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

Hektor led them along paths that had been cleverly disguised as game trails. To his surprise, they didn’t head directly up the hill towards the rocks that hid Dawntown. Instead, they circled around, slowly climbing higher.

About half way up, it became clear that the hill sealed off a secluded valley, one that was utterly hidden from all angles except higher up in the foothills — a wild territory with nothing but monstrous beasts.

Kaius froze, transfixed by what he saw. Golden sun spilled over the mountains and into the valley, drenching terraces. Plot after plot had been cut into the slopes, each and every one bursting at the seams with the harvest. They shone like jewels; the gleaming rubies of apple orchids, vineyards and tomato plantations; the deep amethyst of kale, broccoli and aubergine, and the emerald of a dozen varieties more.

There were even herds of sheep-like beasts. As large as cattle, with horns as big as Kaius’s arms, they roved slowly through the base of the valley, grazing at the banks of a spring fed lake that dominated the far end.

It was a bounty utterly hidden from observers. Only those who approached west from over the Wildguards would ever catch a glimpse. An unlikely occurrence, unless some elven expedition decided to head for lands they hadn’t been seen in for over a century.

He’d wondered how they’d hidden the town so utterly. Even a moderately sized settlement like Dawntown could vanish into the rockstrewn hills that lined the edges of the Wildguards, but their fields? That was another story — the space required to feed so many people was significant, even with classers making every crop grow hardier and yield more than it should.

Now he knew.

“Merciful light…” Ianmus said in a hushed whisper.

“Been bloody busy, haven’t they?” Porkchop added.

“Aye, Forest King, that we have,” Hektor said proudly. “It’s amazing how much you can get done when the whole community works together, and it doesn’t hurt that we’re a stone’s throw from some of the best bloody lumber on the whole continent.”

The veteran stood, soaking in the sight for a few more moments. “Never quite gets old, but we should keep moving. Wait too long, and the folk’ll hear of your giant companion — you’ll never get to the town hall without getting mobbed if that’s the case.”

Kaius chuckled, and followed along behind the man as they continued their climb. This far round the hill, he could see paved roads winding from the terraced farms up to the rock formation above. There wasn’t much traffic, but he could already see people stopping to watch them approach. Nearly half were outright pointing at Porkchop, though that didn’t surprise him.

It was going to be an interesting few weeks, that was for sure. Still, if Yanmi had managed to turn the valley into that, he couldn’t wait to see what the town was like.

…

“Kaius! My boy!” a bear of a man yelled, his arms spread wide.

“Hurrin!” Kaius yelled back, hurrying forward to wrap the man in a crushing hug.

They’d barely made it three steps through the entrance to Dawntown, a low arc that had been bored into a natural gap in the standing stones surrounding. Hurrin had just been right there, milling at the front of a crowd who’d been gathering to get a glimpse of the strangers that had arrived in their remote township.

“Ack!” Hurrin gasped as his back audibly clicked. “Yer killing me, child!”

“Sorry!” he said hurriedly, setting the man back on his feet — and ignoring his friends’ chuckles.

“What are ye doing here!” Hurrin said, grinning widely as he clapped Kaius on the shoulder. “We haven’t heard from ye since ye sent word about that horde — is Deadacre okay? It hasn’t fallen?”

Kaius’s smile grew strained as a ghost of rubble and ash flitted through his mind. “Deadacre’s still standing, but there’s been more than a few developments — perhaps a story best saved for later?”

Nodding knowingly, Hurrin patted him on the shoulder. “Of course, lad. Of course,” he replied, before nodding at the rest of Kaius’s team. “Good ta see ye again, Porkchop. I assume the tall n’ fair one be Ianmus, and the pretty Hiwiann lass is Kenva — but who’s this lad?”

Ianmus gave the innkeep a warm smile, while Kenva blushed at the man’s complement, her cheeks going a dark indigo — Kaius had never seen that before. The expression quickly turned into a scowl when she caught Kaius’s raised brow and teasing smile.

Niles, however, looked half dead from nerves. Kaius stepped in to rescue him.

“That’s Niles. He’s a recruit, of a sort — bloody hard worker. I taught him a few skills in Deadacre, and when he managed to get a few Honours all on his own during the siege, I thought he might fit in well here.”

“Siege?”

Kaius winced, “Like I said, perhaps a better conversation for when we can gather the Elders?”

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“Aye, sure does sound like it,” Hurrin said with a frown. “But no Elders any more — we’ve got a council now, and a mayor. A benefit — means we only need to find Yanmi, and then it’s her problem to tell the rest of the squabbling idiots.”

Thanking Hektor for his help, Hurrin led them deeper into the settlement — and through the crowd of onlookers.

“Trouble in the den?” Porkchop questioned.

“Ack, just the mundane kind. Nothing more than bickering over who does what and when. More importantly, what do you think of the town! Quite something, isn’t it?” Hurrin asked, waving his hands over their surroundings.

“It’s magnificent,” Kaius replied.

“It really is,” Kenva agreed.

What Dawntown had managed to build was incredible. The peak of the hill had been levelled to make a flat plateau within the ring of standing stones that surrounded it. Masons had worked the stone into an endless motif of towering trunks, reminiscent of the forest that had once been a constant companion to the old villages. Beyond the beautification, Skills had melded the stone into a continuous whole, reinforcing it until it was a solid barricade thicker than any city wall — complete with a carved in palisade and hidden watch points.

Within the town, the ground had been paved, and a dense settlement had sprung up. While the plateau was large, it still created a hard limit for the size of the town, and the builders had gotten inventive. Nearly every block of buildings were wholly conjoined terraces, each three stories tall — just shy of the peak of the standing stones. Then, it looked like the town had dug down. Just ahead of them, in an open square, Kaius could see a steady stream of people walking up and down a set of stairs that lead into the earth. Some sort of tunnel system, perhaps? Regardless, judging by the clean masonry and the steady glow of wardlights from within, it was no recent project.

“Come, come! No point in us standing at the gates while the gawkers gather — let me show you around.” Hurrin said, insisting that they follow.

They ventured into the town, following the innkeep through the thin, cobbled streets.

“What’s your plan now? I’ve got plenty o’ room in the tavern, if you’d like to take some weight off your feet and enjoy a beer — not much keeping me busy until we eventually open up the town.”

As tempting as it was, Kaius knew that the second he sat down, he’d end up stuck in a chair for the rest of the day. They had things to do, and more than a few people to see.

“Perhaps we can go visit Yanmi, if she’s not too busy? I’ve got a few things that’ll be important for her to hear.”

“Too busy fer ye?” Hurin scoffed. “My boy, none’ve this would’a been possible without ye sticking yer neck out when it counted. Come, this way — town hall’s in the middle of this warren.”

….

Five hours later, Kaius lay sprawled out in front of the fireplace at Hurrin’s tavern. It was rustic, but homely — carrying an almost identically comfortable feel to his previous establishment.

He was as close to drunk as he’d managed in months. That is to say, he was slightly tipsy — a feat only managed when Yanmi had slipped him a bottle of alchemical brew just over an hour ago. The stuff was strong. A bare half-teaspoon had left Niles snoring on the goat-skin rug closest to the fire, though not before they’d toasted to his final level of Vitality.

Porkchop was dozing next to him, though in his case it was more due to the half-cauldron of hare and potato stew he’d wolfed down.

They’d managed to gather everyone he’d known best — though, in all honesty that wasn’t many. He’d never spent quite enough time in the villages to make too many close relationships. Just a handful of the elders and Illendra, really. Her and the old hunt master Jekkar were clustered around one of the tables nearby, peppering Kenva with questions about her archery, and some of the beasts they’d hunted in the last year.

Ianmus and Yanmi were sat nearby, debating the finer differences between alchemical and magical healing while they split a bottle of raspberry wine — though it reeked far more of old-growth oak than anything else, thanks to the magics that saturated it.

He watched their conversations with a smile on his face. He’d known, of course, that his friends would get along with his people, but it was still nice to see it play out how he had hoped.

Hurrin had joined them as well, of course — it was his tavern, after all — but even Holt had tagged along. The old warden of Threefields looked good. Really good. He’d been pushing hard since the phase change. While he’d been just barely sitting at Steel when they’d left Threefields over a year ago, the man was now pressing Silver.

He was right at the cusp of the second tier — something that left Kaius feeling more at ease than he had expected. It meant that the town would be safe — far safer than most places, at least.

Taking a sip from his bottle, Kaius enjoyed the burn as a rush of mint liquor and carefully tuned life mana surged on his palate. He had to pay Yanmi for the bottle, and perhaps buy a few more from her. It was good stuff. Somehow, she’d taken plain spirit and turned it into a tonic — one with mildly relaxing and sedating effects. Even with Rapid Adaptation and his Vitality cutting through the alcohol, the remnant alchemy was enough for him to enjoy some semblance of it.

A very, very valuable commodity, as far as he was concerned.

Holt raised his tankard to him, drawing deep from its depths.

“Kaius, lad,” the warden said. “We have drink, and we have a roaring fire — surely you have a tale for us after so long on the road to round out the trio?”

He grinned, he’d been wondering when this was coming.

“I certainly do, but it’s a long one, so you best be ready,” he replied, the other conversations in the room quickly drawing quiet.

“I hope it’s less harrowing than the last tale you shared with us?”

Kaius couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Less in some ways, worse in others. It’s been a hell of a year.”

Jekkar narrowed his eyes at him, “What the hells did you do? Kick one of the gods in their coin purse?”

“Well, it got interesting a few days after I last left — I ran into that one on the road a few minutes before he became lunch for a flock of terror birds,” Kaius said, nodding at Ianmus.