(Second Book Complete!) Runeblade: A Delving & Skill Merging LitRPG

Kaius stiffened slightly as he walked through the open door of the Stout Oak, though he did not break stride. He had a lot of memories in this place.

Of the leather wrapped benches and tables, nestled in cosy nooks that were recessed into one of the tavern’s walls. The tables buffed to a high shine, reflecting the candles that sat above despite being discoloured from many a spilled drink. He remembered falling asleep under one as a boy, lulled by the soft murmur of a busy tavern and the warmth of a good fire and a full belly.

Of the hearth that dominated the far wall across from him, its wide mantle covered in a dozen trinkets and trophies, and a large deer skull mounted above it. Many bards had sung there, dancing and playing in front of the crackling flames for the delight of a crowd.

Of the bar to his right, with its sweeping bench and a trio of handpulled taps that served whatever concoctions Hurrin had brewed in the months prior. His first sip of beer, he remembered its malty and bitter taste, Hurrin and Father laughing at the face he pulled.

Of the many tables that dotted the wide open space, filled to the brim with locals and visiting wanderers alike. They were empty now, the fire dead, and the place quiet.

“Fetch the pints and get the stew hot, will ye lass?” Hurrin said, looking to his daughter.

Illendra nodded and rushed off ahead, flying around the bar to rush into the kitchen. Thankfully, the Stout Oak had had their stew going for years, and he knew that Illendra would have topped it off this morning, so she would only need to bring it up from a low simmer. She’d be back soon.

Hurrin jutted his chin towards one of the larger tables that sat towards the centre of the room, exposed and open. Kaius had normally seen it used for games of cards or dice, but it seemed it would be the site of their discussion.

As a group they walked over, Porkchop hunching down slightly to fit through the double doors. They’d already stopped by the hunters lodge, depositing the deer on their way to the tavern.

Kaius took his seat, Porkchop settling in next to him as the elders of Three Fields took their own.

“Sorry we don’t have anything suitable for yourself, Porkchop.” Eilish said, addressing his bond-brother. Porkchop had gotten sick of being called a ‘Forest King’ on the fourth go of it on their walk over and had insisted that they call him by name. “We were not expecting anyone of your… lineage to ever visit our humble village. I would be happy to fetch you a hide or a rug, if you would like something. The workshops are close by.”

“No, thank you, I’m used to stone and soil, so this is fine.” Porkchop replied politely.

The elder of the artisans nodded, waiting patiently for Illendra as the soft hiss of ale hitting tankards continued. A few moments later, his old friend returned, seven tankards and a low bowl expertly balanced on a serving tray. She moved around the table depositing drinks, including one for Porkchop, before she finally gave him his.

“Imperial stout. Pretty strong, but I remember that’s not really an issue for you.” she whispered, before rushing over to take her seat by her father’s side. Kaius smiled at her. Strong and dark had always been his preference for beer. Through some arcane interaction, Rapid Adaptation had bolstered his tolerance to drink, and his father had warned him that he would need the help of brewers with high skill levels to feel any effects far before most classers Vitality reached the point that common brews stopped working. Even suppressing a skill couldn’t remove its effects completely, at least not at higher levels.

“What’s this, Kaius?” Porkchop asked him quietly, sniffing his bowl full of amber foamy liquid that was set at his edge of the table. Even sitting on the floor, he still reached it easily.

He smiled. “Beer, expect it to be a little bready and kind of bitter. It might make you feel a little warm and … relaxed, for lack of a better term, but I expect it won’t have much effect on you with your constitution. Give it a try though.” Kaius whispered back, receiving a glimmer of curiosity in turn.

Turning his attention back to the elders, he found them waiting patiently. He sighed, taking a long drink from his tankard. The rich notes of a good stout flooded his palate, and he groaned in appreciation.

“A year without your drop is a year too long, Hurrin. This is a good batch.” he said appreciatively, his tankard clacking as he returned it to the table.

The stocky tavernkeep grinned at him. “Of course it is, I bloody well brewed it, didn’t I?”

Saldar was the first to break the tense dance they were doing, cutting through the fluff and pleasantries with all of his familiar grump.

“Yes, yes.” he waved. “You make good beer, we all know this.” Saldar leaned forwards, fixing him with a stare, though one more tinged with guarded curiosity than suspicion. “Now, boy. Why don’t you tell us what trouble you’ve gotten into this time.”

Kaius sighed, feeling Porkchop lean ever so slightly into him for support. He took another long drink from his tankard, draining it dry. Before Illendra could rise to refill it for him, he stood and walked over to the bar, leaning over the bend to work the spigot and refill his stout.

“I assume you won’t mind if there are some rather blatant holes in the tale? Even if I’m sure half of you could guess at my secrets, I’d rather leave them unsaid.”

Jekkar scoffed. “Old coots like us know how it is, Kaius. Besides, bonds of community or not, it’s safer if we can say with true honesty that we don’t know what you’re hiding.”

Kaius nodded, and returned to his seat with a full drink in hand. “Well. You know that after our last visit, me and Father were planning on shifting spots once more?”

“We do,” Yanmi said, her voice uncharacteristically soft.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Well, we ended up pushing onto the plateau. We shifted camps as we do, but after a few months we ended up settling by the falls. You should know the ones, Jekkar. To the north east, you can catch the sun glinting off them in the mornings from a couple of the rocky outcroppings not far from here.”

“Aye,” the old hunter nodded. “Never been there me-self, but I know a few veterans of the Sea from the other villages who have.”

Kaius nodded, a knot of anger and grief twisting in his stomach. He took another deep gulp from his stout, the soft building warmth of it helping to steel his nerves even if he felt Rapid Adaptation working to purge its effects. He pushed the skill down, willing it to settle and let the drop do its work. He could always relax his hold if he got too sloppy.

“We made camp near the top of the falls. Had been there barely a pair of days, not nearly enough to get a full and proper lay of the land. That morning I’d gone north, veering away from the river to do a bit of scouting, maybe find some forage for dinner. I ended up seeing a troupe of men on one of the higher ridge lines. Not far as the crow flies, but perhaps a league between us by ground. As soon as they saw me they gave chase.” Kaius said, jaw clenching as he chewed his way through every word.

The elders’ reactions were mixed, but telling. Jekkar scowled, looking away as his jaw muscles bulged. Yanmi and Saldar frowned, stern and displeased. Hurrin looked at him with worry and sympathy. Even Eilish, normally stoic and practical, had covered her hand with her mouth, looking at him with a pained expression.

Not one of them looked surprised.

Kaius soldiered on. “I took flight, running back to Father as fast as I could. By the time I made it, I barely had a minute or two’s lead. Father made me flee again, barely taking the time to hand me my pack before he forced me away, holding me to an old promise if this was ever to happen. He stayed behind to guard my retreat.”

Another drink emptied his tankard. He refilled it at the bar, grabbing a second tankard while he was at it. No point interrupting himself every five seconds. Not one of the elders gave it a second look.

“It was the last time I saw him. Evidently there were too many for him to fully hold off, because a bare few minutes later I had a half dozen archers on my tail. At least, it felt like that many, I never got a clean look.”

Illendra was openly crying now, silent tears spilling down her face as she listened to his tale with horror plain on her face.

Kaius took a slow breath. It was hard, to speak of that day, but it was something that brought with it a level of closure that he hadn’t expected. “In the panic of the chase, I stopped paying attention to the surroundings. Those bandits, they could have killed me if they wanted. They didn’t. I realised too late that they had herded me to the edge of the river, trapping me between its currents, the cliffs, and themselves.” he continued.

His audience were hanging off his words now. Even Porkchop was listening intently, though he had heard the story before.

“I made the only choice I had. I threw myself off the falls.” he had to force the last words out, reliving the overwhelming terror of the situation, the heady feelings of cowardice that had perfused him at leaving his father behind.

“What?! How do you live, lad?!” Jekkar yelled, slamming the table, before he winced as every set of eyes snapped to him.

“What do you mean, Jekkar?” Saldar asked. “There’s dozens of bloody falls in those woods, for a lad like him I can’t imagine he’d get anything more than a little roughed up.”

Jekkar shook his head. “Not those ones. That plateau has to be a good hundred-and-fifty strides in the air, and the falls are massive. He’d have broken a leg at least, and would have been caught in the undertow.”

“I was. Leg was snapped clean through, and my health completely drained.” Kaius explained, drawing a soft gasp from Illendra. “The undertow had me fully, I nearly drowned.”

“Then how are you sitting here, lad.” Hurrin asked, fully enraptured in his story.

Kaius grunted, Taking a deep pull of his stout. “There was a Depths portal at the bed of the falls, undertow sucked me right through.”

He was met with silence, every single listener watching him intensely.

“Impossible.” Saldar half spat, planting his hands on the table to rise from his seat. “You mean to tell us you survived the Depths? That’s a fucking death sentence for an unclassed.”

Porkchop growled, a throaty bass that rattled the very table, sending ripples through their drinks. Handspan fangs bared, his bond-brother’s eyes drilled into Saldar. “You will not accuse my bonded brother of falsehood. Especially not for something I have witnessed myself, or would you also accuse me as well?”

Saldar paled, freezing.

Yanmi pulled the man back into his seat, eyes narrowed at the old farmer. “We would do no such thing, Porkchop. Saldar was simply taken aback by shock. Weren’t you, Saldar?”

“..Yes, yes I was.” he stammered. “I apologise for interrupting.”

Kaius nodded, taking the time to have another sip of his stout. He could feel it working now. Strong as it was, the heady brew was doing well at cutting through his Vitality. He still had full control of his faculties, but at least he felt a little…looser.

“I take no offence. If I heard it I would question it too, but regardless it happened. The second layer too.” Kaius said.

Jekkar winced at that, with a combat class, he knew best of everyone here the exact dangers that the Depths posed. Though, he noticed that neither him nor Hurrin or Yanmi had acted surprised. They knew something. His seed of dread rattled.

“I only survived those early days due to things I would not speak of. Not yet. What is important is that after I managed to kill two Champions, I had the sheer blind luck to be rewarded with a Natural Treasure.”

Everyone at the table froze, though Jekkar in particular had been staring at him intently even before the mention of the fruit.

“Truly?” Eilish whispered.

“True as rain.” Kaius nodded. “What I am about to share, I only share because I consider this my home, and this and some later knowledge may be vital in ensuring that it remains a place for me to return to. This must not leave this room, clear?” He met the eyes of each of his listeners in turn, only moving on when he had gotten a nod, all a mixture of solemn, resolute, and curious.

Kaius grunted, finishing his tankard. Sharing would be a risk, but Porkchop had been wearing off on him. The desperate claws that most people sank into their secrets were foolish. If they hadn’t, they might have already passed whatever trials the system had left for them, or at least be far better prepared.

While he couldn’t see himself living in Three Fields, it was still where he had been raised before he was old enough to survive the Sea. It was home, and he wouldn’t see it potentially destroyed by his own paranoia.

Kaius steeled himself. “After eating the fruit, I became Observed.”

There was a moment of silence. Then the room erupted into chaos.