Eden's Gate: The Scourge: A LitRPG Adventure

by Edward Brody

  I grinned and motioned for everyone to follow.

  We stopped at the mess hall where we had once gobbled down Aaron’s gravy-covered horse, but when I poked my head inside, I saw no sign of Jenzyn or Mylynzen. We wandered around a bit outside, passing by all the large, Barbarosian log and canvas homes, but still no sign of any familiar Barbaros.

  “Excuse me,” I asked a scruffy Barbaros, who was sitting outside a small building, polishing a metal bracer with a cloth. “Do you know of Jenzyn?”

  The Barbaros shook his head without looking up at me.

  “Mylynzen?” I asked.

  The Barbaros slowed his polishing movements, turned his head, and spit on the ground to his side. He looked up at me. “The Great Tamer?”

  I nodded.

  “What about ‘em?” the Barbaros asked.

  “We’re looking for him,” I said.

  “Best bet is to check the kennels.” He lifted his paw and extended a long claw towards a far corner of the city we had yet to explore.

  We navigated through the maze of log, tent-like buildings and eventually reached the northeastern most wall of the city, where there was a small market selling various types of cooked and uncooked meats—several that looked suspiciously similar to our horse meal. Right beside the market were rows of small cages stacked on top of each other, extending almost to the top of the wall. I counted about thirty of them total, but only four at the bottom had small animals inside.

  Standing near the cages were a couple of Barbarosian men, scooping a grainy substance out of a large bag with a bucket and transferring it into wooden bowls. I recognized one of them as a waiter who had helped serve the disgusting horse feast that Mylynzen arranged during our first trip to Barbarosia. Finally, a hot lead.

  The Barbaros seemed to recognize me and Sung right away and straightened to attention as we approached.

  “Hey, is Mylynzen or Jenzyn around?” I asked, offering no formal greeting.

  “Mylynzen rests after a long hunt,” the Barbaros spat.

  “And Jenzyn?” I probed.

  “Trynzen…?” I heard a soft voice say behind me.

  Trynzen jerked and turned just as I saw Jenzyn walking swiftly his way.

  “J…j…Jenzyn…” Trynzen stuttered.

  Jenzyn’s eyes lit up as she saw the leper Barbaros and threw her arms around his neck. Trynzen didn’t reciprocate and seemed to cower at the hug, but when she released her arms, Trynzen’s eyes said that, while frightened, he was happy to see her.

  “I can’t believe you’re back!” Jenzyn cried, scanning him up and down. She plucked a piece of debris from his fur. “You’re a lot skinnier though.” Her eyes lowered, and for a moment, I sensed something a bit sinister coming from her. “We’ll work on that too…”

  “Work…” Trynzen mumbled. He was motionless and much quieter than normal. It wasn’t quite the excitement I was expecting.

  “Nice to see you again, Jenzyn,” I said, trying to pull her attention my way.

  Jenzyn turned to me and smiled. She took a few quick strides closer and bowed graciously. “I knew you could do it. Thank you so much for returning him to his home.”

  “Home?” Trynzen muttered quietly as looked to the ground. “Trynzen home not Barbarosia… home with friend.” He seemed to be talking to himself more than us.

  You have completed the quest: #FreeTrynzen!

  You have gained 5,000 XP!

  I grinned at the alerts. “And the gold? If you had any idea what it took to free him, you’d double the reward.”

  Jenzyn chuckled. “You know I can’t do that, but I’ll pay you as agreed. Follow me…”

  “Wait…” Sung said. He was kneeling near the cages along the wall, looking at the small creatures at the bottom. “What are these?”

  “Oh,” Jenzyn said, turning on her heels. “Those are Great Beasts, just like Gunnar’s pet over there.” She moved to where Sung was kneeling and pointed towards a tiny, white-furred bear cub that looked like it was only a few weeks old. “This is a Great Bear we tamed a couple seasons ago… found him in an ice cave near Tillos.” She pointed towards both a bite-sized rhinoceros and a hippopotamus. “This is a Great Rhino and Great Hippo, both tamed nearby.” Lastly, she pointed towards a tiny ball of spikes, unmoving, at the end of the row. “This is the only Great Porcupine we’ve ever captured, but as you might imagine, he’s a bit difficult to travel with and impossible to ride, so he’s been caged up in town for some time.”

  “You sell them?” Sung asked.

  Jenzyn nodded. “To Barbaros, yes. We’re low on stock now, as you can see.” She motioned to the numerous empty cages. “Finding Great Beasts is becoming increasingly more difficult, even for Mylynzen.”

  “How much?” Sung asked.

  “It depends on the beast and who’s asking. For a weaker beast like what Mylynzen gave your friend, maybe 40 or 50,000 gold, depending on the market demand. The Great Bear here, however… You may be looking at three or four times that.”

  “So, they’re babies?” Sung asked. “They have to be raised?”

  Jenzyn shook her head. “Oh no… These are small because they’ve been given suppression pellets. They’re all mature Great Beasts, though I think they all may have some room to grow.”

  Sung smiled as he rose to his feet. “I’ll be back to buy one someday.”

  The Barbaros smirked. “You missed where I said we sell to Barbaros, right? We only trade Great Beasts with other races under special circumstances.”

  Sung looked down and stroked his chin. When he looked up, he made eye contact and spoke deliberately. “Is there anything I can do for you to get you to trade with me?”

  Jenzyn scanned Sung up and down. “Hmm… It’s not up to me, but… I have been looking for a truffle. A specific truffle that only grows in the Freelands. As you might imagine, I can’t go digging up random ground in human-controlled territory, but if you find me a Fragrant Yellowheart Truffle, I’ll talk to Mylynzen and see that he works something out with you.

  Sung’s eyes seemed to dart from left to right as if he were reading something invisible in front of him. After a couple seconds, he nodded. “I accept. I’ll find the truffle.”

  I snickered as I knew he had fished, and successfully found himself, a quest—a pretty awesome one too if it netted him a Great Beast.

  Jenzyn tilted her head in the direction that she was about to head for before starting off, and when we all followed her, she paused and turned to the orc holding the child. “Who is this?”

  I stepped close to Jenzyn and leaned into her ear. “Do you mind if she comes with us? I need to ask her some questions.”

  Jenzyn briefly showed a bit of her fangs to the orc before turning back to me. “Wouldn’t that be better suited for an inn?”

  I huffed. “It won’t take long, I’m sure.”

  Jenzyn scanned me up and down as if checking that I was really a human. “So, an orc? Your kind wishes to speak with an orc?”

  I nodded.

  Jenzyn hummed a bit as if thinking, flickered her eyebrows, and finally relaxed her tense shoulders. “Okay. I suppose it’s fine if you’re quick.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered.

  She flashed a fang again before turning to lead us away.

  We weaved almost all the way across the sprawling, unpaved city until we were near the southeastern corner of the outer walls. Though the layout of Barbarosia seemed mostly random, the area she led us to seemed more geared towards housing, with far fewer vendors and peddlers outside. Further, many of the buildings seemed built entirely of wood, rather than the wood and canvas combination that made up the buildings in the other parts of the city.

  We stopped in front of an unmarked, mid-sized, house. Jenzyn unlocked the wooden door, pushed it open and invited us inside. Trynzen was oddly silent, and his eyes were darting around apprehensively as he followed her through the entrance.

  “What about my horse?” Sung asked. “I can’t leave it out here o
r someone might try to… you know… eat it.”

  Jenzyn chuckled. “Don’t worry. No one will try to steal your horse from here.” She pointed towards a metal peg protruding from her home. “You can tie it to that. I guarantee it’ll still be there when you leave.”

  “Can Sora come inside?” I asked as I rubbed my hand across Sora’s head.

  “Sure,” she said. “If she can fit through the door.”

  When I stepped inside Jenzyn’s home, I was surprised to see that, unlike the other places I had been in Barbaros, Jenzyn’s home had wooden flooring inside. There was a table for four, a treasure chest, and some sort of crude furnace or fire pit that was fitted with a chimney to funnel smoke outside the home. Stretched across an empty part of the floor was a large brown and white animal skin, and hanging on the wall were several animal heads of various sizes. None of them seemed to be Great Beasts, but it was a reminder that Barbaros—or at least Jenzyn and her crew—were definitely hunters.

  “Wait just a moment,” Jenzyn said as she moved over to her treasure chest and began to unlock it.

  “Mind if we have a seat?” I asked.

  “Not at all. Sit anywhere,” Jenzyn replied.

  I turned to the orc and motioned towards one of the chairs at the table. “Please.”

  I sat across from the orc, and Sung leaned against a nearby wall. Trynzen oddly curled up in a fetal-like position in a corner, while Sora settled beside the table. It was quite weird to see Trynzen that way, but at the same time it was a blessing. I wanted a peaceful moment to chat with the orc, and when Tryn got excited, sometimes it was hard to calm him down.

  The baby let out a single, shallow cry but didn’t start bawling like it had before.

  As the mother looked down at her child, she asked, “What do you wish from me, human?”

  “I want to know what’s going on with the Scourge,” I said. “Why are you attacking the Freelands?”

  The orc’s breath grew heavy as she gazed at me, but after a few seconds, she said, “The Scourge have been at odds with humans since before I came into this world.”

  “You’re also attacking Edgewood. Why?” I continued, wanting to know if the assumptions Queen Faranni and the others had made about goblins just being stupid were true.

  The orc snarled. “I do not know of or care for such a place.”

  “It’s a small forest adjacent to the Freelands,” I explained.

  “I do not care for or know of such a place,” the orc repeated in a more agitated tone.

  I sighed. The orc’s answers made me wonder if my own questions were unreasonable. Of course, orcs were at odds with humans and other races. Aaron proved that when he had gotten killed multiple times just by running around in orc armor. It was proven even before that when the Fellblade was stolen, later triggering a small invasion and battle between Highcastle and a legion of orcs.

  But that first battle I witnessed had been different. Both the orcs and humans had sat idly while the commanders of both armies battled alone, which I viewed as a sign of respect from both sides. Rather than losing hundreds of men to war, they allowed two of their best to fight toe-to-toe to decide the outcome of the dispute.

  Darion had described the latest Scourge attack, however, as “political”, which meant it was more than just a scuffle between two races or Ergoth merely trying to retrieve his weapon. Political motives in any situation, in any world, were generally based around power and planning rather than random hatred.

  There was something more she wasn’t telling me.

  It was also strikingly odd that sitting in front of me was a female orc holding a child. Why would she bring a kid into the middle of a warzone? Surely, that would be counterproductive to any battle plans.

  “Can you tell me why you’re in the middle of this? I’ve never seen a…” I cleared my throat. “…female orc, but you were out there, unarmed, and with your kid.”

  The orc shifted so that she was holding the baby with one arm, reached for her waistband, and yanked out a small, hidden dagger. She twirled the dagger and slammed it on the table. “What makes you think I’m unarmed, human?”

  I jerked away and swallowed hard, realizing how easily she could’ve killed me on the ride over. “Well, you didn’t try to attack me, and you’re carrying a child. Why would you enter a war with a baby on your hip? And why haven’t I seen other female orcs fighting? I know there’s something you’re not telling me.”

  The orc’s eyes shifted away but quickly refocused on me. “You ask me to betray my own people. You have a lot of nerve, human.” A slight grin crept up the edge of the orc’s mouth but never fully formed.

  A loud chinking sound bounced off the walls as a heavy bag of coins hit the tabletop. Jenzyn had dropped my gold reward right in front of me.

  She stood over us and smirked. “It’s the nature of orcs,” she explained. “Female orcs are just as capable fighters as males, but orcs breed like flies and have a never-ending libido. As soon as an orc births a child, the men are already on top of her again, trying to fill her womb with another warrior.”

  The orc snarled angrily, showing her teeth, but made no effort to voice any disagreement.

  “It’s true,” Jenzyn said confidently, eyeing the orc. “You might as well tell them. It’s pretty much common knowledge anyway. It’s not like the females can’t or don’t want to fight. It’s just that most of the female orcs are pregnant or too busy raising their next commander, while the males are off fighting battles or fighting amongst each other. You’ll find very few orc ladies outside their communities for this reason. Not that it never happens. Those that can’t bear children will be out fighting toe to toe with the others.”

  “That doesn’t explain why I found her under a wagon,” I said as I rubbed my chin. “In fact, it just makes everything even more suspicious.”

  The orc remained silent and stared at us with an annoyed poker face.

  I sighed at the lack of response. “I don’t want to hurt your people. I just want to protect my village and my guild. Even if you’re just after the Freelands or Highcastle, your Scourge goblins have burned down most of our village.”

  “You’re not from Highcastle?” the orc questioned. “Not a Freelander?”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “We live independently outside the jurisdiction of Highcastle.” I wasn’t about to reveal that Edgewood was elven territory if she hadn’t picked up on that already.

  The orc looked at me with continued agitation, but her eyes softened the longer she stared. “How can you expect me to divulge to humans? You’ve helped me, but I am a—”

  “I just expect you to do me a favor like I did for you,” I interrupted. I looked down to the small child waving its tiny arms in the air. “I may be a human, but I saved your lives, so if you can help me save the lives of my people, I think that’s a pretty fair deal.”

  The orc snarled again, looked to the side, and pondered. Her face twisted a bit before glaring at me out of the corner of her eye and calmly saying, “Everything that’s been said thus far is true. The orcs and humans have been at odds, and Ergoth has been waiting for the right moment to attack. Now he’s finally making his move.”

  “Why now?” I asked, shaking my head. “And why is the whole army getting involved rather than just the commanders?”

  “The stakes are higher. This time, it’s serious,” the orc said coldly. “This is no battle. This is a war. A final war.”

  “What do you mean?”

  The orc waved her free hand over the table. “The Scourge will conquer Highcastle and the Freelands. That’s all you need to know. Victory is inevitable.”

  “What? No…” I said, rattling my head from side to side. “King Rutherford has already defended Highcastle from your fighters, and now they’re moving to clean up the Freelands. It might take a while, but—”

  “That was only the first stage of the attack,” the orc interrupted. “Highcastle cannot stop the Scourge.”

  �
�Why are you so confident of that?” Sung asked, suddenly seeming interested. He stepped forward so that he was leaning over one of the chairs.

  “For various reasons. But, like the Barbaros woman explained,” she said with a nod towards Jenzyn, “we breed often and over time have grown in numbers and power. Soon you will see the full force of the Scourge army.”

  I swallowed hard and looked at the dagger she had slammed into the table. I wasn’t sure whether she was bluffing, so I wanted to fish for more information. “How are you a part of this?”

  The orc lowered her eyes and went silent again. After a moment of thought, she looked up and moved her hand in a sweeping motion once more. “The Scourge is restless.” She took a deep breath. “Our only nearby trading partner is Barbarosia. It’s not enough to support our economy.” The orc glared at Jenzyn. “The Barbaros have been raising prices, knowing our growing need.”

  Jenzyn grinned shyly and looked away.

  “So, this is all about trade and feeding your people?” I asked.

  The orc’s eyes shifted slowly from side to side, and she looked down before whispering, “Reapers…”

  I leaned in, having trouble hearing what she said. “Reapers?”

  “And the Gilgaroth…” she said even quieter.

  I held up my hand. “Wait a minute. What did you just say? Gilga-what?”

  “Nothing,” the orc said softly and began to rise from her chair. “You know enough already. The Scourge will be triumphant. I can only recommend you travel far from Highcastle, if you want to live.”

  “Please,” I said, reaching out and grabbing her arm.

  The orc’s eyes narrowed as she stared at my hand.

  “Please,” I repeated again. “I need to know why. I risked my life to save you.”

  She paused and clenched her teeth, but after a moment lowered herself back down into the chair. She took a deep breath. “The Gilgaroth is a terrible Ancient Beast. During the War of a Hundred Years, powerful orcs used their magic to create a rift in the ground, forming what’s now known as the Cataclysm in the Wastelands. They weren’t able to kill Gilgaroth, but with the power of their magic and their own Ancient Beasts, they managed to weaken it enough to force it into the rift, sealing it in the depths below.”