Sands of Blood and Bone: A LitRPG Adventure (Defying Divinity Book 2)

by Jamey Sultan

  In the distance, a dull glowing form bobbed up and down. James focused on it.

  Carrion Imp (Level 17)

  James pointed to the Imp, and the party changed the course slightly to avoid it. It was only level 17, but they were worried that any sounds of fighting might attract higher level enemies, so they were trying to avoid fighting where they could.

  Soon, they reached the end of the fiery landscape. It wasn’t a subtle transition. Instead the dry dirt suddenly became moist, airy soil, filled with thick vegetation. Even the temperature change was immediate. The blistering dry heat of the plains dropped by twenty degrees in an instant, but it wasn’t a relief like James had hoped. The swamp was so humid that it almost felt hotter than the flaming plains. Immediately, James’ sweat stuck to his skin, stubbornly refusing to evaporate.

  “This is awful,” Arik complained, slapping a bug that landed on his neck. “At least there weren’t any bugs on the fire plains.”

  They were following Karim, who expertly navigated the swamp, when James noticed a thick black creature attached to Nidra’s leg.

  Swamp Leech (Level 3)

  He yanked it off and stomped on it. The creature burst, coating James’ leg with Nidra’s blood.

  You have killed a Swamp Leech (Level 3)

  + 1 experience point

  Nidra jumped at the sudden movement but thanked him profusely when she realized what had happened.

  James shuddered and checked his own legs but didn’t see anything.

  “Good catch,” Karim said, clapping James on the back. “Let’s keep our eye out for more leeches.”

  They trudged through the swamp for another five or so minutes before Karim held up a hand. He pointed at a dense cloud of deadly-looking green fog ahead. “I don’t like the looks of that fog, let’s circle around it.”

  They were about to follow him when the fog ahead broke. Two creatures rolled out, locked in combat. One looked like a giant turtle who stood on two feet, while the other was a skeleton. Something was off about the turtle, but they were moving too fast for James to get a good look at either fighter. The skeleton was level 19, while the Somnikhudu, the turtle, was level 17.

  The skeleton stabbed the turtle with a rusty dagger, but the dagger snapped against its shell.

  With a snap of its powerful jaws, the turtle crushed the skeleton’s head.

  Whatever magic kept the skeleton alive broke, and it crumbled to dust.

  With the skeleton gone, the turtle went still, then looked around, its head darting from side to side. It was about six feet tall and looked like a snapping turtle. It was a transparent green color, and despite its bulk didn’t look like it weighed very much.

  The Somnikhudu seemed to solidify, and it lunged at Arik.

  Chapter 26

  Arik drew his warhammer and stepped forward to meet the turtle, with a swing like a baseball bat.

  Right before his hammer connected, the turtle grew transparent and the weapon passed through it harmlessly. It re-solidified as it spun around and slashed Arik’s back open with thick claws.

  Karim reacted first, but instead of attacking the creature, he tossed a rock at James. “Get your shit together, it’s low level. You should be able to take care of this easily.”

  The turtle opened its mouth to bite Arik, and James snapped into motion. He cast Arcane Missile. All three bolts slammed into the turtle’s exposed head at the same time.

  The force of the three Arcane Missiles tore the turtle creature apart as if it were made of paper.

  You have killed a Somnikhudu (Level 17).

  + 95 experience points

  Nidra whistled. “Nice shot.”

  “Holy shit!” James exclaimed. “What was that?”

  Karim clapped James on the back. “Whatever that spell was, it must be extra effective against ethereal creatures. That was a Somnikhudu, a Dream Turtle.”

  “A dream turtle?”

  Karim nodded. “The monsters in this part of the valley are a mix of elemental and ethereal creatures.”

  James grinned—even though it was a lower level than him, it was still cool to one-shot something with magic. It was nice knowing he could still fight without Tyrfing.

  “Hey James,” Arik called. “Come check this out.”

  There was a pile of softly glowing goo where the Somnikhudu had been. It pulsed softly like a living thing.

  Living Nightmare:

  Rank: Unusual

  Nightmares don’t belong in the physical realm. If left unattended, it will try to get back to the dream realm, usually by crawling into an unsuspecting victim’s ear as they sleep.

  James didn’t want to touch the creepy goo, so he used his dagger to scrape it into a vial. When the dagger touched the goo, it stretched up toward James’ hand. He ignored it and worked to dislodge it. Eventually he succeeded in filling the vial with goo. He then dropped the vial straight into his pouch.

  ***

  It took another hour to get to the end of the swamp. It seemed like their plan to stick to the edges of the valley was working, because they only had to fight a few low-level turtles as they passed through the swamp. Whenever they did meet one, James was able to dispatch it quickly with an Arcane Missile.

  The swamp ended suddenly at an enormous pit. Up close, the pit was more intimidating than it had been from above the valley. The pillars, which had looked like toys, were actually massive columns of smooth stone, each roughly twenty feet in diameter and connected by crumbling rope bridges.

  High above, dark shapes clashed in the air. Skeletal birds fought with spectral ones in a silent swarm. None of the birds seemed to take notice of the group below.

  On the other side of the pit, the last pillar led to a thin shelf of rock about a foot thick, the only thing stopping the raging river from spilling over into the darkness below. James could just barely make out the peaks of gravestones through the fog on the other side of that river.

  “You guys sure there isn’t another way?” James asked, looking to the left and right. He knew the answer though; they would have to go deep into the valley if they wanted to cross anywhere else. This was the safest option.

  Swallowing his fear, James stepped onto the bridge. It creaked as he put more weight on it, and his breathing quickened.

  “Hurry up, we’re growing old out here. I only have another six centuries,” Nidra called after him.

  James ignored her sarcasm and took another step forward, growing more confident the further he walked onto the bridge. He kept his eyes forward and up, refusing to look down no matter how much he wanted to.

  When he was about halfway across the bridge, Nidra started her trek. Her initial step onto the bridge caused it to shake and James to stop moving, his knuckles white against the ropes. He took a deep breath and forced himself to relax as he quickly crossed onto the pillar.

  With the bottleneck gone, Nidra, Karim, and Arik filed across easily and soon joined him on the other side. When she reached him, Nidra clapped him on the back. “Nice job there.”

  He took a shuddering breath and accepted the compliment.

  They made it across three more pillars, this time with James bringing up the rear. When James was halfway across the rope bridge to the fourth pillar, one of the skeletal birds plunged from the air, straight into the bridge, snapping the rope in half.

  James had a brief instant of shock, where time seemed frozen and then he plummeted down. He could hear the screams of his companions echoing after him as he fell.

  A rush of energy filled him as his Dexterity tripled. Almost instinctively, he tightened his grip on the rope bridge, grabbing both sides so that his force would be split evenly between the two ropes, and sat his weight back.

  When he hit the wall, he was perfectly positioned so that his feet hit first. He tried to absorb as much of the force as he could into them.

  “James,” he heard Arik call into the pit. Far above, he could see the Dwarf’s head just barely peeking over the ledge.


  “I’m okay,” he called back. “I just need to get back up.”

  When James shifted his weight to climb, the rope ladder gave an agonized groan and shuddered. “On second thought,” he called up to his companions, “toss me a rope.”

  A few seconds later, a rope came out over the edge, dangling down toward him. The only problem, it ended almost fifty feet above where he was.

  “It’s too short,” he called back.

  “Uhhh, James,” Nidra’s nervous voice called to him. “You have all the rope. This is just some extra Karim had. Do you want us to pull you up?”

  James cursed, realizing for the first time that maybe storing everything in his pouch was a bad idea. Sure, it made travel easy, but in a situation like this he was shit out of luck. “No,” he called back. “It’ll rub against the edge of the ledge and snap.”

  James held his breath as he pulled himself another few feet up the protesting bridge.

  Suddenly, the rope he had his weight on snapped. He dropped a few inches before he was able to transfer all of his weight to the other side of the bridge. Now, he was dangling with his entire weight on one rope. A rope that was already close to its breaking point.

  James needed to think. If he climbed the rope, it would snap. If his companions pulled the rope, it would either snap, or the rock would shred it. Either way, he was looking at a long trip down.

  The rope gave another agonized groan.

  “I know,” James snapped. He tried to grab the rock-face, but it’d been polished smooth by millennia of wind, and his fingers couldn’t find purchase.

  Something snapped above, and James dropped another few inches. He could buy time by casting Arcane Teleport, but he’d use up all his Essence. Still, it was better than dying. He’d drink a Health Potion first to make sure that he wouldn’t run out of Essence. Or maybe he had something better. He’d check really quickly.

  When James pulled up the list of items in his pouch, one of the first items he’d ever gotten jumped out at him.

  “Oh, come on,” James groaned in disgust. “Haven’t I dealt with enough?” Sometimes it felt like someone was playing a cruel trick on him, other times he knew someone was playing a cruel trick on him. He wasn’t sure if this was a coincidence, or an asshole God.

  Back when he’d first spawned in the cave, he’d looted a few Cave Spider Eggs. They gave +5 Dexterity for an hour, which wasn’t much, but that wasn’t the effect James was after. He pulled up the item description.

  Cave Spider Egg:

  Rank: Unusual

  + 5 dexterity for 60 minutes when eaten

  Some cultures believe that by eating the eggs of a cave spider, you can cling to walls like a spider.

  “This better work,” James said, closing his eyes as he popped one of the spider eggs into his mouth.

  It tasted like a moldy cotton ball filled with pop rocks, and he gagged at the vile taste. Was that… Was something moving?

  You have eaten [Cave Spider Eggs].

  + 5 Dexterity for 60 minutes

  Able to stick to walls for 5 minutes

  The rope creaked again, bringing James back to reality. He hesitantly reached out to touch the wall. As he did, he must’ve strained the rope to its limits, because it finally snapped. The entire bridge plummeted down. James, however, was dangling off the rock face by one hand.

  He stuck his other hand to the wall and pulled the first one off. It came away easily at a thought. Moving slowly at first, James picked up speed as he gained confidence.

  You have gained 1 Skill Rank in Climbing.

  You are now Skill Rank 13.

  James sighed in relief as he crested the lip of the pillar, but his relief was short lived. His companions were trapped with undead birds circling them from above.

  Kayne (Level 21)

  The Kayne looked like zombie vultures. They were covered in rotting, green-tinted flesh, with bits of skeleton peeking out underneath. There were three of them, all around level 20. As James watched, a hunk of fetid flesh fell from one of them and splattered against the ground.

  Nidra and Arik were both in combat stances watching the birds, while Karim lazed on the ground, watching them, occasionally shouting encouragement and advice. When James’ head popped over the edge, he smiled and waved. “You should join them and get some experience.”

  James scrambled to his feet as one of the birds dove toward Nidra.

  Arik stepped in front of her to block with his warhammer, but the bird turned its dive into a swoop and joined up with the other two.

  “Good, protect your mage!” Karim shouted. “Let her focus on dealing damage while you tank.”

  Another bird noticed James alone and dove toward him with its rotting talons outstretched. He held out a hand and gathered energy for an Arcane Missile, but this time instead of pouring as much Essence as he could into it, he worked to control the flow of Essence. He was at less than 50% and the fight hadn’t even started.

  James was beginning to see a big weakness in his magical abilities. Longer and drawn-out fights that would drain his Essence. While normal fighters had individual Health, Mana, and Stamina pools, everything he did took from the same pool, the Essence pool. He needed to find a way to get either Essence-rich food, or a stockpile of potions.

  Instead of three missiles, James blasted the Kayne with a single Arcane Missile, targeting its wing. The bird tried to dodge out of the way, but the missile curved to follow it. It clipped the surprised bird’s wing, and the creature crashed to the ground, its momentum carrying it over the edge of the pillar.

  James pumped his fist in the air and sent out another missile toward the largest bird as Nidra peppered the last one with flaming arrows.

  Nidra’s target burst into flames and was consumed in an instant, while the last remaining bird corkscrewed through the air, followed by James’ missile. After a few seconds, James’ missile fizzled out. He was confused for a second, then remembered it had a range of a hundred feet. The bird wasn’t a hundred feet away, so the spell range must have been referring to total distance traveled. James filed that away for future reference as Nidra brought down the last bird. The zombie creatures seemed especially susceptible to her flames.

  “Thanks for—”

  You have killed a Kayne (Level 21).

  + 118 experience points

  James had been about to thank Karim for all his help when he finally got the experience notification for the bird he’d knocked into the pit. He shook his head. “Never mind. Let’s get out of here.”

  Chapter 27

  The rest of the journey across the columns was uneventful. They tried to stay in Stealth and move quietly, and it seemed to work because none of the birds above noticed them. James breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the bridge across the river wasn’t a shoddy structure like the bridges across the pit. It was a sturdy stone creation, clearly left over from when the Dwarves lived in the valley.

  The river itself wasn’t particularly wide, maybe fifteen feet to the other bank, but it moved too fast to cross safely on foot.

  The group cautiously shuffled along the wet stone at the edge of the pit until they reached the bridge. Once they crossed it, it would only be a short journey until they reached the exit. Of course, nothing was ever easy.

  They’d made it halfway across the bridge when it started to rumble. The stone flaked and chipped, cracks spidering outward with each shudder.

  “Get behind me,” Karim said, his lackadaisical attitude gone. He pointed at the bridge ahead and summoned a line of traps.

  The rumbling intensified and a massive hand reached over the edge of the bridge. It gripped the railing and hoisted itself up. When James finally got a good glimpse of the creature, its status page appeared.

  Big Ted (Level 61 Elite)

  Big Ted was a massive Zombie Ogre. His bruise-colored skin was bare except for the loincloth big enough to use as a sail. His body may have been big, but his hands and feet were even larger than they sho
uld have been. He could have fit James’ head in his palm with ease. In his hand, the ogre held a broken-down tree it was using as a club. There was a gold star shimmering and rotating above Big Ted’s head underneath his status page.

  Karim fired off four arrows before anyone was able to react. Each one found its mark and buried itself deeply in the zombie. Two arrows stuck out from its left eye, and two more from the center of its throat.

  The Ogre roared in rage and struck the bridge with its tree branch. The entire structure shook, but Dwarven construction was famous for its indestructability.

  James cast Arcane Missile and sent all three bolts streaking toward Big Ted’s head. They all hit at the same time, and the Ogre rocked back at the impact.

  It took another step forward and roared in pain. It had stepped on one of Karim’s traps, and the construct snapped shut on its leg. Karim fired another arrow. This one glowed with red energy and when it hit the Ogre, it punched straight through the monster’s shoulder.

  The Ogre let out another pained wail as blood splattered the stone behind him, but Karim didn’t let up. He sent another wave of arrows toward the Ogre, while Nidra channeled her magic.

  Arik, for his part tried to distract the Ogre, but when he attacked in an attempt to take the focus away from the ranged fighters, the Ogre backhanded him straight into the bridge wall. He collapsed to the ground, senseless but still alive.

  Just as the Ogre turned its attention back to Karim, Nidra finished casting.

  A pillar of fire dropped down from the heavens and engulfed the Ogre, causing its skin to blacken and burn. It howled in pain and anger, but as it burned, a blue glow emanated from its skin.