Blood for Power: A LitRPG Apocalypse

The human district of the Strand became a different animal at night. One that anxiously waited.

I could feel it in the barricaded homes that we passed. In the tense silences echoing down every barren street. The people were scared. Scared of themselves or their loved one's being taken. Scared of the dangerous monsters that would appear to test Tower Climbers.

The atmosphere of fear mingled with a cold fog that reduced our sight. It was unnerving. I’d like to say it was because the fear of the place was infectious, but that would be a lie. At night, the city felt haunted, and I couldn’t blame those who chose to hide.

But I did question their judgment in coming here in the first place. It was bizarre that people would choose to live in a place like this.

Luckily, their fear was our gain, since it made sneaking around easier. Still, I took precautions. I kept to the alleyways and side streets with my cloak wrapped around me. It broke up my silhouette and to anyone who saw me in the moonlight, I’d look like a passing shadow.

Hugo remained on my shoulder, but had one of his spirit crows watching from above for threats. There would be no more surprise gargoyle attacks this time.

The cemetery that Daisy had wanted us to investigate was close to the church that had tried to kill me. I’d wanted to go there first, but Hugo dissuaded me when we saw the state of their security.

“They’ve got armed guards patrolling inside the perimeter and the church itself is giving off weird energy. I don’t even feel comfortable flying one of my birds over it. It would be detected for sure. The only way we get inside there tonight is if we go in blades blazing, but then we’d lose our chance to investigate the grave robbing.”

“It’s guns blazing. Blades don’t blaze.” I said, then sighed. “But I take your point. A full-on assault would be too noisy and scare off any would-be grave robbers. We’ll take the cemetery first. Revenge will have to wait.”

Like the church itself, the cemetery was locked behind an iron gate. Unlike the church, however, there were no guards and the high stone walls surrounding it were no challenge for me to scale.

I’d hoped to get a better view of things from the top of the wall, but the fog was building up. All I could see ahead were a series of mausoleums and narrow pathways.

I slipped over the other side and dropped softly to the ground.

Hugo: This place is huge! I don’t even know where to start.

Lucas: We’ll have to move further in. They wouldn’t be able to get into these crypts without making a lot of noise and attracting the attention of the church.

Hugo: Unless they’re in on it.

I nodded. It would certainly simplify matters if they were.

Lucas: Let’s hope we’re that lucky.

Hugo asked if he should fly up and scout ahead, but the fog made me wary. There was no way to know what could be hiding in it. I told him to stay close and watch my back as I crept down the path.

There were so many little paths around the mausoleums. So many directions that we could get attacked from. I drew my blades and proceeded with caution.

Hugo remained uncharacteristically quiet, as did the cemetery. If there was ever a place for a monster to pop out and attack Tower Climbers, then this was it. But nothing happened, and I was starting to wonder if we were wasting our time. Then I heard it.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Heavy footfalls rang quietly in my ears. I’d had Heightened Awareness activated since entering and now I’d finally caught something in the distance. It sounded like a large group moving away from us.

Hugo tightened his grip on my shoulder as I broke into a jog. We had to get to this group before they disappeared.

I rounded the corner, only to stop. This was where the mausoleums ended and the graveyard began. In the fog, it looked like a sea of headstones in an endless green field. Which made it easy to spot the source of the noise.

Two broad, seven-foot figures cloaked and hooded stood over a grave with their backs to me. They could only be orcs. But what would orcs be doing sneaking around the cemetery of the human district?

I moved closer for a better look, but one must have heard something. As they turned their head, I dove behind a large tombstone.

Mentally, I counted to ten and then peered over. The orcs now held shovels and their focus was back on the grave.

Hugo: What are they doing?

Well, it looks like we found our graverobbers.

Lucas: They’re digging up a body.

Hugo: Why?

It was difficult to say at this point, but I took a guess.

Lucas: In some cultures, the family will bury their dead with valuable items that meant a lot to the deceased. They could be looting the bodies for things like jewelry.

The idea struck me as strange and unlikely as soon as I’d said it. All of the orcs we’d seen looked well-connected and funded. It was difficult to imagine one of them doing this for money.

Hugo: Do you think it’s related to our quest?

That was another possibility, but I wasn’t ready to assume that it was. The only thing Daisy had said was that her quest involved graverobbing at the cemetery. Our quest was related to the spirit killer device, the goblins, and people disappearing. It was too early to see a connection.

The orcs dug into the gravesite with mechanical efficiency. They did not utter a word. Even their digging was quiet.

We watched as one of them struck down hard with their shovel. Wood cracked and splintered, while the other bent down. They pulled a fresh body out of the broken coffin. That body was then deposited into a large sack along with the shovels.

Enzo had told us that live people were being taken, but what if that was just false hope? That in reality, there were rogue goblins and orcs killing and stealing the bodies?

For whatever purpose they intended to do with the body, the sack indicated that it wasn’t something they could do here.

One orc held the sack and waited while the other quickly filled the hole back in to hide the disturbance. Once that was completed, they moved deeper into the graveyard.

Hugo: Where are they going?

Lucas: Maybe they’re not done collecting bodies?

Following them proved difficult. The fog was thick, and I was forced to move out in the open among the gravestones.

Halfway across the cemetery, the orc’s stopped and started to turn. I dove behind a gravestone, praying that they didn’t see us.

Hugo: Do you think we were spotted?

Lucas: I dunno know. Why don’t you take a look?

Hugo: What? Why me?

Lucas: Because you’re smaller.

Hugo hopped off my shoulder and took a peek around the corner.

Hugo: They’re gone!

Damn it. We lost them already.

I stood up in time to see a meaty gray fist come crashing down on me. I tried to sidestep it, but the edge of his fist grazed my cheek. I rocked back on my heels, stunned. Even a glancing blow packed some serious strength.

Hugo and I backed away while looking around. There was just the one in front of us. Had his partner left with the body, or was he lurking somewhere in the fog?

Despite being up close, his hood still concealed his face. I was amazed he could see anything with that thing over his head, let alone fight. Hugo flew up to gain some distance, but the orc didn’t seem to notice. He pursued me aggressively, arms swinging wildly. There was no intelligence here. No planning or strategy. Just raw animal aggression.

I knew a direct single hit was deadly, and so I weaved and ducked under his thick fists. I didn’t know where Hugo or the other orc was. There was no time for anything other than dodge, sidestep, and there! I saw an opening and dashed under his swing. My knife slashed his side as I passed, but I felt a lot of resistance. His skin was tougher than a human’s. Hell, it was tougher than most Tower Climbers. The cut ended up being too shallow to cause serious injury.

The orc swung his fist backwards, and I continued my forward momentum to avoid it.

Out of the fog ahead emerged the other orc with the sack slung over his shoulder.

“Hugo! I could use some help about now!” I called out.

Hugo: Sorry. I thought I saw a third orc. I tried to follow, but couldn’t find them in the fog. It might’ve just been a trick of the light.

A shrill whistle sounded in the distance. The orc carrying the sack stopped and stiffened, while the other ran over to join their side.

Lucas: Looks like you were right about there being more of them.

For a tense moment, nobody moved. Then the orcs bent down and touched the ground. The fog obscured their hands. I couldn’t make out what they were doing, but as they stood up, a green glow formed on the ground in front of them.

The orcs turned their backs and casually walked away.

“They’re leaving?” the crow asked in disbelief as he landed on my shoulder.

The green light lengthened and bony, gnarled hands stretched out, slowly grasping the air for a foothold. Out of the light emerged three floating skeletons wrapped in tattered cloaks. Their eyes glowed green, and each of them held a lantern on a chain that emitted a glow of the same color.

*Beast Identified* [Forge Wraith (Rare)] Level 142 – These spirits are the ultimate mindless hunting dogs. But what they lack in brains, they more than make up for in resistances to conventional attacks.

“Hugo, send one of your crows after the orcs before we lose them!”

He nodded. “On it.”

He summoned a crow, and it took flight. One of the wraith’s lanterns pulsed, and the spirit crow exploded into dust.

Hugo was displeased. “Oh, that is so unfair!”

Meanwhile, the orcs were getting away. I didn’t like the idea of us splitting up, but this was our best lead yet.

“Go follow the orcs,” I said. “I’ll deal with the wraiths.”

“But…”

“Go!”

Hugo flew off after them and disappeared into the fog.

Lucas: And don’t engage. Only follow them. We need to know where they’re taking the body.

Hugo: Understood.

The three wraiths spread themselves out into a semi-circle and began floating towards me. I lunged with my sword, but it just went straight through and had no effect.

Great, they’re incorporeal. Maybe I can just run past them?

One flew in front of me. I swung my sword at its lantern to see if that was their weakness, but it was incorporeal too. A bony hand seized my wrist. It was like being gripped by ice. The cold paralyzed that hand and started creeping up my arm.

I resisted and tried to pull back, but I couldn’t break free.

There was still orc blood on the ground nearby. It wasn’t much, but I didn’t see another option.

God, I hate this part.

I cut off my own hand to break free. The pain almost made me blackout, but I called the orc blood to me. The blood was potent. It shocked me back and kept me focused enough to use Cardinal Arm to close the wound.

As soon as I’d severed my hand, the wraith dropped it in disinterest. I retreated and tried to think of something else. I noticed that as they floated towards me, they would fly around the gravestones instead of through them. The description had referred to them as spirits. Maybe spiritual objects were solid to them?

I still had a working version of the spirit killer device that Enzo had given me. I took out the cube. Bart had called it a spiritual hand grenade, but when Dratch had used it, it had come out like a focused beam. Perhaps the design of this cube was different? In any case, I couldn’t be sure of the range of this thing, so I had to get the wraiths closer together.

I decided to lure them away from the open graveyard. Backtracking until I reached the mausoleums. There, I searched for one that was the right size. It couldn’t be too big or too small. A Goldilocks tomb if you will.

I found one that would serve. The doors were locked, but I delivered a swift kick and they broke open.

I backed up inside and the wraiths followed. The mausoleum featured a stone coffin in the center of the room and enough space to move around it. I moved to the back of the room and waited for them to float in. Just like with the gravestones, they couldn’t phase through anything here.

As soon as they were inside, I raised up the cube and activated the device.

Nothing happened.

I frowned and tried again, but the result was the same. I checked the device over. It looked undamaged. The wraiths were drawing closer. Maybe I was doing it wrong? I kept touching different parts of the cube, but nothing worked. Damn it. I hadn’t set a trap for them. I’d just trapped myself.

In a last ditch moment of frustration, I threw the cube at the nearest wraith. It phased through its body and hit the wall, exploding into pieces. As soon as the cube broke, a familiar green glow formed around the pieces.

Oh no.

A fourth wraith was emerging.