City of Fallen Souls: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 3) by Jez Cajiao (fb2 epub reader .txt) 📕

For each altar or sanctified place of worship dedicated to Ardat, Asmodeus, Baphomet, or Lloth that you destroy, you will receive a Mark of Favor and a random blueprint for your crafters from the Goddess Jenae.

“Sweet!” I said, lifting the nearest, largest rock I could find. I grunted as I lifted it high over my head, then slammed it down as hard as I could.

A screech of rage filled the air, and everyone crouched reflexively, looking around.

Silence spread as the screech died away, and I straightened up, meeting the shocked gazes of those around me.

Beware!

You have attracted the attention of: Lloth, Dark Lady of the second Pantheon, Goddess of the Drow! The Queen of the Deeps knows the flavor of your soul and will send her minions to punish you for desecrating her Altar!

“So, anyone else get a notification there?” I asked casually, and everyone nodded. “And?” I asked.

“You’ve made a new friend of Lloth,” Bane said flatly.

“But you’re all okay, right? She’s not after you?” I asked, wanting to be sure.

“No, but she did offer me a quest to kill you,” he said, caressing a dagger. Instantly, the three Legion scouts moved, putting themselves between me and Bane, the smugglers backed the hell up, and the rest of my squad either shrugged or started laughing.

The scouts looked confused but still stood their ground, until I spoke up. I had to admit that I was pleased by the demonstration of their loyalty.

“It’s all right. Bane is my bodyguard,” I said, a little sourly. I still didn’t like the idea of needing one. “He’s just got a shitty sense of humor, that’s all. You can all relax, okay?” I said, gesturing for them to move away. I checked my final new notification and dismissed it, as it was just confirmation of a new Mark of Favor, and I could tell that Jenae had left my mind, going back to whatever she was doing.

“Didn’t even say goodbye….” I muttered to myself as I moved the rock aside, looking down at the shattered altar.

All that remained was a pile of shattered black and purple rock fragments, with what looked like the remains of a tiny spider inside. I crouched down and peered closer, using my dagger to shift it, just in case, when it moved.

I jumped back upright, shoving both hands down and letting loose with my Firebolt spell in reflex.

Unfortunately, I’d forgotten two things. First, the pile of rubble was unstable, and my people were all watching me make an absolute tit of myself. Secondly, and much more importantly, I’d just upgraded my Firebolt… to Fireball…

I was blown backwards by the combustion, staggering and falling on my ass as everyone else dived aside, rolling and trying to escape the flying rock shrapnel thrown off by my ill-advised pyrotechnical display.

In the silence that followed, broken only by the ringing in my ears, I let out a little ‘owww,’ and I heard Bane whisper loudly enough that Ashrag could probably hear him in her fucking nest,

“He doesn’t like spiders…”

“You’re such a dick, Bane,” I groaned, lifting one slightly blackened and mildly toasted hand to give him the finger.

I laid there for a few minutes as everyone else got up, brushing rock dust and debris from their clothes and checking on things, finally sighing in relief as Oracle hit me with a healing spell and washed away the aftereffects of being so close to that explosion.

I slowly rose to my feet, brushing dust away as I looked around the cavern a bit sheepishly.

“Okay, sorry, guys. It moved, and I kinda overreacted. My bad.”

“I thought you said you couldn’t just use that phrase like that?” Oracle huffed, and I grinned at her.

“Meh. Let’s get ready to move out,” I called out, and everyone started moving around, getting their gear sorted and staged by the exit to the cavern.

Once everyone was ready, we took the last few minutes in silent reflection and remembrance, standing over Cam’s body. Each of us from the Tower took a minute to talk about him. I told everyone how he’d refused to wear armor, saying only that he ‘didn’t like it,’ and how taciturn he’d been with everyone at first, only to do things like make sure there was a hot drink ready for whoever took over from him on guard duty. The way he’d hammered out the dents in my chest armor, and the way he’d always given people a hand without being asked.

We talked for easily half an hour, longer than I’d expected to, but by the end, we all felt a little lighter, a little less depressed, and we all had a chance to say our goodbyes.

Yen surprised me by stepping forward at the end and calling for a salute from the Legion scouts as she thanked him for his service.

“You weren’t a Legionnaire in the ‘Rolls of Service,’ but you were in your heart. You served the Empire, as you served Lord Jax and helped to protect him as a member of his personal guard. You will be remembered, Centurion Cam.”  She bowed her head and stepped back, the other two Legionnaires moving with her.

The smugglers stepped up next, Ellen leading Durrm and Frank to give their thanks. They only said a few words, Frank just literally saying, ‘thank you,’ and Durrm mumbling, ‘I’m sorry yer dead, mate,’ but Ellen spoke a little longer.

“Thank you, Cam. I didn’t know you in life, none of us did, but I spent more than a week in that cage. My friends were killed, skinned alive, and eaten, and all I could hope for was a quick death. You came out of the darkness and stood up for me. You and your friends answered every prayer I ever dared to make. You saved us, and I’ll never forget you for that. I’ll make sure you’re remembered.” She had tears in her eyes as she stepped back, and I took a second to grip her