Bright Rapture: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure, page 1
Contents
Bright Rapture
Chapter 1: Prophecy
Chapter 2: Wildlife
Chapter 3: Tree House
Chapter 4: In the Forest
Chapter 5: Caravan Life
Chapter 6: Wild Magic
Chapter 7: Class Selection
Chapter 8: Punishment
Chapter 9: Running out of Time
Chapter 10: To the walls
Chapter 11: Bunyip River
Chapter 12 : Impartiality
Chapter 13: Escort Duty
Chapter 14: Tiny Hammers
Chapter 15: Noble Intentions
Chapter 16 : Don’t Think About It
Chapter 17: Day off
Chapter 18 : Special Forces
Chapter 19: Wyrm’s Maw
Chapter 20: Proper Execution
Chapter 21: Collateral Damage
Chapter 22: Resources
Chapter 23: High Tea
Chapter 24: Playing with Fire
Chapter 25: Complex Magic
Chapter 26: Finally, Some Wild Magic
Chapter 27: Alternate Plans
Chapter 28 : Diving is Dangerous
Chapter 29: Spin Master
Chapter 30: Lazarus
Chapter 31: At All Costs
Chapter 32: Kami Interpretation
Chapter 33: Skybound
Chapter 34: Convergence
Chapter 35: Consequences
Bright Rapture
A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure
By Adam Sampson
This book is dedicated to my wonderful mother, Wendy. I hope you recognized yourself in the saintly mother in the first book.
Copyright © 2021 Adam Sampson
All rights reserved.
Chapter 1: Prophecy
Alistair was lying in a pool of his own blood because of a stupid prophecy that he didn’t even believe in. He looked around the dark forest around him, expecting to see the monster that would kill him. The chances of him surviving the night were looking slimmer and slimmer. He cursed himself for buying into that prophecy. He wouldn’t even be on the road today if it wasn’t for what the Augury told him yesterday.
They had just gotten off the boat in the port city of Silvercove and were wandering around town. It was a newer city, mostly wooden structures reaching two and three stories tall. There was plenty of flat ground to spread out on, but most buildings were squeezed tight around the port. It was one of the continent’s main seaports. Shipments worth thousands of gold coins passed through here every day.
They had planned on exploring the city for a few days before moving on. They were on this continent in the first place because they were exiled from their own. Officially, they were allowed back home anytime they wanted. Unofficially, Lord Warwick wanted to kill them for what they did to the local dungeon.
In retrospect, Alistair regretted defeating the dungeon and allowing it to tier up. At the time it seemed like the only way they could earn enough to keep the house. In retrospect, it had been a terrible idea, and it ruined the lord’s plans to turn Arcadia into a resort town. Paige and Alistair had fled across the whale sea to get away from him. At least their son was protected at the mountaintop academy he was attending.
Alistair sighed. There was nothing he could do about it but learn from his mistakes. Now they were heading for the city-state of Ngauruhoe so Alistair could learn more about his new tier two class, Grey Kami. Paige had suggested that they treat the trip like a vacation, and Alistair was doing his best to comply.
They walked along narrow alleyways full of unique shops and delicious smelling seafood restaurants. They spent a big part of the day window shopping and sampling exotic foods. Alistair particularly liked the fish rolls.
As they were walking along, a man in white robes with gold trim blocked their way. Alistair frowned at the sight and turned to walk a different way. Before he could get far the man yelled out.
“Alistair Middleton, you are doomed,” the man in white said.
“Damn Auguries,” Alistair muttered under his breath.
Paige patted his arm, “I know you didn’t use to believe that the Auguries could really predict the future, but things have changed since then, right?”
She had a point. They knew now that gods existed, it was how he gained his Grey Kami class. Maybe Auguries were more than just grifters and good guessers. He sighed and turned back to the man in white, “And what would it cost to learn of this prophecy?”
The man in white waved his hands at his waist, “The predictions of the God Borson are free to all. But if you were to feel generous, I might remember more of what he said.”
Alistair frowned and dug out a silver. At Paige’s prompting, he made it ten silver coins.
After the man in white pocketed his silver, his eyes glazed over and he said, “Five fates await you on your journey. Four of them end in death and despair. Life is only found on winter’s solstice in Tyr Faerath. Do not delay.”
“That was rather specific,” Paige said. Auguries were typically vague and open to multiple interpretations. “How far is it to Tyr Faerath?”
His eyes cleared and he said “Huh?”
“Tyr Faerath, how far away is it?” Paige repeated.
“It’s about a month away by caravan. Why do you ask?”
Paige stared at him for a moment and then turned to Alistair, “There are only twenty-one days until winter solstice.”
“Are we really going to believe that?” Alistair said, unsure. He knew that many Auguries lied to drum up business, even if some of them were the real deal.
Paige shook her head, “Why would he fake a prophecy that sends us away? If it was a scam he would want to keep us here. Besides, we wanted to go to Tyr Faerath anyway, why not get there a little faster?”
Alistair couldn’t think of a good reason to argue, so he said, “I guess we should get going, then.”
They spent the rest of the day buying supplies for the trip. They already had most of what they needed, already packed for a long journey before they got on the ship. They bought fresh fruit and vegetables and other comestibles. They almost forgot to get healing potions, Alistair’s old class was a healing one. Now that he had a new class those healing spells were gone. Luckily Paige remembered before they left Silvercove and they bought four medium-strength potions.
They looked into joining a caravan for the first part of their journey. The most dangerous part of the trip was the first section, traveling north through the Deathhollow forest. The aptly named forest was infested with monsters and most people traveled in a caravan for safety. Most commerce went west around the forest, few caravans went straight north. Lucky for them, there was a supply caravan leaving the next day that they could join.
They talked to the caravan master, an older satyr with a dusty red jacket. Alistair took an immediate disliking to him because he assumed that Alistair was Paige’s father, not her husband. Paige was a beautiful, full figured redhead, and Alistair was rail thin and had a head of gray hair, including his beard. Despite being the same age as his wife, Alistair had prematurely gray hair due to his Grey Kami class. He could understand the confusion, he just didn’t like it when people made assumptions.
When they asked him about the caravan the satyr said, “Well this here is a military supply caravan, but we will take rankers along for free. You just have to bring your own food and defend the caravan if we are attacked.”
“Rankers?” Paige asked.
“You know, people with a little extra? Lots o’ names for them, rankers, awakened, blessed. We are happy to have anyone with extra stats. We wouldn’ charge you nothing or give you extra duties. The Tongariro military don’t want you peekin’ in their wagons, but other than that you would have the run of the caravan. We already have a Celestial, a Crusher, a few Warriors, and of course, the military guards are all rankers too.”
“Is this a regular supply trip? It must take a while to get all the way to Ngauruhoe,” Alistair said.
“Yes but not for me,” the satyr said, “It takes a few months for these supplies to get to their destination, but I only take them as far as Tyr Faerath. Then I take a different caravan back here. One month out, one month back. Been this way for about a year now.”
“Has the war been going on for that long?” Alistair said.
The caravan master shrugged, “About two years. Not sure if you can really call it a war, though. More like a bunch of skirmishes. Couple o’ battles happen and then things get quiet.”
“We were thinking of going to Ngauruhoe after we visit Tyr Faerath. Do you think it is safe with the war going on?”
The satyr waved his hand dismissively, “You have more to fear from the monsters than the fighting. The elves keep their capital safe. This is all about the border, even if the Bright Union wins their war, they would leave Ngauruhoe alone. Not that I think the Brights could ever win this war, they are a bunch of idiots.”
They talked for a little while longer, but in the end Alistair and Paige decided to head out on their own. The soonest the caravan would get to Tyr Faerath was after the solstice, so they would have to split from the caravan at some point anyway, might as well go the whole way on their own. They were both tier 2 now, so they weren’t worried about being attacked by the low-level monsters that were said to inhabit the forest.
The view as they left the city was beautiful. Grass covered gently rolling hills.
“Hey honey?” Alistair said as they got to the outskirts of Deathhollow forest.
“Yeah?” Paige replied.
“Will you make me one of those wooden spears? I figure with my luck an animal attack is a forgone conclusion. I have my shortsword and my origami of course, but every little bit, right?”
Paige shrugged, “Sure, if you want. Not sure if a spear I conjure would be worth it for you. I may be a Wood Wizard now, but I am still low level. The wood I can make appear is still kind of soft, it would snap in your first attack.”
“How come you are carrying one around then?”
“Well, any wood is stronger when I am holding it. And besides, it takes less mana to grow wood than it does to conjure it. This way I can quickly create something.”
“Alright, I guess I will just stick with my sword and hope we don’t get attacked.”
“Liar,” Paige said with a laugh, “You do want to get attacked. I saw you fiddling with paper on the ship, you want to try out a new design. You always did have battle lust when we were adventuring.”
Alistair smiled, “You know me too well. I did come up with one new design I want to try out. But regardless, both of us need exp or risk sliding back on levels. Tier two remember?”
Paige frowned. Both of them had been surprised to learn an unpleasant fact about tier two. After they had reached level 25 and evolved their classes, they had gotten stronger bodies and greater magic. But the upgrade to tier two had come with a downside. Their exp slowly dissipated. If they didn’t occasionally kill monsters for exp, they would lose a level.
The loss wasn’t quick, but it meant that they needed to top up their exp around once every six weeks, or they would start to lose the progress they had made. Alistair told himself he would kill the first monster he saw in the forest and be done with it. He didn’t want to slip into his old adventuring ways and hunt monsters to the exclusion of anything else.
The path narrowed as it went into the forest, but was still wide enough for a kart to drive through, so they were able to walk side by side. A half-hour after they entered the forest, the trees started getting taller. Soon they were sixty feet tall, and the crowns of the trees cut out most of the light. Oak and Mallorn dominated the forest, but there were a few birch and rowan trees in the mix too. The underbrush thinned out, tall bushes making way for ferns and mosses. Vines started appearing, snaking through the underbrush and climbing the wide trees. The dim light showed dabbled green for as far as the eye could see.
Shortly after they entered the forest, a vine whipped out and snared Alistair by the foot. It quickly pulled on him, but he didn’t budge. He laughed at the little level two vine and took out his shortsword. With a quick swipe he severed the vine and stabbed into its base. Eight exp later, they walked on.
Assassin vines had a scary name but weren’t a real danger. Only children and small animals really had anything to worry about from the plant monsters. It wasn’t really an inconvenience for a tier two like himself.
They walked in companionable silence for a few hours. Alistair glanced at his wife and smiled. He said, “You know, I am pretty lucky to have you. You are wonderful in every way. Not just the beautiful curves front and back, your red hair and cute face. It is so much more than how beautiful you are.”
“Glad to hear you have good eyesight,” Paige interjected with a cheeky smile. She wasn’t conceited, she just liked to joke with her husband.
“You are breathtaking, absolutely stunning. But you are beautiful on the inside too. I love being around you, you are kind and friendly. And who else would be ok with dropping everything, your whole life in Felicity, and coming with me on an adventure? I have never heard you complain once, I couldn’t ask for a better wife.”
“And I couldn’t ask for a better husband. There is no one else I would rather be with. And so far this adventure has been nothing but fun.”
Alistair laughed, “With you by my side, I am sure it will always stay fun. Smooth sailing from here on out.” He reached over to pull her into an embrace.
“Why did you have to say that? Now you jinxed it.” Paige said and pushed him away.
“Really? You always told Cole to ignore superstitions. Why are you worried about jinxes now?”
“Two reasons. First, if an Augury tells you that you are marked for death, don’t tempt fate. Second, look north. To the left of the path.”
Chapter 2: Wildlife
Alistair turned around and looked a few hundred yards further into the forest. Partially hidden by a fallen log were two monsters. They were looking the other way and hadn’t noticed the pair of humans yet.
Dire deer. They were carnivores with blood-stained antlers and mossy fur that acted like camouflage. These deer were much larger than their herbivore namesakes. Standing taller than an average human at the withers, these moss-covered creatures were common predators of the forest. In addition to their deadly horns, their mouths were full of long, sharp teeth. Instead of hooves, their feet ended in talons.
“I thought they were supposed to be solitary?” Alistair whispered as he ducked down.
Paige joined him and said, “Yeah, and what happened to them having amazing hearing? They still haven’t noticed us.”
Alistair was starting to doubt the accuracy of the info they had bought in Silvercove. He shuffled over to hide behind a tree. When Paige joined him he said, “Do you think we can take both of them? I am sure we could kill one, easy, but two might get dicey.”
Paige nodded, “If we can take them by surprise, I can bind one of them for long enough to take care of the other. But I would have to be closer.”
“Ok, let’s sneak up on them from the left so we can keep the trees between us. Leave our packs here,” Alistair said.
They slowly started sneaking up on the dire deer. It had been years since they had gone on a monster hunt together, but the sneaking skills quickly came back to them. With her higher dexterity, Paige flowed through the forest without a sound. Alistair had to pick his steps more carefully, but he was able to keep quiet.
When they were still a few hundred feet out, Paige slowed and stopped. She looked around. Alistair looked around too, but didn’t see anything out of place. Using hunter signals, she signed something to him. When he didn’t get it, she signed it again.
Alistair shrugged his shoulders apologetically. Frowning, she grabbed his head and brought his ear to her mouth. With a soft whisper she said, “No birds. Ambush maybe.”
His eyes went wide when he realized she was right. The sounds of the forest had died out all around them. Looking around more earnestly, he thought he saw a patch of moss move. Moss was everywhere, so he wasn’t sure if he saw anything.
Taking the possibility seriously, Alistair got ready for a fight. Along with Paige, he backed up against a tree that was wider than both of them together. His hands touched small storage bracelets on each wrist.
The bracelets were ugly and low quality, only able to hold a few pounds in extra-dimensional storage. Alistair had put them to good use though, they were filled to the brim with the results of his new class, origami. As a Grey Kami, he imbued magic into paper, storing a spell in each one. It gave him great spell slinging speed, but the main downside was that when he ran out of paper, he was practically powerless. He wasn’t worried today though, his bracelets were filled with dozens of origami spells.
So far he hadn’t learned a lot of different origami designs that worked with his class. Only specific designs built off runescript letter folds could be imbued with magic. He drew out a piece of origami for each hand. He held a small cube and a crab, waiting for the chance to activate the origami spells.
They stood there, quietly scanning the forest. Alistair was sure he had seen something, but nothing came out at them. Paige turned to him and signed something new. Again, Alistair had to shrug in embarrassment. He used to be really good at hunter signs, but he had forgotten most of them by now.
With an inaudible sigh, Paige reached down and grabbed a stick from the ground. She threw it about fifty feet away into a group of ferns. As soon as it hit, the forest came alive. There was a whole herd of dire deer in the forest around them. They burst out of cover, dashing for where the stick landed. They had all been waiting in ambush, and if Alistair and Paige had gone any further, they would be in the middle of the herd.
