The Ruined Temple: A LitRPG Adventure (Eternal Online Book 2)

by TJ Reynolds

  He led me back, past a line of people working in his shop: a few older folks and some little more than children. It made sense that those who couldn’t fight would be helping to arm those who could.

  We found the small table that we’d used when eating the mountain cat ribs with Adalee. A small kettle was sitting there already, and Quinn fetched another cup for me. He poured me tea and we enjoyed a moment of silence, the drink preparing the way for a much-needed conversation.

  I was the first to break the silence. “So, you are Taelman? And an Elder? I don’t know what you are, really. Care to explain?”

  He laughed and his ancient eyes held my own for a long moment. “I am very old, Hana. And yet, I am the youngest of the Elders. The ones who come want me simply because I am the closest at hand. There used to be many more of us, but the years are not kind. Just consider me keeper of an aging truth. And I cannot be captured. Should the battle go ill, I will ensure that the knowledge I hold doesn’t fall to evil hands.”

  I swallowed hard, trying not to feel sick. Imagining Quinn ending his own life, even for honorable reasons, was too much to consider. “It won’t come to that.”

  Quinn prodded me, moving the talk toward less dire concerns. “And you, girl. What of your sword? Have you recovered any other components?”

  “I have. Here, take a look at these.” I pulled the sword free first, then removed the Ito braid, the Kashira, and finally the Tsuba that I still wore on a string around my neck.

  Quinn marveled at each piece and looked up at me, grinning. “Yes, Hana. These will make your sword much more powerful. When we finish our tea, I will begin work on your katana immediately.”

  I held a hand up to argue. “Surely, there are other things more important.”

  “Hana, I am an armorer, not a tactician. Once, I was a warrior too, but never a commander. I will have the sword finished before nightfall. I would ask you to inspect our defenses and see if you can think of anything to add, though.”

  He stood and brought the pieces over to an empty section of worktable, then laid them out.

  Remembering something else, I excused myself and came back in a hurry, my arms full. I started by handing him the Maldrille Bow he’d given me. “It is time I returned this. I know I paid for it, but you gave me an incredible deal, and I was thinking… do you know of anyone young and dumb enough that wants to become a hunter?”

  Quinn laughed and took the bow from my hands. “I do. Adalee has been training a flock of townsfolk in the bow. I’ll ask her who deserves such a fine weapon. But tell me, then, what weapon do you have to replace it?”

  I couldn’t help but grin at him as I pulled The Lost Bow from the pile of items I’d retrieved. “Check it out! I helped the Sirrushi wyverns and they gave me this as a reward, promising to join us in the war to come. Oh yeah, and Harnoth, a stuffy but nice wyvern guard, said that a squadron of their warriors would come in two days. We just have to hold out that long.”

  Quinn’s eyes bounced between several emotions as he heard me blather. Then he replied in a somber tone, “They have the gem back, then? And you managed to slay an Ichneumon? I was not sure it was possible. Well done.” He let the matter go with the grace of those who have seen a lifetime of unlikely events. “Now let’s see what you have here.”

  He took the bow in his hands and gasped. “This is… how can it be?” Quinn said in a voice so quiet it was obvious he was speaking only to himself. Then he looked at me sharply, wonder and anger both alight in his gaze. “Do you know what this is? Whose this is?”

  I glanced at the bow in the old man’s hands and shook my head. “The Queen Matriarch of the wyverns claimed it was owned by an elf who had possessed great skill. Why? What am I missing, Quinn?”

  He sighed, then ran his finger down the bow’s black string, the energy that pulsed there wrapping around his thumb. “This belonged to an elven prince who fell in battle fighting the wyverns long ago. It seems fitting that you, the one who helped reforge the broken alliance, should own the bow now, but not all will agree. If we survive, I will tell you what I know.”

  I took in the information, then, too excited to wait, showed Quinn the many items I’d gathered for him. “The Karnath deer hides were the last thing I retrieved. It’s all there now, and don’t worry about any payment, okay? If you rebind the sword, we are more than even.” He watched me as I organized the items before him, humor in his gaze. “So, what were you working on? Your big project, that is. What are all these things for?”

  I watched his eyes study my own a moment before he answered. “I was just giving a quest to a girl who needed more purpose in her life. There is no project to mention. Though the items you brought me are valuable, and I won’t see them wasted.”

  I wanted to punch the old man. “Seriously? That whole thing was for nothing?”

  Quinn took his time laughing, his hands already busy undoing my katana’s bindings. “Very little in life is for nothing. I am pleased that you succeeded, though. The experience will help you on your journey.”

  Quinn’s hands moved deftly about the katana’s handle, working on freeing the blade from its unworthy trappings. Then, seeing the man was already transfixed in his task, I left to see what I could do in the town’s defense.

  We needed every advantage in the upcoming fight. If we had half a day to prepare, I’d make use of every minute of that time.

  2: “A leader is no more than the sum of her followers.”

  — Selna Amredor of the Sirrushi Doondane

  MADI

  The crowd that met me in the morning in front of the Rooster’s Head was larger than I’d expected. Drunks tend not to back their words so often, but apparently the prospect of a world event and the loot and XP that would come with it was too much to pass by.

  I nodded to Oliver and his group and was happy to see the other team that had been in the finals against them: the casters and tank. They would make tremendous allies. Teegan was there, of course, as were a dozen of the other solo and Battle Royale contenders.

  Kazen and his hellhound weren’t present, and though they were strong, I wasn’t upset at their absence. Instead, the chick with the peryton stood proudly. So did Akira and the flame leopard Xiao Pang. A few of the other Companion’s Cup teams stood beside them, waiting patiently to hear the scoop. In all, at least thirty adventurers wanted to join the fight against the Rat King. It wasn’t an army, but they were so powerful, the group could stand against a small army.

  I took a deep breath, not wanting to screw this up. “Hey everyone! Thanks for showing up. So, this big quest I told you about starts over in Taelman’s Pond. They are expecting a siege tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest. I am not sure if all of you can swing it, but I am headed there now. Anyone that wants to come is welcome.”

  When I finished, I saw most of the player’s faces go slack, their eyes scanning information I couldn’t see. Oliver said what everyone else was thinking. “Damn, Madi, that just made for an official quest. We’re in! The rewards are insane!”

  One of the casters spoke up next, his group members nodding in approval. “15,000 XP and an unlocked quest chain! Damn, we’re in, too.”

  When we headed out of town, most of the group remained, and I counted them up. Thirty-one new allies in total, players and companions both. Whatever force was coming for Taelman’s Pond had a fight in store for them.

  We were leaving through the first gate, nodding to the guard, when a boy ran up to us, panting with effort. “Wait! There’s trouble coming. Please don’t leave!”

  I stopped to look at the boy’s appearance. He was dressed well for one so young, and his face had blood splattered across it.

  I gave him a second before asking, “What’s up, buddy? What is it?”

  He stuttered a moment, then said, “I am Sir Broyn’s squire. He’s the head of the Bridgerun forces. We were on a scouting mission, and we came across a huge force. They are headed this way! I was told to head back and see who can hel
p stand against them. There are at least two hundred by Sir Broyn’s count.”

  I nodded, taking in the information as quickly as it came. “And where is your knight?”

  The boy covered his face in shame. “I think he’s fallen. There were only twelve of us. Sir Broyn led a charge to buy Bridgerun some time and sent me running back. They’re only a few miles away!”

  I looked at the group of travelers and shouted to them, “You guys down to do some killing before we get to Taelman’s Pond?” They poked at a quest prompt that popped up, and though I know I must have received the same, I ignored it for now.

  A hulking warrior, most likely someone’s tank, bellowed, “Hell yeah! Let’s go crush the bastards!”

  Teegan stepped forward, holding a hand up. “Wait a minute. Two hundred is a lot of baddies. Surely, there is a way to go about this.”

  “Have an idea?” I asked.

  He looked at the players who were practically chomping the bit to slay, and said casually, “Well, it’s simple. We head out, ambush the enemy, then fall back and fight on the bridges.”

  I gave him a shove. “Damn, man, you just naturally think that way?”

  He laughed and nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. Been pondering what it would be like to either siege or protect the city from the bridges. It’s an interesting and potentially powerful defensive structure.”

  I looked to the crowd of players and said, “I’m down. You guys agree?”

  “Hell yeah!” the same warrior bellowed, and several laughs followed at his expense.

  I turned to the boy and said, “Okay, then. You go tell the guard at the bridge what is coming. His name is Miles. Tell him that Madi and the adventurers are going to cut down the enemy’s numbers and then fall back here. Tell them to prepare defenses and gather as many troops as they can, especially archers!” I smacked the kid on the back to send him on his way, then turned to the group with a grin on my face. “Now let’s go hunting!”

  We jogged out down the road the kid had pointed to. Not all of us had mounts, so our legs would have to do. I sent the peryton, with her companion’s permission, on ahead to scout.

  After we’d gone about a mile from town, we came to a bend in the road with a patch of trees on one side and a small hillock on the other. It certainly wasn’t much cover, but we only needed enough to hide behind.

  I set the tanks closest to the road, Tejón and a few of the larger pets behind them, so that they could rush out and block the enemies’ progress. The casters and ranged units stood further away, a few even finding places in the limbs of one of the taller trees.

  Then we waited.

  No more than five minutes later, the peryton came racing back.

  Serina, its companion, spoke with it through mind chat for a while before turning to us. “They are about a half mile off. Mostly nezumi, whatever that means, and hulking beasts that walk on two legs. Maybe trolls or ogres? It’s hard to understand her descriptions sometimes. And in the rear of the column, giant spiders as well.”

  I thought a moment, then called out loud enough for everyone to hear, “Okay, so we attack and clean house. The nezumi are ratkin. It’ll be like fighting humans with tails. They are probably well armed and armored. The hulking things are probably trow. They have insanely tough skin, so go for the eyes and face or just hit harder than you normally would.” I paused for a second, seeing every eye on me. “When the spiders come into view, we split. We don’t want to tangle with those bastards unless we have a better position. Just fall back to the bridge. Tejón and I will stay a bit longer as the tanks fall back. Casters and ranged units, buy us time, but don’t linger.”

  My words hung in the air a moment before I added, “And remember, everyone: The most important thing is to have fun!”

  A few chuckles issued from our slap-dash band, but I could see they were as nervous as I was. Nobody here wanted to lose the XP and overall progress if they died, and worse yet, none wanted a companion to die.

  Soon, the clatter of troops in plate and mail came into earshot. Some among us were elves and other keen-eared races, so their own reactions had presaged my own. I glanced up and saw the sexy little ranger with an arrow nocked. She gave me a nod then gestured towards the enemy, who were just beginning to come into view over the top of a hill in the short distance.

  Their equipment, their numbers, and, of course, their size and ferocity all sent a chill up my spine, but it was their discipline that was most disturbing. No rabble was coming down on us, but trained platoons. Each rank was five wide, taking advantage of the width of the road, and looked to be ten columns deep. I watched the first group descend and the beginning of a second come up behind them.

  That was one hundred right there. At least they were easy to count.

  The first group was coming into range as I saw a third crest the hill, this one different in several ways. For one thing, the soldiers were a head taller and had no plate armor. These were the trow, all towering hulks with haphazard forms and unwieldy weapons. Still, even these walked in a group, though the ranks were looser. Though they took up nearly as much room, only twenty or so of the creatures marched in the third group.

  My thoughts flickered to the spiders, those horrors that Hana and I had fought. Hopefully there weren’t any of their matriarchs or this fight would be a good deal more difficult.

  I wanted nothing more than to stay hidden. With my view of the road, provided only by a thin crack in the top of a boulder I hid behind, I could remain out of view until this mass of enemies passed us by. But that wasn’t the way of things.

  I bellowed, and I watched Tejón run up alongside a string of other beefy companions and the shield-bearing tanks in our numbers to block the road. “Tanks! Into position!”

  The enemy reacted quickly. “Ambush!” a commander shouted from the side of the first column. He had a plume in his helm and the painted symbol of the Rat King on his breastplate, a fist clutching the wrist of another hand.

  An arrow from one of our Rangers blossomed from the commander’s neck, and his next command was promptly drowned as his lungs filled with blood.

  Another took his place, and the formation quickly fell into battle stances, with only a few of those following bunching up into those who stood before them. The call of alarm was passed backward, and a few horns were blown in a distinct three-burst pattern.

  Not wanting to give up our few moments of advantage, I shouted the next set of orders I’d decided on. “Ranged fighters, fire at will but avoid the front line! Casters, AOE spells now!”

  A few arrows whistled overhead, finding places to rest in eye sockets and throats alike. Several instant-cast area of effect spells landed next, turning the front column into a killing zone. The first turned the ground into viscous mud that the ratkin soldiers, weighed down with so much steel, sunk into up to their knees. Another caused a foul acid to bubble up around the enemies, burning their skin and even their armor and weapons.

  Some spells took longer, and the front lines had already met in bloody conflict when they took hold. Two of them spelled a quick end for those caught in their blast. One of them was a miniature blizzard that settled over the road, sending tiny fragments of ice down on the enemy troops. The second brought fire from the sky, and though the elements were opposed, neither seemed to take away from the effectiveness of the other.

  I wondered briefly what the spells’ names were, especially the fire one that had conjured a cloud of ethereal red dragons writhing among the enemies, scorching them on contact. A caster screamed, “Walk the Dragons!” and one of my questions was answered.

  The man’s enthusiasm was appreciated, and I stepped forward to hack at the shield of the front line ratkin. My axe landed hard, crushing the weakened shieldbearer.

  I gaped to see the first group already dead or dying, the overlapping area of effect spells cutting down their HP in a matter of seconds.

  “Front line, push forward!” I yelled, not wanting the enemy to recover fully and launch
their own attacks.

  The ratkin in the second formation were not willing to wait around any longer, though, and even as we slogged through their fallen comrades, orders were barked. “Spread out! Ten to the front. Third platoon fall in!”

  And by the time we moved beyond the dead, the enemy had forged a new front. Those who’d taken up the line held tall shield and had long swords. Spearmen fell behind, their weapons bristling above the shield wall.

  Round two would not be so easy.

  “Halt!” I shouted, pulling our forces to a stop just a few feet from the enemy. “Advance carefully and keep together! Casters, throw everything you have at the spearmen behind! Everyone, buffs now!”

  I walked beside Tejón, his bulky form drawing many of the enemies’ eyes. The warg and the flame leopard beside him were not easily dismissed, either. Oliver stood beside his Paladin, and just before we closed ranks in battle, several buffs passed through our group, suffusing our side in light and color.

  Despite our increased abilities, the ratkin stood firm, no more slick mud to pull them under or magic spells to sap their health. The road was also slightly inclined, giving them a small but substantial advantage of higher ground. Regardless, I pushed into the fray beside Tejón, determined to exterminate as many rats as possible.

  I used my Quake Stomp ability and brought two of the monsters to their knees, and Tejón stepped forward, his Gravel Storm coming alive around him. The mad bear bashed onwards, entering the ranks of the ratkin, his Crown of the Mountain King emerging from his skull as he thrashed about in wild abandon. He managed to decimate ten of their numbers in just a few seconds, but as many spears lashed out in retribution.

  I shouted to the stubborn bear, Pull back, Tejón! Don’t get yourself killed!

  At my command, everyone moved slowly but inexorably forward, the resistance of the few remaining shieldmen buckling under the pressure of our advance. “Push forward! We need to collapse their front!”