Monster Hunting 401: A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure by Andrew Karevik (book suggestions .TXT) 📗

really were a person in control of himself. “You would be lost, if not for the fact that these waters are near the village. Though finding a replacement mind for Eckshaw was…troublesome.”

I shivered at those words. “Well, we have all the water we need. My wounds are cleaned,” I lied. “Let’s go.” I patted the large gem sitting atop the wagon. “No doubt the Eldest wants to see this up close and personal.”

“Yes…yes, I do,” the leader replied. “More than anything.”

Chapter 29

Controlling my heart rate and my breath had never been harder than at this moment. The cart wheeled behind us, dutifully following as we approached the great brass doors of the Eldest’s hut. Sweat was threatening to pour down my eyes at any second, no matter how much I wiped my brow. The reality was sinking in, the reality that if we did not kill this creature instantly, an entire village would suffer, starting with the youngest.

I glanced at Trig, who was taking up the rear of the cart, hands near the failsafe. Hands close to the trigger for plan B. He wore a grim determination in his eyes, but he too was breathing heavily, struggling to contain his nerves. The heat of battle was one thing, but playing such a dangerous game with the lives of innocents? Of civilians we had never met before? This was an entirely different kind of fear.

“Go in,” our nameless escort said, pushing on the brass doors with little ceremony. They were quick to swing open, greeting us, urging us to enter. Behind us, the entire village had gathered, lined up as if to give us a stark reminder of who would perish if we tried anything foolish. Trig nodded at me and I at him. We moved forward, into the pale green shadows of the cold burning torches, wagon creaking as it rolled behind us, having no trouble getting in between the doors.

A single barrel clunked the edge of the door frame and Trig and I both winced, expecting to be greeted by a torrent of explosions, but thankfully the remote charges he had built held in place. If the bump had been too violent…well, best not to dwell on it.

“Finally,” the Eldest gloated as we entered. “Long have I waited for this day. The day that my foe has been slain. The day that my influence grows even greater.”

The Orphine emerged from the shadows, still in its grotesque mockery of a human form. It looked quite pleased with us, or perhaps itself for having maneuvered things this way. Behind us, the door slammed shut, sealing us in. I glanced at Trig one last time, careful not to make a single motion other than eye contact. It was almost time.

I walked forward, pointing to the gem behind me. “Is this of value to you?”

“Indeed it is,” the Eldest said, chuckling, its voice radiating from the dozens of mouths beneath its coat. “That is an item that gave my enemy great power. And now, I wish it for myself.”

“Then you must make us a trade,” I said, walking slightly to the right. The twisted eye stalks of the creature turned to follow me, to ensure that I wasn’t going to try and attack it. My enhanced senses picked up the faintest “pop” followed by a hissing. The first barrel had opened up. It was one of the smaller barrels, the test to see if we could slowly raise the temperature without being noticed.

“A trade?” The Eldest bellowed. “I will trade you the lives of all the people in this village! How is that for a trade? Or did you cease to value them on your way here? Did watching the death of Eckshaw harden you to their predicament? Or maybe you take a sick delight in seeing the lives of your own snuffed out?”

Those words were meant to scare me, to intimidate and cow me, but I absorbed them readily enough. For as the creature ranted in its booming, monotone voice, Trig opened another small container. More hissing, more steam being released. Already I could feel the temperature beginning to rise. Little by little, humidity was coming into the area, countering the cold, stale air of a place without sunlight.

“We agreed to the killing of your foe in exchange for their safety,” I said. “And in exchange for green fire. But this gem changes things. It undoubtedly has power. Power that you want. So you must give us something more.”

The Eldest did not like this whatsoever. It raised its grotesque woman form upwards, looming high above me, staring down as if it could pounce at any moment. “Must? You tell me that I must? I do as I please.” Another pop. Another hissing. The Eldest…didn’t notice at all. So focused that he was on arguing with me that the sound of its own voice masked the hissing of the barrels being released, one by one.

I raised my hands, playing a little helpless human. “S-sorry! I didn’t mean it that way. I meant; we just need help. To get to the other side of this forest. I know my way back home, but we want to pass through!”

I raised my hands a little higher. The heat was growing in the room at a considerable pace. The air was primed. Almost time to give the signal.

The Eldest looked at me and grunted, content with itself, its eye stalks curving inward in a pleased expression. “Is that all? You wish to leave? That can be arranged.”

“Really?” I said, pulling my hands down and clasping my fingers together. This was the signal. At once, four more “pops” followed by rapid hissing. The air grew thick with steam almost instantly as the primed grenades quietly exploded in unison, accelerating the boiling of the water in the barrels.

A wave of heat washed over me; a warm, sticky heat that actually felt rather soothing. Well, soothing for a second, then suddenly it became scalding as the