The Forgotten Faithful: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 2) by Cajiao, Jez (best reads txt) 📗

could hope for was that her children might escape into the wild alone while she sold her life to give them that chance. Instead, you lead a band of frankly filthy people out of the darkness and slaughter the crew. You’re a High Lord, one that’s killed a creature she’s only heard of in bard’s tales and nightmares, and you declare war against cities like it’s nothing.”

“The… damn cat’s… got a point… laddie!” panted Oren. “Ye did kick… a ton o’ arse… yesterday!”

“You did it with me!” I protested. “You and Cai, and the crew. Damn, I wasn’t alone; we all fought!”

“True, but you were alone when you fought the SporeMother.” Cai shook his head.

“I know what you said about being sent to this world from your own, but Jax, entire legions have fallen to creatures like that and been raised again as its slaves. One man doesn’t kill something like that, not alone, at least not outside of the bard’s tales.”

“I wasn’t alone. I had Oracle and Bob!” I protested in vain.

“You mean your bonded companion and a summoned creature? No, people don’t consider either of them as ‘help.’ They’re part of you. Look; I know what you’re trying to say, I do. Just take a minute and think of the way it looks from our side. I couldn’t have done what you did. If I could, I’d have been free a long time ago! Same for any of my people. Sorry, our people!” Cai corrected himself. “We’d have tried to do some of it, and we’d have died. The other bits, we’d have fled or hid from, but you didn’t. You attacked everything you saw and beat it into submission.”

“Bit its cock off…” I whispered, memories flaring to life.

“Whut?” Oren asked, looking at me askance.

“It’s something my brother Tommy used to say when we were children,” I explained, still lost in memories. “Whenever you have a dream of fighting or being attacked, you could choose to run, but if you started running, you never knew where you’d end up. It was always better to turn around and bite the cock off of whatever was chasing you.”

“A nightmare? That was your response to a nightmare as a child?” Cai asked in shock. “Well, I think I can see why you win when you fight, Jax…”

“Whut… happened… to… your… brother?” Oren gasped, before throwing his hands up in surrender and slowing to a walk. “I… give… in! Just… stop… a… wee while… okay?” he groaned, leaning against the wall, and doubling over, trying to catch his breath.

“Wimp!” Cai said, grinning, as he came to halt a few steps beyond Oren, his breathing labored, but nowhere near as badly as the dwarf’s.

“He’s here somewhere,” I said, slowing down and walking to a hole in the side of the Tower. I gazed through it, my hands gripping the weather-beaten stone, feeling the pits and cracks. I stared sightlessly into the past again, although to a time much more recent.

I saw the Baron, my prick of a father, as he casually informed me of Tommy’s capture and subsequent compulsory fighting in the tournament. He’d forced Tommy to kill other men and women, to ‘prove his value,’ before casting him out of our own world and into this realm.

I drew in a deep breath. I’d decided at some point the night before that I needed to come clean and tell these people everything if they were to help me, and I might as well start now.

I gestured to them to walk with me, and I told them about Tommy, about me, and about our world. I’d barely scratched the surface by the time we reached the ‘Command Center,’ as I’d started to refer to it, and it took over an hour longer as we ate the food Cai had arranged to be sent down. Answering their questions and asking some of my own, both gave me more details of their lives in return, until at last, Seneschal interrupted us.

We’d all talked about things when we’d been working together over the last few days but going over it again felt right now that we had a little time to relax.

The small wisp formed himself from the manapool attached to the Creation Table, straightening up as he coalesced. It was like watching a terminator being born from liquid metal as he grew. At first, there were no details; then arms and legs, a head and body grew distinct. Details refined as the seconds passed, until suddenly a small figure stood tall, poised atop the pool of liquid mana.

Seneschal was the second wisp I’d found, and like Oracle, he swore his allegiance to me when I awoke him. Unlike Oracle, though, his passion was the Tower and its occupants. While he deferred to me, his only real interest was the Tower.

“Hey, Seneschal, everything okay?” I asked as he appeared and raised a hand to interrupt our discussion.

“Yes, Jax, all is well. However, I noted your offer to the villager to join us earlier, and the request that they gather outside on the ground floor.”

“Ah, shit. Yeah, I meant to ask you to watch for them; sorry, man.” I muttered, scratching my head. “Where are they now?”

“Almost half of them are outside and ready. Another six are travelling through the stairwells and will arrive momentarily. There is, however, an issue…”

“Go on,” I said, sitting upright and taking a deep breath.

“The Reeve of Lorek has convinced two others to side with him, and they are headed to the main group now. I suspect they have been ‘his’ for some time, as they seem unconcerned with his orders regarding violence.”

“Violence?” I growled, getting to my feet. “What’s the prick done now?”

“Nothing yet, but he’s instructed his two men to ‘make an example’ of the young woman your advisor Cai seems enamored with. They are to ‘enjoy her’ before disposing of her body.”

“What!” Cai said, jumping to his feet, Oren following behind less than a second later, and both