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

Riana muttered complaints at having to leave the room, but Hanau clipped her across the ear, and she quieted down, casting irritated glances at her friend as she rubbed the side of her head. I reached out, took a deep breath, and brushed as much crap off the symbol as I could, revealing a starburst pattern with a stylized tower in the middle. I pressed the tower gently, then applied more pressure, until at last there was an audible ‘click,’ followed by a much louder clunk, and a cloud of dust was expelled from the wall.

I jumped back, covering my mouth with one hand, and trying not to breath the dirty air in. It didn’t take long for the dust to settle, thankfully, and when it did, there was a clear rectangular outline visible in the wall. Riana stepped forward and put to words what we’d all seen without realizing it.

“The door was hidden, but whoever made it never considered hundreds of years of dust! They’d filled in the lines to look like it would have when it was new, which meant the dust couldn’t fill them! I knew there was something wrong with it!”

“Well spotted, Riana,” I said, then coughed as a little dust got into my mouth. “Everyone, keep back, please. Oracle, can you get in there? Take a look around?”

I asked and she flew over, going partially insubstantial as she passed through the crack. A ‘whoop’ of joy resounded on the other side.

“It’s here, it’s the control room!” she cried out and we moved forward again, waving the dust out of the way until it was clear. By this time, Decin and the others had joined us and were happily digging fingers into the revealed cracks along the door. Hanau called out as we were all getting ready.

“Okay, people! On three, you pull, move back one step, and release!” He called, and the crew, obviously used to following his orders, responded in unison.

“Hup!”

“One, two, aaaaand-a…. THREE!”

We all strained together, pulling at the seams with our fingers driven into tiny cracks, and just as we were about to give in, there was a creak, a pop, and a loud crack, followed by the door grating slowly open a foot. We dropped it then, all of us panting and trying to get our breath back, when a sudden scream made us all stagger back to our feet. One of the crew had been facing the entrance to the room and was pointing frantically. People began panicking and readying weapons, and…I started to laugh.

“Stand down, people; the cavalry is here!” I said, gesturing to people to lower their weapons. “How are you doing, Bob? Everyone okay?” I asked as the hulking skeletal minion stomped into the room, the rest of the squad trailing behind him. Several were limping, but the majority of their major wounds had clearly been healed by Oracle already. I turned to the crew and T’lek, who all remained concerned, and spoke up again.

“Seriously, he’s my minion. Relax, people.” I walked over to Bob and clapped him on a huge armored shoulder as I looked past him at the rest of my squad. They really did look battered, they were dirty, had streaks of blood covering their clothes and were clearly worn out, but they also looked triumphant. I turned back to Decin’s crew and T’lek and waved to the newly arrived group.

“Are you all okay?” I asked them, being met with nods and smiles before I turned back to the room. “These are my people; they came with me and stood shoulder to shoulder to kill the goblins and rescue you. You only saw the fight in here, but how many goblins do you remember seeing here?” I asked, getting grim looks from the crew and I went on. “Well, this small squad… these fucking heroes... stood strong out there, and we killed them. As near as we can tell, we’ve killed all the goblins now, literally hundreds, if not thousands, of the little bastards. They did that, so they damn well deserve your respect.” I said, a proud smile covering my face as I looked at them. Lydia stepped forward and spoke up, tired but firm.

“And you were there with us, Lord Jax. We fought for you.”

“Yeah, but I’m fucking fantastic,” I stated casually, giving a quick shrug. “I’d have not been able to do any of it without you, or without Bane, Cheena, and Flux.”

“Think a lot o’ yersel’ don’t ye… Lord.” Decin said, a grin on his face, and he ducked reflexively as Hanau’s hand flew past overhead. “Ha! Ye missed!”

He grinned at his partner, who gave him a black look before muttering something that made him grin unrepentantly back at him. “Bah, it be worth it!”

“You won’t think so later!” Growled Hanau before turning back to me. “I’m sorry, Lord Jax, he’s always been trouble to me…” I just grinned and shook my head. Bob stomped over to the jammed doorway and glowered inside, checking for any threat.

“Bob, open the door, please.” I said, gesturing to the crew to all back away. Bob braced himself against the wall and heaved, the sound of several bones cracking under the strain clearly audible. Bob’s health—or structural integrity, or whatever—meter dropped a noticeable amount, bringing him to twenty percent overall, but in a few seconds, the door was open far enough to easily get inside. “That’s enough!” I called out, and Bob released it, stepping back with a hiss as several sections of bone fell away from him. I patted him on one armored shoulder.

“Thanks, buddy. Don’t worry, I’ll get you fixed up again soon.” I stepped past him through the opening, Oracle flying into the room with me. The room was small, with a single large seat placed in the middle of it. Dead magelights hung on the walls. I walked around the table and sat