Trojan: An Epic LitRPG Adventure (Afterlife Online Book 3) Page 8

  Accept Quest?

  I accepted.

  "It is settled then," said Gent. Of the two glowing triangles floating overhead, one popped off. His eyes followed it as it slid back into the slot above his head. "You are a slayer. A hero. Do what you do best."

  The pillar shifted Mara into view. The final floating triangle sputtered as it drifted back into place. "I am afraid you will need more than might to tackle your enemies, freethinker. Use the tools that have attained you such heights. Restore the Trinity. Only then will you have your alliance. Good luck."

  The room rumbled as the pillar spun and snapped into place, empty throne facing us. There was no more movement, no more muttering. The Trinity had once again gone dark.

  I turned to Lash and Izzy. They'd remained silent the entire time. Even now, they didn't have anything to say.

  The colorful lights beneath the frozen lake fluttered. The entire Speculum darkened. Even the vigilant keepers temporarily lost their glow. After several disconcerting seconds power fully restored, leaving us in a charming Christmas glow once again.

  Charming but cold. The experience was eerie, though not overtly ominous—probably best described as glitchy. It made me wonder if Oakengard was really ready to host players and how much of a detrimental effect a fractured Trinity actually had.

  Quest Update: Reunite the Trinity

  Quest Type: Epic

  Reward: 20 silver bars, 4,000 XP, royal treasure

  What remains of the Oakengard Trinity appears well, but they require a bishop to return to full form.

  1,000 XP awarded

  Our troubled faces snapped into smiles. A single conversation and Grimwart's epic quest had advanced. Sure, we had a new, independently difficult quest to add to it now, but so far Oakengard was promising to be an XP gold mine. I checked my sheet.

  XP

  65985

  Next

  74950

  And I was worried this'd be dangerous.

  The three of us headed to the spiral staircase and began our ascent.

  1180 MIA: Missing in Action

  Expectant eyes waited for us above. Grimwart was especially eager to hear the news.

  "Did you see them?" he asked. "Are they still alive?"

  His questions puzzled me. Grimwart was the one who'd assigned the quest to us in the first place. Hadn't he been updated along with our notification? Come to think of it, I didn't really understand the underlying game mechanics regarding quest prompts. Was the NPC aware of the settings? Did they choose the experience and treasure rewards?

  "They were there," I answered. "They seemed... normal?"

  He blinked. "What do you mean... normal?"

  I shrugged. "I've got to hand it to you, Grimwart. Between your precautious concern and Saint Peter's fast travel, these quests are gonna be good for us." As quest experience didn't divide amongst participants, the entire brigade was pleased with the development.

  "That's not possible," protested Grimwart. "The situation at Oakengard is anything but normal."

  "I'm telling you, they're okay. Gave me a new quest and everything. Look," I said, before something tugged at my mind. I paused and considered the room. The expressionless keepers stared ahead blankly.

  "Yes?"

  "Uh... oh yeah." I pulled Grimwart aside and spoke low. "They didn't come right out and say it, but the Trinity is vulnerable until they fill the bishop position, and they don't want to do that until Cleric Vagram is brought to justice. That's the reason for the defensive drills and the search parties."

  His mustache puckered out. "I suppose. But that doesn't explain the lack of communication."

  "They don't know which priests are trustworthy. A good bishop will solve that. Look." I opened my updated quest prompt for his perusal and distractedly surveyed the room as he read.

  "This isn't right," he muttered. "Replacing the ousted bishop is necessary for reunification, but how can the one exist if any of the three are broken?"

  I did kinda understand his concern. If the priestship was the only problem, why leave Colonel Grimwart in the dark? Then again, who was I to complain? Perhaps the full scope of the city's problems would be revealed over the course of the epic quest. Find the bishop, find the problem.

  Besides, we had a more pressing issue. I finally realized what was nagging me. I left Grimwart to his troubled pondering and approached Kyle.

  "Where's Crux?"

  "Huh?"

  "Crux. Yay height, all black, master thief. I left you in charge up here."

  Kyle looked around dumbly. "He was here a minute ago."

  Bravo Team huddled around Lash as she described the Trinity encounter. I converged on them. "Hey, Hex, seen your twin brother around?"

  The necromancer stiffly swiveled her head to the adjoining hallways. "He's not here?"

  I nodded to our surroundings. "Isn't it obvious?"

  Lash frowned.

  Lash: Crux, report.

  The whole brigade read the message and idly turned to the walls and shadows.

  Lash: Crux, you okay?

  "Was anyone else in this room?" asked Izzy.

  Grimwart was still preoccupied, but one of the keepers glanced our way.

  "No way," said Kyle. "It was just us. You were only gone like five minutes. There's no way anyone—"

  Talon: Stop talking.

  The room went silent. The abrupt change spurred the second keeper to look our way. I smiled and waved.

  "How ya doin'? All right? Us too."

  The keeper's gaze didn't waver.

  "Okay... Good talk."

  Hex: He's probably just wandering. He does that sometimes.

  Lash: Not without giving anyone a heads up. Not if he wants to stay on my team.

  Hex: I'll talk to him.

  Talon: I'm not so sure he wandered away. There's something off in here and I don't want to vocalize it out loud. The keepers are watching us.

  Kyle: Okay, so what do we do?

  I nonchalantly strolled across the room, pretending to admire the rose-tinted floor.

  Talon: We stall. We split up and find him, all the while acting like everything's normal.

  Izzy rapped the winter staff lightly on the floor. "Gee, Grimwart, I would really love to see the magic shops you have here."

  The NPC snapped out of his thoughts. "Hmm?"

  "Yeah," joined in Kyle. "And I wanna pick up some of that crystal. Mementos."

  Colonel Grimwart nodded. "Yes, of course." The keepers returned to forward-facing positions, bored.

  "I could use some fresh air too," said Glinda. Conan followed as she joined Kyle and Izzy.

  Hex inched toward an unexplored hallway. "I wouldn't mind a look around."

  "Wait for me," I called. I didn't know Crux and Hex too well. With one of them missing I didn't wanna let the other out of my sight. Hex failed to hide her disappointment at my joining her, making me wonder if the twins were up to something. "Lash, you're with us."

  I was satisfied the white knight would adequately back me up against any potential trouble until one of the keepers sharply trilled. We froze.

  "It's just policy," explained Grimwart. "The Inner Hall of Oakengard is not to be wandered by outsiders. I can escort you."

  Izzy shrugged. "We can find the shops on our own then."

  The colonel's presence pacified the mindless guardian. Its glow faded and it turned away, once again standing vigil over the Speculum.

  Izzy's group headed outside as we went our separate ways. Hex moved to lead us down the corridor we'd come from. Interesting, since she'd initially tried to head another direction. "Let's go this way," I ordered, heading down her original path. She swallowed and hurried after.

  Talon: You up to anything, Hex?

  Lash furrowed her brow and turned to me. "What are you—?"

  I put a finger to my lips. Grimwart turned at the sudden silence. Having him around made me uneasy. Not because I distrusted him. I just wasn't sure how compromised he was. But with th
e keepers guarding the Inner Hall, we had no other choice than to have him near.

  Lash: What are you talking about?

  Talon: I'm suggesting Hex knows what her brother's up to, and I want to know what's going on right now.

  Lash: That's Bravo Team you're talking about.

  Talon: Not now, Lash.

  Lash: To hell with not now. I have a man down and you're questioning my party?

  I grumbled. The last thing I needed was Lash's impertinence broadcast over brigade chat. Just as bad right now was making the colonel party to our affairs.

  Hex: It's nothing. I just thought my brother was checking out this hallway. Let's just find him and get out of here.

  Talon: Radio silence from here on out.

  Lash frowned at me before her helmet blinked into place. Thankfully, she followed the order.

  It was looking more and more like a sneaky party member was up to something. And if he was, he now had the full story. Brigade chat saw to that. I had no way of communicating while keeping both Crux and Grimwart out of the loop, and reorganizing the parties when the others were away would strand them. I needed to ask the devs for better chat controls.

  Ahead in the passage, a few men argued. We approached the group. Two soldiers cornered a priest against the wall.

  "What did you call him?" asked the man with an axe.

  "He knows what he did," snapped the priest. "If he needed more silver, he should've made sure his search party was successful."

  "You'd like that," said the other soldier. "More wild goose chases for your precious cleric."

  "I'm not a disciple of Vagram's," swore the priest. "That's a rich accusation coming from a two-bit thief."

  "I'm no thief, you traitor!"

  "Men!" boomed Grimwart. The soldiers immediately turned and snapped to attention. Even though the priest didn't directly report to the colonel, he lowered his head submissively. "What is the meaning of this?"

  "My silver is missing, Colonel. Briggs has done nothing but pester me for weeks. Now he's finally crossed the line."

  The man accused of being a thief defended himself. "I did—"

  "Silence!" commanded the colonel. "This is unbecoming of Oakengard's elite."

  I found it curious that our expert thief was missing in the same area a priest misplaced his silver. As Grimwart chided the quarreling men, I took the opportunity to pull Lash and Hex discreetly forward. Grimwart was occupied and paid us no heed.

  "We shouldn't go ahead alone," whispered Hex.

  "You'd like that," I said curtly. "You're not being entirely honest with us, Hex."

  "What are you trying to say?" warned Lash. The necromancer didn't appear nearly as righteous.

  "It's just that—"

  We turned a corner and nearly bumped into Crux coming toward us.

  "Wha—" he said, surprised. "Oh, sorry! I didn't..." The thief was holding a bar of silver in his hand.

  "Where did you get that?" I demanded.

  "I didn't..."

  "We're guests in this fortress. Give it back. Now."

  His expression sobered and he nodded glumly.

  Hex hugged him dispassionately. "I'm glad you're okay."

  "He's not okay," I said. "He snuck away to loot our hosts. You lied to us." I eyed further down the hallway. A faint glow shone through an arched doorway. "What are you doing out here?"

  Crux frowned. "Sorry, boss. Just keeping my skills sharp, you know?"

  I stepped past him. "You sure that's all..." As I approached the distant doorway, a cream-colored cloth fluttered by. A white robe. I hurried after the saint with a short Caesar cut and sharp features, arriving in the room just in time to see Saint Loras whisper to a keeper.

  Crusader Reputation -100

  My intuition nagged at me. The developer skittered from the room. Before I could follow, the keeper flared brightly. The soft blue glow became fluorescent red fire. The keeper released a high-pitched hum and advanced, two stony hands raised.

  [Keeper]

  225 Health

  I backed away with outstretched arms. "Whoa, whoa. I just want to talk to Loras."

  Lash and the twins squeezed behind me. "What'd you do?" asked the knight.

  "Nothing!"

  "You aggroed him."

  "I can see that."

  Despite the aggressive advance, the keeper stopped before us, humming erratically. He was an animated, intimidating creature.

  I shook my head, palms still raised. "I don't know what you're saying."

  "What are you doing here?" demanded Grimwart, stomping up behind us.

  I backed away from the threat. "One of my guys got lost. Saint Loras was back here."

  Grimwart studied the keeper. "As I've said, he was permanently assigned here after Stronghold was secured."

  "But saints are player advocates. What's he doing in an NPC town?"

  "Bolstering Oakengard. Or so he claims. I have received no assistance from the man."

  I narrowed my eyes. When the crusaders had first showed themselves in the beta, the developers patched in huge buffs to their faction. I didn't understand why that required saintly presence, but I didn't know everything about Haven policy. "I don't trust Loras. Bishop Tannen accused him of destroying the hub in Shorehome and handing over its soulstone."

  "The Oakengard soulstone is also missing. The Trinity blames it on greedy players."

  Hero Gent had almost let that same fact slip. After we were safe, I needed to learn everything Grimwart knew. "I have a feeling Saint Loras is the one meddling in Oakengard. We need to find out what he's up to." I chanced a step forward. The keeper's red fire sizzled. A baton of energy extended from his stony arm.

  Grimwart tugged me backward. "No one's allowed in saintly quarters, not even me."

  "Get off." I shrugged him away as two keepers rounded the exit Loras had fled through. One of them was extra large, made up of heavy rocks with a mean glow. A bright spot of energy washed over his glass-like head and formed a power helmet.

  [Keeper Brute]

  375 Health

  A keeper boss—not that the other two were shabby themselves. I turned to Crux and Hex.

  "What did you do?"

  The young necromancer trembled. "I'm sorry..."

  Izzy: Talon, I think we're being followed.

  "We must flee," urged Grimwart. "Now."

  We retreated a few steps before two more keepers appeared at our rear, trapping us. Five of them now, each crackling with angry light.

  Whoever said there was a such thing as easy XP?

  1190 Rock of Ages

  With combat looking more and more likely, I ceased any attempt at appearing docile. I brandished the dragonspear overhead. Lash drew her cleaver.

  "What are you doing?" breathed Grimwart. "You can't fight them."

  I gritted my teeth. "They're not giving us much choice."

  "I'm sorry," repeated Hex. "We didn't mean—"

  Crux placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. It was my fault."

  "No," I said. "This is about something bigger than you two. Saint Loras and the nine great cities." We backed away as the keepers closed in.

  Grimwart led us the way we'd come. The rear sentries were much less aggressive in their advance. "Let us return to the fast-travel portal," he requested.

  "Will we be allowed to use it?"

  The colonel scoffed indignantly. "Oakengard does not wish to imprison you. We're meant to be allies."

  "Act like the question is hypothetical, then. For the sake of argument, will we be able to use the portal if Loras wants us captured?"

  He frowned and nodded. "Yes. It was left open for your return. Loras would need to manually disable it. I can send you through."

  "Good enough for me."

  Talon: New plan. Everybody get your ass to the fast-travel point NOW. We're outta here.

  Izzy: What about the quest to capture Vagram?

  Talon: We have an emergency here. We need to regroup. We can worry about th
e cleric later.

  Izzy: Got it.

  Kyle: Roger that. Omw.

  Halfway down the hall, the two keepers stopped their escort. The three coming from Loras lifted their batons and advanced. They weren't letting us go—they just wanted us safely contained in the narrow hallway, away from the saint quarters. We were sitting ducks now.

  I squared off with the two barring the rear passage. They were a softer target than the three behind us, both in numbers and in the absence of the armored boss. "I'm Talon, the Protector of Stronghold, faction leader of the Black Hats, and a guest in this city. Get out of my way."

  Energy batons zapped into being and they lunged.

  I triggered dash to sidestep their attack. The dragonspear rounded on one. I buried a deadshot through its stony center, shoving it into the wall.

  You dealt 37 damage to [Keeper]

  "Run!"

  The group sped through the opening. The keeper brute hummed three times in quick succession. It was time for full alert.

  The second keeper came at me as Lash swung her cleaver. The blade passed through the red energy connecting the smoky stone arm to its body. A blow that should've dismembered the enemy was ignored. The sentinel spun a rock-fist into Lash's breastplate, sending her to the ground. The rock readied another blow.

  "Lash!" screamed Hex. Although she was already past the danger, she returned and laid hands on the keeper.

  [Hex] cast Deanimate on [Keeper]

  The keeper's red fire vanished. The heavy rocks tumbled to the ground.