The Fourth Secret: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Divine Apostasy Book 4) by A. Kay (best fiction novels of all time .txt) 📗

As Ruwen entered the tunnel and raced toward the surface, he heard a woman scream. Not in pain, but in rage.

Ruwen had escaped.

Chapter 60

Ruwen ran out of the cave and into the bright sunlight. He headed toward his group, concerned because their tunnel had exited further south. Stone Echo and Survey didn’t show any pursuit from down below yet, but that would likely change.

Lir, we’ve reached the surface again. The Temple Guardian sent to help me should immediately go to Hamma’s location and protect that group.

As you wish, Architect Starfield.

Whiskers appeared and Ruwen changed the cat into the travel form. Leaping into the saddle, he smiled at the cat’s speed. Unfortunately, Whiskers didn’t have enough saddles for the entire group which would have made getting back to New Eiru vastly quicker.

A minute later Ruwen had caught up with his friends. Sift still supported Lylan, and Hamma had her arm around Xavier. Jealousy flared inside Ruwen and he pushed it away. Now wasn’t the time to be irrational. Jumping off Whiskers, he joined his group. A shadow crossed in front of him and he flinched in surprise, but his map displayed the arrival of the Temple Guardian.

It took him a second to find the Guardian, completely silent because of its stealth settings, floating above them. He felt foolish for jumping, but the guardian made him feel safer. It wouldn’t be enough if they got surrounded by the enemy, though. They needed a way to travel fast.

Thanks, Lylan said in Chat.

Sift wanted to leave you, but I talked him into a rescue, Ruwen replied.

Lylan smiled at Ruwen and then turned to Sift, kissing his cheek. I’ll make him pay for that.

Sift gave a small smile, his face still concerned.

What’s wrong, Xavier? Ruwen asked.

The water interfered with my energy shells, Xavier said. I just need to dry.

Ruwen held up his hand, opened his Void Band three feet, and channeled twenty Energy into forcing air at the Celestial Remnant. Xavier’s robe pressed against him and Hamma turned her face away as she held the remnant steady.

That helped, Xavier said, and then after a three second pause added. Thank you.

Stone Echo and Survey displayed a mass of red dots climbing out of the cavern below. The reinforcements had arrived, and their group didn’t appear in the shape for running. Ruwen bit his lip and considered what to do.

If they placed Lylan and Xavier on Whiskers, the rest of the party could run. They should be able to keep ahead of the Fighters, but the Scouts worried Ruwen. They would have fast travel abilities, and he hated to split the group. Another idea occurred to him.

Ruwen cast the level twenty Gatherer spell Worker Wagon for two hundred fifty Mana. As soon as it appeared, he spoke to everyone using Chat. Get on.

Next Ruwen channeled one Energy per second into the level eight Worker spell Climb, and a hundred feet of rope appeared. He could use more Energy to move things along the rope, but he didn’t need anything that fancy right now.

For the first time, Ruwen triggered his level two Worker ability Knots, and he immediately knew the best method to attach the rope to the sled for pulling. The knots came naturally to him, as if he’d spent a lifetime on the docks. Plus, the spell decreased movement by ten percent. For good measure, he cast Mend Tool for twenty-five Mana on each knot, securing them to the sled.

Ruwen jumped up onto Whiskers and tied the other end of the rope to the rear saddle. Hamma, you ride in the first saddle and direct Whiskers.

The Temple Guardian fired its Energy beam, and Ruwen glanced at his map. Ten red dots closed on them. These hadn’t come from the cavern and must have been nearby enemy called into action.

Wouldn’t you be a better choice? Hamma asked.

Every winter, Ruwen had seen children being dragged on sleds by various Mage apparitions and elementals in the nearby park. He had seen the chaos of what a little speed and rope could produce.

I’m the rudder, Ruwen said. Go!

Hamma leaped up to the saddle and Ruwen jumped into the sled. A crossbow bolt narrowly missed him, and the Temple Guardian fired its weapon again. Xavier knelt in the middle of the wagon and a blue-white energy shield surrounded the sled.

Whiskers dashed forward, the sled moving easily on its cushion of air. The wagon immediately drifted to the left and Ruwen opened his Void Band, quickly increasing the amount of air until the wagon stopped moving to the side.

The wagon slammed into a small pine tree, shattering it, and Ruwen tensed, worried his contraption would fall apart. But Xavier’s shield took most of the damage and the wagon held together. He refocused on keeping them directly behind Whiskers.

Good job, Hamma. Pick the path with the fewest trees, even if it forces us east a little.

Another crossbow bolt flew over their heads and Ruwen briefly considered casting Shed on top of the wagon, but he didn’t know how the extra weight would affect his setup and didn’t want to chance it unless things became dire. They benefited from Xavier’s shield, but Hamma had no protection.

To fix that, Ruwen channeled ten Energy per second into the level ten Commander spell Gust, creating erratic winds for fifty feet around them. At his current level, the spell would reduce the accuracy of anything shot at them by fifty percent and the damage by twenty-five percent. He hoped it would be enough.

Whiskers ran, and within thirty seconds it became clear the enemy couldn’t keep up. The Temple Guardian hadn’t needed to fire for the last twenty seconds as all its targets were now out of range. Ruwen was thankful he’d brought it here. Without it keeping the enemy at bay, getting this setup would have been close.

“This is your first good idea,” Sift said as he patted the wagon.

Ruwen still lay on his stomach, arm outstretched behind the wagon, blasting air to keep