Eden's Gate: The Scourge: A LitRPG Adventure

by Edward Brody

  The Gilgaroth suddenly shifted, and there was a loud boom as it pressed its one visible arm against the ground. Xurrak watched patiently while the orcs jumped to their feet. All but Xurrak stepped back several paces in fear.

  The ancient beast winced and pushed with all its might, causing several large stones above it to shift and fall down the side of the massive mountain, rolling past us and throwing up loads of dust. After a few seconds of pressing without much progress, the Gilgaroth relaxed, slammed its tail against the wall, and roared loudly, causing me to duck and place my fingers in my ears.

  The whole room rumbled, and several small rocks fell from above.

  “Settle down, Gilgaroth!” Xurrak yelled loudly with a smile. “You know very well you’re not going anywhere.”

  After a few seconds, the Gilgaroth shifted its head, moaned, and blinked its eyes several times as if it were thoroughly exhausted.

  Xurrak chuckled again. “It usually doesn’t get like that unless I make it.”

  Mordok's eyes narrowed. “You can control the Gilgaroth?”

  Xurrak shrugged. “Not necessarily control it, but I can light some magic under its ass to get it to thrash about and scream when I need it to. That’s how I will be restored. It’s the final aspect of how my fate is sealed.” He lifted his skeletal arm and wiggled his fingers as he rotated his arm on each side. “When the Gilgaroth triggered the eruption and started rumbling in here, the Shaman Council descended the Cataclysm to ensure the integrity of the seal, and that’s when they discovered me alive. That’s how I learned of Ergoth’s plans.”

  Xurrak lowered his chin, took a deep breath, and looked back up. “When I was King, my goal was to develop the Wastelands, reforge the alliances with the other races in Eden’s Gate, and lead our people to prosperity through peace and strength—not mindless wars. Not all orcs were fond of my ways and grew hungry for battle, hence why Ergoth gained support and wanted the throne for himself. He’s a barbaric warmonger, and the Shaman Council knows this as well. They were happy to see the true King still alive and have been conspiring with me since that day to restore my missing limbs and return me to my rightful place.”

  “How?” Mordok asked. “Your arm hints at necromancy.”

  “Yes, necromancy,” Xurrak said with a smirk. “Hoshgrim of the Shaman Council has mid-level necromancy skills and has acquired a spell that can restore missing limbs, albeit in this skeletal form. It’s a difficult spell with a low success rate at his level, so we’ve been trying again and again. It took many attempts for me to finally get my arm, and we’ve sacrificed many orcs in an effort to restore my leg.”

  The two orcs’ eyes narrowed.

  “So, you’re responsible for the sacrifices…” Rithnar muttered.

  Xurrak nodded. “It was the Shaman Council’s idea, actually. Necromantic limb restoration requires a freshly dead body of the same race to work. The Gilgaroth had already caused a stir, so the Council spun a tale for Ergoth—that the child sacrifices would calm the terrible beast. The ignorant fool bought the idea, of course. Every four dismembered limbs and a few special reagents is another chance at spell success.”

  “Why children?” Mordok said, shaking his head. “Necromancy doesn’t require children.”

  “Yes, why?” Rithnar demanded, clenching his fist. “How could you sacrifice our young?”

  Xurrak sighed. “As King, I must make hard choices for the good of the Scourge. I wish for us to gain peace with the other races, but our faction must remain strong and able to defend itself. A small child is easily replaced by another, but every death of a warrior orc is a loss that requires years to replace, to retrain. Our adults are far stronger and far more valuable than the young.”

  “That’s fucked,” I said, shaking my head.

  “What did you say, human?” Xurrak spat, homing in on me.

  “That’s fucked,” I said. “They’re your kids. You’re supposed to protect them at all costs.”

  “At all costs, you say? You would make a pathetic ruler, human.” Xurrak huffed and hobbled a step closer to me. “If you care so much for the lives of our orcs, you may join our cause. Surely, many more humans and orcs will die by Ergoth’s hand than by mine. A human alliance would do wonders for us orcs. If you’re here to stop Ergoth’s carnage, join me and help us establish peace with the other races.”

  You’ve received an alliance invitation from the faction: The Scourge

  Aligning with a faction can give faction specific perks and open hidden quests that are unavailable to non-faction members. Once you are a member of a faction, negative action against that faction can result in harsh consequences.

  You can side with as many factions as you want, but be careful of who you align with. If you align with two separate factions that enter a war or have conflicting goals, you may find yourself in a difficult situation!

  Do you wish to align with this faction?

  Accept/Decline

  I turned my head to the side as the invitation flashed in front of my vision. Xurrak’s proposition both enticed me and confused me at the same time. It was what I wanted—to end the war and prevent further battles in the Freelands. Hell, by the sounds of it, everything about the Scourge would change if Xurrak was sitting on the throne rather than Ergoth. Rithnar’s child could be returned to him, and there was a chance that peace between orcs and other races could be established, which would lessen the chances of attacks on the Freelands and Edgewood in the future.

  But it was an invitation to join the Scourge faction, which I already knew was a conflict of interest since I was already part of an elven faction. Would it matter in the grand scheme of things? I wondered. If there was a way for the orcs and the elves to find peace, surely, I’d be praised rather than shunned for it.

  Even as the answer seemed clear and I had reason to justify helping Xurrak, what I had seen in the room above the Gilgaroth’s seal still bothered me. Xurrak may have cared for his faction as a whole and wanted to position the Scourge in a way that my guild and I would also benefit, but he was also a sociopath. He betrayed his own people and murdered their children—not as a sacrifice to save the Scourge, but as a way to restore his limbs and retake the throne that he had lost.

  Name: King Xurrak

  Race: orc

  Level: 50

  Health/Mana/Stamina: 520/260/400

  Status: unknown

  You have reached level 10 in Inspect!

  I was surprised that I’d managed to inspect such a high level on my first try and, being that he was level 50, I wondered how high his level had been before he used his ‘Unyielding Sacrifice’ spell. Had he been level 80, and after sacrificing half of his stats gained another 10 levels since being in the Cataclysm? It didn’t matter, because either way he was still obviously dangerous at that level, and if my next move went wrong, I’d not only have him to contend with him, but the two orcs I had befriended might turn on me as well.

  I glanced to Rithnar out of the corner of my eye, who was still staring at Xurrak with a combination of confusion and contempt etched across his face. “Rithnar,” I said.

  Rithnar tilted his head to me and grunted.

  “You were willing to put your life on the line and fight Ergoth for your child, for the Scourge, right?”

  Rithnar nodded.

  “Were you now?” Xurrak asked. “So, you aspire to be king?”

  Before Rithnar could answer, I yelled out, “Mordok!”

  Mordok looked to me anxiously.

  “Who do you think would make a better king? A man…erm, an orc who’s willing to die for his children and the Scourge, or an orc who’ll sacrifice child orcs just so he can maintain power.”

  “Filthy human!” Xurrak roared. He held his skeletal hand out to me as if he were about to cast a spell. “What are you trying to say?!”

  I raised my chin and smirked before I spoke. “What I’m trying to say is that your policies and goals may be better than Ergoth’s, but you’re no king.” I s
hook my head. “You’re a coward who lost his throne and victimizes the people he should protect for his own personal gain. I’d never join the likes of you. As a matter of fact, fuck you!”

  I thrust my hand forward and cast a Fireblast at Xurrak right as a ball of bright red, swirling energy formed in front of Xurrak’s hand and rocketed my way.

  You’ve declined an alliance with the faction: The Scourge

  “Gunnar!” Mordok yelled and held out his hand. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to prevent me from attacking or was warning me of the attack.

  I ducked out of the way, barely, and the ball of magic sped past me and slammed into some of the rocks that were covering the Gilgaroth. Xurrak managed to lean his shoulder back, also avoiding my attack.

  The Gilgaroth roared as several of the rocks covering it started sliding down. It thrashed its tail against the wall, causing us all to stop what we were doing and duck as the room rattled and rocks fell from above. Its ruckus only lasted a few seconds, and when I turned back towards Xurrak, he lifted his bony palm to me again.

  “Orcs!” Xurrak yelled. “Kill this human!”

  I reached for my staff and took a step back as Mordok and Rithnar both hesitated, their eyes darting back and forth between Xurrak and me. Rithnar slowly grabbed his axe, and Mordok raised his hands.

  “What are you waiting for?” Xurrak asked. “Kill him!”

  “We can stop Ergoth on our own,” I said quickly. “We know what to do. Don’t listen to this loser.”

  Rithnar and Mordok stepped forward ‘til they were standing right beside each other. They looked at one another, to Xurrak, then back to me.

  “Now!” Xurrak ordered. “Listen to your King!”

  Mordok lowered his hand and stood up straight. He blinked his eyes several times as if he had a revelation.

  “What are you doing?” Xurrak asked.

  “He’s a member of the Mages Guild,” Mordok said. “We are aligned.”

  “He’s a human!” Xurrak said. “You are an orc!”

  Rithnar lowered his axe and began to shake his head. “He is a human, but he is a friend. I do not know for how long, but for now, he is a friend.” He turned to Xurrak and lifted his axe again. “You are not my friend—not to me or to the Scourge.”

  “I knew you two weren’t like other orcs,” I said with a grin.

  “I’m afraid Rithnar is right,” Mordok said. “Gunnar is more a friend to the Scourge than you, and you are no longer our King.” He lifted one of his hands, and electrical sparks started forming in his palm.

  “You dare turn on your own kind?” Xurrak asked.

  “Hey!” I said towards my two orc friends.

  They tilted their heads to me slightly as I grabbed my staff and tilted the tip in Xurrak’s direction.

  “For the Scourge…” I said with a nod and a wink.

  The two orcs grinned, and as I thrust my hand out and cast an Arcane Missile at Xurrak’s head, they both rushed forward, Rithnar with his axe held high. They both yelled, “For the Scourge!”

  Xurrak limped on his cane, and his eyes went wide as he saw the two orcs running for him and my Arcane Missile flying towards him at an angle.

  My projectile grazed the side of his hood, just as Mordok slid to a stop and thrust his hand out, releasing a projectile of his own. Rithnar leapt high with his axe above his head, ready to slam it down on Xurrak, and I started to charge a Firebomb.

  My heart sank as I felt the magic flowing from my hands suddenly stop, and all the ambient sound around me went silent. I looked down to my Firebomb to see it still swirling in my hand, yet no matter how hard I concentrated, I wasn’t channeling any more magic. When I looked up, Rithnar was frozen in the air, and the other two orcs were stiff as statues.

  A translucent window suddenly materialized in front of me, and in the center of the window, Dr. Winston appeared.

  “Hello again, residents of Eden’s Gate!” Dr. Winston said with a smile.

  I slumped my shoulders and sighed. He sure knew how to pick the worst times.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  2/23/0001

  Dr. Winston was sitting in his usual library inside his castle and cleared his throat before continuing. “I hope you’re all still enjoying your new lives here in Eden’s Gate. It’s been a wild and wonderful ride so far, and we all have a long way to go.

  “Today, I have a new update for the world to share with you: Eden’s Gate 1.20! Most of the changes are minor, but there are two significant changes today. One is a slight adjustment to the death system and the other is the introduction of Memory stones.

  “Memory stones have been a potential add for some time to allow people to more easily set and collect bounties, but after a recent discussion with a player and some thought, I realized I needed to get them out sooner. After all, Eden’s Gate is huge, and it will give those of you looking for someone in particular a bit more of a starting point. The other change will allow you to be a little more human, or a little more idiotic perhaps. Either way, I think both changes will be good for everyone.

  “A few of you who’ve taken up magic have incorrectly thought that there was an error in the system as learning certain branches, such as Dark Magic or Fire Magic, granted a base level of magic resistance, while other branches such as Mentalism and Earth Magic did not. Usually, I leave it up to you all to ascertain the workings of the world, but this confusion seems common enough that I will explain the logic of it to you now.”

  Dr Winston held out his hand, and a flame sprung from his palm. “Base level spells in branches that grant a resistance usually consist of spells that would damage the user if they had no tolerance to the branch. For example, the flame in my hand would burn me if I had no resistance to it at all.” He closed his hand, consuming the flame, and when he opened it again, a small ball of rock was floating above his palm. “This Earth Magic, however, and the base spells in the Earth Branch do no damage to me or require any sort of resistance to cast, so you’re not granted any unnecessary resistance.” He shrugged and smirked. “It’s that simple!”

  The doctor closed his palm and slapped his hands together before smiling again. “Hopefully, today’s patch will be a quality of life increase for you and everyone else in Eden’s Gate. You’ll have five minutes after my transmission to read the notes before the world resumes. Have fun!”

  Dr. Winston vanished, the translucent window disappeared, and the patch notes screen popped up in its place.

  Eden’s Gate 1.20 Patch Notes:

  Interface Changes

  *A quest log has been added so that you can keep track of unfinished quests. This log tracks only yet-to-be completed quests. Quests that have been completed, abandoned, declined, or failed will not appear. Quests will appear in the order you accepted them, and you may view your log simply by willing it to appear.

  Magic & Skills

  *Several Transmutation spells now have higher cooldowns and/or require reagents to cast.

  *Too few players were putting an emphasis into the Dirty Fighting skill, therefore Dirty Fighting has now been rolled into Unarmed. Attacks that were previously classified as Dirty Fighting will now count as Unarmed attacks and will have a higher likelihood of generating a critical strike and stunning an opponent.

  Other Changes

  *As you all likely know by now, the death system, in most cases, prevents players from intentionally killing themselves or purposely putting themselves in unreasonably dangerous situations that will end in certain death. This system is in place to emphasize the consequences of your actions, keep the world feeling real, highlight the importance of relationships and mortal characters, and to prevent immortals from abusing the system through trolling and abusive tactics. It has come to my attention, however, that the system may have been a little too sensitive and was preventing players from doing arguably dangerous things that they may have actually risked as mortals back on Earth. Therefore, I’ve made some adjustments to the system so that it will allow eac
h of you to more easily overcome an overwhelming sense of fear when it is not related to an immediate combat situation. To keep this change in balance, the pain of death has been increased by 10%. Death will now be even more consequential than before. You do not want to die!

  *Experience gains through PvP combat have been reduced when killing the same player more than once in the same day, unless the player has been resurrected via magic.

  *Memory Stones have been added to Eden’s Gate and can be found throughout the world. Memory stones are single-use artifacts that allow you to recall an image from your mind and imprint it onto the stone—for example a bounty or a missing person. These stones can then be used directly or brought to a Guild Hall to be drawn into bounty posters.

  *Corrected a login glitch.

  I was intrigued by the new changes, particularly the death change and the quest log. Apparently, my little talk with Dr. Winston had paid off, and now I might actually have a chance at getting a little action with Adeelee if I wanted to take the risk. Nice! But I didn’t have the leisure to put much thought into everything new. By the time I was done reading the notes, I knew I didn’t have much time before the game world restarted.

  I placed my hand over the Firebomb that was in my hand, ready to continue channeling as soon as things were set back in motion. I had the sudden idea that perhaps I could use the unexpected pause to my advantage and walk behind Xurrak and catch him by surprise, but as soon as I took a step, I felt like I was pressing against an invisible bubble. Though I wasn’t frozen like everything else in the world, my mobility was severely limited.