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

“Lastly is Oracle, mistress of the Hall of Memories, and my companion.”

I said, gesturing to Oracle where she perched on the Golem’s chest still. She grinned at them and lifted off, starting to search the rest of the room.

“You...I mean…actual memories…and…” Riana sputtered, trying to decide what to ask first.

“Well, I never thought I’d see the day!” Hanau said, clapping her on the back. “Riana actually speechless, and not through apoplexy!” He laughed and gestured to the room. “What should we be looking for, Lord Jax?”

Before I could answer, there was a crash from the corridor and a series of screams, followed by the sound of battle. I swore and turned, sprinting for the fight. Realizing at the last second that my naginata was still buried in the matriarch’s chest and altering my direction to grab it, I yanked it free with a ‘shlurp’ as the lungs released the last of their hold on the weapon.

I kicked off the opposite wall again, maintaining my speed as I turned the corner, then slowed to a walk. The barrier at the end of the corridor that had been up earlier was down, and Decin and his crew were cheering at the sight of the last few goblins that had been hiding inside. They were dead; hell, they were very dead, from what I could see, and the room itself was open to see now.

I spotted what looked like a furnace and forge combination, and a dozen other bits of equipment I had no names for. Riana was behind me, and I turned to her as we stopped near the door, Hanau cheering his partner happily.

“What can you see in here? That’s usable, I mean?” She pushed a few people out of the way and started hunting around.

The various loot stripped from the ship appeared to have been haphazardly dumped across the floor, making it difficult to pick anything out. “See what you can find, and then come find me in the last room,” I ordered Decin, turning around, and starting to walk away. Oracle hovered nearby, and I quickly spoke to her.

“Was everyone okay? I should have asked before…” I said, getting a brilliant smile from Oracle that set my mind at ease and my heart racing.

“They’re fine. Well, they’re all still wounded; I healed them as much as I could without using all our mana, but…”

“Well, it looks like the goblins are all dead now. We need to scout this place out, make sure it’s safe, then go get Oren and the ships to come up here, even if they have to use the cannons to clear a space to land,” I said, grimacing as I thought about blind firing the cannons to make space.

“We can search the ruins quickly, Lord,” came a voice from my left, and I spun around to see Cheena standing in the shadows.

“Fuck’s sake, I nearly crapped myself, Cheena! I swear I’m gonna make you guys wear a bell or something!” I snapped, my heart racing. I took a deep breath and shook my head before speaking again. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t snap at you. Yes, if you could scout the area that would be fantastic. Oracle, can you bring everyone up here? I’d feel a lot better if we were all together right now, and if we can restart the mana collectors, it’ll take a while to reactivate the Golems, or reawaken, I suppose I should say.”

“Bane will stay with you and T’lek, Flux, and I will scout the rest of the ruins. Not a single creature that isn’t loyal to you will survive, Lord.” Cheena said. She seemed to vanish into the shadows, and I had a sense of a second movement nearby. I spun, barely spotting a blur as Flux disappeared with her into the next room.

I looked around and found Bane standing nearby, his friend T’lek half hidden behind him.

“Ah, are you okay?” I asked them both, unsure of who I was asking myself. Bane had a myriad of small cuts covering him and was covered in black blood, but he looked far better than little T’lek, who kept Bane between us.

“I am, Lord. Thank you. If you had not done as you did, we would not have survived. My friend would be dead,” Bane said, starting to lower himself to one knee again before I snapped at him.

“For…stop! Seriously, Bane, we already covered this. There’s no need, especially not when we’ve fought side by side! If there’s something formal going on, or we’re around people who don’t know me, then you can be all formal if it’s appropriate. Otherwise, just talk to me, man, and call me Jax!” Bane straightened up but paused before he replied.

“I know what you said before, Jax, but for what you did, Flux was right when he spoke earlier…what Lord of the land would do as you have done? I have heard the tales of the cities, the warnings of how we must always be on our guard against them, how they and their people will always seek to take what is ours. That we can recognize them by the way they will give nothing but words, and take all that isn’t nailed down…”

“And take the nails too…” T’lek muttered.

“Hah, yes! We were warned of this, and it’s not just old tales. It’s confirmed by those like Flux who lived amongst the city dwellers. He was beaten and captured, lost friends and family to the city dwellers, looked for missing friends, only to find their remains for sale in the shops of apothecaries he trusted.”

“We are taught from an early age that while not all are bad, that the other races are not necessarily born evil, we must nevertheless be on our guard constantly.”

“Sounds like you’ve had a shit experience with them,” I said.

“Yes; one that has been repeatedly reinforced. Then we meet you. You ask for nothing and give us back our weapons, forgiving our attack. You heal those who harmed