The Forgotten Faithful: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 2) by Cajiao, Jez (little red riding hood ebook TXT) 📕

to watch out for the group, so my nights were generally dull as hell, watching the forest while the others snored enough that a thunderstorm could have been missed.

It was in the early hours of the fourth day, when Miren had just woken Cam up for farting so loud, it’d echoed in the cave, that Bane finally returned with good news.

As soon as the group realized it was Bane approaching, and not a threat, they all went back to watching as Miren beat Cam with a branch for being ‘…the most goddamn disgusting person in the entire realm…’.

Bane walked up to the cave and collapsed next to me, gesturing to his face, and I took the hint as he panted, magically summoning a spring of pure water for him to refresh himself while I summoned Oracle back.

It took him a few minutes to catch his breath, and I let him take the time to rest, not pushing him or asking questions.

“I’ve found the caravan trail…” Bane said finally, and I nodded.

“You’re sure it’s not a regular caravan trail?” I asked, and he shook his head.

“It heads directly towards an area I know I scouted last night. It must stop somewhere between here and there, and there’s nowhere else around here, so…”

“…So, it’s probably our trail to the smuggler’s entrance. Got it.” I finished for him, nodding. “Rest and recover, mate; we can set out at first light.” I quickly filled Oracle in on Bane’s find, and she headed straight over to the area Bane had described. It took another hour, but she eventually got back to me, excitement clear in her voice.

“I’ve found the trail! It’s overgrown, but there are signs it’s been used recently. I’m following it now, and…”

……

“Oracle, you there?”

“Jax! There’s four of them th...urk!”

“Oracle?”

…

“ORACLE!”

There was no response from her, but I could feel the direction she’d been in, and roughly how far away she was when she’d disappeared. I grabbed my naginata, jumping to my feet.

“Uuuup!” I cried out, everyone grabbing weapons and looking around frantically. “Oracle’s been attacked!” I shouted, my naginata blazing to life as I subconsciously channeled mana into it.

The cave was suddenly as bright as noon, and everyone scrambled to their feet as I screamed at Bane to bring the others. I yanked my mana back from the naginata, and set off, diving into the forest at a full sprint.

I could still feel her, but she felt weak… and wrong, somehow. I ran as fast as I could, my DarkVision and Enhanced eyes helping me to move through the forest with ease. I could have slowed down, if I had, I’d probably have been far stealthier, but I wasn’t thinking straight.

Oracle had been attacked, my Oracle, and I was going to gut anything that hurt her.

I jumped another fallen log and saw the forest open up; a patch of cleared ground was obvious ahead as I started to sprint up another incline. I was halfway up it when something flashed out of the darkness and cut into my cheek, making me dive to the left. I rolled and came to my feet behind a tree as a notification began to blink, a sickly green color infecting my health and mana bars.

Beware!

You have been poisoned. You will lose three (3) points of health, and four (4) points of mana per second for the next ten (10) seconds.

“Motherfucking sneaky rogue bastards!” I growled out, starting to cast a Firebolt as I stuck my head around the edge of the tree, pulling back as something flashed toward me from the right. I dropped low, hurling the Firebolt in the direction the throw had come from, and I heard a snarl of annoyance.

I surged upright, breaking cover and sprinting in the direction I thought the cry had come from, seeing nothing at first, until a patch of darkness flowed around the tree to face me, the narrow, grey skinned face, high pointed ears, and bone white hair letting me know my opponent was an elf… a Dark Elf.

He growled something into the darkness, and two others stepped out, simply standing watch, as he drew two swords and grinned at me.

I rushed him, my naginata blurring as I tried to hit him, stabbing first for his face, then dipping low towards an ankle, then wrapping around his left-hand sword, trying to batter it aside…and I failed spectacularly each time.

The Drow barely seemed to move, a light slap of his blade against mine here, leaning to the side there; a shift of a foot, and I was staggering off-balance and frantically following him, trying to catch the bastard as his friends laughed. Their high-pitched nasal amusement echoed through the trees as I fought on.

The first minute or more, he just dodged, then he began to counter. A stinging slap here, a kick there, a smack of the flat of one blade against my arse as I staggered past him, making me limp for a few seconds as my leg went numb…

The entire time, his cronies were laughing, and my fury grew.

These assholes had done something to Oracle… I could feel her drawing further away from me, a faint sense of her letting me know she was terrified, and these fuckheads were keeping me from her!

I growled as I slashed and stabbed, the three Drow dodging as I changed my target, trying to catch one of the watchers.

I realized that was a mistake as soon as the other two immediately started tripping, kicking, and smacking me with the flat of their blades. I’d evidently crossed a line in attacking a second one of them, and now I was fair game for all three.

I was slapped, kicked, punched, and had a needle-pointed stiletto knife driven through the chainmail of my thigh, when it all became too much.

I screamed in rage, my passenger jolting awake, the echoes of my fury filling the forest as I gathered my mana. I didn’t try to do anything with it; I didn’t