Battle For Kalderak: Baresea Online 3 - A LitRPG Adventure, page 1
BATTLE FOR KALDERAK
BARESEA ONLINE
BOOK 3
STEFAN CORDES
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
Epilogue
Also by Stefan Cordes
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1
One last look at my friends, then I said goodbye with an encouraging smile. I took a deep breath. The countdown appeared, counting down the seconds. At one, I hastily stepped through the shimmering surface. My vision blurred, and I felt dizzy. Then the moment was over.
The portal to the Medial opened right in front of the entrance to Mortis’ palace. It had been a damn close call. One second after, I would have violated our pact, and be here as a prisoner for all eternity. I had taken on the quest of paving a way out of banishment for the Sovereign to save Julia and Curt. If I failed, I would be stuck in her realm. I was unsure of how I would ever manage. The only support I had was Rezer. The green giant, one of Mortis’ confidants, who had fallen out of favor with her, grinned at me with satisfaction.
“It worked out just fine. We fulfilled the agreement in no time.”
Skeptically, I frowned. “We?”
“I want to go back ‘above’.”
By ‘above’ he probably meant the real world. Mortis, the ruler of the intermediate world, could invite living beings into her realm in the brief moment between life and death. Those beings, which had been invited into the intermediate world, were allowed again to life, or as Rezer mentioned ‘above’ , were new to me. Had they not died in the game?
Rezer’s idea of coming back up with my help presented me with a tough decision. Rezer had been a robber in his lifetime, with a bloody trail in Kalderak.
He looked at me with a contrite look. “I suspect what you are thinking. I’m not proud of my shameful deeds,” he muttered after a deep sigh. “During my time in the labyrinth, I thought and learned my lesson. I swear to you!”
Rezer swore to not commit crimes in Kalderak and to live a decent life. If he violated it, he would be sent back to the intermediate world.
His willingness convinced me, so I accepted. Through magic, he could not break the oath.
I had other problems. The alliance with Rezer was a great relief, but in order to get back up, I first had to find a way out of the Medial, which was an almost insurmountable task. How could I access my lost creator’s knowledge?
I had to find that out on my own, because I had deliberately withheld this part of the story from Rezer. If Rezer was trustworthy, I wanted to make up for it in due course.
He grumbled sullenly to himself and pulled impatiently on my arm. Apparently, I had been brooding for too long. It was time since Mortis was waiting for us.
A black-clad servant with an impeccable haircut met us at the entrance. Silently, he led us through the magnificent corridors to a small reading room where the ruler awaited us. She wore, as at our first meeting, the dark, semi-transparent top with the studs. The slender skinny legs in the tight-fitting trousers were loosely crossed. Motionless, she looked at me, before she then, with a snap of her fingers, conjured up a comfortable-looking black armchair and asked Rezer to take a seat. I had to remain standing. Mortis grinned slightly and made a frantic, waving motion with her hand. A stocky, middle-aged woman entered the room a few moments later.
“Rosana will explain your duties,” Mortis grumbled in my direction.
Unlike the palace servants, she wore a clean but worn linen dress. A white bonnet sat on her dark brown hair, which was braided into a pigtail.
“Come with me,” Rosana said in a stern voice, showing her displeasure with the assigned task.
“Not you!” ordered Mortis curtly, preventing Rezer from joining me. “You have other work to do.”
Hastily, I hurried after Rosana and introduced myself. “I am Sebastian. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.” She ignored me, so I tried another way. “How can I help you?”
Usually, after such a question in Baresea, one was offered quests. They were an effective way to improve one’s reputation with the person, provided the quests were completed successfully. A high reputation always meant perks and other benefits. It certainly didn’t hurt to improve my reputation with her.
“Yes. You can shut up!”
The indignant answer ruined my plan for the time being, and since I didn’t want to mess things up for myself, I complied with the instruction.
Rosana headed straight for an inconspicuous side door, where we left the palace and found ourselves at its back. A hundred meters away stood small, inconspicuous houses. The facades were dirty and run-down. Garbage lay everywhere and yapping dogs ran after each other. Torn-off figures loitered between the buildings, watching us suspiciously. As Rosana approached with me in tow, they quickly disappeared into the houses. She stopped in front of a dilapidated hovel. The wooden entrance door, half hanging off its hinges, was splintered. Garbage piled waist-high next to the entrance. The stench of rotting food scraps was almost unbearable. Rosana marched past the filthy puddles into the house with her skirt ruffled. Skeptically, I followed her up the musty wooden steps.
Once on the second floor, she opened a wooden door that was ajar. The tiny room behind it was in a pitiful state. The window with the cracked glass was filthy, hardly letting any light into the room. Dust as thick as an inch lay on the windowsill. The floor was full of garbage. In the midst of the garbage lay a shabby mattress with a dirty sheet.
“Your quarters,” Rosana said in a neutral tone, confirming my worst fears.
“But that ...”
“This is what the mistress ordered. Did you think you were staying in the palace with the fine gentlemen?”
I shut my mouth and grimly glared at her.
“It’s not so bad with a little soapy water,” she explained unapologetically.
She didn’t tell me where I could get it, of course, despite asking. Instead, she waved impatiently and marched back down the stairs without another word. I trotted after her obediently. Three men stood in front of the house, gawking at me with faces black with dirt and a sardonic expression on their faces. Their stench of sweat rose to my nostrils, made my eyes water. The three had obviously not come into contact with water in the last few weeks.
“That’s Sebastian, your new roommate.” She pointed to the left spindly man with the short ash blond hair. “That’s Jofri.” Then her finger moved on to the second, a short fat guy with a gap in his teeth and thin fluff on his head. “This is Giso. He’s the gardener’s helper and the only one doing anything useful. That’s the last of the good-for-nothings: Waldo.”
The person addressed had long brown hair and was casually chewing on a blade of grass. The three of them stepped closer to greet me. Their eyes rested on my leather armor. They quickly rubbed their hands.
Rosana gave them a warning look. “Mistress Mortis has given him an important mission, and it would be best if he completes it. Better not overdo it.”
Waldo pulled up his nose noisily and spat out a slimy green lump. “Don’t worry, he’s in good hands with us,” he commented with a smug grin. His cronies laughed, cajolingly.
Rosana pushed me rudely past them to put forward the charming guide. I could hardly wait to meet the three again and get to know them better.
The next and last stop on the tour was a large building on the opposite side, right next to the palace in the middle of a large, manicured garden. Rosana inculcated in me on the way there that I should not dare to enter the main building, let alone bother the guests.
“Who visits Mortis?”
“That’s not your concern,” was the curt reply. She briskly opened the door and entered the building. “Here we are.”
Impressed, I looked around the large room. On the left side, I saw bookshelves that reached up to the ceiling. Treatises of magical rituals and spells, magic theory and alchemy were neatly lined up next to each other. A laboratory took up the other half of the room. Spread out on long, wide wooden tables were glass flasks, vials, and equipment unknown to me. Shelves with jars full of reagents and herbs hung on the walls. Here, mages and alchemists found everything their hearts desired. It was a land of milk and honey.
“All made by master craftsmen,” Rosana explained in a pompous voice. “Look around at your leisure.” Then she left me alone.
I slowly strolled past the tables with the equipment and inspected them superficially. Most of them meant nothing to me. Nevertheless, I looked at them. Maybe I could do something with them later. I stopped in front of the bookshelves, trying to get an overview. The selection was overwhelming. There were dozens of books on every subject. At least someone had taken the trouble to label the individual shelves understandably. Without a clue, it would have been like finding a needle in a haystack. I had no idea where to start looking for a solution to Mortis’ assignment. I decided to be systematic and get an overview. The alchemical books on the first shelf promised magic to make gold from lead and other exciting stuff that didn’t help me. Godmode would have enjoyed them, but he wasn’t here. Books on scripture lore for copying spells followed. Another shelf was devoted to the art of enchantment, which was used to improve weapons and armor.
The subject area of curses and imprecations seemed the most likely to be a good start for me on my quest to find a solution to Mortis’ banishment. 666 secret curses and other lurid titles were emblazoned on the spines of the books. They didn’t help, but I had to start at some point. Motivated, I took the first thick tome off the shelf. There was no place to sit apart from an uncomfortable stool near the laboratory equipment. So I sat down on the hard floor and started reading.
Do you want to secretly curse the liege lord or the strict mistress? Be careful, it gives bad karma and leads to unforeseen complications. All the curses and imprecations in this book will remedy the situation! No one will find out what you’re up to. You can go wild to your heart’s content. Have fun!
The curse of wet pants
The victim’s last drops always spill down the pants when peeing.
Mana cost: 100
Duration: 7 days
Learn curse? [Yes/No]
Curse of the privy
The toilet paper always disappears after the big business.
Mana cost: 100
Duration: 7 days
Learn curse? [Yes/No]
I couldn’t help but smile. You could have a lot of fun with the spells. Unfortunately, that didn’t help me. I folded the thick tome closed and put it aside. Reading all the books was a bad idea because of the number. There had to be another way to get there faster. Hopefully, the book of spells for home use that the Badawi shaman Rabea had given me could help me. After a short time, I found one that could help me.
Recipe Search (Rank 1)
Cast the spell and focus on the desired dish. It will affect all books within a radius of 5 meters. If the search is successful, the correct target will be marked and you will receive more information.
Casting time: immediately
Mana cost: 50
Cooldown: 10 minutes
That was the closest to what I was looking for. The spell was easy to learn. For lack of a better idea, I focused on the Curse of The Privy first.
Search spell activated.
Ten seconds later, the search was over and the aforementioned mark became visible on the thick tome next to me. I opened the book and immediately a clue appeared.
Curse of The Privy: page 15
Bingo! Finally, something that worked right off the bat. While I waited for the cooldown to pass, I compiled a list of search terms and prioritized them. Hopefully, this would help me solve the mystery of Mortis’ banishment.
At first, I tried the “search query” banishment to the intermediate world. To my great excitement, I quickly found what I was looking for. But within a few seconds, more and more markers appeared. Surprised, I stopped, grabbed the first book, and opened the indicated page.
Simple banishing spell
Banishes an item out of reach.
The next hit was similar. Obviously, I had to plan the search more precisely. Until I could get going again, I wrote the words on a piece of parchment. Hopefully, this gave me the success I was looking for.
Mortis’ banishment to the intermediate world.
I waited anxiously for the result. After a few moments, I received a hint.
Search failed!
So much for that. I used the pauses between failures to search for works on blood magic. After all, this magic was the only way for me to cast spells. I needed to study it more intensively, but because of my encounters with Khivras and his cruel methods, I had great reservations about it. Although Rezer had already suggested that blood magic was not automatically evil, I had to convince myself. As Rezer had said then, “Magic is not black or white. It is what you make of it.” Then I’ll make something good out of it!
I stood indecisively in front of the shelf and let my eyes wander slowly over the books. Unfortunately, I did not discover an easy entry like Blood Magic for Dummies anywhere. At first glance, none of the books seemed to be suitable. After careful consideration, I decided to use a search spell again. I took extra care with the wording and finally succeeded.
The Blood Mage
An introduction to the basics, including practical guidance
I opened the introduction and read the first lines.
Greetings Magic Interested,
You bought the book and took the first step to becoming a successful blood mage.
It’s no secret that blood is powerful. Its power can be enormously increased by torture and torment. You’ve probably heard stories of mages wading in seas of blood and casting cruel spells. They are exaggerated, but unfortunately they have some truth. True. That’s one reason this form of magic has fallen into disrepute. When the men and women who follow this path make it easy for themselves, they will never be able to unleash the true power of blood magic.
It is a hard, rocky and painful road, but know this: The greatest power lies in the blood of the spellcaster. Once mastered, no sacrifice, no matter how bloody, one can’t surpass it.
Have my words made you think? Are you ready to face the challenge, or do you want to take the easy way out and look for defenseless victims?
Accept initiation as a blood mage?
[Yes/No]
I wanted to open the next page, but it sat rock solid. All the tugging and tearing didn’t help; without answering the question, I couldn’t move on. After I had confirmed the dialog with yes, the page turned effortlessly.
Welcome apprentice,
You have made the right choice. The path of the blood mage is rocky, but together we will master it. You will be confronted with various challenges. If you master them, a reward awaits you and you will reach the next level. There is no time limit for the trials. However, I will be at your disposal only for seven days. After that, you will have to do it on your own.
Do you want to start the quest “The Initiation”?
[Yes/No]
Notice:
Once started, the quest cannot be paused. If it is aborted prematurely, the mentor’s help will no longer be available for a new attempt.
A restart is allowed.
I postponed the decision until a later date. The seven days sounded long at first, but I wanted to play it safe and find out more beforehand. The following pages were blank, but the book cover had the author’s name in small print: Palanon.
He sounded familiar to me. The solution was on the tip of my tongue, but I just couldn’t think of it. The most obvious thing to do was to use the next search spell. Among all the books, there was only one hit.
Bareseas creator
Then it came to me. In Mortis’ attempt to conquer Kalderak, Palanon had helped the First banish her to the netherworld. Yet, he was betrayed and in the end, the two creators fell into a death-like sleep. There was nothing more in the history books about the incident. Baresea’s developers had chosen the easiest way to retire the first AI. Hopefully, the little book, which was only twenty pages thick, didn’t contain the same boring stuff. I resisted the temptation to skip to the beginning and opened to the first page. A detailed ink drawing showed Baresea. The boundaries of the continents were drawn in fine dotted lines and the names of the countries were written in neat script. The detailed, enlarged sections were on the next pages. I skimmed them only briefly, as there was no important information there.
