Scourge of Souls: The Realms Book Four: (An Epic LitRPG Series)

by C. M. Carney

  “Do none of you guys know what get some rest means?” Lex grumbled.

  “More focus, less stupidity,” Gryph said, feeling like a broken record. “If we are in an active Telepathic Bond when you cast Commune, will we see what you see?”

  “Only one way to find out,” Lex said, and he started the motions to cast Commune. Gryph grabbed his hands, arresting the casting before the mana could build up.

  “We don’t know the question yet,” Gryph hissed through closed teeth.

  “Oh, yeah. Right. Sorry.”

  They debated for several minutes, but finally decided on an approach. Lex cast Commune as Gryph willed Telepathic Bond to strengthen.

  The world slowed and then stopped. A foggy haze rolled across the room, like an early morning fog over a lake. The room grew distant as those not a part of the Telepathic Bond were shrouded from view. A shape parted the mists and floated towards them.

  The being that floated towards them was not the simple cube Lex had described, but a pair of dull gold cubes, one on top of the other, connected by some kind of gear shaped junction. The top cube looked a lot like Rubik, complete with two eyes, one a perfect match for Lex’s own. A pair of spindly, almost rubbery arms extended outwards from the sides of the box. The bottom of the creature was another cube that bore another set of spindly arms.

  The creature floated up to Lex and stared through its massive, unblinking eyes.

  “Hey, Rubik. I’m diggin’ the new look,” Lex said He used Analyze.

  DuoQuadrata.

  Level 12 H: 218/S: 354/M: 223/SP: 0

  DuoQuadrata occupy the second lowest echelon in the hierarchies of the Realm of Order. They are simple dual cube shaped creatures whose function is the maintenance and repair of the mechanisms that power the Realm of Order.

  Strengths: Order Magic. Immunities: Mental Attacks Weaknesses: Chaos.

  It appears to be the same entity you described, only evolved, Ovrym sent from behind Lex.

  Yes, he has Lex’s beautiful eye, Errat sent.

  Lex snapped his head around to stare at the warborn’s spectral form. “You sure you don’t still have a bit of Seraphine in you?” It appeared that the bond allowed the others to experience Commune, but they could not speak aloud or, as Lex learned when he tried to punch Errat, be touched.

  Can we get on with this please? Gryph sent.

  “Fine, fine.” Lex turned and faced the DuoQuadrata again. “Hey Rubik, I have a question for you, but please don’t rip my eye from my skull this time.”

  The dual cubed creature did not respond, staring unblinkingly at Lex.

  “Okay then, here goes nuthin’.” Lex clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “How can we gain access to Harlan’s Tower?”

  FOLD THE UNFOLDABLE MANIFOLD the creature said, not aloud but inside all of their heads. Then it turned and floated away.

  “What!” Lex yelled after it. He tried to run after the creature, ready to kick it where its crotch wasn’t, but even though he felt himself moving, he got no closer to the vexing creature.

  Lex, stop! Gryph sent though the link. Lex stopped running and turned to see the others toppling head over heels as if his mad dash was clumsily tugging them behind him on invisible tethers. When Lex stopped running the other’s erratic forward motion did as well. Gryph and Ovrym both landed on their feet while Vonn looked queasy and Errat bore the grin of a kid desperate to get back on a tilt-a-whirl at a suspect carnival.

  “What the hell was that?” Lex raged as the others regained their feet.

  Our answer, Vonn sent, incorporeal hands leaning on incorporeal hips as he tried to regain his composure.

  “Well it was a shitty answer,” Lex roared as the mists pulled back and time started again. “How can you fold the unfoldable? And what the hell is a manifold?”

  “I’ll simplify it for you as best I can,” Vonn said, still sounding queasy. “Basically a manifold is a conjunction of multiple points of reality behaving as one, but shifted.“

  “What?” Lex said, throwing his hands in the air.

  “Think of it as one of those puzzles where you fold paper until it reveals another form,” Vonn said. “Only instead of paper, we use it to alter the energetic matrix of the tower itself, in effect creating a door where none exists.”

  Lex looked at him blankly for several moments. “Are you saying we need to origami the fricking tower?”

  “Yes,” Vonn said. “See, you get it.”

  50

  Gryph was sure he did not ‘get it.’ As best he understood, Order Magic was the closest thing in the Realms to advanced mathematics, and when Gryph had been Finn, his knowledge in that arena had maxed out with a C+ in high school calculus. Yet Vonn not only seemed to understand what Rubik had revealed, he seemed positively giddy to put it into action. That left Gryph with the job of getting them to the tower unseen and then buying Vonn enough time to work his manifold magic.

  All that stood in the way was a small army of chaos worshipping criminals.

  The Vex had entered the town in force a few days ago. That was right after Nahrman, using the information provided to him by Lex, had dismantled the entirety of Grimslee’s rival organization.

  “I was close to getting the Mayor too, when the Vex arrived and bolstered the crooked harpy’s power position,” Nahrman grumbled. “She conjured up flimsy evidence and convicted me of corruption and tossed me into the same cell block as Grimslee. I imagine she found the irony amusing. A day later Sean joined us.”

  The Vex caught Sean trying to break into the tower. He’d been in town for a few days watching and waiting for the Vex to give him an opportunity to get close. “But they never did. I was growing desperate. I’m relatively certain that Aluran hadn't tracked me here, but it was only a matter of time before he did. Plus, I’m not great at waiting.”

  “So, you got caught cuz you got bored?” Lex asked. Sean hung his head in shame and nodded. Lex turned to Gryph. “You see? This is where I come from, now we know why I’m a bold risk taker.”

  “You’re an idiot who doesn’t think things through, has zero patience and very little concern for how your actions will ripple into the future or who they’ll impact,” Ovrym said.

  “See, he gets it.” Lex clapped Ovrym on the back. “We’re in sync.”

  “None of this helps us with our current predicament,” Gryph said. “We need to get close enough to touch the tower without the Vex seeing us and then we have to secure our position long enough for Vonn to get us inside. How do we do that?”

  “You could fly to the top like a raven,” Furrick suggested.

  “Great plan kid, with just one minor problem, none of us can fly. Wait, can anyone fly?” Lex asked, snark in his tone and looked around with all the smugness of a man who already knew the answer to his query. Nobody could. “Can anyone transform into a bird, or summon a flying carpet or call down the stairway to heaven?” Again, nobody could. Lex was about to ask another rhetorical question, but Gryph’s glare cut him off.

  The group went silent as they considered. The only sound was a slow, rhythmic dripping of water from the well entrance. The sound was hypnotic, almost meditative and Gryph found his eyes drawn to the dripping water. An idea tugged at him from the deepest recesses of his mind and he drew it to the surface. He smiled.

  “What?” Lex asked.

  “We don’t go up, we go down.” Nods of understanding and appreciation moved through the group. Gryph looked at Grimslee. “And you’re gonna guide us.”

  Lex scowled and looked down at his boots. “Oh man, I just got all the crap off my boots.”

  It took the group nearly an hour to make their way through the hidden world under the streets. Twice they had to alter their routes when they came upon Vex patrols. This intense, and uncharacteristic focus of the Vex made Vonn nervous.

  “The Vex’s dedication to chaotic principles has always been their greatest power and their greatest weakness, but what they lack in cohesion they’ve always ma
de up for in numbers.”

  “Why would anyone serve such a cause?” Ovrym asked, the disgust in his voice plain.

  “The Vex recruit from the dregs of society, the poor, the outcast, the mad. Those who have nowhere else to go.” Grimslee lacked his normally smug expression. “They will always have recruits as long as the rich and powerful hoard more than their share.”

  “So you’re some kinda social justice warrior now?” Lex muttered.

  “No, he is a parasite and an opportunist,” Nahrman said. “But that does not mean his words lack for truth.”

  “You think their arrival is related to Harlan’s disappearance,” Gryph said to Vonn.

  “Yes, and the Templar’s inability to contact the Circle. I fear that Harlan’s Watch is not the only town that has seen an increase in Vex activity. If they gain access to the tower, then it is only a matter of time before it falls. And that would be … bad.”

  “So it’s a good thing they know nothing about folding unfoldable manifolds,” Lex said.

  “But chaos is change. That state of affairs is unlikely to last.” Vonn looked directly into Gryph’s eyes.

  “Are you suggesting we give up our quest to save Brynn? Take on the Vex instead?” Gryph asked, his jaw tightening.

  “No.” The half-elf said emphatically. "The Source has sent me down this path. It has placed me where I need to be even if I cannot yet understand why. We find your sister. I just fear that something else is happening here, something we cannot yet see."

  Gryph clasped Vonn on the shoulder. “When the time comes, we will tackle it together.” Vonn nodded his appreciation. They walked the rest of the way in silence, eventually turning a corner to emerge in a large natural cavern with an underground lake.

  At the lake’s far side a wall of white crystal shimmered with a dull internal light. The root of Harlan’s Tower dug further into the earth, providing a foundation for the incredible weight and height of the structure.

  “We need to get over there?” Lex asked, warily eying the dark, still water of the lake. “Cuz that lake definitely has creepy tentacle monsters lurking in its inky depths.”

  “He’s right. I’ve seen the same movie,” Sean said, nervously.

  Gryph glared at them and they went silent. “Errat, do you sense anything?”

  The warborn walked to the edge of the lake and knelt. He closed his eyes and eased his hand into the edge of the water, causing ripples to expand across the glassine water. Lex flinched and Sean grabbed the NPC’s arm. Several heartbeats passed before Errat stood. “There are many fish, several reptiles and…” he looked directly at Sean and Lex, his eyes wide, as if in fear, “… much algae.”

  “Algae?” Lex asked. “Oh, you bastard.”

  “Ha, Errat make funny joke.” He turned to Gryph. “Errat senses nothing in the water that poses any danger. However, the lake is very deep.”

  Gryph considered for a moment and turned to Vonn. “How long will you need to get us in?”

  Vonn shrugged. “Hard to tell. It isn't like I’ve ever done this before.”

  “What is your best estimate then?” Ovrym asked.

  Vonn shrugged causing Gryph to scowl. He then turned to Nahrman. “You look strong, think you can make your way back through the tunnels burdened?”

  Nahrman grinned. “I think I can manage.”

  “Hey, wait,” Grimslee protested, his eyes going wide as comprehension filled him. He had no time to react before Gryph’s fist impacted his jaw. He fell backwards onto the hard ground, unconscious.

  51

  The group looked down upon Grimslee’s unconscious form, each privately praising Gryph’s one punch knockout.

  “Aw man, I wanted to do that,” Lex said with a pout.

  Ovrym bound the downed man’s hands and Errat hefted him onto Nahrman’s shoulder. Gryph knelt next to Furrick who frowned. “You want me to go with him, don’t you?”

  “It's for your own good kid. Go take care of your sister.” Gryph held his hand out, and the kid shook it. Gryph slipped the cursed ring off and flipped it up. Furrick caught it and stashed it in the folds of his jerkin. Then he looked at Gryph.

  “It was never cursed, was it?”

  “No,” Gryph said with a sly grin. “Sorry about that.”

  “I was pretty sure it wasn’t, but I had fun adventuring with you guys. Maybe we can do it again sometime?”

  “Sure thing, kid.”

  Furrick stood next to Nahrman and the gruff ex-lawman nodded. “You boys take care of yourself.”

  “You too Constable,” Gryph said. The gang watched as man and boy disappeared down the tunnel and then turned to Gryph. The player’s hands moved in a fluid motion and mana trickled down his arms like chill, but soothing water. He held the spell, adding the entire Adventure Party to the casting. A moment later five spheres of air formed around their heads. Gryph cast the spell again to give Sean, who wasn’t a member of the Adventure Party, his own bubble of regenerating fresh air.

  You have mass cast the Air Magic spell Halo of Air.

  As the leader of an Adventure Party you can provide Halo of Air to those under your command for an additional mana cost of 1.25 spell cost per person.

  Total Mana Cost: 144 (30 + (4 x 37.5)) (.80)

  Duration: 26 minutes (5+ 1 per level of Air Magic Mastery.)

  Lex laughed as the prompt explaining the spell pushed into his mind. He turned and ran towards the water, dove in and submerged his head. The others looked to Gryph, some in disbelief, others in unkind judgement. Gryph simply shrugged.

  A water muffled roar reached their ears. “Mrrffmghh iddd, grrfpphg”

  Lex, you’re underwater, we can’t hear you, Gryph sent.

  Oh, right. Sorry. I said, this is great.

  Uh, oh. Errat sent.

  Uh, oh what? Lex’s panicked mental voice asked through the link.

  Errat grinned at Gryph and nodded at the coil of Empyrean Spider Silk Rope at the player’s waist. An evil smile crossed Gryph’s face and while he knew he shouldn’t be wasting time with such stupidity, he tossed the rope towards the water and cast Animate Rope. He just couldn’t help himself.

  Errat may have been wrong when I said there were no tentacle monsters in this lake. The warborn struggled to make sure that none of the mirth on his face pushed through the mental link. Something is approaching.

  What?!?! Came Lex’s desperate call.

  Gryph directed the rope to wrap around Lex’s ankle and the NPC burst from the water. A high-pitched scream exploded from his mouth as he lumbered, dripping wet, from the lake. He spun and raised his hands into a classic fisticuffs stance searching for his attacker, and then hid behind Gryph.

  “Holy … fornicating … ball bags!” Lex yelled through desperate, ragged gasps of air. “Fricking tentacle monster.”

  The group’s laughter erupted like an unleashed geyser. Even Ovrym was chuckling. Lex’s panicked eyes looked at them in disbelief. The rope slithered behind him and arched up like a cobra ready to strike. It eased in and tapped Lex on the shoulder.

  Lex screamed again and spun, swinging a wild fist at the rope, which easily evaded the clumsy attack. On seeing the rope wave at him, he turned and raged. “Oh, you bunch of bastards.”

  Errat laughed uncontrollably. It sounded like a dying water buffalo mating awkwardly with a beach ball, all gasps and wet squeaks. It was so horrid it caused the group to laugh even harder. A few moments later the laughter faded.

  “Errat make very hilarious joke.”

  “Yeah, you’re a regular Pauly Shore,” Lex grumbled.

  A few minutes later the entire group walked slowly along the bottom of the dark lake, protected by Gryph’s Ring of Minor Air Shield. The ring was one of the first items Gryph had acquired in the Realms and it had been the difference between life and death several times since. It created a sphere of solidified air that blocked any physical, and many magical attacks. Now he used it to hold back the tons of water pressure building as they walked
deeper.

  “Why didn’t you tell me we could stay dry?” Lex asked, picking at the crotch of his drenched clothes like a kid at a summer pool party.

  “Nobody told you to jump into the lake,” Gryph retorted.

  “If we had a fire mage here, I’m sure they could dry it up real quick,” Vonn said.

  “Shut up.”

  A few moments later they reached the wall of the tower. Gryph extended a tentative hand, caressing the crystal. The surface was smooth and faceted, and Gryph sensed the energy coursing inside. He stood aside and let Vonn get to work. The half-elf hovered a hand almost reverently above the crystal and then laid it flat on the surface. He closed his eyes and a subtle white aura grew around him. For a moment nothing happened, but then the fractal patterns hidden inside the crystalline structure shifted to the surface.

  What started as triangular shapes folded and morphed into pyramids, tetrahedrons and icosahedrons, and then collapsed in upon themselves to begin anew with a host of other geometric shapes, some recognizable, some with angles, edges and surfaces that Gryph’s mind could barely comprehend.

  The wall shimmered and pulsed and then snapped back to its original smooth surface. Vonn’s knees shook, and he fell. Errat caught him before he hit the wet sand of the lake bed. Sweat poured down the half-elf’s face, and he looked pale.

  “This is too great a task for me,” Vonn said, his chest heaving.

  “So we’re screwed?” Lex asked.

  “Not necessarily,” Vonn said. “I have an idea, but I’ll need all the stamina potions we can spare.”

  Gryph pulled two from his bag and Vonn downed them with greater ease than a beer chugging champion. He took two more from Ovrym and turned to the others. All told, Vonn drank ten of the green potions in less than 30 seconds. Each one would replenish his stamina by 2 points per second for two minutes, but they could not raise his stamina above its maximum.

  “Dude, you just chugged like ten magical Red Bulls,” Lex said impressed. "That has got to make your heart explode.”