Warmaster 8: Charnel Keep: A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure, page 1
Warmaster 8: Charnel Keep
Melissa McShane
Copyright © 2025 by Melissa McShane
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover design by Etheric Tales www.etherictales.com
Map by Matt Pivots
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Appendix: Character Sheets
And now a special message…
About the Author
Also by Melissa McShane
Chapter One
“No coffee?” Aderyn said.
She’d woken early, just after sunrise, and decided to let Owen sleep a bit longer. If her instincts were right, she and her friends would be going to the front soon, to defend the city of Shantos, and they would need all the rest they could get. Just her bad luck that this was one of those times when she knew instantly she wasn’t going to fall back asleep no matter how long she lay in bed.
But when she entered the Jeweled Cuckoo Inn’s dining room, she’d discovered one person had risen even earlier than she. Livia sat at the table they’d all come to think of as theirs, picking at a plate of eggs scrambled with sweet peppers that turned them bright orange. No coffee pot was visible. No small coffee cup sat at Livia’s right hand.
Livia glanced up when Aderyn spoke. Her eyes were puffy and closed nearly to slits, and she slumped in her seat as if she was still mostly asleep. “No coffee,” she confirmed in a hollow voice that might as well have pronounced Aderyn’s doom.
“Did Neeva… she couldn’t have run out of coffee, that’s unlikely. Do you need me to go down the street to the coffee seller and bring you a pot?”
Livia shook her head with dramatic exaggeration. “I’m not drinking coffee today. Or for the foreseeable future.”
That shocked Aderyn as deeply as if Livia had said she was leaving the team. “What? Why not?”
Livia poked at her mound of eggs with her finger, testing their heat. “I told you I was going to see about replacing acid ray with a different seventh level spell. In addition to focused meditation for an hour every day and the complete abjuration of the spell I want to get rid of, I have to show my dedication through sacrifice. Specifically, sacrifice of a beloved habit. So… no coffee.”
Aderyn sat opposite Livia, still staring. “That’s a really big thing for you to sacrifice.”
“Only in the sense that I’m addicted to the stuff. Giving up coffee isn’t as hard as controlling my temper or abstaining from sex.” Livia smiled, but it was a ghastly expression. “I knew it would be difficult, but it’s been a while since I didn’t start my day with coffee, and I didn’t realize just how much I depended on it to energize me. I feel like I’m thinking through cotton wool. And my appetite is gone, though that could just be that I don’t love eggs.” She pushed her plate away.
“Is there anything we can do to help?”
“If you can remember not to offer me coffee in the morning, that would be great. I was taught from childhood never to turn down hospitality, so that would be hard to resist.” Livia rose from the table. “I’m going back to bed. I thought getting up early would help me get past the need, but I just feel weary.”
Aderyn watched Livia walk away, then pulled Livia’s abandoned plate toward herself. It didn’t look like Livia had taken even one bite, and Aderyn loved eggs, particularly in the southern style. No sense letting food go to waste.
As she ate, she idly reviewed the Codex, reading over the [Fated One’s Destiny: Crush the Horde] quest.
An army of monstrous orcs has emerged from the Blighted Range, intent on conquering the southern human lands. Destroy their leaders and push the army back into the mountains.
Victory conditions:
Death of Glasha, orc commander general
ACHIEVED Death of Ornok, second in command
Death of ?
Death of ?
Death of ?
Destruction of Charnel Keep
Orc army retreats
Reward: [75,000 XP] plus any XP gained through actions taken to complete the quest.
She never liked not understanding the details of what was required to complete a quest. But running around the Southlands, searching for orcs who might be the leaders not yet named in the quest description, was impractical, not to mention counter to her duties as second in command of the human armies. So what she was going to do, once the day was sufficiently advanced, was talk to Commander General Varoun to discuss plans. And share with him the knowledge of the orc stronghold, Charnel Keep.
The system hadn’t told her much about the place when it had appeared as one of the quest completion requirements, just that it counted as a dungeon and was where the orcs’ headquarters were, if orcs had anything so organized as a headquarters. It had claimed saying more when Aderyn hadn’t seen the dungeon was against the rules. That got Aderyn thinking about what rules the system had to abide by. It was the system! It made rules for other people!
And yet, there had been the Sorrowvale dungeon. The system had been grateful when Aderyn and her friends destroyed it, which implied the system didn’t like Sorrowvale—so why hadn’t the system destroyed it first? It couldn’t be because it lacked the power. But if there were rules the system had set for itself—
Aderyn shook her head and scooped up more eggs. If the system was limited by rules, that might mean it didn’t have as much power as everyone thought, and that idea scared Aderyn. She didn’t want to learn the system’s power could be hindered. That could mean anything.
She dismissed the Codex and finished eating. Varoun was a Southlander, so he might still be asleep, but on the other hand, the orcs were attacking a major city, Shantos, so it was possible he had sacrificed sleep in favor of military strategy. She would go back upstairs to the privacy of her room and contact him with the
She met Owen entering the dining room as she exited. “You didn’t wake me,” he said, kissing her soundly.
“I thought you should get as much sleep as possible. You didn’t see Livia, did you?”
“No, just you. You ate already?”
“I did, but the important thing is Livia has given up coffee as part of replacing her acid spell—”
Owen whistled. “That’s intense.”
“Yes. Anyway, she asked that we remember not to suggest she have coffee or offer to bring it to her. She says that helps.”
“Makes sense. Will you sit with me while I eat?”
Aderyn smiled. “I’d love to, but I need to speak to Varoun. I don’t know what the situation around Shantos is, and we may be needed there.”
“Fair enough.” Owen kissed her again.
In their bedroom, Aderyn dug Varoun’s coin and her
“No, sir, I was hoping you did. We’re recovered from our exertions at the Ivory Palace and we’re ready to return to the fighting. I hope I didn’t wake you.”
The elderly general grimaced. “I don’t get more than a few hours’ sleep these days. Fortunately, old age means I need less of it. What do you know about the fighting near Shantos?”
“Near Shantos? I thought the city was besieged.”
“Not yet, but soon. Janesh ordered the evacuation two days ago, as a precaution. The orc forces are numerous, and the regiments in the area are only barely holding them back. Kingfisher and Monkey Regiments are hurrying to reinforce that position, and Hawk and Ox are a few days behind them, but at the moment Colonel Hasanth only has the three Shantos regiments for the defense.”
Aderyn almost asked why a colonel was in charge of the Shantos defense, but then she remembered that army’s general, Chandar, had been sent to find the orcs that continued to strike human settlements and disappear into the wilderness. Chandar, a talented Pathseer, hadn’t been insulted by what looked like a demotion. “But Colonel Hasanth is holding them off away from the city, yes?”
“For now. He’s had to give ground twice.” Varoun looked very weary for a moment. Then the moment passed, and in a sharp, alert voice, he said, “I’m sending you to take command at Shantos. Hasanth is smart and a good military man, but he’s a linear thinker who tends to see war as a series of problems to be solved one after the other. I need you to develop several contingency plans for the defense of Shantos—and for abandoning it if it comes to that.”
“I understand.” The idea of planning battles didn’t intimidate Aderyn, but the lack of information did. “What information do we have about the disposition of forces?”
“I’ll give you everything I have when I send you there. How soon can your team be ready?”
“I’m not sure. Let’s say… one hour? We’ll meet you in the command tent?”
“Agreed. I’ll see you then.” Varoun’s image vanished.
Aderyn returned the coin to the pouch and sat on the bed for a moment. Discussing the orc stronghold would have to wait, if things were as dire as Varoun said. She was already coming up with possibilities. If they could hold off the orcs until the other regiments arrived… though if they couldn’t, someone would have to secure the evacuation of any people left in Shantos… and falling back to Shantos itself, turning this into a siege, might make sense—unless the orcs didn’t take the bait and swept past the city on their way to Lake Dannis and Ikharatia beyond. She needed more information before she could plan further than this.
She rose and hooked the
The ebony oval of world door snapped shut behind Aderyn. She took a few stumbling steps before catching her balance. Between the blazing sun and the choking humidity, the day was shaping up to be uncomfortably hot. Sweat prickled Aderyn’s armpits and hairline, not that sweating did any good in this climate.
Varoun’s
The few soldiers in the area glanced once at her as they hurried past and then pretended they hadn’t wanted to stare. Since Aderyn wore the gray coat of an officer and the insignia of a general, they all knew who she was, and as a female general was a novelty, Aderyn didn’t mind their staring. But one thing she’d learned about Southlanders was their love of showing hospitality to strangers, and staring was counter to proper hospitality.
World door opened again, and Owen stepped through. Aderyn didn’t know why he never stumbled as she did upon exiting. Owen approached her, but scanned the tents instead of looking at her. “Doesn’t look like an attack is imminent.”
“The orcs have to sleep, too,” Aderyn said, “and our scouts report they don’t rise until several hours after dawn. They think it’s because they stay active until nearly midnight.”
“Midnight? Doing what?”
“None of the scouts who got close enough to learn that ever returned.” Aderyn tried not to imagine what might have happened to them. “And it’s not important enough to risk more soldiers. At least, I hope it isn’t. Everyone who tried scrying reported an occlusion, something like the skill [Obscure], which implies the orcs do things they don’t want us knowing about. But with the main body of the orc army pressing our troops hard, that’s been the priority.”
Owen wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close and pressing the links of her mail shirt, what Isold had identified as
She hugged him back. “I understand. Thank you for having faith in me. It helped.”
Weston came up beside them. “Should it be this quiet?”
“I’m guessing most of the soldiers are forming up into companies in preparation for battle.” Aderyn stepped away from Owen and took another couple of steps to where she could stop a soldier hurrying past. “Where’s Colonel Hasanth’s tent?”
The woman saluted properly, but her eyes were wide. “General, sir, ma’am, I mean, the colonel is just that way. Should I escort you?”
Aderyn looked around. Isold had just emerged from world door and only Livia remained to make the transit. The stray thought struck Aderyn that there was no transportation spell that would move a large group across great distances. “No, I don’t want to keep you—is it that tent?” She pointed at a tent, bigger than those surrounding it, a short distance away behind her.
“That’s the command tent, ma’am, and Colonel Hasanth’s personal tent is beside it.”
Aderyn took pity on the soldier, who was clearly torn between doing her duty in providing an escort and not spending any more time in the company of high-ranking officers than she had to. “Thank you, private, that’s all.”
The private saluted again and ran.
“They’re intimidated by you,” Isold murmured.
“I know. Nothing I can do about it except go back in time and be born a Southlander man.” Aderyn shrugged. “Everyone’s here? Let’s go meet this colonel.”
The command tent was empty. Aderyn thought about going through the papers and maps on the makeshift table at the tent’s center. The later it got, the more she fretted over her lack of information. But she’d gain information faster if someone could organize it for her. Instead, she went to the other tent and clapped loudly the way she’d been taught. It wasn’t as if you could knock on a tent flap.
She heard murmuring, too low to be distinct, and then a private in soldier’s garb but without armor pushed the flap back. “Yes?” he said. He took her appearance in, then widened his gaze to include her companions. “That is—yes, general?”
“I’d like to speak to Colonel Hasanth, private.” Aderyn closed her lips on if he’s available. She wasn’t going to be overbearing, but she outranked the colonel, and if he turned out to be one of those who didn’t think women could lead troops, she wasn’t going to give him an opening to disdain her.
The private ducked back inside the tent. Aderyn, waiting for an invitation to enter, backed up a step when the tent flap opened again and a large man stepped out. Colonel Hasanth was built along the same lines as Weston, big through the shoulders and chest, but with the beginnings of a paunch spoiling the line of his uniform coat. He had thick, graying black hair cut very short around the sides and back, but longer on top, and the way it curled made Aderyn think of a badly-shorn sheep.
Hasanth looked down at Aderyn. His expression was cranky, and his voice, when he spoke, sounded like gravel bathed in acid. “The northern girl. I told General Varoun we have this under control. We don’t need your help.”
He sounded so certain Aderyn doubted herself for about half a second. Then she came to her senses. “This is not about help, colonel. I am here to take command by order of the commander general. He judges my skills are needed here. So unless you want me to inform General Varoun that you think your understanding is superior to his, I suggest you give me your full cooperation.”
“So the commander general doesn’t have faith in my abilities?”
Aderyn’s heart sank. Hasanth not only didn’t think women could command, he was taking Varoun’s orders personally. “That’s not what General Varoun said. We anticipate the arrival of four other regiments within a few days, and my orders are to take command of the unified forces. Which means directing the overall strategy. General Chandar trusted you, or you wouldn’t be in command now.”
“Spoken like a woman, conciliatory and weak,” Hasanth scoffed. “You think you can lead troops talking like that?”
Owen shifted, and Hasanth’s eyes shifted to him. “Who’s the boy who wants to defend you?”
