The Second Betrayal: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Divine Apostasy Book 2)

by A F Kay

  Ruwen didn’t know if the fire was to rub Slib’s Mage Class in Ruwen’s face, to let Ruwen know who’d burned down his tent, or a promise of harm to come.

  It probably meant all three.

  Chapter 23

  The trip back to camp seemed to take longer, probably because nothing exciting waited for them there. Qip had stayed near Ruwen the entire time, so Ruwen still hadn’t had a chance to ask Hamma if Ky had spoken with her.

  As they entered the camp, Big D stopped and addressed all of them. “Tomorrow, we start exploring Deepwell’s dungeon. While not as valuable as the mines, it’s still a resource we are fortunate to have. Ten from each Class will be formed into groups, and they will explore the dungeon to gain experience as teams. We will rotate the ten over the next few days, so everyone gets a chance.”

  “Ten? Some Classes aren’t so common,” Slib said from the group of Mages.

  Big D nodded. “The young Mage is correct. Order has nine Ascendants, and the Mages have five. We will form nine teams tomorrow. Five will have one representative from every Class. To compensate for the shortfall of Mages, group six will have an extra Fighter, seven an Observer, eight a Merchant, and nine a Worker.”

  “Condolences to group nine,” Slib said to the other Mages.

  Big D focused on Slib. “Why do you say that?”

  Slib raised his chin. “No Mage and two Workers makes it the weakest group.”

  Big D looked around at all the Ascendants. “The Mage’s comment is important. It is why we’re here, actually. Ignorance of the value other Classes provide could get you killed. Or worse, ferment into harmful stereotypes.”

  Big D moved her attention to a tall thin man standing directly behind the group of young Mages. “Magus Plik, what group would you choose?”

  “Nine,” Magus Plik said immediately.

  More than just the Mages looked confused.

  Big D turned to the Fighters and the woman in scale mail next to them. “Legion Commander Va’Myr?”

  “Nine,” Va’Myr said without hesitation.

  Big D asked the same question to the Observer, Merchant, and Order Class leaders. Everyone answered the same.

  Big D didn’t look at Slib. “If you don’t know the reason for your leader’s response, please take the time to ask them. Communication and knowledge are antidotes to what ails us.” Big D paused a few seconds and then nodded at the Merchant leader Malloh.

  Malloh had an athletic build and a natural smile. Ruwen resisted the urge to go speak to Malloh and felt the need for the man’s approval. Ruwen looked away and shook his head in confusion. Why would Ruwen ever want to go and talk to a stranger? He tried to avoid people when possible.

  Malloh spoke in a friendly, almost musical tone. “After dinner, there will be a bonfire and concert in our area. You are all welcome.”

  “Thank you, Master Malloh,” Big D said. “We are truly blessed to have a Bard of your skill among us. Okay, dinner will be ready in an hour. Dismissed.”

  Ruwen should have known from the man’s looks he was some sort of performer. Malloh had chosen a Bard Specialization and his Charisma would be insanely high.

  Conversation erupted all around them as everyone milled about. Qip had finally disappeared, and Ruwen turned to talk to Hamma.

  “Ruwen!” Big D said.

  Ruwen’s shoulders slumped, and he turned and walked toward Big D, who stood next to Magus Plik.

  Ruwen gave each of them a bow, arms across his chest. “Yes, Ma’am?”

  Big D nodded at him. “Plik made something harder to burn down for you to sleep in. I’m concerned about your friends as well, so he made a few extra rooms. Wip and Qip will share a room, and the others are for you and your friends.”

  Ruwen bowed again to Plik, deeper this time. “Thank you, Magus.”

  Plik gave a tight-lipped smile. “Well, the only thing that would make this worse is you dying.”

  “I feel the same,” Ruwen said.

  Big D laughed. “Don’t give the old man too much credit, Ruwen. He just doesn’t want to leave all his precious Mage equipment out here. He needs you to take everything back.”

  Ruwen laughed but quickly realized Big D wasn’t joking. Plik gave a small bow to Big D, nodded at Ruwen, and strode away.

  Big D saw the expression on Ruwen’s face. “Don’t take it so personally. No one cares about your life like you do.”

  “I’m realizing that.”

  “Life gets a lot easier once you stop trying to convince people you’re right and instead show them why it’s in their best interest to help you.”

  “That sounds a lot like manipulation.”

  “That’s exactly what it is. In general, people are selfish, and that is a powerful tool if used correctly.”

  “Feels wrong, though.”

  “You can spend time thinking about it tonight in your safe, warm, granite fort. Oh, and I’ll be retrieving those boxes from you tomorrow morning. We’ll need them for the dungeon.”

  “Thanks, Big D.”

  “You have no idea why everyone chose group nine, do you?”

  Ruwen looked down, his cheeks warm. “No.”

  “It’s okay. None of you have been in a dungeon yet, so you wouldn’t know.”

  Ruwen had spent a lot of time in a dungeon lately, and so he probably should know, but he didn’t say that.

  Big D continued. “The hardest role to fill in a group is the healer. It goes back to the selfishness I talked about earlier. There is never a shortage of people who want to burn things, cut things, or control things. A group of friends and I spent a lot of time in dungeons in our youth. Tomorrow, with a little help from those boxes you’re carrying, you’ll see how a Worker can fill in the gaps of a party. Start by looking up Massage in your textbook. It’s a heal-over-time spell. We’re the only Class other than Order to have one before level ten.”

  Ruwen nodded. “I will. Thanks again for everything.”

  “And try not to get lost again tonight,” Big D said as she walked away.

  Ruwen returned to Hamma and Sift and looked around to make sure they were alone.

  “Did Ky talk to you last night?” Ruwen blurted before he could be pulled away again.

  Hamma nodded. “What have you gotten mixed up in?”

  Some of the anxiety Ruwen carried disappeared along with the secret of Blapy.

  “Now you can come with us,” Sift said.

  “Let’s talk about this in our new quarters. A Stone Mage created some rooms for us,” Ruwen said.

  “Us?” Hamma asked.

  “Big D said she worried you two might get targeted as well. Let’s go look,” Ruwen said.

  They crossed one of the temporary bridges over the creek and, in a few minutes, arrived at their old tent location.

  “Wow,” Ruwen said as the structure came into sight.

  Five granite domes had been pulled from the earth. The center dome was the largest and about ten feet tall. Spaced evenly around it like the petals of a flower were four more domes, each about eight feet high. The only opening looked to be on a smaller dome farthest from the creek. Qip stood near the blanket that hung like a curtain in front of the opening.

  “Hey, Qip. How is it?” Ruwen asked.

  Before Qip could respond, the blanket moved to the side, and Wip emerged from the doorway.

  “Much safer. We won’t have a repeat of last night,” Wip said.

  Ruwen felt guilty again for the embarrassment he’d caused these two brothers.

  Wip held the blanket to the side. “I’ll give you the tour.”

  As Ruwen approached the door, the Campfire buff appeared at the top of his vision. He slowed and waved Hamma through the door first. Sift jumped in front of Ruwen and flashed Slow in Shade speak with a grin. Ruwen shook his head and followed his two friends.

  The interior, including the floor, consisted of the same smooth granite. Wip let the blanket lower as he entered, and the room darkened. Two cots were pressed again
st the wall opposite each other, and a shaker glowed on each. Yellowish light filtered around the blanket that hung over the opening to the large central room.

  “Qip and I will bunk in here,” Wip said. “One of us will always be awake and on guard. The other might be sleeping, but don’t worry about waking us, we both sleep like we’re dead.”

  “Is this the only exit?” Sift asked with a frown.

  “Yes. It’s much safer,” Wip said.

  Ruwen thought back to one of Ky’s first lessons. In his room at the library, she had stressed the importance of two exits. There wasn’t anything he could do about it, so he just nodded. This arrangement would improve the chances of keeping him safe, but it also made it impossible for him to sneak out. It made him wonder about Big D’s motives.

  Hamma pushed past the blanket into the next room, and the rest of them followed.

  “It felt a little cool in here, so I cast a Campfire. If you get too hot, let me know, and I’ll cancel it,” Wip said.

  “Thank you, Wip. That was very thoughtful,” Hamma said.

  Wip smiled at Hamma. “We moved your cot and blankets to the room on the right.” Wip looked at Ruwen and Sift. “All your stuff burned. We put a new cot and blankets in the other two rooms.”

  “I appreciate that,” Ruwen said.

  Wip alternated his gaze between Ruwen and Sift. “Tonight, if you need to go out, whatever the reason, let me know. I’ll either be in my room or just outside the building. Okay?”

  Ruwen and Sift nodded. Wip crossed his arms over his chest, gave a small bow to Hamma, and left the room.

  Sift ran to the room opposite Hamma’s and disappeared behind the blanket. “Mine!”

  Ruwen walked past the fire, pushed past the blanket to the middle room, and sat on his cot. The blanket blocked a surprising amount of light, and without the aid of his light-enhancing cloak and ring, it would be tough to see.

  Hamma’s voice came from the other room. “Who is Sift talking to?”

  “Io, probably,” Ruwen said.

  Hamma pulled the blanket-door aside and stared at him.

  Ruwen rubbed his forehead. “You remember when we first met Ky, and we thought she was talking to herself?”

  Hamma nodded.

  “She wasn’t. She was talking to Io.”

  “And now Sift is? Is it some type of familiar, or tiny bonded animal? Maybe some kind of invisible creature?”

  “No, it’s a dagger.”

  Hamma raised her eyebrows. “A sentient weapon? Are you kidding?”

  Ruwen shrugged. “It’s not even the craziest thing I’ve seen. What until you meet Blapy.”

  Hamma stiffened. “Who’s that?”

  Ruwen looked up for a few seconds trying to figure out how to answer. “A seven-year-old girl with a fondness for games and killing.”

  “She sounds horrible.”

  “Yes, but in a nice way.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “It’s the form the Black Pyramid takes.”

  “The dungeon is sentient and can actually materialize itself?”

  “I think it’s far more than a dungeon.”

  “And you call her Blapy?”

  “That’s what Sift calls her. He comes up with the dumbest names for things. I just adopted it.”

  “If I hadn’t seen a tiny portion of the insanity surrounding you, I’d be convinced you were crazy or a liar or both.”

  “I know. I don’t believe some of what I’ve seen.”

  Hamma closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I feel like I’m making some bad choices.”

  “I understand. I feel the same. My hope is since I’m making them for the right reasons, it will balance out.”

  Hamma lowered her hand and looked at Ruwen. “Wow, that almost makes sense.”

  They both laughed.

  “What did Ky tell you?” Ruwen asked.

  Hamma held up her right wrist until the light from the fire illuminated it. A small black pyramid appeared, but it looked different than the one Ruwen bore. Ruwen’s mark was solid black, with faint grey outlines for blocks. It looked like a tattoo from a master Artist. Hamma’s mark had the simple shape of a pyramid, and only the top ten percent had color, a dark red. Her mark didn’t trigger his Black Eye ability, either.

  Hamma whispered, “I had to make a bunch of promises about secrecy. She said this mark would grant me access to the upper levels of the dungeon you’ve been in. She said time moved faster there, that it was dangerous, and outside Uru’s Blessing.”

  “Dangerous might be understating it a little.”

  “How did you get involved with this? You only Ascended a few days ago. Does this have something to do with your parents?”

  Ruwen thought about the quest Uru had given him.

  The Search for Truth (Part 2)

  Travel to the Grey Canyon and look for that which has been lost.

  Reward: 1,500 experience

  His parents had disappeared there. “Maybe. I’m not sure. But, when this camping thing is done, I’m going to the Grey Canyon to look for them.”

  “How are you going to do that? You’re level two. You won’t make it a week in the wild.”

  Ruwen didn’t get mad and considered Hamma’s words. He was actually level five, but she didn’t know that. For someone living in Deepwell or Stone Harbor, level five would be respectable. But, for anyone outside the safety of a city, it was far too weak.

  Ruwen nodded. “You’re right. Which means I need to get more powerful quickly.”

  He thought about what Big D had mentioned regarding healers. Originally Ruwen had only wanted Hamma to have the mark so he could explain some of his secrets. But another idea formed. One that might allow them to move faster through Blapy’s levels.

  Ruwen smiled at Hamma. “Do you own any armor?”

  Chapter 24

  Hamma, Sift, and Ruwen stared at the portal Ruwen had just drawn on the wall of Ruwen’s room. The light around Hamma’s hands faded now that the portal was finished.

  “We should go back and listen to the Bard,” Hamma whispered.

  “I wouldn’t mind getting a snack,” Sift whispered.

  Ruwen frowned at Sift. “I understand Hamma’s reluctance. She’s never done this before. But you’ve got to shake this fear.”

  “Listen, your last portal put me in the middle of the forest where an ugly flying cat attacked me,” Sift said.

  “Shhh, you’re too loud,” Ruwen said. “That wasn’t my fault.”

  Hamma frowned and bit her thumbnail.

  “I’ll step through, and then come back. Will that make you feel better?” Ruwen asked.

  Sift nodded.

  “It’s just a drawing on the wall,” Hamma said. “What you’re saying sounds like nonsense.”

  Ruwen stepped forward.

  Sift raised his hand. “Wait.”

  “What now?” Ruwen asked.

  Sift stared at the ceiling. “If that leads to the bottom of the ocean or off a cliff or something and you die, Ky will kill me. She told me to protect you.”

  “The bottom of the ocean,” Hamma whispered.

  Ruwen raised his hands. “It doesn’t go to the ocean. It goes to the Blood Gate. I’ve checked the gate runes three times.”

  Hamma’s eyes grew wide. “The Blood Gate? That sounds terrible.”

  Ruwen covered his face with his hands. “Uru, help me.” He pointed at Sift. “You’re making this worse.”

  “Fine,” Sift said. “I’ll go first and then come back, so Hamma knows it’s safe, and Ky can’t say I let Ruwen die.” Sift looked at Hamma. “If I don’t come back, because I was eaten by beetles or vaporized in a pool of lava,” Sift pointed at Ruwen, “you tell him, I told you so.”

  Ruwen groaned. “There are no beetles or lava. What is wrong with you?”

  “The things I do for my friends,” Sift mumbled and then stepped through the portal and disappeared into the stone.

  H
amma gasped.

  She turned to ask Ruwen a question, but before she got it out, Sift reappeared.

  “See any beetles?” Ruwen asked.

  “You got it right this time, Ugflat,” Sift said.

  “Ugflat?” Ruwen asked.

  “Ugly flying cat,” Sift said.

  “That wasn’t my fault!” Ruwen whispered forcefully.

  Sift laughed and then stepped back through the portal. Hamma looked pale.

  Ruwen stepped closer to Hamma, and he smelled her lavender perfume. “You don’t need to come. I wanted you to have the mark, so I could tell you where I went.”

  “I just need a second. None of this makes sense or seems believable, and so it seems risky and foolish. And I’m usually not foolish.” Hamma took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and then looked at him. “I trust you.”

  Then she took two steps forward and disappeared through the gate.

  Ruwen’s chest tightened at Hamma’s words. He peeked around the blanket to make sure Wip hadn’t been drawn to all their whispering, but the central room only had the fire burning in the center. He looked at his clock: 9:17 PM.

  With a deep breath of his own, Ruwen stepped through the portal.

  “…devoured in less than a minute,” Sift said.

  Hamma stared at the Blood Moss covering the ground, her face white.

  Ruwen shook his head. “Sift, seriously. Couldn’t you talk about the pyramid or your dad’s rock garden or something a little less morbid?”

  “Good idea,” Sift said and then snapped his fingers. “Blapy reaches thousands of feet into the air. The view is fantastic, and you can see just how large the city was before this moss destroyed it. It killed everything, including an invading army. And...”

  Ruwen sighed and quit listening. He had to work on Sift’s conversational skills. Ruwen found the nearest blank door and opened his map. He noticed it was 3:03 PM here. He focused on the map, and a list of destinations appeared, most of them were addresses of places he frequented in Deepwell. He thought about gate runes, and the list narrowed to all the gate runes he knew. It took him a moment to find the sequence Ky had given him. She said it would take him to the first level of the dungeon from the Blood Gate.