and outdated goods lay stacked against the wall.

  "That was slow, but I'm not sure about steady," Jenkins said.

  "Shut up. It was fun."

  "On to the next room?" I asked.

  One by one, we cleared the rooms. The first two on the left and the first two on the right held little of value. LeeRoy found a locket that included quest text in its description, so she pocketed it for later.

  The last room on the left had a massive lock on its door that no amount of magic or steel could penetrate. We agreed to come back to it later and clear the other room first.

  I stood in front of the door. A soft breeze stirred up the dust on the floor at my feet. "Seems like this room might be bigger," I said. A rune had been inscribed on the door: a skull. I looked at the doorframe itself. Small holes sat several inches apart all the way around the perimeter of the frame. "Wait. It's trapped."

  Everyone moved back from the frame--except Line. He peered at the door, narrowed his eyes at the top of the frame, and flung a dagger at it. The blade sank into the wood, and a small thread fell limp. "Not anymore," he said. At my bewildered look, he grinned. "Disarming traps is one of this class' specialities. Aren't you glad you brought me along?"

  "Yeah. You've just earned yourself a spot at the front of the group. You're also in the danger zone for arrows now, so enjoy that," I said. His look of mischief faded a little at the last comment.

  I pushed open the door to reveal a room devoid of all furnishings, save three chests that sat side by side. The ceiling of this room seemed darker than the others. Something hissed in the darkness, and a chuckle echoed through the room. I heard weapons drawn from behind me, but I held up a hand.

  "No need for that, little onessss," the voice said.

  Eight huge eyes gleamed in the darkness, and a spider the size of a manor descended by a web from the roof. Its nameplate read "Nachea." No level listed. In place of the level was a skull symbol.

  This creature was ten or more levels above all of us. We had no chance of defeating it.

  "Put your weaponssss away and lissssten," Nachea said. "For I have a riddle for you."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: NACHEA

  The monster loomed over us, but made no move to attack.

  "A riddle?" I asked.

  "Yesss, a riddle. Anssswer the quessstions and find what each chest holdsss, you have ssslain ssso many foesss."

  "I have no intention of turning my back on you. What assurance do we have you won't attack the moment you get a chance?"

  "Little one, you live becaussse I will it. I will not attack unlesss you refussse this offer."

  I turned to the raid. "You all heard what it said. Our choices boil down to solving the riddle or fighting this thing." I looked at its level once more. Nachea's nameplate did not shiver the way most Withered creatures' nameplates did, and I realized it came here of its own will. "We have little chance of victory. Not without heavy casualties."

  The raid remained silent for a moment until Rune spoke up. "Then let's solve the riddle. Better to clear the passage without fighting, right?"

  Murmurs of agreement came from the group. Most members kept an eye on the spider above us.

  "I agree," I said. "Let's solve the riddle. Tell me, spider. What is this riddle?"

  "You will find what you ssseek in the chests themselves. They are labeled, but you may choossse only one."

  It said nothing else. I examined the first chest. Engraved on a metal plate on top of the chest was a message.

  I arrive in blood and fear

  Unprompted and often too short

  An unbroken road with an abrupt end

  I read the words aloud. It made no sense to me, and the confused looks I received from the raid group indicated they felt the same way. "The labels themselves are riddles," I said. "We don't know what chest to choose until we figure out what each one means."

  "The first one sounds like the result of an emo pop-punk poetry slam," Evey said. "Check the second."

  The second chest had another engraved metal plate.

  I am kind. I am cruel.

  I take what is not offered.

  I give what is required.

  Beware the gleam of light on steel.

  "Just as esoteric," Evey said. She turned and looked at the last chest. "I hope this one makes a bit more sense."

  Bastion had already read the plaque and stood scratching his head. "Don't get your hopes up," he said.

  I am a bird on the wing

  I am the water that falls

  I am a leaf in the wind

  I am an open door

  "That sounds kinder than the first two, at least," I said. "Any ideas?"

  "I have no idea
about the first riddle," Evey said. "But the second seems clear enough."

  "What is it?"

  "Death."

  I saw several eyes widen in the raid group.

  "Just think about it. Death can be kind; a mercy killing, at the end of a painful disease, something like that. But it is also cruel. And the 'gleam of light on steel' has to refer to the Grim Reaper, right?"

  "But the Grim Reaper doesn't exist," Bastion said. "Why should we consider that?"

  "He doesn't exist in our world. This world is built off the lore of a thousand cultures. It's not unreasonable to think legendary depictions of death would have somehow made it into Perla."

  "Evey's right," I said. "It makes sense. Does anyone have any objections?"

  No one shook their head.

  "Alright then. Let's hope this is the way to solve this thing." I placed my hand on the plaque on the second chest and said, "Death."

  The message blurred, the letters reforming into the word.

  "I hope that means we answered correctly," I said. "That just leaves two more." The spider still hung from its web, its eight eyes locked on the group. I sensed no overt hostility. It seemed curious more than anything. Bored, almost. "Do we have a time limit?"

  "Take the time you need," Nachea answered.

  I read the first plaque again. "An unbroken road with an abrupt end," I said. "I've got nothing."

  Bastion repeated the words of the third riddle under his breath. "It seems so clear," he said. "But I'm not sure. Hey, Ren. What do all of these have in common?"

  I walked over and read the plaque. "They fly?"

  He shook his head. "That only fits three of them. The fourth clue doesn't match. An open door is what, a way out? Escape?"

  "Then what are the other three? A bird on the wing is a bird in flight. A leaf in the wind flies. Maybe floats. And water that falls freely gets battered around by the wind. The similarities are there."

  "Falls freely..." Bastion's voice trailed off, then his eyes lit up. "That's it. Freedom."

  "Are you sure?" I asked.

  He nodded. "Completely. Think about it. Birds are free when they fly. A leaf is free of the tree when it is blown away by the wind. Water is free of a river when it falls. And an open door is the pathway to freedom."

  "Alright," I said. "I'm going to trust you on this." I put my hand on the plaque and repeated the word, just as I had with the first riddle. The clues once more scattered and reformed into a single word. "Looks like you were right. That just leaves the first clue."

  Wish had approached the first chest. "Could it be birth?" she asked. "Children are born in blood, and most of terrified right out of the womb."

  "Doesn't the 'abrupt end' seem to go against that?" Evey asked. "Contractions take a while before the birth happens, so it would be some sort of signal."

  A look of surprise washed over Wish's face. "It's life," she said. "They're born into a life, but no one asks to be born. And too many lives are too short."

  "Life, Death, Freedom," I said. "It fits. Do the honors?"

  Wish placed her hand on the plaque, whispered "life," and the clue resolved itself.

  "Well done, little onesss," Nachea hissed. "Now all that is left is for you to choossse."

  "We have to choose between life, death, or freedom. That should be easy," I said, sarcasm heavy on my tongue.

  The conversation that followed last nearly an hour. Everyone seemed to have a different opinion on which chest was the best choice, and no one budged an inch. "This entire room has been based on trickery," I said. "Freedom might free us from this world, but it might do so by killing us."

  "And life might return us to our old lives," someone else said.

  "Or it might mean we continue to live because we don't have to fight the spider," I said. "Even if we were able to squeak out a victory, it would cost lives. Potentially a lot."

  The lanterns in the room burned down, a soft crackle now and then as a bug landed on the hot glass. Marked candles ticked down the time mark by mark. Finally, I sighed. "Why don't we just flip a coin?"

  "You've got to be kidding," Bastion said.

  "Am I wrong in thinking no one wants to choose death? No? Then it's a fifty-fifty divide between the other two. We flip the coin and see what happens. We have to choose one. Does anyone have a better idea?"

  No one spoke up. I raised an eyebrow at Bastion.

  "Alright," he said. "Fine. Let's flip it. Heads we choose life. Tails we choose freedom."

  He tossed the coin into the air. It arced through the air and flipped end over end until it landed on the ground between us. "Heads," I said. "Life it is."

  A few groans ran through the raid group, but no one voiced dissent.

  "LeeRoy, want to do the honors and open the chest?"

  "You got it," she said.

  I watched LeeRoy reach for the chest, her hand on the latch. My own words echoed in my head. "This entire room is based on trickery." Something about the choice seemed too easy. Too simple.

  LeeRoy flipped the latch, and the chest lunged forward and sank a row of razor-sharp teeth into her arm. LeeRoy shouted in pain and drove her sword into the wood, but the attack proved ineffective.

  I realized then that "life" didn't mean for us. It meant for the chest itself.

  "It's a Mimic," I shouted. "Take it down! Bastion, focus your heals on LeeRoy."

  A burst of golden light flooded over the Blade Guardian. Her HP hovered at just 25% and decreased by the second, but Bastion's spell leveled it off. Jenkins sprang forward and drove his sword into the chest and buried the blade to the hilt. Silver light rushed up the blade and flowed into LeeRoy. Her HP rose to 35%, then 45%. Jenkins struck blow after blow on the Mimic until the creature shuddered and released its grip on LeeRoy's arm.

  "Stupid chest," Jenkins muttered. "LeeRoy, you alright?"

  LeeRoy winced and flexed her arm. "I'm alive. Alright might be a bit of a stretch."

  "Guys, hate to break up this lovely reunion, but the Mimic is still alive," I said. It crouched in the corner and hissed like an angry cat, a set of small legs carrying it across the floor. The movement would almost be comical if it weren't so dangerous.

  "What are Mimics weak against?" Evey asked.

  "No idea," I said. "It varies between games. In this one, I have no idea."

  "Only way to find out is to try then." She whispered to her bow and nocked three arrows, then released them all at once into the Mimic. Its HP lowered by a hair. She looked nonplussed. "Not nature magic, then."

  I loaded two Desert Bullet shells into my pistols and fired. The Mimic shrugged off the flames as easily as a fly.

  "I think you just pissed it off," Bastion said.

  "Oh, shut up." I turned to the raid. "Any of you want to try your hand? Nature magic and flames don't work."

  The Mimic screeched in pain, and I turned just in time to see Line plant another dagger into the creature. It scuttled toward the entrance of the room in an attempt to escape, but fell under a bombardment of attacks. When the smoke cleared from the half-dozen spells that slammed into the monster, it had crumpled to a heap on the ground--and spilled out a bevy of gold, jewels, and a single key.

  "Seems like it's weak to poison," Line said. "Or that opened it up to damage from other attacks. Didn't I say you were happy to have me along?"

  I just rolled my eyes.

  "Well done, little onesss," Nachea said. "You have done well."

  "Are we free to go?" I asked. If the spider wanted to attack us, I would rather it be at a time when everyone already had their weapons drawn.

  "You have sssolved the riddle and obtained the treasssure. Take your leave."

  "Thank you," I said. "Let's go. No point hanging around here."

  The raid gathered up the dropped loot, and then Rune turned and threw me the key. Its purpose seemed obvious: the room across the hall with the giant lock.

  I led the raid forward through the door. When the last person exited the room, the d
oor slammed shut behind us and vanished, replaced by a solid wall. Bastion knocked on the wall. "Sounds solid. I guess they didn't want us to go back in there."

  "Is everyone okay?" I asked.

  "A bit shaken up. I'd run into those things in tabletop games. Never thought I'd see one in here," LeeRoy said. She flexed his arm again. "Seems like it still works alright."

  I glanced at her HP gauge. LeeRoy had not yet recovered all her HP, but now that we had left combat her natural regeneration had kicked in. "Are you alright to tank whatever lies on the other side of this lock?"

  Her eyes lit up. "I'm more than alright. Bring it on."

  Good to see she still had plenty of fight left in her. "What about everyone else?"

  "We're ready to go," Evey said. She held her bow loosely, but I had seen her nock and arrow and fire in the blink of an eye.

  I nodded turned the key. The door groaned on its hinges, shuddered, and opened inward.

  The shocked faces of two dozen men, women, and children stared back at us.

  I blinked in surprise. The men stood and advanced toward us, their gazes wary. They peered around our group and into the hallway, their eyes widening at the marks of battle. The man in front, older than the rest, with a frazzled brown beard that reached halfway down his chest, turned to us. "You killed the monsters?"

  "We did," I said. "The way out is clear. There are more adventurers outside the entrance to keep the road clear."

  The people inside cheered. Some hugged each other. Two of the children flung themselves at Evey's legs and held tight, and she just looked up in bewilderment. The older man turned to me once more. "Thank you," he said. "Thank you. We didn't think we would ever escape."

  "How long have you been here?" I asked.

  "Since the corruption hit the airship landing. We took shelter in this room when the first waves of monsters attacked, but something locked us inside. We tried everything to get the door to open. Even made a battering ram. It wouldn't move." He looked back at the people, all gathered in a small crowd, eyes locked on the door. "'Tis a good thing this was the storeroom, or we would have starved."