A Mage Champion: (The Chronicles of Herst: Book 3) Read online

  A Mage Champion

  (The Chronicles of Herst 3: A LitRPG Saga)

  Synopsis

  Just when he thought they could relax, a new threat raises its head to threaten Thunderbird’s Roost. Vol must learn more about those that have attacked his Town, but one thing is clear. If those that attacked the walls were just the fodder, than they are outclassed. Can Vol and his friends build their own strength and find the source of the attack on their home? Join them as they find new friends, negotiate with royalty, and fight for their lives against all odds.

  Copyright © 2018 Thomas L Whipple

  All Rights Reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. This is the third book in the series, and it is highly recommended that you read the first two installments if you have not already.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Epilogue

  Status Pages and Titles

  Abilities

  Skills

  Grimoire

  Prologue

  There is a crick in my neck from laying in an odd position for a long time. My back is all sorts of messed up too. Slowly opening my eyes, I’m greeted with a confusing sight. A drab gray carpet is the landscape, leading up to a brown couch. The scene is familiar to me but foreign because of the angle. It also feels like it has been a very long time since I’ve seen these items. Something is pressing against my head and very uncomfortable. I try to reach up and find the source but it’s hard to move my right arm.

  Pins and needles explode along the arm as it flops free from underneath me. Lying on my right side caused it to fall asleep and it’s hard to control as the feeling starts to come back. Using my left hand, I feel my head. Plastic meets the fingers and a moment of feeling around tells me the item is a VR helmet. Pulled back to reveal my eyes and sitting at an angle, it’s causing my neck pain because of the angle my head sits at. I yanked the device off and roll onto my back with a groan that is part pain and part relief.

  A familiar popcorn ceiling meets my eyes as I get comfortable. Something isn’t right. It feels like I’m not supposed to be here. I check out the room and it looks exactly how it should. The couch and TV are in the same place, the carpet is still the same horrible color and walls the off white they always were. Still reeling from a crazy dream that I had last night, the feeling persists. The memories of the dream are obscured but I remember being part of a large battle in a fantastical world. All the details are blurry though.

  Turning my head to the little end table from IKEA next to the couch I reach out for my cell phone. Using my right hand causes the pins and needles to flare up again, but the circulation is returning, and the sensation passes quickly. Pulling down the smartphone I unlock it and check the time. 5:30 AM on Saturday. I must have passed out or something while playing U.F.O. last night. I don’t remember what happened when I was playing last night.

  Also, on the phone, I could see a number of missed calls and text messages left from last night. Flipping through a few of them I see they are all from my guild mates. They were all worried messages about what happened to me at first. Then they are worried because I didn’t respond. Sitting up, I move over to lean my back against the couch. After taking a moment to let my head settle, I push myself up onto it.

  Sitting there I can only feel the bottom drop out of my heart. I don’t know why, but I can’t help it that there seems to be something important I’m missing. Something else tickles the back of my mind. I’m meant for more than this. My life of fixing people’s cable TV and internet felt so drab and gray, like living death. The feelings are all out of place though, they have no origin or reason that I can pinpoint.

  There is a knock on my door as I gain my bearings. Who could be knocking on my door at this time in the morning? Really, who would come to my door at all. It has been quite a while since anyone beside me was in this apartment. I get up and walk to the door. About the only thing nice about the place is the door. It’s a solid piece of hardwood stained a dark chocolate color.

  When I stick my eye to the peephole, I can see the door across from my apartment, but no one is there. I wait a moment to see if anyone comes into view then back away. Shaking my head at the oddity, I turned around to go back to the couch. Only one step later another knock comes at my door. What the hell! It’s way too early to be dealing with some jerk that is playing a prank on a random stranger.

  Back at the door, there is still no one visible through the peephole. Expecting another knock when I start to leave the door again, I twist the bolt lock, and then the handle. Sticking my head out of the open door to see who is annoying me I find nothing. Whoever it was must be gone now. Probably ran off after hearing the bolt turn. Whatever. The door shuts with a click as I pull my head back inside, but something feels off all of the sudden.

  Turning away from the door, there he is. A deathly pale man is standing in the middle of the living room. He’s dressed like he’s going to a renaissance fare or something, with homespun clothes and leather armor covering his chest. The armor is scorched and burned all over in a strange pattern. The black marks branch off in odd directions from a central burn. The jagged, random twisting marks remind me of pictures I saw online when I was in eighth grade.

  I was making a report for school about lightning. I looked up pictures of people who had been hit by lightning and the burns it left behind. They were all twisting and puckered scar tissue that spread over the victims’ bodies. Just like this guy, except these aren’t scars. This guy has blackened jags of flesh on the arms starting from where the burns on the leather armor end. The blackened skin is cracked, but there is no blood seeping from the raw meat colored interior.

  Looking at this man that should, and may be, dead, a memory stirs. Like something from a forgotten dream, I remember this man running from me as I fly after. It must be a dream since I was flying, right? Through a field of tall grass, I follow from above before raining death upon him. He stood no chance against the magic called down on him and fell over. Breaking me from the strange memory, the intruder takes a step in my direction, but not in a threatening way. As if pleading to me he holds his open, burned hands out to the side and utters a single word in a scratchy voice.

  “Why?”

  ***

  Bolting upright in bed, a sense of panic is crushing me. My breathing is quick and shallow, my heart racing. Looking around to get my bearings I see Gem staring back from the door with concern. On the bed with me are Thia, Azzaria, and Timbre. Thia has already sat up beside me, sending comforting thoughts through our bond. I can feel her concern and the desire to ask me what is wrong, but she is holding off so I can get my bearings. As everything becomes clear to me, I realize I must have fallen asleep after selecting my new class.

  Turning back to Gem, “How long have we been out?”

  “Not long Vol, maybe half an hour.”

>   What a horrible dream. Dream logic what it is, this life, real life felt like the dream. I’m a little concerned now that I’m dreaming now, but the gnarly hangover would indicate otherwise. In my mind I relate the rapidly fading experience of my dream to Thia. I get back an acknowledgement to my revulsion. The emotion she sends back is a mimic of my own that bled through as I related everything. Next, she sends through a concept of comfort; everything is right in the world.

  Time to get up now. We need to go down to speak with the people shortly. Dusk will be here soon and that’s when I plan to perform the ceremony for our dead. Hoping that Azzaria and Timbre are finished with whatever they have to do, I reach out a hand to each. When my hand cups Azzaria’s cheek she blinks her eyes open as she starts coming to. Touching Timbre with the other hand just causes her to turn her head to the side and lick my hand before snuggling into the bed again. As Azzaria is getting up I lean closer to Timbre and whisper into her furry ear. “Wake up love. We have things to do.”

  Leaning back again makes it possible to see the twitching of her wolf-like ear and the flutter of one eye. When it’s fully open, I look into the sky-blue orb that resembles ice but conveys such warmth upon seeing me. “Everyone get what they needed done?” Breaking eye contact with my beautiful direwolf mate I see the others all nodding their agreement. “Good, let’s head down and meet up with the council. Then we can see to our fallen. Just give me a moment.”

  Walking into the bathroom I look into the mirror and see the new me. My violet colored eyes stare back at me with intensity unseen in my past appearance. Hair is getting long both on top of me head and on my face. Taking a moment, I shave the scruffy beard down to something more presentable and leave the small room. As I’m walking down the hall behind the three women who have wedged themselves into my heart, I’m relieved they all made it through our most recent conflict.

  Each one is unique and fills a different role in our party, in our lives. Azzaria is fierce and confident with a mischievous streak. Timbre is the strong, silent type. She doesn’t say much but is affectionate and extremely protective of her packmates. Life would definitely be poorer for her absence. And then there is Thia. Sophisticated to the point that others are often surprised by her eloquent speech, and far beyond loyal. More like absolutely dedicated. Of course, they are all amazingly hot, which explains my failure to keep my gaze off their behinds.

  “Are you staring at our butts?” It’s Azzaria who is looking over her shoulder that caught me. Her smile doesn’t indicate an issue with it though. “What was it you said before? One of the benefits of chivalry or some such?”

  I get a good chuckle out of the reminder from our first day together. “Something like that.” My good mood sours from the impending responsibility shortly after the exchange.

  She catches the change and slows a little. Next to me, she takes my hand in her own, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay Vol. You’ve done everything you could for the people here. It is sad, but we could have lost many more if you hadn’t been with us and done so much to protect everyone. You didn’t create this threat.”

  Her words are soothing, but it still doesn’t completely quell the guilt I can feel deep down. It’s a funny thing, guilt. We feel it for things we did and things we can’t change. Maybe it’s just meant to be a reminder of how to improve in our lives. Speaking of improvement, I still have a lot of TP to distribute into my new subclass. I can feel the excitement well up within me, but it never surfaces, smothered by the solemn mood that feels like it’s pressing down on the whole town.

  As we reach the end of the stairway that leads into the main hall, I put my talents out of my head. It seems prudent to come back to it when there aren’t such pressing matters that need attending to. Entering the main hall reveals the elders’ council, sitting at the large table in the middle. They were involved in a heated discussion until we entered but go silent when they see us. It sounded like they were worried about whether or not another attack should be expected.

  All the elders survived the attack, which I’m thankful for. I even saw most of them helping on the wall during the attack. I don’t know what I would do if they weren’t around to handle most of the day to day happenings of the town. I may chime in and even overrule them on some of the bigger things, but they are the ones that handle the little stuff. Things like conflict resolution between citizens and zoning requests. Honestly, I only know a small amount of what they do, I just know they keep this place running and shield me from unnecessary annoyances.

  Grondar is already standing and places a fist over his heart in a respectful salute. Dolan stands along with everyone else as we approach. Coming forward to embrace Azzaria he’s joined by his wife Hildre. “It’s good ta be seeing ya after that scuffle.” He gives me a slap on the shoulder after embracing his adoptive daughter. Hildre comes up behind him and hugs the four of us.

  All around the table are respectful nods from the rest of the council. The only others I can see in the room are a pair of guards over by the door, so I turn back to the council. “Sounded like you were discussing our options for what comes next.”

  Grim looks meet my gaze and Grondar steps forward to apprise me of the discussion. “It’s obvious to everyone that we have a problem with vampires in the forest. The presence of their thralls indicates that they were testing us, to see what weaknesses could be found. I’m only glad that we left Efftin when we did, or we could have been their thralls instead. We don’t know where they are coming from exactly but it’s a safe bet that other villages in the forest are at risk. The council is going to send messages to the other villages we know of, but the message to be sent is in controversy.”

  Sounds like a good idea, but why is the message a sticking point? “What’s the hold up about the message?”

  Dolan takes over the explanation from here. “It be about what ta reveal in it. Mainly it be whether ta invite others ta come ‘ere and reveal our location. There be a bit of concern about tellin’ them who be leading us here.”

  That makes sense. The more people that know where we are, the more likely it is for our location to get out to the wrong people. And people might be reluctant to seek refuge in a place run by a human. On the other hand, this is about people’s lives. Not offering sanctuary to the other villages might result in a lot more deaths. “Tell them our location and offer sanctuary. Leave me out of the message for now. Better that they see how well we are doing here before judging me for being human. We can address any issues as they come.”

  Grondar puts a fist too heart once more. “I will send them first thing in the morning.”

  “Good,” is my reply. Then I turn to everyone else in the room. “Let’s head down to the orchard.” Without another word we leave the mushroom lit halls of the keep through the front gate.

  On the walk down, the council members informed me that we lost a total of eight people. I’m pretty surprised by this, but the advantage the wall gave use made a huge difference. Most of our people killed were thanks to the heavy hitters gaining the wall where I fought them. A list of names for the fallen is also provided to me during our short trek. When we near the spot where the bodies were taken a crowd can be seen. There are so many people that I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole town was here.

  The crowd parts as we approach, revealing eight bodies covered in white sheets laying side by side. They are near the channel I created to water the fields about midway through the orchard. Standing before them I look across the water to the cliff face and get an idea. With conversations throughout my time on this world I discovered that cremation was a common method shared by my people. I guess with necromancers and monsters that can control the bodies of the dead most folks prefer not to leave a body around.

  Putting my plan into action, I flood a magic circle in my hand with mana and start my Shape Earth spell. With this spell an alcove is created in the wall. It’s about ten feet deep and a dozen or so wide within and arch. On the back wall I created
a little artwork using all my concentration for the details of a double door. It isn’t functional, only solid rock lies beyond, but I thought it was good symbolism. A doorway to pass from one life to the next.

  The last thing to be created is a small bridge, big enough for two people to pass by each other, that arcs over the canal to the center of the alcove. Nearby guards are then instructed to carry the bodies across to the alcove and lay them out respectfully. There is some murmuring from the crowd but mainly it is just speculation as to what I’m doing. After the last person is laid out and the guards retreat, I cross over to the new alcove in the cliff myself.

  With my new increases to INT and WIS it’s easy to remember all 8 names for those that are laid out and I start the next part of my plan. Removing a chunk of crystal from my Dimensional Storage I step to the wall beside the alcove on the narrow ledge. With Shape Earth I carve out the names for the first four people on my list, Jaime Sanderson, Maude Floren, Arzik Tomerin, and Leer Bentwing. Raising up the crystal I focus on my profession. Not having any other light spell to work with I use Wisp and focus on light with no heat. The liquefying crystal is combined with my spell and my will before being directed into the names carved into the sheer cliff face.

  Upon opening my eyes I’m treated to crystal lettering lit by a shifting orange glow from within. It was far more elegant than I thought I could do and created a sort of reverent quality to it all. Moving to the other side of the alcove I did the same with the last four names on the list. Soon, Sirus Maltok, Preet Loranca, Garig Flintspark, and Hestus Songleaf were twinkling away in the stone, forever immortalized with the others.

  There is a silence from the crowd now. When I turn around, they are all looking at me with solemn awe written on their faces. Stepping back across the little bridge I stand before them. “Today is a sad one. We lost good people in the defense of our home to an enemy we didn’t know existed. Those eight people, those eight heroes, died to protect the lives we have built here.” Pausing to look at individual faces in the gathering of citizens I make eye contact with as many as I can.