Eden's Gate: The Scourge: A LitRPG Adventure

by Edward Brody

  Only one of our horses had survived it all, which Aaron had managed to lead away to a safe place before dismissing it to the Otherworld. He died trying to save the horses and his crafting stations—twice in fact—which pissed him off enough that he started engaging more actively in the fighting.

  Over the course of three days, the goblin’s fire arrows and constant Scourge attacks had razed the forest immediately in front of our village and all the way out to the Freelands. The trees of Edgewood burned surprisingly hot and fast, so much that we were unable to control the fires—certainly not with the constant attacks. Gerard did what he could to help prevent the flames from spreading deeper into the forest, but he couldn’t quash it all.

  Only burnt foliage, stumps, charcoal, and blackened trees on their last legs remained in the damaged area, so if it weren’t for the gradual hills of the terrain around us, we might’ve been able to see all the way into the Freelands from the center of our village.

  We had been fighting the Scourge for what seemed like hours that day, but the flooding of enemies into the forest—or what was left of it—only seemed to be getting worse. It had started with mostly goblins when the attacks began days earlier but had grown to include more larger goblins, called giga-goblins upon inspection, which were nearly the size of orcs, but still just as unsophisticated as regular-sized goblins.

  Strangely only rare, stray orcs joined in on the attacks, and their behavior was timid and less aggressive than expected each time. They seemed like they were scouts of some sort from their behavior, and I figured they were looking for the right moment to send in their stronger troops.

  An arrow sped past me and thumped into the head of a normal-sized goblin that was running in my direction, downing and killing it instantly.

  Another stream of Gerard’s magic—this time boiling, steamy water from a fire and water magic combination—flew over some recently dead goblins and struck two giga-goblins who had just entered the clearing. Both flailed, twisted, and growled loudly as they struggled against the attack.

  Everyone around me—my guild and our guards—was engaged in battle, and while we had yet to suffer any casualties on our side that day, there had been several injuries that required bandages and healing. It was our hardest day of fighting thus far, and we were getting worn down slowly and getting tired. I knew that our village was on the verge of completely falling if the attacks didn’t end soon.

  “For Ergoth!” a voice hollered—a phrase I had heard several times since returning to Edgewood—something that now made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

  I turned to the sound, and five more giga-goblins wielding scimitars, maces, and axes, ran straight for us. Behind them were another two or three regular-sized goblins.

  Fire Curtain, I thought, trying to raise a wall of fire in front of the attackers. As the thought faded away and no fire appeared, I glanced to my status bars and to the message in my periphery.

  Insufficient mana to cast this spell!

  I reached into my unburdening bag, searching for a mana potion that I was pretty sure I didn’t have.

  “Shit,” I cursed. It wasn’t the first time I had run out of mana since the Scourge initiated their attacks, but there had been at least a few minutes of downtime between waves to allow everyone to meditate and replenish our stat pools. Now, they were swarming in too fast.

  I held out my staff—one of many I had burned through the past few days—and tried to use an on-cast effect instead.

  No charges left!

  Another one depleted, I thought as I gritted my teeth. Total mana depletion couldn’t have come at a worse time.

  I gripped my staff with both hands in preparation for a physical encounter, but as I watched the muscles of the approaching giga-goblins flex under their patchwork of cloth armor, I knew that my physical staff skills alone would likely not be enough.

  I took two steps forward to where a dead goblin lay, kneeled, and pulled its weapon from its hands.

  You’ve received: Chipped Iron Scimitar. 6-12 Attack Damage. Requires 12 Strength. Requires 12 Dexterity. Durability: 5/10. Quality: Poor. Rarity: Common. Weight: 2.1 kg

  My skills with staves had improved dramatically with all the constant goblin fighting, but it still didn’t match my ability with a sword.

  There was no time for me to re-fasten my staff, and with it being out of charges, it served me little purpose in the future. I dropped it to the ground as the first giga-goblin approached, and when in range, I spun, and slashed it with a whirl of the looted sword.

  The spinning attack wasn’t just for show, but also so I could get a glimpse of what was happening around me.

  Keysia was unleashing lightning onto a small pack of goblins.

  Jeremy and Sung were each fighting giga-goblins.

  Jax and the dark elves were lobbing arrows in every direction.

  Gerard was kneeling as if he had been injured, while Rina was trying to heal him.

  Trynzen was stabbing a goblin that appeared to have been long dead.

  I wanted to yell for assistance, but with everyone occupied, I’d have to do my best on my own. Our home had basically become a war zone, and I knew that my soldiers would rush to help me when they had a chance.

  The giga-goblin’s blood splattered onto my robe from the slash of my sword, and as it attempted to counter with its mace, I ducked, stepped behind it, and swung the scimitar at another giga-goblin’s feet.

  I managed to catch one of the giga-goblin’s ankles full-on, severing its foot with a single blow. It stumbled, dropped its sword, and started screaming before it could cause any sort of damage.

  If I had mana, I probably would’ve held my hand out and shot a Fireblast or Arcane Missile at one of the other goblins nearby. And it may have been my usual ability to use magic that had made me a little more confident than I should’ve been. Without spellcasting, I was significantly weaker than normal.

  I looked up and turned, planning to launch a flurry of attacks on the other giga-goblins, but before I could make my next move, I felt hard, sharp, metal spikes pierce deep into my shoulder.

  I yelled out at the pain but did my best to try to ignore it, knowing that too much hesitation would lead to my death.

  But even my quick, two-second waver was enough to muddle my attempt at taking on multiple enemies at once.

  I felt a hard slash across my back; one of the injured giga-goblins had apparently recovered, or an attacker I hadn’t accounted for had closed in without me noticing. As my back arched away from the sting, another giga-goblin stepped forward and swung at me wildly and sloppily with its sword, connecting the side of my face with both its knuckle and sword hilt instead of its blade.

  An involuntary groan exited my mouth as I did my best to hold in my reaction. And while I had a much higher willpower stat than when I had first entered the game, the three quick subsequent attacks were too painful and debilitating to be ignored.

  I stumbled and swayed, but refusing to give up, I spun and swung the mediocre sword manically. It was the real-life equivalent to ‘button mashing’ for my life.

  The sword whished and whooshed around me, catching one goblin in the arm, but then nothing but air. My surroundings were mostly a blur before I heard the whizz of something fly past my head, a loud thump, and a giga-goblin groaning loudly near the ground.

  A wild swing of mine caught the shoulder of another giga-goblin, more by luck than any sort of skill. It grunted and dropped its weapon, but I missed a follow-up attack when I dizzily stepped forward and made a sloppy yet deliberate slash.

  That giga-goblin seemed to momentarily freeze in place, and its eyes went wide in confusion before an arrow slammed into the side of its neck. Blood oozed out of its mouth as it fell to its knees and reached for the shaft protruding below its ear.

  I winced and blinked as I started to regain some clarity. When I turned, I realized the other goblins near me were intermittently being stunned, as small shards of magic were fallin
g onto them from the sky. Rina seemed to have focused her attention away from Gerard to help me, and one of our guards had freed up his attention and was sending arrows my way.

  Thankfully, my soldiers were looking out for me.

  You are bleeding and require medical attention. Bleeding is a damage-over-time effect.

  I winced, and a quick glance to my status bars showed me sitting at 20% health. I needed to heal and stop the bleeding, but there was no time for that in the middle of such a heated battle. But now with a guard and Rina helping, my odds of survival had increased. Being a healer, Rina would be able to patch me up much faster than I could myself if we could manage to take out the goblins first.

  I growled like a madman as I rushed towards our enemies and thrust my sword into the chest of one of the stunned giga-goblins, turned, and slit the throat of another. I yanked the sword back before hammering it down hard into the head of an injured goblin, then hacked and slashed at the other goblins that were struggling or stunned nearby.

  As I was about to swing my sword at the last living goblin in reach—the one with the now severed foot—an arrow shot into its mouth and came clean out the other side, landing near my feet.

  The goblin tilted its head back, made a gagging noise, and fell to the ground as its eyes rolled into the back of its head.

  You have gained 7000 XP!

  I took a deep breath and looked down to my hands. They were covered in blood, and while it was difficult to tell exactly how much blood was soaked into my battered, muddy robe, it was growing heavy and uncomfortable from the weight of it all.

  You are bleeding and require medical attention. Bleeding is a damage-over-time effect.

  I needed to heal. I needed to bandage myself and rest. But those thoughts were pushed aside as I heard the sound of steel smashing against steel.

  I looked back up and saw that Jax had focused his attention to a large group of axe-wielding goblins, and Rina had run over to Keysia who was in a kneeling position, possibly hurt.

  A louder clang diverted my attention, and in the distance, I saw Ozzy slam his hammer into the shield of one of two giga-goblins he was fighting. The other one struck back, connecting with Ozzy’s shield, but almost knocking him off his feet from the force for the blow. His face was covered in splatters of red and greyish blood.

  “For Ergoth!” a loud gurgled voice called out.

  I spun in the direction of the sound—the direction where our forest had been razed— and saw a huge horde of Scourge approaching. Ten, maybe fifteen giga-goblins, running side by side with twenty or so regular-sized goblins.

  You are bleeding and require medical attention. Bleeding is a damage-over-time effect.

  I winced again as my health grew closer to running out, and another wave of dizziness crept over me. Worse, I felt a sinking sensation about the situation we were in.

  I needed to get away for a moment to heal—others needed to too. And the new mob of Scourge approaching was almost certainly too much for us to handle in our current condition. It was possible that we could survive if we took them head on, but there would definitely be casualties and no guarantee that we could finish them off before a new wave attacked.

  As leader of Unity, I needed to do something. Retreat? I wondered. Should we leave what’s left of our home—leave everything we had worked so hard for—to be looted and burned by the Scourge? And retreat to where? Will we be able to retreat after fighting for so long? Surely, not everyone will have the stamina to run away. Should I risk summoning Sora to help?

  I only had seconds to decide before we were possibly overwhelmed.

  “Fuck…” I cursed again as the attackers closed in.

  I took a couple steps backward and was about to yell ‘Retreat!’ when a flurry of arrows pierced through the still-standing portion of our forest and found their mark on the incoming goblins. I paused, unsure if we had guards out of position who had returned. Some of the goblins were downed, and the ones who weren’t hit by the arrows slowed and advanced more cautiously, obviously alarmed by the unexpected attack.

  More arrows flew past, and bursting through bushes and branches, I saw ten elves riding furiously toward the Scourge.

  They weren’t dark elves like I would’ve expected to see in Edgewood forest, but High Elves. One sat atop a large, cream-speckled great cat with another passenger on the back, bow drawn. Four white horses were behind them, each carrying two High Elves wielding bows.

  “Forward, elves! Attack!” the foremost elf on the great cat yelled as they continued ahead, firing arrows as expertly as Jax.

  I grinned at our good fortune, but my grin immediately turned to a wince as another wave of pain coursed through me.

  You are bleeding and require medical attention. Bleeding is a damage-over-time effect.

  I fell to one knee and looked up to see that my health had fallen below 10%.

  A surge of calming energy entered me, and my health bar shot up, making me feel considerably better in an instant.

  “Are you okay, Gunnar?!” Rina yelled, as she slid through the mud and kneeled beside me.

  I started to nod my head ‘yes’ and stand, but I quickly felt her small hand push my shoulder down.

  “Stay put,” she ordered, ducking her head a bit and glancing up and out of the corner of her eyes. “You’re covered in blood, and… those arrows. One of them could hit you.”

  I nodded and swallowed as I followed her instruction. “Most of the blood isn’t mine.”

  Rina ignored my comment as she pulled a couple bandages from her bag and immediately started dressing my wounds. She intermittently looked up and around, making sure we weren’t in any immediate danger. Thankfully, the nearby Scourge were all engaged, and the newcomers were doing a good job pushing them back.

  “Who are they?” Rina asked as she eyed the High Elves, all of whom had now dismounted and were fighting with a combination of their swords and bows.

  “High Elves as far as I can tell,” I replied.

  “I know that, but I thought the High Elves hated Edgewood?” Rina said in a questioning tone.

  I nodded. “They do… Or rather they hate dark elves. And well…” I shrugged. “You know.” I shook my head. “Whatever the case, we should thank them, because we’d be toast now if it weren’t for them.”

  Rina nodded in agreement. “I only have enough mana for a couple more heals.”

  I swallowed again. “Do your best. Try to find a safe spot to meditate if you can.”

  An arrow punched into the ground nearby, causing us both to jerk away anxiously.

  Rina sighed as she turned away from the arrow. “It would be a little hard to bring myself to a peaceful state with things this out of control.”

  “Just don’t die,” I ordered. “If things get ugly, run. We may need you to resurrect someone again.”

  Rina sighed unconfidently. “I’ll try my best.”

  I watched in awe as the High Elves dispatched half of the attackers, and when Ozzy freed himself up, he used his Intimidating Shout to draw most of the other Scourge his way.

  With Ozzy’s control, and the combined strength of Unity and all the elves, the tide of the battle quickly shifted in our favor.

  When my wounds were bandaged, I rushed back into the fray and helped dispatch the last few goblins in and around our camp, finally giving us all a chance to breathe.

  You have gained 10,500 XP!

  The guild was practically limping back to the center of our camp when all was said and done, either from exhaustion or injuries. But, impressively, we had gotten away with only one casualty—a dark elf guard who had just come on board to replace a casualty from the previous day: another dark elf who had remained dead too long to resurrect.

  “I’ll take care of him once I have some mana,” Rina said when she saw the body.

  The door to Aaron’s home cracked open, and Aaron poked his head out. “Is that all of ‘em?”

  I raised my eyebrows to him. “You’ve been h
iding inside the whole time?”

  Aaron stepped out and shook his head. “Not the whole time. But I’m still way lower level than you guys. When things got ugly, it was either I get the fuck out of the way or die.”

  I scowled in disappointment but gave him a subsequent nod of understanding. He had been quite active in the fighting before the giga-goblins started showing up, but I supposed it would have been more trouble if he had gotten himself killed again.

  “Everyone rest up and meditate!” I yelled loudly. “Be prepared for another wave!”

  “Who’s the leader here?” a voice asked from behind.

  I turned to see the apparent head High Elf stroll towards me with his great cat—the other nine elves right behind him. They were all tall and slender, with long, light blonde hair and smooth, young-looking skin. The leader, however, was a bit more muscular than the others with a chunk of his top right ear missing, as if it had been injured by a sword and it never fully healed. But other than that, he still had the same regal, flawless features that all High Elves seemed to share.

  “That would be me,” I said. “Who are you? And um…” I cleared my throat before giving him a chance to answer. “Thank you for your help, by the way.”

  The High Elf smirked and narrowed his eyes. “We’re here to help by order of Queen Faranni of Mist Vale.”

  I took a deep breath and raised my chin as I remembered the Queen granting Edgewood ten or eleven guards to help prevent any retribution from the Dark Hand. “I didn’t expect you’d arrive so soon,” I said. “Not with all the fighting going on.”

  “Well, we’re here,” the High Elf replied. “With the Scourge attacking, the Queen ordered us to come as soon as possible. A bit foolish if you ask me. We should have all of our forces defending the Vale.”